A Century of Sermons, Sermon 1
THE FIRST SERMON UPON THE CORONATION.
PSAL. cxviii. 24.
This is the Day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoyce and he glad in it.
THE words which I have ſelected to preach upon are part of a Pſalm which excels both in the Letter and in the Spirit; rich in the litteral ſenſe, copious in the ſpiritual, the Kingdom of David ſet forth magnificently in the one, the Kingdom of Chriſt glorified in the other. Sometimes the ditty of the Song points directly at the Throne of David, and ſometimes at Chriſts Triumphs over his Death, and his victorious Reſurrection. I cannot chooſe between them both but think of the Country of Meſopotamia, the fruitful Garden of the world, girt about with waters, the Rivers did flow in and out in all quarters of the Land, and the Land was much more pleaſant, for the windings, and intricate Maeanders of the Rivers. So this Hymn hath a moſt delightful alternation in it, skipping often from Chriſt to David, and from David to Chriſt, with ſundry melodious changes, as if it purpoſed to make the Reader loſe himſelf, if he did not curiouſly note the Narration. There hath been much ado among Expoſitors, whether the Pſalm ſhould concern them both, or only one of them, chooſe you which you will. Some refer it all to David, and to the rejoycing of the People in his behalf, that they ſaw him happily inaugurated King of Iſrael, after he had been long kept back by the Houſe of Saul, and many other potent Enemies. The Jewiſh Rabbins make no other conſtruction of it, and they follow the Chaldee Paraphraſt, who doth thus read the 22. verſe of this Pſalm, the Builders did reject the youngeſt of the Sons of Jeſſai, and would not let him reign over them, but he hath deſerved to be received for their Prince and Governor, therefore we will keep holy day and rejoyce. Thus Vatablus and Iſidore Clarius, and many others of this latter Age have dived no further than into the ſuperficies of this Scripture, that is, into ſo much and no more than concerned the Monarchy of David.
But they did not ſee into the bottom that lookt no further: for the Antient Fathers of the Church, not one but all have diſcover'd ſo manifeſt a Propheſie concerning our Saviour, that nothing can be clearer. It is a general rule, that David in moſt of his Pſalms had more regard to Chriſt than to Himſelf; in this more eminently than ordinary, ſo that the New Teſtament is full of the application. Pick out the 22. verſe: The ſtone which the builders refuſed is become the head ſtone of the corner: according to three ſeveral Goſpels our Saviour demonſtrates that himſelf was the Stone which the Scribes and Phariſees refuſed; but God had exalted him to be the Head of the Church both ih Heaven and Earth. St. Peter proves as much in the audience of many thouſands of the Jews, and none of them did contradict him, Jeſus Chriſt of Nazareth whom ye crucified, Acts 4.11.this is the Stone which is ſet at naught of you Builders, which is become the head of the corner, ver. 26. of this Pſalm, Bleſſed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: I doubt not but all the loyal hearts of Juda and Jeruſalem did congratulate David in thoſe words, when he entred into the Royal City, but all the Multitude of the People applied them to the Advent of the Meſſias, Hoſanna to the Son of David, bleſſed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Matth. xxi. 9. And indeed St. Hierom ſays that the Jews in their Liturgy of old were wont to read this Pſalm in their Synagogues for the Meſſias ſake, and did put it among thoſe Prayers in which they did heartily deſire the coming of Chriſt the Lord: Nay ſays Cajetan the 17. verſe can become the mouth of no mortal man, but it is the voice of the immortal Son of God to ſay, I will not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. Therefore thoſe Authors that had the moſt judicious Palat have acknowledged, that ſometimes Davids matters are brought into this Pſalm, and ſometimes Chriſts, nay ſometimes both of them in one verſe; as in my Text. The begining of the Pſalm, ſays St. Chyſoſtom, was a Celebration for the ſetting on the Crown upon the head of the King of Iſrael, but ex improviſo mutavit argumentum, in a ſudden extaſie the Prophet changeth his argument, and ſpeaks of Chriſt; nay ſays Euthymius if a man will be acquainted with the ſtile of the Propets, let him remember that this is their cuſtom, intercidere ſolent ſermones & in rem aliam tranſire, ne adverſarii manus injiciant, they uſe to break off abruptly, and fall from one thing to another, leſt if the Enemies of the Truth did underſtand them, they would make away thoſe holy Writings, to the irrecoverable loſs of the Church of Chriſt.
