to that God and a faithfull City to these Judges And that as you are taught from the Text to think the Lord necessary to you be they never so able so not to think them unnecessary though God can keep your City without them He who watcheth over them hath appointed them to watch over you and though he needs them not you do and his will and not his power is the rule of your duty Would you set up a Throne to Christ do it every one of you in your own hearts Open those everlasting doores Psal 24.7 and let that King of Glory come in And think not to gratifie him by wresting the Scepter out of the hands of your lawfull Prince to crow'd iâ— into his Luke 12.14 Matth. 22.21 Chap. 17.27 John 18.36 who by his renunciation of any such Governement of the office of a Ruler or Judge when sollicited to it by his precept and practice in asserting the rights of Cesar hath convinc'd the whole world that his Kingdome is not of it and when ever if ever in the civill sense of the word it shall be Matth. 25.31 Rev. 5.11 he who hath promised to come with all his holy Angels even ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands cannot need a score or two of Blunderbusses to get him possession Since then it is both the Sword of the Lord Judg. 7.18 and of Gideon Let God have the glory and your Magistrates th fruit of your subjection Titus 3.1 Rom. 13.5 And let me put you in mind to obey them not for wrath but conscience sake Submit to their Orders where they enterfere not with Gods and passe no harsh censures on their Councels since you cannot fathom all the reasons of them Reverence their persons let them have your hats and your hearts And honour these Gods with part of your substance too Prov. 3.9 1 Sam. 10.27 They are sons of Belial that despise their Prince and bring him no presents And put some grains of charitable allowance into the scale to weigh against their frailties whose temptations are greater and as their persons are more eminent so their faults are more visible than others and themselves are but men And practice that love towards one another John 13.23 which St John Who lay in the bosome of Christ and learn'd there so frequently and cordially urgeth And manifest it in giving forgiving bearing forbearing Convincing gainsayers by strong arguments in soft expressions Matth. 5.9 Reconciling differences likâ— blessed peace-makers going between brethren of opposite perswasions as mortar to cement them though you venture being crush'd by both for it the lot of moderate spirits So shall you allay all violence and strife in the City and discover your legitimacy as the Children of God who will therefore and thereby keep you and your City and in his due time translate you and all your faithfull Watchmen to be made Denizens of that City that hath foundations Heb. 11.10 whose builder maker and keeper himself immediately is even that Jerusalem that is above the Mother of us all Gal. 4.26 3. To the Lord for Having finish'd my addresse to the Watchman for the Lord and the City and to the City for the Lord and the Watchmen It remains that I bespeak the Lord for both Watchmen City Now all Application to him being by way of Petition whereunto the more hands and hearts we can get the more hope of successe since he vouchsafes to be a Isai 45.11 commanded b Exod. 32.10 c. Gen. 32.26 captivated by Prayer let us unanimously wrestle with him for a blessing on both A Prayer 1. Watchmen Civil O Lord our God our strong Tower our Wall of fire our Sun and our Shield By whom Kings Reign and Princes decree Justice Who alone Qualifiest and Commissionest for Government and blessest the endeavours if our Governours with successe We beseech thee blesse the chief Magistrate of this City and all those in Authority under him with wisdom to foresee faithfullnesse to discover and courage to encounter every danger Lâ—t them he Shields for the safeguard of them that do well and Swords for the terrour and punishment of them that do evill Men of courage fearing thee dealing truely and hating covetousness And as by particular Relation and Duty I stand bound I implore thy most gratious preservation of his Majesties Royal Tower of London and of St John Robinson his Honourable and Faithfull Lieutenant thereof Keep it from all secret Conspiracy and open Violence that the Watchmen in it may not watch in vain And Ecclesiastical Let all the Spirituall Watchmen of this City be cloathed with righteousnesse Not ignorantly blind nor negligently dumb but rightly dividing thy Word of Truth and behaving themselves as workmen that need not be ashamed Fill every Candlestick with a burning and shining Light that may lead thy people by Precept and Practice into and in the wayes of Truth Peace and Godlinesse 2. For the City And keep the Commonalty of this most populous City from all superstition hypocrisie and profanenesse schisme and faction envy hatred malice and all uncharitablenesse pride drunkennesse gluttony and idlenesse Preserve them from every evill of sinne and sorrow from fire famine sword and pestilence Lead them by thy Spirit Word and Ministers into every necessary truth and up to