Library
of the
University of Toronto
S E R M O N
Preached on Occafion of the
PRESENT REBELLION
In SCOTLAND,
AT THE
Parifli-church ot St+ James ^ Jfcfimivfte
> AND
The CHAPELS belonging to it,
By THOMAS, Lord Biiliop of OX FORT).
fad at the Requejl cf the Parijlioners.
LONDON:
Printed for J; JACKSON, a ;-d J. IOLLIFFE, in
Si. James s Street.
[ Price Four-pence, ]
(3 )
z SAM. x. 1 1.
Be of good Courage, and let us play the
Men for our Teople, arid for the Cities
of our GOT) : And the LORT> do that
which feemeth him good.
MANY of you, I hope, remember,
that I difcourled to you upon thefe
Words, a Year and feven Months
ago*; when GOD, for our Sins, threatned
us firft, with what, for the Continuance of
them, he hath at length permitted to fall on
part of this Land. The Renewal, and nearer
Approach, of the lame Danger, requires a
more earned inculcating of the fame Exhor
tations. For perhaps we may now lay to
Heart the Things we did not then. It is
very true, the Pulpit ought never to be pro-
phaned, and I truft never hath or fhall by
me, to ferve the Purpoies of Party Intereil: ;
or intermeddle with any Points of a Politi
cal Nature, about which the Friends of their
Country, that think at all, can poifibly be
of different Opinions. But the preicnt is a
6 : 1743 4.
A ^ ccav*
(4 )
common Caufe, affecting every one of us,
without Diftin&ion, in what is moft impor
tant to us : And GOD forbid, that the Mini-
fters of the Goipel fhould be either unwil
ling or afraid to ipeak, when his Providence
calls on them ib loudly, to lift up their
Voice. Should the Storm, which is now
beating on many of our Fellow Subjects, be
dilperled by infinite Goodnefs ever fb foon
and lo entirely, without reaching us : It may
yet be of unjpeakable Ufe, ro have made the
proper Reflexions and Reiblutions, whilft
it was approaching towards us. And fliould
the Almighty liifFer us to feel it, as we have
well deierved : Nothing, but thinking and
behaving rightly under his Judgments, can
give us Hope of his Mercy to moderate and
Ihorten them.
Now whatever is requifite for thefe Ends,
is clearly comprehended in the Words of the
Text : Which bring naturally to our Thoughts
the three following Particulars.
I. The Interefts we have at Hake. Our
Teofle, and the Cities of our GOT).
II. The Spirit, which we ought to fliew
in defending them. Be of good Courage,
and let us flay the Men.
III. The humble Dependancc on Heaven,
which we ought to exerciie at the iame time.
And the LOR D do that which Jeemcth
him good
I. The Interefts we have at flake. Our
, and the Cities of cut God : in other
Words,
Words, our Civil Rights, and our Religion.
The Defence of their Perfons and Poflef-
fions againft lawlefs Power, and the fecure
Enjoyment of the Means of Happinefs here
and hereafter, were the great Motives, that
induced Men to fubmit originally to Govern
ment. And every particular Government is
good or bad, as it aniwers or fails of an-
Iwering thefe Purpofes. Now in our own,
as it ftands at preient, our Liberties are
freater, than thole of any other Nation upon
arth: We enjoy them fb fully, that we
abule them beyond Example : And, I be
lieve, no one Perion amongft us, of Know
ledge and Confideration, doth or can fufped;
our King, of having the leaft Defign to in
fringe any Branch of them. The private
Property of the very mean eft is as fate from
the Violence and OppreiTion of the greatcft,
as good Laws and an impartial Execution of
them can be hoped to make *t. And for the
Publick Burdens we labour under, we have
laid them on ounelves, by Repreientatives
of our own Choice, for Uies, which we and
our Fathers, very juftlyin the main, thought
neceffary : In particular for the moft impor
tant Uie, of fecuring the Nation, from time
to time, againft the ivlifchief that now once
more hangs over us : which if we at laft get
rid of, ail we have fpent is well laid out;
and if we liibmit to, all is thrown away.
Still, there may doubtlefs have been Faults
committed, in relation both to thcle and o-
ther
ther Matters. But then, Part of the Faults
commonly charged may be imaginary : For
we are all as fallible, as thoie whom we
blame ; and few of us in fo good a Situation
for judging. Part may be of fmall Confe-
quence ; and therefore no Ground for any
great Reientment. Part may have arifen from
our own Miicondudt, as much, if not more,
than from that of our Superiors. Part again
may have proceeded from excufableMiftakes
or Infirmities of theirs ; which, as we need
Allowance for in ourleives, we ihould make
Allowance for in others : Especially in Prin
ces, for the fame Reafon as in Parents ; and
to a fit Degree, in thofe alfo that are cm-
ployed by them. But, whence loever ap
prehended Grievances may have come : We
have legal, conftitutional, peaceable Means
for redreflmg them; with entire Liberty to
life thoie Mcaijs f if we will. And iuppote
they have not operated ib fpeedily, or io ef*
fedually, as we may wifh : Yet, if Force
may be ufed inftead of them, upon every
Failure or Delay, efpecialiy when caufed
merely by Difference of Opinions amongft
ourielves, no Society can ever lubfift. And
if we are too corrupt a People, to exped;
any Good from mutual Periuafipn ; much
Ids can we expe$ it from mutual Violence.
