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<DATE>2004-11-18</DATE>
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<NAME>Jonathan Blaney</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>A
SERMON
Preached before the
KING
AT
WHITE-HALL,
<HI>November</HI> 5. 1667.</P>
<P>By the Right Reverend Father in GOD
<HI>GEORGE</HI> Lord Bishop of <HI>Winton,</HI>
WHILEST
He was Dean of the CHAPPEL-ROYAL.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI>
Printed for <HI>Joanna Brome.</HI> 1683.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>A
SERMON
ON
<BIBL>1 COR. Cap. XIV. Ver. XXXIII.</BIBL><Q>For God is not the Author of Confusion, but of
Peace.</Q></HEAD>
<P>_THAT there is a <HI>God,</HI> and that this
God was the Maker, and is the
Preserver, and Disposer of all
things, is a Truth generally con|sented
to by all Mankind. A|gain,
that this <HI>God,</HI> who made us,
and preserves us, and provides
for us, is to be <HI>Worshipped,</HI> and <HI>Adored,</HI> and <HI>Obeyed</HI> by
us; no Man, that acknowledgeth there is such a God,
can be so unreasonable as to deny. Lastly, that there
can be no Way of Worshipping, or of Serving God,
so Fit, so Safe, or so Acceptable unto him, as that
which himself prescribes, I presume there is no consi|dering
Person but he must needs grant. And there|fore,
all Wise Men that ever took upon them to teach
<HI>Religion,</HI> or the Way to serve God, howsoever they
have differed in the <HI>Matter</HI> of their Doctrine, they
have always agreed in the <HI>Manner</HI> of proposing, or
<PB N="4" REF="3">
Tradition of it, whilest either they <HI>pretended falsly,</HI> or
<HI>professed truly</HI> some Divine <HI>Revelation,</HI> or other, to
authorize and countenance whatsoever Religion it
was, which they taught the People.</P>
<P>Thus <HI>Numa Pompilius</HI> (though he himself devised
all that ridiculous rabble of Superstitious <HI>Ceremonies</HI>
with which he taught the Pagan <HI>Romans</HI> to Worship
their false Gods) yet he pretended a Divine Revelati|on
from the Goddess <HI>Egeria</HI> for them all. And thus
<HI>Mahomet,</HI> that impious and impure Impostor, preten|ded
an Inspiration from the <HI>Holy Ghost</HI> (by the whis|pering
of a <HI>Dove</HI> into his Ear) for all that <HI>Farrago</HI> or
<HI>Hotch-potch</HI> of lies and blasphemies in his cursed <HI>Al|coran,</HI>
whereby so great a part of the World hath been
so grosly abused, and so strangely seduced for above
a thousand years together. To conclude, there never
was any <HI>Religion</HI> in the World, (whosoever was the
Deviser, or Teacher of it) but it was always fathered
upon God; whereby it plainly appears, that even
those men that taught others to Worship God <HI>falsly,</HI>
did themselves believe, that none could be taught to
Worship God <HI>truly,</HI> but by God himself, or by such
as were taught of him, what they were to teach o|thers.</P>
<P>And therefore what the Devisers and Teachers of
all <HI>false Religions</HI> pretended falsly; the very same did
the Teachers of <HI>true Religion</HI> profess truly, namely,
that they were sent from God, and that the Doctrine
which they taught others was neither more nor less
than that what God himself had taught them. Thus
<HI>Moses</HI> the Lawgiver of the <HI>Old Testament,</HI> was but Gods
<PB N="5" REF="3">
mouth whereby he spake unto the <HI>Jews,</HI> as <HI>Aaron</HI> was
his mouth when he spake unto <HI>Pharaoh;</HI> nay, thus
even our Saviour <HI>Christ</HI> himself, the Law-giver of the
<HI>New Testament,</HI> tells us that he spake not of himself,
but as he had heard of his Father: <HI>For my Doctrine</HI>
(saith he) <HI>is not mine, but his that sent me,</HI> Joh. 7. 16.</P>
<P>Now as the Doctrine which <HI>Moses</HI> and the <HI>Prophets</HI>
at first taught the <HI>Jews,</HI> so the Doctrine which <HI>Christ</HI>
and his <HI>Apostles</HI> at first taught the <HI>Christians,</HI> was evi|denced
to come from God, or to be the Truth of God,
by their doing of such things for the Confirmation of
it, as none could do but God, or could not be done
but by the power of God. But then as in the <HI>Jewish
Church</HI> after <HI>Moses</HI> and the <HI>Prophets</HI> were dead and
gone, there were some that sate in <HI>Moses</HI> Chair, who
did in the name of <HI>Moses</HI> and the <HI>Prophets,</HI> teach the
People to <HI>believe</HI> and <HI>do</HI> such things as never were
taught either by <HI>Moses,</HI> or any of the <HI>Prophets:</HI> so in
the <HI>Christian Church</HI> likewise, after <HI>Christ</HI> and his <HI>Apo|stles</HI>
were gone, there were some that succeeded them
in the Governing and Teaching of the Church, espe|cially
some of those that pretended to sit in St. <HI>Peter</HI>'s
Chair, who in the name of <HI>Christ</HI> and his <HI>Apostles,</HI>
have introduced such <HI>Doctrines</HI> and <HI>Practises</HI> into the
<HI>Christian</HI> World, as never were taught by <HI>Christ,</HI> or
any of his <HI>Apostles;</HI> nay, such as are quite contrary to
the <HI>Belief</HI> and <HI>Practise</HI> of the <HI>first Christians.</HI></P>
<P>Again, as some of those who sate in <HI>Moses</HI>'s Chair,
perceiving there was nothing in the Writings of <HI>Moses,</HI>
or the <HI>Prophets</HI> (rightly understood) to countenance
them in their own Ambitious, and Covetous Designs,
<PB N="6" REF="4">
and yet not daring <HI>in terminis,</HI> or point-blank to contra|dict
the Doctrine of <HI>Moses,</HI> or the <HI>Prophets,</HI> for fear of the
<HI>Jews,</HI> they did either wrest, what <HI>Moses</HI> and the <HI>Prophets</HI>
had written, to their ownsense, by false <HI>Glosses</HI> and <HI>In|terpretations,</HI>
as the <HI>Scribes</HI> did, (witness <HI>Christs Sermon upon
the Mount</HI> to convince them of it) or they did pretend
to <HI>unwritten Traditions</HI> successively derived to them
from <HI>Moses,</HI> and the <HI>Prophets;</HI> and consequently of
equal Authority to the <HI>Prophetical</HI> Writings themselves;
as the <HI>Pharisees</HI> taught the People, and thereby did not
only teach them to Worship God in vain <HI>by teaching for
Doctrines the Traditions of men,</HI> Matt. 15. 9. but <HI>to make
the Word of God it self of none effect,</HI> Mark 7. 13. The
<HI>former,</HI> when by some of their Traditions they made
more than God had commanded by <HI>Moses</HI> or the <HI>Pro|phets</HI>
to be necessary; the <HI>latter,</HI> when by other of
their Traditions they made that which God had com|manded
by <HI>Moses</HI> and the <HI>Prophets,</HI> not to be necessary;
even so, or just in the like manner and to the same
ends, there be some that pretend to be the true, nay,
the only true Successors of <HI>Christ,</HI> and his <HI>Apostles;</HI>
who not finding in the Gospel of <HI>Christ</HI> (as it is recor|ded
by the <HI>Evangelists,</HI> and the <HI>Apostles)</HI> enough to
serve their turns in order to their own Ambitious and
Worldly Designs, and yet not daring openly to avow
any other Gospel for fear of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s <HI>Anathema,</HI> and
of discovering themselves to be <HI>Antichrist,</HI> or at least
the <HI>fore-runners</HI> of <HI>Antichrist;</HI> they make men believe
that to be the Doctrine of <HI>Christ</HI> which indeed is not;
partly by interpreting the <HI>Apostolical Writings</HI> in their
own sence, and partly by pretending <HI>Apostolical Tradi|ons</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="4">
for that which cannot by any Interpretation be
wrested from the Apostolical Writings. And by this
means in process of time, they have made <HI>Christ's King|dom,</HI>
which, he himself tells us, <HI>is not of this World,</HI> to
be of this World, and themselves to be the Governours
of it; and whosoever will not be Perswaded, must be
Compell'd to believe it.</P>
<P>And thus the <HI>Evangelical Dove</HI> is made a prey to the
<HI>Roman Eagle,</HI> whilst <HI>Maxims of Humane Policy</HI> are taught
for <HI>Articles of Divine Faith,</HI> and men are made to be|lieve
that God is the Author of such <HI>Doctrines,</HI> and <HI>Pra|ctices,</HI>
as are contrary, not only to the Truth of his
<HI>Word,</HI> but to the Holiness of his <HI>Nature.</HI> I mean such
<HI>Doctrines</HI> and <HI>Practices,</HI> as tend to the <HI>Distraction</HI> and
<HI>Destruction</HI> of Kingdoms and States; as if <HI>Christ</HI> came
not to <HI>save</HI> the World (as he saith he did) but to <HI>de|stroy</HI>
it, which he saith he did not: or as if God were
not the <HI>Author of Peace,</HI> as St. <HI>Paul,</HI> saith he is, but the
<HI>Author of Confusion,</HI> which St. <HI>Paul</HI> says he is not. But
<HI>let God be true and every Man a lyar.</HI> And <HI>God</HI> (as St.
