the Lord's
people." 5. The covenant between the king and the people; "between the
king also and the people."

I. The First thing is the crown is put upon his head. A crown is the
most excellent badge of royal majesty. To discourse on crowns in a state
way, I shall leave unto statesmen, and lay only these three before you
of the crown.

I. In putting on of the crown, it should be well fastened, for kings'
crowns are oftentimes tottering, and this is a time wherein they totter.
There are two things which make kings' crowns to totter, great sins, and
great commotions and troubles; take heed of both.

1. There are many sins upon our king and his family: sin will make the
surest crown that ever men set on to totter. The sins of former kings
have made this a tottering crown. I shall not insist here, seeing there
hath been a solemn day of humiliation thro' the land on Thursday last,
for the sins of the royal family; I wish the Lord may bless it; and
desire the king may be truly humbled for his own sins, and the sins of
his father's house, which have been great; beware of putting on these
sins with the crown; for if you put them on, all the well-wishers to a
king in the three kingdoms will not be able to hold on the crown, and
keep it from tottering, yea, from falling. Lord, take away the
controversy with the royal family, that the crown may be fastened sure
upon the king's head, without falling or tottering.

2. Troubles and commotions in a kingdom make crowns to totter. A crown
at the best, and in the most calm times, is full of troubles; which, if
it were well weighed by men, there would not be such hunting after
crowns. I read of a great man who, considering the trouble and care that
accompanied the crown, said, "He would not take it up at his foot,
though he might have it for taking." Now, if a crown at the best be so
full of troubles, what shall one think of a crown at the worst, when
there are so great commotions, wherein the crown is directly aimed at?
Surely it must be a tottering crown at the best, especially when former
sins have brought on these troubles. As the remedy of the former is true
humiliation, and turning unto God; so the remedy of the latter, speaking
of David's crown, "Thou settest a crown of pure gold upon his head." God
set on David's crown, and therefore it was settled, notwithstanding of
many troubles. Men may set on crowns, and they may throw them off again;
but when God setteth them on, they wi