Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A30811
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A sermon preached before the Honourable House of Commons, January 30, 1692 by Richard Bynns ...
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Bynns, Richard, d. 1713.
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1693
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Wing B6403; ESTC R20893
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12,843
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36
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A SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of Commons January 30. 1692. By RICHARD BYNNS Fellow of Trinity Colledge in Cambridge and Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Somerset In the SAVOY Printed by Edw. Jones for William Crooke at the Sign of the Green Dragon near Temple-Barr 1693. Mr. Bynn's SERMON Before the Honourable HOUSE of COMMONS January 30. 1693. Mercurii primo die Februarii 1692. ORdered That the Thanks of this House be given to Mr. Bynns Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Somerset for the Sermon by him Preached before this House at St. Margarets Westminster upon the 30th Day of January last And that he be desired to Print the same and that Mr. Hen. Boyle and Sir Orlando Gee do acquaint him therewith Paul Jodrell Cl. Dom. Com. A SERMON Preached before the House of Commons January 30. 1692. Isa 57. The former part of the first Verse The Righteous Perisheth and no Man layeth it to Heart THese Words of the Prophet are an upbraiding of the Jews for a Supine Wretchedness of Temper in being wholy unconcern'd for the loss of Eminent Good Men And indeed such an Insensibility it is as draws this Reproach along with it to have for it 's Parent a Prophane Dissolute Age Reigning in a general Corruption of Manners And when Impiety comes to this height once when Vice and Disorder bear a general Sway what wonder is it if there be no miss of Vertue no Concern for the loss of the good Man The Righteous Perisheth and no Man layeth it to Heart These Words may seem in the Opinion of Learned Men not so much to refer to the present Times of Isaiah then speaking as to those future Calamitous Ones growing worse and worse as they still drew nearer the Jews Captivity And so we may observe these two things worthy of our Consideration First that in evil Distemper'd Times in a National Corruption when it pleases God to call the Good Man to himself to minish the few Faithful from their Corrupter Brethren it is a sore Presage of an impending Calamity from which as the Mercy of God delivers the Just so he Reserves the Wicked for it The second thing Observable is that not to advert Timely not to consider Rightly and lay to Heart the Reason of such Providential Dispensation is a Stupidity so much the more aggravating as is the Sin and Offence then mostly heighten'd when the secure Sinner is least touch'd with a Sense of it To begin with the First viz. the snatching away good Men from an evil Generation is the Fore-runner of impending Publick Calamities The Righteous Perisheth By Perishing here may be well enough understood the ordinary way of Dying But not so however as to Exclude any other Divine Permission of an untimely violent Death For so Josiah himself tho' next to David the most Righteous in the Line of the Kings of Judah fell in the Day of Battle by the Hand of the Egyptian too and yet for all that was he said to be gather'd to his Fathers and into his Grave in Peace And indeed Dying as he 2 Kings 22. 20. did in the Love and Favour of God for his Good Deeds followed him and receiving by his Death an Exemption as it were from approaching Evils might be well enough said to rest in Peace because delivered by God from beholding that Ruine which was intended tho' not in his days to be brought upon the House of Judah Thus tho' this Righteous Person 's Death was Peace to himself yet was it a Punishment to the People and Nation from whom he was taken For he was taken from the Evil to come that Evil of Desolation so much Lamented by the Prophet Jeremy when the Line of Destruction was now drawing over the Remnant of Judah and Jerusalem as it was before over Samaria and so the whole Body of the Jews made Captives in a strange Land Thus if Punishments are Respited some time from a People otherwise ripe for them for the sake of some chosen Ones who like Moses stand in the Gap and for a while divert the fiery Indignation yet upon their Removal Destruction breaks in afresh No sooner was the Righteous Lot escap'd to that little City of Refuge which God had shewn him but it rain'd down Fire and Brimstone upon Sodom and it's Neighbouring Cities Had there been but ten Righteous in all the Plain at Abraham's Intercession the Cities Gen. 19. had bin spar'd But for want of so few a Number did the Flame Consume them It is true indeed it is not universally to be understood as if the Righteous were always exempt from Temporal Punishments in common with the Wicked so long as they are in Society with them in this World For the Relation they bear to a Community does involve them often in the Miseries as well as the Advantages of a Common-Wealth For as the Welfare of Publick Societies Humanly speaking depends mostly upon the Care and Probity the Piety Fitness and Abilities of those that Govern So on the other hand by rebating of those Vertues does the Declension of the State ensue And this the Wise Man assures us who was the best experienc'd in Politics of any when he says that Prov. 14. 