A sermon preach'd to the House of Peers, Novemb. 13th, 1678 being the Fast-day appointed by the King to implore the mercies of Almighty God in the protection of His Majesties sacred person, and His Kingdoms / by William Archbishop of Canterbury.

A sermon preach'd to the House of Peers, Novemb. 13th, 1678 being the Fast-day appointed by the King to implore the mercies of Almighty God in the protection of His Majesties sacred person, and His Kingdoms / by William Archbishop of Canterbury.

Table of contents

Die Jovis 24 Octobris 1678.

Title page

Die Jovis 14 Novembris 1678.

A SERMON Preach'd to the House of Peers.

A SERMON Preach'd to the House of Peers.

[Page]

PSALM Lvii. 1.‘In the Shadow of thy Wings will I make my Refuge, until these Calamitie be overpast.’

WHat S. Hierom observ'd long since concerning this Book of Psalms, Titulos esse Claves; that the Title is usually the true Key of David, to set open the Psalm to us, and to let us in to the true Understanding of it; he learn'd probably from a former Author, (with who's Writings he was in his younger years much delighted)Orig. Philocal. p. 59 Origen I mean: Who in his Tomes upon the Psalms, discoursing of some Obscurities in Holy Scripture, [Page] and the proper Remedies thereof, gives us yet a more ancient Tradition, which he receiv'd (as he saith) from a learned Jew; That the whole Body of Scripture is like a great House, in which are several Appartments, and therein many Rooms shut up, and in them again many Cabinets, and Boxes lockt down: Nor hangs the proper Key at every Door, but they lie scatter'd here, and there, and counterchang'd; so that it requires some pains, and skill to find them out, and apply them aright. Thus the Key of the Prophetick Scripture lies in the Historical, where we often find both the Occasion of the Prophecy, and the Event too; and that proves usually the best Interpreter. Thus the Acts of the Apostles, which contein the Peregrinations, and Gests of St. Paul, are a great Master-Key to open his Epistles, and to unlock to us many things, hard otherwise to be understood in them. And thus in the present Instance, David's History is the proper Key to David's Psalter; and so the Books of Samuel, the Kings, and Chronicles, the best, and most authentick Commentary upon the Psalms.

For this now before us, lest we should mistake, the Spirit of God hath hung the Key at the Door, or at least pointed us whence to [Page] fetch it: and while the Title dates it from the Cave, we are plainly directed to 1 Sam. xxiv. There we find the holy Man in a great streit of Affliction; wandring like an Exile, or Bandito in the Wilderness of Engedi; the few Men he had, stragling, and shifting for themselves upon the Rocks of the wild Goats; implacable Saul in the mean time with five times his Number so closely pursuing him, that he is forc'd to take shelter in the Cave: And there being shut up from the Sight of Heaven, and light of the Sun, and as it were buried alive in that obscure Dungeon, surrounded with Danger on every side, and little Hope left him of escaping with his Life; 'tis then that he sighs out his Al-taschith, (as this, and the two following Psalms are entitled) Oh destroy me not utterly, (so the Word signifies) but let me live to praise thy Name; 'tis then, that by a vigorous Faith he flies to the tender Mercies of God, as to his only City of Refuge: and reposing himself in the Bosom of the Divine Goodness by Acts of Faith, and Devotion, and of perseverance in both, he doth exactl, and precisely that which We all are enjoyn'd to do this Day: he implores the Mercies of God in the Protection of himself, and in him of those that belong to [Page] him; Be merciful unto me, O God, (saith he) be merciful unto me, for my Soul trusteth in thee; yea, in the shadow of thy Wings will I make my Refuge, until these Calamities be overpast.

So that, the proper business of this Day being visibly stampt in great Letters upon the Forehead of the Day, and that by the Hand of Sacred Authority it self; and the Lines of the Text too running so parallel all along, and so commensurate to those of the Day, (upon which Ground the whole Psalm was very pertinently selected as one of the proper Psalms for the Office of the Day:) I may hope in some Degree to discharge my Duty to both of them, by treating of these two things; What God's Protection is; and What we are to do, that we may be qualifi'd, and prepar'd aright, successfully to implore the Mercy of that Protection. In Order whereunto, I will consider the Text in a twofold Reference.

I. As it looks down from God to us-ward in gracious and powerful Protections: and so it speaks our great Honour, and Happiness, the high, and glorious Privilege of pious Kings, and their Kingdoms, that they are under the Shadow of God's Wings.

[Page] II. As it looks up in another Aspect from Us to God again; and so it contains our necessary, and indispensable Duty; and calls aloud for our suitable Deportment; which is resolvedly to put our selves under the Divine Protection, or to seek, and make our Refuge under the Shadow of his Wings.

I. I begin with the high and glorious Priviledge of all holy Souls, but especially of pious Kings, and their Kingdoms; They are under the shadow of God's Wings. The Expression frequently occurs in Scripture, and may seem to speak these three things, or some of them; which together will give you, I think, the full Extent of the shadow of God's Wings, the adequate Importance of this illustrious Metaphor.

(1.) Safeguard, and Defence from Calamities, that they come not. Or

(2.) Speedy Help, and Deliverance out of Calamities, when they are come. Or however

(3.) Comfort in the mean time, and Refreshment in Calamities, while they are upon us.

(1.) The Priviledge of Safety, and Protection from Calamities stands first in our Method: intimated [Page] here in a threefold Expression; A Refuge, a Shadow, and the shadow of Wings.

