a true testimony of obedience to the heavenly call, for which i suffer the loss of all things, that i may be found in obedience to him who hath called me. hubberthorn, richard, 1628-1662. this text is an enriched version of the tcp digital transcription a86672 of text r202143 in the english short title catalog (thomason e731_13). textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. the text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with morphadorner. the annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. this text has not been fully proofread approx. 14 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 4 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. earlyprint project evanston,il, notre dame, in, st. louis, mo 2017 a86672 wing h3239 thomason e731_13 estc r202143 99862539 99862539 166858 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a86672) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 166858) images scanned from microfilm: (thomason tracts ; 112:e731[13]) a true testimony of obedience to the heavenly call, for which i suffer the loss of all things, that i may be found in obedience to him who hath called me. hubberthorn, richard, 1628-1662. 7, [1] p. s.n., [london : 1654] signed at end: richard hubberthorn. caption title. imprint from wing. annotation on thomason copy: "march. 10.". reproduction of the original in the british library. eng hubberthorn, richard, 1628-1662 -early works to 1800. obedience -religious aspects -christianity -early works to 1800. a86672 r202143 (thomason e731_13). civilwar no a true testimony of obedience to the heavenly call,: for which i suffer the loss of all things, that i may be found in obedience to him who hubberthorn, richard 1654 2815 4 0 0 0 0 0 14 c the rate of 14 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the c category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2007-05 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-05 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-06 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2007-06 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true testimony of obedience to the heavenly call , for which i suffer the loss of all things , that i may be found in obedience to him who hath called me . a servant of the lord , and a prisoner for the testimony of jesus , whom he hath called by his grace to deny the world , and am made partaker of his sufferings , being in outward bonds ( by the deceit ) in west-chester , and of his free-will hath given me not only to beleeve , but to suffer for his name sake , who hath called me out of my own country , and from my fathers house , and to go in obedience to his command whithersoever he shall call me : while i was young i girded my self , and went whither i would , and then i yielded obedience to my own will and to the will of man , and was a man-pleaser , but the will of god i knew not , neither was obedient to his commands ; but when the lord was pleased to reveal his son in me , and make known his will unto me , to enlighten me with his true light which hath enlightened every one that cometh into the world , and by it let me see my self to be a strrnger to him , and knew him not , though i was grown mighty in the egyptians wisdom , and was in love with the world , and in the favour of men , and in a profession and words of mans wisdom exceeded others , being in a form of godliness , but was ignorant of his power and his word ; but when his power was made manifest , and his word spoken within me , which word was in my heart , and was as a fire or a hammer , and this word being made manifest within me , and my conscience being awakened by the light of god , which did convince me of sin , and did testifie against all my words and actions , and that just judgments of god were revealed from heaven against that nature i lived in , and the trumpet of the lord was sounded within me , and the earth did tremble , and the vials of the wrath of the almighty was poured down upon me , and the powers of the earth were terribly shaken , the foundation of wisdom and earthly knowledg was shaken , and the judgments of god were upon the outward man till my flesh was wasted off my bones , and the bones smote one against another , and i knew the lord to be terrible , and his word powerful , in burning up and hammering down the lustful nature i lived in , in pleasure and wantonness , in pride and fulness , which the word of the lord was declared against , and this word i witness spoken from the lords own power within me , which made my flesh and bones to tremble exceedingly , and did cause pain in all my loyns , and paleness of face , my comliness was turned into corruption , and my joy into lamentation , and i was brought to the bed of sorrows , where i cryed out in the bitterness of my spirit , and i had no ease nor rest , day nor night , for the hearing of the ear which i did hear , and the sight of mine eyes which i did see ; i heard the sound of the trumpet , the alarum of war within me , terrors , wo , misery and destruction was upon me , in my trouble i cryed in the evening would god it were morning , and in the morning would god it were evening ; and the terrors of the almighty being upon me , my acquaintance and familiars stood afar off me , for they knew not the power of the lord , nor the judgments of my god , which i do witness to be revealed and made manifest in me ; and the lord raised up in me a love to his word , by which all the powers of the earth did tremble , and the earth it self was shaken by it , and by this word was i called to go and declare it , as i had received it from the lord ; to those who lived in the same heathenish nature , without the knowledge of god , and to declare the judgments of god against sin and ungodliness , as they were made manifest in me : and by this word was i called to forsake father and mother , lands and living to go in obedience to the lord , who commanded me not to take thought what i should eat , or what i should drink , or wherewith i should be cloathed ; but cast my care upon him , and this i witness the lords care , and those whom the lord calls into his work and who labor in his vineyard need not to complain to the wold for want , and for yeilding obedience to the lord and his commands , and not giving obedience to the corrupt will of man : who commands me contrary to what the lord hath commanded : do i suffer under the persecution of those who are set in the place of rulers , and magistrates professing themselves to be ministers of the law of england and to act justice according to that law , and do bear the names of major justices of peace , and magistrates , and say they act according to the law of the nation and present goverment , but they are seen to be in the generation of those who were ever persecutors of the righteous seed , where ever it is brought forth : and the servants of the lord in all ages were ever persecuted by that generation , professing to be ministers of justice ; but that which is acted is cruelty persecution and injustice , and the righteous suffer , which the law was not for ; but for the lawless and disobedient , and was added because of transgression : the righteous law of god was made to be afflicted upon transgressors and breakers of the law ; but the unrighteous law of men is afflicted upon the righteous who walk blameless , and are proved no transgressors : but in obedience to the lord , do witness a good conversation towards god and towards men , our consciences bearing us witness in the sight of god , and those who are rulers of the city and rulers of the sinogogue under which i suffer imprisonment , say , this is their law that if i will go home into my own country and to my fathers house , and stay there , and depart this city , i may be free upon this accompt , else i shall remain in prison , and this is contrary to the command of the lord , for he hath commanded me out of my own country and from my fathers house , but my own country , dwelling and fathers house , the world knows not , that which i am called from they know the natural man knows that which is natural , and this is contrary to the law of the nation , for the law of the nation doth not confine any to stay at one place , nor to be kept from any one city , being proved no transgressor , nor breaker of the law , but i seek a countrey and a city whose builder and maker is god , and truly if i had been mindfull of the country i came forth ▪ and did love the pleasures , delights and flesh pots of egyp● which i am called from i might have had opportunitie to have returned thither but in obedience to the lord i had rather suffer affliction with the people of god , then enjoy the pleasures of egypt , and you who say i have no lawfull calling , i doe witnesse the same word of god the true prophets of the lord was commanded by to declare against all sin and ungodlinesse , by the same word doe i declare against it where i am commanded of the lord and am called out of the same calling that they were , into the same work of the lord which they were , and so i do witnesse the testimony of my bretheren the prophets that went before me , who hath left an example in record of suffering affliction and of patience , and we count them happie which endure . elisha was a plough-man , and when the word of the lord came to him , he left the plough and obeyed the word of the lord , and his call was lawful . amos was a herdman , and a gatherer of sicamore fruit , and the lord took him as he was following the flock , and the lord said unto him , go prophecy unto my people israel , and he obeyed the word of the lord and prophesied in the kings chappel , and in the kings court , and his calling was lawful , and i do witness the same call , who was a husbandman and had a vineyard and gathered fruit , till the word of the lord came and called me from it , and he turned my mind within , and enlightened my understanding , and opened the creation to me , and let me see the vineyard without was but a figure , and that i must come into his vineyard to labor in his work : and gathering fruit without was but a figure ; for there is fruit within to be gathered ; a possession without was but a figure , there was a possession and an inheritance to be enjoyed within , and that figures must pass away to come to the everlasting inheritance , which is within , which never fades away : out of time , into that which is eternal : and for this cause , and by this word did i forsake father , and mother , lands , and livings , house and vineyard , to follow jesus christ and do what so ever he commands me , and this call i witness to be lawful , and the word of the lord is gone forth to command sons and daughters to prophesie in his name , and they have no other call , and they go as they are commanded , as ever the true prophets of the lord did , if it be to the kings chappel , or to the kings pallace , or to the synagogues , or into the cities or the markets to declare against sin and iniquity , and where they see the people given to idolatry and prophaneness , their spirit being raised up by the power of the lord , and by the word of the lord do they declare against it , and they have no other call but the word of the lord , and they have a cloud of witnesses , for all the prophets of the lord spoke from this word , and for speaking the word of the lord as they were commanded were persecuted , imprisoned , and put in dungeons , and were made a derision dayly to all that were about them , as jeremiah was , and was smitten and put in the stocks , jer. 20. 2. and daniel was cast into the lions den for declaring the word of the lord , dan. 6. 16. amos was commanded not to prophecy any more in the kings chappel , amos 7. 13. and the apostles were imprisoned , beaten , scourged and persecuted from city to city , and straitly commanded to speak no more in that name ; and for declaring this word of the lord did all the prophets , apostles , and holy men of god suffer ; and the word of the lord is the same now , and the persecutors the same ; and those who are sent of the lord now , and called out of their own country , as they were then , to declare his word against your sin and ungodliness which you live in , magistrates , priests and people , you call them wanderers and vagrant persons , who have no lawful calling : what would you say by him who said , the foxes have holes , and the birds of the ayre have nests , but the son of man hath no where to lay his head , luke 9. 58. and the jews sayd , this fellow we know not from whence he is , ioh. 9. 29. you may say paul was a wandring person , who had no certain dwelling place , 1 cor. 4. 11. and those who wandered about in sheep skins , and goat skins , being afflicted and tormented , of whom the world was not worthy : they had tryals of cruel mockings , scourgings and imprisonments : they were stoned , hewn asunder and dispightfully used , heb. 11. 36. 37. and you shew your selves to be in the same generation , mocking , scourging those whom ye are not worthy to receive ▪ but all you dear ones , servants of the living god , blessed are you when men shall revile you and speak all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake , rejoyce and be exceeding glad , for great is your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you , mat. 5. 11. 12. you are in the same nature and generation of those who said unto christ , depart out of our coasts , and saith christ , as they have done unto me , so shall they do unto you : and now i witness the same things to be fulfilled : do not you say as they did , depart out of our citty , and teach in thy own country , and the same generation called paul a pestulous fellow , a mover of sedition : and the apostles would turn the world up-side down , and the jews said they had a law , that if any confest that he was the son of god he should dye : and they said , christ was a blasphemer ; and christ was crucified and the apostles persecuted by them , and all under pretence of blasphemy , heresie and sedition : and as it was then , so it is now , for they who come to witness jesus christ come in the flesh , and both sons and daughters , who come to witness the promise of the father fulfilled in them , as he hath said , i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh , and your sins and your daughters shall prophecy ; and they who come to witness this fulfilled , you say they are blasphemers , and not worthy to live in the nation ; and all those who will not lye and swear , and use deceit , but yea and nay , such a one cannot have trading in your markets ; for none can buy nor sell who hath not the mark of the beast upon him ; but he who loveth and telleth a lye hath the most priviledg and advantage among you : o wicked and adulterous generat●on , thy wo and misery is coming upon thee , for the lord is appearing , who is come and coming to cleanse the land of evil doers . this i was moved to declare from the spirit of my father dwelling in me as a testimony of his eternal love and power made manifest in me ; and all who come to know the power of god which is but one , do witness me ; and all who despise the power of the lord , this is for a testimony against them from the lord by his servant , who is a prisoner for the truths sake , whose earthly name is richard hubberthorn . chester , the 12 day of the 12 month , called februa . finis . obedience due to the present king, notwithstanding our oaths to the former written by a divine of the church of england. fullwood, francis, d. 1693. 1689 approx. 18 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 6 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2008-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a40717 wing f2511 estc r7191 12417307 ocm 12417307 61721 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a40717) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 61721) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 938:37) obedience due to the present king, notwithstanding our oaths to the former written by a divine of the church of england. fullwood, francis, d. 1693. [2], 8 p. printed for awnsham churchill, london : 1689. reproduction of original in huntington library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng obedience -early works to 1800. great britain -colonies -administration -pamphlets. 2007-01 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2007-01 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-02 mona logarbo sampled and proofread 2007-02 mona logarbo text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion obedience due to the present king , notwithstanding our oaths to the former . written by a divine of the church of england . london , printed for awnsham churchill , 1689. obedience due to the present king , notwithstanding our oaths to the former . 1. the oath of allegiance is the expression of our natural duty to the king ( as the coronation-oath is of the regal ; which in nature is antecedent to it ) 't is especially signified in these words , i will bear faith and true allegiance to his majesty , his heirs and successors , and him and them will defend against all attempts , which shall be made against his or their persons , their crown and dignity . 2. if the king do manifestly separate his person from , and engage it against his crown and dignity ; so that we cannot defend them both : i mean , if his personal actions , contrary to law , do directly and openly tend to the prejudice and spoiling of his crown and dignity , by his voluntary subjecting them to a foreign power , contrary to the plain and primary intention and letter of the oath ; subverting the legal constitution , and enervating the very laws by which his crown is supported , his prerogative is measured , and the dignity of the king , as such , hath its very being , as well as the safety of his people is maintained ; certainly , in such a case , none can be bound by this , or any other oath , to defend the king's person , in attempts so contrary to the very reason and end of all government , with the neglect of the other part of our duty , which is to defend his crown and dignity . 3. the oath of supremacy seems to direct us more clearly in this difficulty ; the words are , i shall bear faith and true allegiance to the king's highness ; but how ? it follows , and to my power shall assist and defend all jurisdictions , priviledges , preheminences and authorities , granted or belonging to the king , or annex'd and united to the imperial crown of this realm ; that is , thus we are to bear faith and allegiance to the king. 4. for if we should be bound to assist and defend his person , when it is , and as it is engaged against his crown and dignity , we seem bound , toto posse & totis viribus ( so far defence is expounded ) to assist and contribute to the ruine both of our king and country , and perhaps to the cutting of our own throats . 5. if any should imagine , that the oath will not suffer us to consider the person and crown of the king thus divided ; but that it binds us to assist and defend them together : 't is true , while they are kept together . but if the king himself divide them , and 't is become impossible for us to assist his person but we must betray his crown ; nor defend his crown without forbearing to assist his person ; to say , now we are bound to assist and defend both , makes a plain repugnancy in the oath , and in our duty ( to do and not to do the same thing ) and consequently the obligation ceaseth . 6. that we are bound by our allegiance to assist the person of the king , to the prejudice of his crown and people , seems not only to be against the light of nature , the primary end of it being the safety of his kingdom , and the safety of the king but the secondary end of it ; but most agreeable to the sense of our ancient and learned lawyers , and also , of the plain acknowledgment and profession of ancient kings and parliaments . king henry i. five hundred years agone , told the pope , whilst i live , the authorities and usages of the kingdom shall never be diminished : but if i would so debase my self ( which god forbid ) magnates mei & totus angliae populus nullo modo paterentur : the lords and people of england would by no means suffer it . and edward i. wrote himself to the same purpose . besides , with his consent , the lords and commons in parliament , in their letter to the pope , have these words , we do not permit , or in the least will permit ( sicut nec possumus nec debemus ) though our soveraign lord the king do , or in the least wise attempt to do any of the premises ( by owning the popes authority touching his right to scotland ) so strange a thing , so unlawful , prejudicial , and otherwise unheard of , though the king himself would . once more , on record in the fourth of henry iii. the commons declare , si dominus rex & regni majores hoc vellent ( adomer's revocation upon the popes order ) communitas tamen ipsius ingressum in angliam , nulla tenus sustineret . now what 's the meaning of all this ? but that the king 's personal will , contrary to law , however expsressed ( for it must be signified by his words or actions ) if the performance of it would prejudice his crown and dignity , may be resisted . much less are we bound by our allegiance to assist or defend him in so doing , in reason , law , or the sense of our ancient kings or parliaments . objection . but we swear to defend , not only the king , but his heirs and lawful successors . answer 1. true , but haeres non est viventis , and the successor , in law and common sense , is the person that doth actually succeed , or is in possession . now if the actual successor be the lawful successor , we are bound by our oaths to defend him ; but if he be not the lawful successor , none else is so , because none else is the successor , and consequently , so far the object and reason of our oaths ceasing , our obligation by them ceaseth , and we are bound to none besides the person in possession . 2. 't is farther remarkable , that though the word lawful be once in the oath of supremacy , 't is only there , where we swear faith and allegiance in general ; but , as if it were intended , that the subject should not trouble himself about the title of the king in being , where that allegiance is explain'd with respect to practice , the word lawful is left out in that oath . it follows there in these words , — shall assist and defend all jurisdictions , — granted or belonging to the kings highness , his heirs and successors , without the word lawful . and agreeable hereunto , we find the word wholly left out in the oath of allegiance , both in the same place , where we swear allegiance in general , as well as in the other place of our more particular duty ; and it looks as if this was done de industria , for the same reason , namely , that such as take the oaths might not think themselves bound thereby to be sollicitous about the title to the crown . 3. the holy scriptures seem not to involve the consciences of private christians about princes titles ; but expresly require their subjection to the powers that are , as a great and necessary instance of that humility and peaceable behaviour which their religion teacheth them . 4. in the same holy books , we are further most plainly admonish'd , that ( by what means soever obtained ) 't is god that putteth down one , and setteth up another ; and upon that ground too , we are strictly charg'd to submit to the powers that are , because they are ordain'd of god. and tho' the apostle use the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , i think , none can imagine he intended by it , to determine the lawfulness of augustus's title , who was admitted by the senate ; but rather , to inforce that obedience that he presseth the christians to yield , by this consideration , that all authority is from god ; and in its true nature and by god's ordinance , intended for our good. 5. the known statute of 11 h. 7. 1. is of the same import , and grounded , we find , upon the like reason and h. scripture , it gives us way to this plain inference , that the same duty which we owe to a lawful king , is to be performed to the king in being ; that is , to the king in possession ; and that no other king or future parliament can in reason , law , or good conscience , upon any pretence of usurpation in the possessor of the crown , or any disloyalty in the subject , charge us with guilt , for serving or defending the king in possession . the subjects therefore , might lawfully fight for him , and consequently take the military oath ; in reason ( by the law of nature ) in law , by the law of the land ; in all good conscience , that is , by the law of god , in the h. scriptures . 6. hereupon , my lord coke's words are notable : this act , saith he ( meaning 25 ed. 3. about treason ) is to be understood of a king in possession of the crown and kingdom : for if there be a king regnant in possession , altho' he be rex de facto and non de jure , yet is he seignior le roy , within the purview of this statute ; and the other , that hath right and is ▪ out of possession , is not within this act. nay , saith he , if treason be committed against a king de facto , and non de jure , and after the king de jure come to the crown , he shall punish the treason done to the king de facto ; and a pardon granted by a king de jure , that is not also de facto , is void , inst . 3. l. p. 7. now if by the law of the land , which i think is our only guide in such cases , treason may be committed against a king that is so only by possession , without right ; and cannot be committed against him that hath right , and not possession : seeing he is not within the purview of the statute , sure , we cannot reasonably be thought to be intangled in such a strait , as to be bound by our allegiance to commit treason , which we cannot presume the king in possession will pardon , and the law tells us , the king that hath right only , cannot . who therefore would question our liberty to be true and faithful to the king in possession , so far at least , as not to resist him , or to be traitors to him ? or to give him assurance thereof by our oath . the renown'd casuist bishop sanderson would not declare the very engagement to be unlawful , taken in that lower sense , to the pretended commonwealth without any king or house of lords . 7. since we have mention'd that excellent casuist , whose loyalty , judgment , fidelity , and authority , is unquestionable , 't is sit for us to observe what he hath frequently and without the least hesitancy delivered as his premeditated thoughts about the present case . having suppos'd a king in possession only , by power , if the query be what is to be done by the subject that hath sworn allegiance to the rightful king : he answers , 't is not only lawful to obey the king in such possession ; but it often happens that not doing so , [ defuisse officio ] we are wanting to our duty . yea ▪ that we owe subjection to a king in possession , upon the grounds of justice , equity , charity , and gratitude , while we enjoy our liberties and are protected by him . exigit hoc a nobis ( optima aequi boni lex ) vetus illa commutationum formula , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . & profecto , perversissimae mentis , sub illius dominationis patrocinio , velle vivere cui parere nolis : & cujus protectione gaudeas , ejus imperium detractare . 8. his third argument for the necessity of obedience to the present power , however obtained , is taken from the charity we owe to the publick , whether church or state , or which we are members , and for the good of which we are born ; in quantum igitur illius societatis , cujus ipse membrum & pars est , salus & tranquillitas exigit , eatenus civis unusquisque imperiis ejus qui de facto — praeest , obtemperare tenetur . words worthy the most serious reflection of the present church of england . read at large his 5th praelect . but as to the argument from gratitude , when we seriously reflect upon our late forlorn and ruinous condition both in church and state ; when we call to mind that all our foundations were put out of course , and our pillars even broken by the late king 's own ill-guided hands ; and that the heroick prince hath been at so great expence , and exposed himself to so many hazards , in his own country , at sea , and here in england , in compassion both to our miseries and infirmities ; when our land was weak , and all the inhabitants thereof in an utter disability to rescue or save themselves ; and none under heaven , within the reach of humane apprehension , besides that one prince , could possibly effect it ; that glorious instrument under god , put his hand to support and strengthen , and bear up our pillars : to redeem and secure our religion , laws , and liberties ; and when our late king , either for fear of his person , or rather of the issue of affairs in our re-establishment , had deserted or abdicated his kingdom , and left us in confusion to shift for our selves ; whose return now cannot be thought of without horrour : and the present king and queen , being therefore first petitioned , to take the government , have graciously accepted it , upon terms answering all mens desires or interests . i say , when all this is well pondered , the ground and argument for our quiet and chearful submission , taken from gratitude , is indeed too big to be contained in a sheet or two of paper , or the mind of man : and prodigious , beyond the credit of posterity . lastly , one would think there was no place left for any further scruple . the late change was urged by extream necessity , and carried on with a wonderful providence , and perfected with universal consent ; it was eminently the lords doing , and our own too ; the government was unhing'd by the late king himself . the present king , &c. was put into possession by our selves in our representatives ; who were as freely chosen by us as ever any parliament was : the convention had nothing wanting but the previous formality of the royal writs , which could not be then had ; that punctilio of order , cannot reasonably be supposed to go into the being of the representative body ; the want of it , cannot well be thought to prejudice our election , or consent to what they have done , whom we chose and entrusted with our politick reason and interest , and in whose acts , we ought to acquiesce as our own doings , in every thing or matter of expediency for the publick good , not evidently contrary to our duty to god. in short , the possession of the throne , by the act of the people of england , is now unquestionable ; we have no liberty left us , either to dispute the king's title , or deny him our duty . give unto caesar the things that are caesars , &c. finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a40717-e90 he must be king before we can be bound to him as such . br●ct fleta . e 〈…〉 ponere . rom. 13. imperatores rom. fatendum est , non optimo jure imperium adeptos . sanderson . case of engag . p. 111. a letter from a person of quality in the north to a friend in london, concerning bishop lake's late declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience as the distinguishing character of the church of england eyre, elizabeth. 1689 approx. 18 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 8 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2007-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a39114 wing e3940 estc r5465 12796613 ocm 12796613 93983 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a39114) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 93983) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 379:26) a letter from a person of quality in the north to a friend in london, concerning bishop lake's late declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience as the distinguishing character of the church of england eyre, elizabeth. [2], 10 p. printed for awnsham churchill ..., london : 1689. attributed to elizabeth eyre. cf. halkett & laing (2nd ed.). "licens'd sept. 19th, 1689. j.f." reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng lake, john, 1624-1689. church of england -doctrines. obedience -religious aspects -christianity -early works to 1800. 2006-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-11 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2007-01 celeste ng sampled and proofread 2007-01 celeste ng text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a letter from a person of quality in the north to a friend in london , concerning bishop lake's late declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience , as the distinguishing character of the church of england . licens'd sept. 19th . 1689. j. f. london , printed for awnsham churchill at the black-swan near amen-corner . 1689. a letter from a person of quality . dear sir , you may wonder , that at this time of day i should begin to talk to you of bishop lake's death , for which i dare say both of us have before this , paid our just tribute of sorrow , and for whose memory every true protestant must have a very particular respect , so long as the courage and constancy of the seven bishops remains upon record ; which i verily believe will be till time shall be no more : but some ( as if this glorious action had not been enough to have secured his fame to all eternity ) seem rather desirous to transmit him to posterity by another distinguishing character ; that of the great champion for passive obedience ; thinking that to be a greater honour than to be recorded for one of the great maintainers and assertors of the protestant religion , and the english liberties ; for there is a paper sent abroad about our country , attested not only by his own hand , but also by several unquestionable witnesses , wherein the good bishop on his death-bed declares , that he had been brought up in , and had also taught others that great doctrine of passive obedience , which he always look't upon as the distinguishing character of the church of england , and that he would not have taken the oath , though the penalty had been loss of life ; but found great satisfaction and consolation in his mind because he had not taken it ; and these he desired might be look'd upon as the words of a dying man , and so represented to his friends : but whether those friends had not done him as good service if they had kept it to themselves , and not represented it to the world , i think may be a question : for i must confess 't is a little unaccountable to me what designs they could have in publishing it : for 't is so far from being necessary on the bishop's account , that 't was really impertinent : for he that at that time was under , and had submitted to a suspension , meerly upon his refusal of the oaths , had certainly given the world as convincing a proof of his opinion , as if he had printed a thousand volumes about it : so that there was no more occasion ( i think of making , but i am sure ) of publishing such a declaration , than there is for my lord bishop of cant. to print manifestoes , to tell the people he is suspended on the same account . and since there was so very little reason to do it on the bishop's score , the motives and designs had need be very good that can justifie their doing it on their own . had either they or the bishop given us the reasons of his adhering to that opinion , besides that of his being bred and born in it , ( an argument that a turk or pagan may have for the truth of their religion ) , they might have obliged the world exceedingly ; but the only motives at least that are to me apparent , for telling us what we knew before , i think might as well have been spared : for there are two inferences which may very easily be made from the paper , and which i suspect was the chief aim in publishing : the first is to insinuate , that from the beginning of the reformation , ever since the church of england was restored to its purity , passive obedience was the corner-stone of it : for 't is call'd , the distinguishing character of the church of england : so that it seems none was accounted her true sons that did not hold it . now if this be true , here 's the whole body of the clergy in queen elizabeth's days cut off from the church of england at one blow ; for 't is not the opinion of one or two private prelates , but the whole convocation , who agree not only in giving the queen so very large subsidies , but also in declaring the accounts on which they did it ; and that was assisting and protecting the scotch and french protestants , and for abating all hostilities against the true professors of gods holy gospel , and for the advancing the free profession of the gospel within and without her majesties dominions ; and a great deal more to this purpose , as may be seen at large in the preambles to the three subsidy bills , given the 5 th of eliz. l. 24. the 35 th of eliz. c. 12. and the 43 d of eliz. c. 17. so that 't is apparent it was their practice for forty years , and i hope their faith also : for i cannot be so uncharitable as to think they would sin against their conscience , and purchase damnation at so dear a rate , as those vast sums they gave for the assistance of those that i am sure did resist their kings , and who according to the doctrine of passive obedience , ought to have been look'd upon , and used as rebels . and truly , whatever is pretended , their doctrine was agreeable to their practice ; for altho the book of homilies hath been so often cited for the confirmation of this doctrine , yet the example of david , which is so much recommended to us in the 2 d homily against rebellion , for his loyalty and our imitation , that is we desire to stand or fall by ; for if the subject may be allow'd to take up ( as we are sure david did against saul ) defensive arms , i think they would be very unreasonable to desire any more . but this having been enlarged on by better pens , i shall say no more of it ; but cannot pass by the epithet of the distinguishing character of the church of england , without some animadversions on it : and , first , i would ask you , sir , whether you think it necessary for particular churches to have particular distinguishing doctrines ? for i must confess , to me ( but if i am in an error i hope you will correct it ) it appears so far from necessary ; that i think 't is very inconvenient when particular churches have such distinguishing doctrines : for i believe it has been the occasion of all the schisms in the world. for since , as the apostle saith , eph. 4. 5. there is but one lord , one faith , one baptism ; and i may add , one church , and one truth . why should we not ( at least endeavour to ) be all of one mind , and not affect little distinctions , which oftentimes create great animosities ? of which our present age can give too many sad instances . but alas , the disease did not begin , neither will it , i fear , end with us ; for we find st. paul reproving it in his corinthians , as that which occasioned all their divisions ; while one cryed he was of paul , and another of apollo , and i of cephas , and i of christ : so that it seems they did not only give their patticular teachers the preference above others , but also set them in opposition to christ ; but to such i may ask the apostles question , who is paul , or who is apollos , but ministers by whom you have believed ? but if paul , or an angel preach any other gospel , let him be anathema ; and the same thing may , and i think ought to be said of churches , when they impose any thing but what is the true catholick faith. therefore to say such a doctrine is particular to such a church , and that which distinguisheth it from the catholick , is indeed to say the worst thing in the world of it ; and to own that is not any part of the catholick faith. and why bishop lake , or any body , should value a doctrine so much on that score , is that i cannot comprehend . and in my opinion , it would more have become his lordship , if as the office for the sick directs , he had made a confession of the christian faith contain'd in the apostles creed , which unquestionably he believ'd ; but it would satisfy us lay-people very much , if those gentlemen who have attested this recognition of his distinguishing faith , would print another paper , to assure us that he rehearsed the articles of our common creed ; that we may not be misled by the example of a bishop , to depart from the rules of the church when we come to die , and instead of the cristian faith , declare we believe just quite contrary to his distinguishing faith ; that in some cases resistance is lawful . but i fear i have already tired you by being so large on my first inference , therefore shall endeavour to be as short on the second as i can , and that i take to be this ; that from the bishops declaring he would not have taken the oath to have saved his life , and that his not taking it was the great consolation he had at that time , they would insinuate that the taking of the oath is a very wicked unlawful thing : for they being the words of a dying man just going to receive the sacrament , ought to be the more credited , and to make the deeper impression ; for so good a man as he could not be easily deceived himself , and at such time 't is certain did not design to deceive others . to which i shall crave leave to reply , first , that as to the main question of the lawfulness of the oath , it has been so fully and so satisfactorily discussed already , that i am very confident you and i know some that have taken it with as good a conscience as bishop lake or any body could refuse it with ; therefore it would be superfluous to say any thing on that point : but only wish that instead of urging any humane example , both sides would remember the divine rule of st. paul , rom. 14. 3. let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth . but then , secondly , as to the authority that bishop lake's dying words ought to have over mine or any mans judgment , i must declare , that till infallibility be , i will not say the distinguishing character , but the inseparable attendant of a good man , i cannot say that they ought to influence any body any farther than they appear true and reasonable . for if dying mens sentiments were to be the rule of our faith , we should have a very uncertain standard . for you must know that once i was acquainted with a papist , that i think , setting aside his opinion , was a very good man , for he led a good life ; and when this person came to die , he did it with as great confidence , and comfort too , as could be imagined ; and express'd as great satisfaction in his not being a protestant , as the bishop could in not taking the oaths . so that we may see 't is only the strong perswasion of the party , and not the truth of the tenets , that produces that sort of consolation . for i am confident the bishop himself would not have approved of the argument , had i turned papist on that dying mans declaration . but it seems some think it no great matter ▪ what we turn now ; for i hear some are so exceeding fierce , that they will hardly allow those which have taken the new oathes to be so much as out-lyers of the church of england ; but to be sure none must be within the pail that have not the distinguishing character ; and truly the number of the enclosed will be so small , that king james himself could hardly have hoped to have contracted the church of england in so small a compass ; and may in part be said to have got his ends of us , for i am sure he has done more mischief by the divisions he has occasioned among our selves , than he could have done by his persecutions . but although some persons indiscreet zeal have made them so uncharitable , i am as far from supposing it the temper of all the worthy men of that party , as i am from believing the doctrine of passive obedience in that unlimited sence it was preached up by some , was the universal opinion of the church of england in any age. for that it was not so for forty years of queen elizabeth's reign has been made pretty evident by matter of fact ; and that it is not so at this day , i think may be demonstrated by the same way of argumentation . for although i might have supposed it possible that a few particular private persons might for interest sake have disclaimed their former opinion , and comply'd with any thing ; yet truly i have so much respect for the clergy of the church of england , as not to believe that the whole body of them could be guilty of so mean a thing ; to say no worse of it . for really the dissenters , in comparison , are so few , that had there not been some names of note among them , they would hardly have been reckoned a number ; which gives me great hopes that those great and good men , whom we look'd upon as the pillars of our church , will not forsake the stations they so well became , for the sake of a particular private doctrine , which was no way essential either to the being , or well-being of the church ▪ but whose only use was to distinguish the church of england from all the churches in the world , and that is really from the catholick church . for this bishop lake seems to me to own , when he calls it the distinguishing character of the church of england ; and so truly it may still continue if they please , for i believe there is no other church so fond of it , as to rob us of it , if to be carried so high as some would have it . but if taken in its limited and true sence , passive obedience must be acknowledged so necessary a duty , that the world could not well subsist without it . and i am very confident , that all the difference about it has been occasioned by a little mistake , in applying those rules to communities , which were given to particular private persons , and only designed for such . for although in my single private capacity i ought to submit to , and suffer the greatest injustice , rather than disobey the lawful magistrate , and disturb the government : yet as i am an english man , i think i am as much obliged , by all tyes both civil and sacred , to defend and maintain that government and constitution of which i am a member , as i am to obey the king ; and that being the primary obligation , ought to be discharged in the first place ; but the safety of that being secured , subjects ought to obey without any other reserve . and this seems to me so evident , that i think it needs no further proof , though 't is capable of the clearest , if it were necessary , as i hope it is not ; for after all , i am very confident that the greatest and best of our dissenters are of my mind in this point , as might very easily be proved , if they would please but truly to resolve me one question ; and that is , whether they did not both wish and pray , that london-derry should be delivered out of the hands of those merciless butchers ? and this the excellency of their temper , as well as their christianity , obliging to , i cannot at all question but they did ; nay , i verily believe they would have gone further , and assisted them with their purses , if they had known how to have conveyed them relief . and now pray let us a little consider the consequences of this ; for if the doctrine is true , that 't is unlawful to take up arms for the defence of our lives and liberties , then all those great and gallant men were certainly great rebels , and whosoever did assist or abet them , incurr'd the same guilt : so that for any thing i see , we may all shake hands as to that matter . but in case i should be mistaken , and they were not so good natur'd ( as i do still believe they were ) , but did desire that so many thousand innocent persons might fall into the hands of their bloody implacable enemies : if , i say , they could wish this , it would give me a greater prejudice against the doctrine than ever yet i had . since it not only made them put off those bowels of mercies which christians out to have for one another , but even devested them of common humanity . for unless it be the papists , i know no other sect that is arrived to that height of barbarity , as to wish , that so many thousand persons ( who they never saw , nor never did them any wrong ) should perish , only because they were not of their opinion ; and if this could be their temper , i 'm sure i would never be their proselyte ; for i should dread it as much as popery it self ; and so truly i believe those good men do . but i forget my self , having already , i fear , exceeded the bounds of a letter , and trespass'd too much on your patience . but whatever the effect may be , i hope the cause is pardonable , because it proceeds from that intire confidence i have both in your judgment and friendship , that all my notions must be approved by you , before they can be so , by , dear sir , your most intirely affectionate friend and servant . finis . a true relation of a young man, about seventeen years of age, who was struck dumb for the space of twenty four hours because he would not believe what was said unto him by thomas astry. astry, thomas. 1671 approx. 23 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 9 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2006-06 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26111 wing a4085 estc r28310 10521885 ocm 10521885 45186 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26111) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 45186) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1394:18) a true relation of a young man, about seventeen years of age, who was struck dumb for the space of twenty four hours because he would not believe what was said unto him by thomas astry. astry, thomas. 14 p. printed for the author, london : 1671. "with allowance." reproduction of original in the harvard university library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng experience (religion) obedience -religious aspects. 2006-02 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-02 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2006-03 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2006-03 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a true relation of a young man about seventeen years of age , who was struck dumb for the space of twenty four hours , because he would not believe what was said unto him . by thomas astry . with allowance . london , printed for the author , living near the great north door in s. pauls church-yard , 1671. a true relation of a young man about seventeen years of age , who was struck dumb for the space of twenty four hours , because he would not believe what was said unto him . reader , i have a strange thing to acquaint thee withal , concerning my son ; which was made known to him the 20th day of september 1671. and and it is as true as it is strange ; the lord hath been working so powerfully upon my heart , that i am constrained to give the world this true account , and it is likely to be handed out unto thee by an unworthy servant , and also by a very weak hand ; but it doth come from a very warm and enlarged heart ; for the lord hath said , that his strength is made perfect in weakness , and hath wrought my heart into such a frame , which doth encourage me that he will assist me to make known unto thee the truth , and nothing but the truth , so far a , the lord hath made it known unto me ; and whosoever thou art that read these lines , i earnestly begg it of the lord , that thou mayest believe these truths : and that thou mayest not be unbelieving ; for it was for vnbelief that my son was struck dumb , as i shall give thee an account at large hereafter , only , i shall desire in the first place to give thee an account what he wos , which may be answered in these words ; that he was a disobedient , stubborn , and undutiful child , for which my heart was much alienated from him : the following account will satisfie thee ; insomuch that i had given him over for lost , for ever having any hopes or comfort from him . if father and friends cannot prevail , we are apt to give such a child over for lost for ever ; but blessed be god , he did not give him over , but meets with him by a strong hand , and by an almighty power ; and if he shall work , none shall lett ; if he speak but the word , the most rebellious shall be made willing to come in , and close with the lord jesus upon his own tearms . for he saith , that he hath guifts laid up even for the most rebellious as in the 68. psalm . and the 18. ver . thou hast ascended on high , thou hast led captivity captive , thou hast received guifts for men ; yea , for the rebellious also that the lord god may dwell among them . let not truth be slighted , although they come to you in a very plain dress ; embrace them , and the lord work it powerfully upon thy heart , as it hath been upon mine ; and if thou shalt receive any good by it , give god the praise and glory of it , and i have my end and aim in it ; and i fearing that i shall neither have time nor strength to give every one a particular account by word of mouth , i have thoughts to have it printed , whereby i might give every one satisfaction ; that may come to make enquiry into the truth of it . my son going to school to christ's hospital , there were 10 boyes sent to the east-india , ( as he told me ) and ever since he hath had a mind to go beyond-sea ; he hath asked when i would put him forth apprentice ? and i told as soon as i could provide my self with an apprentice , then you shall go as soon as i can provide a master for you ; i cannot tell how to spare you before i have an apprentice my self ; he also knew that i had no body to do the least kindness for me : he saw that i was sickly and weak , so that in my thoughts , and in the opinion of others , that i should not recover ; but the lord bringeth to the brink of the grave , and raiseth up again , blessed be name of the lord : but my condition was not at all considered or minded by him . there was a friend of mine that did give him good councel , as he had others that did the like office of love ; and saith , that he should be a dutiful child to me , and give me content ; he also telling him that i should be willing to do any thing that might be for his good ; and if he were more minded to go to sea , than for a trade here , i should be willing to it ; he replyed to my friend , i should be glad to hear my father say so ; i cast my eyes upon him , and saw tears run down his cheeks ; so i said unto him , be a good child , and as soon as i have an apprentice , i shall be willing to place you out , for your good , and that with speed . i being a little better in health now , than what i had formerly been ; so not long after he commits a fault , and i thought he did deserve to be corrected for it , and i did so ; and after i gave him the key of my lodging-chamber . i being then at my shop , they being distant from each other , but he did not go home , but went below the tower , and there be crost the water , and that night he went as far as the half-way-house towards graves-end by the thames side ; and going into the house , he called for a pint of beer or ale , and some bread , and while his stay there to refresh himself , he falls into discourse with two hoy-men as they proved after ; and in his discourse enquires what ships were going out ; they demanded what ships did he lack ? he told them any ships that were going to virginia , or jamaica , or any place to the western plantations , for he had a great mind to travail , and this was in septem . 1669. so they seeing him in good apparel , and perceiving his design , they made a strict enquiry of him what he was , supposing him to be an apprentice ; and further , what friends he had , and where they lived ? he told them , his father was living , but his mother was latelie dead ; these two men being bound for feversham in kent , to fetch timber , they agreed to take him with them ; and at their return , to deliver him to his father , so he went aboard with them , their vessel lying by waiting for the tide ; but their voyage being longer that tune , than what was usual , it being above a month before their return ; in which space of time i laid wait all about the citie for the discoverie of him , and went twice to graves-end to search some ships that lay there , and beyond , and all other ships that were outward bound for virginia , jamaica , or any of the plantations that were in the river ; and i being both very wearie , and doubtful of hearing of him , i was resolved to desist from searching any more at present : so after this , the hoy returned , and the man sent his wife to me according to his first resolution ? who enquiring if i had not had a son gone from me ? i answered , i had ; she repli'd , if you will go with me as far as vvapping , you may see him ; which news was very welcom to me , for i had been at a great expence of monie , time , and trouble ; for by water , up , and down , in and about the citie , i believe 200 miles at least ; and during his absence , i had no bodie but my self to do any thing in my trade ; so when i saw him , i chid him for his disobedience , yea my bowels earned to him ; he was amased to see me , for it was upon a sudden that i went down to vvapping , immediately after the hoy came to the wharf ; so i took him home with me . he staid with me all the next winter , and the spring ; and in the summer-time towards harvest-time , he takes his opportunity on a sabbath day ; i being hearing the word of god , and he went with me ; but he seeing me secure for a while , takes another journey , and that was about 90 miles into vvarwickshire , by the way he went to an vnkle of his , my wifes brother , to whom he gives an account , that he had taken that journie in hand on purpose to him , that he would be pleased to be instrumental to his father on his behalf , that he might be placed out ; he writ to me concerning it ; i writ to him , it was my resolution as soon as i had an apprentice , to provide for him ; so after many letters had passed betwixt us , he was perswaded to return again to me ; and after some stay with me , he goeth away again on a sabbath day some 5 mile off , but returned again of himself ; and indeed all this while i was unprovided of a boy , for i could not hear of one till this last summer but we not liking each other , we parted ; and i have another boy ; since his coming , i had a resolution to enquire out a master for his going to sea , as soon as the boy was bound . about bartholomew-tide last , he committed a fault , and i reproveing him for it he seemed somewhat stubborn , and withall gave some words that i did not approve of ; so i struck him , he resisted again and struck me , which did increase my passion , and caused me to correct him severely , so to be clear of me he crieth out murder , at which noise some neighbours came in , and when they understood that he had been so disobedient as to strike his father , they very much blamed him . so i held him fast till i saw that he was somewhat abated in his stubborness , and then let him loose , and did treat him with mild words . at last he became quieter , and in few dayes after asked me leave to go to the fair , i granted it : and when southwark fair came ; he desired me to give him leave to go thither also : at which desire of his , i was much troubled he should not be satisfied with the former liberty i had given him at bartholomew-tide . but he continuing his request still to me , at last i did grant he should go ; though not very willing . so on wednesday in the afternoon the 20. of september 1671. he went into southwark fair , and found it to be a dirty place , did not like it , but goes in to see a play : and when he come forth of the place , he walked about in it a little , but took no delight in it , and was troubled that he should come to see it . he returns to came homewards , and upon london-bridge in the open place , he makes a stand , looking towards the tower , upon the boats and ships , and leaning upon the place , there were two boyes came and stood by him , one on his left hand , the lesser of them puts forth a riddle and saith tell me what is this , that flyes as swift as an arrow out of a bow , and carries his bridle under his tail , this was a ship under sail , there was a man that stood by him on his right hand and he turned himself toward the sun ; and said to my sonn before the sun be down , that shall be tyed that was never tyed before , and before the morrow sun be down , that shall be loose that was never tyed before . one of the boyes being very earnest with the man , saith , i pray you sir , tell me the meaning of this , but he would not . so the boyes went away towards southwark , the man and my sonn staid at the same place , the man saith to him , it was a fine thing to be a traveller , and my sonn saith to him , i hope i shall go very suddenly to sea , and he saith to him , have you your friends consent , yes saith he ? the man saith to him he would not have him go to sea , for if he did , he would have a great fit of sickness naming the flux , and that would cost him his life . saith he , why shall i be any more sick than any body else ? it would be so , how do you know it ? he said he knew it very well . if you do go , the ship and all the men , shall go safe to the place where it was to go , and should all come home safe again , only he was excepted , for it should cost him his life . he asked him whether he did believe him , he saith , no , he did not believe him , nor would not , but he would go to sea , he endeavoured to perswade him to live in london , and it should be well for him , and my sonn saith , hang london , i will go and travel . so when my sonn takes his leave of the man upon the bridg , he puts off his hat in a jearing and deriding way , and saith unto him , i thank you for your good councel , but in his heart at that time he did not intend to take his councel ; and so parts from him , and he thought the man had stayed there at the place where he parted from him . so my sonn coming homewards , and when he came just to the corner of thames-street the man overtook him , and saith , no further yet ? and he saith , no , so my sonne seeing of him and speaking to him of a sudden , was affraid , and he saith be not affraid , i will do you no harm . so the man turns with him at the corner , and after turns with him into st. michaels lane , that comes into crooked lane , and so into cannon street . the man was speaking what a fine place this city was , if it were all built and inhabited , and that the building in it was more stately than those of paris , and in other countries . when he drew near to queens-street corner , they had some discourse , but cannot remember what those words were at present ; but he told the man he was a lyer . the man was a little before him , and goes over the kennel , at the end of queens-street , as though he would have gone along watling-street . my sonne turns up at the corner of queens-street , and begins to run away from the man , and presently had a great pain took him in the calves of his leggs : so that it forced him to stand still : and stooping down to feel on his right legg that most pained him , he looks over his left shoulder , and seeing the man gone he was glad he had lost his company , and cast his eye on his right hand , there the man was come even with him , and seeing him , he was afraid . the man said , be not afraid so they come up that street , and crossed over to the other side of the way , but he kept as it were a loof off from the man. but when they drew near to come into cheapside , the man step before him , and takes him by the cloak , and saith unto him , be not afraid , do you believe what i have said unto you . my sonn answered , no , i do not believe you , nor i will not believe you what you say , do you not remember that zacharias wear struck dumb , naming that it was in the first chapter of luke , my son saith , i do remember there is such a place , but that was , because he did not believe the angel that told him what should come to pass , and he said , it may be so with you , and he said to the man , are you an angel , so the man gave him no answer , and broke off that discourse , and came towards cheap-side , and when my son parted from the man and began to come homewards , he heard the man say , it shall be so . so my son turned back to have called to him , but could not speak , and stood at the corner looking after the man , and saw him turn at the corner the same way as they came together . so the man being out of sight he turned now to come home towards his fathers house . i do verily believe my sons heart was full of sorrow , and how to declare it he could not then , still he was troubled that he should answer the man in such a scornful and deriding way , and that he should answer him so thwartingly . so he came home to me about five a clock , and i being buisy in the shop i said nothing to him , but i wondred he came home so soon , but he went directly up stairs into the kitchin , the maid being there he looks about him , as though it was some strange place unto him , saith the maid to him thomas , methinks you have made great hast home ; be sat down by the table and struck his hand twice upon it , she saith thomas , how do you do ? are you not well ? what makes you so heavy ? have you had an ill day to day ? you did use to speak to us when you came in ? what is the matter with you ? now his sister hearing the maid urging of him to speak , she said to him , brother , will you not speak to us ? i coming into the room seeing him lean on his elbow , bearing is head up with his hand , i thought he had been weary with his walk . i said unto him , can you find nothing to do ? must you sit still ? go down and help the boy to shut up the shop , and as i spoke he went down , knowing nothing of his being dumb : he helped the boy to shut up the shop , his sister being there , said to him , brother , hath any body met with you , and cut out your tongue ? he turning towards her , put forth his tongue , and made signs to the boy with his hand for a pen and ink . the boy comes up stairs to me , and saith , i think thomas hath lost his tongue , presently cometh up again , and saith , master , i think thomas hath lost his tongue : his sister cometh up also , father , i think my brother hath lost his tongue : i sat still by the fire , and none of these messengers did move me , i thought he was not minded to speak to them . but the maid going down of her own accord , saith to him , thomas , why will you not speak to us ? you will make your father angry , tell us , what is the matter with you ? he was then writing in a piece of paper , and turns that paper to her , wherein was writ these words ; i cannot speak , and shaked his head . whereat she was much troubled , and coming up saith to me , i fear all is not well with thomas : hearing of this it struck me to the heart , then i went down to him , and laid my hand upon his head , and said , child , how dost thou do ? he turnes a paper to me , wherein was writ , i cannot speak . i was greatly amazed , and affrighted : his hand moved towards his heart , he shoke his head , his countenance was exceeding sad , his tears ran down from his eyes : these all gave in their testimonies , that they were sorrowing for the sad condition that had befaln him . methinks , i have the sight thereof allwayes in my eyes , in my thoughts , and on my heart , hand , head , countenance and tears , these all have a loud and speaking voice : and often since he was dumb , it draweth tears from mine eyes . i casting my eyes upon his paper the second time , i saw he had writ underneath those former words , i cannot speak , speak you and i can understand . so when i saw them , i said unto him , child , give me an account , where you have been since you went out , and who you have been withal , and he ●hen did give me an account to this effect , but since , he hath given me a larger account , as the lord hath brought those things into his mind . the next day as i was reading by him in the afternoon , the window being open , he cast his eyes upon the sun , very earnestly for a time ; i thought he might have been affected with what i was reading off , but he was only viewing of the sun as he confest afterwards , he immediately pulleth out his ink-horne and began to write , but could not proceed for looking on the sun ; the maid observing , that his lipps did move much , and lifted up his hands , she beckoned to me to observe him , what he was a doing ; i rose up , to look in his face , his back being towards me , but turning about i saw tears running very fast from his eyes , i took him in my arms ; and said unto him , be not cast down , at what time thou art afraid , trust in god , as david saith , in the 56. psalm the third verse , i found much comfort in these words , who among you that feareth the lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant , that walketh in darkness and hath no light , let him trust in the name of the lord , and stay upon his god , in the ●0 . of isaiah 10. verse . while my sonn was still weeping he coughed three times , and at the last time something gave a jerk , as though it had been the breaking of a string , which hurt him a little . whereupon , his tongue was loosed , and he spake , and said , blessed be god , i can speak , and then he told to me what the man said to him on london-bridge , that before the sun be down , that shall be tyed that was never tyed before , and before the morrow sun be down that shall be loose that was never tyed before . this was remembred by him not above half an hour before he spake . my sonn faith , the man said he was a seaman , he was a man of a middle statute , his clothes under his coat was of a sad colourd silk watered , a sad colour cloath coat with gold buttons , with a crevait plain , twice about his neck , a cain in his hand with a silver head , and a sword by his side . thus reader , i have taken care to make good my promise to thee , that i would declare the truth and nothing but the truth , the lord give a blessing that it might find warm entertainment in thy heart , as it hath done in mine , the lord work it powerfully upon every soul in my family , for he only bringeth light out of darkness , and good out of evil , as i can experience it at this day , for thou art a wonder-working god. my sonn hath said unto me , if he had not been struck dum , he would never have told me any thing what this man had said unto him , but he would have gone to sea. but since the lord hath been pleased to give him his speech , he hath said , he will not now go to sea , for he hath seen the hand of the lord hath been against him in a wonderfull manner . finis . a sermon preached before the lords spiritual and temporal in parliament assembled in the abbey-church at westminster, on the thirtieth of january, 1699/700 / by the most reverend father in god, john, lord arch-bishop of york. sharp, john, 1645-1714. 1700 approx. 31 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 13 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-11 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a59571 wing s2999 estc r40613 19410992 ocm 19410992 108836 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a59571) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 108836) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1678:6) a sermon preached before the lords spiritual and temporal in parliament assembled in the abbey-church at westminster, on the thirtieth of january, 1699/700 / by the most reverend father in god, john, lord arch-bishop of york. sharp, john, 1645-1714. [2], 23 p. printed by j. leake, for walter kettilby ..., london : 1700. reproduction of original in the british library. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church of england -sermons. bible. -n.t. -titus iii, 1 -sermons. government, resistance to -great britain. obedience -religious aspects. 2003-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-08 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2003-08 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a sermon preached before the lords spiritual and temporal in parliament assembled , in the abbey-church at westminster , on the thirtieth of ianuary , 1699 / 1700. by the most reverend father in god , iohn lord arch-bishop of york . london , printed by i. leake , for walter kettilby , at the bishop's-head in st. paul's church-yard , 1700. titus iii. i. put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers , to obey magistrates . you all know what kind of argument this day calls for . for by the design of keeping it , the business that the preacher hath to do , is to press obedience and subjection to the government we live under , and to preach against faction and rebellion . and accordingly it is prescribed in the rubrick of this day 's service , that if there be a sermon at all , and not a homily , it shall be upon this argument . it is very well that authority hath taken care , that at some solemn times we should preach upon this subject in a more solemn manner . because though it be as needful as any , yet there are some among us that think it a very improper theme for the pulpit . i must confess i had an eye to this suggestion , when i pitch'd upon these words which i have now read to you : because i think there is something to be observed in them which will effectually confute it . st. paul here lays his charge upon titus , that he should put the people that were under his care in mind to be subject to principalities and powers , and to obey magistrates . two things i would here consider . first , the person that is order'd thus to put the people in mind : and secondly , the thing that he is to put them in mind of , which is , subjection and obedience to principalities , and powers , and magistrates . i begin with the first thing , the person to whom st. paul writes this epistle , and to whom he gives it in charge that he should put the people in mind to be subject . who was this person ? why it was titus , an ecclesiastic , a bishop , a preacher of the gospel ; not a lay-man , not a magistrate , but a pure church-man . what can be more plainly gathered from hence than this ; that it is not foreign to a clergy-man's office to preach obedience and subjection to the government ; but , on the contrary , a part of his function , a necessary duty incumbent upon him to do it . if any man affirm otherwise , he must either say , that st. paul did not rightly instruct titus in his office , but enjoined him to do that which he had nothing to do with : or he must shew that the case of titus was different from that of the ministers of the gospel at this day . neither of which things can , i believe , be easily made out . and yet into such times are we fallen , that it is taken ill by many , that ministers should in their pulpit-discourses meddle with these matters . i must confess i think , that of all men it most concerns a minister of religion not to be a busie-body , or a medler in other mens matters . for in truth he hath work enough to do of his own ; and such kind of work too , as , let him behave himself as inoffensively as he can , will create him difficulties and enemies enow . and therefore it would be very imprudent in him to usurp other mens provinces , and to burn his fingers where he needs not . especially considering that the success of his labours and endeavours among the people doth in a great measure depend upon the good liking they have of him . but what is it that gives offence ? or what is it that renders this argument we are speaking of so improper a subject for a clergy-man to treat of ? why , several things are pretended , and i shall name some of them . first , it is said , that the work of a clergy-man is to instruct men in christ's religion , to preach against vice and sin , and to preach up holiness and good life , and mutual love and charity : but what has he to do with state-affairs , as matters of government are ? i answer , he hath nothing indeed to do with them : but his only work is to make men good christians , by endeavouring to possess them with a hearty belief of our saviour's doctrines and promises , and persuading them to a conformity in their lives to his precepts . this is our proper work , and this is that we ought to attend to all the days of our life ; and with government ▪ and state affairs we ought not to meddle , in our sermons especially . but then , after all this , it doth not follow , but that we are all bound , as we have occasion , to preach up loyalty and obedience to our governours . for this is no state affair , but an affair of the gospel . we cannot instruct men in christ's religion , without instructing them in this . if indeed it was an indifferent thing to a man's christianity , or to his salvation , whether he was a good or a bad subject ; then indeed it would be as indifferent to a preacher , whether he insisted on these things to the people : but it is not so . one great branch of christian holiness , as it is declared in the new testament , is , that every man demean himself quietly and peaceably and obediently to the government he lives under , and that not only for wrath , or fear of punishment , but also for conscience-sake . and this is made as necessary a condition of going to heaven , as any other particular vertue is . and therefore if we will instruct men in christ's religion , and in the indispensable points of holiness required thereby , we must instruct them in this also . one great vice and damnable sin , that the religion of our lord has caution'd against , is the sin of factiousness and rebellion . and therefore , if it be our duty to declare against the sins and vices that are contrary to christianity , it is our duty to declare and caution against this also . lastly , we do readily grant that a great part of our office consists in most affectionately recommending and pressing the necessity of mutual love and charity . but if this be necessary , is it not more so , to recommend and press obedience to authority , without which , mutual love and charity cannot possibly subsist ? that being the common ligament of them ; and take away that , we should be no better than bears and tygers one to another . but it is said , in the second place , that preachers ought not to meddle with these points , because they are not competent judges of them : they do not know the measures and limits of loyalty and disloyalty , of being a good , and a bad subject : these depending altogether upon the constitution of the government we live under ; and the determining of them belongs to the civil courts , and not to their profession . to this i answer , that in all those instances , wherein this argument falls under the cognizance and determination of parliaments , or iudges , or lawyers , we do not pretend to meddle with it . and if any man do , let him answer for himself . all that we pretend to , is to press the plain , general , indispensable duties of obedience to laws , and of peaceableness , and subjection to the higher powers , which christ and his apostles have every where taught in the bible . if indeed a preacher should in the pulpit presume to give his judgment about the management of publick affairs ; or to lay down doctrines as from christ , about the forms and models of kingdoms or commonwealths ; or to adjust the limits of the prerogative of the prince , or of the liberties of the subject in our present government : i say , if a divine should meddle with such matters as these in his sermons , i do not know how he can be excused from the just censure of meddling with things that nothing concern him . this is indeed a practising in state matters , and is usurping an office that belongs to another profession , and to men of another character . and i should account it every whit as undecent in a clergy-man to take upon him to deal in these points ; as it would be for him , to determine titles of land in the pulpit , which are in dispute in westminster-hall . but what is this to the preaching obedience and subjection to the establish'd government ? let meddling with the politicks be as odious as you please in a clergy-man ; yet sure it must not only be allow'd to him , but be thought his duty , to exhort all subjects to be faithful to their prince , to live peaceably under his government , and to obey all the laws that are made by just authority : and even where they cannot obey them , yet to submit , and to raise no disturbance to the publick upon that account . and this is the great thing which we say clergy-men have to do in this matter . we meddle not with the politicks ; we meddle not with prerogative or property ; we meddle not with the disputes and controversies of law that may arise about these matters : but we preach a company of plain lessons of peaceableness and fidelity , and submission to our rulers ; such as the law of nature teaches ; such as both christ and his apostles did preach in all places where-ever they came ; and such as will at this day hold in all the governments of the world , whether they be kingdoms or commonwealths . and if at any time we make a particular application of these general rules to our own established government , it is only in such instances as are plainly of the essence of our national constitution . in such instances as are plainly contain'd in the oaths of allegiance and supremacy , and those other tests , which , for the security of the government , the law hath taken care that subjects sh●ll swear to , and consequently must be thought obliged both to understand and practise them . and how can it be an invasion of another man's office , to preach and insist upon such things as these ? no , certainly ; what it is the duty of every subject both to understand and practise in order to his salvation , that , without doubt , it is the duty of their pastors to put them in mind of . but thirdly , it is said further , that preachers cannot engage in these arguments , but they will of necessity side with some party or faction among us : now they should have nothing to do with parties or factions . to this i answer , that to be on the side of the established government , and to endeavour to maintain that , is not to be a favourer of parties and factions . but they are the factions , they are the setters up , or abettors of parties , who endeavour to destroy , or unsettle , or disparage , or in the least to hurt and weaken the government and the laws as they are established ; let the principles upon which they go , or the pretences they make , be what they will. so that a minister , by preaching obedience and subjection , doth not in the least make himself of any party ; but , on the contrary , he sets himself against all parties : and so he ought to do . for his business is , to be on the side of the government as it is by law established ; and as vigorously as in him lies , in such ways as are proper for his function , to oppose all those that would either secretly undermine it , or openly assault it : in a word , all those that would make any change or innovation in it ( by whatever names they are discriminated ) by any other means or methods than what the law of the land , and the nature of the constitution doth allow . and thus much of the first thing i took notice of in the text , viz , the person to whom the charge is here given , that he should put the people in mind . i now come , in the second place , to the thing he was to put them in mind of , and that is , to be subject to principalities and powers , and to obey magistrates . and here two things are to be enquired into ; first , who are those principalities and powers and magistrates to whom we are to be subject , and whom we are to obey . and , secondly , wherein consists that subjection and obedience that we are to give to them . as for the first of these , who are the principalities and powers and magistrates ? why , certainly by these words are meant the supreme civil governours of every nation , and under them their subordinate officers . let the form of government in any country be what it will ; in whomsoever the sovereign authority is lodged ( whether in one , or in many ) they are the principalities and powers to whom we are to be subject ; and those that are commission'd and deputed to exercise authority under them , are the magistrates whom we are to obey . st. peter , in the 2d . chapter of his 1st . epistle , doth thus express them , ( alluding , no doubt , to the government of the roman state under which he lived , which was then monarchical ) submit your selves , saith he , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to every humane constitution , for the lord's sake : whether it be to the king , as supreme ; or unto the governours , as unto them that are sent by him — for so is the will of god. upon which words of his , the homily of our church , appointed to be read on this day , doth thus gloss . st. peter doth not say , submit your selves unto me , as supreme head of the church . neither saith he , submit your selves , from time to time , to my successors in rome . but he saith , submit your selves unto your king , your supreme head , and to those that he appointeth in authority under him . this is god's ordinance , this is god's holy will , that the whole body in every realm , and all the members and parts of the same , shall be subject to their head , their king. as for the subjection and obedience that is to be paid to these principalities and powers , which is the other thing i am to enquire into , it consists of a great many particulars . it implies in it , for instance , that we should give all honour , respect and reverence to their persons , looking upon them ( which really they are ) as god's vicegerents upon earth . that we should not rashly censure their actions , or the administration of their government . that we should at no hand despise them , or speak evil of them , remembring the character that st. iude gives of those that despise dominions , and speak evil of dignities . that as we should make prayers , and supplications and intercessions , and giving of thanks for all men ; so more especially for them , and those that are put in authority under them , as st. paul teaches us . that we should pay them the tributes and customs that are due to them , as the same apostle expresses it ; that is , the expences we are legally taxed at , towards the support of their government . that we should , according to our power , maintain their iura majestatis , the rights and prerogatives , belonging by the constitution , to their office and dignity that we should assist and defend them against their enemies . that we should behave our selves peaceably and modestly in our particular vocations , endeavouring to make their government as easie and as happy as we can , but at no hand to invade any publick office that belongs not to us . in a word , that we should yield obedience to all their laws . and in case it ever happen that we cannot with a safe conscience obey , there we are patiently to suffer the penalties of our disobedience : but by no means either to affront their persons , or to disturb their government , by raising or partaking in any tumult , or insurrection , or rebellion . all this that i have now named , is contained in that duty of subjection and obedience which we are here bid to pay to principalities and powers , as might easily be shewn , as to every particular : but i will not tire you , by running through all these heads , and therefore shall only desire leave to speak a little to the two last things i have now mention'd ; both because they are the most general , and do in a manner comprehend the rest ; and because they seem principally intended in the text i am now discoursing of . put them in mind ( saith st. paul ) to be subject , and put them in mind to obey . in the one phrase seems to be intimated the duty of active obedience to the laws and orders of our governours : in the other phrase , our submission where we cannot obey . and first of all , as for the business of active obedience , ( for it is proper to begin with that first ) all that is needful to be said for the clearing of it , may be comprized in these four following propositions . 1st . that the standing laws of every country are the rule of the subjects obedience , and not merely the will of the prince . where indeed the legislative and the executive power are both in one hand , ( as it is in those we call absolute monarchies ) there the will of the prince stands for law. but where people are so happy as to live under a legal establishment , as ours is , there the publick laws must govern and steer their actions , and not the prince's private pleasure . so that tho' the king can do no wrong , ( as our maxim is ) yet the subject is answerable for every thing he doth against law , even when he doth it by the king's command . 2dly . whatever laws are made by just authority , whether in civil matters , or in matters relating to religion , if they be not contrary to god's laws , there the subject is bound in conscience to obey them , even tho' he apprehends they are inconvenient . i own indeed that the matter of some laws may be of so small importance , that a man shall not need much to charge his conscience with the observance of them : it being enough that he submit to the penalty , in case of transgression : and perhaps the government never meant to extend their obligation farther . but for all that , it is in the power of the legislative , when there is reason , to bind our consciences to obedience , as well as to award punishments to our disobedience . and the reason of this is evident , because we are bound by the laws of god , who hath the supreme dominion over our consciences , to obey our lawful governours in lawful things . nay , i say farther , ( which is my 3d. proposition , ) that even where we doubt of the lawfulness of their commands , we are bound to obey ; so long as we only doubt of their lawfulness , but are not persuaded that they are unlawful . for certainly the authority of our governours ought to over-rule any man's private doubts . there is all the reason in the world that it should do so : and there is no good reason to be urged to the contrary . pray , what is it we mean , when we say that a man doubts concerning a thing , whether it be lawful or no ? is it not this ? that his judgment is kept suspended between equal probabilities on both sides of a question . he is enclined by some reasons to believe that the thing is lawful , and he is enclined by other reasons to believe that the thing is unlawful . and these reasons do appear so equally probable to him on both sides , that he doth not know how to determine himself : he doth not know which way he should frame a judgment about the point in question . this is the notion of a doubt . now in such a case as this , when authority interposeth , and declareth it self on one side ; and pronounceth not only that the thing is lawful to be done , but also , that it will have it done ; and accordingly lays its commands upon the man to do it : i say , if there be not so much weight in authority as to turn the scale in such a case as this , and to oblige a man to act in obedience to it ; it is the lightest thing in the world , and signifies very little as to the influencing the affairs of mankind . but , 4thly and lastly ; if the matter be out of doubt : if a man be really convinced that the thing which authority commands him , is not lawful in it self , but is contradictory to the laws of god : in that case he must not do the thing commanded ; on the contrary , he is bound to forbear the practice of it . if any humane law , let it be made by the best authority upon earth , should command us to believe any point in matters of faith which we are persuaded to be contrary to the revelation of christ and his apostles ; or should command us to profess and declare our belief of any matter whatsoever , tho' never so indifferent , when yet we did not really believe it ; or , lastly , should oblige us to the doing of any action which we did in our own conscience judge to be a transgression of a divine command : i say , in none of these cases are we to yield obedience to the law , by what authority soever it was enacted . and the reason is plain : we must always chuse to obey god rather than men. where god's law hath commanded us , there no humane law can absolve us from the obligation . where god's law hath forbidden us , there no humane law can lay obligations upon us . and it is the same thing as to our practice , that we believe god's law hath ty'd us up , as if it had really done so . so that , whether we are really in the right , or in the wrong , as to our persuasions in these matters , we must not act against them ; because we must not act against our consciences . only this we are to remember , that it extremely concerns us rightly to inform our consciences in these matters where humane laws have interposed their authority . for if we make a wrong judgment of things , and upon that account deny our obedience to the laws , where we should have given it : though we ought not to act against our conscience , as i said , ( nay , it would be a great sin in us if we should , ) yet , on the other side , we are not to be excused for disobeying the commands of authority , where we might lawfully have obeyed them ; unless it should prove that it was through no fault of ours that our judgments were misinformed . and thus much concerning my first head , that of obedience to laws : i now come to the other , that of subjection ; as that word implies patient submission to our governours , where we cannot actively comply with what they require of us . and this is that doctrine of passive obedience which of late hath had so ill a sound among many of us : but i dare say , for no other reason but because it may have been by some misrepresented . for where-ever it is rightly understood , it can give offence to none but to such as are really disaffected to the government , and do desire alterations . that there is such a submission due from all subjects to the supreme authority of the place where they live , as shall tie up their hands from opposing or resisting it by force , is evident from the very nature and ends of political society . and i dare say , there is not that country upon earth , let the form of their government be what it will , ( absolute monarchy , legal monarchy , aristocracy , or commonwealth ) where this is not a part of the constitution . subjects must obey passively , where they cannot obey actively : otherwise the government would be precarious , and the publick peace at the mercy of every malecontent , and a door would be set open to all the insurrections , rebellions and treasons in the world. nor is this only a state doctrine , but the doctrine also of iesus christ , and that a necessary , indispensable one too ; as sufficiently appears from those famous words of st. paul , rom. xiii . 1 , 2. which are so plain , that they need no comment : let every soul ( saith he ) be subject to the higher powers , for there is no power but of god ; and the powers that be , are ordained of god. whosoever therefore resisteth the power , resisteth the ordinance of god ; and they that resist , shall receive to themselves damnation . so that so long as this text stands in our bibles , the doctrine of non-resistance or passive obedience must be of obligation to all christians . but then , after i have said this , care must be taken that this general doctrine be not misapplied in particular countries . though non-resistance or passive obedience be a duty to all subjects , and under all governments , yet it is not expressed the same way in all places ; but both the objects and the instances of it do vary in different nations , according to the different models of their government . to speak this as plainly as i can . as the laws of the land are the measures of our active obedience ; so are also the same laws the measures of our submission . and as we are not bound to obey but where the laws and constitution require our obedience ; so neither are we bound to submit but as the laws and constitution do require our submission . taking now this to be the true stating of the doctrine of passive obedience , as i verily believe it is , i do not see what colour of reason can be offered against it . sure i am , the common pretence , that it tends to introduce tyranny , and arbitrary government , and to make people slaves , is quite out of doors . for you see it makes no princes absolute , where , by the constitution , they were not so before . nor doth it destroy any liberty of the subjects that they were before in possession of . all that it doth , is to preserve and secure the national settlement in the same posture , and upon the same foot , in and upon which it is already established . and this is so true , that there is not a common-wealth in the world so free , but that these doctrines of non-resistance and passive obedience must for ever be taught there , as necessary even for the preservation of their liberties . as for what this doctrine imports among us , and in our constitution , or how far it is to be extended or limited , it belongs not to me to determine . but thus much the occasion of this day 's meeting will not only warrant me , but oblige me to say upon this head , and it is all the application i shall now make , namely , that by all the laws of this land , the person of the king is sacred and inviolable ; and that to attempt his life in any way , or upon any pretence , always was and is high treason . and if so , what are we to think of that fact which was on this day committed upon the person of our late sovereign , of blessed memory , king charles i. taking it with all its circumstances ? why certainly , how slight soever some people among us may make of it , it was a most barbarous murther ; a violation of the laws of god and man , a scandal to the protestant religion , and a reproach to the people of england ; whilst the impious rage of a few , stands imputed by our adversaries to the whole nation . all this i may say of this fact ; for it is no more than is said of it by the lords and commons of england , in that act of parliament which appoints the keeping of this day as a perpetual fast. i am sensible how uneasie some are at the mentioning of this ; and how gladly they would have both the thing , and the memorial of it , forgot among us . i must confess , i could wish so too , provided we were sure that god had forgot it ; so , i mean , forgot it , as that we were no longer obnoxious to his judgments , upon the account of that innocent blood : and provided likewise , in the second place , that those factious , republican principles which have once over-turn'd our government , and brought an excellent prince to an unhappy end , were so far forgot among us , as that there was no danger from them , of ever having this or the like tragedy acted again in our nation . but so long as we have apprehensions from either of these things , so long it will be fit for us to remember this fact , and this day ; and both to implore the mercy of god , that neither the guilt of that sacred and innocent blood , nor those other sins by which god was provoked to deliver up both us and our king into the hands of cruel and unreasonable men , may at any time hereafter be visited upon us , or our posterity : and likewise to suffer our selves to be put in mind of that duty , which , by st. paul's authority , i have been all this while insisting on , namely , to be subject to principalities and powers , and to obey magistrates : or , if you will rather take it in the words of solomon , prov. xxiv . 21. to fear the lord and the king , and not to meddle with them that are given to change . finis . observations upon mr. johnson's remarks, upon dr. sherlock's book of non-resistance sherlock, william, 1641?-1707. 1689 approx. 43 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 12 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a59833 wing s3305 estc r9591 12029879 ocm 12029879 52740 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a59833) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 52740) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 878:8) observations upon mr. johnson's remarks, upon dr. sherlock's book of non-resistance sherlock, william, 1641?-1707. [2], 21 p. [s.n.], london : 1689. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. attributed to william sherlock. cf. nuc. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng johnson, samuel, 1649-1703. -remarks upon dr. sherlock's book, intituled the case of resistance of the supreme powers stated and resolved. obedience. divine right of kings. allegiance -great britain. nonjurors. 2003-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-12 mona logarbo and andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2004-12 mona logarbo and andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion observations upon mr. johnson's remarks , upon dr. sherlock's book of non-resistance . 