<HI>Paul</HI> tells us in my Text) <HI>is not the Author of Confusion,
but of Peace.</HI></P>
<P>In which Words we are to consider,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The Occasion,</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The Sense or Meaning,</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The Intention or Scope,</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The Use, or Uses, which by Way of Applicati|on
we are to make of them.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>First then,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Occa|sion.</NOTE> as to the <HI>Occasion</HI> of these Words, it is <MILESTONE N="I">
<PB N="8" REF="5">
implied in the first of them, in the Word, <HI>For;</HI> which,
being a Note of connexion, must needs argue that the
Words following have a relation to something spoken
of before, as the Occasion of them. Now that which S.
<HI>Paul</HI> had spoken of before, and whereunto this Saying
of his doth relate, was the dangerous condition, which
those of that Church of <HI>Corinth</HI> were then in, by reason of
certain <HI>erroneous,</HI> and <HI>seditious Doctrines,</HI> which under the
notion of <HI>Apostolical truths,</HI> were cunningly infused into
them, and credulously entertain'd by them, as appears
by many Passages in <HI>this,</HI> and the <HI>precedent</HI> Chapters,
especially the <HI>first,</HI> where the <HI>Apostle</HI> tells them he had
heard there were <HI>Divisions</HI> amongst them, some say|ing
they were of <HI>Paul,</HI> others of <HI>Cephas,</HI> and others
of <HI>Christ,</HI> and each of every sort exclusively to all the
rest; thereby excommunicating one another, by ap|propriating
<HI>Christ</HI> and his <HI>Apostles,</HI> and the <HI>Apostolical</HI>
Doctrine unto themselves: as if all that did not be|lieve
in <HI>Christ,</HI> just as they did, were no <HI>Christians.</HI>
Besides, some of them to gain <HI>Proselytes</HI> unto them|selves,
and to increase and strengthen their own <HI>Party,</HI>
were content to dispence in point of Practise with
those that were, or would be of their Faction, by per|mitting,
or at least by conniving at <HI>Incestuous Marria|ges,</HI>
Cap. 5. 2. as likewise with the departing of <HI>Wives</HI>
from their <HI>Husbands,</HI> and <HI>&agrave; fortiori</HI> with departing of
<HI>Husbands</HI> from their <HI>Wives,</HI> Cap. 7. 10. and of <HI>Ser|vants</HI>
from their <HI>Masters,</HI> Vers. 20, and 21. of the
same Cap. and by the same reason, of <HI>Children</HI> from
their <HI>Parents,</HI> and of <HI>Subjects</HI> from their <HI>Soveraigns</HI> al|so.
Now certainly the Teaching of such <HI>Doctrines</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="5">
and the Allowing of such <HI>Practises</HI> as these, must needs
tend to the disturbance of the publick <HI>Peace,</HI> and to
the introducing of <HI>Disorder</HI> and <HI>Confusion,</HI> not into
<HI>Churches</HI> only, but into <HI>States</HI> also.</P>
<P>Now this being then the State of <HI>Corinth,</HI> whereunto
it was brought by such as pretended to be <HI>Apostles,</HI> or
to be as infallible at least as the <HI>Apostles</HI> themselves
were; nay, and were believed to be so, by those
whom they had seduced, and who being seduced could
not chuse but adhere to their seducers, and to the Do|ctrines
they were taught by them, until they were
convinced of the falshood of those <HI>Doctrines,</HI> and con|sequently
of the fallibility of their <HI>Teachers,</HI> by some
such argument, as neither they, nor their teachers
themselves could disprove, or deny: therefore St. <HI>Paul</HI>
to prove those <HI>Doctrines</HI> to be false, he proves them to
be inconsistent with <HI>Peace,</HI> as evidently and undenia|bly
appeared, by the <HI>Divisions</HI> and <HI>Factions</HI> that were
at that time in <HI>Corinth,</HI> and which St. <HI>Paul</HI> ascribes to
the aforesaid Doctrines as the natural, necessary, and
unavoidable Effects of them. And this being experi|mentally
and apparently true, it follows of necessity
that either those <HI>Doctrines</HI> which caused those <HI>Factions,</HI>
and <HI>Divisions,</HI> and <HI>Confusions,</HI> were false, and conse|quently
that the Teachers of them were Seducers and
<HI>false Apostles,</HI> which was that whereof St. <HI>Paul</HI> was to
convince the <HI>Corinthians;</HI> or else, that such Doctrines
as are naturally and necessarily the cause of Contenti|on
and Confusion are true Doctrines, which if either
the Seducers were so Impudent as to <HI>affirm,</HI> or the Se|duced
so Foolish as to <HI>believe,</HI> they must needs <HI>affirm</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="6">
and <HI>believe</HI> likewise, that such Doctrines (notwith|standing
their being the cause of Faction and Confusi|on)
must be from God, or that God must be the Au|thor
of them; because God is the Author of all
Truth, and consequently such Doctrines, supposing
them to be true, must needs be supposed to come from
God, as the Author; and if as the Author, then as the
Approver of them also. But this Supposition is im|possible
to be True, nay, it is blasphemously False, as
being indeed a contradiction not only to the Word, or
revealed Will of God, but even to Gods very Nature,
and Essence it self; as St. <HI>Paul</HI> demonstratively proves
by this <HI>Theological Principle</HI> or <HI>Aphorism</HI> in my Text, when
he tells us, that <HI>God is not the Author of Confusion, but of
Peace;</HI> which being a <HI>Theological Principle</HI> (as I said be|fore)
needs no Proof, it being self-evident to any one
that believes there is a <HI>God,</HI> and considers what God
is, and what is meant either by <HI>Confusion,</HI> or by <HI>Peace;</HI>
and what it is to be <HI>the Author</HI> of the one, or of the o|ther.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="II"> And therefore having shewed you what was the
<HI>Occasion</HI> of these Words,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Sense or Meaning.</NOTE> I am now, in the <HI>second</HI> place,
to give you the plain <HI>Sense</HI> and <HI>Meaning</HI> of them.</P>
<P>And here I do not intend to ingage my self in a
Discourse either of <HI>Confusion</HI> or of <HI>Peace</HI> in the gene|ral
<HI>Latitude</HI> or <HI>Extent</HI> of the Words; and much less by
way of <HI>Common-place,</HI> to give you a Catalogue of all
the blessed Effects of the <HI>one,</HI> or of all the mischie|vous
Consequences of the <HI>other;</HI> but only to tell you,
<HI>First,</HI> What is meant by the word <HI>Confusion,</HI> and what
is meant by the word <HI>Peace</HI> in the Text. <HI>Secondly,</HI> To
<PB N="11" REF="6">
shew you how, and in what sence, God may be said
to be the <HI>Author</HI> of the <HI>one,</HI> and not the <HI>Author</HI> of the
<HI>other.</HI></P>
<P><HI>First</HI> then by the word <HI>Confusion</HI> here in this place, is
meant the unsetling, disordering, and disturbing of
any Society <HI>Civil</HI> or <HI>Ecclesiastical,</HI> whether it be by
force or fraud, by Words or Actions: and consequent|ly
by the word <HI>Peace,</HI> as it is here opposed to the word
<HI>Confusion,</HI> is meant neither the <HI>Internal</HI> peace of <HI>Grace,</HI>
nor the <HI>Eternal</HI> peace of <HI>Glory,</HI> (though God be the
Author, and the Author <GAP DESC="foreign">, of peace in both
these notions also) but only an <HI>External</HI> peace here in
this World, as it is the <GAP DESC="foreign"> or the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the well-ordering
or happy Constitution of a <HI>Church</HI> or <HI>State.</HI>
And this is that which St. <HI>Paul</HI> in my Text means by
<HI>Confusion</HI> and <HI>Peace,</HI> when he saith, that God is not the
Author of the <HI>one,</HI> and is the Author of the <HI>other.</HI></P>
<P>But then, <HI>Secondly,</HI> If by <HI>Peace</HI> be meant Order and
Settlement, and by <HI>Confusion</HI> be meant Disorder and
Disturbance in <HI>Churches</HI> and <HI>States,</HI> how can God be
said to be the Author of the <HI>one</HI> and not of the <HI>other?</HI>
seeing there be so many places of Scripture, wherein
the <HI>putting down</HI> as well as the <HI>setting up,</HI> the overturning
and overthrowing as well as the supporting and esta|blishing,
the dissolution and desolation as well as the
safety and preservation, and consequently the <HI>Confu|sion,</HI>
as well as the <HI>Peace</HI> of <HI>Kingdoms, Churches</HI> and <HI>States,</HI>
are in express terms ascribed unto God.</P>
<P>I answer, that the disturbing and confounding of
<HI>Kingdoms, States,</HI> and <HI>Churches,</HI> may be considered
either as they are <HI>mala Culpae</HI> or <HI>mala Poenae;</HI> that is,
<PB N="12" REF="7">
either as they are Sins, or Punishments for Sin. Now
as they are <HI>mala Culpae</HI> or sins in themselves, so they
are not from God, nor cannot be ascribed to God, but
to the inordinate or immoderate Passions of those
Men, who are either the Agents in them, or the Con|trivers,
Abetters and Fomenters of them, according
to that of the Apostle, <HI>From whence come Wars? from
whence come fightings among you? come they not from hence,
even from your Lusts?</HI> Jam. 4. 1. And yet the same
Disorders, and Disturbances, which, as they are <HI>mala
Culpae,</HI> or Evils of sin, must be ascribed unto Men;
may, nay they must (as they are <HI>mala Poenae,</HI> or Pu|nishments
for sin, be ascribed unto God, as the vindi|cative
effects of Divine Justice. But by <HI>Confusion</HI> in
my Text is meant only <HI>malum Culpae,</HI> the Evil of sin in
those that are the disturbers of <HI>Churches</HI> and <HI>States;</HI> and
therefore God cannot be said to be the Author of it.