1.) And what is a Refuge, (which is the first,) but a place of Security, either in regard of its secrecy to hide us, or its strength to defend us, to which we flie, when Calamity threatens us? And such is God to his People; a City of Refuge, an inviolable Sanctuary; an Altar of Mercy, to which we may flie, and be safe, and from the Horns whereof no bold Calamity shall dare to pluck us, without his special Commission. Or in another Reference, a place of Refuge is a Covert from Storm, and Rain, Es. IV. 6. and as it follows there in the same Verse,

2.) A Tabernacle for a Shadow too in the Day-time from the Heat, which is the second Expression. The Emphasis whereof is far better understood in those intemperate Climats, where the Sun-beams are scorching, and the Heats insufferable. Nothing there more desirable, than a shady Grove, or a deep Grot, the Sun never looks into, or the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land. Which Protections, because the Pilgrim-Israelites wanted in the Wilderness, God supplied it to them, by spreading a Cloud over them for a Covering [Page] in the Day-time,Ps. CV. 39. (as the Psalmist speaks,) and God was in that Cloud; so that for forty years together they marcht, and encampt under his shady Wings, I had almost said, without a Metaphor. And still whenever the Sun of Persecution,Jac. I. 11. or other Calamity ariseth upon us with burning Heat, God can exempt, whom he thinks good, and send them times of Refreshing from the presence of the Lord: so that, while the World is all on fire about them, they journey through that torrid Zone, with their mighty Parasol, or Umbrella over their Heads, and are all the while in the shade.

And yet every Shade is not a safe protection. Umbra aut Nutrix, aut Noverca est, L. 17. c. 12. saith Pliny: And all the Naturalists tell us, that the shadow of some Trees is unwholsom; of others deadly. Ay there is a shadow of Death too in Scripture Language; and you have heard of the Shades of Hell it self. And therefore to distinguish this benign, and saving protection from those black, and dismal Shades, here is yet a further, and a higher Emphasis;

3.) 'Tis in the third place Umbra Alarum, a Shadow of Wings: An Expression borrow'd from Birds, and Fowls, that brood, and foster their young Ones under them. The Wing of [Page] the Dam is both the Midwife, and the Nurse; it brings forth the Chickens, and it brings them up too. So Providence is both the Womb, that bare us, and the Paps, that give us suck. The Wing is not only, as the Shade, a protection from the Heat; but a more universal Defence against all the Injuries, and Inclemencies of the Air. Is it too hot? The Wing casts off a cool Shade. Or is it too cold? The Wing affords a warm Covering. Are the Younglings frighted with a Storm? The Wing is a ready Shelter. Doth the Kite, or Hawk, the Tyrants, and Freebooters of the Air, hover over and threaten? The Wing is a safe Retreat. And thus in sacris Domini Defensionibus, as Cassian speaks; in God, and his holy Protections we have All.

That our Troubles are not long since grown too hot for us, 'tis because He cools, and allaies them. That our Comforts do not grow cold, and die away in our Bosoms; 'tis because he warms, and reinforceth them. That we have heard it bluster abroad for so many years together in a formidable Tempest, which hath drench'd, and drown'd so great a part of Christendom in Blood, and yet the Storm hath hitherto flown over us: That the Clouds have [Page] been gathering at home too, and so long hung black o're our Heads, and yet not powr'd themselves forth in showers of Vengeance: That Gebal, and Ammon, and Amaleck, and the Rest; that Hell, and Rome, and their Partizans, our Enemies on all Hands, both foreign, and domestick, have been so long confederate against us, saying, Come, and let us root them out, that they be no more a People, that the Name of the Reformed Church of England may be no more in Remembrance; that they have so often lookt grim, and four, and roar'd, and rampt upon us, and yet not been able to seize us; to what can we justly ascribe all this, but to the gracious protections of God's shady Wings spread over us?

'Tis pity, Brethren, we are not more deeply apprehensive of it, since so it is. We sit continually in the Lap, and Arms of Providence: She is at once our Fortress, and our Store-house: 'Tis to her we owe both our Defence, and Supplies; our Safety, and our Abundance: That we ever had any good thing in this World, whether Personal, or National, 'tis because we have suckt the Breasts of her Consolations: And that we keep, and enjoy any thing, (while our Soul is among Lions, while we dwell in [Page] the midst of cruel, and blood-thirsty Men, as holy David complains a little below my Text;) 'tis because we sit under the shadow of her Wings. And since we are for all this so overapt to forget her, and to pride our selves in Bulwarks of our own projecting; God hath seem'd oftentimes, and now again of late, to be about to dismantle all, and to teach us this Lesson at the dearest Rate, if we will not learn it better cheap, That we cannot be safe out of his protection; that the shadow of his Wings is our best, nay our only Refuge: and that whether we take a Refuge for the protection of Secrecy, or for the protection of Strength. Of which much might be said, would the time permit it: But so much briefly of the first Priviledge, that of Safeguard, and protection from Calamities, that they come not upon us. I hast to the second;

(2.) If Calamities do come, (and who is wholly exempt from that common Tax, and Tribute of Mortality?) the Expression speaks Assistance too, and timely Deliverance out of them. Wings in the common Notion of the World signifie Speed, and Activity; [...],In [...]. 17. 8. & 18. 10. as Theodoret speaks; God's speedy, and efficacious Providence, and Appearance [Page] in time of Need to deliver his People. 'Tis therefore, that we give the Winds Wings, and the Angels too; as being the swift Messengers of God, the nimble Mercuries of Heaven. 'Tis therefore too, that when God appears seasonably to deliver his afflicted People, he is said in the Psalm to mount a Cherub, and to flie,Ps. XVIII. 10. or to come flying to them upon the Wings of the Wind, or to carry them off into safety on the Wings of an Eagle. Birds do not only cover their young Ones under their Wings within the Neast: If the Seat prove dangerous, they take them up too on their Wings, and carry them off to a safer station.

