not lawful to grant any man or people the liberty of their own conscience in matters of Religion permitting them to profess what Religion they will for if this be allowed how should false prophets be avoided The Governors of a Nation should in this imitate the good King Iosiah who assembled all Iudah and caused all his people to hear the word of the Lord and to stand to that Religion which by the Book of God was made known unto them as you may see in 2 Chron. 34.30 31 32 verses The King went up into the House of the Lord and all the men of Iudah and the inhabitants of Ierusalem and the Priests and the Levites and all the people great and small and he read in their ears all the words of the Book of the Covenant that was found in the House of the Lord And the King stood in his place and made a Covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep his Commandments and his Testimonies and his Statutes with all his heart and with all his soul to perform the words of the Covenant which are written in this Book and he caused all that were present in Ierusalem and Benjamin to stand to it he did not leave them to themselves to back-slide and apostatize from God if they would but he caused them to stand to it and it is said verse 33. He made all that were present in Isrâ—el to serve even to serve the Lord their God Lastly We should pray for those that are in authority that under them we might lead an honest life That is the third thing mentioned by the Apostle in the Text That we might live as {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in godliness so {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} in honesty What is that Chamier saith the word signifieth castitatem severitatem gravitatem morum honestatem c. a kinde of severity chastity honesty of maners gravity modesty such as is to be found in well educated youths and virgins Aretius saith it signifieth familiae decorum gravitatem in vestitu in cessu sermone factis totaque vita a comeliness and order in the family decency and gravity in habit behaviour words actions and in the whole course and conversation The word is used 1 Tim. 3.4 one that ruleth well his own house having his children in subjection {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} with all gravity and so 2 Titus 2. That the aged men be sober {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} grave In a word it signifieth a seemly and gracious Carriage opposed to all lightness vanity or viciousness in gesture speech apparel countenance deeds or conversation such a kinde of deportment as may strike a kinde of awe and dread upon by-standers So that we ought to pray that Magistrates may set themselves to suppress all abuses and exorbitancies whatsoever not onely that which is contrary to godliness and piety but also which bids defiance to morality that they may look to the keeping of the second as well as of the first Table 〈◊〉 so order things in the Common-wealth the oversight whereof is committed to them as that every one may keep the place in which he is set do the work which belongs to him keep within his due bounds and limits not debauching any by his bad example And thus much may suffice to be spoken of the second general head what we ought to desire of God for our Prince and Governors viz. That he and they might be so directed and assisted from above as that under their Rule Peace may be enjoyed which issueth in the Nations prosperity Holiness may be countenanced which tends to Gods glory and Honesty encouraged which is big with advantage both unto our selves and others We now proceed to the third thing propounded which is to lay down some Reasons why we ought to pray for Kings and all that are in authority And all that I shall say will be reduced unto these three things Gods will Our duty Their necessity calls for this at our hands God would have it we owe it to them they need it Of all which as they lie before us First It is Gods will that we should pray for those that are in Authority over us If this be but cleared up we need do no more This is and ought to be argument enough with a gracious soul who ever calls God Lord must do what ever he commands him Lord what wilt thou have me to do said Paul He did not question or deny the doing of that which God would have He that hath Gods Law written in his heart will nay cannot but delight to do Gods will if the way be shewn he hath feet to run it Now it is the will of God that we should pray for our Rulers He requires this of us There is Gods preceptive will and there is his permissive will By his permissive will many things come to pass which are against his preceptive will God forbids all sin even the least and yet there could be none in the world unless he did permit it Now a bare permission is not sufficient to warrant an action but God doth not onely permit but also requires that we should pray for our Magistrates We have leave to do it we may if we will nay it is expected and lookt for it is work that is cut out for us and unless it be done we can never look our Master in the face with boldness and comfort This is clear from the Text I exhort that prayers be made for all men for Kings c. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} I invite or call you to it I beg it earnestly of you The word imports not a bare or naked wishing and advising of a thing but a vehement intreating an acting with great fervency and many beseechings as some Criâ—icks observe Thus Paul exhorts them to this duty and you must consider that herein he acts as an Apostle as Christs Messenger and Embassador as one appointed by God to make his will known unto his people so that God doth by him exhort us to do it This voice of Paul is as much as if there had been a voice from heaven and we are as much bound to obey this call as if there had been an Angel sent on purpose to bring this message to us He that heareth you saith Christ heareth me and he that heareth me heareth him that sent me Again as God requires this of us so he approves it in us verse 3. for this is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} it is good the word signifieth honest beautiful excellent it is a choice work full of beauty and comeliness hereby you will approve your selves honest men adorn your profession and make the excellency of your spirits to appear And acceptable very pleasing unto God that which he takes abundant delight and contentment in Such sacrifices
