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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="half title">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1">
<P>Doctor <HI>BIRCH</HI>'s SERMON Preached before the Honourable Hou&s;e of Commons, <HI>Novemb.</HI> 5. 1689.</P>
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<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<OPENER><DATE><HI>Mercurii</HI> 6 <HI>Die Nov.</HI> 1689.</DATE></OPENER>
<P><HI>RESOLVED,</HI></P>
<P>THAT the Thanks of this Hou&s;e be given to Doctor <HI>Birch,</HI> for the Ser|mon Preached before them Ye&s;terday at St. <HI>Margarets VVe&s;tmin&s;ter;</HI> And that he be de&s;ired to Print the &s;ame; And that Sir <HI>Thomas Clarges</HI> do acquaint him there|with.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>PAUL JODRELL,</HI> Cl. Dom. Com.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="2">
<P>A SERMON Preached before the Honourable Hou&s;e of Commons, <HI>November</HI> 5. 1689. By <HI>P. BIRCH,</HI> D. D.</P>
<P><HI>In the Savoy:</HI> Printed by <HI>E. Jones;</HI> and are to be &s;old by <HI>W. Nott</HI> in the <HI>Pall-Mall,</HI> and <HI>R. Taylor</HI> near <HI>Stationers-Hall.</HI> 1689.</P>
<PB REF="3">
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>JOHN XVI. 3.</BIBL>
<Q>And the&s;e things will they do unto you, be|cau&s;e they have not known the Father, nor Me.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THIS is the Rea&s;on our Lord a&s;&s;igns of the Jewi&s;h Zeal again&s;t his Followers, why they put them out of their Synagogues, and thought who&s;oever killed them, did God Service: And the Account &s;o well agrees to their Succe&s;&s;ors in the &s;ame bitterne&s;s of Spirit, that it can be no Immode&s;ty in us to a&s;cribe that Ignorance to a part, which Chri&s;t him&s;elf charges, for the &s;ame cau&s;e, upon the whole Vi&s;ible Church of God.</P>
<P>The Jews, at that time, had all the Advantages of Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; They had a
<PB N="2" REF="4"> Church of God's own founding; One that had continued in a con&s;tant and vi|&s;ible Succe&s;&s;ion for many Ages: That had no need of the Modern Arts, to found its Doctrines on the Credit of a Dream, or ca&s;t out Devils where Men were hired to be po&s;&s;e&s;t; but which had &s;een the Rod of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;trike a Living Stream out of a Rock, and the Sea divided to give them pa&s;&s;age and protection: One, which had the Oracles of God commit|ted to it, and which truly &s;ate in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>'s Chair. And therefore for the&s;e Rulers of God's cho&s;en People, the <HI>High Prie&s;t,</HI> and all the State of the <HI>Elders,</HI> to be charg'd with Folly, to &s;ee their <HI>Statutes</HI> and <HI>Or|dinances</HI> in danger to be &s;et at naught, and them&s;elves robbed of their Prerogative by a few illiterate Fi&s;her-Men, were Provo|cations that &s;eem'd to ju&s;tifie their Zeal, and make their Fury Religious. For to tell them, <HI>They knew not God;</HI> was next
<PB N="3" REF="4"> to affirming, <HI>He had left him&s;elf without Witne&s;s:</HI> And, <HI>To reject their Authority;</HI> was to <HI>Re&s;i&s;t the Ordinance of God,</HI> who had &s;aid, <HI>The Prie&s;ts Lips &s;hall pre&s;erve Knowledge, and the People &s;hall &s;eek it at their Mouths.</HI></P>
<P>But on the contrary, our great Prophet and Teacher, who <HI>knew what was in Man,</HI> and how little all the&s;e boa&s;ted Privileges would avail in the &s;ight of God, plainly charges the&s;e Unnatural Heats upon their Ignorance; They knew not that a God of Mercy and Compa&s;&s;ion excu&s;es no Wrath that is cruel, and that fierce Anger was not made for Man: They under&s;tood not how great the Pre&s;umption was, to fancy his Cau&s;e needed the &s;upport of their Sin; That nothing which is Evil and Injurious, can be made fit for our Election; and that no Intention is good, which puts us upon the choice of Ill Means. And for this Rea&s;on, to the end his Di&s;ciples
<PB N="4" REF="5"> &s;hould not be offended, nor prefer Au|thority to Truth, does our Saviour here affirm, <HI>The&s;e things will they do unto you, becau&s;e they have not known the Father, nor Me.</HI></P>
