IN theſe words are two eminent perſons to be look'd upon, Saul and Stephen; a Martyr and a Perſecutor: and indeed for as much a Veritas Odium, naked Truth begets Armed Malice; no wonder to ſee the Perſecutor at the heels of the Martyr, and to read of his Death, who durſt be ſo bold as to give witneſs to a Dangerous and Loyal Truth.

Now concerning this Martyr ſome things are obviouſly to be obſerved, before we can come exactly to the Text. 1. His Ordination, he was a perſon ſeparate from the people. 2. The Danger bound up in that profeſſion. 3. The particular Truth for the which he was put to death.

In the ſixth Chapter you ſhall find a Motion made by the Apoſtles, verſ. 3. That ſeven men of honeſt report ſhould be looked up, and be brought to them to be put into Holy Orders; upon which Stephen being found a Man full of faith and the Holy Ghoſt was one. Where by the way we may obſerve, that albeit S. Stephen was a perſon of excellent endowments, a perſon abundantly gifted, a perſon full of faith and the Holy Ghoſt! yet he did not aſſume or take an Holy Office on him; nay the Congregation who looked him up and made choice on him, they had no power to confer Orders, or to make him what they deſired, for v. 6. They ſet him before the Apoſtles, and when they had prayed, they layed hands on him. So that though the people lookt him up, v. 3. it was the Apoſtles who appointed him to his Buſineſs; though the people found him out, it was the Apoſtles who ſent him out. Manus ei impoſuerunt, it was they that laid hands upon him! So that the firſt thing obſervable concerning the Death of the glorious Martyr is, he was an Ordained perſon, he was one who by Impoſition of Apoſtolical Hands and Prayer, was ſet apart and deſigned for holy uſe. The Firſt Chriſtian Martyr was in Apoſtolical Holy Orders.

Secondly, The Danger involved and bound up in this profeſſion; for whereas before he liv'd ſecure and private, as a Chriſtian or a Diſciple; now called to a publick employment, and ſet apart for a peculiar and Holy uſe, he was not long in his Office; for, for ought we read, his firſt Sermon coſt him his life. 'Tis true indeed he was choſen to miniſter unto Widows; Acts 6. 1. yet by his employment it appears he was not choſen to that Miniſtration onely; for Stephen full of Faith and Power did great Wonders and Miracles among the people: verſ. 8. yea, though there was an whole Aſſembly, an whole Aſsembly of Libertines againſt him, he held not his peace, ver. 9. but ſo he diſputed, and ſo ſpake, that as the Text implies, They diſpacht him for it. An Argument to me, That Holy Orders are not onely Honos, but Onus; not onely an advance to Honor, but an expoſe to Hazard, inſomuch that by how much God is pleaſed to take a man nigher to himſelf, by ſo much the more is he, than another, expoſ'd to the Hate of the World, and bound to abide Death or Danger for him. For our Bleſſed Lord and Maſter, he whoſe Manhood of all others was nigheſt in conjunction with the Deity, he was (as I may ſay) therefore put into Holy Orders, therefore made a Prieſt, that through the Eternal Spirit, he might offer himſelf to God: Heb. 9. 14. therefore was he made a Prieſt, that he might be a Sacrifice.

And indeed, whereas Chriſtians in general are by St. Peter called An Holy Prieſthood, 1 Pet. 2. 5. I know nothing that this can more ſafely and ſeaſonably admoniſh than to remember, if we are Prieſts, we muſt then ſacrifice, and ſacrifice no leſs than our very ſelves to Gods glory! For ſo did our pattern, ſo did our high Prieſt who is ſet before us; So did St. Stephen, who though a Deacon and one in the loweſt ſtep of Holy Office, when he was put to it he declined not, but to his Maſters and to his Kings glory, he ſo ſpake that he died for it, For Saul was conſenting to his death!

Laſtly, To come up to the Text, let us ſee and obſerve what that particular Truth was, and what that very Speech for which he was thus uſ'd; for the which the Jews cried out, Run upon him, and ſtoned him to death: and you ſhall find it was, onely for accuſing them, and ſharply ſetting before them the Murther of their King. For, Acts 7. 52. you ſhall find theſe words, Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers perſecuted, and they have ſlain them who ſhewed before of the coming of the just one, of whom yet have been now the Betrayers and the Murtherers.

When St. Stephen though full of the Holy Ghoſt, was ſo bold as to tell the Rebellious Jews of their killing the Prophets, and of their putting to death the Juſt one, it preſently followeth v. 53. When they heard theſe things they were cut to the heart, and they gnaſhed on him with their teeth. When St. Stephen was ſo bold as to tell them how they had 〈◊〉 trayed their King, and murthered the Lords Annointed! When he was ſo bold, as to ſet their ſo horrid and ſo bloody Rebellion before their eyes, no wonder if they reſolve to cut off him, who had thus cut them; to break his head, who had broke their hearts.

It is oft ſaid, Many a man loves the Treaſon, who hates the Traitor. But here we have a Treaſon, which the Traitors themſelves endure not to hear on! For,

Acts 5. 40. The Counſel of State for the time being; even thoſe whoſe hands were imbrued in the blood of their King, they call and command the Apoſtles, that they ſhould not ſpeak in the Name of Jeſus. Jeſus the King of the Jews; his Murtherers commanded that no mention be made of him; command even his own Servants, even the nigheſt to him, not to do any thing, no not to ſpeak in the Kings Name! Yea, ſo did the memory of their Rebellion crucifie their ſouls, that witneſs St. Stephen they were ready to ſlay and to ſtone the Speaker: For, having nothing to anſwer in Defenſe of their Rebellion, having nothing to anſwer for their Murther of Gods Annointed! having nothing to keep off that deadly ſtab which the charge of their killing the juſt one gave unto their very ſouls, Acts 7. 57. They stop their ears, but with wide open mouths they ran upon him; and to ſtop that mouth whoſe truth cut their hearts, for want of arguments ſo ſilenced him with ſtones, that he died at their feet! of whoſe death the Holy Ghoſt is pleaſed to take notice, and to record not onely the Actors, but a bare Conſenter alſo, in theſe words, And Saul was conſenting to his death.

