fo. 113 b . 27. At White Hall;
Dr. Thompson, Deane of Windsore, whoe at thys tyme attendes still with Dr. Parry as Chaplein, was by course to have preached this day, but Dr. King was appointed and performed that duty.
His text was the Gospell for this day, the xi. of Luke and the 14. verse, and soe forward. He prayed for the King, that as God had given him an head of gold, soe hee would give him a golden brest, golden legs and feet alsoe; that as he had a peaceable and quiet entrance, soe he would graunt him a wise and happie goverment, and a blessed ending, whensoever he should take him from us. That it would please God to laye his roote soe deepe that he may flourishe a long tyme, and his braunches never fayle. The summe of his text in these parts; 1. A diuel cast out. 2. The dumb speake. 3. The multitude wonder. 4. The Scribes and Pharisees slander. 5. Christ confuteth. 6. A woman confesseth. The ende of Christs comming was to dissolve the workes of the diuel, whereof possession was not the meanest. Can there be a greater then to take the temple of the Holy Ghost, and make it the sell and shrine of the diuels image?
Non requiritur intelligendi vivacitas, sed credendi simplicitas.
Indocti cœlum rapiunt, dum nos cum doctrina nostra trudimur in infernum.
The workes of Christ, his miracles, were manifest, posuit in sole tabernaculum: he cast out a diuel, they sawe it, they could not deny it, but then, what malice could, they deprave the fact or diminishe and eclipse his glory.
Judei signum quærunt. Julian cals it the rusticity of fayth, as though none but the simple rude multitude beleeve.
fo. 114.
27 Mar. 1603.
Invidia non quærit quid dicat, sed tantum ut dicat.
The envious and malitious live onely in contradiction, like the bettle in dung and filthines. They said not that Christ could not cast out a diuel, and soe denyed his power, which is a synn against the Holy Ghost, but they said himselfe was possessed, nay more that he was Belzeebub.
Beelzebub signifies an idoll of flyes: because there was soe much bloud spilt in sacrifice before it that many flyes bred and lived upon it.
Christ confuted them by four reasons: 1. From autority; a maxime and rule in all policy, that a kingdome divided against itselfe cannot stand. 2. From example. By whom doe your children, his apostles and disciples he meanes, cast them out? Yf they doe it by the finger of God, then must I, except the same thing be not the same, yf other persons doe it. Atticus and Ru... (idem non idem si non per eundem) unles they will allowe the thing and condemne the person. But he said, testes mei judices vestri. 3. From a similitude of a stronge and a stronger man, two warlike men, yf one keepe possession, he must be stronger that puts him out: soe he must be greater than the diuel that can cast him out. 4. From the contrary; the repugnancy betwixt Christ and the diuel.
He insisted most upon his first reason, of intestine discord: which he said is like a consumption; as yf the head should pull out the eye, or the mouth refuse to eate because the belly receives it, &c. This is that plague that Aegypt shall fight against Aegypt, brother against brother. In the fo. 114b.
27 Mar. 1603.11 of Zacharia there are two staves mentioned, the one of beauty, the other of bonds; it is a grevous plague which is there threatened, dissolvam germanitatem eorum, their brotherhood of Judah and Israel. Ephraim against Manasse and Manasse against Ephraim, two tribes of the same family: the incomparable miseryes of Jerusalem by intestine sedicion. Auxilia humana firma consensus facit. Agesilaus shewed his armed men, a mind in consent for defence of the city, and said, Hij sunt muri Spartæ, scutum hærens scuto, galeæ galea, atque viro vir. Friends at discord are most deadly enimyes, and those thinges which before were ligamenta amoris became then incitamenta furoris. The greatest wrongs are most eagerly pursued; such are commonly the causes for which frends fall out. Quasi musto inebrientur sanguine.
Even the diuel must have his due; it was commendable that a legion of them could dwell togither in one man without discord amongst themselves; scarse a few in one house but some jar betwixt them. Yet their concord was not ex amicitia, sed ex communi malitia, like Herod and Pilat. Aliquod bonum absque malo, sed nullum malum absque aliquo bono, even in the diuels their essence and their order is good.
