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A55086 Saint Pauls politiques, or, A sermon against neutrality preached at Margarets Westminster on the Lords-Day Decemb. 13, 1644, divers of the Honourable House of Commons being present / by Lawrence Palmer ... Palmer, Laurence. 1644 (1644) Wing P250; ESTC R3579 12,118 24

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Saint PAULS POLITIQVES OR A Sermon against NEUTRALITY PREACHED At Margarets Westminster on the LORDS-DAY Decemb. 13. 1644. Divers of the Honourable House of Commons being present By Laurence Palmer Rector of the Mediety of Gedling in the County of Nottingham And Captain of a Troop of horse raised for the service of the King and Parliament Exod. 32.26 27. Moses stood in the gate of the Camp and said who is on the Lords side Let him come unto me And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him And he said unto them Thus saith the Lord God of Israel Put every man his sword by his side c. Imprimatur Charles Herle London Printed for Robert White 1644. To the Right Worshipfull Gilbert Millington Esquire one of the Members of the Honourable House of Commons Worthy Sir NExt to the glory of God the maine white at which all actions ought to be levelled I have ever held the care of preserving advancing and promoting the common good the welfare of Church and State is most noble necessary and best beseeming a Christian A thing acknowledged by most but practised by few I had almost said none and if I had the Apostle would have borne me out Phil. 2.21 All seek their own and none the things of Jesus Christ Truly it hath been matter of no small griefe and trouble unto me of late to behold and take notice of the strange declination and degeneration of mens spirits to speake nothing of the Epidemicall disease of cursed Neutrality long since spread through the whole Kingdom the lukewarme heartlesse indifferensie the palpable partiality the grosse dissimulation and hypocrisy of those who pretend wholy the common cause and intend nothing but their private ends discover themselves every where too apparently in these times of the Church and Kingdomes greatest calamity A clearer proofe whereof we cannot have then dayly experience for who sees not how many of those who with much zeal and impetuous violence were all for the publique whilest pay and profit honour and applause good successe and victory attended the cause of God but when it and those were parted how shamefully have they deserted it in the open field The more then certainly to be admired and for ever honoured are those who continue constant in the publique service and will not leave the cause no not when that seemes to leave them and theirs to the mercilesse fury of the enemy Who are so far from cooling by disasters that they are but as the frost in winter to the fire which serve to intend their heat and resolution Of which number Sir the Town and County that chose and sent you hither esteeme you to be Who of all that were chosen throughout the whole County of Nottingham onely stand for the welfare both of it and the whole Kingdom The Lord who hath hitherto graciously kept up your Spirit Will I doubt not blesse and prosper you and at last crowne your faithfullnesse and unwearied constancy It was your request and the importunity of divers Friends caused me to preach this Sermon But the sending of it to publique view was by the earnest sollicitations and undeniable intreaty of many both Friends and Strangers yet not without your consent and approbation And indeed the rather do I full fill their desire and present it to you because it is well known to all that know you that your practise is a lively expression of what I preached which I wish for the imitation and encouragement of others may be as publique as this paper my discourse shewes what in these times should be done your example and practise lets the world see what is and may be done Another necessity also is laid upon me to commit this short and unpolished Sermon to the Presse Divers that heard it preached professed they were much affected with it and told me that it awakned and roused up some that were grown cold and indifferent to zealous resolution to set upon the work of the Lord with more diligence and therefore they concieved that if the preaching much more the printing might be of singular use in these cold declining times Now if I had refused herein to satisfie them My mouth would have been stopt with this Dilemma and unanswerable argument That seeing my Theame and whole discourse tends wholy to invite and urge all sorts within their spheares to be as serviceable as may be for the promoting of the publique If the printing may conduce more to this end then the preaching there would have been a manifest jarre betwixt my preaching and practise if I had denyed Well the blessing of God go with it and make it effectuall for the encouraging of the faithfull and constant the inciting and awakening the drousie and indifferent the shaming of the Neuter and the discovery of the hypocrite Sir This is the prayer of him who in what he is able desires ever To serve you and the publique Laurence Palmer Saint Pauls POLITIQUES Or A Sermon against Neutrality delivered at Margarets Westminster upon PHIL. 2.4 Looke not every one on his own things but every man also on the things of others NOt to tire your patience with any curious division either of the Epistle in generall or of this Chapter in particular nor with any tedious coherence of these words with those which have gone before Be pleased to take notice that the Apostle in this Chapter from the first verse to the 12. doth exhort the Philippians to unity and agreement he layes down the means how to attain it namely by humblenesse of minde after the example of Jesus Christ ver 1.2 3 5 c. Now because my Text is as it were interwoven with this Argument I desire you to observe something from the Apostles method Doct. That pride of Spirit is the ground of strife and contention So far as a man is proud he is contentious It is a Doctrine from the grnerall I will be very briefe in the handling of it It is confirmed Prov. 13.10 Only by pride comes contention Example In the Apostles of Christ Luk. 22.24 When once they began to seek for priority of place by and by they were at ods Vse 1 For information To let us see the true cause of all the contentions in the world either in Church or State either publick or private to arise only from Pride The sin of this age is Pride and the Pride of this age is intolerable These be Saint Pauls Tempora novissima the Winter of the world Wherein pride and contentions do daily meete each other 2 Tim. 3.12 In the Church the pride of sin carries them so far as that they would all be Apostles they would all be Prophets and teachers Docerent antequam didicerunt That Arius may maintaine his damnable errour Anno 358. since revived sayes that God did reveal it to him and Montanus called himself Paracletum or the holy Ghost Here is pride with a witnesse now what contentions did arise from