1 samuel , chap. 26. verse 16. this thing is not good that ye have done , as the lord liveth ye are worthy to dye , because ye have not kept your master the lord 's anointed . london , printed in the year , 1689. observations upon the preface to mr. johnson's remarks , upon dr. sherlock's book of non-resistance . mr. johnson , my former knowledge of your person and manner of conversation , raised my desire of reading your life of julian , and the little piece you have since published against the learned dr. sherlock , and both together have confirmed me in this opinion , that you are certainly next mr. oats the fittest person in the world to write the life of julian , having so exactly transcrib'd it in your own , he being that to the catholick church , what you have so industriously approv'd your self to the church of england , a perfidious apostat . you are pleased to call your little book ( and such it is upon more accounts than one ) remarks upon dr. sherlock's book of non-resistance , and remarks indeed they are , but such as our young trifling novices , make in their journies through france or italy , which have no other effect upon a wise reader than to persuade a belief they have been there ▪ and scarcely that : they are such remarks as would tempt a man to think you were retain'd on both sides , or at least were in fee with your adversary , or bribed by a partial affection to his person and reputation ; but this conjecture you can easily confute . you are pleas'd to tell us ( page the 25th ) that you would run over all the doctors scripture proofs ( in the excellent management of which lies the strength of the cause , and the learning of the author ) whereas you have taken no notice of any more than two , and only nibled at them without any impression or hurt , but with what ingenuity is not easily comprehended , much less justifi'd without your old friend 's secret against blushing : and thus you have indeed rid your hands easily of the bafled cause of non-resistance ; which , if it receive no deeper wound than those your feeble passes yet have made , will outlive your forward triumphs , and conquer , as much as it despises , the insolence that fools and knaves have treated it withall ; a doctrine that commenc'd together with religion either jew or christian , ( as the pious and learned archbishop usher has irrefragably prov'd . ) a doctrine that shall know no end , but when all things must confess their ashes , and then it shall be swallowed up in the glorious rewards of confessors and martyrs . but you are pleas'd to give us another reason for publishing your book , that is , to offer your service to some men's new-fashioned loyalty , which , you say , must be adopted church of england doctrine too , as well as the other : this indeed gave me great hopes of finding from so clear a casuist , and so moderate a man , irresistible satisfaction of its being my duty to take the new-oaths , which piece of service would have bound me over to as great gratitude , as can be supposed due to the charitable and seasonable preserver of my little all i have in this world : but if instead of offering one single reason evincing the duty and obligation to take this oath ; you have advanced two or three considerably cogent reasons why i should not , then i hope the government will allow your argument in some abatement to the guilt , whatever they do to the punishment of my non-complyance ; for all good men fear the guilt more than they do the punishment , and this you have done as appears by what you tell us ( page the 55 ) no man can authorise himself ; if so , i desire you to tell us by what authority this new-oath is imposed ; for the compilers of this law either do authorise themselves , or else they receive their authority aliunde ; if the first , you have already determin'd against them ; if the second , pray shew us from whence ; taking this of our saviour along with you , if i bear testimony of my self , my testimony is not true . but in the second place you tell us , that king william is the rightfullest king that ever sat upon the english throne : when in that very breath you defeat the right you would maintain , and are a very traytor to the title you would advance ; and i am content with you never to desire a greater advantage than to reduce my adversary to this absurdity , of making no difference betwixt a title and no title , which is a rowland for the oliver you gave the doctor ; law and no law : and that you have done this appears thus ; if king william be the rightfullest king that ever sat upon the throne of england , then no king ever ascended the throne by the same right , and by the same hands that he does ; for every king that came by it as he does , was just as rightful a king as he is , and then consequently he is not the rightfullest : well then , if no king was ever plac'd upon the throne by the same hand and right as he , then it is very plain he can have no right at all by the common law of england ; for common law is common usage , and sure that 's a strange common usage , that cannot shew one president ; one example at least to warrant it , which your assertion plainly supposes and acknowledges : well then , besides the common law , england knows no other but that we call the statute-law , and by that he has no title , or else the convention did him a great deal of wrong , for they never declared the right to be his by succession , but by their donation : thus you defend the present title , just as you guided your unfortunate masters conscience and honour , by betraying both ; and if king william had no better title than what in this preface you have given him , he neither could nor would expect to be obeyed ; and now if any of my brethren should look upon our obligation to complyance to be less than it was before , through the insufficiency of the arguments you have produced in its behalf , you will be responsible to us for our livings , and to his majesty for the withdrawing the service of so many men of our condition ; for i am morally certain that were these words of yours ( king william is the rightfullest king that ever sat upon the english throne ) inserted , and made a part of the oath , there would not have have been found in the whole nation , as bad as it is , an hundred men of your swallow ; i am very well satisfied that the government is not so unreasonable ( however you represent them , ) as not to be glad that , the whole body of the clergy were satisfied as well as themselves ; and i hope you are not one of those malicious blades that would insinuate , as if this new act were made only to revenge the bartholomew act in 62 , and wish it might have the same effect ; yet you have given us a very fair specimen of your hatred to the present government , since you could never have wish'd for a more sweet , or taken a more effectual revenge than you have done , by turning such an hebrew advocate in their behalf ; methinks 't is great pity there is no law obliging all men to hang the keys of their consciences at your girdle ! and as it is to be hoped they will chastise the maliciously affected weakness of your defence , so it were seriously to be wish'd , that before the time comes , they would provide us some learned and conscientious casuist , that might be able by the conviction of scripture , reason and law , to promote those good inclinations we in the presence of god sincerely profess to have of living under our superiours , a sober and a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty . and i do promise in my own , and ( as i believe i may ) in the name of all my brethren , that are yet unsatisfied , that our refusal to comply shall lie no longer hid in lurking scruples , and reasons best known to our selves ( as you out of your abundant charity would insinuate ) than till our superiours shall be pleased with indemnity to allow us to bring them forth , ( for though truth never seeks , it may be driven into corners ) to men of their own nomination and appointment , with an obligation to the severest penalties , if we can be prov'd to have divulg'd them any farther . therefore all the spiteful flourishes you make in the 2d . page of your preface , and the malicious as well as silly questions that you ask , are but so many instances of your natural incivility and rudeness towards us , as well as of an ungentile insolence in provoking him whose hands are tyed , which is very true in reference to the danger he must lye under , who dares be so hardy as to answer your questions , which yet i my self dare engage to do upon good security of freedom and indemnity , and to back those answers with such reasons as shall ensure me the priviledge of being ( for you ) unanswerable , or else i will forfeit my head where yours is due : you need not wonder at this caution in me ( in whom it is too seldom a fault ) who am not now to be told the danger of making my tongue or my pen too familiar with my thoughts ; i am not so much in love with jayls , and pilloreis , and whipping-posts , as needlesly to court mr. colliers first answer , or the no less pennance of reading his second ; besides mr. oats and your self have given us a fair instance what ineffectual methods those are of reducing men to sobriety ; if ever such or greater punishments should be our lot , our prayers are that god would enable us to bear them with such magnanimity , meekness , and resignation , as becomes those who profess the doctrine of passive obedience , taught and practised by christ and his apostles , the primitive and the best reformed christians ; but surely god has a very great controversie with this nation of ours , surely our sins are ripe for the severest judgments ; the land is divided into two extreme sinful parts , one by our sins are fitted to suffer under the doctrine of resistance ; others sinful enough to be permitted to preach , believe and prosecute it : i meekly thank god , that though my sins are strangely great , and deserve more than i can suffer , yet he hath not given me up to the latter judgment of teaching it , and i trust he never will. indeed mr. johnson , your apparently contrary behaviour in the very subject matter of this discourse , has not been so amiable and inviting as to render it exemplary , but has rather prejudic'd and hinder'd that enforcement , which your suffering name and fallacious reasons might otherwise have given it : no good christian can approve , or indeed with patience hear , and no crown'd head will endure your barbarous usage of king james , in which you have out-done your own forgeries and ill pack'd stories in your life of julian . is it thus that you curse not the king , no not in your heart ? is it thus that you commit your self and your cause to him that judgeth righteously ? is it thus that you heap coals of fire upon the head of your enemy ? and do you thus overcome evil with good ? no , no , the apparent marks of an unchristian resentment , and an ungenerous revenge make up the whole contexture of your preface , and by this means you have under your own hand renounc'd to the merits of your sufferings , forefaulted your right of compensation , abdicated your religion together with your king , and sign'd a kind of posthumous apology for your judges , and almost justify'd the inhumanity of your sentence . you say ( page the sixth of your preface ) that if king james had been a rightful king when he took possession of the crown ( as he was not but a publick enemy ) he has since that time broken the fundamental contract : in these words there is one of the boldest and most notorious falshoods that ever was broach'd , for he was certainly rightful king after the death of his brother , even though your malicious insinuation from his outliving him , had ( which it has not ) either weight or truth in it : the very votes of both houses of convention acknowledge so much when they insisted upon the abdication , without ever calling his title into question ; besides if he had no right to succeed in the throne , your lord and the other gentlemen of the exclusion were much in the wrong ; had you made as much appear then , as you confidently assert now , you had sav'd the two houses a great many angry debates , and the important fortress of tangier had been still in our hands , and undemolished ; and the lower house knew the importance of that place very well when they set the bill of exclusion upon it's head as the price of its relief or redemption rather ; and what necessity there was to shut out by law , one that by law had no right to come in , surpasses my discerning : yet farther , you prayed for him as king as oft as you did your duty in reading common-prayer ; now men of mettle are seldom hypocrites , and i cannot persuade my self you could in your prayers to god acknowledge him to be king , whom in your conscience you did not think rightfully and lawfully to be king : all prevarication is disengenuous and cannot become a christian , much less one that waits at the altar , and still less in the service of god ; so that this consequence is self-evident , either you were a hypocrite then , or worse now : as for what you say of his being excluded by three successive houses of commons , you might as well have told us that he was excluded by the diet at ratisbone , or the swiss cantons , for their power was as great to exclude him as that of the commons of england alone without the consent of the king and lords : you have made as much of it as the case will bear , when you tell us it was a caveat , and i suppose you know the nature of a caveat so well as not to stand in need of information what manner of treatment they commonly meet with in all places where they are entred . page the 11th . you say , the oath of allegiance is the counterpart of the coronation oath , and that it is of the nature of covenants , and that it is a conditional oath . now if all this could be substantially prov'd , it would go a great way towards a conviction of those whose consciences ( for want of information in this very point ) will not give them leave to take the new oath : now i could tell you this looks very like begging the question , or at least a haughty imposition of your sentiments upon other men , having not been pleased to produce one medium to prove so great an assertion by , but you pronounce magisterially your opinion and expect all your readers should subscribe to you , as to an infallible dictator ; but when we took that priviledge from the old gentleman at rome we did not intend to naturalize it at home , we have long since emancipated our selves from that piece of slavery , and are something unwilling to be brought again under the same yoke of bondage we so effectually cast off ; nullius addicti jurare in verba magistri , is our motto , and whatsoever conceit you may have of your own authority , you must not expect the same extravagant civility should be paid it by other men ; you have given us but too just a cause to examine a little narrowly into the very best reasons you have yet thought fit to produce , and having not found them sterling , you must not take it ill if we bring the rest to the touchstone . how pitifully you trifle with us in this paragraph with a silly instance of a master and an apprentice , where you wisely suppose the master to turn his apprentice out of doors , and yet expect the performance of his service ; did king james ever banish any man to mevis or the barbadoes , and yet at the same time expect his attendance , either in the court or camp ; or did he commit any clerk to jayl , and then punish him for non-residence ? your instances and your arguments are all of a piece , and you have very ill luck with both ; had you prov'd that a son's obedience to his father had held no longer than pater se bene gesserit , and then constituted the son the judge of his fathers good or male-administration ; or that the wife was discharged of her subjection to her husband , if she can plead actions of unkindness against him , then you had done something to the purpose , then you might have confuted the apostle and passive obedience , which have taught submission not only to the good and gentle , but also to the froward ; then you might have boldly deny'd the happiness the apostle tells us shall be the reward of them who suffer patiently in and for well-doing , since according to you , no man ought to suffer any longer than till he can either hinder or revenge his sufferings : i always thought religion had been intended to restrain and correct our unruly passions , not to give up the reins and let them loose ; such doctrine is neither the wisdom nor the peace that comes from above , nor the way thither , but comes from below , and is earthly , sensual , devilish . you tell us pag. 11 & 12 you are able to prove that the oath of allegiance taken to a tyrant , would be a void unlawful and wicked oath ; void , because it is an obligation to obedience according to law , which a tyrant makes it his business to destroy , so that it is swearing to things inconsistent ; unlawful , because the english constitution will not admit such a person to be king , it knows no king but such as can do no wrong ; wicked , because it strengthens his hands in the destruction of our countrey , so far you : now this needs only to be twice read to shew the absurdity , the weakness and the malice of it , especially if you design the application ( as by the drift of your discourse appears you do ) to be made to king james , and to all that swore allegiance to him , but especially to them ( if any such there be ) who think themselves still bound by that oath ; for we who swore allegiance to him at his first coming to the crown , did it to a king not to a tyrant ; nay , it was almost impossible he should be a tyrant when some of us took those oaths , unless susceptio coronae facit tyrannum , which for some body's sake i know you won't aver : he had then but just begun his reign , and had given us assurance of his intentions to govern according to law : nay , even they who swore allegiance to him after he had begun to break his word , and had made some inroads upon property and religion , still swore to a king and not to a tyrant ; for it would be a very difficult task even for you ( whose hatred to his person has given you the pen of a ready writer ) to assign by what individual action he commenc'd tyrant , and the very moment wherein he ceas'd to be king : vertue and vice dwell in each others neighbourhood , and their boundaries are to be distinguished by every eye : yet farther , what though my oath of allegiance be an obligation of obedience according to law ? and what though the king to whom i swear goes about to destroy the law ? is therefore my swearing allegiance to him , swearing to things inconsistent ? by no means : am i bound by that oath to be one of his instruments that shall help him to subvert the law , and enslave my fellow subjects ? or am i perjured if i refuse ? by no means ; i am indeed if i resist : and thus you may easily see the bafled doctrine of passive obedience would have found out an excellent medium betwixt these two , to suffer when according to conscience ( and that i will allow to be directed by law ) i can do no longer the pleasure of my king ; thus an oath to a king who afterwards proves a tyrant , is not void , because it is not swearing to things inconsistent . next you say , an oath of allegiance sworn to a tyrant is unlawful , and for so saying you give this merry reason , because the english constitution admits no such person to be king ; which takes away the very subject matter of our dispute ; for if this tyrant can be no king , i am as sure that no king can be no tyrant ; there can be no oath of allegiance sworn in a monarchy but to the king : so for once you are in the right ; for nullius juramenti nulla est obligatio . lastly you say , an oath of allegiance sworn to a tyrant is wicked , and for this reason , because it strengthens his hands in the destruction of our countrey : which i flatly deny , because ( as i told you before ) there is a medium betwixt a sinful obedience to an unlawful command , and perjury , which is passive obedience ; but that medium you don't love , and therefore won't admit it . again you say , as soon as the realm has declared him a tyrant , our oath of allegiance becomes void , but for what reason , according to what law , and by what authority , some body else must tell , for you cannot : what you say in this is gratis dictum , and must be swallowed upon your sole authority ; but that i do and always shall except against as insufficient , even if it could not be suspected of partiality , as in this last it vehemently is : pray what authority have you to affirm , which your readers have not to deny ? but your next is a delicate flight in these words , speaking about the oath of allegiance sworn to king james , an oath which ought not to have been made , and is now as if it never had been made , which was ill made , and would be worse kept , i suppose , than it was made ; now there seems no other answer required to this but a little of your own jargon , which a friend of mine has done to my hands — when a corder a cording , encord's him a cord , in cording that cord , he three cords doth encord ; but if one of the cords that encordeth , uncord , then the cord that uncordeth , uncordeth the cord. but to be serious , though it be very difficult amidst such stuff as this , let me ask you , do you seriously believe , that the oath of allegiance made to king james did never bind ? whom do you arraign when you say that oath ought never to have been made ? did he make or enact it himself ? or was it not made and enforced in the good days of queen elizabeth , and his grandfather king james the first ? or was the exacting that oath any part of the accusation laid to the charge of charles the martyr ? or did the bloody preachers of your doctrine of resistance in those days suppress any of his crimes out of a tender regard to his person or credit ? besides you say , it was ill made and would be worse kept , without considering the strange incongruity of that expression ; indeed a thing that is ill made may be ill kept , but how that which is ill made can be worse kept , i find not ; the guilt of keeping , must bear proportion to the guilt of making a law , because the effect must be commensurate to the cause ; and though the stream may fall lower , it cannot naturally rise higher than the fountain ; so that we who believe our selves under an obligation to keep it , are for so doing just as guilty ( and no more ) as those parliaments that made it : if then it was lawfully imposed , and lawfully taken ; then as there needs no angel to oblige us to keep it , ( our obligation arising from a greater authority than theirs , ) so none of that glorious order either can or will oblige us to break it , for they are the ministers of good , not evil . you say , page the 13th . the maxim of those you are pleased to call male-contents , is better popery than perjury . if my perfect agreement to the truth of that proposition will render me a male-content , i am and shall be , i hope , one all the days of my life ; nay , i will go one step farther , if there be any thing on this side hell worse than popery , i had rather it should befall me , than that it should be kept out , or prevented by any unlawful , unjust , or wicked means of mine whatever ; believe me , he is either a mean scholar in religion , or a very bold man that dares say god stands in need of our vertues ; but he must be a man of a more than ordinary assurance ( of your mettle , ) that dares say god stands in need of our vices . — si pergama dextra defendi possint , etiam hac defensa fuissent . with his own right hand , and with his holy arm , he can get himself the victory : if he sees it good for us to enjoy the blessing of a publick and free exercise of our religion ; he can do it without any offence or fault of ours at all ; but if not , we have been always taught , and will constantly maintain and teach , that we are in no case to do evil , that good may come of it ; not to break gods laws , to maintain his worship ; not to turn bankrupts to loyalty , to drive the greater trade in religion ; not to shake hands with the gospel , to take the firmer hold of christ ; not to forsake the church of england , to secure the reformation ; not to bring in a bill of exclusion of the next rightful heir , to secure an hereditary monarchy ; not to think the observation of the second and fourth , a valuable composition for the breach of the fifth and tenth commandments ; these are slow hebrew methods of divinity to me ; as if all religion were analytical , and the only way of progression in christianity , were to be retrograde in the duties of it : for what good can our religion do us , when we defend it by means that dishonour both it , and its author ? you desire us to remember that the popery and the perjury have gone always together , and have always been both of a side ; i agree with you entirely as to this matter ; and i have long fear'd the coming in of popery , and i thank you for discovering from what quarter we are to expect it ; i have in all places , and upon every fair opportunity freely declared , that popery could never come into england , unless carried upon protestants shoulders , and the four last years reign has not in the least confuted , but confirm'd and strengthned that opinion : alas ! what a silly poor feeble thing is popery in its proper colours ? how easily was it driven out without a blow ? did we not laugh at and despise , the reverse of fabius's wisdom manifested in their no less foolish than hasty and forward methods to bring popery in ? when all the protestants in the world could not have taken a more effectual course ( than themselves did ) to keep it out : but popery in its borrowed light confesses anack , whilst we protestants by our divisions lend it fatal colours , and a gigantick proportion , and power ; in this she boasts like archimedes , she is able to turn the world upside down , but she must sharpen her instruments at your forge , and our animosities must give her room whereon to set her foot : must the church of england be weakned for fear the protestant interest should be strong ? and will she not be weakned by the deprivation of so many as are resolv'd to make a conscience of keeping the oaths that they have taken , and from the obligation of which they have sworn , that no power upon earth is able to absolve them ? so that if perjury and popery go always together , and are of a side , you have fairly acquitted us from any share in the guilt of introducing it , unless refusing to swear to a new oath , in direct contradiction to one we have lawfully sworn already , be perjury , and methinks you might as well call it any thing else . see now what your argument will amount to : thus , the fears or interest of a roman catholick have overcome him , and prevail'd upon him to take an oath wherein he does from his heart acknowledge supremacy in all causes , and over all persons whether ecclesiastical or civil , to be lodged in the person of a protestant king in whose dominions he lives , and upon oath declares that he believes no person or persons upon earth have any power to release him from this oath , or from any part of it ; and that therefore as he ought , so he will bear faith and true allegiance to that king whilst he lives , and to his heirs and lawful successors when he is dead ; now comes julian johnson and tells him , after some other discourse , wherein he persuaded him not to think he lay under any obligation to that oath ; pish sir , you are a young christian , and a stranger to that liberty wherewith christ hath made you free ; the king you are sworn to , hates your religion and persecutes your person ; the church has declared him a heretick , and the state a tyrant , and an oath made to a tyrant is void , unlawful and wicked ; the time of our redemption is come , and redemption is a title though conquest is not , and will make your redeemer the rightfullest king that ever sat upon the throne : why man , are you not satisfi'd yet ? your want of satisfaction lies hid in lurking places , and reasons best known to your self , for i am able to prove if occasion required . ( non tali auxilio ne defensoribus istis tempus eget . ) — that your oath did never bind ; that it is an oath which ought not to have been made , and is now as if it were never made , which was ill made , and would be worse kept — and by this time my blade begins to relent ; truly sir , i have been always taught , and always believed otherwise , but for the preservation of catholick religion and the good of holy church , i must submit to your unanswerable arguments ; and then he breaks an oath , which he had but little inclination to keep . now let any man in the world judge , whether this be any more than fair turning of the tables , and giving just the same sauce to the goose , that you gave to the gander ; for what protestant king in the world has any reason to think this perjury in his popish , which any popish king has not to think this perjury in his protestant subjects , with this aggravation of the matter into the bargain , that the protestants have constantly accused the church as prevaricating in this matter , and have abhorr'd her upon that very score , which ought to set that example at the greatest distance from us ; and every word of this the catholicks in queen elizabeth's days might well have pleaded , if the spanish invasion had succeeded ; and no doubt they would have had their appointed days of thanksgiving also , and have celebrated philip of spain as their great and glorious deliverer from heresy and slavery : thus by laying the scene under another reign , we may take a just estimate of the unaccountable partiality we are guilty of in our own cause , whereas there ought to be legitima personarum mutatio in order to the true understanding and practising the greatest and the most comprehensive rule of righteousness , whatsoever you would that men should do unto you , do you even so unto them : now if all the priests in the church of rome were just such casuists as you are , and all the people of that communion could believe them , and would be directed by them , you might as well shackle the hellespont , and commit the sea to the gate-house , or make any other gotham-act to hedge in these cuckows ; for they upon this principle bid the same defence to any law , oaths or tests that the power or wit of man can make , that you have done ( with less reason ) to cambridge , and the church julia shall spead the rest ; the heathen poet corrects the christian priest. sunt qui in fortunae jam casibus omnia ponunt , et nullo credunt mundum rectore moveri , fortuna volvente vices , & lucis , & anni , atque ideo intrepidi quaecunque altaria tangunt , hic putat esse deos , et peierat . — your 14 and 15 pages are a glorious apothesis of those men who were executed according to law , for the meritorious crimes of treason and rebellion . oh! that the mastership of the canonization-office were but divided betwixt mr. baxter and you , we must quickly reform and correct our calendar , and in the room of the twelve apostles , ( those church of england preachers of passive obedience , ) insert the names of cromwell , bradshaw , ravilliack , and milton , in the company of some now alive ; but , — quos dicere nolo , experiar quid concedatur in illos , quorum flaminia tegitur cinis atque latina . you have this expression concerning some you hate , — who shed that more than innocent blood ; without adverting , that every drop of blood in man that pretends to be more than innocent , is for that very reason , less ; you would do well to answer if you can , that which you ignorantly call an infamous libel , the magistracy and government of england vindicated , and then perhaps we may call the execution of that unfortunate , ( but by his own confession not very innocent ) lord , the murther of a great man : i cannot indeed blame your concern for the death of a man , whom you first seduced , ( as is credibly reported ) and then confirm'd in the fatal doctrin of resistance against the supreme power , in case the religion established by law were invaded , ( which i cannot but believe that lord then thought ) contrary to the then sentiments of dr. burnet , and the reverend dean of canterbury , as evidently appears by mr. deans letter to that unfortunate nobleman , — and in that letter he lays down these three propositions . first , that the christian religion doth plainly forbid the resistance of authority . secondly , that though our religion be established by law , ( which your lordship urges as a difference between our case and the case of the primitive christians , ) yet in the same law which establishes our religion it is declared , that it is not lawful upon any pretence whatsoever to take up arms : besides , that there 's a particular law declaring the power of the militia to be solely in the king. and this ties the hands of subjects , though the law of nature , and the general rules of scripture had left us at liberty ; which i believe they do not , because the government and peace of humane societies could not well subsist upon these terms . thirdly , your lordships opinion is contrary to the declared doctrin of all protestant churches ; and though some particular persons have taught otherwise , yet they have been contradicted herein and condemn'd for it by the generality of protestants ; — this is part of that excellent letter dr. tillotson wrote to my lord , to persuade him to repent of that dangerous mistake , by which he says , his lordship might prevent a mighty scandal to the reformed religion , — whether either or both of these great men have changed their opinion since , and upon what motives , is neither my duty nor my present business to enquire ; however no mans example shall shock me who know that truth , like its eternal author , is unchangeable , the same yesterday and to day for ever . what you seem to conjecture some few lines after , may for ought i know , come to pass . committunt eadem diverso crimina fato , and though we are indeed guilty of misnomers now , it is to be hoped we shall not be always so , but may enjoy the priviledge we claim from adam , of giving things names proper to their natures . — mentiri nescio , librum si malus est , nequeo laudare & poscere — besides , the holy scriptures pronounce a dreadful wo to all such as call good evil , or evil good. there are some persons in the world who will not thank you for the unseasonable mention you make of sheriffs de facto , and not de jure ; i am afraid there is a spice of malice or discontent upon some disappointment , that made you furnish us with such an ill natur'd hint , provoking us to an undutiful enquiry , what things there are else at present in the world that are de facto and not de jure , and how many and great things depend upon the solution of that question , no less than what the authority is of that court , which you say ( for i have no acquaintance there ; ) the black guard can make amongst themselves every day , ( pag. the 17th ) of your preface : surely he that writes as you do , must measure things as you do , by success ; i am not without hopes , that god will indeed restore justice to this lost nation , and make it run down like a mighty stream : for otherwise , as appears by the repeated choice of sir p. w. and others ; there are a set of men must have the priviledge of destroying this church and nation in 89 , only to justifie their having done it once before in 48. hoc ithacus velit & magno mercentur atridae , and then every honest man could repeat , and truly apply one of the greatest lines in the world. victrix causa diis placuit , sed victa catoni . now sir , i have run through some , if not most of the material passages in your scurrilous preface ; and upon the whole matter it plainly appears , that you hate even the very name of king , since you have as rudely treated , though more covertly , the title of king william , as you have done the person of king james ; and the boldest freedom that the late private pamphlets are furnished withal , comes very short of that with which you have treated the late proceedings . would not a man think you a great courtier when you tell us , the convention did not choose king william , as the persians did darius by the ' neighing of a horse , ( page the 3d. ) to their immortal honour : but you were resolved that their election should not want what confirmation could be given it , by the same instrument wherewith samson and you have slain your enemies . there are other things that need corrections , but neither the times nor you can bear them now ; but in reference to them i must only say as the governour did to st. paul , go thy way for this time , when i have a more convenient season i will send for thee . and after all , it would grieve me very much , were i conscious to my self that i had measured even to you the same measure that you measured to your , once at least , lawful king , and i should be very sorry that ever i descended to read your preface , fearing the infection of the example ; i cannot , ( though but for half an hour ) put on ill nature enough , to write up to that pitch of satyr , you have both deserved and provok'd , and am but hardly reconcil'd to my very ink , because like you 't is made of copperass and galls : but i dare not give way to the farther progress even of a just indignation , nor had i spoke so far , or in the least engag'd my self either with your book or you , could i have stood unconcern'd at the sight of a degenerous son , like nero , ripping , and like the vulture preyng upon the bowels of his two tender mothers , the university and the church : and here indeed i must break out and say , if grief , though silent , have a voice , if anguish without a tongue be vocal , if sorrow be loud to elah , or the groans of an expiring church , and a consumptive monarchy can be accented ; if a mighty amazement and consternation of an honest mind , but reasonably solicitous for my own and for the publick safety , may be allowed to have any emphasis ; then the injuries which religion and kings suffer from such doctrins , and such men as these , can never want arguments nor orators ; and he that pleads this cause shall sooner be at a loss where to begin , than what to say ; — inopem me copia fecit ; these are miscreant persecutors of crowns , who will not permit the primitive christians to wear those glorious rewards of their martyrdom , any more than they will let them sit quietly upon the heads of kings ; you take as much pains to justifie , as the apostles did to clear themselves of the imputation of being men , whose religion taught them to turn the world upside down ; and therefore before you undertake to answer dr. sherlock , you should do well to answer christ and his apostles in their doctrin and practice , and the truly primitive christians in their writings and examples , you should confute the apologies of tertullian and justin martyr , and the writings of the first and best reformers , the articles of the church of england in general , and in particular the canons of 40. you should answer bishop usher , sanderson , hammond , and a whole cloud of witnesses in the late rebellious times ; the judicium oxoniense drawn up by sandersou , the decretum oxoniense drawn up by dr. jane the present regius professor ; you should answer dr. scot's sermon at the assizes of chelmesford ; if you are not at leisure , get him to do it himself ; the forementioned letter to the lord russel , dr. falkner , sir robert filmer , the learned and brave judge jenkins , dr. hick's jovian in answer to your julian , and all the acts of parliament that lodge the supremacy and militia in the king alone : this when you have done fairly , and acquitted your self according to the merits of the cause , you shall know more of my mind : but let me advise you to be sincere in your quotations , candid in your inferences , close in your arguments , impartial in your determination , and very modest in your personal reflection ; envy no man who knows more , pity every man who knows less than your self , triumph over the infelicities of no man of what kind soever they be , especially such as are occasion'd by endeavouring to keep a conscience void of offence towards god and man : shun all prevarications in religion , and misrepresentations of persons and things ; it is disingenuously and barbarously done by the author of the history of the convention , he pretends word for word to quote mr. collier's desertion discuss'd , and yet in the twenty first section he has foisted in the word ( popish ) apply'd to judges and justices , and at once deprav'd his meaning , and weakned the force of his argument ; and nothing can be a greater evidence of a bad cause , than making it stand in need of lies and forgeries to support it , without which they could never have driven their master away . criminibus terrere novis , & spargere voces in vulgum ambiguas , & quaerere conscius arma. finis . the true way to loyalty a sermon preached by john owen, chaplain to the right honourable henry, lord grey of ruthin. owen, john, chaplain to lord grey of ruthin. 1684 approx. 57 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a53738 wing o825a estc r219358 99830836 99830836 35290 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a53738) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 35290) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 2093:19) the true way to loyalty a sermon preached by john owen, chaplain to the right honourable henry, lord grey of ruthin. owen, john, chaplain to lord grey of ruthin. [6], 30 p. printed for samuel eddowes, at the three chairs next door to the fleece tavern in cornhil, london : mdclxxxiv. [1684] format in wing = 4⁰; ht. = 18 cm; gathered in 4s. reproduction of the original in the bodleian library, oxford. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng bible. -n.t. -titus iii, 1 -sermons -early works to 1800. obedience -religious aspects -christianity -early works to 1800. sermons, english -17th century. 2005-03 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-06 spi global keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 andrew kuster sampled and proofread 2005-07 andrew kuster text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the true way to loyalty a sermon preached by john owen , chaplain to the right honourable henry , lord grey of ruthin . london , printed for samuel eddowes , at the three chairs next door to the fleece tavern in cornhil . mdclxxxiv . to the right worshipful sir jonathan raymund , knight , and alderman of the city of london . sir , the great and many obligations , which i have received from your self and good lady , made it easie to determine to whom i ought in duty to direct this discourse , as a publick testimony of my gratitude and thankfulness . and truly , i have had a very great longing , for some time , to meet with an opportunity of paying my respects to you in some eminent , visible way , to the end the world might see and know , what a grateful sense i have of those favours which i am never able to requite . but there was another consideration which did mightily prevail with me to ascribe this sermon to your patronage ; and that is , the agreeableness of this subject of loyalty with your practice and inclinations , who gave sufficient and the most convincing proofs of it in a time of tryal , when loyalty was going down the wind , and when some people who had no just or material objection against sir jonathan raymund upon account of his fitness to serve the publick , yet reflected upon his loyalty , as his crime , and that which , in their opinion , did spoil all other qualifications . but sir , this has much redounded to your honour and reputation among all good men , that you did so slight the censures of some malevolent people , who had ill will against you , for no other reason , but because you had such good will to his majesty and his government , as to shew your self such a brave example of steddy and unshaken loyalty , in unstable times ; and one that out of pure choice would undertake to come in in the very heat of the day , and steer the affairs of a great city , when the government was in great distress , and pester'd with powerful and implacable enemies on all sides . nay , such is your love of majesty and zeal for loyalty , that you are promoting it in all companies wherever you come ; and , as i have particularly observed , you take singular care to train up your children the same way , and encourage nothing more , both in children and servants , than loyalty to the government . 〈…〉 such is your temper and humour , that you 〈…〉 not easily admit any as your friend or ser●●●● 〈◊〉 who is not a true and trusty subject . your house seems to me a kind of school and seminary of loyalty ; and you have so large a stock and treasure of it in your self and family , that you are able to plant and furnish a whole town . but i fear i may be thought a bold and conceited man , for venturing such a plain and easie discourse into the world , when there are numbers of excellent discourses upon this very subject , which are no less elegant than profitable . but as to this , i dare undertake to vindicate my self and sermon too , forasmuch as the subject i now treat on is so great and excellent in it self , that it needs no flourishes or advantages of oratory , to recommend and set it off : and i humbly conceive , that the plainer it is , the fitter it will be for the plainer sort of people , which are most numerous ; and if others shall blame me , for not whetting my style , and using that tartness of expression , which is now the modish way of treating all dissenters , and persons that appear disaffected to the government ; i answer , that severity , in any sort , is much against my nature , and that i have studiously declined all satyr and invectives , for this very reason , because i have known many hardned by that means , but never any converted . and now sir , not to detain you any longer , i here present you with a plain discourse of loyalty , and the true and only way to preserve all people in obedience to authority ; which as i am confident it will gain your favour and protection , for the sake of its subject , so i hope it may do some general good in the world in that way it is designed ; which is the earnest wish , and principal aim of , sir , your most humble servant , john owen . titus 3. vers . 1. put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers , to obey magistrates , to be ready to every good work. this text is in the nature of a standing monitor , and perpetual remembrancer to us of the subjection and obedience which we owe to our superiours : and i suppose , that the apostle takes occasion to preach up this doctrine of obedience the more , because it was commonly suggested , in the first days and rise of christianity , that it was a religion which brought perfect freedom and liberty along with it , and which tended to level all orders and distinctions of men , as , high and low , bond and free , master and servant , and so make every body alike gentlemen ; that is , it was taught , and maintain'd , by a vile sort of men , call'd gnosticks , that christianity was a brave , frank , and generous religion , whose main design was , to dissolve all ties and obligations of obedience , and set all people free from a state of subjection . and therefore , we may observe , how that the apostle , out of an extraordinary care to prevent this growing error and mistake , which people were so prone to fall into , by reason of a natural love and desire of liberty , takes the pains , in several of his epistles , to discourse this matter plainly and fully , and more especially in part of the fifth and sixth chapters of the ephesians . he there runs through all those bonds and relations wherein we stand ingaged to one another , either as husband and wife , master and servant , or father and children ; and shews , how that the gospel liberty , and priviledges , do not consist in bursting these bonds asunder , or in untying the knot of government and obedience , whereby we are knit together in mutual relations and dependencies . nor do the doctrines contain'd in the gospel teach any thing tending to such licentiousness and disorders , nor in the least prompt or encourage men to lessen or draw off their obedience to their superiours , of what quality or degree soever they be : but on the contrary , 't is manifest that there are no doctrines so auspicious and friendly to government , that do so much preserve the rule and order of it , or fasten the bonds and ligaments of humane societies in a due subordination of one part to another , as the doctrines of christianity , which would have a very happy influence upon government , and the peace and order of the world , in case they were as truly practised as they are plainly taught and delivered in the gospel . but though religion does so well provide for the safety , and peace , and security of the government : yet , of late years , loyalty and obedience have been things very much out of fashion and request , and doctrines which some could not hear , or bear with any patience . the truth is , we have had the unhappiness to live in an age , wherein loyalty has been persecuted and punish'd , as the worst of crimes , and even now it is a hard thing to perswade some , that it is either a virtue , or a duty ; so that it is little esteemed of by them , and less practised : and therefore the apostle , as if he did foresee how apt men would be to flag and faulter in this great point of loyalty and obedience , commands that the doctrine of obedience be preach'd up , and men often be reminded of their duty in this particular , saying , put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers , to obey magistrates , &c. in discoursing of which words , i shall first set my self to prove , that loyalty , and obedience to authority , is a necessary and indispensable duty of religion . secondly , prescribe some rules and directions how to preserve and establish us in this loyalty and obedience . first then , i shall set my self to prove , that loyalty , and obedience to authority , is a necessary and indispensable duty of religion . there is no duty , in all the sacred volume , which is more plain and legible than this of loyalty and obedience to magistrates : and yet some of late years have been so stupid , or rather , willfully blind , as to over-look it ; and , which is very strange , have pretended power and skill to discover and spell out the doctrine of resistance from the thirteenth of the romans , which is a famous sermon and discourse of obedience ; which is a plain and evident proof how unconscionably some people will sophisticate and pervert the plainest scripture , when it is to serve a turn , and in order to carry on a desperate design . but however , men may industriously oppose the truth , and hoodwink their understandings when they desire to delude themselves and others , yet it is as true as gospel , that resistance of the higher powers is a damnable sin ; for , they that resist , says st. paul , shall receive to themselves damnation . but i defie the most four patrons , and stiff assertors of this evil doctrine of resistance , to produce one place or sentence of scripture , which sounds or looks that way ; whereas , i can confidently and truly affirm , that there are several great expressions concerning obedience to our superiours , and a huge vein of loyalty that runs all along throughout the holy scriptures ; some instances whereof are these , touch not mine anointed , nor do my prophets no harm . fear god , honour the king. let every soul be subject to the higher powers ; with many other phrases of the like importance . and 't is very observable , that there is no duty which is pressed with more vehemency , or the threatnings of a severer penalty , or more largely insisted on than this of obedience and subjection ; as if it were the unum necessarium of religion . and we may farther take notice , that our saviour himself gives us the greatest example of it , in paying tribute when he might have lawfully refused : and to remove and prevent all exceptions to this heavenly doctrine of obedience , acquaints the jews , that albeit they might look upon themselves as a free and peculiar people , and stand highly upon their singular grants and priviledges , so as to think scorn to truckle or bend in a way of subjection to any power on earth , yet seeing it was their fate to fall under the power and dominion of the romans , who were now uppermost , and become their masters by absolute conquest and victory , they were as things now stood with 'em to pay all dutiful homage and submission to 'em , as being the higher powers . and st. paul is very brisk and positive in this matter , and commands obedience , and to be subject for conscience sake , even in the reign of nero , who was a monster of wickedness and tyranny . so that i cannot see with what pretence of reason or conscience men can dispute obedience to authority , in all just and lawful commands . and i do much wonder how a whole generation of men can have the face to pretend to extraordinary religion and sanctity , and yet at the same time live in such a known sin and wickedness , as is that of disobedience to superiours ; and i much more wonder , how they can call upon kings and princes to rule altogether according to law , when they themselves are such lawless people , and live in such a manifest violation ; and defiance of all those laws of the land , which are made in favour and confirmation of obedience . but i would that all men would know , and consider , that a quiet and peaceable subjection to authority is one of the great capital laws of the christian religion : and therefore ; for men to make nothing to break such a plain fundamental law , and disregard such an essential duty of religion , is a great sign , that they make very little conscience of their ways , and a shrewd argument , that they have little or no religion . and this is the proposition which i promised in the first place to make out and maintain , viz. that loyalty , and obedience to authority , is a necessary and indispensable duty of religion . i shall now , in the second place , prescribe some rules and directions , how to preserve and establish us in loyalty and obedience . which was the thing i principally intended . as first , by renouncing ill principles and doctrines dangerous to government . secondly , by suppressing our passions and first inclinations to rebellion . thirdly , by entertaining good thoughts and opinions of our superiours . fourthly , by avoiding evil and factious company . fifthly , by ceasing to envy and mutter at our superiours . sixthly , by praying for those in authority , and the prosperity of the government . and lastly , endeavour to satisfie those scruples and jealousies which make some people so restless and unquiet under the present government . and all this , i promise to perform with that softness and candor , as to give no just provocation or offence to the most passionate dissenter , if any such should be here present . first then , one way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , is , by renouncing ill principles and doctrines dangerous to government . 't is natural for men to act according to their principles , and follow the tendency of those doctrines which they have been taught , there being , in a manner , the same relation between mens principles and practices , as between the cause and effect . now , ill principles will , in time , turn into matter of conscience : but , when men are once strongly perswaded that they ought to do a thing , though it be never so unlawful in it self , yet they will act it with as much courage and resolution , as they would in the most righteous cause in the world ; for , one of an erroneous and misguided conscience , will be as fierce and active in his way as he that has the most tender and pure conscience . so that none are so mischievous and fatal enemies to the government as those that think themselves bound , in duty and conscience , to subvert and overthrow it . and for the truth and confirmation of this , i will appeal to our late experience , and the great bustles and stirs which some people make at present . 't is certain , that the government is always in danger from men of ill principles , because they lye under a perpetual temptation to rebell . now of those many principles and doctrines which have for some years so mightily prevail'd , and pester'd the world , i shall only recount two , which i think to be of as pernicious a consequence , and to have had as great an influence in disturbing the government , as any others that can be named . the principles and doctrines are these two ; that dominion is founded in grace ; and that it is lawful to fight for religion . the one takes away all consideration of right and justice , and the other authorises and sanctifies rebellion . and tho some among us take a peculiar pride , and would be thought the more religious for clamouring against the papists , as altogether unsufferable , upon account of their dangerous principles and practices ; yet i would fain know , what difference there is between these two opinions of the lawfulness of deposing kings for heresie , and fighting for religion : the one is a pure jesuitical principle , and the other a fanatick . and truly , both accord and jump together in the same sentiments and opinions in opposition to government , save only , that the latter has the cunningness to lick the jesuits principles into another form , and put them into a different dress . but this has been the trick of all those who have had any spleen or design against the government , to disguise their malice and wicked intentions with the plausible and specious titles and pretences of religion and reformation : and when they have had a mind to rebell , that they might put a good face and a fair gloss upon the matter , they begin to find fault with their prince for some personal failings or enormities of life , or not being so close a friend to religion , nor so godly , as they would have him to be , or else quarrel at the administration of publick affairs , as wanting conduct and policy , and not being agreeable to honour and justice . and this we have seen practis'd all along , by that party of men who are a continual plague and burthen to the government , how that they are always picking flaws in their prince's religion or government upon the account of some defects in his morals , or some error and miscarriage of state ; and so represent him as a person not fit , or religious enough , to govern : for this principle , that dominion is founded in grace , lies at the bottom , and is the foundation , of all our dissenters rage and implacable aversion to the king and his government . for , they looking upon themselves as the godly party , and that none love or practice religion like themselves , do thereupon think that none but the godly have a right to govern : and though a prince were as holy as an angel , yet , unless he be righteous in their eyes , and according to their standard of holiness , he would be rejected as unfit to rule over ' em . and hence it was , that in the late times of usurpation this sort of men made no scruple to plunder and spoil others of their estates , and seat themselves in their possessions , giving out to the world , that the wicked did forfeit all right to their estates , and that none could hold an estate by any tenure but that of holiness ; and so made a shift , under the pretences of a singular piety , and a confident engrossing holiness to themselves , to convert the sinners lands , as they called all rich and loyal persons , into the inheritance of the saints , as they call themselves . and the truth is , wherever this principle prevails it will mightily provoke and stir up people against their superiours , in case of the least failure in point of morality , or that which they account religion , and the only qualification for government . and who can ever be quiet or safe in their possessions when a company of enthusiastick and hot-headed people , as most of this perswasion are , shall take an occasion to quarrel with others for their impieties , and grow very angry with 'em for their sins , to the end they might have some colour and grounds to justifie their plunder and sequestration ? and it is certain , that those who are so mightily for putting the government altogether into the hands of the righteous , will be very apt to strike in for their own preferment ; for , generally such kind of people are mightily conceited of their own worth , and are always righteous in their own eyes . but , as this doctrine has done a world of mischief in causing people narrowly to inspect and animadvert upon all the failings and miscarriages of their superiours , ( so seeking occasions against 'em ) even to the despising them for some weaknesses and imperfections , which are , perhaps , unavoidable in their circumstances , and no more than some sad instances of humane frailty : so likewise that other doctrine of the lawfulness of fighting for religion , has equalled the former in its mischievous effects . and tho some who have dip'd their hands in royal and innocent blood , and have been exercis'd in the slaughter of the righteous , have called it fighting the lord's battels , and assumed to themselves the name of strict professors and reformers of religion ; yet 't is certain , that such as are so ready to fight for religion , and promote it by the sword , have no religion at all . for , religion is a peaceable , quiet thing , and fighting and quarrels are as contrary to it , as are the most dissonant things in nature ; as are the lamb and the wolf , the soft airs of musick , and that raging , merciless element the ocean . and i am verily perswaded , that these principles and doctrines which i have now mentioned , and the like to them , which i have no time to recite or display in their proper colours , have been the occasion of vast troubles and distractions in this kingdom . and doubtless , this very doctrine of resistance and opposing princes , in case we do not like their religion , which was so maliciously intended , and so boldly maintained by a late mercenary pen , in a book entituled , the life of julian the apostate , has tended very much to dissettle some in their loyalty , and confirmed others in their rebellious principles . and perhaps the arguments which were there used to confirm and propagate that wicked position , might very much heat and spur on that unhappy gentleman the late lord russel , to those consults and debates which cost him his precious life , and brought him to such an inglorious end . and besides all this , the great danger is , that these turbulent and ill principles , may , like errors , not dye with their authors , but convey themselves to posterity : and we have too plain a demonstration in this age , that rebellion , as well as some natural diseases , runs in a blood , and propagates it self from one generation to another . the way then to be rooted and grounded in loyalty , is , to have our minds seasoned with sound , wholesome , and loyal principles ; for , such as are our principles , such also will be our practices : and no man that has imbibed ill principles , or gives ear to treasonable doctrines , will ever make a good christian or a good subject . and this is one way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by renouncing ill principles and doctrines dangerous to government . secondly , another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty and obedience , is , by suppressing our passions and first inclinations to rebellion . when we once deliver up our selves to the sway and predominancy of our unruly passions and affections , there is no other likelyhood but that the government should suffer , and be molested by us : for , most certainly , the great blustrings and storms , both in church and state , arise from our swelling and unmortified passions of ambition , malice , revenge , and the like . 't is these which imbitter and fire our spirits against one another , and by continuance boil up into rage and fury , and so help to put the whole nation into a flame . 't is these which , like gun-powder , tear up the foundations of peace and government ; and if they be not timely check'd and curb'd some way or other , will hurl all into confusion , and unhinge the world. in a word , 't is these which first raise a tumult within our own breast , and then fly and break out into publick mischiefs and disorders ; and can there be any peace and quietness as long as these reign and domineer ? but then as to our bad inclinations , they must be check'd and over-ruled equally with our passions ; and we must be sure to crush both in their first risings and motions against the government : 't is true , that bad inclinations do not presently deprave the mind , but corrupt and taint it by degrees . they lye hovering over the soul , and play fast and loose about it , till by length of time they come to be fix'd and radicated , and grow into temper and constitution . rebellion , like all other wickedness , has it's rise and beginnings , its several steps and stages , and gradual progressions , to open violence and hostility : for , as nemo repente fit turpissimus , no man grows desperately wicked on the sudden , so no man turns a rebel without some pausing and consideration , without some previous discontents and disaffections to the government . the seeds of sedition must have some time to settle in before they will spring up into actual mischief and danger ; but , except they are nip'd in the very bud , they will insensibly vitiate the heart and affections , and breed in us a desperate and plaguy itch of rebellion . and i do really believe , that some persons who have appear'd in actual rebellion against their prince , did at first as little dream they should be guilty of any such thing , as hazael , when it was first suggested to him that he should make such havock and a bloody slaughter in israel ; saying , with great abhorrence and detestation , what , is thy servant a dog , that he should do this great thing ! but yet , by giving way to bad inclinations , and the evil instigation of others , have been toled on actually to engage in a most horrid and bloody rebellion . the truth is , men can scarce apprehend what will be the issue and final result of their passions and bad inclinations , when they first consent to 'em : they don't know whither they will lead 'em , or into what furious and unlawful actions they may hurry and transport 'em , or to what a sad and miserable end they may bring 'em in process of time ; for all passions and bad inclinations do improve and gather strength by indulgence ; if they continue for any while , they soak into mens natures , and strangely pervert the very temper and dispositions of their minds : so that by continual yielding and giving way to these boysterous passions of spite , malice , and revenge , men at length come to be fierce , turbulent , and unruly , that there is no keeping 'em within compass , or reducing them to a quiet , peaceable , and good behaviour . and therefore it is sound and wholsome advice to resist the beginnings of evil , whether of body or mind ; for just as an ill wound which may soon be cured by a timely care and application of proper and fitting remedies , but if long neglected will ranckle and fester into an incurable gangreen ; so our turbulent passions and evil inclinations may easily be supprest , by striving against 'em at first : but if they are let alone to go on and prosper , they will then prove fatal to government , and swell into the most outrageous treason and rebellion . and this is another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by suppressing our passions and first inclinations to rebellion . thirdly , another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , is , by entertaining good thoughts and opinions of our superiours . and this is a very proper method and means to secure our obedience to government ; forasmuch as there can be no certainty or security of obedience unless mens hearts are right and sincere towards their governours . it is always seen , that where men have ill thoughts or opinions of any person , they can never heartily love or be truly reconciled to him , nor yet think well of any of his actions : they may indeed make a fair shew , and carry it smoothly to outward appearance , but there can never be any real or sincere friendship . and it is the very same in case of obedience to superiours ; for , where subjects have no honourable thoughts or venerable opinion of their prince , they can then never obey him out of any principle of love , but purely as slaves , out of constraint and fear of punishment . now where obedience is the result of such a slavish fear , it will never last longer than till men are afraid to rebell , and they will fear no longer when they once get an opportunity and power to rebell : so that that obedience which is altogether grounded and establish'd upon fear , is of a most uncertain date and tenure ; and the government which so depends can never be safe or happy for the prince . and therefore , if we desire to approve our selves good and obedient subjects , we must ground our obedience in hearty love and affections to our prince ; and this we can never do , unless we resolve to chide away and banish far from us all unkind and uncharitable thoughts and suspicions of our prince , either as touching his religion or his government : for if a prince be never so wise and religious , yet if we are resolved not to think him so , this ill nature and morose temper of ours will make us extreamly censorious , and to put an ill construction upon all his actions and proceedings . tho a prince should deserve never so well of his subjects by his prudent and kind government , as certainly our king is the most meritorious prince in the world in both respects ; who if he had no other divine qualities but his vast wisdom and clemency , is the fittest person on earth to be god's vicegerent . i say , should a prince be never so wise and gracious , yet if subjects will be peevish and cross-grain'd , and have an utter aversion and antipathy to his government , 't is impossible they should obey him from the heart , when let him do the best he can he shall never please ' em . and therefore solomon takes the best way to secure our love and obedience to our superiours , when he forbids us to curse the king even in our thoughts . he knew very well , that there is no preserving majesty from contempt unless we retain a secret reverence for him in our hearts ; for evil thoughts are next door to evil practices , and a fair introduction to rebellion . he was sensible , that nothing could so facilitate and secure obedience to governours , as a real love and liking to 'em , and an honouring 'em from the very bottom of our souls . we know that love always follows liking ; and where there is not a real liking there can never be a true and hearty love ; and it is impossible for a people to obey their prince as they ought to do when they have no good opinion or conceit of him : and therefore we should labour to possess our minds and hearts with good thoughts and candid opinions of our rulers and governours , which will dispose us to put the best and fairest construction upon all their actions : and then will our obedience come so freely and sweetly from us , that we shall find pleasure in obeying , as well as our king in governing . and this is another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by entertaining good thoughts and opinions of our superiours . fourthly , another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , is , by avoiding evil and factious company . i need not tell you what prejudice or advantages we are capable of receiving from company , the good or evil conversation of others , what power or influence it has to improve men in virtue or vice : but generally , bad company alters men soonest , and most , and is most infectious , which may be ascribed to our stronger natural propensions to evil , and our greater susceptibleness of it , than what is really good and vertuous . but so it is ever known to be , that men , by keeping company , contract a likeness of temper and disposition with those with whom they usually and frequently converse , and make friendship ; with the froward men will grow froward , with the meek they will grow meek ; and therefore solomon advises , not to keep company with an angry man : which he might do upon a double account , either as that might prove fatal and dangerous to his person , or else infect his mind with the same passion . and i am apt to believe , that some honest and well-meaning men , who at first detested all practises against the government , have been corrupted , and drawn into plots and treasonable designs purely by keeping company with such as were factious , and disaffected to the government . 't is a hard matter for him that is a companion of base people , to preserve his integrity or escape defilement ; and one may shrewdly guess at the temper and principles of a man by the company he keeps . 't is certain , that whilst men indulge themselves the liberty of tatling about the government , and against it , in seditious clubs and conventicles , they will , by continual discourses of this nature , envenome their spirits , and come to steep their language in the gall of bitterness : for as it is observed , that the frequent talking of some vices infects the fancy and vitiates the mind , and so procreates a love and a longing to them ; so it is often seen , that by treasonable talk men slide and fall into actual rebellion ; for from evil discourses to evil actions , is a natural progression . and therefore solomon gives very proper advice for the preventing all treasonable practices , when he says , prov. 24.21 . my son , fear thou the lord and the king , and meddle not with them which are given to change : that is , do not associate and hold correspondency with men of roving heads and unsettled minds , who are governed by no steddy good principle , but are restless and uneasie under all governments . no body knows , no not themselves , what will please 'em : they are dissatisfied with any government long , and affect novelty and change in government , as well as in other things : with such persons hold no commerce at all , have no dealings with 'em , nor interest your self in their designs and projects : when you chance to meet with persons so very whimsical , and of such fickle and unstable minds , be sure you contract no friendship with 'em , but decline their society , as what will prove dangerous to your self , as well as the government . see then that you carefully and studiously avoid the company of such people as are always contriving , and hankering after new forms and models of government , and meddle not with them which are given to change . and this is another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by avoiding factious and pestilent company . fifthly , another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , is , by ceasing to envy and mutter at our superiours . could we who are placed in a remote and lower sphear , be sensible of the cares and incumbrances of a crown , we should , i perswade my self , be so far from envying the glory of princes , that we should heartily pitty and lament their condition . did we but consider their many thoughtful and busie hours , how watchful they are for our good , when perhaps we are sleeping and snoring in our beds ; how they are bandying of things and racking their brains in deep consults and debates for the publick welfare , at such times as our thoughts and minds are at perfect ease and rest ; how they have their hands and heads full too , when we have little or nothing at all to busie and disturb us , and how difficult and laborious a province it is to rule and govern . did we thus consider the great cares and difficulties of government , certainly it would mightily abate and take off our spleen and envy against our superiours ; it would make us more tender of adding any greater load of troubles to that mighty weight of business which they already sustain . kings and princes have cares enough ( god help 'em ) in the very best juncture of affairs , when their government is most easie and safe , when all things go on in a due and orderly course ; yet they find work enough to preserve peace and quietness in their kingdoms , and need not be put to the trouble of quelling riots , or appeasing the rage and fury of a factious multitude : they find enough to do to defend us from our enemies abroad , to watch their motions , and dive into their policies ; so that it is , in my mind , great cruelty and baseness to force them upon the same guard and watchfulness at home , by our intestine broils and dissentions , and making continual stirs and commotions in the state. in the name of god , what is it that we the people of this nation would have , or can reasonably expect or desire to enjoy , more than now we do ? what is it that we so much grumble and are discontented at ? are we troubled that our rulers are studying and projecting continually for our good and the safety of the publick ? are we troubled that we have such excellent laws to protect and defend us , and that justice is administred with so much temper and moderation ? are we troubled that our superiours will take upon 'em the pains and trouble to govern us who cannot govern our selves ? or , are we troubled that our religion prospers , and grows every day more and more victorious over those who have been given up to strong errors and delusions . do any of these things trouble us ? if they do not , then 't is plain that we are arrant knaves , and resolve to quarrel and find fault out of pure crossness , and design to vex the government . but if they do trouble us , then we deserve to be troubled another way for being such fools as not to understand our own interest and advantage ; then nothing can prevent our troubling our selves , or proving troublesome to authority , but only the whetting the sword of justice , and making us feel the power of the publick rods and axes : and then we shall have something to trouble us indeed . but if we can find no just matter or occasion of offence upon any of the former accounts , why then do we not humbly acquiesce in the determinations of our superiours , and yield up a ready and quiet obedience to all the lawful commands and injunctions of authority ? if some people , who live under other governments where the prince's will is an absolute law , and who many times requires obedience as well without reason as without law ; i say , if these people should understand the great liberty and immunities of the subjects of this realm , and how sweetly and bravely we live , even more like princes than subjects , and how that every one may live as he lists , and serve god as much as he pleases , if he do either as he ought and should , they would stand amazed at our happiness , and wonder what ails the people of england that they are no quieter , nor better satisfied , under such a gentle and fine tempered government . for my own part , i must needs say , that i am often , in my private musings and retirements from the world , lifting up my heart and hands to heaven , humbly adoring the great mercy and goodness of almighty god , in giving me my lot and station under such an equal and favourable government , where all people may be as happy as they can wish or desire , and are debarr'd the liberty of nothing but making themselves and others unhappy by their foolish divisions . and truly , if we grumble and mutter now , we grumble and mutter for we know not what : and i wish , with all my heart , that we live not to see those times wherein we may have reason to complain , and smart soundly for our present petulancy and wantonness . alas , poor foolish people that we are ! we do not , we will not , understand our own happiness ! and what an easie thing it is to obey , in comparison of what it is to govern : i see we are not to be perswaded or convinc'd of the great priviledges and comforts of a private life , and how that subjects enjoy more ease and quietness in one day , than perhaps their rulers and governours do all the days of their lives : but , as far as we can ghess by the troubles and cares belonging to the rule and government of a private family , 't is no such sweet and pleasant thing to govern , as some people may imagine . a crown , indeed , is a glorious thing to behold , and people do naturally stare and gaze upon its outward pomp and splendour ; but they have not the sagacity to discern with what cares and thorns this glittering thing is stuff'd and lined within . i know not what others may think , but it was ever my opinion , since i could make any true judgment of things , that we are infinitely beholding to our rulers for the pains and care they are pleased to undergo in managing the publick concerns of a whole nation , which redounds so much to every individual mans interest and advantage : and , i think we can never thoroughly recompence or pay a sufficient tribute of thankfulness and obedience to our governours for their accepting the charge and trouble of so vast a conduct . and therefore , is it not very ill done of some , and an unpardonable crime in those that make it their business out of the malignity of their spirits against the government , to sow the seeds of discord and faction , to cherish private animosities and discontents among people of different perswasions , to the end they might grieve majesty and make more work for their superiours ; and , which is more , have laboured , with all their might and main , to misrepresent and bespatter the king and his government by infamous libels , and false , scandalous stories , thinking , by this means , to make majesty more uneasie in his throne , and to render both him and his government universally odious ? whereas it is the duty , and will be the practice , of every good subject , to endeavour by a ready and quiet obedience , and a peaceable behaviour , to alleviate and sweeten those cares and troubles which are so essential to government . and this is another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by ceasing to envy and mutter at our superiours . sixthly , and lastly , another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , is , by praying for those in authority , and the prosperity of the government . government is one of the greatest blessings that can be to the world ; a prime instrument of humane felicity , without which , men would live and act like salvages , and worry one another like so many beasts of prey : without government the world would be a miserable and a dangerous place to live in , and all things would run into the greatest disorder and confusion . 't is from the benefit and protection of the laws that all societies keep and maintain their rights and priviledges , that men have the liberty and freedom to get estates , and to enjoy 'em quietly and peaceably when they have done . 't is by the force and power of laws that we have our lives and liberties guarded from continual violence and invasion ; and lastly , 't is government that secures us in the exercise of our religion , and befriends us with so much time , and leisure , and opportunities for devotion : and therefore , considering all these happy effects of government , we ought to pray , in point of interest , for the prosperity of kings , and the good success of their government , that under them we may live peaceable and quiet lives , in all godliness and honesty . and though the primitive christians had the misfortune to be inform'd against , by some of their malicious and implacable adversaries , as persons dangerous to the government , and that their very religion and principles naturally led and prompted 'em to treason and rebellion against the state ; yet this is known to be a false and malicious lye , and that none were greater friends to the government than they , tho the government was an utter enemy to them : which is confirm'd by their quiet and peaceable behaviour under the government , and their assiduous and fervent prayers for the prosperity of the empire under which they lived . which stand upon record in the writings of several of the fathers , and have of late been transcribed and produc'd by several learned men , in testimony of their loyalty , and to shame and reproach the disloyalty of some christians in these days if they had any shame in ' em . we must all needs know and confess , that government was ordained and instituted for the good of the world ; and the better that succeeds and prospers , the better it will be for us . and if some cannot be brought to pray for its prosperity , 't is a sign , that they do not regard their own private interest and welfare which are involved in the publick , or else that they have no kindness for their superiours or their fellow-subjects , in wishing ill to the government , that so those that sit at the helm may appear odious to the people : or else , rather than not to be gratified in their private piques and animosities against the government , care not if the whole kingdom be ruined . but , if some men that are lovers of anarchy and confusion , will not be perswaded that government is useful and profitable , i could almost wish that such people ( if others that are wiser and better could be safe ) might for some while have their own choice , and try the experiment of such dissolution and disorders ; or others that declare for government , but are mightily set against that kind of government which is monarchical and which it is our happiness to enjoy , shall hereupon oppose it , or not pray for the prosperity and continuance of the present government , that they also might have their own wishes and hearts desire in suffering the tyranny and distraction of a commonwealth , if that were possible , without a real change of that happy and blessed government which we are now under . but it is a vain and fruitless attempt for a man of my small moment in the world , to dispute with such persons about the duty and obligation of praying for our governours and government , when 't is evident , that they despise an apostolical rule whereby we are commanded to pray for kings and all in authority over us . and truly , when it is so that people shall think much to pray for their rulers , they will as certainly think much to obey 'em ; or , where they shall only pray formally and to avoid the suspicion of disloyalty , they had even as good not pray at all , for god accepts not of the prayers of such insincere and hollow-hearted hypocrites , neither will the government thrive one jot the better for ' em . yet i doubt not but god has hitherto preserved our gracious sovereign and his government from the sundry attempts and nefarious designs of the sons of violence , as the fruit and blessing of the numerous fervent prayers of pious and good men , which have been incessantly offered up to heaven for the conservation of both . and this is another way to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority ; viz. by praying for those in authority , and the prosperity of the government . having now prescribed several rules and directions how to preserve and establish us in loyalty , and obedience to authority , i shall now , in the last place , proceed to satisfie those scruples and jealousies which make some people so restless and unquiet under the present government . now , these fears and jealousies must be grounded either upon a suspition of their prince's firmness and constancy to the protestant religion , or else upon a suspicion of a change of government ; upon both which accounts , i shall shew mens fears and jealousies to be altogether groundless and unreasonable . first , if these fears are grounded upon a suspicion of their prince's firmness and constancy to the protestant religion , ( i speak out what others by their whispers and muttrings have given us too much reason to believe they suspect and think ) they are then altogether groundless and unreasonable . for it is highly improbable that a prince should waver in his religion , or incline to part with it in his prosperity , when he could not be overcome to change it in the time of his adversity , and when some who went under the name of strict professors and protestants had done enough , by their cruel and unchristian practices towards him , to put him out of conceit with it . but 't is well known , that during the time of his majesty's exile and banishment , when he was under great temptations to change his principles , both from the spite and malice of his subjects at home , and the kindness and friendship which was proffer'd him abroad , that notwithstanding these great provocations on the one hand , and as great allurements on the other , still he had the courage and bravery to preserve his faith and conscience inviolable . and when his religion was brought to the test and tryal , 't is manifest , that the impressions of religion were so strong and well-grounded in him , that no power of art , or force of disputation , could alter or controul 'em , not the greatest subtilty and cunning sophistry of the jesuits , could win upon him , or so far insinuate any contrary perswasion into his mind , as in the least to stagger him in his faith : but he continued firm and stedfast to his first principles , and came off a brave , stout confessor , and defender of that faith and religion for which his father died a glorious martyr . so that mens fears of popery coming in , upon a suspicion of their prince's firmness and constancy to the protestant religion , is ( to say no worse ) very unkind and uncharitable , and a diminution to that glory he did himself and the protestant religion , when he stood out and maintained his ground under so great a tryal of afflictions and temptations too . secondly , mens fears of popery coming in , upon a suspicion of a change of government , are highly absurd and unreasonable . the protestant religion is now of long continuance among us , and is so united and incorporated into the government of the state , that church and state must live and fall together . and such was the care and policy of those who attempted the first reformation , that they so ordered the matter , as to make it mens temporal interest to preserve and stand up for the protestant religion , by alienating the church-lands and revenues into the hands of the laity ; so that now most of the best and greatest estates in england consist and lie chiefly in those lands which formerly belonged wholly and entirely to the church . so that it is against one of the most common and received maxims , which is , that men will be of that religion which is most for their present interest , to think that ever the people of this nation will desire or consent to a change of government , when by that means they will hazard their estates , and be in danger of losing all . if , indeed , the coming in of popery would be for mens advantage , and add to their revenues , for ought i know , vast numbers would be tempted to embrace it . but , when it will so indanger their fortunes , if not beggar 'em quite , i can never believe , or imagine , that the people of this nation , who have either lands or brains , will change or turn to popery , whatever they may turn to else . besides , the protestant religion , as i hinted before , is now of a considerable standing among us , and has had time to settle , which it had not when people flew off from it in queen mary's days . then the reformation was in a great measure imperfect , and but in its infancy , and it was impossible it should be confirm'd and ratified when people had only some small taste and relish of it , as now it is , by so many repeated laws in the successions of several princes ; and therefore it was no wonder that people were so soon perswaded to turn off a new religion , and revert to the old one , but now that we are grown better acquainted with the protestant religion , and are so well convinc'd of its great excellency and reasonableness , in comparison of the romish , it will be a hard thing to introduce popery at this time of day ; because , such is the genius of this nation , that when they take to a thing , especially to religion , they will not leave or part with it , if they can possibly help it . and so it is that the protestant religion has had the good fortune to be most agreeable to their minds and perswasions , of any religion in the world : and therefore , considering it is their great diana , none that knows the english zeal and resolution , in matters of religion , will be so hardy or foolish as to attempt to change or ravish it from ' em . and besides this , before there can be a change of government , which must be effected by a change of religion , there must be such a repealing of laws , and alteration of properties , and such vast changes , as are not to be expected in the revolutions of an age : so that although some men may fear the coming in of popery , yet if it be considered what a great and strange alteration there must be , both in the constitutions of the nation , and the very temper of the people , in all humane probability , it can never prevail in our days . and , tho some people are possess'd with such mighty fears of popery , and its prevailing among us , yet , if i may speak my mind freely , and without offence , i see more reason to fear , that , according to the atheism and wickedness of the times , we shall come shortly to be of no religion at all . fear is one of the most boundless and ranging passions belonging to humane nature , and which prevails more or less according to the variety and difference of mens tempers and constitutions ; but , where it meets with a person whose faculty of imagination is quicker and more operative than ordinary , there it swells and multiplies , even to the transforming every weak and idle fancy into a prodigious monster and bugbear . and therefore 't is observed , that those who appear so mightily afraid of the introduction of popery among us , are a sort of people that are naturally suspicious and jealous of every thing , in whom fear is the most prevailing and governing passion : and therefore , as to the business of popery , if people will indulge their fears and jealousies , 't is certain they may as much fear a thing that will never come as that which may come : so that there is no such way to cure some peoples desperate . fears of popery , as to advise them to consult their reason touching the probability of events , more than their passions , which are often very vain and extravagant . and now , though i am convinc'd i have done my duty both to god and man , in preaching upon this necessary and material subject of loyalty and obedience , yet i fancy that some people may object against this discourse , for no other reason , but because it is a sermon of that nature and strain ; and perhaps , judge it unreasonable and improper for such an auditory , where none but loyal and conformable persons are suppos'd to be . this , indeed , is such a trifling and silly cavil , that i could hardly believe any such thing , but that i know it to be true , for people to cry out , that a sermon is unseasonable and improper , only because they have no mind to hear of a duty which they have no mind to practise . and 't is certain , that those that so flounce and carp at a discourse of loyalty , and obedience to authority , must have a sore place somewhere , some little ailing and infirmity of mind and conscience , as to the point of loyalty , which they cannot endure should be touch'd or rubb'd up . but i am strongly of opinion , that no man will ever grumble to hear handsomly of a thing he loves : and therefore i conclude , that whoever is offended at a sermon of loyalty and obedience , can have no real love or liking to the thing it self . but in answer to this slight and poor cavil , i say this , that i think a sermon of loyalty to be always seasonable , and that ministers are as much bound to preach it up as any other necessary duty of religion , whether people will hear , or whether they will forbear . and the same objection lies against all sermons as well as this of loyalty : for if we preach nothing but what is new , and not tell people of their duty because they pretend to know it already , then all preaching will soon be at an end . but we think it , as the apostle did , meet and necessary , to put people in mind of loyalty and obedience , for the same reason that we put 'em in mind of all other duties ; viz. not because they don't know 'em , but because they will not practise what they know . and moreover , i think that a sermon of loyalty is more especially in season at this time , considering how the world now goes , and how much the government is threatned by a sort of factious and ungovernable men. and i think none of us can be too perfect in this lesson of obedience ; and perhaps some people may not be so perfect as they take themselves to be ; and 't is a sign that they need to be taught loyalty , when they cannot endure to hear of it , and appear so very uneasie and nettled at a discourse that tends that way . but let not such persons flatter themselves with an opinion of their great loyalty , when they resent it so very ill to be told of it ; for , this impatience and dislike must needs proceed from lukewarmness , and a very cold and imperfect love of obedience to authority . indeed , according to some mens bitter way of arguing , no subject can be very pleasing ; and perhaps it may occasion some people to fly quite off from their duty which they had but little mind to before . and therefore , i have all along been careful not to offend any through hot and fiery language , or provoke 'em by hard names and odious appellatives , which i think mighty unbecoming this sacred place , where a decency ought to be observed in our words as well as actions . herein , then , do i comfort my self , that i have handled this doctrine of obedience with those gentle , but solid arguments , that i presume the most violent fanatick cannot justly quarrel at 'em , and i defie the wisest and most conceited fanatick of 'em all , either to answer or confute ' em . finis . a vindication of the letter out of the north concerning bishop lake's declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience, &c. : in answer to a late pamphlet, called, the defence of the profession, &c. of the said bishop : as far as it concerns the person of quality. eyre, william, 1612 or 13-1670. 1690 approx. 81 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 18 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2009-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a39119 wing e3946 estc r6258 12416764 ocm 12416764 61692 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a39119) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 61692) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 889:2) a vindication of the letter out of the north concerning bishop lake's declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience, &c. : in answer to a late pamphlet, called, the defence of the profession, &c. of the said bishop : as far as it concerns the person of quality. eyre, william, 1612 or 13-1670. 35 p. printed for awnsham churchill ..., london : 1690. reproduction of original in huntington library. attributed to william eyre by wing. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng lake, arthur, 1569-1626. -defence of the profession. church of england -clergy. obedience -religious aspects -christianity. 2006-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2006-11 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2008-03 elspeth healey sampled and proofread 2008-03 elspeth healey text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion a vindication of the letter out of the north , concerning bishop lake's declaration of his dying in the belief of the doctrine of passive obedience , &c. in answer to a late pamphlet , called , the defence of the profession , &c. of the said bishop . as far as it concerns the person of quality . licens'd , jan. 27. 1689 / 90. london ; printed for awnsham churchill , at the sign of the black swan , near amen-corner . 1690. a vindication of the letter out of the north , &c. dear sir , i deferred my thanks for your last , till i could tell you i had received the little pamphlet , wherein you thought i had some concern , therefore if this appear a slow return to yours , you are to blame the carrier's pace , which was not like to mend in so bad weather and ways . but this is to own that i yesterday received it ; and being at present from my own house , and wanting the convenience of my books and papers here , i thought it better to give you an account of those things which a first and second reading suggested , than to take a longer time to consider of it , and thereby raise your expectations beyond what i can come up to . but besides , the letter you sent me being both without date and licence , i know not how long i may have been in this worthy author's debt , and therefore make all the haste i can to get out of it . for altho i did not intend to have troubled either him or the world with any more of my pamphlets , yet the respect that he is pleased to shew to my quality , is so particular and obliging , that i was afraid i should have disperaged my breeding , if i had not made my acknowledgments for it . i might indeed have returned his complement , and begg'd your pardon for giving you a trouble for which there is so little occasion ; for i believe there are some that think his letter does as little need an answer as mine did . but i 'le assure you i am very sensible of his favour in taking notice of such a trifle , when so many learned and weighty treatises lie by him unanswered ; therefore shall not suppose he pick'd mine out because it was the weakest , but because there was something in it that deserved an answer . but yet i must not be so vain as to assume all the good language in the book to my self ; for , to speak the truth , he has pretty equally dispenced his favours between three of us ; but mine being the largest part , i shall leave the other two to answer for themselves , while i admire the author's dexterity in knocking down three at one blow ; i have indeed heard of killing two birds with one stone before , but three at a time , besides routing a whole party , is so extraordinary , that i begin to fear bombs will come in fashion in this kind of war also , for one single bullet could never have made such destruction : but if there be such execution by the by , alas , what will become of me , against whom the murderous engine was directly levelled ? but you will suppose that i have a little too much business on my hands to make a long preamble , therefore shall proceed to the letter , and take it as it rises . and in the first place , he presents us with a short , and so very short an account of the good bishop's life , from his cradle to his last sickness , that i have nothing to except against it , but that it is no longer ; and to beg leave to inform the author a little better in one passage of it , which i must confess i did a little wonder to see insisted on , because that of his exposing himself to the rabble was not by his friends look'd on as the most prudent act of his life . but the truth as well as the short of the story , is this : they have for a long time at york had a custom ( which now challenges the priviledg of a prescription ) that all the apprentices , journy-men , and other servants of the town , had the liberty to go into the cathedral , and ring the pancake-bell ( as we call it in the country ) on shrove-tuesday ; and that being a time that a great many came out of the country to see the city , ( if not their friends ) and church ; to oblige the ordinary people , the minster used to be left open that day , to let them go up to see the lanthorn and bells , which were sure to be pretty well exercised , and was thought a more innocent divertisement than being at the alehouse . but dr. lake , when he came first to reside there , was very much scandaliz'd at this custom , and was resolved he would break it at first dash , altho all his brethren of the clergy did disswade him from it . for altho they had as much zeal both for the honour of god and the church as he could have , yet being better acquainted with the temper of the people than he was , they knew it would be a vain , as well as hazardous thing to attempt it : but all their arguments could not prevail , for he was resolved to make the experiment , for which he had like to have paid very dear , for i 'le assure you 't was very near costing him his life , and others too , that in kindness came at first to disswade him , but had much ado to secure themselves . but however he did make such a combustion and mutiny , that i dare say york never remembred nor saw the like , as many yet living can testify . but how well soever the good man designed in the thing , ( as i verily believe he did ) yet his zeal was so indiscreetly managed , that it had like to have produced the worst of mischiefs ; and therefore in some peoples opinion , that were better judges of the fact than i was , he did not deserve any encomium for it . but however at this time it would not be very reasonable to follow such an example , which was all i took notice of it for . the other memorable thing he relates , of his entring into episcopal orders in the time of the late distractions , is truly praise-worthy , altho he is not the only man that did it ; for i know one that now fills as eminent a place in the church as bp lake ever did , that did the same thing , and that under more discouraging circumstances , for he had not only the danger of the times to contend with , but was to reject the importunity of his friends also , nay more than that , to overcome himself , and root out all those prejudices that a contrary education ( for he was brought up a strict presbyterian ) and prepossession had implanted in him , which were indeed such difficulties as might have discouraged any body but himself , but by god's grace he overcame them all , and is now as useful , as eminent in that church , to which he dedicated himself six years before k. charles the 2d's restoration . but i do not say this to derogate from bp lake , for the more instances the better , of such heroick vertue ; therefore could have wish'd that our author had given us a larger account of that excellent bishop , whose life i dare say might have furnished him with a great many more remarkable passages ; however i think there is nothing more that i need insist upon in the first part , for i do not know that i ever questioned either the bishop's making of the profession , or the solemnity of the circumstances with which it was done , therefore must crave leave to tell my author , that he has a little mistaken the point , for 't was not the making , but the publishing of it that i excepted against : for to another body it would be pretty evident that it was only the publishing of it that seemed so unaccountable to me , although indeed it 's a parenthesis , and only in that , is said , that there seemed no greater occasion for the making of it , than there was for my lord archbishop to put out manifesto's to tell the people he is suspended on the same account . ( for these are the very words of the letter : ) and where the great offence of them lies , or the angry objection against the making of the protestation , i must confess i do not yet see . for i hope the putting him in the same form with his grace of canterbury , could be no affront or disparagement ; however i dare say the good bishop would not have thought it so . but the person of quality is upon all occasions so extreamly obliged to this worthy author , that 't is all one what i say , for even my own encomiums meet with this return ; for these are his words , his civility and due respect for the memory of the late reverend bishop , i should with all thankfulness most readily acknowledg , if i could think it not designed , with the better grace and more ceremony , to cast a blemish upon one of the last and most solemn acts of his life . but i wonder how long he and the person of quality have been so intimately acquainted ; for although i am sure he does not know my face , yet he pretends to know my heart a great deal better than i do my self , ( if the inferences he is pleased to make in this and some other places are true ) for i can assure you he tells me of designs i never thought on . but since he makes such objections ▪ i hope he will take care to answer them , for i thank god i am not at all concerned to do it . but in the mean time he did very well to slip his own neck out of the collar ; and though he pretends to answer my letter , yet waves the main point , which was the design of publishing the protestation ; which he tells us does not at all concern his friends , who had no hand in it . but truly that would hardly be credible , if he did not affirm it ; for not many lines before , the person of quality is accused for designing to cast a blemish on the last and most solemn act of his life . upon which , if this be true , it seems his friends set no very great value ; for methinks 't is pretty odd that what was signed and asserted so solemnly , should be immediately so exposed , that the witnesses and friends , should neither know how , nor why it was made publick ; but that was a query that i believe it was not convenient to answer , and so did very well to start a new question ; and although he will not tell you why the profession was publish'd ( though he knows it as well as most men in england ) yet he will tell you as good a thing , and that is , the reason why the bishop made it . but before he can do that , he must have t'other fling at the person of quality , in whom he has made such discoveries , as i dare say , you in so many years acquaintance have never made . but quality indeed , were a very desirable thing , if it would make one more sagacious than other people ; but poor i , am like to lose my gentility , because i am not so quick-sighted , as to see what is so obvious to persons of less rank and quality , than i would be thought of ; for still he will be divining my thoughts , but has hitherto been so much out , that i would not advise him to set up for a fortune-teller , of all things , unless he can make better guesses at other peoples hands , than he has from my writing : for although i do extreamly value the esteem of good men , yet i never desired either to be , or to be thought a great man. so that without any offence , he may believe me a chimney-sweeper , or a cobler , if he pleases . but now he tells us , that all men of reason , knew that the reasons for the doctrine of passive obedience could not be contained in so small a compass , and are not well consistent with the design of a profession . but if the design of it was to give the world satisfaction , and that in a controverted point , which was no fundamental of the faith , nor any way essential either to the being or well-being of the church ; then i cannot think it would have been superfluous to have subjoined the reasons that made him of that opinion , rather than of the other . for there being as many great and good men too , of the other side , bishop lake's bare name and opinion is not of weight enough to turn the scales , and so we of the laity must still remain in suspence : for we must dissent from some of our reverend fathers in god , let us take which side we please ; and being willing to hear both , should have been very glad to have seen the bishop's reasons for his adhering so stifly to that doctrine . for , with submission to the reverend author , what satisfaction soever it might give the good bishop in the making , the publishing has not given the world very much , for it only tells us , that he lived and died in that opinion : for really , i cannot yet see any great weight in that argument of his having been bred and born in it ; nay , indeed , i think it is no argument at all ; for it being common to all religions , cannot be a proof of the truth of any . and those which do lay any great weight upon that , i should suspect had but very little to say for that religion , or opinion , that must be adhered to only on that account . but to prove the properness of the argument , the author is pleased to cite the saying of st. polycarp , who when , at his martyrdom , he was offered his life if he would revile our saviour , answered , that he had now served him 86 years , and he never did me , says he , any injury , and how can i blaspheme my king and my saviour ? this was ( adds my author ) thought so considerable , as to be recorded in ecclesiastical history , and delivered down to posterity . though i suppose it can be no more imagined that christians only lived then to 86 years of age , than that only men of the church of england now are bred and born in their religion . but what then ? for really he would have obliged such a dull creature as the person of quality is mightily , if he would have told him the inference that he is to make from this extraordinary comparison : for all that i can make of it is this , in polycarp's days , other people besides himself lived to be 86 years old . ergo , bishop lake's being bred and born in the doctrine of passive obedience , is an undeniable proof of the truth of it . and in his next paragraph he brings another evidence for the antiquity of it , that i think is not much short of this , as to the end it was designed for ; for he tells us , the bishop had lived to hear it affirmed , that passive obedience was a doctrine of but 40 or 50 years standing . but his testimony alone being sufficient to confute that error , it was most proper and requisite for him to aver , that he was educated in that doctrine , and that it was not only as old as he could remember , who was now 65 years of age , but that it was taught him as an ancient doctrine . and this , sir ( says he ) was the way of maintaining the truth of old , by pleading against hereticks . what ? by bringing a youth of 15 years old ( for bishop lake was no more 50 years ago ) to depose for the antiquity of a doctrine , and by the single instance of his being brought up in it , prove the universality of it . and if this be such convincing evidence of his side , and if he would please to give us leave to bring in our witnesses , 't is possible we might produce as ancient and authentick persons , who would tell us another story . although truly for my own part , i can easily believe the doctrine to be of a much ancienter date than fifty years , and 't is possible might be taught by some from the reformation . for there was some reason to cajole henry the eighth , and so to make him more favourable to them , they might tell him what good passive subjects they were like to make ; which was a thing he liked very well , and therefore it might be a prevalent argument with him to encourage them as much as he could ; but for all that , i am very far from believing it was the faith of the whole clergy , either then , or at any time since ; but yet believe it gained more ground since king charles's restauration , and was more generally received than ever it was before ; but yet for all that , sir , i am sure that both you and i know some of the eminent fathers of our church , who never owned it in that latitude that bishop lake and some others preach'd it up at . but after all , the truth is , no doctrine ought to be valued for the antiquity , but the truth of it . for at that rate heathenism might claim the preference to christianity , because 't is certain it had the precedence of it ; but truth is truth , though reveal'd but yesterday , and error not the less error ( but the more to be avoided ) for being of some hundred of years standing . but for all those weighty reasons for the bishop's making this profession , i cannot say that i yet see any reason to change my opinion . for i do still believe that his submitting to a suspension , was a more convincing proof of his opinion , than a thousand volumns ; nay , i will say , than a thousand such protestations : for i dare appeal to the author himself , whether if bishop lake had not submitted to suspension , he would have believed this or any other protestation of that nature that he could have made ; so that it still seems very evident to me , that though he made it to please himself , yet there was no necessity on the bishop's account to make it publick ; the world being as much satisfied of his opinion as they could be . but although the author does not think fit to tell us what were the designs of publishing it , yet he is pleased to quarrel with the inferences i make from it , but how justly , you shall see presently : for i thank him , instead of confuting , he has confirm'd my first inference , so that truly i have no reason to be offended , although he says he has now found out the cause why i am so . but at this time the person of quality is not a community , but speaks only for himself in his private capacity ; so that i dare not undertake for others , to whom perhaps he has given provocation enough : but they being to be judges in that matter , i have nothing more to say to that , only to observe , that instead of denying what i charged the profession with , the cutting off the clergy in queen elizabeth's days , he does now absolutely cut off the greatest part of our clergy now , that is , i am sure the major part of the bishops of this kingdom , from being true sons of the church of england ; for which , if you please , you may read his own words ; where repeating my first inference , which was to suppose that the protestation did insinuate that from the beginning of the reformation , ever since the church of england was restored to its purity , passive obedience was the corner-stone of it , for 't is call'd ( though he omits that clause , which perhaps is the reason he does not understand the epithite ) the distinguishing character of the church of england . to which he replies , that whatever my meaning may be in calling it the corner-stone , he must tell me plainly , that passive obedience has been ever the doctrine of the church of england . and when i say afterwards , so that it seems none were accounted her true sons , that did not hold it ; if he means , that none besides were accounted to hold her doctrines whole and entire , or to hold all the truth which she teaches , the design of the paper is to assert it too . but here i must admire the author's cunning extreamly , though i cannot much commend either his ingenuity or good nature ; for although he does very peremptorily in his own name tell the person of quality plainly , that passive obedience has been ever the doctrine of the church of england , yet he is so kind to bishop lake as to allow him the honour of condemning all that did not receive it : for he owns it was the design of the paper to assert they were not true sons that did not . but , first , i would know by what particular priviledg it is , that bishop does take upon him to censure so many of his brethren ; and in the next place i would be willing to be informed what authority the author had to pronounce such a sentence against so many of his superiours . but whether he will think fit to answer these two queries or no , we have got a good experiment by the by ; for although at first he pretended ignorance as to the design of publishing the paper , he now owns it with a witness , by which it seems the person of quality was not so very much out in his guess ; but however , he did very wisely to lay all the blame on the poor bishop . but by the treatment the living clergy receive from him , you may suppose the dead had not fared much better ; for they had all certainly been cut off at one slap , but that , by good fortune for them , he can bring them over to his party . but that is the thing now to be examined ; though having not at present the command of my books , ( as i told you at the beginning ) i shall take the gentleman's quotations , hoping he has dealt a little more faithfully with his authors , than he has with the person of quality in some places , as i shall shew hereafter . and since for expedition-sake i allow all his citations ; all that remains for me to consider , is , whether his inferences from them will hold or no. and in answer to what i urged of the clergies giving queen elizabeth three such considerable subsidies on the account of her assisting and protecting the scotish and french protestants , &c. he is pleased to undertake to prove two things : first , that queen elizabeth did not assist the scots or french in any rebellion , but always declared the contrary . but before he comes to that , he is to premise two things , which i shall very willingly yield him ; the first is , that for soveraign princes in war to serve themselves of the treachery and revolt of another prince's subjects , is no more than what is always done , and is by the law of nations held lawful , and the necessity of affairs seems to require it . secondly , that it is lawful for princes to make the best terms they can , for subjects that have been serviceable to their interest in a just war , tho by rebellion against their own prince . and now it may not be amiss to collect the observations these two positions will afford us : for the premisses being granted on both sides , i hope the conclusions will not be denied by either . and from the first we may infer that 't is not only lawful , but sometimes necessary , to encourage rebellion in a neighbouring prince's kingdom ; or else i cannot very easily imagine what he means by saying , the necessity of affairs seems to require it . for it seems the good and preservation of a nation is a thing of such vast concern , that princes are dispensed with , and not obliged by the rules of common justice ( as he himself tells us in the same page . ) and since he is pleased to grant this , i know not why he should stick at the further consequence , which he is sensible does naturally enough flow from the former , and therefore would prevent the objection : and says , 't is no good consequence that subjects may rebel , because foreign princes may take advantage by their rebellion to recover their own rights , or to secure their dominions . but if it be lawful for a king , for the security of his own people , to raise or foment a rebellion in his neighbour's country , i cannot see but it may be as lawful for subjects to assert their own rights against their own prince , as it is to secure themselves by setting others subjects against their king , unless he will please to say that subjects have no interest nor concern in the common safety , but are obliged to stand still to have their throats cut , which would be a pretty odd superstructure upon the foundation he just now laid . for surely the dispensation that he says is given to princes , by which they are exempt from following the rules of common justice , was not given on their own but the peoples account . and if a petty prince may lawfully engage all the great kingdoms of europe in war and confusion for the security of his own subjects , shall the rights of those subjects be so inconsiderable to them , that they must lose them tamely , if their prince should mistake his office , or misemploy his power , and subvert those rights he is obliged to maintain ? for although , by our author 's own position , kings may lawfully do unjust things for the preservation of the rights and liberties of their subjects ; yet neither this author , nor any i have yet met with , will say that it is lawful for a king to destroy his subjects , or subvert the government , although indeed some have said that we ought to submit and be passive if they will do it . but truly our author has given us too high a value of our priviledges ( which it seems are to be preferr'd before our king's virtue and justice ) to make us part with them so easily . but perhaps we may be a little mistaken in the nature of rebellion , and it may not be so great a sin in some countries as others ; and so we may lawfully excite them to that which we are not to commit our selves : but besides that , this is a little too much encroaching upon the devil's office , who was first known by the name of tempter among men , ( and truly much upon the same score that he allows princes to do it for the preservation and enlargement of their own dominions ) but besides this , i say , if it be but a small sin in comparison in other countries to what it would be here ; yet since our saviour hath told us , mat. 5. 