FOR GOD and the KING THE SVMME OF TWO SERMONS Preached on the fifth of November last in St. MATTHEWES FRIDAY-STREETE 1636. By HENRY BVRTON Minister of GODS Word there and then 1. PET. 2. 17. Feare GOD. Honour the KING 2. TIM 4. 1 2 3. I charge thee before God and the Lord Iesus Christ who shall judge the quicke and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdome Preach the Word be instant in season out of season reproove rebuke exhort with all long suffering and doctrine For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine c. Bernard in Dedic Ecclae Ser. 3. Non miremini fratres si durius loqui videor Quia veritas neminem palpat Printed Anno Dom. 1636. TO THE KINGS MOST EXCELLENT MAIESTIE CHARLES BY THE GRACE OF GOD King of Great Britaine France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. SIR What the title in the front professeth FOR GOD AND THE KING the substance thereof was by me preached in two Sermons on the last fifth of November 1636. to teach my people obedience to both And for this I was by the divine providence directed to this Text Prov. 24. 21. 22. My Sonne feare thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change For their calamity shall arise suddenly and who knoweth the ruine of them both The Doctrines of which text as I thought the more necessary to be preached and pressed in these times of Apostacy and defection from the due obedience both of God and the King So I deemed that day the memoriall whereof should cause all loyall subjects for ever to detest all Innovations tending to reduce us to that Religion of Rome which plotted that matchlesse treason the most seasonable for this text as wherein our Solemne acknowledgement of our sacred thankes to God for our great deliverance the fruits whereof we injoy at this day under your Royall and happy government being a strong ingagement and inducement to every good duty both to God and the King might worke the more kindly effect in the hearers a word in season being as the Wiseman saith like Apples of gold in pictures of silver Now although the generall good acceptation of the word then preached whereby the peoples hearts were much affected being instructed and exhorted to sticke closse to God and the King in all manner of duties to each that none of those of whom my text admonisheth might worke a disvnion might have beene a sufficient motive of publishing those Sermons in print for the generall good of all your Majesties loving Subjects throughout this your Kingdome yet Lo a necessity it now layd upon mee For on December 3. after my house had beene searched by a Pursuivant Constables and Wardens of the Company of Stationers for a booke which I had not then and there the Pursuivant served me with Letters Missive from the High Commission to appeare on Twesday then next ensuing before Doctor Ducke at Chesewicke there to answer to Articles against me The Articles were all of them against my preaching and in speciall and by name against my Sermons on November 5. on Prov. 34. 21. 22. Therein was objected to me that I preached against sundry Innovations which indeed was one speciall point in my text as alterations in the booke for the fift of November alterations in the new Fast-booke contrary to your Majestes Proclamation which Orders the old Fast booke set forth by your Majesties authority to be reprinted and published alterations in the Booke of Common Prayer set forth by Act of Parliament a turning out of the Collect for the Queene and Royall Progeny these words Father of thine Elect and of their seed as if they would blot out your Majesty Qeene and Royall Progeny out of the number of Gods Elect and in the Epistle on Sunday before Faster for IN the name of Iesus is now put AT the name of Iesus c. alterations in setting up of Altars Images Crucifixes in bowing to the Altar in putting downe afternoone Sermons on the Lords dayes in sundry Diocesse in allowing no other Catechising but by bare Question and Answer out of the Booke without expounding of the maine Principles of Religion to the ignorant youth and people in reading of a second Service at the Altar in the upper end of the Chancell where in many great Churches the people cannot possibly heare not even in lesser Churches or indifferent without a stentorious voyce of the Minister together with sundry other things of the like nature some truely alledged which I am readie to maintaine against the Innovators and some falsely and maliciously perverted whereof I am readie to give your Majestie a true account And in the end of all the Articles I was charged to bring in a true copie of my Sermon The conclusion was a booke tendred to me to sweare to answer to those Articles Here at I startled admiring that these things should be charged upon me as crimes which both were truthes and pertinent to my text and necessarie to admonish my people of as leading them from the feare of God and of the King I also upon the suddaine apprehended that I could expect small iustice of those that were not only the countenancers but practisers yea and which is the highest degree of all iniquity open maintainers of such innovations and that in that very Court where they ought rather to bee severely Censured and Suppressed but that on the contrarie I should be there censured as a Delinquent for executing