A SERMON Preach'd before THE RIGHT HONOURABLE The LORD MAYOR and Aldermer AND Citizens of LONDON
AT St. LAWRENCE JEWRY, on Saturday September the 28th, 1700.
At the Election of the Lord Mayor, for the Year Ensuing.
By SAMUEL BRADFORD, Rector of St. Mary le Bow and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty. LONDON.
Printed for Matt. Wotton at the Three Daggers near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet. 1700.
ISAIAH I. 26. I will restore, thy Judges as at the first,
and thy Counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called
The City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.
THESE Words contain in them a Promise of God's special Favour
to the City of Jerusalem, the Metropolis of Judea, and were spoken by
the Prophet Isaiah, for the comfort and support of the Pious and Good
Men therein, whilst they heard of the Judgments which were at that time
denounced against the Impious and Wicked.
It was, as appears by the preceding part of this Chapter, a
time of very great Corruption and Degeneracy among that Peoples for
which they had already suffer'd many and great Calamities, as a just
Punishment for their Transgressions; but were hitherto far from being
reclaim'd. They did indeed keep up a pretence and show of Religion; but
were at the same time very faulty in their Morals. Sacrifices and
Burnt-offerings they did not spare; the New Moons and the anointed
Festivals they constantly observed; but they were notoriously guilty of
Falsehood, Injustice, Unmercifulness and Oppression. A little before the
Text, their Character is given in very Emphatical Terms. How is the
Faithful City become an Harlot? It was full of Judgment, Righteousness
lodged in it; but now Murderers. Thy Silver is become dross, thy Wine
mixt with Water. That is, They were become false to God, and unjust one
towards another, and were Corrupted to that degree, that there was
hardly any thing sincere and genuine, any thing true and honest among
them.
Nor was this Corruption only among the Common People; but it
had tainted Men of higher Rank also, even their Governors and
Magistrates, as we find in the next Words.
Ver.23. Thy Princes are Rebellious, and Companions of Thieves;
every one loveth Gifts, and followeth after Rewards. They judge not the
Fatherless, neither doth the cause of the Widow come unto them.
Now this being their Case, it pleas'd God once again severely
to Rebuke and Threaten them, letting them know, that he would yet make
one Trial more of them, using greater Severity than hitherto he had
done, but not wholly abandoning them, designing by his Judgments to cut
off the Incorrigible, but to preserve to himself a Remnant, who should
be prevail'd upon by what they should see and feel, to amend what was
amiss. So it follows; Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the
mighty one of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine Adversaries, and avenge
me of mine Enemies. And I will turn my Hand upon thee, and purely purge
away thy Dross, and take away all thy Tin. And in order to the bringing
about this thorough Reformation, God promiseth to bless them with good
Governors, who should be his Instruments in accomplishing what he
intended. So we read in the Words of our Text; And I will restore thy
Judges as at the first.
It is indeed observable by Experience, that Governors do
commonly partake of the Virtues or Vices of the People over whom they
are placed. If a general Corruption have overspread any Community or
Body of Men, their Rulers also are usually tainted; and God in his
Providence justly punisheth the Transgressions of the People, by
permitting them to fall into bad Hands; and 'tis part of their
Punishment, and a terrible Effect of the Divine Displeasure toward them,
that these Governors still increase and propagate the Corruption of
which they partake. As on the other hand, both by the Inclination of a
Virtuous People, and the Blessing of God upon them, the management of
their Affairs is usually committed to Wise and Just Rulers; and when God
out of his Infinite Goodness and Mercy, designs either to reward a
Virtuous Body of Men, or to amend a Vicious, He doth by his over-ruling
Providence raise up such to Govern them, as shall be careful to promote
his Honour, and their Welfare. But to come to the Words themselves.
