then we are in such a City which neither enemy can force nor want of trade impoverish nor disease infect Deus meus omnia Let God be mine and I am strong enough against all the world against all violence against all practices against all misfortunes I could inlarge my self on this general Topick as to the moral of my Text but that I am to keep my self to the literal sense to the strong City herein meant by the Royal Psalmist 20. And if I keep my self to the literal sense we must inquire what City is here meant by David And we shall finde upon a very short inquiry that it was either Ziglag Hebron or Hierusalem and the last most likely St. Austin and St. Hierome so resolve for certain with whom the Moderns do agree as to that particular all telling us That God declared his marvellous mercies unto David by setling his affairs in Civitate Ierusalem in the strong City of Hierusalem in the Fort of Sion For there he found an end of his former sorrows thither he brought the Ark to that place he removed the Trabernacle and there did he fix his Royal Palace with the Courts of Iustice and thereby drew unto it by degrees all the wealth of the Kingdom and there he reigned in greater glory and renown then any of the Kings and Princes which were round about him 21. Now Cities are accounted strong in two respects first in the strength of situation or of art and next in the multitudes and natural courage of the people and in both these Ierusalem as it flourished in the time of David might worthily be called a strong City as indeed it was Civitas munitissima as my Author hath it For first it was well situated and strongly fortified three Towns in one of them seated on steep Hills and all of them invironed with high Walls strong Bullwarks and unpassable Ditches But none to be compared with the City of Sion which made the Iebusites presume so far upon the strength of the place that in contempt of Davids Forces they mann'd their walls with none but their blind and lame as Iosephus tells us and then sent word whether with greater pride or folly it is hard to say that except he took away the blind and the lame he could not come thither Which was to tell him in effect that those poor wretches were sufficient to make good the Fort against all his Army and therefore must be first removed before he could expect to be Master of it Such confidence saith he they had in their Walls and Trenches that they conceived them able without further help to keep out the Enemy 22. But Walls we see by this example are but simple strengths if there be any want of people or in the people any want of courage to make good the place The honour of a King consists not in the strength of Towns and frequency of Garrisons but in the multitude and courage and good affection of his Subjects Kings are then safest when they trust rather to their Castles of bones then their Castles of stones according to the Aphorism of Sir Henry Savage an old English Souldier Lycurgus also seemed to be of the same opinion when he prohibited the Spartans to immure their City or to use any of the Arts of Fortification And in this sense lerusalem was strong because it was as populous and no less capacious then either Nineveh or Babylon or Eckbatana or any other Cities in the Eastern Countries So populous that at the siege thereof by Titus there perished by the Sword and Famine of all sorts and sexes 1100000. and above as Iosephus telleth us And so prodigiously capacious that once the High-Priest at the request of Cestius a Roman President numbering the people which came thither to observe the Passover found them to be two millions and seven hundred thousand men besides women and children all sound and purified and fitted by the Law for that Sacred Ceremony A number numberless and not indeed to be believed were not Iosephus generally reckoned for a true Historian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the good Father Iustin Martyr hath assured us of him And though these numberings of the people in that mighty City happened long after David's time yet the City after David's time received small inlargements Ten of the Tribes revolting on the death of Solomon and never afterwards returning to the Kings of Iudah 23. As for the courage of the People and Inhabitants of it in the time of David we may conceive it equal at the least if it were not greater then that of their posterity in the times succeeding Which was so eminent that he which reads the Story of their final ruine when besieged by Titus will find the Romans so put to it that they never purchased any City at a dearer rate And hereupon may say in the word of Iustin Et tanta animorum virtus fuit c. That though they had just cause at all times to despair of safety yet for the most part they presumed and came off with safety till God was pleased to give them over for a prey to the Sword of their Enemies 24. And yet there might be somewhat in it which more assured David of his peace and happiness than either the Courage of the people or the Strength of the place which was their good Affection and fidelity to him And this appears plainly by their carriage towards him when he was forced to give way to the Treason of Absolom For when he left them to the power of the Enemy the people followed him in great numbers to express their loyalty and followed him in tears to express their affection So as it cannot be affirmed that either they betrayed or forsook their King but that the King rather in a Royal pity did withdraw from them left otherwise he might have brought some evil on the City as the Text informs us Lay all that hath been said together of the strength of this City and we