AN OLIVE BRANCH Found after A Storme in the Northern Seas AND Presented to his MAJESTY in a Sermon at the Court in New-Castle By SAMUEL KEM a little before his Majesties going to HOLMBEY GEN. 8.10,11 And he stayed yet other seven dayes and againe he sent forth the Dove out of the Ark And the Dove came into him in the evening and loe in her mouth was an Olive sprig pluckt off So Noah knew the waters were abated HAGGAI 2.9 Thus shall the glory of the latter House bee greater then the former sayeth the Lord of Hoasts and in this place will I give peace saith the Lord of Hoasts Published according to Order LONDON Printed by J. D. R. I. for Andrew Kembe and are to bee sold at his shop at Margaret Hill next doore to the Talbot-Gate in Southwark 1647. TO THE KINGS MOST Excellent Majesty May it please your Majesty WHen the King of Kings had fasted forty dayes and forty nights hee was afterward an hungered although assisted by the deitie and then for any within knowledge of it to neglect administring to him a morsell had really concluded them guilty of the highest ingratitude and inhumanity Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Which your long abstinence from in relation to publique administration hath put mee upon this bold attempt in tender compassion to your better part as to present you with a branch the fruit whereof will if savoured sensibly procure an appetite to those delicates which by more excellent hands are ready at your call to be served in unto you which degree of recovery will disrobe thousands of Gods people and your faithfull Subjects of their sad and sable thoughts and serve up their hearts to the highest degree of prayse that hath in relation to his glory and your good so far heard their prayers Thus thus Sir if your Majesty please to forsake your nets that intangle you deny your selfe and your self-reasoning audience that assault You and follow Jesus Christ in his ordinances the Prince of peace whose name is Councellor to advise you You may yet create all good men your cordiall friends and admit none to repine at your returne but the Gospells and Religions enimies Great Sir If this plainnesse bee an error it is my affection to your Majesties soule makes mee to erre and the prosperity of one fault hath made mee confident to commit a second for I professe I long after it and make it one part of my designe at the throne of grace that God would so sanctifie all your experiences for the time past that you may be a gratious Instrument for the advancing of his glorious will for the time to come And now the Lord grant you usefull profit in perusing my poore indeavours so as shall best sort both for the accomplishment of your owne eternall good and the Kingdomes just desires yea the Lord grant that as this sermon received grace from you in hearing it with reverent attention so it may increase grace in you by your serious intention And the Lord of peace peaceably salute you by it and grace you with all spirituall blessings till he bring you to injoy his and your peoples firme love your Parliaments councell and Heavens Glory which is and shall be the daily prayer of Gods Majesties poore Embassador to You in this Treatise of Peace and Your Loyall Subject SAMUEL KEM TO THE Right Honourable PHILIP Earle of Pembroke BAZILL Earle of Denbeigh and the rest of the Honourable Commissioners with His Majesty at Holmbey Right Honorable I May not without your leaves obtained approach his Maiesty in person or paper It is my duty to begge it May it please your Lordships to grant it I call God to record and my conscience is cleare I neither have nor will speake one word but for his glory and the furthering if possible the Kingdoms Peace and his Majesties good I ingenuously confesse if you search you may finde about me one Epistle superscribed to his Majesty but it is unseal'd and on purpose for your perusall For my selfe I am unworthy to come under that roofe being the meanest servant in my Masters Family yet this Testimony I have in Heaven I have ever desired to doe the best service I could in these sad times to promote the Peace of Church and State and although I have observed many men to have beene thought rare at an easie rate yet it hath beene a peece of my infelicity to multiply enemies by acting and speaking to my power to settle Peace and Truth Therefore as I implore your Lordships favour for your lilence so I humbly Petition your pardon for my boldnesse and present all your conditions daily to the Throne of Grace that as you have beene Pillers of Gods Truth so you may be prevailing Councellors with His Maiesty and be honored in your generations which is the hearty and constant prayer my Noble Lords and Gentlemen Of Your Obliged and Immutable Servant SAMUEL KEM TO THE Truly Noble Faithfull Vigilant and Valiant William Batten Esquire Captaine of His Majesties Ship the St. Andrew and Commander in Chiefe of the Fleet at Sea for the service of the King and