This was neceſſary to be premiſed, that you might know what to look for out of my Text, namely David's Day in the Letter, and Chriſt's Day in the Spirit. In the Caſe of David no man doubts what day is pointed at, ſurely it is the day of his Inauguration, when after much reſiſtance made by his Enemies at laſt he did enjoy the Scepter of all Iſrael quietly and peaceably, and there was an Holy-day inſtituted to remember it, with ſacred Solemnity. The Lord had made that Day happy unto David, and the People did celebrate it in a joyful and religious manner, I need not to tell you how proper that conſtruction of my Text is to this Day, wherein God hath ſettled our Anointed Sovereign over all the Kingdoms of his Father; and I truſt you profeſs your due thankfulneſs to God for his moſt pious and religious Reign, and that we have great cauſe to rejoyce and be glad in it. But which is that among all the days of Chriſt which God did make more tranſcendently than the reſt? there's a little ſcruple in that point. I find one or two refer it to the day of his Nativity: but their reaſons are weak, and they are no conſiderable number to be followed. St. Hierom and St. Auſtin are in the right, I think, for they apply it to the whole time of the Goſpel, wherein the terrors of the Law are broken, and all things are moſt ſweet and pleaſant to penitent Believers. Behold now is the acceptable Time, now is the Day of Salvation, ſays Iſaiah, and that day reacheth from the time that Remiſſion of ſins is preached in the bloud of Chriſt, unto the end of the world. Now as the Text is common to all Evangelical Days, ſo there is one Day that lifts up its head above them all, the moſt memorable Day of our Saviour's Reſurrection, then it was verily fulfilled, as Peter urg'd it, that the Stone which the Builders refuſed became the head of the corner. St. Chryſoſtom, Nyſſen, and almoſt who not? pitch upon Eaſter-day for the particular application of this Text: that was the Day wherein God did bring forth a more eminent work than in other common days, and upon every Sunday in the year for that Day's ſake, the Church hath appointed ſacred Aſſemblies, that we may rejoyce and be glad. Well then of Davids Day firſt, and from thence how particular Holidays may be ordeined to magnifie Gods extraordinary benefits; next of the bleſſed Age of the Goſpel, wherein we have great cauſe to rejoyce and be comforted, for Chriſt hath wiped away all tears from our eyes. And laſt of all I ſhall take the right opportunity to ſpeak of the glorious Feaſt of the Reſurrection, and how the Church doth keep the weekly Feaſt of the Lords day, to rejoyce and be glad in it.
And firſt the Holy Ghoſt hath left it written for the honor of the Lords Anointed, This is the Day which the Lord hath made. There is one thing in that form of ſpeech which jarrs a little againſt the ear; how can it be ſaid that God did make one day more than another? for he hath framed all Times and Seaſons alike, the Sun knoweth his going down, and he maketh it return again every morning to give light unto the World. In the Hymns of the Heathen he is called Dieſpiter, the Father of all days indifferently: it is he that ſets the Heavens in perpetual motion, and makes the hours run on, and when he calls back his word the Plumbets ſhall go down, and time ſhall be no more.Janſenius, It is granted therefore that he giveth continuance and being to all days after one ſort: and for the Phraſe of my Text a new Writer hath well expreſt himſelf, Non includitur menſura temporis, ſed conditiones tempori incidentes, it is not meant of the Day which the Sun makes with his diurnal motion, but of the great Work which was wrought in that Day: that is, not that God made that Day more than others, but that He made more in that Day than in others. It is vulgar to impute the condition of things which fall out in ſome certain dayes to the days themſelves per metonymiam adjuncti, although a day, as it is meerly a ſpace of time, cannot poſſibly be capable of ſuch Attributes. We take liberty to call this a cold, or a moiſt day, not for its own ſake, but becauſe coldneſs and moiſture happen in the day: ſo for the contingency of glorious things, we call the day it ſelf glorious, and to renown the memorable acts of the Lord, we have got a uſe to ſpeak thus, This is the day which the Lord hath made. In 1 Sam. 12.6. according to the Original, and that's pointed at in our Margent, it is ſaid that the Lord made Moſes and Aaron: why, are not all that are born of a woman the works of his hands as well as Moſes and Aaron? therefore our Tranſlation hath rendred the ſenſe rather than the word, that the Lord advanced Moſes and Aaron: In like manner we may read my Text thus, This is the Day which the Lord advanced, for he made it remarkable with an extraordinary favour, and thereby gave it a Dignity and Exaltation above its fellows. The going out and the return of every year are from the Almighty, with the ſtore and abundance that it brings forth, but when the clouds drop fatneſs with unuſual plenty, then the Prophet ſays, that he crowns that year with his goodneſs, Pſal. lxv. 11. So ſome principal Days are crowned above the reſt, as this Day wherein through the ſun ſhine of his mercy he ſet a Crown of pure Gold upon the head of David his Servant. Piety forbid that we ſhould not thankfully receive the moſt vulgar benefits. I know that common things are commonly neglected, but learn to ſee God in ſmall things, or you ſhall never ſee him in greater. If I had learnt it of no other, yet I find enough in Seneca for that uſe, Communia negligenda non ſunt, &c. neglect not to give thanks for common and quotidian favours, for life, and health, and ſuppeditation of food, that the Sun doth ſhine upon us, that we have the air to breath in, that the Sea doth ebb and flow for navigation. There are days of ſmall things, as Zachary calls them, chap. iv. 10. but thoſe ſmall things are to be conſider'd of us with a grateful heart, who are leſs than the leaſt of all his mercies: but how much more requiſite is it then to obſerve thoſe days, wherein ſome eminent bleſſings are confer'd upon us? what a behooveful thing it is, every man for his own part to keep a Calender of the famous Acts of the Lord? for our Birth, for our Baptiſm, for great Preſervations, and to repreſent them before us at the return of every year with grateful acknowledgment from the bottom of our heart: and when God doth ſee that we are ſo mindful of a proſperous Day, he will grant us many proſperous Years, and for the period of joy, a moſt proſperous Eternity that ſhall never have a period.