<P>The Words are plainer than any Com|ment would make them; and they are de&s;igned, in their Fir&s;t Intention, to arm the Holy Apo&s;tles again&s;t the Malice of their own Country-Men. They were the Fir&s;t Per&s;ecutors of Men, who believed in the &s;ame God with them&s;elves: For what we read of <HI>Socrates, Anaxagoras,</HI> and others, being condemn'd by the Court of <HI>Areopagus,</HI> was not for Wor&s;hipping the Gods in a wrong manner, but for Con|temning all. But in every Age we find the Jews Con&s;tant Promoters of the Heathen Cruelties: And if we may gue&s;s at the Rea&s;on of their Pa&s;&s;ion, by the fir&s;t Spring of it, it does not &s;eem to be a true Zeal for their Law, le&s;t the Chri&s;tians &s;hould
<PB N="5" REF="5"> only change the Cu&s;toms which <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> delivered them, but rather an Indignation or Envy to be &s;o much over-matched by their Glorious Works, and Excellent Abi|lities. St. <HI>Luke</HI> relates, <HI>Act.</HI> 5. That <HI>by</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 12.</NOTE> <HI>the Hands of the Apo&s;tles were many Signs and Wonders wrought among the People, then ro&s;e up the High Prie&s;t, and they that were</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 17.</NOTE> <HI>with him, and were filled with Indignation, and laid their Hands on the Apo&s;tles, and put them in the Common Pri&s;on.</HI> After|wards when they could not &s;ilence the&s;e Witne&s;&s;es of our Lords Re&s;urrection, they <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 33.</NOTE> <HI>took Coun&s;el to &s;lay them,</HI> and &s;o literally fulfilled the Praediction in the Text.</P>
<P>But this is written likewi&s;e for our learning who come after; for no Pro|phecy of the Scripture is of a private or proper Interpretation; it ought not to be confin'd to that &s;ingle Occa&s;ion upon which it was fir&s;t uttered, but is a &s;tanding In|&s;truction for all the Succeeding Nece&s;&s;ities
<PB N="6" REF="6"> of the Church. And therefore we who now celebrate a Deliverance, wherein this Scripture is fulfilled in our Ears, who labour under the like unju&s;t Sentence, as the Apo&s;tles once did, and &s;till hear Murder called a Sacrifice unto God, may &s;afely conclude, that the Admonition be|longs to us of the Pre&s;ent Generation, no le&s;s than it did to them, who fir&s;t recei|ved it; and though we have no great hopes it will convince Gain-&s;ayers, yet it may &s;erve to fortifie our &s;elves, and to make us all &s;en&s;ible of Gods Mercy, in &s;o long e&s;caping that Fury, which fir&s;t made Jewi&s;h Zealots and then Chri&s;tian; which particularly in&s;pired the Con&s;pira|tors of this Day, and which we have rea|&s;on to Fear, was not buried in their Graves, but will be always urging to the like Attempts.</P>
<P>For which Good Purpo&s;es, I &s;hall en|deavour &s;ome account,</P>
<PB N="7" REF="6">
<P N="1">1. Of the Fal&s;ene&s;s of that Principle, upon which the&s;e Violences are generally built, namely, That they are De&s;igns for God, and Hallowed by their being &s;o.</P>
<P N="2">2. Of tho&s;e Mi&s;takes which corrupt and mi&s;guide our Zeal to intemperate Degrees. And,</P>
<P N="3">3. We may reflect on that wonder|ful Act of God's Providence, in &s;o emi|nently protecting us, and the Gratitude we owe Him, who &s;o does His <HI>Marvel|lous Works,</HI> that <HI>they ought to be had in Remembrance.</HI> And,</P>
<P N="1">I. If we enquire what it was, which &s;o far tran&s;ported the Jews again&s;t the Holy Apo&s;tles, we &s;hall find it none of the <HI>weighter Matters of the Law, Judgment or Mercy,</HI> for the&s;e the Apo&s;tles ob&s;erved better than them&s;elves; but that which inflam'd their Zeal, was <HI>Traditions of their own,</HI> the <HI>Commandments of Men,</HI> and <HI>not of God.</HI> And of this our Saviour
<PB N="8" REF="7"> convinces them, <HI>Matth.</HI> 15. in an emi|nent in&s;tance; They had a cu&s;tom of De|voting their Goods by Vow; this the Phari&s;ees adjudged Obligatory, though a Father were in want, and &s;o made the Vow take place of the Commandment; now it is hardly imaginable, how they came to prefer this mad Practice to &s;o plain and natural a Duty, but that our Lord in&s;inuates the Rea&s;on, The Vow was of their own devi&s;ing, and that made them &s;o fond of it.</P>
<P>Here then we have a plain di&s;covery, what makes our Zeal intemperate; it is that which makes every Affection &s;o, the being <HI>Lovers of our &s;elves,</HI> and leaning to our own Under&s;tandings; for this never fails of making us &s;eek to impo&s;e upon other Men; one effect of which always is, that we proportion not our di&s;plea&s;ure to the weight of the things contended a|bout, but to the oppo&s;ition we meet with;
