THE GREAT INTEREST OF States Kingdomes A SERMON Preached before the Honorable House of COMMONS At their Late Solemne FAST Feb. 25. 1645. By THO GOODWIN B. D. One of the Assembly of Divines REVEL 17. 14. These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them For he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithfull LONDON Printed for R. DAWLMAN M DC XLVI To the Honourable House of COMMONS Assembled in PARLIAMENT I Here present you with one piece of the Counsels of God next those of his disposing the eternall conditions of persons of all other the greatest as which concerneth the temporall salvation or destruction of Kingdomes and Nations which next to his Saints therein are dearest to God as his patience towards them shews A subject which had it been set out according to the merit of it would of it self have faln at your feet who are the Representative Body of this Nation and Kingdom and entitled it selfe to no other Dedication then to you But Providence having brought it forth in the way of an ordinance of God preaching in your eares though rudely and you having beene pleased to owne it it is become yours by all sorts of Interest It is certaine that God did not bring that last and fatall desolation upon the Iews untill all states and ranks of men amongst them had conspired against the Lord and his Anointed and his followers nor did he bring upon them that their first captivity untill all sorts had corrupted themselves the great men had broken the yoke Jer. 5. the Prophet prophecyed falsly the Priests did bear rule by their means and the people loved to have it so and then as the Prophet addes What will you do in the end thereof And yet therein God did not regard so much what the People as what their Rulers did I said speaking of the people Surely these are poore ver 4 these are foolish I will get me to the GREAT men but THESE have ALL TOGETHER broke the yoke 5. and burst the bands Our comfort therefore is we cannot be undone without you nor you without failing in this which is our GREATEST INTEREST An Errour which if this Kingdome should after so much bleeding erre a second time is like hereafter never to be mended Your preservation and guidance in this is above all other the constant and daily prayer of Your most humble servant THO GOODWIN THE INTEREST OF ENGLAND A Sermon preached at the late Fast before the Commons House of PARLIAMENT PSAL. 105. 14 14. He suffered no man to doe them wrong yea he reproved Kings for their sakes Saying Touch not mine anointed THe words I have read and those from the 10. verse as they hold forth the first rearing of the Church of the Jews in Abraham and the Patriarchs so they are intended as the first Primitive Instance and Originall patterne of Gods care and protection over his people in all Ages and likewise of his proceedings with all States and Kingdomes according unto their dealings with his people where ever cast among them to the end of the world exemplified in what was done for their sakes and towards them and their Families The Storie it selfe of Abraham Isaac and Jacob which these words refer to and how God reproved Abimelech King of Gerar and Pharaoh King of Egypt and others for their sakes you may reade in the 12 20 and 26. Chapters of Genesis and of commands given forth concerning them to doe them no wrong yea not to touch them Gen. 20. 7. declaring also of Abraham that he was a Prophet and so not to be injured Onely what in the Story is uttered scatteredly and in severall places is by the Prophet David summarily put together Touch not mine anointed and doe my Prophets no harme There is a Controversie upon these words Touch not mine anointed that they should be intended principally of Kings and of these Patriarchs as under the notion of Kings I shall but clear it in a word Whether these Patriarchs were Kings or no I will not now dispute Abraham is called a mighty Prince by the children of Heth Gen. 23. 6. yet however here the holy Ghost speaks of Abraham Isaac and Jacob as representing the people of Israel and his scope is to shew Gods care and protection of his people by their example which is cleare 1. by all the current and streame of the whole Psalme all that goes before and which followes after is wholly to shew his care of the people of Israel from first to last But as for Kings or Gods care over them as such we may say as Paul in another case Heb. 7. 