1588. A SERMON PREACHED ON THE Queenes day Beeing the 17. of Nouember 1587. at the towne of Lidd in Kent by ISAAC COLFE Preacher of the word of God LONDON Printed by Iohn Wolfe for Harry Carre and are to bee sold at his shop in Pauls Church yard ¶ TO MY WORSHIPFVLL FRIENDES THE Bailife and Iurats of the towne of Lidd Isaac Colfe wisheth all prosperity in this life and life euerlasting in the world to come HAuing Preached this Sermō amongest you woorshipfull Sirs seeing the General wel liking thereof and therewithall the desire of some to haue the copy of the same I chose rather to commit it to the Printer then to copy it out in writing because that as the labour should bee easier vnto my selfe so the benefite should bee greater vnto more And this I haue done not vpon the absolute well lyking of the maner of my labour therin which I confesse simple but onely the cōsideration of the matter therof which for this time I see necessary containing as appeareth in the discourse thereof the woonderfull aduauncement of our most gratious soueraigne Q. Elizabeth to the crowne of this Realme to the singular benefite of vs all that vpon the consideration therof we might bee the more stirred vp to yeeld dutifull thankfulnes and prayer vnto God for her the one in that hee first aduaunced her thereunto and preserued her hethertoo therin the other that hee would still preserue and prosper her in the gouernment of the same And I haue thought it requisite to dedicate this my labour vnto you not onely because it was preached amongest you but principally because of those passing great curtesies which I haue cōtinually receaued at your hands For the which as I can not but acknowledge my selfe wholly indebted farre beyond my power fully to requite so do I acknowledge my selfe euery way bound to testify my thankfulnes vnto you which is the only recompēce which either you demaund or I can geue againe for them Wherefore vouchsafe I pray you Woorshipfull Sirs as an vndoubted testimony therof to accept this same at my hands who as I am alwaies and by al waies ready prest according to duty with all the power of body and mynde to seeke your spiritual profite so am I as ready at this present herein to satisfy your Godly desires The Lord heape vpon you the manifold graces of his holy Spirite in aboundant measures to the benefite of his Church whereof yee are members of the Common wealth whereof yee are subiectes but yet principally of that Corporation whereof yee are Magistrates to your praise on earth and eternall glory in the highest Heauens At Lidd this first of Ianuary 1587. Your woorships to bee commaunded in the Lord Isa Colfe A Sermon Text Psal 118. verse 22. c. 22 The stone which the builders refused is the head of the Corner 23 This was the Lords doings and it is meruailous in our eies 24 This is the day which the Lord hath made Let vs reioice and be glad in it 25 O Lord I pray thee saue now O lord I pray thee now geue prosperity 26 Blessed is hee that commeth in the name of the Lord we haue blessed you out of the house of the Lord. THis Psalme woorshipfull and beloued in our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ was framed by Dauid and that as it séemeth when after so many daungers auoided he had obtayned the kingdome of Iudah raigned in Hebron 2 Sam. 2. And it containeth 2 Sam. 2. partly the wordes of Dauid exhorting the house of Israel the house of Aaron yea and all them which feare the Lord to praise the Lord for his great goodnes and aboundant mercy towardes him which how great aboundant it was hee himselfe thankfully expresseth And partly the woordes of the people who vpon the consideration of the woonderfull aduauncement of Dauid notwithstanding all the outragious practises of his enemies and of the happines therof redounding to their singular and vnspeakable benefite with a solemne obseruation of the day therof giue thanks to the Lord therfore also ioyning prayer thereunto for the safety and prosperity of Dauid their king to which latter part are these woords to be referred which I haue at this present hereout in respect of this present occasion through the goodnes of God so happily multiplyed vnto vs made especiall choice off to deliuer vnto you and therefore are to be taken and vnderstood as being the woordes of the people and not as being the woordes of Dauid They do containe 2 principall partes 1. A declaration of the woonderful and happy aduauncement of Dauid to the kingdome 2 Theire louing and dutifull behauiour vpon the consideration thereof The first part A declaration of the woonderfull and happy aduauncement of Dauid to the kingdome Wherein yet more particularly the people expresse first the aduauncement of Dauid verse 22. Secondy how it came to passe verse 23. Thirdly the benefite therof vers 24. vntil the middest therof 1 The aduauncement of Dauid verse 22. The stone which the Builders refused is the head of the Corner For the more liuely describing and full expressing whereof we see they vse a metaphor comparing the commune wealth vnto a building the subiectes vnto stones therein the Princes and rulers vnto the builders thereof the King vnto the head Corner stone of the same For albeit