authority and raised up to eminent place While Princes have their hands upon the Rudder subjects should have their eyes unto heaven while they are consulting and caring for us we should be praying and wrestling for them They are not too great but that a weak Christian may and should carry them in his armes to the Throne of Grace outward advantages do not raise them above our prayers Indeed those that sit upon Christs throne in heaven and are crowned with the glory above have no need either to pray themselves or that any else should pray for them but they that sit upon earthly thrones and are clothed with majesty here will see cause not onely to ask for themselves but to send others also to the Throne of Grace that they may speak a good word and beg for them Nor are they too good for us to pray for David was a man after Gods own heart eminent for piety and holiness yet should the Church bless him in his exploits If a Prince be religious he will be sure to meet with most temptations from Satan most oppositions from wicked men and therefore should be most strongly guarded Though there be a good Ioshua fighting in the valley yet the Amalekires may prevail if the hands of Moses in the mount be not kept up The godliness of a Magistrate doth encourage us to pray for him since we go to God on the behalf of his friend and servant but it doth not give us a Writ of Ease nor exempt us from our duty Nor are any of them too wicked for us to pray for them Nero the Emperor when Paul wrote this Epistle and ordered out this exhortation he was an overgrown sinner a monster a beast rather then a man a desperate enemy to Christian Religion and all its professors yet pray for him saith Paul Good Princes cannot be without prayers wicked Princes stand most in need of them pray for those that are bad that God would make them better for those that they might never back-slide from God for these that they might return unto that God from whom they have already back-slidden Our charity ought to be comprehensive and by our prayers we should promote the welfare both of friends and foes as our Lord and Master gave us commandment Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitâ—fully use you and persecute you 5 Matth. 44. which precept he backt with his own example begging pardon for them who crucified him 23 Luke 34 Father forgive them for they know not what they do Indeed none are to be denied an interest in our prayers those onely excepted concerning whom we can upon good grounds conclude that they have committed the sin unto death the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost which certainly and positively to affirm concerning any man is the most difficult thing in the world and not very far removed from an impossibility In the further prosecution of this Point I shall observe this method 1. We will enquire what kinde of prayers must be made for Kings and all in authority 2. We will shew you what is to be the matter of our prayers or what we ought to pray for 3. We will give you some reasons why we ought to pray for Kings and those in authority and then in the last place make some improvement of the truth in a way of Application Of all which in their order First what kinde of prayers must be put up for Kings and those that are in authority I might give an answer to this question in our Apostles own words in another place 6 Eph. 18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit Pray at all times to day and to morrow while and as often as you have praying opportunities In the morning sowe your seed and in the evening hold not your hand and so pray all prayers Confession Petition Thanksgiving but we need not go anywhere else for an Answer to our Question since we have a full and satisfactory one in the Text The Apostle here tells us we must make supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks Unto all which we shall speak in their order We must pray for Princes and Governors with deprecatory prayers which are in the Text called Supplications The word in the Original is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which saith Cameron signifieth petitionem opis qua egemus ad avertanda mala a desiring of succor and help needfull for the averting or keeping off those evils and mischiefs which face and threaten us Zanchy saith the word imports those prayers quibus mala deprecamur â—am spiritualiae quà m corporalia tam temporalia quam aeterna i. e. by which we deprecate or desire God to preserve us from evils both spiritual which scatter their malignant influences upon the soul and corporal which molest and are enemies to the welfare of the body temporal which are inflicted in this life and make our way uncomfortable eternal which are reserved for the life to come and make our end miserable in a word these supplications are the calling in of God to be our shield and buckler our fortress and strong tower to keep us safe from what ever and whosoever would deprive us either of being or of well-being Now these supplications are to be made for Princes and Rulers Their thrones do not stand so sure but they may shake Their interest is not so great but they have some enemies Their designs and endeavors never so much for others good but some in their Realms may be desiring and contriving their destruction Though David was a man after Gods own heart and chosen by God himself to be King yet had he a Shimei to curse him an Absalom to rise up against him and thousands in Israel to back him in his unnaturalness and rebellion Indeed very few of their houses are as a morning without clouds Sometimes the Sun of prosperity shines gloriously upon their tabernacles but anon again the day is overcast the heaven is black with clouds and winde and there is a sound of abundance of rain Now it becomes us to labour the preventing of those miseries which threaten them and the keeping off those evils which seem imminent over them and to hold that hand which would sacrifice them and offer them up unto the fury of their enemies When there are any black clouds of trouble hanging over them we should labour to scatter them and blow them away by our praying breath When judgements are breaking in like a flood upon them and that with so great a violence as if there were no hope but they would carry all before them then should we be all Noahs Daniels and Iobs standing in the breach and hindering the Inundation begging God who by his commanding and omnipotent word sets bounds to the Sea to say unto these waves Be still and either to drive them back as once he
