THE Double Occasion of this Day's Solemnity, moved me to treat on these Words; which will naturally lead me both to condemn that accursed Princi­ple upon which the avow'd Enemies of our Church and Nation acted on the former of these Occasions; as also to vindicate our selves from the Calumny which some have spread about concerning us, as if we had acted upon the same Principle, on the latter of them.

In the days of our Fathers, the Romanists form'd a Plot against us for the subverting our Government, and especially for the changing our Religion; in order to which excellent Ends (as they accounted them) they did not stick at making use of the vilest Means that ei­ther Men or Devils could invent. But that Divine Pro­vidence which hath from one Age to another taken espe­cial Care of us, discover'd their Design, and by that means defeated it; and this in so conspicuous a manner, that it was then, and has been ever since generally own­ed, with Thankfulness to Almighty God, and with Detestation both of the Contrivance it self, and of the Principle from which it proceeded.

In our own days, the same sort of men had again form'd a very dangerous Design against us, and by other Methods hoped to bring about the same End. But in this Instance also the Providence of God hath given them a very remarkable Disappointment; which altho it be likewise by the Body of the Nation thankfully ascribed to Almighty God, as the Great Author of our Deliverance; yet there are not wanting some, even amongst our selves, that charge us with having used un­lawful Means for the attaining a good End; and openly declare against our annexing the Second Occasion of this Day's Thanksgiving to the First; as if in doing so, we were guilty of a manifest Contradiction.

It seems highly reasonable therefore, when we are as­sembled in this Solemn Manner to offer up our devout Thanks to God for the Deliverance he hath reiterated to us, to vindicate our selves from so gross an Absurdity; and to make it evident, that in Both these Instances we have great reason to give Thanks to God, and that we may with a good Conscience ascribe our Deliverance to Him in the Later Case, as well as in the Former.

The Words of the Text are St. Paul's, and the Occa­sion of them was this. The Apostle in his preceding Discourse had been intimating, That the Jews by dis­believing the Gospel of our Saviour, V. 3. had not made void the faithfulness of God; nay, on the contrary, That their unrighteousness did commend the righteousness of God; V. 5. that is, it render'd it more conspicuous and illustrious. Upon which he brings in the Jew objecting, But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who taketh venge­ance? That is, How can God justly punish those, who by their Iniquity advance his Glory? To this he answers with abhorrence (it being an Objection so plainly un­reasonable, that it needed not be confuted by Argument, but only disclaim'd), God forbid; V. 6. for then how shall God judge the world? That is, If he were chargeable with Unrighteousness, how could he be a fit Governor or Judge of the World? For shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? But here he goes on with the Jews Ob­jection; V. 7, 8. If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lye unto his glory, why yet am I also judged as a sinner; and not rather, as we be slanderously reported, and as some af­firm that we say. Let us do evil, that good may come? That is, If the Truth of God be render'd more illustri­ous by the Falseness of Men, with what Justice can the man that is thus false, be dealt with as a sinner? Seeing his falseness is a means of bringing Glory to God, sure­ly it can be no Crime. Why may we not rather argue thus Let us do evil, that good may come? This, says he, we Apostles, and particularly I Paul, are slanderously reported to say; some affirm that we do say so, either directly, or at least by consequence▪ It may be they might not have so little honesty, as to charge them with saying it expresly; however, they charged it as a necessary Con­sequence [Page 4]upon the Doctrine which they taught: To which he again replies, not by Arguing, but by De­testation, Whose Damnation is just. Whose Damnation; that is, Theirs, whosoever they are, that either own, or act upon such a Principle as this, That it is lawful to do evil, that good may come; or Theirs, who thus calumni­ate us, as if this Principle were ours; that is, as if this were a Christian Principle, either taught or allowed by the Apostles of our Lord: For the word Whose, may refer to either of them. This I take to be the plain meaning of the Words; from which we may make these Three Observations, which are evidently contained or implied in them.

I. That Almighty God can, and often doth over rule the evil Actions of men to his own Glory, and cause bad Means to conduce to a good End.

II. That notwithstanding this, 'tis a detestable and damnable Principle, That unlawful Means may be used, in order to the bringing about an End that is good.

III. That it is moreover a slanderous, and therefore a very unjust and detestable Practice, to charge this Princi­ple upon those who not only disown it, but whose Actions have given no just occasion for such an Impu­tation.

Of each of these I design to discourse briefly, and as I go along, apply them to the Occasions of our present meeting.

I. That Almighty God can, and often doth over­rule the evil Actions of men to his own Glory, and cause bad Means to conduce to a good End.

