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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><HI>Religion &amp; Loyalty</HI> INSEPERABLE.</P>
<P>A SERMON Preached at the ASSIZES HELD AT Nottingham, <HI>September</HI> the 5th, 1690.</P>
<P>By <HI>CLEMENT ELIS,</HI> M. A. Rector of <HI>Kirkby,</HI> in the County of <HI>Nottingham.</HI></P>
<LICENSE LANG="eng" SUBTYPE="imprimatur">
<P>IMPRIMATUR,</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>Octob. 2. 1690.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Carolus Al&s;ton, R. P. D. Hen<LB> Epi&s;c. Lond. &agrave; Sacris.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</LICENSE>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>William Rogers,</HI> at the <HI>Sun,</HI> again&s;t St. <HI>Dun&s;tan</HI>'s Church in <HI>Fleet &s;treet;</HI> and <HI>Clement Elis,</HI> Book&s;eller in <HI>Mansfield.</HI> 1691.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE WORSHIPFUL <HI>Richard Taylor,</HI> E&s;q HIGH-SHERIFF OF THE COUNTY OF Nottingham.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I Have ever been &s;o &s;en&s;ible of my own manifold Weakne&s;&s;es, that it was never ea&s;ie to me to appear in the <HI>Pulpit,</HI> on any of the&s;e more Solemn Occa&s;i|ons. And hence alone it was, as I hope you do believe, that You &s;o hardly prevail'd with me to appear there at this <HI>A&s;&s;izes.</HI> For tho' I was well &s;atisfied, that the Work you invited me to, was a Work that ought to be
<PB REF="3">done by &s;ome body; yet could I not think every one fit for &s;o great a Task, and least of all &s;uch an one as I, whom long <HI>Privacy</HI> and <HI>Retirement</HI> has in a great mea|&s;ure unfitted for any <HI>Publick</HI> Employment; and e&s;pecially at &s;uch a time as this, when the Di&s;tempers of Men are come to that height, that &s;omething more than ordinary &s;hould be found in that Man, who can hope that any thing which he can offer in order to a Cure, may prove either acceptable or effectual.</P>
<P>But being no longer able to re&s;ist the Importunities you were pleas'd to u&s;e with me, and having first humbly applied my&s;elf to <HI>Almighty God</HI> for his Direction and A&s;&s;i&s;tance; after &s;ome &s;erious Thoughts, what <HI>Subject</HI> might be most proper for a Di&s;cour&s;e in &s;o <HI>Great</HI> and <HI>Honourable</HI> an <HI>A&s;&s;embly;</HI> con&s;idering both the little <HI>Fear of God</HI> which most Men &s;eem to have before their eyes, and the <HI>unea&s;ine&s;s</HI> of many under &s;o good a <HI>Govern|ment</HI> as God hath now ble&s;&s;ed us with, and their fre|quent <HI>Murmurings</HI> at our pre&s;ent Condition, by much too good for us; I could not think of any thing more &s;uitable to our pre&s;ent &s;tate, than what is recommended to us in tho&s;e Words of <HI>Solomon,</HI> which I have made choice of.</P>
<P>How well I have performed, what (at your Request, Sir) I undertook, I mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily leave it to every one to judge as he &s;hall &s;ee cau&s;e; and what the &s;ucce&s;s will be. He only knows who&s;e infinite Power over-rules the perver&s;e Wills and unruly Affections of Men, and who after the planting of a <HI>Paul,</HI> and watering of an <HI>A|pollos,</HI> mu&s;t give the increa&s;e, or all that's done by Man is as good as nothing I can (I thank God) com|fort my&s;elf in this Te&s;timony of my <HI>Con&s;cience,</HI> That I have here deliver'd nothing, which I am not verily per|&s;waded
<PB REF="3">is agreeable to the Will of God, and both &s;ea&s;ona|ble and nece&s;&s;ary to be taken notice of and con&s;cientiou&s;ly practi&s;ed by us: and that my whole De&s;ign is only this, to per&s;wade Men to the earnest pur&s;uit of their <HI>own</HI> and their <HI>Country's Happine&s;s,</HI> by <HI>leading quiet and peace|able Lives, in all godline&s;s and hone&s;ty,</HI> under the pre|&s;ent Government. And I hope no Man can find a rea&s;on why he &s;hould be angry with me for this.</P>
<P>Having thus done what I was able, in compliance with your de&s;ire, Sir, to &s;erve <HI>God,</HI> our mo&s;t <HI>gracious Princes</HI> whom his Goodne&s;s hath &s;et over us, and my <HI>Country,</HI> &s;eeing your bodily Indi&s;po&s;ition would not allow you to be my Auditor, I could not rea&s;onably deny you, reque&s;ting it, a Copy of my Sermon; but finding it to be in order to a Publication, I was at a &s;tand, con&s;idering it could not be your own Judgment that moved you to it, you having at that time neither heard nor &s;een it. But when you told me it was the de&s;ire of tho&s;e worthy <HI>Gen|tlemen</HI> who were pre&s;ent; and when both the <HI>Wor&s;hip|ful Gentlemen</HI> of the <HI>Grand Jury,</HI> and the <HI>Mayor</HI> and <HI>Aldermen</HI> of the Corporation of <HI>Nottingham</HI> had conde|&s;cended to de&s;ire it of me: and when that <HI>Honourable Judge</HI> the <HI>Lord Chief Ju&s;tice Pollexfen</HI> had not only en|couraged me by his Publick <HI>Approbation</HI> of what had in his Pre&s;ence been delivered, but under&s;tanding that I had for ha&s;t omitted &s;omething of what I had prepared, was pleas'd to &s;ay, I &s;hould do well to publi&s;h it entirely as I had prepared it; I had no Power to refu&s;e &s;o general an Invitation, which it could no longer be called <HI>Mode&s;ty,</HI> but a most unrea&s;onable as well as unmannerly and &s;ullen <HI>Ob&s;tinacy</HI> to di&s;obey.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P> To <HI>You</HI> therefore, Sir, and to all tho&s;e <HI>worthy Gen|tlemen</HI> who were pleas'd to join with you in this Request, (which I ought to look upon as a Command) I do in all due humility and re&s;pect, pre&s;ent the&s;e my poor endeavours for the Glory of God, and the Publick Good: not doubting but your con&s;tant and exemplary Practice of tho&s;e unque|&s;tionable Duties which are therein, how&s;oever recommend|ed to you, will make them much more &s;erviceable to tho&s;e great Ends, than otherwi&s;e they are like to be Neither &s;hall I need to fear or regard the <HI>Cen&s;ures</HI> this plain Di&s;|cour&s;e may meet with from any others, &s;o long as I have not only the <HI>Con&s;cience</HI> of a most <HI>hone&s;t De&s;ign,</HI> but al&s;o the <HI>Judgments</HI> and <HI>Patronage</HI> of &s;o many Judicious Per&s;ons, te&s;tified in their daily <HI>Exerci&s;e</HI> of both <HI>Piety</HI> and <HI>Loyalty,</HI> even of all that I have here exhorted to, to guard me from them.</P>
<P>That our ble&s;&s;ed God may give us all Hearts &s;o re|gardful of, and thankful for the great and wonderful Works which he hath wrought for us, as that the &s;ence of his unde&s;erved Goodne&s;s therein manife&s;ted to us, may be an everla&s;ting Obligation upon us to his <HI>Fear,</HI> and the <HI>keeping of all his Commandments always, that &s;o it may be well with us, and with our Children for ever:</HI> That we may all have Grace &s;eriou&s;ly and effectually to <HI>con|&s;ider the things that belong unto our Peace, before they be hid from our eyes:</HI> That we may no longer de|&s;perately expo&s;e our&s;elves, either to the <HI>Wrath</HI> of God by our <HI>Wickedne&s;s,</HI> or to the <HI>Malice</HI> and <HI>Scorn</HI> of our Enemies by our <HI>Di&s;contents, Divi&s;ions,</HI> and mutual <HI>A|nimo&s;ities.</HI> La&s;tly, That God may ble&s;s <HI>You,</HI> Sir, and all the <HI>Gentlemen</HI> of the <HI>Magi&s;tracy</HI> with <HI>Courage</HI> and <HI>Fidelity</HI> in your <HI>Honourable</HI> Stations, and make you
<PB REF="4">Illu&s;trious <HI>Examples</HI> of all <HI>Vertue</HI> and <HI>Goodne&s;s</HI> to your <HI>whole Country,</HI> and finally reward you with the <HI>Crown of Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> is, and &s;hall be the hearty Prayer of,</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE><LB>
<SIGNED><HI>Your very humble Servant,</HI><LB> CLEMENT ELIS.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>Adverti&s;ement</HEAD>
<P><HI>LEa&s;t I &s;hould &s;eem too carele&s;s of their Reputation who encouraged me to Pub|li&s;h the following Di&s;cour&s;e, I mu&s;t de&s;ire the Reader to take Notice, that there are &s;ome parts of it which want their Approbation. The&s;e (that I might keep within my Hour) I omitted in the delivery of it, but now in&s;ert them here, as they &s;tood in my Notes, di&s;tin|gui&s;hed from the rest by this Note</HI> (').</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>PROV. XXIV. 21.</HI></BIBL>
<Q>My Son, fear thou the LORD and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>YOU hear the Words of a great King, an in|&s;pired Preacher, and the wi&s;e&s;t of mortal Men. All this you know, was <HI>Solomon.</HI> But that's not all, you hear the Words of One infi|nitely both greater, and wi&s;er, and better than <HI>Solo|mon;</HI> even of <HI>Solomon</HI>'s King, and <HI>Our</HI> King, of <HI>Solo|mon</HI>'s God, and <HI>Our</HI> God; of that great God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82.1.</NOTE> <HI>who &s;tand|eth in the Congregation of the Mighty, and judgeth a|mong the Gods:</HI> Nay more,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 76.12.</NOTE> <HI>Who cutteth off the &s;pirit of Princes, and is terrible to the Kings of the Earth?</HI> 'Tis He, I &s;ay, the All-wi&s;e God, by the wi&s;e&s;t of Men, the Almighty God by a mighty King, the E|verla&s;ting Father by the Father of his Country, at once commanding Duty, and teaching Wi&s;dom; not that which is <HI>earthly, &s;en&s;ual, devili&s;h,</HI> the Wi&s;dom of the <HI>Serpent,</HI> without the Innocence of the <HI>Dove;</HI> which, through <HI>envying and &s;trife,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">James 3.15, 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>confu&s;ion and every evil work,</HI> hath made this World too like Hell; by making Men little better than Devils one to ano|ther: but that which <HI>de&s;cendeth from above, first pure in the fear of the LORD,</HI> then <HI>peaceable</HI> in <HI>the fear of the King:</HI> &s;o making <HI>wi&s;e</HI> for the <HI>other</HI> World, and <HI>this</HI> too. This is the <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> which <HI>God</HI> by <HI>Solomon</HI> teacheth us in the&s;e words, <HI>My Son, fear thou the
<PB N="2" REF="6">LORD and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change.</HI></P>
<P>Wherein ob&s;erve:
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. The Words expre&s;&s;ive of a <HI>Fatherly Affection</HI> in a <HI>great King, My Son.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. The Words containing and offering mo&s;t <HI>wi&s;e</HI> and <HI>&s;ea&s;onable Advice</HI> to the <HI>Subject. Fear thou the LORD and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>I mu&s;t do no more but touch upon the former of the&s;e in my way to the latter, on the <HI>Fatherly Affe|ction</HI> of the <HI>King,</HI> to lead me the more fairly to the <HI>Filial Duty</HI> of the <HI>Subject.</HI></P>
<P N="1">I. The words expre&s;&s;ive of a Fatherly Affection in a great King are the&s;e, <HI>My Son.</HI> So the <HI>Divine Wi&s;dom</HI> taught this great <HI>King</HI> to &s;alute his <HI>Subject.</HI> And thus will every <HI>King,</HI> whom God hath been pleas'd to ble&s;s with any con&s;iderable &s;hare of <HI>Solomon's Wi&s;dom,</HI> even th&ocirc; he &s;hould attain to all <HI>Solomon's Power</HI> too, account it no le&s;s his <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> than it is <HI>Duty,</HI> to de|mean him&s;elf as a gracious <HI>Father</HI> towards his Peo|ple.</P>
<P><HI>Solomon</HI> &s;aith of him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 12.9, 10.</NOTE> <Q>That <HI>the Preacher was wi&s;e, and &s;ought to find out,</HI> Verba de&s;iderii, <HI>acceptable</HI> and plea&s;ing <HI>words.</HI> Yet &s;uch as mu&s;t be, <HI>Verba veritatis</HI> too, <HI>Words of Truth,</HI> and &s;uch were the&s;e.</Q> <HI>Policy</HI> will teach a <HI>Tyrant</HI> to call <HI>Son,</HI> till he has made a <HI>Slave;</HI> but Divine <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> teacheth a good <HI>King,</HI> no lefs <HI>&s;incerely</HI> than <HI>charmingly</HI> to utter the&s;e acceptable words, <HI>My Son.</HI> <Q>This is the conde&s;cending Language