every duty Teach them to keep Consciences void of offence towards thee and towards men That they may give thee thy due in a respect to all thy Commandements And Cesar his in their thoughts words and deeds in their honour customes and tribute and in their chearfull subjection for conscience sake to all the lawfull commands of their Magistrates And their fellow-subjects their due in brotherly charity and honesty in bargains and sales And their families theirs in all Christian care for them and themselves their own due in a sober provision for their bodies and an earnest and faithfull endeavour after the salvation of their souls owning imploring and improving thy superintendency over all Prince Magistrates Ministers City Estates Reputations Families and Persons Guide us by the hands of thy Moses and Aarons keep us by thy power prosper us by thy blessing sanctifie us by thy Spirit and save us by thy Sonne to both whom with thy self a Trinity of Persons in Vnity of Essence be honour and praise now and forever Amen Amen FINIS
City Security STATED IN A SERMON Pâ—eached at St Pauls August 11th 1661. Before the Right Honourable THE LORD MAYOR By â—illiaâ— Bell B. D. late Fellow of St John Baptists Colledg 〈◊〉 and now Chaplain to his Majesty in his Tower of LONDON LONDON Printed for John Baker at the Sign of the Peacock in St Pauls Church-yard 1661. City Security PSALM 127. the latter part of the first Verse Except the Lord keep the City the Watchman waketh but in vain THere is a naturall necessitous humility lodged in persons of mean and low spirits men of no parts or no knowledge of their parts or who have no just esteem of them And there is an artificiall flagitious humility when like the Hawk men stoop for a quarry 2 Sam. 15.5 6. Thus Absalom stole the hearts of his Fathers subjects out at their mouths by his treacherous kisses And there is a penall calamitous humility when God trips up the heels of insolent persons such was that of proud Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 4.33 when devested of Empire and Reason Humiliatus erat quid humilis non erat humbled because not humble And there is a Celestiall gratious humility when men of eminent parts and place own God as the fountain of all they have and are that fills and feeds their Channells A royall virtue indeed when Kings acknowledge their Thrones to be set upon Gods foot stoole and though in all Causes and over all Persons as well Ecclesiasticall as Civill in their own Dominions Supream heads and Governours yet pay their ho … … nd fealty to the King of Kings in confessing they are all this under God and his Christ It is the method of proud men to compare themselves with their inferiours and as the Pharisee to cry out Lord what am I not like those that measure themselves by the declining Sun and so seem taller than they are But the humble person compares himself his power his wisdome his holinesse his honour with those of God and as the Publican cries out Lord what am I As those that measure themselves by the Sun at noon and their bedwarfd shadow and are more than they seem It is Moses his Title of Honour to be stiled Gods servant And Davids chief ambition to be a Nethenim in the house of God The threshold of whose Temple was a step above his Throne and he takes a degree to be a Porter at it Rev. 4.10 The Elders cast down their Crowns at the feet of God And as all subordinate Powers give in at the presence of the King as Stars return their light to the Sun at his arising so even Kings lower their Scepters when God exalts his since the best of them are but the off-sets thereof The most absolute Monarchs are thus far relative that they subsist by God there being no independency in reference to him There are no designes be the means or men that carry them on never so potent that come not to naught if blown upon by God Nor is any instrument so impotent that with God is not efficacious Phil. 4.13 This is the ground of St Pauls omnipotency I can do all things through Christ which strengthneth me Proud Babel that was raised in Rebellion against God was razed in confusion by him Zech. 4.6 7. But where not an Army nor strength but the Spirit of God builds there even the head stone is laid and the shouting is grace grace God blessed the Aegyptian Midwives Exod. 1.21 by his building them houses for their supporting the houses of the Israelites And he who blessed them for their work blessed them in it And as he suited the reward to the work so he suited the work to his own promise for he had pronounced that primitive blessing of Increase Gen. 1.28 and Multiply on that people and man cannot substract where God will multiply No nor yet multiply where he will substract He who keeps the key of David opens the barren Rev. 3.7 and shuts up the fruitfull Womb And as from one Vine one fertil Wife Psal 128.3 he can draw forth the blessing of Clusters of Children for him that feareth him Verse 1. 