By Judges, may be understood properly, those who have the
Authority and Power to make, or to execute Laws; and by Counselors,
those whom they call in to their advice and assistance: Or, without
nicely distinguishing, we may comprehend under these two Words, all that
are in Authority, or have the Management of Public Affairs, whether
Supreme Governors, or Subordinate Magistrates. By restoring to them such
as were at the first, or at the beginnings is meant, the raising up for
them such as that People were blest with, when they were brought out of
Egypt, and conducted into the Land of Canaan, who were acknowledged to
have been Worthy Men, every way qualified for their Trust, and to have
discharged it faithfully to the Honour of God, and the Public Good,
encouraging and promoting Piety and Virtue, and keeping the Community in
Peace and good Order. And after this should come to pass, Jerusalem
should then be called, that is, should be fitly or properly called,
forasmuch as it should really be, The City of Righteousness, the
Faithful City; that is, it should become thence-forward, eminent for its
Virtue and Piety, it should be Remarkably, and by way of Emphasis, so
as to be taken notice of, and esteem'd as such, The City Faithful to
God, and Righteous toward Men.
If it be asked, When this Prophecy, was to be fulfill'd; Some
make answer; At their return from Babylon. And those who are of this
Opinion, suppose the Threatening denounced in the preceding Words, to
relate to the Babylonish Captivity, and consequently, that the Promise
in the Text was to be made good, when they should be restor'd to their
own Country, and the City of Jerusalem should be new Built. And if so;
it was actually fulfill'd, when Joshua and Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah
had the Direction of their Public Affairs, concerning whom, we have in
the Sacred Story a very good Character, as of Wise and Good Men, and
Excellent Governors. But others, (and I think, with greater probability)
carry the matter farther, referring this Prophecy to the Times of the
Gospel. These reckon, That the Judgment here threatn'd, was the great
desolation of Judea and Jerusalem by the Romans; and that the Promise of
purging away their Dross, and taking away all their Tin, was to be
fulfill'd under the Reign of the Messiah, and that, as Jerusalem which
then was, was a Type and Figure of the Christian Church; so the Promise
which was made to that City, and in some measure fulfill'd at the end of
the Babylonish Captivity, was yet to have a more complete
accomplishment in the Anti-type. And if so, then by restoring Judges as
at the first, and Counselors as at the beginning, must be understood,
That as the Christian Church should abound with Men of reformed Tempers
and Practices, so there should be Christian Governors and Magistrates,
who should prove eminent Instruments in this Reformation. And such, no
doubt, there have been in most Ages of Christianity. Tho', I think,
whosoever takes a view of the Christian World, and well considers, what
the state of Things has been, and still is therein, will judge it
reasonable to hope, that this Promise is yet to have a more eminent
Accomplishment, than it has had hitherto. But to let that pass; I
proceed to consider the Words so as may be most proper, with respect to
the present Occasion, and this I shall do in the following Method.
First, I shall inquire into the Character of those Governors
with which the People of Israel were blest at the beginning, who are
here made the Patterns of those which should be restored to them.
Secondly, I shall shew, how such Governors are a Public
Blessing to the People over whom they are placed, insomuch that a City
in which they Rule, may from them be called, The City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.
Thirdly, I shall briefly apply what shall be delivered on this Argument, to our own Use.
First, To inquire into the Character of those Governors, with
which the People of Israel were blest at the beginning, who are here
made the Patterns of those which should be restored to them.
By those which they had at the beginning, I have already
observed, is to be understood, those who rul'd over them, in the
beginning of their Common-wealth, when they were brought out of Egypt
and conducted into Canaan. Such were a great part of the Judges whom God
gave them, as St. Paul speaks, from the time of their being settled in
Canaan, unto the days of Samuel, for about the space of four hundred and
fifty years; these being Men rais'd up by Providence from time to time,
as there was occasion, for delivering them from their Enemies, and
preserving Peace and good Order amongst them at Home. But more
especially, Moses himself, who was their Conductor from Egypt thro' the
Wilderness; and after him Joshua, who led them into the Land of Rest;
and at the conclusion of their Common-wealth, Samuel the Prophet; may be
suppos'd to be referr'd to in this passage of our Text. These were
Persons, who, by all the account which we have of them, appear to have
had a sincere and awful regard to God and to his Laws, with a fervent
desire to promote his Honor, and do his Will. They were Men likewise of a
Public Spirit, possess'd with an hearty Love to their Country, and a
great Zeal for asserting its Liberties, and promoting its Welfare. They
made it the business of their Lives, that to which they devoted
themselves, and which they preferr'd muchbefore any of their Private
Concernments or Interests, to guard and defend their People from their
Enemies, and to propagate Piety and Virtue, Truth and Righteousness and
Peace amongst them.
