Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A42953
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The demeanour of a good subject in order to the acquiring and establishing peace
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Goodwin, Thomas, 1586 or 7-1642.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing G975; ESTC R22752
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33,660
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45
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are its Enemies Peace is his desire his delight and glory the end of all his Actions the emblem of his Eternal recompence his Heaven upon Earth And this no corrupt minds can truly rejoyce in they may peradventure be pleased with it for a time but are soon glutted with its pleasures and stores grow insolent and kick at her Blessings But good men cannot surseit upon her favours though abundantly satisfied with them For in sound minds the same plenty be getteth desire which in depraved groweth to an abhorrency Neither can Peace be obtained by evil or unstable men any more then continue by them when it is in their power to disturb it For the Sacred Oracle declaring that there is no peace to the wicked they certainly can never give that to others which they cannot procure for themselves or brook in others So that to be able to rejoyce in Peace every man must conform to a Virtuous Life and be wife with Sobriety For vitious living enclineth men to anger suspitions and all sorts of unruly courses and generally begetteth in them an over-value of their own Judgments and Abilities which hath been sadly experienced in some of the great Debauches of our times Some men again well deserving and who have been long known to govern themselves in the proper rules of this Joy have at length become too apprehensive of being useful and thereby have ceased to become Good Subjects a proud confidence destroying that Loyalty which had been admirably excellent had it continued among the works and labours of Love Because they hear that well doing deserveth a reward they wrong their judgments in reaching at an immature one and too much discover a long concealed malignity in their minds which hath disturbed their Joy although without publick observation For where there are illegitimate hopes there must be sometimes great fears which as we see break out into disorders and are ever disturbing the contentment of the Soul which by well doing only should be kept in tranquility The Pious satisfaction of Gods great favour in hearing the cries of his afflicted people and restoring to us our Dread Soveraign in Peace and the virtuous care of continuing this mercy certainly mind nothing but God and the Kings ' approbation If these performances observed produce any further Grace it is venerably received not as a recompence but a Princely condescention and Bounty Good Mephibosheths Loyalty is an incomparable pattern who was so truly glad of his Princes Return that the Joy was to him a Possession for other things he careth not but saith Calumniating Ziba Yea let him take all forasmuch as my Lord the King is come again in Peace But some of the great pretender to Loyalty have stained the glorious repute which they had gotten at a most foolish rate For where the King hath been pleased to accept the Services of some Subjects and to signalize them with grants of eminent Indulgences they who were profitable Servants became foolish Favourites and what they have industriously managed to their Princes advantage in an Inferior Station their Pride hath ruined in advancement For wanting continence in elated Fortunes they though their Deeds merit not Duty and judging themselves such men of excellence that the Scepter could not be weilded without their councell they have presumed to act above the condition of Subjects forgetting their Original and the Humility which gave their Honour a Being And these were so far from following Mephibosheth's example of leaving all for Joy that they have thought nothing sufficient reward which accumulative liberality hath laid upon them And indeed herein the strength of their judgments met with the severest tryal For they who could laudably sustain and overcome the sharpest adversities have been drawn into a snare by the blandishments of Fortune and their Fortitude being eneruated by her leniments she hath led them about as the most ridiculous Captives So easily are heedless men divested of their Joy in the midst of their Triumphs by yielding to the beginning of temptations of making reward the chief inducement to Loyalty CHAP. VIII No Considerations of past or ensuing damages which have or may accrew to him do hinder this Joy in a Good Subject TRue Loyalty is so little swayed by interest that it is its own contentment and rejoyceth in the King's Peace for God his Church and Peoples sake looking for no reward beyond self satisfaction The excellency of the Example biddeth me again repeat it and make Remarques upon the sacred History or Mephibosheth He was the Son of Saul as the Holy Text speaketh it in the relation of that action more observably yet came down with an unparallel'd Joy to meet King David returning from Exilement This Mephibosheth was Heir Apparent to the Crown of Israel as it respecteth the House of Saul being the Son of Jonathan Saul's eldest Son Neither the reflections upon his disinherison not withstanding his Title by a most direct descent nor David's preceipitate dispossessing him of his Lands upon the false accusations of Ziba his servant before he had liberty to answer for himself did any thing prevail with him to lessen his affections to the King or his gladness that he was returned in Peace The King indeed had sent for him to eat at his own Table and restored unto him all his Patrimony But the respect to his succession could soon have fitted him with replies That the specious Kindness of calling him to Court might be both pride and policy pride to render his own Majesty the more awful by so great a Princes attendance And policy to keep him near him alwaies in view that so he might not be able to cause Sedition or Innovation And then what did an Inheritance which his Title to the Crown considered was but part of his right in a corner of one of the Tribes signifie to a man thoughtful of the loss of a Kingdom What was it but an occasion for his Brethren the Benjamites to upbraid him with want of courage and judgment who should so tamely acquiesce in this as a favour and content himself with a private Fortune who was born unto so glorious a Scepter But piety quasht all these suggestions so apt to swell and puff up a young Princes mind and gave him a most sacred Judgment to discern God's Work and Decree and taught him by meekness to enjoy himself and all that the King bestowed upon him as truly Royal favours The same Almighty power which exalted his Grandfather Saul to be King had for disobedience to his commands denounced by the same Prophet who anointed him the renting away of his Kingdom and giving it to his Neighbour and soon after the denunciation caused David by the same Prophet to be anointed That he was ordained King by God Saul knew and envied him for it and often endeavoured to frustrate the Divine Decree by killing him This Jonathan knew and loved him this Mephibosheth knew and thence gave him the Honour which true
