THe Text is verbum diei in die sue; and a word spoken in due season is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. This is the Kings Day, and this is the Kings Text; and I will use the words of a King for my Introduction: My heart hath indited a good matter, and I will speake of the things which I have made touching the King. God make my tongue the pen of a ready writer, and tune your tongues to the Duty of the Day, and Ditty of the Text, which is, God save the King: And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King.

The Text presents you with two faire pieces.

First, the Acclamation of the people, And all [Page 2]the people shouted; and this I call Vox populi, the Voice of the people.

2 Secondly, the Apprecation of the people; it was not Vox & praeterea nihil, voice and nothing else, as we say of the Nightingale; but as they shouted, so they said something, and what was it? God save the King; and this I call Votum populi, the Vote of the people.

In the first of these, three things are observable.

1. The ground and occasion of their joy, They had a King, that was one: and such a King as the like was not among the people, that was another. Both expressed in the beginning of the Verse.

2. The greatnesse and vehemency of their joy. They did not gaudere in sinu, their breasts were too narrow to containe it; but like Iordan in the time of Harvest, it overflowes the bankes, and breakes out at their lips, so that heaven and earth rings, and resounds with the ecchoes of it, for they shouted.

3. The generality, and universality of their joy. The young men did not shout, and the old men weep, as at the building of the second Tem­ple; but all the people shouted, the Quire is full, the joy universall.

In the second, that is, the Apprecation of the people, two things are considerable.

1. Their Fa [...], they prayed for the King. For as he that prayeth not at all cannot be a good man; so he that prayeth not for the King, cannot be a good Subject.

2. Their Forme of prayer, God save the King. [Page 3]For they knew that if God did not save their King, their King could not save them out of the hands of their enemies.

These are the severall parts of the Text, where­in at this time I shall exercise your patience and attention: and first of the grounds, and occasions of their joy; They had a King, and such a King as the like was not among all the people, and hence their shouting and ovations. And all the peo­ple shouted, and said, God save the King.

1 The first ground of their joy was that they had a King. Governours they had, Captaines they had, Iudges they had, but a King they had not till now; and now they have him, they rejoyce in him, for they shouted.

Shouting is an expression of joy, and joy is a passion and affection of the mind, arifing from the sense and presence of some good. And that Kings are to be ranked in this Predicament, and inrolled in the number of Good Things, is most manifest from that promise which God made unto Abra­ham: I will (sayes God) make thee exceeding fruit­full, Genes. 17.6. I will make Nations of thee, and Kings shall come out of thee. In which promise you may ob­serve as it were three degrees of Comparison. First, God promises that he should be a Father; then, that he should be a Father of Nations; then, a Father of Kings, which is the superlative Bles­sing, and the very Crowne and Crest of the Pro­mise.

Againe, God is good, and so are all things that come from him; now there is no power but of God, [Page 4]sayes the Apostle: and how is it of him? not by way of permission, but of commission; not by way of Deficiency, but of Efficiency; not by way of sufferance, Rom 13.1. but of ordinance: for the powers that are, are ordained of God, and whosoever resisteth the power, Inde illis po­testas, unde spi­ritus. Tertul. Apol. 30 Cujus jussu na­scuntur homines, ejus jussu consti­tuuntur Princi­pes. Iren. resisteth the Ordinance of God. Thence have they their power, from whence they have their spirit, sayes Tertul. And he that made them men, makes them Princes, and that after the same man­ner, sayes Irenaeus. Hence is it that their Crowne is said to be Gods, their Scepter Gods, their Throne Gods, their anointing Gods: for he is the Master of the substance, whosoever be the Master of the Ceremony.

I confesse that the children of Israel are char­ged by Samuel to have committed grande malum, 1 Sam. 12.17. a great evill in asking a King, and God attested it by thunder from heaven. The truth is, they did not aske malum, a thing in its selfe, and simply evill; but they asked Bonum malè, a good thing in an ill manner; For they asked a King to the prejudice, and apparent injurie of Father Samuel; they asked him out of wantonnesse, and pride of heart, that they might be like unto other Nations; and they were resolved to have a King, whether God and his Prophet would or no. Vide Abulens: in locum. Et La­timers 5. Serm. before K. Edw. Nay (say they) but we will have a King. Now if malum be ex quolibet defectu, this must needs be grande malum, that had so many defects in it, though the thing they as­ked was Grande bonum, a great blessing and a precious treasure, as Latimer calls it, and it will appeare by these particulars to be so.

1. A King is Decus Israelis, the Beauty, and Ornament of Israel: when Saul was slain, 2 Sam. 1.19. David lamented over him with this Lamentation, The Beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. For the King is the Fountain of Government, Govern­ment of Order, and Order of Beauty; so that a King governing his people with good and just Lawes, makes the Common-wealth a Naomi, and the excellency of Beauty, which otherwise would be but rudis indigesta (que) moles, & monstrum infor­me; A masse of confusion, and ugly and deformed Monster.

2. A King is Lucerna Israelis, the Light and Lamp of Israel. 2 Sam. 21.17. David being rescued from a great danger, the people swore that he should goe no more out with them to battle, lest the Light of Israel should bee quenched. The King by his Lawes, as the Sun by his Beames, dispels and scat­ters those deeds of Darknesse which otherwise would cover the face of the Common-wealth: so that his subjects live in Goshen and have light in their dwellings; and the light is good, for he that made it, said it: and if there be any that rejoyces not in this Light, I dare say his deeds are evill.

3. A King is Imago Dei, the bright Image of God, and the most magnificent and conspicuous representation of the Divine Majesty; Nec alio animo rectorem suum intuetur, quam si Dii immorta­les potestatem vi­sendi sui faciant. Senec. l. 1. de clem. cap. 20. and wee joy in the Pictures of our friends, when we can­not behold their Persons.