This is sufficiently intimated in our Apostle's Dis­course at the beginning of this Chapter; and his assert­ing this, was (as I have shewn) that which gave oc­casion [Page 5]to the Reflection made in the Text. The Jews had been favoured by God with especial Advantages for the knowing the Messias, when he should appear amongst them; yet we know how they disbeliev'd and rejected him, when he did appear, even to the ruin of their Church and Nation. But yet this their Sin illustrated the Glory of God's Justice, in punishing them so re­markably for their heinous Crime; and by giving occa­sion also to the Apostles to turn from them to the Gentiles; it proved a means of advancing God's Glory, by pro­pagating the knowledge of him in the world. The Gentiles on the other hand had been grievous Sinners, not only strangers to the living and true God, but living in open violation of those Laws which he had given them in their very Natures; yet upon their hearing the Chri­stian Doctrine preach'd, many of them embrac'd it with great readiness; which likewise gave occasion to the magnifying the Grace of God towards them, in pardoning their past Offences, and receiving them into his favour, upon their Repentance and Amendment; which again prov'd another occasion of the [...]ws blasphe­ming the Doctrine of St. Paul, and imputing to him falsly the same Principle which they here do in the Text; as he seems to intimate in that Passage, Rom 6.1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Answering there, as he does here, by rejecting such a Position with Abhorrence, God forbid. Indeed as to both these Instances, St. Paul afterwards in this same Epistle resolves the whole of God's Dispen­sation into Infinite Wisdom, when speaking both of the Sin of the Jews in rejecting, and the Happiness of the Gentiles in embracing the Gospel of our Saviour, he concludes, chap. 11.33, 36. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearch­able [Page 6]are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! for of him, and through him, and to him are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Whoever is acquainted with the History of the Holy Scriptures, needs not be at much pains to find out abun­dance of Instances of the like kind. And if we would reflect upon one that has a fair Resemblance to those which I shall have occasion presently to mention from among our selves, it may be that in the Book of Esther; which Book was written on purpose to declare the Wis­dom and Goodness of God, in over-ruling the Pride and Malice of a wicked man, to his own Glory, and the Good of his Church; ordering it so, that the Conspira­tor should erect a Gallows for himself to be hang'd on; and that he should by Lot chuse out a Month and a Day for the destruction of the Nation and Church of the Jews, Esth. 9.22. which did in effect prove the day in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow into joy, and from mourning into a good day; as we read in the Sequel of that History.

But to pass by all other Instances that might be given, we Christians have one at hand, which may serve in­stead of all, namely, When the greatest Sin that ever was committed, the Crucifying the Son of God, was by the Divine Wisdom and Goodness over-ruled, to become a Means of the greatest Good that was ever conferr'd upon the Children of Men, viz. putting them into a new Capacity of Eternal Life and Happiness.

And the reason of all this is evident. That Being, who seeth all things at one view; who not only know­eth what is now doing, but what will be done, nay, what will be attempted or design'd hereafter; who farther discerneth the tendency of every Action, and what will be the natural Consequence of it; and who [Page 7]at the same time hath all Power in his Hands, so that he can either permit or prevent the Execution of any Design; can Confirm or Annul every Purpose and Intention: He certainly can easily out-wit and over­reach the craftiest and the worst of Men, and conse­quently can dispose and order what they intend wickedly or foolishly, to quite other purposes than what were in their Hearts. And forasmuch as his Goodness is equal to his Power and Wisdom, we may safely con­clude, that as he can, so he will govern Affairs in such wise, as to bring good out of evil. As we may rea­sonably argue from the Perfection of his Nature, that he never would have permitted Evil to have come in­to the world, unless he could have over-rul'd it to some wise and good ends: So we may also, That he never will permit any of his Creatures to do that evil thing, which he cannot, and which he will not make to issue in the Glory of his Holy Name, and the Good of his Creation.

