{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48349/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48349","id":"gutenberg_48349","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48349","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Proverbs XXIV, 21 -- Sermons","Category: History - British","Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)","Category: Politics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649 -- Anniversaries, etc.","Church of England -- Sermons","Government, Resistance to -- Religious aspects -- Christianity","Sermons, English -- 18th century"],"text":"Transcriber's Notes: Every effort has been made to reproduce the\noriginal text as printed. Words in italics in the original are\nsurrounded by _underscores_. Words in small caps in the original have\nbeen converted to upper case.\n\n\n\n\n       _The Religious and Loyal Subject's Duty considered, with\n         regard to the present Government and the Revolution._\n\n                                   A\n                                SERMON\n                            PREACHED in the\n                           CATHEDRAL CHURCH\n                                  OF\n                             _CANTERBURY_,\n                                  ON\n                   _Wednesday_, JANUARY 30. 1722-3.\n                               Being the\n                           Anniversary Fast\n                          Of the Martyrdom of\n                            K. _CHARLES_ I.\n\n     _Published at the Request of the Prebendaries then present._\n\n                        By _ISAAC TERRY_, M. A.\n                    Late of CHRIST-CHURCH, _Oxon._\n\n                               _LONDON_:\n          Printed for R. KNAPLOCK, at the _Bishop's-Head_ in\n                    St. _Paul_'s Church-Yard. 1723.\n\n\n\n\nProv. xxiv. 21.\n\n     _My son, fear thou the Lord, and the King: and meddle not\n       with them that are given to change._\n\n\nTHERE is no need that I should acquaint any who are here\npresent with the sad occasion of this anniversary solemnity; nor need\nI, I suppose, use many words to raise in you a just abhorrence of that\nmost execrable parricide, which we are now bewailing. To be sure we do\nall of us, from the very bottom of our hearts, detest and abominate\nit; unless we have been all this while in this holy place prevaricating\nwith God and man, and adding a feigned humiliation to the number of our\nformer provocations.\n\nAS it ought to be the earnest prayer and endeavour of all\ngood men and loyal subjects, that no such wickedness may hereafter\nbe committed among us, to the reproach of our nation, and of the\nholy Religion which we profess: so is it particularly incumbent on\nthe ministers of the Gospel, to press upon men the due observation\nof those laws, which the most high hath enacted for the security and\nsupport of his vice-gerents on earth; and to caution men against those\npernicious principles and practices, which in the last age brought a\nmost excellent and gracious Monarch to the block; and quite overthrew\nour constitution in church and state: and which in all ages, if a\ntimely stop be not put to them, will produce the like tragical effects,\nas having a natural tendency to subvert government, and to introduce\nanarchy and confusion amongst mankind.\n\nFOR which reason I have chosen for the subject of my following\ndiscourse, this solemn charge of the wise King _Solomon_ to his Son;\n_My son, fear thou the Lord and the King: and meddle not with them that\nare given to change_. In which words are bound upon us three rules of\nlife, very necessary to be observed by all who would not be deemed\nenemies to the publick peace and tranquility.\n\nThe first is, _To fear the Lord_.\n\nThe second is, _To fear the King_.\n\nThe third is, _Not to meddle with those that are given to change_.\n\nOF each of these injunctions I shall discourse in order, and\nshall shew in what latitude, and with what restrictions, they are to be\nunderstood; how highly reasonable they are, and of how great importance\nto the preservation of human society, and the maintenance of the\nmagistrate's authority.\n\nTHE fear of God is a duty equally obliging persons of all\nranks and conditions, at all times, and in all places; and in its full\nextent comprehends all other duties. It has for its foundation, all\nthe glorious attributes and perfections of God; but more especially\nhis omniscience, his holiness, his justice, and his almighty power.\nFor they who are firmly persuaded, that all their actions, and words,\nand thoughts, are open to the view of the Deity; that [A]_he is of\npurer eyes than to behold evil with approbation, and cannot endure to\nlook on iniquity_; that he will one day judge all men in righteousness\naccording to their works; and that the united force of all the\ncreatures of the universe cannot hinder him from executing the terrible\nsentence which he shall then pass upon the transgressors of his laws;\nthey who do, in good earnest, believe these things to be true, and\nfrequently and seriously consider them, will of course be very careful\nnot to incur the displeasure of the Almighty, by doing those things\nwhich he hath forbidden, or by neglecting to do what he hath commanded.