14. Of that Tribe the holy Ghost speaks nothing that is in this Psa nothing as touching Monarchie as he there sayes nothing as concerning the Priesthood And 2. then the words in the 12. verse which speak of the persons of these Patriarchs when they were but a few men in number yea very few refer not to Kings nor unto these Patriarchs as such for he speaks of their whole families their wives children and servants Yea these three Patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob they were all alive at once Isaac was above 70. years old afore Abraham dyed and Jacob 15. and but one of these could have been King at once and yet you see he speaks of them all complexedly and as making a company together when they were few and very few he said Touch not mine anointed Yea 3. It is so farre from being meant of them as Kings that it is expresly said in the words of the Text He reproved Kings for their sakes therein speaking of them as of a sort of people distinct from Kings and yet of a higher and dearer value with God then those Kings reproved for them But it will be said that if it should not be meant of them under the relation of Kings yet however as of persons extraordinary and therefore this charge and instance cannot be drawne into a pattern of Gods care and protection over all Saints and the people of God which is the scope which I have put upon the words I answer that though indeed their persons were extraordinary yet here they are withall set forth as representing the people of God whom they were the fathers of It is cleare by the eighth verso He hath remembred his Covenant for ever the word which he commanded to a thousand generations The performance of which Covenant to confirme the truth of it he exemplifies by the story of Gods providence over these What therefore he saith of these anointed ones here it extendeth to a thousand generations to come and as Abraham in other things was a Common person in faith justifying he is made such Rom. 3. In faith as sanctifying Jam. 2. In being heire of the world Rom. 4. 13. so is he here also and Isaac and Jacob with him in their anointing
But you will yet say It is true they may be understood as Common persons representing indeed the Nation of the Jews but yet will what is here said be warrantably extended to the Beleevers of Jewes and Gentiles under the New Testament to the end of the world I answer Yes For the Covenant that God made with Abraham was to be heire of the world as well as heire of Canaan so Rom. 14. 13. And accordingly in other things the Analogie holds for them with these here For as these so the Saints they are called Strangers and Pilgrims scattered and dispersed in all Nations So Peter speaks of them even as here he calls these strangers ver 12. when they were but few in number and strangers in the land as the Saints in the world To give parallel places of Scripture to strengthen this In the Old Testament In the forty fift Psalme you have a Prophesie of the Church of the New Testament under the type of Solomon taking Pharoahs daughter who was a Gentile into his bed as Christ of whom he was the Type one day should doe the Gentiles which Church is made that great mother that shall have such multitudes of children Gal. 4. Now of those children of the Church of the New Testament as the Mother and of Christ as the Father the 16. verse of that Psalme thus speaks Instead of THY FATHERS shall be THY CHILDREN whom thou mayst make Princes in all the earth The meaning whereof is this that in the stead of these great Patriarchs and other the Fathers of the Jews spoken of in the Text shall succeed others the children of the New Testament even all the Saints as Successors of them and as they were as Princes in all Lands they came into here so shall thy children be sayes the Psalmist there And the 7. verse of that Psalme calls them anointed and so speaks also in the language of the Text when under that notion he commands not to touch them That verse speaking of Christ saith He is ANOINTED with the oyle of gladnesse above his FELLOWES namely these his fellowes and children spoken of ver 16. you have at once as the great anointed one Christ so all his children called anointed ones also and as they are his fellowes so anointed too Thus you have all meet Abraham and the Fathers the anointed ones of the Old Testament Christ and his Saints the anointed ones in the New in their stead and both Princes and Strangers in all Lands and so of the one as well as the other this charge is here intended Touch not mine anointed c. And to this accords the language of the New Testament the whole mysticall body is called Christ 1 Cor. 12. 12. and Beleevers his fellows are said to have received an anointing 2 Cor. 1. 21. 1 John 2. 27. yea and elsewhere the reason of this their preservation and Gods protection over them is put upon this very anointing Esay 10. 27. The burthen shall be taken off thy shoulder speaking of the oppression of Gods people and the yoke shall be destroyed BECAUSE OF THE ANOINTING Having thus explained the words I come to those Observations which I shall make out of them and insist on at this time I resolve the words into these three parts 1. Here is the neerenesse and the dearnesse of the Saints unto God They are dearer to him then Kings and States simply considered that is otherwise then as they in their persons are also Saints for you see that for their sakes he reproved Kings and so sheweth that he preferreth them to Kings 2. Here is the great danger to Kings and States to deale with his Saints otherwise then well Which appeareth many wayes For he doth not onely in words give a charge not to touch them but he carryes it in a high way for so God may doe when he pleads their cause Touch them not as if he had said Let me see if you dare so much as touch them and it is with an intimation of the highest threatning if they should upon your perill if you doe for that is the scope of such a speech and accordingly in deeds he made this good for the Text saith He suffered no man to doe them wrong Not that he did altogether prevent all wrong and injuries for they received many as they went through those lands but at no time did he put it up at their hands or let it goe unpunisht in that sense he suffered them not You know how he plagued Pharaoh King of Egypt with great plagues and all his houshold for Abrahams wives sake Gen. 12. And so Abimelech King of Gerar the Lord commeth upon him with a greatnes and his first word is in Gen. 20. 