19. that he that teacheth men to break one of the least commandments , shall be the least in the kingdom of heaven ; i thought this had been as standing a rule of the church of england as passive obedience it self . for to make another body sin , i always thought not a lesser , but a higher guilt , than to commit it my self , having his fact , as well as my own contrivance , to answer for . for i think i may as lawfully be drunk my self , as designedly make another so . and in another vice , the procurer is thought more inexcusable and odious too , than the party that employed them , who may perhaps be under a greater temptation . but however , this is evident , that 't is not the doing of the thing , but the taking pleasure in them that do it , that is by the apostle , rom. 1. 32. set down for the highest pitch of sin and wickedness . therefore if , as our auther has observed , the necessity of affairs should require us to become tempters , let us not assume the other part of the devil's title , and turn accusers of our brethren also , and condemn them for that to which we have betrayed them , but find some gentler name for that which our author grants may not be only useful , but sometimes necessary , for the preservation of a nation . but although i have been longer on this than i designed , yet i must not wholly balk the second position , for that will afford us some very useful observations , for he tells us , 't is lawful for princes to make the best terms they can for subjects that have been serviceable to their interests in a just war , though by rebellion against their own prince . from which we may gather , that our author thinks it possible for subjects to be engaged in a just war against their own prince : and if they may with justice fight against their king for another prince's right , i cannot at all understand why they may not for their own . for surely the safety of my own country ought to be dearer to me than all the world besides ; and i have more reason to defend the rights and priviledges of that , than all the princes titles in the world. but if our author should not allow all the inferences i have made from his concessions , yet i have a great deal of reason to thank him for them , because they will not only be of use to me hereafter , but do at present in great measure supercede what i should else have said to his history . for 't is perfectly indifferent to me , whether queen elizabeth did assist the french and scotish protestants or no , since by his first position he grants , she might have serv'd her self of the treachery and revolt of other princes subjects . for 't was the lawfulness of the action , and not the fact it self , that was the great point in question : and since he allows she might have assisted them , though they had been rebels , we will never quarrel about it , whether they were so or no. for truly , the person of quality is very well pleased that he has so learned an author of his side , that proves all he desires should be asserted in the point : for since he will allow the french protestants were not rebels , because they had the law of their side : nor were the netherlands guilty of rebellion against the king of spain , because he first acted contrary to the laetus introitus , and disengaged them from their obedience , when he had broke the condition of it . if he will but please to be as gracious to his own country-men , and allow them the benefit of their own laws , and suffer the oaths of princes to be as binding in england , as it seems they then were in spain , i know no body that will desire any more of him . nay , i will go farther than this ; for if he can name any one person that was a rebel to king james after the allowances above are granted him ; rather than he should go unpunish'd , i think i should be his executioner ; for i hate those that rebel against , and break the laws , as much as the author can do : and since rebellion is so horrid a sin , i would not have england to have the enclosure of it ; but only desire that we may be allowed to fight for our laws and liberties , as other nations do , without being thought rebels for so doing . but if our author will not allow us the same priviledges he gives to all the world beside , there would be some reason to suspect that he designs us the monopoly of that he so exclaims against ; and is so particularly kind to his own country , as sometimes to lay them under the unhappy necessity of being either rebels or slaves . and i have something the more reason to fear this , because i find he is not so sollicitous to clear the scots from the imputation of rebels , as he is the french and dutch. but let them be what they will , you see 't is evident queen elizabeth did not assist them ; she only furnish'd them with men , money , and ammunition . and when the queen of scots came and flung her self into her protection , and implored her aid for restoring her to her crown , she then asserted her cause with a witness . for had that unhappy princess trusted to the mercy of her subjects , as great rebels as they were , i am sure they could not have treated her worse than she was used by that queen , who our author tells us , always declared against any protection of subjects in their resistance , which she always called rebellion . but i suppose princes are no more obliged to speak truth , than they are tied to do justice ; for which our author gave them a dispensation before . but i think it now time to proceed to the 2d thing he undertook to prove , which is , that it was the doctrine of the church of england at that time , that it is unlawful for subjects to resist , and that therefore our divines justified the french and dutch no otherwise than upon principles which are consistent with this doctrine . and truly if our author hold in the same mind he was when he promised the two positions ( before enlarged on ) and acquitted the french from rebellion , because they had the law of their side ; and the dutch , because their king had forfeited his right to their obedience by breaking his part of the pact and stipulation between them ; i do not see but he and i shall agree in this , as well as the divines of this age do with those in queen elizabeth's days . for i suppose the convocation at that time did approve of bishop bilson his sentiments as to that matter ; for the author tells us the book was perused and allowed by publick authority , and also dedicated to the queen ; so that it seems to be that which they were all willing to stand by . and i heartily wish that all our bishops would do so too , and make that very passage he cites out of bishop bilson the judg of the controversy ; for then i think it would be pretty soon decided ; and therefore i shall transcribe the place in the very same words he has done , page 33. in france , the king of navar and the prince of conde might lawfully defend themselves from injustice and violence , and be aided by other princes their neighbours . if the king , as too mighty for them , sought to oppress them , to whom they owe not simple subjection , but respective homage , as scotland did to england , and normandy to france , when the kings notwithstanding had bitter wars each with other . the rest of the nobles that did assist them , if it were the king's act that did oppress them and not the guises , except the laws do permit them means to save the state from open tyranny , i will not excuse ; and yet the circumstances must be fully known before the fact can be rightly discerned , with which i confess i am not so exactly acquainted . now in this passage here are three several things observable . first , he absolutely acquits the king of navar and prince of conde , but their associates only upon supposition , that the law permitted them to oppose the king's tyranny ; but the guises oppression they might without law. but although the bishop says , he will not excuse those that resist the king without law , yet it is pretty remarkable that he seems to suppose that even in such a case , there may be circumstances which may render them excusable , and which ought to be fully known before the fact can be discerned , and therefore he does forbear passing his judgment on them , because he is not thorowly acquainted with the circumstances . and now were all our divines of this good bishop's faith in this point , or at least had they but his charity , and would not condemn their brethren before they understood the cause , they would certainly understand one another a little better than they do , or however there would be no divisions nor schismes about it , which god grant they do not now make in the church . but whatever others do , we are i hope sure of our reverend author , for he has proved that the clergy in q. elizabeth were of his faith as to this question , therefore should have thought it unnecessary to have said any thing more , but that for the authors information , i must answer an objection or two about david , whose example though so much recommended , might perhaps carry us farther , and give greater liberties than the person of quality ever desired ; for i 'le assure you , defensive arms will at any time content him . but our author is pleased to ask how it appears , david took up defensive arms , for the homily tells us of no such thing . but i can tell him of as authentick a book that does ; nay that tells us a little more of david : for if he will please to read 1 sam. 28. 2. and 29. 8. he will find it was not david's fault that he did not use offensive weapons against saul , if fighting against him be to be called so ; for if we may believe his own words , he certainly intended that as you may see , 1 sam. 28. and it came to pass in those days , that the philistines gathered their armies together for warfare , to fight with israel : and achish said anto david , know thou assuredly , that thou shalt go out with me to battel , thou and thy men. and david said to achish , surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do . and achish said to david , therefore will i make thee keeper of mine head for ever . and in pursuance of this we find david and his men attending achish ( the very day before the battel ) as his particular guard , which perhaps might be one thing that disgusted the lords of the philistins so , that they would not let him go to fight with them ; and achish against his will is forced to dismiss david , whose expostulation , chap. 29. 8. is very remarkable , for i think 't is one of the most passionate things of the kind i have met with ; and david said unto achish ; but what have i done ? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as i have been with thee unto this day ? that i may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king. and achish was forced to command him a second time , for you see he disputed the first ; which satisfies me that he was in earnest , and was unwilling to return . and now what can be said against so plain a text ? for my own part i can foresee but two things : the first , that david did dissemble with achish , and did not intend to fight : but that i think is a very unworthy thought , for david had been a very base and ungrateful man to have either deceived or betrayed achish , who had given him protection , and was so truly kind to him . the second thing is , that a subject may list himself under a forreign prince , and in his quarrel lawfully fight against their own king ; and if so , then all that listed themselves under the prince of orange , might still be as good subjects to king james as david at that time was to saul : and as to the proof of his taking up defensive arms , he may find that 1 sam. 22. 2. and every one that was in distress , and every one that was in debt , and every one that was discontented , gathered themselves unto him , and he became captain over them . and here is as formal levying of war , as i think can be desired , and if it was not to defend himself , i know not to what purpose it was ; for if he desired only flight , he might have done that safer as well as privater by himself than with an army . nor was that army of any use as to the gaining of the crown after saul's death ; for god commanded him to go and live at hebron ; where the men of judah of their own accord went down and made him king , as he will find 2 sam. 2. so that so many hundred men from the beginning to the ending were of no use unless it were to defend him against saul ; and that he did design to have garison'd keilah , but that god told him the men of the place would betray him : i think nothing can be more evident from any text , in spight of all the author's comments . but now he refers me to the last homily against rebellion , as i did him to the second ; and asks me , whether king john's subjects took up only defensive arms ? but by bishop bilson's excellent rule above cited , neither he nor i ought to judg them because we do not , nor cannot know all their circumstances : for historians are seldom so impartial as to give us all things in their true colours . but the design of that homily was only to shew the intolerableness of the romish yoke , and how impossible it was for them that depended on and obeyed the pope to be good subjects . but as for king john himself , he had been as great a traitor , and used him that should have been his soveraign , as ill as his subjects could do him ; for all the world knows that he first usurp'd the crown , and then killed prince arthur that was the true heir . and truly if their present majesties would have pursued king john's method , they might before this have had as indisputable a title , and had as much right to have been called natural soveraign lord , as king john had . but shall they have the less respect , and be the worse thought on , because they spared the life of our late unfortunate king , and suffered him to escape when he was in their power , nay would not abridg him of his liberty , although they knew he would use it against their interest ? if this be the quarrel that the clergy have against king william , i shall admire their politicks a great deal more than their divinity . but to return to king john : what cause our ancestors might have to repent them of their wars against him i know not , but i believe their posterity think they have not much , for it produced those great priviledges wherein the english subjects glory . the charter obtained from him being the first part , or first draught if you please , of the famous magna charta , confirmed afterwards by henry the 3d. whom the homily might have cited as well as king john , if it had been the subjects rebellion , and not the pope's usurpation that they designed to declaim against . but although i am very far from justifying all that was done in those two king's reigns , yet i think verily the author would have a harder task to perswade the people of england to give up the advantages they hold from it . and i think i may undertake to call back both king james and popery ( for they deceive themselves that think they are to be separated , for could they have been divided he need never to have forsaken his crown and kingdom ) when he shall prevail with the people of this nation to give up their magna charta : for if the former never return ( as i pray god they may not ) till we are willing to part with the latter ; both the author and i may have reason to say as hezekiah does , isaiah 39. good is the word of the lord , for peace and truth shall be in my days . but although 't is a very true rule that we must not do evil , that good may come of it , yet when evil is done ( especially if without our consent ) it is certainly very lawful both to enjoy and rejoice in that good which god almighty by his infinite wisdom shall bring out of it ; and if our author is so tender conscienced , that he is of another mind , and will not receive advantage from any thing which springs from other peoples sins , he must not only deny the priviledges of his birth-right as an english-man , but even his christianity also : for was there ever so horrid a sin as crucifying the son of god ? and yet what a lost undone world has this been , if that had not happened ? and although for ten thousand worlds i would not be the traytor judas , nor any of the impenitent jews , yet with what hallelujahs ought we to celebrate that divine goodness , that from man's greatest sin , and the devil 's highest malice could thus work out mans salvation . and indeed events of this nature seem to be the great abyss of god's wisdom , as well as goodness , which man 's shallow reason must never pretend to sound : but however we may adore what we cannot comprehend , and with the apostle cry out , o altitudo , rom. 11. 33. oh the height and the depth of the riches , both of the wisdom and knowledg of god! how unsearchable are his judgments , and his ways past finding out ! and perhaps this might be a better employment for all our thoughts than to censure and quarrel with our brethren , because they are not of our sentiments in all points , and if they think themselves so much in the right , yet pray let them remember the apostle's rules , that they which are strong ought to bear with the infirmities of the weak , and not to please themselves , rom. 15. 1. and he also commands the galatians , that they bear one anothers burdens , and so to fulfil the law of christ . but alas , instead of following this method , we rather chuse to imitate the scribes and pharisees , who by laying heavy burdens on other mens shoulders , thought to discharge their own duty . but for all they sat in moses's seat , yet all their comments on the law were not true , nor were all conjectures false that contradicted their received opinions and infallibility ; which being no more intailed on the chair now , than it was then , it would be very happy if all sides would remember and observe gamaliel's advice to the jews , who said very well when he told them , acts 5. 38. if this counsel and work be of men , it will come to nought ; but if it be of god , ye cannot overthrow it , lest happily ye be found to fight against god. therefore it would be piety as well as discretion for both sides to attend a little , and not divide from , much less fall foul upon one another , till they are sure that by so doing they shall not oppose god also . although i must confess i have some temptation to believe from what has already happened , that it is the lords doing ; and that upon this consideration , that all the ways of returning to king james , are guarded by the blackest and foulest sins that a nation can possibly be guilty of ; and you must break thorow , that is commit all of them before you can open any one door for his return . for 1st . there would be the greatest falseness , and highest ingratitude in the world , against a prince that put his life in his hand , and exposed his own person to the greatest hazard to rescue a perishing church and sinking nation . 2dly . no person can so much as treat of such a thing without incurring the guilt of treason , for by the ancient laws of the land 't is treason to conspire against the king de facto . then 3dly . there would be the same guilt of perjury in breaking an oath to him as to king james . 4thly . they must betray god's church , and the true religion , and give up their country to ruin and devastation ; and consequently have all the blood to answer for , that should be shed in such an unhappy revolution : so that were king james's return a good worth projecting for on other accounts , yet that standing rule of st. paul's , that you must not do evil that good may come of it , ought to deter any body from attempting it ; but when the thing it self , if compass'd , would be the greatest mischief , it would then be the greatest height of madness as well as sin to go about it . for can any body think that the destroying a church and nation , nay extirpating the true faith out of the world ( that is , as far as we can go towards it ) is so meritorious a thing , that it will legitimate the use of those means , which it was not lawful to use , no not for the planting of the gospel ; and if any man can think this but a jesuit ( for a good honest moral papist i believe will not ) i should indeed think it a great infatuation ; but however that would not alter the nature of things , but my rule would still remain unshaken ; for the way to duty always lies plain and open , so that he that runs may read . and although sometimes it may be attended with sufferings , yet i am confident never any person had the fatal necessity of sining laid on him , to enable him to discharge any part of his duty to god or man. but i beg pardon for this digression which proved longer than i at first designed it , but yet i shall not think it impertinent if it proves useful to the undeceiving of any that have been carried out of the way by the specious pretence of loyalty . but to return to my author . and the next thing we are to consider , is the epithet of the distinguishing character of the church of england ; and you may remember that i ask'd you whether you thought it necessary for particular churches to have particular distinguishing doctrines ; for that to me it appear'd so far from necessary , that i thought it very inconvenient . but he tells us as to that , whether distinguishing doctrines be convenient or inconvenient , it is according as the doctrines are good or bad . no doubt it is inconvenient to have bad distinguishing doctrines , but it is as certain that it is very convenient for a church to have distinguishing doctrines , provided they be good ones , unless a church can be obliged to err for company , and to avoid distinction . but i would be very glad to know upon what thesis it is he grounds this dogmatical conclusion , that a church must needs err that holds only the catholick faith , and has not some particular doctrine of its own to distinguish it from other churches by . this did not seem to be the rule of the apostles , who when they were to preach to all the world , were so afraid of distinction and divisions in their churches , that before they parted , it is generally supposed they agreed of a common form of words ; which they all delivered to their converts , and was not to be the distinguishing doctrine of any particular church , but the common badg of their christianity , and is i suppose that to which st. paul refers , when he charges his son timothy , to hold fast the form of sound words , which thou hast heard of me , 2 tim. 1. 13. and he also tells us , that the design of his leaving him at ephesus was , that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine , 1 tim. 1. 3. and the first request that st. paul makes to his corinthians , is , that you all speak the same things , and there be no divisions among you , but that you be perfectly joyn'd together in the same mind , and in the same judgment , 1 cor. 1. 10. and this being a thing of such extraordinary concern , he does not only make use of his own authority , but as it was the custom of the jews to adjure by the name of god when they would oblige any person to answer truly , as the high priest did to our saviour , mat. 22. 63. so how the apostle ushers in his request with the same solemnity , now i beseech you , brethren , by the name of our lord jesus christ : thereby to oblige them the more carefully to observe what he says , from which you may guess how far he was from thinking distinguishing doctrines necessary , that he would not tolerate them . and if unity were so necessary among christians then , is it less so now ? or what necessity is there of being so uncharitable as to suppose all the churches erroneous in their creeds but our selves ? that 't is now convenient for particular churches to make new articles of faith , and have their distinguishing doctrines , unless they will be obliged to err for company . i thought it had been all along one of the great charges against the church of rome their making such large addenda's to our creed , and making the belief of some points necessary to salvation , which neither our saviour nor his apostles taught : and that churches abounding so with distinguishing doctrines , and imposing them upon others for catholick truths , has formerly been look'd upon as one of their great errors ; but i perceive , sir , that was a great mistake , for this learned author tells me , that although the avoiding distinction does not very well agree with the practice of the primitive christians ; yet it agrees admirably with the principles of popery thus to avoid distinction , which has its numbers to boast on , when nothing else can be said . but if their unity and number is the only thing that the author has to object against the papists , i could as soon be reconciled to their uncharitableness as his ; for heaven i perceive is to be the enclosure of his distinguishing doctrines , or at least no body is to be thought a member of the true church , unless they hold that , and this strange uncharitableness is that which does convince me of the great inconvenience of distinguishing doctrines ; for generally speaking all sides are so apt to value themselves upon them , that they are ready with the men in the prophet isaiah 65. 5. to cry , stand by thy self , come not near me , for i am holier than thou . and did we press our selves only for doing our duty , and adhering to our common creed , it might be the more pardonable : but alas , 't is not the faith that was once delivered to the saints , jude 3. that we thus earnestly contend for ; for a man may hold all that , and yet be pronounced a heretick , unless he chance to agree with them in all their opinions , which are now to be the standard of our faith. but whether the breach of charity and unity among our selves , is the readiest way to build us up in our most holy faith , our sad experience will i doubt too soon shew . but however , sure i am it does not agree very well with saint jude's method , ver . 21. who bids us keep our selves in the love of god , and then we may look for the mercy of christ unto eternal life . but because it is so possible to deceive our selves , saint john has given us an infallible criterion , whereby we may know whether we love god or no , for he tells us , 1 epist . 4. 20. if a man say he loveth god , and hateth his brother , he is a liar : for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen , how can he love god whom he hath not seen ? therefore this commandment have we from him , that he that loveth god , loveth his brother also . therefore since god has made our brother , as it were , his proxy to receive the proofs of our love to him ; and our saviour has made it the badg of our discipleship , by this shall all men know that you are my disciples , if ye love one another : it is very unhappy that those that pretend to be so , should set up another touch-stone for the trial of their sincerity , and think to approve their love to god by their zeal against their brethren , if they chance to dissent from them in a bare opinion . although our saviour did not say , by their faith and distinguishing doctrines , but by their love to one another , men shall know whether you are my disciples or no. therefore i think it is not strange if no church be fond of those opinions that will engage them to deposit their charity ; and if they are , 't is certainly their failing , not their excellence . but now it seems i am to beg the author's pardon , for thinking that the distinguishing doctrine of such a church had been that which was peculiar to it ; for it seems a distinguishing doctrine is that which they held in common with other churches , which truly i did not understand before . and if this doctrine be so , yet the appropriating of it to one , looks as if they had a mind to have the enclosure of it . but i skipped one short paragraph , wherein our author , according to his fair way of treating the person of quality , has jumbled two texts together , which were cited on different accounts , as will be apparent to any body that consults the paper . for when from our having but one lord , one faith , one baptism , i was willing to infer the reasonableness of being ( or at least endeavouring to be ) all of one mind . i did not think that had been such an error as stood in need of a confutation . but now he asks , and must not then those , that held one lord , one faith , one baptism , necessarily distinguish themselves from all that held more than one ? but i think there is distinction enough made to our hands , for those hereticks that first set up those errors , and separated from the church on their account , i hope were distinguishable enough from the true church ; and if others hold two gods , or first principles , with the manichees , must i therefore have a particular doctrine to distinguish me from that church that holds but one ? and because some are to blame in making factions , and crying up apollos , or cephas , must i for fear of mixing with them , distinguish my self from those that are of christ ? for , god be thanked , there never yet was a time that truth was left so without witness , but that there was a true church , to which if we adhered , we need not set up distinguishing doctrines for our selves , the inconvenience of which i am now more than ever satisfied of . and now he should come to my second inference , but he passes it over very gently , only denies the consequence , for he saith , this doth not imply that all who have taken the oath , have thereby renounced the church of england . and in this i must own the author's candor , for i believe , sir , you know some that are of another mind , and that have urged this very profession of bishop lake's to prove it . although i never said it was bishop lake's opinion , as he very unjustly accuses me , and although the charge is some pages off , yet belonging to this point , i think i may under it , take the opportunity of clearing my self . his words are these , but when this gentleman must needs know that his lordship at the same time received the holy sacrament at the hand of a reverend divine who has taken the oath , to insinuate that he would hardly allow those who have taken the new oath , to be so much as out-liers of the church of england , is a thing i confess i can scarce reconcile to any degree of charity . but yet i do not question but that all i there said is full as consistent with the great doctrine of charity , as first the making a falsity , and then charging the malicious inferences of it on their brother . but i must confess this is a sort of dealing that i did not at all expect from so ingenious an adversary ; for i know there were weak places enow in my paper , that he needed not have been reduced to those pitiful shifts : but the confuting of the paper would not satisfy , unless he also laid an odium on the person , whom i am sure he does not know , but has the good fortune to have a beter character from them that do . but the passage to which he refers , and does so falsly render , is this : after the story of the dying papist , i say , that i am confident the bishop would not have approved of the argument , had i turned papist on that dying man's declaration . but it seems some think it no great matter what we turn now ; for i hear some are so exceeding fierce , that they will hardly allow those which have taken the new oaths , to be so much as out-liers of the church of england : and then i add immediately after , but although the indiscreet zeal of some have made them so uncharitable , i am far from supposing it the temper of all the worthy men of that party . now i 'le be judg'd by all the world , what there is in this clause that refers to bishop lake , or does so much as insinuate that he was one of those fierce ones : nay , any one may see that i take particular care to free the worthy men of it ; and if our author will take bishop lake out of that list , and number him with the indiscreetly zealous , ( who are the only people i charge ) i cannot help that ; but be it known to the world , that is his doing , and not mine . but although he accuses me for want of charity , i think i shall shew that i have a great deal , since i can forgive this . for as i thank god i am ( whatever my quality is ) above such mean tricks , so i am above revenging of them too , for such crimes are commonly their own lictors . for i am confident he will suffer more by it than i shall , therefore 't is generally my pity and not my anger that it excites on such occasions . but now to return , if this be a digression , i am glad to find our author think that there are so many accounts on which the oaths may lawfully be taken , but it is not my task to examine any man on which of those different hypotheses they took it ; for having satisfied the law , and i am so charitable as to believe their own consciences also , i have nothing to object against it . for i am so far from disapproving a tender conscience , that i would have all the liberty in the world allowed to those who are truly so ; so that his question was a little superfluous as to me , and must those of the church of england only not be allowed to have tender consciences ? but i am really sorry to find that any of the church of england should think they are abridged of the liberty of theirs , if they may not declaim against all those that dissent from them ; for as i think the author is very free , so i think 't is very fit every body should enjoy their own sentiments , and i hope i shall not be denied the liberty i grant , but that is only in private ; for i know no necessity of imposing them on others , nor condemning all that do not approve of them . and that is the main , and indeed the only exception i have to bishop lake's profession ; for i did suspect , and the author himself is so ingenuous as to own , that the design of the paper was to assert that none were true sons of the church of england , ( that is , as he himself explains it , did not hold her doctrine whole and entire ) that did not hold the doctrine of passive obedience in the same sense bishop lake did . and now i cannot but say this looks assuming enough , but however our author assures us , that the making this profession , was the most proper , and the most seasonable and charitable thing a dying bishop could do , to declare that nothing but conscience was the cause of his refusal . and although i do verily believe it might be so in the good man's intentions , yet i cannot not say it was so , or was likely to be so in the effects , although we are told it was an action that did naturally tend to our peace . for a surgeon may wish very well to his patient , and yet mistake in his applications ; for if he use corrosives , where oil and balsam were needful , he will be more like to fester than heal the sore . and truly i must needs say , that a dying man's entring a protestation against a whole party , looks as it were designed to perpetuate , not compose a dispute : however i am sure it is much properer for the former than the latter . for the shortning of this , ( which much exceeds the bulk i designed ) i have been forced to skip whole pages , to lay those things together that belonged to one head , but having all along cited the author 's own words , i hope i have done neither him nor the reader much injury . but now we will go a little back , and pick up what may be of use in the way . and in the first place , i am very well pleased to find him so much concerned for any thing that reflects on their present majesties , but i am half afraid lest some that should have more wit , teach us of the laity the ill-breeding he talks on ; for i could tell him of one , that in the convocation said , the king had sent them a bantring message , and they had sent him a bantring address : but i suppose the gentleman does not value himself so much on his jest , but that he is willing enough to have his name conceal'd . but however , it would be well if the clergy would set us better example , although i cannot justify any body for following their ill . i do not at all question what he says of the dissenting bishops , for did they but once own themselves to be their majesties subjects , i do verily believe they would be as good , if not better subjects than any they have ; and i am confident one might take their words in the point , and not exact an oath from them , if that be all they scruple at , with which they might long ago , i believe , have been dispensed , had they offered any other security . for i believe their majesties have as great respect and inclination too for the bishops , as the bishops can have for them , and particularly to him that he mentions , to whom the whole nation must ever own a great obligation , for his care and diligence in so well principling the two royal sisters ; and 't is a great deal of pity he should deny them the satisfaction they would take in repaying his great service . there now follow some pages , with which i think i have little to do , he that is concerned in them being so able to answer for himself ; but yet rather than have nothing to say to the person of quality , he will quarrel with him on his friend julian's account . but had the author observed the rule he imposes , and not made use of any arguments that had been urged before , i believe the person of quality's part would have been much shorter in his last pamphlet than it is . but however of all things i thought the laws and statutes of a nation had been in common , and not like a terra incognita , only to be appropriated to the use of the first discoverer , that is in this case the first citer . but that he may not fear that i should hereafter make any encroachments on the prerogatives of so good a friend , i shall ( and i am sure with truth ) declare that i am not only a stranger to his person , but also so much to his writings , that i never heard of the conceit of grinning honour before , but from sir john falstaff in the play ; but however i do believe 't is a very good jest , because so ingenuous an author repeats it so often . but for any thing more , i shall say as the parents of the blind man did , ask him , he is of age , let him speak for himself . but it is well if i can do so for my self , for my hardest task is yet to come , for alas , i am to answer for a whole community ; for at last our sagacious author has discovered that the person of quality is so : though to tell you truly , i never knew before that i had pigs in my belly , much less that i was with child of a whole corporation . but although 't is against the canon , i doubt i must answer for them all my self , for i fear the author will not be so kind as to be godfather to any of my productions , so i must provide for them as well as i can . but since charity begins at home , i must first consider my self in my private capacity , and in that am resolved ( as he sees ) to be as passive as he himself can desire : and altho 't is possible i may have more than one title to be distinguished by , yet truly i will not vie with the author in that point , to which purpose i will tell him a story : an unlucky fellow met with doctor harding on the road , and knowing that he had divers preferments , he rides before to the inn , and told the host there was a great deal of company to come to his house that night , and therefore bid him get all the good things he could provide for supper ; for , says he , there is the parson of st. martins , the dean of such a place , the prebendary of another , and so reckoned up all his places . and at this rate 't is possible the author may much better deserve to be thought a community than poor me ; but however i shall answer his jocund discourse a little more seriously . and i am sure i need not tell him that a new relation does also lay a new obligation and duty , and that sometimes so contrary to the former , that what was a vertue and commendable in one state , may be really a fault in another . as for instance , for a single man to give all his goods and possessions to charitable uses , is counted a great and heroick piece of charity ; but should the same person marry and have a great many children , should he by his charity disenable himself from providing for his family , if he will take st. paul's word , that man has denied the faith , and is worse than an infidel , for those are the words of the censure that he passes , 1 tim. 5. 8. on him that provides not for his own , especially those of his own house . so that we may see what a vast difference an additional relation makes in the self-same action . and me-thinks i should not need to apply this to the point in hand ; but because he is so apt to mistake the person of quality's meaning , i shall tell him that when there is nothing but my own right in question , i will quietly sacrifice that to my king's pleasure , and for my countries peace . but if i am in a publick office , and made it were a trustee for my country , to look after and maintain its rights and priviledges , neither fear nor favour should ever prevail with me to part with one tittle of it . therefore i think the house of commons have proposed very well to lay a brand on them who did voluntarily deliver up their charters , and thereby betray those liberties they were sworn to maintain : for , for my part i cannot understand why i am not as much obliged by the oath that i take for the defence of my country , and the maintaining of the rights and franchises of such a town , as i am by the oaths of allegiance to the king ; for if the king break his oath , and infringe those liberties he has sworn to protect , yet i do not see how he can absolve or dispence with mine , unless we make him pope as well as king. but however , if that doctrine of passive , or if you please we will call it implicit obedience to the king is binding , i cannot see how 't is possible for the subjects to avoid perjury under such a reign as our late king james ; for was it not as downright perjury for a mayor of a town to deliver up the charter he was so solemnly sworn to maintain , as it would have been to have resisted the king in the defence of it ? but this of being perjured , take which side you will , is such an unhappy necessity , as i believe god never laid on any one ; therefore suppose that in such exigencies there is yet a way to extricate ones self without committing the sin. and truly to do the author right , i have not met with a better resolution of the law , than what he himself thinks fit to urge in the behalf of the netherlands , when they flung off their subjection to the king of spain ; and if he will please to apply that to his own scruples , i think he need not go any further for a solution , therefore suppose it superfluous for me to say any more on that point , for if he will not be his own convert , i cannot hope he should ever be mine . and now , at last , sir , we are come to the concluding , and , as he calls it , stabbing question of london-derry . but really , sir , the person of quality had no such murderous intention , but since the weapon was so in its own nature , it was very happy it fell into such unskilful hands , for else no body knows what execution it might have done . but how ill soever i managed my dagger , i perceive he is a little afraid of it , and will not come near the question ; but that he may be sure to be out of my reach , he is sending me as far as troy. but methinks i need not go so far for the answer of one poor question . but here our author is forced to his old shifts of shuffling and packing the cards ; for he has really the best faculty of singling out one line out of a sentence ; and lest it should not appear ridiculous enough by it self , joins it to another i know not how far off , to which it had no coherence , as he has done in several others as well as this place : for my query is in these very words ; whether they did not both wish and pray , that london-derry should be delivered out of the hands of those merciless butchers ? and this the excellency of their temper , as well as their christianity , obliging to , i cannot at all question but they did ; nay , i verily believe they would have gone farther , and assisted them with their purses , if they had known how to have conveyed them relief . and how faithfully he renders it , and how fully he answers it , you shall guess from his own words , which i 'le assure you are transcribed a little exacter than he does mine : it is , says he , the duty of christians to pray for righteousness , and truth , and peace to all mankind : how strange a question is it therefore to ask , whether the suspended clergy did no● both wish and pray that london-derry should be delivered out of the hands of merciless butchers ? ( for those is to be left out in that place for some reasons best known to himself . ) he believes they did , because there were many thousand innocent persons whom they never saw , and who never did them any wrong . and now i will appeal to my reader if here is not a passage as faithfully cited , and as well applied as ever he saw . for let the question be what it will , it would be pretty much if it be stranger than the answer : so that i think the suspended clergy are not much more obliged to him , for bringing them in so needlesly , and using such weighty arguments in their behalf , than the derry-men , as he says , are to me . there is only this difference , that by his own confession mine may be urged for any place , but truly i know not for what place or subject his was calculated . but if what i said of derry may be applied to any other city in their circumstances , i see not where the injury would be to them by it ; nor do i very well discern how the bigness or distance of the city should add weight to the argument , tho to tell him truly , i am very glad i had no occasion to instance nearer home , tho i care not how soon i may in all the cities in ireland , provided they conclude as happily . but now was it not very kindly done of our author , who had so little to say for his own tribe , to furnish the inhabitants of derry with an apology in law , when they did not know what to say for themselves ? for his instance in the netherlands is as pat to their purpose as if it had been made for them . altho i think their having so many thousand innocent persons among them that must certainly have perished , if they had not taken up arms for their preservation , was no ill argument , nor can i believe disapproved by the dissenting clergy , if they would be once so ingenuous and kind as to own their thoughts in the point : but i suppose they might be committed to the author under the seal of confession , and so are not to be made publick . for else methinks he should not so industriously have avoided the question , if he had had any thing to have said to it : for i know he has so great kindness for the person of quality that he would shew him all his errors and weak places ; therefore i look upon my two inferences as irrefragable , since he dare not undertake their confutation . for either they did pray for the deliverance of london-derry , and would have contributed to their relief ; or they would not : if they would , then they are in the same predicament with them , for 't is with rebellion as in murder , there are no accessaries , but all are principals : a maxim of our law , for which some poor people in the west paid pretty dear after monmouth's defeat , as i think the lady lisle's execution will sufficiently convince any body , who did no more than i believe all our dissenting bishops would have done for them in london-derry , that is , have kept them from starving if they could : but if they would not , ( i must then repeat what i said before ) it would give me a greater prejudice against the doctrine than ever yet i had , since it not only made them put off those bowels of mercies which christians ought to have for one another , but even divested them of common humanity . and whether it would not be a greater crime to sin against nature , than to break some nice bands of our own ( not the laws ) imposing in an oath of allegiance ? i should at another time trust our author to judg . and thus , sir , i have in haste run over that part of the pamphlet , wherein i thought i had any concern , for i do not pretend to answer for , or justify other people . but if i have not acquitted my self so well as you expected , yet considering my disadvantage of having nothing but my bible , and a very bad memory to consult , i hope you will wink at small faults . i shall not enlarge your trouble by a needless apology for the length of this , but conclude with the complement of the season , this , and many happy new years being heartily wish'd you , by january 9. 1689. your most affectionate friend , and humble servant . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a39119-e150 page 4. page 2. page 13. page 14. page 24. page 25. page 25. page 33. page 39. page 42. page 45. page 50. the unjust mans doom as examined by the several kinds of christian justice, and their obligation : with a particular representation of the injustice & danger of partial conformity / by william smyth. smith, william, b. 1615 or 16. 1670 approx. 95 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 67 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-12 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a60614 wing s4285 estc r10096 13553897 ocm 13553897 100252 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a60614) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 100252) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 1557:35) the unjust mans doom as examined by the several kinds of christian justice, and their obligation : with a particular representation of the injustice & danger of partial conformity / by william smyth. smith, william, b. 1615 or 16. [18], 123 p. printed by w. godbid for walter kettilby ..., london : 1670. reproduction of original in the trinity college library, dublin university. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng church of england -liturgy. bible. -n.t. -corinthians, 1st, vi, 9 -sermons. obedience -religious aspects -christianity. 2005-04 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2005-05 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-07 simon charles sampled and proofread 2005-07 simon charles text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the vnjust mans doom : as examined by the several kinds of christian justice , and their obligation . with a particular representation of the injustice & danger of partial conformity . by william smyth , d. d. london , printed by w. godbid for walter kettilby at the bishops head in duck-lane , 1670. a preface to the reader . i would willingly meet so much charity and ingenuity from thee , to be believed , while i profess that i propound to my self these two designs in publishing these papers : first , that ( by the former part of my discourse ) i might contribute something towards the restoring the lost principles and practices of christian righteousness ; & free the notion of it from such prejudices and misprisions which some mens doctrines , and manner of preaching the gospel , have brought upon it . and that the scandalous distinction ( which the world have had too just a temptation to make , by the observation of some professors actions ) between godliness and civil honesty , piety , and obedience , might for ever be removed and forgotten ; and that all persons designing to be religious , and that do not fully understand their indispensable obligation to the performance of every part of that justice in order to their salvation , might be delivered from the ignorance of so considerable a part of christianity , and their duty to god. for it is too notorious , that many earnest pretenders to religion , ( by being so especially and continually called upon by their teachers , to be righteous by the person , and not the religion of christ , by the effects of his merits , and not as necessarily by obedience to his precepts ) even while they presumed to engross the vulgars belief of being the only men that are godly and honest , have in contradiction to the very design of christianity , & to the shame of it , been grosly vnrighteous before god and man , by being so to their superiors ( both civil and ecclesiastick ) as to distributive justice , nor so careful to free themselves from the imputation of being unjust in their dealings & transactions , as to commutative . and though i have cast my discourse of christian justice into the mould of a sermon , occasionally preach'd , to represent the danger of vnjust persons ; yet if any man , being convinced of the necessity of doing righteousness , that he may be righteous , ( 1 john 2. 7. ) shall resolve to engage himself in that excellent part of his obedience to god ; i hope i have so carefully drawn the several lines of evangelical justice , that he may be sufficiently instructed in that part of christianity , which may be accounted the vniversal religion of the world ; that is , as extensive as gods love to mankind or christ's death for it , and by which men of every nation , even among them that are invincibly ign●●●●● of christianity , and so not criminally vnbelievers , ( if charity may be allowed to speak her sense ) may be accepted for christ's sake : that is , such as fear god , and do righteousness ) or justice ( for they are of the same signification ) acts 10. 35. according to the light god hath given them of their obligation to it . the next design ( in the latter part of my discourse ) is to represent the danger and injustice of partial and shuffling conformity , and to measure the dimensions of those many wrongs that have been done to the church of england by it , in all her concerns : and that in order to the finding out the best expedients , how to redress them and this i have done without the least uncharitable reflection upon any man or parties of men , unless to reprove their miscarriages , which do so neerly intrench upon the very design of christianity and the churches peace , may be so interpreted . and i find upon the most serious examination of the affairs of the church since the reformation , and the most unpassionate observation of things which have been seen done in our time ( to which a great part of this present age can give testimony ) that ministers puritanizing in their congregations in compliance with some forreign churches of different models , perswasions and practices against all their obligations to do the contrary , ( with consideration had to our many sins for which god hath laid those heavy punishments upon us ) to be the original cause of the great evils that befel the church of england in the days of her late calamity , of the many present discomforts that are now upon it , and the threatning dangers that are before it . for these men so managed their business in their churches , that the common people ( many of which had honest minds , and upright designs of being good ) are insensibly betrayed into such a dislike of the government , service , and universal constitutions of the church , that they were prepared upon the least check of authority to require conformity from them , to make it the cause of god , and an eminent act of zeal for him , to deny all obedience to it , if not to endeavour the universal overthrow of all its peace and order . so that i am not so uncharitable as to think , that all the people that were enemies to the church of england , hated it because it was good and innocent , but because ( through these mens either design'd project of keeping them in ignorance ; or through their own inability to instruct them better ) they understood it not ; and being once prejudic'd with an ill opinion , and presumed not to be masters of so much reason as to be able to extricate themselves from their mistakes , and not likely to entertain an instruction from them , whom they were taught to suspect and oppose , it s no wonder if they became such zealous & implacable enemies to a church of the most catholick and primitive constitution in the world. now the grand argument which they put into the peoples heads , to perpetuate their enmity against the church of england , is , that the present constitution is a disposition to popery , and that the encrease of it is to be imputed thereunto , when themselves are only guilty of it : for though the designs of the factious & the romanists are as distant as the two poles , yet in this they centre , that they aid one another in the boldness of their separations , and allow a plausible temptation to such ( who consult nothing but the interest of an unsecure and palliated peace , or rather to prevent some little trouble of preserving the church in its integrity ) to endeavour an universal toleration of all perswasions , to the established churches infallible fall and ruine . but concerning this and all other wrongs done by them to the church , the reader is refer-red to the discourse it self . now if by gods blessing i may in any measure attain both my designs ; if by the first i may fully instruct souls to live ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) justly , one part of evangelical obedience in st. paul's division , ( tit. 2. 12. ) and if by the second i can contribute any thing towards the cure of the church of england's present distempers , i shall not much consult what entertainment they shall have among such as are resolv'd enemies to both , and perhaps for that reason will be so to their faithful monitor , w. s. the vnjust mans doom . as examined by the several kinds of christian justice , and their obligation . in a sermon at the assizes at bury st. edmunds in suff. sept. 13. 1668. the vnjust mans doom . 1 cor. 6. 9. the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of god. so far as the principal design of christianity is universal obedience , and the far greatest part of that obedience is morality ; ( duties to be performed from man to man ) and the most excellent parts of that morality , are the grand transactions of government , regular administrations of common justice , and preservation of mutual rights in all societies : and so far as the rule by which all those are accomplished , is law , grounded upon right reason , of which the gospel ( above all institutions that ever were is highly & designedly perfective ) so far , i say , a divine ex officio , while he moves in his own sphere , may ( must ) be especially serviceable to such assemblies as these : for it is certain , that the happy event of your affairs , ( which is judicially to do all men right , that here appear for it ) depends upon every man's uprightly doing his duty , 〈◊〉 the part he acts , in this scene 〈◊〉 justice ; from the judge that sentenceth , to the advocate that pleads ; from the witness that gives evidence , to the jurates that determine . now because that every one of these should do right in his place , a civil account ( at best ) can advance to no other obligation , but that it is fit and worthy to be done ; ( too weak an argument , to resist a temptation from profit , or passion , to do the contrary ; ) therefore they are to be religiously instructed , ( which makes this present exercise reasonable above all apologies and answers for the practice of former times among us , when divines sate upon the principal seats of justice ) i say , men are to be further instructed , that to do civil right , is , now , of divine obligation , and a necessary condition of every mans salvation ; under encouragements of infallible rewards , which no man shall lose , that brings but ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) the least refreshment or assistance to a just procedure ; and under the terrour of dreadful threatnings , which none shall escape , that pervert judgment , do wrong , and shall any way be instrumental to the violation of anothers right : and certainly the severest of all of them is this in my text ; they shall not inherit the kingdom of god. my text being thus brought to hand , offers these two grounds of discourse : 1. the guilty persons , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the unrighteous , or the unjust , words synonimous , and so are promiseuously taken all over the scripture . 2. their doom and punishment , shall not inherit the kingdom of god. 1. as to the first , the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unrighteous , or unjust , is not here to be taken in its larger acceptation , by which it is synonimous with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sinners in general , and names the persons , that live in disobedience to all , or any of gods commandments indefinitely , as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used , ( rom. 2. 8. ) unrighteousness or unjustice for all ungodliness : and that because , ( as c●… . alex. observes ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , every sinful act is injurious , frequently to others , alwaies to our selves . but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here to be understood strictly , and so denotes persons guilty of the breach of justice in its limited and natural sense , as it stands distinguished from other virtues in the moralists scheme : and being brought over to be a part of christ's religion , was established as such , when he made love to our neighbour ( that is , the love of practice , to do all men right and good ) to be of like obligation with love to god , as practised in the most immediate duties , and services of faith and worship : for so saith christ ( mat. 22. 39. ) the second is like unto it ( that is ) equally , and as indispensably necessary to salvation , thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self . now for the measures of that love , and ( the principal design and excrcise of it ) . justice , he gave one general rule , ( ut primum principium ) : all things whatsoever you would that men should do unto you , do ye even so to them ; that is , suum cuique tribuere ( the definition of justice ) to give to every man his right and due . the offenders then against this rule of justice , in this strict sense , are the guilty persons in my text , as the words before it , ( and the very occasion of it ) doth fully evince ; where the apostle chargeth them , ( v. 8. ) that ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) ye do wrong and defraud . and thence infers , that such as do so , are unrighteous , or unjust ; and shall not inherit the kingdom of god. but our christian obligation of doing right to all , having an influence upon all the conversation we have with men , that is , almost all the actions of our lives ; it 's necessary ( that we may throughly find out the guilty in my text ) to make a strict enquiry after this christian justice , as it is distinguished by its several objects , and relations , and by the various kinds of right , we owe one to another ; the breach of every part of which , doth expose us , as to the guilt , so to the severe sentence of my text. the first kind of gospel-justice , ( as it respects differing relations ) is that which is call'd distributive , that is , the reciprocal dues and rights which christians must pay one to another , in matters of superiority and subjection to it ; from an empire , to the little dominion of a family . the first of that kind , is , the mutual duties of princes and subjects . as for the duties which princes owe to their subjects , or rather to god for them ; it is not our business to enquire after . and st. paul in his epistles , when he carefully provided rules for all distributive justice , makes no mention of the duties of princes ; intimating , that they are accountable to none but god , whose ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) ministers they are . we must not curse them ( eccl. 10. 20. ) not slight them , so the hebrew , ( ne detrahat regi ) not disparage them , so the vulgar latin , in the most retired thoughts of our bed-chamber , for their miscarriages ; for which , ( when at the greatest ) we must pretend to no other remedy , but the primitive churches powerful engines , prayers and tears . but then the subjects are bound in christian justice , to pay their prince honour , tribute , and obedience . and those that fail in any part of these duties , that is , that shall whisper jealousies into the heads of the multitude , to defraud them of their honour ; or refuse , or decline their tribute , the price of their own protection ; or disobey their laws , the nerves of all communion and publick safety , they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , they have wronged their princes , and are unrighteous , unjust persons , in the sence of my text. but if their unrighteousness in these cases shall ferment to rebellious designs , ( let them pretend to as much saintship as corah , or common justice as absolom , or reformation as both ) they are not then only unjust to a prince in his personal capacity , contrary to the rule of doing to all men , &c. and though he be a tyrant , act contrary to an express precept ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) not to resist evil , not allowable among private persons : but as he is a publick person , they are guilty of a national wrong ; they wrest out of gods hand the ordinance ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , rom. 13. 2. ) the only expedient of mercy , by which the rights of all men are preserved , and the world kept from confusion ; and are therefore answerable for all the blood , ruine , and miserable consequences of a civil war , that is of a princes military defence of himself , and faithful subjects that adhere to him , in the day of rebellion . so that a rebel is an unrighteous person , by a complication of guilt and an accumulation of wrongs . but now permit not your thoughts , nor will i my tongue , to make application , by reflecting upon the unparallell'd tragedy of evils done and suffered , upon the breach of this justice in our late rebellion . if i have said so much , as may teach the guilty repentance , and others that were not engaged , their duty , it 's enough ; let us bury all the rest in prayers and charity . but further , if the nation be christian , there is another authority invested in a prince , over ecclesiastick persons , and cases ; for he is concerned as well in the ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ) the religion , as the civil concerns of his subjects ( 1 tim. 2. 2. ) and there is a due of obedience to be paid him in christian justice on that account also . this power was apparently conferred by god on the kings of the old testament ; moses had both the trumpets ; david ordered the courses of the levites , and the solemnities of the publick service : joash had the testament given him in his hand , as well as the crown on his head , ( 2 chron. 23. 11. ) hezekiah and josiah reformed the church by their royal authority . and as christ found it ( there being no retrenchment of that power in the gospel ) so he left it , as his own general laws expressed and interpreted by the churches after-practice , can testifie above all exceptions . ex quo ( saith socrates ) imperatores facti sunt christiani , ab ipsis res ecclesiae dependebant . after that the emperors became christian , the churches affairs depended upon them . thus was constantine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . and leo the third could say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . that is , they were mixt persons , they were concern'd in the government and protection of the church . but of this right , hath the romanist , and assemblies , defrauded their princes ; the one gets away half of their crowns , the other of their scepters ; both rob them of their authority , and of their subjects full allegiance . and thus it is with us , while we have a profession establisht by law , by a power next to god ( solo deo minorem , saith tertullian ) and by such constitutions , as god and man cannot be pretended to stand in competition for obedience . the bishop of rome hath a superior power acknowledged by some , and the assembly by others , and both profess a religion in obedience to those usurpations , and in opposition to their lawful soveraign's commands and laws : so that the king is robb'd of his subjects , they , of their allegiance , and the church torn in pieces by them both , as between two milstones ( as the late arch-b . in his preface to his controversie ) this wrong is done on either side , and for that reason they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unjust , unrighteous persons that do it . this as to the first part of distributive justice , in the concerns of princes and their subjects . the next kind of distributive justice in the larger circles of it , is , the reciprocal dues and rights , which the governours of the church , and their charges , are in christian justice obliged to pay to one another . without the mutual performance of which a body of men can be call'd no more a church , than a tumult can be call'd an army , or an ungovern'd rout , a city . now as it is in civils , though the king be ( supremus judex ) chief judge in the law , yet he administers ju-justice by his commission'd justicers to whom also an obedience is due on that account : so in ecclesiasticks , he exerciseth his supreme authority , for the care of the church , by proper officers ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) set apart for that design ; whose calling though it be governed and protected by princes , is yet immediately from heaven ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , heb. 5. 4. ) they are called of god to it . and ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , acts 20. 28. ) whom the holy ghost hath made bishops , or overseers ; and for that reason a right of obedience is due unto them on that account also . first then , the pastors of the church are bound in justice ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) to feed the church of god , by pastoral government and preaching , by sacraments , and offices of discipline , and instituting canons , for fit circumstances , that all things may be done ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 1 cor. 14. 40. ) decently , & in order , or uniformity in the church of god. if they fail of their duties , they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unrighteous , and must answer deeply for the wrong they have done to their charges . on the other side , their people in christian justice owe them reception , love , honour , and ( which for the churches sake , is most especially required ) obedience . obey them that have the rule over you , ( heb. 13. 17. ) and as s. ignatius , ( the best interpreter of the apostles meaning and practice ) saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) it is necessary that nothing be done in the church , but in obedience to the governors of it . and this was the sense and universal practice of the church , it its primitive purity , and best integrity . but if their charges shall condemn their callings , contemn their persons , separate from their administrations , and refuse conformity to their rules of order , in the service of god ; they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unjust persons , they have defrauded their spiritual rulers of their , due , and ( by infallible consequence ) the church of the very essentials of its well-being , peace , and unity ; the ends for which spiritual government was especially design'd : of which unity the church being once deprived , in comes the inundation of atheism , prophaness , contempt of gods service , heresies and factions ; for all which those unjust persons must answer , when they happen . and of all this , our own woful experience is too convincing an evidence . for as it is certain , that those miseries are now upon us , so it is as certain , they own their beginning to the breach of this christian justice , and commenced from the days the disciplinarians first withdrew their obedience from their lawful superiors , and taught the people to despise , and quarrel with them about indifferent rites . which undutifulness afterward , fermenting , and gradually increasing , hath in the various agitations of several ages , brought upon the church , and the pastors thereof , all these infelicities and wrongs they now unjustly suffer : grown too great ( without a gracious divine deliverance ) for hope of relief . the church being in that common-wealth's case , quae nec ferre sua possit vitia , necremedia , neither able to bear its miscarriages nor remedies . but i desire the severe character of my text may be applied to no particular persons alive , unless it be in our prayers , to beg forgiveness for them , as they were instrumental to these heavy punishments , and for our selves , that ( for our sins ) have justly deserved them at the hand of god. thus i have gone over the parts of distributive justice , which christians are to act in the greater circumferences of publick relations ; i now contract my discourse to the lesser circles of it , in domestick concerns : which though they be less considerable , are not at all less necessary . our salvation depends upon every part of that justice , as much as the other : loyalty to a prince , or conformity to the church , cannot make us just , if we do wrong at home to our wives , children or servants . now the christian justice of the family-relations , are the reciprocal dues of husbands and wives , parents and children , masters and servants ; bread to dogs , throw it away in luxurious expences ; or if both , or either of them , by their carelesseness in education , or by evil examples , shall endanger the loss of their childrens souls : if the children , on the other side , grow rough , and untractable , making no conscience to disobey a fathers commands , and disoblige a mothers tender care ; or when their parents are in want , to evade their duty , shall tell them , with the pharisees , it is corban , ( mark 7. 11. ) a gift , not to the temple ( yet that would not exempt them from their duty ) but perhaps to a proud entertainment , or a female prostitute : such parents , such children , are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unrighteous , unjust in the sight of god. lastly , as to the third , of family relations , masters and servants : first , masters owe their servants , in christian justice , civil regard , kind usage , and just rewards for their labours : and they again , owe their masters honour , obedience , and faithfulness . but if the masters shall use their servants like brutes , nay like senseless engines , like bodies without souls , ( for so slaves are call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ●poc . 18. 13. ) making their burdens too heavy , and their rewards too light . and if servants shall be ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , tit. 2. 9. ) contradicters , or answerers again , and deny their reverence ; or shall serve ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , col. 3. 22. ) with eye-service , and lose their diligence ; or shall be ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , tit. 2. ) purloiners , and depart from their faithfulness : these are wrongs done on either side , and are all unjust , unrighteous persons , on that account : and ( as it is of the other relations ) if they had nothing else to answer for , had guilt enough , to be disinherited from the kingdom of god. these are they , which depart from christian justice in family-relations . having thus found out the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the guilty of injustice , by the rule of distributive , we shall now examine the actions of men by the li●●● of commutative justice : which aquinas defines to be that , by which a man is directed in such rights , as are interchangeably to be paid , from one man to another . now the ground of this justice is this , god hath so ordered it in his wise disposition of the world , that the well being of every man should depend on the mutual help of one another ; to the performance of which , all men being obliged by right reason and religion , it becomes every mans right , to be done to him in christian justice as his duc . upon this , st. paul grounds his exhorta●●● to his philippians , to look ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , phil. 2. 4. ) to the good and ●●ncerns of others , as well as their 〈◊〉 . he therefore that shall with●●●d this right , so that his neighbour is injured in any capacity of 〈◊〉 well-being , he hath done wrong and defrauded , and is an unjust , and an unrighteous person . now ●●at we may know , how far this ●●stice extends , for the further discovery of the guilty in my text , we must examine the several cases 〈◊〉 which a mans well-being consists , and accordingly a right to be done 〈◊〉 . first , as to his spiritual well-being , we owe the right of saving one anothers souls , which god hath put in our power to do , as st. james intimates , ( jam. 5. 20. ) and this is done , by brotherly correction , counsel , prayer , exemplary life , and such like acts of spiritual justice : but on the contrary , 〈◊〉 any man hinders the salvation 〈◊〉 another , by neglecting those 〈◊〉 or shall really prevent it , by scandal , ill example , or by tempting him to assist in social sins , 〈◊〉 uncleanness , conspiracies , and the like , that man hath wronged a soul , he hath destroyed his brother , for whom christ died , ( rom. 14. 15. ) and so is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an unjust person on that sad account . 2. we owe the right in christian justice of preserving one another in our temporal well-being : and the first of those , next our neighbours life ( which we suppose to be a case too apparent to need our present consideration ) is his honour . he therefore that shall defraud him of that precious jewel , either by eclipsing an innocent worth , through a subtil detraction , or wound his credit , by dispersion of false slanders , ( following machiavel's rule , fortiter calumnia●… , & aliquid adhaerebit ; cast dirt enough that some may stick ) or shall publish his private infirmities , 〈◊〉 his disgrace , or make use of them any way , but in following st. ●aul's direction , to restore him with the spirit of meekness , ( gal. 6. 1. ) ●ath robb'd his neighbour of his honour , hath done him wrong , and is an unjust person on that account . the second right we owe in christian justice , as to the temporal well-being of our neighbour , is the preservation of his estate and fortune ; which whosoever shall violate , upon any temptation , is one of the unrighteous persons in my text. and we consider not this , as done by acts of horrid oppression only , when the beams and stones are disquieted with the cries of orphans , tears of widows , 〈◊〉 perpetuated sorrows of ruin'd families ; nor only by the intrenchments that are made upon it , by secret thefts or notorious rapine but whosoever shal disadvantage another , by fraud , or subtilty , in any negotiation , bargain , trade or commerce whatsoever , beyond the ordinary profit allow'd to all callings , by custom and consent of honest minds ; or in any kind of vocation or employment , deal otherwise in every single act , than he himself would be dealt with , is unrighteous , one of the guilty , and consequently one of the unhappy persons in my text. lastly , we owe in christian justice ( as to our neighbours temporal well-being ) the right of preserving one anothers health , limbs , and peace ; therefore he that shall wrong him in the first , by ingaging him in intemperate courses , or deprive him of the second , by any act of private hostility , as duelling , or the like ; or defraud him of the third , by uncivil usage , or vexatibus suits and controversies ; so far as in any of them , or in any other way , a man is disadvantaged in the comfort of his life , or means of livelihood , there is a wrong done , & he that hath done it , is an unjust , an unrighteous person , and as such , stands upon the necessity of restitution , or in the danger of his exclusion from the blessed inheritance . thus having gone over the breaches that are made upon the several branches , both of distributive , and commutative justice ; there remains two more to be considered apart ; because they have a mixture of both . of the first of these i would give a is the devil ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 3. ) the devil hath filled their hearts with the design . 5. gods certain vengeance upon that wrong , by the fatal fall both of the one , and of the other . i shall not controversially apply this evidence , but must ( for shortness sake ) leave it to your serious reflections , for the ends i mentioned it . now that portion which hath been set apart for god , and the maintenance of 16000 servants of his worship among us , are either lands , or tithes . as for the wrongs done to the first , they are commonly acted ( per sorices palatii , as bish. andrews calls them ) by the unhappy men about the courts of princes ; who as they thirst after them , so would not stick to suck the milk of orphans , drink the tears of widows , as well as devour the demeans of gods servants ( because as defenceless as either ) as sacrifices to their pride and luxury . but it is alledged by the favourites of this design , that the supreme judicature may , ( when they please ) take them away : i answer , they may ( impunè ) without controul ; and their authority ought not ( must not ) be resisted ; but whether ( justè ) righteously , or whether every one that hath a vote in their alienation , doth not thereby rob god and man , and may justly fear gods vengeance for doing so , i leave it to the former evidence to determine . as for the wrongs done to the church in point of tithes , ( decimam meam as st. austin supposeth god to speak ) there depraedations happen upon lower contrivements ; as when either the powerful mans heavy hand first presseth out the vintage for himself , and then leaves some few drops ; enough rather to upbraid , i intended should reflect upon the occasion of this assembly , where the proper business is judicially to administer right to them , that cannot otherwise obtain it . let every one then , that hath to do this day with the tender rights of men , ( whether they be the ministers of the law , of every sort , witnesses , or juries ) have a care what they do ; their souls are at stake , the oath of god is upon them , the curse of god over them , the cries of the oppressed about them , the evidence of my text , and the law of christ against them ; if therefore any unjust cause goes away triumphant , if any mans right be impeached , through any defect in the discharge of their trust , they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , unrighteous persons , and wheresoever it lies , must either make a timely satisfaction , or one day appear at the great assizes of the world , to receive for the wrong that he hath done in this , and where there shall be no respect of persons , col. 3. ult . thus i have finished the whole scheme of christian justice ; to the universal performance of which , the gospel doth so strictly oblige us . and now who would think it possible , that a christian nation , possessed with so many advantages of religion , should in contradiction to the clearest evidence of gods will , so generally degenerate from the practice of it in every part ; and that not among them only , that have thrown off all concern for religion ( that were no wonder ) but amidst the very professors of it , even among them , that pretend to a greater zeal than others , in appearance for it , i cannot but think , that there hath been some psal . 73. 6. ) they were exhorted to the getting the robe of christ's righteousness about , and imputed to , them ; and all was well . by these and the like unhappy modes of teaching the gospel , men have been driven from their reason , and religion , and set their consciences loose to all unrighteousness . and hence it is , that they are grown every where so cross and intractable to all authority , laws , and order , and the state is full of rebels , the church of schismaticks , our houses of undutiful children , and untrusty servants ; and men are made universally false and unfaithful one to another . but let them pretend what religion they will , they shall not so escape ; all unjust persons ( such as i have described ) are upon the rock , the severe sentence of my text ; they shall not inherit the kingdom of god. part . ii. so at last i am arriv'd at the second part of my text ; the unjust mans doom or punishment : they shall not inherit , &c. in which , are two things to be observed ; i. the nature of the punishment ; it is a disinherison . ● , the quality of the state , the kingdom of god. in the first , here 's a case in law , a title supposed , and a disinherison expressed : a title , these unjust persons had , and heirs at law they were , ( and so were all that are , or shall be deprived of that eternal blessing ) or they could in no sence be said to be disinherited : 't is true , that adam once forfeited the estate , but it was purchased again , or redeemed , by christ , not with silver and gold , but with the dear price of his precious blood , ( 1 pet. 1. 18. ) and that redemption was made as large , as the forfeiture , as st. paul discourseth , ( rom. 5. 18. ) so that the reason why any man is now disinherited , must be upon another account ; not because adam sinned , or that the covenant of grace was renewed with any number less than all men , ( 1 tim. 2. 4. ) or that christ died for fewer than ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) for every man , ( heb. 2. 9. ) but because that universal covenant , and redemption , was made conditional , and required terms to be performed on our part , which , whosoever should refuse to keep , should forfeit his title to that new purchased inheritance . now the conditions of this new covenant made in christ , are faith and obedience . to which repentance is to be added , as tabula post nausragium ; of which , more anon . the sum then is , that the unjust man , as such , in all the particular cases i have mentioned , shall not inherit the kingdom of god , because he failed in both the condi●ions . 1. every unjust person hath failed in the first ; he is not a true believer in the sense of the gospel . for the clearing of which , we are to consider , that evangelical faith , when mans salvation or justification is wholly attributed to it , ( as when 't is said , that he that believeth shall be saved , john 3. 16. and justified by faith , rom. 5. 1. and saved by faith , eph. 1. 8. and the like ) intends not any act or habit of believing , in any strict sense , but a comprehension of all christ's virtues , and the whole body of christianity , of which a just life is the most considerable portion therefore st. paul upon the breach of distributive justice , in one particular instance of it , that is , a child 's not providing for his parents , ( which by family , 1 tim. 5. 8. is undoubtedly intended ) affirms , that such a person ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) hath denied the faith , and is an unbeliever , so much worse than an infidel , as a practical atheist is a greater prodigy than a speculative . but if faith be taken in a stricter sense , as sometimes it is ; and particularly by st. jame . ; ( jam 2. ) unless it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ( gal. 5. 6. ) except it worketh , or is consummate by love , ( of which love the greatest part ( in the gospel sense ) is justice ) it avails not ; it cannot , it is dead , saith st. jam. that is , as useless to a mans justification as the faith of devils . whosoever therefore is an unjust person in any of the senses i have described him , whether a rebel to his prince , or refractory to the church 〈◊〉 its order and institutions , as to distributive justice ; or does wrong to his neighbour as to commutative , let him pretend to what faith in christ he will , let it be a receiving , laying hold , or reliance upon him , or howsoever he hath been taught to define it , he is ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , col. 3. 6. ) a child of unbelief ; and upon the non-performance of the condition of faith , ( in the account of the gospel ) he shall be dealt withal as an unbeliever ; he hath forfeited the inheritance , he shall not inherit the kingdom of god. but then 2. faith is not the only condition of the convenant , by which we may preserve our title common peace and happiness of the world ; that all superiors might have entire subjection , and all others peace and right . so that a rebel , a schismatick , and the unjust of the lesser orders , may not be said only to disobey , but to frustrate the prime purpose and design of the gospel , and to offer the greatest affront and contradiction to the very spirit of christianity . for wheresoever the grace of god is predominant , it will certainly , and observedly ( as its prime and signal effect ) reduce the soul to the greatest innocency and simplicity , tractableness and obligation of doing right , and good to all ; with all which , the sins of injustice in every kind , are perfectly inconsistent , and irreconcileable . the sum is , whosoever is an habitual offender against any part of christian justice whether distributive or commutative , hath broken not only a particular , but an universal commandment of christ , and is grossely disobedient ; and so hath forfeited his inheritance , his title to the kingdom of god. thus i have shewn you the unjust mans doom in the nature of his punishment ; he shall not inherit : which will appear so much the greater , when we consider the quality of the estate , from which he is disinherited ; the kingdom of god. which is the next thing to be discours'd . the kingdom of god is a figurative expression , design'd to exalt our imagination of the blessed state to come : and that because we cannot now behold its unconceivable happiness , but as ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , 1 cor. 13. 12. per speculum ) through the dark perspective of sense , and a clouded intellect ; and therefore it must be represented to us ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) by little riddles and shadows of the best humane felicities ; here it is by a kingdom , the greatest and noblest possession this world affords ; and so enough to confirm us , that ( the design of that lofty metaphor ) the future bliss , is too great a loss , for so small a recompense , as the most prosperous unjust man gains by his unrighteous practices . but that the unjust man may be more fully upbraided for the greatness of his loss , let me improve the metaphor , by saying , that first he loseth god ; that is , the beatifical vision of his blessed countenance , which is better than life it self : he loseth the comforts of his blessed redeemer , who shall now appear to him with the terrible aspect of flaming fire , taking vengeance on him , and all them that obey not his gospel , 2 thes. 1. 8. he loseth the possession ( to make use of the most sensible description of the happy issues of an holy life ) of the city of the living god , the new jerusalem , the society of an innumerable company of angels , of the general assembly of the first born , & of the spirits of just men made perfect , heb. 12. lastly , he loseth his own soul ; that is , he brings himself into such a state , ( that praestat nunquam natum ) it were better for him he had never been born , or that a milstone were hanged about his neck , and were drowned in a sea of forgetfulness , and annihilation . and all this he adventures that he may add one handful of earth more to the turf of his worldly possessions ; one grain more to his accumulated heap ; one garnish more to the pride of his life ; from all which , and from whatsoever else he enjoys in this world , he shall possibly within a few minutes , probably within a few moneths , certainly within a few years , be as much a stranger , as he that holds up the train of the persian emperor , or the infant that hangs upon his mothers breast . these are the miserable measures of the unjust mans doom and punishment . but is he past the utmost confines of hope ? is his evil an irreparable loss , an irrecoverable danger ? certainly no : for though the gospel have drawn up the indictment against him , it is not yet come to judgment : he is in a state of damnability , but not damnation . not so shipwrack'd , but that there is ( tabuta post naufragium ) one raft left to land him safe , one remaining condition of his recovery , and that is , a timely repentance ; for ( saith god ) if the wicked man shall turn away from his unrighteousness ( his injustice ) and do that which is lawful and right , &c. if he shall restore the pledge , and execute judgment between man and man , he shall save his soul alive , ezek. 18. 27. when first by repentance , must be understood nothing less , than ( what is necessary for all other sins ) a real departure from all unrighteous actions and engagements : whatsoever is called repentance , and brings not this change ( be it sorrow , contrition , or confession ) ought in no reason to be accounted sufficient for evangelical reconciliation . much less will ( lachrymula & suspirium ) a tear and a sigh at the last period of our life ( by such measures of mercy as are revealed to us ) expiate the guilt of the sin of injustice , or any other sins , habitually and reigningly continued in , to that helpless hour . therefore 2. besides this repentance , which is common to all other sins . the unjust ( which doth much heighten the sin of injustice above all others ) are obliged to restore the injured persons ( to their utmost capacity ) to that right , of which they have deprived them . otherwise all other acts of repentance , ( even to the departure from any further commission of the sin ) will be accounted fair , but abortive attempts . now in the several cases of injustice , where the scene lies not for restitution , as in the cases of rebellion , schism , and the like , the unjust person must make satisfaction , and amends , by acknowledgments and recantations , and those to be ( if possible ) as publickly and earnestly done , as those wrongs had been before committed . for if those attempts of satisfaction be not made ( if in his power ) whatsoever other acts of repentance he had performed , ( let no man deceive himself , nor mock god ) he hath yet no title to the blessing of the penitent . but where the unjust man ( in the cases of the breaches of commutative justice ) hath defrauded any man by oppression , theft , or subtilty , in any employment , or contract whatsoever , so that another is damnified by him , if that person should weep an ocean of tears for his sins , and pray till his knees became callous , like a camels , for the pardon of it , if the unjust thing lies upon his hand , if there be not restitution made , to the injured person , ( according to his power ) or if he be dead , to his heirs ; or if neither can be found , to the poor ; ( whose right then it is , by an escheat to the soveraign lord , whose exchequer they are ) he cannot be numbred among the penitents , he is still an unjust man , and shall not inherit the kingdom of god. it was upon zacheus noble restitution , that our saviour pronounced , this day is salvation come to thy house , ( luke 19. 19. ) and , si res aliena ( saith st. austin in his epistle to macedonius ) cum reddi potest , non redditur , non agitur poenitentia , sed fingitur ; if the unjust thing be not restored , the repentance may be feigned , but is not performed . and now i beseech all those persons here this day before me , whose consciences can inform them , that they are so unhappy as to be unjust in any of the measures i have mentioned , first , that they take no offence at the religion , that requires , nor at me that preach , so severe a method ( as men may be apt to think ) of their recovery ; for they ought to consider , that it was their own wilful prevarications of the most reasonable rules of justice , and not the religion , that made it necessary . and let me further assure them , that whosoever shall give his soul leave ( for his own salvation ) to ingage in the performance of this duty of restitution ( how unkind or difficult soever it may appear at the first view ) let him not be discouraged ( my soul for his ) he shall find such a sensible return of sweetness and satisfaction in the very acts , and much more in the issue of it , that he would not exchange his comforts , or have neglected his duty , for all the pleasures and enjoyments in the world . his soul shall dwell at ease , and he shall lie down in peace ; his bed shall be no more shorter , but that he shall stretch himself upon it , nor his covering narrower , but that he shall wrap himself in it , ( isa. 28. 20. ) that is , he shall have a quiet mind , while he lives ; and when he comes to die , he shall not be tormented with the confluence of direful furies about his bed , nor behold dreadful aspects hanging about his curtains , the usual attendants of unjust men , living and dying . what if thy house shall stand one story lower by removing the chambers built by wrong , ( jer. 22. 13. ) ? or contract the compass of thy land by hedging out naboth's vineyard ? or lay aside some circumstances of a splendid life ? nay : what if thou shouldst be reduced to a retired condition , or the narrow circles of a low fortune , by restoring what is anothers right ? the assurance of gods favour above thee , the enjoyment of a good conscience within thee , the view of a glorious hope before thee ; ( in a word ) a contented life , a peaceable death , and a blest eternity , will be a redundant compensation for all thou shalt so nobly part with . thus have i adventured a prejudice in your opinion , by chusing these unwelcome ( though very necessary ) doctrines of universal justice , and upon the breach of it , satisfaction , and restitution . my comfort is , if i have not pleased you , i have done you right , i have dealt justly with you . and i do not despair , but i have met here many persons of david's choyce , and ingenuity , ( psal. 141. ) who would rather be smitten friendly , and reproved , than to hear the pleasing balmes of unconcerning and indulgent doctrine , to break their heads , destroy their souls . with whom ( i hope ) these instructions may so far prevail , that it may be said of them , as st. paul said of his penitent corinthians , in the verse following my text ; such were some of you , but ye are washed , ye are sanctified , but ye are justified in the name of the lord jesus , and by the spirit of our god. a particular representation of the injustice of partial conformity to the clergy . a postcript . representing the injustice and danger of partial conformity . i have in this sermon ( as fully & faithfully as i could ) made an universal survey of the several branches of christian justice , and given notice , that the wilful transgressors of any part of it , stand arraign'd and condemned for unrighteous persons , as to their guilt , and cannot ( upon the gospels requiring universal obedience in general , and doing right to all men in particular , as the conditions of salvation by it ) inherit the kingdom of god , as their punishment . but amongst the great numbers of unjust men , i have ( in the former part of my discourse ) sorted those persons , who deprive the supreme magistrate of his due , in that part of his authority which concern spirituals ; and the governors of the church of their right of obedience from their charges ; by refusing to conform themselves to the commands of both , so far as they are invested with a power from god , to institute laws and canons , for the peace , order , and unity of the churches , under their rule and conduct . now because not only the people in general are concern'd in that part of evangelical righteousness ; but the ministers also of parochial congregations stand most especially obliged to it , and because their offences against it , are of far more dangerous consequence , i have for their sakes , who are of the clergy , made this enlargement in that particular branch of it , as to them . and this i have done the rather , because ( at this present time ) this kind of injustice is so spreadingly , and unconscionably committed and practiced ; that ( what with the miscarriage of some , who out of worldly prudence , of others , who out of weakness , of most , who out of wilfulness , neglect their due conformity to the establish'd laws ) a great number of the churches are made irregular and disordered in the publick administrations of gods service : by which means the laws are baffled and despised , the government suspected and defamed , the priesthood in general reproach'd as false and careless , and the whole profession of our establisht religion , is made a scorn at present , and ready to be made a prey in future , to our enemies on every side . my brethren , let us have a care therefore in time , we do not too much , and too long ( for the narrow concerns of our present quiet or profit , or to conciliate vulgar love or fame ) not only wickedly and unjustly , but weakly and imprudently comply with the humors of any party whatsoever , in the neglects of our duties , or partial performance of our offices : for it is certain , that no man can do it , ( upon what pious motives soever he pretends to be induced to it , as favouring infirmities , or tender consciences , and the like ) but besides his real offence against the laws of christ strictly obliging obedience to his superiors just commands , he doth thereby promote and cherish a faction in his own bosom ; which being once warm'd into a sufficient strength , shall upon the next advantageous opportunity , not only destroy the church in its legal constitution , but in the same pitch and posture of abasement , to which the condescension was made . and of this , let our late experience be an impartial judge . for when some bishops , and other eminent persons of the church , who out of a pious tenderness to some mens dissatisfactions , and designing the upholding their own , and the churches respect & credit among them ( for which they were distinguished from their brethren by the name of puritans ) did either not urge , or not practise strict conformity , found at length their own grand mistake in the frustration of all those ends which they propounded to themselves , as the reasons of their compliance : for neither themselves , nor the church for their sakes , found any mercy at all from them , in the days of their power and fury , when nothing less would satisfie them , than the confusion of both . little did those reverend persons think , when they strain'd their candor to that party , beyond the bounds of their due obedience to law , that such a petty shew of tender piety , and consciences so demurely nice ( that could not digest so much as a ring on the brides finger , the infants wearing the shadow of a cross three minutes at its baptism , upon its forehead , or but the colour of the priest's vestment ; for they pretended then but such little offences ) should cover such black designs , of the most unwarrantable practices that ever were acted in the world . it behoveth us therefore to suspect , when we meet with conscience-scruplings about such , or the like indifferent rites and circumstances that there lodgeth underneath an unsatisfiable dislike and dissatisfaction to the whole establishment ; so that if our ingenuity should be tempted to debauch our obedience , by a partial conformity to indulge them in those lesser things , it were prudence to believe , that we should be so far from giving them full satisfaction , that it would but the more advance and strengthen an unruly appetite , which nothing could determine , but the destruction of all . of this their unsatiable humour , our late experience can convincingly inform us ▪ when their first modest desires of a moderated episcopacy , ended in nothing less , than its extirpation ▪ and of regulating some offensive parts of the liturgy , in its utter abolition . and when ( as among many of them ) after the cross , followed baptism it self ; after removing the rails and genuflexion , went away the sacrament : and when they had been at first a little gratified with the taking away the habits , they were never quiet , till they had renounced the very order & calling of priesthood it self . such effects , and no better than these we must expect from the greatest condescention that can be made , to men of this temper and complection . in stead therefore of any sinful ●●●pliance with any faction what●●●ver , by remitting our duties , 〈◊〉 please them , as friends ( which 〈◊〉 will be no longer than they ●●●●ot be otherwise ) let us gird our selves in all our spiritual armature against them , as the churches , ours , and their own , destructive enemies ; that is , let us fast and pray , and weep against their ignorance and perverseness in private : let us preach down their follies in publik : but especially let us guard the establish'd church against their designs of unsetling the peoples ●●herence to it , with an intire con●●mity to its legal constitutions 〈◊〉 every circumstance ; and then let us conquer their prejudice with ●●nocency of life and simplicity of ●anners , till by these holy methods , and gods blessing , we have ●●tained ( or at least endeavoured to administer the most reasonable means to obtain their recovery , 〈◊〉 sense and obedience . and though , if after all this , we cannot prevail , yet it will be 〈◊〉 honourable and safe ( before g●● and man ) for us , who are the physitians of souls , that they may be said to perish under , than without the application of the most sufficient remedy . and if truth must 〈◊〉 to the ground , yet let it not 〈◊〉 without a competent witness gi●●● to it , whatsoever we suffer for it . but by no means , let nor futurity lay it to our charge , that we have help'd to betray the best constituted church in the world to ruine , by neglecting our duty , to hu●●● and indulge a perverse generation of men , whom no kindness could reconcile , no remissions or condescentions satisfie . for he that thinks , that the lessening , or laying aside his confor●●ty , or the concealing some necessary truths , because distastful 〈◊〉 their vitiated palates , or the ●●pping on to some degrees of com●●ance with their popular modes 〈◊〉 praying and preaching , will se●●re the church from the danger 〈◊〉 those factions ; shall find his ●●pedient as unsuccesseful , as that ●●ysitian's , who leaving the cause 〈◊〉 the distemper behind , thinks 〈◊〉 obtain health for his patient , by ●●ring the symptom for the dis●●se ; or as absurd as his expectation , who would hope for a regular ●●●fect , from the most equivocal ●●ause . for it is observed ( and we are ready to make the observation good by several instances ) that 〈◊〉 congregations have contributed greater numbers to the herds of the different factions , than those that have been under the conduct of such , who would have the pieced , and partial conformity and popular compliances , esca●● under the specious , yet mista●●● title of moderation . i must confess , amongst the enemies of the church of england , think that sort of amphibious clergy , not the least , nor less dangerous than any ; who forfeit the fidelity to their solemn subscriptions and declarations , and treacherously decline the work they have assumed , and act their offices in the church , in such a manner , that the people may believe , that there is something that is very evil in them , and that they repented themselves of what they had undertaken . these are they , that set up altar against altar in the same church that join the liturgy and directory together , at the same assembly but as much as possible to the disadvantage of the former , which they shuffle over with such an undecent and undevout mode of delivery , and then manage their voluntier effusions in prayer , and their hints and corollaries in preaching , with such zeal and fervor , as if they design'd to tell the people , that they never were in earnest till then , or that those offices in the pulpit might be interpreted to serve no better end , than to undermine the credit of what they had done ( or undone ) in the desk . such unconformable conformists as these began the church of englands danger at first reformation , and the miserable series , of almost all its troubles since , hath been propagated by them ; and if a ●imely care in governors , and the resurrection of a good conscience in themselves , do not prevent it , they will yet contribute as much , ( if not more ) as any enemy we have , to make the present distempers in the church , to become an uncurable disease , an unsuperable evil. these mens congregations are the fountains , from whence the crooked rivers , and rivulets , the mother and daughters of factions , have deriv'd their streams , to that swelling greatness , as they now run among us , and almost over us ▪ they were the seraglio's , where the late warriors against the king and the church , were trained up and disciplin'd : and what the seminaries beyond seas , are to the propagation of popery , these are the same to the keeping up of all factions among us . so that all attempts for the recovery of the churches peace , and unity , by suppressing conventicles ( in which are many serious , though abused souls , who would the rather be ●itied ( so far as can possibly conist with the churches safety ) because they received their first prejudice by them , whom we have too much or too little reason to call our selves ) will be found uneffectual for that end , so long as the nurseries of faction within the church , are permitted to perpetuate a succession of such , who upon the least check or discontent , have prepared principles and affections to depart from us , and to supply their places . and this will easily be believed , when it is considered , that the difference between some ministers practices in churches , and those of unlawful meetings is so small , that oft-times the separation may be rather accounted a change of places , than professions . but that these clergy-men may be more regularly convinced of their sin and folly , and find arguments , both from conscience and prudence , to change their destructive practices of popular compliances , into a design of preserving the church of england's general safety , by a faithful conformity to its institutions ; i shall here offer to their considerations , ( besides those which i have already intimated in general ) a particular series of evils , certainly consequent to their disorders . 