Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A75684
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God's king the people's blessing. A sermon preached on the day of thanksgiving for peace, at St. Ann's Church in Dungannon, in the diocese of Armagh. / By Edm. Arwaker, rector of Drumglass, and chaplain to his grace the Duke of Ormond.
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Arwaker, Edmund
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1698
(1698)
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Wing A3909; ESTC R170385
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12,645
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21
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God's King the People's Blessing A SERMON Preached on the Day of THANKSGIVING FOR PEACE At St. Ann's Church in Dungannon In the Diocess of ARMAGH By EDM. ARWAKER Rector of Drumglass and Chaplain to his Grace the DUKE of ORMOND DUBLIN Printed by Joseph Ray and are to be Sold at his Shop in Skinner-Row over against the Tholsel M DC XC VIII To His GRACE MICHAEL Lord Archbishop of Armagh Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland MY LORD I Can make no Apology to the Publick for sending this Discourse abroad nor to Your Grace for its appearing under Your Patronage but that I believe the Occasion of it sufficiently Agreeable and Satisfactory to Both to gain Your Approbation of the Design For the Sincerity whereof I am induced to hope You will Accept the Performance and Pardon its Imperfections 'T is true His Majesty has done so Great Things for our Nations that He needs not the Help of any Weak Endeavours to Support His Interest or Endear His Person and Government to their Inhabitants Yet since He who was above all Praise of Men did vouchsafe to Accept it from the Mouth of Babes and Sucklings to still the Enemy and Avenger Why may not as mean an Orator prove Serviceable to put to silence the Ignorance of Foolish Men who have said of our Soveraign as those in the Parable of their King We will not have this Man to Reign over us The Hope of such Good Success and some little Good Liking that my Hearers discovered to this Sermon after its Delivery from the Pulpit encouraged me to venture it to the Press And that Presumption drew me into a Greater to shelter it under Your Graces Name But Since Men that fly to Altars for Sanctuary ought to bring Offerings thither with them I humbly beg leave to Assure Your Grace That in this Dedication I aim no less at an Acknowledgment for Your past Favour in Collating me to a Considerable Benefice than at Your Future Countenance and Encouragement And I esteem my self under the Greater Obligation to Your Goodness that notwithstanding Your Grace's Extraordinary Care to provide an Able and Deserving Clergy for Your Diocess You have however Admitted me into that Learned and Reverend Society my Unworthiness of which makes me seem to my self like Saul among the Prophets Might I be Improved by the Advantage of such Excellent Conversation to Prophesie to the Edifying of the People whom I have in Charge I shou'd be Happy in several respects But in none more than in making Your Grace by that means the Best Return within my Power for all Your Benefits Since nothing is so pleasing to You in Your Clergie as the Diligent and Exact Performance of their Duty on their Cures For the Continuance whereof May Your Grace live long to Oblige and Encourage them to it And as You have Honourably Born and Faithfully Discharged the Highest Offices in our Church and State So may You when You shall be taken from this World Arrive at a Proportionable Degree of Glory in the Coelestial Hierarchy to receive Above the Reward of all the Good You bave done Below and particularly to My Lord Your Graces most Obliged and most Dutiful Son and Servant EDM. ARWAKER 2 CHRON. IX 8. Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighted in thee to set thee on his Throne to be King for the Lord thy God Because thy God loved Israel to Establish them for ever therefore made he thee King over them to do Judgment and Justice SO Great so Valuable is the Blessing which we this Day Celebrate even the Blessing of Peace in all our Lands Psal 29. 10. So long has it been Wanted and Desired so Earnestly has it been Pursu'd and Sought Psal 34. 14. And at last so happily Obtained and Settled that we can never sufficiently Adore the Goodness of our God the Author nor enough Applaud the Gonduct of our King the Instrument of its Joyful Restoration But tho' our Gratitude cannot reach the Inaccessible Height of this Obligation yet shou'd we fail in our Just Endeavours to Acknowledge it the Queen of the South wou'd rise up in Judgment with us and condemn us Mat. 12. 