THE MAGISTRATES Concern in Christ's Kingdom A SERMON Preached at the Assizes at Winchester July 14. 1697. By ROGER FARBROTHER Vicar of Holy-Rhoods in Southampton LONDON Printed for William Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-yard M DC XC VIII To the Worshipful Alexander Alchorne Esquire High Sheriff of Hampshire SIR IT was at Your Desire that this Discourse was prepared it appeared at the Assizes with Your Approbation and now at length in publick by Your Command It 's aim is to make the Magistrates Duty Christian by laying before him the Relation he bears to the great Mediatorial King the Honourable Trust he is advanced to in his Houshold what Service he owes his Church and is capable of doing for her in which consists the great Dignity of his Office and without which it would remain Heathen still And how weak soever the performance may be or how unfit for the Press for which you are answerable who have promoted the Publication and carried it beyond its Design yet the Foundation I doubt not will prove good and this weak Essay if it can attain no further may at least provoke some abler hand to set this seasonable Truth in a better Light whereby some good may accrue to the Publick herein which by whomsoever conveyed will be highly acceptable I know to You and to all the True Sons of the Church of England particularly to SIR Your Most Faithful and Humble Servant R. Farbrother PSAL. II. XII Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way THE Psalmist here whether by extatick rapture or by the softer Whispers and Inspirations of the Holy Spirit more common to him was favour'd with a prospect of the Messiah's Kingdom of its Rise and Power A Kingdom which should be the delight of all Mankind as well as the Glory of their Maker who would erect it Over which the Infinite Father would set his equally Infinite Son who was qualify'd for a perfect Government and to enrich all Mankind from his own Bounty and Fulness and in the emanations of which God would erect to himself brighter Trophies of Glory and address more powerfully to the love and admiration of all rational and intelligent Beings than he had done in that great Work of Creation One thing there was in this great Work which shews it to be more than Humane a thing so unlikely in reason to come to pass that it could never have entred into the Prophets thoughts had not some Being of higher rank and greater foresight discovered it which might have tempted the Prophet to and almost have excus'd him in the disbelief of the whole Scene And which may seem so strange to us that did not our times produce instances of it more than enough we should hardly believe those Histories that did relate it viz. That when God would erect a Kingdom so glorious and so great redounding every way to the Honour and Advantage of Mankind would repair our corrupted Nature and miserable State make us a gracious tender of all the Happiness both of this and of a future Life and this by the Wise and Gracious Government of his own Infinite Son who first should signifie his love by such a surprising instance as to lay down his worthier Life a ransom for ours by whom also the Father would give us a most perfect Law and make us proposals of the greatest good That yet this Kingdom of his Son erected for these gracious purposes should find violent opposition from Men and that not only the ruder People but their Governours also should conspire against it and with attempts as furious as they were unreasonable and vain oppose the Omnipotent Hand and ward off the offered Mercy That God should be so careful to do Man the greatest Good and Man should be as diligent to frustrate and prevent it This tho' by our constant experience it is become familiar to us yet as it betrays the overgrown corruption of our State so to any Man that has a competent sense of those Mercies which the Father tenders to all Mankind in the erection of this Kingdom of his Son it may justly seem a wonder With admiration at this folly and ingratitude David begins this Psalm Why do the Heathen rage and the People imagine a vain thing The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed saying let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us Whilst yet these cords were only the cords of love of a love stronger than death free and generous and the Glory of its Infinite Author And these Bands were the wholsome Laws of the Gospel just and reasonable such as the Magistrate needed not to be jealous of nor the People uneasie under admirably adapted to our Nature and Condition to make us happy here and to dispose and fit us for that complete felicity hereafter to bring us to which was the great end for which this holy Oeconomy and Spiritual Kingdom was erected Wherefore the Psalmist to let them know how vain and dangerous this their opposition would be tells them that this promised King was the only Son of the High and Great Creator whose Scepter as it was right so it was Divine too would extend its Dominion over all Nations and break in pieces all that should oppose it And because he foresaw that this opposition would chiefly be formed by Princes and Magistrates therefore he addresses to them to perswade them as a