The truth is, that neither God nor Man can properly
be said to be the <HI>Author</HI> of any thing, which is not done
either immediately by himself, or mediately by his
Command, or at least either by his Advice and Dire|ction,
or by his Consent and Approbation: but this
cannot be said of <HI>Confusion</HI> in <HI>Churches</HI> or <HI>States</HI> in refe|rence
unto <HI>God:</HI> for neither is God the worker of it
himself, neither doth he command, or advise, or di|rect,
or allow of it: Whereas he is not only the <HI>Author</HI>
but the <HI>God of Peace;</HI> and his Son is the <HI>Prince of Peace,</HI>
and his Spirit is the <HI>Spirit of Peace,</HI> and his Gospel is
the <HI>Gospel of Peace,</HI> and his Way is the <HI>Way of Peace:</HI>
neither doth he command or teach any thing that is in|consistent
with <HI>Peace,</HI> in any Kind or any Degree
whatsoever.</P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="7">
And thus having shewed you the <HI>Occasion</HI> and given <MILESTONE N="III">
you the <HI>Sence</HI> of these Words: I am now in the <HI>third</HI>
place to speak of the Apostles <HI>Scope</HI> or <HI>Intention</HI> in them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Scope or Intention.</NOTE>
which was (as I conceive) to leave upon Record,
for all Posterity, a certain, a constant, and an infal|lible
<GAP DESC="foreign"> or Touchstone, whereby upon tryal,
any man of an ordinary capacity might discover and
discern many of those <HI>Doctrines</HI> to be false, which the
Apostle himself saw had been, and foresaw would be,
preached in the <HI>Church</HI> of <HI>Christ,</HI> and as a part of the
<HI>Gospel</HI> of <HI>Christ</HI> in the name of <HI>Christ,</HI> to the great Pre|judice
of <HI>Humane Society,</HI> to the great Offence and Dan|ger
of <HI>Princes</HI> and <HI>Governours,</HI> and to the great Scan|dal
of <HI>Christianity</HI> it self: namely, such Doctrines as
must be (if they be believed and practised) destru|ctive
of the publick Peace and Safety of <HI>Churches, States</HI>
and <HI>Princes.</HI> For although (as I said before in my
<HI>first</HI> particular) the <HI>Occasion</HI> of these Words was the
Disorder, Faction, and Confusion, which St. <HI>Paul</HI> saw
with his own Eyes to be the Effects of such seditious
Doctrines as were brought into the Church and City
of <HI>Corinth</HI> by the seducers of those times: yet his <HI>Scope</HI>
and <HI>Intention</HI> in these Words was not only to rectifie
the Disorder ond Confusion which he saw <HI>in that one
Church</HI> and <HI>State</HI> for the present; but likewise to pre|vent
the same, or the like, or perhaps worse Disor|ders,
which he foresaw might be, and would be <HI>in any
Church</HI> or <HI>State;</HI> nay, <HI>in all Churches</HI> and <HI>States</HI> for the fu|ture,
if the like Doctrines, I mean any Doctrines in|consistent
with the publick <HI>Peace,</HI> or tending to publick
<HI>Confusion,</HI> were any where else taught and believed to
<PB N="14" REF="8">
be from God. And therefore the same Use, which St.
<HI>Paul</HI> then made of this <GAP DESC="foreign"> this <HI>Theological Principle</HI>
in my Text, may and ought to be made of it by us
now, if there be the same Occasion for it.</P>
<P>Because God is as much the Author of <HI>Peace,</HI> and
no more the Author of <HI>Confusion</HI> now, than he was
then. And if he be not the Author of <HI>Confusion,</HI> he
cannot be the Author of any Doctrine or Doctrines
tending to Confusion neither; which is St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s own
Inference, and not mine. For indeed the very reason,
why St. <HI>Paul</HI> tells the <HI>Corinthians</HI> that God was <HI>not the
Author of Confusion, but of Peace,</HI> was to convince them,
that many of those <HI>Doctrines,</HI> which were brought in
among them, and pretended to be from God, were
not from God indeed, because they were inconsistent
with <HI>Peace,</HI> or because they tended to <HI>Confusion:</HI> which
could not have been a convincing Argument to them
<HI>then</HI> as to that <HI>particular,</HI> if it were not <HI>always</HI> true in
the <HI>general,</HI> that no Doctrine tending to <HI>Confusion,</HI> or to
the making of disturbance either in <HI>Church</HI> or <HI>State,</HI>
can truly be said to be from God, or that God is the
<HI>Author of it.</HI></P>
<P>But was not (will you say) the preaching of the
<HI>Gospel,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Obj.</NOTE> the preaching of <HI>Christianity</HI> it self, the Cause of
great Commotions and Disturbances in the World?
and was it not in this respect that <HI>Christ</HI> himself saith
that <HI>he came to send a Sword, and not Peace?</HI> and con|sequently
it seems that either <HI>Christian Religion</HI> it self
must be false, or that some <HI>Doctrines</HI> that cause Distur|bance
and Confusion in the World may be true.</P>
<P><PB N="15" REF="8">
To this which is the only considerable <HI>Objection</HI> I
can think of,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Answ.</NOTE> I answer, that <HI>Christian Religion</HI> was in|deed
the <HI>Occasion,</HI> but not the <HI>Cause</HI> of those Commoti|ons
and Disturbances, which it did not make, but meet
with in the World, when it was first published. For
those Commotions (whatsoever they were) did not
proceed from mens <HI>believing</HI> and <HI>obeying,</HI> but from their
<HI>not believing</HI> or their <HI>not obeying</HI> the Doctrines of the <HI>Gos|pel.</HI></P>
<P>And as for the <HI>Sword</HI> that Christ saith he came to
send into the World, it was a Sword of <HI>passive</HI> Persecu|tion,
and not a Sword of <HI>active</HI> Invasion, Resistance or
Rebellion: it was a <HI>Sword</HI> wherewith <HI>Christians</HI> were
to be slain themselves, and not a Sword with which
they were to destroy others: the <HI>Weapons of their War|fare
being Spiritual</HI> to work upon the <HI>Soul,</HI> and not <HI>Car|nal</HI>
to make any impression upon the <HI>Body:</HI> the Gospel
being not to be <HI>planted</HI> or <HI>propagated</HI> by force (as the
<HI>Turkish Alcoran</HI> was) but by perswading of it, and suf|fering
for it; nor otherwise to be <HI>defended</HI> by Subjects
against their Soveraigns, but by Prayers and Tears,
and laying down their lives in defence of it. The truth
is, <HI>Christian Religion</HI> truly so called, is so far from be|ing
a Cause of Commotion or Disturbance in King|doms
and States; that were there any Kingdom or
State in the World, where Christian Religion were
truly taught and truly practised, it would be impossi|ble
there should be any Dissention or Discord, any o|pen
<HI>Rebellion,</HI> or privy <HI>Conspiracy,</HI> or any thing but
Concord, Unity, and Peace in such a State or King|dom:
because all the <HI>Articles of the Christian faith,</HI> and
<PB N="16" REF="9">
all the <HI>Precepts of the Christian practise,</HI> tend unto Peace;&mdash;<HI>Peace</HI>
betwixt man and man in general, by <HI>forbid|ding</HI>
all men to Injure any man, or to Revenge them|selves
if they be injured; by <HI>commanding</HI> every man to
do good unto all men, and each of us to love one ano|ther
as our own selves. <HI>Peace</HI> in private Families, by
commanding <HI>Husbands</HI> to love their Wives, and <HI>Wives</HI>
to obey their Husbands, <HI>Parents</HI> to provide for their
Children, and <HI>Children</HI> to be dutiful unto their Parents,
<HI>Masters</HI> to be just and kind unto their Servants, and
<HI>Servants</HI> to be faithful, and diligent, and obedient unto
their Masters. Lastly, <HI>Peace</HI> in publick Societies,
whether <HI>Civil</HI> or <HI>Ecclesiastical,</HI> nay, even in <HI>Camps</HI> and
in <HI>Armies</HI> also; by teaching all <HI>Superiors</HI> to Govern
justly, and prudently, and moderately, and carefully;
and by teaching all <HI>Inferiors</HI> to Obey readily, willingly,
and chearfully when their Superiors command things
lawful, and never to resist or rebel, but to suffer meek|ly,
and patiently, when they cannot obey, that is,
when their Superiors commands are absolutely
and evidently unlawful. Whence it is (as I told you
before) that the Gospel of <HI>Christ</HI> is called the <HI>Gospel of
Peace,</HI> not only because it makes men to be at Peace
with God, and at peace with themselves, but at peace
with one another, nay, with all the World, as much
and as far at least as the World will suffer them to be
so. And consequently whatsoever <HI>Doctrine</HI> there is,
the <HI>belief</HI> and <HI>practise</HI> whereof doth cause disorder, di|straction