All Governours (sayes Greg. Naz.) are Gods Pictures. Inferiour and subordinate Magistrates are halfe pieces drawne from the head to the [Page 6]shoulders, or middle; but Kings are the Pictures of God at length, and represent him in such due proportions, that as God is our invisible King, so the King is our visible God. One hath said it that cannot flatter, Dixi Dii estis, I have said ye are gods, and if he have said it, we may say it after him.

4 4. A King is Pastor populi, the Shepheard of the people, so Cyrus is called, and so David whom God tooke from feeding of sheep, to feed Iacob his peo­ple, and Israel his inheritance. And no expression more frequent in profane Authors. The people then that have no King are like a flock of sheepe that have no shepheard; and sheepe that have no shepheard will be scattered: 1 King. 22.17. I saw (sayes the Pro­phet) all Israel scattered upon the hils as sheepe that have no shepheard. And sheepe that are scattered are easily devoured, according to that of Ezech. They were scattered because they had no shepheard, Ezech. 34.5. and they became meat unto all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. So then with a King we are Oves pascuae, sheepe of the Pasture feeding by still waters: but without a King we are Oves occi­sionis, sheep of the shambles, and appointed to bee slaine. And therefore good reason that we should heare the voice of our shepheard, and rejoyce in him when he goes in and out before us.

5 Lastly, Kings are called [...] Benefactours, according to that of our Saviour, Luke 22.25. The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called Benefactours. And if we look into the Catalogue of the Aegyptian Kings, wee shall finde two of [Page 7]them so sirnamed. And well may the King bee called a Benefactour, for he is the Minister of God to thee for good, (sayes the Apostle.) He conserves thy life and body which is thy naturall good; hee cherishes vertue, and punishes vice, which is thy morall good; he secures thy estate and possessi­ons, which is thy civill good; he defends the faith, and maintaines Gods true Religion, and worship, which is thy spirituall good. So that [...], A King is the best Benefactour, and the greatest friend we have upon earth; for we may say of him as Solomon did of wisdome, when he comes, all good things what­soever come together with him.

Now recollect and lay all these together, that a King is the Beauty of a Nation, the Light of the Common-wealth, the Image of God, the Pastour of his people, and the best Benefactour to his sub­jects; and we cannot but acknowledge that the oyle of annointing is Oleum laetitiae, the oyle of gladnesse. For I dare say, that next to Christus Do­minus the Lord Christ, Christus Domini the Lords annointed is to be preferred in our mirth as the chiefe of our joy, and the Crowne of our rejoyce­ing. And therfore the children of Israel had good reason to be joyfull in their King, especially in such a King as the like was not among all the peo­ple, and that is the other ground and occasion of their rejoycing.

2 Solomon, the most glorious King that ever wore a Crowne, or bare a Scepter, Wisd. 7.1, 2, 3. confesses that hee was but Mortalis a mortall, and similis omnibus like [Page 8]unto all; conceived alike, borne alike, nursed a­like, and there is no King (sayes he) that is other­wise. There are a generation of men in the world which like the frogs in Egypt swarme in Kings Chambers, who poyson unwary Princes with the breath of flattery, blowing them up with mon­strous and prodigious conceits of a supposed Di­vinity. If Alexander be victorious, he hath them about him will say and sweare too that hee is the son of Iupiter, and decree him divine honours. If Demitian send out a Decree, Mart. it is Edictum Demini Dei (que) nostri: If Herod sit on the Throne and make an elegant Oration, it is the voice of God and not of man. And when once the spirit of Princes is in­fected with this poyson, they thinke they may thunder with Iupiter, and command the Sea, For

The truth is, that he that sits upon the Throne is but a man, and [...], subject to the same passi­ons that others are, and Morietur sicut home, hee shall dye like a man, and his pompe shall not fol­low him: so that the difference betwixt Saul and the rest of the people is not to be sought for in his naturall principles, or essentiall properties: but ei­ther in the Ornaments of his Body, or in the endow­ments and accomplishments of his minde, or in both.

1 As for the ornaments of his body, there was none like him among all the children of Israel, for he was a goodly person, and from his shoulders upward higher then any of the people.

It pleased the wisdome of God to make choice of such an one for his first King, that the eminence of his stature, and procerity of his person might speake him Dignum imperio, and conciliate reve­rence, and obedience from the people. Xenophon reports of the Lacedemonians that they fined their King Archidamus because he maried a little wo­man, fearing least they should have [...], not Kings but Kinglings; which might prove a blemish to their State, and a diminution to Majesty.

When Samuel was sent to anoint one of the sons of Iesse, no sooner did he see Eliab the eldest, but he concluded that the Lords anointed was before him, and the reason was, because he looked upon his countenance, and the height of his stature.

Pliny reports of the Bees, Nat. Hist. lib. 11. cap. 16, 17. Insignis regis forma est, dissimi­lis (que) caeter is tum magnitudine, tum nitore. Sen. l. 1. de clement. cap. 19. that esse uti (que) sine Re­ge non possunt, they cannot be without a King: yet the Bee which they choose is duplo caeter is major, twice as big as any of the other.

Or it may be God made choice of such an one, that the eminency of his stature might be an Em­bleme of the soveraignty and supremacy of his office. Kings in the Scripture are called the Higher pow­ers, the Heads of the Tribes, the children of the most High, the high Hills, and tall Cedars. A King (sayes Tertull:) is à Deo primus, post Deum secundus: count not God, and he is the first; count God, and he is the second. Honour the King (sayes Ignat:) for there is nothing more great, Ep. ad Smyrn. or excellent [...], in all created nature.

So then the Priest, yea though he be the high-Priest [Page 8] [...] [Page 9] [...] [Page 10]must not measure with the King, or thinke to hold up his head as high as his Soveraigne. A­bimelech was high-Priest, 1 Sam. 22.15. yet confesses himselfe twice in one verse to be Sauls servant. Abiathar was high Priest, yet Solomon deposed him, and in­vested Zadok with his office. To see a Bishop tread upon the neck of an Emperour, and mount his Steed whilst a King holds his stirrop, are as prodi­gious and portentuous spectacles as the Eclypses of the great Luminaries of heaven.

