MY Defence for the choice of this Text (if you think there doth need any) would be enough to tell you, that it is part of the Gospel for this day, upon which the an­cient custom was to preach. My Defence is greater, while I remember that the Parliament is now sitting; a time in which Caesar useth to be remembred, and pre­sented with Gifts. My Defence is higher yet, if you look back no farther than to yesterday, the Fifth of No­vember, in which both Caesar and God were strangely for­gotten.

I am to speak this day for Caesar, I am to speak this day for the God of Caesar, the King of Kings: Non est tutum de regibus loqui; It is not safe to speak of Kings: to speak too little, is called Popularity; to speak too much, is called Flattery. To speak of God, is both dangerous and difficult: Periculosum est de Deo, etiam vera, dicere: His name is ineffable. Veriùs cogitatur quàm dicitur, quem totum omnia nesciunt, & metuendo sciunt; [Page 2] saith St. Augustine: He is more truly thought, than spo­ken of, whom fully all things are ignorant of, and yet by fear and trembling know him.

To speak both of Caesar and of God, only in reference to our giving; Render unto Caesar, and unto God: There is nothing more unpleasing to the Nature of Man, than to hear of giving; we are for receiving, we are for taking: I would to God we were not for defrauding; I would we were not like the Sons of Eli, with our Flesh-hook in our hand, taking by force and violence. You see with how many difficulties my Text encom­passeth me.

The Text is an answer given by our Saviour to a dangerous Question propounded to him by the Disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians; the Question was this: Is it lawful to give Tribute to Caesar, or not?

About the Birth of our Saviour, Augustus Caesar lays a Tax upon the whole World, Luke 2. 1. which, being a new Imposition, prov'd a matter of Dispute and Que­stion: Judas of Galilee, he was against the Tax, and much people sided with him; they look'd upon that opinion as the cheapest, if they had been able to defend it. The Jews were Abraham's Seed, a free-born People, never in Bondage to any Man; and to maintain their Liberty, they made an Insurrection. But in this attempt Judas perished, and the people who follow'd him were scatter'd.

Herod, who was one of Caesar's great Creatures and Courtiers, he and his Followers, called Herodians, were [Page 3] not only for the present Tax, but for whatever Caesar should please to impose. Divisum imperium cum Jove Caesar habet, was the Herodians Song; not sung only as a piece of Poetry, as we commonly say, Pictoribus atque Poetis; Painters and Poets are bold Men, and may do any thing; but seriously, and in earnest. Petronius would have brought the Image of Caligula into the Temple, and would have had not only Tribute, but also Sacrifice for Caesar. Thus, as in Disputes it commonly fares, some are for too little, others for too much, and the truth lies between them, unseen of either.

This Question was brought to our Saviour to en­tangle him; so the Text expresly tells us, Matth. 22. 15. and indeed there was a double Snare in it: If to please the people, he appear'd an Enemy, or a doubtful Friend to Caesar's Tribute, he would have been look'd upon as a seditious person, an Enemy to Caesar, a dangerous per­son to be suffer'd to live. If to please Caesar, he de­clares himself for the Tax, presently he incurs the Odium, the hatred of the people, which is as bad as half a Death. He that must be their Messias, must break the Roman Yoak, secure their Estates, deliver them from Taxes, and Tributes, and Impositions, all new Names, but all signifying the same thing, Money, which the Jews then, and to this very day, love too well; and I would to God we Christians did not. This double Snare our Saviour wisely breaks: Shew me, saith Christ, the Tribute-money and they brought unto him a Peny: Then saith he unto them, Whose is this Image and Superscription? They say [Page 4] unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. He would neither flatter the people, by denying Caesar what was due to him; nor flatter Caesar, by giving him what was due to God; but guides both them and us to be good Subjects, and good Christians: Which are the two main points in this Text.

Our duty to Caesar: Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

Our duty unto God: And to God the things that are God's.

Our duty enjoin'd us unto Caesar, doth clearly sup­pose, that there must be a Caesar, a King, one that is Su­pream.