But what talk I of the Murther of a Deacon, upon a day ſolemnly ſet a part to be humbled for the Murther of a King! my anſwer is, I find ſo nigh a conjunction between Sacred Majeſty and Holy Order; between Prince and Prieſt; between Gods annointed to be Kings, and Gods annointed to be Prophets, that we can ſcarſe find the man who will wrong the one, but if occaſion ſerve, he would do as much for the other, and therefore we find them both equally ſhielded in one verſe, Touch not mine Annointed, and do my Prophets no harm, Pſalm 105. They who will harm the Prophets, they will not ſtick to arm againſt the Annointed: They who killed the Juſt one, they made nothing of murthering his Meſſengers: and indeed, in order to this horrid Murther, in order to the betraying of our Juſt one, and the Lords Annointed, what was more previous than the ſtoning of his Prophets, the ſequeſtring, ſilencing and depriving from all comforts of this life, who ever durſt as did Stephen, magnifie the Lords Annointed, or did dare to ſay, They were his Betrrayers or his Murtherers?

Indeed, between Deacon and King there is a great diſproportion: Deacon the loweſt degree of Miniſtry, and King the ſuperexcellent for Majeſty: and yet the ſame Kings who are ſometime called Gods, they are alſo ſtiled, Rom. 13. 3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Gods Deacons too, that is, Gods ſelected and peculiar Servants: and thus conſidered, St. Stephen and our Soveraign may very well admit a Parallel:

For,

Was S. Stephen, Acts 6. 5. a man full of Faiih and the Holy Ghost: ſuch was our Soveraign. Full of Faith, for it was in faith of a better, that he gave up his earthly Crown. Full of the Holy Ghoſt, for the moſt envious cannot deny his Meditations and Solitudes to be the undoubted Breathings of that Spirit!

Was St. Stephen endowed with ſuch high parts and gifts that v. 10. They were not able to reſiſt the Wiſdom, and the Spirit by which he ſpoke? Even ſo was it with our Bleſſed Soveraign, or elſe we had never heard of An Ordinance for no Addreſſes; nor, as himſelf ſpeaks, had he been aſſailed with Armies inſtead of Arguments: yea, when his curſed Conſpirators, when thoſe who ſought his life, and thoſe who in order to it had declared him A Fool, one unfit to govern, when they had diveſted him of all counſel, and ſequeſtred him from all Advice, when many, and the choiceſt of the pack were ſent to him (as the Herodians to our Saviour to entrap and entangle him in his words:) they found him ſo qualify'd, as the Book of God teſtifieth of S. Stephen, That they were not able to reſiſt the Wiſdom, and the Spirit by which he ſpake: and therefore as St. Stephen was confuted with ſtones, becauſe they were not able to do it with Arguments: Even ſo therefore was our Bleſſed Soveraign not permitted to ſpeak againſt the High Court of Justice! Therefore brought to his Scaffold, and therefore cut off; becauſe they were not able to reſiſt his Wiſdom! becauſe they found he was no leſs good than great, as they ſerved St. Stephen, Acts 7. 58. even ſo they ran upon him and caſt him out of the City. Yea, the very circumſtance of place, whence thoſe came who did this deed, that relateth to St. Stephen too: for the High Court of Juſtice, that pack of Miſcreants which were ſent to do this Villany, they came forth of St. Stephens Chappel.

Now being in Stephens Martyrdom, the Spirit of God is ſo ſevere, as to take notice not onely of thoſe (who as I may ſay, ſealed and ſigned his death) not onely of thoſe who ran upon him, and were the actors in this Murther: but of a very Acceſſory, of a ſtander by, of one who gave no vote, flung no ſtone, did no hurt: being the Spirit of God takes notice of one who did onely look to the cloathing of thoſe that stoned him, verſ. 58. One that did onely look on and like the thing: certainly we ſhall find Conſenters as well as Actors are mightily to be humbled for the ſin of this day; Not onely they who plotted, and preached, and prepar'd the Murther; but thoſe alſo who liked it when it was done: Thoſe who by any complacency or after act, or ſubſcription avowed the thing. All ſuch are guilty of the Horrid Murther of this Day, or elſe vainly did the Holy Pen obſerve what is our preſent Text, And Saul was conſenting to his death.

In, and about theſe Words we ſhall conſider of theſe three Propoſitions. Firſt, a man may be guilty of that ſin in which he was no actor, by being onely as Saul here ſtands recorded, A Conſenter.

Secondly, a guilt may be poſtnate unto a fact, for after the ſtoning of St. Stephen it is obſerv'd, and not before, that Saul was conſenting to his death.

Laſtly, Conſent may contract ſo deep a guilt, that without confeſſion and contrition, it may hale the vengeance of an Actor upon the Conſenters head.

Firſt, A man may be guilty of that ſin &c. Conſent it is the conception, and the firſt quickning of every ſin; conſent it is that which gives the firſt being to every iniquity, inſomuch that he who conſenteth, though he never act further, is an actual ſinner before his God: Nam ſcelus intra ſe tantum qui cogitat ultum.

And therefore ſaid our Bleſſed Maſter, Matt. 5. 28. Whoſoever looketh on a woman to luſt after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart. He who hath a wanton, a laſcivious and an adulterat reflection upon a beauty; he who looks, and luſts, though he never exchange a word, never touch, handle or come nigh the woman; even this very conſent, this very complacencie it is Adultery in the eye of the moſt pure: For, ſaith our Saviour, (the ſon of a Virgin) he hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

And as conſent in the Concupiſcible, even ſo conſent in the Iraſcible it contracts a like guilt: For, as he is an adulterer who looketh and luſteth, though he never violate the chaſtity of the woman: even ſo a man may be guilty of Murther, and yet never draw bloud; a man may be a Manſlayer, and yet never harm or hurt a perſon: For the expreſs determination and words of St. John are, Whoſoever hateth his brother is a Murtherer. 1 Jo. 3. 15.

Now if it be ſo, that conſent is the window that firſt lets in the thief, conſent the paſs by which the Deſtroyer entreth into our Souls; if it be ſo, that Conſent makes us guilty even of the ſin of others; for, if Conſent abſtracted from all outward Action makes the whole Man guilty; if guilt takes its riſe, not from the Act, but from Conſent, it is all a matter who Acts, for who ever conſenteth he is alſo guilty.