<PB N="9" REF="7"> and this ea&s;ily leads us into a Fond Be|lief, that the Goodne&s;s of the Intention will &s;anctifie our Exce&s;&s;es. It was St. <HI>Paul</HI>'s own ca&s;e whil&s;t he liv'd a <HI>Phari&s;ee,</HI> he &s;ays, <HI>Act.</HI> 26. That <HI>he verily thought with</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 9.</NOTE> <HI>him&s;elf he ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Je&s;us of Nazareth;</HI> and yet we never find this pleaded as a Ju&s;ti|fication of his Fact; but though he <HI>ob|tained Mercy</HI> becau&s;e he <HI>did it ignorantly</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 1. 13.</NOTE> <HI>in &V;nbelief,</HI> yet he &s;till confe&s;&s;es him&s;elf to have been <HI>a Bla&s;phemer, and a Per&s;e|cutor, and Injurious;</HI> and he afterwards pronounces, That <HI>who&s;oever does Evil, that Good may come, his Damnation is just.</HI></P>
<P>The Rea&s;on of this Declaration we find to have been a Slanderous Report, that he <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 3. 8.</NOTE> held the contrary: And it &s;eems to have been a Calumny upon our Saviour him|&s;elf; for before his Expo&s;ition of the De|calogue, <HI>Matth.</HI> 5. he forewarns his Fol|lowers,
<PB N="10" REF="8"> That they &s;hould not <HI>think he came to de&s;troy the Law and the Prophets;</HI> and the following words &s;hew the great Rea&s;on he had to do &s;o; <HI>For verily I &s;ay</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 8.</NOTE> <HI>unto you, till Heaven and Earth pa&s;s, one jot, or one tittle, &s;hall in no wi&s;e pa&s;s from the Law, till all be fulfilled.</HI> This is &s;po|ken of the Moral Law, for the Ceremo|nial ceas'd at his coming, and the Judi|cial was of no force but in the Common|wealth of <HI>I&s;rael;</HI> and the profe&s;&s;ion is of ab&s;olute Nece&s;&s;ity to the receiving of the Go&s;pel: For if that were not agreeable to the Common Principles of Good and Evil, implanted in us already, we could have no &s;ufficient Motive to obey it; be|cau&s;e the &s;ame God; who is the Author of our Faith, is al&s;o Author of our Rea&s;on; and gave us that to judge of our Faith by; &s;o as for him to evacuate any Mo|ral Command, is to contradict him&s;elf. To &s;ay there may be new Rules of Ju|&s;tice,
<PB N="11" REF="8"> Temperance or Fidelity, is no bet|ter &s;en&s;e than that there may be a new Truth in a Nece&s;&s;ary Propo&s;ition: For the Law written in our Hearts was at fir&s;t given us to guide Mankind to the End of his Creation, and therefore mu&s;t be as Immortal as our Nature: That which was re&s;tored by the Sanctions of Chri&s;tianity, was this very Law, and as &s;uch, it was received by the World.</P>
<P>And it could not be received upon any other account: For the Learned part of the World was before in&s;tructed, that <HI>True Religion and &V;ndefiled</HI> was ever the &s;ame, only Time, and the Nece&s;&s;ities of Men, have varied it in the manner of expre&s;&s;ing it. It was always true, That God is the mo&s;t Excellent Being in Him|&s;elf, and the greate&s;t Benefactor to us; and therefore to love and &s;erve him out of a prevailing &s;en&s;e of his Goodne&s;s, was always to be Religious; and <HI>he that in</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="9"> <HI>every Nation</HI> thus <HI>worked Righteou&s;ne&s;s, was accepted of him.</HI> So likewi&s;e in the Duties relating to one another, the Rea|&s;on of them never changes, though the Laws vary which are built upon it: We mu&s;t, for in&s;tance, live in &s;ome Society or other, becau&s;e one part cannot &s;ay to another, <HI>I have no need of thee;</HI> and therefore we are bound for our own good to all tho&s;e Duties by which So|cieties are &s;upported. We may all want our Neighbours A&s;&s;i&s;tance, and therefore ought in good Rea&s;on to &s;up|ply him in his turn: If we do not our Neighbours Ju&s;tice in their Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, we cannot long expect to be &s;afe in our own. And in all the&s;e ca&s;es, it is Equity and Right Rea&s;on which makes the Law Obligatory, though that determines the particular Act. The common Rea&s;on of Mankind obliges us not to invade one a|nothers Property, but it is the Municipal
<PB N="13" REF="9"> Law of the Country which teaches us what it is to do &s;o, by defining what &s;hall be e&s;teem'd Theft, Murder, or Adultery. When therefore we find Con&s;titutions to vary, this is not an Alteration in the great Fundamental Principles of Rea&s;on, but it ari&s;es from the different Circum&s;tances Men are under; or at mo&s;t, only proves that one Body of Men is not &s;o wi&s;e as another.</P>
