David their King and in him to the whole Kingdom Polity or Common-wealth of Israel See here how Loyalty will concern it self in their Princes mercies His preservation is their praise and they reckon themselves safe in his deliverance They seek not his ruine but rejoice in his happiness They pursue not his Death but celebrate his incolumity It can be no pleasure else I might here recognise the contrary actings of a generation worse than Jews among us who have attained such a height of Villany that sober Posterity will blush at it if they can believe it The remembrance of it puts the poor Protestant Church at this day to that sad expostulation of Tamar 2 Sam. 13.13 2 Sam. 1.19 20. I whither shall I cause my shame to go The Beauty of Israel was slain upon the high place O tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askelon lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph Well fare the memory of this loyal people here that thus complicate their King's interest with their own Faithful Subjects will look on it as their duty to pray and praise God for their Princes welfare and think the best way to secure themselves is to imbarque all their concerns in the same bottom with him Such a Subject was Ittai the Gittite 2 Sam. 15.21 As the Lord liveth and as my Lord the King liveth surely in what place my Lord the King shall be whether in death or life even there also will thy servant be Such Subjects were the men of Judah who with their beloved Josiah Lam. 4.20 Ch. 5.15 16. lost the very breath of their nostrils The joy of their hearts And the crown from their heads Such the men of Israel in this Text and Psalm whose concern and welfare is so convolved so one with their Kings that they stand and fall they pray and praise together they suffer in his distress and his flourishing Crown is their Crown of rejoicing For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness thou settest a Crown of pure gold on his head In the Text we have the great and happy Argument of the day The Conservation and Coronation of the King 1. The King's Conservation Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness 2. The King's Coronation Thou settest a Crown of pure gold on his head Them two For I would not mince the Text but divide it We 'll begin where the happiness of this day began at his Conservation Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness And here are three expressions which set up and extoll the mercy every one carrying it higher than other 1. They are blessings 2. Those blessings are of goodness 3. That goodness is preventing Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness 1. They are blessings In benedictionibus The word hath a peculiar signification when it referres to God In its own strictness it imports no more than to praise or wish or speak well Mens blessings are with the tongue only But Dei bene dicere est bene facere sayes A Lapide Comm. in Deut. p. 1012. Gods blessings come from his heart by his hand for him to speak is to give and make good a blessing Blessings in God's sense denote Reality Plenty 1. Lorinus in Loc. Reality They are blessings indeed Non rem fucatam donat He gives not gaudy nothings They are not apparitions Mat. 4.9 such as Satan profered our Saviour They are not umbrages but substances not seeming but sure mercies We may say Num. 22.6 as Balak to Balaam I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed and add what Isaac said of his son Jacob Yea and he shall be blessed Gen. 27.33 Such are the Kings blessings in the Text of the surer sort blessings in truth and in being All are not blessings that seem so Men may be full of enjoyments and yet empty of blessings Mal. 2.2 Hos 13.11 God can even curse blessings Dedi Regem in furore I gave them a King in my wrath I and a Parliament in his wrath And an Army in his wrath And we may have peace in wrath and plenty in wrath and health and life and all in wrath and to do us hurt Judas his money was no blessing Dives his pomp and delicacies was no blessing Achitophel's wisdom was no blessing Saul's Kingdom was no blessing But even the troubles the sufferings the dangers of the King shall become blessings to him Prov. 1.32 whil'st the prosperity of fools shall destroy them Reality that first 2. Lorinus in Loc. A Lap. Com. in Num. p. 788. Gen. 27.28 Plenty God's blessings make God's plenty as we use to speak Benedictio copiosam bonorum largitionem significat Blessings speak abundance all things in one word The fatness of the Earth and the dew of Heaven The treasures of both worlds are laid up in it When God said Gen. 17.16 I will bless Sarah it immediately follows she shall be a Mother of Nations Kings of people shall be of her Blessings is a word with a womb the fruit of it stocks the world Let us ascend the Heavens and take such a scantling of them as mortality is capable of and we shall find Blessings to be the sole ornament and furniture of those Mansions of peace and immortality The store of the New Hierusalem is all blessings Rev. 22.1 2. with this water runs that pure river clear as Chrystal proceeding out of the Throne of God this is the fruit of the tree of life There 's no need of Sun or Moon or Light or Temple for Blessing is all these There the place is Blessings the company Blessings the employment Blessings The glorious