Whether in the state of Innocency one Man should have rul'd over another, Aquinas doth dispute, p. 1, 9, 96. ar. 4. and he doth conclude Affirmatively: Our con­dition, saith he, in the state of Innocency, was not more worthy and noble than the condition of Angels in Heaven, amongst whom one Order is call'd Dominions, Colos. 1. 16. The unrea­sonable Creatures have their King: The Lyon is a King amongst the Beasts, the Eagle amongst the Birds, the Whale amongst the Fishes; the little Bees are not without their King. Seneca tells us, that the King of the Bees hath the largest Bed-chamber, placed in the midst, and the safest place: That this King doth not work at all, but, according to its just State lives upon the Labours of others. When their King doth dye, the whole Swarm goeth forth to chuse their King, and will [Page 5] admit of no more than one. The King they chuse, doth excell all others for Beauty and Proportion, (as Saul, the first King that the people of God had, was higher than all the people by the head.) Of all the Bees, the King alone doth want a Sting. Telum de­traxit, & iram ejus inermem reliquit: He took away his Dart, and unweapon'd his Anger; and so Nature left him an Example to the great Kings of the Earth.

But, not to look so high as Paradise, or what is done amongst the Angels in Heaven, nor yet so low as to the unreasonable Creatures; let us look upon our selves, and where we now are, and then we must con­clude with Luther, Politia est necessarium remedium cor­rupt e naturae; Government is necessary Physick for our corrupted Nature. Judg. 17. 6. In those days there was no King in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own Eyes. To understand that Text of the happy and flourishing condition of those times, was an interpreta­tion put upon that Text by a learned Man in the heat of our Rebellion, and in my eye it was like Simeon and Levi putting the poor Sichemites to death, when they were sore, and unable to make any resistance. The words immediately before the Text will tell you, that it is to be understood of the great unhappiness of that Hour and People. Micah had an House of Gods, and made an Ephod and Teraphim, and consecrated one of his Sons, who became his Priest; and this Idolatry and Confusion is charg'd upon this, In those days there was no King in Israel, none to restrain or punish Wickedness.

The necessity of Dominion and Government, our Hap­piness that it dwells in Caesar, that we live under Monar­chy, and not Populacy, I presume ye are all fully satis­fied in, especially after so bitter an Experience we have had.

1. Our Duty unto Caesar is the great business of the first part of my Text, Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. What are Caesar's Dues and Rights, that is the question to be determined, to which I answer:

1. Honour is due to Caesar: 1 Pet. 2. 17. Honour the King: To honour and reverence his Person, to bow our selves when we come into his Presence. Thus Absalom bowed himself with his face to the ground before the King, 2. Sam. 14. 33. This Honour we give unto our Superiours, but there are Degrees in it: The lowest Reverence and Obeisance is due unto the King. To ho­nour him in speaking his Vertues and just Praises, not at Court, and in his hearing, that might be dangerous to the King. The Applause that was given to Herod for his eloquent Oration, cost him his Life, Acts 12. 22, 23. That would savour of Flattery, or some ambitious De­sign in the Speaker: But in our private Conferences, to speak of his Wisdom, of his Glemency, of his Vigilancy in Government, whereby we may provoke and stir up one another to Thankfulness to God, and Love unto our King. To honour him, in concealing and silencing his Faults and Infirmities; for Kings are Men, while [Page 7] Gods; and Men are frail and weak; and Kings do meet with greater temptations than others do: Peccavit David, quod solent Reges, sed flevit, sed paenitentiam gessit, quod non solent Reges; so St. Ambrose tells us. When Nathan the Prophet was sent to David by God, to tell him of his Sins, he did it with a great deal of modesty and reve­rence to the person of the King; relates to him a Pa­rable, in which, as in a Glass, he did at length shew him his own Face, 2 Sam. 12. Without a Commission, let no Man touch or mention the Sins of Kings, they are our Fathers, and our Father's nakedness should be cover'd, as Shem and Japheth dealt with their Father Noah, Gen. 9.

