We may sit down every man under his own Vine and under his own Fig-tree and that there shall be none to make us afraid So that if Security is necessary to the Comfort and Happiness of Mankind then Government is so too For without this the Societies of Men would presently dissolve and fall in pieces and all things would run into Confusion and Disorder 2. Another great Benefit which may reasonably be expected from Government tho' it does always so happen is that Men are protected by it in the free Exercise and Practice of Religion and Virtue Therefore we should pray for Kings and for all that are in authority says the Apostle that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty that is in the Practice of Piety and Devotion towards God of Sobriety and Temperance in regard to our selves and of Justice and Charity toward all Men. It 's true indeed and so the Apostles and first Christians found it by experience that the Edg and Authority of Laws may be and sometimes is turned upon the true Religion and the sincere Professors of it But even then tho' Good Men may receive great harms and injuries from Persecuting Princes and Governors as the Primitive Christians did from several of the Roman Emperors yet then it so happens that Good Men have some considerable Benefit and Protection from the Civil Government and Laws being for the most part preserved from the fury and rage of the Multitude so that tho' particular Persons undergo the Tryal of Cruel Sufferings yet much greater Numbers do escape and are preserved And which is very considerable in this Matter against several of the main and essential Parts of Religion there never was any Humane Laws made as against the inward Love Honour and Reverence of Almighty God and the Worshipping him in our Hearts and in Secret of this Part of Religion Humane Laws can take no cognizance Nay farther yet against Humility and Meekness against Modesty and Patience against Temperance and Chastity against Peaceableness and obedience to Government against Justice and Gratitude against Charity and Forgiveness of Injuries against these and such like Virtues the Apostle has told us there is no Law Against the Practice of these without some of which Government could not possibly subsist no Perfection was ever raised no not by the worst of Governors On the contrary in the Practice of these Virtues Good Men have been in all Ages and Times protected by Law 'T is true indeed that Good Men have many times been grievously Perfected by the Civil Government and Authority for the external Profession of revealed Religion which was the case of the Christians at that Time when the Apostle commanded them to pray for Kings and for all that were in Authority that under their protection they might lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty St. Paul knew very well when he gave this injunction to them that Supplications and prayers be made for Kings and for all that are in authority that the Powers of the World did not at that Time favour Christianity But he knew likewise that Government was necessary to the Happiness of Mankind and that Christians even in that State of Perfection did enjoy many considerable Benefits and Advantages by it so that they were not perpetually exposed to popular Rage and Cruelty and the Violence of Wicked and Vnreasonable Men Which would not only have hindred the progress of Christianity but would in a short time have endangered the extinguishing of it Besides that by the favour and protection of Government the Christians had many considerable Intervals of Peace and Ease which gave Christianity a breathing time and opportunity to recover it self and tho' the Secular Authority did for a long time discountenance Christianity and keep it under Hatches that was but an accidental effect and abuse of Government and Obedience was still due and Prayers for it so much the more necessary yea and Thanksgivings to God for it very reasonable upon account of the common Benefits and Advantages of it to Humane Society Besides that Christians did hope and believe that the Civil Government might in time be gained to give its countenance and assistance to Christianity and that Kings and Princes might become nursing Fathers to the Church as was expresly foretold by the Prophets and afterwards in God's due time was remarkably accomplisht In the mean time Christians were patiently to Obey and Suffer in expectation of those Glorious Rewards in another World which were promised to their Faith and Patience and to pray for the Powers that Persecuted them that they also might be brought to the acknowledgment of the Truth and might use that Power which God had committed to them for the protection of Truth and Innocency and for the Continuance and Support of the true Religion which blessed be God was afterwards the Case of Christianity for several Ages I proceed in the Second Place to shew what Obligation the Consideration of the mighty Benefits and Advantages of Government lays upon us both to pray to God on the behalf of Princes and Governors and likewise to praise God for them Because in their Welfare and Prosperity the Publick Peace and Happiness doth chiefly consist and in the Publick Good consists the Good of particular Persons and above all the Piety and Goodness of Princes and Magistrates especially those who are in highest Place of Authority have a general good influence upon the Manners of Men both for the discountenancing of Wickedness and Vice and for the encouragement of Religion and Virtue which are the main Pillars and Foundation of publick Peace and Prosperity A King sitting in the Throne of Judgment saith Solomon Prov. 20.8 scattereth away all evil with his