34. Righteousness Exalteth a Nation but withal that Sin is a Reproach to any People Now then if this latter happens to be uppermost as where Sin is in vogue there must be a Decay of Discipline a Relaxation of Laws and good Order and if the Hands of those that should bind the severals to their Duty be themselves weak and hanging down if the Props and Supporters of Israel be shaken and a Licentiousness from whatever Quarter or however caus'd be suffer'd to pass upon an ungodly People for more Exemplary Punishment of Presumptuous Sins It cannot be I say Ordinarily speaking in such a crazy Constitution in such a Tottering State but that the Righteous if there be any should Promiscuously suffer with the Wicked For Bodies Politick have their Judgment in this World There is no Resurrection of a State and Consequently it's Doom is by Providence determin'd here And hence for the Iniquity and Disobedience of a People for want of executing Judgment and Justice for Idolatry Profaneness Oppression Murder and Rebellion does God Almighty Over-turn Kingdoms Transplant Nations as he did the Jews here leading their Princes and People their Priests and Prophets into Captivity to be Chastiz'd and Humbled under the Burthen of their Sins The good Man's Lot is sometimes then to Perish with the Wicked but the Perishing of the one and the other tho' seeming outwardly the same yet has this difference the one dyes in his Sins and the other Happily makes his passage to a sure and peaceful Retreat This Latter is only taken away from the Evil to come that so the greater Punishment might pass on the Wicked as it certainly must when the Godly Man faileth when the useful Man is Ps â—2 1. with-held
Cor. 15. 9. of Wild-fire that burns madly and scatters its flame at Random it sets the Church on Fire at first and then the State And so the Flame that proceeds from the House of God Devours at length all the Houses of the Land too Zeal then for the Matter of it must be always good it must be directed to a right end and proceed to that right end by Just and Equal Measures too for we must not Rob for God may I say neither must we Murther Kings for the sake of Religion Another Qualification of Zeal is that a Mr. Mede Discourse 52. Man does not exceed the Bounds of his Vocation Art thou called to be in this or that Station Says the Apostle abide in thy Vocation 1 Cor. 7. let not thy Zeal Transport thee beyond the bounds of Duty God Almighty Loves to be serv'd Regularly he is a God of Order and not Confusion No doubt it was a Zeal in Vzzah to put â— Sam. 6 7. his Hand to the Ark to hinder its suppos'd falling yet was he smitten with Death for this Reason because his Zeal exceeded his Vocation in medling with what according to a Law of God was the Business of the Priest alone 'T was a Zeal in Saul perhaps to Sacrifice 1 Sam. 13. 9. in the Absence of Samuel but the loss of his Kingdom to his Posterity taught him he had much better have let it alone St. Peter's untemper'd Zeal cost our Lord a Miracle to heal the Damage of it and those two Disciples no doubt in Zeal too Lukâ— 9. 54. when they were for calling for Fire from Heaven upon the Samaritans received a sufficient Rebuke from our Saviour when he told 'em ye know not what Spirit ye are of I cannot tell what to say to others but methinks I cou'd give my self this Advice I my self cou'd learn this Lesson well enough Office for Gunpowder Treasâ—n never to stand up for an Armed Gospel to turn Faith into Faction and Religion into Rebellion as one of the Offices of our Church has it From this untempered Zeal managed by an unlucky Faction was the Source of all our late Blood-shed and Rebellion which brought on the Death of the King and the Destruction of an Excellent Monarchy the true 12 Car. 2. Protestant Religion had so long Flourished under And can we be too watchful of our selves to prevent the like again Can we lay to Heart sufficiently the Mischiefs already done If we can we should learn at so great cost to be so far wise at least as never to undo our selves by the same Methods again never by Sinning over the same Sins endanger the same Reproach and Calamity to Our selves and Nation once more If Religion plaid the Counterfeit once we shou'd take care it shou'd do so no more if pretended Zeal shew it self in outrage before it should know its boundaries now We may give what Names we please to things yet in their own Nature they are what they are and tho' we Banish 'em never so they still recur Truth will be Truth and Error Error notwithstanding the ill Treatment of the one at sometimes and the Colour and Speciousness of the other Religion must be what it is first pure and then Peaceable the Ornament of a Meek and Quiet Spirit the best good thing and most perfective of Man's Nature and best fitted for the Wellfare of Human Society as making always for Peace and things wherewith we may edifie one Rom. 14. 