In the Beginning of Time, when the Devil firſt endeavour'd to bring ſin into the World, He took upon Him the form of a Serpent, Gen. 3. in that he ſpake unto the woman; told Her, God meant nothing leſs than what He ſaid, That they ſhould die; yea, rather they ſhould become as Gods; and all this, only to gain a Conſent; ſo that it was conſent that brought Sin into the World, it was Conſent that made Eve a ſinner; Conſent that made Her guilty of the Devils Machination.

On the other ſide; when our bleſſed Lord and Maſter come to Deſtroy the works of the Devil; The Devil He could gain no Conſent; and therefore though He ſet before him, All the Kingdoms of the World, and the glory of them, yet ſaith our Saviour, John 14. 30. The Prince of this world cometh, and hath Nothing in me. Let the Devil and His Angels do all they can, they can get no ground, they can have nothing in us, or any of us, but with conſent only; ſo that, of all things that are under our power; of all the Talents committed to our charge, we ought to be more choice of none than of this we have now in Hand, Our Conſent: 'Tis this that makes us miſerable; This, that makes us happy, it is this that maketh us virtuous, and 'tis this that makes us vitious; 'Tis this, that makes us God's, and 'tis this that makes us the Devils.

'Twas Conſent, that made the Devils ſuggeſtion become Eves ſin, it was conſent that made Eve's entiſement become Adam's Tranſgreſſion; and it is conſent that makes every Tentation become our guilt; ſo that you ſee to very great purpoſe it was here obſerved, that though Saul was not an Actor, yet He was a Conſenter to his death.

Whereas then the Buſineſs of this great Day is, to be Humbled before the great God, for the fouleſt Murder (except that of the Son of God) that was ever read on; it concerns every of us to lay Hand upon the Heart and as the Twelve did, (when their King and Maſter foretold His Treachery) to ſay, Maſter, Is it I? Math. 26. 22. It concerns every of us to conſider how far we were toward the guilt of this great Crime; How far either by way of Default or Conſent, we have drawn up, even to this Murther.

1 Tim. 5. 22. Lay Hands ſuddenly on no Man; neither be partaker of other Mens ſins. This exhortation of St. Paul, not only admoniſheth Timothy to take Heed of ſinning, by an over-haſty, either Ordination or Abſolution: But alſo to take heed that He become not a Party, or partaker in other Mens ſins.

Now the great ſins which we are this Day (or at this Time) to recollect, it is the Murder of God's Anointed, the betraying and butchering of our King; Now this, though it was Paucorum Crimen, the abominable acting of ſome few; yet it was Multorum Delictum, the Failance and the ſin of too too many, and that upon theſe Accounts.

1. In Reſpect of Acts Antecedent and going before.

2. In Reſpect of Acts Conſequent and following after.

Upon both which, we ſhall find, Conſent and Guilt, it will riſe like a Land-Flood, and carry almoſt all afore it; ſo that albeit, few were thoſe who waſhed their Hands in His Blood, we ſhall find few alſo are thoſe who are not beſprinkled with it.

Firſt, Then let us conſider what previous and antecedent Acts may involve a Guilt in this Murther: I ſhall inſtance only in Two:

For both theſe are, as the School ſpeaks, Volitum in Cauſa, a conſequential conſent, or a conſequential guilt.

Firſt, It is a Conſequential Conſent and guilt to do that which provoketh God to inflict ſuch a Judgment: ſo that in our provocation of God to permit this Murder, we have contracted enough to call for our Tears: For, if gracious and good Kings be the Bleſſings of God upon a People, certainly the Removing of ſuch muſt needs be upon a provocation, and nothing can be ſo, but our ſin.

Amongſt us Men, we juſtly account Him a partaker, who is a Provoker unto ſin; He that provokes a Man to Anger, provokes a Man to Drunkenneſs, provokes a Man to Steal, he is doubtleſs a partaker even in his ſin: Had Job curſed upon the provocation and inſtigation of his Wife, She, as well as He had been guilt: Not Amnon alone, but Jonadab who promoted and provoked was guilty in his luſt, 2 Sam. 13. Now look what is the provoking of a Man to ſin, proportionably the ſame, is the provokeing of our God to Judgment: A ſin undoubtedly, for only ſin can do it, and ſin can do it, even to as ſad a Judgment, as to permit the Murder of a good, and a precious KING.

2 Sam. 12. When the Child gotten by David in Adultery was delivered, the Lord ſent him word, v. 14. That, Becauſe thou hast given Occaſion to the Enemies of the Lord to blaſpheme, the Child that is born unto Thee ſhall ſurely die. The ſin of the Father it had an influence even upon the death of the Child; becauſe Thou haſt given occaſion, therefore ſhall the Child die. And even ſo, becauſe we provoked the Lord, therefore did God ſuffer His Anointed to be thus ſmitten. And indeed, the School very well obſerves, there is Volitum in Cauſa, as well as Directe Voluntarium: There is an indirect conſent, and a conſequential willing of a Thing, as well as a down-right, and voluntary conſent, inſomuch that many a Man gladly and willingly conſents unto the cauſe, who perfectly abhors and abominates the effect; and yet where there is an inſeparable coherence, He who directly wills the one, he doth conſequentially will the other; As for inſtance, The Men of the firſt World, Gen. 6. 5. They did directly will and conſent unto thoſe abominations and wickedneſſes for which God threatned, yea and reſolv'd to drown the world; But as to the Drowning of the World, they gave no conſent, nor had no will; But, for as much as they willed that which neceſſarily brought on the other, therefore, they were Volitum in Cauſa, They were the conſequential willers of their own Ruine: For, their ſins provoked the Deluge, Gen. 18. 20. Even ſo, the Men of Sodom, they had no will to have had Them and Theirs deſtroyed with Fire and Brimſtone: But, being they continued to Act and do that, whoſe cry clamored to Heaven for vengeance, and for this Vengeance: Therefore even they were Volitum in Cauſa, they were the conſequential cauſe and provoker of their own deſtruction: And this you ſhall find is gathered, even from the very language of God Himſelf, for the Lord by his Prophet Rebuking Iſrael, Thus ſaith, Why will you die, O Houſe of Iſrael? Alas! Iſrael had no mind, no will in the world to die; They would never have given ſuffrage or conſent to their own death; And yet, for as much as they willed that, which would infallibly bring death upon them, God lays their death even to their own charge, and makes their deſtruction an act of their own will, ſaying, Why will ye die, O Houſe of Iſrael.