eyes The Pattern of a Religious and good Prince is a living Law to his Subjects and more than the Example of Ten thousand others to Mould and Fashion the Manners of the People to a Conformity to it Besides that there is as one expresseth a kind of Moral Connexion and Communication of Evil and of Guilt betwixt Princes and People so that they are many times mutually Rewarded for the Virtues and good Actions and Punished for the Sins and Faults of one another Of which proceedings of the Divine Justice towards the People of Israel there are many remarkable instances in Scripture where God Rewarded the Piety of Good Princes with great Blessings upon their People and Punisht the Personal Faults of their Kings with publick Judgments upon the whole Nation So that in Truth it is the greatest Kindness and Charity to our selves to pray for our Princes and Governors because our welfare is involved in theirs and we suffer not only in all the Misfortunes and Calamities which befal them but many times upon account of their Personal Faults and Miscarriages Quicquid delirant Reges plectuntur Achivi the Extravagances of Princes are punisht in the Misfortunes of their Subjects Thus David
is nor any fear of becoming less And all Temptation is founded either in hope or fear and where neither of these can have any place there can be no occasion no possible Motive or Temptation to Evil for to be Evil and to do Evil is always an Effect of weakness and want of Power The summ of what I have said upon this Argument and the design indeed of it is to shew that the greater Power and Authority any one hath the less Liberty he hath to do any thing that is bad And I have been the larger upon this because I would fain imprint upon the Minds of Persons whom the Providence of God hath invested with great Power and Authority that as they have great opportunities of doing more good than others so they have greater Reason and more Advantages of doing it and are more inexcusable if they do any thing that is bad not only because their Actions are of a more publick influence and observation but because their Temptations to Evil how great soever they may seem to be are in truth and reality much less than other Mens Happy are those Princes that wisely consider this and make their Power and Authority over others an Argument to be so much better themselves and to do so much more good to others and because they are less subject to the coercive Power of Law do for that Reason think themselves so much the more obliged to be a Law to themselves Blessed be God for the Happiness which we enjoy in this respect and let us earnestly beseech him that he would be pleased to bestow such a plentiful measure of his Grace and Holy Spirit on our most Gracious King and Queen as may Effectually both engage and enable them to use their Power to the best purposes for the Publick good And thus I have briefly gon over and explained to you the several Particulars in the Text the duty of Prayer here enjoyned for whom we are to pray in general for all Men and for whom more especially and in the first place for Kings and all that are in authority and upon what Considerations we are to pray for them and to Praise God in their behalf because of the great Benefits we receive by them and because both in respect of the Dangers and Difficulties of their Condition they stand in need of our Prayers above other Men besides that in praying for their Welfare and Prosperity we pray for our own Peace and Happiness And now to apply this to our selves and to the Occasion of this Day By all that hath been said we cannot but be convinced what Cause we have to bless God for that happy Government which we live under that excellent Constitution under the gentle Influences whereof we enjoy more Liberty more Plenty and more Security from all manner of Injury and Oppression than any Nation this Day on the Face of the Earth Therefore with what Thankfulness should we this Day commemorate the happy Restauration of this Government to us after the miserable Distractions and Confusions of twenty Years by the Restauration and Return of our banisht Soveraign in so peaceable and yet so wonderful a Manner that a Remembrance of it even at this Distance is almost still Matter of Amazement to us Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who alone doth wondrous Things And with our joyful Praises let us joyn our most devout and fervent Prayers to Almighty God for the King 's and Queen's Majesties and for all that are in Authority And I may truly say that there was hardly ever greater Reason and Occasion for it both from our Distractions at Home and our Dangers from abroad never was there greater Need of our earnest Supplications and Prayers than at this Time when our Armies and Fleets are in Motion and when God seems already to have given us some Earnest of good Success blessed be his great and glorious Name We have indeed a great Army and a more powerful Fleet than ever this Nation sent forth but unless God be on our Side and favour our Cause in vain are all our Preparations for whenever his Providence is pleased to interpose by strength shall no Man prevail Have we not Reason then to cry mightily unto God when the only Strength of the Nation is at Stake when our Sins and Provocations are so many and great and there lies so heavy a poal of Guilt upon us When the person of his Sacred Majesty is exposed to so much Hazard not only in the high Places of the Field but from the restless Attempts of the malicious and implacable Enemies of our Peace and Religion that he would be graciously pleased to go forth with our Armies and Fleets and not remember our Iniquities against us but save us for his