S. Bernard writing to an Archbishop in France, Siomnis anima, & vestra: quis ves excepit ab u­niversit te? si quis tentat exci­pere, tentat deci­pare. Bern. Epist. 42. Acts 25.10. presses him with omnis anima, let every soule bee subject, and if every soule, then yours, for he that goes about to exempt you, does but deceive you.

S. Paul that great Doctor of the Gentiles stands at Caesars Judgement seate, where [...], I ought (sayes he) to be judged, and submit my self to his sentence.

Nay, Christ himselfe, the High-Priest of our profession, and great Bishop of our soules paid tri­bute unto Caesar, and acknowledged the power of Pilate a subordinate Minister to be given from Heaven.

And surely if the Doctrine of the Conclave which advances the Miter above the Crown bee new and nought: that of the Consistory cannot bee good, for it advances the Thistle above the Cedar, the people above the Prince, witnesse these, and the like dangerous and seditious positions. Popu­lus Rege est praestantior, & melior, the people are better than the King, Lib de jure regni. and of greater authority. The collective body hath the same power over [Page 11]the King, that the King hath over any one person. The people may arraigne their Prince, and the Ministers excommunicate him; so far Buchanan. And another of the same stamp affirmes that the power of the people over the King, is the same that the power of a generall Councell is over the Pope, and as the Councell may displace the one if he be an Heretique, so the people may depose the o­ther if he be a Tyrant And a Ty­rant he is (sayes another of them) if hee hinder the bringing in of their disci­pline.. Thus Herod and Pilate, mortall enemies, become sworne brothers in per­secuting the Lords anointed, and like Sampsons foxes though they look contrary wayes, yet are joyned by the tailes, and both carry the firebrands of sedition. But returne we againe to Saul who was not so eminent for the stature of his body, as he was for the gifts, and accomplishments of his minde, for in this respect also there was none like him among all the people.

2 The vulgar latine reades it non erat vir melior illo, there was not a better then he among all the children of Israel. A Senuisti, was objected against Samuel, a David as yet was too yong to come in­to competition with him. Or as Abulen: satisfies the doubt, persona loquens intelligitur excepta, the person speaking which was Samuel, must be exce­pted from the comparison.

When our Saviour Christ gave this honourable testimony of Iohn the Baptist, that among them that were born of women there was not a greater then he, it is manifest that Christ himself was ex­cepted, for Iohn was not worthy to loose the latchet of his shooe.

The ordinary glosse sayes that Saul at the time of his election was in statu praesentis justitiae, in the state of present righteousnesse. Lyra sayes that he was not only vir bonus, but excellentis bonitatis, a good man, but of excellent, and exemplary good­nesse. S. Bernard speaking of perseverance sayes that bonus erat Saul, & optimus: sed cecidit, & re­probus factus est, Saul was a good man, yea the best in Israel, but he fell away and became a re­probate.

As for humility, the Scripture gives him this te­stimony, that he was parvulus in oculis suis, little in his owne eyes. And magna & rara virtus honora­ta humilitas, humility in robes is a rare and admi­rable vertue.

As for piety, no sooner was he invested with the Kingdome but he accompanies Samuel unto Gilgal, and there sacrifices peace offerings unto the Lord. And so zealous was he of the Law of God that he would not suffer a witch to live.

As for Clemency, he would not suffer those sons of Belial to be put to death who despised him in their hearts, and said, shall Saul raigne over us?

This was Saul; but to resume the words of S. Bernard, Cecidit, cecidit, he fell, he fell: His humility degenerated into pride: his piety into profanenesse, his clemency into cruelty, for he that spared the sons of Belial, did not spare the Priests of the Lord. Let him therefore that standeth take heed left he fall, and whosoever thou art, worke out thy salvation with feare and trembling, and be not high-minded but feare. Looke upon Saul in [Page 13]the New Testament, and thou wilt not despaire; looke upon Saul in the Old Testament, and thou wilt not presume: The one of the chiefest sinner became a Saint, and the other of the best man in Israel became a reprobate. And so we discharge the first circumstance, the ground and occasion of their joy, they had a King, and such a King as both in respect of the ornaments of his body, and the indowments of his minde there was none like him among all the people, and come to the second circumstance, which is the greatnesse and vehemen­cy of their joy, they shouted. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King.

2 Joy is a passion which spreads, and dilates, and inlarges the heart, and if the impressions thereof be strong and masculine, it cannot containe it self, but breakes out into sensible expressions. As sometimes into laughing, so did Sarahs joy at the tidings of a Son; sometimes into singing, so did the Angels joy at the birth of our Saviour; some­times into shouting, so did the peoples joy at the inauguration of their King, and this of all other is the loudest, and shrillest accent of jubilation. 1 King. 1.40. At the Coronation of King Solomon the people rejoyced with great joy, so that the earth (sayes the Text) rent with the sound of them.

It fareth with Kings as with all other blessings, carende magis quam fruendo, their worth and ex­cellency is better knowne by wanting, then ha­ving them.

We reade in the book of Iudges that there was no King in Israel, and how went the squares then? [Page 14]why every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And what was that? Micah a private man sets up an Idoll, and consecrates a Priest. Gibeah a City ravishes a woman to death. Dan a Tribe fals to robbing of houses, & cutting of Throates. Families, Cities, and Tribes all out of course, and no soundnesse at all in the body po­litique.

The cause of all which disorder was the want of some body: Not of a Priest to teach them, but of a King to governe them. A Priest there was in Israel, but a King there was not, and hence it was that every one did that which was right in his owne eyes, and no body did that which was right in Gods eyes.

