The Joy of the English Church for the Coronation of Pious Prince James, Meditations on psalm · Part · Meditation 19
The 19. meditation.
Vers. 8. For my brethren and neighbours sake I will wish thee now prosperitie.] First the prophet sheweth, that the louelove of his countrie, and affection to his brethren mooued him to wish well vntounto them, and to desire the peace thereof: So then religion taketh not away naturall affection to countrie, friends, and parents, but it rather maintaineth and vpholdeth it.
1. The Apostle reprooueth the Gentiles, because they were foreign, Men void of naturall affection, Rom. 1. 31. And the Prophet saith, Hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh: Isay, 58. 6. He which withdraweth his affection from his neighbours and countrimen, is as though he had no pittie or compassion vponupon his owne flesh.
2. Thus nature wrought in faithfull Abraham,Religion taketh …ot away natural affection. when he armed himselfe and all his familie, and rescued and recouered Lot his brothers sonne, which was taken captiue, Gen. 14. S. Pauls affection was very ardent toward his countrey, when he wished himselfe to be separated from Christ, for his brethrēs sake, which were his kinsmen according to the flesh. But cursed is the memorie of cruell and vnnaturall Abimelech, who destroied his owne citie of Sichem, and sowed it with salt to make it vnfruitfull and desolate, and slue the people, whome before he saide were his bone and his flesh. Iud. 9. 2. 45.
3. Like as the doue returned to the Arke, from whence she came forth, Gen. 8. as the oxe and asse know their masters cribbe, where they are vsed to be fed, Isa. 1. 3. and louelove that place before any other: as the riuers goe vntounto the sea from whence they came, Eccles. 1. 7. so should our louelove and affection be vntounto that place, which hath bredde vsus, and where we had our beeing. The lyons doe couch in their dennes,LoueLove to our co… trey naturall. where they are accustomed, and the birds will hardly forsake the place, where they were hatched: and nature draweth affection to our countrie, which first gaue vsus breath and life.
4. Nehemiah giueth this reason of his affection to Ierusalem, because there was the cittie and the house of the sepulchers of his fathers, Nehem. 2. 3. Therefore a man can not be forgetfull of his countrie, vnlesse he will shewe himselfe vnnaturall and vnthankefull to his parents and progenitors, which there remained while they liued, & and there lie buried nowe they are dead. This made Iacob charge his children, to burie him in the caue with his fathers: There they buried Abraham and Sara his wife, there they buried Isaack and Rebecca, and there I buried Lea, Gen. 49. 29. 31.
5. By this doctrine then we condemn vnnaturall and mostrous practises of all traiterous papists, that hauehave heretofore most cruelly practised against their prince and countrey: Such were Morton, to the Popes bellowes to kindle the rebellion in the North, Saunders in Ireland: such were Ballard, Babington, Arden, Sommerfield, Parrie, Campion, Sherwin, Yorke, Standley, Squire, with the rest of that popish broad, who by their treacherous attempts against the life of their Soueraigne, intended nothing els but the hauocke & spoile of their countrie; and to make it a pray to the enemies teeth. Herein they professing Christianitie, were much inferiour to the heathen,Heathen louers of their countrey who preferred the safetie of their countrie before their owne liues, so farre were they from attempting any thing preiudiciall to the state and welfare thereof: So forraine stories make honourable mē tion of Codrus king of Athens,Plutarch. Fa…all. …8. who warring vponupon the Thracians, which had promise of victorie by an Oracle, so that Codrus were killed, rushed into the middest of his enemies, and by his death obtained the victorie to the Athenians. The like did the Decij among the Romans, the father in the warres against the Albanes, the sonne against the French, vowed thē selues to die for the safetie of their countrey. Therefore it may be a shame for such as would be counted Christians to seeke the spoile of their countrie, for the preseruation whereof; they ought to spend their life and blood. Iudge then, what manner of religion this is, that nourisheth such disciples, and bringeth forth such fruits.
Beside there are others, which offend against this rule, who, though they shewe not themselues as enemies to their countrey, as the former, in seeking the hurt thereof, yet they faile in their dutie toward their countrey, because they procure not the good thereof: Such are they, which seeke to inrich themselues, though it be to the vndoing of a whole countrey, as inclosers of commons, engrossers of commodities to raise them to a higher price,Against enclosures and monopolies. purchassers of monopolies and priuiledged sales and aduantages: all which doe tend to the priuate gaine of a few, but the hinderance of many, and losse to the common-wealth: Such the wise man speaketh of: He that withdraweth corne, the people shall curse him, &c. Prou. 11. 26. which is true also of all other commodities; that whosoeuer shall drawe any common profit from the people, be it in corne, merchandize, commons, or such like, Gods curse and the peoples shall light vponupon him. And of this sort, I feare me, there are many in the world, that respect more their own, then the common-wealth: nay looke but into the state of eueryevery towne, how few shall you finde, that are deuoted to the good of the township, but addicted wholly to themselues? you shall see many, that are readie to eate vp and deuoure their neighbours, by vndermining and ouertaking them by hard and vncharitable bargaines: like to the raine that sweepeth away their food, Prou. 28. 3. for such sweep away a poore mans crops and corne, as if it should be lost by raging and vnseasonable weather: like as hastie raines doe wash and carrie away the tilth of the land; so such cormorants ouerdripping their poore neighbours, will not suffer them to thriue or grow by them. It is a great infamie to Christians, that these times wil not affoard such good common-weale men, as were many among the Pagans. It is written of Pompeius the great, that while Rome suffered a great dearth, he hauing prouided great store of corne abroad, and shipped the same, while the marriners were afraid to set forward because of the suddaine tempest, he himselfe was the first that entered,foreign vsing these couragious wordes: It is necessarie for vsus to saile, but not so necessarie to liue: he preferred the releife of many before the saftie of one.
Lastly, howe much are we bound to giuegive thankes vntounto God,The …9▪ benefit a …. who hath giuen vsus a prince to gouerne vsus, who may and doeth say with the prophet here, for my brethren and neighbours sake, I will wish thee prosperitie. Whose Maiestie, though in his regall authoritie our Soueraigne lord and King, yet in respect of his consanguinitie our brother, borne of English parentage, and we his louing neighbours before, in countrey, language, religion, and now his dutifull subiects. Now England shall be to his Highnes as Scotland, and Scotland as England. Such a prince, as vntounto whome I am perswaded the Church and Commonwealth are as deare, as his life: who herein may be compared to Dauid, who was readie (as Ambrose rehearseth) Seipsum pro populo offerre morti, Lib. 2. de offic. c. 7.cum ferienti angelo occurrebat, &c. meritò ergo expetitus est ab vniuersis, &c. To offer himselfe for the people, meeting the Angel in the way that stroke the people, &c. therefore he was worthely desired of all. And as he againe saith, Charitas nunquam cadit, ideo Dauid nunquā recidit, quia charus fuit omnibus, &c. LoueLove neuer falleth away, therefore Dauid could not fall, who was beloued of and deare vntounto all. So I trust our vertuous Dauid shall neuer fall, beeing beloued of his people, and much more deare vntounto God, who graunt vntounto his Maiestie an happie, godly, and peaceable raigne ouer vsus.