my Ministerie in speaking the trueth and reprooving of Sinne. And againe considering with my selfe that this cause was of a higher nature then to be so much as hazzarded upon the iudgement of these who were professed parties I presently reflected my thoughts upon your Sacred Majestie as not only worthie to take the cognizance of so waightie a cause and the best able both in respect of your Princelie wisdome and unpartiall iudgement to waigh it in a just ballance but also as the prime and principall person next unto God whose honour and welfarre it most neerelie concerneth and who next after God are ingaged in my text to inquire into So as my replie to Dr. Duke was Sir I humblie appeale to the Kings Majestie my Soveraigne and Patron as my judge in this cause and before whom I shall be both a Defendant and Complainant For I hold it not fit that they who are my adversaries should be my Iudges These were the verie words of my Appeale to Your Majestie as I remember Now thou my Gracious Soveraigne that which my profest adversaries in so just a cause did unjustlie and against the Law require of me namelie to bring them a copie of my Sermon that so they might at their pleasure take advantages by perverting of my words I doe here most freelie and faithfullie in all humblenesse present to Your Majestie yea and that with manie additions and inlargements like to Ieremies rowle
thy fâ—are will I worship towards thy holy Temple So Psal. 2. 11. Serve the Lord in feare Which I say is such a feare as hath in it faith love affiance and other graces 5. Lastly wee are bound to performe all obedience to God in a holy feare by vertue of the Word of God as the rule and of the Covenant God hath made with us in his Word and we with him Gods Law is so the rule of our feare and obedience to God as it is death to feare or obey him otherwise then hee hath commaunded us in his Law Els it is rebellion not obedience will worship not service to God And this wee are bound to by mutuall Couenant 1. God binds himselfe to be our God and King by Covenant in his word as Exod. 20. Secondly wee bind our selves by a reciprocall Covenant as in our Baptisme to bee his Servants and to serve him as hee hath commaunded in his Law Vse of this point is first for reproofe and conviction of the whole Romane Synagogue as being altogether devoyd of the true feare of God and consequently is no true Church of Christ â—…one of the Kings Daughter none of his spowse Why For all her feare towards God is taught by the precept of men her service of God is a Masse of Idolatry and Superstition Will-worship of mans invention and therefore though they draw neere to God with their lipps yet their hearts are farre from him And so in vaine they worship him nay they worship the Devill and not God as the Apostle sheweth 1. Cor. 10. 20. For all Idolatry as that of the breaden god in the Masse is the worship of the Devill They will say they worship God in the Host So did the Pagans plead for themselues that they worshipped God in their Idols Yet saith the Apostle I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to Devills and not to God And God disclaimes all worship of Him that is not according to His Word and He abhorres such presumptuous worshippers as those that doe not feare him So as secondly heere are justly reprooved those men as wanting the true feare of God who in these dayes shew themselves Antichrists Factors both in teaching practising and pressing new Formes of worship Secundum usum Sarum and setting them up againe in Churches as Altar-worship Iesu-worship Image-worship Crosse-worship and the like A plaine evidence that these men what ever they most hypocritically pretend and would bee accounted as a new kind of Saints dropped downe out of the cloudes as most holy and devoute persons have no true feare of God in them Yea their hearts are far from God Their feare is more towards an Altar of their owne invention towards an Image and Crucifix towards the sound and sillables of Iesus then towards the Lord Christ. For did they truely feare Christ they would not as they doe so desperately and furiously persecute him in his faithfull Ministers and members and make havocke and turne upside-down the very glory of Christ's Kingdome in the Ministery of His Word and power of Religion and purity of his worship which they altogether trample under and defile with their Wolvish feete Therefore forasmuch as they set up and teach a false feare and worship of God in the Churches I saith the Lord will proceede to doe a marvellous worke among the people even a marvellous worke and a wonder for the wisedome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid And v. 16. Surely your turning of things upside-downe shall bee esteemed at the Potters clay But of these more in their proper place A 2. 