1 Kings 11.3 so from seven hundred Wives and three hundred Concubines the product to Solomon was but a single Rhehoboam so farre as Scripture undertakes the Genealogy but one Grape from so many Vines and that too but such an one as men gather of Thornes who like Ivy plucked down the house he pretended to support Both the fruit of the common Womb the earth is Gods for The earth is the Lords and the fullnesse thereof Psal 24.1 and that of every particular one too of every Mother as well as that generall one Psal 12â— 3 for Children are the inheritance of the Lord and the fruit of the Womb is his reward So that there is neither fertility nor security plenty nor safety without God for except he build the house they labour in vain that build it Except he keep the City c. Which words are whether written by Solomon Scope of the Text. Eccl. 8.4 or by David for Solomon as is most probable the words of a King and there is power and truth in them as they are a proof of the necessary concurrence of divine providence to the undertakings of men And the procedure of the argument is a minore ad majus from the lesse to the greater that that providence is so particular as to extend to the Oeconomy of every private family except the Lord build c. that is Clarius Castalio in loc nisi augeat rem familiarem familiam unlesse he improve the estate and houshold haeredes liberos the heirs the children there can be no increase or improvement of either by any And yet that providence is withall so generall as to comprehend the polity of a whole City Except the Lord keep the City c. The name of a family shall rot unlesse God shall vouchsafe to preserve it by a numerous and perfume it by a gratious succession of generations And the City shall be buried in its own ruines for all its fortifications of dead earth its Walls and Towers and of living earth its Militia and Magistrates unlesse God shall supervise and blesse all Except the Lord keep c. Division The words are a modâ—l Proposition The Proposition The Watchman waketh but in vain The modus or limitation Except the Lord keep the City I shall not mangle the words by any more minute division of them that I may not part God from the City the Watchman from God vigilance from the Watchman nor successe from his vigilance But I shall speak to it by way of Explication and Application 1. By way of Explication in unfolding these four particulars First What is intended by the word Watchman Secondly What is meant by the City Thirdly What is the purport of this phrase of Gods keeping the City Fourthly I shall insist on what
weights and is then an idle spectator of its severall motions But as a skilfull Musician whose fingers assist to every Note and rellish as In him we live and move and have our being Acts 17.28 Now since as in the body naturall so also in the body politick death may be let in and life out at every pore every little leak may sink the Vessel of the Common-wealth there can be no security but in one who is at hand to all dangers and such is our Omnipresent God 3. Omnipotency But 3. That which renders the other two Attributes advantageous to us is the Omnipotency of God Our Watchmen may be conscious of our afflictions present to them ready and willing to help but impotent They may see the fire consuming but unable to quench it the plague ravageing but unable to stop it famine depopulating but unable to relieve from it Milchama war devouring but unable to obstruct it Matth. 19.26 But with God all things are possible His breath that blowes up the fire can blow it out He can set limits of time number and place to the plague and fill your Bills of Mortality with empty Cyphers as blessed be his name for it he hath done for above thirty years together What doth a Watchman a padlock and a red crosse at the door dog-killers within the City and Pest-houses without and all other very prudent Cautions of our Governours signifie unlesse there be a Lord have mercy upon us too to heale those within and secure those without He only gives bread Ezek. 16.49 Lev. 26.26 and makes it plentifull Even fullnesse of bread and he gives the staffe of bread and makes it nourishing that it prove not gravel in the mouth Prov. 20.17 Matth. 7.9 a stone instead of bread He turns the edge of every Sword that is drawn against you and rebates the point of every Spear of war that is thrown among you You have found what advantage it is to have the General of a few thousands for your friend What prejudice to have him for your enemy What doth it then import to have the Lord of hosts for you or against you One Angel is Guardian sufficient for the whole City of Samaria 2 Kings 19.35 and in one night dispatcheth one hundred eighty five thousand of its besiegers How secure are they then who have him for their defender who commands more than twelve legions of such Conquerours Matth. 