Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A56369
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A sermon preached at Christ-Church, Dublin, before both Houses of Parliament, May the 29th, 1661 being the anniversary of His Majesty King Charles the Second, his most memorable and happy restauration / by the Right Reverend Father in God, John Lord Bishop of Elphin.
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Parker, John, d. 1681.
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1661
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Wing P434; ESTC R11730
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18,948
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52
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5. But neither the sense of their still-due and oweing obedience can so binde them nor the remembrance of past benefits for he saved them out of the hands of their enemies 2. Sam. 19.9 so engage them but that they strengthened the hands of an usurper against their lawful Prince so that he was constrained to flee out of the Land for Absolom till the return of providence so improved his condition that he was solemnly invited to that place from whence by their defection he was made exile And although God gave him an eminent and seasonable victory over his enemies so that he crushes that Cockatrice of Rebellion in the very shell and might by a vigorous prosecution of that victory have made their future obedience the fruit of his sword and founded an afterloyalty in the price of their blood yet chooses rather sweetly to invite them to their duty than compell them to draw them with * Hos 11.4 bands of love than with armies of violence that so they may be said to be active in their loyalty not to soffer it Kings you know are frequently dignisyed with the title of * Exo. 22.26 Psal 82.1.6 Joh. 10.34 Gods in Scripture not onely because they are unto their respective people as Moses was unto Aaron * Exod 4. loâ—o Dei instead of God but also because they ought to imitate that God whose Majesty in their office they so much personate and represent Now goodness mercy and kindness being properties wherein the divine Majesty delights most to shew it self Kings the more they exercise of these the more clearly doe they evidence their similitude and likeness to that God whose place they bear and whose greatness they represent God you may see in holy writ frequently inviting his people upon their several defections to return so he does Israel Isai 31.6 Jeremiah 3. Ver. 12.13 14. Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted so he does to Iudah Ierem. Hosea 12.6 Joâ—lz 12.13 18.11 Return ye now every one from his evil way and though he be the party wrong'd and highly injur'd yet first speaks of peace and proffers reconciliation inviting them to turn to him by repentance and obedience that so he may return to them in the exercise of mercy and loving kindness And thus King David in this story though the party wrong'd highly injur'd driven from his Pallace and Royal Throne by a Rebellion of his own people yet as imitating that God whose vicegerent he was does himself make the first overtures and proffers of peace moving them to invite him to a return that so the reestablishment of him in his Throne might be an act of their own revived loyalty not the effect of the sword as the scourge of their former disloyalty and disobedience VVhatsoever things were written aforetime Rom. 15.4 says S. Paul were written for our learning and surely then if God being loesa Majestas the Majesty highly injured and provoked yet first proffers peace and David though a King and as grossly injured as ungratefully deserted by his Subjects yet in imitation of that merciful God first proffers reconciliation we ought to follow the great exemplar of God and the King and to be forward in our proffers of peace and love The wisdom sayes S. Iames which is from above is first pure and then peaceable Iam. 3.17 abhorring contentions and full of peace and love so that there is not a greater signe of pure and spiritual wisdom than hearty defires and earnest endeavours of peace and therefore the author of the Hebrews bids us follow peace with all men Heb. 12.14 and S. Peter to feek peace and ensue it 1. Pet. 3.11 and 't is not ill writing after such copies nor unsafe to tread in those pathes which God himself has walked in before us to be forward in proffers of peace to those that have wrong'd us and been our enemies causless this is Prince-like this Saint-like Nay this is God-like too for so the Allmighty to his backsliding People and so King David here to his revolted Subjects which is the next particular the Persons wrought upon the men of Judah David was of the Tribe of Judah and therefore it is that he calls the men of Judah his brethren his bones and his flesh Ver. 12. and that they style themselves near of kin unto the King Ver. 42. but nearness of relation with some sort of men is no obligation to loyalty for not onely they that had eaten of his bread but they also that were his near kindred his brethren his bones and his flesh lift up their heeles against him and surely it must needs wound the soul of a good Prince and adde much grief to the pressure of his sorrows when not onely the remoter sort of his Subjects but even those which either nature or his own bounty had made nearer unto him shall seek his ruine and attempt his life This made Caesar yield himself a willing Sacrifice when he saw Brutus in the Conspiracy and therefore David aggravates his own miserie and the deplorableness of his condition by the perfidiousness of his friends Psal 55.14 If it had been an enemy then I could have borne it that is with more ease and less dolor but it was my familiar friend this made it more insupportable such calamities as these stick closest and wound deepest and continue longest and are most siguall and therefore when the Prophet is interrogated what were those wounds his hands Zech. 13.6 he replies Ver. 7. those wherewith I was wounded in the house of my friends and the Spouse in the Canticles seems to equal David's complaint pugnaverunt contra me filij Matris meae my Mothers children fought against me And indeed when men for any secular any by-ends or interest act contrary to those near tyes of relation as their actions degenerate into the greatest violences so their former love into the greatest hatred For love as it has a ready power of doing good so likewise of doing hurt which me thinks the Gentiles seemed vvell to represent when they painted Apollo by which they meant the Sun as the Hieroglyphick of love and beneficence holding in one hand an Harp and in the other a quiver of arrows ubi amor ibi dolor shewing that where harmony and love have been there may be the greatest hatred and confusion The other Tribes were it seems already become sensible of their sin and had made publick manifestation of their forward inclinations to their Princes Restauration onely Iudah which had the nearest relation and strongest obligation is most backward which backwardness meets with a just check Ver. 11. why are ye the last to bring back the King unto his house Iudah was the first that solemnly owned David for their King and testifyed that acknowledgement by anointing him in Hebron 2. Sam. 2. But now they are most backward in restoring him to those rights to which they themselves were