This is made as plane then as you can wiſh, upon what ſpecial Prerogative the Lord is ſaid to make a particular day? becauſe he doth appoint ſome ſpecial favour to fall out upon it: and the Wiſe-mans Queſtion is anſwered, Ecclus. xxxiii. 7. Why doth one day excel another? when as all the light of every day of the year is of the Sun. It is not the material light which diſtinguiſheth the nobleneſs of Dayes, but he that made the Sun more excellent than the other Stars of the Firmament, hath made Princes glorious as the Sun in the Orb of the Common-wealth, and a Day of a Princes Exaltation is like a Prince among Days, and in that capacity to be magnified. Such a day is ſaid to be made by God foreign, becauſe God himſelf, and none elſe is the Author of the Power of Kings, He and none but He took David from following the Ews great with young, and ſet him over the Princes of his People. In a word, ſince the Day is taken for the Work of the Day, the real meaning of the firſt words of my Text is, this is the King which the Lord hath made; Samuel anointed him, the People ſhouted, and cried, God ſave him; but the Lord did conſtitute him the Ruler of the Twelve Tribes, and gave him his Sovereign Authority; the Crowns of Glory in Heaven, and the Crowns of Dignity upon Earth are both held by Chriſt. God reigns in Kings as in his Deputies, and they reign in God as in their Author and Authorizer: and this is foreign, ſays S. Chryſoſtom, the chief Dignity of their States, that they hold not their Sovereignty from any mortal means, but immediately from God: Per me Reges regnant, Prov. viii. 15. Solomon acknowledgeth that he held his Tenure of one, and but of one, that was greater than himſelf: Of him that is the Root of all Majeſty, according to the determination of the Prophet Daniel; The Kingdoms are Gods, and to whom be will he giveth them, Dan. iv. 14. And God is highly to be bleſſed that hath given ſuch power unto men, for better not be at all, than not to be under Rule and Government: For it is not as Core the Ringleader of the great Sedition thought, that Moſes took too much upon him, becauſe he guided the People with a faithful hand; he took upon him that Authority which God had given to his Vicegerent, and they that queſtion'd it did not riſe up againſt Man, but againſt the Ordinance of God: Omnia per illum, all things are of him, as St. Paul ſays, Rom. xi. 30. but all things are not of him as Kings do reign by him; other Creatures have their dependance one of another in the connexion of natural cauſes, but the Power of Sovereign Majeſty is not mixed with Earthly Cauſes, but hath an immediate copulation with the Power, the Providence, the Conſtitution, yea and the Caſtigation of God, if it do not decree righteouſneſs; For God is the Judg, he patteth down one and ſetteth up another, Pſal. lxxv. 6.
If there be any cavillation therefore with free Princes, as there was with Moſes, Who made thee a Ruler? we will anſwer it by remotion of falſe and pretended Cauſes. 1. Satan hath arrogated the diſpoſition of all earthly Magiſtracies to himſelf: as Luke iv. 6. when he had ſhewn unto Chriſt all the Kingdoms of the world, and the Glory of them, ſays he, All this power will I give thee, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomſoever I will give it. Execrable Spirit, he dares aſſume that which is proper to the Almighty, to ſpeak the word, and the whole world ſhall have a new face of Government, and that he could remove Kings, as our Saviour ſaid, that by faith his Diſciples ſhould remove Mountains: he remembred how ſuddenly himſelf was depoſed from glory, that he fell like lightning. And when God pleaſeth all the Kingdoms of the World ſhall have as ſudden a tranſmutation, when he ſhall come in Glory to take all Power and Dominion into his own hand, and to judg both the Quick and the Dead. But in the mean time the Thrones of Kings are eſtabliſht in Heaven, and Satan is a liar with an Hyperbole of impudency to ſay, that it lies in him to manage or alter thoſe Governments which God hath put in order: O how many have gone to Witches and Necromancers, and rak'd Hell to be informed how it ſhould fare with the ſucceſſion of ſome State or Empire; ſo did Valens in the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory, ſo did Julian the Apoſtate, and nothing did ſway with him more to apoſtatize, than becauſe ſome Heatheniſh Prieſts foretold by Demoniacal Divinations that the Empire ſhould deſcend upon him: What can be more repugnant than this courſe to Honour and Religion? it is God that makes the Day wherein Kings reign, and not the Prince of Darkneſs, that is condemned to eternal night: it is God that is highly exalted above the Heavens, and not Lucifer who is faln from glory, and is debaſed beneath the Earth. But ſecondly what ſay we to Intruders, that make their own Day, and exalt themſelves in the Throne of Dominion? as Adoniah exalted himſelf, ſaying, I will be King, 1 Kings i. 5. and as Athaliah did take the Scepter into her own hand, when God did never give it her: why, mark the lamentable end of them both, and then you will perceive the irregularity of their action. Let not the ſmoak glory that it riſeth up of it ſelf, for ſo it vaniſheth; infelicity muſt be the event of that promotion, where God doth not ſay, friend ſit up higher. Thirdly, leſt Tyrants ſhould ſnatch this honour to themſelves, there are ſuch as have thought of a Remedy worſe than the Diſeaſe, namely that the Ratification of all Principality ſhould depend upon the voice of the People, and the continuation upon their good liking, with a quamdiu ſe bene geſſerit, to have and to hold his Governance no longer than the popular opinion