shall find that David had good reason to extol Gods Name for giving him possession of a place so strong so populous and so replenished with a loyal and couragious people 25. And thus I have run over all the parts of my Text as they declare God's marvellous kindness unto David so that it can be no hard matter to remove the vail and to behold the face of our own affairs the mercies of this day and the glories of it A day in which we solemnize the memory of as great a kindness a kindness as remarkable in respect of the Person as marvellous in its own condition no less peculiar to the Lord as the Author of it and in a place as notable our Principal City our strongest City of descence To which by Gods assistance and your Christian Patience I shall now proceed and then descend unto the duties of the dayes where we shall meet with David's thankfulness and our own to boot
person in the day of Battail but managed all his Wars with Abner Absolom and Sheba by the hand of Ioab Which gave him means and opportunity to provide for himself though all his Forces had been routed and their General taken But our great Master put himself into the head of his Army ventured his life for the Redemption of his people charged and recharged through the thickest of his enemies the first that came into the field and the last that left it and thereby gained the honour though he lost the victory of the day By what miraculous means he was preserved from death in that fatal Overthrow and with what Loyal secrecy conveyed from one place to another is not so clearly and distinctly known as the cause deserves therefore to be wished that it may publickly be declared by his Sacred Majesty that God might have the glory of his own great Mercies and all good men the honour of their brave fidelity In the mean time we may with piety believe that he was either carryed off by God on the wings of Angels so that none could reach him or else inveloped round about with a cloud of darkness so that none could see him Cernere ne quis eum ne quis contingere poss it as Virgil telleth us of Aeneas in the last condition 31. And then again the hand of God was far more visible in his Restitution For was it not a marvellous kindness that God was pleased to preserve a strong party for him which had not been infected with the errors and corruptions which then reigned amongst us that in a time of such a general defection from the rules of the Church so many thousands should be found of all sorts and sexes which had not bowed the knee to Baal nor to the golden Calves of Dan and Bethel nor the more guilded Calves that grazed and bleated upon these mountains of the Lord. And that far more should keep their hearts intire and loyal in those times of danger when they could find no means to signifie it by their tongues and hands And this not only was a kindness and a marvellous kindness but misericordia sua the Lords kindness also most properly to be called the work of God who did both bow their Hearts and advance their Hands and use them both for the facilitating of the Kings Reduction 32. In which conjuncture of affairs a little cloud ariseth from the Northern Sea after the heavens had been shut up for some years together Which though it were no bigger then a mans hand in the first appearance yet brought along with it such abundance of rain as did not only comfort and refresh the afflicted Land but forced our politick Ahabs and their followers too to take their Chariots and make haste away to some other place before the storm should overtake them And certainly this must needs be misericordia sua as well Gods mercy in it self as to be reckoned for a mavellous mercy in the eyes of men For neither the Party was so weak nor the Cause so desperate as to be broken by the coming of so small a power as rather seemed to be a Guard to their Generals person then of sufficient force to oppose that Army before which two great Kings were not able to stand And then it is to be observed that such as draw their Swords upon God's Anointed use commonly to throw away the scabbards also and find no way of doing better but by doing worse Nil medium inter summa praecipitia No middle way for them to walke in but either to bear up like Princes or to die like Traytors But it was otherwise in the case which we have before us God so prevailing on the hearts of the men of war that they became no less ready to receive their King then his own party to invite him And they which first ingaged in the War against him expulsed him hence and voted him uncapable of the Regal Dignity are now as zealous as the best to advance him to it Nay they contended eagerly with the rest of the Subjects as once the men of Israel did with the men of Iudah which of the two should shew most zeal for his Restitution and did not only send word to him that he should return both he and his servants with him but some of them passed over the Flood that they might bring him back unto his Countrey with the greater glory Et certant ipsi secum utrùm contumeliosius eum expulerint an honorabilius revocaverint as in the case of Alcibiades is observed by Iustin. 