Parliament Most Honored and Noble Sir I Shal desire to wave all Apologeticall expressions in relation to my selfe and the weaknesse of this piece You know that the quiet repose of the spiirit is the meanes to produce to the world such births as may inrich it with admiration and delight which my floating condition denyed mee the happines to injoy having my intellectualls so Searummaged that they returned me but darke unrefined notions the product wherof are these poore expressions void of all perfection unles the heat of your affection and Noblenes please to hatch them to some formed beauty worthy acceptation and to reduce the Chaos of my confusions to a serenity worthy the worlds meditation Hover therefore I beseech you with the wings of your protection over these feeble but syncere indeavours to promote in this Iuncto of time with his Majesty for a setled and well grounded Peace for which I have esteemed my life as a trifle in way of purchase and have for some yeares past waded through variety of difficulties to this end And although the inacountable and uncontroleable waters with their independent ragings sunke me to the eye of sense yet God provided something like a Whale that by a strange providence cast me on shore to behold that which I beleived and believing maintained Our Brethren of Scotland their integrity to Our mutuall Covenant and the Kingdomes safety and to act that which I never expected as a poore messenger from the Prince of Peace to salute his Majesty just before the comming of our Right Honourable Commissioners as a providentiall preparation to their invitation of him to take the Covenant and in this now of time to accept of the Olive Branch of Peace the best fignall betwixt King
and Parliament if well grounded For whose experience doth not informe him what dismall confusion is as the worst of plagues upon us Even amongst those I meane who professe themselves to be Children of Gods owne Family Since the breach of the bond of Love amongst our selves how dispicable are Pastors to their sheepe how are the prophane and Irreligious strengthned in their impiety how doth the common adversary of Gods Truth jeare at this our folly and secretly as spectatours behind the curtaine make themselves sport to see us so violently and industriously acting for them what they could never effect with all their hellish plots for themselves to this day ruine if God prevent not to our selves and open a gap for them to enter and injoy prosperity It hath severall times affected and afflicted me to see so many dying and wounded bodyes conveying out their soules in streames of bloud but it hath lately afrighted me to see the very heart of true Piety vulturated since our fiery zeale to Christs honor is Monopolized into a consuming fire of envy malice undermining in zeale to our owne private ends each others honour And although I have never made Arithmatick my study yet I easily may sum up what all our divisions subdivisions and sad contentions amongst our selves when all professe to be Children of him of whom the whole Family in heaven and earth is named will amount unto viz. To Christs Kingdomes disbeautifying Satans inlarging by impiety superstition aad heresie For what ever it cost I would not have the Family want solid and sweet-refreshing fire yet would I not have any to be affected meerely with such blazes as are not serviceable but to set the whole house on fire which to prevent let us open the floud-gates of our soules and turne the sluces of our eyes heaven-ward implore the great God to settle Gospell Peace and Truth in his Majesties three Kingdomes and his Majesty in Truth to bee an happy instrument for the speedy setling that peace which may be for Gods glory his peoples settlement his Kingdomes inlargement his owne felicity and all good to his posterity This Sir is the prayer of him who is Yours faithfully In the service of the Gospel and for the good of his country as obleiged SAMUEL KEM AN Olive Branch found after a Storme in the Northern Seas 2 THESS 3.16 Now the Lord of peace himselfe give you peace alwayes by all meanes IT is the happinesse of the Church of God that although they cannot give peace yet they may get it and although they cannot settle it on earth they may seek it from heaven and they have this of Gods own minde for their incouragement that he thinks thoughts of peace towards them and to give them an expected end Esa 29. ver 11. and what is at any time most improbable to sense is visible to faith And my present vision is a ladder reaching from heaven to earth and this ladder is Christ by whom all our prayers have their passage to the Throne of grace and their rich and faithfull returnes made from Gods Treasury to supply all our wants Which hath put me upon this designe in the travell of my soule and I wish my words might have their passage through a river of teares and every sentence be swadled up in sackcloth and one and all of us appeare on