God be thanked, a bad King is a Thing which the oldest man here cannot remember, yet let me tell you that Tyranny is rather to be chosen then Anarchie, and praestat sub malo principe esse quam nullo, better a bad King then no King at all, sayes Tacitus. Better it is to feare one then many, better one Lion, then all the Beares, and Bores, and wilde beasts of the Forrest. If the Trees cannot prevaile with the Vine, or Olive to be their King, yet a King they will have though it be but the Bramble. I gave them sayes God a King in my anger, and tooke him away in my wrath. A bad King is the testimony of Gods anger, but no King at all an ar­gument of his wrath, and indignation; and wrath is the dregs, and lees of the cup, anger but the top of it.

So then, the greatnesse of the evill which re­dounds [Page 15]to a Nation by the want of a King, suffi­ciently commends the greatnesse of the blessing, and great blessings must be entertained with suta­ble affections. It was truly said of Balaam a false Prophet, that the shout of a King was amongst them, for all other expressions are too low, and flat for it.

But these latter times have produced a genera­tion of Vipers called Anabaptists, who instead of rejoycing in their King, raile at him, and their de­vise is only how they may cast him downe whom God hath exalted: for they affirme as impudent­ly, as ignorantly, that Christian liberty makes the office of a Magistrate utterly unlawfull, and Euan­gelicall perfection makes it altogether uselesse and superfluous: and if it be unlawfull it is not a bles­sing, but a curse; if uselesse, not a benefit, but a burthen.

There is I confesse a glorious priviledge pur­chased for us by the death of Christ, which wee call Christian liberty, but it consists only in a free­dome from the ceremonies, the curse, and rigour of the Law, the power of Satan, and dominion of sin; not in a freedome from the Doctrine and O­bedience of the Morall Law, or the yoke of lawfull authority, Civill, or Ecclesiasticall. For they that so understand it, and apply it (sayes S. Peter) use their liberty for a cloake of maliciousnesse. And S. Paul tels us that though we be called to liberty, Gol. 5.13. yet we must not use our liberty for an occasion to the flesh.

As for Evangelicall perfection, in their sense it [Page 16]is but an Idea, a dreame, a meere chimaera. For good and bad, wheate and chaffe are mingled to­gether in the floore, and sic fuit ab initio, thus it was from the beginning, and thus it will be unto the end, till Christ come with his fan in his hand and thorowly purge his floore. They that are good are but imperfectly good, and so long as the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the law of the members fights against the law of the minde, of­fences must needs come; and Christians may do things punishable by the civill Magistrate. Moses the Magistrate of Gods owne people had need have a rod in his hand, and he shall meete with those in the congregation that deserve to be beat with it: Else S. Paul had said in vaine (writing to Christians) si male egeris, if thou doest that which is evill be afraid. And S. Peters exhortation had been to no purpose; 1. Pet. 4.17. Let none of you suffer as a murtherer, or as a thiefe, or as an evill doer, or as a busie-body in other mens matters.

Sergius Paulus when he was converted to the Faith; did not abjure his authority as a thing Anti­christian. Cornelius was made a Christian, yet ceased not to be a Centurion. The Eunuch was baptized, yet did not relinquish his office and au­thority under the Queen of the Aethiopians Christ and Caesar may dwell together; we may give un­to God the things that are Gods, and yet give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars; we may feare God, and yet honour the King; and as they sin­ned that said we will have no King but Caesar, so doe they also that say, we will have no King but [Page 17]Christ, no law but that of the Spirit. And there­fore S. Peter hath marked those out to be chiefly reserved to the day of Judgement to be punished, 1 Pet. 2.10. who despise so great a blessing as Government.

For Non minor est usus Magistratus quàm panis, aquae, solis, & aeris; Magistracy is no lesse need­full and necessary amongst men then bread and water, the sun and the ayre, sayes M. Calvin. Inst. l. 4. c. 20. All which are blessings so great, and generall, that men cannot live without them but by Miracle, which brings me to the third circumstance, the generality and universality of their joy, All shouted.

3 3. Fit it was that an universall benefit should be entertained with an universall joy. A King is commune bonum, a common good; and good the more common it is, the better it is; and the bet­ter it is the more joy it occasions. The Magistrate (sayes S. Paul) is the Minister of God to thee for good, to thee whosoever thou art. To thee No­bleman, to thee Churchman, to thee Gentleman, to thee Tradesman, to thee Husbandman, to thee Merchant, to thee Mariner.

Seneca tels Nero, Anima Reipublicae tu es, Lib. 1. de Clem. illa corpus tuum; thou art the soule of the Common­wealth, and the Commonwealth is thy Body. Now the soule is tota in toto, & tota in qualibet parte, whole in the whole body, and whole in e­very part of it: Even so the King inanimates and informes the whole collective body of the peo­ple, and every particular man of it, of what degree, quality, or profession soever, so that to say wee have no part in David is the voice of a rebell; [Page 18]for yong men and maids, old men and children have all a part in him, and profit by him.

Againe, as a King is the soule, so also he is the Sun of the Common-wealth, according to that of the Psalmist, Psal. 89.36. His Throne shall be as the Sun. The Sun is Sponsus naturae, the beauty and Bridegroom of Nature, appointed by God to rule the Day, and it runs from one end of the Heavens unto the other, so that nothing is hid from the heate and light of it, but every creature from the Cedar to the Shrub receives benigne and propitious influ­ences from it: so a King (as before I told you) is Decus Israelis, the beauty of Israel, the supreame Magistrate, the effects and influences of whose go­vernment, as peace, justice, and religion extend o­ver the whole Kingdome, and reach from Dan even to Beersheba, from Aarons head to the skirts of his cloathing; so that high and low, rich and poore, one with another, and all together owe their bene esse unto him.

And for this cause (it may be) amongst many others, Kings were of old Crowned neare some Fountaine, because they are Fountaines and com­mon blessings, the streames of whose government do glad the City of God, and refresh his inheri­tance. For Rogis vigilia omnium domos, illius la­bor omnium etia, illius industria omnium delicias, illius occupatio omnium vacationem tuetur, When the King watches we may all sleep, when he la­bours we may all rest, his Terme is our Vacation, and when he workes every man may keep holy day.