33. But possibly our Gideon with such a handful of men might not have been of power sufficient to effect the enterprise if our great City had not openly appeared in favour of it and thereby given encouragement to the rest of the Subjects whose hearts stood firm unto the King A treble City of three Towns together but all of them united in one common name as Ierusalem was and no less strong then that in regard on the multitude but stronger in respect of the power and riches of the people of it For here it was in this strong City the principal City of our Nation the abstract or Epitomie of all Britain In Britanniarum compendio as my Author cals it that the design was most advanced though not there contrived And here it was in this strong City that this great miracle of mercy did receive accomplishment by opening both their Gates and Hearts and Hands to receive their Soveraign Let them continue in that obedience to our Lord the King they shal wipe away the memory of their former Errors Nay our Posterity shall behold them with a cheerful gratitude as the restorers and preservers of our common happiness by giving good example to the rest of the Kingdom For certainly the practice of great Cities is exemplary not only in their Morals but their Politicks too According to the motion of the Primum mobile the lower Stars and Planets move in their several Spheres and think it no disgrace to be sometimes retrograde or in their motus trepidationis when the first Orbe begins to be irregular or seems to be left destitute of those Intelligences which are said to move it 34. And therefore it concerns great Towns and populous Cities upon whose actions all mens eyes are fixed and busied to be a pattern of good works of Loyalty and of due obedience to the rest of the people Faction and Opposition to Authority are two dangerous plagues more fatal and destructive to the greatest Empire than the Sword Pestilence or Famine Which if they get into a City or a Town of note Non ibi consistunt ubi caeperunt infect not there alone where they first brake out but as the nature of the Plague is observed to be from thence it springs into the Villages adjoyning and in the end to all the quarters of the Kingdom It cannot be denied but that
Idols made a colour for committing Sacriledge such Sacriledges too as seldom or never had been heard of amongst the Gentiles Pictures and Images in Church-windows retained for Ornaments till this day in the Lutheran Churches defaced on purpose for the ostentation of a swifter Zeal than could keep company with Knowledge But in the mean time such a worshipping of Imaginations advanced and countenanced as seemed no less destructive to all Christian Piety than the worship of Images and in a word all the exploded Heresies of the elder times revived and justified without reproach to them that did it to the displeasure of Almighty God the dishonour of the Church the grief of all good men and the shame of the Nation Nor did we speed much better in our Civil Rights in reference to that liberty and property which seems peculiar in a manner to the English Subjects Quocunque aspiceres luctus gemitus que sonabant in the Poets language No news in any of our Streets but that of leading men into fresh captivity nor Musick to be heard in our private Houses but the sighs groans and cries of afflicted people who either suffered in themselves or their friends and kindred Our persons haled unto the prisons and our heads to the block our children born to bondage and brought up to servitude our goods taken from us and exposed to sale all our Lands either held in villenage or which was worse ad voluntatem Domini during the will and pleasure only of our mighty Landlords Such a confusion in the City such spoils and rapines in the Countrey and such oppressions in all places under their command that greater miseries never fell upon God's own people in those wretched times in which there was no King in Israel 46. To put an end to which misfortunes God brings the King unto his Throne as upon this day and brings him to his Throne after such a manner as makes it seem all-miracle in the eyes of Christendom When first like Noah's Dove in the book of Genesis he left the Ark of his retreat and preservation that he might trie whether the waters were asswaged from the face of the earth he found no resting place for the soles of his feet but when he took his second flight and came next amongst us and brought an Olive leaf in his mouth to be a Pledge of Peace and Reconciliation betwixt him and his people he made his coming most agreeable to those very men who before most feared it A coming so agreeable to all sorts of people that never King was entertained with more signs of joy or welcomed with a greater concourse of his faithful Subjects all of them with Te Deum in their mouths and the Magnificat in their hearts old women being as busie at their Benedicite's in their dark retreats as Children were at Hosanna's in the wayes and fields The mountains skippe like Raws and the little hils like young Sheep as he passed along the Trees bowed down their heads to salute their King and the glad earth rejoyced to become his footstool But when he came within the view of the Royal City Good God! what infinite throngs of people did run out to see him With what a gallant equipage did the Nobility and Gentry set forth to meet him Never did England see it self so glorious as upon that day nor old Rome so magnificent in her stateliest Triumphs as our great City then appeared in the eyes of those who flocked from all parts of the Kingdom in such infinite numbers that London could no more be called the abstract or epitome of the Realm of England but the Realm it self 47. Incouraged with which general Welcome he hath received here here in this Church he hath received his last Anoynting to the great joy of all his true and faithful Subjects who once again repaired to our Capital City but in greater multitudes that by their quality numbers and external Gallantry they might express their good affections and add some new Lustre to the accustomed Pomp and Splendour of the Coronation The Pomp and Splendour of which day is not to be described by a readier pen