<P>And for this cau&s;e, the old Chri&s;tian Apologi&s;ts, who be&s;t under&s;tood the Things they wrote about, did not begin their Method of Conver&s;ion where the Modern Controverti&s;ts do, by trying the &s;trength of a Mans Faith, and gageing his Credulity by fir&s;t propounding of a My|&s;tery: But they repre&s;ent the Doctrine of Chri&s;t as an higher and a more excellent Improvement of Morality than ever was before: They deny not that the &s;ame Virtues are found in the Heathen Mora|li&s;ts
<PB N="14" REF="10"> which are in the Chri&s;tian; but they affirm the&s;e are better taught, and encou|raged by more certain Promi&s;es of an E|ternal Reward. As for the Powers now claimed, to give away Heretical King|doms, to di&s;pen&s;e with the Faith of Trea|ties, to commit Ma&s;&s;acres in cold Blood, and the like Works of Darkne&s;s, the&s;e were never thought a part of Religion; and had they been &s;o, this alone had been a &s;ufficient Conviction that it was not from God. And therefore we need not wonder, that tho&s;e Unbelievers, who border on Chri&s;tians that teach &s;uch things, continue in their Infidelity: For &s;o far as they believe the&s;e a part of Chri|&s;tianity, &s;o far they are in the right not to own it; and there is no way to con|vince them, but by &s;eparating this Cor|ruption from the Truth of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>In a word, there mu&s;t be &s;ome defect in every Action that thwarts the Origi|nal
<PB N="15" REF="10"> De&s;ign of all Religion: And though we cannot always &s;ee the Deficiency of a Cau&s;e, yet we may be fure there is one, where-ever the product is bad; and con|&s;equently what&s;oever Pa&s;&s;ion hurries us on to Actions of Fraud or Inju&s;tice, it can be no part of the <HI>Wi&s;dom from above,</HI> or an effect of &s;aving Knowledge, but of the blindne&s;s of our Minds, as our Savi|our declares in the Text.</P>
<P N="2">II. It was next propounded to con&s;i|der, How Men come to he mi&s;led into &s;o gro&s;s and palpable an Error, and by what Steps and Degrees their Zeal be|comes &s;o intemperate. Now the Zeal we have either for or again&s;t any thing, does evidently depend upon the Judg|ment we make of it, and con&s;equently it is perverted whenever it is ill placed, and mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily err when it hath not Knowledge for its Guide: So that to re|count all the Errors that mi&s;lead our Af|fections
<PB N="16" REF="11"> were an endle&s;s Task, becau&s;e they are as numerous as the ways by which we come to be mi&s;taken. In ge|neral, every inordinate de&s;ire is able to make our Zeal &s;o, and at the &s;ame time per&s;uades us we do well to be angry: Pride, Covetou&s;ne&s;s, or Ambition, or what&s;oever rules the Man, and carries the main of our Actions after it, pre&s;ent|ly calls down <HI>Fire from Heaven</HI> to de|vour the Adver&s;ary, and proclaims Ho|&s;tility again&s;t all that hinders our Enjoy|ment.</P>
<P>But there are two &s;pecial Cau&s;es of the&s;e dreadful Effects, which &s;eem to out|match all the re&s;t: The one is, the re|&s;igning up of our Pa&s;&s;ions to the di&s;po&s;al of other Men; and the other is a belief of &s;ecret Impul&s;es, and immediate In&s;pi|rations. And,</P>
<P N="1">I. The greate&s;t Number of Zealots are never at the pains of a Rational a&s;&s;ent,
<PB N="17" REF="11"> by them&s;elves examining the Motives of their Opinion, but they are moved pure|ly from without, and &s;o are the mi&s;era|ble Subjects of other Mens Exce&s;&s;es: They fir&s;t deny Rea&s;on its Native Right, and then chu&s;e their Faith without its guidance, till by having Mens Per&s;ons in admiration, they are brought into their power to be abu&s;ed at plea&s;ure. It is this giving po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our Under&s;tand|ings that hath in all Ages made Divi&s;i|ons of &s;o quick a growth: We all know there mu&s;t be Here&s;ies, and that they are no more &s;trange in the State Eccle&s;ia&s;ti|cal than Mutinies in an Army; or Re|bellions in a Kingdom: For none of all the&s;e Bodies con&s;i&s;t only of good Mem|bers and the bad will be always di&s;turb|ing them. But this &s;ort of Quarrels would be &s;till the more harmle&s;s, of Men would but judge for them&s;elves, and not be at the Mercy of every bold Seducer.
