Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
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A42728
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A sermon preached at St. Andrew's Plymouth, January 30th, 1698/9 by John Gilbert ... ; with a preface defending King Charles the martyr, and the observation of his day, against the libels, and practice of such, who are enemies to both.
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Gilbert, John, d. 1722.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing G711; ESTC R3491
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22,764
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68
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Canon Gilbert ' s SERMON Preached at St. Andrew ' s Plymouth January 30th 1698 9. A SERMON Preached at St. Andrew ' s Plymouth January 30th 1698 9. By JOHN GILBERT M. A. Vicar there and Canon of Exeter With a PREFACE DEFENDING King Charles the Martyr And the Observation of His Day against the Libels and Practice of such who are Enemies to both LONDON Printed by Sam. Darker for Tho. Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1699. THE Publisher to the Reader In Defence of KING CHARLES THE MARTYR And the Observation of His Day THE Importunity of Friends and the Reflection made by others on this Sermon gave the Reverend Preacher just Cause to permit its Publication that he might Gratify the Desires of the one and Confute the wrong Surmises of the other DISCOURSES of this Nature never were more seasonable and needful than now while many with such Freedom to call it no worse calumniate the good Name and trample on the Ashes of that Glorious Sufferer the Martyr of the Day whose pious Memory and Righteousness are by the Command and Example of the highest Authority in England Yearly Commemorated and Recognized to God and the World NO Men pretend greater Regard and Deference to the Authority and Judgment of Parliaments than many of those who in the Case of K. Charles contradict and give them the Lye If they Determine or Enact agreeable to the Humor and Interest of those Partial Men they magnify the Judgment of our Representatives to a Pitch near Infallibility and make their Power boundless But if many successive Parliaments Declare or Decree contrary to their Opinions or Principles or opposite to their Humors and Inclinations or Credit no Men less regard submit or conform to it than they OF this the R. Martyr's Case is a Notorious Instance for he tho' declared in many Acts of divers Parliaments A Righteous Just Innocent Prinse and as such Yearly Commemorated by their solemn Lamentation on His Day and ordering publick Thanks to the Preachers and printing the Sermons then delivered before them which ought to sway the Judgments of those Men or at least to stop their Mouths But maugre all that they spare not to Reproach his Memory and Brand his Name with the Odious Characters of Bloody Tyrant Perjured Popish Pseudo-Martyr and a Spoyler of the English Government And do this not in private Corners but publick Coffee-houses not only in Cabals and Clubs such as the Rhiming Conventicle of the Protestant Joyner and the Calves-head Meeting of Factious Atheists every 30th of January but in Swarms of Libels openly sold in Westminster-Hall and Cry'd by the Hawkers at the King's Palace Gate in the Face of the Supream Authority and Highest Judicature of the Nation who have so often and do so frequently declare and protest against the Falshood and Scandals which those Venomous Libels impudently Disperse to Reproach His Majesty's most Innocent and Illustrious Progenitor AT the same time the same Men with matchless Boldness do as Openly and in Print Extol Ludlow's Mem. Oats Icon. 1. Op Reform Pref. to Milton's Letters vind of O. C. vind L. Parl. and Applaud as Protestant Heroes English Patriots Men full of Grace the Knowledg of God and true Religion Men of Honour Prudence c. Those execrable Traytors and proscribed Regicides who in divers Statutes stand Branded for horrid Murtherers Parricides Miscreants Sons of Belial neither true Subjects nor true Protestants but Authors of the greatest Reproach and Infamy it was possible for the greatest Enemies of God and the King to bring on the Protestant Religion and the Nation THE Preface to a Sermon will not afford room to say all I can to confute these Men to shew the Wickedness of their Principles the Falseness and Injustice of their Reproaches and the Innocence of K. Charles But I have prepared and will shortly publish full and unquestionable Proof of them all FOR upon a full and impartial Survey of all that hath been Written on both sides of the Controversy between the