And now when I looke upon this congregati­on of Israel, I cannot but breake out into the words of the Psalmist, Ecce quàm bonum, & quàm jucundum, behold how good and pleasant a thing it was to see so many men of one minde, and one mouth! for all shouted, and all said the same thing, Gaudium omnium gaudium singulorum, & gaudium singulorum gaudium omnium. The joy of all was the joy of every one, and the joy of every one the joy of all. Thus it is in heaven, and thus it was here, and I would to God it was thus in all places.

But oh the strife of tongues! Oh the great thoughts and divisions of heart that are amongst us! Contempt of Authority is become the cha­racter of a Christian, the cognizance of a sincere professor; libelling and speaking evill of dignities the language and dialect of God people; preach­ing Obedience to the Magistrate civill, and Eccle­siasticall, is interpreted downe right flattery, and gaping after preferment. Prejudice & faction hath so shuffled and confounded all things, that a man can come into no parish, nor congregation but he shall finde some Mutes, some but halfe Vowels, some not doing their duty at all, others doing it so faintly, that a man may perceive their hearts are not right in this matter.

Well fare this Congregation of Israel, Mens omnibus una, & vox omnibus una, they were all of one minde, and one mouth; they all thought the same thing, and spake the same thing; every one in the Quire was a loud Cymball, for all shout­ed; and a well tuned Cymball too, for all prayed; [Page 20]which brings me to the second part of the Text; the Vote and Apprecation of the people: ‘And all the people, &c.’

First, I exhort (sayes the Apostle) that suppli­cations, and prayers, and intercessions, and giving of thankes be made for all men, and first for Kings, and such as be in Authority. And what manner of Kings were there in those dayes? Idolaters, Infidels, Tyrants, Persecutors, those of whom David long before had prophesied; Psal. 2.2. The Kings of the earth have set themselves, and the Rulers take counsell against the Lord, and his an­nointed. Nero the Romane Emperour, and su­preame Magistrate was a Lion, so S. Paul cals him; he was Dedicator damnationis nostrae, the first that drew out the sword of persecution, so Tertull. He was so profligately, and desperately wicked and tyrannicall, that many thought hee should rise againe, Lib. 20. de civ. Dei cap. 19. and be that Antichrist and man of sin which was to be revealed, so S. August. and yet as bad as he was, S. Paul enjoynes prayers for him, and so does S. Peter for the Emperour Clau­dius one not much better. For Suetonius reports of him that he was so mercilesse, and given to bloodshed that he would have tortures, and pu­nishments executed in his owne presence, and de­lighted to looke upon the faces of Fencers as they lay gasping, and yeelding up their last breath; be­sides he was a man inordinately given to the wan­ton love of women; yet for all this the Christi­ans of those times must honour him. And this these [Page 21]blessed Apostles did not to curry favour with the Emperours, or to flatter themselves into prefer­ment, but to copie out their Masters lesson, and to shew that they were his Disciples, who said, Pray for them that persecute you. And that this was the constant practice of the Primitive Church, Iustin Martyr in his Apol. 2. Origen in his 8. booke cont. Celsum. Arnob. in his 3. booke cont. Gentes. Tertull. in his Apol. 30. besides the ancient Liturgies, are my witnesses.

Of all Christian duties Prayer is the best; the Apostle hath given it the chiefe seate, and set it at the upper end of the Table. And of all kinde of prayers Intercession is the best; for necessity (sayes Chrysost:) enforces us to pray for our selves, but charity invites us to pray for others. And chari­ty is that which gives a tincture, and rellish to all our prayers, for without it the tongues of men and Angels are but as sounding brasse, and a tinkling Cymball. And surely the best kinde of Intercessi­on is that which is made for the best, namely, for Kings, and such as be in Authority. Hence is it that our Mother the Church of England is so co­pious in it. For in her Liturgie she prayes for the King foure or five severall times, and yet I dare say commits no Tautologie, or idle repetition. For his severall capacities as a man, as a Christian, as a Magistrate, as the Supreme Magistrate, upon whom lyeth the care of the Church and Com­mon-wealth, require it of us. Those then that doe curtaile divine Service as Hanun did the gar­ments of Davids Ambassadours, and use the [Page 22]prayers of the Church as a noise of Musique at a Play to entertaine the company till the Actors be ready, are not only disobedient to the Church in not observing her order, but injurious also to the King in depriving him of the benefit of those prayers which the Church hath appointed for him. And this is no small injury, for Preces subdi­torum vires Regum, the prayers of the people are the power of the King: Kings are the heads of the people, but the prayers of the people are those locks of haire wherein their strength principally consisteth.

Sure I am that none stand so much in need of prayers as Kings, and such as be in Authority. For such is the weight and multitude of their imploy­ments; that many times they cannot pray for themselves. Well might S. Ambrose wonder at Davids septies in die, seaven times a day doe I praise thee, and make this inference upon it: Si David septies regni licèt necessitatibus occupatus, &c. If David notwithstanding the affaires of a Kingdome could doe it seaven times, private men may doe it seaventy times seaven.

But besides this, Kings and such as are in Au­thority are most assaulted with temptations. That which Christ said of his Disciples is true of Kings, Satanas appetiit vos, Satan desires to have you, and like the King of Syria bends his power especially against the King of Israel. So that were it not that cor Regis in manu Domini, the heart of the King was in the hands of the Lord, I should wonder with S. Chrysostome if any of the Rulers could bee [Page 23]saved. For the devill opens his envenomed Qui­ver, and shootes all his fiery darts at such persons, as well knowing that Regis ad exemplum, the ex­ample of a King brings vice into fashion, and gan­grenes the whole body. For sayes Siracides, Eccles. 10.2. As the Judge of the people is himselfe, so are his of­ficers; and what manner of man the Ruler of the City is, such are they that dwell therein. For the people like Iacobs sheepe conceive by the eye, and like the inferiour Orbes follow the motion of the primum mobile, contrary to their owne naturall inclinations. If Ieroboam sin he makes Israel sin too, and if he set up Calves at Dan and Bethel, all Israel will be such Calves as to goe up and wor­ship them.