<PB N="18" REF="12"> None would be tempted by that re&s;tle&s;s Ambition of being Head of a Party, un|le&s;s the World afforded Fools to follow him, and that he expected the Fierce&s;t Maintainers among&s;t tho&s;e who examined him lea&s;t.</P>
<P>Perhaps this is one Rea&s;on why the hotte&s;t Di&s;putes have begun about the mo&s;t trivial Matters; becau&s;e to deceive the hearts of the &s;imple, there is always to be made a pretence of &s;ome peculiar Excellency; but that is not &s;o ea&s;ily form'd in the plain nece&s;&s;ary Duties, as it is in Niceties of Opinion. And there|fore we may ob&s;erve the Controver&s;ies about the Commandments to have been all along the fewe&s;t: We never read of a Schi&s;m or a Per&s;ecution in behalf of Mora|lity; for to force Men to do Ju&s;tice, and remember Mercy, would &s;ooner create Enemies than Admirers; and be&s;ides, there are few bu&s;ie Spirits at lei&s;ure to
<PB N="19" REF="12"> mind &s;uch common Attainments. But if any dare oppo&s;e what a Leading Man thinks fit he &s;hould believe; if his Creed con&s;i&s;ts not of the &s;ame Number of Pro|po&s;itions, and he is bold enough not to be brought under Bondage to any, then he is pre&s;ently voted a Malefactor, let it be in a great Matter or a &s;mall. Thus the whole Body of the Ea&s;tern and We|&s;tern Churches fell out, and &s;eperated about the time of keeping their <HI>Ea&s;ter;</HI> chiefly becau&s;e <HI>Victor</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> had le&s;s humility than his Predece&s;&s;ors, and found the Pre-eminence of his Church worth the conte&s;ting for; The Ea&s;tern again fell out among them&s;elves about the u&s;e of Images; and to complete the folly, we of the We&s;tern are devouring one another, for things in the greate&s;t part of which our Faith is not concerned.</P>
<P>This indeed hath not always been due to the Blindne&s;s, but to the Treachery of
<PB N="20" REF="13"> Guides; they have always &s;tole &s;ome|thing or other in the Scuffle: And for this we need no other Arguments, than to ob&s;erve the &s;everal Cru&s;ades and holy Wars that have been &s;et on foot for Do|me&s;tick Rea&s;ons. But there is one Inju|&s;tice we &s;till continue to the Memory of tho&s;e Times, we admire them who were Learned in the&s;e Controver&s;ies, and ma|naged them for their Profit, who had more Wit and le&s;s Hone&s;ty than them|&s;elves, whil&s;t we forget to pay Reverence to tho&s;e only wi&s;e and good Men, who &s;corn'd to be the In&s;truments, and &s;o died peaceably, without Recording their Fol|lies.</P>
<P>And if this Di&s;ea&s;e was &s;o far advan|ced under the Primitive Integrity, how much have we to fear in the&s;e &s;till more perilous Times? Never certainly was &s;o &s;trong a Delu&s;ion, as to believe the Infallibility of a &s;ingle Per&s;on, and a pre|&s;ent
<PB N="21" REF="13"> Teacher again&s;t all the Principles of Rea&s;on, and Evidence of our Sen&s;es: No wonder the Obedience of &s;uch Votaries is blind, and that in the Arts of Revenge they come at length to be as Spiritual as their Leaders. For without this putting them&s;elves into other Hands, one would think it impo&s;&s;ible to find Men &s;o hard|ned again&s;t all Compa&s;&s;ion, as to attempt the Murdering of a Kingdom in its Re|pre&s;entatives. It would be uncharitable to believe it, were not the Actors &s;eiz'd in the attempt, their Materiels &s;een and expo&s;ed, and Confe&s;&s;ion made by them|&s;elves at their Deaths: The Apology al|&s;o, <HI>That they were a few Malecontents, who grew de&s;perate upon Per&s;onal Provoca|tions,</HI> might &s;eem plau&s;ible, but that no Injuries were then pleaded, and their own dying Words gave Te&s;timony that it was Religion alone which encouraged them. And indeed it looks too much
<PB N="22" REF="14"> like the Action of a Party, becau&s;e they have &s;o often fallen into the like practi&s;es in other Countries, witne&s;s all that inno|cent Blood which hath been &s;hed in our Neighbor-Nations, with almo&s;t as little warning as this would have been. But nothing better is to be expected where the Scriptures are denied, and the People hear of no other Morals but what the&s;e Guides will teach them.</P>