〈◊〉 â—s for instruction to teach us wherein the true filiall feare of God consisteth namely in the true worship and service of God internall and externall according to the exact forme and prescript of his Word Not to swerve one haires bredth from it Againe that true feare of God stnads in an universall obedience to all and every of his Commandements not onely those of the first Table but those of the second nor onely those of the second but those of the first So as Thirdly this may condemne two sorts of grosse Hypocrites 1. Those that seeme exact and punctuall in observing the Commandements of the second Table they are no Adulterers no Drunkards no inordinate livers they are not notorious offenders and what then Hereupon they applaud themselves and would be esteemed of the World good Christians and with the Pharisee thanke God that in these things they are not as other men Extortioners Vnjust c. They live peacably with their Neighbors they pay every man his owne and the like But what 's all this without the feare of God Where is their Piety and Love to God expressed in the duties of the first Table Are they willingly and grosly ignorant of the knowledge of God Doe they hate contemne neglect his words Doe they despise his faithfull Ministers Doe they speake evill of the Way and Profession of Godlinesse Doe they profane the Lords Sabbaths Yea doe they comply with Idolaters in their Altar-worship and Iesu-worship and the like and yet would they bee accounted good honest men Can they be honest and good men that are enemies of God and of the Profession yea and name of holinesse and of the power of Religion and of the true Saints and servants of Iesus Christ Can they be good Christians which are enemies to the Crosse of Christ whose end is damnation whose God is their belly and which minde earthly things On the other side there is another sort of Hypocrites who place all their Religion in the outward performances and duties of the first Table professe a great deale of Religion would seeme very devout but yet are like the Pharisees who under a colour of long prayers devoure Widowes houses Of these Hypocrites there are two sorts 1. Of them that are all for outward formality but their hypocrisie bewrayeth it selfe two wayes First in that though they seeme very devoute in frequenting the Church yet it is in a false way mingling mens devices of will-worship with Gods Ordinance in dividing the Lords day betweene God and the Devill allowing to God onely two houres of the day for his publike worship and the rest of the day to the lusts of men Secondly in that they place all the service of God in reading of long Prayers and thereby exclude Preaching as unnecessary And yet they make no bones of oppressing Gods people and the Kings good Subjects with burthens intollerable to bee borne The second sort is of them that will seeme Religious and to give God his due but make no conscience of giving to all men their due they will make no scruple of Lying of over-reaching in bargaining of living in some secret raigning lust of oppressing of defrawding and the like These are so much the more to be abhorred because by their meanes Religion and the name of
man but as it is indeed the Word of God When a sonne heares the counsell of his Father that is wise loving kind true and powerfull to make good what he saith it drawes on and commaunds attention Such a Father is God infinit inall his Attributes Secondly to heare as a son makes for fervent affection in loving imbracing and highly esteeming the Word of God The reason that many men doe not receive the Word of truth in the love of it is because they are none of his sons They are as Ahab they heare the truth at the Prophets mouth but they hate him and the truth As Christ said to the Iewes when they boasted that God was their Father and they were Abrahams children If God were your Father you would love me And if Abraham were your father you would doe his workes for hee rejoyced to see my day It is therefore a son-like affection that intertaines Gods Word with love whither hee checke or whither hee cherish whither hee threaten or comfort 3. To heare as a sonne is an inducement to frequent meditation of the Word heard As Prov. 7. 1. 2. 3. My sonne keepe my words and lay up my Commaundements with thee Keepe my Commaundements and live and my Law as the apple of thine eye Bind them upon thy singer write them upon the table of thine heart For the instructions of such a Father are so many Iewels As Prov. 1. 1. 9. an ornament of grace to thy head and chaines about thy necke yea a crowne of glory Prov. 4. 9. Now a man will alwayes bee minding his treasure where his Iewels bee Where the treasure is the heart will bee saith Christ. 4. To heare Gods Word as his sonne makes for diligent observation and obedience This is the true try all of Sons if they observe their Fathers commaundements If I be a Father saith God where is mine honor Our Fathers honor is our following of his counsells and obeying his Commaundements Vse 1. For tryall of our Son-ship by these former signes and markes by our reverend attention in hearing as to gods owne Word by our fervent love in intertaining his Word by our frequent meditation of it and by our diligent observation As Zach. 6. 15. 