in triumph to his Execution Though to the affront of Heaven and him that dwelleth therein yea Murther him at his Royal Door though contrary to all Examples of Story Precepts of God and Law of Nations no matter for Religion or President This is the Heir come let us Kill him and seize on the Inheritance Quis talia fando temperat à laerymis Where is thy Eye O flint hearted Stoick whose Limbeck will refuse to pay a yearly Tribute at this Sacred Shrine who was the Glory of Europe and shame of his own degenerate People Born it is true in Scotland but he breathed more Gentile Gales than those of Northern Blasts Nay had he not been Born there I would have said and as properly as Nathanael did of Nazereth Can any good thing come from thence Joh. 1.46 Nay may we not read the Characters of Divine Wrath imprinted on those Cursed Judas's and Hellish Varlets to avenge the Blood of this Righteous Abel for as the Offence was equal to that of Cain's so travail the World and you 'll read the Punishment shall be the same Vagabonds and Wanderers shall they be He was a King who was an absolute Conqueror over himself to whom his Passions those attendants on Humane Nature yeilded a more intire Obedience than the Kingdoms he Ruled over For those did never Mutiny but his Kingdoms Loyalty let this day witness Should I conduct you into that large field of Divine Fancies manifested in his Books you would absolutely conclude the Coal which the Seraphim laid on Esays's lips was bestowed on his Pen for they consist of such Ravishing and Eloquent strains that none can read them but with Wonder and Reverence some accurate Pencel might give some faint and weak resemblances of his Personage but who can delineate the Complexion of his Soul so Faithfully as he hath copyed out Himself unto Us in his Writings where we may read his zeal truly ballanced with deep and profound Knowledge Piety and Modesty his Grief for the Ruines of the Church and Miseries of his People his Care for his Friends and Charity for his Enemies his Commiseration of others and Courage in his own Afflictions and in all so even a Temper that he resembled none but him who at his Cross did say Father forgive them they know not what they do In short he was a true Beuclerk as much a Schollar as a Prince and more a Christian than either He was and is not only to this Nation but all Christendom a Mirrour to think how he Lived and a Grief to consider how he Died. Thus fell that shining Star whose Light over-spread the whole Earth and the Royal Dignity Suffer'd an Eclipse in the Greatest King that ever was Let us then Weep and Fast to think how we have rendred our selves guilty of Innocent Blood if the guilt of a Brothers Blood cryed to Heaven for Vengeance how much more the Blood of a Father the common Father of three Christian Kingdoms If Sauls death was so deplorable yet he a wicked Person and the Phylistines none of his Subjects then how much more in this case where wicked Subjects Subjects said I Nay rather the dung of the Earth like Baanah and Rhechab have Murthered a Righteous Man and their most Gracious King How ought this to afflict us Know you not that there is a Prince a great man fallen this day in our Israel He is fallen and his fall accompanied with that of the Nobility and Gentry Laws and Justice with the fall of Church and Religion Doctrine and Discipline Piety and Morality let us Mourn then that our sins of Scarlet may be made white by the Blood of Christ I am charitably perswaded all in this Assembly did detest this Bloody Action with the greatest Horrour and Indignation Nevertheless we must all acknowledge our selves guilty of his Blood because they were our sins the sins of the whole Nation which provoked God to thunder down Vengeance on us in the Person of our Shepherd that so we the sheep might be smitten It was of thy Mercy O Lord thy Mercy alone O praised be that Mercy That we were not utterly consumed when for many years together our Cornutes were turned into Fifes our Dances into Marches and our Banquets into want of Bread and our Livery-Gowns into Buff-Coats and our Suits of Gold into Glittering Armour and our Beavers into Hemlets How was the Pride of our Cupboard and our Fingers Glory turned into Soldiers Sallaries and the price of Blood How were our Girdles turned into Belts and our Gowns and Cassocks into Coats of Mail Our Lofty Houses into Garrisons and our stately Edifices into Prisons our Temples into Stables and the House the Lord the House of Prayer into a Den of Theeves So soon as the Lords Anointed was slain the whole Nation went disorderly and proved out of Course when our Prince of Peace Charles the First was taken from among us then presently sprung up Briars and Brambles more Cruel than Tigers that rifled from Drams of Silver into the Bowels of their own flesh and would either Kill or Die for a days Wages no sooner was Soveraignty dethroned and Majesty destroyed but Desolation and Wo with the whole retinue of Miseries fell upon us Insomuch we no sooner sat down to Meat but we expected the intrusion of Armed Guests how often were men dragg'd from their Beds to the Prison and from thence to an untimely and violent Death And as it fared with the State so also with the Church How did their little Disputes and Divisions