\nHence, in Scripture, the fear of God is often used to signify the whole\nof Religion: because in all who live under the influence of it, it is\na very powerful principle of constant and uniform obedience to the\ndivine laws.\n\n     [A] _Hab._ i. 13.\n\nTHE fear of the King too comprehends the whole duty of a\nsubject to his soveraign. To fear the King is, to yeild to him that\nhomage, and submission, and obedience, which the laws of God, and of\nthe land, do require: chearfully to contribute towards the supporting\nhis royal honour and dignity, and the supplying the necessities of\nthe state; to labour every one of us in our own sphere to defeat the\nexpectations and contrivances of his enemies, and to promote the peace\nof his government, and the success of his designs; and continually\nto pray to him who disposeth of all events, to protect his person,\nto direct his counsels, and prosper his undertakings; to demean our\nselves towards him with profound reverence, to speak honorably of him,\nto think of him with aw, to entertain the most favourable opinion of\nhis character, and to put the best construction upon his actions; and\nfinally, to render due honour and obedience to all inferior magistrates\nand officers, who act by his commission, and in subordination to him.\n\nTHE reasonableness and necessity of all this, will appear by\nshewing, that nothing less than this, will fully answer the ends of\ngovernment; and that the contrary practices are very injurious to the\nauthority of princes, and do tend to the disturbance and dissolution of\nsociety.\n\nGOVERNMENT it is clear cannot subsist, where there are none\nwho will submit to be governed, and own their dependance upon their\ngovernours: there can be no soveraign, where there are no subjects; no\ncommanders, where none will obey.\n\nTO call any one King, and at the same time to rebel against\nhis authority, what is this but to mock him with an empty title? And it\nis nearly the same case, when subjects, though they do not take up arms\nagainst their soveraign, do withdraw from him those supplies without\nwhich his government cannot be upheld.\n\nIN the natural body all the members, even those which are\nesteemed the most ignoble and inconsiderable, do their office for\nthe preservation and well being of the whole: and in the political\nit is as fitting that all the members, even those which are in a\nprivate station, should, as their circumstances will allow them, exert\nthemselves for the security and prosperity of the whole community.\nThe protection which the authority of the magistrate affords to all,\nlays an obligation upon all to unite in the defence of it against the\nattempts of its enemies, which sometimes can no otherwise be repelled\nthan by the united endeavours of all. It gives great encouragement to\nthe adversaries of a state to observe, that those who do not side with\nthem, are not very hearty and diligent against them. The government\nthat is negligently defended, will quickly be vigorously assaulted; and\nwith too great probability of success, when even its friends shew no\nother mark of friendship to it, than the forbearing to join with its\nenemies.\n\nTHE obstructions and difficulties, with which the management\nof the publick affairs is necessarily attended, are so many and so\ngreat, that the soveraign has need of all the assistance his subjects\ncan lend him for the removing them. Should they industriously lay\nunnecessary ones in his way, his designs for their safety and benefit,\nmust in all likelyhood miscarry.\n\nTHEY who can be helpful no other way, have surely great\nreason to sollicit heaven, to guard, and guide, and assist those who\nare continually watching for their welfare. And since without the\ndivine aid all human counsels and labours are vain; they who can be\nmost serviceable to their soveraign by their wisdom, or valour, or\ntreasure, must by no means think themselves excused from assisting him\nby their earnest and constant prayers. And if those, who barely omit\nthis duty, are not to be accounted good subjects; they are certainly\nvery bad ones, who dare to imprecate the judgments of heaven upon their\ngovernours.\n\nIRREVERENT carriage to the person of the prince, and the\nspeaking contemptuously and dishonourably of him, have a direct\ntendency to lessen his people's veneration for him, which is a main\nprop of his government. The speaking evil of princes, is commonly a\nprelude to some attempt against them; it being found by experience,\nthat the way to weaken and undermine their authority, is to blast their\nreputation. Many perhaps, who are instrumental in spreading scandalous\nreports of their governours, have no such wicked intention; but if\nthey have not, they are certainly very serviceable to those that have;\nnor are they to be excus'd who listen and give credit to them. Such,\ntho' at present they are not active in carrying on any traiterous\ndesigns, yet give grounds to hope that they may be wrought upon, and\nin time made fit for purposes, to which, as yet they are, strangers.