this ladder as vile as dust and ashes that in his glorious interest we might in this season be found prevailers with God for this sweet mercy of Peace in relation to Your Majesty and your three poore lasserated distracted Kingdomes And as I have not valued my life so will I never think much of my labour although Pioneer-like to cast in any matter as rubbish and my self as dirt and clay to make up these Nationall breaches And of all effective meanes I finde none more speeding then prayer Esay 29.11,12,13 Then shall you call upon mee and you shall goe and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you and you shall seek me and finde mee when you shall search for me with all your heart And if ever it were seasonable now yea now is Gods time now your time now it s our time now its high time now or it may be at no time Now then if ever and now although never now what ever you doe nay now what ever you leave undone let all that have interest in God through Jesus Christ become importunate petitioners and heartily pray Now the very God of peace give you with him with us Peace alwayes by all moanes Thus hovering up and down upon the waters I have at last made discovery of an Olive Branch and what wee see by faith the Lord assist us as upon instruments in our severall actings to convey on the wing of prayer to the poore Ark the Church of God blown up and down by the tempestuous winds of Heresie and Malignancy that it may at last have hopes to settle on mount Ararat and be firmely established as mount Zion And having this Olive branch in my mouth give me leave to shew you the severall sprigs of it which will yeeld fruite to provoke our spirituall appetites and such oyle as will not onely replenish our lamps to light us to Christ the Prince of Peace but possesse us of such inward injoyments as hence forward to walk with a cheerful countenance as possessed with it This Olive branch hath two more eminent sprigs The first is Peace its opportunity Now The second is Peace its gaining in this season by importunity by all meanes Or if you please to have it in smaller parcels you have First its season to be prayed for Now. Secondly the Donor The Lord of peace give you Peace Thirdly the Donum Peace Fourthly the Excellency of Gods peace above all other peace it is an alwayes peace and an everlasting peace Observation And now I hope you see that seasonable and importunate prayer to God by Christ is a sure way to obtaine a well-grounded and lasting yea an everlasting Peace The learned can tell you that there is no bodily action betwixt hic nunc and therefore the acting this duty will admit of no delay Now that 's the season Quere I but why such haste Sol. When I shall but tell you what peace is in the generall and shew you the distinct members you will be satisfyed nay not satisfyed without it In the generall Peace is the well-being of all other injoyments all other mercies suck their liveli-hood at the brest of peace It is the Mother of all prosperity in relation to Arts Sciences Trades all flourish or wither in peace her presence or absence It is the Milch-nurse of Religion it thrives not in divisions nor contentions Act. 12. When the Church had peace it increased exceedingly did you ever know a body with all the members out of joynt thrive when one is for Paul another for Apollos and a third for Cephas few or none more then
to shorten it but in sin to provoke God to doe it Our season hath pantings and yet life in it although not health the Lord heare our prayers to recover it out of its fits of convulsion Is there no Balme in Gilliad that will doe it 2 Chron. 7.14 If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seeke my face and turne from their wicked wayes I will forgive their sin and heale their land 1. Argument The season of Peace and the seasonable praying for Peace hath been prescribed limited and terminated to all that have gone before us in relation to Persons Kings or Kingdomes Esaus season past he could never get a returne of the blessing although sought with teares The Gadarens could never get Christ over their water more Nor the Iewes a second season as yet to learne Christ loe I goe to the Gentiles Esa 6. Osea 3.4 I have forsaken my house I have left my heritage The Monarchy of the Babilonians and Syrians was transferred to the Medes and Persians The Macedonians to the Romans The Empire of Constantinople to the Ottoman Familie Joshua tooke ten stones out of Jordan and put other ten in the roome of them Secondly It is but just with God if none find any want of this pretious Iewell to shut up his cabinet and see who will seeke after it God alwayes substracts his mercies when they prove not usefull to us or wee ungratefull for them God knowes as well how to take them from us as tender them to us Hosea 2.3.9 Thirdly In relation to the Giver there can bee but a season expected It is the Mighty God King of Kings unto whom all the Nations of the earth are but