hinder the building of Jerusalem They contended so long about the Windows they had almost lost the foundation for Sion how did a pretence of inward Sanctity in some devour their outward Decency Pretending the Glory of God by such means as you would think your selves Villified and affronted How was Charity banish'd to fetch home Truth and a Coal from the Altar to set the Temple it self on Fire When men pretended to be Enlightned by the Spirit yet lived after the Lusts of the Flesh Were not thousands made naked to keep the Surplice off from a few mens backs How were the Churches defaced for the little Piques men conceited at the Windows every minuit difference made a quarrel and did not Disputes raised about a Pin or Nail of the Temple shake and endanger the whole Fabrick thereof Men took up the Weapons of the Devil under a shew of the Lords Cause and pretending to fight the Battles of the Lord they entred a Solemn League and Covenant and Swore Allegiance to the Prince of Darkness How was Christian Religion at once violated and defamed Not only by violating her Precepts but by falsly aspersing her to own and countenance such vitious practices These with many more Miseries did our Nation groan under so soon as we had committed that horrid crime of Regicide and what could we expect less Shall Zimri have Peace who slew his Master The King is Gods Vicegerent
and Representative on Earth and therefore every Contempt of him is no less an affront to God himself We read in the 2 Sam. 21.1 That when the Land of Israel was smitten three years together with Famine the Oracle of God declared That it was for Saul and his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites Now I pray tell me was not our National sin far greater than that of Israel's There it is true the King slew the slaves but here the slaves slew the King there one of the worst of Kings contrary to a National Oath slew the basest of the People but here the basest of the People contrary to many Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy Protestations and Covenants slew the best of Kings And will not God visit for these things Will our sins be less importunate for Vengeance than that of the Israelites Shall the Gibeonites Blood cry unto God from the ground and will not the Blood of this days Martyr cry under the Altar How long O Lord how long before thou avengest my Blood Yes verily and I am afraid that besides these many Plagues and Mischiefs we have groaned under there be severer Vengeance hanging over us his hand will be stretched out still unless we prevent it by a serious Confession and a sincere Repentance of our Sins when we were in the dregs of Misery and lying under the bitterness of Death Heaven smiled upon us and the great and all-seeing Eye gave us a tast of his Mercies by Restoring unto us our Dread Soveraign But examine your Consciences and enquire of your Hearts what Gratitude you express for this Mercy What returns have we made for so astonishing a Blessing We entertain'd the Change with a Joy too profuse but was it enough Religious We saw the great things were done for us whereof we were glad but did we so much consider the Lord had done them and were we not more affected with the variety and profitableness than with the Mercy and kindness of the Dispensation Have we seriously humbled our selves before God for this days Wickedness Have we Repented of it have we dispatched our Tears and Sighs as Embassadors from Heaven to plead in our behalf and to Sue out our Pardon That you and I and all of us are Guilty of the Sin is sufficiently notorious though after divers manners and circumstances as then the Distemper is Epidemical so let our Sorrow be Universal let us unanimously cry unto God that he wou'd forgive us not only this but all the sins we have since committed for God hath applyed the Sun-shine of his Mercies to melt us into Repentance as well as the Thunder of his Judgments to ruffle us into Obedience but let us seriously reflect if the Oyl of his Mercy hath not made us rather wanton and nimble in Feasts of Impiety than Active in his Service And as we have abused his Favours so neither hath his Judgements instructed us to learn Righteousness O cursed Impenitency for this days Murther I fear it is Thou that hast undone us I fear it is Thou that still causest us to lye under the Rod of Gods Anger how hast thou laboured our ruine and still study our Destruction Look down from Heaven and speak O Royal Charles was it not for thy Blood that God hath vex'd us with Plagues and beaten us in pieces like a Potters Vessel Was it not thy Blood which caus'd the Destroying Angel to fill our Air with such an horrid Infection that in less than nine Months above an Hundred Thousand Inhabitants were cut off from one City Speak O Royal Charles Was it not thy Blood which brought the most flourishing and famous City in the World to Ruine and Desolation overthrowing it as Sodom and Gomorrha were overthrown and have we yet made an Attonement to thy Hearse Are we not still insensible of our Wickedness Have we watered our Couch with Tears for this our Disloyalty Have we pay'd double Honour unto the Son for the great Dishonour done unto the Father 'T is true we have Sanctified a Fast and called a Solemn Assembly but