that these woordes be referred vnto Christ of whom Dauid was a Type and figure and therefore are so vsed by Christ Math. 21. And by Matt. 21. Act. 4. the Apostle S. Peeter Act. 4. and else where yet as they were spoken by this people in this place they were applyed vnto Dauid therby shewing that Dauid a subiect of that Common wealth although refused and persecuted by the Princes and Rulers thereof yet was aduaūced to be King of the same where First let vs obserue the fit vse of this metaphor by the examination of the partes thereof Secondly the application thereof to the purpose of the people First concerning the fit vse of this Metaphor it is apparant by the partituler examination of the seuerall parts thereof For euerie Common-wealth is as a building consisting of many parts which being coupled together in one according vnto art make one house of this house first euery subiect is a stone seruing in one place or other and to one vse or other in the building whereby as wee learne how perillous in each common wealth contention is betweene the subiects of the same that it is euen such as if the stones of one building should forsake their places refuse their offices in keeping in and supporting of one another should deuide themselues the one against the other to the beating out and breaking of each other wherby it must needes come to passe that the house yea bee it neuer so goodly and stately neuer so firme and strong must haue a downfall and come to destruction for a house deuided against it selfe can not stand
naturall or vnnaturall death should take away Elizabeth from Englād it would indeed be a ioyful and happy Elizabeth but a most woefull and miserable England God graunt mine eies neuer see nor mine eares neuer heare of the death of Elizabeth Wherefore O Lord I pray thee saue now O Lord I pray thee geue now prosperity vnto Elizabeth and let all those which entirely loue Elizabeth say So be it 3 A blessing verse 26. Blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord we haue blessed you out of the house of the Lord. Which words the most vsuall translations do set downe after the forme and maner of wishing or desiring Blessed be hee c. As if the people had prayed vnto the Lord to blesse Dauid their King But the most approued translatiō according to the Hebrew set them downe by way of affirmation Blessed is hee c. Wherin the people do affirme Dauid their King to bee the blessed of the Lord. Blessed is Dauid the which they confirme by two notable arguments First Dauid commeth in the name of the Lord that is Dauid commeth to rule and gouerne the common-wealth Hee obtaineth the Kingdome not in his owne name but in the name of the Lord not thrusting himself thereunto but hauing the same thrust vpon him by the Lord not vsurpingly aduauncing himselfe but beeing miraculously thereunto aduaunced by the Lord and therefore Dauid is blessed for as they which come in their owne names are cursed so they which come in the name of the Lord are blessed but Dauid commeth in the name of the Lord therfore Dauid is blessed Secōdly Dauid is blessed of them that are of the house of the Lord that is either of the priests of the Lordes house of his Sanctuary whose office it was to blesse as appeareth Num. 6. and also Deut. 10. or else Num. 6. Deut. 10. more generally euē of all those that belong to the house of the Lord that is which purely woorshippe him in his Sanctuary in Sion And therefore Dauid is blessed of the Lord for the Lord mercifully ratifyeth and confirmeth the blessinges of his Church hee blesseth those whom his Church blesseth and hee curseth those whom his Church curseth But his Church euen the Congregation of his chosen Children beeyng blessed by Dauid haue blessed Dauid and therefore Dauid is blessed of the Lord Lo how inuincibly they haue prooued that Dauid is blessed The consideration whereof could not but much confirme the hope of the safety and prosperity of Dauid for which they prayed before for not onely safety and prosperity but euen all good thinges follow the blessing of God The Lords blessing is no vaine nor naked blessing as is oftentimes the blessing of man But al good things are heapēd vpon those which are blessed of the Lord Let Shemei therefore curse Dauid 2. Sam. 16. yet Dauid is blessed yea let the enemies of 2. Sam. 16. Dauid conspire together against him yet shall the Lord geue safety and prosperity vnto Dauid because hee is the blessed of the Lord. In like sorte dearely beloued this can not but bee vnto a singuler comfort and consolation continuing our hope of the safetie and prosperitie of our gracious Quéene Elizabeth because she is the blessed of the Lord. Elizabeth is the blessed of the Lord and therefore let her enimies curse her with booke bell and candle the curse shall not fal vpon her but she is blessed yea shall be blessed for euer for there is no repentance in the Lord God is not as man that hee should lye nor as the sonne of man that he should repent hath he said and shall he not doe it and hath he spoken and shall he not accomplish it hath he blessed and shall he not continue his blessing yes surely with him there is no variablenesse neither shadow of chaunging Iames. 