and <HI>confusion,</HI> that Doctrine though it be
Preached in the Name of <HI>Christ,</HI> is no part of the <HI>Gos|pel
of Christ,</HI> or of <HI>Christian Religion</HI> truly so called.</P>
<P><PB N="17" REF="9">
Which truth being so evidently grounded upon this
<HI>Theological Principle,</HI> or <GAP DESC="foreign">, in my Text, and suffi|ciently
cleared from the only <HI>Objection</HI> that I can ima|gine
may be made against it; let us proceed to make <MILESTONE N="IV">
that <HI>Use</HI> which the Apostle intended we should make
of it:<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Appli|cation.</NOTE> which is the <HI>fourth and last</HI> particular I proposed
unto you, and which I am now to speak of by way
of <HI>Application</HI> of all that hath been said in General, to
the occasion of this present meeting of ours in Parti|cular:
which is with all humble and hearty Thank|fulness
unto God to commemorate that Great, and
Wonderful, and almost Miraculous <HI>Deliverance of</HI> the
then <HI>King, Queen,</HI> and <HI>Prince,</HI> and likewise of <HI>all the
Lords both Spiritual and Temporal,</HI> together with all the
<HI>Representatives</HI> both of the <HI>Clergy,</HI> and of the <HI>Laity,</HI> from
being all of them destroyed at once by the most hor|rid
<HI>Conspiracy,</HI> and most Diabolical design that ever
was hatched in Hell, or attempted here on Earth:
and yet was no more than what those who were the
<HI>Contrivers</HI> of it, and were to be the <HI>Actors</HI> in it, were
prompted unto by some of the Doctrines of that <HI>Reli|gion</HI>
that was professed by them, I mean, the Religion
of the <HI>Church of Rome.</HI> Which that it may the better
appear unto you, the <HI>first</HI> Use I will make of St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s
<GAP DESC="foreign"> or Touchstone in my Text, shall be by way
of <HI>Discovery</HI> or <HI>Conviction.</HI></P>
<P>For if according to the <HI>Apostolical Aphorisme</HI> or <HI>Canon</HI>
in my Text <HI>God</HI> be <HI>not the Author of Confusion,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Use 1.</NOTE> <HI>but of
Peace;</HI> then whatsoever <HI>Church</HI> it is that makes <HI>God the
Author of Confusion,</HI> by teaching such Doctrines in his
Name, as must, if they be believed and practised, of
<PB N="18" REF="10">
necessity produce Confusion; it is not an <HI>Orthodox</HI> or
true believing <HI>Church,</HI> how confident soever it may
pretend to be so; but a Company of <HI>Hereticks</HI> and
<HI>Schismaticks,</HI> so far forth at least as they teach and pra|ctice
any such Doctrines.</P>
<P>And such indeed are all the several Sorts and <HI>Sects
of Dissenters</HI> from our Church at this time here in <HI>Eng|land,</HI>
by what denomination soever they are called
and distinguished from us, and from one another:
who though they differ in many things among them|selves,
yet in these two Particulars they all agree;
namely, <HI>First,</HI> In maligning and opposing of the
Church of <HI>England:</HI> and, <HI>Secondly,</HI> In teaching such
Doctrines as must necessarily, if they be believed and
practised, produce Faction, and Sedition and <HI>Confu|sion</HI>
amongst us, and consequently must needs (if the
teachers of them be not suppressed or restrained) be
finally at one time or another destructive to the <HI>Peace</HI>
and Safety of the present Government in the <HI>State</HI> as
well as in the <HI>Church.</HI> Which though it might be ve|rified
(more or less) of all the several <HI>Sects</HI> that dis|sent
from us, yet because the <HI>Doctrines</HI> tending to Se|dition
and Rebellion which are held by all the rest,
seem to be derived, and borrowed from those of the
<HI>Church of Rome,</HI> and because the <HI>Deliverance,</HI> we this
day Celebrate, was from a <HI>Popish,</HI> and not from a
<HI>Presbyterian</HI> Conspiracy (though some of the <HI>Popish</HI>
Party did give it out it was) I shall at this time
make use of the Touchstone in the Text, in relation
only to such <HI>Doctrines</HI> and <HI>Maxims</HI> as are held and
taught in the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and which must needs
<PB N="19" REF="10">
be false, if S. <HI>Paul</HI>'s Touchstone be true; because by evi|dent
and necessary consequence, they make God to be
the <HI>Author of Confusion,</HI> or at least to be believed to be so.</P>
<P>Such are, <HI>First,</HI> The Doctrine of the <HI>Popes Supre|macy,</HI>
and that not of Order or Precedency only, but <MILESTONE N="1">
of Authority and Jurisdiction also. Absolute Au|thority
and Universal Jurisdiction,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bell. de Con|cil. <HI>lib. 2. c.</HI> 17.</NOTE> <HI>supra universam
Ecclesiam,</HI> saith <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> over the <HI>Universal Church,</HI>
that is, over all <HI>Christians,</HI> and consequently over all
<HI>Christian States</HI> as well as <HI>Churches,</HI> and over <HI>Kings</HI> as
well as <HI>Subjects,</HI> and that not <HI>in Spiritualibus</HI> only, but
<HI>in Temporalibus</HI> also. For <HI>omne jus Regum &agrave; me pendet,</HI>
All the Right which Kings have is from me, said Pope
<HI>Clement</HI> the V. in the Council of <HI>Vienna.</HI> He should
have said <HI>Per me Reges regnant,</HI> by me Kings reign;
and then he had spoken like a <HI>Rex Regum,</HI> and <HI>Domi|nus
Dominantium,</HI> a King of Kings, and Lord of Lords
indeed, as some of his Flatterers<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">August. Steuch. An|ton. de Rosel|lis.</NOTE> are not ashamed
to call him. In the mean time, whether this <HI>Pleni|tudo
Potestatis,</HI> this fulness of Power in <HI>Temporals</HI> as well
as in <HI>Spirituals</HI> be in the Pope <HI>directly,</HI> as <HI>Baronius, Ca|rerius</HI>
and all the <HI>Casuists</HI> hold; or <HI>indirectly</HI> only, or in
order to the enabling him for the better exercising of
his spiritual jurisdiction, as <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> and with him
the whole Tribe of <HI>Jesuits</HI> say; it matters not: For
which way soever it be held, this Doctrine is destru|ctive
to the <HI>Soveraignty of Princes</HI> over their own Sub|jects,
and consequently to the Obedience of Subjects to
their own Soveraigns; than which, what can be more
destructive to the Peace and Safety of a <HI>State?</HI> And yet
this is that <HI>Article of Faith,</HI> which <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> in his
<PB N="20" REF="11">
chiding Letter to <HI>Blackwell</HI> the Arch-Priest here in
<HI>England,</HI> calls the foundation of the <HI>Catholick</HI> (he should
have said of the <HI>Roman Catholick) Religion:</HI> for so in|deed
it is.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> And that you may see what they mean to build up|on
this Foundation, it is a <HI>second</HI> Doctrine of theirs,
That <HI>Princes Excommunicated and Deposed by the Pope may
be not only deserted,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Convenit in|ter omnes posse Pontif. Max. Haereticos Principes jure deponere. Tort. Tort. p. 325.</NOTE> <HI>but destroyed by their Subjects;</HI> as be|ing
not only absolved from their <HI>Allegiance,</HI> but obli|ged
to put the <HI>Popes</HI> Sentence in execution: which if
they cannot do themselves, they are to joyn with any
foreign <HI>Prince,</HI> to whom the <HI>Pope</HI> shall please to give
away the Kingdom (as he did this of <HI>England</HI> to <HI>Lewis</HI>
of <HI>France</HI> in King <HI>Johns</HI> time) And against this Do|ctrine
it was, that the <HI>Oath of Allegiance</HI> was specially
intended, and for this Doctrine sake it was, that the <HI>Pope</HI>
forbad all of his party to take the <HI>Oath.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> Again to the end that <HI>Subjects</HI> might with the less
scruple of Conscience conspire and rebel against their
<HI>Soveraigns,</HI> when they shall be Excommunicated or
declared <HI>Hereticks</HI> by the Pope; there is <HI>another Do|ctrine</HI>
of the <HI>Church of Rome,</HI> which teacheth them,
<HI>That all power which Sovereign Princes have over their Peo|ple,
is derived from the People,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Qu&ograve;d Reges possunt depo|ni &agrave; Subditis ob multas causas. <HI>Bel|lar. de Pon|tif. lib. 5. c.</HI> 10. Bellarm. in Recog. <HI>lib.</HI> 3. Quaest. de Laicis.</NOTE> <HI>and may be resumed by the
People,</HI> to be transferred and collated upon any whom
the <HI>Supreme Pastor</HI> shall think fit to invest with it.