2. A second thing that is due to Caesar, is our Prayers, 1 Tim. 2. 1, 2. I exhort therefore, that first of all Sup­plications, Prayers, Intercessions, and giving of Thanks, be made for all Men, for Kings, especially, and by name, for Kings; the Kingdom and Church depend upon them: Regis ad exemplum. When Constantine the Empe­rour embrac'd Christianity, then it flourished, and was in honour and reputation. Not only for Christian Kings, but also for Heathen and Pagan Emperours the Christians were wont to pray; so Tertullian tells us: Oramus pro omnibus imperatoribus, vitam illis prolixam, im­perium securum, domum tutam, exercitus fortes, senatum fide­lem, populum probum, orbem quietum, & quaecunque hominis & Caesaris vota sunt. The Prophet Jeremiah, when the Children of Israel▪ were in Captivity in Babylon, writes [Page 8] unto them, and counsels them to pray for the peace of that City, for in the peace thereof ye shall have peace: Jer. 29. 7. King Darius desired the Prayers of the Jews for his Person, and for his Children. Ezra 6. 10. That they may offer Sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of Hea­ven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his Sons.

Not only the danger, but also the great difficulty that is in Government, doth highly engage us to pray espe­cially for Kings. Galba, as Tacitus says, when he was crowned King, said unto his Soldiers, It is now the sixth day since I was stiled Caesar; Sive optandum, sive ti­mendum hoc nomen erat; He knew not whether the Title was to be desir'd or fear'd. It was the custom of the Persians, on the day before the Inauguration of their Kings, to present them with a Banquet of Sweet-meats mingled with bitter Turpentine, and Wine with Gall; by which Ceremony they were admonish'd of the true nature of Crowns and Scepters. And not to wander so far from home, King Henry the Seventh in all his Buildings made this his Emblem, A Crown in a Bush of Thorns. At his first entring into his Throne, there was a Sickness, call'd, The sweating Disease, the people look'd upon it as prophetical, that he should find a diffi­cult and laborious Reign. What difficulties, nay, what dangers hath not our present King both felt and seen! Of all Men, Kings do stand in need of Prayers, and it is our duty to pray constantly and fervently for our King, God save the King, which was the first Prayer made for Saul, the first King that the people of God had over them. 1 Sam. 10. 24.

3. To Caesar Obedience is due; Obedience to his just and innocent Laws. 1 Pet. 2. 13. Submit your selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the King as Supream. When, in the Parable, the Trees went forth to anoint a King over them; when the Olive-tree, the Fig-tree, the Vine, all refused the Crown; when they came to the Bramble, and desired that to reign over them, the silly and inconsiderable Bramble had so much sence and wit, as to tell the Trees what they should ex­pect: If in truth ye anoint me over you, then come and put your trust under my Shadow; and if not, let Fire come out of the Bramble, and devour the Cedars of Lebanon, Judg. 9. 15. When the Bramble shall be made a King, the Cedars of Lebanon must either stoop to it, or be devoured; the Ce­dars, the best and noblest must lie down in the shadow of a Bramble, when that is King.

This Obedience, though to God himself, was very troublesom to Man in Paradise; let no Man wonder to see how unquiet he is to give obedience unto Kings.

I. Some there are that would be exempted from this obedience to Kings, as being above it. Josephus tells us, l. 13. of the Antiquities of the Jews, that the Pha­risees in the days of Queen Alexandra got all the Power into their own hands; she had the Name and Title of Queen, but they had the Power. You know whose voice it was: Ego & Rex meus. The mark of Anti­christ, which was deliver'd to me when I was young, was, one who exalted himself above all that is called God, [Page 10] 2 Thes. 2. 4. that is, above Kings, they are called Gods. Have we not such a Clergy in the Bowels of this King­dom? the Presbyterians I mean; they would have a King whom they might excommunicate; a King whom they might rule and govern; and until they shall have such a King, they are resolv'd to have a tender Con­science, that is, a Conscience which no King shall ever rule and govern; let his Command be what it will, ne­ver so just and innocent. To cure this Distemper, that Text would be consider'd, Rom. 13. 1. Let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers: Si omnis, & vestra; saith St. Bernard, speaking of the Clergy.