Ye have seen, what I have done for you, (saith God to the Jewish Nation) how I bare you upon Eagles Wings, and brought you to my self. Ex. XIX. 4. As if he had said, When you were in actual Bondage, I rescued you; not only brooded you under my Wings in Egypt, and preserv'd you by my Providence, while you were yet in the Egg; but I hatch [...]d you, as it were, even in the Iron Furnaces of Memphis, into Political Life, and National Being; and then brought you out safely, openly, triumphantly, (as the Eagle doth her Young) and brought you off too into a more prosperous Condition.

[Page] And may not God bespeak us too, the People of England, in the same language? When we were enslav'd at home, (and so in worse than Egyptian Slavery) and our Pharaoh, and his proud Task-masters made even our Lives bitter to us in hard Bondage, in Mortar, and in Brick, to build up their own proud Babels; when they had now kill'd, and also taken possession, and divided the Spoil, and said in a Frolick of their lusty pride, We have devoured them, and there is no Hope for them in their God: Then on the sudden, as an Eagle stirreth up her Neast, and fluttereth over her Young, and spreadeth abroad her Wings, (as Moses speaks in his admirable Song) thus awakening,Deut. XXXII. 11. and exciting their natural Activity, and emboldening them to use it to the utmost; and when that will not do, taketh them up her self, and beareth them away upon her own Wings: So here, The Lord alone did lead us, and there was no Other with him; that's Moses's own Reddition: When our own Pinion prov'd too weak, and all our faint Flutterings to no purpose; then by a Miracle of Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, he took us up to that gallant, and wonderful Flight, even up to a higher pitch, than we durst look, and made us to [Page] ride upon the high Places of the Earth, and set our Neast again amongst the Stars.

And now, when restless, and unquiet Men (the true Spawn of him,Rev. XII. 4. whose Tail drew the third part of the Stars of Heaven, and cast them to the Earth) would fain by their hellish Plots, and Contrivances bring us down again from thence, even down to the very Ground, and lay all our Honour in the Dust: When by their secret Machinations they are at Work on all hands to hurry us back into the old Confusions; in Hope, that out of that disordered Mass they may at length rear up a new World of their own; (But what a World? A World made up of a new Heaven of Superstitions, and Idolatries; a new Earth too of Anarchy first, and pretended Liberty, but of Tyranny insufferable at the next Remove:) In such a dangerous State of Affairs as this, whether should we rather (nay whether else can we) run for Help, and Deliverance, but under his protections, the Stretching out of whose Wings fills the Breadth of thy Land,Es. VIII. 8. ô England! He can make all these Cockatrice Eggs, on which this Generation of Vipers (that eat out the Bowels of their Mother) have sat so long abrood, windy at last, and addle; and he will do it: So that out of [Page] the Serpent's Root shall never come forth an Adder, to bite us, or a fiery flying Serpent, to devour us. He will confound these Babel-builders, with their City, and their Tower, or Temple, (their foreign Politie, and their strange Worship; their novel Modes, and Models of Government in Church, and State) and scatter them abroad from hence upon the Face of all the Earth. Like as a Dream, when one awaketh; so shall he despise their Images, and their Imaginations too, and cause them to vanish out of the City; and make the whole Bulk of their vast Contrivance to consume away like a Snail, and become like the untimely Fruit of a Woman, which shall never see the Sun. He that at first made all things with an Almighty Word, said only, Let it be, and it was so; can with the same Facility unmake, and annihilate those Worlds of Wickedness, which these great Architects of Mischief have been so long projecting, and building up. 'Tis but for him to say, It shall not prosper, or This shall not be; and behold the mighty Machin cracks about their Ears, and sinks into Ruine, into Nothing; leaving no Effect behind it more real or conspicuous, than a more firm, and lasting Establishment of that, which God's own Right Hand hath planted amongst us.

[Page] When the Earth at first was without Form,Gen. I. 2. and void, and Darkness hovered over the Face of the Deep; the Spirit of God (saith the Text) mov'd upon the Waters. [...] The Word in the Original (as St. Hierom tells us from the Hebrew Traditions) implies, that the Spirit of God sate abrood upon the whole rude Mass, as Birds upon their Eggs,Gr. Schol. on Aratus. [...], (as a Greek Author speaks elegantly) and hatcht the Chaos into World; by degrees digesting, and in the mean time preserving, and susteining it by kindly Heats, and vital Incubations. And to the like benign, and gracious purposes doth God still spread the Wings of his good Providence over his People, and their Affairs in calamitous times, such as this is; When he may seem to stretch out upon the Political World the Line of Confusion, and the Plummet of Emptiness, (Tohu, and Bohu, the very Words, which describe the first Chaos,) as 'tis Es. XXXIV. 11. And if hereupon we put our selves (as we ought) under the saving Influences of his Wings; he will either digest our Confusions into greater Order, and Beauty than before; or at least support, and chear us, while we lie under them; which is the third, and last Priviledge implied in this Expression.