Then laftly, as for our Religion; theleaft
valued, I fear, yet infinitely the moft valu
able of all our Bleffings; and which guards
and fences the reft, ici a manner that no
thing
(7)
thing elfe can : Oar Religion, I lay, is un
deniably the mod rational and worthy of
GOD, the mod humane and beneficial to Men,
the furtheft from being either tyrannical or
burthenfbme, the freed from Superdition,
Enthufiaim and Gloominefs, of any in the
World. It is eflabliihed with iuch Care,
that the Support of it is infeparable from that
of the Civil Government : Yet happily with
ilich Moderation, as to bear hard on none
who diflcnt from it. The Practice of it in
deed, we mud own, hath not been inforced
on its ProfefTors, fo generally or (b carefully
ns it ought, either by the Authority or the
Example of thofe, whole Duty it is. Would
to GOD it had ! GOD grant it may ! But dill,
they who have not duly excited Men to
Piety, have not redrained them from it:
And every one s Difregard to it is princi
pally chargeable on himielf alone.
This I apprehend to be a true and a mo-
ded Account of our prefent Condition : For
I have put: the Advantages of it at the lowed,
in order to lay nothing that can be difputed.
And what are we to change it for, if the At
tempt now making Ihould fucceed ? Indeed
what have We to expert before it can fucceed,
(for every one mud be convinced that it will
not be tamely fubmitted to,) but a wide and
horrid View, in Proportion as it makes a Pro-
grefs, of Blood-Hied in the Field and out of
it, and of Ravage at the Pleafure of a rude and
uncivilized People, to the imminent Hazard of
every
(8 )
every Thing, and every Perfon deaf to us ?
Judgments, which this Ifland hath been long
Without experiencing: But how long, and
haw heavily it may groan under them now,
unlefs a fpeedy Check be given to this Re
bellion, GOD only knows. For a conquering
Enemy, had he the Will, which is dreadful
to truft to, hath often not the Power of re-
ftraining the Defolations of Fire and Sword,
when once they are begun.
But iuppole this Beginning of Sorrows over :
what muft follow ?
With regard to our Civil Concerns. How
large Numbers are there, who have no other
Security for a confiderable Part, it may
be the moft, or the whole of their Property,
than the Continuance of the Government
now in Being; in whole Hands it actually
is ? And fhould that Government fail : as
it cannot be hoped, that what hath been
lent for its Support, and proved one of its
main Supports, will be regarded very fa
vourably DV thofe who come to overturn it ;
how terrible may the DiftrefTes of luchPer-
fons be, and how much farther than them-
f elves muft they extend? To all their Do-
mefticks, all their Dependants, all that have
Dealings or Concerns with them. What
Multitudes are there again, whofe Fortunes
are intirely, or principally built on Royal
Grants, judicial Determinations, or A$s of
the Legislature, made within the laft fix-and
fifty-Years? which, in cafe of a Change,
will
(9 ;
Will all become queftionable, as done by in
competent Authority, and ly at the Mercy
of we know not whom. The Perfon who
now threatens us, comes attended with a
large and an indigent Train of Followers,
coliedred from each of the three Nations,
who will think and do their utmoft to make
him think, that the long Sufferings of many
of them, and the prefent dangerous Services
of many more, can never be rewarded with
fufficient Bounty. And when Revenge, and
Poverty, and Avarice are let on Work to
gether: What Forfeitures may be claimed,
what.Miidemeanours and Treaions charged,
in a Nation, which will be looked on as the
Whole of it involved in Treaion, for to many
Years paft ; or hew unfairly the plaineft Laws
in our Favour may be interpreted to admic
of iuch Attempts, or even wrefted to ferve
them ; which of us ail can io much as gueis,
or who be allured of his own Safety ?