This Doctrine was proposed and defended in the
Council of <HI>Trent</HI> by <HI>Jacobus Laynez</HI> the <HI>Popes Divine</HI>
there emphatically so called, and one of the first <HI>Je|suits</HI>
who is herein followed by <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> and by all of
the same Order. And this Doctrine saith King <HI>James</HI>
<PB N="21" REF="11">
(in his <HI>Admonition to Christian Princes</HI>) is <HI>fundamentum
seditionis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Regis Jacoli monitio ad Principes Christianos, <HI>p.</HI> 333.</NOTE> the ground or foundation of Sedition.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> That the <HI>Pope</HI> may always have a Party of
his own and immediately depending upon himself in
all States and Kingdoms; it is another of their Do|ctrines,<MILESTONE N="4">
that <HI>all the Clergy in all places are exempted from
all secular Jurisdiction in all Causes criminal, whether Civil
or Ecclesiastick:</HI> so that there is no <HI>Prince</HI> (whether he
be of the <HI>Roman Communion</HI> or no) but he hath thou|sands
that are born, and bred, and live under the Pro|tection
of his Laws, and that are not subject to him,
but to a foreign Power: neither are they answerable
to him for any Crime they do or may commit (whe|ther
<HI>Murder, Felony,</HI> or <HI>Treason</HI>) unless the <HI>Pope</HI> will
give him leave to proceed against them; which <HI>Exem|ption</HI>
(where it is allowed of) gives that <HI>Clergy</HI> cou|rage
to attempt any thing for the <HI>Pope</HI> against <HI>Princes;</HI>
especially being unmarried, and consequently not ha|ving
that obligation of Wife and Children upon them,
which other men have, to indear them unto their
Country, and their Country unto them, they are
always the readier and the willinger to serve him up|on
whom wholly and only they depend. And in order
to that end no doubt it was that both <HI>Marriage</HI> was for|bidden,
and <HI>Exemption from Secular Jurisdiction</HI> was
granted unto the <HI>Clergy,</HI> though <HI>Suarez</HI> saith the latter
of these is of <HI>Divine Right,</HI> and therefore is so general
that it admits of no exception, and so certain that it
cannot be denied, without contradicting an Article
of Faith; I suppose he means the Article of the <HI>Pope's
Supremacy,</HI> whereunto the Exemption of the <HI>Clergy</HI>
<PB N="22" REF="12">
from Secular Jurisdiction is subservient in a very high
degree, and no less dangerous to the safety of Kings
and Princes, as King <HI>James</HI> observes in the aforesaid
Admonition.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5"> Now if <HI>Kings</HI> or <HI>States</HI> to prevent the danger they
are in by the aforesaid <HI>Doctrines</HI> shall require an <HI>Oath
of Allegiance</HI> from their Subjects upon such Penalties,
as that they dare not but take it, they have <HI>another</HI> Do|ctrine
of <HI>Equivocation,</HI> or <HI>Mental Reservation,</HI> whereby
they are qualified to say or unsay, to swear or forswear
any thing that shall be or can be proposed unto them,
and thereby to avoid both the Penalty of refusing, and
the Conscience of performing this or any other <HI>Oath</HI>
whatsoever.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="6"> But if the <HI>Oath</HI> be so warily and so strictly word|ed
as that as it obligeth them to take God to witness,
that they swear what they do swear without any <HI>Equi|vocation</HI>
or <HI>Mental Reservation,</HI> as they must if they take
the <HI>Oath of Allegiance;</HI> then the <HI>Gordian Knot</HI> which
cannot be untied must be cut asunder by the omnipo|tent
power of <HI>Papal Dispensation.</HI> For <HI>Catholici omnes
intelligunt</HI> (saith <HI>Tortus</HI> or <HI>Bellarminus larvatus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Tortura Tor|ti. p. 11.</NOTE>) All
Catholicks understand that it belongs to the Popes
Power to Absolve not only from Sins, but from Pe|nances,
from Censures, from Laws, and from Vows,
and from Oaths too.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7"> But what if it be part of the Oath to abjure the
Popes Power of Dispensing with that Oath (as it is
in the <HI>Oath of Allegiance</HI>) why! yet they have <HI>another</HI>
Doctrine to help them at a dead lift, which is, that
<HI>Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks;</HI> and it is not to be
<PB N="23" REF="12">
supposed that <HI>Catholick Princes</HI> or <HI>States</HI> will tender
such an <HI>Oath</HI> as takes away one of the best flowers of
the <HI>Popes Triple Crown;</HI> especially if his Power of <HI>Di|spensing</HI>
be taken in the largest extent, or according to
the practise of it; for so it reacheth to the ratifying or
making void of any thing, not as it is right or wrong,
lawful or unlawful, but as it is, or is not, for the Inte|rest
of him and of his See; though it be to the undoing
of Families, the dis-inheriting of right Heirs, or the
embroyling of Kingdoms in long and bloody Wars,
as hath been often done by his Dispensing with Ince|stuous
Marriages, by his Legitimating unlawful Issues,
and by his permitting causeless Divorces, which must
needs produce endless Disputes, and irreconcileable
Quarrels in the World.</P>
<P>To these I will add but one Doctrine of theirs more,<MILESTONE N="8">
and that is, the <HI>Indispensable Obligation of their Priests
to conceal</HI> (I suppose they mean from all but the Pope)
<HI>whatsoever they hear in Confession,</HI> though it be the inten|ded
murder of Kings, or destruction of States, saith
Cardinal <HI>Tolet;</HI> nay, the ruin of the World, saith
<HI>Henriques;</HI> which is so horrid a Doctrine (as King
<HI>James</HI> saith in his before-cited Admonition) that no
<HI>Prince</HI> or <HI>State</HI> can be safe where there be such <HI>Confes|sors;</HI>
no, nor <HI>Romish Catholick Princes</HI> themselves, as
appears by <HI>Henry</HI> the III. and <HI>Henry</HI> the IV. of <HI>France,</HI>
who would neither of them have been so barbarously
murdred as they were, had not Fryar <HI>Clement</HI> and <HI>Ra|villiac</HI>'s
Confessors been of this opinion. So that of
what Religion soever they be, neither <HI>Princes</HI> nor <HI>States</HI>
can be secured from the danger of this Doctrine, much
<PB N="24" REF="13">
less from the danger of this and all the former: of all
which I may boldly say that if the <GAP DESC="foreign"> or touch|stone
of my Text be true, every one of them is false,
and consequently none of them from the God of truth,
who is the <HI>Author of Peace,</HI> but all and every one of
them from him who is the Author of Lies, who is the
<GAP DESC="foreign"> and the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the stirrer up of Strife, and
the Author of Confusion; whence it follows, that the
<HI>Church</HI> that <HI>teacheth</HI> such <HI>Doctrines,</HI> is so far from being
the <HI>Catholick,</HI> that she is not so much as an <HI>Orthodox
Church;</HI> so far from being <HI>the only true Church,</HI> that she
is not so much as <HI>a true Church;</HI> I mean in a moral
