in setting God and none but God above the King I wish that forever hereafter both the rest would Go and do likewise that none of the former would unauthorizedly join the People nor any of the latter Vnconciliarily put the Pope in Commission with God to sit upon the Honour Power and life of Kings against Gospel and Law too Sessions at home and Conclaves abroad have no such authority either of these two waies and therefore Can have none at all but Imaginary and Vsurp'd That neither of them would go about to make Treason duty by an arrogant and lame King and Country and self-betraying distinction either with a Vniversis Minor or with an Inordine ad Spiritualia To void the First As Knights and Burgesses are respectively their representative Townes Countries So the King is the Representative All He is Legally the whole People I am told so by the writing of an eminent Lawyer the Author and his book had this Eulogy from aright reverend person of that Function which now we are got into our wits again is as it ought to be honoured by all that God made the man to make this book he did his work and dyed which I the more boldly and I hope the more unenviedly recount now because both are expired the deserving Author and his Loyal hearty Encomiast Livor post Fata Quiescit Ovid. If this be doubted for good Law to make amends I am sure it is sound Scripture the King is as much our selves as our own life makes us our selves he is the very Breath of our Nostrils Lam. 4.20 Is it too much for the King to Represent the People I tell you and I crave no pardon from any of those who believe him to be what he is God's Vice-Gerent He represents more even God himselfe To evacuate the latter and thereby the more strongly for the very Popery sake of it to render the former an abomination If this Inordine may passe for Authentick how easily will Ambition and Covetousnesse be tempted to call Every Temporal The Crown of the King and the wealth of the People Interpretatively and by Reduction Spiritual When this is done all Christendom and all Temporals therein A Religious Mine and a Spiritual Cole-Pit too will be the Popes The Land and the Sea too will be his the Sea shall be Holy-Water and all shall be Fish that comes to his Net the Gold and Silver shall be Fish and the Fish shall be Spiritual When all this is done he may next do as another Pope we read of did before him Throw away his fishing-Net send the Distinction to the Colledge from whence it came call himself Christs Vicar and every King his Curate to stand to his allowance and own himself Lord of Temporals in the very Name of them and Quatenus such Which of the two the unlucky distinction the lame member of it of some who call themselves Protestants or of others amongst the Papists is more repugnant to Scripture or more mischeivous to man 't is hard to tell so like they are the one to the other Non est tam similis Issae nec Ipsa Mart. The very Reformer is in this what he loaths to be a Papist the Papist's self is This way What no intreaties disputes of ours can preswade him to be the right way a Reformer and therefore would be hated with a perfect hatred by all those who believe themselves bound by Either Table by any one command of God who either love their neighbour or their very God The King we have him God blesse him be blessed by him By us for him from the Lord we know O Lord the King his helpe and Our help his helping of the King to us and of us to the King Psa 121.2 our help both by God and the King stands in that Name But what means did the Lord honour by using whereby to restore our King to us His Kingdoms to him strength an Army Conquest by that strong Army Incruenta victoria the Best the Noblest the Royallest the most Chistian the most Heavenly an unbloody Conquest a Wise as well as Valiant Army an Army whose Lookes did conquer a strength which overcame wiithout a Stroake so overcome as that the Miracle of the Victory the peaceablenesse of the War does evidence and demonstrate no lesse then the Kind power of God to be the Conquerer So that though we May look up to the Hills to the strength to the Hoast From whence cometh our help v. 1. yet we Must in the very next verse look beyond them to the Heavens to the Name of God to the Lord of Hoasts In whom standeth our help In Man it was not the Sharpnesse of his Wit or Sword but a very Rumor of him in God it was not the utmost the non-sicut of his Power and Love but the very Name of Him which hath gotten for us which hath Gotten to himselfe the victory Nomini Tuo Gloriam Domine This is the sense of the Text this is the story of the Times And what can the result of all this be but Joy the Joy of all The King and the Kingdome shall rejoice The King is a Terme Relative and it would continue to be a wise and happy Age if we would all of us be sober Arithmeticians and as much count the prosperity of the King to be the welfare of the Nations as to cal somewhat we some times know not what the successe of the Kingdome the honour of the King Most bodily afflictions will the more easily be born and speedily remedied whilst the Head scapes the Blow whereas a broken head endangers and a cut-off-head dis-livens every Member with it The King is not Himselfe He is in some measure the Kingdome too We are not Our selves We are Slaves without the King There is a Reciprocalnesse of affection betwixt King and People The only difference is he hath loved us more than we have regarded him or our selves His present joy is ours as our past griefs have all along been his Here is joy greater sublimer than can be seen unlesse by that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Fathers that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Homor