<PB N="3" REF="6">of the great <HI>God</HI> to his poor Creature; and therefore well may it become the Mouth of the greate&s;t <HI>Mo|narch</HI> upon Earth to his Fellow-Creatures, as the mean|e&s;t of his Subjects are.</Q> Neither indeed &s;hall <HI>Princes</HI> ever find out a &s;urer way to make them&s;elves <HI>Great,</HI> and their Subjects <HI>Good,</HI> than this of treating them as their Children.</P>
<Q><P><HI>Solomon</HI> had <HI>Power</HI> given him of God to Govern his People; and &s;o have all Kings: And <HI>Solomon</HI> had <HI>Wi&s;dom</HI> too, given him of God, to Govern his <HI>Power,</HI> and &s;o have not all. The Wi&s;dom of God had taught him, how mo&s;t firmly to hold the aweful Sword of a <HI>Maje&s;tick King,</HI> in the gentle hand of a <HI>tender Father:</HI> Who, th&ocirc; he owe Correction, no le&s;s than Protection to &s;uch of his Children as need it; yet (as the great <HI>Father of Mercies</HI> doth) always cha&s;ti&s;eth in <HI>Love.</HI> And then indeed will every wi&s;e King e&s;teem him&s;elf highe&s;t in <HI>Royal Maje&s;ty,</HI> when in a truly <HI>Paternal Government</HI> he mo&s;t nearly re&s;embles the great King of all the World, from whom all his Authority is de|rived: Who,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 33.5.</NOTE> th&ocirc; <HI>he loveth righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> and <HI>is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of Ju&s;tice: and Men do therefore fear him:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 37.23.</NOTE> Yet <HI>is the earth</HI> al&s;o <HI>full of his goodne&s;s;</HI> in the mid&s;t of Judgment he remembers Mercy, and &s;eems mo&s;t delighted to be known by that encouraging <HI>Name, The LORD GOD,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 34.6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>merciful and gracious, long &s;uffering, and abundant in goodne&s;s and truth; keeping mercy for thou&s;ands, forgiving iniquity, and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, and &s;in.</HI></P>
<P>It was therefore a mo&s;t &s;illy Ambition, which <HI>Plu|tarch</HI> &s;omewhere derides in &s;ome Heathen <HI>Princes,</HI> who loved to look upon their own Pictures drawn arm'd with <HI>Thunder</HI> and <HI>Lightning:</HI> ambitious to imitate that in God, which is mo&s;t unimitable, his <HI>Power</HI> and
<PB N="4" REF="7"><HI>Greatne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>terrible Maje&s;ty:</HI> and no whit de&s;irous to do it in that wherein they might both mo&s;t honour <HI>Him,</HI> and magnifie <HI>them&s;elves</HI> before the World, his <HI>Fatherly Goodne&s;s.</HI> For then indeed are <HI>Princes</HI> truly <HI>Soveraign,</HI> then are they arrived at the mo&s;t <HI>Ab&s;olute Power,</HI> when they over-awe their Subjects more by that right <HI>Royal Prerogative</HI> of a <HI>Paternal Goodne&s;s,</HI> than by all their <HI>Laws.</HI> Thus they become <HI>Inthron'd</HI> in the very <HI>Hearts,</HI> and command the <HI>Affections</HI> of their People; and &s;o may a&s;&s;ure them&s;elves both of their <HI>Hands</HI> and <HI>Pur&s;es</HI> too, whenever they &s;hall need them.</P>
<P>Next therefore to that mo&s;t glorious One of <HI>DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH, Princes</HI> &s;hould glory in no Title more, than in that very an|cient One of <HI>PATRES PATRIAE, Fathers of their Country;</HI> and indeed that other, <HI>Defenders of the Faith,</HI> when well con&s;idered, &s;eems not another, but the very &s;ame, &s;o long ago entail'd by God him&s;elf on all right Chri&s;tian Princes, <HI>Nur&s;ing Fa|thers,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 49.23. Senec. in Med.</NOTE> <HI>and nur&s;ing Mothers.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Regnare diu nemo potest, qui timetur tant&ugrave;m:</HI> &s;aid the <HI>Tragaedian</HI> well, <HI>He that's only fear'd cannot hope for a long Reign. Let them hate, &s;o they fear,</HI> might be the word of a <HI>Tyrant,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Id. in Herc.</NOTE> as unwi&s;e as cruel, <HI>Cui omnis in ferro est &s;alus:</HI> Farewel to his Safety, whenever his Sword breaks. <HI>Let them love, that for love they may fear:</HI> will ever be the word of a good and wi&s;e Prince.</P></Q>
<P>And &s;o it will be al&s;o of every wi&s;e and good <HI>Magi|&s;trate,</HI> who will never value his <HI>Authority</HI> on any other account, than that of having more power and oppor|tunity to do abundance of good in the World. And this he will be be&s;t able to do, when Men reverence him
<PB N="5" REF="7">more for his <HI>Goodne&s;s</HI> than for their <HI>Greatne&s;s.</HI> As therefore his fir&s;t care is, that all may learn both <HI>Piety</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> in his <HI>exemplary</HI> Life; &s;o his next will be to &s;weeten the mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary &s;everity of a <HI>Judge,</HI> or <HI>Ju&s;ticiar,</HI> with the meekne&s;s and compa&s;&s;ion of a <HI>Fa|ther;</HI> and when Ju&s;tice commands him to puni&s;h, his Fatherly behaviour will always &s;hew,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 28.21.</NOTE> That as <HI>Venge|ance</HI> is God's <HI>&s;trange work,</HI> &s;o is it his al&s;o, and that's like God, <HI>He afflicteth not willingly,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.33.</NOTE> <HI>neither grieveth the children of men.</HI> I mu&s;t &s;ay no more here of this Point, 'tis enough to have noted, as by the way, that the Language of <HI>wi&s;e King Solomon</HI> to his <HI>Subject,</HI> was not, <HI>My Slave,</HI> or <HI>my Va&s;&s;al,</HI> but, <HI>My Son.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The following Words are they wherein we are principally concern'd, which contain and offer unto us mo&s;t wi&s;e, and now, if ever, &s;ea&s;onable <HI>In&s;tru|ction,</HI> which <HI>God</HI> by <HI>Solomon</HI> here gives in Three Pre|cepts.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Fear thou the LORD.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Fear thou al&s;o the King.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>And,</HI> that thou may'&s;t not be drawn away from the fear of either, <HI>Meddle not with them that are given to change.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>The fear of the LORD,</HI> is a very ordinary Phra&s;e of the <HI>Holy Ghost</HI> in <HI>Scripture,</HI> importing no le&s;s than <HI>All Religion,</HI> or the whole Duty of Man to God. And it would be very needle&s;s to prove, That <HI>the fear of the King,</HI> here jointly, and in one word commanded with <HI>the fear of the LORD,</HI> implies <HI>All Loyalty,</HI> or the whole Duty of Man again to his <HI>Prince,</HI> or <HI>Civil Governour.</HI> A true and awful &s;ence of the <HI>Excellency, Maje&s;ty, Di|gnity,</HI> and <HI>Authority</HI> of the Per&s;on, is that Root in us,
<PB N="6" REF="8">whence all our Acts of <HI>Honour, Subjection, Re&s;ignation</HI> and <HI>Obedience</HI> do naturally &s;pring forth. Well there|fore &s;aid the <HI>P&s;almist,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 36.1.</NOTE> <HI>The tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of the wicked &s;aith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.</HI> No fear of God, and then be &s;ure of Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion in abundance. And his Advice is always ve|ry nece&s;&s;ary,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.4.</NOTE> <HI>Stand in awe, and &s;in not.</HI> Who&s;o &s;tands not in awe will be always &s;inning.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t then, <HI>Fear the LORD,</HI> but then <HI>fear the King</HI> al&s;o. Will you have it the words of our ble&s;&s;ed Savi|our,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 22.21.</NOTE> <HI>Render to</HI> Cae&s;ar <HI>the things that are</HI> Cae&s;ar<HI>'s, and unto</HI> God <HI>the things that are</HI> God<HI>'s.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. de Idolol. c. 15.</NOTE> <HI>That is,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Tertullian, the Image of</HI> Cae&s;ar <HI>on the Money to</HI> Cae&s;ar, <HI>and the Image of God in the Man to God; thy Money to</HI> Cae&s;ar, <HI>thy &s;elf to</HI> God. Fear God as <HI>God,</HI> &s;o as thou can&s;t fear none but God. Fear <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> as a <HI>Man,</HI> yet (as the &s;ame Father &s;aith) <HI>as the Man next to God.</HI> To the unque&s;tionable <HI>Soveraign Authority,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apolog. c. 30. Ad &s;cap. c. 2.</NOTE> and <HI>Ab&s;o|lute Power</HI> of the <HI>Almighty One,</HI> there can no le&s;s be due than the mo&s;t <HI>Ab&s;olute Subjection;</HI> to that <HI>Will</HI> of his which is the Univer&s;al <HI>Law,</HI> and can never be o|ther but <HI>Holy,</HI> and <HI>Just,</HI> and <HI>Good,</HI> it mu&s;t be our Du|ty to yield an Obedience without re&s;erve. But to all the <HI>Higher Powers</HI> on Earth, how high &s;oever they be, &s;eeing there be higher than they, and they no more but the <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of the <HI>Supreme</HI> in Heaven, we owe indeed a <HI>Con&s;cientious</HI> Obedience <HI>for the LORD's &s;ake,</HI> yet under this Re&s;triction, <HI>In the LORD only,</HI> always <HI>limited</HI> by the Laws of God. In &s;hort, Fear the <HI>LORD</HI> as much as you <HI>can,</HI> fear the <HI>King</HI> as much as you may.</P>
<P>And then that you be not drawn away from the fear of either,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vid. Poli Sy|nop&s;. in Loc.</NOTE> <HI>Meddle not with them that are given to change:</HI> Mix not, have no dealing with <GAP DESC="foreign">, the
<PB N="7" REF="8"><HI>Vulgar</HI> reads it <HI>Detractors,</HI> the <HI>Chaldee</HI> and <HI>Syriack, Fools;</HI> the <HI>Septuagint</HI> and <HI>Arabick</HI> thus renders it, <HI>Di&s;obey,</HI> or <HI>Oppo&s;e neither of them.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ther 1.7.3.8.</NOTE> In the <HI>first</HI> and <HI>third</HI> Chapters of <HI>E&s;ther,</HI> and el&s;ewhere our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> renders the word, <HI>Diver&s;e from;</HI> and &s;o I &s;hall make bold to take it here, for Men <HI>diver&s;e</HI> from tho&s;e who fear both God and the King, and of the &s;ame unhappy temper with that <HI>unju&s;t Judge</HI> in the Parable,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 18.4.</NOTE> who <HI>nei|ther feared God, nor regarded Man.</HI> And to bring this home to our <HI>Tran&s;lation,</HI> the&s;e, we may be &s;ure of it, are always the <HI>Changers,</HI> the <HI>Re&s;tle&s;s,</HI> or <HI>Tumultuous,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iterantibus. Ar. Mont. Re|bellibus Pi&s;ca. Rerum nova|rum &s;tudio&s;is. Ver. Tegu. Variantibus, di&s;cere panti|bus, &s;editio&s;is, Mercer.</NOTE> as &s;ome read it; who are very unea&s;ie, and long to be &s;hifting, when-ever they live under any thing that has the face of <HI>good Government.</HI></P>
<P>To &s;peak di&s;tinctly, <HI>first</HI> of the fear of the LORD, and <HI>next</HI> of the fear of the <HI>King;</HI> that is, of our whole Duty to both; and then to &s;hew the manifold mi&s;chie|vous con&s;equents of medling with Men of a contrary temper, is not to be made the bu&s;ine&s;s of an hour. Give me leave therefore to confine my&s;elf to this one Ob&s;ervation.</P>
<P><HI>The fear of the LORD, and the fear of the King, or &s;incere Religion, and true Loyalty, are Things in&s;eperable.</HI> Where the one is, both are; where both are not, there is neither. What therefore God in his Command hath join'd together, let no Man in his Practice pre|&s;ume to put a&s;under.</P>
<P>To demon&s;trate which Truth, <HI>That &s;incere Religion, and true Loyalty are Things in&s;eperable,</HI> it will be enough for me to make good the&s;e two Things.