42. For she was drawn from the uttermost parts of the Earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon and to admire the great and wonderful Effects of it not only in his Proverbs and Answers but in the Grandeur and Magnificence of his Court and in the Plenty and Tranquility of his Kingdom 1 King 10. 4 5. And behold thro' the tender Mercy of our God if not a Greater yet one little less than Solomon is among us a Prince by whose Excellent Management our Circumstances are brought to resemble Israels in his Days when every man dwelt safely under his Vine and under his Fig-Tree from Dan even to Beersheba 1 King 4. 15. Since then our King like Solomon has Peace on all sides round about him 1 King 4. 24. Since the Lord has given him Rest and Safety from the Fatigues and Dangers of a Tedious War and since we not only in our Just Concern for Him but through His Care of us partake of this Inestimable Benefit so that there is neither Adversary nor Evil Occurrent 1 King 5. 4. No Complaining in our Streets Psal 144. 14. but the Voice of Joy and Gladness If the People are happy who are in such a case if they are blessed who have the Lord for their God to Establish their Felicity by giving them so Excellent a Prince We ought certainly to be Sensible of our Happiness and Grateful for it And how can we better render either to Caesar the things that are Caesar's or to God the things that are Gods Mat. 22. 21. How more suitably extol the Merits of our King or the Goodness of the King of Kings in giving him to us than in the Queen of Sheba's Congratulatory Complement to Solomon when she found how much the Fame she had heard was inferiour to the Truth of his Acts and of his Wisdom 2 Chron. 9. 5 6. Blessed be the Lord thy God c. Which Words afford three things to our Observation First The certain Evidence of God's Favour and Affection to his People in placing a Good King over them Because thy God loved Israel to Establish them for ever therefore made he thee King over them Secondly The Excellent Qualifications of the Prince whom God makes choice of to convey Blessings to his People implied in these words Which delighted in thee to set thee on his Throne to be King for the Lord thy God Thirdly The Grateful Acknowledgements due from Gods People both to God and the King for the Unspeakable Benefits of the One's Care and Kindness in the Extraordinary Advantages of the Other 's Government which oblige them to say Blessed be the Lord thy God That God's Placing a Good King over his People is a certain Evidence of his Favour towards them The Blessing of leading a quiet and peaceable Life in all
his People he inspir'd him with an extraordinary Valour Taught his hand to war and his fingers to fight Psal 144. 1. The time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak of Sampson and of Jephthah who through Faith were endued with that Courage by which they subdued Kingdoms escaped the edge of the Sword waxed valiant in Fight and turned to flight the Armies of the Aliens Heb. 11. 32 33 34. And the People of Israel were so sensible of the evil consequences of wanting a King to go out before them and fight their Battels 1 Sam. 8. 20. that they still persisted to desire one for that reason notwithstanding all the Inconveniencies of it represented to them by Samuel to divert them from that Request And tho' Saul proved as great a Scourge to Israel as the Prophet had fore-told he would yet since from the Blood of the Slain and from the Fat of the Mighty the Sword of Saul returned not empty David reckoned it as just a reason for the Daughters of Israel to weep over him as his Cloathing them in Scarlet and putting Ornaments of Gold on their Apparel and he knew that the occasion of their Sorrow would make the Daughters of the Philistines rejoyce and triumph to find the Mighty fallen by whom Israel stood and the Shield of Saul which was his Peoples Shelter vilely cast away 2 Sam. 1. 19. to the end But the Weapons of War were not wholly perished while David yet survived and succeeded in the Kingdom since 't is part of his Character That he play'd with Lions as with Kids and with Bears as it had been Lambs that he slew a Giant when he was yet but young and took away the reproach from the People whn he lifted up his hand with the Stone in the Sling and beat down the boasting of Goliah Ecclus 47. 