Inhabitants thereof hear no other voice see no other vision speak no other language but Blessing honor glory Ch. 5.13 and power be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever Let us look below and what takes up these sublunary regions but a croud of blessings as thick as they can stand ranged into orders and succession to serve man and speak the glory of the great Creator Psal 104.24 O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the Earth is full of thy riches Blessings speak plenty That 's a second But that 's not all There are some particular blessings of the King which the people desire here to commemorate and make recognition of with thankfulness Among many these three Victory Vivacity Safety 1. Victory Many victories for David entered the Camp betimes 1 Sam. 17.33 was A man of warre from his youth baffled and slew him that was called so He had Victricem dextram a conquering hand which did so inrich his repute and heighten his name that he became the very Mirth and Musick of Israel The women dancing and singing and ecchoing one to another Ch. 18.7 Saul bath slain
2.10 That his Adversaries may be broken in pieces and that he will thunder out of Heaven upon them That he will give strength to the King and exalt the horn of his anointed that so the King may yet joy in his strength Psal 84 9â— and greatly rejoice in his salvation Behold O God our shield and look upon the face of thine anointed The children of Edom are waiting for another day of Hierusalem and as smooth as they look and speak with Jael's butter and milk Judg. 4.18 and a Turn in my Lord turn in to us and fear not it is to be feared they have a nail for those temples which God of his preventing goodness keep out of their hands Let my Lord the King live and this fear be to his enemies And so I shall ha' done with the first general part of the Text The Conservation of the King Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness Come we now to the Second that which we are come with this great and unusual pomp to solemnize The Coronation of the King Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head And here that we may make this second part match and run a paralel with the first we shall take notice of three expressions which heighten the mercy of his Coronation as those other did of his Conservation 1. The King's head crowned 2. The crown upon that head gold pure gold 3. The hand of God setting that crown of gold upon that head Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head 1. Upon his head Not upon any one member no nor upon any five members neither no nor yet upon the whole body For by the undoubted fundamental Laws of this Kingdom neither the Peers of the Realm nor the Commons nor both together in Parliament nor the people collectively or representatively nor any other persons whatsoever ever had hath or ought to have any coercive power over the persons of the Kings of this Realm Dated Jâ—â— 25. 1660. As the Royal pen informs us in a late Proclamation and hath enacted it also at the request of the late Parliament that our heels may no more stand where our head should be Upon his head as fittest for Vision Provision 1. The head is fittest for Vision Eccles 2.14 A wise man's eyes are in his head And well had it been for us if ours had been believed to be there when time was probably we had not seen the miseries and direful effects of the late Warres We were so sagacious and quick-sighted we could see things before they were in their causes our members would needs see more than our head and so we ran blind-folded into confusion The eyes of a people are in their King as in their head and they that are without him witness our late selves are but like Sampson without his eyes fit for nothing but to make the Philistines sport Judg. 16.25 It is a sign their brains are scarce in their heads that think their eyes would do well any where else Upon his head for Vision 2. Upon his head for Provision The head is Providore and Purveyor for the whole body The welfare of the body depends mostly upon the Wisdom and Council upon the dictates and directions of the head The body supports the head by its strength and the head supplyes the body by its providence A Church or State without this head is like an Orphan or fatherless Infants So that promise intimates Erunt Reges nutricij hij And Kings shall be thy Nursing Fathers Isa 49.23 and their Queens thy Nursing Mothers Oeconomi tui as some render it making the Church and Common-wealth the Family of the Prince upon whom lies the whole care and governance of it to order it and provide for it Upon his head as fittest for provision That 's a second Upon his head This being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both for Order and for honor's sake Or if you please Upon his head Imports The heighth of his place and The weight of his employment 1. The heighth of his place Head denotes chiefdom and pre-eminence The chief of their Tribes and Families which the Vulgar Latin all along calls Principes our Translation renders Heads Princes are Heads Mic. 3.1 Hear O Heads of Jacob and ye Princes of the house of Israel It may be said of Saul in his place as well as his person that he is Altior universo populo ab humero sursum Higher by the head than all the people Rex omnibus major Deo solo minor was good