than I am able to pretend to nor to be equalled by any other in the times preceding but only by the glorious day of the Kings Reduction of which we may affirm with the Court Historian though with no such flattery Laâ—itiam illius diei consursum totius civitatis 〈◊〉 pene inferentiâ—m coelo mâ—â—is c. What pen is able to express the Triumphs of those two great dayes when all the bravery of the Nation seemed to be powred into the City and the whole City emptied into some few streets the windows in those streets to be glased with eyes the houses in a maner to be tyled with men and all the people in the streets the windowes and the house tops also ingeminating and regeminating this most joyful acclamation God save the King 48. For which great mercies and the rest of this glorious day let us sing our Benedictus also to the Lord our God Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people and hath raised up a mighty salvation for us in the house of his servant David To which Immortal and Invisible God the Almighty Father and to the Honorable true and only Son the Lamb that sits upon the Throne and to the Holy Ghost the Comforter Let us ascribe as we are bound all Majesty Might Praise Power and Glory from this time forth for ever more And let all the people say Amen THE END a Prov. 15. 23 2 Sam. 20. 1. 2 Sam. 16. 5. 1 Sam. 16. 13. 1 Sam. 17. 24. 1 Sam. 28. 28. 1 Sam. 18. 27. 1 Sam. 18. 1 Sam. 19. 1 Sam. 19. 1. 1 Sam. 20. 33. 1 Sam. 21. 6 9. 1 Sam. 22. 18 c. 1 1 Sam. 21. 10. 1 Sam. 22. 3. 1 Sam. 23. 1 Sam. 23. 20. 1 Sam. 25. 11. 1 Sam. 22. 1. 1 Sam. 27. 2. 1 Sam. 22. 2. 1 Sam. 29. 8. 1 Sam. 27. 2. 1 Sam. 27. 6. 1 Chr. 12. 1 c. 1 Chr. 12. 22. 2 Sam. 2. 1 4. 1 Sam. 14. 50. 2 Sam. 2. 8 9. 2 Sam. 3. 8. 2 Sam. 4. 2. Antiq. Iud. lib. 7. cap. 2. August in Confes lib. 8. cap. 2. 1 Sam. 23 6. ☞ Muscul. in Psal. 31. Psal. 127. 1. Origen in Rom cap. 9. Horat. Aâ—iq Iud ic 〈◊〉 7. chap 3. loseph de â—ello Iud. lib. 7. c. 17. Id. ibid. Athanas. in Epist ad Mar. in Tom. 3. Virgil. Aencid 1 King 18. 44. Tacit. Hist li. 2. Vellei 〈◊〉 Hist. l. 2. Antiq. Iudaic. lib. 7. chap. 10. Aug Conf. lib. 10. ch 23. Id. ibid. Dan. 3. 5.
Israel till all Sauls sons were hanged in Gibeah before the Lord of which the Scripture speaks in the second of Samuel chap. 22. So that we may declare in favour of the first opinion that the great kindness so much magnified by the Royal Psalmist relates to his deliverance from the house of Saul when he was setled in Ierusalem and reigned in peace and glory over all the Tribes In which estate he sung this Benedictus to the Lord his God that is to say Benedictus Dominus Blessed be the Lord for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong City 3. The Text it self contains in it these two general Parts God's Mercy David's Thankfulness God's mercy unto David in that great deliverance and David's thankfulness unto God for so great a Mercy In the first General God's Mercy we have these particulars The Subject of it first and that was David David the King the Lord 's Anointed one chosen by the Lord out of all his Family to be the blessing of his Tribe and the Prince of his People Mirificavit mihi He hath shewed to me 2ly The condition extent thereof as being not only called a kindness a great kindness too in our old Translation but misericordia mirabilis a marvellous great kindness a kindness which had very much of a Miracle in it 3 ly The Author or the Donor of it Misericordia sua His kindness or the Lord 's own kindness And lastly On what Theatre or Stage this marvellous kindness of the Lord was acted in Civitate munita in a strong City Over all which I mean to draw so thin a veil that under it we may behold the face of our own affairs but helped by some reflections from the Glass of Scripture and some comparisons of the Copy with the old Original In the next General David's Thankfulness we shall observe the Retribution which he made to the Lord his God for such multiplyed mercies whether it were expressed in his words or actions And then the duties of the Day will come in of course as the Conclusion followeth on the Premises in a well-formed Syllogism I begin therefore with the first General God's mercy unto David in that great deliverance and therein first of all with the Subject of it David the King the Lord 's Anointed the Author of this Psalm and the argument of it 4. Expertâ morbi molestiâ evidentior fit jucunditas Sanitatis as St. Austin hath it None can so rightly estimate the benefit of a perfect health as he who hath been long oppressed with a languishing sickness Contraries set together do most perfectly illustrate and express each other If therefore we would know how great God's kindness was to David in the time of his Glories we must a little look upon him in his fall in his lowest fortunes his wanderings in the vale of misery or rather in the Valley of the shadow of Death as his own words are A misery which fell upon him when he least looked for it when he conceived himself most happy and on the steps of his Ascendent to the Throne of Israel Anointed privately by Samuel in his Father's House and by that art designed for the next King of the House of Iacob Of great esteem amongst the people for taking up their quarrel against Goliah when all men else fell off and refused the combate Amongst the Priests as men that had some secret notice of the designation or otherwise beheld him as a man replenished with the Spirit of God Amongst the Courtiers as a Prince of the Royal Family in being married unto Michâ—l his Master's Daughter Amongst the Military men for his singular valour made known in many fortunate skirmishes against the Philistims two hundred