Mercies sake We are too apt to murmur and complain of Miscariages and the ill management of Affairs but surely the best thing we can do and that which best becomes us is to look forward and to turn our Censures of our Governours and their Actions into humble Supplications to God in their behalf and in behalf of the whole Nation that he would be pleased to turn us every one from the Evil of our Ways that he may return to us and have mercy on us that so Iniquity may not be our Ruin that he may rejoyce over us to do us good and may at last think Thoughts of Peace towards us Thoughts of Good and not of Evil to give us an expected End of our Troubles Let us then betake our selves to the proper Work of this Day hearty Prayers and Thanksgivings to Almighty God for the King and Queen and for all that are in Authority that as he hath been pleased by a wonderful Providence to rescue us from the imminent danger we were in and from all our fears by the happy Advancement of their Majesties to the Throne of these Kingdoms so he would of his infinite goodness still preserve and continue to us this Light of our Eyes and Breath of our Nostrils Princes of that great Clemency and Goodness which render them the true Representatives of God upon Earth and the most Gracious Governours of Men. And let us earnestly beseech him that he would confirm and strengthen them in all goodness and make them wise as Angels of God to discern betwixt Good and Evil that they may know how to go in and out before this great People that be would give them the united affections of their People and a heart to study and seek their good all the days of their lives And Finally That he would be pleased to continue so great a Blessing to us and to grant them a long and Prosperous Reign over us and that their Posterity in this Royal Family may endure for ever and their Throne as the Days of Heaven that under them the People of these Nations we and the Generations to come may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty for
otherwise a very good King sinned in Numbring the People and the Plague fell upon them he was Punisht in the Calamity of his People And this was in no wise unjust because there are always Sins enough in any Nation to deserve Punishment and God may take what occasion he pleases to send his Judgments upon them that deserve them for Princes and People make but one Civil and Political Body and what part of it soever is punished the other suffers And this is the true Ground and Reason of the Communication of Punishments betwixt Princes and People Another Consideration which should engage us to pray for those that are in authority is that we reap the great Benefit of their Care and Pains and Vigilancy for us under their shadow we are safe Our Innocency and our Rights are protected by their Power and Laws and by the just Punishments which they inflict upon evil-doers and upon those who go about to violate our Rights in any kind so that we ought to pray and to praise God for them as our great Benefactors and the chief Instruments of our Security and Welfare and therefore not only in Duty but in Justice and Gratitude we are bound to wish all good to them and to intercede with God for them for the Peace and Prosperity of their Government and to bless God on their behalf Yea we ought to do this out of love to our selves because their good and prosperity is ours their Goodness and Righteousness their Personal Piety and Virtues extend to us and have a Mighty Influence upon us to excite and encourage us to follow their good Example and to go and do likewise And we ought likewise to do this out of Charity and Compassion to our Princes and Governours whose Condition is in truth rather to be pityed than envied and whose high Place and Dignity is much more to be dreaded than desired by a wise Man considering how heavy a Burden they sustain what Dangers they are continually exposed to what Cares and Troubles and Censures they daily undergo for our Safety and Ease So that whatever Ambitious and Inconsiderate Men may think wise Men do certainly know and find by experience that to discharge with care and faithfulness all the Parts of a good Governor is a very difficult and troublesome Province Inferiour Magistrates find care and trouble enough in that small share and part of it which they sustain and if so then certainly the Care and Concernment of the whole must needs be a heavy Burden indeed and what Abilities are sufficient for it what Shoulders are strong enough to stand under it And as upon this account they have the greatest need of our Prayers for God's Direction and Assistance in the discharge of their high Office so likewise for his powerful Grace to preserve them from Sin and Evil in the midst of those manifold Temptations to which they are continually exposed in appearance much beyond other Men from the heighth of their Condition and the extent of their Power which are strong Temptations to weak Minds to Pride and Insolency to Injustice and Oppression from the abundance of all things which Minister to Luxury and Excess and from the officious fertility of Parasites and Flatterers who sooth them in their Faults and humour them in their Passions and comply with their Corrupt and Vicious Inclinations and are always ready at hand and forward Instruments to execute their Commands and to serve their Lusts and Vices And as Princes greatly need our Prayers upon these Accounts so it is just Matter of Praise and Thankfulness to God when a Nation hath wise just and good Princes who lay to heart the Interests of their People and endeavour by all the wise Methods and honest Arts of Government effectually to procure it who by their Authority