(2.) It makes us ſerious and conſiderate, and by conſequence conſtant and fix'd to our Principles. Now Rebellion is always the effect of Raſhneſs and a giddy Mind, and proceeds from a vain and fooliſh deſire of Change: And this the words of the Text have a particular reſpect unto, and provide againſt, by making the Fear of God, which is always one and the ſame, the conſtant Rule and Meaſure of all our Actions and Deſigns.

(3.) It makes us loving and charitable, goodnatur'd and kind; a temper as directly contrary to all Sedition and Diſloyalty as can be; for Rebellion is always an ill-natur'd thing, proceeding from Envy and Diſcontent, fomented by Hatred and Malice, and brought out into Act by Rage and Fury. Now True Religion allays Men's natural Heats, cures the Diſtempers of their Minds, charms their moſt head-ſtrong and unruly Paſſions; and not only reſtrains Violence and Wrath, but converts it into Love and Meekneſs; it unites us together in the moſt indiſſoluble Bonds of Peace and Amity, and is ſo far from ſuffering us to Devour and Deſtroy, that it obligeth us to Preſerve, yea, even to die for one another: and to prevent all Miſtakes, it expreſly commands us to love our Enemies. So far hath it gone, and ſo much hath it done for the publick Intereſt of Society, and to ſecure the Peace and Tranquillity of it, and by conſequence to ſecure all Civil Governments, from any dangerous and rebellious Attempts and Practices.

(4.) It makes us Temperate and Sober. And without this no Government can always be ſecure and ſafe; for what ſtreſs can any wiſe Man lay upon Whoring and Drinking? Who can confide in ſuch Perſons who are ſo ſeldom their own Maſters? But admit that ſuch Perſons may be Men of Honeſty and Courage, yet who can expect the Bleſſing and Protection of Almighty God (without which there can be no true Safety) amidſt ſuch Actions? If our Loyalty muſt be meaſur'd by the multiplicity of our Oaths, by the largeneſs of our Healths, and the number of our Whores, God help us. No, my Beloved, theſe are the things that diſpirit our Minds, weaken our Hands, and deprive us of our beſt Defence, and are enough to ſpoil the beſt Cauſe in the World. I could inſtance in ſeveral Princes and States, who have receiv'd more hurt by the Debaucheries and Luxury of their Friends, than by the Malice or Strength of their Enemies, but that the thing is too plain and obvious to need any Example; and therefore Religion teacheth us to maſter our Luſts, that ſo we may at all times govern our Paſſions, and be always diſpoſed to Quietneſs and Peace.

(5.) It ties even our Tongues and our Thoughts to their good behaviour: and there is very good reaſon it ſhould, for tho' the Tongue be but a little Member, yet it's oftentimes a very unruly one, and when let looſe, doth always a great deal of miſchief, and therefore is by no means to be left at Liberty; and therefore hence it comes to paſs, that Religion and Loyalty are both expreſſed by the ſame Phraſe, and ought both to be of the ſame Nature and Quality, i. e. hearty and ſincere. And therefore how ſeverely are they condemned by the Apoſtle, Jud. 8. who deſpiſe Dominion, and ſpeak Evil of Dignities: and therefore well ſays the wiſe Man, Eccl. 10.20. Curſe not the King, no not in thy Thought, for the Bird of the Air ſhall carry the Voice, and that which hath Wings ſhall tell the Matter. St. Paul indeed once, and that upon an extraordinary Provocation, betray'd too much of the heat of his natural Temper, in reflecting ſeverely upon the High-Prieſt, for commanding him to be ſmitten unjuſtly; but he preſently checks himſelf for it, and acknowledges his Error before them all, and tells them, that it proceeded from Raſhneſs and Paſſion, and not from Religion or Deſign; Acts 23.5. I wiſt not, Brethren, that it was the High-Prieſt; I conſider'd not what I ſaid, nor to whom I ſpake; For it is written, Thou ſhalt not ſpeak evil of the Ruler of thy People: And therefore certainly, from ſo great an Example, founded upon ſo good an Authority, we cannot but ſee the reaſonableneſs and importance of this Duty, let the uſage we meet withal from them be what it will. Religion obliges us to ſuffer; and certainly Railing and Reviling are but ill Preparatives for it, and ſhew but little of that good Spirit which we pretend unto: And this brings me to the third and laſt thing, whereby True Loyalty is ſo much promoted by Religion; and that is, in that