[Page] (3.) Comfort, and Refreshment in Calamities, while they are upon us. For the Wing is not only the Retreat of Safety from Calamities, as in the first particular; Nor only the Instrument of Deliverance, out of Calamities, as in the second: 'Tis also the Seat of Comfort, and the Fountain of Refreshment, when they lie heaviest upon us.

And here I might spend the Hour with much Delight; for the Prospect is fair, and large before me. But I am sensible, that I have already staid too long upon the first Head of Discourse propounded; and so perhaps comply'd too much with the common Humour, which loves rather to be tickled, and amused with high Priviledge, than instructed in necessary Duty. I shall therefore make haste to seize what remains of the Time, and improve it, to let you see, That All, I have said hitherto, and the Much more I might have said, upon that first Head of Priviledges, signifies nothing at all, is all blank, and Cypher to them, that go not on chearfully to the Second, that of Duty.

II. They that would be safe under God's Wings, must not only please themselves with the general Speculation, that Safety, and Protection is there to be had: They must also [Page] make their Refuge there, they must put themselves under the Shadow of those Wings by their special Act, and Deed; must deliberately chuse, and effectually place their last Resort there; and if they will partake the Benefits, must comply with the Obligations of such a State. God is our Refuge, and our Strength, saith holy David, [...]. LXVI. I. most devoutly, and most Methodically too: For we must first make him our Refuge by flying to him, before we can hope, that he will be our Strength. In vain do they dream of God's saving Protections, that turn their Backs upon his Precepts, and cast his Laws behind them. 'Tis true, God's Altars are our Sanctuary; an inviolable Asylum in our Sufferings, and in our Sorrows, in our Calamities, and in our Dangers, for our Ignorances, and for our Infirmities: But are our Crimes too priviledg'd, and protected there? That were indeed to turn God's Temple into a Den of Theeves, and Murderers, (the notorious Abuse of the modern Sanctuaries;) and to set up the Wing of Abominations (spoken of by Daniel the Prophet) even in the Holy Place. Nay but pluck them from mine Altars, (saith God) or stay them there, that sin presumptuously, and with a high hand. God will not be so merciful [Page] to those, that offend of malicious Wickedness, as to receive them, with all their Sins about them, under that sacred, and saving Protection. The holy Dove broods not a Kite, or a Vulture: They are Birds quite of another Feather. If in good earnest we would be foster'd, and cherisht under God's Wings; we must first be hatcht into his Likeness, and Similitude, be renewed after his Image, and be made partakers in some Measure of the Divine Nature.

To hover no longer in Generalities; the fruitful Metaphor of the Text, as you have distinctly seen it big with our Priviledge; so to qualifie us for that, 'tis as remarkably pregnant with our Duty also. Among the Rest, it clearly suggests to us in three noble Instances of our Duty so many apt, and proper Qualifications, to fit, and prepare us for God's Wing. (1.) A pious Trust, and Confidence in God. (2.) A fervent Devotion toward God, and his holy Worship in his Temple. And (3.) a constant unwearied perseverance in both the former; for 'tis Donec transierint, until these Calamities be overpast. And

(1.) For Trust, and Affiance in God, 'tis visible, That to fly under God's Wings, and to [Page] make him our Refuge, and to trust in him, are parallel Phrases, which expound one another; and differ only, as the same sense clad in Metaphor, and stript of it again. And therefore some Versions, both ancient, and modern, translate the Text,Chald. Engl. Gen. Under the shadow of thy Wings will I trust. 'Twere happy for us, were this Duty of Trust in God but as visibly transcrib'd into our practice, as 'tis originally legible in the Text. We all pretend high indeed, and put on a fair Semblance here too; I believe in God is our daily Language: But, as one saith well, Non est strepitus Oris, sed Fervor, & Devotio Cordis: Lip-labour will not serve the turn; it must go deeper, even to the Ground of the Heart. Would we put in then for David's share in the Priviledge, God's Mercy, and Protection to our King, and to our selves? We must labour then for a Trust like David's: Be merciful to me ô God, (saith he) for my Soul trusteth in thee.

To bring you to the Test then; The Trust that may be trusted to, and that will stand us in stead, when Calamities invade, or threaten us, must have these three Properties: 'Tis founded, and prepared in Self Diffidence; 'Tis carried on, and exercis'd in active [Page] Diligence; And lastly 'tis consummate in full, and perfect Resignation.

First, 'Tis founded, and prepar'd in deep Self-Diffidence, and Distrust; in a clear Abrenunciation of our selves, and all worldly Dependences. The Chickens are weak; and helpless in themselves; and, as if they knew it too, stay not to combat the Kite, nor stand the dreadful shock, when the Hawk hovers over, and is ready to stoop upon them; but run nimbly under the Dam's Wing for shelter. The very Instincts of Nature have taught all Weak things, to seek their Support out of themselves, in some Retreat, where they may be safe.Ps. CIV. 18. Thus the Firr-Trees are a Refuge for the Stork; the high Hills for the wild Goats, and the Rocks for the Conies. The Hare hath her Converts too, and the Foxes their Holes or Dens. Even the weaker, and groveling Plants, (as Vines, and the like) have their Tendrils, certain pliant Strings, wherewith they naturally clasp, and twine themselves about the Supporters, they are to climb by. In fine, all Nature is wholly Adjective, and, as if 'twere conscious to it self of its Inability to stand alone, is ever in busie quest of its proper Substantive, that may uphold it. [Page] Man, as the only bad Grammarian, makes still false Syntax, and false Construction; apt to seek his Refuge, where 'tis not to be had: As if he were under that Curse upon David's Enemies,Psal. cix. 10. not only in case to beg his Bread, which he finds not at home, but to seek it also out of desolate places.