II. Others there are, who limit their Obedience to the person commanding, who think, that Obedience is due only unto God and vertuous Kings. Si causa Chri­sti & ecclesia id exigat; Kings and Emperours may be Deposed, saith Bellarmine, l. 1. de trans. Rom. Imp. c. 12. This Power he gives unto the Pope. In our Solemn League and Covenant, there is as clear a limitation set to our obedience to the King. Alexander, great in Wit as well as Valour, tells us, that he had two Friends, Ephe­stion and Craterus, one of them, he said, lov'd Alexander, the other lov'd the King; but these Men are resolv'd not to love the King, if they cannot love Alexander: If his Person does not please them, they will despise his Office and Government. It was to Tiberius Caesar that Christ would have this Tribute paid: I shall not need to say any more of that.

III. Others there are, who neither regard the Reli­gion of the King, nor any Religion at all, but they limit their obedience to the meekness and gentleness of his Government. Let Rehoboam the King speak roughly to the people, and presently they do renounce him and their Allegiance. 1 King. 12. 16. To your tents, O Israel; now see to your own house, David. When the Tax was high, Judas of Galilee throws off his obe­dience, and takes advantage of the discontented peo­ple, every Man being but too tender and sensible of his Money; but he perished, and his Followers were scatter'd, Acts 5. 37. Rebellion does not always prosper, and leave Men rich.

IV. Some limit their Obedience to the time of their weakness and paucity in number, but when they are grown strong and numerous, then they think that Pro­vidence has given them a discharge, and that it were not only folly, but ingratitude against God, to be any longer subject. This Divinity was not known among the Christians in St. Cyprian's time; Nemo nostrum, quam­vis nimius & copiosus est noster populus, reluctatur. Let us banish all these limitations in our obedience to Kings; and let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers, and that under God is Caesar's.

4. To Caesar we owe our Money; about that the Question is here propounded, concerning Tribute, [Page 12] and the Peny that had Caesar's Image and Superscrip­tion upon it; our Saviour bad them give to Caesar. Here lieth the great difficulty: Honour, Prayers, Obedience, these cost us nothing, and we easily give them to Cae­sar; but our Money, it is as dear to us as our Blood, as our Life; so we find Money called, Luke 8. 43. The poor sick Woman had spent all her Living upon Physi­cians, [...], all her Life, that is, all her Money, whereby her Life was supported and maintained. God complains of the Princes of Israel, who did pluck off the Skin from the People, and their Flesh from off their Bones; and did break their Bones, and chop them in pieces as for the Pot, and as Flesh within the Caldron, Micah 3. 2, 3. which was nothing else but the taking of the Money from the people by Taxes and Impositions. The Text shews us not only the cruelty of those Princes, but also how dear our Money is: He that takes it from us, doth tear our Flesh from our Bones, and breaks our Bones to suck out the Marrow.

Yet to Caesar there is a Tribute and a Custom due, and paid it must be. Rom. 13. 7. Render to all their dues; Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Custom to whom Custom.

Besides these ordinary and daily Payments, there are extraordinary occasions, caused by War from abroad, from a seditious and rebellious Spirit within our Bow­els; [Page 13] both which call for Soldiers, and Soldiers for Pay. Menahem levied a thousand Talents of Silver at one time, and made every rich Man pay fifty Shekels of Silver, 2 King. 15. 19, 20.