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>That there is no</HI> &s;incere Religion <HI>in him that is not</HI> truly Loyal.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>That there is no</HI> true Loyalty <HI>in him that is not</HI> &s;incerely Religious.</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<PB N="8" REF="9">
<P> And both the&s;e I do not doubt but, by the help of God, at this time to make very clear to every con&s;ider|ing Chri&s;tian. And I hope, this being a work &s;o &s;ea|&s;onable, con&s;idering the Age we live in, it will not be thought altogether improper in this &s;o Publick and Venerable A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P N="1">I. <HI>There is no</HI> &s;incere Religion <HI>in him that is not</HI> truly Loyal. This I am con&s;ident you will very readily grant me, con&s;idering only the&s;e three very obvious Truths, which our very Chri&s;tianity obligeth us to believe.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>That God is the Ab&s;olute Soveraign Monarch of the whole World.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>That the &s;ame Soveraign Power doth actually di|&s;po&s;e of all the Kingdoms of the Earth.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>That he hath &s;trictly commanded Subjection to tho&s;e unto whom he &s;o di&s;po&s;eth of them.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Certainly I may pre&s;ume, that no Man will have the face to appear this day in &s;uch an A&s;&s;embly of Chri|&s;tians as this, and not own the Divine Authority of the Holy Scripture, and &s;uppo&s;ing but this, a very few words will here be enough to clear the&s;e Truths.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>God is the Ab&s;olute Soveraign Monarch of the whole World.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;alm 24.1.50.12.89.11.97, 1.99.1.103.19.</NOTE> Of this the Holy Scripture is full, <HI>The earth is the LORD's,</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David) and the fulne&s;s thereof, the World, and they that dwell therein. The LORD reign|eth, let the Earth rejoice.</HI> And again, <HI>The LORD reigmeth, let the People tremble. The LORD hath pre|pared his Throne in the Heavens, and his Kingdom ruleth over all.</HI> If this be &s;o, then the mo&s;t entire Subje|ction mu&s;t needs be acknowledged due unto him, and that, not only in a ready Univer&s;al Obedience to all his <HI>Commands,</HI> but al&s;o in a mo&s;t cheerful &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to all his wi&s;e <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ations.</HI> A <HI>total</HI> and <HI>unre&s;erved Re&s;igna|tion</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="9">of <HI>our</HI> Wills to <HI>God</HI>'s Will, whether it be of <HI>Pre|cept,</HI> or of <HI>Providence,</HI> being the <HI>Natural Allegiance</HI> every one of us owes unto his <HI>Divine Maje&s;ty</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, <HI>The &s;ame Soveraign Power doth actually di&s;po&s;e of all the Kingdoms of the earth.</HI> Hear the Holy Scripture again,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kin. 19.15.</NOTE> <HI>He is the God of all the Kingdoms of the earth,</HI> and <HI>he alone.</HI> His Right and Title are unque&s;tio|nable; becau&s;e, as it follows, <HI>He hath made heaven and earth.</HI> Nor is this only a Dormant Right, which he doth not actually exerci&s;e, for,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 4.17.</NOTE> <HI>The mo&s;t High ruleth in the Kingdom of Men, and giveth it to whom&s;oever he will.</HI> 'Tis <HI>He that changes the times and the &s;ea&s;ons,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 2.21.</NOTE> <HI>and</HI> (what|ever be the means or in&s;truments he is plea&s;ed to make u&s;e of) 'tis <HI>he that removeth Kings, and &s;etteth up Kings.</HI> And this he doth (&s;aith <HI>Origen) Non per Arbitrium,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Homil. 4. in Lib. Judicum.</NOTE> not by his <HI>Prerogative</HI> only, in a meer <HI>Arbitrary</HI> way; but <HI>Pro ut merita no&s;tra depo&s;cunt,</HI> in a <HI>Judiciary</HI> way, an&s;werably to the behaviour of a People, as a righteous <HI>Judge;</HI> &s;o the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t, God him&s;elf is the</HI> Judge,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 75.7.</NOTE> <HI>who putteth down one, and &s;etteth up another.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.1.</NOTE> <HI>There is</HI> then you &s;ee, <HI>no Power but of God, the Powers that be are or|dain'd of God.</HI> And in all the great Revolutions of Kingdoms and States, we ought to have our eyes prin|cipally fix'd upon the <HI>Spirit in the Wheels.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 1.20, 21.</NOTE></P>
<P N="3">3. La&s;tly, There are not many Duties more plainly commanded, more cogently pre&s;s'd, or more frequently inculcated, than the Duty of <HI>Subjection</HI> to them unto whom God &s;o di&s;po&s;eth of Kingdoms.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.1, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> 1 Pet. 2.13. Tit. 3.1. 1 Tim. 2.2.</NOTE> <HI>Every Soul mu&s;t be &s;ubject,</HI> and that, <HI>to every ordinance of man.</HI> We mu&s;t <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>obey their Commands, Pray for their Per&s;ons, Honour them, Pay them Tribute and Cu&s;tom,</HI> and all this, <HI>for the LORD's,</HI> and <HI>for Con&s;cience-&s;ake.</HI></P>
<P>Now who&s;o grants all this, as every <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> mu&s;t do, mu&s;t needs grant withal, that every Pretence to
<PB N="10" REF="10">Religion, in him that yields not a <HI>Legal Obedience</HI> to the <HI>Civil Government</HI> under which he lives, &s;o far as it may be con&s;i&s;tent with that Obedience which he owes in the fir&s;t place to the Laws of God, whom he is always to o|bey rather than Man, (and this is all we mean by <HI>true Loyalty</HI>) is one of the vaine&s;t things in the World. And therefore I take the fir&s;t Propo&s;ition to be undeniably proved.</P>
<P>And here it might be thought as proper to my Sub|ject, as it is at this day &s;ea&s;onable, were not my <HI>Abilities</HI> as much as my <HI>Time</HI> too &s;hort for &s;uch a Task, to offer &s;omething by way of An&s;wer to tho&s;e <HI>Que&s;tions</HI> about <HI>Legal</HI> TITLES, NON-RESISTANCE, and PASSIVE-OBEDIENCE, which have been &s;o very trouble&s;ome of late to many, as to render the Doctrine now deli|ver'd in a great mea&s;ure impracticable to them; &s;o that they cannot pay either &s;o cheerfully or &s;o compleatly as they ought to do, their ALLEGIANCE to tho&s;e <HI>Gra|cious Princes,</HI> whom it hath plea&s;ed the <HI>Divine Goodne&s;s</HI> by a mo&s;t <HI>miraculous Providence</HI> to advance unto the Government of the&s;e Kingdoms. But in&s;tead of this, as I know it to be enough, &s;o I hope it will not be thought too much for me in this place, humbly to of|fer a little Advice, as one that de&s;ires to be found faith|ful; and I dare with &s;ome confidence promi&s;e my&s;elf, that it will be thought by all here very <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> and <HI>&s;ea&s;onable.</HI></P>
<P>Let me then <HI>fir&s;t</HI> more <HI>generally,</HI> advi&s;e all Men, who think them&s;elves concern'd to have a clear Re&s;olution of the&s;e and the like <HI>Que&s;tions,</HI> before they dare own the Powers under which they live, to be very cautious how they venture to di&s;obey the plaine&s;t <HI>Commands</HI> of God, or to di&s;regard the mo&s;t remarkable <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ations</HI> of his <HI>Providence,</HI> meerly in complai&s;ance to &s;ome, at
<PB N="11" REF="10">be&s;t, di&s;putable <HI>Principles</HI> of their own, which they have been taught, it may be <HI>unawares,</HI> only by <HI>Cu&s;tome</HI> and <HI>Education,</HI> to be too unrea&s;onably fond on. <Q>And this Advice may, I hope, take the better with &s;ome of them who now &s;eem mo&s;t to need it, becau&s;e it is the very &s;ame they have &s;o often given to the <HI>Di&s;&s;en|ters</HI> in another Ca&s;e.</Q> More <HI>particularly:</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. On the one &s;ide, all they who are &s;o <HI>&s;crupulous,</HI> as that they dare own no <HI>Allegiance</HI> due to any <HI>Prince,</HI> &s;o long as they can invent any thing to &s;ay again&s;t the <HI>Le|gality</HI> of his <HI>Title,</HI> are highly concern'd to be well a&s;|&s;ured of this one thing, that God's Command of <HI>Subje|ction to the Higher Powers,</HI> makes it not his Duty to be &s;ubject, unto whom his <HI>Prince's Title</HI> is not fir&s;t clear'd beyond all di&s;pute. And he that can be a&s;&s;ured of this, will, I fear, be forced to grant, what I would not wil|lingly, for Government's &s;ake, and for God's too, hear granted, that this Command was given in vain, to very great Numbers of them who mo&s;t need it. However there are not a few things which mu&s;t be very well con&s;ider'd, before &s;uch an a&s;&s;urance can be had. As,</P>
<P N="1">1. What kind of Legal Titles tho&s;e <HI>Powers</HI> then had, unto whom our ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and his <HI>holy Apo&s;tles</HI> com|manded tho&s;e fir&s;t Chri&s;tians, and more e&s;pecially the <HI>Jewi&s;h Converts,</HI> for <HI>Con&s;cience &s;ake</HI> to be <HI>&s;ubject.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. How St. <HI>Paul</HI> could, con&s;i&s;tently with their Prin|ciples, even in the mo&s;t general terms, enjoin Subje|ction to what he calls <GAP DESC="foreign">, the <HI>Pre&s;ent Powers,</HI> or (&s;eeing &s;ome will rather have it &s;o) the <HI>True Ones,</HI> even to all, <GAP DESC="foreign">, in any degree of Eminence; and yet not give us the lea&s;t hint of our Duty to examine, or of any marks whereby we might trie their <HI>Titles,</HI> and &s;o &s;ave our&s;elves from a &s;inful Obedience.</P>