And now if we would apply this to our present pur­pose, it will not be difficult. That the Conspiracy of this Day in the time of our Fathers was a Notorious Wickedness, I will at present take for granted; and if it were, I am sure it prov'd an Eminent occasion also of God's Manifesting the Glory of several of his Attributes. His Wisdom, for instance, evidently ap­pear'd, in permitting the Conspirators to proceed just to Execution, and then all on a sudden discovering their dark Designs, nay, making one of themselves the occasion of this Discovery. His Justice was manifest, in turning the Mischief upon themselves, and subject­ing them to the Punishment which their Crime de­serv'd. His Goodness was very conspicuous in saving the Lives of so many innocent Persons, design'd as a [Page 8]Sacrifice to the cruel Zeal of those Ungodly Men, and in preserving, together with them, the Liberty and the Religion of our Nation. Nor was this all; but this Conspiracy farther redounded to the Glory of Al­mighty God, as it became a means of begetting in the People of this Land an honest Aversion to that Church, which allow'd and encourag'd such Wicked and De­structive Enterprizes as this: And perhaps the keeping this Day for so many Years together, in Memory of so remarkable a Deliverance from so Barbarous a De­sign, did in an especial manner help towards the keep­ing the Nation awake, and rendring them constantly jealous of whatsoever plausible Pretences that Church might make for the future. I am sure in the I ate Reign, when we were in fresh danger from the same Quarter, the Zealous Observation of this Day, and the Discourses that were Preach'd and Printed upon this Occasion, were of very considerable Use.

And if we pass from that, to the other Occasion of our present Assembling, we shall find a new Instance among our selves, of God's over ruling the Evil Acti­ons of Men to his own Glory. Our Enemies indeed, in this later Case, were so fair, as to deal more above­board with us, and plainly to let us know what they were designing; and perhaps they will justify them­selves as less wicked, because more open in their At­tempt. But whoever well considers the Illegal and Unrighteous Practices that were used, in order to the subverting the Legal Government of this Kingdom, and rooting out God's true Religion from among us, may see cause enough to own the Divine Wisdom and Goodness, in bringing Good out of Evil in this instance also.

'Twas the Effect of no less than Divine Wisdom, to bring about our Deliverance at a time, when we were so closely beset on all sides, as to have no visible way of Escaping left us. When after the Endeavours of many Years, all things at last seem'd to Conspire to the effecting what our Enemies had Design'd, when they were confident of Success, and began to Triumph over us, as already in their Power; it pleased God all on a sudden to give such an unexpected Turn to Af­fairs, that instead of a Lawless Power, and the Romish Religion being setled among us, they were by a Con­currence of divers Causes, render'd more unlikely to prevail for the future, than ever. The Government chang'd from Popish to Protestant; the Strength of the Kingdom given over into other Hands; many Wholesome and Necessary Laws made to prevent the like Danger hereafter, which we had then incur'd; And this Kingdom, which seem'd the only One want­ing to turn the Balance of Europe, and which was then in a fair way to have done it, made to become the Great Bulwark of the Liberties of all Europe, and the main Support of the Protestant Religion in the World. And so much may suffice for the First Observation I laid down. I proceed to the

II. Viz. That notwithstanding all this, 'tis a De­testable and Damnable Principle, That Ʋnlawful means may be used, in order to the bringing about an End that is good.

You see with what Abhorrence the Apostle in the Text disclaims it; adding, That their Damnation is just, who either avow or act upon it. 'Tis in truth such an open Defiance to God and Goodness; such a flat Contradiction to Truth and Reason, as well as to Chri­stianity, [Page 10]that it very well became him thus to express himself concerning it.

The same Apostle has elsewhere likewise testified his Sense of this Matter; namely, When giving an Account of his own Behaviour, before he became a Christian, he says, That he verily thought that he ought to do what he did contrary to the Name of Jesus, viz. Shutting up many of his Saints in Prison; giving his Voice against them, when they were put to Death; punish­ing them oft in every Synagogue, and compelling them to Blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, and persecuting them into strange Cities, Acts 26, 9, 10, 11. All these things, he says, he verily thought that he ought to do; and yet for having done this, he arraigns him­self, in another place, as a Blasphemer, a Persecutor, and Injurious, 1 Tim. 1.13. Which Crimes he accuses himself of, not (as it may be objected) meerly be­cause the Christian Religion, which he thus madly op­posed, prov'd to be God's true Religion; but more­over because he used irregular and unlawful Methods in opposing it, even though it had been a false Reli­gion, as he then suppos'd it was. If the Christian Re­ligion had not been from God, he had not then indeed been a Blasphemer, as he here calls himself; but he would nevertheless have been a Persecutor, and an In­jurious Person, in dealing so hardly and inhumanly with those, who sincerely and honestly Profess'd it, and were otherwise perfectly Innocent, and Inoffen­sive; nay Righteous, and Holy Men.