R. M. and his Enemies I find though they had the Advantage by their Success to be thought the Right Cause yet they wanted that Strength of Law and Reason which they had in Arms and Legions And in this Judgment I am confirm'd by the Concurrence of all the many Parliaments we have had ever since that Tragical Dispute every of them having judged for the King and condemn'd his Enemies declared Him in the Right and they in the Wrong And beside the Determination of those most competent Judges we have the Evidence of very many Men who Acted with the greatest Zeal and Violence against Him and were literally His Mortal Enemies who being afterward convinced of their Error publickly Recanted declared their Repentance and Remorse gave Testimony to His Innocence and the Righteousness of his Cause and from Inveterate Adversaries became Advocates and Compurgators NOW were there no other Evidence or Argument as there are abundance to prove the Innocence of this Holy King these Two were enough viz. The constant and agreeing Judgment and Declarations of many Parliaments and the Testimony of many of His greatest Foes These render all other Pleas needless and supersede as well as surmount all other Proof whatsoever either from Judgment or Evidence or both FOR the Parliament i. e. and the King and Coke Jurisd of Courts c. 1. Idem Instit page 109. three Estates of the Realm assembled being by none more than the Royal M. Enemies accounted the most absolute and supream Judges of right and wrong and the Evidence of an Enemy reputed the most credible in a Man's behalf and both these full and clear in the Vindication of King Charles The Controverfy must End here unless they will deny what all grant to be true and themselves with great Ardour and Zeal have often asserted By this Law and by this Testimony we will therefore be Tried and Judged and let those that will not be convinced by them be accounted as the Scripture saith Men that have no truth in them MY Work then in this short Defence and Pleading for K. Charles is to prove 1st the Validity and Competency of their Judgments or the power and rights of Parliaments to judge fully and finally in all matters of right or wrong 2dly That they have given or declared for the King And lastly that many of his greatest and most malicious Foes by the Invincible power and force of Truth or Conscience have done the same So that his very Enemies being Judges and Witnesses King Charles appears Just and Innocent THE power and right of Parliaments to judge and make final determination in the matter before us appears by their own Declaratory Statutes The nature and practice of all late Parliaments and by consent and testimony of the King's Enemies THE transcendent power of Parliaments to judge finally in all Cases of which they take cognizance is evident among many of their own Declarations One especially
wherein the R. M. is said to be the best of Kings a strict Observer of Justice Honour and Truth a Prince that had done no harm nor committed any fault of perfect Innocence an upright Man one that feared God and eschewed Evil like Josiah a Saint that did that which was right in the sight of the Lord the Best of Men the Best of Kings the most excellent Example of Virtue and Piety that ever the World produced as Dr. Lancaster Dr. Langford and Mr. Blackall have done the last three Anniversaries we cannot but see it is still their Judgment and Opinion of K. Charles And admire at the Impudence and Falshood of those many Libels daily published to tell the Nation That so many Parliaments have vouched a pernicious Lie allow'd and confirm'd by publick Sanction such a Character of an odious Tyrant as the best of Princes have not deserved And now I would ask all sober Men of Sense to which of these ought we to adhere and submit our Judgments and Belief of this injured Monarch Where shall we find the Truth Who is most likely to be in the right the Law or the Libels Parliament or Pamphlets Surely all unprejudiced Men will believe the former before Cook Milton Goodwin Ludlow Jones Oates and all the rest of these scandalous Traytors who so falsly and impudently gain-say them and accuse Him whom they have acquitted and declared Not Guilty HAVING thus clear'd up the Royal Martyr's Innocence by the inculcated Verdict and solemn Judgment of the highest Judicature and supream Court of England which is the Sense and Judgment of the whole Kingdom it may seem needless to produce any thing else in His behalf BUT in regard many of His Enemies became convinced of His Justice and Innocency and made open confession thereof I will produce a few of them to Evidence the Truth and Justice of that Judgment our Parliament have