calls him that God which causes it All our Bone-Fires and Bells have been but Dark and Dumb representations of it our Drums and Trumpets but still Musick our Heralds at-Armes meer Pageantry Pictures and Shadowes our Voices to the Eare and our Languages to the Eye our Pulpits and Presses but Extempore silences and at best but Studious ones our very Deliverance it selfe till we look upon the face of the King but a pleasant Dream When the Lord turned again the Captivity of England we were Psa 126.1 as those of Zion before us Like them that Dream When after the sighes of our hearts the Options of our Souls O That the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion the Lord hath been pleased to bring back the captivity of his people Psal 14.7 though Jacob does rejoice and Israel is Glad yet our joy is louder and brighter more Harmonious and more Substantial more Manly and Soully more Strenuous and inward than can be uttered Res severa est Verum Gaudium Senec. All the rest are but the Poast and Signe the outward pearance The Heart is the House where Joy Inns dwels Thou O Lord hast granted him the King his Hearts desire as well as thou hast not with-holden the request of his Lips and the desire of his heart is the joy of us all we Joy that he hath his desire and his desire it is that we should joy Apostrophe To the King GReat King Great to the most of us in your sufferings and to all of us upon your Throne Whom we greet as the honest Heathens did their Jove with a Mioa Thuris and a Libamen Farris as the devout Christians doe their God with Mens Pia and Cor Sincerum may I crave your Royal pardon that I purposely wave all the little skill I have and make choice to appear before your Majesty rather in the Graceful Nakednesse of high Loyalty than in the ornaments either of a Learned or a Flourishing Stile I must have Time well to Digest my Joy before I can be able well to pen it and yet I lye under an other impotency it being impossible for me to Rule or stiefl my Joy to esteem my self lesse than Traytor unlesse I am so bold to make even Irreverent hast to tell to your Royal Face that I have alwaies been almost more than Loyal the Honour of my Poverty beares me witnesse and I would rather Perish still than to have been rich nor yet flies my Ambition beyond a Touch or a Glance one Look from your Eye one Kisse of your hand will out-value all Ecclesiastical preferment That That Look may not be a Frowning one may I also Plead for my pardon as He did to another Caesar Non Displicuisse meretur Mart. Festinat Caesar qui placuisse Tibi All this is but a Proeme to a Sermon as all the Title is but a Preface to the Psalm and in all this I serve my self more than my King in desiring this as a means whereby to blesse my Eyes in the Kings Face and my Lips upon his hand If I may have command or leave to print the Sermon upon the verse I shall therein serve my King and in doing that serve my self again so much is Loyalty's self the great conscientious reward of Loyalty in shewing those who are my Superiors Equals Inferiors and yet all of them my fellow Subjects how inseparable the authority of Majesty is from the person of the King what blessings the people have in Regal Government especially under the best of Monarchs My Dread Sovereigne I fall-down with my very Soul at your Majesties Feet to tell you I am Your Majesties most Alligeant Subject William Towers FINIS
A Thanksgiving Sermon For the blessed RESTAURATION Of His SACRED MAJESTY Charles the II. Preach'd at VPTON before Sir Richard Samwel Knight May 29. 1660. By William Towers Batchelor in Divinity eighteen years titular Prebendary of Peterburgh sixteen titular Parson of Barnake Now by the Friendly favor of Mr. Reynolds continued Curate at Vpton in the Diocess of PETERBVRGH With a short Apostrophe to the King LONDON Printed by R. D. for Thomas Rooks at the Holy Lamb at the East end of S. Paul's 1660. To His most Sacred Majesty Charles the II. By the special Grace of God KING of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Most dread Sovereign THough your Court be now much fuller of Gratulations To You than once your Camp was with Bullets Against You though your Royal Palace be as much beset with the cheerfull Duties of Men as your Royal Oake was pitch'd about with the Ministry of Angels and the trembling Prayers of three Kingdoms Yet I humbly crave leave that one Shrub amongst so many Cedars may testifie his joy that the Powder-fire hath not come out of the Bramble to destroy those Cedars nor to do violence to the persecuted Defender of them and of the helpless Shrubs too Nor do I much fear the repulse of my loyal Suit since a good Prince will be as accessible and exorable as his great God That God hath humbled himself to hear my constant Prayers for the King and the King will stoop so low to hear my Petition to the King since 't is no more than that your Majesty may be acquainted that we who contributed to the dulling of the edge of the sword to the quenching of the Vollies of fire against you with lowder vollies of those primitive weapons the one fervent enough to melt the Sword and the other moist enough to extinguish the flame Tertullian's Preces Lachrymae have now chang'd our armor into Preces Praeconia Praises to God for your Majesty's unbloudy Victory Good will towards men for that the same Voices and the same Guns which before made a separation from amongst us and breath'd out slaughter upon us have now clos'd with us in shouting out the common joy and vollying out the Triumphs of the King His leige People and themselves a joy too big to be understood and we that feel it cannot tell all the joy we feel who unless some