Our Blessed Saviour hath in like manner declar'd his Sense to the same purpose, when speaking to his Disciples, he telleth them, That the Jews, after his departure from them, would put them out of their Synagogues, and not content with that, That the time [Page 11]would come, that whosoever should kill them, should think that he did God service, John 16.2. And this our Lord not only foretells that the Jews would do, but he speaks of it as an heinous Crime in them; for so it follows, Ver. 3. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. They have not known me; else they would not deal thus despitefully and cruelly with my Servants: And they have not known my father; else they would not do such Acts of Vio­lence, such unrighteous and unnatural things, to inno­cent and honest Men, under a pretence of serving him, and promoting his Glory.

And as the New, so the Old Testament also hath fully born it's Testimony against this detestable Prin­ciple, of doing Evil, that Good may come. We have a remarkable Passage in the Book of Job, utter'd by Job himself, who was not so much as initiated in the Jewish Religion, but as far as appears, was a pious and good Man, upon the Principles of Natural Religion only; which Passage being Recorded in the Canon of the Old Testament, is a full proof, that God hath both in Nature, and under the Jewish Dispensation, as well as by Christianity, declar'd his disallowance of the Prin­ciple I am speaking of. The words of Job are these, which he spake in the bitterness of his Soul, when his Friends unkindly charg'd him with Hypocrisy, in­tending thereby to Apologize for God, in laying such heavy Afflictions upon him, Job 13.7, 8. Will you, says he, speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his Person? Will ye contend for God? He declares, you see, against going about to ju­stify even God himself, by lying and falsehood. Not that God Almighty can ever be suppos'd to need such a justification: But Job signifies moreover his Abhorrence [Page 12]of it, and that he would be very far from approving what they did, (though they seem to have been other­wise too good men, to have done this knowingly and wilfully;) He therefore adds in the words following, V. 9, 10, 11. Is it good that he should search you out? Or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? To Lye for God, is it seems to mock him; that is, to abuse and affront him. He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept Persons. Shall not his Excellency make you afraid, and his Dread fall upon you?

But indeed there needs no Authority to vouch for us in this Case. We may certainly conclude, without the Affirmation of an Apostle, or a Prophet, or any other Inspired Winter, That this is a detestable Principle. 'Tis absurd and self-contradictory, and as directly op­posite to all good Sense and Reason, as any Principle can possibly be. To design, and to do good, is the proper business of an intelligent and reasonable Being. 'Tis the Glory of God Himself, and 'tis what he re­quires of all, whom he hath made after his own Image. Now that is good for an intelligent Creature, either to design or do, which is according to the Will of the Creator, (his Will being the Rule and the Measure of Goodness;) So that to do Evil, in order to the doing Good, is to contradict and thwart his Will, in order to the performing it; 'tis to offend him, in order to plea­sing him; 'tis to break his Commandments, in order to the keeping them. In a word, 'tis to do that which is directly opposite to the end, which we profess to aim at. For no Evil has in its own Nature a Ten­dency to Good, but to the just contrary. It may in­deed be over-rul'd (as you have heard) to other ends than those to which it has a natural Tendency: But then this is not from the Nature of the Thing, but [Page 13]from the Wisdom of God. The Event only is God's; but that does not alter the nature of the Action, which is to be measur'd by the Rule which God has given his Creatures to act by. But I think no more need be said in so plain a Case.

I know that 'tis commonly pretended by those that act upon this Principle, That the Actions they do would not inded be good, but only as they are directed to such an end; but that the Goodness of the End will San­ctify the Means, and take off the evil that otherwise would naturally be in such Actions. But let us try how this way of arguing will solve the Difficulty in any of the Instances already given.

Job's Friends intended to justify, and so to Honour God, by accusing their Friend, and laying to his charge what he was not guilty of. Their End was good; but it did not for all that, it seems, alter the nature of the Means. 'Twas still speaking wickedly for God, and talking deceitfully for him; it was mocking (or af­fronting) God, for which, as he there tells them, they were in danger of being searched out, and reproved by him. The Jews again propos'd to themselves the doing God Service: But this did not render Killing of inno­cent Men, no Murder. St. Paul verily thought that he ought to do what he did, for the Honour of God (no doubt) and the good of his Church: But yet this would not make Persecution and Injurious Dealing, to become Innocent and Righteous Actions. And so again in our Text, he supposes that the Design may be, that Good may come; whilst the Action in order to that end is Evil, and thereupon detests the Prin­ciple.

The Truth of this matter is in short this. There are some Actions so manifestly unlawful in their own na­ture, [Page 14]that they cannot be made lawful by being design'd to bring about the best End that can be thought of. There are some Actions so plainly contrary to the Laws of God, and to the Reason and Nature of Things esta­blish'd by him, that they must not be done upon any account whatsoever.