Now, as the Men of the old World, the Deluge; as the Men of Sodom their Fire and Brimstone; and as Iſrael their Deſtruction, ſo were all we the cauſe of the Kings death, who continued to commit thoſe ſins, and to act thoſe wickedneſſes, for which God was reſolved to deprive the Nation of ſo great an Happineſs.

2 Chron. 35. We read how Joſiah going out to Battel was ſlain before Necho King of Egypt: Now Joſiah was ſo good a King, ſo right-hearted toward his God, ſo Religious, and ſo zealous of his Honour, that it is generally concluded, He was ſlain not for His own, but for the ſins of His People, inſomuch that ſome conceive Jeremiah made his Lamentations with Order unto him.

That Soveraign, whoſe Murther we this Day Commemorate, He was never ſo much Charls le Grand, as He was le Bon. He was never ſo Great as he was Good, He was (to ſay no more) as Gold tried in the Fire, exact and pure; or, as Saul for height, even ſo, He for Piety was far above his Brethren: and yet even He could not ſtand before His Enemies! The Lord went not out with His Armies, He fell, as did good Joſiah before the Uncircumcized: And why ſo? Was it for want of Valour? or Prudence? or Skill in Feates of War? No, He had all theſe! what then? Truly it was, becauſe the Sins of His Party fought ſtronger againſt Heaven, than their Armes could do againſt the Rebels! The lowd Volly of Oaths diſcharged againſt God Himſelf! The Drink Offerings of the Mighty! The Rapine, Plunders, and abominable Exactions done in his Name! This made our King miſcarry, this prevented God, from going out with our Hoſts; Theſe Achans ſo troubled our Iſrael, that as God the Son, King of the Jews, was ſmitten, wounded and ſlain for the Tranſgreſſions of His People; Even ſo the Tranſgreſſions of His People, the ſin of his Three full, and flouriſhing Kingdoms, theſe were the Provocations, and theſe a great cauſe, why God took away ſo great a bleſſing, and delivered into Bloody Hands ſo innocent a KING.

1 Sam. 12. 25, If ye ſhall do wickedly, ye ſhall be conſumed, both ye and your King. It is not ſaid if ye and your King do wickedly, then ſhall both be deſtroyed; but it is onely ſaid, If ye ſhall do wickedly, yet both ye and your King ſhall be conſumed.

Whence it clearly appears to me, that the provocation of a people, and the ſins of a Nation they may, and oft have a great influence upon the death of a King, and that a King may be taken away, not ſo much for his own, as for their Tranſgreſſions.

And therefore I beſeech you all in the name and fear of God; if it onely be that you may live peaceably and plentifully, and every man ſit quietly under his own vine, and comfortably eat the fruit of his own labours, let us therefore forbear any longer to provoke our God: Foraſmuch as ſwearing, and whoring, and drinking, prophane and ungodly Ryots; Foraſmuch as doing wickedly may again provoke God to conſume both us and our King: let us upon this day of ſolemn Humiliation and Faſting, for the glory of our God, for the ſafety of our King, for that ſad ſhare which we contributed toward this ſo foul a murther: let us ſow in tears that we may reap in joy: let us henceforth abhor, at leaſt thoſe ſins which gave the Rebellious an advantage! thoſe ſins which gave occaſion to the Enimies of the Lord for to blaſpheme and to ſay, the Kings Friends they were onely Libertines, Papiſts, Atheiſts, horrible Swearers, and Blaſphemers, Enimies to God and the power of Godlineſs.

I beſeech you for Gods ſake, that all who profeſs Loyalty, may profeſs piety; that Fear God and honour the King may be as cloſe in our hearts, as we find they ſtand together in the Book of God; and then I am ſure we ſhall ever prevent this firſt guilt, the provoking of God to take away, or to permit the murther of our King.

Secondly, A ſecond conſequential Conſent, or previous diſpoſition to the deſtruction of Gods Annointed, it was The deſerting of him. Non obſtans, the not preventing, the not bindring of it, whilſt yet it was in our power. And this is an undoubted way of contracting guilt from the ſin of others: he who hinders not what he may, and where he is bound, doubtleſs he is volitum in cauſa, of what effect followeth upon this culpable neglect. As for inſtance, he who ſtands or ſits before a window, thorow which the wind blows and the ſnow or rain beats, if he will neither remove thence, nor pull to the cazement, he is undoubtedly a conſenter to his own wetting, and a conſequential willer of his own cold-taking: for he both might and ought to have prevented it. That Father or Mother, who by a timely and ſeaſonable correction might have kept their children from lewd and vile courſes, and have not endeavoured it; ſuch parents they have a guilt even in their tranſgreſſions, even in the miſdemeanors of ſuch children.

For, 1 Sam. 3. you ſhall find God threatens a judgment upon old Eli, becauſe his ſons made themſelves vile, and he restrained them not: becauſe old Eli hindred not when he might, the Lord imputeth a portion of his ſons ſin even unto him: Now to apply this to our preſent purpoſe.

Firſt, Had the people of this Nation kept cloſe and conſcientiouſly to their Allegiance and their Oaths, there had been no Riſing; had they kept thoſe cazements as they were, cloſe ſhut, the Tempeſt of War and the Storms of Blood had never broken in; yea, had they clapt them to, when they firſt opened there had been an end. For, (to ſpeak in the phraſe of our Royal Martyr) When the Devil of Rebellion firſt turn'd himſelf into an Angel of Reformation: Whilſt yet the Religious Mask of the Godly Party had but one Presbyterian Face to cover, the Vizard might eaſily have been knockt off, before numerous Faces, and many Factions appeared under at firſt but one godly Hood, before the Prince of Darkneſs transformed himſelf into an whole Firmament of New Lights, the King (in the right ſenſe) might have been ſecur'd: For at firſt what Eliſha ſaid to his Servant, was with us moſt true; There was more for us than was againſt us, more for than againſt the King. But with a Non Obstante; for not uſing the means and power they had, for not preferring a publick and Royal Intereſt before their own; by omitting the duty, which Oaths and Allegiance obliged to, we betray'd our Soveraign, and by not reſtraining and Helping when we might, we became Volitum in Cauſa, even upon this account conſequentially guilty even of our Soveraign's Blood.