divinity in Tertullian's dayes though the iniquity of ours had almost dasht it out of countenance with that ridiculous Maxim of our new Statists Confuted by Bodinâ—s de Repub. l. 1. cap. 8. Major singulis minor universis The King is above all and under God only He is Homo Deo secundus in the same Father's phrase A man second to God Nay be it spoken with reverence He is a God of the second sort 1 Tim 1.17 Psal 82.6 Deus est immortalis Rex Rex mortalis Deus God is an immortal King and the King is a mortal God This is Scripture language and I hope we may speak it without suspicion of flattery The height of the King's place that 's the first import of his head 2. The weight of his employment The trouble of Government lies most in the head Others may have their hands but the King commonly hath his head full This made Antigonus say to his son Regnum nostrumest servitus splendida A Kingdom is but a glorious servitude A finer kind of trouble No wonder if Saul hid himself among the stuff 1 Sam. 10 2â— and chose rather to obscure his head among the baggage than offer it to the Crown of Israel if he foresaw the burden of business and incumbrance which he was like to put on with it Indeed could that Bellua multorum capitum be tamed and all Wood made Mercury Would the Rout be refined and ingenuity be found among the Rabble Were there hopes to meet with a Nation as tractable as David found his countreymen of Judah Whose hearts he bowed 2 Sam. 19.14 even as the heart of one man Then Facile est imperium in bones Plaâ—t as the Comedian Good men are easily governed But the depravity of nature the pride avarice and ambition of men hath made them so mutinous and unruly that government is become a weight big enough for head and shoulders and all Isa 9.6 Therefore that Principatus super humerum in the Prophet The Government shall be upon his shoulder does not only allude to the Scepter and Sword and other symbols of Authority Praetoâ—ibus aâ—te ibant â—â—câ—ores cum fâ—scibas Cic. carried upon the shoulder as the Romane Fasces were before the Magistrate but speaks government it self to be a weight requiring more than an ordinary strength to undergo it
soles of their feet to dry up all the rivers of besieged places Isa 38.24 25. and said By the multitude of my Chariots am I come up to the heighth of the Mountain to the sides of Lebanon and I will enter into the heighth of his border and the forrest of his Carmel then did God but hiss for the flie as it is in the Prophet call up from Scotland a small Isa 7.18 inconsiderable and despised number and with them wrought this great Salvation Exod. 15.3 6. The Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name Thy right-hand O Lord is become glorious in power thy right-hand O Lord hath dashed in pieces the enemy And though there were several loyal attempts made before and some of them probable enough to effect deliverance for us yet did the all-wise God suffer them to be all broken and frustrated happily that he might fool earthly wisdom and by staining the beauty of all creature-excellency take the whole glory of our deliverance to himself that he might give us cause with admiration and amazement to say Thon settest a Crown of pure gold on his head A word of Inference and I ha' done 1. If God set the Crown on the King's head then what wretched impudence is it in any to dare to think much more to attempt the taking it off It is the very acting of that fancy of the Poets of the Giants fighting against Heaven Nothing but Hell is ill enough to own such an audacious presumption a most detestable and monstrous impiety 2. If God set the Crown on the King's head let us set our hearts on the King As Samuel said to Saul 1 Sam 9.20 On whom is all the desire of Israel is it not on thee and on all thy fathers house Prize him as the loyal men of Judah did their King David Thou art worth ten thousand of us Give unto Cesar the things that are Cesar ' s. Geneva Bibles wrong the King Give did I say it is not so proper though some like that Translation better 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the word render pay it is his due Rom. 13.7 Render him his due Tribute as the Apostle calls it the Tribute of our persons our purses our tongues our hands our hearts Make honourable mention of him when we speak of him Bern. I and we must Sentire sublimiter too saves the Father think highly of him Do not take up any unworthy reports nor entertain any unhansome suspicion of him Do but remember how dear we have paid for our jealousies and I 'le say no more of that To draw to a conclusion Nothing now remains but Prayers and Praises 1. Prayers to him that setteth the Crown of pure gold on the King's head that he will please there to fix Psal 89.20 21 22. and keep it That as he hath found David his servant and anointed him with his holy oyle so he will establish his hand with him and let his arm strengthen him that the enemy may not exact upon him nor the son of wickedness hurt him That God who watched over him Psal 105.13 15. and charged his providence with him when he went from one Nation to another from one Kingdom to another people Psas 140.12 and suffered no man to touch his Anointed will still deliver him from the evil man and preserve him from the violent man which imagine mischief in their heart Psal 18.47 48. and