1. from these mens miscarriages , and the teaching their people to adhere to them ( where they are ) it comes to pass that the enemies of the church , have contrived an argument , by crying up the numbers of dissenters ( which by their means are more numerous in churches , than without ) as great and formidable ; to tempt , and terrifie the civil power , from protecting the church , under its present danger and oppression . whereas , as i believe the allegation to be false ( especially if a lesser number of men in power , and of learning , and honour , may be allowed to compensate a greater , of the mean and ignorant ) so , if this one expedient were tryed , that all clergy men might be compelled to serve god in publick , in one uniform submission to law , without any liberty to extravagate from that rule ; and so no more beacons on fire in any neighbouring churches to alarm the vulgar , to run up and down to gratifie their natural love of opposition and novelty ; and a diligent care taken that no factions without the church , might be headed by men of orders , or parts ( though the common people were less prosecuted with afflictive penalties ) i am perswaded in a few years , the numbers of dissenters , would be so far from being formidable , that they would not be considerable for any thing , but our pity and charity . and i have this ground to assure me of the possible successefulness of this expedient , because it is certain , that where the strictest conformity hath a long time been constantly used , there are fewest that do trouble themselves , or their governors about the design of relaxation from it ; and that there are none that hate conformity so much , as they who live in places where it is discountenanced and neglected . and this appears by the disloyal and undutiful temper of those that dwell in cities and greater towns , where , because there was no provision in law for them , that would obey it ; the people were resolved to bestow their contributions on none , but such , by whom they might be instructed and indulged in an assured opposition to the church . to which one cause , most of our former and present miseries refer , 〈◊〉 effects ; as when from those places were elected burgesses of parliament of the same principles , to create troubles above ( whose heavy ●and , our late gracious princes of happy memory felt sufficiently , even to the loss of the life of one of the best kings that ever was : ) and 〈◊〉 when the people of the neighbour-villages flockt to their market lectures , and were there trained up , in dislike and enmity to the establish'd church , and prepared to contemn their own shepherds at home ; unless they became such as themselves , which very oft they did , when younger divines ( who for want of parts or government , had little encouragement to continue in the universities ) made it a piece of their education , to go thither , to scribble notes for their own pulpits , and to learn the tones , gestures , and phrases , which might give their own people contentment at home . whereas if our present parliament ( as it was the design of many ) had upon the kings restauration found out a way , to have setled a competent legal maintenance , and men of the greatest integrity and learning ( whose abilities are commonly either lodg'd up in colledges and cathedrals , or obscur'd in little villages ) planted in those greater places ; and where they are popularly elective , if they had been brought under the patronage of the crown ( whose safety is especially concern'd in it ) and a way found out , to embetter trade , in the stead of factious lectures , there could not have been a stone laid , which would have added more to the defence and security of the church and throne . but to recover my self from this digression , i am confident that this expedient that i have mentioned , ( whatsoever is pretended to the contrary by them that have a design to ruine us ) will give far less trouble to the civil power to preserve the church , than a toleration of all religions ( by the making and maintaining so many rules to limit it , and so many provisions to prevent the dangers that will ensue upon it , half of which cannot be be foreseen ) will cost to destroy it : besides the dishonour of discountenancing that party , which are the only assured friends to undoubted loyalty , all other parties lying under a stain of being unfaithful to the crown ; of confounding the most absolute platform of primitive christianity , which no other perswasion makes any such pretence to ; and in defending of which , we have so far prevail'd in all rational debates , that our enemies stand ashamed , and baffled on every side : of making that church which hath appear'd hitherto the honour of the whole reformation , to become vile and contemptible in the eye of the world , by giving advantage for the encouragement and immixture of as many false and ridiculous professions at one time among us , as all the ages of the church ever knew in its successive periods : of contradicting the sense of both the universities , and of the principal of the most learned men of the age , with a great blow to learning it self : of opening a door to the increase of atheism and prophaneness , which if they have thriven so much under a looser hand of discipline , what will they come to , when all the bars of ecclesiastick government are thrown down ? lastly , ( with many more evils which a better and more experienc'd skill might foresee ) besides the dishonour of treading upon the bloud and ashes , and of blemishing the fame and actions of our late gracious king and martyr , who died to prevent the admission of those evils among us . the sum is , it is no wonder , ( while so many churches continue in their irregularities ) why the arms of the civil power are wearied and discouraged , when all their endeavours for the establishing an universal uniformity by the method of dispersing unlawful assemblies , may be too justly interpreted to be but an emptying the streams , while the fountain is kept running ; and cutting down the branches , while the root is left entire , to propagate a new progeny of the same kind and spirit . so that when some civil magistrates have had their aid required , for the redressing of misdemeanors without the church , it hath been reasonably answered , and objected by them , let the churches own work of reformation and order be done at home , and we are ready to give our assistance to endeavour it abroad . 2. from these mens disorders it comes to pass that it is no wonder that the government and discipline of the church is baffl'd and despis'd , and men are tempted to reproach them as ineffectual , and consequently useless ; when it is considered , that besides the known dissenters , who impudently oppose them without , the r. r. bishops universal care of their churches ( every parish being their proper charge ) is executed by so many curates , who are traytors to them and their authority within . who contrary to their trust ( given and taken with all possible religious and reasonable obligations ) of keeping up the reverence and esteem of their persons , calling , and discipline , by conducting souls , in one legal uniform performance of their offices , in canonical obedience ( which by oath they stand oblig'd to ) and filial submission to them ; they tempt and teach the people to decline all respect and obedience to their authority , by setting up a new mode of worship , by the rubrick and canon of their own fancies , and in opposition to their orders and injunctions . thus in stead of those excellent enjoyned prayers , and regular forms of worship , which they either omit in whole or part , or render unacceptable by an irregular usage , they substitute such an unsavory offering of their own inventions , oft-times so full of ridiculous clamors and gestures , and odd familiarities , if not of non-sense and blasphemies ( against which evils , neither the church , nor themselves , will be secured , while they are permitted to assume a liberty of uttering what they please , and of gaining a reputation by it , of praying by the spirit ) that the wiser sort of the friends to the church of england , are scandall'd and ashamed , and forsake the publick assemblies , whither by law they are ingaged to go ; and the ignorant and credulous vulgar train'd up and disciplin'd , in the love and admiration of an irregular devotion , and in an irreconcileable disaffection to the rational setled service of the church , and an insuperable hatred to the laws and persons that oblige and require it . and then , as to the executing the churches tender care of instructing youth in form and manner , as they are ingaged by law and duty , they either wholly omit that sweet and charitable office , and convert it at the time appointed , into a discourse , that neither for matter or manner , doth suit with either their needs or capacities ; or instead of conducting them in the knowledge of the duties of christianity , by the church-catechism ( which doth so concernedly design it ) they have presumptuously substituted a great company of other forms , full of private opinions , and heads of controverted doctrines ( as those of absolute election , justification by faith alone , and the like ) which have no influence upon , if not a contradiction to , the very reason of christian obedience ; and thence parents and tutors , and the children themselves are left to a strange uncertainty , when ( upon change of places ) they are either committed to the conduct of men of other fancies , or to those that follow the churches order in their institutions . now what kind of youth such irregular usage of children is like to make , may be judged by them , which they trained up in their ▪ twenty years liberty , to use their own methods without controul . then as to the improving the churches care of instructing men by the office of preaching , in the duties of justice , and mercy , peace and innocence , subjection to authority , and ( which is the sum of all ) universal obedience : the peoples ears are accustomed to the noises of new invented phrases , and impertinent notions ; with the discourses of gospel-priviledges , christian liberties , and controverted opinions ( such as of the famous five points , and their dependent articles ) . and instead of preaching upon the renowned sermon upon the mount ( in imitation of our saviour's own example ) and pressing the rules of life contained in it , the people hear the weight of their salvation laid upon some occasional expressions in the epistles of the apostles , ( especially those to the romans and galatians ) or else they send them to patmos , to busie themselves about opening some of the seals of the revelation . by which kind of preaching , the people ( as their practices do too pregnantly declare ) are kept in ignorance ( some think , greater than in the darkest age of popery and superstition ) of those christian duties , but especially of their necessary obligation , for the attaining eternal salvation : which doth evidently appear , when it is observed , that no sort of people of the nation , are so defective in most of them , nor ( as to the case in hand ) so cross & intractable to all authorities , nor so apt ( on all occasions ) to rebellious designs against them ( which if a strict observation were made what places did most especially afford the greater numbers of them , that were lately ingaged against the king and the church , would easily be proved ) than those that have been under the conduct of such ministries . hence ingenuous persons may consider , what grand and confused difficulties ( made so through these mens disorders ) the ecclesiastick jurisdiction hath to deal with , to preserve the church in any degree from a present sinking , into a total ruine ; and ( as things stand ) how impossible it is ( were its power executed to the greatest perfection ) to attain its end of universal peace and order . but if all ministers of congregations were compelled to do their duties exactly according to law , and not one permitted to perform any thing in the publick worship of god , by his own choice or fancy , whereby one church should be distinguish'd from another ; and so none be presum'd to come to church , nor meddle with any offices or business about it , but such as come thither ( there being no temptation from any thing else ) in a willing submission to conformity , which ( 't is supposed ) none would do but such , as would also be worthy and civil to the government of the church : and that all professed dissenters were look'd upon as excommunicate persons ( all which are really so , either , by the sentence of the church , or by their own wilful separation ) and so no further to belong to the churches jurisdiction ( while they resolve obstinately to continue so ) than an heathen , or an alien : and that then the secular power would look upon them as only their proper province , to regulate them by such laws as they are , or shall be impowered withal , made on the most charitative design to restore them to the church ; its discipline would do its own work with honour , and all that live under its excellent conduct , enjoy it with comfort and safety to their souls . whereas , while so many churches remain in their irregular , and mixt conformities , and for that cause as dangerous enemies , as any the church of england is oppressed with , continue a kind of communion with it , in her publick places ; no wonder , when such persons are either made officers , or any otherwise dealt withal , by the churches jurisdiction , that they appear , either , to affront it , or to render it as trifling and ridiculous as they can : and when the secular power by due execution of laws , shall bring any man to some publick churches , it 's a question whether he be restored to the church of england , or only removed from a lesser conventicle to a greater ; and so the law be made use of , rather to confirm the dissenters in their opposition , than to restore them to the peace and order of the church . 3. by these mens humouring the poor people with their directorian conformity , it is , that the true sons of the church , who in conscience of their duty to god , shall entirely conform themselves to the laws established , are made the scorn and hate of the people : who are taught to reproach them ( for want of an accusation that hath truth or sense in it ) by the names of popish & superstitious : whereas their own teachers might with less injustice , and upon a nearer agreement than we have with either the pope , or the worship of daemons ( as i can shew them if they desire it ) be called jews or turks , did not a good cause solemnly abhor such unchristian defences , though a bad one ( and it is a convincing sign it is so ) hath no other to protect it . and then upon the temptation of those reproachful . names that signifie and prove no determinate thing ( had they said conformity had been against any law of christ , and shewn us a precept general , or particular to prove it so , they had done like men and christians ) the people think themselves acquitted towards god , if they persecute their conformable pastors , with all imaginable acts of cruelty , to make their lives bitter and vexatious to them : to which evils they add this also ( with him in the psalm , imagining god to be such an one as themselves ) that if any sad accident ( in common contingencies ) shall befall them , it shall be recorded as a prodigy from heaven to argue gods disowning them and whatsoever faults ( be they true or false ) their watchful eye of envy can find in their lives , they shall ( with all possible disadvantage to their reputation ) be rumour'd abroad as scandals to their profession , and as arguments against the church . not considering that the juggling of their own admir'd guides with christian obedience in some things , and their gross disobedience to authority in others , ( to the universal wrong both of their civil and ecclesiastick superiors ) are sins so much more scandalous against the gospel , than any their malice pretends to lay to the conformists charge ( if the miscarriage of some were allowed to be a just accusation of all ) as the hypocrisie of a pharisee is worse than the open offences of a publican ; and as a sin that passeth under a pretence of godliness , is much more dangerous , than those sins , whose shame is written on the offenders foreheads ; and for which there is no approbation or allowance from those of their own perswasion , and ( so oft as their spiritual governors can have it signified to them ) for which , some have been obliged to submit to the penances of publick recantations ; as hath been done in this particular diocess . but a wise man may easily discover ( though the people cannot ) the difference between the solid piety , and innocency of a true son of the church ( by which as he hath no design , so , to which he hath no temptation , but to please and honour god , and is not much concern'd if any but his all-seeing eye shall know it ) and the sheeps-cloathing of wolves , the angelical light which the devil puts on , when he turns fanatick , and the form of godliness of a deceiver , that is so much outward sanctimony and framed piety , as will ( by a subtle observation of the peoples humour ) gain an acceptance and reputation from them of being godly , without any regard to the common peace of the church . and if any of them shall chance to fall into any apparent acts of sin , which they dislike , and of which they so bitterly accuse others , and the church for them , so long as they comply with them in their disobedient humour to the church , all the condemnation they shall have , shall amount to no more , than , it 〈◊〉 pity for the man , and god in his 〈◊〉 time will shew him his errour , and call him home ; but he shall not lose the opinion of an honest man. but wo to the poor conformist , if he falls into the same . 4. from the example of these mens disorders it comes to pass , that the ignorant and easie dissenters are encreased , confirmed , and hardned in their separations , beyond all possible recal ; when they understand , that what they depart from in the whole , is but that which those men ( who by mistake enough and by incompetent judges are accounted the only godly ministers do in their churches reject in portions . and when , as to that little they observe , the matter is so ordered , that they may be believed to do it , but in their own defence unwillingly , and by constraint , and as resolved to continue the doing it no longer , than they can get themselves set free from the burden of authority . but this mischief ends not here & that which makes it much worse is , that such persons , who are yet unconcern'd as to any religion , and are tempted through idleness , or business , or some little offence to the person of their priests , to stay at home ; do answer all inward checks of conscience , and all outward perswasions against their neglect of serving god according to the order of the church , by alledging to themselves , that they absent themselves from nothing but that , which those that are accounted godly , do make it their religion to scorn , and forsake , and would fight to destroy ; and those that use it , seem to be opprest by it , and seek to avoid it as much as they can . by which it comes to pass , that great numbers of men ( i dare not say how great i think them ) and of youth especially ( o unhappy they that gave the occasion ! ) by continued absence from the blessings and ordinances of the church , and the means of grace and knowledge are grown atheistical and barbarous , vile and vitious , bold and hardened in their opposition to 〈◊〉 virtue and goodness . hence it is ( what with the one and the other ) that some places look like ( if they really be not ) an universal defection from christianity : and some priests who faithfully perform their duty , could not without great shame and oppression of spirit , be serving god in the publick place , with so few about them ( perhaps two or three in some populous places ) but that they comfort themselves , that their little handful , compared with the flocks that attend faction , look so like the different numbers in the narrow and broad way , mention'd in the gospel , and the unequal proportion of the good and evil in the world ; and by considering , that multitudes ( when differences are upon the stage ) seldom ( and that by accident ) entertain the right side , but do usually suffer themselves to be conducted by such impostors , who because they cannot satisfie their pride and ambition in being considerable in real worth and weight , will endeavour to make themselves so , in throngs and numbers . 5. from these mens disorderly performance of gods service in the church , and the confusions which they bring upon the government by it , the romanists ( whose ends are chiefly served by it ) have their hands daily strengthened , and hopes advanced , for the accomplishing their designs . and i am assured ( of which sufficient reasons and instances may be given that nothing can so fully defeat their endeavours for the introduction of their spiritual empire amongst us , as an entire practis● uniformity in all our churches , and a full adherence to , and a faithful preservation of , the establish'd ecclesiastick government ; as the main bulwarks , which they endeavour to overthrow , and which we must chiefly trust to ( under god for the churches universal safety . but the truth of this is so infete●ed with riddles , and made so like the doubtful answer of an oracle to the people , that they are perfectly cheated into the belief of a sense as contrary to it as it it 's possible and so are delivered into an opinion of pursuing the churches safety against popery , by that method , which is the only probable means of delivering up the church unto it . the romanists know , that they can never bring this nation back to their religion , but first the establisht church must be overthrown ; and they know also ( no other danger yet appearing ) it must be done , by improving the dissenters maice , and the peoples folly , to confound the peace and order of it , by the ruine of episcopacy and liturgy : which that they may do with the greater zeal , the cheat 〈◊〉 , they must be made believe , that all that they do is to pull down antichrist , and keep out popery ; and to hate the conformist , as designing to uphold both : whereas there is no man , but he , that prevents the setting up of both among us . thus the best prince , prelate , and statesman then in the world , lost their lives , by being first rendred the peoples hate , as designing to bring in popery ; when wise men knew , that there were not three persons under the sun , whom the romanists would rather have removed out of the way , as the grand hinderers of their design . the people are taught not to conform to the liturgy , because it is popish ; whereas the papists hate it , because it is not so ; and when some of them have been dispensed to hear our sermons , they are always prohibited to hear the service . and whereas the factions are at work to make the people ruine episcopacy , as popish ; there is nothing the romanists desire to see rather , than it's confusion ; as knowing that it was that order of men , that did at first throw , and now keeps out their usurpations . and it is known , that the strictest adherers to the pope , are but back-friends to the order of bishops in the countries of their own perswasion ; and that the order of jesuites was first rais'd up , and now continued in its greatness , on design , to retrench the power of bishops , as an order that can only endanger the popes usurpations , and yet themselves stand upon a firm bottom of primitive catholocisme . but fully to confute the peoples grand mistake , who have been so falsly and disingenuously tempted , and instructed , to suspect the strict conformists , as inclinable to popery ( the spiteful artifice of the factions to render them odious ) i wish them to consider , against whom hath the romanists bent their forces in all their debates , and with what bitterness they have sometimes managed them ( to instance in mr. serjant's schism-disarm'd , against dr. hammond ) not against the factions , one or other , but always against the establish'd church of england ? and who hath maintained the disputes against them , but the strictest adherers to it , and those generally of the episcopal order it self ? and if this cannot sufficiently manifest the falseness of the accusation , and how far the faithful sons of our church are from being favourers of popery , what can be said or done more to convince them ? then let them consider on the other side , what kindness the romanists have shewn to the factious , ( not that i think they love them more than us , or would not destroy them also , when they had done their work of confounding us ) of which none can be ignorant , that will enquire after so many stories that pregnantly prove it , and that are printed , and not confuted : of which there is hardly any clergy-man , but can say something from the circle of his own observation . let the world therefore judge , whether they that have so unworthily prejudg'd the people with a suspition of us , have not given occasion to be accused as really guil●● of the same themselves . the sum is , so far as a partial conformist , doth by his unworthy usage of his offices , cherish in the people a dislike and disaffection , to the service , orders , and government of the church , whereby they are prepared to oppose them , ( if not to destroy them ) on all occasions ; so far he must be supposed to be doing the papists work , to be digging down the wall , plucking up the hedge , which fence and secure the church against them ; and laying all open to give them opportunity to re-enter and possess the holy vineyard of god amongst us . and i think of this they have been sufficiently forewarned , by the late incomparable prelate and martyr , when in his dying sermon , he foretold what a harvest the pope would make of our confusions ; though for his good will , and dying-tender care of the church , the head of a faction , ( who afterward lost his own ) was so impudent , as in a triumph , to dip his handkerchief in his blood , in requital for his kindness . 6. and lastly , by these mens undutiful practices it comes to pass , that the parochial officers , who should inform authority of the miscarriages of congregations , are for their sakes , tempted to break their solemn oaths to god , given and taken , for the good end of the churches order and unity , and of the purity of life in the members of it , which are wholly defeated by it . of which oaths so broken , those ministers cannot but be highly guilty , as being in no capacity to reprove them , and necessarily oblig'd to indulge them , in their abominable sin of perjury : and all to save themselves from being justly questioned , for their own disorders and disobedience . and the event is , that most churches will be ( without all visible remedy ) kept unreformed from the grossest abuses ; and the nation in general will be taught by such remarkable presidents of perjury , almost in every neighbourhood , to contemn all other obligations by the solemn religion of an oath ; that the king can promise to himself little assurance of fealty , from them that have sworn it ; and no man secure of his life or fortune , when both are committed to the tryal of the law , when only the tye of an oath can assure any man to have right done him . and there are already complaints made of gross miscarriages , where favour or interest have tempted men to deal unfaithfully , and to betray the truth , to the preservation of which , they stood engaged by oath . and if men still proceed to be so atheistical , and hardy , as to make no conscience of an oath , and consequently not of the lesser tyes of honour , and common honesty ; the whole world will in a short time be sensible , that we are a false , perfidious , and perjurious people , abominable to god and man. all these evils ( till they shall endeavour to convince me to the contrary , which if they do , i shall either give them a sober reply in my own defence , or a just acknowledgment of my mistake ) i conclude to be done or occasioned by them . and do yet believe , that without repentance towards god , and a sincere endeavour to make satisfaction to the church , for the wrongs they have done , they must answer deeply for them , at the bar of divine justice , and be reckoned among the urighteous in my text. as for the people who are abused by them , in their judgment and affections against the church of england , so many of them as are invincibly prejudiced , that is , such as having derived their errour from the force of an unhappy education , and since been kept up in their prejudice , by the strong temptation of their teachers seeming godliness ( in which it is no hard matter to deceive a weak , though innocent , mind ) and have not natural capacities to discover their mistake , by the help of an ordinary and general means of conviction ; my charity tells me , that such may be dear and beloved servants of god , and such as may attain the end of the gospel in pure and innocent lives , that is , that would not for any earthly advantage , wilfully and deliberately persist in any evil way , ( except in the instance of their ( which i suppose ) invincible mistake ) whereby god should be offended , or dishonoured by them . and i wish that the best care might be taken in every part of the nation , to distinguish them from those , who observedly , out of a ●●oss humour , pride or envy , wickedly maintain their opposition against the church , and that then there were a particular application made to them , managed with the greatest meekness , and prudence , to undeceive them ; and that all churches did the same thing without distinction , and no subtle heads of factions permitted any more to abuse them , and that church-men would be exactly careful of giving them no offence , by the irregularities of their lives , i am perswaded in a short time , the greatest part of the innocent dissenters might be gained to the church , and be an ornament to it , and the obstinate would either hide their faces in shame and discouragement , or manifest their falseness by the evidence of some grosser universally acknowledged miscarriages . but as to the persons whom i am now reproving , as it is not possible but they must know the tenur of their oaths , subscriptions , and engagements , and cannot but understand that a departure from them , to a contrary practice , must needs be a wilful transgression of their duty to god & man , so i know not yet what argument to give myself , upon which i may ground a charitable interpretation of their irregularities and compliances . thus have i ( laying aside all apprehension of fear or favour from any man , or parties of men whatsoever ) dealt plainly and faithfully in this great concern of the church of england , by laying the occasion of the present evils of it , on them that practised , and do yet continue to practise their partial conformity and compliance with the factious humour of the age in the publick churches . if i have touch'd a tender sore , it is because i in tended to cleanse and heal it not to inflame or torment it if any man becomes my enemy for telling the truth , it is none of my fault , and so shall be none of my discomfort . but 〈◊〉 the representation ( which i have made ) of the sin and danger , shall prevail with any one ( 〈◊〉 but one ) who hath hitherto halted in his duty , to entertain a resolution in future to keep a good conscience , consult the right of his superiors , and the safety of the church , by keeping himself strict to his obedience , i shall have a sufficient compensation for whatsoever i shall suffer from that angry generation of men i have to deal with , and an ample reward for whatsoever is here done , by him , who among the servants of jesus , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sept . 18. 1669. w. s. an essay concerning obedience to the supreme powers, and the duty of subjects in all revolutions with some considerations touching the present juncture of affairs. tindal, matthew, 1653?-1733. 1694 approx. 150 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 47 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-10 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a62670 wing t1299 estc r5554 12635848 ocm 12635848 64861 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a62670) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 64861) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 337:6) an essay concerning obedience to the supreme powers, and the duty of subjects in all revolutions with some considerations touching the present juncture of affairs. tindal, matthew, 1653?-1733. [4], 68 p. printed for richard baldwin ..., london : 1694. attributed to matthew tindal. cf. halkett and laing (2nd ed.). page 68 is stained in the filmed copy. pages 50-end photographed from newberry library copy and are inserted at the end. advertisement: p. [4]. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng obedience. 2004-11 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-11 aptara keyed and coded from proquest page images 2005-01 judith siefring sampled and proofread 2005-01 judith siefring text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion an essay concerning obedience to the supreme powers , and the duty of subjects in all revolutions . with some considerations touching the present juncture of affairs . london : printed for richard baldwin , near the oxford-arms in warwick-lane . mdcxciv . the contents . the introduction . page 1. chap. i. of government , and the origine of it . ibid. chap. ii. of passive obedience . 8. chap. iii. of the publick good. 15. chap. iv. of god's laws . 22. chap. v. of the law of nations . 26. chap. vi. of the obligation of human laws . 29. chap. vii . objections answered . 34. chap. viii . of conquest . pag. 37. chap. ix . of possession . 24. chap. x. of protection . 44. chap. xi . of oaths of fidelity . 54. chap. xii . of the act of parliament of the 11 of hen. 7. 56. chap. xiii . of proofs of scripture concerning obedience to those that actually administer government . 59. chap. xiv . some considerations touching the present affairs . 66. books sold by richard baldwin . mercury ; or the secret and swift messenger . shewing how a man may with privacy and speed communicate his thoughts to a friend at any distance . the second edition . by the right reverend father in god , john wilkins , late lord bishop of chester . printed for rich. baldwin , where are to be had , the world in the moon ; and mathematical magick . bibliotheca politica . or a discourse by way of dialogue on these following questions : 1. in what sense all civil power is derived from god , and in what sense may be also from the people . 2. whether his present majesty king william , when prince of orange , had a just cause of war against king james ii. 3. whether the proceedings of his present majesty , before he was king , as also of the late convention , in respect of the said king james , is justifiable by the law of nations , and the constitution of our government . collected out of the best authors , as well ancient as modern . dialogue the eleventh . a compendious history of the taxes of france , and of the oppressive methods of raising of them . an impartial enquiry into the advantages and losses that england hath received since the beginning of this present war with france . berault's french grammar . the tragedies of the last age , consider'd and examin'd by the practice of the ancients , and by the common sense of all ages ; in a letter to fleetwood shepherd esq part i. the second edition . a short view of tragedy ; its original , excellency , and corruption ; with some reflections on shakespear and other practitioners for the stage . both by mr. rimer , servant to their majesties . truth brought to light ; or the history of the first 14 years of king james i in four parts , &c. travels into divers parts of europe and asia , undertaken by the french king's order , to discover a new way by land into china . &c. liturgia tigurina ; or , the book of common-prayer and administration of the sacraments , and other ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies , usually practised , and solemnly performed in all the churches and chappels of the city and canton of zurick in switzerland , &c. the works of the famous mr. francis rabelais , doctor in physick . treating of the lives , heroick deeds and sayings of gorgantua , and his son pantagruel translated from the french. to which is added rabelais's life ; and a new key to the whole work. letters of love and gallantry , and several other subjects . all written by ladies . with the memoirs , life , and adventures of a young lady ; written by her self , in several letters to a person of quality in town . vol. 1. memoirs concerning the campagne of three kings , william , lewis , and james , in the year 1692. with reflections upon the great endeavours of lewis the 14th to effect his designs , of james the 2d . to remount the throne , and the proper methods for the allies to take to hinder both . an essay concerning obedience to the supreme powers , &c. the introduction . the design of these sheets ( which one would think should be no difficult task ) , is to persuade people to act for the good and prosperity of the community they are members of , and in which their own is included ; and to convince them , that it is their duty as well as interest , to bear true faith and allegiance to the present government . which design , that i may the better perform , it will be necessary to premise somewhat about government in general , and the grounds and measures of obedience to it ; by which i hope i shall be able to shew , what is the duty of subjects , not only in the present juncture of affairs , but in all changes and revolutions . chap. i. of government , and the origine of it . government is , as it is usually defined , the care of other peoples safety ; which consists in protecting and securing them from being destroyed or oppressed by one another , as well as by strangers ; and redressing the grievances of those that are injured , and preventing the like for the future , by punishing offenders . in order to which , the governor must have a right to command the natural force of those that expect his protection , to enable him the better to put his laws and decrees in execution . tho without power government cannot consist , yet power and government are not one and the same thing ; a man may be in the power of another , and yet may not be governed by him ; it is necessary that this power be made use of for protection , without which it is impossible to be protected ; so that protection and government are the same thing ; for where people are not protected , they are still in the state of nature , and without government . it is government alone that gives the form , life , and unity to a civil society , or body politick , by which the several members have their mutual influence , sympathy , and connection ; so that to be a member of a civil society , and to be under government , is the same thing ; and to be without government , and to be in the state of nature , are reciprocal , and predicated of one another . none can pretend to be or claim any civil rights as a member of a society , without owning the actual government that makes it a society ; and they that disown the government of the society they live in , do outlaw themselves , and virtually declare themselves no members of it ; because they have reduced themselves to a state of nature , by disowning there is amongst them a common judge , who has a right to decide their controversies , and redress their injuries , and in whose determinations they are obliged to acquiesce . god , who is the author of every good thing , may be said in a more special manner to be so of government , because it is absolutely necessary to the well-being of mankind ; and he , by the law of nature , which obliges mankind to act for their good , has instituted it , and has since by his positive law ratified and confirmed it ; yet he did not constitute any particular form of government , but left mankind at liberty to dispose of themselves , as they ( when they instituted societies ) thought fit . god was so far from taking this liberty from any nation , that when he was pleased to take upon himself the office of king over his own people the jews , he first required their consent ; and a contract between god and the people ( as is plain by the 19th . of exodus ) was the foundation of the theocracy . and since it is not by god's positive law , that one form of government , rather than another , is any where established , there can remain no other way by which any government can be erected , or that one man can have a right to command over others , but by the law of nature , or by the consent of the parties concerned : but there is no law of nature for any one form of government , so as to make the rest unlawful ; or that one person , rather than another , should have the sovereign administration of affairs : nor can there be any one law of nature urged , why any particular person should have a power over so many millions of different families , with no manner of relation and dependance one upon another , and who are by nature equal , being of the same rank , promiscuously born to the same advantages of nature , and to the use of the same common faculties : and therefore it remains , that government must be derived from consent . object . men are not by nature free ; because they are born subject to their parents , ( who by the law of nature have an absolute power over them ) : therefore they could not chuse governors for themselves . answ. the power that parents have over their children , does not extend to their lives or properties , or hinder them from being free , tho they are born in a condition which makes them for some time incapable to exercise their freedom . it is the duty of those by whose means they come into the world , to take care and provide for them until they are able to provide for themselves ; which duty parents cannot effectually discharge , except they have a power to correct and manage them as they think fit . children are obliged to take the same care for their parents , if they chance by losing their reason to fall into the same helpless condition ; which they cannot perform , except they have also in their turn , a power to govern them too , and even to use forcible means , when they think it necessary . whoever has the charge of educating a child , whether he be his father or a stranger , must have the same power over him ; and this a child , tho an absolute king , must be forced to submit to . the information of his mind , the health of his body , and even the necessities of life , make it absolutely necessary : and if this be not inconsistent with sovereign power , much less is it with freedom . a man may be said to be by nature free , as well as rational , tho he be not capable of exercising both , until such an age ; and the same age that sets him free from the power of a tutor , sets him free from the power of his parents , tho nothing can set him free from that reverence ( which is not inconsistent with the state of freedom ) which he must for ever owe them . but that filial reverence does not give his father or mother ( to whom by the law of god and nature he is obliged to pay equal honour and reverence ) a power over his life and properties , or any jurisdiction over him : ( whilst he is part of the family , it is true he must be subject in matters that concern the family , because there can be but one master in a family ) . if parents had an absolute regal power , all civil government would be unlawful , because it would deprive all fathers of that paternal regal power , which by the law of nature ( which is superior to all human laws ) does ( upon their having children ) become their right , and which the government could no more justly deprive them of , than of that duty and honour which children by the same law of nature are obliged to pay them ; and which too , if government were nothing but paternal power , must belong to it . but if this notion were true , this would not give governors a power over parents themselves , or over those who have no parents in being , because paternal power can affect none but children : and the supreme magistrate , who does not beget his subjects , can have no natural nor any other right to it , but as it is conveyed to him by consent ; except the first-born from adam ( which the asserters of paternal power do affirm ) hath an universal hereditary right , ( the absurdity of which opinion has sufficiently been exposed by a late most ingenious author ) ; supposing which to be true , it is plain that no other can have the same right ; so that until that mighty monarch prove his claim , all the civil power that is now in the world , must come by consent ; and there is nothing but that , can give another a greater power than parents pretend to over their children ; and which children are obliged to obey , even contrary to their parents commands ; and which gives them a power of life and death over their parents , as it frequently happens in elective governments ; which governments it is visible have their power from the people ; and this way too at first must come the power in all hereditary governments ; for the first of a family could not have an hereditary right . object . the power of government could not come from the people , because they have no power over their own lives ; and therefore could not give that to another which they had not themselves . answ. it is true , men having no power over their own lives , could not part with a power they had not ; yet governors will have all the power which is necessary for the ends of government , by the peoples giving them that power which by the law of nature they had over the lives of one another ; for by that law every one had a right to take away the life of another , if he could not otherwise secure his own , or what was in order to the supporting it ; and might do the same in defence of any innocent person , and could punish any one for injuring him or his neighbours , because by it he acted for his own and their security : and if punishment ought then to be inflicted , some one must have a right to inflict it ; and if any one had a right , all being by nature equal , every one must have the same right ; the exercise of which right men have parted with to their governors ; so that they alone have now the only right to punish with loss of life , or any less punishment , in all cases , except in those where upon the suddenness of the danger , protection cannot be had from them , or where they wholly neglect , or are incapable to protect them ; there mens natural liberties still remain , and they may in defence of their own lives , or what is necessary to support them , justly take away the lives of the aggressors . and any law which should take this power from the people , would be null and void , because the people never did or could give the magistrate such a power as should hinder them from acting for their own preservation , when necessity required it . the magistrate having then his power from the people , it is very certain he can have no more power than they were capable of giving him , or did give him ; who , because people ( who had no arbitrary power over the lives of one another ) were not capable of giving it him , can have no right to take away the life of any person , except it be for the publick good. nor can men , though at the command of the magistrate , without being guilty of murther , deprive any of their lives , when the good of the society does no way require it . nay , by the mutual assistance , which by the law of nature mankind owe one another , they might , if he should endeavour to destroy any , when it is evident it is no way beneficial to the publick , justly oppose the magistrate , if opposing him would not be a greater damage to the publick . as men could not give the magistrate a greater power than they had over the lives of one another ; so the power they gave him was not only for the defence and safety of their lives , but to secure them in the enjoyment of their properties , and to judge concerning them by known and impartial laws . men having no power to destroy what was beneficial to others , could not give him a right to waste , or impoverish , ( which is the necessary effect of arbitrary government , where the uncertainty of the enjoyment destroyeth all labour and industry ) what god has ordained for the necessaries , or conveniences of life . they that assert the magistrate has more power than the people could or did give him , must prove he has it from god , who alone could give it him ; but god , except to the jews , gave no other law about government , or any other matter , but those of nature . and christ , whose kingdom is not of this world , did not give more , or take away any power from the magistrate : so that what ever power was given him by man , he still enjoys the same without any addition or diminution . chap. ii. of passive obedience . therefore it is very evident , that whatever rights or liberties men did not part with to their governors , those they have still retained in themselves ; and no person can have a right to their obedience in those things wherein they have given him no right to command ; nor are they ( which otherwise would be the consequence ) obliged to pay him more obedience than they owe him , but may defend their rights against any that has no right to take them away . in the most absolute hereditary government , if the governor should endeavour to alienate it , or any of the essential parts of it to a stranger , he may be justly opposed , because the people have not given him such a right , nor is a right to dispose of a government , necessary to his governing them ; but such an endeavour shall be interpreted so far good ( because acts are not so to be interpreted as to be of no effect ) as is in his power to make it good ; it shall be esteemed a good resignation . by the same , if not greater reason , the king in a mixt government may be opposed , if he should endeavour to alienate any of the parts of the government , which are by the legislative power annexed to the crown , as in england the supremacy in ecclesiastical matters is ; there the people may oppose the king , if he should attempt to separate the supremacy from the crown , especially if he should endeavour to make the pope supreme ; because , if they did not oppose him in that attempt , they must either be guilty of high treason , in owning the pope's supremacy , or be destroyed when the pope's supremacy is established , for refusing to be guilty of high treason ; it being treason by the laws to own his supremacy . whoever owns the pope's supremacy , is incapable of being himself supreme in ecclesiasticals ; and he that cannot be supreme in ecclesiasticals , cannot be supreme in civils , because being united by the legislative , they cannot be enjoyed apart . in a mixt government , where the legislative power of king , lords and commons ( which is the only supream power , because it gives laws to all ) is divided , part in the king , and part in the people ; if either part invadeth the other's right , the usurping part may be justly opposed , because it invadeth what is the sovereign right of another . none can have a share in the legislative power , but who must have a right to defend that power ; because any other than a sovereign right to the legislative , to which all are subject , would be nonsense ; and whoever has the executive power , if he had not a share in the legislative , would be subject to it . and he that is intrusted with the execution of the laws , can have no more power than the legislative has given him ; and where the people have a share in the legislative , they have the same right to their privileges , ( viz. ) the laws of the land , as the king has to his prerogatives ; because the consent of both is equally necessary to the altering the laws , as it was to the making of them . in a mixt government , a king , beyond the limits of his kingly power , is so far from having a right to obedience , either active or passive , that by assuming such an vnlimited power , he loses all his legal power , which consists in governing according to the laws enacted by the legislative ; and by it abdicates the government ; for he that ceases to govern according to those laws ▪ by governing arbitrarily and contrary to law , ceases as much to govern in the eye and intent of the law , as he that ceases to govern at all ; and by governing arbitrarily ( the constitution admitting of no such governor ) destroys the very essence of his kingly power , and renounces ( the only right he has ) his legal right . for no person can have at the same time a will to rule according to law , and a will to rule contrary to law ; and he that wills the latter , cannot will the former , and so willingly renounces his legal government ; and by making his will the law , he assumes the whole legislative power to himself , which wholly destroys the former government ; for a new legislative is a new form of government ; and if the whole be destroyed , the share the king has in it must be so too , except a part can subsist , when the whole , by which and in which he enjoyed his part , is dissolved . whereever people have established a mixt government , they are presumed to grant all that is necessary to maintain that government ; which could not be , if one part had not a right to hinder the encroachment of the other . it is nonsence to brag of the happiness which people enjoy in living under a limited monarchy , if it had no other limits than the will and pleasure of the king ; because then he would be as absolute as the french king or grand-siegneur , and his subjects would be as mere slaves as the vilest of theirs , since they would hold their lives and properties by no other tenure , than the pleasure of the king who is absolute . but it may be asked , who shall judge between them , if either should usurp the right that belongs to the other ? i answer , none can judge as a superior in whose sentence both sides must acquiesce , because that would suppose some one superior to the supreme legislative power : or if the judges of the land should have an absolute power to determine in these matters , and people should be obliged to submit to whatever they decr●e , they could make either party the supreme legislative power , or themselves , by declaring themselves to be so . none , as a superior , can call him to an account who has a share in the legislative ; but he may be resisted as well as any other , that should invade the sovereign rights of others , with which he has nothing to do . where people have not parted wi●h their rights , it must be presumed they have retained a power to judge whether those rights are invaded , or else the design of preserving those rights would be to no purpose . but it may be objected , tho it be no treason , or any manner of injury ▪ or injustice , for people to defend their rights against a king that has no right to take them away , yet for their own sakes people are obliged to submit to his arbitrary government , because opposing him might create a war more destructive than all the effects of his arbitrary power . but what king would resign his government , rather than oppose a rebel ? and if a single person thinks he is not obliged to part with his civil right , how can he expect , that millions ( were it possible it could be for their common good ) should part with theirs ? since too , every one of them has the same right to their privi●eges ( the laws of the land ) as he has to his crown , why should they be more obliged to suffer their own rather than a foreign prince to destroy their rights ? since the attempt is a greater crime in him , because he breaks his oath , and the trust that is reposed in him , and is guilty of the highest ingratitude to the people who have given him so much power . by the same argument , good men ought not to resist robbers and pirates : and if a man should be obliged to quit all for fear of bloodshed , how bravely would the good of mankind be promoted , and what a blessed peace would the world enjoy ? which would consist in violence and rapine , and which would only be maintained for the interest of robbers and oppressors . whoever does but consider the poverty , the misery , the hardship people undergo in absolute monarchies , where the generality not only want conveniences , but even the necessaries of life , and how by tyranical government the richest and most flourishing countries ( as for instance , those under the turkish empire ) are depopulated and almost turned to desarts , so that the inhabitants are thin and few , as well as wretched and barbarous ; and whoever compares them with those that live under mixt governments , where the inhabitants are generally above twenty to one to what the others are , abounding with all manner of conveniences and pleasures of life ; or does but consider the happy condition that greece and a great number of other places enjoyed when they were free states ; and what they now suffer ; or has but read bp. burnet's remarks on italy , rome , and switzerland , must be convinced , that it is not the interest of a nation to let their king be arbitrary ; and that they cannot pay too dear for preserving their liberties . in making themselves absolute , kings act against their own safety , as well as the good of the people , because a mixt government is not only best for the subjects , bnt for the security of kings , they being oftner deposed and murthered ( as all the histories of the world do testify ) in absolute than in limited monarchies . can any one think , that the united provinces ( in spite of the long war they had to maintain their privileges ) are not as populous , rich , and potent , and upon all accounts in as flourishing a condition , as they would have been , had they been possessed with the doctrine of passive obedience , and tamely submitted to the encroachments and arbitrary power of spain ? had the doctrine of passive-obedience been all-along practised , mankind would have been in a more slavish condition than any now are , that live under the most tyranical governments ; it is the fear that people may by ill usage be provoked to violate this doctrine , that keeps the greatest tyrants within some bounds , and makes them govern more mildly and moderately than otherwise they would . it is , i think , no great argument of the goodness of an opinion , when the not observing it , or even the very probability of breaking it , has preserved mankind in a much better condition than they would have been , had the supreme powers been certain , that that doctrine would have been inviolably observed . the english , who are the freest nation in the world , cannot consider the happiness they enjoy , in comparison of those that live under absolute monarchies , without having a just veneration for their noble ancestors , who have ( tho not without the expence of their best blood ) secured to them those liberties ▪ they now enjoy : and the present age would have strangely degenerated , had they not been as zealous to have transmitted the same down to their posterity . most of the european nations were once masters of the same freedom the english still enjoy . those great swarms of people that came out of the north , and subdued most part of europe , upon settling themselves in the countries they conquered , made their generals kings , and their chief officers their concilia magna , or parliamenta , without whose consent no laws were made , or scarce any thing of importance done : which government the english have best preserved , being a nation too tenacious of their liberties to be complimented out of them ; and ( as they to their cost have found , who have attempted it ) of too great a courage to be forced out of them . it cannot then justly be concluded to be against the publick good of the nation to oppose arbitrary government , because more lives might perhaps have been lost by it , than by the tyranical government of all the kings since the conquest ; because those kings were not absolute , and when they endeavour'd to be so , were always opposed . but had it not been thought lawful to oppose them , and they had been as absolute as the doctrine of passive obedience would have permitted them , i would ask whether then ( for that is the true state of the question ) the nation would have been as populous and as rich as it is at present by preserving its liberties , and opposing all usurpation ? there is , i think , no reason to doubt , if arbitrary government had prevail'd , but that the countrey would have been reduced to as poor and as beggarly a condition , and would as much have been depopulated as any province under the turkish empire . there can be no greater argument than the universal consent of the nation , that what they so unanimously concurred in , was not against their common good ; and nothing but a danger as universal as it was great , could make all people so desirous of a revolution : and there could be no pretence from the publick good of not resisting , when slavery it self was not the end , but only in order to extirpate an heretical nation ; which all popish princes by their religion are obliged to do ; and there was no reason to suppose the late king ( had not the design been so notorious ) less zealous than his neighbours where it is notorious that a king has a design to enslave the nation , there can be no great danger in opposing him ; because it is impossible for him , ( the lands and riches being in so many hands ) , to be able to influence so great a number of the gentry and nobility , as shall be sufficient to oppose the common interest . there is nothing more pernicious to government , than to encourage those that publish such doctrines as tend to destroy the rights and privileges of the people : who are quick-sighted enough to find out the weak side of such arguments as tend to their hurt ; and it makes them suspicious that some sudden designs are carrying on against them , and prepares their minds to receive any ill impression against the government . what happened in king charles the first 's time , is an undeniable instance of this , where the encouraging and preferring almost none but such as preached up that sensless doctrine , created such jealousies , fears , and mistrusts in the minds of the people , of whom too many were irritated by persecution ( for passive-obedience and persecution , like brethren in iniquity , go hand in hand ) that nothing but the ruin of that prince could satisfy their jealousies . that doctrine had like to have produced a more fatal consequence in his son's time , by encouraging him ( who had the weakness to think , that those who when uppermost were bigots for it , would submit to it when they themselves came to suffer ) to invade the rights and liberties of the people . chap. iii. of the publick good. the consideration of the publick good , which is the supreme law by which both king and people ought to guide their actions , does oblige subjects to obey in all things that are in the least disputable , and even to acquiesce in whatever a king does , if in the whole he promotes the publick good. it is not barely the breaking a law , or stretching the prerogative , in this or that point , can do any great mischief ; except it be done with a design to subvert the liberties of the people , and establish arbitrary government . in many cases the good of the whole may require the laws to give place to the executive power , because it is impossible upon the account of the infinite variety of accidents and circumstances that attend human affairs , to foresee , and by laws to provide for all the necessities that concern the publick : laws can only respect what does generally happen ; there must be a vast number of particulars , where a rigid observation of law must be hurtful ; and it will be necessary that a power to dispense with the penalties of the laws , should be lodged with the king , whose power cannot be too large , if he useth it for the publick good. the only enemies to the present government ( at least amongst the protestants ) are the asserters of passive obedience ; who tho they think it for the publick good to suffer a king to inslave a nation , rather than oppose him , yet are so absurd as to think they are obliged in conscience to disturb the government that protects them , and raise a civil war ( tho the consequence should be never so fatal ) to restore a prince , whose return would , if the war did not , compleat the ruin of the nation . the falseness and absurdity of which opinion , i shall endeavour to make manifest : and to shew , that it is the indispensable duty of all that are protected by a government , to bear true faith and allegiance to it . i suppose i need not spend many words , to shew the absolute necessity of government , for the good and well-being of mankind ; or that it was for no other reason that men parted with their liberties ( for what else could be an equivalent ? ) but for the mutual defence and security which they receive by government , which is the sole design and end of all laws , punishments , and rewards . as this reason was at first the sole motive for submitting to particular persons , so it is the only reason still for continuing allegiance to them ; and when this reason ceaseth , natural liberty does return , and then men are obliged for the sake of their own safety and preservation to pay allegiance where it is most for their own interest and advantage . obedience is due to government , and not to the person that governs but upon the account and for the sake of it ▪ otherwise people might be obliged to pay allegiance to a king after he had resigned his regal o●fice . it is impossible for a king to lose his government , and not lose the allegiance of his subjects , because they are relatives ; and according to the nature of all relatives , one cannot subsist without the other . natural relations , as that between father and son , last as long as both parties live ; but artificial ones , ( if i may so term them ) as those between master and servant , king and subject , may be destroyed during their lives ; and when these relations cease , all obligations ▪ on both sides cease . the relation between sovereign and subjects is destroyed , when the sovereign will no longer protect his people , and so freely withdraws from the government , or when he is deprived of the power of protecting them , and so is driven from his government ; which , as to the people , ( for whose sake government was instituted ) has the same effect ; and they equally lose that protection and defence , for the sake of which alone allegiance is paid , whether the sovereign will not , or cannot any longer govern them , and is forced to leave his government in the hands of others ; whereby those that were his subjects are as incapable of paying him allegiance , as he is to protect them ; and the same force that will justifie his leaving them , will equally justifie their transferring their allegiance : and since no society is able to subsist without having justice administred , and enjoying those other blessings that are derived from government : either they must by living without government become a prey to every one , or else there is a necessity of preserving themselves by paying allegiance to the new government . if obedience were due purely to the title , subjects would be very great rebels in refusing to pay obedience to a madman with a legal title , and in placing another in the throne : what other reason can be assigned for removing him , but that the good of the commonwealth requires obedience to be paid to a person that can protect them ; which since a madman cannot , it is their duty to pay obedience to another that can . is not a person that has lost his government , as unable to protect the people , as he that has lost his senses ? and would not the indeavouring to restore him by violent means , be more pernicious to the publick , than suffering a madman in the throne ? for though the incapacity proceeds from different causes , the one being a natural , the other a moral one , yet the reason , the publick good , is the same , for not endeavouring to restore one , as it is for deposing the other . though the next of kin may have a right to be a guardian to a minor , yet if admitting him would prejudice the affairs of the minor , he ought to be denied that right , or rather that right ceaseth , because it is against the interest and advantage of the minor , for whose sake alone he was appointed guardian : so in matters of government , ( which is an office that had no other grounds for its being instituted , but the good of the people , who are always in their minorities , and such sovereign curators are constantly necessary for the management of their affairs ) : any particular person 's right to that office must cease , if he cannot be admitted without great prejudice to the minors ; and as the number is disproportionate between one and a whole nation , and as the lives of a number of persons are to be valued before the interest of a single minor ; so much stronger will the argument hold in behalf of the people , and the greater will the crime be in attempting to admit any person into that office , when it cannot be done without involving the nation in manifest ruin. therefore in most cases where one king has power enough to turn another out of his kingdom and get into his throne , it is highly probable he will be able to keep it against any opposition from the person he conquered : so that they who set up for his interest , expose themselves to certain ruin and destruction . but though it might so happen that they might succeed in the attempt , yet since it could not be done without a manifest injury to the nation , by disturbing the peace and quiet of it , by causing the effusion of so much blood , rapine , desolation , and those intolerable calamities which civil war does produce , it would be so far from being a duty , that it would be a sin of the first magnitude to attempt it ; it would be contrary to the greater and prior obligation which they owe to the publick . for none can have a right inconsistent with the publick good , which is the only fundamental law of all societies ; contrary to which , no law ( and consequently no legal right , which is built upon law ) can be valid ; to which as to a center , each man's actions ought to tend , because the more universal any good is , the more it ought to be imbraced ; and societies could not subsist , but must necessarily fall into a state of war and confusion , if every man should prefer the advantage of any particular person before the good of the whole . as every particular person 's interest must yield to the general good of the society ; so must that of a particular society submit to the more universal good of all societies ; and no principles can be true ( however they may serve a particular turn ) that , if generally practised , would be against the good of all societies ; but nothing can be more destructive and pernicious to all human societies , than those principles which assert that allegiance must be only paid to him that hath a legal title ; because it must oblige vast numbers in all revolutions to be destroyed for the sake of a single person , rather than submit to another who is in the same station and by whose power they might be governed and protected . it is a doctrine of most dangerous consequence , and if embraced would destroy the best part of mankind , and fill the whole world with blood and confusion ; for in such revolutions ( which frequently happen ) what government will suffer its enemies ( the more still the more dangerous ) to enjoy equal privileges with its dutiful subjects ? thereby enabling them to destroy that government , which by all tyes of conscience they must think themselves obliged to , as subjects to its enemies . the safety and quiet of their peaceable subjects , as well as self preservation , will oblige the supreme powers to extirpate them , for it is impossible for men of these principles , if they act accordingly to live quiet under a government which they suppose has no legal right , because their actions are not in their own power , but in that of the dispossessed prince , who has the same indispensable right to command them , as he had before he was outed of the throne . therefore they are obliged , whatever they promise , or whatever specious pretences they make , to act contrary to them , when either his interest or commands do require it . can it be supposed , that when men submitted to government , ( because it was absolutely necessary for their preservation ) that they submitted on such terms , as should oblige them in so many cases to run into those inconveniences which they desired to shun , rather than live in peace and quiet under a government which does actually protect them ? nothing can justifie such principles , except the misery and destruction , not the preservation of human societies , be the supreme law ; or that it is a sin to act for the general good of a society , and a duty in the people to expose themselves to certain destruction , rather then act for their own good , in a matter which was solely instituted for their good . a man may be obliged to suffer rather than act against his duty , but that he should be obliged to suffer rather than do his duty in promoting the general good of the nation , is to me a strange paradox . if it be a duty to act for the publick good , and the general interest of a society ; and if the more universal the good be , the more it ought to be sought for ; then the means that are necessary to this duty , or end , must be as necessary as the end it self , because the end prescribes the means . so that if the paying obedience to the present government ▪ be for the good and happiness of the nation , it must be a duty in every one to do it ; and on the contrary , if endeavouring to disturb the present settlement , and to restore the late king be ( as i think no protestant can doubt it ) to the disadvantage , and against the good and interest of the nation , it must be a sin . and can there be more dreadful consequences ( than what in all human probability , must happen upon unsetling the present government , ) to our estates , liberties , and lives , and what ought to be dearer than all , to our holy religion ? except popery , and french tyranny , which include in them slavery both of body and soul , are to be courted at the expence of a civil war. the paying obedience to those that are in possession , is a doctrine that tends so much to the interest of human societies , and of all the particular members thereof , that even those who oppose it , if they consulted their own happiness , must wish it were true ; and what greater argument can there be of the truth of it , than that it is so conducive to the good of mankind ? and that common objection , or rather reflection , that it is interest makes these tenets , which require obedience to the present government , so universally imbraced , which ( howsoever ▪ it be uncharitably designed ) is so far from destroying the credit of them , that it is a demonstration of their truth ; because they are for the good of particulars of which the publick is made up . chap. iv. of god's laws . the publick good of societies , is not only the foundation of all human laws , ( upon which all legal rights depend , which cease to oblige , and are null and void , when contrary to it ) but is even the foundation of god's laws , which concern men with relation to one another . for god , who is infinitely happy in himself , could have no other motive in creating man , but to make him happy in this life , as well as that which is to come ; and accordingly if mankind would follow those rules that are prescribed by god in order to their behaviour towards one another , in what happy , blessed , and flourishing state wonld they be in ? and what misery and confusion even in this life does deviating from those rules create , besides the punishment they receive in the life to come , for acting against their good in this . do not the circumstances as they tend to the advantage or disadvantage of human societies , make things good or evil ? and are they not the only rule to judge of god's laws by ; as for instance , the commandment declareth in general terms it is not lawful to kill ; yet it is a duty in the magistrate to kill , because it is for a publick good , which is the only rule by which to distinguish between murther and justice . even a private person may kill in his own defence ; and such a liberty is for the publick good ; nor do christ's precepts , which forbid all manner of revenge , and require forgiving of injuries , hinder any from punishing those that injure them by legal courses ; because the punishing them tends to promote the publick interest of mankind . it is unlawful to take what is anothers without his consent , yet if it be for the common good , it is not only lawful , but a duty , as blowing up of houses in case of fire , against the consent of the owner , or digging in a man's ground to prevent an innundation ; if a ship be in danger to be lost , it is the duty of those that are in it , in order to preserve the ship , to throw any man's goods over board , though contrary to his consent ; and if a ship wants water , she may lawfully , even by force , take some from another ship , if that ship in all likelyhood hath enough to carry her to the next watering-place . in case of necessity it is lawful for a private person to take from another what is necessary for his subsistence , if he whose it is , be not in the same want ; nay , even what is devoted to god in such cases it is lawful to take ; and christ makes david's eating the consecrated bread , an argument à fortiori , to justifie what his disciples in their hunger took from man ; in such cases the natural right of self-preservation returns , and though people are sometimes punished for taking from another in their necessities , yet that does not prove it unlawful , but the punishment is inflicted only to prevent a gap being laid open to libertinism , which would be inconsistent with the publick good and convenience ; for the sake of which a person ought sometimes to suffer , though it be undeservedly . what is more inviolable then a promise to return what one is intrusted with ? yet none are obliged to return a sword to that person who designs to attempt his own life , or that of anothers ; much less ought we to endeavour to give any one the power of the sword , tho he has never so much right to it , if the attempt would prove fatal to a great number of lives , and contrary to the good of the society , for whose sake alone he has that right ; nor can any one be obliged to ruin or prejudice a society for the right of a particular person , when the right which that person has , was only for the preservation of that society . what is more sacred then truth ? yet even that is dispensed with , when it is evident the contrary is for the good of those to whom it is spoken , and no prejudice to any other person , as in the case of melancholly and sick persons , and children , or such like instances if untruths were forbid , not because they were injuries , but barely because they are untruths , all parables , fables and novels would be unlawful . what can be more unjust than to take away the life of an innocent person ? yet if it be for the publick good , it is so far from being unjust , that it is a duty in those that have the publick administration of affairs to do it . and all governments act no other ways when by force they compel innocent persons to the wars where it is unavoidable , but that great numbers must be slain : tho it seldom happens to be for the good of a society that an innocent person should suffer , yet the only thing that government looks after in punishing , is the common good , and it may justly cause an innocent person to suffer , if it be for the general good ; because the lesser ( the particalar ) which is then considered sub ratione mali , must give place to the greater , the general good . not only the publick , but a private person has a right to take away the life of an innocent person , if he cannot otherwise preserve his own . and most casuists are of opinion , that a man ( if parting with his life should happen to be beneficial to the publick ) ought , as codr●s did , freely to lay it down ; but they all agree , that a man ought to part with any thing that is less than life , or not endeavour to recover what he has been deprived of , if he cannot do it without detriment to the publick , much less ought any to assist him in the recovery . in short , there is no law that wholly relates to man , but ceaseth to oblige , if upon the infinite variety of circumstances which attend human affairs , it happens to be contrary to the good of man. but in things of a higher nature , and which are moral in themselves , and relate to the worship and honour of god , it is not lawful upon pretence of temporal interest , to dispense with any of those duties , because it is not lawful to do evil that good may come ; and the temporal good , which is the less , ought to give place to the greater the eternal : though even in these cases , things which relate to god's worship , if merely positive , must yield to the good of particular men , because they are ( as christ speaks of the sabbath ) made for man , and not man for them . but in things designed for the temporal interest of mankind , the standard of good and evil ▪ is the publick good , and things are commanded or forbidden , as they are either good or hurtful to mankind , and what in some circumstances may be a duty , in others , if it prove inconsistent with the publick good , would be a sin , and the contrary a duty ; and then acting for the publick good , would not be doing evil that good might come of it , but by the circumstances altering the case , it would cease to be evil. the design , end , and intent of all god's laws , is the worship or reverence that is due to the deity , and the love that is due to man. the love of god and ones neighbour , our saviour saith , are the two grand commandments , on which hang all the law and the prophets , ( and in a much more eminent manner does the gospel , whose precepts , as they teach the mutual duty of man towards man , are nothing but love and charity ) ▪ so that it is evident , that no doctrine can be true that is in the least inconsistent with these two commandments , the love of god and of ones neighbour : but how can he be said to love his neighbour , ( which is an indefinite word , and carryeth the sence of an universal ) who will have vast numbers sacrificed to the interest of a single person ? or how can it be presumed , that god , who has declared he is no respecter of persons , and has made all men by nature equal , should act so inconsistently with himself , as to require that great numbers should lose their lives , and be exposed to all manner of misery , for so inconsiderable a trifle , as the advancing a single person to a post , which is attended with as great cares and troubles , as honours and riches ; or that he should prescribe about government ( which could have no other ground for its institution but the good of the society ) i say , that he should prescribe such rules , as in most revolutions must tend to their ruin and confusion ? chap. v. of the law of nations . upon this foundation of the general good of societies , have certain rules and customs been observed by nations in their intercourse with one another , which are called the law of nations ( without which no correspondence either in peace or war could be maintained ) which only by tacite consent , and general practice of nations , upon the account of their evident utility , and common profit , have obtained the force of laws , and are looked on as sacred . the supreme powers , neither by themselves , nor representatives , ever met , or enacted such laws , nor have other nations power to oblige any sovereign independant state , which cannot be bound to observe these customs , or practices , but as they tend to the general good and advantage of all societies . every nation is at liberty to appoint what government , laws , &c. or manage its own affairs within its self , as it thinks best . the laws of nations relate only to their commerce , and correspondence one with another , and princes are no other way concerned by the law of nations with one another , but as they have the power of making peace or war , and all other leagues for those nations they rule . it is not at all material what right they have to this power , it is sufficient the nations then own them for their sovereigns , and have intrusted them with this power ; it would be an endless , as well as useless task , for ambassadors before their admission , to prove the just right their masters have to those titles and powers they assume to themselves . all treaties , except they appear to be merely personal , though made with usurpers , will oblige legal princes , if they succeed , and so vice versa , and a league made with a nation , when under a king , will oblige that nation ( provided they continue free ) though the government should be changed to a commonwealth , because leagues are national , and made with princes only upon the account of the nations they are representatives of . but when they lose this power , and the nations are no longer concerned in their acts , they lose all manner of right that did belong to them by the law of nations ; because these privileges are ( as grotius calls them ) bona regni , and did belong to them only as they were the publick persons , or representatives of their respective nations , which when they cease to be , they have no more right to them , then they had before they were these publick persons . but because the same intercourse between nations will always be necessary , which cannot be maintained , but with those who have the supreme power ; and they that have that power , must have a right to those privileges , upon the account of the nations they represent ; and the dispossessed princes , must with their kingdoms lose their right to them , because more than one at the same time , cannot have the same right for the same nation : and though some princes ( out of design , or hatred to their enemies ) may allow outed princes some of those privileges that belong only to those that have summum imperium , yet they have no right by the laws of nations to claim them , but they , as well as those that follow their broken fortunes , can be esteemed no other than subjects , during their stay , to those kings in whose dominions they abide ; where they are so far from having a power of making peace or war , or any other national contracts , that they cannot , without license first obtained from those princes in whose dominions they are , send any to treat with other princes , or receive any sent by them ; much less allow them those privileges which are due to persons of a publick character . and it would be unreasonable that sovereigns should be obliged to allow them , or any sent by them , those privileges , when they are incapable of returning the same . and with as little reason can any prince in anothers dominions pretend to grant commissions to private men of war , to disturb the trade and commerce of any nation , because he cannot claim in another prince's territories a power ( which can only belong to the sovereignty of those dominions ) to judge , condemn , or restore according to the maritime laws , the ships and goods which are taken by those that act by his commission . so that the privateers themselves would be their own judges , whether what they take was lawful prize , which in effect would be a power to rob whom they had a mind to . therefore by the law of nations , all who act by such a commission , are esteemed as pirates . chap. vi. of the obligation of human laws . all writers allow , that the leagues and contracts which princes make with one another , do oblige them to one another , no longer then they are in possession of their kingdoms , because the sole reasons of making these leagues , were upon the power each kingdom had to afford mutual assistance and benefit to one another ; and if this be a constant practice with kings , that their treaties oblige them no longer than when each king has possession of his kingdom ; why will they not allow the same reason to hold for subjects , that they should be free from all obligations to princes , when they no longer receive any protection from them ? seeing that was the only ground and sole cause of their paying them allegiance ; and in truth they cannot be any longer obliged , then the reason for obliging them holds : for why should people be obliged , when there is no reason they should be so ? no laws can bind any longer , than the reason for enacting them holds good ; and when the sole reason that made them laws , ceaseth , the laws themselves must so too ; much more must any particular law be null and void , when not only the reason of keeping it ceaseth , but the keeping it does thwart the general intent and design of all laws , which is the good and happiness of the societies ; to which all laws are but means ; and there is no reason that the means should oblige , when the end for whose sake the means were ordained cannot be obtained by those means , much less when they become destructive of the sole end for which they were ordained . if there were a law that ships should sail on such aside of the channel , and the sole reason , whether expressed or not , were for avoiding the dangerous sands that were on the other side ; if the sands should chance to be removed to the safe side of the channel , the pilot would be so far from being bound upon the account of that law , to run his ship upon the sands , that he would break the law if he kept to the letter of it , and would observe the law by going contrary to the letter : so again , if a law that required obedience to one particular person , should happen to be destructive of the publick good , and of fatal consequence to the community , the letter of the law would oblige no more in one case than in the other ; nay , the reason of not observing the last would be stronger upon the account of the disproportion of the number : but the true meaning and intent of the law would in one case as well as the other , oblige people to act contrary to the letter of the law ; and people would be as much bound to pay obedience , where it would be for the publick good , as in the other case , the ship would be to sail on the safe side of the channel . the occasion of not a few mistakes in this important controversie , ariseth from mens judging by the same rules , ( tho the reasons are extremely different ) in cases which concern the supreme powers , as they do in those which relate to private persons . in cases between private persons , there is a superior to decide all controversies , and to do right and justice ; for which end he was made their superior : so that if any one by fraud or violence possesseth himself of another's right , the law is open , and redress may be had without any danger to the publick ; nay , the publick safety consists in having private mens wrongs redressed . but as to the supreme powers , whatever right or titles they have , people are obliged to submit to those in possession , because there is no superior court ( as in case of private persons ) to judge of their rights ; and possession , by all laws , gives a man a right , till he be legally dispossessed ; and if a man cannot be turned out by course of law , ( as it is evident he that is in possession of the government cannot ) , he ought still to enjoy what he possessed : for it is against the nature of all civil societies to appeal to the sword , to prevent which they were instituted : besides , force can never decide civil controversies , nor can the sword be a proper judge of wrong or right ; it can only determine who is the strongest , not who has the best cause ; and the pretended remedy would be infinitely worse than the disease ; for civil war , as long as it continueth , destroyeth all civil rights . if the next heir , whether brother or son , should get possession of the government by murdering his king , the people ( instead of giving him that punishment which by the law of nature , and god's positive law , is due to such crimes ) , are obliged to pay him obedience , to which he can have no other right but possession ; for whilst his king was alive , and in possession of the government , he could have no right ; and certainly an action so barbarous as murdering him that was ( suppose ) both his father and king , which is against all right , law , and justice , could never give him any right or just title , because it is against all conscience and reason , that a man should reap any advantage by an act so monstrously wicked ; and any law that should allow a man any benefit by so enormous a crime , would be as sinful it self : nor can a man in any other case reap any advantage by his own turpitude ; but here , because there is no superior to punish him , nor can obedience be refused him without injury to the publick , it is peoples duty , instead of punishing him , to pay him obedience . and certainly the same reason will hold for paying obedience to any that get possession of the government , since none can get it more unjustly . all legal rights must depend upon the laws , and all laws , for their authority , upon the government ; and when that government is at an end , all the laws that concern it must be so too , and can no more oblige than the english laws can in a foreign countrey ; because a power to put laws in execution ( whereby people are protected ) is essential to all laws , because it is essential to all government , on which the laws depend ; and without such a power no civil society , and by consequence no civil laws can subsist . no particular law can bind in those circumstances , where all laws would cease to bind ; and there is no reason that some laws should oblige , when all laws would have no obligation ; as they would not oblige if there were no power to put them in execution ; because men , when there is no power to restrain them from acting as they have a mind to , would be in the state of nature , and consequently without any laws but those of nature . without a coercive power , the laws become a dead letter , or at best but advice ; so that there can be no laws that can oblige people to act against the present powers , because by being against the present powers they cease to be laws . if a law that should oblige people not to pay obedience to the actual possessors of the throne , had they not a legal title to it , were not in its own nature null , or could subsist after that government to which it required obedience , was destroyed , it would be void upon account of its impiety ; because as long as the legal princes continue dispossessed , which might extend to some centuries , it would overturn all government , and all civil society , which are instituted for the good of mankind , and which nature hath qualified man for , by making him a sociable creature . can any man in his senses think , that a particular prince's interest can stand in competition with the very being of human societies , and the preservation and safety of the people ? is it not absurd to suppose , that legal rights that owe their being to civil societies , should oblige people to put an end to civil societies ; and that laws that are but the rules of government , should destroy government it self , or that human laws should be able to destroy the law of nature , or take away that natural right which people have to act for their own good and preservation , which is a right that is superior to all human laws , and for the sake of which all human laws were made . all human laws are made cum sensu humanae imbecillitatis ; nor do legislators themselves design they shall oblige in case of great and pressing inconveniences , but allow that a moral necessity does destroy the vertue and force of them . the good and interest of the people , is the supreme law , to which the rights and titles of princes must submit ; and where it is for the good of the nation that they should be governed by such a particular person , that person best and most legal right , because it is built upon the supreme and fundamental law of all societies . and whoever designedly breaks this most sacred law , may justly be accounted a rebel ; and as the crime would be greater in them than others , if they who are hired by travellers to protect them from robbers , should rob them themselves ; so if princes , who are intrusted by the people with power , in order to protect the society , should make use of that power to the detriment of the society , the crime in them would be so much the greater , by how much more they are obliged to act otherwise . chap. vii . objections answered . object . upon supposition that the good of the society is the grand vltimate law , yet these principles , which require obedience to the possessor , cannot be true , because they are against the peace and happiness of nations , by encouraging rebellion against all princes , in obliging people to pay the same allegiance , even to those that unjustly depose them . answ. these principles are so far from being destructive to the peace and quiet of nations , or encouraging rebellion against their governors , that they require obebience to all in possession , upon pain of damnation ; but if neither the fear of eternal punishment in the life to come , nor the severest that can be afflicted upon them in this , can secure people from rebelling , i must confess my ignorance , i know nothing that can . it is the duty of all subjects to do their utmost to defend the government ; that is but a just return , and what is due for its protecting and defending them : but if by the chance of war , or any other way , it should lose the power of protecting them , they are not obliged to have their throats cut , rather than pay allegiance to that government , by whose favour and protection they subsist , and enjoy what they have . and that prince is very unreasonable , and acts against the rules of humanity , as well as charity , who when he is able no longer to protect the people , would rather have them destroyed , then own that government that can . nothing can justify such an inhuman and barbarous opinion , except it can be proved that men entred into societies barely for the sake and interest of a single person ; and that if his pleasure or profit require it , millions of lives must be indispensably sacrificed . this is to place men in a worse condition than the beasts are ; if they are in conscience obliged to lose their lives to gratifie the unlimited pride , ambition , revenge , or interest of a single person . it is strange that any english-men , who are the freest nation in the world , should have such notions of themselves , that they are no other then the king's properties : though it is but reasonable that men who design to bring the most insupportable slavery on themselves , should qualifie themselves for it by notions and principles so much below the dignity of human nature . these principles are so far from being any ways prejudicial to mankind , that it is they alone which in all revolutions can secure human societies , and make governments easie and safe both to kings and subjects ▪ by putting an end to those otherwise endless disputes of titles . and princes may without fears or jealousies mind the publick good , because it secureth them who are in possession against all pretences . the most that can be objected , is that a prince that has once lost his dominions , may by these principles chance to lose the hopes of ever recovering them again . a prince that is unjustly expelled , ought to acquiesce if he has no way of recovering his kingdom but by disturbing the peace and quiet of a nation ; he ought not to make use of such unlawful means for the recovery of his kingdom ; and certainly others can have no reason to act against the good of the community for his interest , when he himself is obliged not to act . the interest of a prince is only more sacred then another's , when that of the publick is involved in it , but when that is no longer concerned in his actions , he ceaseth to be the publick person , and is but upon equal terms with other private men , and ought as well as any other to acquiesce , rather than disturb the quiet or peace of a nation . and there is then the same reason for not endeavouring to restore him , as there was at first for not turning him out . all the ill consequences that can happen in this case , are that the less hopes princes have of being restored by such unlawful means , the more careful ( it 's hoped ) they will be in governing the commonwealth , and more afraid of arbitrary illegal practices . object . if all persons how unjustly soever they get a crown , have the same right ( their consent ) to the obedience of the people , then there can be no such thing as an vsurper . answ. he who without any just cause destroys the right that any prince hath to the allegiance of his subjects , by making him uncapable to protect them , and protects them himself , may be called an usurper : though the people by the former prince's losing his power to protect them , are reduced to the state of nature , and by consequence free from any allegiance , and may lawfully or rather are obliged ( every one else being out of a capacity to protect them ) to consent to be governed by him , who has the power to protect them , who being so chosen , has the only right a king can have , the consent of the people , who are as much obliged to obey him , as they are any king whatever . the former king is so far then from being their legal king , that he is no king at all , nor has any manner of right to their allegiance . it is true the usurper having done him an injury ought to make him satisfaction , and ( if he can without any damage to the publick ) ought to place him in that condition he was in before he made him uncapable to protect the people ; who then , for the sake of protection which they receive from him , are obliged to pay him obedience . the having a right to be restored by the usurper , is the only right a prince that is unjustly deprived of his regal office can pretend to . and when i speak of his legal right , i mean nothing but this by it ; amongst the jews , though none could have a legal right but one of their own nation , because they were obliged by god himself to chuse a king from amongst their brethren , and god afterward , 2 chron. 23. 