ſhall commend his good behaviour: their reaſons are, firſt becauſe when men and women multiplied, and began to fill up the Body of a Common-wealth, it was their own act and conſent to put their necks under the yoke of a King. Admit it were ſo, yet you will not ſay but it was God and his inſpiration that directed them to make a Supreme Head unto their Body, for all order proceeds from that wiſdom which comes from above. Neither is it fit to be granted that it ſavours of the wiſdom of God, or of the well-order'd reaſon of man, that in the firſt foundation of Kingdoms the Subjects ſet a Ruler over them, to hold from thenceforth according to their windy and phantaſtical approbation. The Bond which is made in Marriage is knit by the act and conſent of man and woman; yet being once made it doth not depend upon their conſent, but it holds of God: In like ſort at firſt were Kings eſpouſed to their Kingdoms, God did give the Bride, as I may ſo ſay, to the Husband, and ſo the connexion is indiſſoluble. Again, howſoever it holds in other Republiques, yet in that wherein God eſpecially delighted, I mean the Iſraelitiſh, when the People thought it honourable for them to have a King like other Nations, they did not call an Aſſembly, and appoint themſelves a King, but they referred the matter to the Lord, and he ſelected Saul out of all their Tribes, to go in and out before them. Secondly, ſuch as have meditated nothing but the confuſion of an Anarchy have thus mutter'd, if none but God doth make the Day of Annointed Princes, then none but He can unmake them, none but He can chaſtiſe them for injuſtice and violence. Then how ſhall the cauſe of the poor be revenged, when the Man of the Earth exalteth himſelf againſt him? What an irreligious manner of arguing is this; as if there were no hope of juſtice and redreſs, if the cauſe be committed to God only? When Samuel told the People that it would fall out, that their Kings whom they deſired would be very burdenſom to them, and inflict ſore oppreſſions upon their State, ſays he Clamabitis in illo die, you will cry out in that day,1 Sam. 8.18. he doth not ſay you will reject your King, and ſet up another, but you have no other remedy but to cry out unto the Lord, and foraſmuch as your ſins have deſerved that oppreſſion the Lord will not hear you.
Hitherto I have made it good againſt Satan, and all infernal Sorceries: againſt Tyrants that attempt to exalt themſelves, and againſt all popular Factions that would ſeem to have an intereſt in the making and marring of Princes, that God is the initial cauſe, the conſerving cauſe, the ſole Fountain and Author of all Supreme Sovereignty. There is but one Adverſary more to ſtruggle with in this point, that Hildibrand… ſpirit in the Church of Rome, who either directly or indirectly claims authority to himſelf to take account of the Government of Kings, and when he pleaſeth to break their Scepters with a Rod of Iron: It is no toying in ſo main a Cauſe as this, therefore I will demonſtrate that I charge them right. 1. The great number of the Canoniſts defend without any circumlocution, that the Temporal Soveraignty of the whole world is inherent in the Office of Chriſts Vicar, to give, change, alter, or confirm the Titles of particular Princes, as his infallible judgment ſhall lead him. Thus Baronius, who ſpeaks his mind in theſe words for his Holy Father, whom our Lord Jeſus Chriſt the King of Glory hath conſtituted a Prince over all the Kingdoms of the World. Says Auguſtinus Triumphus all Power and Royalty is ſubdelegated from the Pope to other Princes, no man can give him any Soveraignty which he had not before, nec Conſtantinus dedit quicquam Sylveſtro, quod non prius erat ſuum, ſays he, ſome talk of Conſtantines donation to Sylveſter, that he gave him the Temporal Principality of Romania, he gave him nothing but that which was his own before, that and all beſide was St. Peters Patrimony. But Practice is a plainer Argument than Book-words. Alexander the Sixth, a Giver that will do but ſmall credit to his Gift, but ſuch as he is take him with all faults, he beſtowed the whole Weſt-Indies to Ferdinand King of Spain, ex merâ liberalitate, & motu proprio, as it is in the words of the Bull. Their own Hiſtories ſay that Athabaliba King of Peru maintained his Dominions by fighting againſt that Grant, till he was taken priſoner in battel, and then cried out, That Pope could have no reverence to vertue or to the God of Heaven, that took away another mans Kingdom from him. You ſee now that this Succeſſor of St. Peter, as he would be ſtiled, lays claim to that which St. Peter never dreamt of to belong to him, for how could his imagination comprehend ſuch things when he knew they were diſclaimed by Chriſt, Joh. xviii. 36. My Kingdom is not of this world, if it were my Servants would fight for me, that I ſhould not be delivered to the Jews, but my Kingdom is not from hence. God gave unto Chriſt the Heathen for his Inheritance, and the uttermoſt parts of the Earth for his Poſſeſſion, that is to dilate his Spiritual Kingdom over all the world, but neither that himſelf, or his Apoſtles ſhould excel in any Temporal Dignity. It remains therefore againſt all oppoſite Parties, that the Kingdoms of the World are the Lords, and he doth ſet his Annointed in their Thrones out of his holy Hill: and therefore when Popes of old did write to Kings, their uſual ſtile was to wiſh them health; in eo per quem reges regnant, in him by whom Kings do reign, that is in God above. And all this is to declare, that David held his Crown from none but God, becauſe upon the Solemn Feaſt of his Inauguration it is ſaid, This is the Day which the Lord hath made.