And now to Apply this to our present Purpose, par­ticularly to that Conspiracy which first gave occasion for the Observation of this Day. There can be no great doubt made, whether it were begun and carried on upon this detestable Principle, which the Apostle renounces in the Text, and declares to be damnable. 'Tis true, the Actors in it did not avow, That they thought it lawful to do Evil, that Good might come. No; they said, ac­cording to the Pretence I just now suggested, That so Excellent an End as theirs was, could not chuse but ju­stify the Means they were about to use in order to it. And therefore, though from the Remains of Reason and Good Nature, some of them startled at the Man­ner of bringing about their End, yet that Scruple was overcome by the Zeal they had for the Interests of their Church and Religion. Wherein, by the way, we see the danger of being engaged in a False Religion; and particularly, how much the Church of Rome has de­bauch'd the Consciences of those that have been tho­rough pac'd in their Profession. But need we stand to prove that these were unlawful, nay, wicked and abo­minable Means, whatever their End might be? Was it no Crime then, at one Blow to destroy the Lives of so many innocent Persons, who had not the least appre­hension of their Danger? Was it no Crime to offer Violence to the Person of the King, and those of the Estates of the Kingdom assembled in Parliament? To [Page 15]cut off the Flower of our Nobility and Gentry at once, and upon that to involve the whole Nation in Confusi­on, Slaughter, and Blood; which must necessarily have ensued, as soon as the deadly Blow had been given? Good God! That ever Human Nature should be capa­ble of being thus wrought upon, to throw off all the Principles and Inclinations of Humanity! And that ever any Men, in order to advance Reveal'd Religion, should thus directly contradict and violate all that is Na­tural! The mere naming these things, without com­menting upon them, is abundantly sufficient to declare the Wickedness of the Means they used.

And after all, What was the End to be brought about by these Means, which might be able to sanctify them, and to purge out the Evil that was naturally in them? Why, here's the mischief, and thus commonly it falls out, That those who make use of such kind of Means as these, under the Pretence of pursuing some worthy End, are as grosly mistaken about their End, as they are about the Means. 'Tis indeed an observable Instance of the Divine Justice towards men, in thus blinding their eyes, and hardening their hearts, in gi­ving them up to strong delusions, that they may believe a lye, when they do not sincerely and heartily love the Truth. They commonly first propose to themselves very wicked Ends, and then no wonder if they chuse Means that are equally wicked. And thus it was in this case. The End was to root out God's true Religion from amongst us, and to reestablish the Errors and evil Practices of the Romish Church, which had been justly discarded by us. Had their Religion been true, and ours false, nothing but a strong Delusion could have led them to the taking this course, for the introducing the one, and the rooting out the other. It cannot be [Page 16]from God, with his approbation, or allowance, that men should violate those Laws of his, which are so plainly written in our very Nature; that they should renounce all Justice and Mercy, and put off Humanity it self, for the Advancement of the truest Religion, or the best Church in the world. And what then shall be said, when the greatest Barbarities are exercised, for the establishing Error, Superstition, and Idolatry; for the ruining an Excellent Church, and the subverting a well-order'd Government? We may very well say, in the Words of our Text, Those who presume to do Evil, that such Good may come, their Damnation is just. But let us pass from this, to the last Observation I laid down from the Words, viz.

III. That it is a slanderous, and therefore a very un­just and detestable Practice, to charge this Principle up­on those who not only disown it, but whose Actions have given no just occasion for such an Imputation.

This is in truth so lewd a Principle, that those who do act upon it, will probably not be so hardy as to own that they do so. But however, if they do evi­dently act upon it, then 'tis no Slander, no Injustice to say they do. But if, on the contrary, they not only disavow the Principle, but have given no just ground for such a Charge, then it is without all question a slan­derous Report. So St. Paul affirms in the Text, using the same word, which, when applied to God, is ren­der'd Blasphemy, and when to Men, 'tis translated by evil speaking, or (as here) by slanderously reporting, or calumniating. And he adds, Whose damnation is just; by which, as I took notice in the Explication of the Text, some understand his meaning to have been, That those Jews who rais'd this slanderous Report upon the [Page 17]Apostles, when they did, or at least might easily, if it had not been their own fault, have known that it was a slander, were justly liable to damnation for so doing; so that God would punish them, not only for rejecting the Gospel when preach'd to them, but also for calum­niating the Doctrine of Christianity, and slandering its Preachers.

I need not stand to prove the Truth of the Observa­tion. Every one will readily allow it, that to lay so soul an Imputation upon any that have not deserved it, is the worst sort of Calumny and Injustice. But the reason of my mentioning it, is, both because it is evidently implied in the Text, and because there are Some who have slanderously reported and affirmed, That We of this Church and Nation have acted upon this Principle, and this particularly in One of those Instances which we have made a new Reason for our assembling at this Time.