Angel will dare to recount the fulness af honor which God hath done to your Majesty beyond all the Princes in Christendom To unite two Kingdoms into one Britain was a great and wise work of your Royal Grandfather for which he deservedly wears the Name of The wisest Monarch of all before him but this was brought to pass in his riper years in his dayes of Peace what will not mature judgement and much plenty do when the very lack of judgement the very desire of plenty hath made one with whom I would not exchange my Curateship for all the Crowns he now hath Aliter cineres mando jacere meos wade through bloud rebelliously shed through oaths forsworn all of them some in not being kept the rest in being taken till he climb'd into a Throne Ut lapsu graviore ruat But what greater wonders hath God done by your Majesty your tender years have overcome so vast miseries which would kill him whom the Devil tempted to murther and God suffered to Martyr the best of Kings Your yonger days have reduc'd three States three Protectordoms into three Realms and those three Realms under one King and that one King the lawfull head of them all Come Angels and speak we over-master'd mortals must sit down and wonder Nothing else is left for us besides to pray that God would continue to make you wiser than your wisest Grandfather to make you as holy for our conceptions cannot imagine any thing to have been besides the Man Christ or to can be more holy as your Royal Father to bless your Majesty and your Kingdoms under you with all the blessings which God hath ever bestowed upon good and suffering Kings or will ever grant to reform'd and penitent People The Prayer of Your Majesty's humblest Votary from the first famous 29. of May and most dutiful Subject twelve yeares before the second when your Majesty enter'd the Imperial City of London WILLIAM TOWERS Psalm the XXI The Title of the Psalm The Text. and the former part of the first verse To the Chief Musitian A Psalm of David The Title The King shall joy in thy strength O Lord. The Verse IT is a Thanks-giving day and a rejoycing Text what the Title does covertly whose cover we shall pull off anon the Text does in open vew Rejoice 'T is a Thanks-giving for the integrity and Successe of the General in preparing the way before the face of the Lord our King to bring him in to make the King happy in a loyal and obedient people to render the people blessed in a lawful and Religious King A Lawful one these three waies 1. By the law of Nature The Kingdome is his and the King is our birth-right besides that he is our Legal King by the most fundamental Law he is our Natural King too by the loins out of which he came 2. By the law of the Land that declares him our Sovereigne and us his Subjects as our supreme Not at all subjects to our fellow subjects unlesse under him not by the usurpation of one a wrong OR or more of them a wrong and mis-named Parliament a Juncto rather but to those set over us by his authority by him and for him For him not in a pretence but really 3. By the Law of God 't is by him Kings Reign Prov. 8 1â— and for him not only for wrath but for conscience Rom. 13.5 for conscience to him that we obey We are to blesse God for the General The General meanes the King and the King meanes God The Text. in the latter part of it meets with all three Strength with the General the King with the King and Thy strength and O Lord with God Give we honor to whom honour is due Rom. 13.7 to each theirs in their right subordination to the General for the good of the King to the King for the benefit of three Kingdomes to the Tri-Une God for his blessing upon all to the General to the King as instruments to the General as a lesse principal instrument than the King and yet as a more prinipal instrument than all the world besides yet as the most principal instrument to help us to that Musical word the King which makes our very eyes to dance and our very hearts to leap to the King as the most principal instrument of all more immediately deriving blessings upon all to God as the Author the Guider the Finisher the All in All. In the General have we due esteems of and bear we deserved respects to the
inferior instruments under him his Officers and Soldiers All the stars are fine shining things and shed good influences every one of them If there chance to be a few Mutineering stars in the Firmament whose malignancy threatens danger yet their discord will be composed and their very Ominousnesse become fortunate by a conjunction with stars of a kinder temper else there is yet one remedy left they must be disdanded fallen stars every Officer and Soldier must have his share of praise as well as of pay but the Morning star Mart. of whom we bespeak the day Phosphore redde diem is the gayest the luckyest and lovelyest of them all The General who brings in the King is that Star The King is that Day the light and chearfulnesse of our faces Lament 4.20 as well as the breath and life of our Nostrils of our Souls That Morning-star must not be courted beyond the Sun the Sun shines brighter far than he the Sun we see shines upon him and the Sun we fore-see as glorious as his rayes already are will make him shine brighter yet Gen. 1.16 T is that Sun which must rule the day which that star ushers in the King must be known to out-shine the General and the Generals Lustre must be acknowledged the Greater for stooping down to his And lastly Jam. 1.17 The Father of lights must be infinitely honoured above the Sun God above the King I can look upon my County as an Epitome of the Kingdome seated in the midst and heart of it I can honour the King in every Petty-Constable one in a Parish be the common Soldier he