given of this Wrong'd INNOCENT O. Cromwel who was the chiefest in Arms Council and Judgment against Him shall be the first I will produce for Him it may seem incredible that he should ever think or speak favourably of the R. M. whose Life and Throne he took from Him But we are assur'd by divers of his own Party that he not only declared his Sense of the King's Goodness and the Wrong done Him but engaged to Rescue Him out of His Enemies Hands and settle Him on His Throne Sir W. Waller's Apologetical Narrative Sir Tho. Herbert's Threnod Car. Major Huntington's Address to the Parliament See also M. Hunt Letter to Sir W. Dugdal Aug 1648 Col. George's Account of the Army's Proceedings All report the Courtship Cromwel and Ireton made to the King while he was their Prisoner 1647 and that they often confess'd him to be the best of Kings His Cause Rightful and page 270. His Enemies in the Wrong Ludlow also in his Memoirs saith Cromwel a little before His Murther promised to do all he could to Serve and Save Him And there is lately publish'd by R. Baldwin John Darby c. Memoirs of Sir John Barkley which tells us That Cromwel while the King was his Prisoner told him weeping that he had been abus'd by a wrong Opinion of the King who he now thought the most upright and the most consciencious Man in the three Kingdoms THE Conversion of this infamous Traytor may seem but a Copy of his Countenance a Feign to gain his Point and delude the King But the Crocodile said as much after he had murthered Him and got into his Throne as we are told by the Author of a Paraphrase on the King's Speech printed 1648. Cromwel saith he confess'd the Martyr'd P. 19. King was a Man of most excellent Parts great Piety as a Christian exceeding Honesty as a Man supream Wisdom as a King and of Knowledge as a Commander exceeding all his Generals but being the Son of King James 't was needful that he died Mr. P. Sterry the Sunday after Cromwel's Death 18 New Q. Print 1659. said in his Sermon at the Chappel Royal That as sure as the Word of God was in his Hand the late Protector was at the right Hand of God intercedeing for this Nation If those People think him such a deified Saint they cannot refuse credit to what he confesseth especially of an Enemy IRETON declared himself so much a Convert to Loyalty and sensible of the King's Righteousness and the Justice of his Cause that he declared as Mr. Huntington relates ut supra that if he had but six Men to joyn him he would Fight for it that he would purge and purge the House 'till all his Enemies were outed COOK the infamous Sollicitor at the High Court of Justice who Impeach'd the King used him Rudely and afterward writ a Vindication of Reg. Tryals p. 116. 134. that horrid Villany did both before and after the Murther as was proved and confessed at his Tryal declare That he believed King Charles to be as Wise and Gracious a Prince as any was in the whole World but he must die and Monarchy with him And in that scandalous Fardle of Treason he writ to defend that hellish Fact He confess'd That the Appeal p. 35. King was a great Student had more Learning and Dexterity in State Affairs undoubtedly than all the Kings in Christendom and for Parts had they been sanctified i. e. Infatuated by Enthusiasm a second Solomon H. MARTIN who commanded a Regiment C. Walker Hist Ind. vol 1. p. 171. of Horse in the Service of the L. P. and as one of the Party writes a Regiment of Whores in his own sat a Judge at the Tryal and Sentence of K. Charles and published a Vindication thereof yet afterward he declared in the H. of Commons upon H. M. Polit. and Oecon. Letters a Motion for making Cromwel King That if a King were necessary it had been better keep the last being the fittest for it of any Gentleman in England and C. Walker ubi supra p. 149. Tryal p. 249. that there was no fault in the Person but the Office and at his Tryal confessed his Trason and Repentance SURELY such true Protestant Patriots such Babes of Grace such Bulwarks of the Reformed Religion and Rights of the People as these Bloody Parricides were by some accounted would not have said this of one they thought a Tyrant or a Papist so that they were such Judges as Pontius Pilat who condemned to the Cross a King in whom he confess'd he found no Fault SIR W. Waller was a Member of the L. P. and one of their Generals a great Scholar and a great Soldier but after he had by his Sword in the Field and his Voice in the House of Commons opposed the Royal Cause and Party 'till their Overthrow and the King's Captivity at Holdenby then he became a penitent Convert and writ an Account of the Transactions of those Times wherein he Justifies and Applauds the King and abhors