Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n
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A86986
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A sermon preached at St. Bartholomevvs the lesse in London, on the xxvii. day of March 1642; being the day of the inauguration of our soveraigne lord King Charles. By William Hall. Minister of that parish, and now thought fit to be published.
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Hall, William, d. 1662.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing H446; Thomason E142_14; ESTC R7921
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15,614
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43
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A SERMON PREACHED At St. Bartholomevvs the lesse in LONDON on the xxvii day of March 1642 Being the day of the Inauguration of our Soveraigne Lord King CHARLES By WILLIAM HALL Minister of that Parish and now thought fit to be published LONDON Printed by T. Badger for Samuel Brown 1642. To the Right Honourable Sr. IOHN BANKS Knight Lord chiefe Iustice of the Court of Common pleas and one of his Majesties most honorable Privy Counsaile My Lord THis Sermon being delivered by a son of mine whom it hath pleased God to call to his speciall service in the Ministery of his Gospel upon the anniversary day of the Inauguration of our gracious Soveraigne the 27 of March last In the passing of it not only thorough my eares for I may well be deemed partiall but of diverse others of the then Auditors who surely could not be partiall it found such approbation as wee did not thinke fit it should be confined within those narrow limits of a small Parish but that it should bee communicated to others by this diffusive way of silent speaking by these dumb Characters to the eyes eares and hearts of all who please My Lord I have long studied to find out some way or other whereby I might returne some acknowledgement of those many undeserved favours which I have received from your Lordship and having the free tender of this Sermon from the Deliverer of it as a pledge of his duty to mee I could not but think fit I having nothing else so worthy to present it to your Lordship the rather First because the subject of it is touching Rulers and Magistrates amongst which your Lordship sits in none of the lowest rankes Secondly because it teacheth the duty of the people to their Rulers and Magistrates and how they ought to deport themselves towards them in words and actions A thing very necessary in this licencious age of ours where every man conceives hee may not only thinke what hee list but utter what he thinkes be it of the greatest or highest I shall humbly desire your Lordship to set apart one vacant houre for the perusall of it and consider it comes from a higher Spirit than from the spirit of the Speaker Wherefore it cannot bee altogether unworthy Your Lordships sparing so much time for contemplation of it We shall wish it may prove acceptable to Your Lordship And for us both the Author and the Presenter Wee shall ever as exceedingly obliged rest desirous to take hold of all occasions to offer to Your Lordship all fit testimonies of our duties and respects and shall ever remaine Your Lordships most humble and affectionate servants in all we can performe NATHANIEL HALL WILLIAM HALL EXOD. 22.28 Thou shalt not revile the Gods nor curse the Ruler of thy people THe Pulpit is not to bee made the theater to vent politique Discourses Nor is it the taske of the Preacher of the Gospell to busie the minds of the people with Civill matters who are more easily fixed upon them than upon Divine It hath been one of the diseases of our age not only for Laick preachers but some of the lawfull Ministers of Christ to make the matters of the times the subjects of their Sermons more than matters more necessary to Salvation they have taught {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the course of the World more than the Crosse of Christ My Text though it concern Politique Government will not I hope ingage me to such an error to unprofitable discourses of Policy or intermedling with the times which is not for edification yet you see it is fitted to the day The day is both Gods and the Kings and therefore challengeth the remembrance of those duties which God requireth towards Kings and Governors Neither indeed is such Doctrine more seasonable in respect of the day the anniversary of our Princes inauguration than for those dayes wherein we live The {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} or liberty of the tongue extends so far that every man or woman make themselvs the Censurers of Magistracy one disrelishing and taxing the actions of the sacred Senate of our Common-wealth another throwing his private imputations upon the person of Gods annoynted One undertaking that which only is peculiar to the highest to stand in the Congregation of Princes and be Iudge among the Gods another using such language as that of Shimei to David or as innocent Naboth was falsly charged to have used against King Ahab The propounded Scripture wil meet with both kinds of presumption for God forbid we should so reprehend one sort of presumers as to countenance the other All sorts of Governours are here united in my Text both the supreame and subordinate and may they never be disunited among us censorious or bitter speeches against both kinds are severely prohibited Thou shalt not c. God himselfe had now made knowne the Morall Law in ten precepts upon Mount Horeb and Moses having a Legislative power derived to him from God himselfe propounds Ceremoniall and judiciall precepts to the people The one sort to prescribe those formalities wherewith God would be worshipped the other to order their politicall government for the better maintaining humane society in that populous Common-wealth of Israel This latter sort of judiciall Lawes we shall find to begin in the first verse of the former chapter where we shall finde them intituled judgements which God commanded Moses to set before them Judgements quia sunt leges secundum quas judicandum est because they were Lawes according to which judgement in judiciall tryalls was to proceed in Israel Many particular Lawes there are to prevent private injuries betwixt man and man and here in this precept the Law giver addes a peremptory precept for deportment towards publike persons Thou shalt not c. It is indeed a Morall precept in its owne nature a streame derived from the fountain of the fift Commandement as those are the strongest and most obliging judiciall Lawes which have neerest dependance on the Morall Law and therefore is of perpetuall efficacy and obligeth all to perpetuall observation but is here placed among the judiciall or politicque Lawes for double reason First Because it concerned the policy or government of the Common-wealth the duty of men towards their Magistrates Secondly Because upon breach of this precept the Delinquents should be proceeded against by the Civill Magistrate and in a judiciall course punishment be inflicted This was now made a penall statute to Israel aswell as it was a branch of a morall Commandement and though we find not the nature or degree of the punishment expressed because God leaves that arbitrary to Magistrates who would be forward enough to punish indignities to themselves yet is it most probably conjectured to be no lesse than death it selfe for notorious open railing upon the highest Magistrate He that railed on his Father or Mother was to be put to death Chap. 21.17 and surely no lesse was he to suffer