in every High-Constable one in a Hundred be the Captain over fifties and over hundreds he in a Sheriff one in shire be the Lord General he in a resembled Parliament too a faint image of both Houses of them Peers Knights and Burgesses be the Lords Knights and Gentry Commissioners for the whole Shire they I can honour all these because of the King for whom they serve I can honour the King above all these somwhat of whose face I can see when he pleaseth to stamp his likenesse upon them in every of these and that I may honour the King faithfully and unprejudicially to the King himself I can honour God above the King That God whose image of power whose inscription of Sovereignty the King bears above all and can say referring all these strenghs and preparations of strength and all the advantage hop't for by them to the gift of God as one King hath said in Scripture and another King in his heart before me the King and the kingdome too shall joy in thy strength O Lord. See we if we can discover all or most of these and some particulars depending upon these out of the first part of the Text the title of the Psalme which is equally the word of God as the Psalm after it A Psalm look we upon the title of it and the several interpretations of that Title upon the contents of it or upon the former part of the first verse for our Text reacheth no further every way apposite both to the occasion and to our hopes Method I must be forc'd to transgresse either in order to the blessings received or in order to the Text in an orderly enumeration of blessings we ought to begin with Actual rather then with hop't for blessings and amongst the actual with the first which we receive but my Text prompts me to another course to begin with the Church and with blessings hop't for to that that which is first in Nature considerable in the Text is that the Psalm hath a Title and in that first considerable as also in the whole Title I shall find occasion to espy out a Church and may hope to be excuseable not only as I am a Church-man but as I am a Christian to begin with that Have a little patience with me and anon I shall pay you all in setting those blessings before you which concerne your civil capacity as you are men and subjects as well as those which relate to your Religious condition as you are Christians and Disciples the meanest of your selves have skill enough to love gold better thau silver give me leave to have as much judgement in preferring the Soul of man above his body and to begin with the more than golden blessings of that First the Psalm hath a Title and that Title is the word of God as sure as the Psalm after it or any part of the Bible before it and behind it If so the close after the Epistles as well as the entrance upon the Psalms is the word of God too If so Timothy was the first Bishop not of one parish amongst them but of the whole Church of the Ephesians and Titus was ordained the first Bishop of the Church of the Cretians First each of them in regard to seconds and thirds c. which were to succeed them to follow after them and if so the Church of England ought still to have as she alwaies hath had ever since she was a Church Bishops presiding in it in conformity to the word of God ought to have them in the Church even for the good of the state also for I fear I may say it he is no discerning Christian States-man who does not fore-see that if the Church with the State be not delivered out of confusion if God and the King be not both provided for the State will by the displeasure and wrath of God relaps into it be it the care of every of us in our places and callings to reconcile God to us all tha't 's the surest way of perpetuating the reconsiliation of quenching the heart-burnings amongst our selves But this though it be a truth consequential out of the Text is not so visibly and immediately the truth of the Prophet David as of the Apostle Paul What saies David himselfe when he prophecies of the Christian Church Instead of thy Fathers Psa 45.16 shall be thy children whom thou maist make Princes in all the Earth in all of it Geneva's selfe not excepted but by it self England as little as any part of the world if we look upon the intire full untumultuary consent both of Church and of State too S. Hierom's note upon it is the more considerable because he is a mistakenly pretended father against Episcopacy These Fathers saith he were the Prophets these Children the Apostles Nunc quia Apostoli a munde recesserunt habes pro his Episcopos Filios sunt hi Patris tui quia ab ipsis Regeris He tells and he comforts the Church I would none in a contrary Anti-Ecclesiastical as well as Anti-Episcoparian way would more disconsolate her then St. Hierome did that now since the Apostles are gone to heaven She hath their Sons the Bishops in the midst of her These saith he are to her in stead of Fathers because by these she is and ought to be governed But this
