Good Rulers the Fathers of Their People

W. Shirley.

Copy examin'd, per J. Willard, Secr.

p. 5AN ELECTION SERMON.

And I will clothe him with thy Robe, and strengthen him with thy Girdle; and I will commit thy Government into his Hand, and he shall be a FATHER to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the House of Judah.

I Need not tell any here the Occasion of this Anniversary Solemnity; It being too well known already to make this necessary; but shall chuse rather, in the Words of another, spoken, not upon the same, yet on an high and great Occasion, [Vid Atterbury's Ser. before the President and Governours of the Hospitals, &c.] to say, (partly in order to p. 6obtain, if it may be, the Candour of this august Assembly; and partly, to apologize for the many Defects which my Hearers will doubtless discover in the present Performance) That

So many eminent Pens have gone before in this Way, as have left it very difficult for those who come after, either to say any Thing which they have not said, or not to say, that much worse which they have.

Upon being informed, that our Honourable Rulers (sure I am, very unexpected to me) had Ordered I should Preach before Them on this solemn Occasion, my Thoughts fixed upon the Words read; which, if God shall please to afford his gracious Assistance, may be profitably handled, and appear to be a Word in Season.

In order to the clearer Understanding of them, it will be requisite to look back to the 15th Verse of the Chapter, where, and in the Verses following, the Prophet is directed to go and deliver a sad Message to Shehna, to tell him, that though he made Preparation for a pompous Sepulture in the Place where he then was, he should surely be violently tossed like a Ball into a large Country, and there die, and be succeeded in his Office by one better than he, meaning Eliakim. As to Shehna and Eliakim

Both of them had been Ministers of State under King Hezekiah, Shehna having been his Scribe or Secretary, and Eliakim the Master of his Houshold. And their History (says a learned Man [Prideaux's Connection, &c. Vol. I. P.45.] ) as far as may be collected from the Words of the Prophet, appears to be thus. Shehna being a very wicked Man was a fit Person to serve the Lusts and p. 7evil Inclinations of Manasseh in the first Part of his Reign, and therefore was made his first Minister Of State; and Eliakim, who was of a quite contrary Character, was quite laid aside. But on the Revolution that happened on the coming of the Army of the Assyrians, Shehna was taken Prisoner with his Master, and carried to Babylon, and there detained in Captivity to his Death. And therefore Manasseh on his Repentance and return to Jerusalem, having resolved on other Measures, called for Eliakim, and put the Management of all his Affairs into his Hands, who being a Person of great Wisdom, Justice and Piety soon re-established them upon the same Foot as they had been in the Days of Hezekiah, and so preserved them in Peace and Prosperity all his Time, to the great Honour of the King, and the Good of all his People, and therefore he hath the Character given him of being a Father to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the House of Judah.

p. 7Thus he.

The Robe and Girdle mentioned in the Text, are Ensigns of Authority. The Former very peculiar to Princes and Magistrates, hence it is said concerning the King of Israel, and Jehosophat the King of Judah, that they sat each on his Throne, having put on their Robes. [1 Kings 22.10.] —Purple was anciently the Colour of the Garment or Robe worn by the Chief Ruler among the Romans: So that to send any one the Purple was in Effect to declare him Emperour [Due Hist. Vol II. P.76.] The Latter, viz. the Girdle, is likewise a Mark of Distinction; the Word signifies Strength [Caryl.] , as well as p. 8a Girdle, because a Girdle causeth Strength. A good Ruler is the Strength, the Girdle of his Poeple. For by his wise and just Administration, an enseebled State will be cherished and invigorated, confirmed and united, as a Girdle or Belt doth bind and strengthen the Loins of him that wears it.

It follows,

And I will commit thy Government into his Hand. Civil Government is not an accidental Thing, which Men have hit upon by Chance, but is of Divine Institution; By Me Kings reign [Prov. 8.15.] . The Powers that be, are ordained of God, says the Apostle [Rom. 13.1.] . And this Ordination is so necessary that Public Communities cannot subsist without it. Anarchy unavoidably tends to Confusion and Ruin. When there was no King in Israel, 'tis said every Man did that which was right in his own Eyes. [Judges 17.6.] And when this comes to be the Case, a worse State of Things can hardly be imagined.

Whereas, When the Civil Magistrate is to those under his Inspection, what Eliakim is told here in the Text, he should be to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the House of Judah, viz. A FATHER, there will be more than a seint Image of the happy Times that were in Solomon's Reign, when it is said, Judah and Israel dwell safely, every Man under his Vine, and under his Fig-Tree. [1 Kings 4.25.] The Appellation here fixed upon Eliakim is a fit Title for a good Governour. [Eng. Annot. in loc.] And therefore you may be sure, that in the Progress of this Discourse I shall not forget it.

p. 9What has been said upon the Words under Consideration, opens the Way for these Two Observations, which I shall offer from them,

Obs. I That there are outward Marks of Distinction and Honour, and Ensigns of Authority, which especially belong to the Civil Magistrate.

Obs. II That Good Rulers are, and should be FATHERS to their People.