But befldes rheie Hazards to the Proper
ties and the Lives of particular Perfons : In
what State will the Commerce and Pofie/Tions
of the Nation be? Thipk what innumerable
Debrs the Pretender to His Majefty s Crown
mufl needs have contracted in io long a Space,
during which he hath had nothing of his own
to lubfift on : Think what irnmenfe Sums fo
reign Princes may charge on accounr^of rnoft
cxpenfive Wars, which they may plead were
entered into for his Service : And how dread
fully this Nation may beexhauiled, tofatisfy
B but
but a fmall Part of thefc Demands: For which
ir will make no Amends, to annihilate the
prefent Inciimbraiices on our publick Reve
nues, by a ruinous Breach of the publick
Faith. Think alfo, once more, what fatal
Concpffidns the Powers who fupport the pre-
lent Invafion, and who will be wanted for a
continual Support:, even were it to fucceed ;
what fatal Conccffions they will afluredly
require in return, of Places which our Trade
depends on, of Indulgences in Trade to them-
felves, of Reftridtioris upon Us ; which will
reduce us to a Condition impotent, precarious
and defpicable.
Hay not this, or any thing, to raife in you
a Spirit of unchi iftian Bitter nefs, either againft
the ignorant Wretches that have been deluded
into this Rebellion, or even againft "their
Leaders. Let them be judged of with all the
Charity, let them be treated with all the Mer
cy, their Cafe will poffibly allow : Only let
us fee the Miichief their Succefs Would bring
on us, and exert ourlelves accordingly to
prevent 7 it.
But were we ever fbfafe, in other refped:s :
what Security can we have with refpcd: to our
happy, envied, legal Conftitution ? when that
Power of luf pending and difpenfing with
Laws, and levying Money without Law,
which lays every Provifion that can be made
in favour of theSubjed: entirely at the Sove
reign s Feet; and yet was not only claimed,
but exercifed immediately before the Revo-
lution,
lution, fhall come of courfe to be eftablifhed
as a juft Prerogative, by what will be called
.a Reftoration. The Righcs we have enjoyed,
as indiiputably our own, from that time to
this, may then be accounted feditious and
treasonable Pretences ; and every Expreflion
of Fondneis for any Remain of Liberty, be
deemed a Step towards Rebellion : As indeed
it will be thought but naftiral, to fufpedt and
ftifle the lean: breathing of that Spirit which
once delivered us, in order to prevent another
Change. Efforts notwithftandingwill, in all
likelihood, be made toward one ; How bloody
and how fatal, who can tell ? The Appre-
henfion of thefe Efforts will be a much
ftronger Plea, than in the late King Jamefs
Time, for keeping up a chargeable and dan
gerous (landing Force, perhaps a foreign one.
The Dread of that Force will intimidate
fome; and the Principle, of turning to their
own Advantage what they cannot rielp, will
intice others, to go every Length of Compli
ance that they are required. And a Prince
coming in on the Bottom of Right Hereditary
and Indefeafible, will think he hath the clear-
eft Title toAblblute Power. His Partizans,
even whilft he is out of Pofleflion, have o-
penly avowed he hath : And what can be
expe<fted then, if hefhould get into it? The
mereExercife of fuch a Power very probably
will not fatisfy : But Declarations and Oaths
be invented for theAcknowledgment and Sup
port of it; which, itwillbeimpoffiblcforus,
either
either to make with Innocence, or to refufc
with Safety.
Then for the State of our Religion : No
onelnftancecan be given, that Popery ever
ipared Proteftantihn for any Continuance,
after it was able iafely to oppreis it. But leaft
of all will Favour beihewn here, longer than
Necefllty obliges. For, whatever Tendernefs
many of that Communion may be inclined
to; as, no doubt, there are Numbers amongft
them of mild and worthy Perfons : Yet the
uncharitable Part will anuredly prevail, as
they always have done every w 7 here ; and
falfely imputing to our Religion that pre
tended Difloyalty, which proceeded only
from their illegal Attempts to overturn the
whole Conftitution, will not fail to argue,
that the fame Caufe muft produce again the
Jame Effcdl, and therefore" muft not be per
mitted to fubfift. Think then, all that love
the Church of England, all that believe the
Doctrines of the Reformation to be the Truth
of Chrift, what a Condition it will be, either
to proieis and pra<3:ife the Falihoods and Im
pieties you are fo thoroughly convinced of,
or to be driven from this, and every other
Place of God s publick Worfhip into Corners :
Nay in a while to be dragged out thence alfo,
and facrificed to that Mother of Abominati
ons, which hath fo long been drunken with
the Blood of the Saints, Rev. xvii. ?, 6,
And let even them who are indifferent, or
Doubters, or Unbelievers in Religion, reflect
on
( 13 )
onthis at leaft ; that, as they are always in
veighing againft Superftition, fo the Church
of Rome is over-run with it to the higheft
Degree poflible : And, as they are always
exclaiming againft the Wealth and Power of
Ecclefiafticks ; fo the Wealth and the Power,
the Pride and the Tyranny of Popery , are un-
fpeakably the greateft rhat ever the World
knew. And if thej*will notwithftanding go
at prefent upon their favourite Maxim, -that
All Religions are the lame, it will be a juft
Judgment of GOD to make them feel the
Difference.