<P N="2">II. There &s;eems little need of Exter|nal Encouragements, &s;o long as that ter|rible Motive continues in the World, the belief of immediate In&s;pirations, and that Men are extraordinary In&s;truments of God's Judgments by a &s;ecret Impul&s;e; for this is ea&s;ily taken up, and only wants Confidence to manage it. The Preten|ders to this, fir&s;t form'd them&s;elves into a Sect among&s;t the Jews, and they gave &s;o dreadful an Example of an enraged Zeal, that one would think it a &s;ufficient
<PB N="23" REF="14"> warning to all after-Ages to beware of its Tran&s;ports: The Hi&s;torian tells us of the&s;e Zealots, that under pretence of imi|tating Men of Heroical Impul&s;es, they committed all kinds of Rapine and Mur|der upon their own People, that by their mad defence of the Temple they de&s;troy|ed it, and that their inte&s;tine Quarrels more contributed to the en&s;laving of their Country, than all the Arms of its Enemies.</P>
<P>This perhaps may be called an extra|ordinary Ca&s;e, and a part of that Ven|geance which the Jews drew upon them and their Children by their Crucifying the <HI>Lord of Glory:</HI> But the Chri&s;tian Story likewi&s;e informs us of the like Calls from Heaven, there we meet with impul&s;es to Murder, Sacriledge and Adultery, and with Men of that reprobate Sen&s;e, as to Glory in their Shame. It was not only <HI>Montanus,</HI> who had his <HI>Paraclete,</HI> but all the greate&s;t Corrupters of Chri&s;tianity
<PB N="24" REF="15"> have al&s;o pretended to Divine In&s;pirati|ons; mo&s;t of the Romi&s;h Errors have grown into a part of their Faith, by the like Artifices; they could not always ar|gue Men out of their Money and Sen&s;e together, but they could fright them in|to the Snare, and find out Men who had Forehead enough to tell who they &s;aw in Purgatory, and what Communion they had with Saints and Angels. It were happy al&s;o, if the Emi&s;&s;aries of that Church had never &s;own the like Enthu|&s;iams in ours, and that they found not their account in putting tho&s;e out of the reach of Conviction, who are deluded by them. As for us, who &s;uffer by the&s;e pretended Gifts of Gods Spirit, we &s;hould beware of the other Extream, the denial of his &s;aving Graces, and guard our Faith again&s;t &s;uch Delu&s;ions, as tend to render that tremendous Article of Gods Grace, a Subject of unprofitable Talk.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="15">
<P N="3">III. Having thus attempted to &s;hew the Fal&s;ene&s;s of that Principle, upon which the Enemies of the Truth have per&s;e|cuted its Profe&s;&s;ors, with the chief Mi|&s;takes which lead Men into it; it re|mains in the la&s;t place, to apply this to the Circum&s;tances we are under, and make that &s;ober u&s;e of the Admonition for vvhich it vvas intended. The Con|text informs us, that our Lord &s;pake the&s;e things, to the end his Di&s;ciples might not be offended and fall, but when the time either of Tryal or Deliverance came, remember he had told them of it: This likewi&s;e is the end of all the&s;e Publick Commemorations, that we may keep the great Goodne&s;s of GOD in remembrance, and mention it with Honour, and a Di&s;tingui&s;hing Ob&s;erva|tion. And,</P>
<P N="1">1. We are not to let the&s;e remark|able Events pa&s;s over our Heads. with|out
<PB N="26" REF="16"> Ob&s;ervation, but to regard the <HI>Works of the Lord,</HI> and <HI>the Operation of his Hands. His ways are &s;ought out of all tho&s;e who have Plea&s;ure therein, whil&s;t the Wicked will not &s;eek after God, nor is God in all his Thoughts.</HI></P>