We cannot but know, how it was the common Allarm of every factious Trumpet, the Vulgar Theam of every Rebellious Pulpit! Curſe ye Meroz, ſaith the Angel of the Lord, curſe ye bitterly the Inhabitants thereof, becauſe they come not to the Help of the Lord, to the Help of the Lord againſt the Mighty. Judg. 5. 23.

Now if our Adverſaries Judges (to ſpeak in their own words, and out of one of their Catechiſms) Neuters are Directly under that fearful Curſe, which the Angel of the Lord denounced againſt Meroſh, Rom. pag. 7. I ſay then, if they who came not out and defended their Rebellious Cauſe; if the Mighty for not fighting againſt the Almighty in the Cauſe of His Anointed, deſerved a Curſe, and were (as they affirm) Directly under that fearful execration which the Angel of the Lord denounced.

Certainly then a fortiori; Thoſe who were wanting in a far better Cauſe; Thoſe who deſerted their Soveraign, thoſe who came not out to the Help of Him, whom by the Oath of God they were bound to ſuccour, thoſe who to ſave their own Penny, cared not to ſee him loſe his Crown! Theſe for not uſing the power and means they had, though they did not ſpill, they betray'd his blood; and though they were not direct Conſenters, yet they were direct strengthners of their Hands who did it.

Now if it be ſo, That the Son of Man, when in the Perſon of a King ſitting upon his Throne of rich Glory, He ſhall paſs an everlaſting curſe upon the ſins of Omiſſion, that is, upon ſuch who Reliev'd him not, no not in His pooreſt Members: if for not ſeeding the Hungry, for not cloathing the Naked, for not viſiting the impriſoned, if for omitting Acts of Charity Chriſt ſhall Denounce the ſad Sentence of everlaſting Fire; certainly then, Subjects omitting Acts of Juſtice, Subjects not doing their bounden duties, Subjects neglecting the King of Glory in his Chief, and moſt immediate Deputy, the Lords anointed: they have a great deal of cauſe to fear, and grieve, and pray, that even this Grand Omiſſion, and this great failing may be forgiven to Them: For, he who hinders not when he may, and when he is Bound, cannot but be guilty of the Blood he might have ſaved, and of that ſin, which he both ſhould and might have prevented. And therefore, whether we reſpect our Provocations of God Almighty by our Perſonal miſdoings, or the Omiſſion of our Duty by our not doing, in both reſpects the moſt of us have been conſequential Conſenters, and contradicted guilt enough to be this day humbled, and beg Gods pardon, though not for the Murder, yet for the ſlaughter of our King. And ſo I have done with the firſt Propoſition, to wit, How a Man may be guilty of that ſin in which he was no actor, by being (as you have heard) a conſequential Conſenter to it. We ſhall now therefore paſs to the Second.

II. That is, to prove and ſhew, How a guilt may be postnate unto a Fact, for after the ſtoning of St. Stephen it is obſerved, and not before, That Saul was conſenting to His Death.

In the laſt Verſe of the preceding Chapter it is written, when St. Stephen had kneeled down and prayed for his Enemies, He fell aſleep, ſo that Dead he was before theſe words were added, And Saul was conſenting, &c.

Now, Two Ways I ſhall obſerve how Guilt may come in at the back Door, and be poſtnate unto the Fact. 1. By applauding the Deed, by commending, liking and joying in it. 2dly. By partaking in the Advantages, and by a Tacit Deſire rather the Act ſhould be done, than they want the Benefit and the Reſt they have got by it.

Firſt, He who applauds, commends, likes and joys in a foul Tranſaction, he is a Conſenter to it.

Qui laudat obſcoenum, perpetrat illud. He who praiſeth a piece of obſcenity, he acts it, ſaith the Arabians. And indeed Conſent and Commendation they are ſo nigh Related, that we never heartily commend what we like not, and ſo alike, are Conſent and Liking, that they are not eaſily diſtinguiſhed; for as He who frowns, or turns his Ear from a ſeeming witty piece of lewdneſs, in ſo doing checks it; even ſo He who laughs, and ſmiles, and ſeems pleaſed with it, ſo far as he is pleaſed, ſo far he is a Conſenter to it. And therefore St. Paul condemns the impure Gnoſtiques even upon This account, that they were not onely vile themſelves, but they alſo took pleaſure in them that did ſuch things, Rom. 1. 32. And indeed St. Pauls ſin here, according to the Original, it ſeems onely a complacency and a liking, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , and therefore as in luſt, even ſo it is in point of Blood; He who applauds the Murther, He who is glad 'tis done, He who praiſes and honours the Doers of it, (though he had no Hand in the doing of it) hath a Conſenting Heart to the Deed done, and is in the Eye of the Juſt God, Guilty of it! For indeed there is no Body joys, and praiſes, and is glad to hear any Thing is done, but if he durſt, even he himſelf would have done it. Doubtleſs Saul in my Text, though caſually he was onely a Conſenter, he could as willingly have been an Aider or Aſſiſtant to St. Stephen's death.

In the Caſe of King Ahab and poor Naboth, we do not read that Ahab had any intelligence or inckling given him of Jeſabel's bloody deſign; all was acted and done, the High Court of Iuſtice had ſped their villany, and diſpatcht the Innocent before he knew it; and yet for all that, the Prophet is ſent to arreſt and charge him guilty of plain Murther, Occidisti, Thou haſt killed. Now I pray how could he be guilty of a death he knew not of, of a Murder done altogether unknown to him? Truly if you ſearch the Story, you ſhall find it onely was by a poſtnate Conſent, by a liking, and approving, and joying what Jeſabel had done. There is a Story of one Lucius Carpentus who having kill'd Nicanor, by running him thorow, his Page who deadly hated him, after his Maſter had diſpatcht him, he to ſhow his well-liking of the fact, thruſt in his Maſters Sword deeper into the dead Heart. Now though the Page could not poſsibly kill him again, yet he by thus doing, and thus confirming and approving what his Maſter had done, he became a Murtherer as well as his Maſter.