and due Execution of the Law do discountenance and as much as in them lies restrain Wickedness and Vice and by their own Example encourage Virtue and Piety in their Subjects and thereby invite and even provoke them to the like Practices The life of a good Prince is a kind of Publick Censure of ill Manners and reproof of vicious Practices And I do not know whether there be a more delightful Sight on this side Heaven than to see those who are in Eminent Place and Power even if they might do whatever they would yet continually chufing to do what they ought as if their Power were so far from being a Temptation to them to do Evil that on the contrary the Consideration of it is one of the best and strongest Arguments to restrain them from it Weak Minds are apt to measure their Liberty by their Power and to think that the higher and greater they are so much the greater Priviledge they have to be more extravagantly bad than others but if the Matter be really considered the Argument runs the other way and he that Reasons wisely will certainly conclude with Tully in maximâ quâque fortunâ minimum licere that they who are in the highest Station and greatest Power have of all others the least liberty to do what they list Their Power supposing it never so uncontroulable and unaccountable would be so far from being in Reason a Temptation to them to do what they ought not that in truth it would set them above the Temptation of doing an ill thing because they would stand in awe of no body and there would be nothing that could hinder them from doing what is best if they had a mind to it and every one ought to have such a mind And nothing can be more mis-becoming and more directly contrary to the Nature of their Office and the Power wherewith they are intrusted than to give an Example of breaking those Laws which they are to see put in Execution God himself because he hath all Power is therefore all Goodness and is therefore holy in all his ways and righteous in all his works according to the reasoning of the Author of the Book of Wisdom who Argues thus with God It is not says he agreeable with thy Power to condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished that is it is not agreeable with infinite Power to do any thing that is unjust For thy Power saith he to God is the beginning of righteousness and because thou art the Lord of all it maketh thee to be gracious unto all Infinite Power is the Foundation and Principle of Goodness and Righteousness and an All-powerful Being is good and Righteous not only from Choice but from a Necessity of Nature And this is the true Ground and Reason of that Saying of St. James that God canot be tempted with Evil because his infinite Power sets him above all Temptation to it For what Reason can be imagined why he that hath all Power should have any inclination to be otherwise than good What can tempt him thereto Since he that hath all Power can neither have any hopes of being greater than he
of any Religion that ever yet appeared in the World And this is a great Advantage indeed But by this alone it could never have been able to have broken through all that mighty Opposition and Resistance which was made against it and therefore that it might be able to encounter this with Success 2. God was pleased to accompany the first Preaching of it with a mighty and sensible Presence and Power of his Spirit And this brings me to the Second Part of the Text the Reason of the wonderful Efficacy and Success which the Apostles had in the Preaching of the Gospel the Lord wrought with them and confirmed the Word with signs following Which words express to us that Miraculous Power of the Holy Ghost which accompanied the first Preaching of the Gospel by which I do not intend to exclude the inward Operation of God's Holy Spirit upon the Minds of Men secretly moving and inclining those to whom the Gospel was Preached to embrace and entertain it which the Scripture elsewhere speaks frequently of and may possibly be intended in the first of these Expressions the Lord working with them and the latter may only be meant of the Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit with regard to which God is said to confirm the Word with signs following or accompanying it But I rather think they are both intended to express the same thing and that the latter is only added by way of explication of the former to shew more particularly how the Lord wrought with them namely by giving Confirmation to their Doctrine by those miraculous Gifts and Powers of the Spirit which they were endowed withal the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs following that is with those Miracles which accompanied the first Preaching of the Gospel For these words do plainly refer to the Promise of the Spirit at the 17th verse and these signs shall follow them that believe which is the Reason why they are here call'd signs following that is Miracles which accompanied the Word that was Preached And that this is the full meaning of this Text will appear by comparing it with one or two more Rom. 15.18 19. where St. Paul speaking of the things which Christ had wrought by him to make the Gentiles obedient to the Gospel he says they were done through mighty signs and wonders by the Power of the Spirit of God which is the same with that which is said here in the Text of the Lord 's working with the Apostles and confirming the Word with signs following So likewise Heb. 2.3 4. the Apostle there tells us that the Gospel which was first spoken by the Lord was confirmed by them that heard him God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost So that the great Confirmation which is said here to be given