engage any to a perseverance in guilt for the future by opposing the happiness and quiet of their Country in the restauration of King Peers and People to their just ancient and fundamental right He granted free and generall Pardon to all of what quality condition or degree whatsoever that within forty dayes after publication thereof should take hold of that his grace and favour except such as the Parliament should except Such who having washed their hands in the Sacred blood of his Royal Father were not capable of Pardon Nor could those Nobles and worthy Patriots finde out a readyer vvay to expiate that horrid Crime and avert those heavy judgements which then threatned the Nation than by an exemplarly execution of those unparalell'd Regicides These Letters and Declaration sent to both Houses being publiquely read produced the like effect vvhich that message of King David's did on the Tribe of Iudah they bowed they inclined the hearts of the People unto the King and were indeed the first appearance of our long expected happiness and the very foundation of all this our ensueing peace For upon the reading of these Letters Declaration both Houses of Parliament the great representative of the Kingdome passed this Vote or to this effect as near as I can remember that his Majesty CHARLES the Second immediately upon the death of his Royall Father of blessed memory as true and lawfull Heir was the undoubted King of these Kingdomes See how God who turnes the heart can change the condition 'T is not many yeares since vvhen each new Parliament produced a new Vote against the King their chief work being by all the Lawes they could contrive to disable him from claiming and frighten the people from promoteing him unto the Crown to this purpose the Usurper begot Parliaments and upon them Ordinances with which they quickned so fast sometimes to a superfetation that a second was hastily begotten before the first was born But novv they freely and vvithout danger Vote and publiquely ovvn him their lavvfull and undoubted King whom even novv had been Treason but to have named vvith honour The day wherein these gracious Letters and Declaration were read in Parliament vvas the first of this Moneth of May in the year 1660. And truly this Moneth ought to be unto us as Abib unto the Israelites Exod. 12. the beginning of Moneths Their deliverance from Egypt's bondage being not more signall than this of our's from the bondage of those cruell bloody and usurping Tyrants Persons of whom I may most truly say as Gregory Nazianzen said of Iulian the Apostate they had the defection of Ieroboam the cruelty of Ahab the hardness of Pharaoh and the sacriledge of Nebuchadnezzar Oratâ—… adv Julian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nay a complication of all impieties in one The first day then of this Moneth was the birthday of our happiness and each succeeding day was the happy Parent of new joyes Dies diei eructat verbum Psal 19.2 Day unto day uttered speech and night unto night shewed knowledge For not long after this publique owning of the King the Houses sent Commissioners to invite him home being much more impatient of his stay than others had been formerly fearfull of his arrivall they sent and they sent again this word unto the King return thou c. And here again you may behold a change indeed Not many yeares since you might have seen your King forced to disguise himself in the poor habit of a mean Servant to escape the fury and rage of his bloody and rebellious Subjects and in that disguise to seek relief and shelter in forreign Countries where their kindeness was seldom longer lived than their advantage and when he was not aptly serviceable to their ends they vvere no more charitable to his vvants They who were his own allyes bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh unkindely deserted him and to comply with the Vsurper denyed him the benefit of their ayr to breath in so that like Noah's Dove Isai 61.3 he scarce found rest for the sole of his foot Yet in the Crovvd of all these temptations nothing could stagger his faith or make him svverve from the true Protestant Religion and therefore God hath now given him beauty for ashes the oyl of joy for mourning the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness Yea * Psal 21.2 God hath given him his hearts desire and hath not denyed him the request of his lips and * Psal 21.7 why because the King trusted in the Lord and through the mercy of the most highest he did not miscarry but upon the 25. or 26. day of this Moneth his Majestie landed at Dover and the 29. this day which vve novv celebrate he made his entrance into his renovvned City of London to the unexpressible joy and satisfaction of all his good People And surely never vvas there a people so overwhelmed with joy neither ever vvas there a people more expressive of their joy and loyall affections conducting his Majestie into that his Royall City in far greater splendour and triumph than any one of his most victorious Predecessours Kings of England return'd from their greatest Conquests So that they that bragg'd of their signal Conquests might have here beheld a Conquest indeed a victory Royal one like that of David's fit for a King so many thousand hearts taken captive in one day Exod. 7.12 This victory like Aaron's * rod has swallowed up all their victories and like Pharaoh's Magicians they must novv confess digitus Dei est hic * Exod. 8.19 this is the finger of God And truly I esteem it the greatest temporall happiness I ever yet enjoyed that I vvas an eye-witness of that joy though sometimes I could not vvell distinguish whether the teares trickled faster from the eyes or the acclamations ecchoed lowder from the mouthes of the People Num. 23.21 The Lord their God was with them and the shout of a King was among them All former Crucifige's vvere now turned into the loudest Hosanna's and though teares trickled down yet were they not lachrymae doloris but lachrymae amoris not teares of sorrow but teares of love so that I could not but take up that observation which the Jevves did of Jesus when he vvept over Lazarus Ecce quomodo amabant eum Iohn 11.36 behold how they loved him Sure I am the spirit of God moved upon these waters This day then of us never to be forgotten his Majesty enter'd upon the actuall possession of his Royall Crown and dignity this day he * 2 Sam. 19.30 came again in peace unto his own house and and vvith him as vvith David all his Servants many worthy Gentlemen and Nobles Duke of ORMOND and among them one vvho having some yeares under his Majesty governed this Kingdome lost his estate and often hazarded his life for the preservation of those whose falleness to say no vvorse made him an exile and