of whose fore-skins he brought back with him for a sign of his Victory And finally amongst the Damosels or Ladyes of Israel for his personal gallantry who playing on their Musical Instruments did use to answer one another saying That Saul had slain his Thousands and David his Ten Thousands 5. But Eminentis fortunae comes est invidia said the Court-Historian This general applause and those publique honours made him a fit subject for as great an envy and drew upon him the displeasure of that mighty Tyrant who looked not only on him as his Rival in pursuit of glory but a competitor with the Princes of the house of Kish for the Regal Diadem And being once possessed with these fears and jealousies he thinks of nothing but to bring him to a swift destruction and to that end incenseth all his servants to conspire against him reproves his daughter for not betraying her husband to his rage and fury and darts a Javelin at his own son Ionathan for daring to affect the man whom his father hated No safety being to be found for David in or neer the Court he must be take himself to places more remote and private and in his flight obtains both Arms and Victuals from Abimelech being at that time the High Priest of the Iewish Nation For which small courtesie Abimelech himself and more then fourscore of the Priests such as did wear a linnen Ephod as the Text informs us were miserably slaughtered by the hands of Doeg a malitious Sycophant their City sacked their Wives and Children smitten with the edge of the Sword their Sheep their Oxen and their Asses together with the rest of their goods and substance given over for a prey to their Barbarous Enemies Poor David in the mean time had retired to Akish the King of Gath and consequently the old Enemy of his native Countrey where he could promise to himself no great hopes of safety considering those many sorrows and that foul dishonour he had wrought unto them in the death of their Champion 6. I should both tire my self and afflict your patience if I should lead him back again to the land of Iudah follow him there in all his wanderings from thence wait upon him to the Court of Moab where he was forced to leave his Parents that he might save them from the fury of the present Army And he might rather choose to leave them in that Countrey then in any other by reason of his Descent from Ruth a Moabitish woman as the Scripture tells us and therefore like to find some favour amongst those of her kindred But look upon him where we will either in the cave of Adullam the wilderness of Ziph the Desarts of Mahum or the Rocks and Mountains of Engeddi Inter Serpentes aprosque avidâ—sque Leones and we shall find him no where safe from the hand of his Enemies as long as he continued in the Realm of Israel The Keylites whom he had redeemed from the power of the Philistims resolved to have betrayed him to the malice of Saul had he not been fore-warned by God of their ill intentions The men of Ziph more savage then the wild Beasts in
it from thenceforth the chief seat of his Royal Residence Never till now was David setled in the Kingdom and now he growes considerable in the eyes of all forain Princes who court him and send presents to him and trie all means imaginable to obtain his favour 10. And thus the Scepter promised to the Tribe of Iudah is put into the hands of David the Son of Iesse one of the chief Princes of that Tribe And all this done at such a time when they had all the reason in the world to fear the contrary The Government having passed through many Tribes from Moses of the race of Levi to Ioshua the Son of Nun of the seed of Ephraim and so from one Tribe to another until it came to Saul of the stock of Benjamin And this may seem to have been done for these reasons chiefly First That the Tribe of Iudah might not claim the Kingdom otherwise then by Gods donation as possibly they might have done if they had entred on the Government upon the death of Moses by any Military Vote or Popular election or in relation to that Primogeniture which was vested in them by the last Will and Testament of their Father Iacob And 2ly It was so done that the people being sensible of the inconveniences of the former Government the miseries which they had indured in the times of Anarchie and the extremities which they had been reduced to in the Reign of Saul might with a greater cheerfulness imbrace a Prince of the Royal Family whom God had so miraculously preserved and commended to them 11. And it may seem to have been kept so long from David for two Reasons also First that he being trained up in the School of experience and hammered on the Anvile of Affliction might be the better qualified for mannaging all affairs of State then if he had been educated in the pride and pleasures of a Princes Court And Secondly it was so disposed of that being to be married to the Realm of Israel he might more passionately long to inâ—oy his Spouse then if she had cast her self into his imbraces at the first making of the Contract And this was done according to the custome of the Iewish Nation who use to place some fitting and convenient interval betwixt the Espousal and the Wedding for which St. Austin gives this reason Ne vilem habeat maritus datam quam non suspiravit sponsus dilatam for fear saith he lest otherwise the Bridegroom might despise her in the first fruition for whom he had not longed with some vehement passion But being longed for and long looked for they are met at last to the full comfort of both parties the pleasure of Almighty God and the joy of the Nation 12. Such was Gods kindness unto David expressed in his marvellous preservation when he was compassed