have we Fasted from our Sins Is there not as much Rebellion in our Hearts as before we exprest in our Actions Are we not dayly Contriving and Plotting the Subversion of our Government How do we make our selves a Prey to our Adversaries by the Divisions amongst us by our Heading of Factions and Espousing little Parties and Interests Do we not dayly Speak Evil of Dignities and Despise Principalities and Powers Though God himself hath said Who shall say unto a King what dost thou And thou shalt not Speak Evil of the Ruler of thy People do we not contemn his Laws and refuse the Dictates of his Precepts and will not the Noise of Blood pull Vengeance upon our Heads if we prove no better Penitents Yes verily and I am afraid the Calamitous Distractions which at this day Infect our Nation proceedeth from our little respect to this days Solemnity Many instead of Fasting and Praying are Hectoring and Ranting and if this be the Religion of Saints tell me O good God! what is the Impiety of Devils Is it Comely thus to Mourn in Coloured Taffaty Will such a wrestling with God force him to a Blessing or rather will it not provoke Fire and Brimstone from Heaven utterly to undoe us I will up I will up saith the Lord and ease my self of my Adversaries making my Sword like that of Saul or Gideon loaden with the Blood of the slain and Fat of the mighty Yet still as if God only spoke big Words and all his Threats were meer Bravadoes of Heaven we slight and condemn both his Golden Scepter and Iron Rod. Alas was ever People so Prodigiously besotted as to think God will be thus infinitely provoked Let us begin then now to fear our God and to pay all Honour and respect to the Defender of his Faith are you not acquainted that our Nation is almost ruin'd and destroyed doth not Church and State lye a Bleeding are not your Estates wasted and your Trading decay'd Your Splendor Eclipsed Your Families broken and scattered yea and your Dignities trampled on Is it not high time then that we fall on our knees and beg of God that the Blood of his Son may cleanse us from that of our Soveraign Turn ye turn ye why will ye die If we seek unto God by Repentance he will repent of the Evil he intended to inflict upon us Oh! blessed Repentance it is Thou alone that canst save us It was Thou alone O Repentance that saved Eight Persons from the Flood Nineveh had fallen had not you supported it it had fallen had not you protected it it was the want of Thee that caused the Destruction of Egypt If Thou hadst been present Sodom had not been destroyed Come thou then to our succour O potent Repentance help us O help us Thou Joy of Angels and Crown of Nations stand up in defence of a no longer Rebellious but
seperated from Unity I shall not trouble my self with the Arguments they alledged to prove their Assertion but I am verily perswaded the Devil was the first Whigg in its proper sense Who not only by his saucy Affectation of a Parity with God caused a Division and Tumult in Heaven but also he still hath his Agents and Factors to create the like differences upon Earth he can't it 's true now stain the Glories of unblemish'd Saints or set Heaven it self at odds Yet alas How Prosperous is he in somenting Enmities Animosities and Divisions upon Earth Was it not the Devil who caused the Schism of Corah Dathan and Abiram Did not he breed the separation of the Eustasians who occasioned the Councel at Gangra Was it not he who Enkindled that Schismatical Fire of the Donatists Did not he blow it into such dismall and raging Flames that they had almost consumed and burnt the whole Church Yea even turn'd it into Ashes Had not that Councel at Africa been Assembled to quench and allay its fury And tell me I beseech you are not these Embers reviv'd afresh If we reflect on those who at this day disturb our Jerusalem are they not of the same dye and Complexion herein only differing that those of this Age have scrap'd the shreds of all old and out-worn Heresies to patch them up in a Scotch Tump or Geneva Frock but God grant all the Tantivy-men as they maliciously call us and Obedient Sons of the Church may unanimously concur to whip and scourge out all them who foment and cherish the Divisions of Church or State that the House of Prayer may no longer be a Den but an House and that for God too which is the next particular Secondly My House and upon this account it was stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Councel at Laodicea where they Condemned even the Feasts of Charity celebrated therein for though they were good convincing Arguments of Christian Unity and Love and held the Authority of Apostolical Custom yet still it was thought great Prophanation of the Temple because it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 proper only to God and not to be imployed to uses of our own God gives us a right and propriety to all others but this is Gods House and we may not make bold with it For as it hath a special Holiness so in like manner a special Honour pertaining thereunto We don't it is true consider it as Holy in respect of it self yet is it not Holy by reason of its use and special dedication unto God And if so how Erroneous are they who dispute against it and maintain any other place as much his and as much Holy Which if true