sence, or so far at least as she teacheth such Doctrines.</P>
<P>If it be replyed, that it is not the <HI>Church of Rome</HI> it
self, but only some particular <HI>Doctors</HI> of that Church
that teach all or any of the aforesaid seditious <HI>Doctrines.</HI>
I answer, that these and the like <HI>Doctrines</HI> being pub|lickly
asserted, and maintained by the chief Pillars,
and Professors of that Church, and notoriously coun|tenanced
and abetted by the Head of that Church,
and never condemned, censur'd, or disclaimed by
the Representative Body of that Church; no, nor so
much as taken notice of, as dangerous, or erroneous,
by their <HI>Index expurgatorius,</HI> which censures all such
Authors and Opinions as that Church doth not ap|prove
of: we must needs conclude them to be the
Doctrines of the <HI>Church</HI> it self, and not of some of her
particular <HI>Doctors</HI> and <HI>Professors</HI> only; though some
of her particular <HI>Doctors</HI> may Dissent from some of
them, which signifie little or nothing, as long as the
<PB N="25" REF="13">
Head of the Church approves them, and as long as
they all hold the <HI>Pope</HI> to be <HI>Head of the Church,</HI> where|unto
the whole Body of the Church must submit, and
whereby it must be guided; and consequently, they
all hold he hath an <HI>Universal Jurisdiction</HI> over all Chri|stians,
which is the <GAP DESC="foreign">, the first of those false
seditious Doctrines, I before named; and whereunto
all the rest are but instrumental, and subservient, as
being at first invented, and ever since maintain'd in
order either to the bringing in, or keeping up of that
<HI>grand Imposture</HI> (as one of our Bishops calls it) I mean
the pretended <HI>Soveraignty of the Papacy</HI> over all Chri|stendom,
which whosoever will acknowledg and sub|mit
unto, he may hold either <HI>pro</HI> or <HI>con</HI> in almost all
of the Controverted points besides, and yet be a good
<HI>Catholick</HI> as they call him, as appears by the offer made
by <HI>Paul</HI> the IV. to Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> which was this,
That if she would acknowledg his <HI>Supremacy,</HI> and take
it as a Favour from him, or as an Indulgence granted
by him and by his Authority, <HI>Gratiam facturum Ponti|ficem,
ut sacra h&igrave;c omnia hoc ipso quo nunc sunt apud nos mo|do
procurari fas esset;</HI> his Holiness would graciously di|spence
with our way of serving of God in all things
pertaining to his Worship, in the very same manner
as now we do: They are the words of Bishop <HI>Andrews</HI>
one of the Worthiest, most Pious, and most Learned
of my Predecessors, in his <HI>Tortura Torti,</HI> from whence
(as he infers) it plainly appears that the <GAP DESC="foreign">,
that which is so much contended for by the <HI>Pope,</HI> and
those of his Party, is not that <HI>Faith,</HI> or any part of that
<HI>Faith,</HI> which was once delivered to the Saints, as Saint
<PB N="26" REF="14">
<HI>Jude</HI> tells us, and which he exhorts us earnestly to con|tend
for; but the exorbitant power of the <HI>Papacy,</HI> in
and over the Church of <HI>Christ,</HI> for the gaining, or keep|ing,
or recovering of which exorbitant power, that
Ball of contention hath been kept up for so many
hundreds of years in the Christian World.</P>
<P>For what was that which made that great <HI>Schism</HI> in
the Church, whereby the <HI>Eastern</HI> were, and still are
divided from the <HI>Western</HI> Christians? or what is that
which now divides that of the <HI>Roman,</HI> from all other
<HI>Christian</HI> Churches, but the Popes affecting and assu|ming
the title of <HI>Universal Bishop,</HI> or of being <HI>Head of the
whole Church?</HI> as if all other <HI>Patriarks, Metropolitans,</HI>
and <HI>Bishops,</HI> were all of them but his <HI>Vicars,</HI> and he
<HI>Christs.</HI> Again, what made all those quarrels first be|twixt
the <HI>Popes,</HI> and the <HI>Senate,</HI> and <HI>People</HI> of <HI>Rome,</HI>
and afterwards betwixt the <HI>Popes</HI> and the <HI>Roman Empe|rors,</HI>
as likewise betwixt the <HI>Popes</HI> and the <HI>Kings of
France,</HI> and betwixt the <HI>Popes</HI> and the <HI>Kings of England,</HI>
whereby all <HI>Europe</HI> was sometime in one place, and
sometimes in another, distracted and divided, and torn
in pieces, as it were, by Feuds, and Factions, and by
causeless and cruel Wars, sometimes the Father against
the Son, and sometimes the Son against the Father,
and always Christians against Christians. What was
the cause of all this, I say, but the extending of the
Popes aforesaid <HI>Primacy</HI> over the whole Christian
Church in spiritual things, to a <HI>Supremacy</HI> over the
whole Christian World, or over all Christian Princes
and States in the World? Lastly, what was the cause
of so many Conspiracies against Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> espe|cially
<PB N="27" REF="14">
after her Excommunication by the Pope, which
was seconded, first by a <HI>Rebellion</HI> in the North of <HI>Eng|land,</HI>
and afterwards by the <HI>Spanish Invasion</HI> in Eighty
Eight? or, what was the cause of the <HI>Gunpowder-Treason</HI>
it self? was it not a zeal for the recovering
and re-establishing of the aforesaid pretended power
of the Pope here in <HI>England?</HI> I am sure those that were
the Contrivers of it and Actors in it, (as many of them
I mean as were brought to Tryal for it) did all and
every one of them confess, that to be the only cause
for what they did and for what they suffered, namely,
their zeal for the <HI>Catholick Religion</HI> (as they call it) of
which (as I told you before) their great Cardinal
tells us the Popes Supremacy <HI>est unum ex praecipuis fun|damentis,</HI>
one of the chief foundations.</P>
<P>And as it was the restoring of the <HI>Popes</HI> pretended
Authority that was the cause of that horrid <HI>Conspiracy;</HI>
so the Bull of <HI>Clement</HI> the VIII. (whereby a little be|fore
the <HI>Queen</HI> died, he had forbidden all of his Party
here to suffer any but a <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> to succeed her)
was the ground or warrant whereupon they undertook
it; as appears by what <HI>Catesby,</HI> the chief of the Lay
Conspirators said when some of his <HI>Complices</HI> seemed
loth to proceed in it without the Popes express com|mand
for it, or approbation of it: <HI>To what end,</HI> said
he, <HI>should we trouble his Holiness any farther? was not the
forbidding us to receive him warrant enough for the removing
of him assoon and by what means soever it might be effected?</HI>
He might have added, that <HI>Heretical Princes</HI> might be
Deposed, or taken away by their Subjects, even be|fore
the sentence of <HI>Excommunication</HI> or <HI>Deposition</HI> be
<PB N="28" REF="15">
pronounced by the <HI>Pope</HI> against them, as some of their
<HI>Doctors</HI> hold; and therefore there was no reason they
should stand upon such formalities in a matter of such
Importance; and which required a speedy Executi|on.