3. It urges ſtronger Motives, and lays greater Obligations upon us to be truly Loyal, than any thing in the World can beſides: It propounds to us the Fear and Dread of the great God, the everlaſting Good and Welfare of our Souls, and the Concerns of Eternity, than which certainly nothing can be more great and prevalent upon us. Other Arguments from the ſweet and bleſſed Effects of Peace, from the Fury and Spoils of War, and the Hazards which we run in engaging therein, can never be ſo ſtrong and cogent, but that great Provocations, ambitious Hopes, and greedy Deſires, may overcome them; but now the aſſurance that God is concern'd in the Protection and Defence of Sovereign Princes, is beyond all; and therefore ſaith the Apoſtle, Ye muſt needs be ſubject, (it's no indifferent, but a neceſſary thing) and that not only for Wrath, Rom. 13.5. but alſo for Conſcience ſake, in reſpect of the Laws of God, as well as of Man: And therefore if we ſhould, either by force or cunning eſcape the one, yet we are ſtill in danger of the other; now there's no Man whatſoever kept ſo certainly within the Bounds of his Duty and Obedience, as he that ſets God always before his Eyes. This Conſideration alone kept David from killing Saul, under ſo many tempting Circumſtances, as I think never Man beſides had the like. 1 Sam. 26.9. Who can ſtretch forth his hand againſt the Lord's Anointed, and be guiltleſs? And how far this Guilt extends it ſelf, is plainly told us by St. Paul, when he ſaith, That they which reſiſt, Rom. 13.2. ſhall receive to themſelves Damnation; that is, are liable to the Wrath and Vengeance of God, as well as the Penalty of Humane Laws. And indeed, what are the ſevereſt Laws where this is wanting? What do all other Teſts ſignify? What are the faireſt Promiſes, the deepeſt Proteſtations, and the moſt ſolemn Oaths without this? Where this is not, nothing can bind us; ſo where this is, nothing can abſolve us. And this brings me to the third and laſt Thing propounded in the handling of theſe words; which is,

III. By way of Application, to enforce this Duty upon our Practice.

1. How ought we to bleſs God for ſuch excellent Means for our Protection and ſafety. The Kindneſs he hath ſhewed to us, and the Care he hath taken of us in all Ages, hath been exceeding great; he hath made us, as far as wholſome and good Laws, as far as a wiſe and excellent conſtitution of Government can, as happy a People as are under the Sun: And that nothing may be wanting to make us for ever ſo, he hath crown'd it all, with that ineſtimable Bleſſing of his moſt Divine and Sacred Truth, whereby all the reſt are both defended and enlarged. Time was, that this was a Stranger to us, and beſides the Light of Nature, (and that too was greatly obſcured) we had no farther knowledg of it, than what the Intereſt and Humour of a few inſolent and luxurious Prieſts would allow of; and then neither Princes nor People knew what was their own, how far to command, nor how far to obey. Kings muſt ask leave to be crown'd, yea, and give ſufficient ſecurity for their Good-Behaviour, before they could obtain it; and Subjects muſt be Loyal, no farther than was conſiſtent with the Will of their Ghoſtly Father, and ſo every Man's Life and Fortune, yea, his Body and his Soul too, muſt be at their Mercy: But, bleſſed be God, it is otherwiſe now, for we have a more ſure Word of Prophecy, to which we do well if we take heed: And God grant we may, our Duty and Intereſt is founded upon a more certain Thing; our Safety and Welfare more ſecurely provided for, whilſt our Religion obligeth us to be truly Loyal, and our Loyalty to be truly Religious; for he that is not truly Loyal, is no true Proteſtant, nor can he that is not a true Proteſtant be truly Loyal: Our Religion and Government are now ſo twiſted together, that we cannot be falſe to the one, but we muſt betray the other: We can attempt nothing againſt the Government in any kind, but we forfeit all Title to that excellent Religion which we profeſs. A Rebellious Proteſtant is as great a contradiction as a Loyal Papiſt; for tho' one that calls himſelf a Proteſtant may be a Rebel, and one that calls himſelf a Papist may be Loyal; yet, according to the Principles of each Religion, and according to the particular Conſtitutions of our preſent Government, they can neither of them be as they pretend. And therefore,