<P N="3">3. What <HI>Right</HI> God hath given to any <HI>People</HI> having
<PB N="12" REF="11">made Government their Duty, to provide them&s;elves of good <HI>Government</HI> when 'tis wanting; or to &s;ecure to them&s;elves, as well as they may, the <HI>ends</HI> and <HI>benefits</HI> of good Government; or, whether God have made it their Duty to quit all this, in complement to what &s;ome plea&s;e to call a <HI>Legal Title.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. What &s;etled Government there is ever like to be in a Nation, wherein all Men will not &s;oon, I fear, come to be of one mind, if every one may deny <HI>Allegiance</HI> to the <HI>pre&s;ent Governour,</HI> &s;o long as he hath any &s;cruple in his head, about his <HI>Title</HI> to the Government.</P>
<P N="5">5. Where God him&s;elf doth not, as in <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>I&s;|rael,</HI> immediately interpo&s;e, and by &s;ome po&s;itive Law fix the <HI>Con&s;titution,</HI> de&s;ign the <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> and intail the <HI>Right,</HI> what it is in every <HI>Nation</HI> that makes a <HI>good Title,</HI> and who they be that mu&s;t determine, <HI>What it is, Who hath it, Whether</HI> and <HI>by What it</HI> may be <HI>lost,</HI> or <HI>forfeited,</HI> whenever &s;uch Di&s;putes as the&s;e ari&s;e about it.</P>
<P N="6">6. La&s;tly, by what means <HI>Con&s;cience</HI> may po&s;&s;ibly e&s;cape the <HI>Snare</HI> thus laid, and enjoy the freedom of o|beying the plain Commands of God, without being continually on the rack of <HI>Doubts</HI> about <HI>Titles.</HI></P>
<P>Tho, I &s;ay, I may not for my weakne&s;s pre&s;ume to determine in the&s;e matters, yet mu&s;t it needs be of highe&s;t concernment to them who refu&s;e <HI>Allegiance,</HI> becau&s;e of <HI>di&s;putable Titles,</HI> for their own &s;atisfaction to have them well determined. All I &s;hall at pre&s;ent farther advi&s;e them to, is only this, That th&ocirc; they &s;eem to me over <HI>&s;crupulous</HI> already in one point, they would yet be a little more <HI>cautious</HI> in <HI>another;</HI> I mean, lea&s;t the Du&s;t they rai&s;e about the <HI>Titles</HI> of <HI>Men,</HI> do not blind them &s;o, as that they cannot di&s;cern the <HI>Title</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> which he challengeth to him&s;elf,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 27.5, 6.</NOTE> <HI>To give all the Lands to whom it &s;eemeth meet unto Him.</HI></P>
<PB N="13" REF="11">
<P> Thus &s;aith God of <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 26.20.</NOTE> <HI>I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour, wherewith he &s;erved a|gain&s;t it, becau&s;e they wrought for me, &s;aith the LORD.</HI> Since then it hath plea&s;ed God to &s;end us in our greate&s;t need, not a <HI>wicked</HI> and <HI>bloody Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> but a mo&s;t <HI>pious</HI> and <HI>gracious Prince;</HI> not a <HI>Stranger</HI> to our <HI>Nation,</HI> but a <HI>Branch</HI> of the <HI>Royal Family;</HI> to <HI>labour,</HI> and that in a very hazardous Service, not <HI>again&s;t</HI> us, but <HI>for</HI> us: &s;eeing this <HI>mo&s;t excellent Prince</HI> hath &s;o vi&s;ibly <HI>wrought for God,</HI> not, as that other, in a way of <HI>De&s;tru|ction,</HI> but of <HI>Salvation;</HI> not <HI>eventually</HI> only, but <HI>inten|tionally</HI> al&s;o; &s;eeing that God hath wrought even <HI>mi|raculou&s;ly</HI> for <HI>Him,</HI> and for <HI>us</HI> by him; and &s;eeing he hath by &s;uch a continued <HI>Train</HI> and <HI>Series</HI> of <HI>extraor|dinary Providences,</HI> all vi&s;ibly tending to the Glory of his own <HI>Goodne&s;s,</HI> in the &s;ecuring of the <HI>Prote&s;tant Inte|rest,</HI> and the Safety of <HI>Three Kingdoms</HI> profe&s;&s;ing his <HI>Holy Truth,</HI> &s;o clearly in all appearance determin'd the matter to our hands: If we &s;tand yet di&s;puting <HI>Titles,</HI> when we &s;hould <HI>be prai&s;ing the LORD for his Goodne&s;s, and declaring the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men:</HI> We have all the rea&s;on in the World to fear, lea&s;t by a que&s;tioning a <HI>Right</HI> which God hath &s;o &s;ig|nally own'd, we provoke him to a&s;&s;ert his <HI>own Right</HI> to our &s;orrow, <HI>By taking away a good King in his wrath,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lev. 26 17.</NOTE> and <HI>&s;etting them that hate us to Reign over us;</HI> as once he threatned a murmuring Generation.</P>
<P N="2">2. And now in the next place, on the other &s;ide, I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, That a little more Chri&s;tian <HI>Mode&s;ty</HI> and <HI>Caution</HI> too, might very well become tho&s;e very bold and over-daring People, who, I doubt, as <HI>incon|&s;iderately</HI> as <HI>confidently,</HI> in the mo&s;t general terms, ri|dicule the <HI>Doctrine</HI> of <HI>Non-Re&s;i&s;tance;</HI> and declaim (as to me it &s;eems) with no le&s;s <HI>indi&s;cretion</HI> than <HI>virulence,</HI>
<PB N="14" REF="12">again&s;t what they blu&s;h not to call the <HI>Non&s;ence</HI> of <HI>Pa&s;&s;ive-Obedience.</HI> My Advice to the&s;e Men is, That they would <HI>first</HI> &s;eriou&s;ly bethink them&s;elves, what it may be within them, that thus tran&s;ports them beyond all bounds of Chri&s;tian <HI>Sobriety,</HI> yea, and all that <HI>regard</HI> to which is due (I &s;ay not to the <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> only, but) to <HI>all Government.</HI> And then beware, I be&s;eech you <HI>Sirs,</HI> lea&s;t aiming, it may be, very blindly, at the <HI>Church of England,</HI> you chance to hit both <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> and his <HI>Apo&s;tles.</HI></P>
<P>Suppo&s;e we, that the&s;e <HI>Doctrines</HI> may have po&s;&s;ibly been <HI>unwarily</HI> over &s;tretch'd and mi&s;applied by &s;ome, and more <HI>maliciou&s;ly</HI> wre&s;ted and abu&s;ed by others, to &s;erve very ill ends and purpo&s;es: It may be, I might truly &s;ay, that there is no part of the <HI>Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t,</HI> which hath not by &s;ome been thus abu&s;ed; and yet I hope you will not turn <HI>Apo&s;tates</HI> becau&s;e of that. Truly I mu&s;t believe the&s;e <HI>Doctrines</HI> to be <HI>&s;ound</HI> and <HI>good,</HI> &s;o long as I can believe the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> which &s;o plainly teacheth them to be <HI>Divine Truth.</HI> And well I think it too for the World, that they are &s;o; otherwi&s;e, I can as little &s;ee how any <HI>Government</HI> can be maintained in it, as I think any one can &s;hew me, Why the holy <HI>Je&s;us</HI> hath pro|nounced him <HI>ble&s;&s;ed that is per&s;ecuted for righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake:</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.10.</NOTE>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.19.</NOTE> or St. <HI>Peter</HI> calls it, <HI>Thankworthy, if a man for con|&s;cience toward God, endure grief, &s;uffering wrongfully.</HI></P>
<P>Let but <HI>them</HI> therefore in every <HI>Government,</HI> who&s;e proper work it is, for I am &s;ure 'tis not the <HI>Divine</HI>'s, lay open before Men the true <HI>Con&s;titution</HI> of the <HI>Government,</HI> and &s;ay plainly, what are the <HI>Supreme Powers</HI> therein, as &s;ome &s;uch there mu&s;t be, that &s;o there may be no longer any danger of a mi&s;take in the <HI>Application,</HI> and then I affirm, not only, that it is a <HI>Contradiction</HI> to &s;ay, the <HI>Supreme Power</HI> may be re&s;i&s;ted, but the <HI>Government</HI> will &s;oon become &s;en&s;ible how much it owes to <HI>Christ</HI> for
<PB N="15" REF="12">delivering, and to the <HI>Church</HI> for maintaining this Do|ctrine, and how ill they de&s;erve of all Men, who <HI>ridicule</HI> it. I hope the <HI>Church of England</HI> will never prove &s;o unfaithful, either to <HI>Christ</HI> or the <HI>Civil Government,</HI> as either to be <HI>droll'd</HI> or <HI>hector'd</HI> out of a <HI>Doctrine</HI> which St. <HI>Paul</HI> hath &s;o plainly taught her.</P>
<P>And as to that <HI>late Ca&s;e</HI> of ours, whence &s;ome have taken occa&s;ion to make all this Noi&s;e, I &s;hall only &s;ay, That as I think it admini&s;tred very little, if any cau&s;e at all for &s;uch unbe&s;eeming Di&s;cour&s;es: So I am very &s;ure it made us all the cau&s;e in the World to be heartily thankful to <HI>Almighty God,</HI> who by an unde&s;erved Good|ne&s;s was pleas'd &s;o to order the whole Affair for us, as to prevent the greate&s;t of <HI>Temptations;</HI> and to make us a fair way to e&s;cape, without being put (as many of our poor &s;uffering Neighbors have been) to the Trial how we would have exemplified our Doctrine of a <HI>Pa&s;&s;ive,</HI> as we had done that of an <HI>Active</HI> Obedience, &s;o far as it was lawful, and &s;o our Duty.</P>
<P>I may now, I hope,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Apologet. ad Scap. c. 1, 2.</NOTE> clo&s;e this part of my Di&s;cour&s;e with tho&s;e well-known words of <HI>Tertullian, We,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>in the Emperors admire and honour the Judgment of God, who hath &s;et them over the Nations.</HI> And again, <HI>The Chri&s;tian is no Man's Enemy, lea&s;t of all the Empe|rour's, whom he knowing to be &s;et up by his own God, can|not choo&s;e but love, honour, reverence, and pray for his &s;afety.</HI></P>
<P N="2">II. I proceed now to the <HI>Second</HI> Propo&s;ition, <HI>There is no true Loyalty in him that is not &s;incerely Religious.</HI> He fears not the <HI>King</HI> as he &s;hould do, who fears not <HI>God.</HI> 'Tis only <HI>Con&s;cience</HI> towards God that can make a Man truly <HI>Loyal</HI> to his Prince.</P>
<P>And this Truth will become very clear, when the&s;e Four things are well con&s;idered.