And as this was the just Character of those who were under God,
their Chief Governors, (for such all those whom I have now mention'd
were) so their inferior Magistrates also were, at the first Persons of
the same Stamp, as we may be assur'd by reflecting upon two Passages, in
the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy,very full and plain to our present
purpose, where we have an account how those Persons were qualified, who
were by Moses first appointed to rule the People under him. The former
Passage is that which contains the Advice of Jethro, Moses's
Father-in-law, when he observ'd, how much too heavy a burden it was for
one Man to Judge all that People by himself. Upon this he Counsels Moses
to appoint others,who would be subordinate to him, and assist him in
that great Work; and what sort of Persons they should be, he tells him
in those remarkable Words, Thou shalt provide, says he, out of all the
People, able Men, such as fear God, Men of Truth, hating Covetousness,
and place such over them. And we find, that Moses did accordingly, in
the other Passage which I am to produce, viz. where he thus declares to
the People, I spake unto you, says he, at that time, (namely, when he
put Jethro's Advice in execution) saying, Take ye wise Men and
understanding, and known among your Tribes, and I wilt make them Rulers
over you, And ye answered me and said, The thing which thou hast spoken
is good for us to do. So I took, the chief of your Tribes, wise Men and
known, and made them Heads over you. Now by reflecting upon these two
Passages, we may clearly discern the Character of those Magistrates,
with which that People were blest at the beginning.
They were able men. The word in the Original, like that in our
English Tongue, is of a large signification, denoting the several kinds
of Abilities, which are proper in this case. So that by able men may be
understood, either men endued with a competency of bodily Health and
Strength; or men of Substance, Wealthy men; or Men of Natural Courage
and Fortitude; or lastly, Men of Judgment and Prudence. There is no
question, but that each of these may be esteem'd able men, in some
degree qualified for the discharge of Public Offices. A competent
measure of Health and Strength enables Men to undergo the fatigue of
Public Business, and to dispatch it with ease and pleasure to themselves
and others. A plentiful Estate qualifies the Owner of it to bear the
Charges which usually attend Honor and Public Employments, and to
maintain the Post, which is highly expedient, if not necessary for such
Persons. Besides that where an Estate is either descended from
Ancestors, or acquir'd by honest Ingenuity and Industry, it usually
procures regard; and which is yet more, puts the Possessor of it into a
capacity of laying more Obligations upon others, and consequently of
procuring greater Respect from them. And above all, it does, or should,
raise Men above the temptation of doing an ill, an unjust, an unfair, or
so much as a mean Action. Riches are the Materials and Instruments of
Virtue, where those who have them know how to use them aright. So again,
Natural Courage or Fortitude of Mind qualifies him that is endued with
it, to encounter Difficulties, to bear up against Contradiction, to do
that which is fit, in spite of all Discouragement, and to maintain a
just Authority against all Opposition; all which are excellent
Dispositions in a Magistrate. And for Judgment and Prudence, it will, I
take it for granted, be readily allow'd, that these are at least as
necessary and useful Qualifications, as any of the former, and therefore
these seem more particularly to be meant by the word able, according to
the exposition of Moses himself, where instead of able men, he orders
the People to present to him wise men and understanding. And this is the
first part of the Character of those Magistrates, which they had at the
beginning: but this is not all; there is a more considerable part or
their Character yet behind.
They fill up the Character which St. Paul gives of a good Ruler, that
he is not a terror to good works, but to the evil, so that those who do
that which is good shall have praise (not only verbal, but real praise,
that is reward) of the same. For he is the Minister of God for good,
and he beareth not the sword in vain, but is a revenger, to execute
wrath upon him that doth evil. And this is his constant business; he is
God's minister, attending continually upon this very thing.