But to thefe Things it may be anfwered,
that the moft lolemn Obligations have unquc-
ftionably been entered into, by Him who
claims the Crown, for our intire Security , both
in Church and State. Nor indeed could any
thing feem in Speculation more likely: Be*
caufe nothing is more apparently requifiteia
all common Policy, And yet, furprifing as it
is, no one clear and explicit Declaration of*
this kind was made by the Pretender at the
time of the laft Rebellion : Nor cab I heat;
of any made by him at prefent. And, I beg
you to confider, if he will not promife plainly
now ; what will he do afterwards ? For as ta
any good Words, -given by another in his
Name : What can be eafier for him than to diK
avow them, as going beyond theCommiilioa
he granted ? But iuppoie the ftrongcft. Allii-
ranees given by himielf : Were they not given
by the bloody Queen Afary to her Eroteftan?
Sub-
( 1
Subjects, who had fully merited them by
their Zeal for raifing her to the Throne ? and<
yet did fhe not persecute them immediately,
and burn them in little more than a Twelve
month ? Were they not given by the late
King James ? And had he not ftrong Mo
tives of Gratitude, as well as Confciencc, to
keep them ? And yet did he keep them for
the imalleft Part of four Years ? How can
we then flatter ourfelves, that any one who
claims under him, will be at all more favou
rable to that Religion, and thole Liberties,
which have been all this time the capital Ene
mies to his Pretenfions ? The mod formal
Declarations he can make, have been over
and over, and long fmcc the Revolution, de
clared by the Authority of the See of Romd
" utterly null and void, whenever they are
" prejudicial in any manner" (lulethevery
Words of Pope Clement XI. in the very Cale
of Stipulations made in favour of Proteftants)
to the Catholick Faith, the Salvation of
" Souls, or to any Rights of the Church
" whatsoever; even though fiich Engage-
*< ments have been often ratified, and ccii-
" firmed by Oath." * Let therefore the Pre
tender to the Crown make Promifes ever fo
full and exprefli vc, let his natural Dilpofttions
to keep them be ever fo favourable : Yet as
he profeflcs Subjection of Confcience to the
Pope s Determinations, under vvhofeEye he
* Clem. XL Pont. Max. Epift. & Brevia. fol. Romae,
1724. torn. 2. p. 179*
hath
liath long refided, in whofe Dominions his
Son, who hath now invaded us, was born
and educated, and by whofe Bounty they
have both been all along fupported ; he can
not rcfufe to break any Ties which fhall be
declared fmful by his infallible Guide; who
may purpoiely have connived at his entering
into them, in order to his breaking them at a
proper Time. But if he were to refule it :
Can we imagine that all his Succedbrs too
will be fb obftinately undutiful, as to fpare a
Religion which they mortally hate, when
they believe extirpating it willintitle them to
Heaven, and atone for all the Sins of a wic
ked Life?
Itmuft be acknowledged, Popery hath ap
peared milder of late, than in former Ages.
Yet even our Days have known the Executi
ons of Thorn, and the Banifliments of Salt&-
burgh : And France, this very Year, hath
been perfecuting and murdering our Prote-
flant Brethren for the Profeffion of their Faith.
Nor hath the Church of Rome ever given up
any one of the Claims, which it may have
forborn to exerciie: And, fliould it once re
gain io much of its ancient Power, as would
iieceflarily follow from prevailing -here, it
would foon refume its ancient Fieicenefs in
Proportion.
Shall we perfuade ourfelves then, that Fear
will rcftrain a Popilli Prince from attempting
to overturn our Religion and Laws ? But what
if his greateft Fear mould be that of Darana-
3 tion
:^<
tion for not attempting it ? which was the
known Cafe of King James, and may be
that of others after him. Or what ifitlhould
be held the fafeft Way, in a political View,
to make thorough Work at once, by the Af-
iiftance of Foreigners, now preparing to in
vade us ?
Still it maybe faid, that whoever becomes
our King, will at leaft, for his own Ihtereft,
be careful of the Trade and Power of the Na
tion. But how can he, if he w r ould ; when
he muft undoubtedly have promiled the con
trary to foreign Powers already ? And if he
is capable of deceiving Them, how IhallWe
truft him ? But iiippofmg he hath promiied
them nothing ; yet if he prevails by their
Help, what can he be elie, than a Deputy
and a Viceroy, lubjed: to the Commands of
our mod formidable Adverfaries ?
This Confideracion ought in Reafon to
alarm even thofe who wiih well to his
Cauie, even thofe who profefs his Religi
on ; and make them utter Enemies to his
coming in fuch a Manner, however defr-
rous they may be of his coming other-
wife. For can. we, or can they, make
Terms with the Power of France, when
we have once given it Footing in the Heart
of our Country ; or hope that any Terms,
which are made, will "ever be obferved ?