<LIST>
<PB N="16" REF="13">
<ITEM>1. <HI>That the Apo&s;tles lay the Foundation of</HI> Loyalty <HI>in</HI> Religion.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Mankind hath ever thought</HI> Religion <HI>the only &s;ure Bond to</HI> Loyalty.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>All other Bonds but</HI> Religion <HI>appear too weak.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>All Obedience paid on any lower account is too little.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Apo&s;tles lay the Foundation of</HI> Loyalty <HI>in</HI> Re|ligion. Hence per&s;wading us to <HI>Subjection</HI> to the <HI>Higher Powers,</HI> they are &s;o very careful at every turn to mind us of <HI>God, There is no Power but of</HI> God, <HI>the Powers that be, are ordained of</HI> God. <HI>He that re&s;i&s;teth the Power, re&s;i&s;teth the Ordinance of</HI> God:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82.</NOTE> <HI>He is the Mini&s;ter of</HI> God. Therefore hath God him&s;elf given to <HI>Magi&s;trates</HI> the Name of <HI>Gods. We mu&s;t needs be &s;ubject not only for wrath, but for</HI> Con&s;cience <HI>&s;ake, and &s;ubmit for the LORD's &s;ake. For &s;o is the will of God,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Peter.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Mankind hath ever thought</HI> Religion <HI>the only &s;ure Bond to</HI> Loyalty.</P>
<P>Hence is it, that <HI>Governours,</HI> di&s;tru&s;ting all other <HI>Obligations,</HI> have always thought an <HI>Oath of Allegi|ance</HI> their very be&s;t &s;ecurity.</P>
<P>Hence the very <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> will have <HI>Religion</HI> to be no more but a <HI>Politick Invention</HI> for the better upholding of <HI>Government;</HI> &s;o tacitly confe&s;&s;ing, how unwillingly &s;oever, that <HI>Government</HI> cannot be upheld, but by <HI>Re|ligion.</HI> And thereby ju&s;tifying the greate&s;t <HI>&s;everity</HI> to|wards Men of his temper, as the wor&s;t of Enemies to <HI>Civil Government.</HI></P>
<P>Hence <HI>la&s;tly,</HI> the wi&s;e&s;t of the Heathen <HI>Law-givers,</HI> to lay this only &s;ure Obligation on the People, feign|ed their Laws to come from &s;ome or other of their fi|ctitious <HI>Deities.</HI></P>
<P>This &s;ence Men have always had, that <HI>Government</HI> cannot &s;tand if you take away <HI>Religion.</HI></P>
<P N="3"><PB N="17" REF="13"> 3. <HI>All other Bonds but</HI> Religion <HI>appear too weak,</HI> Men will as <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> did his Cords, ea&s;ily &s;nap them all in &s;under, whenever they have a mind to &s;hake them&s;elves and break loo&s;e. As <HI>Antigonus</HI> call'd the State of Kings a <HI>great Slavery,</HI> &s;o without <HI>Religion</HI> in the People, will every <HI>King</HI> find him&s;elf one of the very <HI>meane&s;t,</HI> that is, a <HI>Royal Slave,</HI> and his <HI>Scepter</HI> no more but a de&s;pica|ble <HI>Reed,</HI> which any one will find &s;trength enough to break at his plea&s;ure, and choo&s;e which he will do, bow the <HI>knee</HI> to him in mockery, or <HI>crucifie</HI> him in earne&s;t.</P>
<P>And yet, it may be, &s;ome who are not at all a&s;hamed, that all the World &s;hould know they have no <HI>Religion,</HI> will be very angry that any one &s;hould &s;u&s;pect their <HI>Loyalty.</HI> Who can help it? I will &s;ay very fair, Gentle|men, prove your <HI>Loyalty</HI> and take it; only remember by the way, that as there is a <HI>temporary Faith,</HI> &s;o is there a <HI>temporary Loyalty</HI> al&s;o, which may help one for a-while to make a fine flouri&s;h with in the World, &s;o long as it will &s;erve his private ends; but in time of Tempta|tion will wither away, and that for want of <HI>Religion</HI> to take deep rooting in.</P>
<P>It mu&s;t be a very bad <HI>Government</HI> indeed, which it is no Man's Intere&s;t to uphold, and &s;o long as one &s;tands by the <HI>Government,</HI> tho' it be but to &s;erve his own turn of it, he will be accounted <HI>Loyal.</HI> But then 'tis very plain, that he who endeavours to uphold the <HI>Govern|ment</HI> only becau&s;e it upholds <HI>him,</HI> will for the &s;ame rea|&s;on be no longer a Friend to it, than he imagines it, whether truly or fal&s;ly, 'tis all a ca&s;e, a Friend to him. Men will very hardly be brought by any thing but <HI>Re|ligion,</HI> to trade any longer on the Common Stock, when once they can hope to thrive better by &s;etting up for them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e it were true, which one &s;eems to make the
<PB N="18" REF="14">fir&s;t Principle of his <HI>Politicks, That every Man is natu|rally an Enemy to every Man:</HI> and then &s;uppo&s;e too, as you mu&s;t, That <HI>Civil Government</HI> is nothing el&s;e but a <HI>forced Combination</HI> of one pack of <HI>Enemies</HI> to &s;trengthen them&s;elves again&s;t another. Now &s;eeing this <HI>enmity</HI> can never be extingui&s;h'd by any thing but <HI>Religion,</HI> what &s;hould hinder it, without that, from breaking out into <HI>new Con&s;piracies</HI> within the bowels of the <HI>old one,</HI> when|ever <HI>Selfi&s;hne&s;s</HI> can get Power, and a Sword &s;trong and &s;harp enough to cut in pieces the <HI>fir&s;t Combination?</HI></P>
<P>The Man that has made his <HI>E&s;tate</HI> his <HI>God,</HI> will even <HI>Idolize</HI> the <HI>Government</HI> too, whatever it be, for his <HI>Mam|mon</HI>'s &s;ake, &s;o long as he finds &s;at <HI>Offerings</HI> daily coming in by it to his <HI>Idol.</HI> But let him be call'd upon to offer largely to the &s;upport of the <HI>Government,</HI> he will begin to <HI>cur&s;e</HI> by his God, what but now you thought he had <HI>wor&s;hip'd;</HI> the thing is unmask'd, and what was a <HI>&s;eem|ing Loyalty</HI> to the <HI>Government,</HI> appears in truth a <HI>real Slavery</HI> to his <HI>E&s;tate.</HI></P>
<P>The Man of an <HI>a&s;piring Spirit</HI> will even fall as low as you will have him, &s;o he can hope to ri&s;e the higher in the rebound. He will ki&s;s the Hand of his <HI>Prince,</HI> or the <HI>Pope's</HI> Toe, all's a ca&s;e, &s;o long as he has hope to <HI>climb</HI> by the help of either. But if the <HI>Government</HI> will not find him a place high enough for his <HI>Ambition,</HI> this will quickly &s;well him, till he be too <HI>great</HI> to be <HI>govern'd.</HI> He was <HI>obedient</HI> only that he might &s;tand as <HI>high,</HI> and as <HI>near</HI> the <HI>Throne of Maje&s;ty</HI> as he could, and he will venture a &s;tep or two too far, and &s;it down in it, if he can, rather than be content not to &s;tand as near it as he would be.</P>
<P>He who&s;e <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Luxury</HI> are grown too great to be any longer fed with the broken <HI>Off-falls</HI> of &s;uch an E&s;tate as they have left him, may &s;eem very <HI>Loyal,</HI>
<PB N="19" REF="14">whil&s;t by all the vile Arts of <HI>Flattery</HI> and <HI>Ob&s;equiou&s;ne&s;s</HI> he is labouring to in&s;inuate him&s;elf through his <HI>Prince's Favour</HI> into his <HI>Coffers,</HI> and all his <HI>Loyalty</HI> is onely his <HI>Impatience</HI> to live <HI>&s;oberly.</HI></P>
<P>Some others there may be, who for want of &s;ome|thing el&s;e to cover their wickedne&s;s, are fain to u&s;e &s;ome|thing like <HI>Loyalty</HI> for a cloak, and to &s;eek a <HI>Sanctuary</HI> either in a <HI>corrupt</HI> or <HI>nece&s;&s;itous Government,</HI> from the <HI>Penalties</HI> of good <HI>Laws. David</HI> once had a Guard of no very good Men: and a very good <HI>Prince</HI> may &s;ome|times be driven to very hard &s;hifts, and to call into his a&s;&s;i&s;tance one &s;ort of bad Men, to guard him from a|nother. Yet is it not their <HI>Loyalty,</HI> nor any other good quality in them, but their <HI>obnoxiou&s;ne&s;s to the Laws</HI> on|ly, that could per&s;wade them to afford him their help. But whenever &s;uch a <HI>King</HI> &s;hall recover his ju&s;t liberty of acting as the <HI>Mini&s;ter of God for the puni&s;hment of evil doers,</HI> the&s;e &s;eeming <HI>Loyali&s;ts</HI> will &s;hew them&s;elves then ju&s;t as faithful to him, as they are now to God and their own Souls. No wonder, if they who are always defying their <HI>God,</HI> and bidding him <HI>damn</HI> them&s;elves, &s;hould not be &s;hie in cur&s;ing their <HI>King,</HI> whenever his <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> provokes them. Neither can any good rea&s;on be given, why &s;uch Men &s;hould not be altogether as willing to venture upon Damnation for <HI>Rebellion,</HI> as for <HI>Prophanene&s;s.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, <HI>All Obedience paid on any lower account is too little,</HI> and de&s;erves not the name of <HI>true Loyalty.</HI> Not to honour the <HI>Magi&s;trate</HI> as the <HI>Mini&s;ter of God,</HI> is to deba&s;e him in our e&s;teem, and in our thoughts, to degrade him from that high State and Dignity, where|unto it hath plea&s;ed God to advance him.</P>
<P>From what has been &s;aid, I think, I may now very &s;afely conclude, <HI>That under good Government, to be a
<PB N="20" REF="15">good Man and a good Subject are &s;o much the &s;ame, that he who is the one is both, and he who is not both is neither.</HI> And this is it I undertook to &s;hew.</P>
<P>The Doctrine thus clear'd, I have but two things more to do at this time, and I mo&s;t heartily be&s;eech God to a&s;&s;i&s;t me with his Ble&s;&s;ing.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. I would &s;ay &s;omething to bring, if po&s;&s;ible, &s;ome People among&s;t us to be a little better acquaint|ed with them&s;elves.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. I would offer a few Con&s;iderations for the pro|moting the fear of the <HI>LORD,</HI> or &s;incere Religion among&s;t us.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. There is a &s;ort of People among us, whom I would fain, might it plea&s;e God, bring a little better acquaint|ed with them&s;elves, than they yet &s;eem to be. Tho&s;e I mean, who are ob&s;erved almo&s;t every-where to &s;et up the loude&s;t cry for <HI>Loyalty,</HI> and the <HI>Church of Eng|land,</HI> and <HI>Religion as by Law therein e&s;tabli&s;hed;</HI> whil&s;t yet they &s;eem mo&s;t indu&s;trious by their notorious <HI>De|baucheries,</HI> and <HI>Lawle&s;s</HI> Lives to provide, that no <HI>&s;ober</HI> Man that knows them, &s;hould ever in the lea&s;t &s;u&s;pect, that they have any fear of God before their eyes.</P>
<P>Now I do mo&s;t earne&s;tly be&s;eech the&s;e Men to con|&s;ider a little, both what they are, and what Mi&s;chiefs they are a doing daily, even to that <HI>King,</HI> and <HI>Church,</HI> and <HI>Religion,</HI> whatever they mean by the&s;e Names, which they would be thought &s;o much to honour.</P>
<P N="1">1. Whil&s;t they keep &s;uch a &s;tir about the <HI>King,</HI> and the <HI>Church,</HI> and <HI>Religion by Law e&s;tabli&s;hed;</HI> and in the mean time &s;o quite forget <HI>God,</HI> as tho' none of all the&s;e had any relation at all to him: Yea, whil&s;t they are wont to laugh at the &s;erious naming of God, as a <HI>Cant|ing,</HI> or piece of <HI>Phanatici&s;m,</HI> and hardly ever name him them&s;elves, unle&s;s in &s;ome horrid <HI>Oath,</HI> or direful <HI>im|precation,</HI>
<PB N="21" REF="15">as often on <HI>them&s;elves</HI> as any others: In a word, whil&s;t they make a &s;port of <HI>&s;in</HI> in <HI>them&s;elves,</HI> and of <HI>Religion</HI> in <HI>others;</HI> as the <HI>Philo&s;opher</HI> in <HI>Hierocles,</HI> &s;aid to a wicked Wretch in the &s;ame Ship with him, when being in &s;ome danger he began to pray, <HI>Hold thy peace, Friend, least the Gods &s;hould hear thee, and know that we have &s;uch a Fellow in our Company:</HI> So <HI>are their King,</HI> and <HI>Church</HI> (whoever they be) greatly concern'd to beg of the&s;e their Friends, as they love them, to hold their Peace, lea&s;t the World &s;hould know that they have any &s;uch Friends as they: Who&s;e very profe&s;&s;ing them&s;elves their Friends, is to do the very wor&s;t thing they can, both to di&s;grace them, and to tempt their Enemies to think much the better of them&s;elves for being Ene|mies to them, who&s;e <HI>Friends</HI> are &s;o much the <HI>Enemies</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> and &s;erious <HI>Piety.</HI> The ca&s;e of a <HI>Kingdom</HI> is in|deed lamentable, when Men are thus tempted to think, that there can be no <HI>Piety</HI> in the <HI>Loyal,</HI> or no <HI>Loyalty</HI> in the <HI>Pious,</HI> as tho' <HI>God</HI> and the <HI>King</HI> were the <HI>Two Ma|&s;ters,</HI> which no Man can &s;erve at once. And &s;ome will be thus tempted, who whil&s;t they can on the one hand &s;pie out for them&s;elves <HI>Leaders</HI> or <HI>Companions</HI> who &s;eem to follow <HI>God;</HI> and on the other hand can &s;ee many (th&ocirc; God be thank'd, far from all) &s;eemingly very zealous for the <HI>King</HI> and the <HI>Church,</HI> and yet as impla|cable Enemies to &s;incere <HI>Piety</HI> in their <HI>Lives,</HI> as in their <HI>Words</HI> to <HI>Rebellion</HI> and <HI>Hypocri&s;ie,</HI> will be apt to think them&s;elves neare&s;t <HI>God,</HI> when farthe&s;t from both the <HI>King</HI> and <HI>Church</HI> which &s;uch Men honour.</P>
<P N="2">2. Such good <HI>Subjects</HI> and <HI>Church-of England-Men</HI> are they who live not in the fear of <HI>God,</HI> that the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of their Lives is nothing el&s;e, but a continual provoking of Almighty God to pour down his mo&s;t dreadful <HI>Judgments</HI> on the whole <HI>Kingdom.</HI> Tell me,
<PB N="22" REF="16"><HI>Sirs,</HI> I be&s;eech you, do you think your <HI>&s;ins</HI> no <HI>provoca|tions?</HI> Or can you hope, that <HI>God,</HI> th&ocirc; daily <HI>provoked</HI> will never <HI>vi&s;it?</HI> He that affirms either of the&s;e, will be found at the bottom little better than an <HI>Atheist,</HI> and then none but he can think a <HI>wicked Man</HI> can be <HI>Loyal.</HI> Nay, th&ocirc; <Q>you were able to brag of the brave Exploits you have done in their Service, th&ocirc; you be not of the inferiour gang, who only u&s;e to whet their Tongues like a Sword, and bend their Bows to &s;hoot their Ar|rows, bitter words, at random; but of tho&s;e who have &s;ometimes with good &s;ucce&s;s managed either the <HI>Sword</HI> or the <HI>Pen</HI> in their cau&s;e: Yet alas, what does all this come to? for where either your <HI>Learning</HI> or your <HI>Valour</HI> hath taken off one, your <HI>wicked Lives</HI> have made them twenty Enemies. You have, it may be, &s;ometimes confuted or defeated for them two or three weak Mortals, and have been arming <HI>Omnipo|tence</HI> all your Life long again&s;t them.</Q></P>
<P N="3">3. You wage a continual War and Rebellion again&s;t them both underhand, and <HI>Judas</HI>-like, betray them with a <HI>ki&s;s.</HI> You live in a con&s;tant di&s;obedience to the <HI>Laws</HI> of the one, and the <HI>Doctrine</HI> of the other, whom in words you honour. Suppo&s;e we were all come (which God forbid) to that heighth of <HI>Irreligion,</HI> as with the <HI>Hobbi&s;t</HI> to account the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1.5.</NOTE> <HI>Who is the Prince of the Kings of the earth,</HI> to be no <HI>Law</HI> to any People, till it have received the <HI>Civil Sanction;</HI> yet certainly in this Kingdom, where <HI>Chri&s;tian Religion</HI> is by Law e&s;tabli&s;h|ed, to live <HI>wickedly,</HI> is to live <HI>di&s;loyally,</HI> and he that by &s;o doing li&s;ts him&s;elf among the Enemies of both <HI>Church</HI> and <HI>State,</HI> has no body to blame for it, but him|&s;elf, if others &s;o account of him.</P>
<P N="4">4. Into what intolerable &s;traits do the&s;e evil Livers drive both the <HI>King</HI> and the <HI>Church,</HI> by their &s;o much
<PB N="23" REF="16">&s;eeming Zeal for them? Which way &s;oever they &s;hall turn them&s;elves, to this pa&s;s they are brought, that they mu&s;t needs di&s;oblige great numbers of the People. Either they mu&s;t very &s;everely cha&s;ti&s;e the&s;e <HI>good Friends</HI> of theirs for their wickedne&s;s, as their own Laws require them to do, and &s;o be &s;ure to lo&s;e them; or they mu&s;t again&s;t their Duty connive at their &s;ins, and &s;o lo&s;e many better Men than they. Either the&s;e zea|lous <HI>Friends</HI> of theirs mu&s;t be made to &s;uffer by the <HI>Sword of Ju&s;tice</HI> and <HI>Rod of Di&s;cipline,</HI> or the <HI>Govern|ments</HI> both <HI>Civil</HI> and <HI>Eccle&s;ia&s;tical</HI> mu&s;t expo&s;e them|&s;elves to the <HI>wrath</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> and the <HI>reproach</HI> of the <HI>World,</HI> by &s;uffering for their &s;akes the <HI>Laws</HI> of <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Man</HI> to be trampled on with impunity. Now what can be more <HI>di&s;plea&s;ing</HI> to a <HI>good King</HI> and <HI>Church,</HI> or indeed more <HI>pernicious</HI> to <HI>any,</HI> than to be always exerci&s;ing nothing but &s;everity.</P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, The <HI>Kings</HI> of <HI>England</HI> have now long been &s;tiled, <HI>Defenders of the Faith,</HI> and now, if ever (ble&s;&s;ed be God) we have <HI>Princes</HI> whom it can be no <HI>flattery</HI> to call &s;o: And the <HI>good Prayer</HI> of the <HI>Church of England</HI> is this, <HI>That Ju&s;tice may be mini&s;ter'd indifferently, to the puni&s;hment of wickedne&s;s and vice, and the maintenance of true Religion and Vertue:</HI> This, I &s;ay, is the very hearty <HI>Prayer</HI> of every <HI>Loyal Subject</HI> of the <HI>Church of England.</HI> And now <HI>Sirs,</HI> cannot you thus <HI>pray?</HI> Then I be&s;eech you, what have you to do with <HI>Loyalty,</HI> and the <HI>Church of England?</HI> Can you thus pray indeed? Then can you no longer live <HI>wickedly,</HI> except you can find in your hearts to pray for your own <HI>puni&s;hment.</HI> In &s;hort, to live <HI>irreligiou&s;ly,</HI> and yet pretend to <HI>Loyalty,</HI> is in effect, to wi&s;h the King's Title of <HI>Defender of the Faith,</HI> chan|ged into this, <HI>Protector of the wicked.</HI></P>
<P>O when will Men awake and come to them&s;elves a|gain?