There is a tyme to gather, said he, and a tyme to scatter, but he had scattered what he had scarce any tyme to gather; his comming up to this place being tanquam fungus e terra, an evening and a morning being the whole tyme allotted for meditacion, and disposicion.
Wee may not be unmindefull of our late Soverayne whom God hath called to his mercy, nor ought wee be unthankefull for our newe fo. 115.
27 Mar. 1603. suffected joy, by the suddein peaceable succession of our worthy king.
The finger of the Spirit directed the Churche, and the order of [the] Church leads me (said he) to the choise of this text, being the Gospell for this day. There are that have slandered, but they are Scribes and Pharisees; and that being the worst part of this text, he would passe over it. There were feares and foretellinges of miseries like to fall upon us at these times, but blessed be the God of peace, that hath settled peace amongst us. Blessed be the God of truth that his kingdome came unto us long since, and I hope shall continue even till the comming of Christ; and blessed be the father of lights, that wee see the truth, and be not scattered.
The miracle of dispossession. Wee have seene the exile of the diuel out of our country, his legends, his false miracles, exorcismes, superstitions, &c. and lett him goe walking through dry places, wee are watered with heavenly deawe, and wee hope he shall never returne againe; but the favour of God towards us shall be like the kindenes of Ruth, more at the latter end than it was at the beginning.
Our State hath sustayned some division of late. "I meane not," sayd he, "of the myndes of great nobles and counsellors, wherein to our good and comfort wee have found idem velle et idem nolle, but such a division as of the body and soule, of the vine and the branches, of the husband fo. 115b.
27 Mar. 1603.and the wife, of the head and the body. The prince and the land hath bin divided by hir death, a division without violence. This applying the axe to the roote made the tree bleed at the verry heart."
This Gospell makes mention of an excellent woman that sang not to hir selfe and hir muses, but went amongst the multitude, and blessed an other woman more excellent then hirselfe; yet soe blessed hir as a mother for hir babes sake. Soe there are two excellent women, one that bare Christ and an other that blessed Christ; to these may wee joyne a thrid that bare and blessed him both. Shee bare him in hir heart as a wombe, shee conceived him in fayth, shee brought him forth in aboundaunce of good workes, and nurst him with favors and protection: shee blessed him in the middest of a froward and wicked generacion, when the bulls of Bazan roared, and the unholie league, and bound themselves with oathes and cursings against the Lord and his annoynted. "And am I entred into hir prayses," said he; "and nowe is the tyme of prayse, for prayse none before their death; and then gratissima laudis actio cum nullus fingendi aut assentandi locus relinguitur. Yet such prayses are but like a messe of meate sett upon a dead mans grave which he cannot tast, or like a light behind a mans back which cannot him direct." He would say little, non quod ingratus, sed quod oppressus multitudine et magnitudine rerum dicendarum. Onely he would say that fo. 116.
27 Mar. 1603. hir government had bin soe clement, temperat and godly, that he may say sic imbuti sumus, non possumus nisi optimum ferre. Those which in Theodosius the Emperours tyme went to Rome called their travel felix peregrinatio, because they had seen Rome, they had seen Theodosius, they had seene Rome and Theodosius togither; soe have and may strangers that have bin to visit our kingdome thinke them selves happie that [they] had seene England and Queen Elizabeth, and England and Queene Elizabeth togither. But there are panegyricks provided for hir, faythfully registred, and as she merited. Shee was preteritis melior, better then those which went before hir, and may be a precedent to those that shall followe hir; the taking hir from us was a great division, but God hath sowed it up againe; it was a grevious sore, but God hath healed it; he hath given us a worthy successor, a sonne of the nobles; one that is fleshe of our fleshe. God seemes to say unto us, "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it with aboundant blessing;" he may say as he did to his vine, "what should I have done that I have not done unto thee, O England?" Noe vacancy, noe interregnum, noe interruption of goverment, as in Rome an[d] other places, where in such tymes the prisons fly open, &c. but a quiet, a peaceable, and present succession of such a King, quem populus et proceres voce petebant; the best wished and the onely agreed upon. The Lord from his holy sanctuary blesse him in his throne! fo. 116b.