3. entail'd the crown upon the posterity of david , yet when these were disabled to protect the people by their being in the power of strangers , it was so far from being a crime , that it was their duty ( notwithstanding the divine legal right any of their brethren could pretend to ) to pay allegiance to them , though for the most part they were usurpers , having no just cause to conquer them . chap. viii . of conquest . if the supreme powers upon the suddenness of the attempt , or by any other reason become uncapable of defending or securing to them the lives and goods of their subjects , they are , as to those particular cases , in the state of nature , and by their own authority may justly take away the lives of any that assault them . there can be no reason why ( if in all other cases no protection can be had from those they have consented to be protected by ) they are not in the state of nature , and by consequence at liberty to pay allegiance to those who have a power to protect them . and this is consonant to the sence and practice of mankind ever since there has been government in the world , who when their former governors had lost the power of protecting them , thought themselves notwithstanding any tyes , oaths or laws that might be pretended to the contrary , free from any obligation as to them ; and because they could not subsist without government , they have always consented to pay them allegiance who had the power to protect them . and there are no nations in the world , but have seldomer , or oftener , practised it ; and this is , perhaps the foundation of all the governments which are now extant . and this practice does not only obtain as to whole nations , but even to less places ; as to towns , and castles , which never scruple to pay allegiance to their new masters , though they change them more than once in a campaign . i wonder what powerful reasons ( never before discover'd to the world , and for ought i can see by their writings , still undiscovered ) have now obliged private persons to deviate from the universal practice of mankind , in refusing to pay allegiance to the present government , which alone has the power to protect them . the answer to this is , that conquest gives the prevailing powers a right , and that people submit to them as to conquerors ; but the english are no conquered nation , which ( though it is nothing to the purpose , as i shall immediatly shew ) is , i confess , a great truth . the king was so far from invading and conquering the nation , that it was to secure their rights and priviledges , that he exposed his sacred person to such dangers : but according to their own principles , one of these two they must grant ( for there is no medium ) , that the late king either freely parted with his government , and if so , there can be no manner of pretence for paying him allegiance ; or that he was driven out by a superior force , which in other terms is being conquered : so that then ( according to these principles ) his present majesty must have a right to whatever king james possessed . conquest in it self , and barely considered , can give no manner of right ; for what obligation can lye on a nation to pay obedience to any one for battering down their towns , killing their inhabitants , destroying their countrey ; and in short , for doing all manner of outrages ? must a nation , as a grateful return for these kindnesses , be obliged to pay him all manner of obedience ? can any man in his senses think these injuries can give the actor of them a title to peoples obedience ? or that mere force can give a right ? for then every one that was stronger than another would have a right to govern him . conquest , by destroying the power the former king had to protect his subjects , sets them at liberty from any obligation they owed him ; because they owed none to him , but upon the account of being protected by him : the conqueror does not by this get a right to their allegiance , because to free people from the power of another , and to have a right to command them himself , are different things . they being once free from government , and by consequence in the state of nature , nothing can give the conqueror right to their allegiance , but their own consent . by which it appears , that mankind hath been often in the state of nature ; and considering the often changes , and revolutions , there could be few , or no legal governments in the world , if in such circumstances , all ties to their former governors were not absolutely dissolved . but here it may be objected , that their consent was not voluntary , but forced ; and therefore could not ob●ige them , or give the conquerors a right . the conquered may in a sense be said to be forced to what they did , because they are bound by a moral necessity to act for their own preservation , and happiness ; and for that reason they were obliged to leave the state of nature , and be governed by him that had the power to protect them ; none are forced to be protected against their own wills , they by the former government 's dissolution , were reduced to a state of nature , and if the prince under whose power they are , will not afford them his protection , they would still remain in that state ; but they by claiming civil rights , ( which they can only enjoy by his governing them ) and referring their common differences to be decided , and their grievances to be redressed by him , or those that act by his authority , have put themselves out of the state of nature , and have freely owned his government by their actions , which were voluntary , for they were not forced to have recourse to him for protection in their natural rights , or obliged to claim any civil ones ; and this is looked upon by mankind as a free and voluntary consent , the most part of whom have no otherways than by their actions owned any government . though their consent was obtained by forcible means , yet that would not destroy the validity of it : it is true , in a civil society , all contracts obtained by force are void , but then the force ought to be proved , for the presumption is against it , and judges declare for a validity of a contract , if the forcible means which were used to obtain it , are not proved . but between independent nations , where force on one side is lawful ; where there is no superior judge to determin the differences , or to judge whether force were justly imposed , both sides either thinking or pretending they are in the right , all leagues and covenants , by whatever forcible means obtained , are valid , and the good of mankind ( which is a sufficient reason ) does require it should be so , otherwise wars would be perpetual , or not to be ended but by the utter ruin of the weaker , or conquered party ; because there could be no manner of agreement , or peace between them , if they had a liberty , under pretence of force , of breaking their promises whenever they had an opportunity . in all such cases it is lawful to promise , there being no superior ( as amongst private persons ) to take from them the liberty of making such contracts ; and the good of mankind does oblige people to fulfil those lawful promises . they cannot properly be said to be forced to promise , because it was in their power to avoid promising : nor is their consent conditional but absolute , and it is their greater good ( either presumed , or real ) that obliges them to make such contracts . for the same reason all prisoners of war are obliged to stand to their paroles , and to pay whatever they promise for their liberties . the reason is the same for paying allegiance to the new government , whether by a just or unjust way the old one was dissolved ; and mankind have all along equally submitted to conquerors , whether the cause of conquest were just or not : as few conquerors have had a just cause for all the mischiefs they have done . the reason for submission is not how one man gets others into his power , or whether he had a just cause of destroying the former prince's power , but whether they consent to be governed by him after they are in his power . it is for their own sake , and not for his , that they submit to his government : they may act against their own good in not submitting to the conqueror , but they deny him no right if they do not submit : it is not the conquest it self , let it be never so just , but the after-consent that makes them subjects . a just cause of war may make it no injustice to dethrone a king , becanse he gave sufficient provocation ; but how can one prince's injuring another , absolve subjects of their oaths of allegiance ? and give the injured prince a right to command them ; who , if he hath any right besides their consent , when he has put them into a capacity to consent , must have it before the conquest ; for mere force cannot give or take away a right , it can only put him in possession of his right ; and if he had any right to their allegiance before conquest , i cannot see but that in conscience they were bound to transfer their allegiance , and join with him against their former prince , who by giving a just cause of war had forfeited his crown . though the nation be not conquered , yet no reason can be urged for submitting to conquerors , but what will hold as strongly for paying allegiance to the present government . has not the late king as much lost his power to protect the people , as if he had been driven out by conquest ? is it not the present government alone that makes the people a civil society ? is it not by it that they are protected in their natural rights , or can claim any legal ones ? which are the only reasons which oblige people to submit to conquerors . and are not they that endeavour to disturb it , as much within the power and reach of the government , as if they were conquered ? and has not the king and parliament as absolute a power as any conqueror ? the only difference is , that without feeling any of those fatal miseries which attend conquest , they enjoy the protection of the government , and owe their preservation to it ; and the nation instead of losing any of their rights and liberties , enjoy greater , and are secured from the worst of slaveries , which otherwise they had inevitably fallen into : so that they have infinitely stronger obligations to pay allegiance , than if they had been conquered ; to which their zeal and loyalty ought to be proportionable . chap. ix . of possession . all writers , i think , allow , that after a possession of a long continuance , ( though they extreamly differ how much time is necessary ) a right does accrue to the possessor , though there are some of the right line still in being . if it be unjust to pay the first possessor obedience , i cannot see how a long possession can alter the case . a continuance in an injustice may make the injustice greater , but not alter the nature of things , and make the greatest wrong to be right . though all things are done in time , yet time it self operates nothing . this mistake ( as a great many others are ) is occasioned by the parallel men draw between private persons ( who are tyed up by laws that are enacted by the supreme powers ) and the supreme powers themselves . by the laws of most nations , if private men neglect to make a legal demand of their rights in a certain time appointed by the laws , they lose them , and a right does accrue to the possessor ; but this depends upon a law enacted by the supreme powers , who have a right to dispose of private estates as they judge best for the publick good ; whose laws can oblige none but their own subjects . but what authority have the subjects , or the possessor to dispose of the legal prince's rights ? besides , it might justly be imputed to a private man 's own neglect , if , when the law is open , he does not recover his right : it may well be presumed he hath relinquished it . but that cannot be said of a prince who has no court of justice to appeal to , or any other likely way to recover his right , yet by bearing the arms and title , and by other ways still asserts his right . how numerous are the instances of princes possessed of territories belonging to others , and who have been so for a great many years ? yet none dare affirm the subjects that pay them allegiance , are , and have been all along traitors : to give but one instance amongst hundreds ; the kings of england have a right to the kingdom of france , and have constantly claimed it by causing themselves to be stiled kings of france , and by bearing the arms of that crown ; yet none will condemn the french as traitors , who have all along paid allegiance to the french kings . but if the kings of england by tract of time have lost their right to the obedience of the french , and before that time it was treason for those of that nation to pay allegiance to the french kings , i should be glad to know what month , or year , it ceased to be treason ; for it is a thing of mighty consequence to know how long it is treason to obey a king in possession , and when it becomes treason not to obey him . in short , if a king can have a right to a countrey , and it be no crime in those of that countrey not to pay him allegiance , it demonstrateth that allegiance is not annexed to the title , but that it is due to the person that does protect them . object . though time does not give a right , yet the acts , or the no acts , that is , the omission of some , may in time amount to a resignation of the right of the legal prince to the vsurpers . answ. i grant a man's mind may be expressed by acts as well as words : yet it would be a very hard cafe to condemn all those of treason who have paid allegiance to the possessors , before they had sufficient grounds to believe the legal prince or his heirs had by their acts ( if such acts could destroy the right of the next of kin ) resigned their and their legal successors right to the usurper . in how few cases is there reason for such presumption ? if till then all people should be obliged to be destroyed rather than pay allegiance ; what a destruction would it make in the world ? would it not in most cases expose , at least the good and conscientious to certain ruin ? and others could notpreserve themselves without a sin , whose reward is damnation . long possession is not at all necessary to justifie the peoples obedience ; for that very moment the people receive protection and defence from the new powers , they ought to pay them the same allegiance as if they had been in possession of the government a thousand years . the less time a nation has been setled , the more need it has of rest and peace , and the more dangerous would any violent revolution be . chap. x. of protection . by opposing those in possession of the present government , the ill affected act not only against the preservation and happiness of the nation , but are guilty of the basest and foulest ingratitude , by endeavouring to destroy those persons to whose protection they owe their preservation , and the safe enjoyment of what they have . who else secureth them from being stript and plundered of all they have , their wives and daughters ravished , and perhaps they and their whole families murthered ? what better usage could they expect , if they were left to the mercy of the rabble , or to the discretion of every one to use them as they pleased ? can any man in his conscience think he is obliged to destroy those persons from whom he receives such benefits ? is it not serpent-like to sting that bosom that warms them ? is this all the grateful returns they can make to the father of their countrey ? for if that command of honour thy father and mother extends to governors ; since they do not beget their subjects , it must be for protecting and defending them , that that title is due : therefore it can be due to none but those in possession , for none but they do protect and defend them . could they justly blame the government if it did not protect them , who make it their business to ruin it , when too without their being protected , they would quickly be reduced to a condition of not being able to give it the least disturbance ? what favour can they justly expect , when they not only disown the government , but think themselves obliged in conscience to make war upon the society that owns it ? nay , they are actually in the state of war , and only watch for an opportunity to fall on . what excuse can a government have for endangering the common-wealth by protecting those who are no part of it , but are professed enemies to it ? it is a cruel mercy to endanger a whole nation for the sake of its enemies . nay , why should they have more favour than foreign enemies ? it is so far from being an excuse , that it aggravates their crime , that it is to their own nation they are enemies , and that it is in their own countrey that they are endeavouring to raise a civil war. though they were still members of the body politick , yet , as a man is obliged to cut off any of his limbs to preserve the body natural , so the government is obliged to do the same for the body politick , if it be necessary for its preservation . it is frequently urged by the jacobites and their favourers , that what they do , is upon the account of conscience , and therefore they ought not to suffer for it ; which is but a sorry reason to hinder the government from taking all necessary means to preserve it self , and to prevent the ruin of the nation . but this argument looks very odly from them who were so zealous to persecute others about things , in which neither the honour of god , nor the good of the commonwealth were concerned . it is as absurd as sinful for any to persecute their brethren on pretence of religion , for things which they themselves own to be no part of religion , but merely in themselves indifferent . but to return , if they will not be thought enemies to the society , but part of it , ought they not to act equally with the rest , for the peace and quiet of it , and submit to the head , that rules and governs it ? how can they pretend to be members of the society , and consequently claim any civil rights by being so , without owning the actual government that makes them members of the society ? do they not , by disowning the government , renounce the benefit of the laws , ( which only can be put in execution by the government ) and out-law themselves ? how can they have any more right to the protection of the government , if they out law themselves , than if the government , by putting them out of its protection , had out-lawed them ? so that it is wholly by the favour of the government ( for they have no true pretence to them ) that they enjoy any legal rights . if they think they should be severely dealt with , if the government did not protect them , why do they not what is necessary to enable the government to protect them ? if they will the consequence , the protection of the government ; ought they not to will the antecedent , all that is necessary to it ? and if it be lawful to desire and to receive the advantages which flow from government ( which i suppose no jacobite will be so hardy as to deny ) why must not the means that are necessary to obtain these advantages , be so too ? how can they that are willing to be protected by any person , be unwilling ( except they desire contradictions ) that that person should have a power to govern them , because without such a power he cannot protect them ; and they that are willing to receive an universal protection , are presumed to be willing to pay all obedience that is necessary for that end ; which is an obedience as universal as the protection they expect . it is evident , that he that is willing to receive an universal protection from a government , is willing that the government should have a coercive power over all others , to restrain them from injuring him ; and that it should have sufficient authority to do justice , and oblige all people to pay obedience to the laws , when they are put in execution for his sake , because in it wholy consists his protection ; and he that is willing the government should have power over all other people upon his account , ought to be willing the government should have the same power over him , for the sake of others , except he would be the only man in the nation without government ; and is unwilling to do that himself , which he would have all others ( whatever their principles are ) to do . if the nonjurers do desire to be protected , and do actually receive the protection of the government , ( though at the same time they pretend it is against their consciences ) it is manifest they do own the government , and by their actions consent to submit to it ; and what force can a protestation have against their own acts ? do not the jacobites upon all occasions ●●y for protection to the government ? and apply themselves to those ministers , as legal officers , who act by no other authority than their majesties ? and have they not constant recourse to the courts , whose proceedings are in their majesties names and authority ? do not all writs run in their names , and do they not prosecute people in their majesties names as acting against the crown and dignity of our sovereign lord and lady king william and queen mary , &c. and do they not apply themselves to the king's ministers for the benefit of those very laws which are enacted by the present government , and by consequence own the authority that makes them ? how then can they own the ministers , and not own the authority by which they act ? and if the taking a commission from the king for the administration of publick justice , or in defence of the kingdom , be owning the authority of the king , why must not the complying with them , as such , be owning the authority by which they act ? but if they don't own the ministers to act by lawful authority , then they must confess their sentences are so many robberies and murthers , because they have no just authority for what they do , and they make themselves accessary , since it is at their request they commit them . is it not esteemed by all laws owning the authority of a court , to appeal to it ? is it not owning the pope's authority , to appeal to him , or any commissioned by him ? is it not by the law of nations , and an universal consent of mankind , an acknowledging a government , to receive protection from it ? do not all that go into a foreign prince's dominions , during their stay , by receiving the protection of the government , own themselves subject to it ( except ambassadors , over whom soveraigns have agreed to suspend the exercise of their right ) and are they not obliged equally with the natives , to pay allegiance ; and a ▪ like guilty of treason ; and so tried , if they attempt any thing against it ▪ and upon this head , all private attempts upon a prince in his own countrey , have been abhorred by all nations ; and those that designed any thing of this nature , have not been treated as just enemies , though in time of war ; because the presumption is , they enter as subjects into the dominions of that prince that protects them . if applying to a king , as such , for his protection , and receiving it , be not owning his authority , princes have but a small security for the obedience of the greatest numbers of their subjects , who have no otherwise obliged themselves to own their government , but by receiving protection from them . the denying , that addressing to a government for protection , and receiving it , is owning that government , layeth a mighty gap open to rebellion , by destroying the obligation of all allegiance , but what is built upon verbal promises ; so that men of those principles ought to be looked upon as enemies of all order and government . by examining what it is that gives government a right to the obedience of men , who are by nature free , it will the better appear what right the present government has to the allegiance of those it protects . the reason that is usually given , why people are obliged to obey any particular government , is ( no prince being so ridiculous as to pretend a right , as the first-born in a direct line from adam or noah ) because it was the intent of those who first formed the society , that such persons , and their successors ( if they made the government hereditary ) should have a right to govern the nation for ever . but how could they , whose authority with their being ceased so long since , oblige the consciences of those who were not then in being ? or how could any acts or compacts of their ancestors take away the natural liberty of those that were born so many years after , and who have the same right to freedom as they had ? or how could their compacts oblige those that are not descended from them , but come from other countries into the society , and make it a sin in them not to obey the present governors of any society , upon whose authority alone , and not upon the founders of the society , depends the validity of all former laws , which can only bind , because it is the will of the present powers they should ; otherwise no laws could be repealed , if their very being did not depend upon the pleasure of the present supream powers , who design they shall oblige , until they declare the contrary . others say , that being born in a countrey , makes one a subject for all his life to the government of that countrey ; but why should being in a countrey , by being born in it , make one become a subject , more than being in the same countrey at another time . besides , common experience shews this to be false , because whoever is born in a countrey where his parents are foreigners , may , as it is allowed by all , leave that countrey when he pleaseth . but perhaps it may be said , he is a subject to that prince where his parents were born . what if they were born under the same circumstances ? or suppose his parents are of different countreys , as if a dutch woman and an english man have a child in france ; since france does not pretend to him , which of the nations can claim him for their subject ? or must he be divided ? so that the difficulty still remains , how people come to be obliged to obey any particular government ? which i think can only thus be solved . every person , though he be born free , yet he is for the sake of his own safety , obliged to part with his liberty , and put himself under the protection of government . nor can he be secure in what he enjoys but by it . nor can he have a right in a countrey ( that is already possest ) to any thing , but by owning the government of that countrey . and by pretending to the priviledges the rest of the society enjoy , he has owned himself a member of the society , and a subject of the government of it . and this is the only way that any ( except by verbal promises ) consent to become subject to government . the consent of particular persons being separately and singly given , unthinking people take little notice of it , and suppose they are as naturally subjects , as men ; and consequently , that they have no more right to free themselves from their subjection , than from their human nature ; nay , must suffer themselves to be destroyed rather than endeavour it . but it may be objected , if a man is no-ways bound to a government , but by his own consent , and if the acts of his ancestors no way oblige him , he is not bound to stand to their divisions of the lands , but he may , pro virili , put in for a share , as he might , when all things were in common . ans. if it would be injustice in any one to go into a foreign countrey , to the laws of which he is not bound , and seize any land in it , on pretence that the divisions of the land were formerly made by people whose acts could not oblige him , and therefore he had as just a right as any of the inhabitants , to a share in the land ; if this were injustice in him , why would it not be so in one that is born in that countrey ? what right can he , that comes from no other place , but from nothing , pretend to , more than he that first came from another countrey . if a countrey be wholly possessed , and occupied , ( which by the law of nature , antecedent to all human laws , gives a right ) by being improved and cultivated by the labour and industry of the inhabitants , who are so very numerous , that the land does not produce without vast labour , sufficient to maintain them , what right can any that comes into this countrey , either by being born in it , or any other way , have to their labour , by usurping any part of this land , which was long since possessed , and divided amongst the the inhabitants , who having a full power over their own properties , might subject them to what laws they pleased , ( and which the legislative power may still continue ) and permit none to have a right to them , or enjoy any advantages by them , or so much as to be in the countrey without owning the government of it ? and it is highly reasonable that no government should suffer any to remain in its dominions , who will not own its authority , or be subject to the laws of the countrey . if it were unjust , before lands were divided , to have robbed any one of the fruits of the earth , that he by gathering had made his property , why should it not be as much injustice to seize upon that land , which is now as much another's property , as the gathered fruits were then ? but i shall speak no more upon this subject , because it is , in his essay of government , so fully handled by that wonderfully ingenious , and judicious author , whose works of all sorts one cannot enough commend . whatever society people chance to be members of , whether it be their native , or any other , they are , during their stay , equally obliged , for the sake of the protection they receive , to pay allegiance to the governors of that society . it is not material , whether they enjoy properties for their lives , years , weeks , or days , the greatest part of the natives have no more properties , or enjoy no greater advantages by the government , than foreigners , yet they are obliged to pay the same allegiance the rest of the society do . but here it may be objected , that there is a natural allegiance due to the governors of the first society men are of , ( which cannot be due to any other ) without whose consent they cannot leave the society , and when abroad , are obliged , when they command them , to return . man being born free , ( that distinction of legal and natural allegiance being wholly groundless ) is still master of all that liberty he has not parted with ; and if the laws of the first society , to which he has consented , by being a member of it , have not obliged him not to leave the society without the consent of the governor , he is at liberty to transport himself into what countrey he pleaseth , and to stay in it as long as he pleaseth . it is for the interest of mankind that they should not be debarred the liberty of living where it is most for their interest ; and because nations could not maintain any trade or commerce one with another , if people that went from one countrey to another , had not a power to return when they had a mind to it ; that liberty , by the law of nations , is equally allowed to all : they , it is true , who have left a countrey , whether it was that they were born in , or any other , yet as long as they enjoy any property in it , are obliged , if they intend to save their property , to leave all other countreys , when commanded . men oftner having properties in their native , than in any other countrey , has given occasion to some to conclude , that there was a natural obligation on them to return , when commanded : but there can be no reason assigned from nature , why more allegiance should be due to the governors of that countrey in which they were born , than to the governors of that countrey they afterwards voluntarily go into ; where for the protection they receive , they are obliged to pay the same allegiance as they did when they were in their native countrey . and if a foreign prince should get the power of protecting them in their native countrey , they would be obliged to pay him the same allegiance , as they did when they were under his protection in another countrey : because in each countrey the protection is the same . though they that reside in a foreign society , are equally subject with the natives , to the laws of it ; and by opposing the government , would be equally guilty of treason ; yet if during their stay , any alteration happens in the government , contrary to the laws , they never scruple to pay allegiance to him that gets possession of the government , though his title be never so illegal . i see no reason why they should not do the same in their first society , since whatever society they are in , during their stay , they are equally obliged to obey the laws of that society . are not these reasons as strong for paying allegiance to the present government ? can any man enjoy the priviledges of the society , without being a member of the society ? or can any one be a member of a society , without owning the head of it , or paying their allegiance to him ? or is there any other head that rules and governs the members , but the present king ? is it not by his authority , that the members of the society receive an universal protection , as to their lives , liberties and estates , under whose government they are , or else they are under none , but in the state of nature ? and there is no reason , or law , to oblige people to remain in a state so inconsistent with their happiness . and it would be injustice for any to remain in that state , because they would be their own judges in all the disputes they had with others , who were willing to refer their differences to a standing impartial judge ; nor have any been guilty of it , but all , not excepting the jacobites , by making use of the protection of the government , have left the state of nature , and have owned themselves subject to it . after this , what pretence can any member of the society have of refusing to pay their allegiance to a king , whom they have all along by their actions owned , and by whom they have been secured from groaning under the worst of slaveries , which had been to them the more intolerable , because of the great liberty and freedom they before enjoyed ; so that all the reasons that can well be imagined to oblige people firmly and intirely to any sovereign , do all conspire to tie them up in the strongest bonds of allegiance and fidelity to the present king and queen . by what hath been said , i think it is evident , how absolutely necessary it is for the good of mankind to submit to those persons that are capable of protecting them , and that applying to them for protection , is acknowledging their government , and authority , and that the jacobites , in using the protection of the government , and at the same time opposing it , as far as they dare , act basely , treacherously , ungratefully and inconsistently . but they that oppose the government , after they have sworn to be true to it , break all tyes both sacred and civil ; for if neither their oaths , nor the good of the society they pretend to be members of , nor the duty they owe the government for protecting them , can oblige them ; no bonds whatever ( for these are the most inviolable ) can hold them : how can any prince , or private person , trust them , since they have destroyed all manner of security , trust , and confidence men have in one another ? all the answer to this is ( i mean of the non-swearers , for the others are not capable of giving any ) that they act upon the presumed consent of the outed prince , who ( they suppose ) is willing , that they should obey the present government in all things which are for the good of the society , and their own preservation , provided it be not contrary to his interest . which answer is not at all to the purpose , because it supposeth they are still obliged to disturb the publick peace , and raise civil commotions for his interest , and notto own the present government , though it should be absolutely necessary for their preservation . can any civil society be preserved , if private men are obliged not to obey those that actually govern it , except they think it for the interest of a person who is a declared enemy to the society ? and when every thing that tends to the support and advantage of the society , because it makes the present government more potent , must be against his interest ? what if the late king has no other way to regain his throne but by the ruin and confusion of the nation ? must the jacobites assist him in ruining the nation ? as it is plain by their principles they are obliged to do ; for if once they think that they are obliged to act against the good of the society by raising a civil war , it is certain there is no mischief , provided it be for his interest , that they ought to stop at . and it is plain by their rejoycing at any publick calamity that happens to the nation , that they are ready if they thought it at present for his interest , to fire all the towns in england , or act any more horrid villany . but if they disown these principles , and say they are obliged to act for the preservation and good of the community contrary to his interest and consent , then they are obliged to obey the present government , because that is for the good of the community , and for the safety of particular persons , who if they have the late king's consent to do such acts as necessarily infer the owning the authority of the government , they have his consent to own and obey the government . and then according to their own principles , they can have no pretence of denying allegiance to it . if such acts do not amount to an owning the authority of the government , then most people never owned the late king's authority , because they owned it no other way then by receiving protection from him . it is strange that not only those that receive protection from the government , but even those that have thrust themselves into places of the greatest trust , and consequently have the greatest obligation to bear true allegiance to their majesties , should own they have no right to it ; and the greatest compliment they can give them , is , that they are king and queen de facto ; which in other words is calling them usurpers ; and is , even whilst they are their servants , owning themselves subjects of the late king. men of such principles cannot accept of places of trust , but for verybase ends ; for they must either design to act against their consciences in acting against the interest of him they esteem their lawful and rightful king , or else they must design to betray their trust in acting for his interest ; which , when it is their own interest too , and they may have what price they demand for betraying their trust , there can be no doubt but they will endeavour to serve him who they think has the right title to their allegiance . the fatal consequences that have happened to the nation upon trusting men of those principles , have too well demonstrated the truth of it . but to return , if doing all those acts the male-contents do in order to the securing their persons and properties , be not owning themselves subjects of the government , there was no reason for mankind to have submitted to , and owned any government ; since according to their principles they could have all manner of protection and defence without any government ; because they ( as they pretend ) enjoy protection from the government without owning its authority over them , or any duty in them to obey . chap. xi . of oaths of fidelity . perhaps it will be said , tho upon supposition that there is no reason why people should pay allegiance any longer than they are protected , yet if they have otherwise tyed themselves by their oaths , they are in conscience obliged by those oaths . but i answer , such oaths ( if ever such were imposed ) would be so far from binding , that they would be null upon the account of the sinfulness of them , as being directly against the good of human societies . in all promises and all oaths concerning things that are not moral , this tacite condition is always included , of their not being , or upon alteration of the circumstances becoming contrary to the publick good ; and this is without all doubt to be observed about government , because it was instituted for no other reason but for the publick good. oaths do not alter the nature of allegiance , or make it due where it was not before , or any ways extend it , but only add a new tye to pay that allegiance which is due upon the account of protection ; he that lives under a government , though he has not sworn to it , owes it the same allegiance as he that has ; and if he should deny his allegiance to it , would be equally guilty of treason , though not of perjury . it is evident by the universal practice of mankind , that no subjects ever thought themselves obliged by their oaths of fidelity , which governments have constantly imposed on them , when they ceased to be protected by them . the legislative power , especially where the people have a share in it , are presumed to recede as little as possible from natural equity , and to design by imposing such oaths , the good and preservation of the society ; whose interest it is , that they that have the publick administration of affairs should not be disturbed . but it is not at all material whether this or that man , provided they are well managed , has the direction of them : nor can it without the greatest absurdity be supposed , that such numbers of men as societies are composed of , who are by nature equal , should oblige themselves by the most solemn tyes to become most miserable , by living without protection ; nay , to lose even their lives rather than own the government that can protect them , for no other reason , but barely an extraordinary fondness to one of their number , to give him , not the necessaries or real conveniences of life , but only an office ( for government is no other ) which is but an imaginary happiness ; for if government were a real happiness to the persons that possess it , several upon their parting with it would not have found themselves happier then before . that people should be true to those that have the administration of civil affairs , is all that oaths of fidelity require : and it is evident by the words of it , that the late oath of allegiance required no more , and to extend it further then the king in possession , is not reconcileable with the reason , end , and design of paying obedience ; which is the peace aud happiness of the society , which can never be maintained if people may , for the sake of a single person , disturb him that has the administration of their common affairs ; and it would require impossibilities , because a private person is incapable of paying allegiance to a king when out of possession of the government . chap. xii . of the act of parliament of the 11 of hen. 7. besides no act of parliament ought to be so interpreted , as by bare implication to destroy a former act , as such an interpretation would the eleventh of hen. 7. chap. 1. a law still in force , which does declare , it is against all law , reason , and conscience , that subjects , &c. any thing should lose or forfeit for doing their duty and service of allegiance . be it enacted , &c. that no person that attends upon the king and sovereign lord for the time being , and does him true and faithful service of allegiance , &c. shall not any-wise be molested . what can be plainer then that it is the duty of every subject to bear true saith and allegiance to the king in being ? and to encourage them in their duty , the laws does secure them from any manner of molestation for the time to come , and declares it against all law , reason , and conscience that any should suffer upon that account . the people would be in a most miserable condition , should they be in danger of being hang'd for not obeying the king in being , or for obeying him , to be punished by the succeeding kings as traitors . the endless quarrels , almost to the utter ruin of the nation , between the houses of york and lancaster , made the necessity of such a law very evident : tho this then was no new law but only declarative of the ancient law ( for they supposed it before to be against all law , as well as reason and conscience , that , &c. ) by which law it is plain , that a king in possession has the same right to the peoples allegiance , as any king whatever ; because no king has any other then a legal right to the peoples obedience , which this law declareth is the right of all that are in possession of the government . and accordingly it has been the opinion of the lawyers , that treason cannot be committed but against a king in possession , and there can be no treason committed but against him to whom allegiance is due ; and acts of parliament made in the reigns of such kings ( though not confirmed by succeeding kings ) are valid , and oblige the subjects , as much as those made by such as are usually call'd legal kings . but it may be objected , that if they who were instrumental in a rebellion , may not endeavour to restore their legal prince , they put themselves out of a possibility of making restitution . answ. those that unjustly deprive a king of his crown , ought no doubt to restore him ; but if another has got possession of the government , by what has been said , i think it is plain they ought to obey him . there can be no dispute , but they that were no way instrumental in the revolution , but did their duty in defending him in the possession of his crown , were free from any obligation as to him , when he had lost the power of protecting them ; and were bound for the sake of their own preservation to pay allegiance to him from whom they received protection , and obliged to defend him to the utmost ; but if the rest of the society who receive protection from him are obliged to oppose him , then the society must be divided , and of necessity run into civil wars , which is against the nature of civil societies , and inconsistent with the duty of self-preservation , which obligeth men not to expose their lives but to obtain a greater good than their lives , which can only be the publick good , not the single interest of any one person . they that were instrumental in raising a rebellion , were no doubt guilty of a very enormous crime , but that which made it so , was not barely the injury they committed against the prince ( to whom , if alone considered , the breach of a promise in refusing to pay obedience to him , could be no greater crime than a breach of a promise to another person ) but the fatal mischief & irreparable damage they did the commonwealth : and a new commotion , in all probability , would be more destructive ; and a nation by being so much weakned by the former , would be less able to bear a new war. it is a greater sin , if the persons themselves are only considered , to take away the life , of one man , than to deprive another of any worldly advantage ; it is only the publick that makes it otherwise , but the publick in both cases is equally concerned , and the consequences may be as fatal in disturbing the usurper's government , as that of a legal prince . that which makes the crime of rebellion of so deep a dye , is , because rebels put it out of their power to make reparation for all the misery and destruction a civil war creates ; nor is endeavouring to bring the same calamities upon a nation , a proper way to make them amends . if there be no other way to make reparation to their injured king , but by engaging the nation in civil wars , they ought not to attempt making him reparation by such unlawful ways . the not restoring a person to the crown that he is unjustly deprived of , can only be considered , when the publick is no longer concerned in his actions , and the affairs of the nation are managed by other hands , as an injury to a single person , and the greatness of the injury , is to be judged not by the value of the thing it self , but what he that is unjustly deprived of it , suffers by the loss of it . what is absolutely necessary for the subsistence of one person may be but superfluities to another ; and as the widows mites were greater charity than what the rich out of their abundance gave ; so the robbing her of them , because she could less spare them , would have been a greater injury , and consequently a greater sin , than robbing a rich man , that could better spare it , of a thousand times as much . tyrants , it is true , rob great numbers of the conveniences , and very often of the necessaries of life ; but usurpers only hinder single persons from enjoying , not the necessaries or conveniences of life , but superfluities , because all the necessaries , and even conveniences of life , can be had without a crown . yet the usurpers , without all dispute , if they can without any injury to the publick , ought to restore the government to those from whom they do unjustly wrest it ; but if they do not , subjects for the sake of government , to which sacred ordinance , obedience by god himself , as well as man is annexed , ought to submit . christ and his apostles make no distinction , but command obedience to all in possession , by annexing god's authority to the office of governing . chap. xiii . of proofs of scripture concerning obedience to those that actually administer government . christ in the directions he gave , mat. 23. to his disciples , and to the multitude about their behaviour to the scribes and pharisees , requires obedience to be paid them only upon the account of possession ; saying , the scribes and pharisees sit in moses's seat , all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe , that observe and do : and gives no other reason for this great obedience in doing and observing whatever they command , but because they sat in moses's seat ; that is , were possessed of moses's authority , who in the theocracy was the chief magistrate . not that the scribes and pharisees had so great a power as moses , but as far as they did enjoy his seat , throne , and authority , so far they were to be obeyed : they were then the greatest , as well as chiefest part of the grand sanhedrin , which in all causes where the romans had left the jews to their liberty , had the supreme power both in civil and ecclesiastical matters . ( there were not in the jewish republick two distinct independant powers , one for civil , another for ecclesiastical causes ) . if the people were then obliged to pay so great obedience , barely upon the account of possession , why may not the same direction serve for a standing rule to the multitude in all times ? and not only to the inferiors , but even to the supreme magistrate himself christ requires obedience upon no other account but that of possession . if caesar be in possession of the empire , as it did appear by his coining of money and stamping his image upon it , that being a mark of sovereignty and empire , but not of any legal title to it ; then caesar is to have tribute and all other parts of allegiance paid him . and st. paul in express terms requires obedience to the powers that be , and declares there is no power but what is from god. the jews being influenced by the priests and pharisees , who because they were obliged by their law to place no stranger over them , scrupled to pay obedience to the roman emperors , because they were strangers and not capable of a legal right , not considering the law did not oblige them but when it was in their own choice , and not when they were under the power of the romans , to whom for the sake of protection they were obliged to pay obedience ; st. paul , to take away these scruples , assures them all powers are from god. if st. paul had only meant legal powers , since none but jews were capable of being such , he had confirmed the jews in their error . but the reason why st. paul obliges men to submit , will demonstrate that all actual rulers are meant and none but they , because they alone are a terror to evil works , and a praise to the good , none but the actual ruler is a minister of god , a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil , or a minister of god for good . what can more fully demonstrate that the reason of obedience is for the benefits men receive by government ? and what makes the crime of resisting them so great , is , because men oppose those by whom they receive so many advantages ? it is because they have the power of the sword ( which includeth all manner of punishment ) by which they secure and protect their subjects from all manner of injury and violence of ill men ; and being ministers of god for good , includeth all the good they receive both to their persons and properties ; for which cause you pay tribute also , for they are god's ministers continually attending upon this very thing . it is their dispensing these advantages to mankind , that makes them god's ministers and god's ordinance ( the scripture affirming those things that are necessary for the good of mankind to come from god , as plowing and sowing , isaiah 28. from verse the 23d . to the 29th . ) if it once be known ( as the discovery cannot be difficult ) who it is that beareth the sword , who administers justice , who rewards , and who punisheth ; if the apostle's word is to be taken , subjection is not only due to him for wrath , but for conscience-sake : and the same apostle exhorts , that prayers be made for kings , and all in authority , that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty . these reasons can only concern those that have actual power and authority , by whose protection those that live under them may lead such lives ; and if it be our duty to pray that we may lead such lives , it must be our duty to enable them that have authority over us , to secure us in the enjoyment of a quiet and peaceable life . do the principles or practices of the jacobites suit with this doctrine ? who instead of praying for those in authority , make it their business by opposing them , to destroy not only our quiet and peace , and even all godliness and honesty too , by endeavouring to set up again a popish governor , and by consequence , to introduce a religion , whose principles are destructive of true godliness and honesty , as well as the peace and quiet of the professors of them . and st. peter for the same reason requires people to submit to the supream magistrate , whom he calls the ordinance of man ; so that it is plain , that god by approving this human ordinance , approves it as human , and requires obedience to it for the same reasons that men at first instituted it . and it is the power governors have to do good that makes them to be not only god's ordinance , and god's ministers , but even gods ; for since they are not gods by nature , ( tho by some peoples arguing one would suppose they though them such , or at least beings in themselves superior to the rest of mankind ) it must be for the protection they afford , that they are termed so ; who when they do no longer protect the people , cease to be a human ordinance , and then too they cease to be a divine one : and the same reasons that obliges people to submit to them , when they act for the good of the society , does as much oblige people to oppose them , if they design to ruin and destroy them . it cannot well be supposed , that god who has obliged mankind to preserve their lives , and consequently to use the means that are necessary for that end , should require people to suffer themselves to be destroyed , to gratify the lust , or barbarity of a single person , or a few ; who are by nature but their equals , and only above them by being in an office which they erected only for their convenience . obj. st. paul makes no manner of exception , but declareth , whosoever resists shall receive damnation . ans. the apostle requireth obedience to parents in all things ; so he requireth obedience to masters , husbands , pastors , without mentioning any exceptions ; so here the apostle ( which was sufficient for his purpose ) declareth all people ought to obey the supream powers , without mentioning this exception , which from the nature , end , and design of government , and even from those reasons which he gives for obedience , does necessarily flow . it cannot be presumed that christ gave authority to his apostles to make slaves of mankind , by giving the emperors a new power , who before by no law of god or nature had such a power over peoples lives . all the power the roman government had , was immediatly from the people ; who , as it is plain in history , by their mutual consent erected that commonwealth ; and what power the emperors had , was given them too by the people , who by the lex regia conferred it upon them . all that can be deduced from scripture , is , that obedience is due to those that protect the people ; and nothing can be plainet than those texts which require it : by which plain and ignorant people may know their duty , as well as the learned and wise . it would have been inconsistent with the goodness of god to have required obedience on the greatest penalties , and yet leave it so uncertain , as the jacobitish principles would render it , to whom obedience is to be paid . what can be more uncertain than generally titles are ? and are there not innumerable intricate difficulties , about long possession , presumed consent , a just cause for a total conquest , &c. if about these points the learned do so extreamly differ , as any one may perceive , that gives himself the trouble to examine what authors have writ upon it , who give good reasons for destroying one another's hypothesis , but none for confirming their own , but what are liable to equal exceptions ; what means or possibility have almost all mankind , the unlearned and common people , of knowing their duty ? but it may be objected , though the common people should be mistaken , invincible ignorance will excuse them . ans. not to dispute how far such ignorance will excuse them ; i am sure it is inconsistent with the infinite wisdom of god , to give such rules , as almost all mankind are utterly uncapable of understanding , or guiding their actions by . but whoever considereth these texts of scripture , will see the falseness of such impious reflections , and must admire the goodness of god in laying down rules so plain , that a well-meaning man cannot mistake them : but if men will be wiser than god himself , and not be content with those laws he prescribes them , but will invent new rules , and new ways ; or by following the tradition of the jewish priests , will disturb the peace and quiet of human societies , by opposing the powers that be : if by so doing they incur the severest punishments here , as well as eternal torments hereafter , with those damned ill-natured spirits , the grand enemies of mankind , who at first possessed men with these maxims so pernicious to human societies , they must thank themselves , and their too great subtilty . the primitive christians all along complied with the revolution of the empire , and whoever was in possession of it , without examing his title , paid him allegiance , and thought him invested with god's authority : and as the goths and vandals , and other barbarous nations on one hand , and the saracens , turks and persians on the other , without any just cause overturn'd the roman empire ; the christians were so far from disputing their titles , or refusing to transfer their allegiance to them , that they never scrupled to own their government . if these pharisaical notions had then been believed , or practised , those nations would have extirpated all the professors of christianity as enemies to government and order , instead of being converted to their religion , as most of the northern nations were . nor do the christians , that now live under the dominions of the infidels , vary from this primitive practice , or scruple to transfer their allegiance to any that gets possession of the sacred office of governing , tho the legal prince be still alive . did not the jews , though they were commanded by a divine law to take a king from amongst their brethren , and god himself had intailed the crown on the posterity of david , practice the same , as they fell under the power of the four great empires ? and did they not submit to alexander without endeavouring to oppose him , when darius , to whom they had sworn obedience , could no longer protect them ? i shall add but one instance more , and that shall be of david , who thought it not unlawful , when saul designed to take away his life , to transfer his allegiance , and fly to achish king of gath for protection , who made him keeper of his head , or captain of his guard ; and whilst he was under his protection , he thought it his duty to pay all manner of allegiance to him ; and ( tho contrary to his interest , and the hopes he had of being king after saul's death ) even to join with the uncircumcised to invade his own countrey , and to sight against the lord 's anointed , his late king and father-in-law ; and as appeareth by the 1 sam. 29. 8. was much grieved , and humbly expostulateth with the king for not permitting him to attend him in the battel ; but what have i done ? or what hast thou found in thy servant , so long as i have been with thee until this day , that i may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king ? saul by designing to destroy david , had freed him from the allegiance he owed him ; for he that designs to destroy a person , cannot have a mind to govern that person he designs to destroy ; and if he will not govern him , he is free from his government , and at liberty to pay his allegiance where he thinks best . and if david expected from the king of gath an universal protection from all his enemies , he ought to pay the king an universal obedience . if a private person be free from the government that designs to destroy him , the argument will hold as strongly in behalf of a nation that is designed to be destroyed ; and whoever attempts it , does not only renounce the government of the nation , but puts himself in a state of war , and declares himself an utter enemy to them , who are as much obliged to resist him , as they are any other enemy . upon this head the jews , in the time of the maccabees , took up arms against their legal king antiochus , ( whom they all along acknowledged as such , and who was successor to alexander , who had the same right to their obedience as the persians or assyrians had , ) who was resolved to extirpate them if they would not turn idolaters . and it is manifest , that god by the miraculous assistance he gave them ( for what they did , must be imputed to more than human force ) did approve of their design . and the same reasons will justify any nation for opposing that prince , that does endeavour upon a religious , or any other account to destroy them . by what hath been said , i hope it is plain , that by the positive law of god , by the law of right reason , by the law of all nations , and the universal practice of mankind , and the express law of the land , obedience is due to the king who does actually govern the people ; and therefore to the present king and queen , though they did not enjoy the crown ( vacant by the late king's abdication ) by any legal right ; which right i think has been sufficiently demonstrated by those that have writ on that subject , at least to lawyers , and men that are competent judges in such points , of which a great many are no more competent judges , than they are of mathematical demonstrations , which are nevertheless demonstrations ; but none can be mistaken who they are that do actually govern the nation ; and if obedience for that reason be due to them , other inquiries are needless . therefore i shall only add , that nothing could be more just , more glorious , more meritorious , than the prince's coming over to rescue three nations from slavery and ruin , by obliging the late king ( which by all possible ties he was bound to ) to govern according to law : to which he was so averse , that he was resolved not to govern at all , if he could not govern arbitrarily ; which when he plainly saw he could not effect , he threw up the government : which , whatever force may be pretended , must be esteemed a voluntary action , because he might have prevented it by governing according to law ; according to that known axiom , involuntarium ex voluntario ortum habens moraliter pro voluntario habetur . the throne being actually vacant by his deserting it ; what reason could hinder the prince from accepting what was his right , when offered him by the convention of the states of the kingdom ? who , ( when the throne is actually vacant , and it is not clear whose right it is ) are , and have always been , the sole proper judges to determine to whom it belongs ; whose judgments must give a legal right , because all legal rights are held by no other tenure , than the decree of the supream judges . but supposing the king had no legal right , and that the convention were not legal judges ; yet if they were chosen by the nation , to determin , upon the late king 's leaving it , what was necessary to be done for the preservation of the nation , it being necessary that somewhat should be resolved on ; that necessity would give them a sufficient right to do whatever they found necessary for the preservation of the nation : because no nation can be brought to that condition , but it must have a right to act for its own safety ; which it cannot do , if it have not a right to appoint judges to determine what is to be done , and oblige particular persons to stand to their determinations . and the convention ought , if they thought it ( of which they were appointed the judges ) for the safety of the nation , wholly to exclude the late king. and why might they not , if they thought the nation could not be safe if he should return , be wholly against his return , as well as the jacobites themselves ( for there were none of another opinion then ) be against his return , but upon such terms , and conditions , as they thought necessary for the safety of the nation ? and the same necessity that will justify the late archbishop for consenting to put the soveraign administration of affairs into the prince's hands , will justify the convention for continuing it in the hands of the king , who alone could secure the nation ; and who had saved them before he ruled them , and to whom it was owing that they could call any thing ( even their lives ) their own . which , if it be not the best title to a crown , yet at least is the best title to peoples hearts and affections , when he is possest of it ; especially when the chief advantage he gains by it , is but to expose his sacred person for the security of the nation : and the enlarging his empire has only encreased his cares and concerns for the safety of those he governs : and all the satisfaction he reaps ( which to a god-like mind is the greatest ) is the power to oblige , and to do good . the nation is happy in having a king whom they can trust ; not only because his interest is the same with theirs , but because , as all the actions of his life have demonstrated , no consideration of his own could ever divert him from acting what was best for the cause he was engaged in ; and who is as famous for being true and just to his word , as his enemies are infamous for breaking their most sacred oaths , and solemn leagues . in a word , he is a prince that has the vertue , the fidelity , the integrity of cato , as well as the bravery , the courage , and conduct of caesar. never did the happiness of the best part of mankind depend more upon a single life , than now . nations of religions , and all things else , different , do unanimously agree in acknowledging him to be their chief support , the head , the heart , the hand of the confederacy ; and to him they confess that it is owing , that the chains that have been ready to setter europe , have been more than once broken . to be the preserver of europe , is a much more glorious title , than to be the conqu●●●● of it : to which may be added , the most excellent of all titles , the defender of the faith ; which ( tho others have claimed of course ) he best deserves ; since to him it is owing that the true faith is publickly professed any-where , and in these nations ( which is a blessing cannot be bought too dear ) without cruelty or persecution ; for a nation is constantly in a state of war within it self , where one party is persecuting and ruining another , about things which are in themselves indifferent , and no ways tend to promote the publick good. in short , there can be no advantage , but what the nation may justly expect from a king so zealous to promote their good , and so able to perform what he undertakes . chap. xiv . some considerations touching the present affairs . but it may be objected , how can the nation propose any happiness to themselves by this revolution , since by it they are at so great expences to maintain a war against so powerful an enemy ? answ. the more powerful the enemy is , the greater was the necessity of this revolution ; for if now the consederates are scarce an equal match for france , how easily would they have been over-run , if england ( which is the most favourable that could have been expected ) had stood neuter ? and when they had been subdued , what could have hindred the french king , being then so potent both by sea and land , from conquering this island ? what opposition could the militia , joyned with a few raw and unexperienced troops , ( for it is this war has made them otherwise ) tho headed by a commander of so invincible courage as the late king , make against his regular and numerous . troops ? but suppose the french king , who is so famous for keeping his royal word , would not have conquered england when he might ; what could have hindred the late king , assisted by france , from using this nation as his cruelty , covetousness , bigotry , or jesuits , could have inspired him ? the french king , had he been defective in so fundamental a point of religion , would have obliged him , as he did the duke of savoy , to have extirpated all the hereticks . england would have been perhaps by this time a rendezvouz of french and irish apostolick dragoons , or what is worse , a nest of priests and jesuits . and what milder usage can the nation expect , if the late king , who is under such obligation to france , and incensed by ( as he thinks ) ill treatment , should return ? ought not they , except they are ambitious of being roasted by a smithfield fire , or are in love with the manly exercise of rowing in the gallies , to do their utmost endeavour to stop the farther progress of france ? which only prevails because their armies are more numerous ? if there were more forces raised ( the nation is so far from wanting men , that it can spare about thirty thousand by easing the parishes of those idle people who are burthensom to them ) sufficient to equal those of the french ; there is no reason to doubt but the english would beat them , as they have always done , when the numbers have been any thing near equal , and force them to quit other places as shamefully as they did ireland . the misfortune is not , that we have now a war with france , but that it was so long delayed ; and whatever the nation now suffers , they wholly owe it to the two late kings , who instead of hindring , when they might , the growing greatness of france , did under-hand assist and contribute , as far as they durst , to increase the exorbitant power of that kingdom . though the charges of the war , it is true , are burthensome , yet they are common to almost all europe ; nor are they so great as some people represent them , since it does cause little or no alteration in peoples way of living ; the same excess in apparel , and every thing else , and the interest of money being as low as ever , ( at least it would be so , did not the king 's taking up such large sums at so great an interest , raise the interest of money even amongst others ) are a demonstration of its plenty : and the native commodities of the countrey bearing a much better price than formerly , chiefly by reason so much is taken up for the king's use upon account of the army or fleet , must more than repay the countrey for what it contributes to the war. the taxes themselves are not so much a burden , as the unequal way of raising them , and obliging people to pay so much money at one time ; which cannot well be prevented but by an excise , which would make them so easy , and so equal , that they would hardly be felt . but if they were more burthensome then they are , then paying of them for some time is absolutely necessary to preserve their all for ever . in the primitive times , the christians ( especially the clergy ) would 〈◊〉 dispose of their own , but even what was dedicated to pious uses , and sell the place that belonged to the altar to redeem a soul from slavery : why should they not be now as zealous to secure milions of souls , three nations , and their posterity , from a bondage both spiritual and temporal worse than egyptian ; or at least encourage people by their precept and example freely to contribute to a war upon which depends the safety of the church as well as state ▪ a war so holy , that if the cause alone could make them martyrs , all that dye in it are such . but to conclude , i hope , i have demonstrated , that it is the duty of all people to bear true faith and allegiance to the present government , by reasons and arguments which are as firm as government it self , and which will endure as long as it , because built upon the same foundation , the good of societies ; and which may serve for directions in all changes and revolutions , as well as for the justification of that happy one , which ( by the blessing of god upon his majesties heroick endeavours ) preserves us in the enjoyment of all our happiness both spiritual and temporal . finis . the great duty of resignation to the divine will in afflictions enforced from the example of our suffering saviour / by william bates ... bates, william, 1625-1699. 1684 approx. 175 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 114 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2005-03 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a26794 wing b1111 estc r22116 12619541 ocm 12619541 64477 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a26794) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 64477) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 343:8) the great duty of resignation to the divine will in afflictions enforced from the example of our suffering saviour / by william bates ... bates, william, 1625-1699. [17], 208 p. : port. printed by j.d. for brabazon aylmer ..., london : 1684. errata: p. [17]. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. marginal notes. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng resignation. obedience. 2004-09 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2004-09 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2004-10 jonathan blaney sampled and proofread 2004-10 jonathan blaney text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the great duty of resignation to the divine will in afflictions , enforced from the example of our suffering saviour . by william bates , d. d. nihil fit visibiliter & sensibiliter , quod non de interiori , invisibili , & intelligibili aula summi imperatoris , aut jubeatur , aut permittatur in ista totius creaturae amplissima quadam immensaque republica . aug. lib. tert . de trin. london , printed by j. d. for brabazon aylmer , at the three pigeons over against the royal-exchange in cornhil , 1684. gulielmus batesius , s. s. theol : prof : aetat : 57. nov : 1682. the preface . the first man by rebellion against his maker , lost his innocence and felicity , and conveyed a sad inheritance of sin and misery to his universal progeny : ever since it has been esteemed a principal part of wisdom to prepare the minds of men to encounter with innumerable evils that surround them , and to preserve a well-order'd , contented state of soul , when actually under the greatest afflictions . all the famous sophy's of the world , the most celebrated professors of patience , could not attain to this skill . their consolatory discourses composed with wit and eloquence , are like artificial fruits of wax , that seem to surpass the productions of nature , but can only please the sight , and afford no real refreshment to the taste . or , like rings of steel that are joined by the attractive virtue of the load-stone , that make a chain fair to the eye , but of no strength and use . it was inexcusable ignorance , their not resolving temporal evils to their proper original , the righteous providence of god. they erected a blind & foolish power under the title of fortune , to preside in this sphere of mutability ; they always boast of their playing a prize with fortune , and triumph over a phantome of their own fiction . this conceit was both impious and uncomfortable ; impious , to take the scepter of government from god's hand , and attribute to that foolish pleasure of fortune , what is ordered by his providence : and uncomfortable , for they fancied their deity to be blind , without discerning between the worthy and unworthy , and inexorable to the complaints of the injured , and the prayers of the miserable . the common topicks from whence they hardned themselves are , that none are exempted in this open state from afflicting accidents , the common tribute of mankind ; that 't is in vain to struggle with what is irresistible , that death is the balm and close of all evils . and the best of their moral arguments for patience under sufferings , such as the dignity of the reasonable soul ; and that nothing inferior to it should have power , or is worthy to put it into confusion ; that vertue is the noblest perfection , and is encreas'd by the most difficult exercise ; that 't is best to yield up our selves to the divine disposal . these arguments are with infinite more advantage propounded in the sacred scriptures : and for christians to attend to the instructions of natural reason , and neglect the divine revelations of the gospel , is a folly like that of the silly indians of mexico , who having plenty of wax , the natural work of the bees ; yet 〈◊〉 made use of fire brands to light them in the night that afforded a little light mixt with a great deal of smoak . briefly , they had but wavering conjectures of the future state ; and the recompences thereof , from whence are derived the most powerful motives of active and passive obedience to the commanding and disposing will of god ; but in the scripture are laid down in the clearest manner , and with infallible assurance , such principles as are effectual to compose the mind to patient suffering , and to meet with valiant resolution all the terrible contrarieties in the way to heaven . it declares , that sin opened an entrance unto all the current adversities in the world , which are the evident signs of god's displeasure against it . in anguish we are apt to dispute with providence , and an imagination of innocence kindles discontent : of this impatience , some even of the best moral heathens were guilty ; titus and germanicus charged the gods with their untimely , and in their apprehension undeserved deaths ; but the due sence of sin will humble and quiet the mind under sufferings , it directs us to consecrate our sorrows , to turn the flowing stream into the channel of repentance . and thus the passion of grief , which , if terminated on external troubles , is barren and unprofitable , it can neither retrieve our lost comforts , nor remove any oppressing evil ; if it be imployed for our offences , prepares us for divine mercy , and is infinitely beneficial to us . and thus by curing the cause of afflictions , our guilt that deserves them , we take away the malignity and poison of them . the word of god assures us , that all the perturbations and discords in the passages of our lives are ordered by his wisdom and will , so that without extinguishing the two eyes of reason and faith , we must acknowledg his providence , and observe his design in all , which is either to excite us when guilty of a careless neglect , or remiss performance of our duty , or to reclaim us from our excursions and deviations from the narrow way that leads to life . indeed there is nothing more common nor more fatal , than for afflicted persons to seek by carnal diversions and contemptible comforts to overcome their melancholy , and the sense of divine judgments ; and hereby they add new guilt , and provoke new displeasures . this presages and accelerates final ruine ; for such whom afflictions do not reform , are left as incorrigible . but above all encouragements , the gospel sets before us the sufferings of our redeemer , and directs all his disciples in sincerity to accustom themselves to the contemplation and expectation of troubles on earth ; it tells them 't is a branch of their religion , to suffer with him that they may reign with him . and what is more reasonable , than if our saviour endured superlative sufferings to purchase eternal glory for us , that we should with the same mind bear lighter afflictions to prepare us for it ? if this principle be alive and active in our breasts , that our present afflictions shall determine in our future happiness , when time shall cease and eternity succeed ; this will encourage us to serve god with our best affections when our days are overcast with sorrow , as in a bright prosperity : this will secure our passage through a stormy , tempestuous world , as if it were a truly pacifick sea , knowing that divine providence always guides us to the port of eternal tranquility . this is the substance of what is amplified in the following treatise . and whilst there are miseries in the world , no discourses are more seasonable and useful than those that lighten our oppressing sorrows , and that enable us with uniformity and constancy in all the changes of this mortal life , to pursue our eminent end. the holy spirit , the great comforter apply these truths to the hearts of the afflicted . william bates . errata . page 24. l. 1. for as objects are greater , r. appear greater . page 116. l. 11. for their subtilty , r. stability . page 120. l. 10. for now joseph , r. now that joseph . the great duty of resignation : matth. 26. 39. and he went a little further , and fell on his face , and prayed , saying , o my father , if it be possible , let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless , not as i will , but as thou wilt . the words are our saviour's prayer at his private passion in the garden . in paradise was the first scene of man's sin , and in a garden the first scene of christ's sorrows . he was now in the near view of his extream sufferings ; the fatal hour approach'd when he was to die with all the concurrent circumstances of shame and cruelty . his nature was humane and holy , and therefore apprehensive of misery and the wrath of god. in this exigency he fell on his face , a posture of humble reverence , and with earnestness prayed , saying , o my father , an expression of his stedfast trust in the love of god : if it be possible , not with respect to his absolute power , for by that he could easily have preserved him ; but with respect to his sovereign pleasure , and eternal decree : let this cup pass from me , that implies a compleat deliverance from the rage of the powers of darkness , and of the perverted world in conjunction with them . he suffered innocent nature to act as nature , for he submitted to our infirmities , but without our imperfections . nevertheless not as i will , but as thou wilt : his petition was qualified with an act of submission ; the desire of his nature , that recoil'd from such sufferings , was over-ruled by the resignation of grace . there was no repugnancy , but a subordination between the sensitive will and the rational will , directed by his mind , that foresaw the blessed effects of his sufferings , the glory of god , with the salvation of lost mankind . and that just horror , with the strong aversion of his nature from such a terrible death , renders his willingness more conspicuous and meritorious . as man , the apprehension of it put him into an agony ; but as mediatour , by a firm resolution and clear choice he submitted to it . now , the example of our suffering saviour , lays an obligation on us to transcribe his copy ; his titles in scripture declare both his eminency and exemplariness . he is our head , and our leader , the captain of our salvation , whom we are bound to follow in taking up our cross : his sufferings were designed not only for our redemption , but for our instruction and imitation . what he commands as god , he perform'd as man , that we might voluntarily yield up our selves to the holiness and equity of his law. thus from the patern of our saviour's deportment , the point of doctrine is this : the entire resignation of our wills to the disposing will of god , is the indispensible duty of christians under the sharpest afflictions . in the explication and proof of this point , i shall i. consider what is consistent with this resignation . ii. what is implied in it . iii. the reasons to convince us of this duty of resigning of our selves , and all our interests to god ; and then apply it . i will , first , consider what is consistent with this voluntary resignation . that will appear in the following particulars . first ; an earnest deprecation of an impending judgment , is reconcilable with our submission to the pleasure of god , declared by the event . our saviour with humility and importunity desired the removing of the cup of bitterness . we must distinguish between god's law , and his decree and counsel ; the law is the rule of our duty , and requires an intire exact subjection in all our faculties , even in our internal desires , in the first motions of the will ; the least velleity , or rising of the heart against the divine command , is irregular and culpable ; for not only the acts of sin are forbidden in every command respectively , but all the incitations of concupiscence , before the deliberate judgment of the mind , or the actual consent of the will. but the decree of god is not the rule of our duty , and secret , till manifested by the event of things . this being premised , the reasons are evident why we may pray against an affliction that threatens us , without violating our duty . first ; because afflictions are evils which the will naturally declines , and are not desirable things in themselves . they are not beneficial and productive of our good by any proper efficacy and operation , but by the over-ruling providence of god , and the gracious assistance of his spirit . when aaron's rod was put into the sanctuary , and became green and flourishing with blossoms and almonds , 't was not from any inherent vertue of its own , but from the special influence of the divine power ; for the other rods remained dead and dry : thus the happy effects of the afflicting rod are from divine grace . secondly ; there are proper temptations that attend the afflicted state. many are encompass'd in a sad circle , their sins procure afflictions , and their afflictions occasion many sins . indeed , tribulation that is sanctified , by a happy gradation worketh patience ; and patience , experience of the divine mercy ; and experience , hope , and hope maketh not ashamed . but when it meets with a stubborn spirit , there are fearful descents of sin : tribulation excites impatience , and impatience causeth perplexity , and that despair , and despair confusion . the devil lays his trains in every condition , and sometimes by immoderate sorrow , sometimes by inordinate joy , doth mischief to the soul. and as more perish by surfeits than abstinence , yet the diseases that are caused by emptiness , are more dangerous and incurable than those that proceed from fulness : so more are ruined by prosperity than adversity : but the guilty passions that ferment and rage in adversity , are more pernicious , and more hardly temper'd and subdued , than the luxurious appetites that are fomented and drawn forth by prosperity . we are directed by our saviour to pray , that we may not be led into temptation , and to be delivered from all evil. secondly ; a mournful sense of afflictions sent from god is consistent with a dutiful resignation of our selves to his will. 't was the vain boast of the philosophers , that their instructions would fortify men with such magnanimous principles , and generous spirits , as with an equal calm tranquillity of mind to encounter all the fierce and sorrowful accidents to which they might be exposed here : they speak high against fortune and fate , and resolve stubbornly , that no misery , whether poverty or disgrace , torments or death , should extort from them a confession that it was misery . 't was one of their axioms , that a wise man is not subject to the vicissitudes and instability of things here below ; that he suffers no conflict of contrary passions in his breast ; that he is always above in the * serene , where no tempests can disturb , no eclipse can darken his mind : but these proud pretensions were empty of reality . indeed such a perfect exemption from all afflicting passions is neither possible nor regular in our present state : not possible , for the best men are not all spirit , but united to flesh ; and when the body is under strong pains , the soul suffers in its sufferings ; and while we are thus compounded , the loss of those comforts that support and sweeten the present life , must cause grief . 't is easy to utter brave expressions , and lay down severe precepts in contempt of evils * when they are at a distance , but hard to sustain the spirit under the actual feeling of them ; 't is one thing to discourse of a battel , and another to be engaged in the heat of it . but supposing by a philosophical charm the heart were so hardned as to be proof against the most piercing afflictions , such a forced insensibility is not regular , but proceeds from the extinction of humanity and piety , and that will appear by considering afflictions in a natural or moral respect . first , in a natural respect , for so they are destructive or oppressive evils , and a pensive feeling of them is suitable to the law of our creation : for the humane nature is framed with such senses and passions , as according to god's intention should be affected suitably to the quality of their objects ; and if the soul acts rationally , 't is moved accordingly . a saint on earth is not a saint in heaven , raised above all disasters and troubles , freed from all hurtful impressions from without , and sorrowful impressions within , but is liable to afflicting evils : and it is becoming his duty to have his passions pliable to his condition , but without excess ; the eyes must not be drown'd , nor dry , but tenderly affected . secondly ; considered in a moral respect , as they are sent from the high and just providence of god , it is absolutely necessary there should be an humble resentment of his displeasure . this is a consequent of the former ; for if our affections are seared up , that we do not feel the stroke , how shall we regard the hand that smites us ? if we are not sensible of affliction , we are secure in our sins . natural sorrow is introductive of godly sorrow . there are two extreams to be avoided by the afflicted , according to the direction of solomon in the person of wisdom , and repeated by the apostle : my son , despise not thou the chastening of the lord , nor faint when thou art rebuked of him . some are discouraged and over-born by afflictions as insupportable : others are stubborn and careless , and never lay them to heart : they never look upward to the original efficient cause , an offended god ; nor inward to the impulsive deserving cause , their sins ; but esteem them fortuitous events that happen in this mutable state , without a design to correct and reform sinners ; or to proceed from a blind necessity , things of course ; or meerly regard the second causes and instruments of their troubles : accordingly , when they meet with calamities , all their care is by a perverse shift to seek for relief onely in temporal comforts ; without serious applying themselves to god , whose end in sending troubles , is to reclaim us from sin to holiness , from earth to heavens , from the creatures to himself . this secret atheism , like a benumming opium , stupifies the conscience ; and the insensibility of god's hand inflicting evils , is as different from christian patience and constancy , as a mortal lethargy is from the quiet , soft sleep of health : nothing kindles his anger more than neglecting it ; 't is equally provoking with the despising of his love : it is a symptom of a wretched state of soul ; if there proceed no sighs and groans , no signs of grief from the sense of god's displeasure , it is a sad evidence there is no spiritual life . indolence under the effects of god's anger , is like the stilness of the dead sea , whose calm is a curse . the jews , tho intitled the people of god , are deeply charg'd for this prodigious madness ; o lord , thou hast struck them , but they have not grieved ; thou hast consumed them , but they refused to receive correction : they have made their faces harder than a rock , they have refused to return . jer. 5. 3. we have whole quarries of such obdurate wretches amongst us ; this impenitent disregard of god's hand is a dreadful presage of future and more heavy judgments . who ever hardned himself against the lord , and prospered ? do we provoke the lord to jealousy , are we stronger than he ? the most refractory sinner he can compel to acknowledg with bitter lamentations his wickedness , and weakness , how unable he is to contend with his judge . but supposing a respite from punishment here , there is an hell prepared for stubborn sinners , where is weeping and wailing for ever . whom the rods do not awaken , the scorpions shall . secondly ; i shall now proceed to explicate what is included in the resignment of our selves to god in times of affliction . this will be made evident by considering the leading powers and faculties which grace sanctifies and works in , according to their natural subordination . the understanding approves the severest dispensations of providence to be good , that is for reasons though sometimes unsearchable , yet always righteous , and for gracious ends to the saints . when hezekiah heard the heavy prophecy , that all his treasures should be carried to babylon , and his royal progeny should become slaves there , he said to isaiah , good is the word of the lord which thou hast spoken . his sanctified mind acknowledged it to be a just correction of his vain pride , and quietly submitted to it : and as there is a satisfaction of mind in the rectitude , so in the graciousness of his proceedings . the misapprehension and mis-belief of god's design in afflicting , causeth impatience and murmuring ; but when the mind is convinced , that he afflicts us for our benefit , that bodily diseases are medicinal advantages , the remedies of the soul ; that the losses of earthly comforts prepare us for divine enjoyments ; that the way which is sowed with thorns , and watered with tears , leads to heaven ; the heart is compliant with the sharpest methods of providence . but these things will be more fully opened under the several heads of arguments to enforce the duty . this resignment principally consists in the consent and subjection of the will to the orders of heaven . the will is an imperious faculty , naturally impatient of opposition to its desires , and we pay the highest honour to god in the lowest submission of our wills to his appointments . 't is true the will cannot make a direct choice of evil , nor love afflictions , but the holy spirit by a powerful operation so disposeth it , as to renounce its own inclinations when discordant with the will of god. and the more humble , ready and entire the submission is , the more difficult and harsh the denial of our natural desire is , the more supernatural grace shines and is acceptable . it is the perfection of holiness to do what god loves , and to love what god does . there is a rare example of this in david's carriage , when under his greatest affliction : 't was in his flight from his son absalom , who endeavoured to deprive him of his kingdom and life . and the king said unto zadock the priest , carry back the ark of god into the city : if i shall find favour in his eyes , he will bring me again , and shew me both it and his habitation ; but if he shall say , i have no delight in thee , behold , here i am , let him do to me as seems good unto him . o happy frame ! his spirit was so equally ballanced , that if god would suffer a rebel that violated the most tender and strict relations of a son and subject to a gracious father and sovereign , the murtherer of his brother , and a parricide in his desires , to usurp his throne , he humbly submitted to it . the duty of resignation consists in the composure of the affections to a just measure and temper , when under the sharpest discipline . of the passions , some are tender and melting , others are fierce and stormy , and if a ponderous oppressing evil happen , or the loss of that good that was very pleasing , they sometimes join together , as the clouds at the same time dissolve in showers , and break forth in thunder and lightning . now when sanctified reason hath a due empire over them , and the soul possesseth it self in patience , it is a happy effect of resignation to the divine disposal . of this we have an eminent instance in the afflicted saint forementioned . when david was so wickedly reproached by shimei , and abishai fired with indignation , would presently have taken exemplary revenge , by stopping his breath for ever : should this dead dog curse my lord the king ? let me go over , i pray thee , and take off his head. how cool and calm was david's spirit ? he felt no aestuations nor tumults within , exprest no outragious complaints , but said , let him curse , because the lord hath said to him , curse david . there is a twofold excess of the sorrowful affections in troubles : i. in the degrees of them . ii. in the continuance . first ; in the degrees of them , when they exceed their causes . afflictive things that deeply wound us , are usually represented by the reflection of sorrow , with all the heightning circumstances , the loss as unvaluable , the evil as intollerable . as objects are greater than their true proportion when seen through a mist ; so do evils , apprehended through grief : and after such a false judgment the passions take their violent course , and the spirit sinks under overwhelming heaviness . the soul is disabled from performing what belongs to it , with respect to the general and particular calling , and cannot with freedom wait upon god , but neglects its duty and felicity . 't was the complaint of the afflicted poet , hei mihi quod miseros prudentia prima relinquit . the first effect of misery is black confusion in the thoughts , that the mind doth not distinctly consider , and apply such things as would be effectual to mitigate , or remove it . besides , as when the stream overflows the channel , it runs foul and turbid : so immoderate sorrow often causeth secret discontent and anger at the almighty , disquieting and tormenting risings of heart against his providence . all things are disordered and turbulent in the little and marvelous monarchy of the soul. and such seeds of incitation are in our corrupt nature , that in the extremity of anguish , the furious passions swell into a storm , and break the restraints of reason and grace . job in a hot fit expostulates strangely with god , is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress ? he was a holy man , and a prophet , who in the paroxism of his passion curst the day of his birth . secondly ; there is an excess in the continuance . deep grief doth more arrest the thoughts upon its object , than the affection of joy doth . the mind is not so easily diverted from what afflicts , as from what delights . the main strain of the soul is towards the mournful object ; and in the midst of comforts to support the fainting spirts , there still remains a sad remembrance of that which torments : a swarm of stinging thoughts continually wound and inflame the breast : no counsels prevail , but the soul is resolved in its grief , and always restless with a bitter desire of what is irrecoverable . thus the prophet describes the misery of rachel , weeping for her children , and would not be comforted , because they were not . as some venomous creatures turn all that they eat into poison : so obstinate sorrow takes occasion from every thing to encrease it self . this consumes the strength , and the mourner lives only to feel his misery , and thinks death too slow for him , that was so precipitate for the person lamented . thus by the fixed contemplation of its trouble , the soul is distracted from its heavenly original , and from pursuing its blessed end , and indulgeth its sorrow , as if the loss of a temporal comfort were utterly undoing to it . this obstinate grief is inconsistent with a resigned frame of spirit . though in great afflictions , there will be a conflict of nature , and it is wisdom to let grief breath forth , and have a passage , yet grace will asswage the fury , and limit the time , by regarding the will of god , and by deriving from the springs of comfort above some inward refreshings , when the streams below totally fail . i shall now propound the arguments that will clearly convince us of this duty of resignation ; some of which are powerful to silence all rebellious arguings , and suppress all the transports of the passions ; others to raise the drooping spirits , and incline the heart to a calm yielding , and compleat subjection to the divine will. the first argument ariseth from god's original supream right in our persons , and all things we enjoy . he is the fountain of being , and produced us out the depth of our native nothing , and made us little lower than the angels . he is the author of all our good , the just and true proprietor of all his benefits . from hence results his sovereignty and dominion over us , which is declared in his law , and the dispensations of his providence . his law is the rule of our lives and actions , his governing providence the rule of our sufferings and passions . there is indispensibly due , a free and full obedience to his commands , and an intire universal resignation to the orders of his providence . the enjoyment of all our blessings is from his pure goodness , and rich bounty , which requires our humble and affectionate thankfulness ; and his resumption of them should be entertained with a holy and a patient submission . he gives them freely , and may recall them at his pleasure . in whatsoever instance his will is declared , we must with humility and meekness submit ; for he hath an equal empire in disposing all things that are equally his own , and we are bound by an equal obedience to acknowledg his dominion . when eli received the terrible message of the ruine of his family ; the final excision of it from the dignity of the priesthood , he patiently submits : it is the lord , let him do what seemeth him good . the meer desire of exemption from his over-ruling will , is a heinous sin , and a stubborn uncompliance with it in the issues of things , is direct rebellion , mixt with ingratitude , obstructive to our present peace , and future happiness . if the afflicted would for a while suspend their tears and sighs , and with free reason consider , that what relation soever they had in their dearest loss , whether of a father , a son , of a husband or wife , or any other amiable and passionate terms , yet god hath a nearer right and juster claim in those persons , being his by the best titles of creation and redemption , it would silence murmurings and impatience , and stop the scope of inordinate sorrow . our propriety in them was derived from his favour , and our possession was depending on his will , for his right in all his creatures is unalienable . this consideration was the foundation of job's patience ; when he was stript of all his outward comforts , how composed was he in his mind ! how considerate in his words ! he reflects upon his native poverty , naked came i into the world , and naked shall i return thither , and adores god's dominion : the lord hath given , and the lord hath taken , blessed be his name . add farther , that which by immediate connection follows , the consideration of the glorious majesty of god , and our natural meanness and unworthiness . the distance and disproportion is so vast between him and us , that we are not able to conceive the full and just idea of his excellent greatness : we are fain to assist our minds in the thoughts of god by sensible representations ; and to express our conceptions by borrowed terms ; his immensity by the ocean ; his eternity , by the returning of a circle into it self ; his power , by thunder ; his majesty by the sun in its meridian splendours . as the flying fishes , ( shoals of which are met in sailing to the indies , ) can fly no longer than their wings remain moist ; when those membranes are dry , they cannot move , and are forc'd to dip themselves again in the sea , that by softening them , they may renew their flight : thus when we ascend in our minds to god , we form no conceptions but what take their rise from sensible things , which infinitely fall short of his perfections . who can fully understand the transcendent excellencies of his nature ? who can describe what is ineffable , and most worthy to be ador'd with silent admiration and extasy of mind ? he dwells in that light which is inaccessible ; the angels , the most comprehensive spirits , vail their faces in the presence of his glory . he is his own original , but without beginning ; alone , but not solitary ; one ever blessed god , yet communicates his intire deity to the son and spirit ; he is not divided in number , nor confused in unity . he is not compell'd by necessity , nor chang'd by liberty , nor measur'd by time : if we ascend to the first fountains of all ages , then his infinite understanding comprehended in one clear view , the whole compass , extent and duration of all things . his powerful word made the visible and invisible world , and upholds them . that which was spoken with flattery , of a roman emperour , by seneca , ( who as much degenerated from the dignity of a stoical philosopher , in licking nero , as in biting alexander ) is absolutely true of the sovereign lord of the world : his providence is the band that unites the parts of the universal common-wealth , the vital spirit and vertue that sustains all : without his eye and hand , his dispositive wisdom and power , the whole frame would disband , and fall into confusion and ruine . he is seated upon the throne of the universe . thousand thousands of glorious spirits minister unto him , and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him , in the quality and humility of his servants , ready to execute his commands . he is the judg of the living and the dead , that disposeth of heaven and hell for ever . and what is man ? a little breathing dust. he is infinitely above us , and so strangely condescends , in having a tender care of us , that the psalmist was swallowed up in extasy and amazement at the thoughts of it : lord , what is man that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man that thou regardest him ? nay , we are beneath his anger , as a worm is not worthy of the indignation of an angel. now the more we magnify god , and exalt his authority in our judgments , the more our wills are prepared to yield to him : his excellency will make us afraid to oppose his providence . when the son of god appeared to saul , in his glory , and commanded in person , he presently lets fall his arms of defiance ; and says , lord , what wilt thou have me to do ? his resignation was absolute ; nothing was so hard to do , nothing so formidable to suffer , but he was ready to accomplish and endure in obedience to christ. the more we debase and vilify our selves , the more easy it will be to bear what god inflicts ; humility disposeth to submission . our passions are not excited at the breaking of an ordinary glass ; but if a vessel of christal be broken , it moves us : the lower esteem we have of our selves , the less we shall be transported for any breach that is made upon us . we read in the history of job , many heavy complaints uttered by him of his sufferings , all the sad figures of passionate eloquence made use of to represent them , and the fruitless essays of his friends , that did rather exasperate than appease his spirit : and it is very observable , that when the lord interposed himself to justify the ways of his providence , he did not charge upon him the guilt of his sins that deserved the severest judgments , but appears in his glory , and reminds himof his original nothing . where wast thou when i laid the foundations of the earth ? declare , if thou hast understanding . he opens to him some of the excellencies of the deity in the works of creation and providence , and the present effect was , job adored with humble reverence the divine majesty , and acknowledged his own unworthiness . behold , i am vile , what shall i answer thee ? i will lay my hand upon my mouth ; now mine eyes see thee , i abhor my self , and repent in dust and ashes . the thickest smoak by ascending dissipates and vanishes . if the troubled soul did ascend to heaven , and consider that even the worst evils are either from the operation or permission of the divine providence , the cloudy disturbing thoughts and passions would be presently scattered . david had a blessed experiment of this in his distress : i was dumb , and opened not my mouth , because thou didst it . such an awful apprehension he had of god , as transcendently superiour to him , and unaccountable for his proceedings . when any impatient thoughts arise , we should presently chain them up , for there is folly and fury in them ; what am i , that my sullen spirit should dispute against the orders of heaven ? that my passions should resist the will of of the highest lord ? that my desires should depose him from his throne ? for thus by implication and consequence they do , who are vex'd at his providence . a holy soul will tremble at the thoughts of it . methinks god speaks to the afflicted and disturbed soul , in the words of the psalm , be still , and know that i am god. the actual consideration of his supremacy will be powerful to lay the growing storm of passions . impatience ariseth from the ignorance of god and our selves . secondly ; the righteousness of god in all his ways , if duely considered , will compose the afflicted spirit to quiet and humble submission . he is never injurious to us when he deprives us of our sweetest and most precious comforts , because we have incurred the forfeiture of all . he is not cruel in laying the heaviest punishments upon us , for we deserve them . if we were free from actual sins , yet our depraved nature , so repugnant to the pure law of god , involves us under an obligation to punishment . if we had not been attained with the guilt of original sin , yet the sins committed in the course of our lives , make us deeply obnoxious to divine justice : how much more the concurrent guilt of original and actual sins ? the acts of sin are transient and pass away ; but the guilt and stain of sin , and the conscience of sin remain , and no less than eternal punishment is commensurate to the obliquity . from hence there is the clearest reason to justify god in all his proceedings . righteousness establishes his throne . the prophet saith , thy righteousness is like the great mountains , thy judgments are a great deep . the special ends of god in severe dispensations , are sometimes indiscernible , but never unjust ; his righteousness is obvious to every eye . the actual consideration of this is powerful to silence the uproar of the passions , and to make us lie humbly at his feet under the sorest chastisements . i will bear the indignation of the lord ( without murmuring , saith the afflicted church ) because i have sinned against him . as disobedience in our inclinations and actions , is a tacit reflection upon the equity of his law , as if the restraints of it were unreasonable ; so impatience and fretful discontent is upon the equity of his providence , as if the afflicting dispensations of it were not due to us : and the sense of our sinfulness , and god's righteousness , is an excellent preventive of it . if thou art in great afflictions , and feelest any tumultuous thoughts , any rebellious risings within thee , consider thou art a sinner , guilty of ten thousand provocations , and darest thou appear before his inlightned and terrible tribunal , and challenge him for any unrighteous proceedings ? wherefore doth a living man complain , a man for the punishment of his sins ? surely it is meet to be said unto god , i will not offend any more . that which i know not , teach thou me ; and if i have done iniquity , i will do no more . besides , all the punishments of men here , are with merciful allays , not in just proportion to their guilt . the church in its calamitous state , described in the most doleful lamentations of jeremiah , when the greatest number of the jews perished by the sword , or famine that attended the war , their city and temple were laid in ruines , and the unhappy people that escaped the fury of the chaldeans , were the captives and triumphs of their enemies ; yet in that unparallell'd affliction she acknowledges , it is the lord's mercies that we are not utterly and totally consumed , and lays her mouth in the dust , a posture of the lowest abasement . and holy ezra reflecting upon that dreadful calamity , acknowledgeth their punishment was beneath their desert , as their deliverance was above their expectation : and for all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and great trespasses , seeing thou hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve , and given us such a deliverance as this . our deserts are less than the least of god's mercies , and our offences greater than the greatest of his judgments . this should make us not onely patiently submit , but humbly accept the punishment of our iniquity , as far less than what is deserved . if the sentence of death against a malefactor be exchanged for banishment , or banishment be remitted for a short confinement , is there not incomparable more cause to be thankful for what is pardoned , than to complain for what is suffered ? what ingratitude is it to be impatient and murmuring for these light afflictions that are but for a moment , when we deserve an eternal and insupportable weight of misery in hell ? it is infinitely more becoming us and safe , to argue against our irregular passions , than to tax his righteous dispensations . thirdly ; his power is immense and uncontrollable , and it is a vain attempt to contend with him , as if the eternal order of his decrees could be altered or broken . the contest between god and the sinner , is whose will shall stand . it is his glorious work to depress the proud , and subdue the stubborn refractory spirits . the punishment of the first pride in the angels , is an eternal and terrible example of his powerful justice ; and how intolerable a crime it is , that heaven could not bear , but presently opened , and the guilty fell into the bottomless pit. now pride is a seminal evil , and lies at the root of stubborness , and impatience under judgments . proud dust is apt to fly in god's face upon every motion of the afflicting passions . and by the resistance of self-will he is provoked to more severity . wo be to him that strives with his maker . this is to be like a restive horse or mule , without understanding , that flings and foams when the burthen is laid upon him , but gets nothing but blows , without the removal of the burthen . it is our duty and interest to observe the blessed apostles direction : humble your selves under the mighty hand of god , and he shall exalt you . there is a passive humbling by his irresistible providence , and an active voluntary humbling , which implies a subjection to his law , and a submission to his providence : this is infinitely pleasing to him , 't is the right disposition that prepares us for mercy , and is the certain way of exaltation ; for then god obtains his end. the humble prostrating our selves at his feet to receive his correction , causes his bowels to relent , and stops his hand : the seeming humiliation of ahab procured a respite of those fearful judgments denounced against his house . it is said of the generosity of the lion , that he spares his prostrate adversary . in short , our salvation depends upon our humble demeanour under afflictive dispensations . we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us , and we gave them reverence , shall we not much more be in subjection to the father of spirits , and live ? unsubmission induces a deadly guilt upon the rebellious . fourthly ; his paternal love in sending afflictions is a sufficient argument to win our compliance with his will. the blessed apostle applying lenitives to the afflicted , propounds two divine truths , that if seriously thought of , and stedfastly believed , are powerful to mitigate the acerbity of all sufferings , and support the spirit in the greatest agony . the first is , god scourgeth every son whom he receiveth : and the other that is joined with it is , whom the lord loves he chasteneth . the rule is general , first ; all his sons are under the discipline of the rod : and who would be so unhappy as to be exempted from that number for all the prosperity of the world ? afflictions sanctified , are the conspicuous seal of their adoption , and title to heaven . and who would forfeit the honour of that adoption , and lose the benefit annext to it , the eternal inheritance , rather than patiently bear his fatherly chastisements ? others that enjoy a perpetual spring of pleasure here , are declared bastards and not sons : they are indeed within the compass of his universal providence , but not of that peculiar care that belongs to his sacred and select progeny . his corrections are an argument of his authority as our father , and an assurance that we are his children : this should induce us not only with submiss temper of soul , but with thankfulness to receive the sharpest correction from the hands of our heavenly father . this was the reason of our saviour's meek yielding himself to the violence and cruelty of his enemies . the cup which my father hath given me , shall i not drink it ? secondly ; chastisement is the effect of his paternal love : he is the father of our spirits , and that divine relation carries with it a special love to the spirits of men , and in that degree of eminence , as to secure and advance their happiness , though to the destruction of the flesh. the soul is of incomparable more worth than the body , as the bright oriental pearl than the mean shell that contains it : this god most highly values , for this he gave so great a price , and on it draws his image . if temporal prosperity were for our best advantage , how willingly would god bestow it on us ? he that spared not his own son , but gave him up for us all , how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? which words among all that the holy ghost hath dictated to the interpreters of god's heart to his people , are most expressive of his ●ove and bounty ▪ and most for their comfort . he that gives grace and 〈◊〉 ●●●ost real testimonies 〈…〉 certainly withholds no good thing from them . i shall produce one convincing instance of this . st. paul , who by an incomparable priviledg was rapt up to the coelestial paradise , and heard ineffable things , yet was tormented by the angel of satan , and his earnest repeated prayer for deliverance , not presently granted . did not god love that blessed apostle , whose internal love to christ almost equall'd the seraphims , those pure everlasting flames , and was expressed in the invariable tenour of his life , by such miraculous actions and sufferings for the propagating and defence of the faith of christ , and the glory of his name ? if we love him because he first loved us , as st. john testifies , certainly he that returned such a superlative affection to christ , received the greatest love from him . now , if christ did love paul , why did he not upon his earnest repeated prayer , deliver him from his wounding trouble , whatsoever it was ? that permission was a demonstration of the love of christ to him , as it is acknowledged by himself ; lest i should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelation , there was given to me a thorn in the flesh , and the messenger of satan to buffet me . that the afflictions of the saints proceed from god's love , will be evident , by considering , i. his gracious design in sending them . ii. his compassionate providence over them , and his assisting power afforded to his people in their troubles . iii. the happy issue out of them . first ; his gracious design in sending them . god doth not afflict willingly , but if need be , not for his own pleasure , but for our profit , that we may be partakers of his holiness . the expression is high and emphatical , his holiness , the brightest glory of his nature , the divinest gift of his love. the two principal parts of holiness , are , ceasing from doing evil , and learning to do well . and afflictions are ordained and sent as profitable for both these effects . 