Will that mod ambitious and perfidious
Crown lofe Juch an O r >ponuniry, of weak
ening us by our own Strength, making us
Ac pen-
,
dependent on itfelf for ever, and Tools to
enilave the red of Euro f el Will it not
treat both us, and the King it fets over us,
as the Tyrant of Babylon did the Prince
who he gave to the Jews ? He hath made
a Covenant with him, and taken an Oath
of him ; he hath taken alfo the Mighty
of the Land\ that the Kingdom might
be bafe, that it might not lift up itfelf^
but that by the keeping of his Covenant it
might Jtand. Ezek. xvii. 13, 14.
Such then being the View of our Dan
gers, let us proceed to confider,
II. The Spirit, with which we ought to
defend ouridves againft them. Let us be
of good Courage, and flay the Men. Thele
Words may ieem to exprefs the Duty of
the Soldiery alone. And Without queftion,
they exprefs that peculiarly : And, joined
with the following ones, clearly ihew that
a ftrong Senfe of Religion, and a virtuous
Concern for the common Welfare, are the
true Principles, that will give military Per-
fens Bravery and Succefs ; as they did to
thofe, whofe Hiftory -the Text relates. But
flill the more literal Tranflation is, Be
Jtrong> and let us flrcngthen one another
In this Senfe they concern us all : This
therefore I {hall follow.
And if ever Cade required exerting all
the Strength, and all the Courage we have,
this is that Cauie. For the Attack is made
by our Enemies, foreign and domcitick at
>:< C once,
.
once, on every thing dear to us, Civil and
Sacred: And Conicicnce towards God, as
well as private Intereft and publick Good,
demands our utmoft Zeal in luch a Conteft.
The Plea, which foiiie would ufc to check
this Ardour, as if the Government we live
under, ought not to be iupported, becauie
the late King James and his Son were fet a-
fide by the People, is abfolutely groundlefs.
For indeed, King James fet himielf afide ;
abandoned the Government wilfully, rather
than adminifter it according to Law : And
by fo doing, left the Nation both at Liber
ty, and under Neceflity, to provide for it-
{elf in the Manner it did; elpecially as he
carried away the Perfon, whom he called
his Son, along with him. And had he not
been carried away, all the World knows it
was generally and ftrongly fufpedled that he
was not the Queen s Child : And the three
Eftates of the Kingdom, the only fit Judges
of a doubtful Succeffion, fixed it without
taking Notice of him. But had none of thefe
Things been fo, that unhappy King, iedu-
ced by Romijh Bigots, had invaded with a
high Hand, the Religious and Civil Rights
of his People: Inftead of giving the leaft
Hope of Amendment, he was going on with
Rapidity to the utter Definition of both.
And Subjedls were not made for Princes,
to be treated as their abfblute Property, and
deicend from one to another like Cattle, let
them be uied as they >^ill ; But Princes
were
C i? )
were made for their Subjeds ; to govern them
legally, and feek their Good. What is the
Duty of the one, is the Right of the other :
And* where there is a Right, there ought to
be a Remedy. Common Remedies are ever
to be uied in common Caies : And if they
are insufficient, fingle Perions ought to bear
every thing, and Nations every thirg that
can be born without Deftrudtion ; rather
than break the publick Peace, and cftablifh-
ed Order of Government. But in extreme,
imminent, univerial Dangers, Methods of
the laft Reiort, if neceilary and likely to
fucceed, are fully warranted ; by the Na
ture of the Thing, by our original Confti-
tution, by ancient Pradice upon it, and
royal Recognitions of it.
The Scripture indeed commands, what
Reaion itfelf doth, Subjection to the hi*
preme Powers. But how many other Com
mands are there, which confefledly admit
of proper Exceptions ? And were this to
admit of none, yet the Scripture doth not
determine in whofe Hands the iuprcme
Power is lodged. And where it is divided,
as it is with Us, between the King and his
great Council, by whofe joint Authority e-
very Statute is exprefled to be made: He
who refuies to (land to that Divifion, as the
late King James did openly, both by Word
and Deed, renounces the Authority that be
longed to him under it ; and other Autho
rity he hath nose. Or foppofe even this
doubt-
( 2.0 )
doubtful, the Scripture requires Subjedio n
But to whom? To the Towers that be, the
adlual, vifible, Governments of every Coun
try. Thefe it declares are ordained of God \
and that they who refift, Jhall receive Dam
nation, Rom. xiii. i,a. Not the leaft Hint
given, of enquiring into the Juftice of an
Eftablifhment in its firft Rile long ago : A
Thing which few Subjects can do, and per
haps few Governments can bean Not the
flighted Intimation, of adhering for ever to
the. Family of an abdicated Prince ; and go
ing on Age after Age, to afcribe the fove-
reign Authority over a Nation, to a,Perfou,
that hath no Means of exercifing any one Ad;
of Authority. ThcNecefthies of Mankind ren~
der it abiurd : The Practice and the Notions
of Mankind have always been contrary to
it. Heathens, Jews,, r Chriftiaus, Papifts,
Proteftants, all the World have agreed in
the Point with univerfal Confent ; excepting
a imall Handful of Men in this one Age and
Nation: Perlbns greatly to be pitied, and
highly to be eflcemed, while they fubmit
peaceably to Incoiweniencies for Conlcience
Sake ; but iurciy guilty of as indefenfible a
Singulariry, as ever was.