round about with invincible dangers his exaltation to the Throne from keeping sheep to be the Shepherd of his people and therefore not a kindeness a great kindeness only but misericordia mirabilis in St. Hieroms reading a marvellous great kindeness as my Text assures me For what particular is there in all this kindeness which is not marvellous mirabile in oculis nostris as marvellous in our eyes as it was in his And not a marvellous kindeness only but miserecordia mirifica a kindness which wrought wonders as Tremelius reads it What can it else be thought but a singular miracle that God should for so many years preserve this poor fugitive Prince both from the treachery of his friends and the power of his enemies that he should finde more favour in the Land of Moab then he durst hope for in the place of his birth and breeding that men from all parts of the Kingdom should resort unto him when he had neither Town of War to secure their persons nor any stock of money and provisions to maintain their Families That Akish and the men of Gath should lay aside their animosities against him for the death of Goliah and put into his hands a piece of such strength and consequence as might inable him to create unto them a far greater mischief 13. And was it not as great a miracle if it were not greater that Saul should come to such a miserable and calamitous end without ingaging David in a ruinous and destructive War against those men which were designed to be his Subjects That God should so incline the hearts of the men of Iudah as to accept him for their King and thereby to involve themselves in a tedious War when all the rest of the Tribes adhered still to Abner and the Sons of Saul That God was pleased to make to use of any of Davids party for the destruction of Sauls house but acted that great work by Abner and the Sons of 〈◊〉 being the Kings near kinsmen and his chief Commanders That all the Tribes of Israel should unite together to set and Crown upon his head whom they had formerly pursued from one place to another till they had forced him to take Sanctuary in a forain Nation That all this should be done without noyse or trouble more then the noyse of joyful shouts and acclamations and the short trouble of an easie though a martial progress That there should be so few men killed on either side between the death of Saul and the Crowning of David and that God should put into his hands the strong Fort of Sion which neither Saul nor any of the Judges nor Ioshua himself nor Gideon nor Ieptha Duo Fulmina belli the veriest Thunder-bolts of War had before attempted 14. And yet the kindeness was the greater and the more miraculous considering that it was extended to spiritual mercies and not confined to temporal preservations and external benefits For notwithstanding the horrid murther of Abimelech the terrible massacre of so many Priests and the unmerciful sacking of the City of Nob Abiathar the next High-priest and many others doubtless of that Sacred Order joyned themselves unto him Abiathar was too great a person and too well beloved not to bring some attendants with him and who more like to bear him company then the Priests and Levites Not so much out of care to preserve themselves as to do service unto him whom the Lord had chosen By means whereof not only he but all his followers were instructed in the things of God and thereby kept from-being any way infected with those gross Idolatries which were predominant in Moab and the Court of Gath. Than which there could be nothing more conducible to his future advancement or which could more indear him to the Iewish Nation when they came once to be assured that neither flatteries could intice him nor great threats affright him nor hope of promised aid allure him from standing fast to the Religion of his Fathers to the Law of Moses And more then so Abiathar brought along with him the sacred Ephod by which the High-priest used to consult with
God and to enquire his will and pleasure in all difficult cases The want whereof necessitated the unhappy Tyrant to have recourse for counsel to the Witch of Endor as if he had been forced upon that desperate resolution in the antient Poet Flectere si nequeo superos Acheronta movebo that since he could not move the Gods he would trie the Devil 15. Nor was all this a kindeness only or a great kindeness as the old Translation and misericordia mirabilis a marvellous great kindeness in the eyes of all men but it was misericordia sua the Lords own kindeness factum Domini the Lords own doing to which no humane prudence could pretend a title This David understood none better And therefore attributes his safety and deliverance to the Lord alone Ipse sit licèt magna unique cura industria usus as Musculus hath night-well observed though he himself had used all possible industry and care for his own preservation He had his agents and intelligeneers in the Court of Saul to give him notice of the secret purposes of his mortal enemy He entertained Abiathar in a place both of trust and nearness that by his means he might maintain a correspondence with the rest of that Order And when necessity compelled him to ingage in battail he sent out Ioab a man of most undaunted courage to incounter Abner with whom he was competitor for the Palm of victory More providence and care could no man use then David did and yet he calleth it misericordiam Domini only Gods mercy and his marvellous kindeness by which he was preserved in the day of trouble 16. And so indeed it was meerly Gods mercy and his marvellous great kindness by which he was preserved in the dayes of Saul and raised to the Throne of Israel on the death of