All Kings are made by God, yet not all alike: there is more of the Divine mercy and favour in the making of David a man after Gods own heart, than in making of Saul, one whom it repented God that ever he made him; more of his ſacred workmanſhip in the making of Melchiſedech a King of Righteouſneſs, than in the making of Nimrod a King of Violence. They that ſow the fruits of righteouſneſs in peace, thoſe are reges primae intentionis, Kings in whom God and Man do eſpecially delight: and they that have been compaſſed about with moſt cruel Wars abroad, and with moſt terrible Enemies and Treaſons at home, and yet have waded proſperous out of all theſe dangers, thoſe are reges primae providentiae, Kings of miraculous providence above the trivial current: and you that have read the two Books of Samuel, and the firſt Book of Chronicles, meet with a thouſand paſſages what memorable marks the Lord had ſet upon the perſon of David: which of you doth note the mean condition out of which he did riſe, and the Throne to which he was exalted, but you will ſay digitus Dei, you do mark the print of Gods finger in the work, collect the imminent dangers which he eſcaped, the fury of Saul, the Hoſts of the Philiſtins, the Duel with Goliah, the Plots of Ahitophel, the overawings of the Sons of Zeruiah, the almoſt inevitable Conſpiracy of Abſalon, and finally the Uſurpation of his other Son Adonijah, even while he was upon his Death-bed, and you will ſay there was never any Potentate begirt with ſo many aſſaults, and brought off with ſuch ſafety, that there was not an hair of his head did periſh. As David's Day hath theſe characters in it, ſo we are to glorifie the ſweet Providence of God, that our Royal Sovereign's Day hath none of them: For firſt, the mean Parentage of David did much prejudice him, it was a word of contempt that he could not claw off, to be called the Son of Jeſſai, the Son of a poor Yeoman in Bethlem. But his Majeſty's Throne hath been the Throne of his glorious Anceſtors for many Generations, and a concurrence of the beſt blood in the world doth meet in himſelf, and in his Royal Progeny: For domeſtical Enemies, God be praiſed, for the terms of eleven years of his moſt Religious Reign never any durſt ſhew their faces; if they ſhould, I truſt we ſhould ſee their heads ſhewn for a direful ſpectacle to after Ages. But whereas the bleſſed Princes that upheld our Reformed Religion have been hemmed about with Treaſons upon Treaſons every one of them, God hath ſo confounded them in their malicious devices, that His Sacred Majeſty hath hitherto gone in and out before us without the leaſt whiſper of any infernal attempt againſt him; no Prince in this Iſland, that profeſt the ſame Reformed Faith, being able to ſay as he can, that neither popular commotion, nor ſecret conſpiracy hath hitherto reacht itſelf againſt his Royal Perſon, and God grant ſuch ſafety to himſelf, and ſuch true and loyal hearts to his People: and that gracious protection will make us ſee that the Buckler of the Moſt High is on every ſide of him, and that his name is written in the Book of Life. Another thing is, David was very much exerciſed in wars againſt the Philiſtins, and his Sword did never come out of the Field without a Conqueſt: but the beſt Victory is bought with the price of much bloud, and therefore ours is both a more joyful condition, to enjoy the halcyon days of peace, than to be renowned for the moſt triumphant days of war: As Seneca ſaid of the innocent days of Saturns Age, that there were no terrible Battels fought by ſeditious Princes, odium omne in feras verterant, they kill'd none but wild Beaſts in hunting: ſo it is far more Chriſtian in our days to hear it talked that Dogs do chace Stags, than that Men devour Men, as they do in our neighbour Nations, But as David was the firſt King of Iſrael that maintained a Navy of Ships at Sea, both to procure ſafety, and honour, and wealth to his people, ſo it will be written of our Dread Soveraign, that he hath matched if not exceeded all his Predeceſſors in that glory.