But suppose Kings stood not in need of our prayers, yet sure I am we our selves stand in need to pray for them, for as Iacobs life was bound up in the life of Benjamin, so is the good of the subject in the prosperity of the Prince. Hence the Iewes were commanded to pray for the life of Nebu­chadnezzar, and the peace of Babylon, because in the peace thereof they should have peace. And S. Paul exhorting us to pray for Kings and such as be in Authority, drawes his motive ab utili, for by this meanes we shall live a quiet and a peacea­ble life in all godlinesse and honesty. Kings and Queenes are nursing Fathers, and nursing Mothers, and if the nurse be ill, the childe that suckes the breast cannot thrive and prosper. Nay the Lords anointed is Spiramentum nariam, Lam. 4.20. the breath of our nostrils; stop and extinguish that, and death ensues [Page 24]immediately. So that in praying for Kings wee pray for our selves, our prayers returne into our owne bosomes, for the blessings powred upon them like the oyntment powred on the head of Aaron stayes not there, but runs downe to the beard, yea to the very skirts of the cloathing. Or as the raine falls first upon the hils, but stayes not there, but descends into the vallies from whose vapours at first it was engendred. When the sons of Iacob went into Egypt to fetch corne for their Father, did they not fetch it for themselves & their Families? When the members of the body feed the belly, doe they not feed themselves, and pro­vide for their owne nourishment? When we pray for the King, what doe we else but pray for our selves, and provide for the welfare of our owne Families and posterities, for under his shadow we live, and like the ivie cannot grow without his supportance? Acts 12.20. So that as they of Tyre and Sidon saw a necessity of making a peace with King Herod because their Countrey was nourished by the Kings Countrey: So a necessity of praying for the King lyes upon every one of us, not only be­cause Dominus opus habet; but because we our selves have need of it, for our welfare is nourished by the Kings welfare, our honour by the Kings honour, our peace by the Kings peace, our safety by the Kings safety, and therefore God save the King, which is the Forme of their prayer, and the last circumstance in the Text. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King.

2. Pineda observes that it was the custome of all Nations at the inauguration of their Kings, Lib. 2. de reb. Salom. cap. 6. to use solemne Apprecations, boni ominis ergô. As sometimes foeliciter, sometimes De nostris annis tibi Iupiter augeat annos. Sometimes Augusto foe­licior, Trajano probior. Sometimes Dii te servent, and the like: all which (sayes he) were doubtlesse derived from this sacred and ancient form in the Text, Vivat Rex, let the King live, for so it is in the Hebrew, and the Septuagint renders it, [...], and our old English Bible reades it, God lend the King life; and no forme of Apprecation more full, or fit then this. For the blessing of life, is the life of all blessings, it being the foundation of whatsoever we have or hope for. Hence pellem pro pelle, skin for skin, and all that ever a man hath will he give for his life, and a living dog is better then a dead Lion.

And as none more full, so none more fit; for Vita omnium brevis, Regum plerum (que) brevissima, the lives of all men are short, but the lives of Kings for the most part shortest. It was a King that com­plained, My soule is continually in my hands; Psal. 119.109. and in another place, Feare is on every side, for they take counsell together against me, and devise how they may take away my life. Darius did wisely to allow money for the building of the Temple, Ezra 6.9, 10. and bul­lockes and rams for the burnt offerings, that so the Iewes might offer sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his sons. If we reflect and look back upon former ages, wee shall finde Shimeis and [Page 26] Shebai, Absaloms and Achitophels, Tereshes, and Bigthans, all sons of Belial flying in the face of sa­cred Majesty, and seeking to lay violent hands up­on the Lords Anointed. And howsoever these spirits were once well laid, and walked not in the Primitive Church, yet in these latter times they have beene conjured up by the seditious Doctrine of the Iesuites, and are become familiar spirits in all parts of Christendome. Haec est salutaris medi­tatio sayes Mariana, this is a wholesome medita­tion for Kings next their heart, to thinke, se eâ con­ditione vivere, that they live in that case and con­dition, ut non solum jure, sed cum laude & gloria perimi possint, that they may not only be slaine lawfully, but to the praise and glory of them that doe it. And I would to God this was the doctrine of the Iesuites only, for we know the men, and we know their communication; but this leaven hath spread further, and even sowred them that take upon them to bee reformers of the reformed Churches. And whereas Mariana sayes it may be done cum laude, Buchanan goes further, and would have it done cum praemio too. For if I (sayes he) had power to make a law, I would award re­compence to be given for killing of Tyrants, as men use to reward them for their paines who kill wolves or beares, and destroy their yong ones. Surely (beloved) this Doctrine deserves to be the Inprimis in the blacke Catalogue of the Doctrine of the devils, it is the doctrine of Beelzebub the Prince of devils, it is the bane of mens soules, the blemish of Christian religion, and the breach of all [Page 27]common tranquillity. And is it not high time to pray for the lives of Kings, when ambition, envie, faction, and all discontented humors are thus clapt on the back, and set on to offer violence to their persons whom God would have accounted sacred and inviolable, and hath therefore hedged them in as he did the Tree in the Garden, with a nolite tangere, touch them not? Saul was a barba­rous Tyrant, for he hunted the life, and sought af­ter the soule of David who was most faithfull a­mong all his servants; he commanded Doeg to fall upon the Priests of the Lord, and to slay fourescore and five persons which did weare a linnen Ephod; and not satisfied therewith, com­mands him further to smite Nob the Citie of the Priests, both man and woman, childe and suckling, oxe and asse with the edge of the sword. Besides, he neglected the care of Gods publique Worship and Service, for the Arke of God was not enqui­red at in the dayes of Saul; besides he was rejected of God, and traditus Satanae, delivered into the actuall possession of the devill; yet notwithstand­ing all this, yea notwithstanding a concurrence of all desirable circumstances of opportunity, yea, notwithstanding David was the man that was an­nointed by Samuel, and appointed by God to the Kingdome, yet he durst not lay his hands upon the Lords anointed, but reverenced the Vnction, and spared his enemy, saying, Who can lay hands up­on the Lords anointed and be guiltlesse?