They own indeed, That the Preservation of our Go­vernment and our Religion in our Fathers days, was a signal Act of Divine Providence, for which we ought still to express our Thankfulness: But they say, That our late Deliverance, however permitted by God for wise and good Ends, was nevertheless brought about by unlawful Means; so that instead of rendring Thanks to God, as we now do, we ought rather to humble our selves before Him for the great Transgression we have been guilty of. I thus plainly relate what has been too often said upon this occasion; which, if it were not notorious, ought not to have been mentioned. But seeing some have the Confidence thus to charge us, it seems reasonable, nay, necessary on such Occasions as this, to shew that the Imputation is false and slanderous, and this partly, to do right to our selves; partly, for [Page 18]the fortifying such as may be liable to be shockt by the bold Assertions of Confident Men; and partly for the convincing those amongst them, whose Prejudices and Passions have not set them out of the reach of all calm and sober Reasoning.

To come to the point therefore with the Reporters of this slander. The second Occasion of this Solemnity was the happy Arrival of His Present Majesty on this Day for the Deliverance of our Church and Nation. It was, I am sure, an Arrival which was eagerly desired and expected by a considerable number of those, who have appear'd dissatisfied at the Event. By the soberer part of them, I think it is not now made a Matter of Dispute, Whether our Laws, and Liberties, and Re­ligion, were at That time in imminent Danger, or not; nor whether His Majesty's Undertaking were not very desirable, in order to the rescuing us from the Evils we then fear'd were coming upon us. But according to these Mens present Apprehensions, we did not, it seems, make a right use of the Blessing which Providence be­stow'd upon us; that is, things were order'd and set­led in such manner, as prov'd contrary to their expecta­tions, and to some Schemes which they had form'd to themselves. Well, be it so for once: But who was it that made this Settlement for us? Even Those who alone at that time were in a Capacity of doing it. We were first reduced to that State, that we wanted some Deliverer from Abroad; we were generally desirous of his Speedy Arrival among us; soon after his Arrival we were left in a state of Anarchy and Confusion, and put under a new Necessity of taking up some speedy and effectual Resolutions of securing the Publick Peace; we were by those who had through their unhappy Management first brought us to these straits, and af­terwards [Page 19]deserted us in the midst of them, left to do the best we could for our selves. Now I would fain know of our disaffected Countreymen, Who in such a Case must determine what was to be done? When the Legal Constitution, whereby any Society or Body of Men is held together, is once broken, let it be by what means it will, there are but two ways, that I can think of, to bring things to an Issue; viz. Either Fighting or Voting. The latter certainly is the more Human way of the two, and such as it much better becomes Reasonable Creatures to use, than the former; and if once matters come to a Publick Vote, as in this Case of ours they ne­cessarily did, the Law of Reason, which is Eternal and Immutable, dictates, That the Lesser Part should yield to the Greater; and this so, that in all matters of purely Civil Right, every Private Man is in reason bound, ei­ther to submit to the Major Vote, or to leave the So­ciety, or to be contented with what they shall please to inflict upon him for his Singularity. This is so plain a Case, that it often seems to me matter of wonder, and what is not to be accounted for from any Reason, but is to be resolv'd into the mere strength of Prejudice, That men otherwise of good Sense and Meaning, should not be thoroughly convinc'd by this Considera­tion. Insomuch that those who stand off from our present Establishment, and will not own themselves Subjects to this Government, are, as far as I can per­ceive, the only Body of Men that ever yet dissented from an Establish'd Government, upon their Principles. Had they been Conquer'd, that is, compell'd by down­right Force of Arms, as far as I understand their Scheme, they might have yielded upon their own Principles. But let them consider this Matter fairly once again.

The Nation, thanks be to God, was not Conquer'd; so far from that, that this Revolution was not only made and establish'd by our Representatives freely cho­sen and assembled, but what they did, I take to be agreeable to the Sense of the far Greater and Better Part of the Kingdom; so that it is Consent, not Con­quest, upon which the present Establishment is plainly founded. But after all, the profess'd Enemies of the Government are, I hope, Conquer'd. They were first out voted, and they are ever since over-power'd and over­rul'd; and if they will not allow themselves after all this to be conquer'd, it must be only because the Govern­ment has been so gentle, as not to let them feel that they are so. But one would think, that Wise Men should rather chuse to be conquer'd in this gentle and easy way, and that Ingenuity should work upon them, where the utmost Force is spar'd. And this, I think, is all that is necessary to be said, for the Vindication of Those that are mere Subjects, or for the Satisfaction of Those that ought to be so.