<PB N="24" REF="17">When will we begin to call to mind what we are? or what we &s;hould be? When will we begin to act with &s;o much rea&s;on, as that the very <HI>Atheist</HI> him&s;elf (other|wi&s;e the ab&s;urde&s;t Fool upon Earth) may not ju&s;tly laugh at us for our folly, in &s;aying, We <HI>believe in God,</HI> whil&s;t we <HI>fear him not,</HI> in profe&s;&s;ing our&s;elves <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> whil&s;t we live mo&s;t <HI>unchri&s;tianly,</HI> in boa&s;ting of our <HI>Loyalty,</HI> whil&s;t we break all good <HI>Laws,</HI> finally in pre|tending to be very zealous for the <HI>Church of England,</HI> and the <HI>Prote&s;tant Religion,</HI> whil&s;t we <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>oppo&s;e</HI> nothing more than a <HI>&s;ea&s;onable Reformation.</HI> Whil&s;t we continue to live and act at this mad rate, mu&s;t not all that ob&s;erve it conclude, either that <HI>we</HI> are no <HI>Pro|te&s;tants,</HI> or <HI>Prote&s;tants</HI> are no <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> or <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> are <HI>Mad-men?</HI></P>
<P><Q>Ble&s;&s;ed God! that in this Age of the <HI>World,</HI> and of <HI>Chri&s;tianity;</HI> yea, that in this <HI>Kingdom,</HI> &s;o long ble&s;&s;ed above mo&s;t other parts of the <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> World, with the brighte&s;t Sun-&s;hine of the <HI>Go&s;pel</HI> of Chri&s;t, and with the cheri&s;hing light of God's <HI>Countenance</HI> too; a <HI>Kingdom</HI> which hath <HI>Statutes</HI> and <HI>Judgments</HI> &s;o righ|teous, as are the <HI>Laws</HI> of this wi&s;ely con&s;tituted <HI>Govern|ment,</HI> and <HI>hath God &s;o nigh unto it, as the LORD our God hath ever been unto us, in all things that we have call'd upon him for;</HI> and of which therefore one might well think, that all who hear of it &s;hould &s;ay, as once of <HI>I&s;rael, Surely this great Nation is a wi&s;e and under&s;tanding People:</HI> That even <HI>Here,</HI> and <HI>Now,</HI> there &s;hould be found among <HI>&V;s</HI> Men, either &s;o <HI>bruti&s;hly ignorant,</HI> as not to know, <HI>That the</HI> All-di&s;po&s;ing Pro|vidence <HI>of</HI> God <HI>ordereth all the affairs of this inferiour World;</HI> or &s;o <HI>childi&s;hly inadvertent,</HI> as not to ob&s;erve <HI>the most di&s;tingui&s;hing</HI> Characters <HI>of his</HI> &s;pecial <HI>favour, legible in his gracious Di&s;pen&s;ations towards us:</HI> Or,
<PB N="25" REF="17">what's wor&s;e &s;till, &s;o <HI>de&s;perately mad,</HI> as to de&s;pi&s;e the <HI>plaine&s;t and mo&s;t earnest Commands of the ble&s;&s;ed</HI> Je&s;us: That <HI>we</HI> &s;hould any of us at <HI>this</HI> day &s;eem &s;o in&s;en&s;ible what it is, either to be <HI>Men</HI> or <HI>Brethren,</HI> or <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> &s;o altogether forgetful of <HI>our&s;elves,</HI> &s;o quite worn out of <HI>kind,</HI> and out of all <HI>Religion</HI> too; that neither the &s;ence of our total <HI>dependence</HI> upon God as <HI>Men,</HI> nor the &s;en&s;ible benefits of <HI>Civil Government</HI> as <HI>Citizens,</HI> nor yet the ine&s;timable Priviledges and Advantages of a mo&s;t holy <HI>Religion,</HI> as <HI>Chri&s;tians;</HI> that neither our own <HI>pre&s;ent &s;afety</HI> and <HI>future happine&s;s,</HI> nor the <HI>Publick Good,</HI> the Peace and Pro&s;perity of our <HI>Country,</HI> and <HI>Po&s;terity,</HI> nor yet the <HI>Honour</HI> of our ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and <HI>Zeal</HI> for <HI>His,</HI> that is, the <HI>Prote&s;tant Interest</HI> in the World: That nothing of all this &s;hould even <HI>con|&s;train</HI> us to do the Duties of the Text, without any <HI>Monitor,</HI> but that in every Man's brea&s;t, is, I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, to me a very a&s;toni&s;hing thing: and yet, alas, &s;o &s;adly true, that as one cannot but both <HI>blu&s;h</HI> and <HI>tremble</HI> to think of it, &s;o is it a very &s;trong temp|tation to cea&s;e forever from per&s;wading Men to things which they &s;eem &s;o fully <HI>re&s;olved</HI> again&s;t, that they are impatient &s;o much as to hear of them.</Q></P>
<P>But I hope far better things of all <HI>You,</HI> who have the patience to hear me this day. And therefore with &s;ome confidence of prevailing.</P>
<P N="2">2. I would now offer a few things to Con&s;ideration, for the promoting of the <HI>fear of the LORD,</HI> or <HI>&s;incere Religion</HI> among us. Let me mo&s;t earne&s;tly be&s;eech <HI>You</HI> all, by all that <HI>You</HI> can think dear unto <HI>You,</HI> to labour every one, according to his <HI>ability, &s;tation,</HI> and <HI>oppor|tunities,</HI> to revive the fear of the <HI>LORD</HI> in the Land, and &s;o to <HI>&s;ave your &s;elves from this untoward Generation.</HI> Till this great Le&s;&s;on be well learn'd, 'tis in vain to take
<PB N="26" REF="18">in another; and indeed, he that has learn'd this, will &s;oon learn all.</P>
<P><HI>Sincere Piety</HI> being once become the natural temper of our renewed hearts, our <HI>gracious Princes</HI> may be well a&s;&s;ured of our <HI>Allegiance,</HI> and <HI>We</HI> of <HI>God's Ble&s;|&s;ing</HI> under Their <HI>Government.</HI> But, whil&s;t there is &s;o much <HI>bold</HI> and <HI>bare-faced Impiety,</HI> or &s;o much <HI>&s;lie</HI> and <HI>mask'd Hypocri&s;ie;</HI> whil&s;t Men dare &s;o <HI>openly</HI> rebel a|gain&s;t the great <HI>King of kings,</HI> or under &s;ome plau&s;ible Di&s;guizes <HI>&s;ecretly</HI> undermine his <HI>Government;</HI> either &s;o <HI>impudently</HI> trample his holy <HI>Laws</HI> under foot, or &s;o <HI>treacherou&s;ly</HI> cloak their Villanies under a &s;eeming <HI>Zeal</HI> for them; what can we expect, but that God &s;hould &s;ooner or later <HI>ari&s;e</HI> and <HI>vi&s;it for the&s;e things,</HI> and by vindicating his Divine <HI>Authority</HI> and <HI>Omni&s;cience</HI> at once, make us feel in earne&s;t, what it is to defie <HI>Om|nipotence,</HI> and endeavour fooli&s;hly to <HI>mock</HI> Him, from whom no Secrets can be hid. To move us the more effectually to the <HI>fear of the LORD,</HI> it may be, I hope, enough at this time, to call to mind but a few things, which one would think we &s;hould none of us ea&s;ily forget.</P>
<P N="1">1. How long hath our <HI>good God</HI> already waited to be gracious to us? And how doth He even yet, after we have &s;o <HI>often,</HI> &s;o <HI>long,</HI> and &s;o <HI>highly</HI> provoked him, not only by the mo&s;t wonderful <HI>long-&s;uffering,</HI> and <HI>forbearance,</HI> allow us time enough to con&s;ider, and grow wi&s;er for our&s;elves; but by &s;uch <HI>extraordinary Deliverances,</HI> and <HI>&s;ignal Mercies</HI> as the whole Chri&s;tian World &s;eems amazed at, <HI>invite,</HI> nay <HI>hire</HI> us to be hap|py? Will we yet go on to <HI>de&s;pi&s;e the riches of his goodne&s;s?</HI> O then, for &s;hame, never open a mouth to complain any more, th&ocirc; Wrath &s;hould come upon us to the uttermo&s;t.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="27" REF="18"> 2. How cried we out but a-while ago, for our <HI>Re|ligion,</HI> our <HI>Laws</HI> and <HI>Liberties,</HI> as th&ocirc; we did not think our very <HI>Lives</HI> worth the &s;aving, without the <HI>Liberty</HI> of &s;erving God as we ought, and doing Ju&s;tice. It hath now plea&s;ed God, (ble&s;&s;ed for ever be his <HI>Good|ne&s;s!</HI>) by a mo&s;t <HI>&s;ea&s;onable Providence</HI> to rid us of the&s;e fears, and to put us into &s;uch a Condition, as we may now &s;afely <HI>fear</HI> both <HI>God</HI> and the <HI>King,</HI> and need not be <HI>afraid</HI> of either of them for doing &s;o. We may do our whole Duty to <HI>God,</HI> and need not be afraid of the <HI>King</HI> for <HI>that.</HI> We may do even all that the <HI>King</HI> de&s;ires of us, and not be afraid of <HI>God</HI> for <HI>that.</HI> God hath ble&s;&s;ed us with <HI>Princes,</HI> who &s;eem to make <HI>Religion</HI> their <HI>&s;pecial Care,</HI> even as they Them&s;elves &s;eem to be the <HI>&s;pecial Care of Heaven.</HI> God hath ble&s;&s;ed us with <HI>Judges,</HI> who are Men of <HI>tried Integrity,</HI> and &s;uch as in the wor&s;t of Times have &s;hew'd them&s;elves <HI>Temptation-proof,</HI> fearing God too much, to be either <HI>frown'd</HI> or <HI>brib'd</HI> out of <HI>Ju&s;tice;</HI> and too faithful to the <HI>Government,</HI> to &s;acrifice the <HI>good Laws</HI> thereof, either to their <HI>fears</HI> or <HI>hopes.</HI> God hath ble&s;s'd us with <HI>Magi&s;trates</HI> on the <HI>Bench,</HI> who, I hope, were born for a time of <HI>Reformation,</HI> to grace <HI>Religion,</HI> to bring the <HI>fear of God</HI> into <HI>fa&s;hion</HI> again, and to look <HI>Prophanene&s;s</HI> and <HI>Debauchery</HI> out of Countenance: and who will own it a part of the <HI>Gentleman</HI>'s Character, <HI>to fear the LORD, to &s;erve his</HI> King <HI>and his</HI> Country, <HI>and to influence the Neighbourhood into all manner of</HI> Piety, Ju&s;tice, <HI>and</HI> Sobriety <HI>by his own</HI> Example: Fi|nally, who have Souls too <HI>generous</HI> and <HI>brave,</HI> either to be daunted by the <HI>Rants</HI> and <HI>Scoulings</HI> of the <HI>Great</HI> Ones, or to be at all moved either with the <HI>Cur&s;ings</HI> or <HI>Flatteries</HI> of the <HI>lower</HI> Form of Sinners. If <HI>God</HI> have not pleas'd us now, when can we be pleas'd? If
<PB N="28" REF="19">He have not now obliged us to fear Him, when will we become &s;en&s;ible of any Obligation?</P>
<P N="3">3. Why &s;hould not the <HI>pre&s;ent Government</HI> under which we live be very ea&s;ie and plea&s;ing to us, if it be not for this one rea&s;on, that it &s;eems to draw too near to a <HI>Theocracy.</HI> We fear'd <HI>Man,</HI> and were not a|ble to indure it. This <HI>Government</HI> &s;eems to require nothing more of us, but to fear <HI>God,</HI> and we can much le&s;s indure that. We were weary of the very <HI>thoughts</HI> of an <HI>Arbitrary Government,</HI> and &s;hall we now &s;hew our&s;elves as impatient of a <HI>Legal</HI> One, and only through our hatred of the only thing it &s;eems to threaten us withal, a <HI>&s;ea&s;onable Reformation?</HI> If this be indeed our temper, 'tis too plain we have not yet &s;marted e|nough, and therefore have cau&s;e to fear a &s;harper <HI>Cha|&s;ti&s;ement</HI> yet. Had God left us but for a <HI>while</HI> to <HI>feel</HI> all the Evils we were <HI>afraid of,</HI> we would have been very <HI>proud of,</HI> and mightily <HI>obliged</HI> by the lea&s;t of tho&s;e Ble&s;&s;ings we now &s;o unthankfully enjoy. A lit|tle more of the &s;harp <HI>Goad</HI> might have made us more tractable to an ea&s;ie <HI>Yoke.</HI> But thus it often is, both our <HI>good God,</HI> and the <HI>best of Kings</HI> want their due Honour from us, becau&s;e we have not had tho&s;e over us who have been <HI>Tyrants</HI> enough to &s;courge us into Duty. If God's heavy hand had <HI>bruis'd</HI> us enough, po&s;&s;ibly we &s;hould now begin both to <HI>fear</HI> and <HI>love</HI> him, when he is beginning to <HI>heal</HI> us.</P>
<Q><P N="4">4. If we walk not now in <HI>the fear of the LORD,</HI> we proclaim to the wide World, that we mo&s;t ba&s;ely <HI>di&s;&s;embled,</HI> when we &s;eem'd afraid to lo&s;e the Free Exerci&s;e of our <HI>holy Religion,</HI> and all the benefits of <HI>good Laws,</HI> and a <HI>Legal Government.</HI> We plainly &s;hew, that the thing we mo&s;t fear'd was, le&s;t &s;ome &s;hould make &s;o bold with our <HI>E&s;tates,</HI> as to abridge our
<PB N="29" REF="19">Lu&s;ts and Vanities of their too plentiful allowance, and not leave us room enough <HI>to make provi&s;ion for the fle&s;h, to fulfil the lu&s;ts thereof.</HI> We were afraid lea&s;t our <HI>Riot</HI> and <HI>Luxury</HI> &s;hould lo&s;e the <HI>liberty</HI> of devouring all, and lea&s;t our <HI>Vices</HI> &s;hould be as meanly fed, as tho&s;e <HI>poor People</HI> u&s;ually are, whom we rack and &s;queeze to maintain them. No doubt at all of it, but many of us fear'd <HI>Slavery,</HI> and for that <HI>Popery</HI> too; but certainly <HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> could never be much in their thoughts, who are now &s;o bu&s;ie to make it known, that they fear nothing &s;o much as to be <HI>reformed,</HI> and tied up by the <HI>Laws</HI> of <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Man,</HI> to live <HI>godly, righteou&s;ly, and &s;oberly in this pre|&s;ent world.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. La&s;tly, Will you give me leave to add this one thing more? The <HI>Fear of the LORD</HI> will pre&s;erve the&s;e <HI>Kingdoms</HI> in <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Safety,</HI> which nothing el&s;e can long do, and that at &s;o ea&s;ie a rate, that no Man needs complain he is burden'd with the Charges of doing it.</P>
<P>For, be&s;ides that the <HI>Fear of the LORD,</HI> and it alone can a&s;&s;ure us of <HI>God's Protection</HI> and <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing,</HI> which is the only thing can make our <HI>Wars</HI> &s;hort and pro&s;perous, and our <HI>Peace</HI> durable and happy; it will moreover do all this.</P>
<P N="1">1. It will abate and cool our mutual <HI>Heats</HI> and <HI>A|nimo&s;ities,</HI> clo&s;e up our <HI>Breaches</HI> and <HI>Divi&s;ions,</HI> end our <HI>Contentions,</HI> &s;ilence our <HI>Murmurings,</HI> enlarge our Hearts for <HI>Publick Concerns,</HI> make <HI>Private Intere&s;ts</HI> give place to the <HI>Common Good,</HI> and <HI>unite</HI> us all, how|ever differing in &s;mall things, in the <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> our <HI>Country,</HI> and of <HI>one another:</HI> So &s;hall we be too <HI>good</HI> to find a <HI>Traytor</HI> at home, and too <HI>&s;trong</HI> to fear an <HI>Enemy</HI> abroad.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="30" REF="20"> 2. It makes all <HI>Officers</HI> faithful in their <HI>Tru&s;ts,</HI> and regardful of their <HI>Oaths</HI> and the <HI>Laws</HI> which they are &s;worn to act by; &s;o that among&s;t the re&s;t, all <HI>Com|mi&s;&s;ioners</HI> and <HI>A&s;&s;e&s;&s;ors</HI> take great care that the <HI>King</HI> want no part of what the Nation gives him for its own pre&s;ervation, and that no Man by their negligence be encouraged to u&s;e a <HI>bad Con&s;cience,</HI> whil&s;t he finds he needs not pay half &s;o much for it, and yet be as &s;afe, as they who are made to pay double for u&s;ing a good one.</P>
<P N="3">3. It teacheth <HI>Men of E&s;tates</HI> to live <HI>frugally,</HI> to <HI>moderate</HI> their Expences, and to <HI>&s;pare</HI> Superfluities; &s;o that the poor <HI>Tenant</HI> is not made fir&s;t to labour hard to pay his <HI>Landlord's Rent,</HI> and next to fami&s;h when he has done to pay his <HI>Taxes</HI> too. The <HI>Poor</HI> is not left to be the burden of the <HI>Poor</HI> only, nor by wan|dring abroad to reproach the <HI>Government.</HI> 'Tis thought a very ea&s;ie bargain to pay but a Man's <HI>Luxury</HI> and <HI>Vanity,</HI> for his own and his <HI>Country's Safety,</HI> or to make &s;uch a Purcha&s;e at no dearer rate than that of <HI>living &s;oberly,</HI> and not ca&s;ting the Childrens Bread to <HI>Dogs</HI> and <HI>Swine.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. It makes it thought <HI>good Husbandry,</HI> as well as <HI>Chri&s;tianity</HI> to ca&s;t into the <HI>Publick Trea&s;ury</HI> for a <HI>King|dom's Safety,</HI> at lea&s;t all that which either <HI>malice, &s;pite,</HI> and <HI>revenge,</HI> or a <HI>proud, &s;tomachful, and litigious</HI> hu|mour, now buries &s;o freely without any hopes of a re&s;urrection, in the <HI>Lawyer's Pockets.</HI></P></Q>
<P>And now I &s;hall not need to tell you, <HI>My Honourable Lord,</HI> and <HI>Wor&s;hipful Gentlemen</HI> of the <HI>Magi&s;tracy,</HI> how much it lieth upon you, to endeavour that God may have his due fear and honour, without which you can never expect your own. You act for God as <HI>his Mini|&s;ters for good</HI> to us. <HI>You judge not for man, but for the
<PB N="31" REF="20">LORD, who is with you in the Judgment. Therefore let the fear of God be upon you, and take heed what ye do.</HI> It will, I know, be your care to &s;ee, as well as you can, that all the <HI>good Laws</HI> in force again&s;t all <HI>Wickedne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Immorality,</HI> of what &s;ort &s;oever, may have a more vigorous <HI>Execution</HI> among us. Their <HI>Maje&s;ties</HI> have &s;hewn their pious Care, in cau&s;ing &s;ome of the&s;e to be &s;ent Re-printed unto us; and we, according to our Duty, have both <HI>read</HI> them as the <HI>Laws of the Land,</HI> and <HI>preach'd</HI> them as the <HI>Laws of God,</HI> to the People in our Churches. But yet after all, there wants &s;ome ea&s;ier way of executing them by <HI>inferiour Officers,</HI> with|out which they will lie in many places u&s;ele&s;s and dead. Having given you this, I hope, no un&s;ea&s;onable hint, to all the re&s;t I have but a word.</P>
<P><Q>They &s;ay, that in <HI>Aethiopia</HI> the <HI>Judges</HI> were wont to &s;it on lower Benches, leaving above them twelve empty Chairs, which they call'd the Seats of the <HI>Angels,</HI> in&s;i&s;ibly pre&s;iding in tho&s;e <HI>Courts.</HI></Q> Let me now be&s;eech all tho&s;e who have any bu&s;ine&s;s in the&s;e Places of <HI>Judicature,</HI> to con&s;ider that they come there into the pre&s;ence not of <HI>Men</HI> only, but of the great Judge of all Men, <HI>who &s;tandeth in the Congregation of the mighty, and judgeth among the Gods:</HI> and to behave them|&s;elves as becometh Men in &s;uch a <HI>Pre&s;ence,</HI> with fear and trembling. And whether you be <HI>Plantiff, or De|fendant, Accu&s;er, Witne&s;s, Juror, or Pleader,</HI> take the <HI>Roman Orator's</HI> Advice, <HI>Remember that you have God your witne&s;s; that is, your own Con&s;cience; than which, God him&s;elf hath given nothing more divine to Men.</HI> What|ever you do, both the Witne&s;s and the Judge are pre&s;ent, and there is no e&s;caping.</P>
<P>Let then the <HI>fear of God</HI> prevail above all, &s;o &s;hall both <HI>Judges</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tices</HI> be much eas'd of their trou|ble,
<PB N="32" REF="21">both in the&s;e Courts, and in their own private Hou&s;es. Then will the <HI>Government</HI> be &s;ecure, and the <HI>Nation</HI> happy, when Mens own <HI>Con&s;ciences</HI> begin to keep them in awe, and they are a&s;hamed to feel their own <HI>hearts reproach them,</HI> when they have learn'd to &s;tand more in awe of <HI>God,</HI> and of his <HI>Vicegerent</HI> in their own Brea&s;ts, than of any <HI>Power</HI> on Earth what|&s;oever; when they cannot hope, they them&s;elves be|ing Judges, to e&s;cape the &s;evere&s;t Sentence for any di&s;honour done either to <HI>God,</HI> or the <HI>King,</HI> for any, either <HI>Impiety</HI> or <HI>Inju&s;tice.</HI></P>
<P>May the great and good God vouch&s;afe unto us all his Grace and Holy Spirit, and keep us in his Faith, Fear, and Love, through <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> our <HI>Lord,</HI> to whom with the <HI>Father,</HI> and the <HI>Holy Ghost,</HI> One <HI>God</HI> ble&s;&s;ed for ever, be all Honour and Glory, and Prai&s;e, now, and evermore. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="21">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
