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A13078
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A looking glasse for princes and people Delivered in a sermon of thankesgiving for the birth of the hopefull Prince Charles. And since augmented with allegations and historicall remarkes. Together with a vindication of princes from Popish tyranny. By M. William Struther preacher at Edinburgh.
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Struther, William, 1578-1633.
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1632
(1632)
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STC 23369; ESTC S117893
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241,473
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318
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spirituall condition wee are vnder a better line The Sun of Righteousnesse sendeth downe his direct beames and fullest influences on vs No land for many Ages hath had a more gratious and benigne aspect of Gods favour than this God hath set over vs a King that loveth the Trueth professeth it with vs and in the Exercise of it is exemplar to Subjects Cast your Eyes beyond Sea and consider what Kings rule over Christians there The greatest of them striue with other who shall bee greatest Slaues to Antichrist they affect their owne destruction in pleasing him by destroying their Subiects There is nothing for Gods people vnder these three greatest Princes but either the Imperiall deformation rooting out the Trueth where it hath beene or the Spanish Inquisition bearing it downe that it ryse not or the French Massacres destroying both Professors and Profession If the Saints vnder them were in our place they would thinke themselues after a sort in Heaven in a Goshen for light and securitie and in Ierusalem for vision and peace They haue drunken these ten or twelue yeares of the Cup of Wrath and suffered all the losses of Warres Their Men killed their Women defiled and Countreyes wasted If God as hee might justly for our sinnes would make vs drinke of that same Cup but one Moneth after such a calamitie wee would count morâ— of our Happinesse under the shadow of so good a King than wee doe Our Land hath not such rare Commodities as others but yet the Tree of life groweth in our streetes and every shaking of it in the publick worship of God sendeth down such fruits as all the Indies can not afford the lik The knowledge of God in Christ Remission of sinnes Peace of Conscience other saving Graces are better than all the Spicerie of the World God hath showen his Word to Iaakob his Statutes and his Iudgements to Israel Hee hath not dealt so with every Nation For this happinesse wee are a matter of Wonder and astonishment to people beyond Sea because of our great Peace with aboundance of all things for Soule and Body and onlie miserable in this that wee neither know our Happinesse nor thanke God for it Wee are a part of these ends of the Farth which the â—ather giveth in possession to his Sonne And we finde not since the Apostles tyme a Land blessed with a more sound body of Doctrine than this which God in mercie continue Wee were as soone blessed with the Gospell as any Kingdome and our numerous and learned Cleargie sent out some as Apostles who turned to Christ some inner parts of this I land and sundrie Countries beyond Sea And since our returning from the Babylonish Captivitie God hath set vp amongst vs in Reformation a more glorious Temple than the first Happie is that Land where the Sheepe of Christ goe out and in and none affrighteth them Praise thy God O Ierusalem praise thy God O great Britaine Hee maketh peace in thy Borders and filleth thee with the fat of wheate Who will not desire to be sed for the pâ—ace for the fatnesse and satietiâ— Nothing is feared there nothing is loathed and nothing is lacking Paradise is a sweete dwelling the Word of God a sweete foode and Eternitie is great riches What Nation is there so great who hath God so nigh vnto them as the Lord our God is in all things that wee call vpon him for And what Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Iudgements so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day For you my Lords of Nobilitie Councell and State is matter of praise because God hath given you a young Master and augmented the matter of your Ioy in strengthning that royall Line and of your peace in securing your States and Dignities by the hope of that Succession For you also my Lords of the Colledge of Iustice because God hath ioyfullie begun this Summer Session and turned this day that beginneth the Terme of Iustice in a sacrum Iustitium or holy Vacancie from iustice and from the Bench hath brought you to the Church to praise him and to pray for the Spirit of Iustice to our King and Prince That as God hath given a new Conduit for the Influence of Iustice on this Land you may partake there of according to your Place and proue thankfull to God and to your Princes in stablishing their Throne by the Ministration of Iustice and may bee a blessing to this People making them obedient to God and their Princes when they are comforted by your righteousnesse For you also my beloved of this Parish and others of this Citie God hath given that Matter of Ioy you haue long desired And at what time came the tydings of it Even after you had refreshed vs your Pastours with your free offerings to the poore You made vs not ashamed of our boasting of your Charitie but satisfied abundantly fourefold the necessitie that wee commended to you And while at night wee were reioycing in the Lord for that fruite of your Faith God gladened vs with the good tydings of the birth of our Prince It is ever seene that when a People are zealous and cheerefull in good works to honour GOD hee meeteth them shortly with a greater blessing And let all the People count of this blessing as of a Child borne in everie house of this Land and praise God for this new matter of our dayly Prayers For sex yeares bygone our Prayers had a want because we had not a young Prince to pray for But now God hath filled vp that want in giving vs a Prince to pray for after his royall Parents The second generall Vse is to pray to God and that for our King our Queene our Prince and our selues For our King that the Spirit of the Lord may rest vpon him the Spirit of Wisdome and Vnderstanding the Spirit of Counsell and Might the Spirit of Knowledge and of the feare of the Lord that he may iudge not after the sight of his Eyes nor reproue after the hearing of his Eares but may iudge the poore with righteousnesse and reproue withequitie for the meeke of the land That he would blesse him with Counsellours about him and judges with him like Iethroes Elders Men that feare God hate covetousnesse and seeke Gods glorie and the well of King and Countrie That hee would set him as a Seale on his Arme and on his heart That hee would multiplee Grace more and more on him to verifie the glorious Title of Defender of the Faith in maintaining the Trueth and repressing Idolatrie That God would cloath his Enemyes with shame and on him make his Crowne to floorish That hee would prolong the Kings life and his yeares for many generations that hee may abide before the Lord for ever and continue the meeke race of the Stewarts To pray for our Queene as the Iewes