2. How ought we to deteſt and abhor all ſuch Principles and Practices, as corrupt and overthrow ſuch an excellent Thing! Religion and Loyalty, are and ought to be inſeparable Twins, and whoever offers to debauch and divide them, deſerves neither the Name of a Proteſtant, nor the Priviledg of a Subject. To this we owe all the Faction and Sedition, the Treaſon and Rebellion that have ſo ſtain'd and diſhonour'd the Profeſſion of Chriſtianity. The truth of it is, we owe the firſt beginnings of theſe things under the Goſpel, to the Pride and Luxury of the Church of Rome, they taught ſome of the firſt Leſſons of Diſloyalty and Rebellion, tho' they have met with too many apt Scholars amongſt thoſe that call themſelves by a better Name; but let them pretend what they will, and ſtrive to alter the Name never ſo much, yet as long as they retain the thing, it is all one. We may call our ſelves Proteſtants as much and as long as we pleaſe, but we are never the more ſo for that; for if we carry on any Seditious & Treaſonable Deſigns under that plauſible Name, we forfeit our Title to it, and are Papiſts, or worſe (if it be poſſible) all the while, for the Primitive Chriſtians never thought of ſuch a thing; nay, ſo far were they from it, that there was more danger of the other extream of complying outwardly to avoid perſecution, with every thing which the Civil Government requir'd, tho' never ſo Idolatrous and Wicked; which gave the Apoſtles occaſion ſo fairly to ſtate the Queſtion between Subjection and Chriſtian Liberty, both in relation to their Enemies and their Friends, to allay the Fears and Jealouſies of the one, and to rectify the Miſtakes of the other, in which they take the middle and ſafeſt way, of flying or ſuffering, rather than reſiſting: for as the Gnoſtick Compliance was to be deteſted as unworthy the plainneſs and ſimplicity of the Goſpel; ſo all forcible Reſiſtance was to be avoided too, as directly contrary to the Innocence and Meekneſs of it. And therefore whoever they are that take upon them to do any ſuch thing, let their pretences be never ſo fair and plauſible, I am ſure they have not ſo learned Chriſt; not that the Chriſtian Religion deprives any Man of the liberty of a juſt Defence againſt any of the Sons of Violence; but then it muſt be only by ſuch ways as true Religion, and the particular Laws of his Country do allow of. Thus we have St. Paul twice pleading the Liberty and Priviledges of his Birth, to preſerve him from the Malice and Rage of his Enemies; once he inſiſts upon his being a Roman, to prevent his being ſcourged; and another time, Acts 22.25. & 25.10, 11. as ſuch, appeals unto Caeſar from the Jewiſh Sanhedrim. And thus doubtleſs may any Man flie to the known Laws of his Country, for his own fafety and preſervation; but to go beyond theſe, is dangerous and deſtructive; as is alſo the perverting the Deſign and Intention of them, and argueth as little fear of God, as it doth of Loyalty to the King, and good Affection to the Government we live under, which hath provided ſo excellently for our Defence and Security: for tho' we may pretend a very great veneration for the King and his Government; yet if we uſe his Name and Authority to undermine or overthrow the Fundamentals of it in any kind, we ſet the King againſt himſelf, as well as his Subjects; we leſſen his Power, by dividing his Intereſt; we ſtain his Honour, by making him give the lie to ſo many gracious Declarations of his Will, to make the known Laws of the Land the only Rule and meaſure of his Actions; and we let in Popery with all its miſchievous Effects and Conſequences, by the very ſame means we profeſs to keep it out: For every thing that brings Confuſion and Diſorder amongſt us, either by Force or Fraud, by open Rebellion, and an ill-gotten Power, or by a treacherous management of what we come more honeſtly by, is as meritorious a piece of Service to that bloody Religion, as any we can do it, ſince it haſtens that which it moſt deſires and delights in, to wit, our own Ruin and Deſtruction. Which now that we may prevent, in the third and laſt place,