Thus Jonah sits under his Gourd with overmuch Delight; 'till the Worm smites it at the Root, and it withers.Esa. xxx. 3. Rebellious Israel trusts in the shadow of Egypt (the Land shadowing with Wings, as the Prophet speaks) and it proves their Confusion: And we have heard of Cedars of Lebanon, that degraded themselves into the Protection of a Bramble; till Fire came out of that Bramble, and devour'd them. We laugh at the Babel-builders, who design'd a Tower up to Heaven, above the Reach of Divine Vengeance, or any Deluge of Wrath, that could come on them. But he had Reason, that said, Totus Mundus est plenus Turrium Babylonicarum: not only the Plains of Shinar; the whole World is full of such Towers. We all are apt to build Castles in the Air, some [...], or other, some City of Cuckows in the Clouds, like that in the Greek Comedian.Aristoph. We have all of us our Gourds, and our Brambles to trust in; [Page] apt to Canonize our own Sanctity, and Integrity; to Idolize our own Strength, and Activity; to Deifie our own Wit, and Policie.

But if in good earnest we look toward the Covert of God's Wings, and would put in there, We must begin Negatively; first moult, and cast all our sick Feathers, and clip the Wings of all our Carnal Confidences, upon which we are apt to soar too loftily, before we can make good our Flight. Confringes Ascellas (so the vulgar Latin reads that Text, Levit. 1. 17.) The Sacrifice of Birds is not accepted, till the Wings be broken, that is,De Adorat. lib. 16. (saith S. Cyril of Alexandria) till our Pride be mortified. God will take us off our false Dependences, and will have us clearly quit All (namely as to Trust in any of them) and run naked under his Defence; and then we are fit for his Wing. Say not then, this great Nation is a Wise, and an Understanding People, We have Counsel, and Strength for the War; We are fenc'd, and moated in from the rest of the World with the vast Ocean: our Island sits a Queen in the Heart of the Four Seas; she shall dwell in safety alone, and know no sorrow. Let not the Mighty thus glory in their Might, nor the Wise in their Wisdom; but he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

[Page] And of this Holy David stands here before us a great Example. He trusts not in the Wings of his Army, but in the Lord of Hosts, and Battels; not in the shadow of his Cave, but in the shadow of God's Wings; not in the height of his Rock, but in the Rock of Ages. Though being a Man of War, he well understood the grand Importance of a Castle well seated, and fortified; of a Mount, or Rock inaccessible; of a Cave in that Rock capacious, and defensible (such as Strabo tells us there were many in Palestine; and such were probably the Cave of Adullan, and the strong Holds of Engedi, and the rest, which we meet with so often in David's story:) yet sever'd, and abstracted from the divine Protections, he slights all these, as Paperwalls, and Cobweb-fortifications: And knowing he could not be safe on this side Omnipotence, he stiles God almost in every Psalm, his Rock, and his Castle, his Fortress, and his Strong-Hold, his High-Tower, and the Hill of his Defence; that's the first property of his Trust, it begins in great Self-diffidence: But

Secondly, It goes on in active Diligence. The Young one hath its last Retreat indeed under the Dam's Wing: Yet the little Wing it hath of its own, it imployes to bring it thither. The [Page] Eagle in Moses's Song, as I noted before, not only bears its Eaglets on her own Wings; but stirs up her Nest too, and provokes them first to do their uttermost.

Though David resolv'd well,Psal. xliv. 6.—xxxiii. 16. I will not trust in my Bow; yet he us'd it sure. It was not Goliah's Sword, that could save him; yet gladly he girt himself with it, when the High Priest reacht it him. There is no King, saith he, that can be sav'd by the Multitude of an Host; yet he refus'd not the Voluntiers, that came to List themselves under him. He fled from Saul with all Diligence into the Cave; though he had still a Refuge beyond it. Though he sets up his Rest under God's Wings;Psal. lv. 6. yet Oh, (saith he) that I had the Wings of a Dove too, that I might flie away to my Rest.

The Moral, and the Reddition of All is but thus much. We all of us have Wings of our own too; Faculties, and Abilities, that must be us'd, (Why else were they given us?) though they must not be trusted in. The most excellent Father Paul of the Servi of Venice was Libell'd in the Holy Office,See his Life. (as they call it) for advising one that pretended to immediate Inspirations, and Assistances, to use humane Means, and Industries, and so to expect God's Blessing. [Page] But the Inquisitors were for once so wise, as to absolve him without Examination.

Our Psalmist states the matter well.Psal. xxxvii. 3-5. Trust in the Lord, saith he, but be doing Good too, and so verily thou shalt be fed. Commit thy way unto the Lord, and He shall bring it to pass: But walk in it thy self; how is it else thy way? Commit the keeping of thy Soul, 1 Pet. iv. ult. (saith the Apostle, and so, commend the keeping of the publick too) to God: But still [...], in well-doing, in doing thy Duty in thy Station in all the instances of it.

In the Age of Miracles indeed, when the Sea divided, and suddenly turn'd green Meadow; and when an Angel went forth, and dispatcht so many Thousands in a Night: well might the watch-word be, Stand still and see the Salvation of God; The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall do nothing. But the season is chang'd, and 'tis now, Come forth, and help the Lord against the Mighty; and work out your own Salvation, (and so the Salvation of the Nation too) because 'tis God that Works; that is St. Paul's Logick.