Touching the Perſonal Qualities of David, Gifts of Virtue and Grace, I confeſs they were rare, and will admit but of few Compariſons: never ſuch an Enditer of holy Songs, never any did exceed him in Zeal and Piety: never ſince the world began did any Monarch heap up ſuch a maſs of Treaſure to build up the Temple, an hundred thouſand Talents of Gold, a thouſand thouſand Talents of Silver, and Gold and Silver without number, 1 Chron. xxii. for ordering the Service of God in the diſpoſition of the Prieſts, in ſettling the ſacred Muſick, he was ſo exquiſite as the like was never heard of: and in ordering all temporal affairs he was wiſe as an Angel of God, ſays the woman of Tekoa: for his mercy in forgiving offendors, you ſhall not meet with the like till you aſcend up to God himſelf: how ſoon did a few courteous words in the mouth of Abigail cool his anger, when he was in a moſt chaffing indignation? what horrid revilings did he put up which Shemei caſt upon him? how indulgent he was to have ſpared Abſolom, the lewdeſt Son that did ever riſe up againſt a Father? When God did give ſuch Ornaments to his Servant, it may well be ſaid that he made the day wherein he crowned him: and for our due acknowledgment of Gods favours poured upon the head of our Auguſtious Sovereign, you cannot deny but he is religious, pious, temperate, gentle, prudent, good in all reſpects as David was, but blemiſhed with none of his vices. But I will not make my Sermon a Cento of his deſerved Praiſes, not for that reaſon which Plato gives, that it is folly to commend any man while he lives foreign, becauſe man is a changeable creature, and may alter from good to worſe: I fear not this, I ſee ſuch conſtancy, and ſtiff perſeverance in all virtuous ways in our Illuſtrious King; but partly becauſe all Encomiaſtick Exerciſes are cenſur'd for flattery, and do ſoon prove ſcandalous to the Auditors; partly becauſe the Temple is a place ſelected for the Praiſe of God, and not of Man: but I will confidently ſay, that ſince we are ſo proſperous a People in a religious, wiſe, juſt, chaſt, merciful, and temperate Sovereign, no Nation under the Sun, all things duly weighed, hath more cauſe to confeſs than we, this is the day which the Lord hath made.
And I may well ſay hitherto I have ſpoken of a Benefit, now I am come to our bounden thankfulneſs, we will rejoyce and be glad in it; as who ſhould ſay, this is the Day which God made for this very end, that we ſhould rejoyce and be glad in it. As the Lord loveth a chearful Giver, ſo he loveth a chearful Receiver of his mercies, he would have us conſign it in our countenance and geſture that it pleaſeth us, and delights us exceedingly to be partakers of his Propitiations: And ſurely this is no hard requeſt, no heavy yoke I am certain, to require us to rejoyce, and be merry with them that keep holy day, to accommodate our ſelves to the ſeaſon: It becometh the righteous to be glad, it becometh them to be merry and joyful, ſays our Pſalmiſt. If we deſcend into the conſideration of our manifold ſins, we had need of a long Lent ſet apart to bewail them; nay the Church very anciently provided that every week in the year we ſhould caſt up that reckoning, and ſingled out two whole days, Wedneſday and Friday, for faſting, weeping, and mourning. Yet ſince there is nothing worſe for our proficiency in ſanctification than to be ſwallowed up in grief and melancholy, therefore it is the will of our Father that we ſhould recreate our ſelves in ſolemn Feſtivals for the remembrance of his benefits, which my Text calls to rejoyce and be glad. The ſame paſſion of Exhilaration perhaps is ſet forth in both theſe terms, yet it is uſual to aſcribe them ſeverally, the one to the Body, the other to the Soul, referring joy to the Body, and gladneſs to the Soul; for we owe our ſelves to God in both, and we muſt honour him both in the inward and in the outward man: Cor meum, & caro mea, they go both together, Pſal. xvi. 9. therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoyceth, my fleſh alſo ſhall reſt in hope. In ſuch times as great Benefits are to be celebrated, we muſt not think it enough to joy in our boſom, it muſt break out into ſome ſenſible tokens: and yet again we muſt not have a clear face, and a cloudy overcaſt heart, but let our Body and Soul be equally devoted to triumph in the name of the Lord. I dare not open too wide a gap for mirth, leſt inſtead of thankſgiving it prove to be licentiouſneſs: Solomon, among other varieties, would prove his own heart with mirth and pleaſure, and behold it turned to vanity, Eccl. ii. no paſſion more obnoxious to degenerate into vice, therefore gaudete in Domino, let the Lord be in the joy both of Body and Soul, and forget not that the ſpeakers in my Text promiſe not a carnal but a religious Feſtival, wherein the Lord ſhould be praiſed. For the 27 verſe of this Pſalm in our reading promiſeth a Sacrifice to God upon that Day in his holy Temple, Bind the Sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the Altar: but the Septuagint foreign, &c. and it is followed by the Vulgar Latin, which reads it, Conſtituite diem ſolemnem in condenſis uſque ad cornua altaris, appoint an holy day, that the People may ſtand thick in the Temple from the Porch up to the horns of the Altar. Some part of the day muſt be ſpent in the Church upon our Solemn times, or elſe our rejoycing is not ſanctified. It is the mirth of Fools, or rather of Mad-men, to ſuppoſe that Chriſtmas Holidays are well kept with gaming and revelling, that Whitſun Holidays were made for nothing but Wakes and Dancing, that the Solemnity of May-day being the Feaſt of two Apoſtles, Philip and Jacob, conſiſts in decking up houſes with green boughs; or as in old time the Common People celebrated Allhollan-day with nothing but ringing of Bells. Lawful Exerciſes and Paſtimes may be uſed to refreſh both the body and mind, but unleſs we intermix the ſolemn Service of God at thoſe times, and ſpend ſome hours with godly profit in the Church, it is but the Feaſt of Fools, or perhaps worſe, the Feaſt of Epicures. So the Prophet mentions ſome Swiniſh Carouſers, that thought they did ſolemnize their Kings Day in a jovial manner with drinking healths till they loſt their wit, and their health: In the day of our King the Princes made him ſick with flagons of wine, Hoſ. vii. 5. Such Toſpots celebrate a Feaſt to the uſe of the Devil, and not to the Glory of God. But it was unto that Glory that this Song, and this Day which is chanted, and this Joy which is ſo chearfully profeſt are all dedicated, This is the Day which the Lord hath made, &c.