<P>There is an Art of God no le&s;s in Governing the World, than in Crea|ting it; and to meditate upon it with a due Reverence, was anciently e&s;teem'd a Mark of Piety, and the principal part of their Wor&s;hip. But in what Rank &s;oever we now place the Duty, it cer|tainly puts the true&s;t and be&s;t Difference between Man, and <HI>the Bea&s;ts that pe|ri&s;h:</HI> Their Sen&s;es are as quick as ours, and for ought we know, they argue as right as our &s;elves, &s;o far as concerns the Action of their Life; but it is Man alone who is enabled to look up to the Fir&s;t Cau&s;e of all, and by the vi&s;ible Things of Creation and Providence, to
<PB N="27" REF="16"> find out the great Creator. This al&s;o is the mo&s;t Valuable Di&s;tinction between one Man and another: One grows wi&s;e enough by Experience to chu&s;e the Good, and refu&s;e the Evil; the Other &s;eeth many Things, and ob&s;erveth not: One hath his Sen&s;es exerci&s;ed, and grows up to a perfect Man; the Other hath no depth of Con&s;ideration for any thing to take root in, and &s;o never brings any Fruit to perfection.</P>
<P>It is indeed far above the be&s;t of our Capacities to &s;ee the Rea&s;on of all Di|vine Proceedings: <HI>His Way,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Da|vid, is in the Sea, his Paths in the great Waters, and his Foot&s;teps are not known:</HI> Many Occurrences, big with Wonder, and rare Accidents, do, like the trou|bled Water, clo&s;e up again, and their way is not &s;een. But this is one of the Difficulties which was intended to quick|en our Diligence; We are not di&s;cou|raged
<PB N="28" REF="17"> from the Labours of the Field, becau&s;e we know not how the Plants en|crea&s;e, and how their Seeds come to open into &s;o curious a variety of &s;hape and co|lour. No Man refu&s;es to eat, becau&s;e he knows not how his Meat is a&s;&s;imila|ted: And we cea&s;e not to boa&s;t our Knowledge, though we cannot explain the common Works of Nature, how the Moon knows her certain Sea&s;ons, and the Sea its Tides. And therefore we who believe it, may, without any pre&s;ump|tion, go on to &s;tudy that Providence which is too wonderful for us: And that we may not judge ami&s;s, give me leave to mention only the&s;e two obvious Rules.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, to weigh the Judgments of God by their End and De&s;ign; and the next, to con&s;ider their dependency upon one another, and how each parti|cular concurs to make up the Beauty of
<PB N="29" REF="17"> the whole. For, although we are but of ye&s;terday, and know nothing, yet we are certain, where an infinite Wi&s;|dom is concerned, there can be no room for chance, and that where this directs, tho&s;e things are beautifull in their Sea|&s;on, which alone looks like Deformity. They &s;eem'd very odd Means of his Advancement, to have <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> fir&s;t ha|ted of his Brethren, then &s;old into a &s;trange Country, and there unju&s;tly ca&s;t into Pri&s;on; and yet, without every one of the&s;e Misfortunes, he had never been brought into <HI>Pharoah</HI>'s Pre&s;ence, and &s;aved his Fathers Hou&s;e. It is to &s;uch bold Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions as were this Day attempted, that we owe the Laws which pre&s;erve us; and it was to the Violence of tho&s;e who would have Rooted out at once our Liberties and Religion, that we owe the Pre&s;ent E&s;ta|bli&s;hment of both; had the Enemies of
<PB N="30" REF="18"> our Holy Profe&s;&s;ion been contented to lead us Blindfold into the mid&s;t of <HI>Sama|ria,</HI> a great part of us had never opened our Eyes, and &s;een the Danger; but e|very Advance of theirs, help'd on our Deliverance, and encreas'd the Tri|umphs of this Happy Day.</P>
<P>If then we have &s;een the Hand of God in protecting his People, and that never any put his Tru&s;t in the Lord, but he did deliver him; if we have &s;een him pu&s;le the Wi&s;dom of the Wi&s;e, and overturn them in the mid&s;t of their Strength: The&s;e are Experiences that de&s;erve our Regard, and that &s;hould give us a &s;trong Confidence in GOD, who hath done &s;o great Things for us.</P>
<P N="2">2. La&s;t of all, We are to act con|formably to tho&s;e Sentiments which a due E&s;timation of the&s;e Benefits in&s;pires us with, and &s;o to make what Retribu|tion