hearts mourn And on this behalf such as bear good will to our English Sion pour out their souls before God in prayers and tears Yet let us not be so peevish children as to throw away what we have because we have not all we would nor wish our selves in Egypt again because we have not as yet the possession of the promised Land Thus to do is the ready way to provoke God to shut us out thence with an Oath and to swear that we shall never enter into his rest Hereby we shall not prevail with God for what we want but provoke him to deprive us of what we have Doubtless if we will act ingeniously and as becomes us we cannot but confess that God hath made our present Rulers instruments of much good to us and the whole Land That we have peace and protection is something there are those that would have swallowed us up quick That we may sit under our roofs in quiet and enjoy our own none to make us afraid is something there are those who would have stript us of all and rejoyced to see us begging our bread from door to door The Saints in the 11 Heb. who wandred up and down in sheep-skins and goat-skins destitute afflicted and tormented would have set an high price upon this mercy That we enjoy the Gospel and have liberty to meet together and worship God in season and out of season is something they would have thought it so who walked in darkness had not the word of God powerfully preached among them and could not without danger repair to those places in which it was so preached In a word that we may if we will have Ordinances purely administred the holy separated from the profane is something they cannot but think so who do remember what a burthen unto their consciences unlawful mixtures not long since were Questionless Brethren these are mercies of no small magnitude We have prayed for them and wept for them and fasted for them and spent much blood and treasure for them and it would be an argument of an heart very much out of frame should we now slight and undervalue them Those blessed Saints that are gone before us and are now in Heaven maintaining an everlasting sabbath would have blessed God while they lived if they had but enjoyed that which we do now enjoy and therefore we have reason to do so too And by way of expressing our thankfulness let us pray for our Magistrates who have been a means of bringing over these good things to us And as for those mercies which we want let us pray for our Magistrates that through their means they may be supplied as for those things that are amiss and out of order among us let us pray for our Magistrates that by their means they may be rectified every stone of stumbling taken out of the way the work of Reformation compleated and the Head-stone of the spiritual Temple brought forth with shoutings crying Grace grace unto it By all that hath been spoken you may plainly see that to pray for Kings and such as are in authority is a piece of duty and no more then what we owe unto them as they are men as they are Magistrates and as they are Benefactors The third and last Reason is this Governors and such as are in Authority have need of prayers their necessity calls upon us to be much in actings of this nature There is not the lowest and meanest Christian who is placed in the narrowest sphere of activity and whose work lieth within the smallest compass but is constrained always but more especially at some times to call in the help of his Fellow-christians and see cause to rejoyce and bear up his spirit with this that he hath a stock of prayers going in other hands that Saints all the world over are praying for him But those who are placed in an higher and larger sphere who have greater work and more publick imployment cut out for them have much more need of prayers Thus Ministers in the Church who are the Guides Overseers Pastors Leaders of the flock of Christ have need of prayers Paul though an Apostle a man singularly learned eminently gifted furnished with a great measure of grace extraordinarily assisted from above yet could not be without prayers and therefore he doth most earnestly beg them in sundry of his Epistles Eph. 6.19 1 Thes. 5.25 and Rom. 15.30 Now I beseech you Brethren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the Spirit that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me Pray for me I say pray for me I say quoth Father Latimer Pray for me pray for me for Gods sake pray for me said holy Bradford Ministers should have a special interest in their peoples prayers for they have great need of them and so have Magistrates too As they cannot be without subjects so neither can they well be without praying subjects that prince is not like to live wel nor raign well not like to do his duty nor to be a blessing to the nation who is shut out of the prayers of the Saints The Head in the natural body cannot say to the meanest member I have no need of thee some way or other it may be useful and serviceable to it Truly so the Prince who is the Head of the Body Politick cannot say to the meanest subject I have no need of thee he that is the foot in that body may go to heaven and fetch a blessing from thence upon him A Prince hath as much need of praying subjects as he hath of grave and â—udicious Counsellers or of numerous and valiant Armies or of strong and potent Navies Nay let me tell you great persons have more need of prayers then any men