But how hard a thing it is to draw men and women with their good will to Church? for ſome have ſtretcht all their wits and their learning to defie our Church, becauſe it hath appointed Holidays for ſolemn occaſions of Prayer and Thanksgiving: and the greateſt part of the Kingdom, not out of oppoſition, but out of negligence and ſlothfulneſs doth omit the due obſervation which belongs unto them. You give your ſelves over at ſuch times to ceſſation from work it may be, to Sports and Games, and Interludes, the Fields ſhall be all day full of looſe perſons, and the Houſe of the Lord empty. It is true that reſt from labour becoms an Holiday, yet the very vacation from labour is not ſimply pleaſing to God, but the better to follow Religious Service: and beware to confound reſt and idleneſs, as if they were all one; they are idle whom the painfulneſs of action cauſeth to avoid that labour, whereunto God and Nature bindeth them; they reſt that either ceaſe from their work, when they have brought it to perfection, or elſe give over a meaner labour becauſe a better and more worthy is to be undertaken: therefore though ſome part of an Holiday is indulged to put gladneſs into the life of them that are toiled with continual work, yet the ſubſtantial character of the day is to meet together in our Religious Convocations, and to adore the Name of the Lord.
I ſhall not be able at this fag end of the hour to traverſe this point as I would, ſome ſatisfaction I will give you now, God willing, and defer that which remains to a more ſpacious occaſion. My Doctrin which I lay down is this, that it is lawful for any Church to celebrate what Feaſts it will, ſo all be done with order and edification: And I ſay more that every Church ought to ſet apart Solemn Times to remember annually the extraordinary works of God, though ſuch deſigned and determinate Days are not commanded in Holy scripture. And I put to this moreover, that God doth accept what the Church in due conſideration doth voluntarily conſecrate to Religious uſe. I will put two parts of my Propoſition together, that this was lawful to be done, and that it ought to be done. Nature did teach the Heathen, Hooker lib. 5. part. 72.God taught the Jews, and Chriſt by his own practice while he was upon earth taught us, that to meet at Extraordinary Times for the celebration of Excellent Things was juſt and righteous. One doth eloquently and very truly commend the various fruit of keeping ſuch Sacred Times in this full Encomiaſticon. Feſtival days are the Splendour and outward Dignity of our Religion, forcible Witneſſes of ancient truth, agnizing of great Benefits received, Provocations to the Exerciſes of Piety, Shadows of our endleſs felicity in Heaven.
Firſt, I will begin at the laſt of theſe, That there muſt be great conſolation in the due keeping of an Holiday, if you rightly underſtand it, becauſe it repreſents the joy which is laid up for us in the Kingdom of Heaven: and it is a moſt comfortable expectation, when the very outward countenance of that which we are about on Earth, doth prefigure after a ſort that which we tend unto in the everlaſting Habitations. Bear but this in mind, that the Rubrick days in the Almanack do prefigure that celeſtial condition, wherein being mixed with Angels, we ſhall ſing Haleluia to the Lamb for evermore, having no worldly toil or vexation to diſtract us, and this would make us moſt chearful to bear a part in a ſolemn Congregation. The Kingdom of Heaven was but darkly revealed to the Jews in the Old Teſtament, and yet to bear in mind the glory which is laid up for the Godly, they devoted a portion of every Day to the Divine Service, in the Morning and Evening Sacrifice; a portion of every Week upon the Sabbath, a portion of every MonethMonth upon the New Moon; a portion of every Seaſon of the Year, the Paſſover in the Spring, the Feaſt of Pentecoſt in the Summer, the Feaſt of Tabernacles in the Autumn, and in latter Ages the Feaſt of Dedication in the Winter. Every ſeventh Year was a Solemn Year for the Ceſſation of all Plowing and Sowing, and that's a contracted Age: Every Fiftieth Year was moſt ſolemn for the memorizing of the Grand Jubilee, and that's a long protracted Age. If they did ſo often repreſent their longing to be at reſt in heavenly places, much more doth it concern us under the Goſpel, who are nearer neighbours than they to that future glory.