\nWhen once men have cast off all inward awe of their prince, and have\ngiven entertainment to an ill opinion of him; they are then very much\nexposed to the attacks of discontented and factious persons.\n\nBEFORE subjects credit evil reports of their prince, they\nought to consider that it is the employment of many, to render him\neither contemptible or odious to his people: that to this end many\nfalse things are laid to his charge, his real defects and miscarriages\nare very much magnified; the ill success of his undertakings is charged\nupon his mismanagement, tho' perhaps no diligence nor vigilance,\nnor providence (so far as it is in man's power to provide against\ncontingencies) was wanting on his part; and his very best designs,\nlaid and conducted with the greatest wisdom, and perfected with all\ndesireable success, are represented as prejudicial and pernicious to\nthe common-weal. And they who can suffer their affections to be by\nthose means alienated from their present soveraign, will not be long\npleased with any: nor can any government be quiet, or secure, where\nthese artifices are practised with success.\n\nTHE authority of the supreme magistrate must of necessity be\nexercised by many subordinate officers: and to dishonour or disobey\nthese, is, in effect, to dishonour and disobey him, by whose commission\nthey act. And tho' it be for the interest of the publick, that they\nshould account for wilful abuses of the power committed to them; yet\nall unreasonable clamours against them, are of dangerous consequence to\nthe government, and do indeed threaten the soveraign himself, who may\nbe mortally wounded thro' the sides of his ministers.\n\nIT has been before observed, that the laws of God, and of\nthe land, are the measures of submission and obedience to the King.\nWherefore no one ought, from what has been now said, to infer, that\nin limited monarchies, where part of the legislative authority is\nlodged in the body of the people, the subjects are obliged to obey any\nedicts of the prince not agreeble to the laws enacted by the whole\nlegislature. In this case, since the power of the people is so far\ncoordinate with that of the prince, that without them no new laws can\nbe enacted, nor former laws abrogated; they may justly require to be\ngoverned by the laws made with their own consent, and by no other. And\nshould this right of the people be set aside, and no redress obtained\nupon their humble petitions and representations; the prince must take\nto himself the blame, if they have recourse to other means absolutely\nnecessary for the preservation of their constitution. On the other\nhand, it is incumbent on the people to see, that their grievances are\nreal, and not pretended; that their complaints are founded not upon\nmeer surmises and jealouses, but upon notorious facts; and that while\nthey are asserting their own right, they do not invade that of their\nsoveraign, nor make any thing matter of demand, but the restoring and\nsecuring to them what is their due, by laws already established.\n\nMOREOVER, since God is the supreme Monarch of the universe,\nthe King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; since his power alone is\nunlimited and irresistible; and by consequence, the primary and most\nproper object of men's fear; it is manifest, that no human laws\nwhatsoever, can bind men to act contrary to the divine. Nothing can be\nmore unreasonable, than to obey God's vice-gerent in opposition to God\nhimself, and to suffer the fear of a less power, to prevail against the\nfear of a greater. The text teaches us, in the first place, _to fear\nthe Lord_, and then _the King_. Should the King command not to fear the\nLord, it is better to endure all that he can inflict, than to do what\nhe commands? We are indeed commanded[B], _to render to C\u00e6sar the things\nthat are C\u00e6sars_; but we cannot without impiety withhold from _God the\nthings that are Gods_: that we may render to _C\u00e6sar_ more than is his\ndue. The Apostles, when they were reprimanded by the high-priest for\nnot obeying the charge given them by the _Sanhedrim_, to teach no more\nin the name of Jesus, answered plainly, that they [C]_ought to obey\nGod rather than man_. And a disciple of St. _John_ being brought before\nthe magistrate for Christ's name sake, answered to the same purpose;\n\"[D]We are taught to pay to the powers and authorities ordained of God,\nall due honour, excepting such only as would be hurtful to us.\" For to\nChristians, that honour and obedience must needs appear hurtful, which,\ntho' it may screen them from the displeasure of an earthly governour,\nwho can kill the body only, will draw upon them the wrath of God, who\ncan destroy both body and soul in hell.\n\n     [B] _Matt._ xxii. 21.\n\n     [C] _Acts_ v. 29.\n\n     [D] _Euseb. Hist. Eccles._ lib. 4. cap. 15.