continually are gathering together for War That he will subdue the people under him and lift him up above those that rise up against him V. 6.7 hujus Ps That he will make him exceeding glad with his countenance and the King trusting in God through the mercy of the most high Psal 7◠9 Psal 132.18 he may not miscarry That his enemies may lick the dust and be cloathed with shame but upon himself his Crown may flourish And blessed be God our prayers for him may come out of our Closets again and be put up in the Congregation It is sad to think how he was persecuted out of the very prayers of his people And these Prodigious Reformers would needs have our duty to be our crime A duty we owe to all to Kings most of all and was never forbidden by any but where They and Satan had command How well their interdiction to pray for the King can consist with that Apostolical injunction 1 Tim. 2 1. to pray for Kings and for all that are in authority let the world judge unless these New Modellers can pretend to a power of regulating the Rule it self and to deal with the Royal Law as they sometime did with the Laws of the Kingdom But we shall leave them to him who hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sharp Sword with two edges to avenge the affronts and injuries done to his own truth 2. Praises Let us end with them Praise is the great duty of this day Psal 44 8. In God let us boast all the day long and praise his name for ever Exod. 15.1 2 7. Sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously The Lord is our strength and song and he is become our salvation In the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee Psal 148.13 And therefore Let us praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is excellent his glory is above the Earth Psal 150.1 and Heaven Praise God in his Sanctuary praise him in the firmament of his power You of the Magistracy Praise him in the heighths Vers 2. praise him for his mighty acts praise him according to his excellent greatness You of the Souldiery Psal 149.6 Let the high praises of God be in your mouths and a two-edged sword in your hands You of the Commonalty Psal 29 1. 2 9. Give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name in his Temple let every man speak of his honor for the Lord taketh pleasure in his people Psal 149.4 Psal 29.11 Psal 64.9 he will beautifie the meek with salvation The Lord will give strength unto his people the Lord will bless his people with peace Let all men fear and declare the work of God and wisely consider of his doings Let us all praise him till Earth emulates Heaven where they are all praises Let them shout for joy and be glad Psal 35.27 that favour our Righteous Cause yea let them say continually Let the Lord be magnified which taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his servants Because thou hast been our help Psal 63.4.7 therefore in the shadow of thy wings will we rejoice Thus will we bless thee while we live and lift up our hands in thy Name And when mens tongues cannot reach it let us borrow of Angels Luk. 2.13.14 and join with the heavenly Host praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good-will towards men And that our praises may come in a good place and our thankfulness follow our mercies nearer than ordinary Let them be Mental and Monumental 1. Mental Keep in mind the works of God Let not that complaint of Nehemiah come in against us Neh. 9.16 17. That we dealt proudly and hardned our necks and hearkned not to his commandments And refused to obey neither were mindful of the wonders that he did among us Let not that of the Psalmist be charged upon us That we sang his praise Psal 106.12 13 21. and soon forgat his works That we forgat God our Saviour who had done great things for us To remember mercies is but a cheap piece of thankfulness 2. Monumental Erect Trophees and set up Memorials of our deliverance Psal 45.4 5 6 7. Let one generation praise his works to another and declare his mighty acts Let them speak of the glorious honor of his Majesty and of his wonderous works Let men speak of the might of his terrible acts and declare his greatness Let them abundantly utter the memory of his great goodness and sing of his righteousness Propagate our deliverance to infinite posterity Hide it not from our children Psal 78.4 and let them shew the generations to come the praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful works that he hath done Num. 23.23 According to this time it shall he said of Jacob and of Israel what hath God wrought Exod. 12.14 17. Let this day be repeated annually it is a day to be unto us for a memorial to keep it a feast unto the Lord throughout our generations to observe it in our generations by an Ordinance for ever Psal 102.18 Let it be written for the generations to come that the people which shall be created may praise the Lord Psal 111.4 That merciful and gracious Lord who hath so done his marvellous works that they ought to be had in remembrance Psal 136.23 Who remembred us in our low estate brought back his banished and hath all his life prevented him with the blessings of goodness and this day set a Crown of pure gold on his head Now unto the King eternal 1 Tim. 1.17 immortal invisible the only wise God be honor and glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS