Seraphims for the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ the Second Person of the Trinity concluding with St Basil's Liturgy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O God our God who hast sent this Heavenly Bread the Food of all the World Our Lord Jesus Christ to be to us a Saviour a Redeemer Therefore with Angels and Arch-Angels and all the Company of Heaven we laud and magnifie thy Glorious Name ever more praising Thee and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Secondly As Spiritual so Temporal Blessings are the Product of Heaven This Day is a Signal Instance and carries with it the Pomp of Blaze and Splendour as it is the Anniversary of His Majesty's happy Birth and Nativity And that Divine Providence that brought him this day into the world hath led him by the hand of his visible goodness Ever since he entered the porch of life and walked upon the pavement of the Earth He has had the Royal Charter of Heaven and enjoy'd the testimonies of God's special care even a Writ of Protection Touch not mine Anointed do my Prophet no harm His life hath been a continued series of Divine Favour The Adversary hath not been able to do him violence the Son of wickedness could not hurt him but he hath smitten down his foes before his face cloathed them with shame and wounded them that hated him The great Majesty of Heaven was a Helmet of Salvation unto him a strong Tower of Defence against his cruel Enemies Domestick and Foreign at home and abroad First Cruel Enemies at home who invested their Sword with the Authority of Law and made themselves after the Image of a King and usurp'd the Seat Royal chang'd the Kingdom unto a State and Monarchy into a Commonwealth This was in the time of our late troubles and confusions when Monarchy was shaken off Religion and Property were lost and Laws and Liberty were with no small violence invaded being as in the days of Jeroboam whoever would were consecrated Priests of the high places And when Souldiers turn'd Preachers every act of Providence that seems to favour their Designs shall be the voice of God Every opportunity to do mischief to such as they oppose shall be interpreted a Command from Heaven to do it Curse ye Meroz was the Texts Rapine and Plunder the Comment and the Use Wars sounded as loud from the Pulpit as the Drum as if it had been the task of the Heavens to Kill and slay and for its Arms hung in the Zodiack Man's Anatomy to shew they were born with those that arose of the Dragon's Teeth in the Poet Mutuis perire gladiis to bleed to death on one another's Swords And here I may lead your thoughts to the unnatural Civil War in our Brittish Isle and the sight of one Aceldama one field of blood will raise up Mens careless thoughts to a due valuation and grateful apprehension of the comforts we enjoy under our most Gracions Sovereign He that has escaped with him in Job to bring news of Rapine and Violence can best tell us what it is to see a flourishing Land become a Sea of Blood because War playes Pliny's Cockatrice annoying whatsoever it doth touch He can tell us what it is to see the Horse in equal state with its rider both of them weltering in their own gore He can shew us what it is to see the obedient Son run over his slain Father to escape the hands of his own Executioner He can shew us what it is to see the burning of Cities and the woful Inhabitants Martyr'd in the flames He can complain to us as the Orator to the Athenians whatsoever they gain in their thrifty Peace they are deprived of by those consuming Tumults Many in this Nation have witness'd the Truth of it with their Eyes and its Horrour with their Tears O then pray for the Peace of Jerusalem that love her and consequently for the Life and Prosperity of the Monarch of Great Britain King Charles the Second our dread Soveraign the light of our Eyes and the breath of our Nostrils who causes malignant vapours to vanish and dispels those clouds of mischief by his Princely power that would turn Religion into Rebellion and Faith into Faction cry up priviledge to invade Regal Prerogative and under the notion of the Preservers of our Peace and Defenders of our Liberties reach out their hand to turn the stream of Royalty and subvert an excellent Monarchy into a Tyrannical Republick The Fallacy having been put on the Kingdom and Cheat acted once before it will not easily prevail with men of sober and rational judgments to renounce their Religion the best in the world or their Loyalty and obedience to the best of Kings whose Princely Goodness is not more tender of the Imperial Crown and Dignity than of the Peace and tranquillity of the Subject The one as it regards Royal honour the other the care of his people to cause Religion happily to flourish and Liberty Laws and Property to be safe and inviolable with the Blessings of Heaven notwithstanding the subtile insinuations and cunning Stratagems of the old enemies of Monarchy and the Church to throw us back into a relapse which reminds us of the late Rebellion when men in Buff durst proclaim themselves the only Legal Authority of the Nation and these like a mighty Torrent did drive all before them with an unruly violence brake down the banks of Ecclesiastical discipline making no difference betwixt things Sacred and Common swallowed up Churches with their Revenues and laid desolate Sanctuaries of Piety and Religion Here we may wail out an Epicedium War and desolation Poverty and paleness and Garments roll'd in bloud hearing the woful groans of dying Men and bitter lamentations of Children for their Parents The Orphan blubbers his cheeks and sighs with Elisha O my Father my Father Now David breaths out an Elegy and O Absolom Absolom my Son my Son And Rachel likewise weeps and will not be comforted because they are not These were the miseries this Kingdom groan'd under after the Barbarous and horrid Murder of that Glorious Martyr King Charles the First of ever Blessed Memory And so it continued under the heavy yoke of an insolent Usurpation till his Majesty's happy Restauration actual Government and Gracious Reign over us in Peace and quietness security and freedom These temporal enjoyments we owe their happiness under God to the prudent Conduct of Regal Majesty And here take this Thesis or Doctrine by way of affirmative position If the Church be depriv'd of Kingly Majesty she is as apt to be infected with home-bred Errours as Foreign injuries for when there was no King in Israel every man did what was right in his own eyes We see then the Office of a King is attended with as much burthen as jurisdiction He must encounter with Adversaries For has the Holy
with such a sweet trinity of sight love and joy that the soul will confess being in an ecstasie of wonder and amazement that it could not believe those things which now it sees with its eyes in that it can look no way but it beholds unspeakable glory And the Soul solacing it self with infinite content cryes out Here will I dwell and abide for ever Now whilst others lay up treasures on Earth in Heaven is my Exchequer Our souls will be irregular like the Planets in their Epicycles and whilst we are in the sphere of flesh and cloathed with mortality sailing in the Sea of this world there will be winds to create storms but in Heaven there is a perpetual calm no tempest in it the Soul will joy in Gods Everlasting rest And this is the divine elevation of David's spirit Whom have I in Heaven but thee It is the glory and honour of the soul to be originally from Heaven How suitable and how natural is it for the rational soul which comes down from Heaven to look thither and tend towards the source and fountain of its Being Os homini sublime dedit coelúmque tueri jussit How hard a thing is it to keep the flame from pointing upwards And with what unwearied diligence do the Rivulets seek out the main Ocean Such an eager pursuit such strong propensions nay far stronger may be justly expected in the soul towards Heaven seeking the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things above To seek there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an habitation not made with hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eternal in the Heavens in as much as the end is incomparably greater and the Agent more noble and active for God hath made us for himself and unquiet is Man's heart until it attains him it longs for and thirsts after the living God Whom have I in Heaven but thee Secondly Quem praeter te Whom have I besides thee Say thou O Lord unto my soul I am thy Salvation and it is enough to bless and raise me above the Icy hills of worldly joys For the blessed Trinity is a Christian's portion he is truly possest of nothing but the Deity Whom have I besides thee How glorious art thou in Heaven above and what infinite happiness is there provided for me in thee One day in thy Courts O Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere in the Palaces of sinful pleasures or Tabernacles of wickedness How then may I or can I take full content or delight in any thing that is here below For I envy not this globe of Earth nor sumptuous habitations of the ungodly because all delicious enjoyments in this life without thee will but make a Paradise without a Tree of Life King David weighed them in the ballance of the Sanctuary and did not only find them very light but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing to spiritual comfort Whom have I besides thee Thou O God dost far surpass all the contents of Israel as light doth pitched darkness thou art the very joy of my heart and my portion for ever Thirdly Quis mihi Who is for me Who pleads my cause in Heaven not any Saint or Angel nor yet the Holy Virgin but thou O Lord. And do not some doat on Images with the Romanists and others on Imaginations with Factionists who fall into the heat of contention the fire of Schism How few are in the right way of Gods prescriptions which is Jehovah Elohenu Jehovah Echad the Lord our God is one Lord the Father Lord the Son Lord the Holy Ghost Lord. And what the transcript or copy of the world could not the Sacred pages and volumes of Holy Writ have discover'd of the Deity the Co-eternity of the Son of God with the Father the procession of the Holy Ghost from both the Unity of the Three in One uncreated Essence For there are three that bear record in Heaven saith St. John the Father the Word and the Holy Ghost and these three are one Thou art my Creator my Redeemer and my Comforter which makes the question past all question and needs no further disputation I have none in Heaven but thee The desire of this Celestial place and state causeth the Royal Prophet to despise all transitory flashes and sparks of earthly pleasures which is the second part viz. Low in a positive determination And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee The Princes and Monarchs of the world who are retinued with all the Equipage of greatness and strange variety of delights being liberally and abundantly provided for Silver Gold and Jewels are their's and all Creatures in the Earth and the Air and Water are pressed for their service yet all these enjoyments are nothing without thee None upon Earth I desire besides thee Et tecum non the the negation is personal no man for his favour no Creature for its excellency that I desire in the least comparison of thee For the treasures of this world are but gilded Thorns and concealed Miseries and yet how many Shrines and Altars are there erected in mens hearts to this great Idol of the world Most scarce acknowledge any other God but this Golden Calf to which they pay their servile devotions And when thoughts stream towards wealth Rivers are but draughts enough for them Quod naturae satis est homini non est as Seneca that grave Moralist speaks of Alexander who had swallowed up Darius and the Indies and yet in those flouds did thirst and in that surfeit was hungry If the Earth were a Center of Diamonds and did the Heavens shower down Pearls into Diana's lap and could we enjoy the Land with its Minerals of Gold and the Sea with the greatness of its treasure sending Ships to Tarshish and fetching Spices from the East in the Navy of Hiram all these things can't satiate the desires of the Soul but are miserable fruitions without the glorious Trinity Then when others lay up on Earth Heaven shall be my treasure For the favour of a Prince is but a pleasing snare without thee and therefore non est in terris there is none upon Earth I desire besides thee The world is a Theatre of sorrow a warfare and a bondage all are prisoners some in golden Chains others in Iron some slaves to poverty others to riches some to honour others to meanness And all these are interwoven with mixt varieties as pain and grief pleasure and sadness so that the greatest happiness that the world can afford is not able to fill the unlimited desires of the heart but God only For the world the Fools Paradise is full of Vipers the obscure print of unsound joys a dream'd sweetness and a very Ocean of gall and so there is nothing on Earth that I desire besides thee Mundo utamur use we may but not adore the Creature we may look upon this fair picture as the work of the Almighty but not esteem it for a Deity or a God like
the foolish Egyptians or those Persians that gave veneration only to the lustre of their Jewels The Christian account as to Divine Arithmetick is cast up for another world to be a Denizen of the New Jerusalem an Heir of Eden a Peer of Paradise a Pearl of Vertue a Star of Glory Although we are Sojourners here however we are Municipes Coeli Freemen of Heaven and have the priviledge to be called and own'd by God as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Fellow-Citizens of the Saints A Christian is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one that lives in the confines of Heaven so that whilst he is here on Earth he wants but the courteous hand of Death to put him into possession of that above Heaven then is my home the Creator my Father the Judge my Advocate the Spirit my Consolation therefore there is nothing on Earth that I desire besides thee The opposition of Notes on both being the Second General now appears First In primacy of order King David is the glass in which we may behold Christian practice In his thoughts Heaven takes the precedency of Earth Whom have I in Heaven but thee O Lord This is his first care to seek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Kingdom of God here is the primum mobile that moves his heart his will and his affections Heaven then the desire on Earth follows after and it is honour enough for this vile Earth to wait upon Heaven Let us not now chaffer Heaven for Earth as sottish Indians truck away Ore for glass and for the gaudy nothing of this life hazard our immortal souls to everlasting flames and for the toyes and vanities of this world lose an Eternal Kingdom and for a glorious mortality bid adieu to Heaven which ought to have the precedency in our heart and affection Open our eyes O Lord that we may see those glorious rayes that stream from the Divinity and so beautiful an object will be enough to draw and attract our hearts unto thee echoing forth the Anthem of the Text Whom have I in Heaven but thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee Secondly Take it in the sense of the verbs habeo desideravi habeo in Coelis I have in Heaven desideravi in terris I desire on Earth Here we tire our selves with a restless fancy still wandering through the Creation but never finding any satisfaction but in Heaven there are all things that may delight us and solace the faculties of our Soul For God is a plenitude of light to the understanding a multitude of peace to the will Eternal joy and consolation to the memory And in Heaven all our desires shall be satisfied with fruition and those exellencies will always supply new and fresh desires to the soul which in the beatifical vision shall enlarge into that vast and infinite satisfaction that it shall be lost in the enjoyment and most happily plunged in that fruition which