19. another If it shew it self Turbulent and Disorderly it is no longer Religion than in Name it becomes a Sword in the Hand of the Revengeful a Trick to amuse with in the Juglar and no other than Rage and Madness in the wild Enthasiast but all this by accident and through abuse of the best thing by Distemper'd Passions of Licentious Men upon which Score it is our Saviour says he came not to send Peace upon Earth but a Sword but Division and Variance ev'n of those of a Man 's own Mat. 1â— 34. Luke 1â— â—1 Houshold Not directly sure for there is no such ill in the Nature of Religion but through the Corrupt Will and Affections of unruly Men in which he foresaw what the event wou'd be If the Corruption of the best things then be thus Dangerous what Care and Caution should we use against all such Inlets of Destruction all such Appearance of Evil tho' Recommended to us by an Angel of Light Wou'd we then truly lay to Heart all our by-past Miseries Oppressions Tumults and Desolation usher'd in by this false Light and pretended Zeal for Religion the better to Cloak over a Malicious War Wou'd we rightly Consider the Sins and Wickedness that occasion'd the Perishing of so many Righteous of our Israel especially Him of this Day our Late Martyr'd Sovereign a Martyr for the Law Liberty and Religion truly so nay a Martyr of the People too whether they will or no Would we do all this There is no better way of Commending our Repentance than by bringing forth Works meet for it such Works as shou'd shew a thorough Change If the Fountains which sent forth bitter Waters before do now send forth sweet and wholsom Streams we have nothing more to fear If we stear a quite different Course now avoiding the Rock of Offence at which we struck before if we leave off our Old Sins and tho' we heartily lov'd 'em once can now as Heartily pray in the Language of our Church against Sedition Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion If in stead of Wrath Hatred Malice Evil-speaking c. Those Lusts from whence Wars proceed We are able to put on Gentleness St. Jameâ— 7. 4. Meakness Charity Long-Suffering Patience forbearing one another in Love c. then is our Work of Repentance in a great Measure Accomplisht then are we said to be Adorn'd with that peaceable Christian Spirit to partake of that Wisdom from above James 3. 17. 18. full of Mercy and good Fruits without Partiality and without Hypocrisie the Fruit of which Righteousness is sown in Peace of them that make Peace If we come thus far the Remaining part is easie and flows as a Consequence from the former Vertues viz. a Submission where due a ready Obedience to Authority a regard to our Superiors an awful Reverence to Crown'd Heads a Dutiful Subjection to their present Majesties whom God has set over us ev'n in the Race and Lineage still of that Glorious Martyr we now Commemorate This indeed is laying to Heart our former Sins and Iniquities when we can leave of speaking Evil of Dignities and ev'n in this Our Day at least cease to Disturb the Ashes of that Good and Religious Prince who fell by His People's Sins It was our shame not his and shall we not then take away that Reproach from us If our Repentance be Hearty we cannot furely either our selves be still Reviling of his Memory or have an Itch and Pleasure in those that do but I must have done And for a better Farewell shall direct 1 Tim. 2. to one right use of Religion especially and that is according to the Apostolick Canon to Exhort that Prayers and Supplications may be daily made for Kings and all that are in Authority that we may lead peaceable quiet Lives in all Godliness and Honesty You see the Reason of the Apostle for this that we may lead peaceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty Obedience to the State has an Influence upon the Church and Religion too They naturally help one the other they either fare well or ill together In a Word then let us Conjoyn what things the Apostle has Conjoyn'd and why should we separate them Let us put together in our practice what St. Peter has 1 Pet. 2. given us together in his Precept and That is Let us fear God and Honour the King FINIS ERRATA PAg. 12. l. 12. read we p. 20. Marg. dele 1 Sam. 13. 20. p. 24. l. 2. read Change Books Printed for W. Crooke at the Green-Dragon without Temple-Bar DR Pelling's Practical Discourse on the Sacrament Octavo His Sermon before the Queen March 16. 1691 2. Quarto His Sermon at the Bishop of Chichester's Primary Visitation Sept. 28. 1692. His Practical Discourse of Prayer in Octavo Price one 1 s. bound