1. for the prevention or cure of sin , which is an evil incomparably worse in its nature , and terrible consequents in this and the next world , than all meer afflicting temporal evils . sin defiles and debaseth the soul , which is the proper excellency of man , and separates from god our supream good. your sins have separated between you and your god , and have hid his face from you . all afflictions that can befall us here in our persons or concernments , the most disgraceful accidents , the most reproachful contumelious slanders , the most loathsom contagious diseases , that cause our dearest friends to withdraw from us , yet cannot deprive us of union with god by faith and love , nor of the fruition of his propitious presence . lazarus when covered with ulcers , was kissed with the kisses of his mouth : but sin hath this pernicious effect , it separates from his gracious presence here , and , if continued in without repentance , will exclude from his glorious presence for ever . now afflictions are medicinal applications for the cure of sin , the disease and death of the soul , and therefore infinitely worse than the sharpest remedies . the beginnings and progress of conversion to god , are usually by sanctified afflictions . indeed , considering our folly , and perverse abuse of his blessings , they are the most congruous means for our recovery . the light of god's law doth not so powerfully convince us of the evil of sin till felt in the effects of it . thy own wickedness shall correct thee , and thy backslidings shall reprove thee ; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter , that thou hast forsaken the lord thy god , and that my fear is not in thee , saith the lord of hosts . the instructions of the rod , are more sensible than of the word ; as the feeling of a tormenting disease , produceth another kind of understanding of it than the reading of its nature in books of physick : and they make us more attentive to god's call , and leave a deeper impression upon us . it is elihu his observation , if sinners be bound in fetters , and held in cords , then he shews them their works , and their transgressions , that they have exceeded . affliction clarifies their sight , makes sin to be as heinous in the view of conscience , as in its own foul nature . it follows , he openeth also the ear to discipline , and commandeth that they return from their iniquity . gentle methods were lost upon them , but by judgments he effectually commands , they relent and return to their duty . and after conversion we need their discipline , to make us more circumspect and obedient . the psalmist declares , it is good for me that i have been afflicted . for before he was afflicted he went astray : he was reduced from the errour of his ways by his troubles : and 't was his experimental observation , i know in faithfulness ( from the constancy of love ) thou hast afflicted me . nothing so cools our zeal to eternal things , as the love of the world. vital heat declines and languishes , as the peaverish heat is inflamed ; and till we feel the vexations , we are allured by the vanities of the world : therefore god is pleased by such bitter means to make us more holy and heavenly . sometimes he removes with jealousy those objects to which our hearts are so intirely engaged , that the enjoyment of them intercepts the ascending of our affections to himself . besides , he will not suffer us to perish in prosperity . we are chastened of the lord for our amendment , that we may not be condemned with the unreformed world. and is not this an infallible testimony of his love ? david said , let the righteous smite me , and it shall be a kindness ; let him reprove me , and it shall be an excellent oil . if he valued the reprehensions that were not contumelious and injurious , not to upbraid but reform him , as a favour and dear obligation , how much more should we the corrections of our heavenly father ? and it will be a greater incitement to an humble and grateful acceptance of this discipline ; if we consider what a severe neglect it is , when god suffers the wicked to lead a voluptuous life without disturbance : they are encircled with riches and honours , softned with pleasures , charmed with inticing objects , and thus become hardned in sin : they are riotous and luxurious , and give the reins to their corrupt , unruly appetites without controll ; the slaves of sense , led onely by principles of pleasure , and hereby are inexcusable , and made ripe for perdition , and reserved for final vengeance . others , though not guilty of scandalous enormities , yet are by continual prosperity , setled upon their lees , careless and secure , neglect the great salvation , and say in their hearts , it is good to be here ; and their damnation is as certain , though not so visible , as of those who commit gross and open wickedness . sad preterition ! in the midst of pleasures they are truly miserable . they have just reason to be abandoned to sorrow , being forsaken of the love of god. the bramble is not cut , when the vine is pruned till it bleeds in order to its fruitfulness : this letting them alone to take their fill of pleasures , is a heavy presage of final ruine . when the patient is desperate , the physitian lays no restraint upon the diseased appetite , but permits him to take what he craves . besides , the intention of god is by affliction to exercise and illustrate their graces . the most excellent christian vertues would be comparatively of little use without hard trials . unfeigned faith in the truth and power of god to accomplish his promises , sincere love to him , humble self-denial , persevering patience then appear in their radiancy and vigour . what a blessed advantage is it , by the loss of temporal comforts to encrease in the graces of the spirit ? they are the truest riches , the fullest joy , and the highest honour of a christian. st. peter declares , the trial of our faith is much more precious than of gold that perisheth ; 't is refined and resplendent by the fire of affliction , and will be found unto praise , and honour , and glory , at the appearing of christ. it is the advice of st. james , count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations . knowing this , that the trial of your faith worketh patience : though afflictions simply considered , may be very grievous , yet if we advisedly weigh , and rightly compare things , even when our sorrowful passions are moved , our judgments will esteem them matter of joy , not onely in expectation of future happiness , but as divine grace is thereby drawn forth in the most noble operations . in short , the ultimate design of god in afflicting his people , is thereby to bring them to heaven . affliction mortifies the lusts of the flesh , purifies the spirit , and makes us fit for the inheritance of the saints in light. by persevering patience in sufferings , they are approved of god , and obtain a right and title to the kingdom of glory . for according to the tenor of the covenant of grace , heaven shall be conferred as a reward to those that overcome . if there be no enemy , there will be no fight ; and if no fight , no victory ; if no victory , no triumph ; only those who conquer are crowned . the beloved disciple , with his brother , though allied to our saviour by consanguinity , who expected by special favour to be glorified without a preparatory trial , yet he tells them , without drinking of his cup , they could not have a share in his kingdom , and this should reconcile our spirits to all our troubles : for the apostle declares , who was a competent judg , having been throughly acquainted with griefs , and had a prospect into the glorious kingdom , ireckon that the sufferings of this present life , are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us . 2. god's love is discovered in his compassionate providence over them , and assisting power afforded to them in their afflictions : he speaks to the afflicted and disconsolate , my son , despise not thou the chastening of the lord , nor faint when thou art rebuked of him : to sweeten by that tender expression , the rigour of his discipline ; to signify his dear sympathy with their anguish and sufferings . heavenly consolation ! god himself bears a share in their sorrows , is afflicted in their afflictions : and the effect of this love is , that he always tempers and moderates their trials , to their strength ; or increases their strength in proportion to the trial . his corrections are deliberate dispensations , that proceed from judgment , not from fury , which the prophet earnestly deprecates . his rods are bound up with mercy , his faithfulness joins with his affection , in moderating their sufferings . it is one clause of the covenant of grace , made with christ , typified by david , if his children break my statutes , and keep not my commandments , then will i visit their transgression with a rod , to amend , not to destroy them ; but my loving kindness i will not take away from them , nor suffer my faithfulness to fail . the apostle assures believers , that god is faithful , who will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able , but will with the temptation make a way to escape , that they may be able to bear it . our redeemer in his agony was relieved by heavenly succour , the presence of an angel with a message of comfort : st. paul found it verified by his own experience , that as the sufferings of christ abounded in him , so his consolations abounded by christ , and the divine power was accomplished , illustriously appeared in supporting his weakness . how many have enjoyed comforts of a more precious nature , and more abundant , in want of supplies from the world , than in the possession of them ? when there is a total eclipse below , the blessed comforter descends with light , and fills the soul with joy , in believing . the historian tells us of a * clear vein of water , that springs from mongibel , ( that great furnace , that always sends forth smoak or flames , ) yet is so cool , as if it distilled from a snowy mountain : thus the saints in the fiery trial , have been often refreshed with divine comforts , and such humble submissions , and gracious thanksgivings have proceeded from their lips , as have been very comfortable to those about them . thirdly ; the issue out of all is the most sensible declaration of god's love to them . the continuance is limited by his tender love , till they are prepared for mercy . the prosperity of the wicked is wine in the beginning , and lees at the bottom ; but the worst and afflicted state of the saints is first , and will at length certainly end in felicity . in the tragedy of job , the devil was the author , chaldeans and sabaeans were the actors , but the end was from the lord. we are instructed by the apostle , that although no chastisement for the present seems to be joyous , but grievous , nevertheless , afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness , unto them that are exercised thereby . it is an allusion to the rewards in the olympick games , when the persons that overcame in those exercises , were crowned with wreaths of olive leaves , the emblem of peace . thus christians who with unfainting perseverance in their duty , suffer affliction , shall be rewarded with holiness in conjunction with peace . this peaceable fruit of righteousness is not the natural product of affliction : grapes do not spring from thorns , nor figs from thistles ; neither can it be so properly ascribed to the afflicted person , as to the powerful vertue and special grace of the holy spirit , who sanctifies afflictions , and makes them profitable for effecting god's intention by them . and when the afflicted person becomes more humble , more holy , more weaned from the world , more resigned to the will of god , this fruit unto holiness will compensate all their pains and sorrows . and in conjunction with holiness , there is a divine peace , a joyful calm and quietness of conscience in the sense of god's favour ; his answers of peace are usually a reward according to the operations of grace ; his comforts are dispensed , as encouragements to obedience . besides , when the sinful corruptions are purged out , which caused perpetual disturbance , and our affections and actions are correspondent to the divine law , there is that clearness and serenity of mind , that rest and ease in the soul , arising from its just and due subordination unto god , which the disobedient , in all their seeming prosperity , never enjoy . there is no peace , saith my god , to the wicked . these beginnings of happiness are obtained here , but the perfection of it is in the next life . blessed is the man that endureth temptation , for when he is tryed he shall receive the crown of righteousness , which god hath promised to them that love him . the richness and value of the crown of life is so great , that god , the most wise and just esteemer of things , gave the precious blood of his son to purchase it for us . it is a felicity so transcendent in its quality , and stable in its duration , that the blessed god cannot give us a greater ; for what greater good is conceivable than himself ? and what more stable enjoyment of it than eternity ? the hope of this makes a christian blessed in the midst of the greatest miseries . our light afflictions that are but for a moment , work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory . fifthly ; the infinite wisdom of god orders all things in the best manner for his own glory , and the final good of his people . if he governed by absolute empire , none in heaven or earth might say to him , what dost thou ? but there is an inseparable connection between his wisdom and his will ; he is the king eternal , and the only wise god , as the apostle joins those divine titles . in this the excellence of the divine liberty shines , that 't is always regulated by infinite wisdom : he works all things according to the counsel of his will : this is spoken according to humane conceptions , but must be understood in a sense becoming the perfections of god : for counsel cannot properly be attributed to god , whose understanding is infinite , and in one view comprehends all things ; but as those things are most compleat that are the product of our deliberate reasonings and deep contrivance ; so his work is perfect , for all his ways are judgment . when ever we are dissatisfied or displeased with his proceedings , it is from the error of our minds , and the viciousness of our affections . we presume to correct his providence , as if it were defective in regulating the affairs of this lower world ; but he is wonderful in counsel , and excellent in working . in the creation , this regular and beautiful world was formed out of darkness and confusion : and his providence , that is now misterious and vailed to us , will bring into glorious order and sweet agreement , those things in their final resolution , that now seem so perplext to our apprehensions . 't was a confounding reproach from god to job , who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledg ? his passionate exclamations were such , as if the divine wisdom had not disposed all the afflicting circumstances in the series of his sufferings ; and that holy man being convinced of his presumptuous folly , repeats the charge against himself with tears of confusion : who is he that hideth counsel without knowledg ? therefore have i uttered that i understood not , things too wonderful for me , which i knew not ; wherefore i abhor my self , and repent in dust and ashes : more particularly , first ; all things are so wisely ordered , that god shall be glorified in the event ; and it is the noblest disposition of a christian , to prefer the advancement of his glory , before all the comforts of this life , and life it self . our blessed saviour in the fore-thoughts of his sufferings , was in distress and perturbation of mind , like the darkening of the sky before a great shower : now is my soul troubled , what shall i say ? father , save me from this hour . but the short conflict of nature was presently at an end , he willingly yielded up himself to be a sacrifice to the divine honour , and said , father , glorify thy name . moses and paul , whose admirable zeal , had only a parallel between themselves in the same degree of holy heat , desired the salvation of the jews before their own , if god might be more glorified by it . this is the first petition in order and dignity , in that compleat form of prayer composed by our saviour , as the rule of all our desires . thy name be hallowed and glorified in us , and by us . the admirable history of jephtha's only daughter , is applicable to this purpose ; she joifully came forth to meet her father , returning victorious and triumphant after his war with the ammonites . he had made a rash vow , to offer up in sacrifice to god , who ever should first meet him after his victory ; and upon the sight of his daughter , was so deeply wounded with sorrow , that his triumph was converted into lamentations : but the grief was only in the father ; for in that first surprise of such a terrible sentence to be executed upon her , she did not answer his tears with tears , nor lamentations with lamentations , but said unto him , my father , if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the lord , do to me , according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth , for as much as the lord hath taken vengeance for thee on thine enemies . methinks the admirable love and generosity in a young virgin , to whom her father's honour and exaltation was more dear than her life , upbraids us for our unwilling submission to those providential dispensations that are ungrateful to flesh and blood , wherein the glory of god is advanced . if we were called to martyrdom for his truth , and our lives should bleed forth , as sacrifices on the altar , or our bodies be consumed as incense on the censer ; it were an unjust and ungrateful complaint , to express passionate reluctancy against his providence . if there were other consequences of our present sufferings , but the glorifying god , we should be content . that is the worthiest end which he proposeth to himself , and will accomplish : his divine excellencies will be illústrated by the wickedness of men , that at present obscures the glory of his government ; his wisdom , power , holiness , mercy and justice will be acknowledged , admired , and magnified at last . 2. his wisdom will order all things , even the most afflicting and dolorous , for the good of his people . this is a fearful paradox to a carnal mind , that judgeth of good and evil , as present things are pleasant or unpleasant to sense , without regard to what is future . 't is like sampson's riddle to the philistims , out of the devourer came meat , and out of the strong came sweetness ; but to the mind that hath spiritual discerning , and judgeth of good and evil , as things are conducive or destructive to the happiness of the soul , it is a clear undoubted truth . we know , saith the apostle with the greatest assurance , that all things work together for good to them that love god. all things the most adverse to their present desires , are so disposed and over-ruled by his providence , as if there were a secret intelligence and concert between them , to promote the happiness of the saints : thus in mixt bodies the contrary qualities are reduced to such a just measure and temperament by the wisdom of the divine maker , that a sound and healthful constitution results from them . we have a rare instance of this in the history of joseph , his envious brethren were the instruments of his exaltation : they sold him for a slave into egypt to frustrate his prophetick dreams , and there , by many admirable turns of providence , he was advanced to the highest dignity ; and then was verified in him and his brethren , that his sheaf arose and stood upright , and their sheaves stood round , and did obeisance to his sheaf . god had reserved purposes of greater good for joseph , than if he had continued under his fathers tender eye and care ; therefore 't is said in his history , that they perfideously sold him but god sent him . he that attentively reads the journeys of the israelites through the wilderness to canaan , cannot but wonder at the circuits and indirect motions in their tedious travel for forty years ; and when near the borders of the place , so long and ardently desired , they were often commanded to retreat in the same line wherein they had advanced to it : had they chose the shortest way , and disobeyed the divine conducter , they had never entred into the land of promise : but following the pillar that directed their march , though they seem'd lost in their intricate wandrings , yet they obtained the joyful possession of it . this was a type of the saints passage through a troublesom world , to the true rest above , and that they are guided through many cross ways directly to the kingdom of heaven . who knows , saith solomon , what is good for a man in this life , all the days of his vain life , which he spendeth as a shadow ? that which is desir'd with importunity , as tending to his happiness , often proves his woe : some had not been so wicked , and consequently so miserable , if their lusts had not been excited by riches and power : others had not been secured from destructive temptations , but in a low and afflicted state . 't is therefore both our duty and interest not to pray absolutely for any temporal thing ; but when our desires are most passionate , to say with the humility and holiness , the reverence and obedience of our saviour , not my will , but thine be done . we shall find our selves more happy by the divine disposal of things , than if we had obtained our dearest wishes , and most ardent prayers . and when we shall come to the top of the holy hill , and look down on the various circuits of providence by which we ascended , we shall then understand that wisdom and love conducted us safely to felicity ; we shall approve and admire all the divine methods in order to our blessed end. now the belief of this should compose us to a patient and cheerful resignation of our selves to god's providence and pleasure . who would not accept of the counsel of a friend that proceeds from love , though his judgment were not so exact as to be relied on ? much more should we thankfully receive the appointments of god , whose knowledg and affection are equally superlative , in whom there is united the wisdom of a father's ( and the tenderness of a mother's ) love to his children . briefly , as jonathan by tasting the honey at the end of his rod , had his eyes enlightened , so the end of the severest chastisements will convince them , that the providence of god was more benign and propitious than they could imagine . his ways are as far above our ways , and his thoughts above our thoughts , as the heavens are above the earth . this point is applicable to us . first ; by way of reproof for our unsubmissive behaviour in afflictions , our uncompliance with the divine disposals . some are in a secret discontent at god's afflicting providence ; and this razeth the memory of former mercies , and takes away the relish of present mercies ; as the sweet showers of heaven that fall into the sea are turned into its brackish taste : such neither enjoy god nor themselves . what egregious folly and vile ingratitude is this ! all we have , is from his most free favour ; and shall we peevishly slight his benefits , because our desires are not gratified in every respect ? others are moved with anger and vexation for the evils that befal them : as the red-hot iron under the blows of the hammer casts abroad fiery sparks ; so their stubborn fierce spirits , when afflicted , break forth in expressions of impatience and displeasure . they count it a base abjectness of mind , a despicable pusillanimity to humble themselves under god's judgments , and with contrition for their sins to implore his clemency . the voice of the lord maketh the hinds to calve the timerous and weak creatures : but when the heavens roar , the lions thunder back again . thus strong and stubborn sinners , when they feel the effects of god's anger , are raging and furious in their passions and expressions . the foolish man perverteth his way , his most grievous sufferings are the fruits of his sins , and his heart fretteth against the lord as the inflicter of them . this is a high indignity to god , and an injury to themselves . for a vile creature , a base guilty wretch to murmur and storm against god's righteous judgments , argues a prodigious forgetfulness , both of its dependance and obnoxiousness to the divine tribunal . it is said of the adherents of antichrist , that they were scorched with great heat , and blasphemed the name of god , which hath power over the plagues , and they repented not to give him glory . infinite insolence ! such obstinate souls the prince of darkness possesses as his peculiar dominion ; they have more need of conversion than consolation . besides , by impatience and vexatious fretting , they exasperate their pains , turn the rod into a serpent , vipers into dragons ; and god's mighty hand is more heavy by their resistance . bold expostulations irritate his anger , rather than incline his mercy ; the wilful man never wants woe . with the froward , saith the psalmist , thou wilt shew thy self froward , or , as it is rendred in the margent , wrestle . the strongest sinner is not a match for the almighty ; if his anger excite his power , how easily , how suddenly are they destroyed without remedy ? stubborn impatience under the inflictions of god's righteous providence , is the nearest step to final ruine . others are so dejected and broken with afflictions , that their continuance in the world is but a living death : every thing entertains their grief , and the best means afforded for their reviving and comfort are ineffectual . sorrow flows into despair , they lament and languish as if their case were hopeless and remediless . the fountain of this black stream , is a superlative esteem and affection to inferiour things , and what is reserved for the blessed creator ? if a temporal loss be the most afflicting evil , 't is a sign that god was not valued and loved as the chiefest good. the difficulty of receiving consolation , shews the necessity of their being afflicted : the language of such resolved sorrow is , they have taken away my gods , and what have i more ? the sole objects of their felicity are removed , and they refuse to be comforted ; as if no less sacrifice were due to the remembrance of their loss , but life it self . what a disparagement is this of the divine excellencies ? are the consolations of god small to us ? is not his love able to compensate the loss of a frail , mutable , mortal creature ? cannot he please and satisfy us without the fruition of one earthly comfort ? this dejection of spirit is equally undutiful as uncomfortable ; our griefs are sometimes as vain and as guilty as our joys ; there is a tincture of disobedience in our tears : for we are commanded to mourn as if we mourned not , for the fashion of the world passeth away , and we at once break his law and our own peace . our disobedience in this is aggravated , as being contrary not only to the authority and sanctity of the law-giver , but to his loving-kindness and compassion . ah , the miserable blindness of humane minds ! and the more miserable , because voluntary . who is more deservedly unhappy than one that sits upon the bank of a river , and yet is tormented and dies with thirst ? the clear , fresh stream passeth before him , allures and invites him , but he will not stoop to drink ; this is the case of those who neglect and refuse the spiritual consolations in the gospel , that are compared to the flowing rivers of living water , for their cooling , refreshing quality . they meritoriously and actively bring trouble to their souls ; their passions are the instruments of their misery . he that is his own executioner , has no excuse of dying ; he is justly , because wilfully miserable . consider also what a reproach is cast upon christianity , that so many vertuous heathens in great afflictions , were in some measure supported by the precepts of humane wisdom ; and that christians , to whom there is revealed from heaven , that an eternal state of glory and joy shall be the reward of their patient sufferings , remain utterly disconsolate . i will single out one example . stilpon the philosopher , when his city was destroywith his wife and children , and he escap't alone from the fire , being asked whether he had lost any thing ? replied , all my treasures are with me , justice , vertue , temperance , prudence , and this inviolable principle , not to esteem any thing as my proper good , that can be ravish't from me : his mind was erect and stedfast under the ruins of his country . and others upon lower and less generous considerations , have born up in their sufferings . how do such examples upbraid us , that their twilight excells our noon-day brightness ? if common cordials raised such couragious spirits in them , shall not the waters of life , the divine strong comforts of the gospel , fortify us to bear all sufferings with a valiant resignation to the good will of god ? can the spirit of a man , by rational principles sustain his infirmities , and cannot the spirit of god , the great comforter , support us under all troubles ? what a blot is this to religion ? those who will not be comforted , will not be christians ; by the same holy spirit who is stiled the comforter , we are the one and the other . if the precious promises of the gospel do not alleviate our sorrows , 't is not from infirmity , but from infidelity . 't is an incredible miracle , that a person can be in reality a christian , and not capable of consolation ; as if eternal life were not purchased by christ for his people , or the present sufferings were comparable to the future glory ? or the possession of it were to be obtained after a years of hard trial : but if it were delayed so long , that sensible duration should not sink our spirits ; for the misery that passeth with time , is not of moment with respect to the blessedness that is establish'd for ever . secondly ; let us be excited to transcribe this divine lesson ( so full of excellency and difficulty ) in our hearts and lives . 't is easy in speculation to consent to the reasonableness of this duty , but how hard to practise it , and to bear not too sensibly such evils as are incurable here ? a deliberate , universal , constant subjection to god's will , though contrary to our carnal desires and interests , how rarely is it to be found among those who in title and profession are his servants ? in active obedience , some will readily perform some particular commands , but withdraw subjection from the rest ; they seem to make conscience of the duties of piety , but neglect righteousness ; or else are just in their dealings , and careless of devotion . some are liberal but irreconcilable ; they will give for their honour , but forgive no contempt or injury ; and as the dividing living twins destroys them , so the life and sincerity of obedience , that consists in the union and intireness of its parts , is destroyed by dividing our respects to some commands , neglecting the rest . and in passive obedience , many will submit to lighter and shorter afflictions , but if an evil comes that nearly touches the heart , or that remains long without redress , they become impatient , or so dejected as to neglect their duty . i shall therefore superadd to the former arguments , wherein the necessity , the equity , and the policy of our dutiful resignation to god's providence is clearly set forth , some other motives and directions , that may be useful and effectual for this end . first ; look frequently to jesus christ , the author and finisher of our faith : the divine wisdom , to reform the world , assumed the humane nature , and expressed in a holy conversation upon earth , a living copy of his precepts , to direct us in the various parts of our duty ; and because the exercise of humility , self denial , and the rest of the suffering graces , is so difficult to our frail and tender nature ; he ascended the cross , and instructs us by suffering to suffer with his affections , leaving us his example , as the best lecture of our duty ; his sufferings concern us not only in point of merit but conformity . we can never enjoy the benefit of his passion , without following his patern . his example is the rule of the highest perfection , and we are under the greatest obligation to imitate and honour him who is our sovereign and saviour , to whom we owe our redemption from everlasting misery , and the inheritance of glory . 't is the apostle's advice to the afflicted , to consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself , that ye be not wearied , and faint in your minds . this deduction is with greater force to make us humble and patient ; if we consider , first ; the infinite dignity of his person . he was the eternal and onely son of god , and descended from the throne of his majesty , divested himself of his robes of insupportable light , that concealed and manifested his glory to the angels , and was obedient to the death of the cross : what are the highest and best of men to him ? were it not extreamly unbecoming and undutiful for a subject to refuse obedience to a just law , if the king that made the law should voluntarily observe it , and reserve no other advantage to himself , but the honour of enacting it ? our saviour did not stand upon the dignity and liberty of his person being equal with god , and our king , but intirely complied with the law , and shall we complain of its rigour ? secondly ; the greatness of his sufferings . they were incomparable as to their value , so in their degrees . he endured the equal extremities of infamy and torment , that are so contrary to the inclinations of mankind . he was crowned with a cruel diadem of thorns , scourged , spit upon , derided , crucified ; insensible nature , as if capable of understanding and affection , was disordered in its whole frame at his death . the heavens sympathized , in eclipses of the sun , in the darkness of the air at mid-day , as midnight ; the earth quak't with deep tremblings , and the rocks were rent a sunder . and the sufferings of his soul from the incensed justice of god were inconceivably great . what is the worst we suffer either immediately from god , or instrumentally from men , to his bitter passion ? our sufferings are but superficial shadows of misery , compared to his deep sorrows . thirdly ; his sufferings were most undeserved : for he was the holy one of god , his conception without the least taint of sin , his life of strictest purity , and compleat obedience to the divine law. we may read the process of our sins , and understand their guilt in his passion . he was made sin for us , ( a sacrifice to atone the divine displeasure ) who knew no sin : as david when guilty of adultery and murder , was fired with disdain at the relation of an incompassionate rich man , killing the single lamb of his poor neighbour , and sparing his own numerous flock ; and when the prophet unveiled the parable , and surprised him with that piercing reproach , thou art the man ! he presently by that fiction in another , was convinced of his own true guilt , and was extreamly afflicted in the sense of it : thus we are apt to conceive indignation against the murderers of our saviour , the apostate apostle , the malicious priest , the unrighteous judg , the bloody soldiers . but conscience ( as a true nathan ) may charge us to have been in that wicked conspiracy against the lord of glory , for our sins condemned and crucified him . and as our sins were the impulsive cause of his sufferings , so our good is the effect of them . he suffered the death of the cross , that his blood might be our ransom , his ignominy the purchase of our glory , his torments the merit of our blessedness , his death the seed of immortal life to us ; but we suffer the just punishment of our own sins . fourthly ; his willing obedience , divine patience , and invincible constancy in suffering for us . in his distress , the whole army of heaven were in readiness for his protection and rescue , upon the least signification of his will ; if i prayed to my father , he would send me twelve legions of angels . nay , he had the springs and keys of the divine power in his hands , and could by a word have destroyed his enemies ; but he freely gave himself for us , and without resistance , without complaint took up his cross. now our saviour , who had the fulness of the spirit , communicates to us the first fruits of it , faith and love , humility and patience , peace and joy to support us under affliction . fifthly ; consider the excellent reward of his sufferings . he was abased below men , and is advanced above all the angelical orders , and is the eternal argument of their praises ; never were sufferings so grievous , never was issue so glorious . for the joy that was set before him , he endured the cross , despised the shame , and is set down at the right hand of the majesty on high . now our blessed saviour hath promised , to him that overcomes , will i grant to sit with me in my throne , even as i also overcame , and am set down with my father in his throne . unfainting perseverance in our duty shall be rewarded with the glory of our redeemer . and is not the prospect and expectation of this sufficient to confirm our minds , and make us patiently bear the greatest afflictions ? secondly ; the consideration of the suffering saints in all ages , is a powerful perswasive to patience . thus the apostle james directs christians , take , my brethren the prophets , who have spoken in th● name of the lord , for an example of suffering affliction , and of patience . and we have great encouragement from hence , if we consider , 1. that those who are of most precious account with god , and highly favoured by him , are usually exercised with sharp afflictions . the singularity and greatness of a calamity exasperates the sorrow , when it is apprehended as a sign of extraordinary guilt in the afflicted , and of severe displeasure in god that sends it ; but to prevent trouble that ariseth from that apprehension , the scripture records the heavy afflictions that happened to god's chosen servants and favourites . moses , whom god honoured with the most condescending and familiar discoveries of himself , was tried by long afflictions . david , a man after god's own heart , was a long time hurled to and fro by tempestuous persecutions from his unjust and implacable enemies . isaiah , who was dignified with such heavenly revelations , that his describing the sufferings of christ seems rather the history of an evangelist , than the vision of a prophet , was sawn asunder . 2. their nature was as frail as ours , their afflictions as cutting and sensible , yet how patiently and couragiously did they endure the most cruel sufferings ? 3. we have the same blessed comforter to assist us , as they had , the holy spirit . he that is stiled the spirit of power , infuseth a holy magnanimity to bear the heaviest sufferings . now it is the apostles inference from the history of the saints under the old testament , some of whom died martyrs , and others lived martyrs , by their constant and generous suffering various evils for divine truth . wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses , let us lay aside every weight , and the sin that doth so easily beset us , and let us run with patience the race that is set before us . the metaphorical expression , a cloud of witnesses , imports a numerous company , and is by some of the ancients interpreted as an allusion to the benefit we receive from the natural clouds , that refresh the air , and skreen us from the scorching heat of the sun. the allusion is too subtile and strain'd , but the benefit is real ; for the admirable examples of their patience and courage are powerful to refresh sorrowful spirits ; we are encompassed with them as a theatre : there is no kind of affliction , and no part of our duty , whereof there is not presented to us some example for our encouragement and imitation . it is also worthy of observation , that christians have a special obligation , encouragement , and assistance to bear afflictions with chearful spirits , above the believers of the old testament . for under the mosaic dispensation , outward prosperity , riches , honour , victory , long life were the open expressions of god's favour , promised by the terms of that covenant , as rewards to obedience . yet even then , some of the most excellent saints were illustrious examples of patient suffering afflictions . but in the gospel god hath declared , that his design is to train up his children by sufferings for their future happiness , that through many tribulations they must enter into the kingdom of god. and we find the truth of this by manifold experience , from the first ages of the christian church . st. john by revelation , beheld a great multitude , which no man could number , of all nations , and kindreds , and people , and tongues , that stood before the throne , and before the lamb , cloathed with white robes , and palms in their hands : and they all came out of great tribulation , and had washed their robes , and made them white in the blood of the lamb. now since the cross is an appendix to the gospel , we should with more prepared minds submit to it . besides , if believers then , who enjoyed only star-light , less clear discoveries of the glorious world to come , were so patient and constant in suffering for the truth ; how much more should we be animated in our troubles , to whom the sun of righteousness appears , revealing life and immortality by the gospel ? if they who were partakers of the holy spirit in lesser degrees , were supported ; should not christians that receive the graces of the spirit in richer abundance , be more comforted ? thirdly ; all creatures obey the will of the creator : all the lower rank , fire and hail , snow and vapours , and stormy winds fulfil his word . the sun stood still till joshua had compleated his victory , it started back to confirm the faith of hezekiah . nay , sensible creatures will contradict their own natures at god's command . the ravens fed elias , and the lions spared daniel . and creatures of the superior order exactly fulfil his will. the angels that excel in strength , do his commandments : hearkning to the voice of his word . they do not usurp upon his royalty , nor make use of their power to deny subjection to his pleasure . now if the inferior creatures , who are under less obligations , and cannot understand their duty ; if superior creatures that excel us in nobility of nature , and dignity of state , perfectly obey god : should not their example strongly incite us to submit to his will ? fourthly ; it is our most glorious perfection to have our wills united to the divine will. in heaven grace is in its exaltation , the spirits of just men are made perfect by their compliance with the divine will that absolutely governs there . a private will that compounds with god upon sordid capitulations , that excepts against doing or suffering what is distasteful and harsh to the carnal part , how unreasonable , how degenerous and base is it ? but when the will is obedient , enlarged and uniform with god , 't is enobled . if our slow-paced thoughts could conceive things as easily , suddenly and clearly as the angels do , our minds would be in the highest elevation : and is it not a more valuable and desirable perfection to will as god does , than to understand as the angels ? besides , patience has a special eminence above other graces , and advances a christian to the highest honour and perfection that is attainable here . all graces are of the same divine extraction , and have the same general effect upon the soul : they come from god , and produce a god-like temper and disposition : but they are distinguish'd by their objects and operations ; some are heroick , exercis'd about great things , and produce more noble actions : others are humble and conversant in meaner things , and their operations are less eminent . as amongst the birds , the eagles fly aloft , and only stoop for a great prey : the bees fly from flower to flower , and extract a little dew , but 't is all honey . it is the counsel of st. james to the afflicted , let patience have her perfect work , in bearing afflictions though heavy and continued , that you may be perfect , and entire , wanting nothing . a singular perfection and encomium is attributed to patience , in that the trial and exercise of it is the most difficult part of our duty , and without it we can neither obey the commands , nor obtain the promises of the gospel . patience is the truest fortitude , and draws forth other divine graces in their excellent activity . what the temper is to material weapons that are blunted or broken in the combate without it , patience is to other graces , their stability is derived from it . this was the most glorious perfection of christ's obedience , for it became him for whom are all things , and by whom are all things , in bringing many sons to glory , to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings . patience is not only defensive armour , but has noble operations . when our saviour was nailed to the cross , and was the mark wherein all the poisoned arrows of rage and malice were received , he seemed only to suffer , yet even then performed the most divine exploits , and obtained the most glorious victory ; he reconciled god , disarm'd the law , subdued satan , broke the gates of hell , destroyed death , and rescued us miserable forlorn captives . upon this account chrysostom breaks forth in rapturous expressions , that our saviour suffering on the cross , was more glorious than in his creating the world. thus the patience of a christian , which in appearance is only a quiet bearing affliction from god , yet produceth many blessed effects : a believer , while he feels the weight of god's hand , uncessantly seeks his face with the most ardent affections . he doth not murmur against the displeasure of god , but mourns bitterly that he hath deserved it . he surrenders himself to the divine pleasure , which is the purest act of obedience . he subdues his unruly passions , which is a more noble victory than the atchievements of the most celebrated conquerors . 't is true , the power of grace is very conspicuous in resisting pleasant temptations , the pernicious attractives of the senses and carnal appetites ; but more in the battels of patience , by how much 't is more easy to nature to be content without unnecessary and superficial pleasures , than to endure oppressing and painful evils . i will produce an instance in both kinds , recorded in scripture , for the veneration and imitation of all . the first is that of joseph , whose unspotted chastity was discovered by rejecting the impure desires of his master's wife . three powerful tempters join'd to draw his consent , solitude , youth , and solicitation ; solitude with its silence , is often more persuasive to the commission of sin than the strongest eloquence ; because there being none that sees , takes away the shame of being seen in guilty and foul actions . youth is violent in its appetites , and needs no intreaties to induce it to gratify them : the sensual fancy reigns , and has such a ravishing power upon the will , that to corrupt nature the temptation is irresistible , and without divine strength , an instance of overcoming it , would be as rare as a phoenix in the world. besides , joseph was her slave , and was tempted by intreaties mixt with inticements from a superiour , that ( like a bow that draws strength from its bending ) by making a show of subjection acquires a double empire . but he had a reverence of his invisible observer and judge : how shall i do this great wickedness , and sin against god ? now joseph in the flower of his age , was not emboldened by solitude , nor excited by concupiscence , nor poison'd by the breath of the basilisk , was an admirable effect of divine grace . he preserved his sincere and constant innocence , as the sun its undefiled lustre in the midst of all the feculent exhalations that ascend from the earth . the other instance is job , whose victorious grace in the comparison , is more glorious than that of joseph ; for as the lapses of those who by terrors and torments violate the law , are less culpable , and more excusable , than of those who by sensual allurements transgress the divine commands : the humane nature being capable of such dolorous impressions as infinitely exceed all the pleasures of sense ; and consequently the yielding from fear of vehement pains and extreme evils , is less voluntary than what proceeds from the love of delights ; so proportionably that vertue is more eminent that remains firm , and preserves us in our duty , notwithstanding the batteries of extream evils , than that which preserves us by flight from the deceitful sensitive good . the holy ghost has given us a particular narrative of job's troubles , and his behaviour under them : the loss of a great estate was but a preparative for worse calamities ; his ten children were all destroyed in a day ; his body was covered with ulcers ; his wife , that in this desolate condition was onely left to alleviate his sorrows , unspeakably encreas'd them ; yet under this heavy weight of miseries , he did not express one unbecoming complaint . his patience exceeded all the pains of his body , and griefs of his mind . who loves god so ardently in his prosperity as he did in his afflictions ? like flaming torches , that reverst , the flame ascends with more force to heaven . st. austin admiring his invincible temper , says , that job half dead on the dunghil , was stronger than adam , when immortal in paradise ; for with indignation he repuls'd his wife , who was satan's instrument to tempt him to despair and blasphemy . how graceful and amiable a spectacle is a patient saint ? he attracts the eye and heart of god himself . what an honourable testimony proceeded from his mouth , concerning job , to vindicate his sincerity from the malice of the accuser ? hast thou seen my servant job , that there is none like him on the earth ? unparallel'd saint ! who endured such a succession of tragical events with humility and submission ! the active holiness of his prosperous life , is not recorded with that note of eminency and admiration , as his patient sufferings , for which he is universally crowned with the praises of the saints in all ages . ye have heard of the patience of job ! he is a spectacle that draws the regards of all , more famous for his patience than his misery . 't is the saying of the platonick philosopher , take away from the life of hercules , the tyrants he supprest , and the fierce beasts he slew , his travels and combats wherein his courage was exercised and appear'd , and you lessen his vertue , the hero is lost ; he that in the opinion of the heathen world deserved a deity , and is crowned with stars in heaven , will not have a spark of glory on earth to preserve his fame alive in memory . thus , take away from job the chaldean and sabean robbers , the shower of fire that consumed his estate , the whirlwind raised by infernal spirits , that destroyed his children , his diseases , and his cruel wife , the exercises of his insuperable patience ; and the honourable remembrance of job is lost . if the prince of darkness had not tried all his arts and strength to overcome him , and had not been foiled in his attempts , his graces had not been so illustrious . st. peter declares , that the spirit of glory , and of god , rests upon suffering christians . they are the temples of the holy spirit , the eternal deity , wherein he displays his divine vertue and glorious power . in short , god usually conducts his people to the sublimest degrees of grace and glory by suffering ; the more they are tryed and refined , the brighter their crown will be . 5. 't is our felicity quietly to resign our wills to the blessed will of god. patience , considered as a moral vertue , frees us from many sorrows and vexations that are supervenient to an affliction , and are caused meerly from the distemper , and unquiet disorderly agitations of our own passions nature instructs a dog by licking his wound to heal it , a lively emblem of the healing operation of discreet patience to the afflicted spirit . patience lines the yoke , and makes it softer and more easy to us . besides , an humble and full submission to the will of god , as the rule of goodness , brings down the peace and joy of paradise into our souls . the glorified saints are raised above all disasters and troubles ; nothing can disturb the serenity , or stain the purity of their state : from this principle of perfection and felicity , that god's will is always accomplished , to which their wills are intirely subordinate , in obedience to his authority , and by their proper inclination . as the waters which in the creation god transported above the heavens , are not moved as those here below by the furious agitation of the winds , but as if they were of a coelestial nature , have the same regular motion with the heavens . the angels , whose zeal for the honour of god , and love to the souls of men is incomparable , yet they see the rebellion of his subjects , whereby his glory is obscured , and the final destruction of rebellious sinners , without the least diminution of their felicity , because they always acquiesce in the divine will , that orders all things for the best end . and so far as our wills are complying with the divine will , we enjoy a tranquillity of mind , which afflictive accidents cannot disquiet . st. austin describes blessedness to consist in the accomplishment of our desires , and in having only regular desires : now a saint whose will is absolutely resigned to god's will , has a foretaste of blessedness here ; for whatsoever happens to him here , is from god's will that approves or permits it , and herein he finds satisfaction . what a pure undisturbed pleasure springs from this consideration , that the wisdom and love of god chuseth always what is best for us ? this will make us contented in every state , even when our condition is not correspondent with our natural desires , our desires are graciously accorded with our condition . what expensive industry has been used to procure the fancied philosopher's stone , that changes all metals into gold , which if obtained cannot make us happy ? for as the natural heat of the body does not proceed from the cloaths , but from the body that warms them : we see persons in the fit of an ague shake with cold , tho covered with furs ; so true felicity doth not proceed from the outward condition , but from the temper of the mind . the rich often want content in the confluence of all things , and are often disquieted with the fears of losing their possessions : but acquiescence in the divine disposal always brings satisfaction to the soul. 't is an inviolable treasure that cannot by the most violent evils be taken from us . i shall annex two considerations more , to shew how our felicity is promoted by our patient sufferings . first ; 't is a blessed assurance of our election by the most free and unchangeable love of god. the apostle tells afflicted christians , that whom he did foreknow , he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son , that he might be the first-born among many brethren . if we suffer with his divine patience , with his humble and holy affections , 't is a clear and certain evidence that we are appointed to reign with him . if we bear the image of our suffering saviour in our earthly state , we shall bear his glorious image in the heavenly . the well-grounded hope of this is very comfortable in the greatest afflictions , and will encourage us to persevere in humble sufferings . for if his sovereign pleasure has ordained us to eternal life , how just is it that we should with an intire and resigned submission yield up our selves to the conduct of his wisdom , as to the ways by which we shall obtain it ? secondly ; by a filial submission to god's chastisements we have a blessed testimony of our adoption . 't is the apostle's comfortable inference , if ye endure chastisements , god dealeth with you as with sons ; that is , if without murmuring or fainting , if with that respect and subjection , that is due to the high and holy providence of god , then we may be assured of his paternal relation to us , and his rod comforts us , as the strokes of it are an argument of his care and love to us . from hence proceeds inexpressible and peculiar consolation to afflicted christians : the same affliction as to the matter and circumstances , may be upon humble meek sufferers , and refractory stubborn sinners that kick against the pricks , but are distinguished by the intention of god. they are sent to the humble as corrections from the wise love of a father , who dearly regards their souls ; to the obdurate as vengeance from the righteous severity of a judge . upon the humble they fall as soft as a shower of snow ; upon the other as the storm of fiery hail upon the egyptians : and the issue of them is as different as heaven and hell. lastly ; this sharp discipline continues but during our minority here , when we arrive at the state of perfection we shall not need it : and this life is but a short transition to the next world. what comparison is there between a few years and the volume of eternal ages ? 't is the consolatory of the apostle , the time is short , let those that weep be as if they wept not . within a little while afflicted saints shall ascend to the region of blessedness , and no cloud of sorrow , no shadow of fear , no darkness of anxiety , can reach so high to darken and disturb their felicity : weeping can endure but for a night , and joy comes in the morning of the everlasting day . for a moment have i hid my face from thee , but with everlasting kindness will i receive thee , saith the lord. death is the last step out of mortality and misery . be ye also patient , stablish your hearts , for the coming of the lord draws nigh . secondly ; to these motives i shall add some directions , for the performance of this hard duty . direct . 1. a stedfast faith in the divine providence and promises , will compose the soul to a quiet submission to god's pleasure in the sharpest troubles . all things are under the intimate inspection , the wise conduct , the powerful influence of his providence . this is one of those prime , universal rich truths , from whence so many practical consequences are derived . by vertue of it , we may infallibly conclude , that all things that come to pass , are disposed in the best season , and best manner , for the best ends . if we were admitted to the council of state above , and understood the immediate reasons of every particular decree , we could not be more infallibly assur'd of the wisdom and goodness , the rectitude and equity of his dispensations , then by this universal principle that is applicable to all events , as light to every colour ; that what god appoints is best . that we may feel the blessed influence of it more effectually , let us consider that divine providence extends to the whole creation : 't is infinite , and over-ruling all things . god is pleased to represent it in scripture according to the narrowness of our capacity : as elisha contracted himself to the stature of the shunamites child , applying his mouth to his mouth , and his hands to his hands . thus 't is said , he rides upon the heavens , to signify his absolute power in ordering all the motions of the most high , vast and glorious part of the visible universe . he telleth the number of the stars ; he calleth them all by their names . the stars are the brightest and most active parts of the vast region above us , and are called the host of heaven with respect to their number and order . god is their general ; and tho they seem innumerable to our senses , yet the multitude is exactly known to him , and yields ready and entire obedience to his pleasure . from whence the psalmist infers , great is the lord , and of great power , his understanding is infinite . there is nothing in the lower world exempted from the empire and activity of god's providence . he is unmoveable , and moves all ; invisible , yet appears in all . the most casual things are not without his guidance . a man drew a bow at a venture , without express aim , but god directed the arrow through the joints of ahab's armour , that penetrated to the springs of life . the minutest and least considerable things are ordered by him . a sparrow does not fly or fall without his disposal . 't is not an hyperbolical expression of our saviour , but an absolute truth , that all the hairs of our head are numbred , and not one falls to the ground without his licence . the voluntary and most indetermin'd causes of things are under his conduct . the hearts of men , even of kings that are most absolute and unconfin'd , are in the hand of the lord , he turns them according to his pleasure ; as the streams of water are by several trenches conveyed to refresh a garden by the skilful husbandman . sin , that is the most disorderly thing in the world , is not only within the compass of his permission , but is limited and disposed by his providence : and such is his goodness , that he would not permit it , if his power could not over-rule that evil , for a good that preponderates the evil. and all afflictive evils , by his own declaration , are the effects of his just and powerful providence . is there any evil in the city , and i have not done it ? his providence is comprehensive and complete : no unforeseen accidents in the freest and most contingent things , no unvoluntary obstruction in the most necessary things , can break the intireness , or discompose the order of his providence . the lord is in heaven , he doth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven and in earth , in the sea and all the deep places . how exactly and easily does he manage and over-rule all things ? the whole world is his house , and all the successive generations of men his family ; some are his sons , and by voluntary subjection ; others his slaves , and by just constraint fulfil his pleasure . 't was the saying of a wise king instructed by experience , that the art of government , was like the laborious travel of a weaver , that requires the attention of the mind , and the activity of the body ; the eyes , hands and feet are all in exercise : and how often is the contexture of human counsels , though woven with great care , yet unexpectedly broke ? so many cross accidents interpose , so many emergencies beyond all prevention start up , that frustrate the designs and hopes of the most potent rulers of this world. but god disposes all things with more facility than one of us can move a grain of sand : the government of the world has a less proportion to his infinite wisdom , and uncontrollable power , than a grain of sand hath to the strength of a man. his counsel shall always stand ; all second causes depend upon him in their beings , their agency and influences . nothing is executed in this visible kingdom below , but by express order from his invisible court ; and all occurrences are made use of for the accomplishing the designs of his electing mercy , in the glorification of his saints . now all that is comfortable and reviving , is contained in this principle . if his providence reaches to the birds of the air , and the lillies of the field , much more to the saints , in whom he hath a propriety ; and such is his condescending love , and inconceivable benignity , that he stiles himself by the most endearing relation , their god. they are the prime part of his vigilant care . 't is st. austin's affectionate ejaculation , o omnipotent goodness , that so particularly regardest every one of us , as if the sole objects of thy tender care , and all of us as single persons ! the sun applies its quickening influences for the production and growth of a single plant as particularly as if there were no other things in the world to receive them ; yet at the same time it passes from sign to sign in the heavens , changes the scenes of the elements , produces new seasons , and its active and prolifick heat forms and transforms whatsoever is changed in nature . this is a fit resemblance of the universal and special operations of divine providence ; what a strong security doth this give to a christian in the midst of all trouble in this corrupt and changeable world ? how will it clear the mind from those miserable perplexities , and quiet those improvident , precipitant passions that so often afflict the afflicted ? whatever evils befal the saints , are with the knowledg , the will , and by the efficiency of god , materially considered ; and is he defective in wisdom , power , or goodness , that what he does , either might or ought to be better otherwise ? indeed , sometimes the special ends of his afflicting providence are in such deep obscurity , that our line is too short to fathom , and the manner how good shall result from evil is unknown , but then we may conclude with evidence , 't is for the best . when caesarius a primitive saint was arguing in himself , how that scripture could be true , that the earth was founded on the waters ; how the more weighty element should not sink , and be overwhelmed by the other : he stopt the course of his thoughts by this reflection , i forgat my self when i said to god , how can this be ? and admires that which he could not comprehend . for inferiour reasons we often pray , that particular evils that are near , may be prevented ; but if they overtake us , we may be satisfied that they are appointed by his supreme reason and everlasting counsel . as in a consort of musick , the parts are not formed when they are sung , but were composed before by the skill of the musician , and every part assign'd convenient to the voices of the persons . thus the various conditions and passages of our lives were so disposed by the sovereign wisdom of god from eternity , and as most fit for us . whether the evils proceed more immediately and intirely from his hand , or by the intercurrence of second causes ; 't is equally certain they come by the determinate counsel and foreknowledg of god. our saviour answers pilate , thou couldst have no power at all against me , except it were given thee from above . all the afflictive evils that proceed from the malice of men , and increase their guilt and judgment , are ordered by his providence , for the spiritual and eternal good of his people ; this consideration will prevent much sin and trouble that the best men are liable to in their perturbations and passions . there is nothing more exasperates an afflicted mind than the apprehension that one unjustly suffers , leniter ex merito quicquid patiare ferendum est : — quae venit indignè poena dolenda venit . a righteous punishment even nature consents is to be received with meek submission ; but to be patient under unjust persecutions , not to be provok't by injuries and enemies , is one of the hardest things in the world. if by a flash of lightning , or by a shower of rain , we are blasted or wet , we endure it patiently ; but if one throw wild-fire or water on us , we resent the indignity with anger and vexation . now , if we in our deliberate thoughts consider , that god not only permits , but sends all the evils we most unworthily suffer from men , and that he commands our quiet , humble behavior under them , nay , that he will over-rule all so as the issue shall be blessed , what tranquillity and acquiescence will it produce in the sharpest dispensations of his providence ? but on the contrary , exclude providence out of the world , and the mind is involved in darkness with all its terrors . atheism is the gulf of impiety and infelicity . none says , where is god , my maker , that gives songs in the night , that converts poisons into remedies , the saddest evils into means of the best good , and our afflictions into consolations . he that lives without god in the world , if he loseth what he superlatively loves , or falls under an incurable evil , has no other remedy but a resolution to endure it as well as he can : and he is extreamly miserable that has no joy here , nor hopes of it hereafter , nor the encouragement of a happy issue to bear it patiently . in conjunction with the belief of god's providence , our belief of his promises , that his truth is unchangeable ; for the performance of them , is requisite to preserve the afflicted spirit in a calm and submissive state . a present evil strikes the imagination and senses in another manner than a future spiritual good. now faith is the substance of things hoped for , &c. it makes invisible things to be the greatest realities to the soul ; the steady reliance upon the divine attributes engaged them to fulfil his promises , and is of an invincible efficacy to strengthen the soul in every distress . o lord of hosts , blessed is the man that trusteth in thee . his uncontrollable power governs all the orders of creatures , and the honour of his truth is so sacred , that heaven and earth shall pass away without the failing of any good thing promised to his people . faith assists patience ; as the blood that is a natural balsam , flows to the wounded part to heal and consolidate it . these graces are inseparable , and are recorded with special observation , as the fountains of courage under sufferings . here is the faith and patience of the saints ; and we are directed to follow them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises . other graces are engaged in the christian combate , and strive for victory , but faith and patience are crowned . and to support us in great troubles , a firm affiance in the divine promises as belonging to us is of infinite moment . i will greatly rejoice , and trust in the lord , my soul shall be joiful in my god. the general apprehension of god's mercy is ineffectual to support us : and to claim a title in him without a real evidence , is vain . but a regular trust , an applicative faith , in conjunction with our sincere performing the conditions of the promises , is to a christian , like the sacred locks of sampson's hair , whilst they remained , he was invincible ; but when cut off , he became weak as other men. our comforts rise and fall according to the stronger or weaker degrees of our faith : peter walked firm upon the waves till he doubted , and then began to sink . one of the sorest and most dangerous temptations of the afflicted is , that they are out of god's favour . the mourning veil darkens the eyes of their minds , that they cannot see his compassionate countenance , they cannot reconcile his gracious promises with his providential dispensations ; the good things he hath prepared for hereafter , with the evils he sends here . as gideon complained to the angel , if god be with us , how comes all this evil to us ? and the spirit of darkness takes the advantage of great troubles to tempt sad souls to despondency , as if they were utterly forsaken of god. if this temptation prevail , if the heavens be as brass , and the earth as iron , if no influences descend from above , and there be no springs below , if divine and human comforts fail , there remains nothing but desperate sorrow . s. austin , to repel this temptation , introduceth god answering the afflicted and discomforted : is this thy faith ? did i promise temporal prosperity to you ? were you made a christian for this , that you might flourish in this world ? the faith of our adoption is confirmed by his corrections . if they are profitable to us , if we are refined , not hardned by the fiery trial , we have a clear testimony of our interest in him . i will bring them through the fire , and they shall be refined as silver and gold is tryed ; and they shall say the lord is my god. briefly , let us strengthen our faith of the glorious state , and our title to it , and it will make us firm against all the violent impressions of adversity ; it will produce a joyful exultation even in the afflicted state. the christian that with stedfast faith , and attentive consideration , looks on the inestimable , infinite felicity , is regardless of all things in the world in comparison with it . sacred history reports of saul the persecutor , who was transformed into an apostle , that a sudden light from heaven of that excessive brightness encompassed him , that he was struck blind , and saw no man : this may be easily and justly applied to every sincere believer in a moral sence ; the first effect of the spiritual light that shines in the eyes of his mind , and discovers unseen eternal things , is to darken his sight of the things that are temporal : even the greatest things here are not of such moment as to allure or terrify him from profecuting his blessed end. st. peter declares of persecuted christians , that believing they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory . the martyrs dearly embraced the cross of christ , and prized the thorns of his crown , more than all the roses of pleasure , than all the diadems of earthly dignity , in expectation of the blessed reward . tertullian wrote to the noble confessors of christ that were imprisoned in africa , how willingly would we change our prosperity with your precious miseries ? if weak nature be sensible of your hard restraint and sufferings , take flight by your thoughts to paradise . the persecutors cannot lay fetters upon your spirits , but when you please you may ascend to the kingdom of god , where you shall reign for ever . in the mean time counterpoise the darkness , and straitness , the loathsomness and sufferings of your prison , with the light and amplitude , the riches and abundance , the joy and glory of the celestial kingdom , which no words are significant enough or worthy to express . a saint whose blessedness is in heaven , cannot be made utterly unhappy by afflictions on earth . he will serve god with as much love and as good a will , when poor , despised , disconsolate , as in a flourishing condition , and with this peculiar satisfaction , that his sincerity is then most evident : for the service that is without respect to a present sallary , is not base and mercenary for a temporal interest . besides , that obedience is more eminent and acceptable that is with sufferings , and the reward shall be answerable to our obedience . one draught of the river that makes glad the city of god above , can sweeten all the bitterness of the world. in short , the christians hope is in the apostle's expression , the anchor of the soul sure and stedfast , that enters within the veil , it is fastened in heaven , confirmed by the fidelity of god's promises , and the prevailing intercession of christ , and secured us in the midst of all the turbulent agitations in the wide sea below . hope makes us not only patient but joyful in all our sufferings . a christian encouraged by the blessed hope , comes with joy to death , as the door that opens to the kingdom of glory , and immortal blessedness . direct . 2. let god be the supreme object of our esteem and affections ; and whatsoever evils we sustain , will be made light and easy to us . the apostle assures us , that all things , even the most afflicting , work for the good of those that love god. that heavenly affection is not only the condition that intitles us to that promise , that by special priviledge makes all the evils of this world advantagious to the saints , but 't is the qualification by which 't is accomplished . by love we enjoy god , and love will make us willing to do or suffer what he pleaseth , that we may have fuller communion with him . in god all perfections are in transcendent eminence , they are always the same and always new . he gives all things without any diminution of his treasures : he receives the praises and services of the angels without any advantage or increase of his felicity . by possessing him , all that is amiable and excellent in the creatures , may be enjoyed in a manner incomparably better than in the creatures themselves . his infinite goodness can supply all our wants , satisfy all our desires , allay all our sorrows , conquer all our fears . one beam of his countenance can revive the spirit dead in sorrow , and buried in despair . the prophet jeremy in the desolation of his countrey , supports himself with his interest in god. the lord is my portion , saith my soul. the expression signifies the truth and strength of his affectionate choice of god as his chiefest good. what loss can make a christian poor , whose treasure is above ? what danger anxious , whose heart is fixed , trusting in the lord ? what disaster unhappy , whose blessedness is in heaven ? what death can destroy him , whose life is hid with christ in god ? deprive him of all the contents of this world , yet by communion with god , heaven descends to him , or he ascends to heaven , where god is all in all : the blessed reward is not reserved wholly till hereafter . divine joy is not deferred till our entrance into the celestial kingdom : there 't is a refined joy from all mixture of sorrow , 't is infinitely increased ; there spiritual joy meets eternal joy ; but it begins here : the gracious soul has a taste and sight how good the lord is , as an earnest of the fulness of joy in heaven . hope brings some leaves of the tree of life to refresh us with their fragrancy ; but love , of its fruits to strengthen us . as transplanted fruits , where the soil is defective , and the sun less favourable , are not of that beauty and goodness as in their original countrey ; so heavenly joys in this life are inferior in their degree to those of the blessed above , but they are very reviving . in the multitude of my thoughts within me , thy comforts delight my soul. 't is the triumphant exultation of the prophet , although the figtree shall not blossom , neither shall fruit be in the vines , the labour of the olive shall fail , and the fields shall yield no meat , the flock shall be cut off from the fold , and there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet will i rejoice in the lord , i will joy in the god of my salvation . he supposeth himself in extremity , utterly destitute not only of the refreshments , but supports of life ; yet he knows how not only to be patient and contented , but joyful in the most forlorn condition . joy is an affection proper to the happy state. in the day of prosperity , rejoice . and in his deepest affliction he had such a felicity in the favour of god , that no external want could diminish . the tree of life brought forth fruits for every month ; our blessed redeemer typified by it , has consolations for the most deplorable and desolate condition . if he says to the afflicted soul , i am thy salvation , and within a little while thou shalt be with me for ever in glory , it sufficeth . rejoice in the lord always ; again , i say , rejoice . it is the most affectionate counsel of the apostle . these are not inaccessible heights of religion , and points of perfection , to which none can arrive unless extraordinary saints ; but are the experimental practice of humble sincere christians , that say with the psalmist , whom have we in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth we desire besides thee . the guilty principle of vexatious discontents and immoderate griefs , under outward losses and troubles , is a false judgment ; that god without the world is not sufficient for our compleat felicity : who , unless a person distracted and foolish , would say that the magnificent feast of ahasuerus , that was prepared to shew the riches and glory of his kingdom , was mean and poor , because there was not set before the numerous guests in dishes of gold , grass and acorns , the food of brutes ? 't is equal folly to imagine that god , who is an infinite good , suitable to the spiritual immortal nature of the soul , and all-sufficient to fill the vast capacity and desires of our angelical faculties , the understanding and will , by his glorious perfections ; that god , i say , cannot make us happy in his love , because our lower animal faculties , our senses , have not in our communion with him what is pleasing to their carnal appetites . the spouse in the canticles is represented as a lilly among thorns , incompassed and opprest with injurious enemies , yet she breaks forth in triumphant joy , i am my beloved's , and he is mine ; by an irrevocable donation she gave her heart to christ , and reciprocally he gave himself to her ; she despised all inferiour things , and rested in his love as her sole felicity . in short , none are concerned to lose the weak light of a candle at noon-day , when the sun pours forth a deluge of light to illustrate all things ; and the soul that enjoys the propitious presence of god , is satisfied therewith when lower comforts fail . direct . 3. let us moderate our valuations and affections to things below . this is a consequence of the former ; for if the heart be full of god , it will not admit any inferior object to rival him in his throne . if we consider the vast distance between the perfections of the creator , and the faint reflections of them in the creature , our respects and love should be accordingly . reason , authority , example , experience convince us that all things below are empty vanities ; it is restless folly to seek for happiness here , and to borrow the language of the angel , to seek the living among the dead . if our felicity be from the light and warmth of creatures , how easily is it quenched , and we are in irrecoverable darkness ? when there is exorbitant love , and dissolute joy in the possessing , there will be extreme and desperate sorrow in losing . one irregular passion feeds and maintains another . the heart is disposed to contrary extremities , and passes from the fire to the frost : the unequal spirit swells or sinks according to the outward condition . it is the wise advice of the apostle , that we rejoice as if we rejoiced not , and then , we shall weep as if we wept not : afflictions are intolerable or light , according to our apprehension of them ; an indifferency of temper to the things of this world disposeth to self-denial universally , as god is pleased to try us . this was the holy and happy temper of david , surely i behaved and quieted my self as a child that is weaned of his mother , my soul is even as a weaned child ; indifferent to manage a scepter or a sheep-hook , according to god's pleasure . if we can deny our selves , we shall humbly yield to god. if we can sincerely say , not our wills , we shall readily repeat our saviour's submission , but thy will be done . direct . 4. a prudent forecast of possible evils as future to us , arms us with patience to sustain them . since man was expelled from the terrestrial paradise , and is below the celestial , he is liable to innumerable afflicting accidents . his condition here is like an open sea , so voluble and inconstant , so violent and furious : sometimes the ships are raised upon the top of the waves , as if they sailed in the air ; and sometimes plunged into the waters and ready to be swallowed up : such frequent changes happen in our passage to eternity , and it is mercifully ordered so by the divine wisdom , that we may so use the world , as not to abuse it , and our selves by over-waluing and affecting it . it is a contemplation of theodoret , that the sun and moon , the most glorious luminaries of heaven , and so beneficial to the earth , would be honoured as deities , if they always appeared with the same invariable tenour of light : and therefore god wisely disposed of their motions , that at the revolution of certain periods , they should suffer an eclipse , that the ignorant world might be convinced they were but parts of nature appointed for the service of man , and are not worthy of divine honour . thus we see , that often the brightest and fullest prosperity is eclipsed , to convince us by the miserable changes in this world , that the best estate of man is altogether vanity , and that these things are utterly insufficient to make us happy , and are not worthy of the chief regard and affection of our immortal souls . to set our hearts on them is to build on the sand , and to expose our selves to ruinous falls by every storm . a sudden blast overthrows the fabrick of fancy , our conceited happiness in the enjoyment of perishing things . our greatest comforts may occasion our greatest afflictions : the glory of a family may occasion the grief of it . now the consideration of the mutable nature of things here below , keeps the heart loose from them , fortifies us with proper thoughts to bear evils that happen , and prevents disappointments , that is an aggravating circumstance of our troubles , and a great vexation to the mind . the israelites when transported from the land of canaan to babylon , felt the rigors of their captivity the more sensibly , in that they were confident in their term and state in that land , as their permanent inheritance : to be expelled from so rich a country wherein they promised themselves rest , was a high degree of their misery . there is indeed a prevision of evils that may befal us , that has torment , that anticipates and exasperates misery . fear , that gives the signal of approaching evils , often brings more terrour than caution , and like a timerous centinel by a false allarm , astonishes rather than prepares the mind to encounter with danger . our saviour strictly forbids such perplexing apprehensions of future evils , as most unbecoming christians , who are under the perpetual providence of their heavenly father . take no thought for the morrow , the morrow shall take thought for the things of it self . but on the contrary , to be secure in our prosperity , as if we should always enjoy a favourable course of things , as if our most flourishing comforts did not spring from an earthly original , and might be suddenly blasted , or easily cut down , is to lay our selves open to surprizing disorders and perplexities when evils befal us . 't is the wise counsel of st. peter to believers , think it not strange concerning the fiery trial , which is to try you , as if some strange thing happened to you : for unexpected adversity falls upon the soul in its full weight , and suddenly overthrows it . uncomfortable accidents strike to the heart , when 't is not arm'd to receive the blow : whereas the remembrance of our frail and fickle state , makes us less troubled in afflictive changes , because prepared for what may happen to us . direct . 5. serious and mournful reflections upon our guilt , and what we deserve from divine justice , is both a motive and a means to suppress impatience and indignation , and to allay inordinate grief in our sufferings . we are directed by the wise preacher , in the day of adversity consider : it is a proper season to review conscience , to search and try our ways , to take a sad and serious examination of our lives . if god should exact the rigid score of our debts , and make us as miserable as we are sinful , yet there is the greatest reason to justify him , and accuse our selves ; much more when our punishment is far below our deserts . humility is the mother of meekness , they are graces of the same complexion and features . our saviour in the order of the beatitudes , first declared , blessed are the poor in spirit , that have a low conceit of themselves , as nothing in spirituals , and worse than nothing in sin ; as empty of all that is holy and good , and compounded of all evil : and blessed are those that mourn , in a sence of their sins : and then , blessed are the meek : and these are very congruously joyned , for meekness is a disposition inseparable from the other . he that duly considers himself to be a wretched creature , a worthless rebel , and is humbly and sorrowfully affected for his unworthiness , his passions will be subdued ; and as melted metal receives any form , so he patiently suffers what god inflicts . a broken heart is an acceptable sacrifice to god , and implies a tender sense of sin , as the offence and dishonour of the holy and gracious god , in allusion to a broken bone , that has an exquisite sense of any hurt : and it may be extended to signify a heart that is compliant and submissive to god's will , in allusion to a horse that is broken , and easily managed by the reins of the rider . contrition for sin is always joyned with resignation to the chastizing providence of god. besides , godly sorrow will lessen natural sorrow . sin first deserves our grief , and the sharpest accents of our lamentation should be placed upon it , and the more sensible we are of it , the lighter will affliction be to us . as the opening a vein stops by revulsion , a flux of blood in another part ; so the turning the stream of sorrow , from affliction to sin , is a powerful means to make it cease : there is health in the bitterness of physick , and joy in the depth of this sadness . briefly , repentance inclines the heart of god , and opens his tender compassions to the afflicted . we have an admirable example of this in the case of afflicted ephraim ; upon his penitential complaint , the expression of his grief and shame for his sin , god graciously answers , is ephraim my dear son ? is he a pleasant child ? for since i spake against him , i do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; i will surely have mercy on him , saith the lord. when the relenting sinner is covered with tears , the great comforter descends , and brings healing to the troubled waters : this advice is more necessary for the afflicted , because usually the stroaks of providence are properly a reproof and correction for sin : the application of a corrosive , implies , that some corrupt matter is to be discharged ; god is provoked by their neglects , and though love cannot hate , it may be angry , and without renewing their repentance , and recovering his favour , their afflictions are very uncomfortable . 't is extreamly sad to feel the sting of a guilty conscience within , and the displeasure of god without . the burthen is heavy and oppressing that is laid upon a wounded back . it is therefore our best wisdom and duty to search our hearts and try our ways , that we may discover what is the procuring cause of our troubles , and turn unfeignedly to the lord. this will endear afflicted souls to god , and incline him to afford gracious supports to them . it is true , sometimes our sufferings are designed for trial , especially , when they are for righteousness sake . counterfeit coin , though with a fair stamp and inscription , is discovered by the fire ; thus meer titular christians , specious hypocrites , are made known by persecutions : but true substantial gold endures the fire without loss , and the more 't is tryed , the more 't is refined . thus the true christian , whom neither the gain of the world , nor the loss of life can remove from the stedfast owning of the holy truth , has a clear manifestation of his sincerity . and it is a peculiar favour and honour , when god calls forth his servants to the hardest trials for his names sake ; 't is the noblest way of service , a special conformity to the son of god , more glorious than the resembling his power in doing miracles : in this the saints here have a capacity of serving god above the angels ; for the obedience of the angels is always joined with their happiness , but the obedience of the saints here , is often attended with adversity , and is more valuable to them upon that account : as a soldier of courage and generosity , when he is chosen from the rest of the army for some bold exploit , values the choice of the general , as a signal mark of the esteem of his valour and fidelity . to you it is given , not only to believe , but to suffer for christ's sake . this is just matter of joy. innocence with the faithful companion of it , a good conscience , makes our sufferings from the rage and violence of men , to be comfortable . there may be a feast within the house , when a storm of hail rattles upon the tiles . but it is sometimes so ordered by divine providence , that the evils we suffer are of a mixt nature , partly chastisements , and partly trials . this was the case of the believing hebrews , to whom the apostle directs his counsel ; their persecution was from the unrighteous pagans for a cause purely religious , but 't was permitted by the righteous god , as a punishment for their sins . and here the divine wisdom and goodness is admirable , that the same affliction is instrumental for the purifying of his servants from sin , and the advancement of his glorious gospel . the first and most immediate effect of his discipline , is the humbling and sanctifying them to prepare them for his love , by which they are fortified to bear couragiously the worst evils for his sake . direct . 6. apply the mind to consider the blessings we receive , as well as the evils we endure . whilst the intence thoughts are fixt upon the cross , the soul is rackt with inward tortures , but did we turn our eyes upon our enjoyments , and the comforts that are interwoven with our troubles , it would be a means not only to compose us to patience but thankfulness . the apostle directs us to trust in the living god , who giveth all things richly to enjoy . in the poorest and lowest state of life , we have many favours and effects of his rich bounty , and it is the ignorance of our deservings and of our enjoyments that causeth discontent and murmuring under our troubles . particularly , this consideration will be effectual to repress the discontent that is apt to kindle in our breasts , upon the sight of the different dispensations of providence ; that some are exempted from the current adversities of the world , and live in ease and pleasure , whilst we are deprived of many outward comforts . suppose a sick person in extream poverty , were received by a rich and liberal lord into his house , and convenient food , and precious medicines were provided for him , without his desert or possibility of retribution ; would he be so foolish and insolent , as to complain of unkind and unworthy usage , because some others in the family have a more plentiful table and richer habit allowed them ? on the contrary , let us look down to those who are below us : how many are poor and miserable in the want of all things needful for the support of life ? how many are under tormenting pains , or in desperate sadness , and have no taste and comfort in their abundance ? how many are fallen into deep misery , and that aggravated by the afflicting memory of former happiness ? how many are surrounded by their cruel enemies , and see no refuge , no sanctuary for their escape , but a necessity of perishing ? and can we pretend a better title to the mercies of god than our fellow-worms ? our original is from nothing , and our works are sinful ; that we are not so desolately miserable as others , when equally guilty , is from the rich goodness of god , and should make us thankful . add further ; let the most afflicted saint in the world compare his condition with that of the most prosperous wicked persons , and the comparison will be effectual to endear god to him , and quiet his passions under sufferings . the good things of this world in their abundance , variety , and excellence , cannot make a sinner truely happy : the miseries of this life in all kinds and degrees , cannot make a good man utterly miserable ; nay they are inestimably more happy in their sufferings than the wicked in their prosperity . manna rains from heaven while they are in the wilderness , supports and comforts are from the love of god shed abroad in their hearts ; and their present afflictions are a seed of eternal joy , qualify and prepare them for the joy of heaven . our saviour , from whose judgment we receive the true weights and measures of things , to regulate our esteem and affections , declares his disciples when under the sharpest persecutions of the tongues or hands of their enemies , under disgrace , calumnies , tortures and death , even then he declares them blessed , for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them ; & heaven is such a transcendent blessedness , that the lively hope of it as the reward and end of our afflictions makes us blessed here . and the most prosperous sinners , are by the same infallible rule , miserable here ; for the irresistible , irremediable misery that is ordain'd and prepar'd for them in hell. they would deceive themselves with the paintings of happiness , with an aiery imaginary happiness ; whilst the senses are filled , the soul is empty ; but they shall not long enjoy the ease of their ignorance and security ; the world can do no more to make them happy , than if one should compound and temper a draught , and give it to the poor and miserable , that induces sleep and pleasant dreams for a few hours , but when they awake they are still poor and miserable . our saviour pronounceth a woe to the rich and full , to those that laugh now , for they shall weep and mourn : their false deceitful felicity will end in real misery . it is * s. austin's question , who would not prefer grief with a sober mind before the jollity of a phrenzy ? who would be a merry mad man ? for he is only happy in his fancy , and fancies himself so , only because he is distracted ; and according to the rules of true wisdom , the worst estate of a saint , when lamenting and languishing under troubles , is more eligible than the best estate of a sinner when triumphing in prosperity . direct . 7. lastly ; frequent and fervent prayer to the father of mercies , and god of all consolation , is a blessed means to support the spirit , and make it humble and obedient to the afflicting providence of god. 't is divine counsel , is any afflicted ? let him pray . 't is prayer opens the heart , and carnal grief breaths out ; prayer opens heaven , and divine joy flows into the soul ; the king of glory keeps no state , there is always easie access to his throne , and his ears are always open to his humble suppliants . his most gracious nature inclines him to sustain us in our dejections . we have a powerful plea from his compassions to encourage our prayers in great troubles . he will regard the prayer of the destitute , and not despise their prayer . the most glorious attribute of the spirit , the comforter , is most useful and beneficial to afflicted suppliants ; affliction is the season , and prayer the sphere of his activity . that our prayers may prevail , these following rules must be observed . 1. they must be addressed with an humble trust on the mercies of god , that incline him to relieve and sustain the afflicted . thus st. james directs the afflicted , to ask in faith , nothing wavering . we read in scripture of his bowels , the light of his countenance , his melting eye , the soft , serene , compassionate expresses of his most gracious nature towards his suffering people . he doth not esteem himself more honoured with the glorious titles of our creator and king , than with the amiable endearing name of our father ; and with a confidence becoming that relation , we are directed by his divine son to make our requests to him . 't is recorded of augustus the emperour , that when one presented a petition to him in a timerous and shy manner , that generous prince , whose humanity was equal to his dignity , was moved with displeasure , as if it had been a tacit reproach that he was of an untractable fierce nature . thus 't is a disparagement of god's benignity and clemency , when we pray to him in a diffident manner : he is more pleased in doing of us good , than we can be in receiving it . indeed , if the promises of god did not encourage our hopes , we should not presume so much of his affection , as to lay the burden of our cares and sorrows on his arms ; but heaven is not fuller of stars to enlighten the darkness of the night , than the scripture is of precious promises for the refreshing the disconsolate . when the church complained , the lord hath forsaken me , and my lord hath forgotten me ; what assurance does he give of his most tender and unchangeable love to her ; can a woman forget her sucking child , that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? yea , they may forget , yet will i not forget thee . behold , i have graven thee upon the palms of my hands : if he cannot forget himself , he cannot forget his people . 't is his dear title , god that comforts those who are cast down . add to this , the interest of the saints in jesus christ , who ever lives to make intercession for them . none is more tenderly inclined to mercy , than he that has suffered misery : and he felt our sorrows that he might afford relief and succour to us . whilst our saviour was upon the earth , and was followed by a multitude of diseased miserable persons , vertue went out of him and healed them all : and since his ascent to heaven , has he withdrawn that universal healing vertue , and left us under irremediable and unmitigable sorrows ? did his compassionate eye regard all that were afflicted , and are we now out of his sight ? then such was his indulgent humility , that altho he could have performed the cure by a word , yet he readily offered to attend a sick servant , i will come and heal him ; and now he is raised from his humble state on earth to the throne of heaven , does he disdain to extend his merciful hand for our relief ? no , his heart and love is the same in heaven as upon the earth . 