2. For instruction this is the maine duty of a Christian to bee most carefull of his behaviour and frame of spirit about the hearing of Gods Word And therefore Christ often admonisheth his disciples Take heed how ye heare and Take heed what ye heare For according to our hearing is our soule indueth with faith and seasoned with grace and illuminated with sound and saving knowledge of Christ and the whole course of our life regulated and framed 3. And lastly for reproofe and conviction those as no Sons of God but enemies and rebels that hate and despise Gods Word in the powerfull Ministry of it and doe with might and maine labour to oppose and oppresse it Such plainly shew themselves whence they come namely as those mysts and foggs from the bottomlesse pit which darken the cleare light of the Sun and Starres so doe these overclowd the beames of the Gospel that they cannot shine forth to the Church of God Or they are those froggs uncleane spirits out of the mouth of the Dragon and Beast and false Prophet whose croking cryeth downe the voyce of Gods Ministers and which doe corrupt the pure streames of the waters of life by their filthinesse In a word these are the limbs of the Beast even of Antichrist taking his very courses to beare and beat downe the hearing of the Word of God whereby men might bee saved like to the Iewes of whom the Apâ—stle sayth who both killed the Lord Iesus and their owne Prophets and have persecuted us and they please not God and are contrary to all men Forbidding us to speake to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sinnes aâ— way for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost And surely the wrath hangs over the heads of these men which must needs sease upon them ere long if they speedily repent not whereof there is little hope But leave wee them and come we to the matter of the exhortation Feare thou the Lord c. Whence the point is 1. That it is the duty of every true Christian to feare the Lord and this with a filiall feare as is implyed in this word My sonne feare thou the Lord. This filiall feare is used in Scripture for the whole worship and service of God and comprehends in it all vertues and graces of Gods spirit As Eccles. 12. 13. Let us heare the end of all Feare God and keepe his Commaundements for this is the whole man that is the whole duty which God requireth of his children So Deut. 6. 13. Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God and serve him and shalt sweare by his name And Esa. 29. 13. Their feare towards mee is taught by the precâ—pt of men that is the worship and service they performe unto me is taught by mans precepts Which is that â—aine worship whereof Christ convinceth the Pharises In vaine they worship me teaching for doctrines the Commanâ—ements of men And Acts 10. 35. In every nation hee that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse is accepted of him Thus by these places wee see how the true feare of the Lord is taken for the whole worship and service of God both internall and externall and so for every grace of Gods Spirit in us as faith hope love and the like Reasons of this point 1. Because the true feare of God is a fundamentall grace and respecteth all the Commaundements of God as the object of it As Psal. 112. 1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord he delighteth greatly in â—is Commaundements 2. Because where God is not truly worshipped there is no feare of God As in Esay 29. 13. This people draw neere me with their mouth and with their lips doe honour me but they have remooved their heart farre from me And the reasonis added Their feare towards me is taught by the precept of men 3. Because where other vertues be not the reason is because true feare is not Which argues that true feare of God is inseparably combined with other graces As Rom. 3. 10. 18. the Apostle reckoning up a bead-row of iniquities concludes with this reason There is no feare of God before their eyes So Mal. 3. 5. I will come neere to you to judgement and will bee a swift witnesse against the Sorcerers and against the adulteâ—ers and against false swearers and against those that oppresse the hireling in his wages the widow and the fatherlesse and that turne aside the stranger from his right Well what 's the ground of all this wickednesse It is there added And feare not me saith the Lord of Hoasts 4. Because holy feare is the seasoning and salt of every vertue and of the whole worship of God As Psal. 5. 7. In
this Kingdome that they may never prevaile against us and triumph in the ruine of thy Church and give us grace to avert these and the like judgements from us This Lord wee earnestly crave at thy mercifull hands together with the continuance of thy powerfull protection over our dread Soveraigne the whole Church and these Realmes and the conversion or confusion of all implacable enemies and that for thy deare Sons sake our onely Mediator and Advocate Thus the conclusion prayer of the Homily this Prayer of the 5. of Novem. being well weighed together we see unlesse in so praying we play the most notorious hypocrites dissemblers before God and men in what a sacred bond all the Magistrates in the Land from the highest to the lowest do ingage thēselues unto the great God of heaven earth to roote out the whole Babilonish Sect of Iesuites and Seminary Priests out of these confines limits of these Kingdomes and not to suffer them to roost here to the great dishonour of God scandall of our Religion danger to the State destruction of the soules of Gods people and of the Kings Nor this onely but if our Prelates as they plainely shew by their open practises be found to be fast friends to Rome confederates with Iesuites Priests active Agents factors for the rearing up again of that religion which is rebellion that faith which is faction cōsequētly that practise