to the Gospel was by the Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit which were poured forth upon the Apostles and Primitive Christians In speaking of which I shall briefly do these Two things I. Give an account of the Nature of these Gifts and of the Vse and End to which they served And then shew in the II. Place how the Gospel was Confirmed by them I. For the Nature of these Gifts and the Vse and End to which they were designed They are those Miraculous Powers which by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the day of Pentecost the Apostles were endowed withall to qualifie them to Publish the Gospel with more speed and success Such was the Gift of speaking divers Languages and the Gift of Interpreting things spoken in divers Languages And these Two Gifts were not necessarily united in the same Person for the Apostle tells us that some had the one and some the others the Gift of Prophecy and foretelling things to come which was always a sign of a Person Divinely Inspired the Miraculous Powers of Healing Diseases of Raising the Dead and of Casting out Devils a Power of inflicting Corporal Diseases and Punishments upon scandalous and obstinate Christians who would not submit to the Apostles Authority and Government which is in Scripture call'd a delivering up to Satan for the destruction or tormenting of the Body that the Soul may be saved nay in some cases this Power extended to the inflicting of Death it self as in the case of Ananias and Saphira Not that all these Miraculous Powers were given to every one of the Apostles or that they could exercise them at all times some were bestowed upon one and some upon another according to God's good pleasure and as was most expedient for the Vse and Benefit of the Church and most subservient to those Ends for which God gave them only we find that all the Apostles had the Gift of Tongues and that the Power of Casting out Devils in the name of Christ was common to every Christian and continued in the Church for a long time after the other Gifts were ceased as Tertul. Arnob. and Min. Felix do testifie even of their own times But II. I shall briefly shew how the Gospel was Confirmed by these Miraculous Gifts Now besides the particular Vses and Ends of those Miraculous Gifts as the Gift of Tongues did evidently serve for the more speedy Planting and Propagating of the Christian Religion in the World and the Power of inflicting Corporeal Punishments in a Miraculous manner upon Scandalous and Disobedient Christians did maintain the Power and Authority of the Apostles and was instead of an ordinary Magistratical Power which Christians were destitute of whilst the Roman Empire continued Heathen I say besides the particular Ends and Vses of all these Miraculous Gifts they did all in general as they were Miracles serve for the Confirmation of the Gospel The Apostles delivered the Doctrine of Christ and were Witnesses of his Resurrection from the dead as the great Miracle whereby his Doctrine was confirmed now there was all the Reason in the World to believe them whom God was pleased to give such a Testimony from Heaven for who could make any doubt of the Truth of Their Testimony concerning the Resurrection of Christ who were enabled to raise others from the dead and by many other wonderful things which they did gave such clear Testimony that God was with them Never had any Religion fewer worldly Advantages to recommend it and so little temporal Countenance and Assistance to carry it on but what it wanted from Men it had from God for he gave witness to it with signs and wonders and divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost God seems on purpose to have stript it of all Secular Advantages that the Christian Religion might be perfectly free from all suspition of Worldly Interest and Design and that it might not owe its Establishment in the World to the Wisdom and Contrivance of Men but to the Arm and Power of God The Inferences I shall at present make from this Discourse shall be these I. To give
Joash was the Son of Jehoiada And tho' it be very considerable which St. Jerome observes that in the Hebrew or Nazarene Gospel it is Zacharias the Son of Jehoiada yet it is hard to rely upon that against all the Greek Copies But a more difficult Objection in my opinion is that our Saviour seems to design to mention the Two Extreams the First and Last Righteous Man that was shin and between them two comprehended the Good Men of all Ages that were Persecuted and Slain and if so then that Zacharias in the Chronicles who was slain so long before can by no means be the Person There is yet a Fourth Zacharias mention'd by Josephus Lib. 4. the Son of Baruch which is probably enough the the same Name with Barachias who was the last remarkable Good Man that was slain immediately before the Siege of Jerusalem and that as Josephus tells us in the midst of the Temple which agrees with our Saviour's description of it between the Altar and the Temple not the Altar of Incense but of Burnt Offerings which was in the outward Court before the ascent to the Temple So that Grotius thinks this was the Man intended by our Saviour yet so that he does both allude to the History of the former Zacharias and foretell the Death of this And there is but one Objection against this that our Saviour speaks of this as already past whom you have slain whereas this Zacharias was not slain till after our Saviour's Death But I think that a satisfactory Answer may be given to this viz. that our Saviour foretelling those future Persecutions which should fill up the Measure of their Sins and bring final Destruction upon them he speaks of this as already past because before