Tacitus tells us, that the Evils in Government are to be quietly born, Quemadmodum sterilitatem, aut nimios imbres, & naturae mala: I know this seems to be cold comfort. Let me present unto you something that is more pleasing, by telling you, that those Moneys which are given to a King, are like those Vapours which ascend from the Earth, and are turn'd into Clouds, which do return Showers upon the Earth again. From him we enjoy our Possessions in quiet; a free open Sea; Peace within our Walls; he is the Defender of our Lives, as well as of our Faith and Reli­gion. The people growing weary, and complaining of the Tax that Solomon had laid upon them, lost their Religion; and Jeroboam provides two Calves for them to worship, as good enough for them who had no more wit; the story is to be seen, 1 King. 12. But to speak one word, more fit for your polite and gentle Ears, let me put you in mind, that Jesus our Lord and Saviour did not only pay the Tribute, but wrought a Miracle to do it, and would not use or dispute his free­dom with them, Mat. 17. 27.

I know, here two Questions may easily be ask'd: Quantum? Quomodo? How much must we give? How shall we raise it? Be not afraid for me; I shall leave these two Questions, which are above my Sphere, to the great Counsel of this Kingdom, and humbly pray, that God will direct them wisely and safely to deter­mine.

Of our Duty to Caesar, I shall say no more: Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's.

II. Our Duty unto God, that is the other branch of my Text, And to God the things that are God's. What is God's Right and Due, that must be resolved here; the Answer in general is this: All that we have, and are, are due to God, for we have all from him; what have we that we have not received. Eccles. 1. 7. All Rivers run into the Sea, unto the place from whence the Ri­vers come, thither they return again; so it should be with Man: What ever we have, from God it came, and to him in justice and gratitude it ought to return. But to descend to particulars.

1. We must give to God our Soul; so saith Tertul­lian, speaking of the words of my Text, Imaginem Caesaris, Caesari quae in nummo est, & imaginem Dei, Deo quae in homine est, ut Caesari quidem pecuniam reddas, Deo temetipsum; The Image of Caesar, which is in thy Mo­ney, [Page 15] give to Caesar; the Image of God, which is in Man, give to God; give thy Money to Caesar, and thy self to God. Thy Soul present to God by holy Fear and Reverence, by ardent Love and Affection, by a just admiration of his glorious Excellencies, which no Tongue can speak, no Heart conceive. Let thy Soul fervently ascend to God in these words of David, Psal. 73. 25. Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none on Earth that I desire in comparison of thee. Thus the Soul of St. Augustine, as with full-spread Wings, as­cends to God: Quid est tota terra? Quid est totum mare? Quid est totum caelum? Quid stellae? Quid sol? Omnium istorum Creatorem scio, ipsum esurio, ipsum sitio.

2. We must give to God our Bodies: Rom. 12. 1. I beseech you, Brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye pre­sent your Bodies a living Sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Present your Bodies by an humble Adoration when you come into his Presence, by kneeling before him; as to a Father, when you beg his Blessing. Psal. 84. 2. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God: Upon which words, St. Augustine moves this Question: Was it not enough for him to say, Cor meum exultavit in Deum vivum, nisi addidisset, & caro mea? No, both are neces­sary; The Heart rejoyceth in God by pious and hea­venly Meditations: Our flesh, Quando pudica est, quando sobria, quando nullâ impuritate polluitur; When it is sober, and chast, and pure, let our Eyes be lifted up to Hea­ven [Page 16] by Devotion, our Hands extended by Alms and Charity, our Feet daily carry us to the House of God, our Ears attentive to hear his Words, our Mouth to sing his Praises: This is to present our Bodies a Sacri­fice unto God.

3. We must give to God our Life; from him we have received it, Job 10. 12. Thou hast granted me Life. This we must give to God by Obedience, serving him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; This Life we must give to God by a willing and chear­ful resignation of it, when he shall call. My time, saith David, is in thy hand. He can shut or open his hand as it pleaseth him: When he shuts it, he doth pre­serve it; when he opens it, it flies away. We must live in a readiness to say with David, Psal. 31. 6. Into thine hand I commit my Spirit. It is a common Proverb, that Money hath no where a greater value, than where it is coin'd; our Soul is no where more dear and precious than in Heaven, before God, and his holy Angels, where it was created. Let us chearfully resign it unto him when he shall call; and this not only by a natural and quiet Death, but by Martyrdom, if Providence shall try us, and honour us so far.