They should be well acquainted with his attributes of Wisdome to discerne betwixt good and evill of Justice to distribute to every one with an unpartiall hand of Mercy in mitigating the utmost rigour of severity God hath in Scripture assumed the same titles which he hath given to Rulers he is Pastor Israelis the Sheepheard of Irael and they are or should be {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the Sheepheards of the people he is Salvator Israelis the Saviour of Israel they should be {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} deliverers of them like him in times of danger He is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the great Watchman over his people they are {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} watchmen also subordinate to him They should be like God in all their actions but especially in these two first in protegenda Ecclesia in protecting Religion and the Church of God it is that whereof the highest takes the principall care he by ordinary providence cares for the just and unjust affords them all life aire raine and sunshine but his special eye is over his Church how to preserve his truth and his servants so should earthly Magistrates shew themselves similes Deo like Gods in this Their care and their endeavour should be principally fixed upon the establishment of Religion the advancement of the Church they can never be more like God than when they do his worke defend his truth advance his glory Secondly like him they ought to be in faciendo justitiam in doing justice and judgement God is knowne by this that he is the great executer of justice and judgement relieving the injured vindicating the oppressed punishing the wicked rewarding the righteous then are Rulers truly like him when they do that which is correspondent to these thus did the Queene of Sheba tell Salomon that the Lord his God set him upon the Throne for that end to do justice and judgement It is the great end of Magistracy and they properly deserve the title of Gods no longer than they resemble him in that Vnjust Magistrates have more of Sathan in them than of God more of the God of this world than of the true God of heaven Their power makes them like the highest but their injustice like the father of wrongs Properly and truly are they called Gods when their wayes are like his It is the generall title of Magistrates to be called Gods here is another added which seemes to be singular The Ruler of thy people c. Moses was at this time constituted by God the principall Ruler of Israel and so himselfe particularly might be thought to be designed by this expression The Ruler of the people yet Saint Paul applying this expression to the high Priest when he was charged to have reviled him Act. 13.4 calling him the Ruler of the people implys that it is not wholy to be restrained to one but to any ruler yet certainly it may include an {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} upon the supreame Ruler where such there is if there be one Ruler of the people whom God hath placed in more eminency than the rest as Kings or Monarchs the Command is principally given concerning him such as was Moses at this time such as was the High Priest in Saint Pauls time for he was then excepting those governours which the Romans set over the Jewes the chiefe ruler in Israel It is not indeed of absolute necessity that in every nation there should be one person honoured with the title of {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the sole ruler of the people for God hath not expresly imposed it on all Nations were the Question to be discussed in generall what Government were best it were not rashly to bee concluded for any one Vniversally to be the best But that were best for every Nation which would best consist with the disposition and manners and frame of the people The mixture and contemperation of them is without question the most Vniversally profitable and of longest duration where there is one supreame Ruler and yet supported with and strengthened by representative Counsellors where there is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} one Chiefe and yet plures Consiliarii a multitude of Counsellors When only one would rule without subordination of other Magistrates the burthen must needs prove unsupportable where each member would rule there must needs be Ataxy and confusion where there is one superior Ruler and he standing in Congregatione Principum in coetu Deorum in the congregation of Princes amongst the inferior Gods there surely is the happiest commixture there may be expected with Gods blessing the fruits of a happy temper It is beloved the happinesse wherewith God hath blessed our sinfull Nation that we have both parts of the subject of this precept in my Text We have those who are called Gods without flattery wise and just and provident Rulers We have one {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} a Ruler of the people a gracious King appointed by God over us to do Iustice and Iudgement established in the Throne by long succession from many Ancestors May wee therefore joyne them together and proceed to see what it is God Commands us concerning them which is the second Part of my Text Thou shalt not c. The command is not in tearmes affirmative and proportionable to the appellation For first it is not said Deos adorabis thou shalt adore the Gods Nor secondly is it said thou shalt flatter them Non jussi sunt sacrificiis adorari saith S. Austin they are not commanded to bee honored with sacrifices though they are called Gods It was the foolish presumption of the Heathens that they would indeed be stiled Gods and have the people offer them sacrifice forgetting they should dye like men Though God give Rulers his own title he would not have them arrogate it so as to forget they are men though he call them Gods that men may honour them yet he would not have them call themselves so in the pride of their hearts It was Lucifer's sin to say similis ero Altissimo I will be like the Highest Neither would he have private men suppose them to be God essentially and to forget him in respect of them nor to ascribe that honor to them which is only due to himselfe It was the madnesse of the ignorant Heathen to account Paul and Barnabas Gods in the likenesse of men and to be ready to offer sacrifice to them may such idolatry never bee found in knowing Christians There have beene no greater enemies to the happinesse of Princes than flatterers Nor is there any way speedier to bring judgements upon Rulers and Nations then when the due honor shall be taken from God and ascribed to men which are but secondary subordinate instruments to convey them For God is a jealous God and though he give the title of Elohim yet he