that Destruction should come upon them it would be true they had slain him So that speaking of the Vengeance coming upon them well might he say that upon them should come the blood of all the righteous men from Abel to Zacharias whom they had slain c. III. The Third Difficulty remains III. and that is in what Sense and with what Reason and Justice it is here threatned that the blood of all the Prophets and Righteous Men shed from the foundation of the World should be required of that Generation Some understand this more strictly they should be charged with it and formally punisht for it because in imitating their cruel Predecessors they should be guilty of all their Cruelty But there is no necessity of this All that our Saviour seems to intend is this that their Punishment in the Destruction of Jerusalem should be so horrible as if God had once for all Arraigned them of all the Righteous Blood that ever had been shed in the World and brought the Punishment of it upon them tho' in Truth the Punishment did not exceed the desert of their own Sins And if this be the meaning of it there is nothing Harsh and Unreasonable in it And thus I have explain'd as well as I can the several Difficulties in the Text. I shall make Two or Three Observations from the main Scope and Design of it and so conclude I. That it hath been the Lot of Holy and Righteous Men in most Ages of the World to meet with very bad usage to be Persecuted and Slain The Devil began this Work early When there were but Three Men in all the World and Two of them Brethren the one slew the other because he was more righteous and served God better than he did And this trade hath continued and been practised more or less in most Ages and Generations of the World as might be deduced through the History of the Old and New Testament and of most Ages since though the rod of the wicked hath not always abode upon the back of the righteous lest at last Piety should be quite discouraged and the faithful fail from among the Children of men The People and the Church of God have had many Intervals of Peace and Prosperity and sometimes for a long continuance the favour and countenance of Authority and the Powers of the World and the Laws of Nations on their side But yet there is a continual enmity between the Seed of the Woman and the Serpent between the Righteous and the Wicked between those that serve God and those that serve him not because their ways are contrary one to another and quite of another fashion their Principles and Practices do contradict and clash with one another the Virtues of good Men are a continual upbraiding of the bad a living reproof and reproach to them so that it is no wonder that evil Men do so violently hate and persecute the good and do by all means endeavour to remove out of the way those who are so opposite and offensive to them II. We may observe likewise hence how great a Sin they are guilty of who persecute the Righteous and how terrible a Vengeance from God waits on them Particular Examples of this have been in all Ages But as the guilt of this Sin never went higher than at this time foretold by our Saviour when God sent to the Jews such Prophets and Wise-men and Scribes and such a Number of them as never upon any occasion were sent unto the World and they used them in that bloody and barbarous manner no wonder if the Vengeance that came upon them was such as never had been before and if after they had filled up the measure of their Sins by crucifying the Lord Jesus and persecuting his Apostles and stoning and killing all the Prophets that were sent unto them the wrath of God came upon them to the utmost and such a terrible Destruction from the Lord as never befel any People insomuch that our Saviour upon the foresight and mention of it Forty Years before it happen'd could not but weep over them and express himself in those compassionate Words O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Pro phets and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings but ye would not Behold your house is left unto you desolate III. From this whole Passage of our Saviour which I have been explaining to you we may learn how vain it is for Men to pretend to Honour the dead Saints when they Persecute the living This was the great Hypocrisie of the Scribes and Pharisees among the Jews in our Saviour's time and is at this Day of the Rulers and Governor's of the Roman Church among us Christians Nay they exceed the Scribes and Pharisees not only in their Veneration of the ancient Saints and righteous Men but also if it be possible in their malice and cruelty towards the living For they not only build costly Monuments to their Memory which was the utmost the Scribes and Pharisees did but they honour them with Shrines and rich Offerings with Prayers and Vows to them more frequent than to Almighty God
