Sermon Before the Commissioners, Frontispiece – Dedication
CHARLES, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.
A SERMON Preached before the COMMISSIONERS of both KINGDOMES, The ſame day they delivered THE PROPOSITIONS TO The Kings Maieſty, FOR A Safe and well-grounded PEACE.
By SAMUEL KEM, Batchelour in Divinity.
Eſther 1.9. And he ſent the Letters unto all the Jewes, to the hundred twenty and ſeven provinces of the kingdome of Ahaſuerus, with the words of PEACE and TRUTH.
2 Chron. 29.15. And they gathered their BRETHREN, and ſanctified themſelves, and came according to the Commandement of the KING.
2 Sam. 19.14. —All the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man—ſent this word unto the KING, Returne.
1 Sam. 20, 21. Then come thou, for there is PEACE to thee, and no hurt, as the Lord liveth.
LONDON, Printed for R. Auſtin. 1646.
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE, The Commiſsioners of the Lords and Commons of the Parliament of England, aſſembled at Weſtminſter: AND The Commiſsioners of the Parliament of Scotland, ſent with the Propoſitions to His Majeſtie.
Right honourable Lords and Gentlemen,
I Speake my experience, that if a Souldier ſucceed well upon his firſt Charge, he is not to be withheld from a ſecond Adventure: You favoured this Sermon ſo much, when Preached; that I am confident you will not reject it Printed; nor this my Dedicatory, although I begin not after the common ſtamp of Dedication, with ſome hoary or gray-headed Apophthegme, or ſome ſtrained ſentence out of Tully; I profeſſe my ſelfe a Souldier, during this Cauſe, as well as a Schollar, and therefore muſt crave leave, to ſpeake in ſuch language as affectionate duty can beſt expreſſe it ſelf by the tongue. I confeſſe, when I meditate the height of your noble Spirits, and withall the flatneſſe of my poore abilities, as I preſent this in love, ſo with much fear, leſt my endeavours convert into a vapour ere they can reach the height of your merit: ſtoop but ſo low as to cheriſh them, and it ſhall ever add to your Honour. The ancient and moderne cuſtome of Dedication of Bookes to the hands of Eminency, was, and is, either to have them powerfully protected, or in affection, as devoted; or to appeare gratefull for benefits received; all theſe moved me to hover under your wings; being confident, that you that under God protected me out of the jawes of the Lyons, and Beares, will alſo protect me from the greateſt Philiſtims: And therefore have I preſumed to prefix your names, it being none of the ſmalleſt hazards I have run, to oppoſe this Sermon to the worlds view, whereby I expect to be charged againe and againe; and it would conclude me guilty of Poultraniſme, to feare the Sciopii and Pacientii here, when not the Zolimi at Oxford: I well know carping curioſity will have its laſh to me too. Aelian reports, when Diogenes ſaw certaine Rod an Gallants gorgeouſly attyred, he laughed, ſaying, Hic nihil eſt praeter Faſtum: And after, ſeeing certaine Laconians in ſordid apparell, Et hic alius Faſtus eſt, ſaid he. Theſe poore-clad lines (I feare) will not paſſe without envy, and without the cenſure of pride and ambition; how ever, whilſt you keep the Front, I fear no charge, neither Oxfords ſword, nor any other two-edged ſword of the tongue; and the leſſe, becauſe (I perceive) opinions and cenſures are as various as the Arguments on which they diſcourſe: Calumny and ſquint-ey'd detraction violently charging againſt Chriſtian charity and judgement in theſe times. And to ſave them a labour, …eare not to let them know, although that many a ſtorm and tempeſt hath beat againſt me, yet God hath not ſuffered me to be caſt down; and whatever they ſhall ſay, (with Apollonius) I reſolve, they may trouble themſelves, but I will not be troubled at whatſoever the one ſhall ſay, or the other do. I have long before this time Dedicated my life in this Cauſe to God, in the Parliaments Service; any thing leſſe then the loſſe of it I can eaſily endure: It muſt be a long feaſt to find a diſh for every appetite, and many in theſe times will find faults, that will not mend one: I never indeed intended the publiſhing this Sermon before the preaching of it, nor could ever gain time to refine it ſince; only importunity of ſome friends, and the miſ-report that I heard it had to his Majeſty, made me preſume (with your Favour) to ſhow the world the Truth, and implore your Honours to be Judges of it.
My firſt thoughts, when I meditated this ſubject, were onelyonly to breath into your unfurled ſayles, ſuch a blaſt as might give you the advantage to make a ſaving voyage to your ſelves, if not, a more proſperous voyage for the whole Church of God; importunate prayer, being the faireſt wind, can blow in the heavens to carry the Church of God to her ſafe P…rt. And as David, reſcuing his wives, and recovering his goods from the Enemy, was never a whit the leſſe honour to him, becauſe a young man made way for the diſcovery; ſo it being your happineſſe to be imploy'd in this ſervice ſo becoming nobility, or any of the ſonnes of men, to ſeek peace for the Church of God, in which Gods bleſsing Mat. 5. attends you, is it any diminution to your honour, that I, the meaneſt of my brethren, pointed you the way to proſper: It being the conſtant prayer of my ſoule daily, that you may reape the fruits of thoſe ſo brave and gallantly mannaged labours: yea I hourely expect and look out for a return of thoſe adventures from heaven; even when God ſhall ſpeake by His Majeſty (to his three Kingdomes) Peace, which is the hearty prayer, (as alſo for all your honours, that you may ſtill do worthily in Ephrata, and be famous in Bethlehem) of him who is
Yours devoted, even by word and deed to the loſſe of his utmoſt drop of blood, To ſerve you, for JESUS CHRIST, Samuel Kem.