God Save the King, Title page – Dedication 2
GOD ſave the KING: OR, A SERMON PREACH'D AT LYME-REGIS May 18. 1660. at the Solemn Proclamation of his moſt Excellent Majeſty Charles the II.
By the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith.
By Ames Short M. A. Miniſter there.
Eccleſ. 10.17. Bleſſed art thou, O Land, when thy King is the Son of Nobles, and thy Princes eat in due ſeaſon, for ſtrength, and not for drunkenneſs.
Pſal. 21.5. His glory is great in thy Salvation: honour and Majeſty haſt thou laid upon him.
London, Printed for W. Roybould, at the Ʋnicorn in S. Paul's Church-yard. 1660.
TO The Reverend, our much eſteemed Friend, Mr. Ames Short, Miniſter of the Goſpel in Lyme Regis.
Reverend and worthy Sir,
WEE have received much content and ſatisfaction in our ſpirits from your late ſeaſonable Sermon Preach'd to us upon occaſion of our Solemnity in Proclaiming His moſt Excellent Majesty, our dread Sovereign CHARLES the ſecond; wherein you did ſo clearly repreſent him unto our apprehenſions to be in all reſpects a very hopefull Prince, and his acceſſion to the Government of theſe Kingdoms to be every way ſo advantagious, as did exceedingly increaſe our joyes, for His Majeſty's wonderfull Preſervation and Reſtitution, and adde very much to the Solemnities of the day: And therefore we cannot but return you our hearty thanks for the ſame. And having good grounds to hope, that it may have the ſame effect upon the hearts of others, into whoſe hands it may come, who had not the opportunity to hear it; we do hereby make it our joynt requeſt unto you to publiſh your Sermon to the View of the World, that thoſe clouds of fears and doubtings, which perhaps do ſadden the ſpirits of many good people, may thereby be diſperſed, and all may be induced as cheerfully to embrace, and affectionately to cloſe with this hopefull way of Settlement on the good old foundation (and as thankefully to acknowledge the great goodneſs of our God in bringing us thereunto after all our ſad Combuſtions and Confuſions) as we our ſelves upon theſe grounds unfeignedly do. Sir, we have had ſuch large experience of your good affection to His Majeſty's Perſon, and juſt Authority, and your deſires for the healing of all our ſad Breaches, that we cannot doubt of your ready complyance with us in this thing.
Signed in the names, and by the appointment of your very affectionate friends, the Members of this Corporation of Lyme-Regis.John Elleſdon Mayor. Dated May 21. 1660.
TO THE WORSHIPFULL, THE MAYOR, With the reſt of the Capital Burgeſſes of Lyme-Regis in Dorſet.
My Beloved, and much eſteemed in the Lord.
FOr your and the edification of all others, the Inhabitants of this place, this Sermon was firſt ſtudied and Preach'd; and at your requeſt, as appears by your prefixed Letter, (in order to a more publick benefit) with ſome little enlargement, it is now Printed. I wiſh, that neither you, nor any that heard it, may finde cauſe to ſay of it, as Queen Elizabeth once did of a Sermon Preach'd before her Majeſty, and Printed at her command; of which (after the reading of it) ſhe ſaid, It was the beſt Sermon Preach'd, but the worſt Read, that ever ſhe heard and read. If you judge the like of this after you have read it, I ſhall not think it ſtrange; being well aſſur'd, that my Sermons (by reaſon of the plainneſſe of my ſtile) are fitter for the Pulpit than the Preſſe, and more acceptable in preaching than they can be in reading.
And therefore, whatever you may think of it, I am fully confident, I ſhall be diverſly cenſured for the publication of it, according to the various judgements, diſpoſitions, and affections of ſuch as happily may be at the pains to read it. Some perhaps will charge me with flattery; of this my highly and worthily eſteemed Friend, in his moſt ingenious Epiſtle to the Reader, hath ſufficiently cleared me. Others, no doubt, will accuſe me of injuring His Majeſty, by drawing and expoſing His Portraicture to publick view in a dreſſe ſo homely, and unbefitting a Prince of ſo much worth and excellency: With theſe I ſhall not quarrel, but beg my Sovereign's pardon, for handling His Perſonal and Princely perfections in ſo rude a manner; and I doubt not but I ſhall obtain it. He that hath ſo freely offered an Act of Grace to his worſt of Enemies, (who ſhall lay hold of it) will not ſtick to pardon the unavoidable weakneſſe of a Loyal Subject, when his mercy is implored. However, having expoſed my ſelf to cenſure upon your deſires, you cannot but hold your ſelves obliged (with the utmoſt of your power) to vindicate my name from all aſperſions which, upon this account, may be caſt upon it. And this (beſides your continuing ſtedfaſt in the fear of God, and in loyalty to his moſt ſacred Majeſty) is all that is at preſent deſired of you, by
(SIRS) Your affectionate Paſtor and Servant in the work, and for the ſake of Christ, Ames Short. Lyme-Regis, June 4. 1660.