to what end is that strict Command Make not my Fathers House an House of Merchandise Or how could our Saviour lay Sacriledge to the Jews charge because they Traded and Traficked there What more evident than that the Churches are to be used only for the Services of God And that ought to be the principle yea only end of our coming thither and not to dispatch Worldly concerns to make Compacts and Bargains as too frequent amongst us The Consecration and Dedication of Churches is no new nor unheard of thing no nor yet Superstitious they who censure it so cast dirt upon all Holy Antiquity Ah! of Holy Antiquity said I in the very face of God himself who hath ever Honoured and Accepted it 'T is the Consecration thereof makes it Holy yea and causeth God so to judge of it For though Stone and Morter are incapable of Grace yet by their Consecration they receive a Spiritual Power whereby they are made fit for Gods Worship and Service Now being Consecrated tell me O tell me the danger of Attributing Holiness thereto I am confident there is none if we will not run contrary in Opinion to the whole stream and current of the Ancient Fathers who declared it as their Judgment Whence O whence comes that rude and unhandsom Behaviour in the Church that he must have a piercing judgment indeed who can discern a difference between the Temple and the Theatre but from that Heretical Opinion condemned in the Messalian Hereticks that there is no more Holiness in the one than in the other Does not the Profane Usage proceed from the Profane Opinion thereof And he that conceived thus what can he be stiled less than Atheist or Heretick For let us have but an Honourable Opinion of God and from the Hem of such a Garment will flow a Virtuous and Honourable Opinion of his House Let us but Honour him and I declare it impossible to have no Veneration or Reverence for the Temple Let others stile it Superstitious but O my Soul come not thou into their Secrets but mount up thy self and imitate the Devotions of Primitive Christians who Worshipped God toward the East both Priest and People as soon as they presented themselves in his House All the time they were there with what Modesty and Silence with what Reverence and Attention did they demean themselves That it justly merited the Phraise of the House of God and they of a Choire of Angels rather than Men Were they not all upon their Knees at the Prayers All upon their Feet at the Sermon none presuming to Sit as being too bold and laisy a Posture in the House of God Nay were there not some who Audipedes incedebant in Templum In imitation of Moses they would not have their Shooes on their Feet in the Temple May not this shame yea God grant it rise not up in Judegment against them who Snort a Sleep in his House as if they had not a Cabin to rest in Who have their Hatts on their Heads when God and his Angels more immediately behold them And what O ye Watchmen of Israel and Prophets of the Lord shall we see our Master thus Dishonoured in his House and shall we wink at the Abuses Let us not be so faint-hearted and tame as if we were afraid to Speak but let us labour to maintain the Glory of his House Ought there to be no difference between the Temple of the Lord and an House accustomed to Revelling Shall a common Meeting place in the Market and that of Angels and Arch-Angels be one and the same Of Angels said I yea the very Presence Chamber of the King of Heaven This is a Duty especially incumbent on the Priest to Correct such Abuses and miscarriages in the Church that it may not be a Den but ever continue an House of Prayer Which is the next Particular Thirdly Though there be many Religious Duties to be exercised in the House of God yet Prayer is the principal yea no other is mentioned Gods House is the House of Prayer not of Preaching not that Preaching is excluded but Prayer must have the preheminence and upper-hand Preaching and Prayer are both good but of the two the the latter is the most worthy 't is pity two such fair Sisters should vie
Beauty but indeed God hath commanded me to declare that Prayer must have the most eminent nay only place My House is the House of Prayer This was the Apostles judgement when there was the highest necessity for Preaching for then the Gospel was to be planted in all the World nevertheless though it was then most useful yet Prayer was preferred before it for say the Apostles But we will give our selves continually unto Prayer and to the Ministry of the Word Acts 6.4 First Prayer then the Ministry of the Word now if it was so in their days the Argument is more forcible in ours because the Gospel is propagated and Christianity fully settled among us God forbid that I should in the least derogate from that Honourable Imployment of Preaching the Word yet I am more then convinced we must more strictly account for the neglect of Prayer than of Preaching Yet alas we think we may be remiss in our Duty of coming to Church if our Ears be not first alarm'd with the loud noises of a Sermon Bell as if Religion consisted in this only and went no higher than aurium Tenus To what end serves Preaching and all Learned Discourses but as Instruments and means to instruct us to Pray Thus you may hear St. Paul How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard And how shall they hear without a Preacher So that Preaching is the means to direct us to call upon him And I pray tell me if the means ought to be magnified beyond the end The Fathers 't is true were very frequent in such Pious Orations but this did not make Prayer more compendious for in the days of Chrysostom when Preaching was most used there was no part of the Liturgy omitted but now Prayer is slenderly respected we seem desirous of nothing but Preaching Many mens dislike to that incomparable Common Prayer practiced in the Church Pardon me Gentlemen if I impute it to those of our Function for how can we presume the Laity to have Reverence for it when we our selves seem to disown it by cutting it into little shreds and parts either to oblige a Faction or ease our selves But did we all unanimously agree to be obedient to our Rubrick as our Oath requires us men would soon have a greater respect for It and Us for what can create greater Distractions in the minds of men whilst they observe me exactly conformable to the Rules of the Church and another little or nothing regarding it for the same Obligation commands it from him which enjoyns it as my Duty The Roman Devotionals 't is true retain a great part of our Liturgy and do they not also the same Bible Sacraments and other Holy Duties and shall I deny that which is good because it hath sometimes been mixed with Evil The Vessels of the Temple were carried to Babylon and Prophaned by Belshazzar yet were they not restored and Consecrated by Ezra to the Service of God The Common Prayer-Book in like manner was most collected from the Roman Mass Book but what of this There were Liturgies extant in the Church before the Mass had Name or Being and Rome Christian was much Elder than that of Papal When therefore the Mistery of Iniquity began to play its Cards the Old or First Common Prayer was not Abolished only mixed with Errors and Corruptions which blemishes being taken away is it not as Beautiful as ever This then was the Pious Care of our first Reformers to refine it from its Dross and bring it to its Primitive Purity retaining nothing but what is pure Scripture or deducted there-from by the Judegment of our Holy Mother the Church But alas we so much degenerate from their Worthyness that we will not follow the form prescribed by them we are for new Lights and Inventions to guide us to Heaven we deny Common Prayer and magnifie the sudden Raptures of men as the Illuminations of the Spirit when really what are they better than an heap of Non-sense in Crampt words only glazed with the Saint-like Varnishes of a cast up Eye and Canting Tone Their chief Objections against the Liturgy are because it is a Form and enforced by Authority which are so ridiculous they are not worthy Confutation For what Prayers I pray best adorn the Beauty of Holiness those which are shuffled together by Chance or such as be Refined and Polished who Pray most Believingly he who digesteth what he Prays for or he who utters his first Sense and Thoughts Who Prays with fullest assurance to have his Prayers heard and Crown'd with Success He who weighs and ponders his Petitions Or he who either by implicite Devotion gives assent to all that proceed from the mouth of a Gifted Brother or else suspend his Amen when he hears things inconsistent with his reason or rule of Faith So that it cannot be because it is a Form but because commanded by Authority yet that very command layes the highest Obligation for our Obedience thereto Obedience says Samuel is better than Sacrifice The Levitical Law Commanded That the Firstlings of an Ass should be redeemed with a Lamb Now shall we in contempt of this Law break the Lambs neck and think an Ass a more proper Offering for the Temple Return then O Shunamite return return into the Embraces of thy Holy Mother the Church for she is all Fair there is no Spot in her she looked forth as the Morning Fair as the Moon Cleer as the Sun and Terrible as an Army with Banners The Prophanation of the Church Ye have made it c. That which was before phraised the Perfection of Beauty the Joy of the whole Earth whether the Tribes ascended as to the Patern of Heaven When Christ came to visit it it was neither like Heaven nor an House the very Sacrifices therein had need of an Expiation the Sanctuary it self could not be safe from Sacrilegious Cruelty God and Prayer were both driven out by Theeves The Temple was not barely Prophaned but Prophaned in the most hainous nature the greatness of the Offence may be measured by the harshness of the Term in that he calls not an House but a Den Ye have made c. Where I shall consider When the Church is made a Den And then secondly Who are the Theeves First An House receive the first peeping forth of Light all little Rayes and Glimmering will peirce themselves in But as for a Den it is a place of Horrour and Darkness and the Church may well be compared to it if there be wanting in it the Light of Ceremonies the Light of Doctrine and the Light of Life and Conversation in the Priest For First If the Light of Ceremonies be taken out of the Church we blow out the Light that is shining therein Rom. 1.20 is not Sense the guide to the Understanding Do not Visible things direct us to those that are Invisible Can