consequence of all this to pay a voluntary Homage and loving submission to this great Prince to promote his Government and to seek his favour Kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish from the way Before I come to form my Exhortation it may be necessary and I shall do it briefly first to explain the terms and to shew who are the Persons spoken to who this Son or the Person spoken of what it is to kiss the Son and what is meant by perishing from the way 1. Who the Persons here exhorted are appears from v. 10. Be wise now O ye Kings be instructed ye Judges of the Earth serve the Lord with fear and rejoyce with trembling Kiss the Son c. Answerable to that v. 2. The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together which we find apply'd Act. 4. to Herod and Pontius Pilate the Rulers of the Jews the Elders and Scribes whilst they were forming their several Oppositions and Persecutions against Christ and his Apostles So that by Kings and Rulers in the second v. that oppos'd this Messias and his Kingdom by Kings and Judges in the 10th v. that are exhorted to a better carriage to submit to this Government and to kiss the Son are meant Magistrates of all ranks not only Kings the Supreme but all subordinate Magistrates also to which is committed in any degree the execution of the Laws 2ly Who this Son is The ancient Jews
know that the Principle of this Union is the Holy Ghost and this great King has signified himself to be linked to the Members of his Church in such strict Bands as no Union upon Earth either Natural or Moral can justly represent He stiles them his Children his Brethren his Friends and his Spouse which are the strictest of all Moral ties and there is nothing upon Earth more endearing When by Natural Similitudes he would express this their nearness to him they are such as hardly admit even of a numerical Distinction as the Vine and the Branches the Head and the Members Bone of his Bone he calls them and Flesh of his Flesh and intimates his design to be to make them hereafter one with himself and with his Father Now the Church being a Society of Men to which this great King is thus intimately united which have entred into Covenant with him engag'd to perform strict and sincere Allegiance to him and to maintain Charity and Communion with one another in order to their glorifying him here and becoming the Trophies of his Love hereafter and this Society being capable of much advantage or hindrance from the Civil Magistrate and the Magistrate having this Power and Authority by which he acts from this Son of God as Mediatorial King for under that formality 't is given to him and so also he imparts it it appears that the Magistrate hath a great concern in this Kingdom to execute the Power he has receiv'd to the good thereof For the good of the Church was the only direct and immediate end for which this Mediatorial Kingdom was erected and therefore all the Powers of that Kingdom must have an Eye and Tendency to that End and this being an end so pleasing to this great King must stir up a suitable zeal for it in all those that have any regard for him The immediate and proper end of Civil Government is indeed the safety and happiness of Society but 't is a great error to think that this is the only end of it and all that the Magistrate has incumbent upon him this is only in order to a further and more worthy end to serve hereby that great Lord who has given him this Authority and to promote the Interest of this Kingdom for the sake of which he had this Authority conferr'd upon him And as the last and consummatory Regal Act of this Mediatorial King will be to judge considered as a Publick Person he will be found the greatest Friend to that Government which has most industriously promoted the Interest thereof So that the Magistrate may be supposed to kiss the Son as he is here exhorted when he looks upon himself as a Minister of this Kingdom and with the greatest application of mind suitable to that Love and Reverence which is due to this great King takes the Interest of this Kingdom to be the great concern of his Office the greatest end for which he came into the World and that the Glory and Excellency of his Character consists in this that it gives him the grateful opportunities of bearing a part in this great Work What these opportunities are will somewhat appear from my second Enquiry which is this II. What this Son of God does expect of them in their Publick Capacity that they may approve themselves to him and avoid his Anger Kiss the Son lest he be angry He expects then in general that by an impartial and vigorous use of that Sword that he has put into their Hands they should encourage Vertue and restrain Vice There are two reasons why the Magistrate should be especially careful of his Duty at this time which might serve as my Apology if I needed one for this my particular application to him at this opening of the Circuit The first appears Deut. 23. 