And thus no doubt they were resolv'd in point of
Conscience by <HI>Garnett,</HI> the Provincial of the <HI>Jesuits,</HI>
at that time here in <HI>England,</HI> and the chief manager of
this inhumane <HI>Conspiracy,</HI> together with <HI>Oldcorn,</HI> and
three more of the same Order, of all whom it was
confessed by their Lay-<HI>Complices</HI> that they were not
only privy to it, but Authors of it, I mean of the a|foresaid
Conspiracy, and that they were the aforesaid
<HI>Jesuits</HI> that had encouraged them to undertake it; and
had often by the Sacrament of <HI>Penance</HI> and the <HI>Eucha|rist</HI>
confirmed them in the Resolution of it, as of a most
<HI>Catholick</HI> and <HI>meritorious</HI> Undertaking; and now all
Scruples being removed, and all danger of Discove|ry
being as they though prevented, by every mans
having taken an <HI>Oath of secrecy</HI> and received the Sacra|ment
upon it, the Eve of that day was come, which
next to that of <HI>Sadom</HI> and <HI>Gomorra</HI> should have been the
blackest and dismallest that ever the Sun beheld: The
Eve of that Day which was to have been the <HI>Doomsday</HI>
of this Kingdom: The Eve of that Day was come,
I say, upon which assoon as the <HI>King</HI> and <HI>Prince,</HI> toge|ther
with the <HI>Queen</HI> and her Ladies, and all the <HI>Lords</HI>
and <HI>Peers</HI> were come into the <HI>House of Lords,</HI> and the
whole <HI>House of Commons</HI> were come up into the same
Room to attend his Majesty, it was intended that
fatal Blow should have been given, of which what
would have been the dismal and direful Effects I had
<PB N="29" REF="15">
rather leave it to every mans fancy to Imagin than
vainly indeavour to Express, what would have been
indeed beyond all expression. But thanks be to our
great and good God, that it never arrived to any other
existence but what it had in their Intention, and what
it hath now in our Imagination. For that <GAP DESC="foreign">
that severe all-seeing eye of the <HI>Divine Justice</HI> and <HI>Pro|vidence,</HI>
which had lookt upon this <HI>Embrio</HI> of darkness
from the first Conception until all its Limbs were
formed, and framed, and fashioned, did then, even
then when it was come unto the Birth, and was ready
to be brought forth, suddenly, and strangely, and al|most
as much to ours as their amazement, discover it,
or rather made it discover it self; so that it was stopt,
it was smother'd, it was stifled; it was buried in its
own Vault, in that infernal Womb wherein it was
conceived. And thus <HI>the snare was broken and we were
delivered</HI> even before we knew the Danger we were in;
which was so much the greater, because we had no
Apprehension at all of it, and consequently no hu|mane
Possibility to prevent it, to avoid it, or to deli|ver
our selves from it. And therefore what we could
not possibly do for our selves, God himself was plea|sed
at that time to do for us without any concurrence
of our own towards it. But we must not think be|cause
it was so once, it will be so always, or that we
shall always be saved by Miracle, neither must we
think because we have escaped one, that therefore we
are secure from all dangers, or that we may not possi|bly
be in as great danger now, or at another time, as
we were then, because we do not see it, not fear it,
<PB N="30" REF="16">
nor suspect it; for we did not see it, nor fear it, nor
suspect it then neither. But rather to consider, <HI>Whether</HI>
this <HI>Barbarous Design</HI> (considering who were the <HI>Con|trivers</HI>
of it, and <HI>Actors</HI> in it) were not the product
of all, or some of those <HI>Doctrines</HI> before specified, and
proved to be the Doctrines of those that govern in the
<HI>Church of Rome.</HI> Secondly, <HI>Whether</HI> the same Causes
are not likely at some time or other to produce the
same or the like Effects. Thirdly, <HI>Whether</HI> we may
not in Conscience, and ought not in Prudence, to pre|vent
the sowing and growing of such <HI>Tares</HI> amongst
our <HI>Wheat,</HI> of such Doctrines, in our Church. I pre|sume
no man here doubts but we may and ought to do
so; especially considering that none of these Do|ctrines,
which are and will be always the seeds of <HI>Se|dition,
Conspiracies</HI> and <HI>Rebellion,</HI> are yet disclaimed by
any declaratory <HI>Sentence</HI> either of <HI>Council</HI> or of <HI>Pope,</HI>
but are still avowed and maintained by the prevailing
party in that Church: nay, considering likewise that
this horrible <HI>Conspiracy</HI> it self, the <HI>Gunpowder-Treason,</HI>
hath not been as yet ever branded with any note of
Infamy or Detestation set upon it by any publick Au|thority
of the Church, but rather magnified and glo|rified
by suffering <HI>Garnett</HI> and <HI>Oldcorne</HI> to be put into
the <HI>Martyrology,</HI> or Catalogue of Martyrs by the <HI>Jesu|its,</HI>
which they durst not have done without the <HI>Popes</HI>
knowledg, and consent to it; which must argue
his approbation of it, though he did not make a <HI>Pane|gyrick
Oration</HI> in praise of these Traytors, as <HI>Sixtus
Quintus</HI> did in praise of Fryar <HI>Clement</HI> for killing <HI>Henry</HI>
the III. King of <HI>France,</HI> because that was <HI>prosperum ac|foelix
<PB N="31" REF="16">
scelus,</HI> and this was but an Attempt only: consider|ing
these things, I say, no man can blame us for look|ing
as well as we can to our selves, and providing as
well as we can for our own security from the danger
of such <HI>Practises,</HI> which we have experimentally found
to be the fruit of such <HI>Doctrines.</HI> And therefore from
the <HI>Use</HI> of this Touchstone by way of <HI>Discovery,</HI> I come
to the <HI>Use</HI> we are to make of it by way of <HI>Caution.</HI></P>
<P>And I will give it you in the words of our <HI>Saviour</HI>
himself,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Use <HI>II.</HI></NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Beware of false
Prophets,</HI> yea, though they come to you in <HI>sheeps cloa|thing,</HI>
as if they and none but they were of Christs fold,
whereas inwardly and indeed (saith he) they are
not only <HI>Wolves,</HI> but ravening Wolves, that is such
as intend to make a Prey of you, and <HI>by their fruits</HI>
(saith he) <HI>you shall know them,</HI> that is, by their teach|ing
such Doctrines as are inconsistent with Peace, and
tending to the stirring up of strifes, and to the em|broyling
of Kingdoms and States in discord and dis|sention,
which is an Evidence that they are not of a
Lamb-like, but of a Woolvish nature and disposition.
Try them therefore by this Touchstone in my Text
which will never fail you. The name of <HI>Catholick</HI>
may be falsly assumed, <HI>Universal Tradition</HI> may be
falsly alledged, the <HI>Churches Infallibility</HI> may be falsly
pretended, <HI>Miracles</HI> may be fraudulently forged, nay
the <HI>Word of God</HI> it self may be falsly interpreted, or fal|laciously
applied. But Gods nature can never be chan|ged;
he is the <HI>God of Peace,</HI> and therefore he is not nor
ever was, nor ever can be the <HI>Author of Confusion,</HI> nor
of any <HI>Doctrine</HI> or <HI>Practise</HI> tending to Confusion. <HI>Mark
<PB N="32" REF="17">
therefore,</HI> saith <HI>Paul, those that cause Divisions among you
and avoid them.</HI> Mark them, I say, and set some mark
upon them that others may know them and avoid
them also. For of this sort, as this same Apostle tells
us, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 6. are <HI>they who creep into Houses and lead
captive silly Women laden with sins, and led away with divers
lusts;</HI> following herein the Devils method, beginning
as he did with the weaker Vessels, and hoping to have
the same success as he had in seducing our <HI>Adams</HI> by
our <HI>Eves.</HI> And thus going up and down and <HI>converting</HI>
(as they say) but <HI>subverting</HI> (as St. <HI>Paul</HI> saith, <HI>Tit. 1.
11.) whole Houses</HI> they do by little and little under|mine
such <HI>Churches</HI> and <HI>States,</HI> as are not built upon
their own foundation.</P>
<P>And yet I will not say (as St. <HI>Paul</HI> saith, <HI>Gal. 5. 12.)</HI>
<GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>I would they were even
cut off that trouble you,</HI> or that cause troubles amongst
you: No, God is my witness before whom I stand, it
is not their Persecution, but our own Preservation that
I contend for. For as I differ from them in many
other Opinions, so do I in this also, that <HI>It is lawful to
put men to death for any dissent in opinion,</HI> though it be in
matters of Faith, so it be but in opinion only&mdash;And
yet no doubt it is lawful by all <HI>Laws Humane</HI> and <HI>Di|vine</HI>
for any <HI>Society</HI> of men to secure themselves by all
just means from those whom they have just cause to
be affraid of, and consequently from those who
teach such Doctrines as are practically destructive
either to humane Society in general, or to this or
that Society in particular. It behoves us therefore
in order to our own preservation, and in order to the
<PB N="33" REF="17">
preservation of the present Government both in
<HI>Church</HI> and <HI>State</HI> to take care, it may not be in their
power to make any change or alteration in it. For
when it is in their power they profess they are obliged
to do it. And if you ask them why the <HI>Primitive Chri|stians</HI>
did not depose or rebell against either the <HI>Pagan</HI>
or <HI>Arrian</HI> Emperors (that is) against Infidel or He|retical
Princes, <HI>Bellarmines</HI> answer is <HI>qui&acirc; deerant Vires,</HI>
because they were not enow, or had not power
enough to do it. And Pope <HI>Gregory</HI> the XIII. saith in
excuse of the <HI>English Roman Catholicks</HI> for not putting
Pope <HI>Pius</HI> the V's&punc; Bull in execution against Queen
<HI>Elizabeth,</HI> by taking Arms against her, and deposing
of her, that they were not obliged <HI>rebus sic stantibus</HI> in
regard of their present weakness, but would be obli|ged
so soon as they were able to do it: <HI>(Tortura Torti,</HI>
pag. 5.) so that if either the <HI>Cardinal,</HI> or the <HI>Pope</HI> him|self
knew the Doctrine of their own Church, no <HI>Pro|testant
Prince</HI> or <HI>State</HI> can, morally speaking, be secure
from the generality of their <HI>Popish Subjects</HI> any longer
than they are in such a condition, as that they cannot
hurt them. From the generality, I say, of such Sub|jects,
I do not say from all of them; for I know there
be many of them very worthy and loyal Persons, and
such as have hazarded, and will hazard their lives
again for the defence of their <HI>King</HI> and of their <HI>Country</HI>
as frankly as any of our own Religion, when there
shall be cause for it; at least they are for the present
resolved to do so, and do unfeignedly believe them|selves
when they profess they will do so; But <HI>Dic mihi,
c&ugrave;m fueris tu Leo, qualis eris?</HI> Alas! how do they know
<PB N="34" REF="18">
whether they shall be always of the same mind or no?