\n\nBUT tho' the fear of God must, in case of competition, take\nplace, before the fear of the King; yet ought it not to be made a\npretence for refusing to render to the King the fear which is owing\nto him. The fear of God is so far from releasing subjects from their\nduty to their prince, that it is the surest ground of it, and the\nstrongest motive to it. For since the King is the minister of God; they\nwho do indeed fear God, will of course fear him who is in the place\nof God, and acts by authority derived from him. And whatsoever honour\nor service they are to yield to him, they will yield it heartily, not\nas to a man, but as to him whom he represents, the all-seeing and\nall-powerful God.\n\nTO such men human laws have a much stronger sanction, than the\npenalties annexed to the violation of them by the legislature. They\nare subject for fear, not only of the magistrates wrath, but of that\neverlasting punishment, which God will inflict upon all who will not\nsubmit to the powers ordained by him.\n\nTHE firmest and most inviolable ingagement by which subjects\ncan oblige themselves to be faithful to a government, is a solemn\noath, which is render'd effectual to its end by the fear of God, who\nis therein invocated as a witness to the sincerity of the swearer's\nintention, and as the avenger of his perfidiousness should he break\nthrough so sacred a tye.\n\nBUT to those who have no awe of this omniscient witness, no\ndread of this almighty avenger, no oaths will be binding any longer,\nthan they are agreeable to their inclination. And it will be their\ninclination to do every thing with a view to worldly advantages. The\nground and measure of their obedience to the prince, will be their\nsecular interest; the variation of which will be apt to produce an\nanswerable change in the conduct. For they will have no motive to\nloyalty left, when they may turn rebels with impunity, and be gainers\nby an alteration of governnment.\n\nBUT the fear of God being always the same, is a very steady\nprinciple of loyalty. It secures the obedience of subjects in many\ncases, where the laws either do not reach them, or cannot be executed\nupon them; and keeps them true to the interest of their soveraign, when\nother considerations might induce them to betray or desert it. Even\nthey who would persuade us that there is no such being as God, or if\nthere be, that he observes not what passes here below, cannot but own\nthat the fear of him is a principle very friendly to government, and of\ngreat use to dispose men to be peaceable and submissive to those who\nare in authority.\n\nTHE more inexcusable were the actors in this days horrid\ntragedy, who made the fear of God the cloak of treason; and in direct\ncontradiction to the precept of St. _Peter_, set themselves to resist\n[E]_every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake_, turning faith into\nfaction, and religion into rebellion: who under a specious pretext\nof reforming the Church, filled their native country with blood and\ndesolation, trampled upon its laws, and triumphed in the ruin of its\nconstitution: who fasted and prayed, not for the safety of the King,\nand all that were in authority, that under them they might lead a quiet\nand peaceable life in all godliness and honesty; but for strife and\ndebate, and to stir up sedition and insurrection against those whom\nGod had set over them: who, professing a mighty reverence for the\ndivine majesty, rushed upon the most abominable perjuries; first of all\nviolating the oaths which they had taken to the King and established\ngovernment, by entring into illegal covenants and engagements, and\nillegally imposing them upon others; and then breaking loose from these\nalso, when they were no longer for their turn: who, with a shew of more\nthan ordinary sanctity and concern for the honour of God, practised all\nthe diabolical arts of defamation and calumny against his image and\nrepresentative; and not contented with slandering the foot-steps of\nthe Lord's anointed, and blackening his character, deprived him of his\nroyal dignity, barbarously insulted his sacred person, and at length\nimbrued their hands in the blood of a king, who was an illustrious\nexample to his subjects of genuine piety and sobriety, and meekness\nand patience, and all other christian vertues: who lastly proceeded\nto this high pitch of disloyalty and impiety, when all grievances had\nbeen long ago redressed, and the King had passed such acts, as will be\neverlasting monuments of his fatherly affection and tenderness for his\npeople; when he had to the great prejudice of his own interests granted\nseveral things, which his subjects could not with justice demand, nor\nask with any degree of modesty; nay, when he had consented to part with\nthe best and most considerable branches of his royal authority, and to\nleave to himself little more than the title of a King: in doing which,\nas he went beyond the example of his predecessors, so it is to be hoped\nhe will never be followed by any of his successors.\n\n     [E] _1 Pet._ ii. 13.