Ishbosheth For what could David have effected with all his diligence had not God secretly forwarned him of those dangers which were near at hand or what advantage could Abiathars discoveries have procured unto him had not God sent the spirit of infatuation amongst the Princes of Sauls house supplanted their designes and turned their wisdom into foolishness Or what could Ioab with all his valour have atchieved against so many enemies had not God broken them in pieces had not God throwen amongst them such a Ball of discord such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as made them turn their Swords upon one another In which dissention the Royal Nothing is dispatched on his bed of ease and dispossessed at once both of Crown and Life before he had served out his Indentures in the Trade of Government which also must be factum Domini the Lord 's doing only as to the ordering permitting and disposing of it though Abner and the sons of Riâ—mon had their own vile ends For who but God could turn his own Sword upon him and so infatuate the Counsels of his chief Commanders as to contrive the ruines of their nearest kinsman by whose sole power they stood and might have longer stood in all apparent probability in their former greatness 17. Except the Lord doth keep the City saith the Royal Psalmist the watchman watcheth but in vain Except the Lord doth build the house their labour is but lost that build it What then Shall then the Workman play and the Watchman sleep Not so saith Origen â—mpendant ipsi quantum in se est laboris et sollicitudinis c. Let them continue their indevours in the name of God and let the Watchman watch and the Workman labour Though God be all and that our safety is from him and from him alone yet he hath told us that the lazie person shall not eat and the careless person shall not prosper It is the hand of the diligent which maketh rich and he becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand faith the wiseman Solomon God in the ordering and disposing of humane affairs is like the Pilot in a Ship It is the Pilot only which doth steer and guid the Vessel and bringeth it safe into the Haven yet it is expected that every several Mariner do discharge his duty and yield obedience to the whistle of the Boat-swain 18. But on the other side it is not therefore to be thought that we may warrantably intitle either our industry or strength or wisdom to the rights of God The wisdom of the wise saith Paul is it not foolishness with the Lord What Man is there saith David that can save himself by his much strength Yea or by taking thought saith the Son of David can add one cubit to his stature Man purposeth but God disposeth And when we have most spent our spirits and consumed our bodies in the well ordering of our fortunes yet it is all in vain and fruitless and of no effect except the Lord even our own God doth give us his blessing Ascribe we therefore to the Lord the glory of his own exployts and let us not presume to say in any of our prosperous actions that This my own right hand hath done or my wit effected Though David did as much as care and wisdom could perform for his own security yet he refers it all to God and reckons it His mercy only and his marvellous kindeness whereby he was preserved from danger made Master of Hierusalem and setled after all his troubles in so strong a City 19. In a strong City That 's the next In civitate munita In a fenced City saith the Latin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a City walled and ditched about as the Greek Text reads it In civitate robusta firmata A City strong in men and as strongly fortified in St. Hierom's Gloss. Only Tremelius with some notable difference from all men else doth translate it thus Benedictus Dominus Blessed be the Lord for she hath shewed his marvellous kindeness to me in as great a measure ut in civitate munita collocans me as if he had inclosed and kept me safe in a Town of War as if I had been billited and strongly garrison'd in a Fort and City T is true indeed Gods mercy is the surest Hold to which we may commit our safety the strongest Castle of defence to which we may intrust our persons A fortress against all our foes an Antidote against all Plagues a Remedy against all Diseases He that is so defended need no other Arms. Non eget Mauri Iaoulis nec arcu Not shield nor bow nor poysoned arrows Gods mercy is all kinde of weapons to him both for annoyance and defence No armour is so sure of proof but it may be broken nor Town so strong but may be taken nor wals so high and close to keep our contagion Put if Gods mercy doth protect us and his power defend us if we be compassed round about with his deliverance as with a wall we will not be affraid through war and poverty and sickness do conspire against us For we are sure that