Rodolph Duke of Suevia endeavouring to take away the Empire from Henry the Fourth, whom [Page 28] Hildebrand had excommunicated, lost his right hand in the battle, and being ready to breath out his distressed soule, looking on the stumpe of his arme and fetching a deep sigh, he said to the Bi­shops that were about him, behold this is the hand wherewith I did sweare allegiance to my Sove­raigne Lord Henry. And therefore Vivat Rex, let the King live, be he an Infidel, an Heretique, a Tyrant, an Apostate, a Persecutor, or deposed and excommunicate by the Pope, for none of all these can unloose the bonds of allegiance, evacu­ate Gods ordinance, or cut in sunder the sinewes of the subjects obedience.

But because, Mart. as the Poet sayes truly, Nonest vi­vere, sed valere, vita; this apprecation must reach further than a bare life, and simple subsistence; namely, to the health of his body, the quiet of his mind, the prosperity of his affaires, the successe of his government, the victory of his Armies: and the Hebrew word is of that latitude to beare it, and the Caldee paraphrases it, Let the King live, i.e. Sit Rex foelix, cedant omnia regi foelicitèr, Let the King live happy, let all things succeede fortunately, and whatsoever hee doth let it pro­sper. Then Solomon lived indeed when he sate not onely in the Throne of God, 1 Chron. 29.23 as King in stead of David his Father, but prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. Apolog. 30. And Tertullian is my witnesse, that the Primitive Christians prayed not onely for the life of the Emperour, but for his happinesse and prosperity also. His words are these; we wish the Emperour a long life, a secure Empire, valiant ar­mies, [Page 29]a faithfull Councell, a loyall people, a quiet government; Et quaecun (que) Hominis & Caesaris vo­ta sunt; whatsoever good things else, either Man or Caesar can desire. And who was this Empe­rour for whom they thus prayed? It was Severus, for in his time (sayes St. Ierome) Tertullian flouri­rished; and Severus was an Infidel, a Tyrant, and the author of the fifth persecution, and yet they wish him prosperity in the name of the Lord. And if it was thus done for the dry tree, what shall be done for the greene? if thus for the bramble, what for the Olive? if thus for persecutors of the Faith, what for the defendors of it? O pray for the peace and prosperity of such, they shall prosper that doe it. Pitie it is but that mans tongue should for ever cleave unto the roose of his mouth, that lives un­der a gracious and religious government, and yet sayes not so much as, God save the King, and so our last translation renders it, and departs not from the originall, for the Septuagint in severall places renders the Hebrew word by [...], which signifies to save.

There is no King that can be saved by the mul­titude of an host. I will not trust in my how, nei­ther shall my sword save me sayes King David. Salvation belongs unto the Lord, he alone is the Master of the Salvation Office; I am, and besides me there is no Saviour. And therefore the people did well to addresse their devotions to the God of Israel, for the King of Israel. For his arme of protection cannot wither, nor his wings of salva­tion molt their feathers. Besides, it is the obser­vation [Page 30]of Iosephus upon a danger which Titus es­caped when he came to view the Citie of Jerusa­lem, Imperatorum pericula Deum curare, De Bel. Jud. lib. 6. cap. 2. that God takes the persons and perills of Princes into his speciall care and cognisance. To God then they goe, and they goe for that which of all o­ther things is most behoofefull, safety and salva­tion.

There is a twofold salvation; one of the soule, the other of the body; one from sinne, the other from danger; and Kings stand in neede of the first as well as others, and of the second more then o­thers, so that salvation is that Vnū necessarium, that one and onely thing which is necessary for them.

1 As for the first, we are all Oves perditae, lost sheepe, the sinne of our first parents was commune naufragium, an universall shipwracke: for in A­dam all sinned, yea the blessed virgin her selfe, for her soule rejoyced in God her Saviour. Now howsoever Kings in respect of Office, as they are Filii altissimi, the sonnes of the most High are Transcendents: yet in respect of Nature, as they are Filii Adam, sonnes of men, they are in the same predicament with others, i. e. sinners. So that without salvation, Tophet is ordained of old, and prepared for the King, as well as for the people.

2 As for the other kinde of salvation we all need it, but Kings especially, because their persons are most exposed unto dangers. They have Foes a­broad, and Traitors at home. There be enemies to doe them violence, and sonnes of wickednesse to hurt them. Hence is it that they walke in dan­ger, [Page 31]eate in danger, sleepe in danger. Solomons bed must have threescore valiant men about it, Cant. 3.7, 8. of the valiant of Israel, every man having his sword girt upon his thigh for feare in the night; and surely it is the mercy of the most High that they doe not miscarry; so that nothing so fit for them as salva­tion, without which their lives will be troden downe, and their Honour laid in the dust. Which our Church rightly understanding, uses this Suf­frage in her Liturgy, O Lord save the King. And againe, in the prayer for the state of Christs Church militant here on earth, praies in this man­ner; We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governours, and especially thy servant Charles our King; and now that we are come to him, we are come to the bu­sinesse of the day: and as you have lent me your patience hitherto for a Survey of my text, so the Kings name may command it a little longer for a review, and application, which I shall dispatch with all convenient brevitie, and so dismisse you.

No sooner was our Sunne set in the death of King Iames of blessed memory, but it rose againe in the happy inauguration of King Charles, so that no night followed, for Regem habemus, a King we have, and such a one as the like is not among the people, nay such an one I dare say as the like is not among the Kings of the earth; whether we respect the beauty of his person, or the graces of his foule: God hath blessed him with a strong and healthfull constitution, a comely and Majesti­call [Page 32]presence, an active and a vigorous body; and yet this is is but the Cabinet, the jewells that are lockt up in it are of inestimable value.