\n\nBUT tho' the fear of God was the pretended inducement to all\nthese villanies; yet nothing can be more certain than that they are\ntruly to be ascribed to the want of it. Wherefore none ought to cast\nof a principle absolutely necessary to the very being of government,\nmeerly because the external profession of it has been abused to the\nworst Purposes by crafty and ill-designing men, who were destitute of\nthe inward power of it. On the contrary, it is our duty not to let it\nrest upon the surface of our tongues, but to give it admittance into\nour breasts, and to implant it deeply in our hearts; and then it will\nnot fail to bring forth the fruits of peaceableness and submission,\nof obedience and loyalty to the Government under which the merciful\nprovidence of almighty God hath placed us; and to restrain us from all\nseditious and traiterous practices, and from all approaches towards\nthem. For they who would avoid any Crime, must be careful to avoid the\nsteps that lead to it. For which reason the wise king to keep his son\nfrom engaging in designs against the State directs him not to meddle\nwith Changers, or, according to our translation, _with them that are\ngiven to change_.\n\nIN which direction, it was not the intention of king\n_Solomon_, to condemn all changes in the laws and government of a\nkingdom. The supreme power, which in every independent State, is\nlodged somewhere or other, manifestly implies a power to make such\nalterations as shall from time to time be judg'd convenient and\nadvantageous. And in the different circumstances of the publick\naffairs, some changes in the laws will be often necessary, or very\nexpedient; and when they are made be sufficient authority, it is\nwithout controversy the duty of subjects to submit to them. And even\nprivate persons, when the present laws of their country are very\ninconvenient and prejudicial to the interests of the people, may\nlawfully desire an alteration of them, and may commendably endeavour to\neffect it in a legal manner, by making humble and dutiful application\nto those who are vested with the legislative power.\n\nBUT they are changers in the bad sense of the word, who go\nabout to change the laws and settled government of a nation, without\nthe consent of those who have authority to do it; or who by illegal and\nviolent methods endeavour to extort the consent of their governours to\nsuch terations as they shall propose; as by clamours and menaces and\ntumultuous assemblies; by forming secret conspiracies, or by openly\nbearing arms against their soveraign, and by entring into covenants,\nnot to lay down their arms, till they have obtained their unjust\ndemands. They too who by any kind of disloyal Behaviour, or seditious\ndiscourse, manifest their aversion to the established government, may\nwith reason be suspected of being given to change; altho' it be not yet\ntheir avowed design to effect a change.\n\nBY forbidding us to meddle with them that are given to change,\nKing _Solomon_ would restrain us, not only from acting in concert with\nthem, and assisting them in carrying on their mischievous designs; but\nalso from engaging in friendship and familiarity, or any unnecessary\ncorrespondence with them.\n\nIT is no easy matter, to converse much with men of a factious\nand turbulent spirit, without being infected by them. The best way to\npreserve ourselves, both from their crime and their punishmenr, is to\nkeep at a distance from them. And this I take to be the true meaning of\nthe wise man's advice, in the xxii. Chapter of this book of _Proverbs_,\nat the 24th, and 25th verses, _Make no friendship with an angry man,\nand with a furious man thou shalt not go. Lest thou learn his ways,\nand get a snare to thy soul._ By often hearkening to the plausible\ndiscourses of seditious persons, utter'd with a seeming concern for the\npublick welfare, many come at length to approve of them, and highly to\nesteem those who make them, for their great understanding, and honesty,\nand disinterested zeal for the good of their country; and to believe\nthat their governours are not so good as they ought to be, and that\nsome changes for the better are both possible and needful. And they who\nhave got thus far, will be too apt to be prevailed upon, to take some\nunlawful steps towards the reforming of supposed disorders, without\nimagining what purposes they are serving, and how far their leaders\nintend to carry them. And when men are once engaged, they themselves\ncannot tell where they shall stop. One wickedness may introduce them to\nanother, till they become principal actors in the execution of designs,\nwith which they could not have been safely trusted at their first\nsetting out.\n\nPUT the case, that the main secret when revealed to them\nshould displease them; yet after a considerable progress in unlawful\ncourses, it will be very difficult for them to retreat. The shame of\nacknowledging themselves to have been in the wrong, the apprehension\nof being reproached for deserting their companions, and the fear of\nsuffering punishment for having accompanied them so far, will be strong\ntemptations to them to proceed farther against the bent of their own\ninclinations, and the convictions of their consciences.