Thus the Magistrate who fears God, remembers that he is deputed
by Him, that he derives his Authority from Him, and that he must be
accountable to Him for the exercise of that Power wherewith he is
entrusted, and therefore will from a principle of Conscience, which is
the only sure tie and bond of a reasonable Creature, discharge his whole
Duty, to the best of his skill and power. And forasmuch as he is
sensible, that the Happiness of the Public depends upon the Blessing of
the Almighty, and that the way so secure his favour, is to have his
Precepts observ'd, he will not suffer any of those Laws to be openly
violated, which relate immediately to his Service and Honor, any more
then those which relate to Justice among men. He cannot indeed change
the Hearts of men; but he can in a great measure- restrain and regulate
their Words and Actions:, and therefore will think himself obliged to
see, that no public affront be offer'd to the Divine Majesty, in word or
deed, without executing the Sentence which the Law passes upon the
Offender.
In like manner a Magistrate who is a Man of Truth, will make it
his constant care to maintain Truth and Justice,those great Bands of
Human Society; he will according to the Precept of Moses, hear the cause
between his brethren, and judgeth righteously between every man and his
brother, he will not respect persons in judgment: but hear the small as
well as the great, and not be afraid of the face of man, as considering
that the judgment is God's. He will not be bias'd by Flattery or Fear,
by Interest or Favor, by Party or Faction, but will ever, be on that
side, on which Truth and Justice are to be found.
And lastly a Magistrate who hates Covetousness, will not be
drawn into any unworthy Action, by the hope of Gain; nor decline the
doing a just or an handsome thing, for fear of the Charge of it. He will
need no Gift to encourage him to do right; much less will he accept of
any, to prevail with him to do wrong. He will upon all occasions testify
his detestation of Corruption and Bribery, that bane of Human Society,
that source of all manner of Unrighteousness, so that no man of sense
will dare to attempt him that way, for fear of being not only
disappointed, but expos'd. He will not for his own private advantage
dispense his Favours, or dispose of any Places of public Trust, to unfit
& unworthy men. He will not think it fair, to increase his own
Estate by injuring the Public: so far from that, that looking upon
himself as design'd for a Public Benefactor, he will lay out his Time,
his Strength, and his Estate, if occasion be, to the Public Benefit; he
will be always ready to every good work, whetherof Piety,Charity,or true
Generosity,whereby God may be honour'd, and the Society to which he is
related may receive advantage. He will rejoice in an opportunity of
being useful to his Country or City, as much as the covetous man can do
in increasing his private Estate. In fine, he will think himself
abundantly recompens'd for all his pains and trouble and charge, in the
Execution of his Offices having serv'd his Generation faithfully in his
place, and kept a good Conscience in the discharge of his Duty, he may
leave a good Name behind him, and die with the expectation of a future
Reward.
And certainly where any number of such Men as these bear rule,
their City may well be call'd the City of Righteousness, the Faithful
City.
All that now remains is in the third and last place, to apply
what has been said to our own Use, with respect to the occasion of our
present assembling, and this I shall do in a few words.
I have with all sincerity and plainness laid before you in
short the Character of good Magistrates, and such as God in our Text
promis'd, as a Blessing to the City of Jerusalem, probably meaning
thereby, as I before observ'd, that there should be such Magistrates in
the time of the Gospel. I am sure the Precepts of the Gospel would make
all Christian Magistrates such, if duly attended to; nay we have the
concurrence of Reason as well as Revelation in this case. For, as you
have heard, it was the advice of Jethro, a Prince and Priest of Midian,
not an Israelite, that such should then be chosen; which advice as he
gave by the light of Natural Reason, so it was approv'd and confirm'd by
God, and lest upon Record by Moses in Holy Writ, as a standing
Character of a good Magistrate, and consequently it always was and will
be so to the end of the World. All therefore that we have to infer is in
these two Particulars.
First, That those who have the right of Electing Magistrates,
or Investing them with their Authority, should as near as may be choose
Persons to whom this Character agrees. So Moses and the People of Israel
did, the latter by electing and presenting such Men, and the former by
accepting them, and conferring Authority upon them; and these
Magistrates are by our Text made Precedents for future Times.