Are they not liable to temptation as well as other
men, or can they tell how or to what degree, Abili|ty,
and Opportunity, and hope of Impunity, nay,
of meriting a Crown of glory, together with the in|terposition
of the Popes Authority, may work upon
them? and therefore that neither they may be led in|to
temptatiou nor we be exposed to the danger which
otherwise we may in reason expect from them; the
best way for us and them too will be, at least, to pre|vent
the Growth and Increase of them, either in Num|ber,
or in Power; for if they increase in Number,
they will incease in Power; and if they increase in
Power, they will increase in Number also: which
because it is already provided for by the <HI>Kings</HI> most
gracious Answer to the Petition of both his Houses of
<HI>Parliament</HI> to that purpose, I shall no longer insist
upon it. Only I will add for the justifying of our
<HI>Laws</HI> that are made against those of the <HI>Romish</HI> Party,
that if they seem somewhat to have a more watchful
Eye, or to hold somewhat a stricter Hand over
them, especially in jealous times, they are to blame
themselves and not us for it; who could do no less
than we have done to secure our selves from them:
or rather indeed it is their own holy Father the <HI>Pope,</HI>
whom both they and we are to complain of, for ne|cessitating
us to deal more hardly than otherwise we
should do with them, and them to suffer more than
otherwise they should do from us, by prohibiting
them to take the <HI>Oaths</HI> either of <HI>Supremacy</HI> or <HI>Allegiance;</HI>
and consequently prohibiting them also either to ac|knowledg
<PB N="35" REF="18">
the <HI>Kings</HI> Sovereign Power over all his
own <HI>Subjects</HI> within his own Dominions, which is
asserted in the <HI>former;</HI> or to secure the King of their
indispensable Loyalty and Obedience which is promi|sed
in the <HI>latter.</HI> And truly why any <HI>Roman Catholick</HI>
may not without any prejudice to his Conscience take
either, or both of these <HI>Oaths,</HI> I see no other reason
but the Popes prohibition only: I am sure that of the
two which is most stuck at, I mean the <HI>Oath of Supre|macy,</HI>
was made, and given and taken by those of the
<HI>Romish</HI> Religion in <HI>Henry</HI> the VIII's. time: but one of
all the Bishops (which was <HI>Fisher</HI> Bishop of <HI>Roche|ster)</HI>
refusing it; and some of the most eminent of
them in parts, and place writing for it: namely,
<HI>Gardiner</HI> Bishop of <HI>Winchester</HI> in his Book <HI>De ver&acirc; obe|dienti&acirc;,</HI> prefaced by <HI>Bonner</HI> Bishop of <HI>London,</HI> who
certainly were both of them as learned and as zealous
<HI>Roman Catholicks</HI> as any were at that time of their Or|der
in this Kingdom, I might add and as great perse|cutors
of the <HI>Protestants</HI> and of the <HI>Protestant Religion</HI>
also: so that unless the <HI>Pope</HI> hath made a new Article
of Faith since, not only the <HI>Oath of Allegiance,</HI> but the
<HI>Oath of Supremacy</HI> likewise, may be taken by any <HI>Ro|manist</HI>
without Heresie.&mdash;But of this enough, and
therefore I shall close up all with the third and
last Use I shall make of this <GAP DESC="foreign"> at this time,
<HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>With a <HI>Thanksgiving</HI> unto our good and most graci|ous
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Use <HI>III.</HI></NOTE> <HI>first</HI> for delivering the <HI>King,</HI> the <HI>Nobility,</HI>
and the <HI>Gentry</HI> that then were, and consequently the
<HI>King,</HI> the <HI>Nobility,</HI> and the <HI>Gentry</HI> that now are, who
<PB N="36" REF="19">
were then in the Loins of their Progenitors from that
fatal Blow, which would at once have destroyed
them, and all that were to come of them. <HI>Second|ly,</HI>
For delivering the whole <HI>Nation</HI> from the conse|quences
of that Blow, which would have been the
enslaving of us all, (the King himself not excepted)
in our Persons, in our Purses, and in our Consciences,
to the Tyrannical Usurpation of the Papacy: the in|tolerable
yoak whereof our Ancestors for so many
hundreds of years did groan under. <HI>Thirdly,</HI> and <HI>last|ly,</HI>
We are to thank God and to congratulate with one
another for the Preservation of our <HI>Church,</HI> from that,
and all other Designs, and Conspiracies against it:
for the preservation of our <HI>Church</HI> (I say) which as
it was reformed at first (as the Temple of <HI>Hierusalem</HI>
was built, without noise of Axes and Hammers)
without Tumult, Sedition, or Rebellion, being in|troduced
by <HI>Sovereign</HI> Authority and Advice of the
Reverend <HI>Clergy,</HI> and with the Consent of the <HI>Nobili|ty</HI>
and <HI>Representative Body</HI> of the whole Kingdom; so
she hath ever since continued a Mother of peace, and
peaceable Children, whom she trains up in humble
Obedience to the <HI>King,</HI> and to the <HI>Laws</HI> without teach|ing
them, or suffering them to teach any thing, where|by
the People may be incouraged either to despise the
one, or to resist the other.</P>
<P><HI>And this indeed is the peculiar Glory of the</HI> Church
of England, <HI>that she, and no other Church but she,
hath plainly and positively declared unto the World
without</HI> Iffs <HI>or</HI> Ands, <HI>or any other clause, or words
of exception or reservation, that</HI> It is not lawful for
<PB N="37" REF="19">
Subjects severally, or joyntly, or in any capacity whatsoever,
to take up Arms, or to joyn with any that do take up Arms,
either offensive or defensive against Sovereign Authority, or
without Commission from Sovereign Authority, in any case,
for any cause, or upon any either pretended or real provoca|tion,
and least of all upon the account of Religion, <HI>because
that were</HI> in terminis, <HI>or in plain terms to contradict the</HI>
Apostle <HI>in my Text, by making God the Author of</HI>
Confusion <HI>and not of</HI> Peace.</P>
<P>For what <HI>Peace</HI> could there be among Christians, if it
were lawful for <HI>Subjects</HI> to rise up or to conspire against
their <HI>Sovereigns</HI> for defending or introducing of that
which they call, or think to be the true <HI>Religion?</HI> For
every man and Sect of men takes their own Religion
to be the truest, otherwise they would not, nay, they
could not in earnest be of it themselves; so that if it
were lawful for <HI>Subjects</HI> to take Arms, or to attempt
any thing against the <HI>State,</HI> or present Government,
for that which they think to be the <HI>true Religion,</HI> all
States and Kingdoms must needs be always embroyl|ed
in <HI>Civil Wars;</HI> because there is no State or Kingdom
but it hath some (I am sure ours hath many) of se|veral
Religions in it; who might all as well as any
take Arms upon this account against their Sovereign,
who can be but of one Religion himself. If it be repli|ed
that though the <HI>Sovereign</HI> can be but of one Religion
himself, yet there may be a <HI>Toleration</HI> given of all the
rest; I confess there may be so, but not without ex|treme
hazard (as I humbly conceive) both to the
<HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>Person</HI> of the <HI>Sovereign.</HI> 'Tis true, that
all of all Religions cry out for <HI>Liberty of Conscience</HI> until
<PB N="38" REF="20">
they themselves are in possession of the Sovereign
power, and then they will give none to others: Witness
the practise of those of the <HI>Church of Rome,</HI> during
Queen <HI>Maries</HI> Reign here in <HI>England,</HI> and at this day
in <HI>Spain</HI> and <HI>Italy,</HI> and wheresoever else the <HI>Romish
Religion</HI> is in its full power: Witness likewise the pra|ctise
of the several <HI>Sectaries</HI> in their several turns of
governing in the late Changes here at home, when
there was none of them that did not, or would not
have suppressed all other <HI>Sects</HI> but their own, as much
as <HI>they</HI> did, if it had been in their power. The best
and safest way therefore for <HI>Prince, State</HI> and <HI>People,</HI> is
to profess, protect, cherish and allow of that <HI>Religion,</HI>
and that only which allows of no rising up against, or
resisting <HI>Sovereign Power,</HI> no not in its own defence,
nor upon any other account whatsoever; which most
<HI>Christian,</HI> and most <HI>Orthodox</HI> Profession, if those of the
<HI>Romish,</HI> and those of other Perswafions that live a|mong
us, but are not of us, would make as frankly,
and as ingenuously and as sincerely as we do, though
it would not presently reconcile all other Differences
betwixt us and them, yet it would perhaps be enough
to make us live peaceably, and charitably, and secure|ly
together, without Fear or Jealousie of one another,
which would be a good step towards an Accommoda|tion
of all other Controversies betwixt us in time also:
which is all that I have to say at this time upon this
Occasion: only let me intreat you all to joyn with
me in this short Prayer to God the Father.</P>
<P>That all who are called by the name of his Son, all
Christians may through the powerful inspiration, and ope|ration
<PB N="39" REF="20">
of his Holy Spirit, be brought to agree in the Truth
of his Holy Word, and to live together in Unity and God|ly
Love. That there be no more Heresies, nor no more
Schisms, no more Sects, nor no more Factions, no more
Controversies, nor no more Scandals, nor no more Wars,
Seditions, Conspiracies, or Rebellions amongst Christians,
but that all of us in our several Places and Stations may
indeavour to adorn our holy Profession by an holy Life and
Conversation, that so we may be no longer Christians in
name only but in deed. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
