His command is
general and his power absolute, his frown a death and his favour a life:
his charge is his subjects, his care their safety, his pleasure their
peace, and his joy their love. He is not to be paralleled, because he is
without equality, and the prerogative of his crown must not be
contradicted. He is the Lord's anointed, and therefore must not be
touched, and the head of a public body, and therefore must be preserved.
He is a scourge of sin and a blessing of grace, God's vicegerent over
His people, and under Him supreme governor. His safety must be his
council's care, his health his subjects' prayer, his pleasure his peers'
comfort, and his content his kingdom's gladness. His presence must be
reverenced, his person attended, his court adorned, and his state
maintained. His bosom must not be searched, his will not disobeyed, his
wants not unsupplied, nor his place unregarded. In sum, he is more than
a man, though not a god, and next under God to be honoured above man.
AN UNWORTHY KING.
An unworthy king is the usurper of power, where tyranny in authority
loseth the glory of majesty, while the fear of terror frighteneth love
from obedience; for when the lion plays with the wolf, the lamb dies
with the ewe. He is a messenger of wrath to be the scourge of sin, or
the trial of patience in the hearts of the religious. He is a warrant of
woe in the execution of his fury, and in his best temper a doubt of
grace. He is a dispeopler of his kingdom and a prey to his enemies, an
undelightful friend and a tormentor of himself.
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