3. Behold than art but a dead man afore he had first told him why or wherefore though then he addes the reason he brings him upon his knees ver 4. bids him look to it that he give satisfaction to Abraham and restore his wife to him againe ver 7. and well he scap'd so and tels him also that he must be beholden to Abrahams prayers for his life He is a Prophet saith he and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live The third is the care and protection which God had over them set out and amplified 1. by the number and condition of the persons whom he defended though few men of number that is soone reckoned for their power and strength a few or very small 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the Septuagint in the parallel place 2 Chro. 16. 19. As also 2. by what he did for them He suffered no man how great soever to doe them any wrong how small soever not without recompence and satisfaction not to doe it though they had a mind to it though the people had an ill eye at them Gen. 26. 11. God causeth Abimelech to make a Law on purpose Abimelech charged all his people in Isaacs behalf and of his family which I mention because it gives light to the Text and speaks in the very words of the Text He that TOUCHETH this man or his wife shall be put to death although they envied him ver 14. strived with him ver 20. hated him ver 27. I shal passe over the sett handling the first of these namely The neernesse and dearnesse of the Saints to God it will after come in well enough under the second as the reason thereof That maine thing which I have singled forth to insist upon is the danger that is unto States to deale otherwise then well with the Saints Gods anointed And the Observation is plainly this That the dealing well or ill with the Saints of God Obser it is the greatest and highest INTEREST of Kings and Kingdomes on which their welfare or their ruine depends I have the story of the whole world afore me to gleane Demonstrations and instances out of to make good this truth But I shall endeavour to present it to you under
that prospect that runs through the story of the whole Bible My Observation out of the Story of which and the summe and issue of all is this That God from the beginning hath in his Providence so ordered it that the greatest and most flourishing Kingdomes and States should still have to doe with his Saints and People in all Ages and either they have beene broken by their ill using of them or they have prospered by their well dealing with them You shall find this I say throughout the whole Scripture My Text leads the round to all the rest and I therefore indeed chose it rather then any other though otherwise as a bottome to this point I might have pitcht upon others perhaps more full We will begin with the very first Kings and Kingdomes that you read of after the Flood How he reproved the King of Egypt and the King of the Philistines for the sake of Abraham and Isaac that I mentioned afore Besides those there is mention of foure Kings Gen. 14. Amraphel King of Shinar or Babylon which was the first Kingdome in the world after the flood Gen. 10. 10. and was one of yea the first great Monarchie There is likewise Chedorlaomer King of Elam or Persia which afterward likewise proved a Monarchie For as Assyria and Babylon made the first so you know Persia was the next You have two other Kings more there confederate with these These foure Kings they brake in upon Gyants and smote all the Countries about they smote the REPHAIMS in Ashteroth Karnaim Terrible ones and the ZUZIMS in Ham and the EMIMS Deut. 2. 10 11. and the Horites in Mount Seir And they returned and came to Enmishpat The Observation exemplified in all States and Kingdoms through the Scriptures which is Cadesh and smote all the Countrey of the AMALEKITES and also the AMORITES that dwelt in Hazezon tamar as you may reade verses 6 7 8. And all the while they over-ran these vast Countries 1. Foure Kings overthrowne by Abraham where there was not one Saint to be found they found no resistance having but to doe with Nations not Saints in them but unhappily to them when they came to fight against the Kings of Sodome and Gomorrah they light upon one Saint and but one and that is Lot so the 12. verse They tooke Lot Abrahams brothers sonne who dwelt in Sodome and his goods and departed Alas to them little thought they what a Prisoner they had they took him in the crowd amongst the wickedest people under heaven a people so wicked that one would have thought God should so little have considered this one Saint to save him from perishing as that his vengeance should have taken the opportunity to ruine these though this one poore Lot had been involved in their destruction But you shall see how tender God is of his Saints Jerem. 