\n\nShould they, notwithstanding these temptations to the contrary, resolve\nto be no longer directed by those who misled them; yet what they have\nalready done, may have consequences fatal to the publick. By their\nassistance, the enemies of the government, may be grown strong enough\nto compass their ends, not only without their farther concurrence, but\nin spite of all the opposition they can make. And it will then be a\nmortifying consideration to reflect, that they have been accessory to\nvillanies which they abhor, of which, however they must be content to\nbear the blame. The criminal assistance which they gave to men worse\nthan themselves, will entitle them to a share in their guilt; and they\nwill be in some measure answerable for the unforeseen consesequences of\ntheir unlawful practices.\n\nAND yet the best and honestest thing, which persons thus\nentangl'd can do, is to get rid of their bad company as soon as\npossible, to be sorry for what mischief they have already done, and\nto endeavour, by their future conduct, to make reparation for it. And\nthe design of what has been now said, was not to discourage any from\nforbearing to meddle any longer with them that are given to change, but\nto persuade all who are as yet innocent, never to meddle with them at\nall, but industriously to avoid them; not to pass by their path, but\nto _turn from them and pass away[F]. For they sleep not, except they\nhave done mischief, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause\nsome to fall._ Wherefore they cannot be too diligently guarded against,\nby those who would preserve themselves not only from guilt, but from\ntrouble and perplexity and ignominy, and from that calamity and ruin,\nwhich (as we are informed by the verse following my text) _shall come\nsuddenly upon them that are given to change, and upon those who meddle\nwith them_.\n\n     [F] _Prov._ iv. 14, 15.\n\nTHE unparallel'd treason committed on this day, and all the\nconfusions and miseries preceding it, and consequent upon it, may\njustly be ascribed to the neglect of this most necessary caution.\nIndeed it can hardly be doubted, but that from the beginning of those\nunhappy troubles, or very soon after, there was a party of desperate\nmen, who had in view the utter subversion of the establish'd\ngovernment, and were resolved to stick at no villany that might conduce\nto the accomplishing their end. But their numbers in those early days,\nwere much too small to bring about the change they aim'd at, or even to\nprotect them from the just vengeance which the nation would certainly\nhave taken upon them, had they then dar'd to own their intentions.\nWherefore they found it necessary to cover their real designs, under\nthe specious pretences of remeding abuses, and securing the liberties\nof the people, and rectifying what was amiss both in church and state.\n\nBY this artifice, multitudes of undiscerning and unwary\npeople, were drawn into their assistance, and to a criminal union with\nthem, and when these instruments of theirs had for a considerable time\nbeen accustomed to traduce the King and his ministers, exceedingly to\naggravate the errors they had committed, and to charge them with odious\ndesigns, which they knew nothing of, to brand all who honestly adher'd\nto the King and the ancient constitution, with names and characters of\nreproach, and to terrify them not only by threatnings, but by outrages\nand tumults; when they had broken forth into open rebellion against\ntheir soveraign, and in contradiction to the lawful oaths, which they\nwere under to him, had bound themselves by unlawful covenants and\nassociations, not to rest till they had compelled him to comply with\nsuch alterations as they judged expedient; when they had laid wast\ntheir country, and shed much christian blood in their unjust quarrel,\nand had several times rejected the gracious overtures of peace made\nto them by the King, when by these means the breach between him and\nthem was so widen'd, that it was hardly possible to compose it upon\nconditions safe and honourable to them both; when by long familiarity,\nwith disloyalty and treason, the consciences of great numbers of men,\nwere harden'd, and grown perfectly insensible; and when the enemies\nof the King had got into their hands the whole power of the nation,\nand his friends could no longer make head against them; then was it\na proper time for the contrivers and directors of all this mischief,\nto discover to those who had been subservient to them their true\ndesigns against the person and government of the King. And doubtless\nthere were many concurring and assisting to the monstrous wickedness,\nthe punishment of which, we do this day deprecate, who, had it been\npropos'd to them some years before, would have been struck with horror\nat the mention of it, and who could no otherwise have been made capable\nof committing it, than by being artfully trailed on, step by step, from\nthe meddling with them that are given to change, to the becoming such\nthemselves, from one perjury to another perjury, and from less treasons\nto greater.