As to the Government it self, and particularly the States of the Nation, who first in Convention, when Necessity requir'd, and afterwards in a Parliament call'd according to the Forms of Law, have determin'd things as they are, it would be as presumptuous, as 'tis need­less, to pretend to Apologize for them. The Govern­ment, thanks be to God, is, and I hope always will be, able to vindicate it self against all that shall presume openly to affront or calumniate it. All therefore that I shall farther add upon this Subject, is to put a few seri­ous Questions to those that speak evil of us; and they are these.

Whether before the happy Arrival of his Majesty on this Day, our Laws and Liberties, and particularly our [Page 21]Religion establish'd by Law, were not in the utmost danger?

Whether at the same time, the Liberties of Europe, and the Protestant Religion in general, were not in the same danger?

Whether we did not then earnestly wish and pray, That Providence would find out some way for our De­liverance? And whether it was not fit and reasonable that we should do so?

Whether, when Providence stirr'd up a Neighbour­ing Prince and State to yield us their Assistance, it were reasonable for us to refuse it? Nay, Whether it had not been high Ingratitude to Almighty God, and to his Instrument in our Deliverance, as well as great Folly with respect to our selves, and a stupid and sensless Dis­regard of our own and our Neighbour's Welfare, if we had not thankfully receiv'd and embrac'd it?

Let me ask them farther, Whether the Fundamental Constitution of a Government may not be so violated, and the Regular and Legal state of things so shook and disorder'd, that the Law of Reason, which is ever supe­rior to all Particular Forms and Constitutions of Govern­ment, ought to take place?

And, Whether, when we were reduced to such Cir­cumstances, that both the Representatives and the Body of this Nation took it to be our Case, they might not, nay, they ought not, to settle things for the future in the best manner they could?

And lastly, Whether this being done, every good man ought not to acquiesce under, nay, be thankful for such a Settlement? These things I leave to be seriously weigh'd by them, whenever they are in Temper to consider.

And now what remains, as the Close of all, but that reflecting upon both these Deliverances together, we render our hearty Thanks and Praise to Almighty God, as the principal Author of them? There is indeed very much of the Wisdom and Goodness of God to be contemplated in both Instances; the Consideration of which should inspire us with a hearty Thankfulness to him for what is past, and with a good Hope in him for the future. We may justly upon this Occasion use the words of Moses in his Song, upon the occasion of the Israelites being delivered from the pursuit of Pharaoh's Host, and rescued from the Danger they were in of be­ing either carried back into Egypt, or cut off by the way; The Lord is my strength and song, Exod 15.2. and he is become my sal­vation; he is my God, and I will glorify him; my father's God, and I will exalt him. We may again say with the Psalmist, upon occasion of another Deliverance of that People; Psal. 48.8. As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God shall esta­blish it for ever.

And if we heartily desire that God may Establish us, we ought to express our Thankfulness some better way, than meerly by Words. If our Sense of the Divine Goodness be real, it will produce some real effects upon us; and if our desires of the continuance of the Divine Favour to our Church and Nation are in earnest, they will put us upon using all the means that are proper on our part, in order to that end; particularly,

1. As we give thanks to God, for the preserving our Legal Government, and therewith our Liberties and Properties to us; so let us manifest our just Value for these Blessings, by a wise and sober use of them. Let us endeavour the Establishing this Government, [Page 23]by discharging the Duties of our several places under it. Let those that are Magistrates put the wholesome Laws in Execution, especially against such Practices as may provoke the Wrath of Almighty God against us. Let each private Man Obey the Laws of his Countrey, and Honour the Persons of Governors and Magistrates, up­on the account of the Characters and Offices they bear. Let every one of us excite in himself an inward Con­cern for the Publick Good, for the Welfare of the whole Body; preferring this, as it becomes us, before all pri­vate and particular Interests. Let us lay aside all Facti­ous contending for Parties, and promote Concord and Unanimity as much as is possible; remembring Who hath told us, That every Kingdom divided against it self is brought to Desolation; and every City divided against it self shall not stand, Matth. 12.25.