It is very well known the Lord of Glory, Chriſt Jeſus our Spiritual King, He can die no more, Death can have no more Dominion over him, Heb. 6. 6. and yet Saint Paul expreſly ſaith, They who fall away, that is, ſuch as fall off from the Faith of Him, They crucifie to themſelves the Son of God afreſh: So that at this very day to ſay as the Jews did and do, That Chriſt was an Impoſtor, that He was a Deceiver, that He was justly arraigned, condemned, and crucified; This is by a poſtnate Conſent to render us guilty of his Blood, and to crucifie aſreſh the Lord of Glory: This is to Thruſt the Nails into his Hands and Feet again, this is (as the Page did his Maſters Sword) to run the Souldiers Spear into his Heart again!

Now as Ahab by approving what Jeſabel had done; The Page by confirming what his Maſter Carpentus had acted, the Apoſtates by owning and commending what the Jews did; Are all by poſtnate Conſents, guilty of the ſeveral Murthers acted to their Hands; even ſo, of the cruel and barbarous Murder of our King (our King of moſt bleſſed and happy Memory) they muſt all be as was Saul to the Death of Stephen, Conſenters; who either rejoyced at his Death, applauded the deed, or ſo far countenance the Villany, as to ſlaunder the Foot ſteps of Gods anointed, to juſtifie his arraignment! or who dared in their Hearts to ſay He ſuffered as a Tyrant, a Traytor, and a Murtherer.

Pſalm. 10. 3. The vulgar Latin thus renders it. Quoniam laudatur peccator in Deſideriis Animae ſuae, & iniquus benedicitur, &c. Becauſe the ſinner is praiſed in the deſires of his Soul, and the unjuſt Man is bleſſed, therefore is God exaſperated.

To call evil good, to praiſe the deſires of the wicked, to bleſs the unjuſt, this is a ready way to contract a ſhare in their Iniquity.

Acts 12. 22. When Herod making a blaſphemous Oration had the Peoples applauſe for it; this their praiſe was a ſinful conſenting to, and an owning of his Blaſphemy.

Verſe 3. The Jews being pleas'd that Herod killed James, by this became involved in the blood of James: and Saul in my Text, by Countenancing the Executioners, and ſuch as did, became himſelf a guilty Conſenter to St. Stephens Death.

Thoſe then, who when our bleſſed King was Murthered, ſtuck not to ſay, now was our Achan, the troubler of Iſrael taken out of the way; thoſe who to blind the indiſputable Villany, Perjury and Treaſon of thoſe deſperately wicked, who dared to Murder the Lords Anointed: Thoſe (I ſay) who to palliate and juſtifie their abominations, laid all the Blood and Guilt and miſchief upon the Innocent, upon their ſuffering and Martyr'd King; thoſe who cryed him down, as Caput Malignantium, the head of Tyranny! but cryed up his Perſecutors as the Saints of the Earth! Thoſe who laid His Honor in the Duſt, but advanced theirs to the Higheſt Heavens, thoſe who did thus juſtifie the wicked, trample upon and condemn the righteous; they did more than Saul in my Text: for he only kept what Cloaths they had; but theſe, they cloathed the Murtherers with Majeſty and Honor, and therefore if Saul for ſuffering the Cloaths of the Executioners to lie at his feet was a Conſenter to St. Stephens death: theſe who did dare to trample upon their Dead Soveraign, and to put His Robes and Righteouſneſs upon the King-killers▪ thoſe who did dare to call the Uſurper, David; and his Son, Solomon: their lawful Soveraign, Tarquin, or Charls Stewart! But the Seed of the Rebellious, His Highneſs, the Joy of the Nation, and the Healer of our Breaches! They muſt needs be deeper in guilt than was Saul, and therefore Conſenters, becauſe ſuch Countenancers of his death! amongſt us Men, we doubt not for to ſay, he who really intends, but is prevented for acting, is for all that guilty of his deſigned miſchief.

Thoſe 40. who bound themſelves under a Curſe, not to eat or drink till they had killed the Conſenter in my Text, Acts 23. 12. til they had killed Paul, though Paul was reſcued, yet they were guilty; for they had already committed Murther in their hearts. The Husbandmen who ſaid among themſelves—This is the Heir, come let us kill him? Math. 21. 28. They were guilty even from that very moment; and doubtleſs that ungracious Son, Patrios qui inquirit in Annos—who wiſheth his Fathers death, that he may have his Lands, he hath already killed him as far as he dares.

Now as an Intention before the act, even ſo, a Complacency, and well-liking of the Thing done, are proportionable guilts, both Conſenters, one to the doing, the other to the deed done; both guilty before the juſt God. They who wiſhed the Kings death, but did nothing toward it; They who were glad it was done, but had no hand in doing of it, In Uno Tertio Conveniunt, they both meet in this guilt, they are Conſenters to his death.

Acts 3. 15. Though the people of the Jews did no more But onely conſent unto the Sentence and Judgment of their Magiſtrates, St. Peter chargeth the whole Nation, ſaying, Authorem Vitae interfeciſtis, Ye have killed the Prince of Life.

After his Sentence and Condemnation, ſome (who perchance were not at his Tryal) were at his Paſſion or Execution. Now if they who gave No conſent toward his death, did, whilſt yet dying, or dead, revile, mock or deride him, if they were in their number who when he was dead, ſaid to Pilate, Sir, This Impoſtor, or this Deceiver, ſaid thus or thus; This deriſion, this ſcornful joy, and this reviling of him dead, made them alſo Conſenters, and guilty of his death.

Thoſe then, whoſe foul Hearts have yet an evil Eye, thoſe who call Murtherers, Martyrs; and Unrighteous Judges, The Beloved of the Lord! Thoſe who love to detract, and to hear Him Leſſened who was the greateſt Loſs that ever Our Three Kingdoms ſuffered! Such, becauſe they cannot waſh their Hands in innocence, they ought to waſh their Hearts in penitence; for what Subject ſoever doth not perfectly abhor, he is in ſome meaſure a liker, and and ſo a kind of Conſenter to his death; either by applauding the Doers, or by a tacit commending, liking, and joying in the deed.

Laſtly, As by applauding the Actors, commending, liking, or joying in the Act, there is a culpable Conſent contracted, Numb. 16. 26. even ſo by partaking in the Advantages, in the Rapine and ill-gotten goods iſſuing from that death, there is a ſinful and wicked Conſent involved. Cui prodeſt ſcelus is fecit.