2 3. So great a Man of War he was so mighty valiant that he could as well put to flight the Enemies that Invaded Israel as the Evil Spirit that disturbed Saul and compose the Troubles in the heart of his Country as the Disquiets in the Breast of his King 1 Sam. 16. 18 23. But the Safety and Honour which his Country found in the great Effects of his Invincible Courage was afterwards often lost and laid in the dust by the want of that Vertue in many of his Successors Which may suffice to shew how fatal this Defect in a Prince is to his People But in no Miscarriage of the King is the Misfortune of his People so great as in his Impiety and Disregard of God for besides the Grievances of his Evil Reign and the Mischiefs they suffer from himself the Wickedness of a King brings Afflictions from Heaven upon his People in that his Example generally prevails with them to deserve them Thus when Rehoboam forsook the Law of the Lord all Israel did so with him 2 Chron. 12. 1. And tho' at the Preaching of Shemaiah they Repented and were delivered from Destruction yet were they not exempt from Spoil For Shishak King of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the Treasures of the Lord's House as well as of the King 's Vers 9. and the People were made his Servants that they might know Gods Service better Vers 8. Thus Ahab's Wickedness provoked God to shut up the Windows of Heaven 1 King 17. 1. and to with-hold from Israel the common Mercies of Dew and Rain which he usually bestows alike on the Just and Unjust Mat. 5. 45. so that there was a sore Famine in Samaria 1 King 18. 2. and the People wanted their daily Bread because their King had forsaken Him who alone fills all things living with Plenteousness Psal 145. 16. Thus Jehoram's working that which was Evil in the Eyes of the Lord caused the Revolt of the Edomites and Libnah not only from under his hand but the hand of Judah And 't is assigned for the reason of this Defection Because he had forsaken the Lord God of his Fathers For which Impiety of his his People are threatned with a Plague 2 Chron. 21. 10 14. To die an Untimely Death for the Irregularities of his Life Thus Ahaz's wicked Reign exposed his People as well as himself to the hand of the King of Syria who not only smote him but carried away a great multitude of his Subjects Captives to Damascus 2 Chron. 28. 5. And afterwards he was delivered into the hands of the King of Israel who smote him with a great slaughter so that there were slain in Judah in one day 120000 which were all valiant Men and the Israelites carried away captives to Samaria 200000 Women Sons and Daughters with much Spoil Vers 6 8. And as if this had not been enough the Philistines also invaded and took no less than six of the Cities of Judah whom the Lord brought low because of Ahaz for he made Judah Naked and transgressed sore against the Lord V. 18 19. Since then the Sin of an Evil King is often the Reproach and Ruine of his People Prov. 14. 34. How great a Blessing is a good King to his Subjects because he not only frees them from this Misfortune but is Instrumental to procure and promote their Happiness Which occasioned that saying of the Psalmist of such a one Thou hast set him to be Blessings for ever Psal 21. 6. for so 't is in the Original signifying that a Good King is the means of conveying many Blessings to his People And this Truth has been proved by a Cloud of Witnesses Heb. 12. 1. How did Judah enjoy the Benefit of Asa's Piety The first ten years of his Reign the Land was quiet 2 Chron. 14. 1. and he had no War because the Lord had given him rest Vers 6. so that the People built and prospered Vers 7. And when Zerah the Ethiopian came to disturb their Peace he did it to the Ruine of his own Vers 9. for the Men of Judah overthrew and spoiled him Vers 13. and had no War unto the five and thirtieth year of the Reign of Asa Chap. 15. 19. This Tranquility his People had because he did that which was good and right in the Eyes of the Lord his God 2 Chron. 14. 2. And they after his Example had entred into a Covenant to seek the Lord God of their Fathers which as they had sworn with all their heart they performed with their whole desire Chap. 15. 15. And Jehoshaphat succeeding to his Father's Piety as well as to his Throne continues his Peoples happiness The Kingdom was not only stablished in his hand so that he had Riches and Honour in abundance 2 Chron. 17. 5. but the fear of the Lord fell upon all the Kingdoms of the Lands that were round about Judah so that they made no War against Jehosaphat Vers 10. And when afterwards the Children of Moab and Ammon came against him to Battel they were destroyed but his People returned to Jerusalem with Joy and his Realm was quiet