as a drop of a bucket c. It becomes not Majesty to waite long upon the tender of their favours the Lord will give inward peace and outward peace but he will seasonably be sought to for it It is no dishonour for the greatest Monarch to attend his Majesty but unbecoming him to waite a moment on the greatest earthly Prince David esteemed it the height of his ambition to be a doore keeper under-value not then to be a receiver and in capacitie to enioy his favour Use of Exhortation If this be so that wee have but a Now for it I beseech you support your drooping soules because although neere yet is not our season past for yet wee heare of peace from the cryers of peace in publique God hath not yet forbid us with Jeremiah not to cry peace unto you cry for peace with mee Nay secondly by a strange kind of working on the heart his messengers day and night seeke peace for the three Kingdomes and your Majesty at the throne of grace you are heartily presented by many thousands of religious conscientious holy faithfull Subjects in both Kingdoms for peace to your soul c. nor hath the Lord stopt our mouths as Jeremiah's 11.14 as yet to say to us pray not c. Yea Thirdly the conditions of Peace and the Lords Propositions to be reconciled to him are by his faithfull messengers presented and by many accepted of the Lord incline your Majesties heart to signe for ever his and your Kingdomes good Yea it is your peoples hopes that you will with the Sun of righteousnesse gloriously arise with healing and peace under your wings to your three Kingdomes all sore wounded and in blood This doore of hope opened let all our seasonable prayers be presented for this blessing of Peace ply this work heartily I beseech you 1. Motive you have but a Now sor it much of the season spent a great journey and little time puts upon expedition and designe Davids former experience of the misery of warre puts him upon the designe of of Prayer for Peace Psal 122. O pray saith he for the peace of Jerusalem and he plies it night and day Finis operationis est opus 2 Motive There is yet Peace to be had for his people and although with Joseph for a time he hath spoken ruffely unto us Gen. 45.1 yet I am consident he yernes in his bowells to us he cannot contain himselfe longer ere he reveale himself unto us and although the Cup of affliction hath been for a time inour sacks mouth yet in the end it shall produce good to us Isa 63.8,9 Hee will not cast off his people when they rebelled he was wrath yet he said Surely they are my people I am their Saviour Wherefore I beseech you as the dumb son of Croesus when he saw his Father about to be slain though never before brake silence and cryed out violently the strings of his tongue being loosed Kill not King Croesus so upon the vision of the sad actings of these times breake silence and seasonably every one cry out Now the Lord of Peace himself give you peace alwayes by all meanes Thirdly Because we are all sharers in the Church and Kingdomes peace more or lesse every owner prayes and lookes after the safety of the ship the Church of God is the ship wherein our great joynt stock of Religion is imbarqued and wee all beare a great adventure It is at this day on a hazzardous voyage many seeming friends by their colours ready to betray it and what betwixt the Rocks of superstition and Idolatry and the quicksands of blasphemy schisme and heresie it steeres sadly we nor our posterity cannot stand after the losse it will be their undoing for ever therefore now pray Think it sad to poyson a pond but a river much more Oh think of your posterity what truths streamed to us in our Fathers blood the Martyrs let it run to our posterity in ours or tears and let us protest against blasphemy and errors for jarring in Jerusalem is a sad and prodigeous Omen when the worshippers in Jerusalem were divided the common enemy prevailed Jer. 7.28 This is a Nation that receiveth not discipline truth is perished from them clean gone out of their mouths then read ver 33. Then I will cause to cease from the Cities of Judah and Jerusalem the voyce of mirth and gladnesse the land shall be desolate Jer. 8.19 The cry of the daughter of my people is great for feare of them of a farre Country Nay further that you may see the necessity of seasonable prayer you may observe our Saviour makes it a signe of the eternall ruine of the world Mat. 24.1,2,3 They say Master what signe wilt thou give us Take heed none deceive you for many shall come in my name and deceive many Many shall betray one another hate one another c. See Deut. 28.47,48,49,50 The divisions amongst the Primitive Christians in the Eastern Churches gave the Turk an opportunity to make them his vassals when the Divines of Bohemia and Germany fell to discord it proved a sad time and when the Pelagians had made their faction strong they set the whole Kingdome in a combustion The Lord give us deliverance from all