26.53 We presume our Nation to be well fenced with a wall of water And we thought our City well munited with a wall of earth But alas how weak is water and how frail is earth to that God who is a wall of fire The Roman Ram Zech. 2.5 an engine of battery with its iron hornes push'd down the walls of many Cities But even the breath of a few ramms horns Josh 6.20 when God inspires them blows down the walls of Iericho He works with or without by weak or contrary means His power is so great none need to assist none can resist him Rev. 6.2 c. Both the red horse of war and the black horse of famine and the pale horse of pestilence belong to his Militia And if he charge us with but one of these it is sufficient to rout us What would all three do then if he did not bind their mouths with a bit Psal 32.9 and bridle that they should not come near us No Magistrate is then such a shield as God No Tower so strong as He. No Watchman hath such knowledge to detect such an ubiquity to direct and such power to protect Therefore except c. 2. Reasons concerning the Watchman And that will yet more evidently appear if as you have considered how necessary God is to the City so secondly if you perpend that he is of as absolute necessity to the Watchman to the Magistrate too and that because 1. His abilities 1. He hath his endowments from God such as are Davids zeal for piety and Phineas his for justice the wisedom of Solomon the meeknesse and uprightnesse of Moses the valour and conduct of Joshua the strength of Sampson an unbribeable spirit as Samuel a tender care of the spiritual and civil concernments of Gods people as Joseph Nehemiah and Mordecai the impartiality of Job And which comprehends all these that vigilancy that waking in the Text to exert and suit these to their proper objects Now all these are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the father of lights James 1.17 who gives every good and perfect gift Who as he is free to give Empire so also to qualifie for it And where God denies or withdraws any of these from Governours he so far and so much exposeth that Government to hazard But these are but the limnings though rich ones of a Magistrate We must have a facing to these but adapt they do not license for Government they belong ad posse not adesse of Magistracy simply considered for with these our Watchman watcheth but in vain Except c. 2. Commission 2. He hath his deputation from God from whom all must have their Commissions immediately as Kings or mediately by and from Kings as subordinate Magistrates The Prince is the fountain of honour and power But God is the Sea of both the bottomlesse boundlesse Ocean of both honour Rom. 13.1 John 19.11 and power The powers that be are ordained of God Thou couldst have no power at all against me saith Christ to Pilate except it were given thee from above All Magistrates from God whether by succession as Kings nomination as Judges or election as Maiors Aldermen Sheriffs Common-council-men c. though there is also herein much of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ordinance of man 1 Peter 2.13 St Peter speaks of because proper for men and discharg'd by men and they have their congè d'eslire leave to choose from God By whom Kings reign Prov. 8.15 and Princes decree justice Now a Commission is a direction to the Commissioned for the matter manner measure and time usually of his work this thus and thus much and thus long So that Magistrates often cannot do the good they have power to do for want of authority he that transgresseth lying under a premunire Psal 78.41 The holy One of Israel in himself unlimited ha h set bounds to all dominion every Magistrate being his Minister Even Angels who are superiour to the best of men in their best condition their state of innocence wherein they were made little lower than the Angels Psal 8.5 Exod. 23.20 are prescrib'd their orders and circumscrib'd by God He sends an Angel before his Israel to keep thâ—m in the way and bring them into the place he hath prepared Psal 91.11 And he gives his Angels charge over us to keep us in all our wayes There is a great deal of difference between acting with and without a Commission either
furthest from their own nests and certainty it is no causelesse clamour You have excellent Laws against sinnes of all sorts Let not those Lions sleep if you would have your God wake for you But especially let your lives be a Law to your City your people will be more apt to coppy out your practice than your Precepts Then your commands have authority in them when they have that of your example for them A religious Josiah is attended by a pious Israel 2 Chron. 34.33 Acts 10.7 And a devout Centurion by Souldiers that fear the Lord. It is an usuall saying that The world would be good if every one would mend one a compendious way to effect it is by Magistrates amending themselves Many would set their Watches by such regular Sun-dials The good conversation of one righteous Lot will check a whole City of Sodomites Nobles are in the holy language called white ones and the Robes of Majesty are faced with white to put the wearers in mind that they must be innocent who condemn the guilty least the sentence reflect Matth. 