I count not my Life dear unto my self, that I might finish my Course with joy, saith St. Paul, Acts 20. 24. This is no more than Jesus hath done for us: Sanguinem sol­vit, [Page 17] sanguinem debes, ille pro te solvit, tu pro te redde, saith St. Ambrose. Antisiodorensis observes, that Christ was crucified with his Head downward, his very posture speaking this Language; I suffer for Sinners, those who live upon the Earth. But St. Peter was cruci­fied with his Face looking up towards Heaven; his posture spake this Language; I suffer for that King­dom which is above. This is the voice of Ju­stice and Equity, Redde mihi vitam tuam, pro quâ meam dedi.

4. Lastly, we must give to God some part of our Estates, Prov. 3. 9. Honour the Lord with thy Substance. Our Wealth and Riches are not so our own, but some part belong unto God, and to detain it, is to rob him. Mal. 3. 8. Will a man rob God? One would think a Man should not do it, who hath received all things from him. The people there did not think it pos­sible for a Man to do it, and therefore they reply and dispute, Wherein have we robbed thee? The answer is there given, In Tythes and Offerings.

This sin of Sacrilege was the sin of Adam in Para­dise; let no Man wonder that it sticks so close unto our Nature: God reserved to himself one only Tree in Paradise, and commanded Adam not to eat of it; and I verily think that it was the first Fruit that Adam tasted: God's reserved Apple is fairest and sweetest [Page 18] to our Eye and Pallate. The World hath made too much a sport of this Sin. Dionysius of Syracuse, when he took a golden Robe from Jupiter Olympus, he added this jeer to his Sacrilege, That it was too heavy for Summer, and too cold for Winter, therefore he put upon him one of Wool, which better fitted both Seasons; and when he had taken away the Cups and Crowns of Gold, which the Ima­ges of their Gods held forth, he said, He took nothing but what they offer'd him. Julian, when he robb'd and spoil'd the Christians, made but a Jest of it, saying, Beati pauperes, Blessed are the Poor; and some do think at this day, that it were fit the Clergy should be poor, as Christ and his Apostles were. But I wonder what those Men would do, when they should hear us preach upon that Text, 1 Cor. 11. 1. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ, surely they would suffer us to go alone in the imitation of his Poverty.

Let us be serious, and tremble to rob God of that which is his; let us set before us Acham in the time of the Old Law, and Ananias and Saphira in the times of the Gospel: Their Sin was Sacrilege, their End was miserable.

Let us honour God again with our Substance, by giving Alms unto the Poor, by building Churches where they are wanting, by repairing and beautify­ing them where they are decayed. Thus let us give [Page 19] to God some part of our Estates, from whose Good­ness and bounty we have received all.

Thus have I stated the Rights, both of Caesar and of God, and have done with my Text; the Applications shall be these:

1. From the word Reddite, Render, I raise an use of Exhortation: If it be a rendering, not a giving, then it is a just Debt upon us, both to Caesar and to God, and in all honesty we are bound to pay our Debts.

2. If you will read the Text with that word, Date, Give, as several Translations do, from that I raise an use of Direction; That we part with Caesar's and God's Rights willingly. What is more free than Gift? Hilarem datorem diligit; God loveth a chearful giver: That which is done otherwise, it is as not done. Quod voluntas non facit, non fit.

3. Because this act of Giving is difficult and un­pleasing to our pinch'd-starv'd humours; from those two words, Caesar, and God, I raise an use of Encou­ragement.

Caesar is our King; Caesar is the Lord's Anointed; Caesar is our nursing Father; Caesar is the breath of our No­strils, Lam. 4. 20. Caesar is the Son of such a Caesar, [Page 20] who was a Martyr, who laid down his Life to pre­serve us from slavery: Our Caesar hath been miracu­lously preserved, and miraculously restored; nothing can be too much, nothing can be too dear for such a Caesar. And as for God, he hath given us our Being, and hath promised to us an Eternal Being with him­self in Glory: To which blessed place, God in his due time bring us. Amen.