There may indeed often be a Doubt, and
ibmetimes it may laft a good while, which
are the^Powers that he\ whether a Govern
ment is yet to be confidered as eftablifhed,
.cr not. But in cur own Cafe, if a Durati
on of fo many Years, an<J the peaceable Suc-
cefTica
.
ceffion of fo many Princes, and the repeat
ed Acknowledgments of the whole People
of thefe Kingdoms, and of all the Sovereigns
and Nations of the Earth, do not make it a
clear Point, in whole Hands the fupreme Au
thority of this Country long hath been, and
actually now is : Nothing of fuch a Nature
can ever be clear at all. Very few of Us
have either known, or lived under any o-
ther Government: We have all of us claim
ed, and enjoyed the Protection of this: We
have afted in Purfuance of its Authority ;
we have prayed continually for its Preier-
vation ; we have many of us bound our
Souls by fblemn Oaths, and fome of us by
repeated ones, to maintain it: In fo doing,
we maintain at the lame time, every thing
that is valuable to us and cur Poflerity :
And there cannot be a firmer Tye upon us,
than thefe Things together ; nor more aban
doned Wickednefs, than to break through
it.
Strengthned thus then within ourfelves,
let us proceed to jlrengthen one another.
GOD knows, inftead of this, we have ta
ken great Pains to weaken one another,
by feparate Interefts and Views, Animo-
fities and Reientments, unkind Suipicions,
and uojuft Imputations. What Party or Sort
of Men hath been mofl to blame in this Re-
fped:, were it ever fo eaiy to fay, would be
very unfit : When the plain Concern is, not
to accufe and recriminate, but all to unite in
whan
what affedls all ib nearly. They therefore,
who have hitherto thought the Danger of
iuch an Attempt fniall ; let them now ihew
they were far from vvilhing it greater. They
who have been difTatisfied with particular
Meaiures of Government ; let them now give
Proof, that they were not difafTe&ed to the
Government itielf : And if poffibly in any
thing they may have oppoied too far, take
this fitteft Opportunity of making amends.
This will demonftrate the Uprightness of
their Intentions, give Weight to their Senti
ments on other Matters, and pull down the
falle Hopes our Enemies have founded on
our domeftick Diiputes. But then at the
lame Time, if the Zeal of any for the pre-
ient Eftablifliment, hath tempted them to
judge too hardly concerning the Affection
of others towards it ; they ought now can
didly to acknowledge their Error : Embrace
thole as true Friends, who approve them-
felves to be fuch in the Day of Trial; and
remember for the future, that Strength is
attained, not by Divifion, but by Union.
Indeed we fhould all remember, inftead of
aggravating what our Oppofers have done
amifs, to refled: ferioufly what we and our
Friends have been faulty in-: And perhaps
we Ihould moft of us find, it hath been a
great deal too much.
But it is not mutual good Temper alone,
that odr Cafe requires ; but mutual Affift-
gnce and Encouragement, to be given with
. Spirit
Spirit by each of us, according to his Abi
lity and the Nature of his Station, to all
around him; by racking ourfelves openly
on the Side we are of; joining our Coun-
fels, contributing our Money, hazarding our
Perions, if need require it ; by inftrudting,
undeceiving, exciting, fortifying, as many
others as we can. That part would be in
different, part timorous, and all refift weak
ly; w r as the great Thing, that the Adver-
faries of the Government promiied thern-
felves, and its Friends were apprehenfive of.
GOD be thanked, both of them in fome De
gree have ieen their Miftake. Let us go on
to complete the Conviction, by a daily In-
creafe of refolute Activity. Strengthen ye
the weak Hands* and confirm the feeble
Knees : Say to them that- are of a fearful
Heart, Be Jirong^ fear not. liaiah xxxv.
3, 4-
One Thing more, to be mentioned under
th s Head, .is, That if the preient Endea
vour to ruin us fliould increale, tho it were
confiderabiy, the publick Expence necefiary
to defend us ; we are furely neither to won
der, nor to murmur at it; but bear with
Chearfulnefs what may be inconvenient, in
order to prevent what muft be ruinous ; and
confider well, that were this Defign to take
Place, we fliould probably pay much more
to Foreigners, x as a Reward for enflaving us,
than now to our own Governors, as the
Means of keeping us free.