9. When the Host goeth forth against thine Enemies then keep thee from every wicked thing This is eminently our case as no one needs to be told And the second is the too obvious corruption of manners and visible decay of Vertue and Goodness amongst us The first shews it to be a season for reformation of manners and the second that they want much to be reform'd and both together give us such a prospect of the anger of this Son and of our danger as every one in his Station should be diligent to divert and do what he can towards the appeasing of this great King upon whom alone all our safety does depend and here particularly he expects of the Magistrate that he should advance the Interest of the Holy Kingdom he has set up by the promotion of Vertue and restraining of Vice How much this will conduce to that end I shall shew first and 2ly How the Magistrate may effect it 1st How far the promotion of Vertue and extirpation of Vice by a vigorous execution of the Laws may serve the Interest of this Mediatorial Kingdom of the Son of God may be seen as also the Magistrates concern in that Kingdom which I disputed before by comparing the Laws of our Nation with those of this great King of Heaven for so far as these Laws agree so far in promoting the one you advance the other also and to promote the keeping of his Laws is to promote the Interest of his Kingdom which is to bring as many as can be prevail'd upon by obedience here to be happy hereafter Now his Laws are a complete Compendium of all that is just and reasonable and fit for Man to do which display to us the greatest Goodness suited exactly to our condition and circumstances and particularly furnishing us with the best and most perfect Rules of living fit for God to require and Man to perform comporting with the Glory of the one and the Happiness of the other and also perfectly adjusted to the benefit of Civil Societies He that looks diligently into the Laws of this Mediatorial Kingdom contain'd in the New Testament will find to the confirmation of their Truth and the Honour of their Author that they make up a Rule of Practice of the greatest Perfection proper to make the observers of them Good and Happy both here and hereafter recommending as the Apostle has summ'd it up to our hand Philip. 4. Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest just pure lovely of good report are vertuous and worthy of true commendation Such are the Laws of his Kingdom Now thanks to the Grace of God and the Wisdom of our Ancestors our National Laws differ little from these our Lawgivers having piously taken their Pattern and Directions from these Laws of our Mediator especially as to Vertue and Vice the great Concerns of both Kingdoms and that with as little difference as the Nature of these Kingdoms would well permit enjoyning and prohibiting all along the same Actions And altho' this be done from different Principles the one of Reason the other of Revelation under a different cognisance one taking account of the outward
Kingdom and pervert the anger of the Son of God who has call'd him to this Trust and Dignity in his Houshold And so I proceed to my III. Enquiry how the Magistrate may most effectually secure both himself and those under his care from this particular effect of the Sons displeasure that either the Church should be remov'd from them or they seduc'd from the Church The Magistrates care to maintain Society and to promote Moral and Political Vertues is as I have shew'd a good step towards and a preparing the Soyl for Vertues that are Spiritual a disposing the Kingdoms of Men to become the Kingdoms of Christ And it is certain also that where Men live under a vigilant and regular Government are accustomed to feel the force of Laws and to pay a due deference to Temporal Powers their Minds will be less wanton and better dispos'd to submit to a Spiritual Authority This is the general part of the Magistrates Duty towards this great King But here is a more special one in which this Mediatorial King is more nearly concern'd the defence and protection of his Church That this is the thing chiefly intended in the Text no one can well doubt if he considers the Psalm how Kings and Rulers are first reprov'd for opposing this Anointed of God in the building and propagating of his Church and then after the Nature of this Church or Kingdom of the Messias and its extent are declar'd Kings and Judges of the Earth are commanded to serve in this Church with fear and to perform all loving and respectful Duty to the Son lest they perish from the way Now if the Magistrates of the Jews that threatned and persecuted those that Preached the Word and oppos'd the first Building of Christ's Church if those were of that number that set themselves against this God's Anointed Then to support and defend and in their way to propagate his Church to be nursing Fathers to it and to take all care that his Truth and Worship be cherished amongst us is here meant by Kissing the Son lest they perish from the way 'T is easie to observe that when God is provoked to punish either a Nation or particular Persons he frequently does it by themselves brings the evil he inflicts out of their own miscarriages and makes their own Sin the Instrument as all Sin is naturally fitted to be as well as the meritorious cause of their Punishment as Sloth is punished with Want Sedition threatned with the Sword c. and therefore the Magistrate is properly exhorted here to take care of