\n\nIT is true too, that many who had been active, both in\nkindling and prosecuting the war, were startl'd at the unprecedented\nproceedings against the person of the King, and publickly express'd\ntheir dislike of them. But fruitless protestations were but pitiful\ncompensations for the successful services they had done to his\nmurtherers, whom they had continued to assist and strengthen, till it\nwas to no purpose to make opposition to them. It was then out of their\npower to undo the mischiefs which they had been the authors of, or to\nhinder others from making a farther use of them, than they themselves\nhad intended. Thus were they unawares made instrumental to the shedding\nthe innocent and sacred blood of their soveraign; the guilt of which\nhorrible deed must be imputed not only to those who were immediately\nconcerned in it, and consenting to it, but in a lower degree to those\nalso, who made way for it, by the unwarrantable practices, which have\nbeen already mentioned.\n\nTHE greater reason have we, brethren, to be exceeding careful\nnot to tread in their steps, lest we also fall in like manner as they\nfell. Their miscarriages are our admonitions, and we shall be more\ninexcusable than they, if instead of taking warning by them, we follow\ntheir example.\n\nI AM sensible it will be said, That we do imitate them, at\nthe same time that we blame them; that the prayers which we have now\noffered for the averting the divine wrath due to the sin of this day,\nand for the safety and prosperity of our present gracious soveraign,\nare a contradiction to one another; and that the late revolution was\na return to the principles of those who were concerned in the great\nrebellion. And there are two sorts of men, who, tho' opposite enough\nto each other, will be apt to concur in making this objection: the one\nwith a design to justify the murther of the Royal Martyr, or at least\nthe measures which prepared the way for it; the other with an intention\nto condemn the happy revolution, upon which our present settlement is\nfounded.\n\nNOW, to what hath been already observed, with a view to this\nobjection, I need only to add, That these two cases, which some would\nfain have us believe to be nearly alike, are widely different.\n\nIT is well known, That the rebellion against King _Charles_\nthe first was begun, when all grievances (which in his reign were far\nfrom amounting to a total subversion of the constitution) had been\nfully redressed and repaired. And it was the declared resolution of\nthose who engaged in it, not to defend, but to change the laws and\nsettled form of government, and to encroach upon the just rights\nof their soveraign; who laboured indefatigably to maintain the\nestablished laws and government; who by the laws, to which he had\nwithout compulsion consented, had given sufficient proof, that he was\nas willing to secure his peoples rights as his own; and who was so far\nfrom affecting power, that did not belong to him, that his greatest\nweakness was, that he did not hold fast the rains of government in\nhis hands, but parted with his authority too easily, and made too\nlarge concessions to those who were not disposed to make him suitable\nreturns. When the rebels had got the mastery, they then actually\ncompleated a far greater change, than they had at first professed\nto desire. A high court of justice was erected for the judging and\ncondemning the King himself as a criminal; the whole royal family were\nexcluded from succeeding to the crown; and kingly government itself was\ndeclared against and abolished, and several illegal forms of government\nwere one after another set up in the room of it.\n\nBUT in the reign of the late King _James_, no redress of\ngrievances, no opportunity of redressing them in a parliamentary way,\ncould be obtained. Instead of being removed they were justified by\npretending, that the King had a power to dispense with the laws at\npleasure. And it was very visible that the King and his ministers\ngoverned by this pernicious and tyrannical maxim. Now this was plainly\na subversion of the constitution, by changing the government from\nlimited to absolute, from legal to arbitrary. When the power of the\npeople prevailed, they made it very evident, that the motive to the\nmeasures they had then taken was necessity, and not the being given\nto change. No remedy was so much as sought for against the person of\nthe King. No prejudice was manifested against the illustrious family,\nwhich had long swayed the scepter of these kingdoms: but all possible\nregard was shewn to it. The King himself had render'd the setting of\nthe crown upon a person who now pretends to it impracticable; tho'\nthe nation had been ever so well satisfied concerning his birth. But\nit was immediately settled upon the King's undoubted issue then in\nthe kingdom, and upon a grandson of the Royal Martyr; and afterwards,\nin default of the issue from them, upon the next branch of the royal\nfamily professing the Protestant Religion; with whom alone our\nconstitution could with any prospect of security be entrusted. Nor was\nthere any invasion of the royal prerogative; but the same government\nin church and state was chearfully submitted to by the people; as on\nthe other hand the liberties of the people were faithfully defended by\nthe crown. In short, of two changes, one of which was at that time\nunavoidable, the nation preferred the less to the greater, and that\nwhich was safe and advantageous to that which would have been very\ndisadvantageous and destructive.