But
(M )
But human Means alone, human Prudence
and Strength, be it ever ib great, is no iuf-
ficient Ground of Confidence. For the Mojl
High ruleth in the Kingdom of Men, and
giveth it to whomfoever he will-, Dan iv.
17. We muft never forget therefore,
III. An humble Dependence on Heaven
for the Event of all : And the Lord do that
which feemeth him good.
What it will leem good to him to do with
Us, when we confider our National Wicked-
nefs and Ingratitude to him, it muft be ac
knowledged we have great Caufe to fear.
He hath blefled thefe Nations beyond moft,
if not any other Part of the World : And
we have turned all his Bleffings into Occa-
iions of Sin. He hath given us Wealth ;
and we have applied it to the wicked Pur-
pofes of Diflb.lutenefs and Luxury. He hath
given ns Liberty ; and we have abufed it to
the bittereft Hatred, and the groifeft Licen-
tionlhefs. He hath given us true Religion ;
and \ve have flighted and fcorned it T caft
off the Worlhip of GOD, received the Mer
cies of his Providence without Thankful-
nefs, and the Threatnings of it without Hu
mility ; nay ridiculed the Obligations even
of Probity and moral Virtue, till we have
fcarce Principle enough left to be concerned
for any thing, but preient Pleaiure and pre-
fent Intereft. Our Abhorrence of Popery is
gone : Our Zeal againft Slavery is degene
rated into Fa&ion: Our Zeal for the Go
vernment
O? )
vernment, into private Selfifhnefs. We daily
accufe one another of thefe Things: We ne
ver think of reforming ourfelves. And what
can be, in a rational View, the probable
Confequence, in a religious one the juft
Puniihment, of fuch Behaviour ; but that
which the Divine Wiidom hath fo clearly
foretold ? For that they hated Knowledge ^
and did not chufe the Fear of the Lord^
they would none of my Counfel, and de-
fpifed my Reproof : therefore Jhall they
eat the Fruit of their own Way, and be
filed with their own ^Devices. Prov. i.
2,9, 30, 31.
It is by flow and filent, but it is by effec
tual Methods, that GOD (hews himfelf the
Governor of the World. Princes that ne-
gledt to fupport His Authority, (hall find
their own decay with it. Subordinate Ru
lers, that truft to other than virtuous Arts
of Government, (hall find they have leaned
on a broken Reed. And Nations, that in
dulge Profanenefs and Profligatenefs, (hall
experience them to bring on Confufion and
Ruin. Efcaping it in one Shape for once, is
nothing : in that, or fome other, it muft fall
upon them, if they continue fuch as they
are. And were ever fb great Ruin to fall u-
pon us now, what would it be more, than
Samuel s Prediction verified? If ye Jball
Jlill do wickedly, ye Jhall be con fumed, both
ye and your King, i Sam. xii.z^. And what
could we fay, but acknowledge before GOD,
D with
with the penitent Jews in Nehemiah, Thou
artjuft in all that is brought upon us ; for
thon haft done right, but we have done
wickedly : neither have our Kings ^ our
^Princes, our TPriefts, nor our Fathers*
(would to GOD, there were not the moil
Cauie of all to add, nor we ourfelves) kept
thy Laiv, Neh. ix. 33, 34,
Confidering our Cafe in this Light then,
we have fmall P^eafon to be of goo a Courage.
And yet, confidering the di\ 7 ine Mercies, we
are far from having any Reafon to defpond,
if we have any He,irt to repent. The Caufe
\ve are engaged in, is that of Right and
Truth, and GOD S own Honour. Defending
It valiantly, is performing one Part of our
Duty to him: and deicrting it, w r ould be fil
ling up at once theMealure of our Iniquities
to the utmoft. Wicked as we have been and
are, yet if we will but, at leajl in this our
*Day, know the Things that belong to our
feace, Luke xix. 41. there is (till abundant
Room to truft in the gracious Protection w r e
have fo often experienced : and provided we
can but now bring our Hearts in earned to
fear GOD, we have no need, to fear Man,
What hath hitherto happened, is indeed more
than enough to awaken us from that Supine-
nefs, which it is ailonifhing we fhou d have
been in fo long; bur not at all to make u
doubtful concerning the Event, were there
only any Profpedi, that we ihould render
ourielves fit Objcdts of our Maker s favour.
For
For the fake of a few Good, there may be
Mercy in ftore for the reft. The more of us
become fo, the greater is the Hope. And
would but this National Alarm produce, what
undoubtedly Heaven hath defigned it for, a
National Reformation ; we might boldly fay
to our Enemies, in the Words of holy Writ:
Affociate yourfelves, Oyefeople, and ye
Jhall be broken in ^Pieces : take Counfel to
gether, and it Jball come to nought : ffeak
the Word, and it Jball not ft and: for God
is with us. Sanflify therefore the Lord
of Hofis, and let him be your Fear, and
let him be your Thread, and he Jhall be
for a Sanffiuary. liaiah viii. 9, 10, 13, 14.