which is murdering of soules bodies for the advancing of that Babilonish antichristian sect which say of Ierusalē down with it down with it even to the ground while they labour by all wayes and wiles yea by an open Lawlesse force to beat downe the Kingdome of Christ in the Ministery of the word as too lamentable experience can witnesse and to destroy all true religion holinesse piety then how doth it concerne our Gracious King our Nobles and Magistrates of the Land to strengthen their hands with judgement justice to cut off these workers of iniquity to root them out of the confines limits of this Kingdome that they may never prevaile against us and triumph in the ruine of the Church by reducing vs under the Babylonian and Antichristian yoake againe which they labour with might and maine to effect as their notorious practises plainly tell us And how should all the Kings good people in the Land make this their dayly prayer which is publickly used once in the yeare teach it to their children that so at the least wise it may be propagated intire to all posterity so vindicated from the injury of time which our Innovators would bring upon it and never give over thus praying till it shall please God to returne a gracious answere in the fulfilling of it Yet are they not cōtent herewith but like themselves they practise the like in the last Fast-booke that contrary to the Kings expresse Proclamation which ordereth the booke for the former Fast to be reprinted and published as it followeth The third Prayer Booke which they have pitifully mangled is that which was set forth by the King for that Publick Fast in the first of his Raigne for the averting of the great Plague of Pestilence that thē devoured many thousands in this City elswhere in our Land which his late Proclamation commaundeth to bee reprinted and published and so read in Churches every Wednesday But doe they or durst they alter that Booke which the Kings Proclamation hath so lately commaunded to be reprinted and published Yes even that and that in such wise as I see not with what warrant any Minister may read it as being not according to the Proclamation Now the Alterations in the new Booke bee these In the first collect is left out this remarkable pious Sentence intirely Thou hast delivered us from Superstition and Idolatry wherein wee were utterly drowned and hast brought us into the most cleere and comfortable light of thy blessed Word by the which wee are taught how to serve and honour thee and how to live orderly with our neighbours in truth and vertty Lo here these men would not have Popery to bee called Superstition and Idolatry nor would they have the Word of God to commended as that cleare and comfortable light which teacheth us all duties to God and man Secondly that collect which begins thus It had beene the best for us c. is wholly left out in the new Booke And wot yee why Alas therein is commended the profitable use of continuall preaching the Word of God So as this collect would not have suited well with such a Fast wherein all preaching is prohibited in all places infected And in the very last page Order for the Fast these words are left out in the new Booke To avoid the inconvenience that may grow by Fasting Some esteeming it a meritorious worke others a good worke and of it selfe acceptable to God without due regard of the end c. What Doe they esteeme their Fast a meritorious worke Must the condemnation hereof bee expunged And doe they account their Fast a good worke and of it selfe acceptable to God without due regard of the end It seemes so too For the end of a true Fast is reformation of our evill wayes as the King of Nineveb proclaimed and which hee and his people performed But these men it seemeth have no such purpose propound no such end to themselves as the reformation of all their violent oppressions and outragious tyrannizing over Gods Ministers and people to the utter overthrow of Religion and setting up of Idolatry and Superstition in the worship of God which one sinne alone is enough to bring the Pestilence and all other plagues upon a Land Beside these they have guelded the Booke in sundry other particulars as in the Collects and Prayers for the Royall Progeny they have left out the mention of the Lady Elizabeth and her children expressed in the former booke They have left out the collect for the Kings Navy and for seasonable weather whereas there was never more need to pray for seasonable weather than since this fast beganne when so many tempestuous stormes and immoderate raines have beene as have indangered Ships in the very harbour Shipwrackt some of great price and caused great Floods threatning a Famine by drowning the Seed under the clods Also sundry Psalmes and Collects besides are omitted and a whole passage in the Exhortation applyable enough to the present occasion Now whither it bee for these alterations wherein both the Kings Order in his Proclamation is not observed and God is dishonoured by leaving out such our humble acknowledgements both of his mercies in delivering us from Superstition and Idolatry and bringing us into the cleare and comfortable light of his blessed Word and of our sinnes in not hearkning to His Word continually Preached unto us and the like and Gods Ministers and people are abused by having such Bookes