Let us again have a care of abusing our Liberty to any kind of Licentiousness; and particularly let us be­ware of running into the Extreme, which is directly opposite to that we have so lately avoided. Considering how prone Mankind are to run from one Extreme to the other, it may not be amiss for us, who have been within these few Years scar'd with the Fears of Arbitrary and Lawless Power, to be watchful over our selves, lest we should throw off that Reverence which is justly due to Government. Obedience and Submission to Authority (I mean always that which is Legally so, according to the particular Constitution of each Coun­trey) is an indispensable Duty, both according to Reason and Scripture: And there is no less danger to the Pub­lick; nay, in so well-temper'd a Constitution as Ours, I doubt the danger is ordinarily greater, from the Un­dutifulness of Subjects, than from the Arbitrariness of Governors. A Legal Government, such as Ours is, is [Page 24]the just Middle between the two Extremes; and we ought both from Reason, and from the Experience we have had in this Nation, to beware of both alike.

But this I speak by way of Caution only; hoping and believing better things, not only of those that now hear me, but of the Body of our Nation in General; who have, notwithstanding the late pressing Difficul­ties we have been under, and those especially upon the more ordinary sort of People among us, maintain'd a steady Loyalty to our Governors; and, to the great Regret of our Enemies, shewn, That we are not so giddy and unconstant, as they would either represent us, or persuade us to be.

2. As we give Thanks to God for the Preservation of our Religion; Let us likewise express our just Value for so inestimable a Blessing, by suffering it to have its due effect upon our Temper and our Lives.

The only reason why the Reform'd Religion is so much to be prefer'd before the Romish, is because it tends to make us better Men. And it had been much better for us to have been bred in the Church of Rome, or to have had the Ignorance and Errors of Popery intro­duced again amongst us; unless we improve the Ad­vantages we have by the Reformation, to the Reform­ing our Manners. It would then have been some ex­cuse to us, that we had known no better; whereas now being plainly instructed in our Duty, 'twill be a high Aggravation of our Guilt, if we refuse to comply with it. The design of all true Religion, is to render us sober and chast, modest and humble, just and charita­ble, pious and devout, more like to God, and more like Gods one to another.

And here again I cannot forbear recommending Con­cord and Unanimity, which are altogether as useful and necessary, with respect to our Religious, as to our Civil Interests. 'Tis a Melancholy Consideration, That since the first Reformation of our Church, we are crumbled into so many Parties and Divisions. The Establish'd Church is the very same that it was in the Glorious Reign of Queen Elizabeth, which we so frequently and so justly admire and magnify; and the Terms of Communion are the very same now, that they were then.

If we trace our Divisions to the beginning, and exa­mine how the Tares of Dissention came to be sow'd among us; the Answer must be that which our Saviour hath taught us in the Parable, The Enemy did this, Matth. 13.24. whilst we were sleeping. And surely after so long Expe­rience of the Enemy's Designs upon us, we ought to awake, and to learn at least this necessary piece of Wisdom, To render our selves firm against all future Attempts, by a closer Union amongst our selves.

And this will appear the more necessary at this time, if we consider the danger we are in upon the same ac­count from Adversaries of another sort. I mean, some that have no regard for any Religion, or at least not for that which is Reveal'd; and others, who though they profess themselves Christians, yet presume not only to Dispute and Cavil at, but to ridicule and expose to Contempt all the Mysteries of our Christian Faith.

When I speak of Union, I do not think it is to be expected, that we should be all presently of one mind in all things. But it were to be hoped, That among other good effects of the late Happy Revolution, we, who were delivered from a Common Enemy, might be­come better Friends to one another, 'Tis certainly our [Page 26]Duty and our Interest on all sides to do what in us lies towards the becoming One Body in Church as well as in State; and if every one among us would but do just as much as in Conscience he can towards this, our Divisions, I am persuaded, would not continue much longer, at least they would quickly be much sewer than they are.

To conclude; Let us not willingly differ in any thing but Mind, and Speak, and Do the same things; and where, after our best endeavours, our Judgments still happen to differ, there let our Charity and Mu­tual Forbearance take place. For though I am very sure 'tis the Duty and the Interest of Christians to be of one Mind, and of one Communion; yet 'tis certainly as great a Duty, and I think a greater Perfection, to maintain Christian Charity in the midst of our Dif­ferences.

I shall shut up my Exhortation with that Apostolical Precept, which carries both Reason and Authority in it; Phil. 3.15, 16. Let us therefore as many as are perfect, be thus mind­ed: And if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, may God reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same Rule; let us mind the same thing.

Now to the God of Peace and Concord, the Great Author of that Peace which we enjoy, the Founder and Protector of that Holy Religion which we Profess; To God even our Father, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten of the Father, with the Eternal Spirit, be ascribed as is most due, all Praise and Glory, now and for ever. Amen.