3. They had unawares devoured an hallowed thing one righteous Lot and had taken him but Prisoner they had drunk poyson and all the riches and all the goods they had taken they vomit up againe together with their owne blood The Lord in this giving demonstration of that his care and skill which Peter makes observation of upon the story of Lot the Sodomites The Lord knowes how to PRESERVE the righteous and RESERVE the unjust 2 Pet. 2. 9. And whom should God use to be the instrument to doe this too God had not many more Saints then in the world but onely Melchisedechs we reade of and Abraham and his family and God useth that one Abraham and he had an Army but of a few and a very few even as the Text hath it but three hundred and eighteene men borne in his house ver 14. he pursues them and smites them ver 17. with a great slaughter and brought back all the goods and his brother Lot and his goods c. Gen. 20. 16. ver 18. And thus they were reproved You see the Text made good from the very first beginning of Kingdomes He reproved Kings for their sakes indeed Thus he began the world at first and this very victorie is made a leading case a standing encouragement to the sons of Abraham the Saints for ever after So you have it applyed in Esay 41. 2. Who raised up sayes God to raise up his peoples hearts the RIGHTEOUS MAN from the East namely this one Abraham and called him to his foot Follow me I le be thy Generall said God to him Gave the Nations before him and made him rule over Kings he means these very Kings you have heard the story of He gave them as the dust to his sword and as driven stubble to his bow he pursued them and passed safely c. Did God doe thus then for one or two of his Saints and will he not goe on What saith the 4. verse Who hath wrought and done it calling the generations from the beginning and so having ordained all the generations of Abraham to do the like exploits in their severall ages I the Lord am the first and with the last I am he I began to doe this with Abraham and I will goe on to doe so even to the last for the sons of Abraham And that this is plainly his meaning appeares by ver 8. where he makes a generall application of it to his seed But thou Israel art my servant Jacob whom I have chosen the SEED OF ABRAHAM my friend Therefore saith he ver 10. Feare thou not thou worme Jacob ver 14. for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I wil uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesse Behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded they shall be as nothing and they that strive with thee shall perish All the whole Chapter is nothing else but incouragement to all the seed of Abraham from this very instance I have now given you And the Text here confirmes it premising unto all those instances He hath remembred his Covenant the word he commanded to a thousand generations The next Kingdome in the world that flourished in those first times 2. AEgypt that grew to any greatnesse that we reade of was that of Egypt and though C ham the founder of Egypt was cursed yet as usually those God layes the greatest curse upon he first begins to blesse with outward blessings in the world so he did the seed of Cham in that infancy of that new world How renowned a Kingdome that then was both for continued succession of Kings in a race which Esay insinuates and for other greatnesse Chap. 19. 11. the story of Moses and Herodotus and other prophane stories do celebrate it was as would seem in those first times more flourishing then Assyria the Territories of Assyria could not then be great when such other three Kings forementioned bordered about it and when Chedorlaomer of Persia was
which begins with a Kingdome given to be won by conquest * Revel 6. 8. When the seals begin to be opened Christ goes forth conquering and to conquer and ends with the Coronation of a King and the marriage of his Bride and all between is but the removing of all such lets and impediments namely of the Romane Monarchie and all other Kingdoms which that was broken into so far as they stand in his way and possesse the roome of that Kingdome which he is to set up That this is one main argument of that Book I refer you to what that great and learned Interpreter Master Mede hath largely opened And herein Christ when he first began the whole world then worshipping Idols had work enough to doe He sets first upon conquering the whole Romane Empire as it was Heathenish and the worship of Satan and Idols in it and in three hundred yeeres he dispatcheth that and throwes downe all both Idoll-worship and Princes Chap. 6. that did uphold it This the first six seales doe shew And then when the whole Empire was turned Christian yet as one well said the devill did not turne Christian But under the name and profession of Christ he stirreth up the Arrian Christian world to persecute the Orthodox Christians as much as Heathenish Rome had done But Christ takes farther vengeance for this persecution under both these Heathenish and Arrian Rome * It was the cry of the blood of the Saints slain underboth that brought on them the vengeance that followed See Cha. 6. 