We must not presume to use our Lord, as Herod did; call for him, when we please, to Work us a fine Miracle; neglect our Affairs, and leave them embroyl'd and ruffled on purpose, that he may come down [...], to [Page] disentangle them. The Glory of God descends not visibly now adayes upon our Palaces, as of old upon the Tabernacle of the Congregation, to rescue our Moses and Aaron from being massacred by a desperate Knot of Mutineers: Nor doth the Earth open her Mouth any longer, to swallow up our Rebels and Traitors alive. 'Tis a Scepter of ordinary Justice, not a Rod of Wonders, that fills the Hand of our Governours. We must not expect, that a good Cause should work alone of it self by Way of Miracle: Believe it, it must be prudently, and industriously manag'd too, or it must at last miscarry.

For Instance, (the Instance of the present time:) The Devils of Sedition, and Faction, of Treason, and Rebellion, those Familiars of Rome, and Rhemes, and S. Omers, (the Jesuites I mean, that have so long possess'd and agitated a wretched part of this Nation;) will never go out from hence, and leave us at quiet, no not by Prayer and Fasting only. Nay, the best Laws we have, the best you can make, (if they be not steddily, and severely executed) will prove too slight a Conjuration for these sturdy evil Spirits of Disobedience. There is another and a better Flagellum Daemonum, than [Page] that of Hieronymus Mengis, and his fellow Exorcists. Holy Water is a Trifle; and holy Words will not do it. There is no such thing as Medicina per Verba: Words, and Talk will never cure the Distempers of a Nation. Deaf Adders refuse all the Voice of the Charmer, charm he never so wisely. If in good Earnest we would be rid of this Legion, and say, as our Lord to the deaf and dumb Spirit, Go out, and enter no more; (What shall I say? —In short,) Solomon's Rod for the back of Fools, Prov. xix. 29. that grow troublesome, or dangerous, (as it may be prepar'd, and manag'd) is a very powerful and effectual Exorcism. Untamed Horses, and skittish Mules, that will have no Understanding, are not edified at all by calm reasonings, and Instructions, and meek Remonstrances; nor in any other method so well as by Davids Expedient;Psal. xxxii. 9. In Fraeno, & Camo; their Mouths must be kept in with Bitt and Bridle, that it may not be possible for them to fall upon you; and so ye may be secure of them.

But the fitting up of David's Bridle, and Solomon's Rod, and the right Use of both, is the Business of another Place. I shall resume the general Thesis, and so shut up this Particular. I say then; They trust not in God, they presume, [Page] and tempt him, who work not together with him, but receive his Aids in vain, and look, that He should bring about in extraordinary manner, what they take no care of themselves; but lie flat upon their Backs looking upward, and will stir neither Hand, nor Foot, to help themselves. Nay but Viriliter agite, & conforabit Cor, Psal. xxxi. 24. as 'tis in the Psalm; play the men your selves, Do All that you can, or ought to do, within your proper Sphere; and so God will strengthen your Hearts, all ye, that put your Trust in the Lord. Wings as they are the Covert of Safety, so also the Emblems of Diligence, and the Instruments of Activity: And as they shew us our Priviledge, may teach us also this part of our Duty,—to trust only in God's Wings, but to use our own too; that's the progress of David's Trust; It goes on in active Diligence.

Thirdly, It is consummate (as in the last Act) in clear, and perfect Resignation to God's good pleasure in the Event, whatever it be. They trust not in God entirely, and as they ought, that rely only on his Power, and dare not submit to his Wisdom also; that would gladly engage Omnipotence on their side, (and can you blame them?) but then they would manage [Page] it their own Way, and in Methods of their own Contriving, and to Ends, it may be, far distant from what God hath appointed: As if he would work Journey-work under them, and leave them to be Masters of the great Shop of the World. No; but as Luther said well, when his Friend Melanchthon troubled himself overmuch at some cross Events; Desinat Philippus esse Rector Mundi: 'Tis God alone, who sits in Heaven, and doth whatever pleaseth him. If we be not content with the Portion he allots us, but will needs be carving for our selves elsewhere, or otherwise: or if we be not satisfied with his Conduct of the Affairs of the World, but think with the great Alphonso, that we could mend the Systeme: what is this but in Effect to turn our Backs upon God, and to set up for our selves upon our own wretched Stock, and implicitly at least to renounce the shadow of his Wings, and all the privileges of it? Pulli non prospiciunt, saith One: Young Birds have no Designs, or Forecasts of their own, but are wholly under the Dams Conduct. And if we are allow'd to have any our selves, be they never so deeply laid, or so wisely contriv'd; so skilfully managed, or so vigorously pursu'd; We must at last intirely submit, and sacrifice them all to that Soveraign [Page] Wisdom, and Power, which ruleth in the Kingdoms of Men, and orders them in all things according to the good pleasure of his VVill.

To summ up then this whole great Duty of Affiance in God, with all the parts, and Branches of it: He trusts Regularly in God, that trusts in Nothing else first: And yet secondly doth every thing he can, or is oblig'd to do by his Duty: And thirdly, when he hath done All, sits down at last under the shadow of God's VVings, and waits the Success in Faith, and Hope, with perfect Resignation to God's wise and just Appointment in all things; That is the first Duty implied in the Expression, a pious Trust, and Confidence in God. The

(2d) Is an ardent and flaming Devotion toward God, and his holy Worship, and Service in his Temple: Under the shadow of thy Wings will I make my Refuge; 'tis certainly an Allusion to the Holy of Holies, where was the Ark of the Covenant, the Symbol of God's gracious presence; over which the Cherubim of Glory stretcht forth their VVings on high,Exod. xxv. 20. and shadowed the Mercy-seat:Hebr. ix. 5. Between which VVings was God's Dwelling-place, his Shekinah, or Majestatique presence. And therefore when Ruth the Moabitess became Proselyte to the [Page] Jewish Religion, and VVorship; she is said to come to trust under the Wings of the God of Israel, Ruth ii. 12.