though it be David's is not David's in our Text either in Title orin verse 'T is David's in effect there too in both of them The Greek Title is A Psalm of David David was the King He is expresly so called in the verse Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers Isa 49.23 'T is a prophecy of the Government of the Christian Church by Kings not only legal Kings are but Evangelical Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers The King hath two Sons Church and State The Church is his first-born as 't is the priviledg of Fathers to convey down Titles to their Heirs so 't is their indulgence to take care how to preserve those Titles Though we have not the Church directly in the Greek Title of the Psalme yet we have the Kings person there David Such a King a Charles we have heard of and wept for a long time a King in Title at least He who was before but a King of hearts is now owned a King of England a real King the Pulpits ring of him as well as the bells ring for him and we dare now professe our selves what the most of us have alwaies been his loyal Subjects This suits with the day the day is set apart for the King if not also by the King and we will no more scruple as formerly we have done to observe a day since it is for the honour of the King out of a fear least we keep the day without the Kings consent since we are sure we have his consent and more than that God's too and more then that God's command that we honour the King as we fear God 1 Pet. 2.17 See we Doway's Title next and the interpretation of that Title if these will help us forward The Title a A Psalm of David Unto the end The interpretation it pertains principally to Christ partly to godly and victorious Kings Deo principatum the King that Church which he owns and defends not unto themselves but to his Name give all the honour Him in the collect for defence against enemies they acknowledge the only giver of all victory him they worship more than success more because of successe and not the lesse without successe And for that godly Epithet all his loyal subjects who dare inquire after believe and utter truth may in his name since his own humility will not do it Challenge the Christian world to match him if they can with another Prince so knowingly and devoutly holy as he I should be glad to see such a second Phenix but I despair Will Doway's contents advance us one step more they are praise to God for Christs exaltation after his passion Christ signifies King The King hath had his passion in being twelve years a forceably not owned King and halfe twelve more a suffering Prince A deliverance out of all these is If any thing an exaltation for which this is the day of Praise and Thanks-giving unto God There is more yet in this day than so Carthusiensis will Ludolfus's contents help us to find it out A Psalm of the glory of Christ in the overthrow of his enemies Christ I told you is King the King is Christ's Vicegerent His the Kings glory is great in thy in Christ's salvation Honour and Majesty hast thou laid upon him the King in 5. v. of this Psalm The honour of the most glorious victory His enemies being not twice slain not dead in their sins not once slain not dead at all but so mercifully overcome that they may have leisure and Grace to repent of their multiforme and broody sin their rebellion against God and the King and be reconciled to the service and favour of both No conquest like that which instead of killing an enemy makes him a friend Nor yet is this all neither Ludolfus's title is the same with Doway's but his interpretation comes as I hope the King does more home to us A Psalm of David Unto the end That is saith he to Christ who is the end of the Law of that Law under which whoever were were also under bondage He goes on It hath regard too unto the latter end to the last time in which these foretellings were to come to passe The Psalm saies he declares what good the Father will do to the King the Son of the King to Christ the Son of God Propter contantiam This is that constant King whom no wants of his own no temptations from abroad no unkindnesse from subjects no allurements from forreigners no offers of men monyes Kingdoms to boot could either hire or provoke out of his stedfast setlednesse in religion None that are so true to the Church of England as he is will dare suspect him for the rest if they do cavil for fear the fixt King should change his Religion and O! may they never cavil at him even for this reason also because he will not change his Religion Alas What amends will they ever make to the King and Church for having really changed their own None but this to return to that Religion at which the King staies These are those times in which is fulfilled the deliverance of King and people Church and State from the thraldome of that one Law of Arbitrarinesse from the slavery of that other sword-Law which I wonder Those who have practised it against the King and his leige people have not abhorrd it for being cald by that Heathenish Idol-Name of Law Martial These are the general and publike blessings which this day minds us of But may we not be induced to hope for some peculiar blessings arising out of these and will not the extent of the title bear us out Junius and Tremelius's Title is the same with ours ours is the very English of theirs To the Chief Musitian A Psalm of David Will not this deliverance which brings Melody to our hearts restore Musick to our Churches too No danger would men but rightly apprehend it of too much cost in the house and decency in the worship of God No posture too humble in our penitentials No Musick too lofty in our gratulations and Praises Talk men what they will of the spirit of an humble and grateful heart yet I wish they could tell me by what surer token to judge of a proud heart than by a covered head and unbended knee of a thanklesse heart then by a tongue which saies that heart loaths Church Musick I therefore wish it because my selfe loathes to Judge so hardly of the dissenters whose lowly reverence to God and sober conformity to the Church they live in I so earnestly covet to witnesse and to extol This Musick of all the liberal Arts saies Bâ—etius and Venerable Bede is the principal because this alone hath the honour to enter into the Church of God and very fit it is at this time to be reduc't on this day to be used too in the Churches if we will harken to the judgement of the wisest Heathen or see by the best light