The Joy of the English Church for the Coronation of Pious Prince James, Meditations on psalm · Part · Meditation 8
The 8. meditation.
In thy gates O Ierusalem.] This citie God made especiall choise of: as it is in the pslame, God loueth the gates of Sion aboue all the habitations of Iacob, psal. 87. 2. It was called the citie of God, v. 3. the citie of the great king. math. 5. 35. the holy citie, mat. 4. 5. there Abraham was bid to sacrifice his sonne, Gen. 22. of this citie was Melchisedeck founder, and king. Gen. 14. yet notwithstanding all these priuiledges, this citie was often for their sinnes besieged, by Pharao Necho, 2. king. 22. 23. by Nabuchadnezzer, 2. king. 24. 11. destroied by the king of Babylon, 2. king. 25. and at the last vtterly ruinated and made desolate by the Romanes. Whereby we learne, that there is no citie or countrie, though indued with neuer so great priuiledges, but if they continue in sinne, may be in Gods iustice cast off.
1. The Prophet saith, He turneth a fruitfull land into barrennes for the wickednes of the people, Ruine of cities for sinne.that dwel therein, Psal. 107. 34. God is able both to change cities and countries, to bring them to perpetuall ruine and desolation, because of the sinnes of the inhabitants.
2. Thus the Lord dealt with Samaria, 2. king. 21. 13. and with Shiloh, where three hundred yeares the arke of God rested: Goe vntounto my place, which was at Shiloh where I set my name at the beginning, and behold what I did vntounto it, for the wickednes of my people Israel, Ier. 7. 12. What is become now of Babylon the chiefe citie of the Chaldeans, of Niniue of the Assyrians, of Reuatane the great citie of the Medes, Susis of the Persians? there is no monument of them left,Epist. 91. but as Seneca saith, Ipsa fundamenta consumpta sunt, nec quicquam extat, quo appareat illas saltem fuisse: the very foundations are worne out, and it doth not appeare that there were any such cities.
3. As God hath dealt with these citties, so he can offer the same occasion to others: I will stretch ouer Ierusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Achab, and I will wipe Ierusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, which he wipeth, and turneth it vpside downe, 2. King. 21. 13. It is no whitte harder for God to bring destruction vponupon citties, then for the mason to lift vp his line and plummet ouer his worke, or then it is to wipe a dish when it is foule.
4. The cause why the Lord iudgeth countries and citties is expressed in the case of Israel; because they sinned against the Lord their God, &c. and walked according to the fashion of the heathen, &c. and had made them images, &c. therefore the Lord, was exceeding wroth with Israel, and put them out of his sight, 2. King. 7. 8, 10, 18. The like sinnes in any cittie neuer so famous or honourable in the world, must needs procure the same iudgements.
5. First in that Ierusalem that famous citie is now forsaken of her inhabitants, & made an habitation of deuils, of pagans & infidels, we learne, that Gods church and the true religion is not limited to any certaine place: and seeing God hath shewed such indignation toward that countrie & nation, which put Christ to death, what reason had the Romane bishops in time past, to incite Christian Princes to mooue such deadly warres for the recouerie of the holy land, as they called it? After God had polluted his owne cittie and temple, and Christ neglected the very place of his birth for the sinnes of the people,Of the wars for recouering the holy land so superstitiously called. what cause had Christians so superstitiously to be addicted to that place, which was reiected of God? Their ouersight herein well appeared by the euent, for we shall not read of any warres that continued longer, with greater bloodshed, and lesse happie successe, then these maintained by Christians against the Saracens for the possession of the holy land. Hereupon Princes lead with a superstitious conceite, take vponupon them the crosse, to goe fight for Hierusalem, as Henrie the 2. Richard the 1. king Iohn, with diuerse other, who thought simply as Naaman, that no earth was so holy as that about Iordan, 2. King. 5. 17. But our Sauiour hath giuen vsus a rule for this: The houre commeth, when ye shall neither in this mountaine, nor at Ierusalem worship the father, Iohn. 4. 23. The true worship of God is not tied to Ierusalem, as Hierome wel expoundeth those words of the Psalme; God loueth the gates of Sion more then all the habitations of Iacob. Nunquid istas portas diligit Deus, Deterr. promis….quas videmus in cineres & favillas conuersas? &c. Doe you thinke that God loued these gates, which are turned to dust and ashes? no man is so foolish to thinke so, &c. And againe he saith, Ne quicquam fidei tuae deesse putes, Ad Paulin.quia Hierosolymam non vidisti, &c. Thinke not any thing therefore wanting to your faith, because you hauehave not seene Ierusalem, nor vsus therefore better, because we hauehave there our habitation.