1 Kings 21. When Jeſabel had diſpatcht poor Naboth, had Ahab abhorr'd the Vineyard, had Ahab took no poſſeſſion, had not Ahab entred upon his Inheritance, we might then have juſtly thought Naboths death had been wholly Jeſabels, not at all his will. But when we find that he who was Sick while Naboth lived, was inſtantly Recovered when Naboth was dead; when we find how that Ahab as to an Inheritance new fallen, haſtens to poſſeſs what Blood and Murder gave him Title to: This is a clear demonſtration his content was full, and he muſt needs be a Conſenter to his death.

In the crucifying and murthering of the Son of God, the firſt Motive to a Conſult or Conſent, it was the Inheritance, Matth. 21. 28. This is the Heir, let us kill him that the Inheritance may be ours. Now as he who killeth for an Inheritance, continues on him the guilt of that Blood ſo long as he enjoyeth that Inheritance, that being the deſign and complement of his Murther. Even ſo, Qui Ratum habet factum, He who approves a Murder done in his Name, and manifeſteth that approbation by ſharing in the prey, and the advantages of that Murder, he by Ratification makes the deed his own; and as oft as he makes a beneficial uſe of that Blood, Blood toucheth Blood, and he is a Conſenter in that Blood.

Now the Murther which at This Time we are to be humbled for, the execrable Beheading of Gods Anointed, it was done in Our Name, the Curſed and Illegal Indictment it was drawn up in the Name of The People of England. Now if in Law, Qui ratum habet factum Mandanti aequiparatur. If he who approves a miſchief done in his Name, and for his Intereſt, is look'd upon as a Commander of it: Certainly then whoſoever hath not diſowned, or is ſo far from diſowning, that he ſhall make a beneficial and glad uſe of this Murther, he thereby ſo ratifies, that he owns the Miſchief, and as Ahab at Naboths death, is very well pleaſed and content the deed was done.

Amongſt us men we cannot meaſure Intentions but only by outward proofs; but the Seer of all Secrets, He who ſhall judge the World even for the abstruſeſt Crimes, He ſhall judge according to the Boſom, and the hidden Influence, according to thoſe likings and thoughts of heart which we have, but perchance fear or ſhame to diſcover.

As for inſtance, They who would rather a King ſhould loſe his Head, than they the Crown Land; loſe all His Majeſty and Honour, than they their preſent Juſticeſhip and Power; they who would rather the Son of God ſhould be crucified a freſh, than they part with their ſins: Such in the ſight of our Juſt and All-ſeeing God, they are liable to theſe deaths, and ſhall be ſadly accountable for the guilt of them.

It is not yet ſo long, but we may very well remember thoſe who did this foul deed, they made it their work to draw in as many Conſenters as poſſible. For, firſt there was a Subſcription, then there was an Engagement, then a Recognition, all tending to the Ratification of this Murther. A Sanhedrim or Council there was of Forty, a Readmiſſion to the Houſe; but none might have this Priviledge or Honour, but he muſt firſt ſubſcribe; places of Truſt, Penſions, other mens good Livings, Promotions, and Offices of profit, none might have without an Engagement againſt King and Lords: Yea the Capital Head of this Miſchief, He for whoſe Riſe the King was Ruin'd, muſt have a Recognition.

Now put the Caſe thus. Suppoſe the Great Sultan, the Grand Seignior, the Turk, had made a Conqueſt of this Nation, and would admit no Man to any place of Truſt or Profit, no, nor to enjoy his own, unleſs he would ſubſcribe that the Jews did well in putting their King and Soveraign to Death! I beſeech you lay your hands upon your hearts, and ſeriouſly judge, if this ſubſcription were not (let the mental Reſervation be what it may) a ſenſible Ratification, or a Conſenting to his Death.

Now if ſo, how ſhall they avoid, the being at leaſt ſeeming Conſenters to the death and blood of our dread bleſſed Soveraign, who meerly to feed their ambition, and to become what they were never Bred nor Born to, Lords over their Brethren, and Controulers of all about them, ſubſcribed the guilt, and greedily ſhared, either in the power, authority, or revenue, which was all his; for if we juſtly charge the Pope for being a guilty Conſenter to ſtews and Brothel-houſes, becauſe he takes a Salary and Revenue from them; or, if we juſtly ſay, they who eat of the Sacrifice, though they never come at the Shrine, are guilty Conſenters to the Idolatry! certainly in like and equitable proportion, thoſe who have been partakers in any of the Royal Ruines! Thoſe who have cemented their Fortunes with the Kings Blood, and have ſecretly deprecated and prayed againſt the Return of any of His; theſe, though they may and have avoided the Law, they have yet a God to reckon with, before whom ſuch a Conſenter ſhall not dare to plead net guilty, but how deep in guilt that muſt be our laſt conſiderable, in which I promiſed to ſhew.

III. Conſent may contract ſo deep a guilt, that without hearty confeſſion, and an unfeigned contrition, it may hale the vengeance of an actor upon the Conſenters head.

The Senſes, the Members, and all the Natural actions and performances of the Body, they are indeterminately conſidered indifferent; they are in themſelves nor good nor evil, it is our conſent that makes them morally all they are, Rom. 6. 'Tis our conſent that makes our members, as St. Paul ſpeaks, ſervants either to uncleanneſs or holineſs; The eye of man it may be the inſtrument either of admiration or of luſt; yea, the very heart it ſelf it may be the ſeat, either of Charity or Uncharitableneſs.

If ſo be then we would apprehend how our ſtate ſtands in Foro Interno, in the Court of Conſcience and the eye of God, we muſt begin at Heart, and look within.

David a good King could tell us, he had Subjects, the Words of whoſe Mouth were ſmoother than Butter, Pſal. 55. 21, even then, when Warr was at the Heart; their words were ſmoother than Oil, yet were they drawn Swords.

Men may appear, (and our Martyr'd King ſadly found it ſo) like Saints and Angels, talking of nothing, but of Reformation, Religion in Purity, and the power of godlineſs; when God knows within, their hearts were full of malice; God not in all their thoughts, nor did they aim at any thing more, than Intereſt and Deſtruction!

Now albeit it ſo is, that Figg-leaves, and Sheeps cloathing may blind the Eyes of Men, God will not, God cannot be ſo mocked! Look what we are at heart, look what we are within, look what is conſented to agreed on and concluded in the moſt ſecret Receſſes of the Soul, by that God judgeth, and to that we ſhall ſtand or fall.