others would read his story and follow his example Neh. 5. from the 14. ver to the end of the Chapter One instance more which may seeme to suit with the conditions of the greatest Ladyes or other women here present and it is of Heroicke Queen Hester Shee might have been quiet and contented with the Kings favour being assured that Hamans bloody policy against the Jewes could not have pluckt her from the Kings bosome seeing she was such a one as the King delighted in But alas her people the people of God were in great distresse and perplexity which makes her she cannot be quiet and thereupon puts forth her self to do service for the publique Hest 4.15 16. Reasons The first reason or ground of this Doctrine may be taken from common nature or naturall relation we stand in for even nature it self hath indebted every man to his Nieghbour one to another Non nobis solum nati sumus c. The second reason taken from our spirituall relation in which we all stand bound And here the rule is that spirituall relations tye men more close one to another then naturall relations do or can This speciall relation stands in a fourefold respect 1. Of God the Common father of us all 2. Of Christ our head and elder brother 3. Of the Church the Common Mother to us all 4. One of another as partaking all of the same common spirituall Ordinances c And therefore reason why not any of us should chiefly seek his own but very man also the things of others 3. The third reason drawn from the end of our redemption That grace of God that bringeth salvation will teach us to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in the present evil world Tit. 2.11 12. As we must live soberly in respect of our selves godly in respect of God so we must live righteouslytowards others profitably in respect of the publique every noble spirit labouring to preserve maintain bring honour to his own family The 4. Reason drawn from that private interest every man hath in the publique It was so to the Jewes when they were in Babylon Ierem. 29.7 they were to pray for the peace of the City whither they were carryed captive because in the peace thereof they should have peace Vses The uses of the point shall be first for information 2. For Reprehension 3. Exhortation 4. For Consolation If this be a truth that it is a duty that lyes upon all Christians to have respect unto and carefully to work after the good of the publique aswell yea rather then their own private and particular Then 1. It may serve to let us see that the actions of many men who neglecting their own things and wholy look after the things of others are warrantable And that such men as ayme more at the publique then their own private are not to be condemned I remember what Vriah said to David 2 Sam. 11.11 The Arke and Israel and Iudah are in tents and my Lord Ioab and the servants of my Lord are in the field and shal I then go into my house to eate and to drink and to lye with my wife As thou livest and as thy soul liveth I will not do this thing I cannot find Vriah any where condemned for this his resolution Nay the spirit of God doth give a very large encomium of such a publique spirit as you may see Iudg. 5.9 It is the speech of Deborah concerning the voluntiers in the service of the Church and State My heart is towords the Governours of Israel that offered themselves willingly Blesse ye the Lord. And Saint Paul in this Chapter ver 29 30. speaking of Epaphroditus a faithfull Minister commands the Philippians to recieve such in the Lord and to hold such in reputation Because for the work of Christ he was nigh to death not regarding his life to supply your lack of service And therefore surely men of such publique spirits should not be disheartned with any tediousnesse or burthensomnesse in the work nor discontented by such as have imployed and called them forth for the service It is an imployment very warrantable and agreeable to Christianity Vse 2 And therefore Secondly it may serve as a use of just reprofe and terrour unto all those that sing this song Vnusquisque sibi Every man for himself and God for us all No my Brethren I beseech you know that where every man is for himself the Devil will be for all for consider you sin 1. Against the Law of Nature 2. Against spirituall relations 3. Against the end of our Redemption 4. Against the publike And yet alas how many be there that let a Kingdom sink or swim so they may be in peace at home they matter not Such as daily send out Scours and lie Perdue to discover which is the stronger side and then they will shew themselves just like Isachar Gen. 49.14 15. They are strong Asses couching down between two burdens seeing rest to be good and the land pleasant they are contented to bow their shoulders to bear and so become servants unto tribute Or else Secondly they are like the men of Laish Iudges 18.7 Carelesse quiet and secure they sit it may be under their own Vine c. Or Thirdly that which is worse they jeer and scoffe at such as have spent themselves and estates to maintain the publike and it may be to preserve their private and particular estates just as the men of Succoth and Penuel dealt with Gideon Judg. 8.5 6. And Fourthly that which is yet more intolerable basenesse in the spirits of some who having chosen men of parts and abilities for the publike service And having sent them from their Countries their wives and children and estates deare to them who have been imployed and faithfully discharged the greatest places for the Towns or Counties where they lived shall be not only shamefully deserted but likewise maligned scoffed at hated and opposed by scornfull men who bring the City into a snare Prov. 29.8 and these not our professed enemies but such as pretend themselves to be for the same Cause But I wish sad experience had not taught me at this time to speak so much To these if any here present I shall humbly desire to commend these few considerations 1. Let them consider that they lie under a most heavy curse Iudges 5.23 Curse ye Meroz said the Angel of the Lord Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof Why Alas what hath Me●oz done She came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord against the mighty Meroz is not in Armes against the Lord yet curse ye Meroz These Citizens of Meroz delighted more in the bleating of sheep in the lowing of their oxen to enjoy their own at home then to engage themselves or their estates for the publike They would willingly sleep in a whole skin therefore Curse ye Meroz I beseech you take notice of the wretched state