<PB N="31" REF="18"> we are able. VVe indeed cannot properly be &s;aid to Recompence the Al|mighty, becau&s;e we have nothing but what we have received from him: But he is plea&s;ed to declare, That <HI>He who offereth Him prai&s;e, honours Him;</HI> and therefore we are bound to pay the&s;e Prai&s;es due, in &s;ome proportion, to the Mercies we enjoy.</P>
<P>There is a natural Equity, that where the benefit is Publick, the acknowledge|ment &s;hould be &s;o too; and therefore, &s;ince the Ble&s;&s;ings we now Commemo|rate, were extended to the good of So|ciety, and make Kingdoms Happy, we are bound to Prai&s;e God with the Mul|titude; and to enter only into our Clo|&s;ets, would be interpretatively to Con|temn him before the Congregation. Man was not made a Sociable Creature for every thing el&s;e, but the Acts of his Religion, and all Nations have ever
<PB N="32" REF="19"> made their VVor&s;hip as Solemn as they could, although they differed in the Objects of it; if we re&s;pect that which God ordained, the Religion of the Jews was perfectly National, and the Unity of the Chri&s;tian Church, as well con&s;i&s;ts in one Vi&s;ible Communion, as it does in one Common Faith; for el&s;e there could be no Schi&s;m without Apo&s;tacy.</P>
<P>If therefore we are oblig'd to a Pub|lick Homage in the ordinary Acts of our VVor&s;hip; much more when we come to honour GOD not only as our Common Parent, but as the Father of our Country; as He that hath divided us from the Nations round about, as well in Happine&s;s as in Scituation; who hath not given us over to the VVill of our Enemies, but hath &s;till confounded their Devices, and kept the Simple by their Right; who&s;e Hand is not yet &s;hort|ned, that it cannot &s;ave; but who can
<PB N="33" REF="19"> make our Happine&s;s as the &s;trong Moun|tains, that all the Storms of Envy and Malice &s;hall break again&s;t it.</P>
<P>Above all, To the Prai&s;es of our Lips, we &s;hould add the Obedience of our Lives; and &s;o rai&s;e our &s;elves up into his Protection, who is the hope of all the Ends of the Earth. VVe are not thus wonderfully delivered out of our Di|&s;tre&s;s, to add Sin to Sin, and to make God's Benefits the In&s;truments of his Di&s;honour: It is not to practi&s;e tho&s;e Crimes our Selves, which we condemn|ed in others, but to be a People Zealous of Good Works, and to bring forth Fruit unto God. There is &s;o general a Cor|ruption of Manners, and our Di&s;cipline is &s;o far lo&s;t, that it's a Task worthy the Wi&s;dom of this Augu&s;t A&s;&s;embly to find out the Means of its Re&s;tauration, and to keep up the Bank again&s;t that Flood of Wickedne&s;s which is vi&s;ibly
<PB N="34" REF="20"> breaking in upon us. In particular, I hope there is that Generous <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Spi|rit left among us, that will not &s;uffer our Common Mother to be torn and vilified, till we come to a Contempt of all things Sacred: If we once lo&s;e the Encourage|ments of our Learning, and the Di&s;tin|ction of our Orders: If that Noble Pro|vi&s;ion which is made for our Education, be once neglected, and tho&s;e Schools of the Prophets be turned into little Semi|naries, where Men forget that Mode&s;ty is a Virtue, and learn to talk without thinking, we &s;hall in a few Years &s;adly find, that <HI>Rome</HI> will have none left to Oppo&s;e her.</P>
<P>This is not &s;poken to the reproach of any, but out of a deep &s;en&s;e of our Fol|ly, and an ardent de&s;ire that we may not turn our Ble&s;&s;ings into a Cur&s;e. If therefore we would complete the&s;e Ble&s;|&s;ings, and tran&s;mit them down to a late
<PB N="35" REF="20"> Po&s;terity, the VVay is open, and the Means is certain: Let but our Vices di|mini&s;h, and &s;o will our Dangers; God will &s;till be our Mighty Saviour and De|liverer, and &s;o lead us through Things Temporal, that we finally lo&s;e not the Things Eternal.</P>
<CLOSER><HI>Now to God,</HI> &amp;c.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