For GO D will fa-ve Sion, and will build
the Cities of Judah. The Tofterity alfo of
his Saints Jhall inherit it ; and they that
love his Name Jhall dwell therein. Pf. Ixix.
35, 36, Their Children Jhall continue, and
their Seed be eftablifoed before him. Pialm
cii. 8.
FINIS.
The following excellent Defcription, ad-
~ mlr d by the beft Judges, and which at
once ftrikes the Heart with all the Ter-
rors that attend fer jury, is not impro
per to add, as it is extracted from the
Sermon preached by that valuable "Pre
late, the Archbijhop of York, on Occa-
Jion of the prefent Rebellion.
TO give you a full and ccmplcat Notion
of the Miichiefs of publick Perjury
and Rebellion, I muft pafs before your Eyes
a melancholy Scene of a fruitful and happy
Country made a Place of Deiolation and a
Field of Blood ; I muft reprelent to you
Friends, Neighbours, Brethren, all at fatal
Variance, and fheathing their Swords in one
anothers Bowels ; I muft reprefent to you all
Property confounded, and our Goods and
Poiieffions made the Prey of the next Inva
der ; I muft fill up the frightful Scene with
Houfes torn down and rifled, Temples,
which now appear in their juft Beauty and
Magnificence, defaced and levelled with the
Ground; Villages burnt up, Cities laid in
Allies: In one Word, I muft reprefent to
your Eyes (what I hope you will never iee
but in Imagination) our excellent King, pol-
feffed of as much Juftice and Mercy and
Good-Nature, as ever Prince was endowed
with,
(30)
with, falling by the Hands of Blood- thirfty
Rebellion ; our Country ruined ; our Reli
gion, Laws and I ^erties wrefted and torn
from us. And to dole all ( if Gop for our
Sins fhould fufter that to be the Iflue) I
muft reprefent to you the braveft People in
the World, ufcd to give Law to others, and
to be had in Reverence of all their Neigh
bours* made the Scorn and Derifion of them
that hate them, aud ignominioufly filling up
the Triumph of an infolent Conqueror : One,
who has neither Birth nor Law to entitle
him to a Crown, and who is under iuch O-
bligatious to the moft covetous and rapaci
ous People, that the Riches and very Life-
blood of three Kingdoms will not fatisfy them:
One, who has been bred in a Hatred of the
Proteftant reform d Religion, and in Love and
Bigotry to that which is little better than a lad
Corruption of the Chriftian, and a Medley
of Wickedneis and Superftition. One, who
has been educated in the Tyrannical Maxims
of fcandalous and corrupted Courts, who
neither love uorunderftand the Liberties and
Interefts of Mankind. For, if this Rebellion,
fifing from a Cloud no bigger than a Man s
Hand, fhould grow up to "a frightful Storm,
and fcatter Deiolation round us, it will owe
its Progrels to the Countenance and Sup
port of France and Spain, our Old and In
veterate Enemies; who have no other Rea-
fon for ditturbing our Repoie, but becaule
we endeavour to flop the Overflowings of
their Tyranny, and uand up in Defence of
the
( 31 )
the Liberties and Repofe of Europe. GOD
forbid their wicked Machinations fliould take
EfFed; ! Providence has often confounded
them, and we humbly hope will find out a
Way to fave us once again : But if they are
ordained to be the Scourges of a finful Peo
ple, the Puniihment will lit the heavier upon
us, for coming from the Hands of thoio
whom we defpife and hateLet us humble
ourielves before the Throne of GOD, acknow
ledge his Juftice, and implore his Mercy,
and at the fame Time ftand up as becomes
us, and ihew ourfelves Men : And, for a Pat
tern to our Condud:, let us look into the
Annals of chat illuftrious Queen, now with
GOD, by the Bravery and Wifciom of whole
Arms and Councils thefe haughty Ty
rants were once humbled, and humbled to
that Degree, as almoft literally to crouch
to us for Bread ; and ihall we now liibmit ?
Shall a Nation whofe Eftablifhment is found
ed, as to Religion, in Reafon and the pure
Sentiments of the Gofpel; and, as to its Ci
vil Policy, in the tendered: Regard for the
Good and Liberties of Human-Kind, receive
Law from thofe whofe Religion is inch as an
honefl Heathen would be afliamed of, and
whofe Government is abfolute ilj-natur d Ty
ranny ? GOD forbid We are not yet fo
fallen Let us be true to our Engagements
and our Duty to the beft of Kings*; He will
be true to us, and fland up inJJefepce of
thofe Laws which have inviolably been the
Rule of his Government.
v *