the Church lest he be depriv'd of it The Magistrates neglect of the Church the withdrawing his necessary care of its protection and defence has both a Moral and Natural efficacy towards the producing this effect As the want of that regard and care for it which is due may justly be expected to provoke this great King to withdraw such a mercy where it is so little deserved and so ill treated So when the Government of a Nation neglects to restrain the oppositions that arise against the Church and to interpose their Authority in its defence and protection it is very natural in this loose Age that it should either degenerate into Profaneness or else be over-run and subverted by its Scismatical Opposers In those better times whilst Christ and that Authority he had lodged in the Church were rever'd the Censures of the Church were of themselves more sufficient for its Support and Preservation And yet those Censures even then wanted not a punitive and vindictive Power which God to supply the defect of the Christian Magistrate inflicted either immediately himself or by some invisible Ministry And as God has afforded him this precedent to direct his carriage in that vacancy as he had that of the Kings of Israel before and of the Christian Princes afterwards So 't is very certain that the greater decay there is of true Piety which in these latter days our Saviour has given us reason to expect the more need the Church has of a zealous and vigilant Magistrate for her Defence Now which amongst this great variety of Sects is the Church to which the Magistrate owes this Defence I need not to be long in telling you What Church can it be suppos'd the Magistrate should protect but the Church established by the Law Neither need I insist that the soundness of her Doctrine and the excellency of her Institutions have been allow'd by the most Learned Minister of the Foreign Reformed Churches and prov'd by those of her own I may easily take it for granted that our Magistrates believe all this who as a legal Qualification have receiv'd the Holy Sacrament when put to them as a Test to distinguish the Members of this Church from those of any other opposite Communion And 't is to be hoped we have very few that either for Honour or Preferment would prostitute their Consciences at that Holy Table Now this Church may justly expect protection from the Civil Government as being incorporated into it especially if that be true that she has reposited in the Government that Original right which she anciently and justly exercis'd of consulting and adjusting her own Affairs And this Mediatorial King does certainly expect of the Magistrate in the Churches behalf that he should with all Diligence promote her Interest and Safety enforcing her Discipline upon her own Members and being watchful over all her Enemies and Opposers But for the Magistrate to be unconcern'd in such an Affair or to be so far over-awed by that empty and popular name of Moderation as to encourage Men by impunity to Oppose and Blaspheme this Holy Institution to permit the Foundations of Christianity to be undermin'd her most venerable Articles to be disputed and ridicul'd and every carnal and wanton mind to set up a Religion for it self to let in all these Evils upon us to make the Church a Hostage for the State to slacken her defence to gratifie her Enemies and to retire from her in time of danger Whether this would be to kiss the Son lest we perish from the way or rather to betray him and pull down this judgment upon our selves I leave you to consider Whilst I heartily pray with our Church in which I know all the True Members of it will joyn with me That it may please God to bless and keep the Magistrates giving them grace to execute Justice and to maintain Truth FINIS Books Printed for Will. Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-yard SErgeant Wiseman's 8 Chirurgical Treatises Folio Monsieur Du Pius's Condemnation by the Archbishop of Paris with his own Retractation 4to Primitive Heresie Revived in the Faith and Practice of the People called Quakers c. 4to A Discourse shewing who they are that are now Qualified to Administer Baptism and the Lord's Supper these two by the Author of the Snake in the Grass 4to A Letter of Advice upon the Modern Argument of the lawfulness of Simple Fornication half Adultery and Poligamy 4to The Delusions and Errors of Antonia Bourignon and her growing Sect detected which may serve for a Discovery of all other Enthusiastical Impostures 4to An Enquiry into the Nature Necessity and Evidence of Christian Faith in several Essays in Two Parts 8vo Fifteen Sermons on several occasions and upon various Subjects 8vo These three by John Cockburn D. D. Bishop King's Discourse concerning the Inventions of Men in the Worship of God the 4th Edition 8vo Mr. Clutterbuck's Vindication of the Liturgy c. 8vo Mr. Ray's Classical Nomenclator for the use of Schools 8â— Dr. Pope's Life of Bishop Ward 8vo The Anatomy of the Humane Body or a short and full view of all the Parts of the body by James Keill M. D. recommended by Dr. Edward Tyson 12mo An Examination of Dr. Burnet's Theory of the Earth by John Keill A. M. of Baliol Colledge in Oxford 8vo Printed at the Theatre