't is true he is exempted from all passionate frailties , all afflicting affections that are inconsistent with the felicity and glory of his kingdom : but he still retains the same solid love , the same god-like compassion , the same ready will to support and deliver his people in misery . nay , if the change of his state could have made any in him , it could be no other than what is recorded to the immortal honour of vespatian , by one that had experience of his royal bounty : that the raising him to the imperial throne made no alteration in his breast , but that his power was enlarged equal to his will of doing good. our saviour in his exaltation at the right hand of god , has all power equal to his infinite love that is suitable to the permanent relation between him and the saints : he is their head , and they his members : and was there ever such a miracle , or rather monster in nature , that the head the most eminent part , the seat of all the senses , did not resent a wound made in the foot , the lowest and most servile part of the body ? does it not presently express its real complaints ? for the natural union of the parts , communicates the sence of the pain suffered by any to the whole . and such is the spiritual union , between the divine head and his members , that from heaven he rebuk'd the cruel persecutor of the saints , in language expressing the connexion of charity between himself and them , saul , why persecutest thou me ? he does not say why persecutest thou my saints , why my servants , but why me ? tho he is not capable of any sorrowful sence , yet his affections are quick and vigorous to his people . if it were possible that his joy , wherewith he is infinitely blessed , should be increas'd , it would be in the effusions of his goodness to afflicted christians . let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace , that we may obtain mercy , and find grace to help in time of need . how heavy soever the calamities are , let them not sink our spirits into despair , but raise them to nearer approaches to the god of consolation . 2. the prayers of the afflicted must be always with submissive deference to the will and wisdom of god , as to the manner , the degrees , and time of his delivering them . afflictions are not peremptory and immutable dispensations , but conditional for holy and good ends , and we may humbly pray for their removal . 't is no resisting of providence , to address to the divine majesty with frequent and fervent requests , that he would please to take his chastizing hand off from us . upon david's humble prayer , the destroying angel was commanded to cease ; in the midst of judgment mercy interposed , it is enough . but we are apt to be impatient in our troubles , and by hasty impetuous desires of ease and deliverance , disturb our tranquility , and offend god. as those who are diseased with a rheumatism , being worse in the night than the day , impatiently long for the rising sun to dispel the oppressing humors , and cheer their spirits : so in our afflictions we impatiently renew our requests , lord , how long ? lord , make haste , not reposing our selves on his wisdom and goodness , who will do what is best for us . god is both our father and physician , and when the corrupt humours are purged away , will give cordials and restoratives to his afflicted children . the prophet tells us , he that believes makes not haste , he doth not by undue means seek to remedy his evils , nor passionately and unquietly sollicite the accomplishment of the promises before the season appointed by the divine decree , for that is to desire that his mercy should be displayed to the prejudice of his immutability , but humbly waits god's pleasure . 3. let the main desires of the afflicted be for divine grace , ( which is never more necessary and useful than in troubles ) that they may glorify god , and obtain their eminent end , the salvation of their souls by them . we are often very ardent in our prayers for trivial things , neglecting the most necessary and important . as if a prisoner loaden with irons should passionately intreat , that his chains should be gilded , not loosed . how many spend their zealous affections in praying for temporal things , wherein their happiness does not consist . one of the reasons why god heaps upon rebellious sinners the good things of this life , is to instruct us how despicable they are in his account , things to be thrown away , as he seems to do . and he often refuses the petitions of his servants concerning temporal things : when pelopidus interceded with epaminondas the wise governor of the thebans , for the freedom of a base fellow that for some crime was committed to prison , he denied his request ; and presently released him upon the desire of a vile harlot : and gave this reason , it was a favour not worthy the dignity of pelopidas , but suitable to the quality of such a petitioner . and sometimes we pray for things dangerous and hurtful to our souls ; and 't is becoming the providence and love of our heavenly father to deny our ill-counselled desires . let us therefore be more intent and importunate in our petitions , that our afflictions may be sanctified , then removed . we have neither understanding nor strength , how to order our selves , how to bear and improve great afflictions . st. paul declares , i have learned in every condition to be content ? by the revelation of the gospel , and the holy spirits teaching that all his earthly troubles should end in the heavenly glory , he was instructed in that science of the saints . we are therefore directed , if any man want wisdom , that is , how to manage himself patiently under afflictions , let him ask it of god , who gives to all liberally , and upbraids not . if afflictions are sore and sudden , it is very hard to compose and support the spirit . the passions are servants of sense , rather than obedient to reason , and by their first violent motions surprize the mind , and overcome it before it perceives the assault ; he that is not a master , isa slave to them . or suppose no angry resistance , no impetuous passions in the afflicted breast , yet the heart bleeds inwardly , and faints away . david had natural courage to encounter a lion , yet he was so disconsolate in his troubles that he was fain to argue against his sadness : why art thou cast down o my soul , why art thou disquieted within me ? and having raised his drooping spirits , yet he relapsed to his first faintness , till by supplies from god he was confirmed in hope of deliverance . the apostle implores the glorious power of god , that the colossians might be strengthned with all might , unto all patience , and long-suffering with joyfulness . we should sink under heavy sufferings , or be tired with the length of miseries , without his immortal strength . but if the power of god assist a weak spirit , it will be finally victorious over all the evils of the world. how many martyrs of the tender sex , who would naturally tremble at a drawn sword ; yet by divine support despised the tormentors , and all the instruments of cruelty . in them was an imitation of that miracle of divine power , when the three children walked in the midst of the flaming furnace , untouch'd by the fire . god is stiled the god of patience and consolation . it is his sole prerogative to comfort the afflicted . i , even i , am he that comforts you . the woman in the gospel that had a bloody issue , no human art could afford her aid and relief : and when her estate was wasted on the physitians , and her strength by her disease , she came to our saviour , and by touching the hem of his garment was presently healed . thus the afflicted spirit , whom no worldly things are able to support and make joyful , finds everlasting comfort in god. he satisfies the soul with his love , and establishes this persuasion , that all things shall turn for the best to his people . now by prayer the divine power and favour is engaged for our support and deliverance . how many psalms of david begin in tears , and end in triumph ? in his great exigency , when ready to be swallowed up by his enemies , he dispatch'd a flying prayer to heaven for relief ; lord , take bold of shield , and buckler , and stand up for my help : and the almighty appeared in arms for his rescue . and he recounts another blessed experience of the efficacy of prayer , in the day when i cryed , thou answered'st me : and strengthenest me with strength in my soul. the affliction was still incumbent , but did not overwhelm him : which was a more gracious testimony of god's love , than if it had meerly been taken away . it is said of the distressed , they looked to him and were lightned . it is the perfection and propriety of the saints in heaven to see the glorious face of god without veil or shadow ; but here some rayes of his quickning countenance comfort his afflicted servants , while they lift up their eyes and hearts to his sanctuary , a joyful light breaks forth , that leads them out of the dark labyrinth of their troubled thoughts . if the saints remain disconsolate , it is not for want of mercy and power in god to refresh their sorrows , but from neglecting to improve their interest in him , and deriving spiritual comforts from his fulness by humble believing prayer . when the disciples were surprized with a storm in the sea of tiberias , they toil'd with hard labour to save the ship that was like to be over-whelmed by the waves : but all in vain , till by their cries they waked our saviour who was asleep in the ship. he lifts up his head , and the proud waves presently sink ; he speaks a word of command , and the boisterous winds are silent ; and a great tempest is changed into a great calm . this may fitly represent the afflicted state of a christian , their passions swell into a storm , they are ready to be overwhelm'd with troubles , but 't is because christ sleeps in them ; they have his presence as if they had it not , but earnest constant prayer will awake him , and his propitious presence will secure them from shipwrack , and make their breasts the true pacifick sea , and bring them safely to the blessed eternal shore . briefly ; god teaches us to profit by our afflictions , and this affords matter of joy and thanksgiving . the psalmist declares , blessed is the man whom thou chastenest and instructest out of thy law. the divine teacher gives a right understanding of sufferings , for what end they are sent , and teacheth by the voice of the rod to obey his word , he instructs us in our duty with the clearest convictions , and infuseth gracious dispositions suitable to his doctrine . he gives directing light , and a seeing eye to perceive it ; he presents heavenly encouragements , and prepares the heart to receive them . now what paul speaks of the cross of christ , is applicable to the crosses of the saints : god forbid that i should glory but in the cross of christ , by which the world is crucified to me , and i to it . the cross of christ made the jews and pagans to despise and reject the gospel , esteeming it to be gross folly to expect a glorious immortal life from one who was ignominiously put to death ; yet that was the great argument of the apostles triumphant joy , because he felt the vertue of it to unbind the charms of the world , so admired by carnal eyes . he looked upon it with the same disaffection and disregard , as one that is near expiring : it appeared in his eyes rather as a loathsom object , than with amiable qualities . and if the cross of a christian be the means of internal mortification , if thereby this vain deceiving world be rendered contemptible to him , and his affections are inflamed to things above , he will find cause to glory in tribulation . to conclude this argument ; there is no affliction how great soever , though with respect to natural means unremovable and unmitigable , yet if it be sanctified by divine grace , a christian even while he is so afflicted , has more cause of joy than grief , more reason to bless god for it than to repine and complain . in every thing give thanks , for this is the will of god in christ jesus concerning you . he turns afflictions into benefits , and our affectionate praises are due upon that account . finis . notes, typically marginal, from the original text notes for div a26794-e160 plin. l. 2. c. 7. sed tantum cum fortuna se digladiari momentis omnibus gloriantur . lact lib. 3. isa. 22. 12 , 13 , 14. notes for div a26794-e480 1. 1. rom. 5. 3 , 4 , 5. 2. nihil agis dolor , quamvis sis molestus , nunquam te esse confitebor malum . possidomus . * talis est sapientis animus qualis mundi status super lunam , sem per illic serenum . seneca . * magna verba excidunt , cum mors proprius accessit , cum tortor manum poposcit , possis illi dicere , facile provocabas mala absentia . seneca . 1. 2. heb. 12. 5. 2 1. isa. 39. 6 , 7 , 8. 2. 2 sam. 15. 25. 3. 2 sam. 16. 9. 10. job 10. 3. jer. 20. 14. jer. 31. 15. 1 sam. 3. 17. job 1. 21. st. hillary declares of himself , non sibi relictum quicquam aliud a natura sua intelligere , in quo majus officium praestare conditori suo posset quam ut tantum eum esse intelligeret , quantus & intelligi non potest & potest credi . de trin. lib. 1. ille est vinculum per quod res publica cohaeret : ille spiritus vitalis , quem tot millia trahunt : nihil ipsa futura nisi onus & praeda si mens illa imperii sub trahatur lib. de clem. psal. 8. act. 9. 6. job 38. 4 psal. 39. 8. psal. 36. 6. mic. 7. 9. lam. 3. 39. job 34. 31 , 32. lam. 3. 22. ezra 9. 13. levit. 26. 41. isa. 45. 9. 1 pet. 5. 6. heb. 12. 9. heb. 12. 6. rom. 8. 32. 2 cor. 13. 7. heb. 12. 10. isa. 59. 2. jer. 2. 19. job 36. 8 , 9. ver. 10. psal. 119 1 cor. 11. psa. 141. 5. heb. 4. 14. 1 pet. 1. 7. jam. 1. 2 , 3. rev. 22. rom. 8. heb. 12. 5. jer. 8. psal. 89. 31 , 32 , 33. 1 cor. 10. 13. 2 cor. 1. 5. 2 cor. 12. 9. * acin quamvis de missum etna nullus frigore ante vertit . solin heb. 12. 11. jam. 1. 12. 2 cor. 4. 1 tim. 1 eph. 1. 11. deut. 32. 4. isa. 28. 29. job . 32. 2. job . 42. 3. 6. john 12. 27. judg. 11 36. rom. 8. 28. eccles. 6. 12. vse 1. prov. 19 3. rev. 16. 9. psal. 80. john 3 , 38 , 39 , omnia bona mea mecum sunt . justitia , virtus , temperantia , prudentia , hoc ipsum nihil boni put are quod eripi possit . seneca epist. 9. use 2. heb. 12. 3. psa. 104 heb. 12. 2. rev. 3. 21. jam. 5. 10. heb. 12. 1. rev. 7. 9. psal. 148. 8. psal. 103. hic est magnus animus qui se deo tradidit . senec. heb. 2. mille pia cer non vagliono un tormento . job 2. 3. rom. 8. 29. isa. 5. jam. 5. 2 king. 4. psal. 147. 5. 1 kings 22. 34. mat. 10. o bone omnipotens , qui sic unumquemque nostrum tanquam solum cures , & sic omnes tanquam singulos ! aug. conf. lib. 13. dial. 1. heb. 11. 1. psal. 84. rev. 13. 10. isa. 61. 10. respondit tibi deus , haeccine est fides tua ? haec tibi promisi ! ad haec christianus factus es ut in seculo floreres ? zech. 13 1 pet. 1. 8. omnia spiritui patent vagare spiritu , spatiare spiritu . nihil crus sent it in nervo cum animus in coelo est . ad martyr . nullus iis dolor est de incursatione malorum praesentium , quibus siducia est futurorum bonorum : quid hoc ad christianos , quid ad dei servos ? quos paradisus invitat , quos gratia omnis & copia regni coelestis expectat ? cypr. cont . demet. rom. 8. 28. lam. 3. 24. psal. 94. 19. hab. 3. 17 , 18. poenam de adversis mundi ille sentit , cui laetitia & gloria omnis in mundo est . cyp. ad demet. psal. 131. mat. 6. 34 1 pet. 4. 12. ☜ psal. 51. jer. 31. 20. heb. 12. 1 tim. 6. 17. * si duo istae proponantur ridere vis aut flere ? quis est qui respondeat nisi ridere ? sed tantum praevalet invictissima veritas ut eligat homo sanâmente flere , quā mente alienata ridere . august . tract . de epict. jam. 1. 6. videris obolum porrigere elephanti . macrob. isa. 49. 14 , 15 , 16. 2 cor. 7. nec quicquam in te mutavit fortunae amplitudo , nisi ut prodesse tantundem posses & velles . plin. non dicit quid sanctos meos , quid servos meos , sed quid me persequeris ? aug. non audit deus nisi quod dignum ducit suis beneficiis . arab. jam. 1. psal. 42. col. 1. psal. 138. psal. 34. 5. si non dormiret in te christus , tempestates istas non patereris . ideo fluctuabat navis quia christus dormiebat : navis tua cor tuum . aug. 1 thess. 1. 5. the right foundation of quietness, obedience, and concord discovered in two seasonable discourses ... / by clem. elis ... ellis, clement, 1630-1700. 1684 approx. 223 kb of xml-encoded text transcribed from 61 1-bit group-iv tiff page images. text creation partnership, ann arbor, mi ; oxford (uk) : 2003-09 (eebo-tcp phase 1). a39268 wing e572 estc r19683 12675894 ocm 12675894 65540 this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the early english books online text creation partnership. this phase i text is available for reuse, according to the terms of creative commons 0 1.0 universal . the text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. early english books online. (eebo-tcp ; phase 1, no. a39268) transcribed from: (early english books online ; image set 65540) images scanned from microfilm: (early english books, 1641-1700 ; 353:1) the right foundation of quietness, obedience, and concord discovered in two seasonable discourses ... / by clem. elis ... ellis, clement, 1630-1700. [4], 114, [2] p. printed for john baker ..., london : 1684. advertisements ([2] p.) at end. reproduction of original in union theological seminary library, new york. created by converting tcp files to tei p5 using tcp2tei.xsl, tei @ oxford. re-processed by university of nebraska-lincoln and northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. eebo-tcp is a partnership between the universities of michigan and oxford and the publisher proquest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by proquest via their early english books online (eebo) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). the general aim of eebo-tcp is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic english-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in eebo. eebo-tcp aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the text encoding initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). the eebo-tcp project was divided into two phases. the 25,363 texts created during phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 january 2015. anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. users should be aware of the process of creating the tcp texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. text selection was based on the new cambridge bibliography of english literature (ncbel). if an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in ncbel, then their works are eligible for inclusion. selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. in general, first editions of a works in english were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably latin and welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in oxford and michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet qa standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. after proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of tcp data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a tcp editor. the texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the tei in libraries guidelines. copies of the texts have been issued variously as sgml (tcp schema; ascii text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable xml (tcp schema; characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless xml (tei p5, characters represented either as utf-8 unicode or tei g elements). keying and markup guidelines are available at the text creation partnership web site . eng christian life -early works to 1800. obedience. 2003-06 tcp assigned for keying and markup 2003-06 apex covantage keyed and coded from proquest page images 2003-07 john latta sampled and proofread 2003-07 john latta text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-08 pfs batch review (qc) and xml conversion the right foundation of quietness , obedience , and concord discovered in two seasonable discourses , shewing , 1. the folly of man's devices . 2. the stability of god's counsel . 3. the mischief of strife and vain-glory 4. the practice of true humility . by clem. elis , a. m. rector of kirkby in nottinghamshire , author of the gentile sinner . london , printed for iohn baker , at the three pidgeons in st. paul's church-yard , mdclxxxiv . to his grace henry l d duke of newcastle , lord lieutenant of nottinghamshire , and privy-counsellor to his most sacred majesty . may it please your grace , without any apology , either for my weakness , too apparent in this performance , or for my boldness in the dedication ; i here in all humility beseech your grace to accept of this very slender present ; tho' it can signifie no more , but only this , that i acknowledge a duty incumbent upon me , and ( tho' i shall never be able to make full payment ) i am very desirous to do all that i can towards the discharging of it . in these little things which i have the confidence to call two seasonable discourses , i have endeavour'd to do some part of that great duty , which i owe both to god and the king , both to church and state , and particularly , to that congregation wherein , under your grace's noble patronage , i am set to exercise the ministry committed to me . it cannot therefore , i hope , look like a presumption , to give your grace this account , how your tenants are instructed by me in their great duties of religion and loyalty . and if in that which is here humbly offered to your grace's eye , any satisfaction be given in that particular , i must account it reason enough why i thus expose my infirmities to the view and censure of the world ; and also why i despair not of a pardon , if it make so bold with your grace , as to tell the world , wherever it comes , that it is but the smallest part of that great debt and duty which is owing by my lord , your grace's most humble and obedient servant . cl. elis. the folly of man's devices , and stability of god's counsel . a seasonable discourse on prov. xix , 21. there are many devices in a man's heart ; nevertheless the counsel of the lord , that shall stand . much of the wisdom of the ancient heathens hath been conveyed to after ages in proverbs . and these were in so high esteem with the learned'st of them , that even their gravest philosophers thought them some strength to their arguments , and their most eloquent orators no little ornament to their popular harangues : yea , in so great veneration were they had with the generality of mankind , that they thought fit to father them on their gods themselves , and to signifie this , caused them to be written over the doors of their idol-temples , to the end that they might be the more universally learnt , and religiously reguarded by men . what a price then may we justly set on these proverbs of solomon , whose rare wisdom for its singular eminency is its self become proverbial ? if their antiquity may serve to enhance their value , they are above four hundred years older than those which derive from the so much famed wise men of greece . if their form be regardable , they are short , close and pithy sentences , comprizing a great deal of most sacred truth and necessary instruction in the fewest words , apt by the acuteness and smartness of the expression to imprint the sense more deeply in the mind , and both by that and also their conciseness and brevity , mightily befriending the memory . like the most precious iewel 's , they are neither great nor burdensome , easily portable and of inestimable worth . or like chymical spirits , the least drop whereof is of a very diffusive vertue and strong operation , such is their universal use , that we cannot miss amongst them the most excellent rules of duty both to god and man , suited to all relations in family or kingdom , to all conditions of high and low , rich and poor , to both sexes and all ages . lastly , they are truely such , as deserve , not only to be written in golden letters on the walls of our churches , but to be indelibly ingraved on the tables of our hearts , as the sacred oracles of the living god , teaching us that only true wisdom that is from above , which as st. iames telleth us , is first pure , then peaceable , jam. 3 , 17. even that wisdom whereby we are taught ( as here in the text ) to attend to god's counsel and to lay aside our own devices ; the best way of honouring our father which is in heaven , and maintaining peace among our selves who are brethren upon earth . this proverb is made up of two propositions , joyned ( or severed rather ) with this adversative particle , nevertheless , signifying unto us thus much , that tho the former of these two propositions contain a certain truth which well deserveth our serious consideration , yet the consideration hereof will do us no good , but only increase our trouble , by discovering unto us our weakness and folly , if we do not firmly believe , and finally acquiesce in that much more weighty truth which is taught us in the latter . this we shall the better understand by observing , first , the two subjects of these two propositions ; and , secondly , what things are affirmed of these two subjects . 1. the two subjects are , in the former proposition man , in the latter , the lord. 1. the subject of the former is man , a poor , weak , mortal creature , groaning out a few troublesome dayes on earth , under the afflicting sense of infirmities and wants ; hastening every moment towards death and corruption . who cannot well tell himself what he is , or whence he came , or whither he must go : and who knows himself by nothing so well , as by a feeling of his own manifold imperfections . he is the work of another , in the hands and at the sole disposal of another , on whom he totally depends for his life , motion and being . the history of his life and death iob hath left us in a few words , iob. 14. 1 , 2. man that is born of a woman is of few dayes , and full of trouble . he cometh up like a flower , and is cut down ; he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not . would we know the very best of him that is to be known ? this is it , verily , every man at his best state is altogether vanity . psal. 39. 5. how vain must be the devices of his heart , who is himself at best but vanity ? 2. the subject of the second proposition is the lord ; the most great and incomprehensible glorious god , the eternal and inexhaustible spring of being and blessedness ; the independent , self-sufficient , infinitely great , wise , and good creator , preserver , and governor of us and all the world : without whom nothing ever was , is or can be ; in whom we live and move and have our being , act. 17 , 28. who giveth to all , life and breath and all things , v. 25. the unexpressible , unconceiveable , i am that i am , exod. 3 , 14. the alpha and omega , the beginning and the end , rev. 21 , 6. all in all , 1 cor. 15. 28. above all , through all , and in all , eph. 4. 6. of whom , and through whom , and to whom are all things : to whom be glory for ever . amen . rom. 11. 36. 2. seeing now these two are of such widely distant natures , we must needs expect that very different things should be affirmed of them , as here indeed we find . 1. of man it is said , that there are devices in his heart . he is always full of thoughts and imaginations , considerations and consultations , projects , plottings , and contrivances ; thinking what may be , designing what he would have to be , studying how to effect it : as one that is yet at a loss and unresolved , and knows not well what to do with himself , or for himself . he is not what he would be , nor where he would be , nor as he would be ; and thinks much with himself , how to mend himself ; but knows not which way is best to go about it . his thoughts are very often nothing else but the wild and extravagant roavings of a rambling phantasie , and at best but the uncertain and unsatisfactory reasonings of a very dim-sighted and fallible iudgment . but on the other hand , vastly opposite to these devices , here is attributed to the lords counsel , the certain result and determination of an infinite and infallible wisdom . 2. of man is again said , that the devices of his heart are many , signifying not only their number or multitude , but also their great variety and confusion . they are numerous and multiform , and disorderly ; seldom the same an hour together , rarely well digested or methodized , hardly ever unblended , but a very miscellany of he knows not what . many things a man thinks upon , many thoughts he hath of every one of those many things , and all these often very tumultuously clashing against and justling out one another . he thinks , and is vexed at his own thoughts and with them ; he deviseth , and unravelleth presently his own devices ; he deliberates and disputes , as he now thinks very wisely with himself ; and in a moment is grown too wise for himself , calls himself fool , answereth and confuteth all his own arguments , yet can draw to no conclusion . he concludes , resolves , chooses , and applauds his own choice ; saith to himself , well and wisely done ; yet immediately undoeth all again , and he counteth it his wisdom to break his resolution . but in opposition to all this in man , of the lord it is here implyed , that his will and counsel is but one and certain , like himself , the same yesterday , and to day , and for ever , stable , fixed and immutable . 3. of man ( tho it be not expresly said in words ) it is to make good the antithesis , necessarily implyed , that all his devices are ineffectual , or very rarely effect and bring to pass the thing that he would have ; at least of themselves they cannot do it , but are vain . in this sense it will be truely said , man walketh in a vain shew , surely they are disquieted in vain , psal. 39 , 6. after much and busie contriving , after great , solicitous and tedious studying , nothing is got , the mountain is delivered of a mouse , disappointment and vexation is the issue of his travels . as his playsom phantasy in a dream is always wantonly frisking and skipping from one thing to another , and in imagination hath every thing to the full that it would have , feasts it self with its own sportings , and is pleased : yet anon the man awakes and is empty , finds that all was nothing but a foolish dream , and either he is vexed at his imaginary loss , or laughs at his own folly : so the devices of mans heart , seem they never so wise and sure , are usually all frustrated in a moment ; and it is well , if they leave so much good behind to pay for all , as a true and humbling sense of the devisers folly . but now of the lord , it is expresly said that his counsel shall stand , it is always to the purpose , and never misseth of effecting what was design'd , but shall be fully accomplished . the remnant of judah shall know whose word shall stand ( or be fulfilled ) mine or theirs . jer. 4 , 4. 28. my word shall surely stand against you for evil , v. 29. 12. the evil that i have determined and foretold you of , shall surely come upon you . this is it , for god's counsel to stand . be the devices of mans heart never so many , and ordered with all the wisdom , policy and strength , that humane nature is capable of , whatsoever confidence the authors of such devices may have in their own wit and prudence , nevertheless the counsel of the lord shall still take place of all , and shall stand in spite of all , when they have done both their best and worst . and though what men design may come to pass ; even then , when they are become masters of their wishes , and are apt on that account to glory in their wisdom , yet doth it not alwayes follow their devices , as the effect doth the proper cause of it , but by the disposal of the divine counsel , for that , and that alone standeth and shall stand , and can never be defeated . the plain sense and meaning of this proverb being thus laid open before us , we may very easily discern the scope and drift of it to be this , viz. to make us sensible of the folly and vanity of mens arrogance , in setting up for themselves in the world , without a due regard to the all-disposing providence of the almighty god ; in going about to make their own fortunes by their own skill and industry , without a due respect to the will and directions of the universal governor of the world. that being convinced hereof , we may not trust to , or depend upon the wisdom of men , whether of our selves or other men , how much soever they pretend , or are thought to be the great masters of state-policy ; but submitting our selves intirely to the will and counsel of the lord , we may be solely directed by it , totally relye upon it , and heartily acquiesce in it : verily believing and confessing , that all the world is governed by it ; and that therefore all the affairs thereof are by it most wisely ordered , so as shall in the end appear to have been most for his own honour , and the eternal good of those that faithfully serve him . this is a lesson which nature it self teacheth us , and all men are forced to acknowledg the truth of it , when they are at leisure to attend to reason . man purposeth , but god disposeth , hath been long a common proverb in the world . the lot , ( saith solomon ) is cast into the lap , but the whole disposing thereof is of the lord. prov. 16 , 33. he doth not only foresee , but wisely order the things and events which to us seem most casual . yea , so effectually doth he order them , that it would be labour lost , for all the men in the world , to undertake the ordering of them otherwise . there is no wisdom , nor understanding , nor counsel against the lord. the horse is prepared against the day of battle , but safety is of the lord , prov. 21. 30 , 31. this is a very seasonable lesson for all men to learn in this projecting , plotting , and designing age , and part of the world wherein we live . now that men seem grown up to that prodigious insolence and pride , as to quarrel with even god himself about his government , to find faults in his works ; every one would fain seem wise enough to be the modeller of a better form of government both in church and state , then the wisdom of former ages hath been acquainted with ; and nothing will satisfie men but a world of their own making , and the reputation of some new invention , tho it be a babel of confusion . indeed men that would seem wise above their neighbours , go alwayes big with some new nothing , and are very ambitiously bent upon undoing what hath been done ; their chief faculty lyeth in destroying and demolishing all the monuments of ancient wisdom , that nothing may remain in the eye of posterity , but mere rubbish . and who then will not be proud of any thing , when they know of nothing better ? it hath been for many years too visible that our new devisers seem agreed in nothing more than in contriving mischief and ruine , and like samson's foxes , tho their faces look to contrary quarters of the world , yet they joyn together by the tails , and therein carry firebrands to burn down the standing corn and vineyard of god. and such will be the mischievous devices of mans heart , whilst it is not wholly subjected to the counsel of the lord. before we come to the particular doctrines of the text , we must inquire a little into the extent of this word man , as it is here used . and we need not restrain it to any particular sort , sect or party of men ; it may very well be allow'd to signifie the whole race of mankind : tho more especially , the wicked or unregenerate part , who are not yet either so throughly illuminated by the light of the gospel as to see , or so throughly sanctified by the grace of christ , as to choose the lord for their god : that is , who account him not the only good , which they ought to propound unto themselves in all their designs , and who make not his will the only rule of all their desires and practices , the only foundation of all their hope and comfort . it is too true indeed , that there is no man living , but hath too many devices of his own corrupt heart in this state of imperfection . for , tho god made man upright , eccl. 7 , 29. and the very fabrick of his body so contrary to that of other animals , which either crawl upon the earth , or go always looking down towards it , should be his constant remembrancer , that he was made to contemplate something higher , than what they are concerned to know ; that his soul should be always aspiring towards heaven , and his eye should be ever fixed upon his god , and all his motions should be govern'd by his will and counsel , that sitteth in the heavens and shall laugh , ( psal. 2 , 4. ) and have all the heathen in derision , psal. 59. 8. yet alas , sin hath strangely bowed man downward , and made him too like in many things to the beasts that perish . and although it be the work of grace to raise him up again , and restore his primitive posture of soul ; yet will not this great work be done completely , so long as he is but growing here on earth ; he will be always sucking into himself too much of what is earthy , and death must first transplant him into a better soil , before he can be altogether heavenly . but now the unregenerate man abiding in the same posture whereunto by his fall from god he was brought ; and in a state of separation from his maker ; not being yet born again of the holy spirit of life and the incorruptible seed , nor ingrassed into the true vine , the second man from heaven heavenly , and thereby reunited unto god the true principle of unity , is evermore at variance with himself , divided in his thoughts within him , distracted into a confused multitude of designs , by the great variety of contrary objects pulling and hailing him contrary wayes unto themselves ; so that he can never stand fixed in one point , or any long time together go the same way . his heart and mind within him is become the very seat of tumult and confusion ; there is nothing but mere ataxy and anarchy ; right reason being dethroned , and spoiled of all authority , and his thoughts within him , like a seditious rabble without any head or commander to order and overaw them , in a continual noise and hurry ; and , as was said of that riotous multitude , ( act. 19. 32. ) the more part know not wherefore they are come together . something they would have of those many things whereof they find a want ; but what it is , they cannot tell ; and yet by any means they must and will have it , or else they will not be quieted ; but they know neither where , nor how , nor of whom to seek it . now how is it possible for peace and due subjection to government to be preserved in kingdoms and states , so long as men are not able to make peace at home in their own hearts , nor know how to command or quiet their own thoughts and disorderly affections , but are continually by their own devices raising and fomenting an endless civil war in their own breasts ; downright rebels to themselves , and enemies to the monarchy that god himself hath founded in man ? having thus seen what we are to understand by man , these four things we may now learn from the text. 1. the heart of man , till it be rightly fixed on god , is a very unconstant thing , unsettled in its thoughts , full of various devices and counsels . 2. the devices and counsels of mans heart , till they concentre in the will and counsel of god , are very vain , and cannot stand . 3. the will and counsel of god is alwayes one and the same , and never changeth . 4. whatever the devices and projects of man may be , they can never alter or frustrate the will and counsel of the lord. let us but have our faith well confirmed in these four things , and we shall soon see and feel the excellent usefulness of them , not only for the quieting of our souls in a contented and joyful acquiescence in god's wise government of the world ; but also for the establishing of a blessed and lasting peace in church and state , in a due subjection unto , and well pleasedness with the present government , under which by the good providence of god it is our lot to live . i. the heart of man , unfixed on god the only complete and satisfactory good , is a very unconstant thing , altogether unsettled in its own thoughts , full of various devices and changeable counsels . man is a thinking creature , and his thoughts are alwayes busie within him , whether he will or no. and till he can come to the knowledge , and be taken with the beauty of that one most perfect and delightsome object , the innumerable excellencies whereof , may wholly engage all his more noble faculties , and find them sufficient imployment , is thoughts will ever be ranging about the world , and wildly wander up and down from one thing to another , hoping to meet in every thing with something that he wants ; but finding it in nothing , they cannot rest on any thing . hence they are as vain and various , as unconstant and changeable , as the things about which they busie themselves are empty and transient . whether we consider the end men aim at , or the way they chuse to bring them to it , this is very evident . 1. consider we first the end that all men aim at , the thing which they ultimately desire , in the common name and general notion whereof they are all agreed . this is happiness , and it is no less than the full and final satisfaction of mans soul , the enjoyment of his hearts desire . this is certainly the thing that all would have , and that without which man can never rest , and which all men , until they have the lord for their god , do feel the want of in themselves ; and therefore concerning this the thoughts and devices of their hearts are many and various , and wonderfully confounded . for lack of heavenly light they cannot discover where it lyeth ; missing it in what they already have , they flatter themselves with foolish hopes , that it may be found in any thing , which they have not yet tried . the poor man finds it not in poverty , and is apt to think it may be found in wealth ; and therefore are his thoughts always busie at work in devising how he may be rich . the rich man cannot meet with it amidst all his abundance , and sadly finds that no treasure can be enough to purchase it ; his thoughts are therefore hard at work to contrive some other way to get it ; and perhaps is made to hope , it may be found in honour and greatness . another that is mounted up to honour , begins to find his very height uneasie , and his greatness heavy , his station very slippery , and a fall both very possible and often mortal ; and his thoughts are set on work to devise a way to retirement , ease , and pleasure . the voluptuous epicure , finds some sowr sawce with all his sweet morsels , something there alwayes is to imbitter his delights , and he cannot swill and glut himself so long and so undisturbedly as he would , but either he must be sick , or his fullness is uneasie . thus the restless roving heart of man wanders in the dark , and loseth it self in its own wandrings , and is made most unhappy by its own devices how to be happy . whilst it is uncertainly led by blind affection , and wants the sure conduct of a divinely inlightened understanding , not able to discern that infinite good , which offereth its self to its choice in every thing , the very thing it seeketh for becomes its stumbling block in the way : the man falls and hurts himself against the very thing that he would have ; he turns away in a chafe to something else , and still to as little purpose , and with as bad success . o the strange uneasiness of every condition to an heart that is void of god! whatever it be that such a man hath , be sure it is not that very thing which he would have . that which is present is alwayes naught ; and that which is not yet , is always better , till it be here ; and when it is come , it is the worst of all . the ignorance of what is the only good keeps us alwayes miserable under all our long wish'd for and much endeavoured changes . man is alwayes crying out , who will shew us any good . psal. 4. 6. whilst the infinite good is before him every moment . he is ever complaining he cannot see it , but the fault is in his own eyes . the sun shines , but he is blind . god , who is only good . matt. 19. 17. is in all conditions present , but man will not be convinced that 't is the light of his countenance alone that can make him happy . 2. but suppose we now , that men have already fixed their thoughts not only upon happiness , but upon the only chief good that can make them happy , the blessed god : yet will their thoughts continue manifold and various , and inconsistent with themselves , so long as they have not hit upon that only sure way of enjoying him , which himself hath taught us . how do they clash and combat within him , like the thoughts of a man lost in a wilderness ? who , tho he know , and long to be at the place whither he aim'd to go , yet is utterly at a loss which way to take of the many that lie before him : he stands musing and thinking with himself , which is the most likely way to bring him home ; now 't is this , and anon 't is that , and presently again 't is neither ; thus he stands disputing till the night overtake him , and even then his thoughts travel , and suffer not sleep to give him rest . o the vain projects of foolish man , so long as he maketh not with the psalmist , psal. 119. 24. the laws of god his delight and his counsellors . the ground of all this variety and confusion in the thoughts and devices of mans heart is very obvious . it is impossible it should be otherwise , so long as that , which he aimeth at , is certainly such as will deceive him ; or whilest he walketh in doubtful paths without a sure guide . man was not made to be his own god , nor was any creature made to be a god unto him , so that he should possibly find that in himself alone , or in any other created being , which may give him real satisfaction . if man be not god , it is as certain he cannot make his own happiness . nay , man is made such a creature , as can know and feel his own wants and weaknesses , and this is his makers mercy to him , that he may not be always miserable by resting in himself ; but being moved by the sence and feeling of his own emptiness and infirmity , may seek that out of himself in god , which he finds he cannot be well without . till then a mans heart can fix upon that one thing which hath enough in it to satisfie all its desires , and get into that one way which will bring him to his desired happiness ; his thoughts can have no rest , nothing wherein they may unite ; but he is , as that double minded man st. iames speaketh of ( iam. 1. 8. ) unstable in all his ways . this is a thing too obvious to every understanding , to be any longer insisted on . we go on therefore to the next thing . ii. the devices and counsels of a mans heart , till they concentre in the will and counsel of the lord , are vain and cannot stand . this is a truth which being duely considered , as it well deserveth , would certainly be enough to bring men out of love with their own devices , and make them weary and ashamed of their own plots and projects . who is there so foolish as to be willing to disquiet his own soul , and cast away his peace for nothing ? and this truth , that all such devices and counsels as concentre not in the will of god are vain , and tend to no good issue , but shall end in disappointment and vexation , is so clear , that though men are very hardly brought to make the right use of it ; yet is it impossible for them so long as they have any degree of reason above mere fools and children , to deny it . we shall at present consider but a few things to put this past all dispute . 1. what we are , and how little grounds of hope we can find in our selves . 2. what other men are , and what slender probability there is ; that either by their help , or against their will we should effect our designs . 3. what god is , and how impossible it is to prevail against his providence . 1. let us remember what we are . consider but in our selves the greatness of our ignorance , and the weakness of our power , and we shall easily be convinced of the vanity of our own devices . 1. our ignorance is such , how great soever is the opinion we have of our own wit and policy , that indeed we do not know our selves perfectly , and much less our neighbours . and yet we must know both , before we can certainly say , that this or that will fit either us or them . our hearts are very labyrinths , full of intricacies and windings , and he is a wise man indeed that understands all the little secret corners of his own heart so well , as to know exactly what will fit and fill them . again the nature of things is too much in the dark as to us , we know but very little of it , and what we seek being yet untryed by us , we are very unfit to judge how suitable it will be unto us ; or whether any of those things which we think we now most need , will fit us any better then what we have already ; yea , suppose the best , that the things which we so earnestly desire have something in them suitable to our wants and wishes , yet may they also have much more against us , and hurtful to us , which we cannot yet discern at a distance ; but may feel afterwards to our sorrow . yet more , so very changeable are both persons and things , that what seemeth to us the best to day , may seem as bad to morrow ; and what now , if we had it , would really be some ease to us , to morrow may prove as great a grievance : what might be now either food or physick , may to morrow by some corruption in it , or change of constitution in us , be very little better than poyson , yea bodies politick change tempers as well as bodies natural ; and those very laws , which were with great wisdom at first enacted , as the properest medicines for curing the present diseases , have in a very few years after , upon this account , been found a worse disease then the other . men are too short sighted to see what will be most suitable to another age , or perhaps to any considerable part of the present . this our ignorance is therefore enough to teach us not to build any confident hopes on our own devices . 2. but suppose our knowledge and skill were really as great , as usually is the politicians self-conceit ; yet must we needs confess , that our strength is very little , and how wisely soever we can devise and contrive , we are too weak to bring about our own devices . this will appear more fully anon , tho indeed it is clear enough of it self . who can be so mad as to think he can do what he lists , that he can over-rule providence , controll the world , and bring to pass all that he would have to be ? all which he must suppose himself able to do , that can find cause in himself to hope he may accomplish the devices of his own heart . considering then our selves only , all we can say is this , vain man would be wise . job . 11. 12. but he is not so ; mans goings are of the lord , how can a man then understand his own way ? prov. 20. 24. our eyes are too bad to see , our arms are too weak to work what is best for our selves or the world ; no hope can we have in our selves alone . 2. and therefore next , let us think what other men are . this consideration will make it appear a very improbable thing , for any one single man , or indeed , for any one party or faction of men , to be able to bring about their own devices . do we suppose these men to be our friends ? are they at present our complices or partners ? or suppose we them our enemies , and such as appear adversaries to our designs ? or lastly , are they likly to sit neuters ? which of these soever they be , they give us little encouragement . this only we are sure of , they are men , and but men ; they are therefore subject to the same infirmities as we our selves are ; they are unknown , they are mutable , they have peculiar interests of their own , they are all subject to the same overruling power : are they in appearance our friends ? who can know whether they be so indeed ? who knows whether they will prove firm and faithful to our counsels ? are we sure that their hearts are as our hearts , that we may safely give them our hands and take them up into the secrets of our bosomes ? whatever they be now , can we tell whether they will be the same to morrow ? can we tell what the temptations of one day , what the very fears and jealousies , covetous , or ambitious desires of their own hearts , yea what the terrors of a nights dream may bring forth ? he that dares too confidently trust his own heart is but a fool , how much more is he so , that dares trust anothers ? if they joyn really with us now in our murmurings , discontents , and dislikes of that which is , are we sure that they joyn also as cordially in our desires and wishes , and that the future variance and disagreement of minds about that which we would have shall not breed more confusion , and far greater inconveniences unto us all , then the very worst of those things we now concur to oppose and remove ? are these men our enemies and such as are like to oppose our designs ? and are we then sure that we are equal or superiour to them in strength ? or if we be ▪ are we also as sure , that they are not our overmatch in policy or interest ? have not they devices of their own as well as we ? and are they not as much in love with their own devices as we can be with ours ? and will they not venture as far to accomplish their designs ? have they not interests of their own ? and shall they not be as zealous to promote them ? as impatient of all opposition to or attempts against them ? is the party we oppose but small and inconsiderable ? and can we know how soon it will encrease either by the accession of others who will not shew themselves till necessity call them forth , or by the revolt of some other of our own ? or know we how many distinct parties there may be , whose designs are as inconsistent with ours as theirs are , and therefore rather then suffer either to prevail to the ruine of their own , are concerned to assist the weaker ? lastly , are these men neuters ? can we have any assurance that they will continue so when they are in a strait betwixt two , and are like to be devoured by both or either ? are they not lovers of peace , upon what principles it matters not ? and shall they not be inclined even by that love , when they see they must side with one , to oppose the first disturbers of their peace ? can we from mens faces or looks have any probable guess , with whom they will joyn when it comes to tryal ? is is not most likely , it will be with their lawful governors , under whom they have so long enjoyed their beloved peace and quietness ? may not egypt ( if we have such a thing to trust to ) prove a bruised reed , and run into the hand of him that leans upon it ? if we be but so wary as to look about us , we shall find too many of our own spirit ; and because such , the less our friends . they are for themselves as well as we , are as ready to sacrifice the publick good to their own ambition . their peculiar interests engage them as stronglyto oppose unto ours their own devices ; and with as much fury and craft , from the same selfish principles , to endeavour our disappointment and defeat to prevent their own ; and to hasten our ruine , as the first step to their own advancement . if again we look behind us , and observe the histories of former ages , we cannot miss of abundance of sad examples of rash and giddy enterprisers miserably shipwrack'd by their own devices , caught deservedly in their own nets , and fallen into the pits they digged for others . if we providently look before us , we shall see but little likelihood that the succeeding generation will applaud or approve of our doings ; but rather fall upon new devices of their own to undo all that we have done , or rather to build what we have destroy'd . in a word , if we know not what 's in man , god knows , that all his thoughts are vanity , psal. 94. 11. so little probability have men of bringing to effect their own devices , when they consider what other men are . 3. if mens devices have so little encouragement either from themselves or other men , how much less can they have from god when they consider , what he is . viz. the just iudge of all the earth that will do right , gen. 18. 25. tho hand joyn in hand , the wicked shall not go unpunished , prov. 16. 5. let them use all arts to strengthen themselves in their conspiracies , he that is higher then the highest regardeth , and will be higher than they , eccl. 5. 8. well said one who was no saint , if this counsel be of men , it will come to nought ; but if it be of god , take heed how ye oppose it , lest ye be found to fight against god , act. 5. 39. what hopes can men have that their devices shall prosper without gods blessing , seeing not a sparrow falls to the ground without him ? and what confidence can men have that god will bless their devices , whilst they make not ●im of their counsel ? if they advise not first with him to know his will , before they begin to device for themselves , they take a preposterous course to engage him on their side ; and be sure where ever he takes part , there goes the victory . but if men will be so wicked , as to advance their own devices against the ordinance of god , they must needs make him their enemy , whosoever being so makes it in vain for all the world to assist them ; there is no fighting against omnipotence . a blasting instead of a blessing must those men expect from our heavenly father , who , neglecting his commands , will presume of their own head to regulate his family , and govern his kingdom by their own devices . as impossible it is that such devices should stand , as it is to dethrone the almighty , and devest him of all authority and dominion , who hath established his throne in the heavens , and whose kingdom ruleth over all , psal. 103. 19. let men therefore consult , contrive , and act what they can ▪ let them associate themselves together , they shall be broken in pieces : let them gird themselves , they shall be yet broken in pieces ; let them take counsel together , and it shall come to nought , speak the word , and it shall not stand , isai. 8. 9. &c. let them either now consider it to move them to repentance , or they shall at last find it to their utter confusion , that notwithstanding all the wisdom of their own devices , the lord shall have them in derision , psal. 2. 4. they shall be before him but like the chaff which the wind driveth away , psal. 1. 4. so impossible is it for the devices of mans heart to stand , when they are not united in the will of that god who ruleth heaven and earth . iii. the third thing we are now to observe is this . the will and counsel of the lord is always one and the same and never changeth . with god ( saith st. iames ) there is no shadow of turning , jam. 1. 17. whatever changes there be in the world amongst the creatures , it is impossible for the great creator of all things to be any other then what he was from all eternity . he will not lie , nor repent , for he is not a man that he should repent , 1 sam. 15. 29. this is a piece of humane weakness , to change purposes . if therefore at any time we read of gods repenting or changing his purpose , as indeed sometimes we do in his own word , we must be sure so to understand it , as it may agree to the perfections of god , and not fasten upon him any of the imperfections of his creatures . it is said indeed of god , gen. 6. 6. it repented the lord that he had made man on the earth , and it grieved him at his heart . and 1 sam. 35. 23. the lord repented that he had made saul king over israel . and concerning nineveh it is said , jonah 3. 10. god repented of that the evil he had said that he would do unto them , and he did it not . sometimes god is said to repent of what he had already done , as if he could wish it undone again ; and sometimes of that which he had declared that he would do , as if , upon after thoughts , he had changed his mind . now should we understand such sayings as these , as the words sound at first hearing , not considering the immutable nature of him , of whom they are spoken , we should thereby run our selves into one of the grossest and most wicked errors in the world , being tempted by such expressions , to fasten upon god an imputation of such levity and inconstancy to himself , as a wise man would account one of the greatest affronts we could offer him . but all this is indeed spoken of god , after the manner of men . the change that is , is not in god but in us . what god hath once done , he ever approves of ; and whatever he purposeth to do , that he certainly will do . tho when we look only upon what is spoken and done , there is some appearance to us , as if there were some change of mind in the speaker or doer ; yet is there no such thing . we hear what is said , and we see what is done : god hath threatned to destroy , yet he spareth : he hath done something , which afterwards he undoeth in some measure again . and hence he seemeth to us to repent of his sayings and doings , because he doth herein as men are wont to do , who repent and change their minds , and for this cause , by reason of this similitude of the doings of god & men , are these expressions applyed to god. we are ignorant of the will and counsel of god , and can know no more of it , then he himself is pleased to discover unto us ; he hath not discovered the whole of his will unto us , but only so much as himself thinks fit for us to understand . hence we know but in part , and are very subject to mistake . to clear this , know we must that gods will being but one , is partly revealed to us in his word and works , and partly concealed from us , reserved only to himself . 1. the secret will of god is not another from that which is revealed , as if there were two wills in god ; but both are one will , whereof part is revealed , part is not ; and both together are his one , eternal and immutable purpose and counsel . as god needed not , could not have any counsellers to advise withal , about what he was to do . with whom took he counsel ? isai. 40. 14. so shall his counsel alway stand , and without any alteration , be completely fulfilled . my counsel ( saith god ) shall stand , and i will do all my pleasure , isai. 46. 10. this part of gods will and counsel being never imparted unto us , we cannot know it but only by the event ; which when we see , whatever it is , we must conclude , that it was gods unalterable will , either to effect it himself , or to permit it to be so effected by others , infallibly fore-knowing it , and resolved not to prevent it . 2. gods revealed will is so much of his counsel , as he hath thought fit to communicate , and by what means he pleaseth , make known unto us . whereby he either acquainteth us with his own doings and purposes , or directeth us in our duty , and how we are to demean our selves in the world . that will of his , which maketh our duty , shall stand as the law and rule of our duty : and that will of his which declareth his purpose shall stand , as the firm foundation of our hope and expectation ; both in that manner , as he from all eternity had determined , whatever appearances of change and variation there may be to inconsidering men . god is the sole and absolute governor and king of all the world : and the law whereby he governeth all things can be no other , but his own will and wise counsel . every thing he ordereth and ruleth agreeably to the nature which himself hath given it , in order to the end for which he made it . why he made the world just so , and no otherwise then it is made , we are not worthy to inquire ; nor can we know any further then he hath taught us ; it was his will so to do , and that ought to satisfie us . how he will order every thing in the world from first to last , he cannot be obliged to tell us ; and it is too much for us to know : but that all shall tend to the demonstration of his own power , wisdom and goodness , and the happiness of those that love and serve him , we are sure ; and this again should fully satisfie us . man he hath made a reasonable and free agent , & as such he is resolved to govern him . his will , revealed is mans law to live by , and by what parts and parcels soever , in what variety soever of precepts according to the diversity of time and circumstances of persons , places , relations , &c. all perfectly foreseen by him ; still his will is one , and he executeth it according to his own eternal counsel , with that variety of dispensations , as he hath determined . his commands it is his will we should obey , and that according to our nature , freely ; it is not his will to necessitate us so to do , and to use us as stocks and stones which have neither understanding to consider , nor will to choose . and it is his will that the obedient shall be rewarded with blessedness , and he encourageth them to obedience by many promises , which he will fulfil and make good to the full , if the condition of obedience be performed , and thus are all his promises of this kind to be understood . and he threatneth severe punishments to the disobedient to deter them from their disobedience , and these shall certainly come upon them , if they repent not ; and thus are his menaces to be understood . in short , what changes there would at any time be in men , according to that freedom of choice which he hath given them , he knew eternally ; and what changes would thereupon follow in the world , or in any part of it , he not only fore-knew , but fore-appointed ; and what reasons there would be for the delaying either of his promises , or his threatnings , or for any other change or circumstance , all was perfectly fore-known ; and there can be nothing new to him ; and therefore no change at all of his eternal counsel , but all things are exactly as he once for all hath determined . when therefore god is said at any time to repent , it signifieth no more but this , that the thing is come to pass which god foresaw , and that ho now doth not that , which he had always resolved to do , when such things should come to pass ; here is a change indeed in his outward actings , but none in his will. when gods promises are not performed , there is a a non-performance of the condition , which he was never ignorant of , but foresaw , and now he acteth no otherwise , than upon the foresight thereof , he had resolved to do . but we , because these things foreseen by god are not revealed to us , are apt to think there is a change where there is none at all . the reason why gods will is always one and the same , is the infinite perfection of his nature , which can admit of no degree of mutability . what can move a man to change his mind or will , but his finding or at least suspecting he hath taken wrong measures in his former deliberations and resolutions ▪ it is the rough want of foresight in men , that their purposes are alterable ; and when things fall out , whereof they had no knowledge , they see cause to be of another mind then formerly they were . 't is always the discovery of something which they were ignorant of , or did not consider , that produceth this change in the minds of men . but there can be no such reason for god to change his purpose and counsel ; as he is almighty , and can do whatever it pleaseth him to do , so also is he omniscient , infinite in knowledge and wisdom , and nothing past , present or to come can be hid from him . all things lie naked and opened ( or unbowelled ) before him ; the whole world , and all the ages of the world , from its creation to the consummation of all things , are in his view at once , not the most secret thought of man , nor the minutest circumstance in things can escape his eye . knowing therefore eternally , as well all that shall be hereafter , as all that now is , or at any time hath been , nothing can happen contrary to his expectation , & therefore nothing can possibly move him to any the least change of counsels : but he must needs be , as in his nature and being , so in his purposes also immutable , the same yesterday and to day , and for ever . and this granted , we shall very easily see into the truth of our next proposition , as necessarily following from this immutability of god. iv. whatsoever the devices and projects of man may be , they can never be able to frustrate or alter the will and counsel of the lord , but it shall firmly stand , and most punctually be fulfilled . and it must needs be so , if but for this one reason , that there can be no device or project of man , but god did eternally foresee it and hath provided for it . yea , he is both wise enough and powerful enough , either to frustrate it and make it of no effect ; or to overrule it , and bring to effect his own will and counsel by it . men cannot surely be such fools as to think that the infinitely wise god can be outwitted or deceived by any humane policy ; or that the almighty god can be over-powered by humane strength or force ; or that the most vigilant governor of the world who never slumbereth nor sleepeth , psal. 124. 4. whose eyes are in every place beholding the evil and the good , prov. 15. 3. can be surprized by humane treachery . no conspiracy in what dark hell or vault soever it be laid and hatch'd , can be hid from him ; no confederacy or combination can be too hard for him , who is irresistible as well as immutable , and therefore can never be disappointed of his will. our god is in the heavens , he hath done whatsoever he pleased , psal. 115. 3. yea , the counsel of the lord standeth for ever , the thoughts of his heart to all generations , psal. 33. 11. and v. 10. the lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought , he maketh the devices of the people of none effect . hence that bold challenge of the prophet to all the churches enemies , take counsel and it shall come to nought : speak the word and it shall not stand , for god is with us , isai. 8. 10. and again , the lord of hosts hath sworn , saying , surely as i have thought so shall it come to pass , and as i have purposed so shall it stand , isai. 14. 24. the lord of hosts hath purposed , and who shall disanul it , v. 27. the counsel of the lord lieth very deep , clouds and darkness are round about him . and whilest vain men would be so wise , as to design for themselves without him , and presume to teach or help him to govern the world , they unawares subserve his secret counsel , and by an unseen hand are carried contrary to their own intentions , to promote those very designs of his which they strive with all their might and policy to defeat . let them consult , god shall infatuate their counsels : let them attempt , god shall frustrate all their attempts . he must be wise indeed that can impose upon god. ioseph's brethren taking notice of his dream , and his fathers special affection to him , grow jealous of him , and to prevent his coming to have dominion over them , sell him for a slave unto strangers : and what do they in all this , but unwittingly help him up to that dignity and honour which god had design'd for him , that they may hereafter bow before him with the greater shame ? pharoab , lest the hebrews should encrease too fast , and grow too many for him and his people , decreeth the destruction of all their male children , but see how the providence of god turneth this about to his ruine , for hereby moses is exposed , and being found by pharaoh's daughter , is brought up in his court , receiving thereby an education suitable to his future dignity , who was to be the leader and deliverer of that people which was to spoyl the egyptians . saul will by all means suppress david , and exclude him from succeeding him in his throne , and what doth he herein , but by pursuing and exposing him to dangers , give him the fairest opportunities of shewing his fidelity to him , and his wisdom and valour to the people , so winning their affections over whom he was to reign ? the princes of mere envy bring daniel to the den of lions , but only to this end , that by a miracle of god's goodness to him he might be advanced above themselves and to their own ruine . haman prepareth the gallows for mordecai , and designs the honour for himself , but is herein an instrument of god , hereby to bring the honour unto mordecai and himself to the gallows of his own setting up . the iews would void the counsel of god by crucifying iesus , and in crucifying him they brought to pass what gods hand and his counsel had determined before to be done , act. 4. 28. they kill him lest the romans should come and take away their place and nation , joh. 11. 48. and for this both were afterwards destroy'd by the romans . they will seal up the sepulchre , and set a watch of souldiers to prevent his disciples never intended design of taking their dead master away by night ; and thereby they provide a strong evidence of his resurrection from the dead . let men do what they will or can , god will make men know themselves to be but men , and that it is not they but he that ruleth all things according to the pleasure of his will. his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom , and his dominion throughout all generations , psal. 145. 13. when devils and men have done their worst , it shall stand ; and therefore must his counsel stand too , whereby he ruleth and governeth all things without consulting men . he putteth down one , and setteth up another , psal. 75. 5. by him kings reign , and he giveth them sometimes for a blessing and sometimes for a scourge to the people . if we would have them a blessing , there is no way but obedience and an absolute submission to gods will to procure that , and if we have by our sins deserved the scourge , no devices or counsels of men can prevent that . god will be god , and we should be thankful that we are men , and shew it by giving him a reasonable service , and contenting our selves in keeping within our own compass . we may easily break our hearts with our own devices , but we can never frustrate gods counsel , that shall stand . having thus very briefly run over the doctrines of this text , for the confirmation of our faith , we now proceed to see of what excellent use all this may be unto us for the rectifying of our opinions , or the regulating of our life and conversation . and we shall be sure to find matter enough in these few things we have learned , for our instruction , correction , encouragement , and consolation in the ways both of religion and loyalty . 1. the instructions which we shall at this time take notice of from the doctrine delivered are two ; the one respecting the time past , the other the time to come ; both presently necessary to be diligently attended to , if we be desirous to understand our duty to god as good christians , or to the king as loyal subjects . 1. let us reflect a little in our thoughts upon the time past , and being instructed to whose goodness we are to ascribe all those good things we have hitherto injoyed , all those deliverances from evil , that have been hitherto given us : all these , how great , how many soever , are to be attributed only to the good will and counsel of the lord , that hath forborn to punish us for our own devices , that hath delivered us from the devices of men . have we hitherto of a long time enjoyed the blessings of peace and plenty in a good and fruitful land ? have we been blest with a good government , wholesome laws , the free exercise of our religion , and use of our estates ? let us thankfully acknowledge our selves indebted to gods goodness for all this . if the lord had not been on our side , may england truely say , if the lord had not been on our side , when men so often have risen up against us , they had swallowed us up quick , they were so wrathfully displeased at us . how many and various have been the devices of men against us ? of men of much different stamps , of contrary complexions , to subvert the government , to destroy and corrupt our religion , to undermine our peace , to make us a prey to our enemies , and to set us at variance among our selves ▪ to devour and cat up one another at home ? ever since it hath pleased god to own us for his people , to set any mark of his special favour upon us , to manifest a peculiar providence over us , in setting over us religious princes to be the defenders of the faith , amongst us , and our gracious protectors in the sound profession of the catholick faith , and pure worship of god ; how hath the prince of darkness bestirred himself , and set all his instruments on work to create us trouble ? what strange devices and devilish contrivances hath he put into mens hearts to obstruct the work of god amongst us and set forward his own ? one while he beginneth his work at home , in the very midst of us , tryeth what he can do by the powers which are by the providence of god set over us , puts fire and faggot into their hands to consume us ; and when he seeth that this will not do , but that there is one even in the fiery furnace with us , that is able to abate the fury of the fire , and bring forth the reformed religion , like gold out of the furnace , more refined and pure : not able to indure the lustre and brightness of it , he gets him away as far from it as he can , and beginneth the work anew , and layeth the plot at the greatest distance , that it may ripen out of sight , and come upon us at full strength : he fetcheth his race even from as far as rome , and is resolved to bear us down with forreign force ; he leads up armies marching under consecrated banners , manneth out navies christened by the name of invincible , and with these he will come upon us like a sudden deluge ; and who is the lord ( saith he ) that he should deliver them out of my hand ? will not this do against the lord of hosts ? then is he resolved to return back again in a disguise , and fall to work in secret holes , and cells , and vaults , he will lay his snares in the dark , and who ( saith he ) shall see ? close plots and private conspiracies of men sworn upon the sacrament to secresie who can be so quick-sighted as to discover ? and now let it be poyson , or dagger , or gunpowder , or what hell can invent , so the anointed of the lord may fall and perish , and the protestant religion be rooted out , all 's well enough , he hath served his own ends and the popes , and what devil can desire more ? but still there is no inchantment or divination against israel ; so long as god is with us , what can hell do against us ? he must now therefore contrive , if possible , how to drive out god from among us ; and no way so likely to do this , as to sow amongst us the seeds of division , god is love , and will not own those for his children who do not like brethren dwell together in unity . as long as we stand entirely one , united in one body , we have too much strength to give him hope of an easie victory ; but he knows well enough who hath said , that a house divided against it self cannot stand . to make a breach therefore , whereat he may enter , he fills mens heads with fears , jealousies , and scruples ; makes them look like monsters to one another . he works upon mens phantasies and imaginations , and presents before them as to men in a dream strange phantasms and apparitions . some conceive they see superstition and popery in those very persons and things which are under god , our best fence against them ; and so do these words always run in their minds , that they can call nothing which they are taught to dislike by any other name then those , and antichristian . some again imagine they see tyranny in the best formed monarchy that the world hath , ready to swallow up at once all liberty and property . others think they see christ coming to reign upon the earth , and commanding them to go before him , to prepare his way by levelling the mountains and raising the valleys , dashing in pieces the kingdoms of the earth like a potters vessel , binding their kings in chains , and their nobles with fetters of iron . thus by his subtle delusions were men , like such as are rouzed up in some frightful dream with a dismal cry of fire , fire , made to run about so long to quench an imaginary fire , no where visible but in their own hot heads , till they had kindled a real one , that had almost burnt down not only their own but all the houses of god in the land. but notwithstanding all this , it pleased god to awake us , and that by little less then a miracle , in the wonderful restitution of our present most gracious sovereign . and now , who would not think that our former miseries and our present peace , and the long missed blessings of a gracious government , should so strongly work upon us , as to perswade us to keep well when we may be so ? but the deceiver is still too cunning for us , and knows how to turn the very motives of union , into the occasions of division . he takes advantage of those very confusions yet fresh in our memories into which he had formerly brought us , to keep alive our jealousies on all hands of one another : so that at this day mutual suspicions and ill opinions keep us at as great a distance in the days of peace , as pikes and musquets did in the time of war. still we are in sides and parties , devising how to supplant and ruine each other . the remembrance of former days unhappily fomenting and hightening our suspicions and jealousies to that degree , that we seem rather the laughing-stock then the terrour of our enemies , and rome it self cannot chuse but laugh within it self to see us so industrious in doing her work for her , and by our contentions and separations making an open way for that very evil which men pretend above all others to be afraid of . and now seeing we have been at so much pains in assisting our professed enemies to destroy us , what can we imagine could have all this while preserved us against all those devilish devices that have been hatch'd both abroad and amongst our selves at home to undo us , but that great and good god alone who overruleth all the devices of men , who sitteth in the heavens above all powers , who saith to the sea , hitherto shall thou come but no further , and here shall thy proud waves be stayed , job . 38. 11. the lord reigneth , let the earth be glad thereof , let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof , psal. 97. 1. this isle may be glad thereof . he is great in zion , he is high above all people , psal. 99. 2. his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory , psal. 98. 1. it is his right hand , and not our sword , his wise counsel not our policy , his wonderful goodness , and least of any thing our righteousness that preserveth us in safety . except the lord build the house , all our builders shall labour but in vain , we shall quickly with our own hands pull it down upon our heads . except the lord keep the city , all our watchmen shall wake in vain , our own devices , our own sins will be sure to fire all , and we shall soon be like to sodom and gomorrha . therefore not unto us , not unto us but unto the lord alone let us ascribe the honour and the glory of our preservation , and all the wonderful deliverances which he and he alone hath given unto our gracious king and this whole kingdom in him . it is only because his counsel always stands unmoveable and cannot change , that our own devices have not long e're this utterly ruined us , or that the manifold devices of our enemies have not prevailed against us . 2. as we are instructed hence to attribute all our past mercies and deliverancies to the goodness of god , who alone could disappoint the devices of men against us ; so are we hence also taught , how both at present , and for the time to come , to behave our selves towards god , let the times prove never so troublesome to us by reason of the restless devices of men . we must always be sure to bear in mind , and fix immoveably upon this one point , that the counsel of the lord is altogether unchangeable , one and the same for ever , and shall undoubtedly stand for a law to us , and for a barr against every thing that can be devised by men against us not agreeable unto it . conclude we certainly that the lord he is god , and will be so , maugre all the devices of fools that say in their heart there is no god. that he will alway govern the world by his own will , and confound the wicked in their own devices . that all things being ordered by him must needs be wisely ordered , and therefore as no device of man is permitted by him , but in wisdom ; so of his goodness he will either confound these devices in his own time , or by them accomplish his own wise counsel , to the destruction of his enemies , and the good of his church and faithful servants . all things shall work together for good to them that love him , rom. 8. 28. let therefore our behaviour be alway such as becometh the faithful subjects of the great god and king of all the world : and our business , as we are such , is pure obedience to the laws of his kingdom , and not to help him to rule and order things by our wisdom , as tho he could stand in need of our devices , or had thought good to make us of his great counsel . let us mind our duty in attending to and executing cheerfully his commands , and not intermeddle with that which is properly his work , any otherwise then he himself shall give to any of us authority to act under him . unto some he hath given his commission to act and rule his people under him , and for him . by his wisdom kings reign , and princes decree iustice , prov. 8. 15. the powers that be are of god. he hath put a sword into their hand , and they bear not that sword in vain , rom. 13. and they that will not stand in awe of it , deserve to feel it . he hath also set some in the church , 1 cor. 12. 28. and hath made them overseers over his flock to feed it , act. 20. 28. and we are commanded to obey them that have the rule over us and watch for our souls , heb. 13. 17. these are god's commission'd officers , put in authority under him , and over us ; and as they are to do their own duties in their several places towards god , whose servants they are , and to whom they must give an account as well as we ; so can they not do their duty unto him , but by governing us , and using all such means as he hath ordered , or allowed , to keep us in due subjection both unto god and them , and to see as much as is in them , that we do our duties too . let no devices therefore of other men out of whatsoever school they come , perswade or provoke us either to follow theirs , or set up new devices of our own against this certain will of god , or to cast off the yoke of christ by our restless endeavours to free our selves from the yoke of men. we cannot be christs subjects if we will be our own masters . it is just that he assign to each servant in his family his proper work , and call them to account as he shall please ; if we shall arrogate to our selves a right of judging them , whom he hath set to judge us , we place our selves in his throne and usurp his prerogative , which is the highest treason against the king of kings : and can we think that such shall go unpunished by him ? let our condition be never so uneasie , let our grievances be never so many , let our sufferings be never so great , let us be sure to keep in mind , what we are , and whose we are , and what is our business to do . we are not gods , nor lawgivers to our selves , but men under his command that made us and redeemed us . we are not our own , but his that bought us with a price , 1 cor. 6. 20. what then can be our work , but that which becometh the subjects of so absolute a monarch ? thankfully to own the priviledges we have , of his grace and goodness , hitherto injoyed , acknowledging that the very least of them far exceedeth all our merits : contentedly to rest in his choice for us , and in the state and condition his providence hath assigned us , acknowledging always that to be very good , and best of all at present , which he hath appointed : wholly to resign our selves with all our concerns and interests into his hand , unto his sole disposal , saying heartily , it is the lord , let him do whatsoever seemeth good to him , not ours but his will be done . concluding that as his will must stand and cannot be disappointed , so it is fit we should own him in our hearts to be what really he is , our supreme lord and absolute governor , and shew our selves well pleased , that his will should stand ; and , be it what it will that he doth , agreeable to our wishes and hopes or not , we being his creatures as well as subjects , we that should be both willing to it , and delighted in it . we may be very sure of this , and that should be full enough for us , that god cannot act against himself , nor contrary to his own nature , and therefore he can never do otherwise then wisely and well , and that he will make it appear so in the end , whatever it seems now . if then god grant us a plentiful , peaceable and flourishing state , and give us kings and governours that are davids indeed , men after his own heart , and nursing fathers unto his church , encouragers of true piety , and protectors of their subjects in their just rights and liberties , he doth wisely and well ; and we are to be thankful to him as for an undeserved blessing ; and if , on the other hand , god for the punishment of our sins of pride and rebellion , profaneness and formality , &c. shall give us sauls or ieroboams , oppressors of their subjects , or persecutors of religion , still we must confess that god doth wisely and well , and like himself as a most just governor ; it is less then we have deserved , and it is no more then we need . he is both just and good , as well in punishing as rewarding , and we ought to bear with patience , yea and thankfulness the chastisement of our sins . let it be our business then to persecute and mortifie our corruptions and lusts , and god will provide that we want not sit governors , when he seeth us desirous to live in obedience unto him . the instruments in gods hand may be changed , as he seeth his work requireth , but still the same god reigneth , and his counsel must stand . thus much for our instruction . ii. in the next place , the doctrine of this text is an excellent corrective for the malignant humors wherewith the body of this kingdom hath for some time too much abounded . it may serve to restrain the heady and furious attempts and practices of some , and to abate the discontents and silence the murmurings of others among us . and these two sorts of people are very easily met with in most places . 1. there are too many in the world , who will needs be thought as wise , not only as their humane governors , but as god himself . and indeed , it were less to be wondered at , if such men were only to be found in that church , which hath so long pretended to an infallibity of judgment : tho , blessed be god , whatever it be in its doctrines , it hath not yet proved so in its treasonable and bloody attempts and practices . but that any men of such a mischievous self-conceit should be found among them that call themselves protestants ▪ and reformed christians , is a thing wonderful indeed , and ought to be as much lamented by us , as our adversaries will be sure to rejoyce in it , and make a bad use of it . and surely such poysonous weeds could never have sprung up among us , had it not been from that evil seed which those seminaries imployed by the evil one , have cunningly sowed in our good field whilst the keepers of it slept . there is a viperous brood of men , tho they are not willing to own their own original , or it may be have been ingendred so much in the dark , that they do not know their own parents , which cannot live but by eating out the bowels of that government under the warm wings whereof they shelter themselves . these things are always big with new devices , not how to serve , ( as hath been much pretended ) but rather to direct or correct providence . and by their practices , they might persuade men to believe , that in all their prayers they do not desire of god so much to guide them , as to follow them whithersoever their own wild devices shall lead him . if religion have not yet discovered unto such men their folly and wickedness , yet , a man would think , that unto men that talk so much of providence as they have been wont to do , their own so often frustrated devices should be sufficient to convince them of their vanity , and make them feel how hard it is to kick against the pricks ; and that very confusion of languages that is amongst them , so that they have not been ever able well to understand one another , should discourage them from all designs of building another babel , or advancing their own devices in spite of heaven . will men that are so high pretenders to a divine spirit and a new light , be always like those silly ones , of whom 't was said , they are ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth , this easie truth , that the powers that be , are ordained of god , and that whosoever resisteth the power , resisteth the ordinance of god , and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation ? rom. 13. 1 , 2. what but the want of that self-denial , wherein they are wont so much to glory , can make men so dull , as not to be able in so many years , no not with the incouragement of indulgencies , or the rod of discipline , to learn so plain a lesson ? will men be always so much children , as to think they can do more or better for themselves by their own devices , then their heavenly father will do for them by his wise counsel , if they will approve themselves his dutiful children , and shew their intire submission to him their supreme lord , by obeying those whom he hath placed over them , and submitting themselves ( as he commands them , 1 pet. 2. 13. ) to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake ; whether it be to the king as supreme , or unto governors , as unto them that are sent by him , for the punishment of evil-doers , and for the praise of them that do well ? will men always be so absurd , as to think they best secure the liberty of their consciences , by rebelling against those whom they must needs be subject to , not only for wrath , but conscience sake ? rom. 13. 5. if it be so hard a task to yield obedience to the standing will of god , written so legibly in his word , and so often proclaimed unto us by his ministers , as the rule of duty ; how much harder will it be found to submit with alacrity to his secret will when it shall be declared in the course of his providence by the event , in a patient suffering even for well doing ? how shall men have the face to call themselves christians by the name of christ ( except it be by the same figure as the iesuites are by the name of iesus ) who so wholly neglect the commands of christ , and lean more to their own devices then to his promises ? do they think to make themselves more happy , and to prosper better by their own consultations and conspiracies ; by plotting of insurrections and murders , and by such devices as these to secure their religion and their liberties , ( tho , blessed be god , such danger ( if there be any ) is yet at a distance ) then by preparing themselves , as we are all commanded on pain of sorfeiting our christianity , to bear the cross and suffer for righteousness sake ? if when ye do well and suffer for it ye take it patiently , this is acceptable with god. for even hereunto were ye called , because christ also suffered for us , leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps , 1 pet. 2. 20 , 21. yet truely , were there nothing of religion in the case , there be two things nevertheless , which well considered would go near to check all such devices , tho to the devisers they may seem to aim at what is best . first , which of us is so wise , as to know certainly that his own projects shall either succeed according to his mind , or be approved of by others , or produce the publick good , or indeed his own ? i think there is no man that can in reason pretend to such a certainty , and , considering the various and contrary tempers of men , it is hard to come up to a probability . if so , then the certain , or but likely troubles and commotions , war and blood-shed , that the whole nation may suffer in order to the accomplishment of these uncertain devices in such great changes as are usually designed , should make him that loves his country , ( which love is the fair colour such men commonly paint over their foulest designs withal ) very shy in setting abroach his own devices . it is a very easie matter to set discontented men together by the ears , but not so easie to make them friends again , or perswade him , that thinks he hath the advantage , to sheath his sword ; nor yet can he that raised the fray , be sure that himself shall not be wounded in the scuffle . men are much easilier agreed to pull down one government , then to set up another : because it is much easier to find one , which hath something in it contrary to all the several private interests of the conspirators , then one that will promote them all ; which it may be are too various , ever to meet in one point , or indeed within the compass of any one model , that which the common cry of liberty doth sufficiently declare . love thy countrey , that 's god's will : and for the love of it , lay aside thine own devices . my son fear thou the lord , and the king , and meddle not with them that are given to change , prov. 24. 21. secondly , do these men indeed love themselves , and their own safety ? let them then for their own sakes , take the safe way . keep the many devices of the heart within the heart , for if they once be suffered to pass the tongue , there is no longer any safety . he must have a faculty more then humane , who can be sure , that that man , unto whom he first reveals his secret , ( and revealed it must be or it can do nothing of what he would have it to do ) hath not another device ready to defeat his , and make him pay the charges of both . if men therefore would in all their consults advise with god's will , the publick good , or their own private peace and safety , those many devices which quicken in their hearts would die there too , and have the same womb and tomb. 2. a second sort of people , which this text should correct is , that very numerous part of mankind , the querulous , murmuring and discontented , whom nothing that is present will either please or silence . if these be not all so daring as to devise , they are so ill natur'd as to be angry , that all their desires , how unreasonable soever , are not fully satisfied ; and to satisfie them will be found no easie matter , especially till themselves seem better to understand them . they would have the world to be governed according to their mind , but how that should be , their thoughts are not to this day well agreed . they think too well of themselves , not to think too ill of their present condition , as too much below their merits : and therefore cannot be reconciled to the publick management of affairs , whilest it giveth them not the opportunity of bettering themselves every day according as the every days new devices of their hearts shall prompt them . the great complaint among such is , that the wicked are exalted , and good men discouraged , and the course of iustice is perverted ; and the common discourse is of the wickedness of the times , and the loosness of government and discipline . it is true , that if at any time such things as these are visible , and whilest men are men , they will be at all times too visible , good men cannot chuse but be very sensible of it , very sadly bewail it , and mourn before god for the sins of their brethren , rivers of waters will run down davids eyes because men keep not gods law , psal. 119. 136. yea , and what becometh every one of them in their respective stations and callings with all humble submission and modesty , yet with all godly zeal and courage , they will be ever ready to do towards the amendment of mens lives , the rectifying of errors , correcting abuses , and redressing all grievances . but they begin at home , as is fit , and proceed regularly , and keep to their proper provinces , and are more ready to do their own duty , then to complain that others do not theirs . to make the failings of princes and faults in government , and the grievances of the nation a common table-talk and to be always signifying to the world their discontents and uneasiness , is too great an argument of a proud and factious spirit , and savoureth too rankly of a mind corrupted with seditious and rebellious principles , and too much estranged from the god of peace . in thus doing men shew they regard themselves and their own wills more then the will of god. what evils hath the government at any time brought upon us that we have not by our manifold sins too much deserved , at least at the hand of god the universal governor , if not at the hands of those who rule under him ? and how many blessings may we enjoy under the worst of governments which we have never in the least deserved ? dare we undertake presumptuously to prescribe to god , and proudly say , that either we are such , as he ought not to punish at all , or at least , such as he ought not to punish after this manner ? if god send a plague , or a famine , or any kind of mortal sickness on a people for their sins , is it reasonable for them to murmur against the air and unseasonableness of the weather ? and if god chastise us with evils of any other kind , by what or whomsoever , shall it be more reasonable to quarrel with and complain of the instrument or the messenger for executing upon us the will of god , then to seek out where the fault lieth whereby we have provoked him to anger , and to amend it ? iehu received the promise of a kingdom to the fourth generation for executing punishment on those whom god had determined to punish , 2 kings 10. 30. yet did not iehu depart from the sins of ieroboam which made israel to sin . god sometimes giveth a king in his wrath , and taketh him away again in his displeasure , hos. 13. 11. if he deliver men into the hands of their oppressor , tho he be the king of babylon , they must serve him and be quiet , because they see it is the will of god so to deal with them , ier. 27. patience under our sufferings , and repentance of our sins , and reformation of our lives , and obedience to our superiours in all lawful things even to the utmost , to shew we own their authority , and decline not the hardest of their just commands , are the best ways of reconciling our selves to god , and turning his judgments away from us , and not to stand murmuring and complaining of that which in justice he is pleased to inflict upon us by what hand soever . why should a living man complain ? a man for the punishment of his sins ? lam. 3. 39. thus much for correction . iii. in the next place , let us be exhorted , first , ingeneral , to attend god's will in all things , and let that take place of all the devices of our hearts . alas , what would become of the world , if god should disregard it , slacken the reins of his government , and permit all to the hands of men ? phaethon's guiding the chariot of the sun , and firing the world , would look no longer like a fable . hot spirits and giddy heads with their bold devices and rash enterprizes would soon turn all things upside down , and put more then one nation into a combustion . men are of too different complexions and divided interests ever to unite in peace and order : contrary humors and principles would always produce contrary laws and rules , and every party would be concerned to maintain that which would best uphold it , not only to the ruine of the opposite party , but to the rending of the publick peace and welfare . then , and no sooner , let men talk of carrying on their own devices and designs when they either know themselves to be too strong for all men , or can assure themselves that all men will be of their mind . if any shall now ask whether we would have them sit still and unconcern'd how matters go right or wrong , and whether it be not every mans duty to endeavour with all his might the rectifying of what he seeth amiss in kingdom or church ? to this some answer hath been given already , to which may be added thus much more . 1. be very sure that what you think to be amiss , be so indeed , before you go about to mend it . men are too apt to make their own irregular desires and wishes , yea , and not seldom an irrational conceit and phant'sie , or even such a thing as this in some other men or party for whom they have a kindness , the rule of right and wrong , and so judge every thing to be amiss , which they , or such as they count their friends dislike . measure things by their proper rule , not that of self-interest or affection , but god's word ; view and examine them by a true light , be not misled by mens reports , or vain surmises , but try all things and then hold fast that which is good . if you take not this course , instead of mending what is amiss , you will only marr that which his good . be sure that what you would amend be against god's will , or else it needs no mending , and none will owe you thanks for your vain devices . 2. be as sure in the next place that you are every way rightly fitted and duly qualified for the work you take in hand . see that you have both skill and strength and good authority for what you undertake . it is not every bold bungler that hath face enough to praise himself and laugh at others , who is fit for such a work as is the reformation of kingdoms and churches . it is not all a thing to hold a plow-staff and a scepter . be content to employ your talents accordingly as you are fitted with them , and think it is gods will you should busie your selves in those employments for which he hath best furnished you , and in those stations wherein he hath thought fit to place you . if he had designed you for higher callings he would probably have given you a more suitable education , and furnished you with better tools . and if other men , who pretend to higher things , shall tell you that they are wise enough both for themselves and you , and thereby would tempt you to second them in their devices : be sure first that they have indeed all that which you find wanting in your selves to fit them for being your leaders in such bold attempts , and that 's not only wisdom and strength , but good authority and a just call unto the work from god. let them produce their commission , and shew you , thus it is written , and that must be the will of god declared in his word , not whispered into the ear by a pidgeon , not dictated from an infallible chair , not sent in some flash of new light , or suggested by something blasphemously called the spirit within them , for the truth of all which you must at last be content with their own bare word , which is sure to deceive you . if you have not authority from god for what you do , he will say , who hath required these things at your hand ? isai. 1. 12. to support the tottering ark of god must needs appear a thing well pleasing unto god , but let uzzah do it , and he dies for it , 2 sam. 6. 7. be his zeal what it will , he must have patience and expect his call. men must know , that tho it must needs be good to be zealous always in a good matter , gal. 4. 18. yet should they take time to consider and pains to satisfie themselves , that the matter be indeed as good as now it seems to them ; and that their zeal for it be good too , for all zeal even for good is not so , and that the good zeal carry them not beyond the bounds of their authority . zeal for god must have the will of god for its rule , it is otherwise a blind zeal , a blemished offering which god will not accept . 't is a very absurdity and contradiction to act in zeal for god against gods will. it is not a mans own conscience that is his law-giver , or that can authorize him of its self to any action ; it is a part of its office to direct us , but it must be by the law of god to do his will , and must produce his commission to prove its own authority to command . gods counsel only can be our authority in such cases , and that must be revealed to us , before it can warrant us in our work . 3. where the command of god is express , there is no disputing about convenient or inconvenient , the thing is by command made necessary , and must be done whatever follow . but where there is no command from god , and you would do a thing because you think it expedient and needful to be done ; be sure you do it not till you have authority from those whom god hath placed to govern you , neither go about to move them for such authority till you have good reason to believe that what you go about will bring good , and not more hurt then good . many little inconveniencies are rather to be born then one great mischief so much as hazarded . i had rather indure some little fits of sickness , then purge , when i cannot do it without destroying my body . labour to see through to the end of your work before you set upon it in earnest . they repented of their folly too late , that by removing one tyrant brought in a multitude , much more shall they who not content to bear some small inconveniencies under a lawful prince , shall by rebellion make way through anarchy for tyranny . what government in the world was ever yet without some inconveniencies , 't is the condition of all things under heaven to be imperfect and to admit a mixture of evil. if a beam or post in my house stand so as either somewhat to deform it , or to be otherwise inconvenient , yet before i remove it , i would consider whether i can do it with safety , and not bring down the building to my greater trouble and cost . god never intended every kingdom to be an heaven , no more then that all men should be angels . let him therefore that would correct what is amiss in his own judgment , be sure he shall not turn all into an hell of confusion , and by a vain endeavour to make all men saints or angels , let in a devil which he knows not how to drive out again . having premised these needful cautions it is easie now to see what we are to do , under what government soever we live . our first business is , to find out that which we are sure will stand , and can never deceive us , the revealed will of god , and let all our devices be , how we may most effectually obey it . let us never be so rash or conceited , as to hope any device of our own can prosper that is not governed by this . let god therefore preside in all our consults , let his book lie open before our eyes , and advise with him before we attempt any thing , and then i am sure we shall never be a rebellious people , and unless our former sins have taken too fast hold upon us , it may well be hoped , no miserable people neither . and certainly god hath not been sparing in revealing unto us his own mind , so far as we should be concerned to know it , especially as it is to be the rule of our behaviour towards our governors . let every soul be subject to the higher powers , rom. 13. 