we found it to be so in the first revolt but then it must be granted also that the Tide never turned in the lesser Rivers until the Thames had made a stand under London-Bridge The noise of which great miracle as it was no other made all the waters clap their hands and the floods rejoyce and even the Ocean to be proud of so rich a burthen as was committed to its trust by the heavenly Pilot. 35. For now the King prepares for his return to the Royal City not with an Army to besiege it to smite it with the edge of the sword and to root out the Iebusites which were planted in it as David did when he first brought Hierusalem under his command Not so but as a Prince of peace as the Son of David to bring the glad tidings of salvation to all his Subjects to put an end to all the miseries of his People and to restore them to that peace and happiness which they had forfeited by pride and wantonness by disobedience to his Person and distrust to his Promises and in a word by doing more then is to be repeated since it hath been pardoned And to this City came the Tribes to receive their King whether in greater numbers or with greedier eyes or with more joyful hearts it is hard to say Of which I shall speak little now because more anon This was the blessing of the day and this conducts me next to the duties of it which we shall take from David's Doctrine and example Benedictus Dominus Blessed be the Lord. 36. Et quemodo dicit Benedictus Dominus Num illi opus est benedictione nostra What means the Prophet saith St. Hierom by this form of speech Hath the Lord need of us that we should bless him No but we say with Vatablus that it is an Hebraism a garb of speech peculiar to the Hebrew Language the meaning this Dignus est omni laude Dominus The Lord is worthy to be praised His mighty Acts to be preserved in perpetual memory What David's practice was we need make no question or if we did we have sufficient evidence for it in the Book of Psalms Most of which were composed to no other purpose but to extol Gods name and set forth his prayses for all the blessings which he had bestowed upon him in his soul and body Among which last there was none more great more marvellous more fit to be ascribed to the Lord alone then the preserving of his Person the raising of him to his Throne and the establishing of that Throne in so strong a City And therefore Benedictus Dominus Let thanks be given unto the Lord saith our old Translation 37. But more particularly we may behold the thankfulness of David in his Works and Actions We may behold it in his Works if we consult that notable passage of Iosephus where it is said that David being delivered from his Wars and troubles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indited Anthems Psams and Hymnes in the praise of God calling to minde those manifold and great occasions which might induce him to a pious and religious gratitude and more then so he procured many Instruments to be made for God's publick service Organs and Psalteries and Harps and taught the Levites how to praise Gods name upon them saith the same Iosephus not only on the Sabbath but the other Festivals For doing which he had no precept from above or any warrant that we read of but his own authority and that he thought it fit and decent 38. David no question knew as perfectly Gods nature and the true nature of his service as any other man whatsoever he was Yet thought he not that either of them was prophaned or made lesse edifying by the occasion of sweet Musick melodious Harmony Which made him call so often upon all his people not only to set forth Gods praises in their Songs and Hymns but to extol and celebrate his Name with Trumpets and loud sounding Cymbals with Psalteries and Harps Stringed instruments and Organs also and that not in their houses only but in the blessed Sanctuary as appears plainly in the last of the Book of Psal. And he appointed also that the singers and such as played upon the Musical instruments in the performance of this service should be cloathed in white or rather with a linnen vesture over the rest of their garments as it is said expresly in the 1 Chro. ch 15. From whence or from the linnen ephod which was worn by the Priests we have derived the Surplisse now in use amongst us and not from any garment used by the Priests of Isis as some of the preciser sort have most idely fancyed 39. But David was as excellent in paying his thankfulnesse to God in the acts of piety as praising him with songs and hymns and musical Instruments The Ark of God which had been taken by the Philist ms in the time of Eli and kept at Keriath-jearim all the Raign of Saul is now brought back and setled in Hierusalem by the care of David who gave not only order for the doing of it but saw it done and was himself a principal actor in that sacred Ceremony He thought it no way mis-becomming any earthly Majesty to look to all such matters as concerned Religion and appertained unto the service of the most high God Nor is there any thing which makes a King more esteemable in the eies of his subjects then to be active and industrious in the restoring of Gods worship to it's antient purity Ille diis proximus habetur per quem deorum majestas vindicatur are the words of an Heathen yet such as may become the most sober Christian. 40. Follow him yet a little further and we shall see him putting the whole service of God into a better frame and order then it had been formerly To which end he appointed to the priests their several tunes that every man might know the course of his ministration and so distributed and disposed them under several heads that all things might be acted by them without confusion Which Heads or Rulers or chief Captains as the gospel calls them being in number twenty fowr besides the High-priest and his Sagan or the second High-priest twenty six in all make up the just tale of our English Bishops And in regard the Tribe of Levi had remained so faithful to him and done and suffered so much for him in the time of his troubles he is resolved to make a retribution worthy of a Royal spirit Some of them therefore he sets over the treasures of the house of God that is to say such treasures as were dedicated and laied up in the Holy Temple or otherwise offered and designed for Religious uses Others he made officers and Iudges in the Tribes of Israel and that not only in all businesses of the Lord in all sacred matters but in the businesse of the King even in civill concernments as is expressed most plainly