There are also Alae Ecclesiarum, which we meet with in Church-writers; as we corruptly call them, the Isles of Churches; and in the Gospel it self [...], Pinacles, or (if we will render it close, and just) Wings of the Temple: From the saving Covert and Protection whereof, as 'tis the Devil's Business to tempt, and withdraw us, and so to cast us down from one of our noblest Heights, and Defences: So on the contrary, holy David's great Example here, and the clear Importance of the VVords of my Text, lead us directly thither (that is the last, and most illustrious Resort of the Expression) and bring us up with Boldness to seek, and make our Refuge even under the VVings of the Cherubim of Glory.

And indeed, VVhere can we find on Earth so safe, or so comfortable a Retreat, when Calamities assail, or threaten us, as here in the House of our God? Doth not his Cross stand over it on purpose, to direct us hither, when we are ready to sink under the Burthen of our own? When God's Judgements are abroad in the World, and the Avenger of our Sins pursues [Page] us; More particularly, When the Land is mov'd, and divided; when the Pillars thereof shake, and tremble, and the Foundations are ready to be cast down; when all things are in Ferment, and in Commotion round about us, and Men's Hearts ready to fail them for Fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the Earth: Where should we rather take Sanctuary, where can we more probably find Help, and Redress, than at the Altar of the God of Mercy, and under the shadow of the Wings of his Mercy-seat?

This was holy David's steddy Resolve, when his Heart was overwhelmed, as he speaks, Ps. lxi. 2. I will abide in thy Tabernacle for ever; I will trust (or, I will make my Refuge) in the Cover of thy Wings, v. 4th: And when his Afflictions put him beside that Guard, set him at Distance from those happy Opportunities, took him down from those blessed Heights: Yet still, even at the lowest,Psal. cxxi. 1. I will lift up mine eyes, saith he, to the Hills; (at least cast a long Look toward Sion) from whence cometh my Help. This was the Sting of all his Sorrows, as it were the Calamity Royal he so groans under, almost in every Psalm; not that Saul, or Absalom had driven him from his own, but from God's [Page] House. Though the Holy Land was of no large Extent: Yet as if he had been banisht to the Antipodes; From the Ends of the Earth, saith he, have I cried unto thee, Psal. lxi. 2. Though his Devotion consecrated every place he came into; turn'd the Cave into a Chappel, and the Wilderness of Judah into Holy Ground; and I had almost said, even Gath of the Philistins into a Holy City; (for we have Psalms dated from every One of these;) Yet still he sighs, Oh restore me, Oh bring me, Oh set me up upon the Rock that is higher than I: He means without Doubt the Hill of Sion, the Pico of Jewry, where God's House was establisht upon the Tops of the Mountains, as the Prophet speaks, Esa. ii. 2.

Men, and Brethren, you that make up the more popular part of this mixt Audience; Let me freely speak to you of the Patriarch David, and of your selves. Blessed be the Mercies of God, you lie under no such Restraint, or Interdict, as he did: You are not banisht into the Wilderness, nor shut up in the Cave: The Doors of God's House stand open to you, if you please; and the Wings of his Mercy are stretcht out wide to invite, and receive you; would you but come in, and put your selves under the shadow [Page] of them. Let it not be said, that your Curiosity, or some worse Humour leads you quite another way: that you are over-careful, and troubled about many things, which belong not to you, while you neglect the one thing necessary, the great Duty of this, and of every Day; namely to implore God's Mercy, and Protection upon the King, and his Kingdoms, and his Direction, and Blessing upon the publick Counsels. Let my Counsel, I pray, be acceptable unto you. Study to be quiet, and to do your own Business: and that lies not in the Court, or in the Palace, but here in the Temple. 'Tis not to listen at the Doors of the two Houses of Parliament, or to Eves-drop the Council-Chamber; but to wait in your proper Stations with Modesty, and Patience, what Avisoes, and Commands are sent you from thence, and to comply with them. Instead of thronging, and pestering the Galleries, and Avenues of those places, where Matters of State are upon the Table; what a blessed Appearance were it in times of Danger, such as this is, to see the Church Doors alwaies open, and the great Stream, and Shole of People continually flowing thither; and to find some of you alwaies upon the Floor there, Weeping between the Porch, and the Altar, and saying, Spare thy [Page]People, Oh Lord, and give not thy Heritage to Reproach. Thou hast brought up a Vine out of Egypt: Thou hast cast out the Heathen, and planted it. Let not the Wild Boar out of the Wood root it up, nor the Wild Beast of the Field devour it. Let thy Hand be upon the Man of thy right Hand, whom thou hast made so strong for thy self. Keep him, as the Apple of thine Eye. Hide him under the shadow of thy Wings. Let his Dayes be many, and his Reign prosperous; and under his shadow let both Church and State long flourish: And let them be confounded, and driven backward as many as have Evil Will at Sion.