I hope I need not urge this with many words. It is the
happiness of this City to be always furnish'd with a considerable number
of Men, to whom all the parts of this Character may be justly ascribed;
and 'tis to be charitably presum'd, that since it is your Custom, upon
such Occasions as these, first to come to the House of God, and make
your Acknowledgments of him, you also come with Minds dispos'd to follow
the Directions of his Word.
Nor would I have what I have said applied merely to the
Business of this Day; but more especially to those Elections, by which
you fill up the Vacancies of the Magistracy in this City. Your
particular Business on this Day is only to take One out of that
Honorable Court, to every Member of which you have already given a
reasonable expectation of the Chief Magistracy, by your first Electing
them into that Body. And I believe you will allow me to say without
offence, That nothing but a very great, and weighty, and plain Reason
should at any time move you to break through that Order, which is most
regular and natural in such Cases. And I cannot forbear wishing, that
for Order and Peace sake, and the restoring of Love and Union among the
Inhabitants of this City, we might in this respect, as well as in
others, have Judges again as at the first, and Counselors as at the
beginning; I mean Men chosen for their Abilities and their Virtues,
without any regard to those Parties which have been form'd, and those
Names of Distinction which have been invented of late years.
Suffer me therefore, I beseech you, seriously to admonish you,
that you would lay aside all Prejudice and Passion, all Animosities and
unreasonable Jealousies; that you would exercise your Charity, by
forgetting all former Provocations and Resentments; and that you would
shew your Wisdom, both by rectifying whatever has been amiss on any side
for the time past, and by resolving to join henceforward unanimously in
promoting the Common Good.
I make no doubt to affirm, what is certainly true, both in
Reason and by Experience, That in Times of Division and Contention in
any Society, they are usually the best Men, who are least engaged in any
Party; and as the Zealots of all Parties are seldom good Friends to the
whole Body, so they very often fail that very Party which most of all
confides in them: whereas an able and an honest Man, one who fears God,
is a Man of Truth, and, a hater of Covetousness, can never be really
injurious to any side, and will always prove a true and a sure Friend to
the whole.
In a word; In this and all other your Elections, you may safely
trust a Man of Virtue, a Lover of God and his Country, and a hearty
Friend to the Establishment of this Kingdom both in Church and State,
whatever other Denomination may be given him by the contending Parties.
Secondly, That which I would close with is, an earnest
Exhortation to all those who are or shall be honour'd with any Public
Trust, to approve themselves such as I have described, that so they may
be a Public Blessing to their Country.
It is undoubtedly the Duty of every private Man, to fear God,
to be a Man of Truth, and to hate Covetousness: but when you are called
from a private to a public Station, your Obligation is still greater.
You are set in open view; and as your demeanor will be more observ'd, so
it will have its influence much farther, than before. Your Reputation
is highly concern'd in the matter; but what is more considerable, your
Interest, I mean your Spiritual and Eternal interest is concern'd
likewise. What might pass for a Virtue in a private Man, may not always
be worthy of that name in a Magistrate and what was a Fault in the
former, may be a Crime in the latter. Your Country, and those who have
thought you worthy of advancement among them, have a right in you, and a
just and reasonable expectation From you; and Almighty God, who expects
an account of all the Talents which he hath given to Men, will reckon
with you very strictly for the use of your Authority and Power. He
expects, that those who represent him, should do it becomingly, and he
will either reward them more liberally, or punish them more severely in
proportion to their behaviour, at the great Day of Account.
You who are Magistrates Of this City have an opportunity put
into your hands of bringing great Glory to Almighty God, by doing much
good to the Whole Nation, which is apt to take Example, and to receive
Influence from hence. You 'may at the same time establish to yourselves a
just and lasting fame in this World, and lay Up a very glorious Reward
in the World to come.
To conclude all; You may according to the declaration of the
Text, to be both a Blessing and a Glory to the City to which you are
patrons, rendering it truly honourable by your good management. For if
you are Judges as at the first, and Counselors as at the beginning,
after that your City also shall be call'd the City of Righteousness, the
Faithful City.
FINIS