1. If Isaac Iam. 1. was constant in his blessing vnwittingly bestowed vpon Iacob and notwithstanding all the teares of Esau would not call backe the same but confirmed it saying I haue blessed him and therefore he shall be blessed Gen. 27. Then how much more constant Gen. 27. shall the Lorde bee in continuing his blessing vpon those his children whom he hath once not vnwittingly but willingly blessed notwithstanding all the teares outcries cursings and bannings of the vngodly saying I haue blessed them therefore they shall bee blessed And if the Lord blesse who shall curse How shal I curse where the Lord hath not cursed saith Balaam to Balaac or how shall I detest where the Lorde hath not detested or if they curse or detest those whom the Lorde blesseth and reioyceth in their cursing shall fall vpon them selues as the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 109. As they loued cursing so shal it come vnto thē as they loued Psal 109. not blessing so it shal be far off from them as they clothed themselues with cursing as with a garment so it shall come into their bowels like water and like oyle into their bones But the blessed of the Lord shal be blessed for euer That Elizabeth is the blessed of the Lord I proue euē by the selfe same arguments wherby the blessednes of Dauid is confirmed in this place First Bessed is he that cōmeth in the name of the Lord but Elizabeth commeth in the name of the Lord she came not to gouerne this land in her own name but in the name of the Lord she obtained not the crown by her own power but by the power of the Lord who miraculously aduanced her thereunto no lesse miraculousily hath hetherto vpheld her therin therefore this is an euident testimonie the she is the blessed beloued of the Lord. Secondly She is blessed out of the house of the Lord as it hath béene blessed by her so it blesseth her amongst all the mightie kings and princes of the earth there is none by whom the house of the Lord the Church of Christ hath béene so wonderfully blessed as it hath béene by Quéene Elizabeth at this day by her principally it is that the kingdom of Antechrist decayeth dayly by her principally it is that the Church of Christ within these few yeares in so many nations is augmented and aduanced by her it is that the banished children of Christ not hauing a place where to rest their heades are louingly receaued and carefully fed and nourished by her it is that the oppressed ones are defended they which war for it are strēgthned and therfore woorthely hath she deserued the euerlasting blessing of the house of the Lord yea and no doubt the whole house of the Lord doth blesse her And therefore wee may also assure our selues that the Lord ratifying and confirming the blessing of his Church blesseth her The consideration whereof dearly beloued as I said before can not but greatly comfort and confirme the certainty of our hope concerning the safety and prosperity of our most gracious Soueraigne Queene Elizabeth that notwithstanding shee is cursed by the Pope the maister of misrule and author of all mischiefe and be hated of all his fauourers who with all their powers bend themselues against her to subdue her and bring her to confusion yet that they shall not bee able to preuaile ouer her but that the Lord for his names sake who hath miraculously aduaunced her and hetherto preserued her yea and for his Church sake which béeing blessed by her hath blessed her he will geue safety and prosperity vnto Elizabeth to the continuance of the glory of his name and the encreasing of the blessednes of his Church by her The which the Lord vouchsafe to graunt for his Sonne Christ his sake the head of his Church To whom with the holy Ghost three distinct persons and one onely God bee rendred all honour and praise both now and for euer Amen FINIS
opposed against the doing of man thereby shewing that it was brought to passe only by the power of the Lord without the helpe and beyond the expectation of man for albeit that euen those things which are brought to passe by the ministery of man are said to be done of God who vsed man as the instrument yet most properly are those things said to be the Lords doing which by his absolute power are brought to passe without the helpe beyond the expectation of man thus was the destruction of Pharao his host of Senacheribs host of Herod and thus wss the preseruation deliuerance of the Israelits of the thrée children of Daniel of Peter the Lords doing and thus doe this people affirme the aduancement of Dauid to be the Lords doing Secondly that it was the Lords dooing they proue by the marueilousnes therof And it is meruelous in our eies As if they had said Dauid is aduanced to the kingdome but without the helpe yea beyond the expectation yea aboue the reason and vnderstanding of man yea in so strange a maner as that in our eies it is a thing most merueilous and therefore surely it is the Lordes dooing And was it not a straunge thing woorthie to be merueiled at that Dauid a man of a meane parentage in the common wealth of Israell the youngest of all his brethren and one fetched from the shéepefold should be annointed to be king yea notwithstanding hee found so many