To furnish out an Office for such daily Devotions, 'tis but to take your Psalter along with you in your Hand, which is full of them. But especially let me commend to you that Decad of Psalms, which begins with the livth. and so on: which may seem to have been put together on purpose for such an Occasion. This would be indeed effectually to transcribe holy David's Copy, in this his Exemplary, and ardent Devotion: which is the second Duty requir'd in the Text, to prepare us for the protection of God's Wing. There is but one more behind; and that is

(3) Constant Perseverance in both the former. In the two former you have seen holy David [Page] putting himself under the shadow of God's Wings, and making good his Refuge there by Acts of Faith, and Devotion. And being once there, no storm shall beat him off, No Discouragement shall drive him away, No delay shall weary him out. If God kills him, 'tis all one, hee'll trust in him still, and die in his Arms: For here he hath set up his Rest, and Donec transierint, he is steddily resolv'd; his Refuge is, and shall be here, till these Calamities are overpast.

But here we must take heed of a great Mistake. There are, that hold the Donec in the Text too hard, and stiff; are too punctual, and precise with God in it: who will trust in him, it may be, and ply their Devotions just so long, as till the Calamity be past: But then on the sudden their Trust grows feeble, and their Devotion cold, and heartless: No sooner deliver'd, but like old Israel, they forget God at the Sea, even at the Red Sea; [...].—Use him like Themistocle's Plane-trees, under which men run for shelter in a Storm, but the Shower once over, they pluck off the Branches, turn their backs, and away.

Nay, but there is in Scripture-language an infinite and an interminable Donec, which never [Page] expires.Matth. i. ult. He knew her not, till she brought forth; Nay he never knew her. In spight of Helvidius [...], (as the Greek Church stile her) A Virgin before, and in, and after the Birth of our Lord, and for ever. Ay, that's the Virgin-Soul indeed, that keeps ever close to her heavenly Spouse: Not only runs under his Wings for Shelter, when Calamities affright her, saying, Spread thy Skirt over me, and then straies away again as soon as ever the flattering Calm, and Sunshine of Prosperity tempts her abroad. As our Lord hath given us an everlasting Donec; Lo I am with you, saith he, till the End of the World: (Not that he will leave us then, but take us yet nigher unto himself, and so we shall ever be with the Lord, 1 Thess. iv. 17. as the Apostle speaks:) So must we also have One for him of the same Latitude, and Extension. For ever under the Shadow of his Wings; till this single Tyranny, as in the Old Translation; till these Calamities, as in the New; or as the Hebrew implies, till all, and every of our Calamities be overpast; Both before, and in, and after Calamities, still under the Shadow of God's Wings. While they last, 'tis In the Shadow of thy Wings will I trust: and when they are past, 'tis In the Shadow of [Page]thy Wings will I rejoyce; that's all the Difference. As the Scenes shift, our Devotion must improve, and advance too; till our Prayer be heighten'd into Praise, (as I trust ere long it will be) our Hope swallowed in Enjoyment, and our Trust sublimated, and made to flowre up into Joy, and riumph: When the same God, that rais'd David from the Cave to the Throne, shall translate us also from the Shadow of his Wings into the Light of his Countenance: To the Beatifical Vision whereof He of his Mercy bring us, who hath so dearly bought it for us, Jesus Christ the Righteous: To whom with thee, O Father, and God the Holy Ghost, be ascribed of us, and all the Creatures in Heaven, and Earth, Blessing, Honour, Glory, and Power, both now, and for evermore. Amen.

FINIS.

[Page]

Die Jovis 24 Octobris 1678.

[Page]

ORdered by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled, That the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury be, and is hereby appointed to Preach before the House of Peers, in the Abbey-Church at Westminster, on Wednesday the Thirteenth Day of November next; being the Day appointed by His Majesty for Solemn Fasting and Humiliation, to implore the Mercy and Protection of God Almighty upon the King's Majesty and His Kingdoms.

JO. BROWNE Cleric. Parliamentorum.

§

[Page]

A SERMON PREACH'D to the House of Peers, Novemb. 13th 1678.

Being the FAST-DAY Appointed by the KING To Implore the Mercies of Almighty GOD in the Protection of His MAJESTIES Sacred Person, and His Kingdoms.

By WILLIAM Archbishop of Canterbury.

In the SAVOY: Printed by Tho. Newcomb, for Robert Beaumont, 1678.

Die Jovis 14 Novembris 1678.

[Page]

ORdered by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled, That the Thanks of this House be given to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, for his Pains in Preaching before the House of Peers, in the Abbey-Church Yesterday, being the Day appointed by His Majesty for Solemn Fasting and Humiliation; and that His Grace be desired to Print and Publish his Sermon then Preached.

JO. BROWNE Cleric. Parliamentorum.

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Title statement

A sermon preach'd to the House of Peers, Novemb. 13th, 1678 being the Fast-day appointed by the King to implore the mercies of Almighty God in the protection of His Majesties sacred person, and His Kingdoms / by William Archbishop of Canterbury.

Sancroft, William, 1617-1693.

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1678

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2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A61637

ID [STC]

Wing S568

ID [STC]

ESTC R8680

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

11904474

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ocm 11904474

ID [VID]

50652

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A61637)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 50652)

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— A sermon preach'd to the House of Peers, Novemb. 13th, 1678 being the Fast-day appointed by the King to implore the mercies of Almighty God in the protection of His Majesties sacred person, and His Kingdoms / by William Archbishop of Canterbury., Sancroft, William, 1617-1693..

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[3], 38 p.

Printed by Tho. Newcomb for Robert Beaumont,. [London] In the Savoy :: 1678.. (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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