Majesty demanded and Conscience enjoyned should be given by all Subjects This being a well weighed ground for him to despise his own Title he saw as little cause to be angry at the disposing his estate to treacherous Ziba He considered it to be the King 's meer bounty at first and was thankful for so long a time of enjoyment And his Joy at the King's Return was only lessened by pity that the Crown which taketh away all personal defects did not as well remove the defects of the mind and make the King less humane by being infallible With all wise men a large and ponderous good begetteth oblivion of a small inconvenience or evil none but fools bemoaning the loss of trifles and pursuing them in their thoughts to the contempt of solid pleasures and with all good men the publick good is the greatest That vulgar expression That every man is nearest to himself is only true in respect to Neighbourhood and private commerce but never that I know or have heard owned by men of any understanding to extend to the Publick For those very men who seek themselves only by the ruine of others placed above them hypocritically move under the shadow of the General Welfare because Mankind universally abhorreth any such Position That Private Injuries are to be revenged by a publick mischief Therefore discontented Persons we see shunned as pestiferous there 's no coming near them without danger nor letting them abroad with safety until they are throughly purged and cured If once a real wrong done by his Prince as such may happen to be sustained shall justifie a Subjects disorders innumerable fained or supposed ones will continually appear to the destruction of Peace and Government Now a wise man considereth that if by any misresentation of him to his Prince as was Mephibosheth's case he hath undergone some damages by his diligent continuing in his duty and Allegiance he may become observed and probably repaid with advantage but if not that injuries of this nature are more discreetly dissembled than reparation prosecuted which is both difficult unjust and ill natured For such is the power of a King that he that provoketh him is generally seen to sin against his own Soul his hopes are stronger than his Arms Wit or Religion And withal they are as ill grounded as his Religion which requireth the Subject in this case above all others if there should in a King appear manifest intentions of wrong doing to leave Vengeance to God By endeavouring to do himself justice he sacrilegiously robbeth God of his Prerogative But if his Power be supposed to equal his Soveraigns yet how barbarously ill-natur'd is he who by the destruction of multitudes of Innocents aimeth to arrive at satisfaction uncertain whether he shall recover or add his guilty Soul to his other losses Religion wherein is contained prudence and Mercy directeth a Subject better and silenceth him from so much as complaining out of Joy that his case is singular that it is no worse with him and that the rest of his fellow Subjects are pleasant and happy Nothing with him savoureth more of disingenuity than to deface the bliss of a general Festivity with Tears or mix with laments the Peoples acclamations If by bad Offices his good be maliciously or fraudulently evil spoken of and any thing unworthy his Vertue and Loyalty doth thereby happen unto him he looketh upon his Prince as chiefly injured by the approach of Sycophants to his Sacred Person and only wondring at the Impudence with Indignation hath a short diversion from his Joy by considering that God giveth in his tlife no pleasures without mixture of somewhat sharp because he will have perfect Felicity another Worlds Glory the Fruition of man translated to the state of Incorruption Immediately from these thoughts he is restored to his usual liberty and improveth his Joy by these accidents For when the craft of the Devil and cunning devices of men would put him out of his proper station and tempt him to resign his internal Peace he glorieth that it is not in the power of enmity to disturb that without a voluntary surrender and that God blesseth his sincerity with resolutions to retain his own to adhere firmly to his Obedience and to rejoyce with his fellow Subjects for the common Safety To do the Will of God is his Felicity and it is no less to bear it And although like Mordecai that spake good for the King he bears Haman's indignation yet he continueth unaltered he cheefully waiteth the time of being made known although not extreamly Solicitious whether in this Life or another Neither again will he justify a malignant Detracter by acting or so much as Speaking to the least Dishonour of his Master but still pleasantly and obediently intendeth his Peace and Welfare to the utmost of his power and so putteth te silence the Calumnies of foolish men He at first prayed for the publick Peace and God answering his Petitions he is resolved not to break it He prayed for the Prosperity of the Church to which the publick Peace chiefly conduceth his peculiar outward losses are no hindrance to it therefore his Religion being secure so is he the Church flourishing he is happy the King in the defence thereof graciously encouraging and promoting the Faithful and curbing the insolence of Gainsayers he hath the desire of his Soul Gods Servants Religiously assembled to thank him for the general Redemption of mankind by the blood of his Son for the particular Redemption of these parts of his Church among us and all other his mercies exhibited to us and to Pray for a continuance and encrease of his loving kindness to us and to all men upon the wings of these Devotions is he wrapt up into Paradice His virtue is extreamly reproached by thoughts that he who hath such blissful preceptions can descend from them to the considerations of some Temporal disadvantages His and the common way to Heaven being rendred more open and passable he joyfully ascendeth walking vigorously on in the footsteps of the General Assembly and multitudes of Holy men gone before shewing by his dayly practice that their works do follow them The Conclusion THe consideration of our advancement as Men and Christians imposeth on us a necessity to be Good and Just and Subjection being our natural condition cannot be any way uneasie or improsperous without our either imprudent or wanton renunciation of it By aiming at what is set above us we usually fall beneath those inferioritis which we before viewed with contempt for the injustce of our discountented Pride hath not a more proper recompence Inviolate Prerogatives are the Subjects Safety and Honour and the surest Charter of their Freedom which protect them from injury who have never practised to their diminution or weakning Let Reason or Interest be consulted the resolve will be that the least invasion of them is unjust and not to be attempted by any that are good and wise because certainly