10 11. The Empire having been divided afore into two parts the Eastern all which now the Turk possesseth and the Western this in Europe He falls first upon the Westerne European part breaking that by the incursion of those barbarous Nations the Goths and Vandalls and this the foure first trumpets doe sound forth Chap. 8. Then for the Eastern part of the Empire although his revenge was slower yet he reserved them to the sorest vengeance that could befall the Christian world Chap 9. the conquest and tyrannie of the Saracens first and afterwards the Turks and these the fift and sixt Trumpets successively held forth Thus here is an end of the Roman Monarchie under the Emperours in the whole and in the parts of it Chap. 12. The Westerne part in Europe was by occasion of the Goths invasion broken into ten Kingdomes which though helping the woman against the flood of Arrian persecution yet through Satans seducing of them they set up the Beast or Antichristian Rome and these all together did joyn together to make as great a warre against the Saints in the 13. Chap. 13. Chapter as the Heathens and Arrians had done And so Christ was in a manner as farre off his Kingdome as at the first What then is the next great counter-plot of Jesus Christ It is to overcome these ten Kingdomes so you find Revel 17. 14. They shall saith he make war with the Lambe and the Lambe SHALL OVERCOME THEM for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithfull The world though turned Christian yet in all the variations of it goes on still to persecute the Saints For why the world wil be the world still and the Devill who is the Prince of the world is the same still and so he still followes that trade he had formerly practiced the same which you read of Chap. 12. ver 17. even to make war with the remnant of the womans seed which keep the commandements of God and have the testimony of Jesus This is his designe and let the world turn never so much and refine as much as it will Satan endeavours still to forme a party up amongst them whom he turns against the Saints or some of the Saints for that is the great interest of his Kingdome as that place shews it is more to persecute the Saints then to carry men on to sinne And he will be content to fall but upon a few sometimes rather then be put out of this his trade And therefore now besides plain Popery which is prophecyed of in 1 Tim. 4. to arise in the latter dayes You have in 2 Tim. 3. 1. another Prophesie of a sort of men that shall arise in the LAST DAYES Popery is Prophecyed of to be in the latter dayes who shall have a forme of godlinesse and be despisers of them that are good Thus the Devil hath carryed on his design Age after Age and Jesus Christ pursues more closely his great designe also and will never leave till he hath overcome And HE SHALL OVERCOME for He is the King of Kings and those that are with him are called chosen and faithfull And all this if it were not the scope of that Booke of the Revelation yet story would make good Why should I instance in more you know the little stone Christ and his Saints shall dash all in pieces Dan. 2. But enough You have heard the truth of this point exemplified by all these instances As for Reasons of it the Scripture affords a farre greater plenty then of Instances and in many of the instances given you may finde Reasons adjoyned by God himselfe as here in the Text they are Gods anointed in that example of Egypts overthrow Gods first-borne in that of Babels 't was the vengeance of Gods Temple and so on The time will give me leave to single out but a very few of many The Doctrine was this That the greatest interest of all States and Princes lyes in their usage of the Saints to deale ill or well with them is that whereon their misery or welfare doth depend One reason of it is 1. Reason that which should indeed have been my first Observation out of the Text viz. The neerenesse and dearnesse of the Saints to God You see how tender he is of them TOUCH them not If you would understand the tendernesse of Gods heart expressed in that word parallel it with that He that TOUCHETH them toucheth the APPLE OF MINE EYE and you have the expression twice Ps 17. 8. and Zech. 2. 8. there is nothing more deare then the eye you would have pulled out your eyes sayes Paul and of the eye the pupa the black of the eye most When the Ammonites required of the men of Jabesh Gilead that they should thrust out all their right eyes 1 Sam. 11. 2. the Text saith ver 6. that when Saul heard of it the Spirit of God came upon him and his anger was greatly kindled and he went and cut them off and scattered them so that not two of them were left together If Saul their King a tyrannicall King was thus moved for this offer of an injury to the eyes of his Subjects much more God for those who are to him as his own eye yea as the apple of it Or if you will have this Reason in an expression more neerely akin to the