1 is a standing rule which god will never cancel : and submit your selves to every ordinance of man for the lords sake , 1 pet. 2. 13. is as sure and plain . put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers , to obey magistrates , to be ready to every good work , tit. 3. 1. give unto caesar the things that are caesars , and unto god the things that are gods , mar. 12. 17. render to every man his due , tribute to whom tribute , custom to whom custom is due , rom. 13. let supplications , prayers , intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men , for kings and for all that are in authority , that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty , 1 tim. 2. 1 , 2. all this , and much more to the same purpose is plain enough without either rhemish or geneva notes to explain it to us . nothing of all this is apocrypha , nor the tradition of men . and he that can devise how with a safe conscience to resist the power and not violate therein the will of god , must have an art to make gods word say what he will. you see your duty as clear as the light can make it , be subject , submit , obey , pay tribute , pray heartily , suffer patiently , resist not at all ; if you will be happy , do it ; if you have any love for god , for your country or your selves , do it . think not that god can ever bless any rebellious or treasonable designs . his will of duty is , obey or suffer : his will of government is , he that resisteth shall receive damnation . let all your devices be , how by doing the one to escape the other . for the counsel of the lord that shall stand . next , observe the will of gods providence in the event , and rest your selves fully satisfied in it . having made your prayers unto god to direct all things to his own glory and the good of his church , continue in well doing , persevere in the faith , and say , o lord , thy will be done . think with your selves , that this is the due homage you owe unto god , this is the true love you owe unto your selves , this is a just debt you are to pay unto the world. pay therefore your debts , and give every one his due . 1. be just to god , and let him be your god indeed , and you do not take him for your god , if you do not cheerfully rest in his government , if you do not heartily rejoyce in all his doings , and give him thanks in all things always . why should you not do thus , but that you think he doth not well , or that he hath not an over-ruling hand in all that is done ? and either way , you cast him off from being your god , seeing you disown either his goodness or his providence . 2. be just to your selves , grudg not your souls that peace and comfortable rest in god which they might enjoy . if you expose your selves to the devices of men , whether of your selves or of any others , you bring your selves into a restless state of trouble and vexation . say therefore unto your own hearts , stand still and see the salvation of the lord. 3. be just to the world of mankind , and wish it not so ill as to change one infinitely wise and good and powerful governor for a multitude of foolish , weak and wicked tyrants , the lusts and humors of carnal men. what a bedlam would the whole world soon be●ome , if all men were left to be ruled by the devices of their own hearts ? iv. in the last place , let all such amongst us as fear the lord , and rejoyce to do his will , draw much comfort to their souls from this spring of consolation . what is there in the world that such men can reasonably be afraid of ? the counsel of the lord that shall stand , when all the world hath done its worst ; and this is his will and counsel , that nothing shall harm us if we be followers of that which is good , 1 pet. 3. 13. against all the devices of men or devils , this is our armour of proof , gods will shall stand . we know not indeed what sharp chastisements our manifold sins may require , but we know this , that it is his will thus to purge away our dross , and resine us for himself , that we may be bound up among his iewels . we know not what strong physick our diseased souls may stand in need of , but this we know , we have both a wise and good physician , that knows our temper and what will fit it , and whose end is his own honour in our life and health , and who hath no delight in our torment , nor design to destroy us . if god permit the devices of wicked men , of what sect or party soever they be , to create us some disturbance , it is but either by the smart we feel to confirm us more in our just dislike of such religions as are to be upheld by blood and cruelty , or if he bring us thus to the fiery tryal , to carry us the sooner into heaven , that we may be safe out of the reach of all infection or vexation . a mans heart deviseth his way , but the lord directeth his steps , prov. 16. 9. the pilot steareth , but god gives the wind , and directs the ship whither he pleaseth . and this is the never failing comfort of all good men , that god is always at the helm . the clouds are turned round by his counsels ; that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world or the earth . he causeth it to come , whether for correction , or for his land , or for mercy , job . 37. 12 , 13. blessed be god , we have often tasted of his consolation , and by our former manifold experiences of his goodness , should learn yet more to comfort our selves with hopes of future blessings ; and that he who hath so often delivered us already will deliver us unto the end . there are but these three things can give us cause to doubt of it . our great unthankfulness for past mercies , our present uneasiness under and disobedience to his government , and our distrustfulness of his providence . therefore that we may be able to comfort our selves in him and the stability of his counsels , let us make sure of these things . 1. that we heartily praise his holy name for all the rich mercies we injoy , and the great deliverances he hath wrought for us at all times , and more particularly for those singular tokens of his mercy in the many deliverances and continued preservation of the person of our dread sovereign lord the king : a mercy , which many years confusion and misery should in all reason have taught us before this time how to value , and which god himself may seem to commend to our special notice by those truely wonderful methods he hath used to confer it upon us ; so wonderful , that hardly any thing can seem more so , then that there should be yet any among us , whom the observation thereof hath not convinced of the vanity of all rebellious and treacherous devices . many devices and much talk there hath been of late about the succession , but had our gracious king and his royal highness been taken in the nets of their enemies , an unhappy end had been put to that dispute , and who should have succeeded in the throne , any or none , one or many , it is happy for us we are not driven to consider . a long succession in all likelyhood we should have had of intolerable calamities , and might have despaired of seeing peace in our days . it is an easie thing to lop off more boughs in an hour then will grow again in many years . governments are like glasses , the easiest things to break in pieces , but the hardest to cement again . 2. let us continue in an absolute obedience and resignation to god in all the branches of his divine will , and particularly in a subordinate obedience unto his anointed . let the fear of god overaw us in all our undertakings , and let the same fear move us to honour the king , and restrain us from all disloyal attempts and thoughts . there is no comfort for rebels but what they must fetch from their own devices , and before they can find any solid comfort in those , they must cease to be rebellious either against god or the king , by submitting all their devices to the counsel of the lord. 2. let us place our whole trust in god alone , for vain is the help of man. his breath goeth forth and all his thoughts perish . then we best honour god , when in doing his will sincerely , we trust in him only , and doubt not of his protection , who is both our king and our father , and our merciful god. he is of one mind , and who can turn him ? and what his soul desireth , even that he doth ; for he performeth the thing that is appointed for us , job . 23. 13 , 14. to conclude , let all our devices be only such as may concentre in the counsel of god , and gods counsel shall be the strength and accomplishment of all our devices . now to the blessed and only potentate , the king of kings , and lord of lords , the king eternal , immortal , invisible , the only wise god , who giveth salvation unto kings , and delivereth his servant our gracious sovereign from the hurtful sword , be honour and glory , for ever and ever . amen . the certain rule of peace and love in the church . phil. ii. 3. let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory , but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better then themselves . that sacred truth , which our blessed iesus hath revealed unto us in his gospel , is the doctrinal foundation whereupon the christian church doth stand ; if this were lost , there could be no such thing as that which we call a christian church upon earth . the joynt consent of christians in this sacred truth is the erecting of this spiritual building upon that firm foundation ; and where this consent is not , in the fundamental doctrines of christianity , the church cannot be one . the love and charity of christians , which they have in the first place unto christ their head , as members of one body , united under him , and living by him ; and in the next place , unto each other mutually and suitably to their proper stations and offices in the body , is the cement wherewith these living stones in this spiritual building are held together ; and where this decayeth , the walls chap , and the house goes to ruine . all this we may read in those words of st. paul , ephes. 4. 15 , 16. where the apostle telling us what care christ took after his ascension into heaven for the planting and governing of his church upon earth , the edifying of the body of christ , as he expresseth himself , v. 12. saith , all was to this end , that speaking the truth in love , we may grow up into him in all things [ increase in or unto him ] which is the head , even christ. from whom the whole body fitly joyned together and compacted by that which every joynt supplieth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part , maketh increase of the body , unto the edifying of it self in love . now if this be the great end , for which christ furnished men with gifts for the preaching of his gospel to all nations ; that by imbracing that one truth preached , they might become one body of christ , and continue united in love , as the members of the same body , governed and directed , as well as enlivened by christ the head of the body , and mutually caring for , and assisting one another , according to the measure or proportion , faculty or office of every several part , for the benefit of the whole , its health and growth and preservation ; it can be no wonder here to find the apostle so earnest in his exhortation to peace and unity . if ( saith he ) there be any consolation in christ , if any comfort of love , if any fellowship of the spirit , if any bowels of mercies . it must needs be a matter of exceeding great weight and concernment , we must needs conclude it is something whereby god is highly glorified , and the salvation of christians greatly promoted , which st. paul would obtain at their hands by all these affectionate obtestations ; yea , 't is such a thing , as he saith , would complete and perfect his joy , fullfil ye my joy , saith he . he was now for the sake of that gospel of peace and joy to them , which he had preached unto them , a prisoner in bonds ; and he seemeth to desire no more to make his bonds easie to him , and his imprisonment a delight , but only this , that they be like minded , or mind the same thing ; having the same love , of one accord , of one mind . that they would live in unity , loving one another mutually , as one body with but one soul ; having the same affections , carrying on the same designs , all joyning heads , and hearts , and hands in a vigorous pursuit of the same end by the same methods . this is a request so very reasonable , that a man would wonder what need there could be of ushering it in with so much earnestness : the thing he desireth is so evidently good in it self , so apparently conducive to the happiness both of church and state wherever it is practiced , so much the interest of every single member of the body , that it is almost unimaginable , how any man should be so absurd , as not to gratifie with all readiness , i say not the apostle , but himself , in a matter wherein it is so visible , that every mans private welfare is so deeply concerned . what man is there among us that doth not profess himself ( of what party or faction soever he be ) most ready to joyn with the church in singing , behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity ? psal. 133. 1. it is so , without all doubt , and all of us willingly grant it to be so ; yea , and all of us would be glad to see it ; but then , it must be upon those terms only as it can never be hoped for . like two armies in the field ready to joyn battel , both are very willing to hear of peace , and would be content not to hazard their lives in the fight ; but each will have peace on its own terms only , and neither will abate an ace of its own demands ; and so still they are agreed in nothing , but in being unreasonable , and desiring that which cannot be . all the difficulty therefore is , to find out an expedient , whereby all parties may agree , not only in a general desire of unity ; but also in the likeliest means or effecting it . and truely this would be no very hard matter to bring about , were we all really as good christians , as we would be thought to be . we should not need to run as far as rome to seek for an infallible judge to put an end to our divisions : which why any man should see cause to do , i know not , except he be perswaded that no hand can heal them but that which made them . would we but only have that real veneration for the holy scriptures , which all protestants pretend to have , and submit our wills and humours , which some men have been apt to mis-call the spirit , to the directions of that holy spirit which we all acknowledge to be infallible ; and follow his advice concerning the means , whose exhortation to the thing we all acknowledge to be very reasonable , much of the difficulty would soon disappear . in order to the establishment of so excellent and desirable a blessing of love , and peace , and unanimity among christians ; something there is , which must be laid aside , as that which certainly obstructs and frustrates all peaceable attempts ; and something there is , which must be learn'd and practised , which will mainly promote this glorious design . but men are not so ready to do , either the one or the other , as the principles of christianity oblige them to be . what these things are we read in the text. let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory , but in lowliness of mind , let each esteem other better then themselves . here we have the best expedient in the world for the maintaining both of unity in faith and doctrine , and of unanimity in love and affection , and of uniformity of practice and behaviour , and consequently of the peace and tranquility of both kingdom and church . o that all they who profess themselves to be desirous of the happiness and prosperity of both ( as certainly all good christians are ) would begin to account it their greatest wisdome to learn with christian politicks of such as st. paul , men indued with the spirit of divine wisdom , which hath this double commend●tion , that it is first pure and then peaceable , jam. 3. 17. and would lay aside that other kind of wisdom , which they have too long admired , and been in love with , which is earthly , sensual and devilish , where by envying and strife fill the world with confusion and every evil work , v. 15 , 16. how soon would the world look with another face ? how soon should we see that happily effected to the unspeakable joy and glory of christendom , which hath so long miserably baffled all the great wits of the world ? the rules here given us to this end by the apostle are two , 1. the former shews us , what we must remove out of the way , that peace and love may enter and take possession , in these words , let nothing be done through strife and vain-glory . 2. the other teacheth us , what is that right truely christian temper of spirit , whereby peace and love may be cherished and maintained , in these words , but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better then themselves . let us now suppose , not only that all who read this are in profession christians , but also sufficiently convinced that it is every mans both duty and interest , strenuously to endeavour all he can in his proper place and calling , that the unity of the spirit may be kept in the bond of peace , as the apostle exhorteth , ephes. 4. 3. that our ierusalem may be as a city that is compact together , psal. 122. 3. that we may yet see those happy days , wherein we may take sweet counsel together , and walk unto the house of god in company , psal. 55. 14. and this supposed , the business of this discourse is not to perswade such men to do , what they can need no perswasion to do , to desire the return of peace and unity in the church ; but to take the right way to endeavour it , and to put every man his hand to the work in good earnest ; acting by those never-deceiving rules which st. paul hath here given us . and this that we may all do , our present business is to learn , 1. to understand . 2. to use them . and that in the same order as here they lie before us . i. the first rule here given us is this , let nothing be done through strife and vain-glory . or thus . these two things , strife and vain-glory must very carefully be avoided by us in all our actings , if we would contribute any thing to the peace and unity of the church . and god knows , they are every where too visible , as the two doors at which all our disputes and divisions , and whatsoever is destructive to true concord and unity , then which nothing is a greater stranger among us at this day , are wont to enter but never can find their way out again . to learn , first , what these things are , and secondly , how we are to remove them out of the way , will be enough for the understanding of the first rule and its use . 1. let nothing be done through strife or contention . this strife is a quarrelsom humour , a spirit of opposition and contradiction , a strange crossness of temper wherewith very many men are exceedingly troubled themselves , and are as troublesome to others : who are never well as long as they are quiet , or suffer others to be quiet ; their very life seems to consist in being sick of every thing almost that they see or hear , and they feed upon the faults and infirmities of mankind . the chief exercise of their souls is to be always gainsaying and contending right or wrong . they study not for the truth , but for the maistery and pester the world with disputes and invectives ; not to confute errors , and shame vice ; but to vent the boyling humor , and to vex those by whom they are vexed , tho not by any thing done to offend them ; 't is enough that they are not of their opinion , and that they are such as they are pleased to choose out for their adversaries , and to shoot their poysoned arrows at , even bitter words . men of this currish snarling temper must be snapping at every thing that comes in their way , and barking at all that comes not from themselves ; and usually the best things are with them the greatest faults , if they be not the authors of them , as rarely they are of any good , excent what by following their own litigious humour , they may sometimes chance to stumble upon . something they must ever have , whatever it cost them , to oppose to every thing that another either affirms or denies . this is certainly as wicked and devilish a temper , as it must needs be very uneasie ; and that which hath served satan to as many evil purposes , as any evil himself was ever father of . a pious and ingenious writer calls it very fitly , the devil's goliah-stratagem , which hath served him not only to desie , but even to defeat the armies of the living god. to these men may well be applied what the apostle saith , 1 thes. 2. 15. they please not god , and are contrary to all men . in a word therefore , by strife , i suppose we are here to understand , that froward and selfish humour , whereby a man is so wedded to his own will and conceit , that he is always in a posture of defyance to every thing that opposeth either ; and prizeth his own opinions , only because they are his own , above the best reasons of other men ; is discontented with every thing that suiteth not exactly with his own sentiments or desires , and so idolizeth his own imaginations and inventions , that he thinks the publick welfare , the tranquility of the world , and whatever else will not fall down and worship them , but a cheap sacrifice unto them . this or something of it , is the thing which we are in the first place to remove out of the way . now how great reason every man hath to correct this peccant humour in himself , when ever he finds it stirring , and wholly to disburden his soul of it , will be very easily discerned by him that shall consider but these three things . 1. the evil root from which it grows . 2. the utter inconsistency of it with the truth of christianity . and , 3. the pernicious influence which it hath upon the church . 1. the root of it is not always one , but whatever it be , it is never good . in some men , it seems to be nothing else , but a certain kind of childishness , or a pettishness and peevishness of nature , as children are crying earnestly for every new thing they hear of , and will by no fair means nor foul be quieted , till they have it ; and when they have got it , are as soon weary of it again , and as apt to cry for something else , though they cannot tell you what it is ; and it may be for that same thing again , whereof but now they were so weary ; and those children above all others that are the greatest fantlings , and most indulged by fond mothers , are commonly noted to be of this pettish humour : such a giddy inconstancy there seems to be in many men . some little things there be for or against which they are wont to be very eager ; and yet can they give no considerable reason either for their like , or dislike of them ; but they are dissatisfied with what is present , and ( tho they cannot well tell what to call it ) they are very angry with those in whose power they think it is to give them what they want , and give it not . their phant'sies are keenly set upon it , and quiet they will not , nor cannot be without it , nor will they suffer those that are near them to be at quiet for them . surely this is not the temper of a sober serious christian , who like a good natured child , is content , so he have his wholesome food , which his father alloweth him ; tho he cannot have it dressed according to his own phant'sie : and is as unwilling , as afraid to make any disturbance in his fathers family about things that are not of very great concernment . in others , this looks like a contracted disease , brought upon themselves , by some disorderly usage of themselves . it seems to be a sickness and squeamishness of soul , much like unto that of the stomach , which ariseth from a disorderly diet ; whereby it is come to pass , that it na●seateth every thing , but only that which is most hurtful , and serveth only to feed the distemper . or , as men in some diseases long for many things , but relish nothing that 's offer'd them ; taste greedily , but spit it out again with a loathing . some men having disordered their heads by poring into some of the profoundest doctrines , which are too deep for them ; and having confounded their brains with ( at least to them ) unintelligible notions , are come at last , to think every plainest thing mysterious , and dispute like skepticks about it . some have so baffled themselves with wandring through a wood of opinions , that they can find no way out again , but presently flie out of every path that they enter into , tho for no other reason , but a phant'sie only , that it may not be the right . some have been so nicely educated , and taught to be so curious , that they dare hardly taste of any thing that another hath made ready for them , for fear of poyson , or at least fluttishness ; every ceremony is to some antichristian , and idolatry ; and to others a very idol , and christ himself shall rather want his worship , then it shall be indured by some , or not be worshipped too by others . all this is far from the healthful temper of the sound and serious christian ; who whilst he can have the daily bread of his soul which may feed him to eternal life , sits down contentedly with the rest of the family , feeds heartily , and gives god thanks , asking no question for conscience sake , either who first invented the fashion of the dishes , or to what uses they have been sometimes put ; all his care is to see it be the food his father hath provided for him ; and that all things are observed about it , that he hath commanded ; and for other things , he leaves them to their ordering , to whose care the government of the family is intrusted . in others again , this seems to come from an angry and waspish nature . some mens souls seem to be all fire , or else as tinder , the least spark presently sets them all on fire . they cannot hear so much as a word with any patience , or calmness , that sounds not just as they would have it ; and it is all one to anger them , and not in every little thing to humour them . and be sure of this , that an angry man stirreth up strife , prov. 29. 22. a wrathful man stirreth up strife , but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife , prov. 15. 18. and as coals are to burning coals , so is a contentions man to kindle strife , prov. 26. 21. how far this is from the meek and lamblike temper of a good christian , i need not now stay to shew . in another sort of men , this may spring from a preconceived prejudice against the persons of men ; and then , as he that hath been taught before hand to have an ill opinion of his physician , is apt to disgust every thing that he prescribeth , without so much as once examining , what it is or how likely to conduce unto his health ; and by this means often deprives himself of the readiest means of cure , by a most unreasonable jealousie of being poysoned : so , when men are once possessed with a prejudice against the persons of others , especially of their teachers and governors , they grow jealous of their instructions , and commands ; and dispute where they should learn , or obey ; and quarrel with their duty , not because they think it is not so , but because they know by whom it is injoyn'd ; and imagine they can never enough oppose what comes from those , whom they have learn'd to suspect or hate . others are , it may be , not well pleased with their lot and station in the church , and cannot be pleased with any thing whilst they are displeased with that , but will think themselves concern'd to dispute against every thing that comes from such as are advanced above them . envy is a very restless and quarrelsome thing , and in whatever breast it once gets entertainment , that man shall never want an evil tongue ; if he have not wit enough to dispute , he shall never want malice enough to rail or slander . strife can never be a stranger to the envious , they are often companions , and go hand in hand in scripture , as rom. 13. 13 , &c. we must not here pass by , without any notice , that which is called the root of all evil , the love of money . where the love of this world is , there is not the love of the father ; and then be sure , there will be too little love among the brethren . what a multitude of strifes and contentions hence daily grow up in the world ( every one seeking , who shall get most of it ) no man can be ignorant . and as little can it be doubted , that this is the cause too of some disturbance in the church . where shall a man hope to find a church that is sanctuary enough against covetousness ? and where covetousness finds room , it will be no news to see altar set up against altar . if every party in religion have a craft of its own to get wealth by , every party will cry up its own diana , and no diana shall want an army to fight for her . it hath sometimes been accounted a piece of good policy , to reconcile the factions to the government of the church , by giving them a share in it . and where this is practiced , the covetous will sure have so much policy too , as rather to be factious , then to be poor . there is no danger of disturbance from the moderate and peaceable ; let him therefore dwell poor in a corner , feasting by himself on a good conscience ; 't is pity to prejudice his expectation of a greater reward in heaven by giving him preferment here on earth . but the importunate man is troublesome , and must be preferred lest he weary us ; and the turbulent and seditious man is dangerous , and must be bribed to be quiet . and shall we now think the worldling a fool , to be either modest or peaceable when he fears to be poor by being so ? again , contention keeps up a party , and a party keeps and maintains us : if we stir it not , the fire will go out ; the zeal and charity of the faction will cool together : we have over-heated our opposites , and made the church too hot for us ; and if we keep not our friends warm , they will not keep us from starving . thus 't is well , if whilst god and religion is the word , and fairly writ in the banner , mammon be not set up in the heart , and the battels that are fought be not all his . lastly , i shall name but one thing more , and that is pride . and perhaps it might have been enough to have named this one for all : seeing we are told , prov. 13. 10. that , only by pride cometh contention . whilst one will brook no superiour , and another no equal , what 's become of peace ? one is angry because he thinks his merit above his fortune ; and another as angry because he thinks anothers fortune above his merits . one is vexed to think his own glory eclipsed by anothers shining too bright , and another is in a fume , that any man should dare to take notice of his spots . one strives to keep himself up at the hight , and thinks he grows lower , as he sees any other grow higher ; and they must all either be kept so much below him , as to look like almost nothing , or he can hardly think himself any thing . another thinks himself hot advanced at all , so long as he sees but one step more , by which he may ascend ; and will never leave justling , 'till he get up to the highest . it is a fine thing , to march in the head of a party ; and if this honour may not be bad , yet is it something to follow such a leader , especially in braving authority to its face ; and it is no little glory to be thought wiser then the most , and especially then our teachers and governors , or to be thought sufficient to set up for our selves . and it is an odious thing to be told of our errors and faults , and more odious yet to tell our selves and our followers of them , to call our selves fools , and confess we have befooled others . and if we contend not to uphold what we have done , we shall seem to destroy what we have built ; or to suffer tamely that to be built , which we have destroy'd ; and how intolerable a thing is this to a proud spirit ? he that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife , prov. 28. 25. but cast out the scorner , and contention shall go out , yea strife and reproach shall cease , prov. 22. 10. from whichsoever of these roots strife ariseth , or whatever else it may be that gives being to it , be sure we may , it is very evil . 2. in the next place , to shew how altogether inconsistent this contentious humour is with the right gospel temper , a very few words may suffice . the peaceable state of the gospel was in the prophets foretold in such expressions as these . they shall beat their swords into plough-shares , and their spears into pruning hooks , isai. 2. 4. the woolf also shall dwell with the lamb , and the leopard shall lie down with the kid , and the calf and the young lyon , and the fatling together , and a little child shall lead them . they shall not hurt nor destroy in my holy mountain , isai. 11. 6. & 9. accordingly , we meet with nothing in the gospel of christ , but the sweet breathings of love and peace . at the first revealing of our blessed saviours nativity , those heralds of heaven , the holy angels are sent down into the world , to proclaim glory to god in the highest , on earth peace , good will towards men , luk. 2. 14. he that then was born into the world was the prince of peace , the work he had to do was to make peace and reconciliation , his commands were peace and love , his blessing was to the peace-maker , and his legacy at his death was peace . he came to reconcile us unto god , and he came also to reconcile us one unto another , and to make of twain one new man , eph. 2. 15. he himself was the great exemplar of love and mercy , of condescention and meekness , of whom it was said by the prophet isaiah , he shall not strive , nor cry , neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets . a bruised reed shall he not break , and smoaking flax shall he not quench , mat. 12. 19. he lived in all due obedience to the powers , and in conformity to the customs that then were ; and commanded all to render unto caesar the things that were caesars , as well as unto god the things that are gods , mar. 12. 17. he smartly rebuked the two sons of thunder , iames and iohn , when they would in imitation of elias , have called down fire from heaven on the samaritan village , that had affronted him ; telling them , they understood not the true gospel spirit , luk. 9. 55. when he was led like a lamb before the shearers , as one that is dumb so opened he not his mouth , act. 8. 32. when he was reviled , he reviled not again ; when he suffered , he threatned not ; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously , 1 pet. 2. 23. so little of contention was there to be seen in him . and he hath given in charge to all that follow him , that is , to all christians , to deny themselves , and take up his cross , and to learn of him to be meek and lowly of heart ; who disdained not to stoop so low , as to wash the feet of his disciples , and lower yet , to converse with publicans and sinners . now , most certain it is , that if any man have not the spirit of christ , he is none of his , rom. 8. 9. and his spirit is the spirit of love , and meekness , and patience , and peace , and unity ; and teacheth all that have it , not to hate , but to love their enemies , not to curse but to bless them , not to render evil for evil , but to overcome evil with good , rom. 12. 21. and to pray for them that despitefully use and persecute us , matt. 5. 44. and. the servant of god ( saith st. paul ) must not strive , but be gentle unto all men , apt to teach , patient , in meekness instructing such as oppose themselves , 2 tim. 2. 24. and if this be spoken more especially unto the governors and teachers of the church , yet is it not only , that they may know their own duties , but that they should teach others also to walk so as they had them for an example , phil. 3. 17. and as much as in them lieth , live peaceably with all men , rom. 12. 18. the apostle ranketh strifes among the works of the flesh , which they that do shall not inherit the kingdom of god , gal. 5. 20. they therefore that indulge this humour , must lay aside not only all pretence of being spiritual , but all claim to the kingdom of god. whereas there is among you envying , and strife , and divisions , are ye not carnal , and walk as men ? for while one saith , i am of paul ; and another , i am of apollos , are ye not carnal ? 1 cor. 3. 3. where there is strife and envying , there is confusion and every evil work , jam. 3. 16. and who seeth not that this is utterly inconsistent with the gospel of purity and peace . 3. and therefore lastly , must it needs be destructive to the happiness of the church ; unless any man can be so unreasonable as to think , that confusions , and heresies and schismes can consist with its happiness , which evils the apostle joyns with strife , as the effects with their cause , or at least , as those close companions which are very rarely separated , gal. 5. 20. &c. sure it is , that an house divided again●t it self cannot stand , matt. 12. 25. the strength of the church which is the house of god , lieth in the unity of faith and love. strife is the very cutting asunder of that bond of peace wherein the unity of spirit is to be held . it is the violent forcing asunder the stones of the spiritual building , and dashing them in pieces one against another . unity of affections there can be none where strife comes , but a biting and devouring one another , and being devoured one of another , gal. 5. 15. and indeed an opening of a broad way to some common enemy to enter in and make havock of all . and the unity of faith is in no little danger . men of a contentious spirit are always brim full of objections against every thing , and must swell till they burst , if they have not leave to give vent to their uneasie souls ( always in travel to bring forth something new ) in troublesome disputations , which are soon begun , but not so soon ended . when the humour is once set abroach , it runs everlastingly . it would be labour to no purpose to say more of this , the mischiefs of strife have been a long time too visible not to be seen of all , tho they seem to be too little considered by the most , even so visible as to render the visible church of christ on earth almost invisible too . let us only here add the wise kings observation , and , if it come not too late , as i hope it may not to some of us , let us take his advice too . the beginning of strife , is as when one letteth out water ; therefore leave off contention before it be medled with , prov. 17. 14. how this malignant , and ( god knows ) at this day too predominant humour , which so destroyeth the healthful state of the church , may be purged out , the second rule will teach us . in the mean time , a question is , i suppose , ready to be here asked by some , which seemeth not impertinent , and therefore deserveth some answer . it is this . qu. are we christians bound , without any dispute at all , to swallow down every doctrine which our teachers shall commend unto our faith ? and must we without any examination of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the things injoyned , rest in the will of our superiors , applying our selves , without any more ado , to the executing of their commands ? may we not oppose falshood , and contend for the truth , and refuse to do wickedly when we are bid by men in authority ? an. to this question , which hath been often ask'd , and as often answered , we shall here answer only so far , as it seems to reflect upon the rule here given , or what hath been said of it . we say therefore , let it be far from any christian to plead for or countenance an implicit faith , and a blind obedience ; or to disswade any man from making use of his eyes or reason in a sober inquiry into the truth of falshood of any doctrine that is preached ; or into the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any command which is given by men . all that we are to be disswaded from in this place is , that we do not any thing of this out of strife , or with a quarrelsome and contentious mind . do it in meekness and humility , and with a peaceable frame of spirit , as men truely zealous for the truth , and desirous to do your duty to god and man , and you shall neither hurt your selves , nor be obnoxious to the woe which belongs to them by whom offences come . more particularly , 1. we are commanded to search the scriptures , joh. 5. 39. for tho those words were spoken to the unbelieving iews , and not to christians ; yet , by a parity of reason , are we equally concern'd in the duty there injoyned . if they , having received of god the books of moses and the prophets , as the rule of faith and life , were obliged to search those books for directions in both ; and particularly to convince them of their present duty , now to believe in iesus as the promised messiah to the saving of their souls : as much cause have we , who have received the writings of the evangelists and apostles , as our rule of faith and holyness , to search them diligently , and to try all things by them , that we may be sure we obey the gospel of christ , without which there is no salvation to us . that we may be alway in a readiness to give an answer to every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear , 1 pet. 3. 15. and that we be no more children , tossed to and fro , and carried about with every wind of doctrine , by the sleight of men , and cunning craftiness , whereby they lie in wait to deceive , eph. 4 14. and may not believe every spirit , but try the spirits whether they be of god , 1 joh. 4. 1. leave we therefore this implicit faith , and taking things on trust on the naked credit of our teachers without all search and tryal of their doctrine , to the disciples of rome , against whose new faith were there nothing more to object , even this alone were enough to render it suspicious , that it is afraid of the light , and of a fair tryal by the written word . god forbid that we should put out mens eyes , and bid them stalk after others towards heaven in the dark , so long as god himself hath both given them eyes to see withal , and hath left them a plain rule to walk by , and a strict command to observe it . a judgment of discretion to discern truth from falshood , and good from evil , by such light as god hath given them , must be allow'd to all , if we will allow them to be men and not brutes . only let not this universal priviledge be abused to strife . and that it may not be so , take these directions . 1. have not the faith of our lord iesus christ , the lord of glory with respect of persons , jam. 2. 1. these words of the apostle iames , whatever interpretation they admit of as there used , i may thus accommodate to the present matter . let not the enmity or prejudice you have taken up against any man or party , nor yet the good opinion you have conceived of , or great affection for any such , byass or over-rule your search after the truth ; let them not corrupt your judgment , nor be your motives to embrace some and reject other doctrines . but impartially weigh them all in the ballance of the sanctuary , and choose them by their own weight . use men you may and must , as far as you need them , as helps to your own weakness : but consider their reasons not their persons , and what help you have by them , not what opinion or affection you have had for them ; left you run into an error not unlike that you condemn in the romish church , of pinning your faith upon your friends sleeve . for tho you thus may chance to hit upon the truth , yet shall you be found herein to act through strife , and that infecteth even your believing of truth it self with sin . 2. take heed of doting about questions and strifes of words , whereof cometh envy , strife , railings , evil surmisings , perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds , 1 tim. 6. 4. see that they be not things unprofitable and vain , tit. 3. 9. that you are so earnest about . were all word-bickerings , and impertinent disputes laid aside , we should soon see controversial divinity reduced into a much narrower compass . weigh well the matters in debate , and be sure there is something in them that will quit cost , and pay you well for your pains . take heed , if the contention be but about a little straw , and things of very little or no concernment to mens souls , or the good of the church , that your zeal grow not too hot ; lest you set all on fire , and burn down the house over your heads . especially beware of that most unreasonable but very common disease of most wranglers , fighting about words , whilest you are agreed in the things themselves , and see it not for the much dust that slies in your eyes by your bustling about nothing . 3. search for the truth always , and that purely for the truths sake , and the usefulness of it . to find out gods will , and not something that may suit with your own wishes , should be your design . that whereby god may be glorified , the world benefitted , your souls saved , not your humours pleased . some men seem to take great pains to search for the truth , as before-hand resolved to hold it no longer , or at least , not much to regard it , when they have found it upon any other account , then that they see some others hold an error , whom they may be able to oppose with it : they value the truth for nothing so much , as for this , that it is a warrant for the exercise of their faculty of wrangling and contradiction . 4. search the scriptures sincerely and reverently as the sacred oracles of life , not being partial to any opinion which you have already taken up by chance , and are faln in love with . take heed of wresting and forcing the words of scripture to comply with your present sentiments ; or of picking out hete and there a broken piece of a sentence to patch up your own thoughts withal ; or how you judge of the sound of the words you hear , by the sound that already rings in your ears . go to the scriptures , as to the fountain of saving truth , resolving to fetch both your opinions and your practice thence , and to correct whatsoever is at present amiss in your self by them . this is to give god his due honour , and to let him be the sole lord of your faith. 5. content your selves with the most plain , easie , and obvious truths ; for those are also the most necessary and least subject to disputes ; and meet with least opposition on any hand , except it be from mens lusts , and against those you have liberty to contend with all your might , so it be in your own place and station , and with christian charity . remember always that in the scriptures there be some things hard to be understood which the unlearned are apt to wrest to their own and others destruction , 2 pet. 3. 16. and in the interpreting whereof the most learned think it both their wisdom and duty to be very modest . how hard would it be for christians to disagree , would they rest in plainly revealed truths , which all good protestants are agreed to be all things necessary to the salvation of sinners . and how unreasonable a thing is it , when we are are all agreed in these , to strive even to the justling of one another or our selves out of the church , about those things whereof men may be safely ignorant , and it may be ten to one , whether one of ten ever understood . 6. have you found something , which seemeth to you to be a truth , whilest yet the greatest and most learned part of the christian world , and particularly of the church wherein you live , thinketh it an error ? set not your selves presently , as some novices use to do , in the pope's chair . remember you are at best , but fallible men , and should learn to be wise unto sobriety . love not to be troublesome to the world with your pretended knowledge , neither be angry that all mens judgments will not bow to yours . hast thou faith ? have it to thy self before god , rom. 4. 22. think it not a duty in you , to make all the world know what you think you only know , or the duty of all men to learn of you . a good and humble christian will satisfie himself in approving himself faithful to god and his own conscience , and will always have the modesty to think , that many men in the world are wiser then he : and for this reason he cannot think it fit for him , either to pride himself in his singular opinions , or to vent them every where to draw disciples after him , to the breach of the churches peace . we have a command indeed that our light so shine before men that they may see our good works , and glorifie our father which is in heaven ; but where is the command , to vent our opinions , that they may see our wisdom and glorifie us upon earth ? thus much concerning opinions . 2. now to that part of the question relating to the commands of superiours , we may say again more generally , that it is a most certain truth , that we must obey god rather than men , act. 5. 29. and that we are bound to use all the means that god hath put within our reach to be fully perswaded in our minds , touching the lawfulness of every action we go about , be it commanded or uncommanded by our superiours , rom. 14. 5. and we are well assured by the apostle , that whatsoever is not of faith is sin , rom. 14. 23. and therefore no man ought to be debarred the liberty of securing his own soul as well as he can , by examining the lawfulness of the things commanded . only let this again be done without strife . that is to say , 1. make it manifest by your ready and unforced obedience in all things , of the lawfulness whereof you are already satisfied , that your disobedience in other things , wherein you are not yet satisfied , is purely for conscience sake , and not through strife ; but that as you obey cheerfully for the lords sake , so if in any thing you disobey , 't is purely for the lords sake too . if this course had been taken in time by some men , they might , it is probable , at this day have seen the wisdom as well as iustice of so doing . he that with-holdeth obedience upon pretence of unlawfulness only , must needs obey in all things which he granteth to be lawful , or else he utterly voids his own pretence , and declares himself more a lover of strife than conscience . whereunto then we have already attained , let us walk by the same rule , let us mind the same thing , phil. 3. 16. 2. in examining the commands of superiours , make it not your business to seek out something which you may with some colour for your disobedience oppose against them , when you see before-hand no apparent reason , why you should not obey them . he that seeing no cause why he should not obey , goes to seek for one , sheweth plainly his affection to strife , and that the reason of his disobedience is not unlawfulness but wilfulness . take heed therefore how your enmity to the government send you a hunting for something to make the commands of your governors seem disputable . 3. be well contented to be satisfied in your own consciences , concerning the unlawfulness of what is injoyned by publick authority , and being so satisfied , take heed of two things : 1. that you be not too forward to iudge or condemn those that are otherwise perswaded , and think it to be their duty to do , in obedience to their governors , what you dare not do . it is an uncharitable censure to say , that others act against their own consciences as often as they will not be over-ruled by your iudgments , or cannot be convinced by your arguments . too much of this spirit of strife and rash censuring seemeth to shew it self in some late writings , wherein the authors forgetting what they promised , a bare vindication of , or rather apology for themselves , fall into a down-right accusation of others , even to that degree , as to deny them all possibility of satisfying their own consciences in what they do . i do not see whither such things as these can tend , whatever was the intention of the writers , but to the gendering of strifes , which i would fain hope them to be better christians then to make their design . however let us study that healing rule the apostle giveth , rom. 14. 3. let not him that eateth , despise him that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth not , judge him that eateth . who art thou that judgest another mans servant ? to his own master he standeth or falleth . 2. do not make it your business to put doubts and scruples into the consciences of others , to the disturbance of both their own and the churches peace . the itch of making proselytes to every mans private opinion hath ever been as pernicious an evil to the church of god , as that which is commonly said of men in the plague , were it true , would be to the neighbourhood , that a part of their disease is a desire to infect the sound . think well how you have enough to do , in a doubtful case , to answer god for your own disobedience to the powers , unto which he hath commanded to be subject for conscience sake , and therefore can have no need to engage your selves in that hard task of answering for the disobedience of many , which they would never have been guilty of but through your perswasion . i shall now only add a few things to conclude this first point . seeing man is so very restless a thing in this world , and it is so hard a matter quite to root out of him this humour of striving , let us endeavour to cut a way for it into its proper chanel , where it may run freely , and men may strive to good purpose . yet by the way we must be warned to put away all rancor , and malice , and envy , and wrath , and evil speaking , and all must be a strife of love. a man is not crowned , except he strive lawfully , 2 tim. 2. 5. 1. strive we may then , and even for the mastery to obtain the incorruptible crown , 1 cor. 9. 25. and shew us any thing else , that 's truely worth the striving for . for this , let us all be perswaded to fight with all our might and courage , yet not with such enemies as are the creatures of our own imaginations or opinions ; we have enemies enow to hold us doing , and put us to all our shifts , besides those ; even the same , which we have ingaged our selves in our baptism to wage a continual war against , sin , the world , and the devil . he that knoweth what these are , knoweth he hath enough to strive against . if we will have the crown we must strive to overcome all these ; this is to strive like a christian indeed , and this is our encouragement , the victory is sure , and it is a noble victory . foolishly therefore do we wast our time , and our strength in contending with one another about ceremonies and formalities , where he that conquereth shall but like the proud emperor triumph in cockle-shells . surely we think but little whither we are going , or from what we flee , and what enemies watch for our ruine , if we can be at leisure to stand bogling at straws . certainly we shall all have enough to do , without casting such rubs as these strifes are in our own way , to come to heaven . 2. strive together for the faith of the gospel , phil. 1. 27. but if we will do this indeed , we must as the apostle there also faith , stand fast in the spirit , with one mind . a scattered and divided army is easily vanquished by piece-meal , which in a full body might have daunted the enemy with the very sight of its number , order and unity . we cannot choose but be sensible that our faith hath very considerable enemies at this day , and how can we invent a way to do them better , or our selves worse service , then by keeping open our divisions , which hath cost them so much pains to make amongst us ? o how do they hug themselves to see us so industrious to save them a labour , and ruine our selves ? let us but be united amongst our selves , and strive together for the faith of the gospel , and we may confidently promise our selves what the apostle there addeth , v. 28. we need be nothing terrified by our adversaries . 3. let the ministers strive to preach christ , warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom , that they may present them perfect in christ iesus . unto this let them labour , striving according to his working , which worketh in them mightily , col. 1. 28 , 29. how much livelier a work would this be , how much more beseeming the ministers of christ set over the flock , thus to feed and watch daily over the sheep and lambs , and combining together to keep them from the ravenous wolves and wily foxes , then to stand pelting one another with ill words only to make sport for the adversary ? 4. let the people strive together with their ministers in their prayers to god for them , rom. 15. 30. to this end , as it there follows , that they may be delivered from them that do not believe , and that their service may be accepted of the saints . this would be a much more christian and profitable work , then theirs of whom we read , hos. 4. 4. the people are as they which strive with the priest : whether it were , who should outdo other in wickedness , or to oppose his doctrine , obstruct him in discipline , or revile his person and function in all companies . 5. let us all strive to enter in at the strait gate , luk. 13. 24. and who should go on fastest in that narrow way that leadeth unto life eternal . exhorting one another , and provoking one another to love and good works , heb. 10 , 24. and not strive to anger and vex and revenge our selves on one another by unchristian and even inhumane affronts and injuries . 6. strive against sin , heb. 12. 4. let our earnestness against this common enemy of mankind be as great as can be . here exercise all our wrath and revenge . let us be very bitter against it , have no pity on it , resolve never on any terms to be reconciled unto it , or be satisfied with any thing less then its death . let us strive to subdue it and mortifie it in our selves , and to correct it as we have opportunity in others . it is a much better work this , than making sins of those things which are none , of indifferent things , or casting aspersions of sin upon others for those very things whereby they labour all they can to shun all appearance of it in obeying their superiors . 7. lastly , let us strive who shall outgo others in love and meekness , and tenderness of affection , long-suffering , and forbearing one another in love , eph. 4. 2. putting always the best and most favourable construction upon all one anothers words and actions , and exercising all our severity upon our selves , our sinful flesh and lusts . seeking how we may become all things to all men , that we may by all means gain some , 1 cor. 9. 20. not to a party or faction of our own , but to christ. let this suffice to have been said of the former of these two things , which we are to remove out of the way , in order to the introducing of peace and unity . 2. the second thing which we are to remove and put far from us is vain-glory. and till this be put away , strife will abide , the vain-glorious man will ever be contending , thinking it the likeliest way to be taken notice of for somebody . this indeed is more usually the vice of teachers , then of learners . yet is there no rank of men which is not troubled with some spice of it : in speaking whereof we must shew , 1. what it is , 2. why to be avoided , 3. how to be cast out . 1. this vain-glory is a disease of mind , whereby a man swells himself up to what bigness he can in the sight of the world. either he hath a very high conceit of his own excellencies , and perfections , and is concerned that they are not as much taken notice of by others , as they are admired by himself ; and that all the world should not be as proud and fond of him , as he is of himself : or else , it may be , he is conscious enough of his own emptiness , and would make up what he wants of real worth at home , by the estimation of others . praise is the thing he thirsts for , and so he can get it , he cares not much what there is in him to deserve it . so he may but have a name and reputation of wife , and learned and pious , and other ways gifted , and qualified above others , and as few are , and be pointed at by the vulgar as he goeth for a few-such , he is well enough pleased with himself , whatever he be in truth ; he can fall out with himself for nothing but his obscurity , and too little care to make himself known abroad , or rather to deceive all men into a good opinion of him by seeming something that he is not . and therefore all his studies and endeavours are bent upon this one thing , how to be known , and yet unknown ; to have his person had in esteem and admiration ; and his real worth unknown , lest the knowledge thereof should abate any thing of that reputation and fame , which he so insatiably thirsteth after . so he may be had in honour , and advanced to some hight , he is well enough content ; what tho the statue be but of common wood or stone , and have nothing in it of the life of vertue , or any thing else that 's good , yet it stands in a publick place , and is finely painted , and guilt , and all that pass by look upon it and call it a fine thing , and fools admire it , and that 's enough . this is the thing in short . 2. now why we must avoid this vice of vain-glory , we shall see cause enough , if we may but be brought to see , 1. how odious it is to men . 2. how dishonourable to god. 3. how contrary to the gospel-spirit . 4. how destructive to our endeavours and hopes , and , 5. what a plague it is to the church and the peace thereof . 1. it is certainly odious to men of what sort or complexion soever they be . it is a thing which no man can indure in any man but himself , and for which , more then for any one thing beside , good men are apt to fall out with themselves . the proud man , tho he can freely indulge himself in it , yet can least of any man see it with any patience in another , nor can he look upon him as any better then as a covetous man doth upon a thief or robber , because all praise and honour he accounts his own due , and thinks whoever gets it robbeth him of what is his . he therefore is sure to condemn it in all men , if for no other reason , yet for this , that it stands , as alexander did betwixt the sun and the proud cynick , too much in his light , and will not let him look so shiningly as he would do . and the humble hates it because he is humble , and hates every thing that is sinful . so that all the vain-glorious man can get by his foolish ambition , is only that , which above all things he abhorreth and most studiously endeavoureth to prevent , that is , when ever he is discovered , to be despised of all . but this is little . 2. vain-glory is a thing most odious to god. how should any man think otherwise , that knoweth what god is , and what is due to him from his creature ? all honour and glory and praise , because all goodness is so , are his , and only his : and hence the vain-glorious man is the most sacrilegious man in the world , and a greater robber of god , then they that rob him of tithes and offerings , taking to himself the honour and glory due unto god's name , whereof he hath declared himself to be very jealous . the vain-glorious man may be called an idolater without a figure , making an idol of himself , and desirous that all the world should worship him . this we are plainly told , and that 's enough , god resisteth the proud , but giveth grace to the humble , 1 pet. 5. 5. 3. how contrary vain-glory is to the spirit of the gospel is so visible , as nothing can be more . our holy iesus hath more particularly commended his own example to our imitation herein , learn of me , saith he , for i am meek and lowly of heart , matt. 11. 29. he sought not his own glory , but the glory of him that sent him , joh. 8. 50. 7. 18. he took especial care to prick this bladder in his disciples as soon as he espied it beginning to rise in any of them , as in the sons of zebedee , matt. 20. 25 , 26. self-denial was one of the principal lessons he taught them , and he hath left it upon record for our instruction , that one great reason why no more believed on him and became true christians was this , that they received honour one of another , and sought not that honour that cometh from god only , joh. 5. 44. and loved the praise of men more then the praise of god , joh. 12. 43. now saith st. paul at the 5th v. of this chapter , let this mind be in you , which was also in christ iesus . what that was he tells us , v. 7. he made himself of no reputation , but took upon him the form of a servant , and humbled himself . if we will then be the followers of christ , and walk worthy of his gospel , this is the mind we must be of . 4. it certainly blasteth all our very best performances , and destroyeth all the hopes we had of a blessing upon them . even all those otherwise pious and charitable acts , which done in love and humble obedience are most highly acceptable to god , and have his sure promise of an everlasting reward , such as are fasting , and prayer , and alms-giving , when thus pharisaically performed for ostentation and to be seen of men , must all be content to take up with that poor , airy , pittiful thing , the plaudite and praise of a few sinners , instead of the approbation and reward of god , that , well done good and faithful servant , enter thou into the joy of thy lord , matt. 6. 5. lastly , how this vain-glory pestereth the church of christ , and disturbeth daily the peace of it , is a thing needless to shew in many words . it hath reigned too long in the world to have the innumerable mischiefs it hath done in the church of christ in all ages , concealed from any observing man. when once any man is infected with this disease , he groweth restless in himself , he longeth to go abroad , and to become popular , to be called rabbi , and thought a wise man in his generation , a master in israel ; and then conscience must be laid aside of necessity , as a thing which would mightily disturb him in his way to glory , tho a pretence to it , and to a very great tenderness of it , must by no means be made away , for that 's the best staff he hath to lean upon . such men always think themselves too much hid in the crowd of ordinary christians ; alas , what reputation and honour can it bring them to do , or speak , or write as other good christians do ? or what glory can come of living by the same common rules , whereby the whole body of christians are to be governed , tho they be such as christ himself hath given ? they are not only papists that affect works of super-erogation . the man that will be famous , must resolve to step out boldly before the rest , and attempt something that others dare not do , venture to be singular in some new doctrine or practice , that men may take particular notice of him , and admire his wisdom or his courage , saying , shew us another man that could or durst do this . nor can such an one be long without company , he that cannot have the honour of the first invention , will strive for that of the first approbation , thinking it some praise to be first able to discern the wisdom of a wiser then himself . men will rather be content with a fame at second hand then want it . and if he cannot maintain the novelty by dispute ; yet is it possible , he may soon be taught a catalogue of bad names , and when he hath them once on his tongue , whether he understand them or not , he can bestow them as freely as another upon any thing he is bid to shew his dislike of ; especially on those dull souls that can so contentedly go on in those beaten roads wherein good christians have so long walked before them . should we take a view of all the heresies and schisms , which have troubled and rent the church from its first plantation to this day , it is very probable we might find most of them coming from this never-failing spring of vain-glory. i close this with those words of the apostle , gal. 5. 26. let us not be desirous of vain-glory , provoking one another , envying one another . qu. some may possibly here ask , whether we christians should be wholly regardless of our credit and reputation in the world , and unconcerned whether we have a good name amongst men or not . an. to such we say with solomon , eccl. 7. 1. a good name is better then precious oyntment . and rather to be chosen then great riches , prov. 22. 1. every man ought to be truely tender of his reputation , even with b●d men if possible , this affording him many special advantages of doing god better service among them . honour and praise are no despicable things , and they may be sought and upheld in due place as well as riches and other earthly blessings without offence to god or man. let us only take heed that we take the right course to do both , and secure to our selves the true honour of really being , and not seeming only wise and good , and all will be well . to this purpose take but a few directions . 1. see that god have his due honour intirely to himself , and let us be content with ours as it shall fall unto us . let our principal care be to seek the honour that cometh from god only , and to have his approbation and well done in every thing , and we shall hardly want so much as is due unto us , or at least is fit for us , from men . to honour god is our great duty , and our great incouragement is this , them that honour him , he will honour , 1 sam. 2. 30. whether and how far we shall be honour'd of men , whilst we are doing our duty , the only thing to which it can belong , let us leave it to god , that ordereth all things . by humility and the fear of the lord are riches and honour , and life , prov. 22. 4. if he give them , praise him , and return all we receive unto him : if we want the honour men should give , let this suffice us , that we can approve our selves unto god , by honour and dishonour , by evil report and good report , 2 cor. 6. 8. 2. having made sure that god have his honour from us , and from all men as far forth as it is in our power to promote it . let us use the proper means to gain and keep up a good reputation among men ; yet not so much for our own sakes , as for gods and theirs . let us conscienciously do our duties , every man in his respective place and calling , by this means we shall be sure either to get a good name , or not to deserve a bad one . a good name thus gotten is very valuable , because it may be very serviceable to us to many good purposes , both in relation to god whom we serve , and to other men with whom we have to do , and to our selves as an encouragement to greater alacrity in our duty . but let us beware of these things . 1. how we make our own reputation the principal motive or end of what we do , for this is to seek our own honour more than god , and to rob him of the honour due unto his name . 2. how we seek to raise up to our selves a rame by any sin or wickedness , or an hypocritical shew of piety , for this were to build our reputation upon god's dishonour . 3. how we endeavour to build our own reputation upon the ruine of another mans , for this is a sin against both the iustice and the charity which we owe unto all men . 4. how we abuse our reputation amongst men to the countenancing of faction and sedition , or any evil thing whatsoever . in short . let our own glory always stoop and veyl to the glory of god , the edification of the church , the peace and tranquility of state , the subjection which we owe to our superiors , and the good of our neighbours , and it shall be no vain-glory. how both these , strife and vain-glory , are to be cast out , we must learn by the second rule given us in the text , of which we are now to speak . ii. in lowliness of mind , let each esteem other better than themselves . such a measure of humility as will make men esteem others better than themselves , will by rooting out strife and vain-glory , settle the church in a blessed peace . how this doctrine will be entertain'd and practised in this proud age , god alone knows , and to him we must leave it , when we have done our endeayour . our task at this time is , 1. to lay down a brief description of the grace commended , lowliness of mind . 2. to shew its great efficacy for the rooting out of strife and vain-glory , the two grand enemies to love and peace . and , 3. to declare the practice of it in esteeming each other better than our selves . 1. the grace or vertue which is here commended to us is humility or lowliness of mind . a grace which abundantly commends it self , and engageth the affections of all that see it , wherever it is ; but as all things of greatest worth commonly are , almost as rare as it is excellent . one most illustrious example of it we have to imitate , which , were its worth unknown , is enough to commend it unto all christians , and if it do not so , they are not christians , whatever they are pleased to call themselves . look upon the whole life and death of him who came to be the saviour of the world , iesus christ ; and you see this divine vertue expressed to the life . how wonderful then must it be , that it should be so great a stranger in the christian world , and so few that bear the name of christ have any intimate acquaintance with it ? tho all commend it in others , yet few labour to find it in themselves . this is it . an holy frame and temper of spirit whereby a man doth most heartily give all honour possible to god , as much as is due to every man , and is content with a very little for himself . it wholly emptieth him of all self-conceit , checketh in him all aspiring thoughts , maketh him truely sensible what he is , and teacheth him not to think of himself above what he finds himself to be , and to be content although others shall think him to be much less than indeed he is . the humble man is very much in considering himself to be the creature of god , and to depend wholly upon him , and to have nothing at all but only what it had pleased god to bestow upon him . he considereth yet farther that he is a sinner , and that he offendeth god daily , and serveth him at best very imperfectly and weakly , that he hath often abused god's goodness , and is thereupon become less than the least of his mercies : he acknowledgeth that his wants and infirmities are much more than his abilities , and that there is hardly any creature of god , but doth now , as he is a sinner , excel him in something , at least , in innocence ; and that in one respect or other he stands in as much need of them , as any of them do of him . he remembreth how unable he is of himself to help himself to any thing that is good , either for his soul or body , without the assistance and blessing of another . and now considering all this , and much more to this purpose , his own glory vanisheth from his sight , he entertaineth low and just thoughts of himself , as a poor , weak , wicked , and for that , a very contemptible creature , that can deserve nothing at the hands of god , not do either god or his neighbours , or himself any considerable part of that service which he ought to do . he looketh upon all that he hath as anothers free gift and bounty . he looketh upon all that he doth or can do in relation to god , his neighbour , and himself , as imperfect at best , and , without god's blessing , vain if not hurtful . and hence , he looketh upon himself as a very unworthy and useless thing , but only as he may be an instrument in the hands of the great and good god , and may by the power and wisdom of his manager be directed to something good . from hence it also cometh , that whatsoever this humble man hath , he holds himself , as a debtor to god for it , so also most unworthy of it , and it , whatever it be , too good for him ; and cannot but admire gods goodness and bounty to such a thing as he is , in permitting him yet to live . if he suffer any evil , he accounts it a very light thing in comparison of what he hath deserved to suffer , and therefore repines not at the greatness of his sufferings , but admireth gods goodness still in dealing so gently with him , and blesseth him that they are no greater . whatsoever he doth , if it be sinful , he taketh it all to himself , he owns the shame of it , and thinks of himself as a sinner ought to do : and if it be good , he blesseth god that hath enabled him to do it , and calleth nothing of it his own besides the imperfections of it , nor can he think any part of the world beholden to him for doing but a very little part of his duty in it and very imperfectly . nothing that he either is , or hath , or doth , can swell him up with any proud thoughts of himself , but still he is less in his own eyes than he can be in any mans else , and accounts himself a very unworthy thing . this is a man of a lowly mind . and that this is a right christian temper sufficiently appeareth from two things which i need but only name . 1. because it hath so much of the image of iesus christ visible in it , who made himself of no reputation , as before we saw . 2. because it hath his special blessing resting upon it . blessed are the poor in spirit , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven , matt. 5. 3. which i shall now suppose enough to commend this lovely vertue to the practice of christians ; and proceed to the second thing , viz. 2. to shew in a few words the efficacy of this heavenly vertue , to drive out strife and vain-glory. and the thing is so obvious , that this and this only can do that work , that it seemeth even needless to say any thing of it . for if only or chiefly , as solomon tells us , by pride cometh contention , then by what else but humility can peace and concord come ? the proud man knows not how to be peaceable except it be by the help of some other vice , such as laziness , covetousness , or especially , cowardice . and the humble man knows not how to be contentious , because he is humble . alas , saith the humble hearted christian , what am i , that any the least disturbance either in the church or state should be made either by or for such a poor worm as i am , or for a thousand such as i ? he hath not such high thoughts of his own wisdom , as to turn proud fool , and think that he may not be deceived as well as other men , or ought to be humour'd in his mistakes more then they , therefore is it alway far from him to commend his own judgment or opinion unto others as the true standard whereby he would have them measure theirs . how great soever such a mans knowledge is , be sure his modesty is as great , and this will ever restrain him from making his knowledge a trouble to the world. he will heartily bless god for enabling him by it to do others any service in seasonable instructions and directions in their course to heaven ; but he hath no temptation at all by it , to obtrude himself upon all men as their only iudge of right or wrong . he is so far from an eager desire and hunting after the praise of men , and all affectation of popularity , that there is hardly any thing he more dreads , then the applause and admiration of the many ; and nothing is apt to humble him more , by making him grow jealous of himself , knowing well how hard it is for a multitude to agree in the approbation of what is good . he thinks every condition that the divine providence allots him in this world so good , and indeed so much too good for him , as far exceeding his deserts , that he concludes it very misbecoming him to make any bustle to get up higher : and he is so well satisfied with the honour of door-keeper in the house of god , or of sitting at iesus feet to hear his words ; that he hath no ambition at all to be called of men rabbi , or to be esteemed some great one , and admired by the gazing multitude . his mean and modest opinion of his own improvements makes him indeed very inquisitive and industrious to learn of any man that he thinks able to teach him those things whereof he supposeth himself ignorant : and he blesseth god for the opportunity , and both loves and honours his teachers , and acknowledgeth by whom he hath profited : and if he attain to that competent stock of knowledge as may fit him to teach others , he doth it freely as the payment of a due debt , and he doth it as humility commands him , not scornfully and disdainfully , not proudly and imperiously lording it over mens faith , but as an helper of their joy , 2 cor. 1. 24. not preaching himself , but christ iesus the lord , and himself their servant for iesus sake , 2 cor. 4. 5. serving them in love , as the servant of him that came not to be ministred unto , but to minister ; ministring not to his own fame , but to the needs of mens souls . his humble thoughts of his own merits , make him well content with the honour and respect that is bestow'd upon him be it never so little , and all his care is how to deserve that little better then he thinks he hath yet done ; and to pay all that respect , honour and obedience which he finds owing from himself to others , willing to condescend to any thing that is not sinful be it never so low , for the good and quiet of that part of the world wherein he liveth . what am i ( saith he alway ) that for my sake or satisfaction , or the gratifying my humour or opinion , the publick peace should suffer , or any the least bustle should be made in the world ? thus it is impossible for strife and vain-glory to live where humility reigneth , it will certainly pull down every high thing that exalteth it self against peace and unity . 3. let us now see how this lowliness of mind is to be put in practice , and set on work , that it may effect this blessed and most desireable reformation , which we have all the reason in the world most heartily to pray for , and most strenuously to endeavour . and this must be its work , to teach us to esteem each other better then our selves . this is the work of humility , but where shall we find humility enough to do this work ? humility not only maketh a man little in his own eyes , but others great ; teacheth him to depress himself , that other men may have the advantage of him . a work this , of which i fear i may say , as was said of that , act. 13. 41. it is a work which men will in no wise believe , tho a man declare it unto them . o that men would be perswaded to think that such a thing can be , as this esteeming others better then our selves . indeed it is such a work as necessarily requireth the help of the mighty spirit of god ; mans proud heart will not down so low by any less power . but if we see not this effect of humility in the practice of such as we take to be humble , let us not say that humility cannot do it , but that there is not humility enough to do it . let humility be humility indeed , and it will do it . for this being its proper work , to make a man very vile and bad in his own thoughts , a little thing will serve if they have any so much as shew of goodness at all , to make others seem better . it needs not much goodness , that is only to be thought better then what is thought stark naught . it is however a piece of self-denial which every disciple of christ is bound to learn. and tho every man be a great lover and admirer of himself upon any very slender account naturally , yet christianity will cast the soul into another mould , and make us new creatures , and then we shall be able to do greater matters . but , say some , how is it possible we should esteem men contrarily to what we see them to be ? and we cannot but be perswaded that we see many men much worse and wickeder than we our selves are , and to say that we think them otherwise would be to lie . well , suppose you think them , according to appearance , worse than your selves ; have you done enough to assure your selves that it is not the want of humility that maketh them appear worse ? are you sure that if you saw with the humble mans eyes , things would not appear to you much otherwise then now they do ? think not the apostle here gives a rule which no man can follow , but learn to be more humble , and perhaps the matter may prove very easie let us try therefore what humility will do . 1. consider we then otber men , that they are either really better then we , or really worse . the one of these two they must be , except we may suppose them really in all points exactly our equals , which if they should chance to be , it is impossible for us to discern it , and therefore humility will be sure to weigh down the scale on their side . 1. if others be really better then we , there needs not much humility to esteem them better ; it is no act of condescention in us to account them as good as they are . 't is a debt we owe to iustice and truth , to value them as much as they are worth , and in doing otherwise we should sin against god and them . against god , by not honouring him in his gifts and graces , and so much of his image as we discern in any one . and against them , in with-holding from them that which god hath made their due , the pre-eminence unto which he hath exalted them in any kind ; in not honouring them whom god hath pleased to honour . we ought both in obedience to god , and in justice to them , behave our selves towards them as our superiors , whom it hath pleased god to place above us . the reasonableness and equity of this i need not to spend time or words to demonstrate , seeing no man can be so void of reason , as not to think it just , that all real goodness or excellency should have a proportionable respect and honour , tho all men have not ( i may say , but a few men have ) that humility to acknowledge those excellencies which are in other men . nay such is the crossness and perverseness of mens spirits , that instead of honouring , too many have wickedness enough to envy , malign and calumniate all such as they see above themselves in any gift or vertue , place or office whatsoever . and whence is all this , but from the want of humility , ( shall i say , ) or rather humanity , and that confessed piece of iustice of doing to all others as they would have others do to them . 2. if others be not better , but really worse then we , yet if we could but once be brought to understand the work of true humility , we should soon see , that it would teach us to think much otherwise of them , then yet our pride will suffer us to do : and that without doing violence to truth , or undervaluing any gift which it hath pleased god to give us more then other men . let us consider but these few things . 1. humility will teach us to descend very low into our selves , and to discover very much evil in our selves which lieth hid from other men . it keeps the thoughts very much at home , and suffereth them not to ramble much abroad , to spie wonders in other mens houses to talk of , and busie themselves with , when they should be observing the slut-holes and dirty corners of their own . the humble mans eye is very much fixed upon his own sins , infirmities and failings . and when at any time he takes notice of his own good qualities , of what kind soever they be , as it is his duty to do , it is not his business to make comparisons with others , to see how much he excelleth them , but to compare himself with himself , and observe how much he is improved in grace and knowledge , and how much better these have made him then formerly he was ; and this carries his meditations up to god in the first place , in praise and admiration of his infinite goodness who hath done so great things for him ; and next , unto the use and end of these qualifications , how they fit him to serve god and the world. but nothing of this can he consider without exercising his humility in reflecting on his own unworthyness , the thoughts of his former unworthyness serve him to heighten his admiration of , and thankfulness for gods bounty to such a sinner , and the thoughts of gods goodness in thus inriching him lessen his esteem of himself , and bring him to a deeper degree of humility , whilst he thinks with himself , how little he answereth the end of so much goodness , and how little good in the world he doth in respect of what god hath fitted him with ability to do . thus he never wants work enough at home for his thoughts to busie themselves , so that they have but little leisure to search into the failings and weaknesses of his neighbours : and when he unwillingly sees them , they are apt to seem but motes to him , because of the beams in his eye , his own sins , which he is apt so much to magnify , that the sins of others seem small things to him in comparison of his own ; or he considers them only so , as to endeavour their correction not their aggravation . the humble man cannot be vile in any measure , but he will be more vile still in his own eyes . but this same grace , and that other , which is never absent from it , charity , directs a mans eye most unto the vertues and excellencies that are to be seen in others ; which shine so much to him that for them he cannot see their infirmities . their vertues and goodness of any kind he thinks it of some concernment to himself to see and learn and imitate , and to praise god for , admiring his goodness to others as well as to himself . but as for their infirmities and failings , they mostly concern god and their own consciences ; and his humility teacheth him to leave them to god , and to take no further notice of them , then charity and his place wherein god hath set him command : and these will never command us to think men worse then our selves , but to endeavour to make them better then they are . thus humility rendring our own faults , yea such as others would count none , very visible to us ; and those of other men , either not at all , or so far only as they are of publick cognizance , reasonably moveth us to esteem them better then our selves . charity covereth a multitude of faults . 2. suppose we next , that very many evils in other men do visibly appear to us , yet still many of our own will also appear , if we be humble ; and in all likelyhood many more in our selves then in them . and besides those many in our selves , which we daily observe , we know there be , and humility maketh us think there are very many secret sins lurking within our hearts , watching an opportunity to break forth , and many that have privately broken forth and escaped our notice in the passage , which do not yet appear to us . so that how many soever the visible sins of other men be , yet still the humble man fears he goes beyond them in number and weight too . however , when the humble man comes upon any occasion to compare himself with other men , his wont is , not to consider other mens failings but his own , neither his own vertues but the vertues of other men . and as pride teacheth a man to compare his own vertues with other mens vices , as the proud pharisee did , that he may find something in himself to boast of : so humility teacheth a man a quite contrary course , to compare his own vices with other mens vertues , that he may be yet more humble , and think himself with the apostle the chief of sinners . 3. we will yet go farther , and suppose that other mens vices and failings may be much more visible to us then our own , and their apparent vertues by much fewer then our own ; yet the humble man , when he comes to lay the one against the other , is always ready to cast in all the advantage , and make all the allowances to others that can be imagined . he can partly know , and as far as he can know them , he is sure to take into consideration all the numerous aggravations of his own sins , and is very apt sometimes to lay on too much weight , even till he press down his soul almost into despair . but as he knows he cannot see into all the aggravations of another mans sins , being unable to see into the heart ; so doth charity restrain him alway from making any narrow search into them . and hence it is , that though other mens sins may be as visible to him as his own , so far as they lie open and obvious to the view of all men , yet shall his own be made always to out-weigh theirs in the aggravating circumstances which others cannot see . and again , on the other hand , the humble man considereth all the opportunities , advantages and incouragements himself hath had to be vertuous , and then all the good he doth , how much soever others value it , and see great cause to bless god , and love him for it , shall yet seem little and even nothing to himself , compared with what he thinks both might and ought to have been done by him . and as much doth his charity prompt him to excuse the little he seeth done by others , by a supposition of the want in them of all those helps which he hath had . thus therefore is he always saying to himself , what tho my neighbours faults seem more than mine ? what tho the good that he hath done seem much below what i have done ? his knowledge , it may be is much less then mine ; his opportunities of learning much fewer then i have had ; his natural faculties , which is not his fault , may be much weaker ; he wanted , it may be , the wise instructors and faithful monitors which i have never lacked ; he met with many and strong temptations , and lay under many difficulties , which i have been in good measure free from : were i under such circumstances , i should , it may be , sin much more then he , and do less good then he : and were he in my circumstances , had he the same means and motives and opportunities of doing vertuously , and lay under the same restraints from sin , it is probable he would do and live much better than i have done . thus the humble man is very apt to blame himself , but any thing rather then his brother . yea rather then not esteem him better then himself , he will charge much of his evil upon himself , and say , if he be wicked , it is much my fault , who have not done what i ought to make him good . 4. if the humble man be put to compare his own vertues with other mens vertues , and his own vices with other mens vices , ( which it is hard to bring him to ) he will set vertue against vertue , and vice against vice so long , that if it be possible by any means to bring it to pass , the scales of vertues shall ascend , and that of vices descend on his own side . and thus will he argue for his brother against himself . i excel him it may be in one thing , but for ought i know he excelleth me in many . i may possibly be free from some sins whereof he is guilty , but it is not unlikely he is free from many more that i find my self guilty of . if i be more sober , yet may he be more charitable and liberal , and i by my sobriety do good to my self , but he by his liberality doth good to many . i may be less prodigal , but he is less covetous ; i may be less careful for the world , but he is more serviceable to the world. i may pray oftener and longer , but he prayeth more heartily . i may be more zealous , but he is less censorious . i may be more chaste , but he may be more peaceable ; i may be more active , but he may be more meek and humble ; i may be more wise , but still he is the better man. 5. if he can none of these ways give his neighbour the advantage of himself , yet hath he not done , nor can he have done , till if possible , he do it . what , saith he , tho i see little good in him , may there not be much that i cannot see ? he talketh not so much of religion as i do , it is his modesty , he is afraid of hypocrisy , he is afraid it may become too vile by being made a common talk his humility is too great to let him shew himself too openly ; he is afraid to deceive the world into too good an opinion of him , or give occasion to any man to over-value him , or lest by admiring his vertues they should be tempted to imitate his vices . i dare not judge him as bad as he seems , except i could see as far into his heart , as i can into his outward behaviour . tho this be bad enough , yet there may be some spark of grace within , that lying yet raked up in corruption , and by an easiness of nature to comply with the customs of men , and an immoderate bashfulness to resist the temptations of company , or a timorousness of nature to venture on the cross , and the like hinderances ; or for want of good means and helps , is kept from acting and warming the soul with true devotion and piety ; yet it may in due time get life and strength and shew it self . and as i see not what good there is within him , so neither do i see half that evil that is within my self , the heart is deceitful above all things , who can know it ? yea every man is apt to be too favourable to himself , and too severe a censurer of others , and it is safest for me to judge my self , and leave others to stand or fall to their own master . there is nothing i have more cause to fear then a spiritual pride , publicanes and sinners are justified sooner than a proud pharisee that despiseth and croweth over them . humility stands more in the way of the sinner then of the conceited iusticiary . it will be seen at the last day who is best , he or i. now 't is enough that god knows it , who will then judge righteously . be he better , be he worse , i am content he should take place of me in my own esteem . it is my duty to set strangers above me in mine own house . i may lose something on earth by my humility , but pride will certainly keep me out of heaven . i may safely esteem others better then my self , till i can know both them and my self better then yet i do . thus will humility teach us to strive who shall give place to the other , and if the humble man can really think others better then himself , he will ; and if he cannot , yet he will do all that he can towards it , and that will , i suppose , satisfie the apostles exhortation , and will effect what is desired . if we be impartial in judging our selves , and not forward to censure others ; if we be not more busie in casting out the mote that is in our brothers eye , than the beam that is in our own eye , but more forward every man to reform himself then to find faults in others ; we shall practise according to the rule here given . having thus far seen how the duty is practicable , we may easily perceive how happy the church would be were it duly practised . and indeed , although a truely humble christian will hardly satisfie himself in doing less then all that hath been said ; and tho it may be , nothing less then all this will serve to denominate a man truely humble ; yet were something less then this well practised among us , we should soon taste the blessed fruits of such a practice . suppose then that the apostle by these words , let each esteem other better then themselves , meant no more but thus . either 1. that we should esteem , honour and love them better , whom we really think to be better . that we should not envy them , nor endeavour any way to lessen them in the esteem of men , nor strive to get above them , but let them enjoy without disturbance the respect and honour they deserve . what a happy change in the face of the world would even this make ? preferment would follow merit and every thing would stand in its own place and order ; there would be no justling for pre-eminence , nor any thing else but strength and beauty in the building of god. or suppose 2. that we should every one esteem our superiors as our superiors , and think them better only for this , that they are our superiors . if this were all the apostle meant , it would certainly very much avail to the establishing of peace and unity . there would be no resisting , but an humble subjection for conscience sake . and humility would teach us either to rest in the wisdom , or submit at least to the authority of our governors . the same grace that teacheth us to obey god both actively and passively , must teach us also to obey them that have the rule over us for the lords sake , actively where we can , and passively only where we must needs : and tho we could not see in them the image of god's wisdom and goodness , we would at least see and reverence the image of his power . 3. or suppose the meaning were , that we should do all things with that quietness and humbleness , as if we had every one a better opinion of the other's wisdom and piety than his own , as a very learned and pious annotator paraphraseth the words , it is too obvious how this practice would conduce to peace , to need any farther explication . or suppose 4. that all were but this , that we should every one look upon others as our superiors , thus far at least that we owe them a duty of love , and this is a duty that every man oweth to every man. nor will this debt of love be paid by any less than humbly condescending to promote their good , especially the eternal good of their souls by any the lowest and humblest services we can do them . were this done indeed and were , your humble servant as much the language of the heart , as of the tongue and pen , we should soon all write our selves loving friends too . o that we could all be brought to be more in love with this most charming grace of humility , not as it is in others only , but chiefly in our selves ! how happy a thing would it be for the church of christ ? where humility reigns in mens hearts , ( and it reigns not where it commands not a chearful subjection to all our governors ) it is impossible there should be any strangers to love and peace , or that there should not be on all sides a mutual and delightful administring to one another's comfort and happiness . there could remain no strife about any thing , but who should be most humble , and most forward to serve his brethren in love. i shall now close this discourse with a short exhortation only , willing to leave a more particular application of the truths delivered to every man 's own conscience . men may possibly be content , or else compell'd , to hear those things from the monitor in their own breasts , which they are too proud to hear with patience from another . if there be any consolation in christ , if any comfort of love , if any fellowship of the spirit , if any bowels of mercies : if we are but so far christians indeed , as to think any of these things worthy to be taken into serious consideration , let us fulfil the joy of all saints & holy angels , of the whole church militant and triumphant , by our being like-minded , having the same love , being of one accord , of one mind . and that we may be so indeed , let us be perswaded by st. peter , to be subject one to another , and be cloathed with humility , 1 pet. 5. 5. let us once again think it the best fashion to wear that long difused livery of a meek and lowly saviour : by this will god own us to be of his houshold , by this shall we be known to belong to the court of the great king of kings . nothing can render us so beautiful in his eyes as humility . he giveth grace to the humble , jam. 4. 6. with the lowly is wisdom , prov. 11. 2. it is better to be of an humble spirit with the lowly , than to divide the spoyl with the proud , prov. 16. 19. it is the readiest way to that , which the proud man most aimeth at , but in his too much hast to it over-runneth : before honour is humility , prov. 15. 33. thorns and snares are in the way of the froward , prov. 22. 5. but god shall save the humble person , job . 22. 9. he heareth his desire prov. 10. 17. a mans pride shall bring him low , but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit , prov. 29. 23. he that shall humble himself shall be exalted , matt. 23. 12. for though the lord be high yet hath he respect to the lowly , but the proud he knoweth a far off , psal. 138 , 6. what would we now have more to encourage us to the practice of this vertue ? we have here the promises of safety and exaltation , of riches and honour and life , prov. 22. 4. of respect from god , his presence with us , and his grace to uphold us , and after all , the kingdom of heaven assured to the poor in spirit . how is it possible after all this , that a gra●e so lovely in the eyes of god and man , should yet find such cold entertainment amongst us ? o let us entertain it now at least ; now i say , when it comes as it were a begging to our doors and beseecheth us for christs sake to lodg it in our hearts : let us entertain it , if it be but on this account , that some by entertaining strangers have entertained angels unawares : if we be not afraid of gods company , let us now open the doors of our hearts to receive it . for god comes along with it : he will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit , isai. 57. 15. let us be no longer self-condemned by commending in all men what we will not practise our selves . think but seriously what a world of mischiefs we daily are haunted with , for want of this grace . heresies and errors in the faith , scnisms and contentions of all sorts , both in church and state. had we more humble publicans and fewer proud pharisees , our prayers and our persons would be more accepted of god. but whilest so many of us stand bragging and boasting of being godly or orthodox , instead of confessing and deprecating our sins and errors ; whilest there is so much pride , scorn and disdain every where , and so little humility , condescension , meekness and obedience any where ; whilest some cry out , we are the only true sons of the church , and others , we are the only dear children of god ; whilest some are too proud to teach , and others think themselves too good to be taught ; whilest some excommunicate themselves to gratifie their own proud humours , and some as ready to excommunicate others , tho they own their authority , for not also humouring their pride , or espousing their private opinions ; whilest men are calling out to one another , stand off , for we are holier than you ; and many to their governors , why stand you there ? you take too much upon you , seeing all the lord's people are holy . whilest men are continually calling for fire from heaven upon one anothers heads , it is too sadly visible , that we have too little of the gospel-spirit amongst us . and what is it we can hope to gain by this opposing and resisting one another , but that god should be provoked to resist● us all , for he resisteth the proud , iam. 4. 6. and it is more than our pride will leave us any incouragement to hope for , if we be not made a prey to those that will glory in our ruine . let us therefore all labour , instead of censuring and gain-saying one another , to close at least in this one grace of humility , in the commendation whereof we are all unanimous . this will help to cover other mens failings from our eyes , and not only discover our own failings to our selves , but lay them open in penitent confession before god to be covered by the righteousness of iesus christ. instead of all the numerous arguments and motives which might ( were it needful ) be here made use of to perswade us , let it suffice to attend to that earnest exhortation given us by the apostle . col. 3. 12. &c. put on therefore ( as the elect of god , holy and beloved ( bowels of mercies , kindness , humbleness of mind , meekness , long-suffering ; forbearing one another , and forgiving one another , if any man have a quarrel [ or , a complaint ] against any : even as christ forgave you , so also do ye . and above all things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness ; and let the peace of god rule in your hearts , to the which ye are also called in one body , and be ye thankful . would we now be the children of god , and beloved of him ? then instead of strife we must put on bowels of mercies , kindness , long-suffering , mutual forbearance and forgiveness . and instead of vain-glory , we must put on humbleness of mind and meekness . would we be perfect ? we must put on charity . would we answer our vocation or calling to christianity ? we must be careful to keep in one body , and let the peace of god rule in our hearts . would we assure our selves of gods blessing on us all as his children ? let us not always stand complaining of what 's wanting , or what it may be , our own peevishness only makes us think is wanting when it is not , but shew our selves heartily thankful for what by his blessing we have . and the god of peace , that brought again from the dead our lord iesus , that great shepherd of the sheep , through the blood of the everlasting covenant , make us perfect in every good work to do his will , working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight , through iesus christ , to whom be glory for ever and ever . amen . books printed for , and sold by iohn baker at the three pidgeons in st. pauls church-yard . duport in psalmos 4 to cant. gr. lat. idem in psalmos 4 to gr. idem in homericum 4 to gr. lat. beveridge gramatica syriaca 8 o. gore nomenclator geogr. 8 o. alisbury de decreto dei 4 to . dionysius de situ orbis 8 o gr. comenii ianua cum fig. aeneis . lat. confessio fidei 8 o. doughtei analecta sacra 8 o. pars secunda . ignoramus 12 o latine . exaltation of ale 8 o. comenii vestibulum 8 o. lat. eng. pasoris lexicon 8 o. gr. lat. elegantiae poeticae 12 o. quintiliani orationes 8 o. glanvil of the sacrament 12 o. burroughs remedy against grief 12 o. preces scholae pautinae 8 o. glanvil's essay's on several important subjects in philosophy and religion 4 to . woodfords paraphrase on the psalms 8 o. idem paraphrase on the canticles 8 o. a sermon before the artillery company by dr. hicks 4 to . a sermon before the artillery company by dr. sprat 4 to . a sermon before the artillery company by dr. scot 4 to . a sermon before the artillery company by dr. pittis 4 to . a sermon before the scholars of st. pauls school , by dr. meggot 4 o. two speeches spoken by augustus 4 to . a puneral sermon preached on the interment of the lady elizabeth langham , by simon ford 8 o. a funeral sermon at the interment of the lady mary hastings , by sam. willis 4 to . an account of church government for the first six hundred years , by sam. parker , d. d. arch-deacon of canterbury 8 o. religion and loyalty , or a demonstration of the power of the christian church within it self , &c. by sam. parker , d. d. arch-deacon of canterbury 8 o. the service book in folio , in welsh . pools critici sacri in new testament folio , 2 vol. separatim . caesar's comentaries with edmonds notes folio , with cuts . godwins and bacons annals , folio . finis .