Actus exterior nihil Malitiae addit interiori. The School well obſerves, though the outward act may be the Executioner, it cannot be the Author of any more miſchief than what in the Soul is contrived and conſented to; ſo that conſent is a compleat guilt, and therefore I have ſhewed you, Conſent may make an Adulterer, and yet the body, not touch a Woman; Malice may make a Murtherer, and yet the hand do no Violence; Soul may be guilty of the death of Stephen, and throw never a ſtone at him.

The Point then is, how deep a guilt conſent may be, and we ſhall find it deep enough to carry an impenitent ſoul to eternal ſorrows. Pſal. 50. 18. When thou ſaweſt a Thief then thou conſenteſt with him. To conſent but to a piece of Theevery; it is guilt enough, yea guilt in ſuch a meaſure, that it is numbred among thoſe ſins, for the which God threatens to Tear in Pieces without Deliverance: Now if a conſent in theft may amount to this, certainly a conſent in blood, and that blood heightned by the greateſt circumſtances incident to Blood, to wit, Majeſty and Innocence! A conſent (I ſay) in the ſhedding of ſuch blood, it muſt needs be aggravated, and indeed cannot be extenuated, but by the weakneſs, and the little meaſures of conſent.

1 Epiſt. of St. John, ch. 3. v. 15. The beloved Diſciple had no ſooner ſaid, Whoſoever hateth his Brother is a Murtherer; But then he immediately adds, and no Murtherer hath Eternal Life abiding in him.

No Murtherer. A learned Neoterick well upon that place obſerves Murther is committed—Non tantum occident is Manu, ſed etiam odient is Animo—Homing n •• only by the Hand, but by the Mind; ſo that even a mental Murtherer; a conſenter, but no acter: a willer, but no doe • : he may be even fo • it in the ſtate of damnation! a Perſon in whom (he ſo continuing) the hope of Eternal Life is not. Evidence enough that Conſent alone may involve in a deep guilt.

What then Remains? Truly this only, that where conſent Once was, Contrition may for ever be.

Saul in my Text, (whilſt yet Saul, whilſt yet a Perſecuter) he made nothing of conſenting, no not of putting a Saint to Death. But when he became a Convert, one of the firſt ſignal Teſtimonies he gives, is, the confeſſion of his guilt contracted even at St. Stephens death.

Acts 22. 20. Lord, when the Blood of thy Martyr▪ Stephen was ſhed, I alſo was ſtanding by and conſenting to his Death, and kept the Rayment of them that ſlew him. When of a Saul he became a Paul, when his Soul was ſoftened, and his Heart changed, behold him Vir Dolorum, a Man of Sorrows; a Man whoſe very Soul is troubled for looking on, for ſtanding by, for conſenting, yea for that little countenance he gave in keeping the Rayment of them that ſtoned him. How much then, in the Name of God, ought every of us to be humbled and grieved for the Provocations by which we have moved God to permit this Villany! For our not doing in time what might have ſtopt this Blood! For applauding the Doers! For liking the Deed! Or when for our own Intereſt and Advantage we have ſecretly rather wiſh'd it ſo than otherwiſe! Did Time or Place ſerve, I might now do well to inforce this Argument from a Bare Conſent, to ſuch a Full Conſent as includes and implies Plotting, Counſelling, Commanding, Contributing and Acting. For if a weak poſtnate and bare Conſent may (as ye have heard) contract a guilt, certainly then as Conſents have been heightned, ſo muſt needs the guilt. Thoſe who have made it their work to prepare the way for ſo foul a Murther, thoſe who preached and printed down their King for a Mad-man or a Fool, comparing him to a Pilot whoſe endeavour was to ſink his Ship, and to a General who planted his Ordinance againſt his own Army, that ſo he might be (as he was) firſt diſarmed. Thoſe who made it their work to run about with ſlanders, and ſpread lying diſparagements throughout the Nation, onely to weaken the Repute, and make their King deſpicable. Thoſe who to ſave themſelves, laid all their own guilt upon his ſhoulders. And thoſe, who when He had for peace-ſake own'd the Debts which he never contracted, and was content to preface a Treaty of Peace with his own Infamy: Thoſe I ſay who took this advantage for a Confeſſion, and grounded all their cloſer Machinations of his Death upon this Bottom.

Theſe, and every of theſe, are Actors in ſo ſad a guilt, that it behoves ſuch, not onely as did David (for the murthering of a Subject onely) go mourning all the day long; but they ought to do ſo all their lives long, praying and praying again, yea they ought to importune others to pray both with them and for them, that their foul Hearts may happily be cleanſed in That KINGS Blood which is onely able to waſh off This Kings Blood.

In a word to cloſe all. It is obſerved of St. Paul, that after he became a Convert, and of the Right Side, after he was truly ſenſible of the Diſhonour done to his King then in glory; None of all his moſt Faithful Adherents out-did him in Pains and Diligence for the Recovery and Advance of the Glory of his Maſter: for now we find him at that pitch, that he profeſſeth to value Nothing like to it, ſaying, God forbid that I ſhould glory ſave in the Croſs of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, Gal. 6. 14. and, I determined not to know any thing among you, ſave Jeſus Chriſt and Him crucified, 1 Cor. 2. 2.

All then I ſhall add, is, That we alſo expreſs our Penitence, as St. Paul did, by a moſt loyal and double diligence, that ſo our King who dyed a Martyr, may be found a Prophet alſo, for in thoſe excellent Meditations (fit to be read and peruſed upon this Day) He tells his Son▪ His penitent Rebels, Thoſe that Repent of any Defects in their Duties toward him, them ſhould he find truly zealous to repay with Intereſt their Loyalty and Love: and the good God grant they may; and that not only they, but even all we, duly conſidering whoſe Authority the King hath, may ſo faithfully ſerve, and humbly obey him in God, and for God, that God may be a God of peace to us, and to our Children, even from Generation to Generation!

Theſe, O God, and all other Bleſſings in thy Wiſdom known expedient even for our Eternal Welfare, we humbly beg, even for His ſake who was a King murthered by His Subjects, even Jeſus Chriſt the Righteous: To whom with Thee and the Holy Ghoſt be all Honour and Glory now and for ever. AMEN.