enemies and so few friends so many perils and so small safetie being a man reiected and persecuted by Saul and his princes yea being a man despised and scorned of the people as he himselfe speaketh Psal 22. Should Saul Psal 22. being dead raigne ouer Iudah and at the length also Ishbosheth being slaine ouer Israel yet this came to passe Dauid that litle one was annointed that persecuted and despised one was aduanced first to be king ouer Iudah and then also ouer Israell This therefore was the Lords doing and it is merueilous in our eies And no lesse merueilous if we consider it was the aduancement of Quéen Elizabeth to the Crowne of this Realme for what though the kingdome successiuely by right appertained vnto her yet if we consider the multitude and mightinesse of her enemies that withstood her the infinite number of their subtile and deuilish deuises and practises to destroy her again if we consider the smal number of her able friends to defend her and her lesse abilitie to defend her selfe being a mayden virgine and therefore vnmeete vnarmed and therefore vnfit to resist againe being fast shut within the stone walles of strong holdes and therefore not able to fly but enforced to aduenture the extremitie of those dangers which by her bloudie enemies were daily threatned against her and prepared for her againe on the other side if wée consider how sodenly and wonderfully the chiefest of her enemies when shée was in chiefest danger of death and in the iudgement of man in desperate estate of life were brought to destruction wherby Quéene Mary being dead she was aduanced to the Crowne I say if we throughly cōsider these things and accordingly waigh them in the true ballances of an vpright mind we shall find the aduancement of Quéene Elizabeth a thing most marueilous in our eyes yea and the more we consider it the more marueilous we shall find it yea I assure my selfe you dearely beloued that of all those marueilous works which through the mighty hand outstretched arme of the Lord we haue either with our eyes séene in our daies or els with our eares heard in the daies of our fathers to haue come to passe this one is the greatest the most merueilous in the eyes of all those which throughly and vprightly consider it euen this the aduancement of Quéene Elizabeth to the Crowne of this land It was maruailous in the eyes of her verie enimies who were amased at the sight of it and whose hearts are yet astonished at the remembrance of it if therefore it séeme not marueilous in the eyes of any it is in the eyes of those which consider it not Wherefore if we are not too sottish we can not but sée and too malicious we can not but acknowledge that it is the Lords doing and not mans that it is the Lord which hath pleaded her cause and reuenged her wrong and that he onely which is mightie and almightie hath magnified her saying It is the Lords doing and it is marueilous in our eyes 3 The benefit thereof After that the people haue expressed the wonderfulnes of Dauids aduancement they likewise expresse the benefit thereof Vers 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made euen to the singuler benefit of the whole Common-wealth For here they speake of a speciall day made by God vnto a speciall vse for otherwise there is no day which the Lord hath not made and that euen for the vse of man as appeareth Genes Gen. 1. 1. The Lorde made the light and deuiding it from the darkenesse called the light Day and the darkenesse Night and so hee made the first second third fourth fift and sixt in which hee made the world and all the creatures therein and the seuenth wherein he rested from all his Gen. 2. worke which hee had made and so hee likewise maketh euerie day vnto the end of the worlde for as now and alwaies in his prouidence hee appointeth what thinges in euerie day from day to day shall be done so hee also in the same his prouidence maketh euerie day wherein all things shal be done Here therefore as I said before they speake of a special day made of God vnto a speciall vse for the same people and that not of a speciall day made for the sending of a speciall plague for thus also is the day of tribulation and of affliction for the punishment of the sinnes of the vngodly a speciall day which the Lord hath made to a speciall vse and therefore the day appointed for the captiuitie and destruction of the Iewes Ierem. 30. Ioel. 1. Amos. 5. Zophon 1. is called the day of the Ierem. 30. Ioel. 1. Amos. 5. Zophon 1. Lord but of a speciall day made by him to their speciall benefit and commoditie this day was the day of the aduancemēt of Dauid vnto the kingdome whereby the whole common wealth after the vnhappie raign and happie death of Saul was wonderfully blessed and therefore say they this day the Lord hath made not to the benefit of one or a fewe but to the benefite of the whole common wealth The Lord had made many daies for the benefite of that people before the time of Dauid both in the time of Moses and of Iosua and of the Iudges and of Samuel as appeareth in the perusing of those bookes but yet amongst those there was not one wherein they had receiued greater blessings then in this day of the aduancement of Dauid and