there are that follow the Lamb where ever he goeth Use of Direction Why are yee so dejected why are your soules cast down and disquieted within you what is it you want in this juncture of time would any of you have peace would you have it seeke it seasonably and importunatly in the way of Jesus Christ I dare assure you your wants if you can but get to this Joseph feare not in a famine thy sacks filling his love although disquieted with frownes at present cannot send defiring hungery soules after peace empty away Col. 1.19 It s Gods pleasure wee should come to this fountaine for them they have taken up their abode there nor can you shew mee in any time a seeking soule that ever lost his labour Hee ever affords us supplement or supportment Hee may try us for a time but at last with Joseph will long to manifest his love and selfe to us Doth your Majesty want councell what to doe in cases of difficulty how to steere the great ship in this storme I direct you to him whose name is Counsellor Doe you want pardoning mercy in his fullnesse is all you want Doth any man want grace to carry him through temptations why his grace is sufficient for thee Truely the defect is not in God nor in Jesus Christ goodnesse kindnesse but in our unfaithfullnesse That Hagar thirsted the fault was not in the well but in her eyes that could not see it There was no want in Gods assistance to his people but the Prophets servants eyes that could not see more with them than against them There was noe lesse Love Peace Glory Beauty and Riches in Jesus Christ when Saul persecuted him then when he preached him but the scales were on his eyes Illust As there is the same light and heate in the Sunne at all times although dead men feele it not nor blind men see not So there is the same love in Christ to give us peace Why then should wee neglect so great salvation I beseech you follow after it with holinesse without which you cannot see God First Motive He doth not only permit us as Laban permitted Jacob to love faire Rachel but commands us to seeke after him call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you you shall glorify mee Aske seeke knock If a child aske a father a fish will hee give him a Scorpion nay hee expects invites intreates c. First Illustration Yea as the visible Sun toucheth every thing with its lively heate and as the common lover of that below doth impart unto them requifite vigor to produce so doth Jesus Christ I confesse of our selves wee can never attain to get peace For naturally it is with us as with Aristotles reported bird called Apodes whose legs are so short they cannot use them if once they light on the ground they are not able to take flight or to rayse themselves on their feete but remaine puling and dying unlesse the power of some wind with a favorable blast beare them up and then they make use of their wings Wee are naturally like these birds in relation to our flight to Jesus Christ for any mercy till his spirit as wind act us to him Second Illustration Then as the unhooded Hawke having got her prey in view doth suddenly launch her selfe upon the wing and being held in her leach struggles upon the hand with extream ardour So faith having drawn the vaile of ignorance and got a discovery of the soveraigne good of peace cannot be satisfied but in seeking after it in Christ and as teares were Davids practice so long as God seemed to bee absent so prayer is their dayly practise their obedience ecchoing to Gods command till they doe injoy this peace 2 Motive Because if you practise seasonable and importunate prayer this way you may be sure although you presently have not a return of your prayer in the present injoyment of a setled peace if you have it not he will be with you in your trouble and afflictions as he was in the flaming bush and with the three children in the furnace They lost nothing by it they appeare most glorious in it If the waters increase the Arke and all in it get neerer heaven by it there 's all the inconvenience Yea the time shall come that you shall say with David It is good for mee that I was so afflicted All this shall worke for the best when once you are interressed in the Prince of Peace Therefore now if ever I beseech you with the pressing desires of my soule to lay this sure foundation of peace through Jesus Christ with your God and heartily and joyfully incline to spell out Gods owne meaning in all the actings of his providence that shall as meanes be presented to you from your great and faithfull Councellors for the framing out and perfecting that glorious Architect that may make you as glorious to posterity as Solomon for building a house for his God and may be a shelter for the people of God in your three Kingdomes and the defence of you and your posterity from the violent stormes of forraigne enemyes which that you may with all cheerefulnesse act as an Emminent Instrument in this oportunity Let us all with all importunity seeke God with humble and sincere Spirits FINIS