we shall never fully understand but be still more and more happy in having pleasures so great as to transcend our knowledge How glorious is that Sun that sets not and how clear is that day that is not chased by the darkness of the night Heaven is that resplendent residence and of this bliss there is such a fullness that our heads are too thick to understand it or if we were able to understand it yet our hearts are too narrow to give it entrance or if our hearts could hold it yet our tongues are too stammering to express and utter it For the glory of the invisible heavens out-strips humane capacity and out-goes our invention it is such as eye hath not seen ear heard nor yet enter'd into the heart of man to conceive what the Almighty the great Being of Beings hath prepar'd in Heaven for those that fear him And though some vessels contain more than others yet all shall be full there shall be no vacuity or want in any Lastly Take it in the diversity of the prepositions cùm praeter nothing with nothing besides thee O Lord Heap up all the riches of the world into one pile till they reach the Stars and charm all the delights of the world into one Circle and enjoy them freely yet there is a desire in man which looks above them for whom have I in Heaven but thee And there is nothing on Earth that I desire besides thee The organ of a Christian Ear is not for Earth its musick is mixt with too many discords 't is Heaven it aims at the Angels with whom it would consort and the melody of the superiour powers that yields the most absolute concord This is the Psaltery that King David sings to and is the true Ela of a Christian Whom have I in Heaven but Thee and there is nothing on Earth I desire besides Thee How miserable are they then whose Pleasures only divert them from God their Maker and have no other Apology for their Neglect of Heaven than what Sin can make that court the World and for a fading Embrace exchange a Diadem of Bliss a Crown of Glory And here let us raise our Thoughts from Earth to Heaven because the Glorious Trinity is a fairer Object for Contemplation For in the Glass of the Trinity we may behold all Felicity it will be Joy to Man's Soul Health to his Body Beauty to his Eyes Musick to his Ears Honey to his Mouth Perfume to his Nostrils whole Happiness to every Part. Therefore let us no longer doat upon this Mole-hill of Earth or prize its artificial complexioned Pleasures Structures of Cedar and Vermilion Garments and Embroideries of Aholiab Tables of Delicacies Couches of Ease and Ivory all Things here below are but Bracteata Foelicitas Copper leav'd with Gold If we do but behold the Pavement of Heaven stuck with Stars as so many sparkling Diamonds How despicable and mean is the Stateliest Palace of the greatest Monarch If the Hangings be so precious What must we think of the Room If the Frontispiece be so Glorious What are those better Parts yet unseen Magnum Mirabile sub tanta Majestate O think then what Treasures what Riches what Excellences are in those Courts above where the Gates of the New-Jerusalem is beyond the Orient Majesty of Pearl and Streets more splendid than pure Gold where there is no need of the clear Light of the Moon nor the bright Beams of the Sun What Ineffable Glory is in God the Light of those Heavenly Tabernacles Consider but the Eternal Joyes of that Place and how heartless and dying is the best of worldly Pleasures Nay were the whole World turned into a Seraglio of Delight and every Region into an Arabia could every Field become a Paradise and every Object that we meet with bring with it a Magazine of Pleasure had we all the Enjoyments this Life could triumph in yet without God we should find them dismal Fruitions Heaven doth as far surmount all these things as
Oyl been pour'd upon his head and the Crown setled upon it by Divine Providence which over-rules Nature He that has given him the Crown gave the Sword also to secure and guard it and as it was Judah's Prerogative to sway the Royal Scepter so also to yield Protection for the King is Custos utriusque Tabulae Defender of the Faith and a Nursing Father to the Church And the Princely Power and Soveraign Authority with God's Blessing may still preserve the true and ancient constitution both of Church and State from Anarchy and Disorder from Popish Superstition and Fanatical Faction For the King has his Authority over us from Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord sets up Kings saith the Father And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kings are from God says the Heathen Therefore I must be subject purely out of Conscience for the Lord's sake The Religion of the Church of Rome like the Laws of Draco are written in Bloud advanced by Policy and propagated by Violence whereas Christianity never used the Sword the Kingdom of Heaven is another kind of warfare Christianity came attired into the world with the white of Meekness Humility and Patience Christ the Prince of Peace never pull'd the Crown from any Prince's head but commands the payment of all Duties to Caesar and acknowledgeth Pilate's power to be from above Nor did any of his followers ever rebel against their Prince usurp the State or disturb the Government and though it was their unhappy fate at first to be accused as Factious and Seditious yet none were better Subjects nor testified their Allegiance