27 Mar. 1603.It was noe shame for Solomon to walke in the wayes of his father David; neither can it be a dishonour for our King to walke in the steps of his mother and predecessor. Lett the foster-sonne and sonnes sonne continue their glory, grace, and dignity, and never lett him want one of his seede to sit upon his seate.
Then to the nobles for their wise menaging those greate affayres, "Utinam retribuat Dominus," said he, "and, as Nehemias prayed for himselfe, 'Remember them, O God! in goodnes.' Your peace," said he, "continued ours, and long may you continue in firme alledgeance to doe your prince and country service in wisdome, honour, and piety." And this is noe detractio, sed attractio; impius in tenebris latet, he holds his peace, but Lord open thou our lips, and our mouth shall shewe forth thy prayse; Paratum est cor meum, My heart is ready, my heart is ready, &c.
fo. 117.
27 Marche.It was bruited that the Lord Beauchamp, the Earl of Hartfords sonne, is up in armes,174 and some say 10,000 strong. Mr. Hadsor 28.told me the Lords sate about it upon Satterday night, and have dispatcht a messenger to entreat him to come unto them, or els to be in danger of proclamacion of treason. An other bruit, that Portsmout is holden for him, that the Frenche purpose against us, that the Papists are like to rise with Beauchamp; they may trouble us, but I hope shall not prevaile.
"He is up," said one. "He is risen," said an other. "True, I thinke," said I, "he rose in the morning, and meanes to goe to bed at night."
Ch. Davers said he could tell the King what he were best to doe; not to chaunge his officers. "Nay then, it were best to choose you first for a counsellor," said I.
I sawe this afternoone a Scottishe Lady at Mr. Fleetes in Loathebury; shee was sister to Earl Gowre, a gallant tale gent, somewhat long visage, a lisping fumbling language. Peter Saltingstone came to visit hir.
29.I askt Mr. Leydall whether he argued a case according to his opinion. He said, noe! but he sett a good colour upon it. I told him, he might well doe soe, for he never wants a good colour; he is Rufus.
Mr. Rudyerd tels that to muster men in these tymes is as good a colour for sedicion, as a maske to robbe a house, which is excellent for that purpose.
fo. 117b.
29 Mar. 1603.Mr. Rous said that the Queene began hir raigne in the fall, and ended in the spring of the leafe. "Soe shee did but turne over a leafe," said B. Rudyerd.
30. Was reported that the King had sent for some 5,000l. to bring him into England; it is said the Queenes jewes [jewels] shee left were worth 4 millions [?], i. e. 400,000l.; in treasury present 50,000l., noe soe much this long tyme.
The Kings booke Basi[li]con Doron came forth with an Epistle to the reader apologeticell.
A man may do another a good turne though he cannot performe it for himselfe, as the barber cannot trimme himselfe though he can others. (Pim.)
It was sayd our King is proclaymed nowe Duke of Gelderland.
29.Jo. Grant told me that the King useth in walking amongst his nobles often tymes to leane upon their shoulders in a speciall favour, and in disgrace to neglect some in that kindenes.
30. It is sayd Sir Robert Cary, that went against the Counsells directions in post toward the King to bring the first newes of the Queenes death, made more haste then speede, he was soe hurt with a fall from his horse that an other prevented his purpose, and was with the King before him; this Cary had an office in the Jewell house.175
31.This night there came a messenger from the Kinges Majestie with letters directed to the Nobles and Counsellors of his late sister the deceased Queen, all to continue their places and keepe house and order matters according to their discretion till he came. (Isam.)
A puritane is such a one as loves God with all his soule, but hates his neighbour with all his heart. (Mr. Wa. Curle.)