John King

, Son of Philip King of Wormenhale, commonly called Wornal, near to Brill in Bucks. (by Elizazabeth his wife, Daughter of Edm. Conquest of Hougton Conquest in Bedfordshire) Son of Thom. King, brother to Rob. King the first Bishop of Oxon, was born at Wornal before mention’d, educated in Grammar learning partly in Westminster School, became Student of Ch. Church in 1576. took the degree in Arts, made Chaplain to Q. Eliz. as he was afterwards to K. James, installed Archdeacon of Nottingham 12. Aug. 1590. upon the death of Joh. Lowth, (successor to Will. Day 1565.) at which time he was a Preacher in the City of York. Afterwards he was made Chaplain to Egerton Lord Keeper, proceeded D. of D. 1602. had the Deanary of Ch. Ch. in Oxon conferr’d upon him in 1605. and was afterwards several years together Vicechanc. of this University. In 1611. he had the Bishoprick of London bestowed on him by K. James 1. who commonly called him the King of preachers, to which being consecrated 8. Sept. the same year, had (a)(a) Pat. 9. Jac. 1. p. 3. restitution of the temporalities belonging to that See, made to him 18 of the same month, at which time he was had in great reverence by all people. He was a solid and profound Divine, of great gravity and piety, and had so excellent a volubility of speech, that Sir Edw. Coke the famous Lawyer would often [〈◊〉] of him that he was the best speaker in the Star-Chamber in his time. When he was advanced to the See of London, he endeavoured to let the world (b)(b) Ch. Hist. by [〈…〉] lib. [••] . an. 1621. know that that place did not cause him to forget his Office in the Pulpit, shewing by his example that a Bishop might govern and preach too. In which office he was so frequent, that unless hindred by want of health, he omitted no Sunday, whereon he did not visit some Pulpit in or near London—Deus bone, quam canora Vox, (saith (c)(c) Will. Hull D. D. in his Epist. dedi [•] . to [〈…〉] London before his book, entit. [〈…〉] one) vultus compositus, verba selecta, grandes sententiae? Allicimur omnes lepore verborum, suspendimur gravitate sententiarum, orationis impetu & viribus fl [•] ctimur, &c. He hath written.

Lectures upon Jon [•] s, delivered at York. Lond. 1594. Ox. 99. &c. qu.

Several Sermons, viz. (1) Sermon at Hampton-Court, on Cantic. 8. 11. Ox. 1606. qu. (2) At Ox. 5. Nov. 1607. on Psal. 46. from ver. 7. to 11. Ox. 1607. qu. (3) At Whitehall 5. Nov. 1608. on Psal. 11. 2, 3, 4. Ox. 1608. qu. (4) At S. Maries in Ox. 24. Mar. being the day of his Maj inauguration, on 1 Chron. ult. 26. 27, 28. Ox. 1608. qu. (5) Vitis palatina, Serm. appointed to be preached at White-hall upon the Tuesday after the marriage of the Lady Elizab. on Psal. 28. 3. 3. Lond. 1614. qu. (6) Serm. at Pauls cross for the recovery of K. James from his late sickness, preached 11. of Apr. 1619. on on Esay 28. 17. Lond. 1619. qu. (7) At Pauls cross 26. Mar. 1620. on Psal. 102. 13, 14. Lond. 1620. qu. Besides these he published others, as one on 2 Kings 23. 25. printed 1611. Another on Psal. 123. 3. and a third on Psal. 146. 3. 4. &c. printed all in qu. but these three I have not yet seen. He paid his last debt to nature 30. March (d)(d) Camden in his Annals of K. Jam. 1. MS. saith he died on the 29. March. in sixteen hundred twenty and one, 1621 aged 62. having before been much troubled with the Stone in the reins and bladder, and was buried in the Cath. Ch. of S. Paul in London. A copy of his Epitaph you may see in the History of that Cathedral written by Sir Will. Dugdale Knight. Soon after Bishop Kings death, the Rom. Catholicks endeavoured to make the world believe that said Bishop died a member of their Church; and to that end one of them named Gregory Fisher alis Musket did write and publish a book intit. The Bishop of London his Legacy. Or, certain motives of Dr. King, late B. of London, for his change of religion, and dying in the Cath. and Rom. Church, with a conclusion to his brethren the Bishops of England. Printed by permission of the superiours, 1621. But concerning the falsity of that matter, his son Hen. King, not only satsified the world in a Sermon by him preached at Pauls cross soon after, but also Dr. Godwin Bishop of Hereford in his Appendix to his Commentarius de Praesulibus Angliae, printed 1622. and Joh. Gee in his book called The foot out of the Snare, cap. 12. The reader is to know that there was one Joh. King contemporary with the former, who published a Sermon entit. Abels offering, &c. on Gen. 4. ver. 4. printed at Flushing 1621. qu. and other things. But this Joh. King was Pastor of the English Church at Hamburgh, and whether he was of this Univ. of Oxon. I cannot yet tell.