in the world Great expences do call a good purse and large Revenues to bear them out An Earl or Noble-man must have a greater estate then an ordinary Farmer since he must keep a greater house and live at an higher rate Oh the expences of Princes are more then most men dream of they are continually laying out and so had need that some should be by prayer continually laying up for them But we shall by sundry particulars make this evident to you Princes need your prayers because their employment is great Many men are apt to envy them the Crown because it is made of gold but they little consider that it is lined with care and is heavy enough to make their heads ake It is true Diadems and Scepters are glittering things and they dazle the eyes of those that see them but believe it they make their hands weary that sway them The burden which lieth upon their backs is weighty and so they cannot be without good supporters Diogenes in a tub had more quiet and ease than Alexander in his throne They are full of thoughts in the day and cares in the night their rest is broken while we sleep sound and securely
with blindeness so that they shall not see their way nor know how to bring their wicked and bloody devices to pass I will assure you let things be how they will your adversaries never so high your selves never so low if you can but keep the Trade of Prayer going the advantage is incomparably on your side I will seâ— one believing praying Christian against a thousand enemies because prayer engageth heaven and brings in the help of Almighty power And so would you have your Magistrates good pray for them this may prevail not onely for temporal but spiritual blessings also upon them The Kings heart is in Gods hand he can turn it as rivers of water would you have it set right desire him to do it God hath given in many a soul to the prayers of his people Praying subjects are most likely to make prudent and pious Princes Fourthly while you pray for your Magistrates you pray for your own persons and families in seeking their good you promote your own Let God but sanctifie direct govern and protect them you will finde the advantage of it If you will but peruse the History of Israel and diligently observe it you shall finde so long as they had good Kings that served God and studied an approving of themselves to him it went well with the whole Nation they had peace and plenty victory over their enemies and the blessings of God did abound among them But if God forsake the Rulers of a Nation withdraw from them his Spirit and Grace give them up either to blindness or madness to follow their own counsels and to fulfil their own lusts you shall soon in your families and the Nation feel the smart and taste the bitter fruits of it When the Kings of Israel and Iudah were wicked all went to ruine the Nation lay bleeding and the people were sometimes oppressed by their own Princes at other times spoyled and led captives by their enemies So that in praying for them you seek and further your own welfare Fifthly you pray for Religion while you pray for them This should be very dear to us and no cost nor pains should be thought too much for the maintaining and preserving thereof and truly that cannot be safe unless we have Religious Governors they that are of the synagogue of Satan will not build or repair or maintain Gods temple If you would not have a lawless liberty granted to others pray that your Governours may be strict themselves if you would not have others infected and poisoned with errors pray that your Governors may embrace the Truth and be valiant for it The Generality of Christians are State-Christians are not so deeply dyed but they can change their colour when they once see it out of fashion It hath been all along seen that the Religion of a Nation hath been according to the Governors of a Nation if they be holy then the true Religion thrives and prospers and flourisheth under their sâ—adow but if they be corrupt the door stands open to error heresie and indeed what not It is true in the time of wicked Ahab God told Elijah he had yet seven thousand knees that had not bowed to Baal but the generality were idolaters and these that kept themselves pure did also keep themselves so private as that the good Prophet looked upon himself as the onely man left that did own God and his cause We need go no further then our own Land for the proving of this Let a godly King Edward come to the throne and there shall be an happy Reformation begun the Nation shall become Protestant superstition and idolatry shall seek corners and flie the Land but if a wicked Queen Mary be advanced she shall carry England back to Rome or rather bring Rome into England and Popery shall set up its Crest again If there be no good blood at Court there will be little found in the veins of the Nation Lastly in this way you will bring your selves peace What ever should become of the Nation how ever it should fare with Religion what ever should happen to that Cause in which you have engaged though all things should return to their former state nay though you should be brought into a worse condition then ever you were in yet this may stay and comfort your hearts when you can say O Lord thou knowest I have not been wanting to my duty there is many a prayer now upon the File in Heaven which I have put up for England there is many a tear now in thy bottle which I have shed for England This will be a cordial to you in a day of trouble and at the hour of death if you have done your duty you may rejoyce let God do with you and the Land what he pleaseth FINIS Courteous Reader be pleased to correct these Errors of the Press viz pag. 8 l. 18. for {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} read {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} pag. 10. l. ult. for {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} read {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} 2 Tim. 3.15 * Deodate * Iude 8. Doctrine 1 Iohn 5.15 1 Kings 13.6 Psal. 132.4 5. 2 Sam. 7.9 2 Chron. 19.4 2 Chron. 28 3 4 5. 1 Chron. 34.3 7. Trap Lucan Vse 1 Kings 18 43 44. Tertul. ad Scapu