7.3 and the beam censure the mote God hath honoured you do you honour him And if you would have him continue to keep your City let it be your resolution with good Joshua Josh 24.15 that you and your houshold shall serve him And let not your Religion be suited to the factious humours of any party you would favour or be favoured by but to the Word of God and those consonant or not-repugnant Canons and Laws of the Church and State you rule under And do not as the Lacedemonians who are said to dresse their Gods according to the present mode and garb of their City Magistratus indicat virum wine and power shew what is in man Let men see that as you are Gods you can be good as well as great Plato would have the Palaces of Princes seated near Temples and the Romans made the way to the Temple of Honour through that of Virtue Hic â—urus â—haeneus sto nil conscire mâ—li Jerem. 15.20 nullâ pâ—llescere culpâ Integrity and piety will be a wall of brasse to you and your City You are subordinately custodes utriusque tabulae keepers of both Tables of Gods Law be so by your example and authority You use to say Keep your Shop and your Shop will keep you I may confidently say keep your God and your God will keep you Observe you his Commandments and he will preserve your Government 2. Just to the City 2. Remember that that God who alone can keep your City is a just God and be you just as he is just The Sword of justice duly drawn and valiantly used will prevent unsheathing the Sword of War And keep you from falling not only into the hands of men but those of God too by fire 2 Sam. 24.14 Numb 25. Psal 106.30 James 1 20. famine or pestilence Which last Phineas diverts by an act of justice He executed judgment and the plague was stayed Thus though the wrath of man worketh not the righteousnesse of God yet the righteousnesse of men diverteth the wrath of God All Controversies before you are about meum and tuum what is this or that mans propriety Now justice doth suum cuique tribuere give every one their own Reward to whom reward and punishment to whom punishment is due And as piety and justice are the pillars of Magistracy so reward and punishment are the whole work of justice And therein prudent And in the discharge of this duty Job 29.16 you must exeâ—cise many virtues your prudence in searching out of causes and discerning the naturall from the artificiall white the truth from that fucus and paint which Rhetorick and interest will dawb them with And truely without this prudence justice will still be as already it hath too long been all Sword and no ballance 2 Chron. 1.10 Verse 12. It was a worthy choice in Solomon to preferre wisdom to riches long life and victory for with that he had these given as vantage in measure as a train attending on that Queen Psal 45.14 This qualified him for the Throne and by this he decided that intricate Controversie between the two harlots 1 Kings 3. And justice cannot be done without judgement They are mistaken who think piety alone qualifies for Magistracy Matth. 10.16 The wisdom of the serpent must be joyned to the innocency of the Dove Then Magistrates are Gods when as God their truth secures them from deceiving and their wisdom from being deceived As impiety alone destroyes not right of Dominion 1 Kings 18.8 Rom. 13.1 wicked Ahab continues Obadiah's Lord and Christians owâ— subjection to impious Nero. So piety alone establisheth not a right no nor single adapts for Government Wisdom is an excellent offensive weapon Prov. 21.22 Eccl. 9.15 2 Sam. 20.22 A wise man scatters the City of the mighty and defensive too A little City saved by a wise man And a great City a Mother in Israel by a wise woman And that by a pi ce of justice like that for which the Dagger is become the Armes of this City the seasonable dispatching an insolent Rebel And when the prudence and prowesse of your present Governour last year expressed in timely intercepting the repullulating head of sedition shall be duely weighed there will be found not more roome than merit for another Dagger Geese may save a Capitaâ— but it is by chance And couragious And you must annex courage to prudence in the execution of justice and this leads the Van and courage loves to do it in Jethro's qualifications for Magistrates Exod. 18.21 they must be men of courage fearing God dealing truely and hating covetousnesse You must rescue the innocent Lamb from the Lion and the Bear Job 29.17 1 King 10.20 and break their jawes too Solomons Throne was supported with Lions Courage will bear up your judgement-seats and to this you must adde impartiality And impartial not to be warp'd by the poore man's misery Exod. 23.3 not countenance a poor man in his cause if unjust nor rich mans bounty nor great mans dignity nor a friend's amity God is no respecter of persons and you are no Gods if you be You must let judgement run down like water Amos 5.24 and righteousnesse as a mighty stream free as water from a spring and not forc'd by importunity as water from a Pump And free as your Conduit-water that fills the earthen pitcher as well as the silver goblet And free as your Thames water that flowes to all that will fetch it and not as your New-River-water that is imparted to none but those that will pay for it And clear without mudding it by mixing self-interest Publick men must be publick spirited and the private is included in that Great persons that use their place and power to fill their own Coffers are like passengers in a Ship that tear