As for his Humility, you may read it in his ap­parell, especially in the passages of these times, wherein he hath condescended as low to accom­modate causlesse discontentments, and to remove offences taken, not given, as the respects of Maje­sty would well suffer.

As for his Piety, I challenge envy and malice it selfe to speake their worst. Is he not constant to his devotions, and reverent in them? Hath he desired or indeavoured any thing more then a Conformity and Vniformity in Gods Service, that there might bee but via una, and cor unum, one way, and so one heart? Hath he not been zealous of the glory of God, and the publike places of his worship? If I should hold my peace, these stones would speake, I meane the stones that are brought to this Temple, to beautifie and vindi­cate it from a long and intolerable prophanation.

As for his Clemency, doe we not all sit under our owne Vines, and cate the fruit of them with­out any trembling, or palpitation, lest we should be arrested with the message of death or confis­cation? Hath he inflicted any punishments but such, as the offence impartially considered, mercy it selfe might have beene both the Iudge and Exe­cutioner? Or to expresse it in his owne royall language; Hath he not now for a long time toge­ther endeavoured by all calme and faire waies to appease the disorders, and tumultuous carriages, [Page 33]raised by some evill affected persons, and fomen­ted by some factious and turbulent spirits? and now that his patience is abused, and the sword in his hand, doth he not call God and the world to witnesse that he is forced and constrained there­to? A King then we have, and such a King as this, shew me a better among the people. I may say of him and the people, as the Epigram­matist does of Trajane and the Senate; Mart. lib. 11. Epig. 5. Moribus hic viv at principis, ille suis: Let them live after his manners, and he after his owne. And if it be thus, how much are they to blame, who (though rebus sic stantibus, they dare not raile at the King as Shimei did, or throw stones at him) yet in their Sermons, Conferences, Libels, and Pamphlets they mis-interpret his actions, for his piety with them is Popery and Innovation, his clemency with them is cruelty and persecution. And thus the people are brought into a dislike and detesta­tion of the present government, and both the Per­son and Authority of the King cunningly undermi­ned. If the Serpent can but buzze a jealousie and suspition into the heads of our first Parents that God envies their happinesse, the Apple will goe downe without chewing. If Absalom can possesse the people that justice is not administred, nor mat­ters well carried, it is an easie matter to steale a­way their hearts from their Allegiance to his Fa­ther. And well it is that the holy Ghost gives it no better a title then stealth, for it is a theft of the highest nature; they rob not a private man, but a King; and that not of his Plate, his Jewels, or [Page 32] [...] [Page 33] [...] [Page 34]apparell, but of the [...]ts of the people, and con­sequently they rob him of the Armes of his peo­ple, of the purses of his people, of the prayers of his people, and make him as much as in them lies Lodovicus [...]i [...], Lewes no bo­die. as sometimes an Emperour of Germany was called; and for this stealth was Ab­salom justly and deservedly hanged. And Solomon copied out this lesson from his ruine; My son, seare God, Prov. 24.22, 22. and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knowes the [...] of them both? Let as then, seeing we have a King, rejoyce in him; and seeing we have such a King as the like is not, re­joyce, yea I say againt rejoyce. Let our joy be as great, and as full as we can make it. For the bles­sing is great, and ought to be celebrated with as great solemnity as is possible.

And that our joy may not be as the crackling of thornes under a pot, but long and lasting; let us not only rejoyce in him, but pray for him. Pray for his life, Vivat Rex, let the King live; Let the soule of our Lord be bound up in the bandie of life; 1 Sam. 25.29. but as for the soules of his enemies, sting them out O God, as out of the middle of a sting. Prolong O God the Kings life, Psal. 61.6, 7. and his yeares as many generati­ons; Let him abide before thee for ever: O prepare thy loving mercy, and faithfulnesse, that they may preserve him.

And as for his life, so pray also for his prospe­rity. Sit Rex f [...]lix, let the King prosper and flou­rish. Give him O Lord the desire of his heart, and de­ny him not the request of his lips; prevent him with [Page 35]the blessings of goodnesse and set a crown of pure gold upon his head: Let his glory be great in thy salvation. Honour and Majesty doe them lay upon him: Psalme. 2. [...]. give him everlasting felicitie, and make him glad with the joy of thy co [...]enance. As for his enemies, Psal. 132.18. clothe them with shame, but upon himselfe let his Crowne flourish. Good [...]ke have be with his honour, and let him ride on prosperously, that they that hate him may bow before him, and lick up the [...]st of his fe [...]e.

And because both these depends upon the safe­ty of his Person; Let us pray also, Domine salvum fac Regem, God save the King. And never was this prayer more seasonable, for Lord how are they increased that trouble him, many they are that rise up against him! They that have eaten of his bread, have lift up their heeles against him: Psal. 83.2.5. His enemies make a tumult, and they that hate him have lift up their heads, they have consulted together against him with one consent, and are confederate (or, as the word signifies) entred into Covenant against him. Be thou therefore O Lord a shield for him, Psal. 3.3. his glory and the lifter up of his head: Psal. 20.1.2. Heare him O Lord in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Iacob de­fend him; send him help from his Sanctuary, and strengthen him out of Zion. Psal. 91.4. Defend him under thy wings, and let him be safe under thy feathers, let thy faithfulnesse and truth be his shield, and buckler. Psal. 121.7, 8. Pre­serve him from all evill, preserve his going out and his comming in from this time forth, and even for ever­more.

But as for his enemies, destroy them O God, let them fall by their owne counsels; cast them out in the [Page 36]multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebel­led against him. Psal. 3.10. Let them melt and consume away as the fat of Lambes. Psal. 83. Deut. 33.11. Make them as a wheele, and as the stubble before the winde. Smite thor [...]w the loines of them that rise against him, that they rise not again. Beate downe his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him, and let him see his desire upon his ene­mies. So we thy people, and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thankes for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.