\n\nWHICH things considered, no man should offer to draw a\nparallel betwixt the late Revolution and the great rebellion, till\nhe is able to demonstrate, That there is no difference between the\ndoing no manner of hurt to the person of the King, and the executing\nhim publickly as a malefactor; between the settling the crown upon\nhis undoubted issue, and excluding the whole royal family from it\nwithout any other necessity than what arose from the guilt of those\nwho excluded them; between the peoples asserting their own undoubted\nrights, and their invading the undoubted rights of their soveraign;\nbetween insisting upon the regular observation and execution of the\nestablished laws, and fighting for an alteration of them; between\npreserving the ancient constitution and utterly overthrowing it from\nthe foundations; or in other words, between just and unjust; between\nright and wrong.\n\nWHEREFORE, Brethren, let us stop our ears against those, whose\ndoctrines open a door to disobedience and rebellion against lawful\nauthority; and no less against those also who would insinuate that\nour present governours have no claim to the submission, which they\nacknowledge to be due to lawful magistrates. The powers which now are,\nare ordained of God; and ordained in mercy to us, for the security of\nour lives and properties and liberties, and of what we ought to value\nabove all the rest, our most holy Religion. And heavy will be the\ncondemnation of those, who shall refuse to submit to him who is the\nminister of God to them for good.\n\nLET us therefore, laying aside all pride and contentions, all\njealousies and discontents, set our selves to perform what we know to\nbe our duty to him who is vested with the authority of God: not with\neye-service as men-pleasers, not with murmurings as of necessity, but\nin singleness of heart and with a ready mind, as in the sight of God,\nas having his fear before our eyes, and remembring that he will bring\nus to a strict account not only for the sins committed immediately\nagainst himself, but for every offence against his substitute, who by\nhim reigns and decrees justice.\n\nIF we dread not the penalties of human laws; yet let us revere\nthe ordinance of God. Let us consider by whom we have sworn; and let\ndestruction from him be a terror to us. If there be any who dare\nbid defiance to that; let us mark such and turn away from them. Let\nus not be so weak as to imagine that they can have any real concern\nfor religion, or the interest of their country, who can prevail with\nthemselves, or would prevail with others, to violate the oath of God.\nWe cannot surely be at a loss to conclude, what kind of spirits have\ntaken possession of those men, who are not to be bound, no not with\nchains; who break in sunder the strongest bonds of government, and\ncast away its cords from them.\n\nLET our behaviour be suitable to our professions on this\nsolemn day of humiliation. If we do indeed detest the crimes of those\ncruel and unreasonable men who gave occasion for the observance of\nit; if we would not for the world be the authors of such dreadful\ncalamities as they by a long train of wickedness brought upon their\nnation; if we are sincere in imploring the mercy of God, that he would\nnot visit their guilt upon us or our posterity: let us take heed that\nwe do not fill up the measure of their iniquities by a repetition of\nthem: let us not cherish the seeds which are apt to produce such bitter\nand deadly fruits: let us not enter upon courses, which, for ought we\nknow, may end in the crimes we detest.\n\nTO conclude, let us not separate what God hath joyned\ntogether, religion and loyalty, the fear of God and of the King. Let us\nesteem loyalty as a necessary part of Religion, and assure ourselves\nthat we are doing God acceptable service while we are serving his\nrepresentative. Let loyalty to the King mingle itself with our most\nsolemn acts of divine worship. In our thanksgivings let us devoutly\nacknowledge the many blessings we enjoy under his Government: and\nin return let us by our prayers draw down the choicest blessings of\nheaven upon him; most earnestly beseeching the Almighty to enrich\nhim plenteously with grace here, and crown him with everlasting\nglory hereafter; to prolong his life in health and wealth, and to\nperpetuate his seed as the days of heaven; to guide him with his\nspirit of councel, and to strengthen him with his mighty arm, for\nthe establishment of truth, and the maintenance of justice, both at\nhome and abroad; to hide him in time of danger under the covert of\nhis wings, and to shield him with his strong salvation; that the\nconspiracies formed against him may not prosper, and the devices of\nwicked men may be turned backwards and light upon their own heads;\nthat all the people may hear and fear to do wickedly, and the crown may\nflourish upon the head of the Lord's Anointed.\n\n                               _FINIS._","title":"The religious and loyal subject's duty considered: with regard to the present Government and the Revolution: A sermon preached in the Cathedral Church of Canterbury, on Wednesday, January 30, 1722-3","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":6887}