Secondly, the like fantasie the Papists hauehave of Rome, which the Iewes had of Ierusalem; they imagine that Gods Church cannot possibly faile there: as though they euer had the like promise for Rome, as the Iewes had for Sion▪ That God would dwell there for euer, Psal. 132. 14. Howe would the Papists triumph if they could finde any such text for Rome, This is my rest for euer? yet if they did, such promises are but conditionall; for God no longer bindeth himselfe not to forsake a nation,Rom… neuer had such promises as Hierusalem. then while they doe not forsake him. Let proud Rome therefore know, that seeing shee is fallen away from the faith of Christ by most grosse idolatrie, and other apostasies, that shee cannot long escape vnpunished: Ierusalem was deerer in gods sight then euer Rome was, it was longer protected by him, greater miracles had God wrought for them, more holy men and Prophets there preached, then euer Rome had. And Hierome speaking of poore Bethlem saith, Puto sanctior locus est rupe Tarpeia, Hier. ad Eustach.quae de caelo saepius fulminata ostendit, quod deo displiceat: I take it to be a more holy place, then the Tarpeian rocke at Rome, which beeing so often smitten with lightening, sheweth that God was angrie with it. If Bethlem was not spared, where Christ was borne, much lesse Rome is priuiledged, by whose authoritie Christ died: If God spared not the naturall branches, take heed least he spare not thee, saith S. Paul to the Romans. Rom. 11. 21. The Iewes then were the true naturall branches, the Romans strange and adopted branches: therfore if the first were plucked off for their rebellion, the second must not thinke to stand in their superstition. A foolish conceit therefore and imagination it is, that Rome should be the mother Church, and nurserie of all the world. Hierome well saith: Non audeo Dei omnipotentiam angusto fine concludere, Ad Paulinum.& coarctare paruo terrae loco, quem non capit c…lum. I dare not conclude Gods omnipotencie with a smal bounds, and to thrust him into a small roome, whome the heauens cannot hold.
Thirdly, this example of Ierusalē doth admonish all cities, not to presume of their temporall and externall happines, but to learne thankefully to embrace the truth, least for their vnthankfulnes they be depriued both of the vertue, and the handmaid thereof prosperitie. Let Ierusalem of England the citie of London be warned by her sister, the Iewish Ierusalem, that shee take heede of her sinnes, that shee tast not of her sause. Let the calamitie of other neighbour cities admonish her: it is some while since Lyons in Fraunce was in one night consumed sticke and stone with fire: whereof Seneca maketh this lamentable mention,Epist. 92. Vna tantùm nox interfuit inter civitatem maximam & nullam, denique diutius tibi, illam perijsse, quàm perijt, narro. There was but the distance of one night betweene a great citie, and none at all, and I hauehave beene longer in telling you of the destruction thereof, then it was in destroying. Verolamium here in England situate not farre from S. Albons,Cambden de comit. He…tford. was a famous and great citie, now not so much as the name thereof remaineth. What great calamities befell most famous cities in Hieroms time he himselfe reporteth: how all France was wasted of the Barbarians,ad Gerontiam. the city of Ments taken, and many thousands slaine in the Church: Ipsa Hispania iam peritura contremiscit: Spaine trembleth, as if it were now readie to perish. And what hath hapned in other countries and cities round about vsus in our time, who can be ignorant? The massacre of Paris, the desolation of Antwerpe, the sacking of Calice, surprising of many townes in the low countries. All these examples should warne noble cities and corporations of England to beware of those sinnes, for the which the other hauehave been chastised. As Hierome wel saith, Orbis terrarum ruit, in nobis peccata non ruant, Hieron ibid.vrbs inclyta & Romani imperij caput, vno hausta est incendio: The famous citie and chiefe of the Romane citie at once consumed with fire, the world falleth to ruine, and yet within there is no ruine of our sinnes.