Evening how that we pray for all the World for Kings and for all that are in authority Secondly For whom we are to pray In general for all men Our Prayers are one of the greatest and best Expressions of our Charity and therefore ought to be as large and extensive as our Charity is We are bound in common Charity to love all Men and to wish well to them but our bare Wishes signifie nothing unless we direct them to God who is able to confer upon them the Blessings and Good Things which we wish to them And this is a Charity which God hath put into every Man's Power and which the poorest Man in the World as well as the richest is capable of exercising at all times and upon all occasions For the Ear of God if open to the Prayers of the poor as well as of the rich and they are every whit as prevalent with him nay the Scripture seems to say that God hath a more particular regard to the Prayers of the poor So that we may be liberal and bountiful in our Prayers to those to whom we are able to give nothing else and when our Hands cannot reach to relieve them we may pour out our Hearts to God for them we may pray for their Spiritual and Temporal good and we may praise God for the good which befalls them tho' it was out of our power to be any ways instrumental to procure it for them Thirdly For whom we are more especially and in the first place to pray viz. for those who have the greatest and most publick influence of all others upon the peace and happiness of Mankind for Kings and for all that are in authority that is for the Supreme Magistrate and for all inferior Magistrates who derive their Power and Authority from the Supreme Government is necessary to the welfare of Mankind because it is the great Band of Humane Society the Guard of its Peace and the Security of every Man's Person and Property and therefore we are concerned as much as is possible both to pray for our Governours and to bless God for them because without them we should be in a most wretched Condition Mankind would be unavoidably miserable without Government Humane Society would presently disband and all things would run into confusion It is a remarkable Saying of one of the Jewish Masters Pray for the happiness of the Kingdom or Government for if it were not for the fear of that Men would devour one another alive And Josephus tells us that when the Jews were made subject to the Romans tho' it was by Conquest twice a day they offered up Sacrifices for the life and safety of the Emperour And this was very agreeable to what God had commanded that People by his Prophet in a much like case when the Jews were Conquered by the King of Babylon and carried away Captives Jer. 29.7 Seek the peace of the City whither I have caused you to be carried away Captives and pray unto the Lord for it for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace And surely the Reason is much stronger why we should pray for our natural Princes and Governours I come now to the Fourth and Last Thing Considered in the Text and which I principally design to speak to namely the Reason or Argument which the Apostle uses to engage us to pray for our Princes and for all that are in Authority that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty The manifold Benefits and Advantages which redound to us from our Governors is a sufficient Argument why we should pray to God for them and Praise him likewise for so great a Blessing and that in the first place I exhort therefore first of all saith the Apostle c. Now the Apostle here in the Text expresseth Two great Advantages of Government which upon the Matter do comprehend all the rest 1. That by Government we are Secured in our Civil Rights and Interests in the quiet and peaceable Possession of what is our own 2. That we may thereby be protected in the free Practice and Exercise of Religion and Virtue These are the Two greatest and most desirable Things to Man and neither of these can be had without Government I shall briefly consider these Two particulars and then endeavour to shew what Obligation the Consideration of them lays upon us both to Pray to God in the behalf of our Princes and Governours and likewise to Praise God for them And then I shall conclude all with a brief Application of this whole Discourse to the Solemn Occasion of this Day First I shall begin with the Benefits and Advantages of Government mention'd in the Text namely these Two 1. That by it we are secured in our Civil Rights and Interests in the quiet and peaceable Possession of what is our own Without Government there could be no such thing as Property in any thing beyond our own Persons for nothing but Law can make Property and Laws are the Effect of Government and Authority Nay without Government we have no security of our Persons and Lives much less of any thing that belongs to us and is at present in our Possession Were we not protected by Laws which are the Effect of Government we could have no safety no quiet enjoyment of any thing but every Man must be perpetually upon his guard against all the World and exposed to continual Violence and Injuries from those who are too many and too strong for him so that all our quiet and security from Fear and Danger from the Fraud and Oppression of those who are more Crafty and Powerful than our selves from endless Confusions and Distractions and from a State of perpetual Feud and War with all Mankind is entirely due and owing to Civil Government And this alone is so unspeakable a Benefit that without it Men of all Creatures would be the most Miserable because all that Wit and Sagacity all that Cunning and Contrivance which Mankind hath above the Bruit Creatures would but enable them to do so much the more Mischief to one another and to devise and find out more Powerful and Effectual Means and Instruments to harm and destroy one another In short that we live and that we live well in any tolerable Condition either of Safety or Plenty and that we are able to call any thing our own for one Day or for one Hour that we are not in perpetual Terrour and Apprehension of mortal Dangers and that we are at any time free from the Invasion of what we at present possess by the fraud and force of others is solely the Effect of this great Blessing and Divine Appointment of Government to preserve the peace of Humane Society and by wise and wholsome Laws to tye up Mens Hands from mutual Injuries and Violence Upon this all the Comfort and all the Security of Humane Laws does depend From hence it comes to pass that as the Scripture expresseth it