3. Let us reſolve to perſevere in the practice of this Duty, whatever befal us. And,

1. For the Fear of God; a Duty, or rather a Fundamental Principle, ſo eſſential to us, that we muſt ceaſe to be Men, before we can be void of it; ſo univerſally uſeful, that we muſt reſolve to become our own Enemies, before we can decline it; ſo rivited into that Religion which we profeſs, that we muſt fly in the face of our own Conſciences whenever we act againſt it; and yet, alas! a Duty ſo much neglected and deſpiſed in this Atheiſtical Heaven-daring, and God-damming Age wherein we live, as if it were a part of our Religion to bid defiance unto God, and all that is good. And yet if it were indeed a part of it, I am apt to think it would not be ſo much in faſhion as it is; for we ſeem to glory in nothing more, than in running counter to every thing which ſome Men place Religion in, without conſidering whether the thing be really ſo or no; As if, becauſe we have been ſometimes abus'd by Hypocriſy and Pretences, we muſt neceſſarily throw off that which we know to be ſincere and true. And that which makes it more to be lamented, is the ſanction that is put upon this untoward Humour, by making it a note of our Loyalty to the King, and our good Affection to the Church; as if drinking his Health, till we loſe our own, were a greater piece of Service to him than praying for his Life and Safety, ſubmitting to his Government, or chearfully offering up our Lives and Fortunes to the defence and ſupport of it; as if no conformity to the Church, tho' never ſo exact and canonical, no means to perſwade others to the like, tho' never ſo ſucceſsful, could make a Man ſo true a Son of it, as drinking the confuſion of all that diſſent from it, and Damming and Hectoring every thing that is not of the ſame furious and violent temper with our ſelves. Certainly, my Beloved, theſe things are as far from our Duty and Religion, as they are from our Peace and Safety; and therefore the allowing them ſo conſiderable a ſhare therein, muſt needs be very dangerous and deſtructive. Which that we may prevent or avoid, let us have recourſe unto thoſe things which the Spirit of God, who beſt underſtands the nature of it, hath wiſely, and with great plainneſs and ſimplicity placed True Religion in, even as Solomon here expreſſeth it, in the true Fear of God: which is very well explain'd by St. James, who calls it not only a pure and undefiled thing, but tells us too, That it is peaceable, gentle, and eaſy to be entreated, James 3.17. full of Mercy and good Fruits, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , without partiality, as it's very fitly tranſlated, as it were on purpoſe to fit the Humour of our Times, or as it is in the Margent too, very properly rendred, without wrangling, and without hypocriſie and deceit; all which if we would but rightly and ſeriouſly conſider, we ſhould certainly avoid thoſe dangerous Evils which threaten us, both from abroad and at home. And therefore well doth the wiſe Man make it the foundation of True Loyalty, ſince it's not only ſupported by it, but it will prove deceitful, and vaniſh into Air and Nothing without it: for thoſe Men are always moſt given to change, the Principles of whoſe Religion are moſt fickle and inconſtant, and always adapted to Times and Occaſions, or elſe who have none at all to fix them to any certain Meaſures that may be confided in; but now the true Fear of God is a fix'd and certain Thing, a ſure Guide to us, and a conſtant and powerful Security to the Government we live under; and diſpoſeth us every way for the practice of the other Duty of the Text, which is the only thing that now remains to be exhorted to. Therefore,

2. Let us be always loyal and true to the King and his Government. You ſee how much the Principles of that Religion which we profeſs do oblige us to it, and methinks there needs no other Argument or Motive to enforce it, and yet it may not be amiſs a little further to explain it; for as Religion in general is an ambiguous Term, and oftentimes made uſe of only to ſerve a Turn, and therefore applied then to all thoſe things that are proper for it; ſo is Loyalty too: And the King's Honour and Intereſt may be pretended, when both of them are, it may be, undermined, and betrayed. True Loyalty therefore conſiſts in a cordial Veneration for the King's Perſon as Sacred, and in a dutiful Submiſſion to his Laws and Government at all times: Not that every Man who breaks any of the Laws, is ipſo facto an Enemy to the Government, for then there would be no true Friends to it in the Nation; Jam. 3.2. ſince, as St. James ſays in another caſe, In many things we offend all. But then do we become Enemies to it, when we undermine or oppoſe thoſe Laws upon which the Government doth ſubſiſt, and which it is maintained and ſupported by, let them be never ſo uneaſy to us; which if they ſhould at any time be, and grind either upon our Eſtates or Conſciences, we muſt not preſently flie in the Face of that Authority which God hath ſet over us, and by Force of Arms endeavour to relieve our ſelves, but muſt with all cheerfulneſs ſubmit, even to the ſpoiling of our Goods, and the loſs of our Lives, till God ſhall find out a way for our Deliverance, and fully reward and crown our Patience. And tho' this be an hard Leſſon, yet it's a good one, and ſuch as the Primitive Chriſtians overcame their Perſecutors by, and the Engliſh Martyrs founded that happy Reformation of Religion amongſt us upon; and ſuch as if we throughly learn, will provide the beſt for us againſt all Accidents whatſoever: But I truſt in God we ſhall never have any ſuch great occaſion for it, but that he will ſtill go on to protect and defend the Sacred Perſon of the King, that he may outlive even the treacherous Hopes and Expectations, as well as the undeſerved and implacable malice of his Enemies, who promiſe themſelves any Benefit or Advantage by his Death, and therefore wiſh and long for it, that he may be always a Nurſing Father unto this our Iſrael, a powerful Defender of that Faith, which as it enriches his preſent Crown, ſo it will entitle him to a better, that his Government may be for many and many Years the Glory and Bleſſing of theſe Nations, as his Perſon hath been hitherto the Darling of God's Providence; which as it is the avowed Deſign of this Meeting to bleſs God for, ſo let it be the Buſineſs of our Lives to contribute all we can unto.

And thus I have given you a Sermon, which was indeed intended for another Occaſion; which becauſe I have been ſo ſeverely reflected upon for what I undertook therein, I was reſolv'd to take this Opportunity to ſubmit it unto your Judgment, that ſo you may ſee, that the Perſon whom you have ſo unanimpuſly deſir'd and receiv'd for your Miniſter, is not a Man of thoſe dangerous Anti-monarchical Principles as ſome Men would endeavour to make the World believe; and if now you are but ſatisfied therein, I ſhall have the leſs reaſon to care whether any Body elſe be or no.