more to Authority St Paul in the days of Heathen Persecution and Tyranny lays down this Hypothesis There is no Power but of God the Powers that be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are ordained of God If Religion be pretended an Heathen must not be resisted If Tyranny 't is damnation to oppose a Nero. They that resist shall receive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wrath and judgment of God saith the Apostle And the Church of England teaches no other Doctrine than what was taught by the Prophets and Apostles themselves i. e Obedience and Submission to Kings and Governours In the Prophecy of Obadiah they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Saviours or Deliverers In Ezekiel's Language they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shepheards to Feed and Rule the People In St Paul's they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God's Ministers nay Elohim Gods by Office and Deputation to Govern the affairs of Men on Earth The Apostles also charged those whom they imploy'd in setling of the Churches to put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers and to Obey Magistrates And St Peter's Exhortation is Submit your selves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lords sake not only unto the King 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as supream but unto Governours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as being sent by him Rebellion then is as the Sin of Witchcraft and Disobedience as the Iniquity of Idolatry For whosoever disobeys the Vice-Roy affronts the Soveraign they fight against God and attempt to cross the decrees of Heaven and frustrate the Counsel of the Most High who says By me Kings Reign And it is the Assertion of Plato That a Kingdom is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Divine Good which imprints on our minds a double instruction to Fear God and Honour the King 1 Pet. 2. 17. First to adorn the Christian Religion with Holiness and Piety of life It is Religion that ennobles Man erects his affections and estates him in a happiness above nature alters his very being and puts him in opposition to what he was before Religion is the most effectual instrument to reform mens lives and bring them into an hatred of their Vices which all Moralists especially the Pythagoreans after all their Industry despaired of What Reports Diogenes Laertius and Valerius Maximus make of Polemus the Convert of Zeno are but mean and low things if compared with the Acts and glorious Success of Christianity whose Vertue and Influence upon Men's Consciences inables them to subdue Self overcome their Vices check the impetuous Force of their Passions and withstand their own carnal and sensual Inclinations the greatest and most noble Conquest As the Lustre of Christianity was thus bright and glorious in the Primitive Constitution so was the Honour of its Professors that they were of such Piety and Integrity that their Adversaries confess'd that their Religion was their only Ruin Let us therefore be so stedfast in our Religion unshaken in our Faith so constant in our Devotion and holy and unspotted in our Lives that Wisdom may be justified not only of her Children but Enemies also which lays the greatest Obligation on us to live the most Holy and Religious Life towards God For were we more Holy and Righteous in our Ways and did we walk in Newness of Life we should more convince the World of the Truth of our Religion Holiness saith the Psalmist becomes O Lord thine House for ever No Garment becomes the Church so well as the Garment of Holiness It is Sanctity that is the Churches Glory It is the Ephod of Purity that is the Churches Excellency Our first Creation set before us as Hieroglyphicks before the Aegyptians whose very Shapes and Figures were Doctrinal and by a kind of Oratory preach'd the Spectatours Duty What else means the Image of God in the Soul but that it might continually act and work according to the Pattern viz. Godliness after whose Likeness it was created according to Holiness and Perfection which it brought down from Heaven that reflecting still upon the same Image it might be holy as He is holy For a Holy Life and Christian Works are the very way to the glorious Vision and Fruition of the great God in an everlasting blessed Life Therefore Fear God and honour the King which is the best Christian Practice and brings me to the next Gradation in our Discourse viz. To crown our Zeal with Loyalty to the King for He is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wears God's Image and beautifies the World with Order and Government whereby so many Millions of Men do breath the Life of Peace and Comfort For Whither would the Fury of Mens Passions lead them if they were not bounded with Authority and subdu'd to an awful Subjection by the higher Powers Religion would quickly feel a heavy Destiny and the World be drown'd in Blood as it was once in Water The Sword of Authority is put into the Hand of the King by Almighty God To the like Sense also is that of Nestor to Agamemnon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jove lent thee thy Scepter and Jurisdiction The King's Power is from God and for any private Person or any Club of Subjects to wrest it out is a double Usurpation First They invade God's Sovereignty who saith Vengeance is mine