feeder but peace is both best purchased preserved when Iustice absolutely reigneth Therefore good governours of Provinces may tightlie bee called Iustices of peace their name beareth these twinne blessings of Iustice and peace and if they answere to their name they are worthie instruments vnder God and the King by ministration of Iustice to keepe peace amongst people In this point David alludeth to Solomons name for God tolde him Beholde a Sonne shall bee borne to thee who shall bee a man of rest And I will giue him rest from all his enemies round about For his Name shall bee Solomon and I will giue peace and quietnesse to Israel in his dayes On that prophecie David foundeth this prayer and Experience proveth both the truth of the Prophecie and force of this prayer Hee answered to his name as hee was called peaceable so hee ruled his people in peace and God blessed them with great prosperitie vnder him Iudah and Israel dwelt every one vnder his vine c. They had peace with God so long as they keeped his Commandements and peace with neighbouring Nations and amongst themselues And the fruite of long peace was gold and silver as Stones at Ierusalem Heerein hee was the type of the true Solomon Christ Iesus whom this Psalme principallie respecteth and who for this same end was shaddowed by Melchisedecke hee is first King of Righteousnesse or Iustice and then King of Salem or of Peace Hee proved the King of righteousnesse when hee fulfilled all righteousnesse in satisfying the Iustice of God for vs and then applying and imputing that Righteousnes vnto vs is the Lord our Righteousnesse for hee is given of the Father to bee our Righteousnesse Redemption c. Hee proveth the King of our Peace in that hee hath purchased vs peace by righteousnesse For the chastisement of our peace was on him and by his strips wee are healed When wee are covered with his righteousnesse God seeth not sinne in Iacob nor iniquitie in Israel His Iustice beeing satisfied hath no quarrell against vs but by vertue of that satisfaction iustlie adiudgeth peace and salvation to vs. It is as proper to Iustice to pardon a penitent sinner in Christ as to punish an impenitent sinner If wee confesse our sinnes hee is faithfull and iust to forgiue them Christs obedience hath a double respect to Iustice the one of satisfying all it can claime of vs the other of meriting all good to vs. The first putteth away the demerite of sin The other possesseth vs in peace and glorie Of Warre THus a good King ruleth his people in peace but some time necessitie will draw him to Warre and that either for defence of the truth his Crowne or Countrie the iust causes for a lawfull warre Some haue thought Warres vnlawfull to Christians but that was onelie in some times and cases when the Heathen Emperors vrged Souldiers to offer to idoles and if they refused they were shame fullie cashired or martyred In such a case it was good to abstaine from a voluntarie or mercenarie warrefare To goe to warre is not sinne but to doe it for prey is sin And though warfare bee a lawfull calling yet warre is one of the three plagues wherewith God vsuallie breaketh the pride of mans body As by with-holding of nourishment in Famine So by violence with his Arrow of pestilence or by the hand of man in warres Our sins procure war at Gods hands For when we will not serue him in peace hee maketh vs suffer in warres And when our lusts rebell against his grace why should hee not punish vs with the warres of man Yea our lustes fighteth within vs before wee can fight with man without For if man could dwell in himselfe in the contentment of his loâ—te hee would not encroach on his neighbour in ambition crueltie avarice c. Miscontentment with our lot and too great loue of earthly thinges maketh vs quyte peace and fall in iarring Warres are sweete to them that haue not felt their miserie but a taste of them giveth a sweeter relish to peace and this is among other reasons why God afflicteth a Land with warre that thereafter they may count more of the blessing of peace The fruite prooveth it to bee a plague Thereby peace is broken Lawes are silent oppression and iniquitie doe reigne There is neither marches of possession nor propertie of vse and no man hath place to iudge or power to set things aright beside the violence of the enemie the insolence of our assistants is intolerable They who come to helpe vs thinke they cannot hurt vs but vnder colour of defence they bereaue vs of our goods and of our liues also if wee resist and though neither the enemie nor assisting Friend vse violence the licence of people in their owne Countrie is no lâ—sse hurtfull The Souldiers girdle looseth the most part from all feare of God and respect to man childreÌ„ women the obiects of pitie find no pitie but their chastitie and liues destroyed at once and their defyling is more bitter than their death cities of many yeares building in one houre turned in ashes And though a â—and bee a Paradise before Armies yet after them is an horrid wildernesse Man exceedeth all creatures in Hostilitie Lyons against Lyons and Dragons against Dragons are not so cruell as man against man Their fighting is but at occasionall encounters yet out of sight of other their rage ceaseth But man can spend dayes nights and yeares in devysing mischiefe against absent man their yoaking in Battell is but the fruite of their former plotting Reason our priviledge aboue Beastes when it turneth furious putteth vs farre vnder them Wee are borne naked but crueltie hath turned vs all in armour And where it might bee called prudence to invent defensiue weapons yet crueltie is more inventiue of offensiue weapons to hurt other and more forward to destroy others than saue our selues This last Age the Rendevous of all wickednesse hath fetched from the hel 's the invention of Gunnes and fire worke and that with a defect on the defensiue part There was no hurting weapon before but Nature found a Guard for it but fire-work hath not yet found a shield Corrupt Nature is more ingenious to destroy than to preserue and decaying mankind falling further from God â—urneth more to Sathans image both in an actiue and passiue destruction When Armies ioyne in Battell man is going out of himselfe And though hee bee reasonable yet beeing cloathed with Brasse or Yron hee is more brasen and irnish than his Armour Hee hath none other respect to his enemie but to destroy him and that rage is so bâ—nded that they cannot helpe their Friend Though woundes strike their neighbour-Souldier to the ground yet the necessitie to keepe their ranke turneth them out of loue and humanitie and if they bee straited they must trode on his bellie to keepe their order The feete