Secondly, ſuch gandy dayes are moſt meet for the agnizing of great benefits received. I eſteem the more of this reaſon, becauſe it is St. Auſtins: Civ. Dei, lib. 10. c. 8.Ne volumine temporum ingrata obreperet oblivio; by Feſtival Solemnities and ſet Days we dedicate and ſanctifie to God the memory or his chief benefits, leſt unthankfulneſs and forgetfulneſs ſhould creep upon us in the courſe of time. Nor is it enough to remember ſome notable favour upon one day and no more with great pomp and ſplendor; for the revolution of time will obſcure that, as if it had never been, the conſtant habit of doing well is not gotten without the cuſtom of doing well, without an iteration of holy Duties: Beſide ſuch as are weak and tottering in faith might imagin that we did ſet no high price upon the Nativity of our Lord, upon his Paſſion, his Reſurrection, his Aſcenſion, and upon the Coming of the Holy Ghoſt, if we did not extol him for them with ſome outward and eminent acts of glory.
Thirdly, the principal Articles of Faith are nailed faſt to our memory by clothing great Feaſts with ſome tranſcendent tokens of joy and holineſs. At the Feaſt of Chriſtmas every ſimple body is put in mind that Chriſt took our nature upon him, and was born of a pure Virgin. On Good Friday even Babes and Children are taught that he died upon the Croſs to redeem us from eternal death. Eaſterday proclaims it, that our Saviour roſe again in his own Body from the Grave, and will raiſe up our Fleſh at the laſt day to be like his own glorious Body. Aſcenſion day, or Holy Thurſday rememorates every year, that He is gone up into Heaven to be our Interceſſor with his Father, and to prepare a place for us. Whitſunday, or the Coming of the Holy Ghoſt, is like a fair Land-mark to inſtruct the moſt unlearned, that though our nature is moſt corrupt, and averſe from all good motions, yet the ſpirit is poured into us, whereby in ſome weak meaſure we become obedient Children, and cry Abba Father. Theſe are the Days which the Lord hath made, and when we devote our ſelves to magnifie him upon theſe occaſions, they prove the beſt means to teach us the Catechetical and fundamental points of faith. And as Chriſt was great in himſelf, and in thoſe works of grace, ſo He is great in the Angels of Heaven, great in the Apoſtles, in the Evangeliſts, in all Saints and Martyrs; and the choice is made by our Church of the Flower of all occaſions in this kind publickly to praiſe the Lord: and it is very fit, I ſay, that there ſhould be a ſenſible difference between theſe and common days, both for our thankſgiving, and for the profitableneſs of our piety. Gods works are all worthy of obſervation, but not at all times alike to be remembred: for as the Lord by being every where doth not give unto all places one and the ſame degree of holineſs: but the Church is more ſacred than the High-ways of the Field, though Gods Immenſity and Omnipotency is alike in both; ſo neither is one and the ſame dignity competent to all times, although the Omnipotency of God doth work in all times: but as his extraordinary preſence hath hallowed and ſanctified certain places, ſo they are his extraordinary works, which have worthily advanced certain times: for which cauſe they ought with all men that honour God to be in more honour than other dayes.
I ſhould add two things more that are very ponderous to confirm this truth, one from the practice of ſome holy perſons in the Old Teſtament, whoſe conſtitutions God approved; the other from the practice of our Fore-fathers in all Ages, and 'tis fit to tread in their ſteps in things that are laudable, honeſt, and indifferent: but this ſhall not be hudled up, I will dilate it hereafter. To diſpatch all, beſide our holy due of the Lords Day we are now to celebrate the Kings Day; and for good reaſon in all equity we ought to do ſome Religious Service on His Day, who is the Defendor of our Religion. Next under the Providence of God who but the King doth maintain the Truth among us; therefore on what day of the week ſoever this Day lights, it becoms us to ſet open the Door of the Church, and to praiſe the Lord, becauſe we have freedom to come to Church all the year by his grace and protection. We have no Romiſh Superſtition, no Anabaptiſtical or Presbyterian Anarchy to make this holy place irkſom unto us. God be praiſed that has given his Anointed a faithful heart to ſerve him, and to uphold his People in the right way, that they may hold up clean hands to Heaven.Euſeb. l. 3. de Conſtant. vit. I do read that Conſtantine celebrated an yearly Feaſt for his Victory againſt Licinius. I read that the Church of Alexandria celebrated a Day yearly wherein the waters aſſwaged after a great Inundation. I read that Alexius Comnenus appointed a perpetual Holiday for the memory of the famous Emperor and Lawgiver Juſtinian: nay, St. Ambroſe calls to mind,Sozom. lib. 6. c. 2. that Felix Biſhop of Cuma kept that day every year in a magnificent manner to God, Lib. 1. Ep. 5.wherein he was conſecrated Biſhop. Thus former Ages have given us light, that we keep in the Circle of that which is lawful, when we adorn the Anniverſary Day of the Inauguration of our moſt noble King with joy and feſtivity in the ſight of God: and firſt let us confeſs the Lords benefit towards us, and ſay as the People did of Solomon, Becauſe thy God loved Iſrael to ſtabliſh them for ever, therefore made he thee King over them to do judgment and juſtice, 1 Chron. ix. viii. Secondly, let as put up Prayers and Interceſſions to the Divine Majeſty, to give great proſperity to our Anointed Sovereign, to his Royal Conſort, and to their Poſterity for ever. AMEN.