Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n
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A29070
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Sermon preach't before the societies for reformation in Dublin, Jan. 6, 1697/8 by J. Boyse.
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Boyse, J. (Joseph), 1660-1728.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing B4076; ESTC R35337
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23,149
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33
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Interest and Reputation to the Superior Interest of the Glory of God and allows us not to baulk any eminent Service to him because we cannot perform it without considerable Toyl and Hazard No we shou'd look on such Obstacles and Difficulties in our way as rather design'd to try the sincerity and fervour of our Zeal the strength and constancy of our Resolutions And therefore the prospect of 'em shou'd rather inspire us with new force and vigour For as the pretence of a Lyon in the Street is but the Sluggard's Excuse so to be affrighted by every appearance of Danger from our undoubted Duty is but a suspicious Character For among those that are said to have their Portion in the Infernal Lake the Fearful and Vnbelieving the timorous Cowards in the Cause of God are plac't in the very Front of ' em 21. Rev. 8. vers 3. Shou'd we fail of success in this great Design yet we have deliver'd our own Souls The Guilt of publick Profaneness and Wickedness will not lye at our door when we have done our utmost for the restraint of it Nor shall our Fidelity tho it may want success with Men want acceptance with God and a liberal Reward from him 4. We have no reason to be discourag'd by the great difficulties in our way from all hope of success For our success depends on his concurrence and blessing to whose Power no Obstacles we can meet with are insuperable But this leads me to the next Observation V. We may from the happy issue of Nehemiah's undertaking Observe That the Great God is often pleas'd to Crown the seemingly weak attempts of his Faithful Servants for his Cause and Interest with unexpected and wonderful Success Of this My Text gives us a lively Instance For tho' Nehemiah's single Zeal seems to have been the only Spring of this Attempt to recover the Religious Observation of the Sabbath and tho' he had so general and strong Opposition to contend against yet you see by his Vigour and Resolution he carried the point and brought about the Reformation he intended That blessed God who had inspired his Heart with so excellent a Design strengthning his Hands in the Execution of it and bending the hearts of others to a complyance with his just Authority and Religious Undertaking And no doubt it did much facilitate the success of his Endeavours that the Law of God did so evidently condemn the practice he Oppos'd So that those who had Inclination enough to so ill a Cause as that of Profaneness yet were almost asham'd to appear for it And those who might have had an ill Eye upon his good Design yet had scarce the Confidence to oppose it their own Consciences being convinc't of the Reasonableness and Equity of it Let us then draw abundant Encouragement to these our Religious Endeavours from the consideration of our being engag'd in the Cause of God and from the prospect of his powerful Assistance and Blessing Let us fortify our own Resolutions with the Argument that pious Nehemiah elsewhere uses The God of Heaven he will Prosper us therefore we his Servants will Arise and Build 2 Neh. 10. His mighty Power can make the weakest Instruments successful to pull down these Strong-holds of Sin and can make use of Babes to quell his most formidable Enemies And truly we have already had that Experience of the favourable Providence of God shining upon our Religious Undertakings of this kind that wou'd render us inexcusable shou'd we distrust his future Aids And to convince you hereof I need only set before you the following brief account of the Societies for Reformation both in London and in this City And because the account of 'em is intermixt with that of the Religious Societies of young Persons I must touch a little on both For the Religious Societies of young Persons in London belonging to the Establish't Church that Pious conformable Divine Mr. Woodward tells us The first Rise of 'em was about twenty Years ago About that time several young Persons being touch't with a tender sense of their Souls applied themselves to Religious Thoughts And as they often accidentally met at the Houses of their Ministers they were by some of them advised to meet once a week and to apply themselves to good Discourse And for the better Regulation of their Meetings several Orders and Rules were given ' em In pursuance whereof they continued their Religious Meetings till K. James's Reign And tho' the Aspect of publick Affairs did then discourage some yet others of them continued their pious Resolutions and Practices tho' they took the most prudent course for concealing their Meetings In the beginning of this Reign they were accus'd to the Bishop of London as tending to Schism Upon which they presented their Apology which being confirmed by the Testimony of their Ministers gave full Satisfaction And having then greater encouragement they quickly encreas't to 25 Societies within the compass of the Bills of Mortality besides those since form'd at Shadwell and Greenwich And what Sense our late excellent Queen had of these Societies the Bishop of Salisbury acquaints us in his Memoirs of her She hearkned saith he carefully after every thing that seem'd to give us some hope that the next Generation wou'd be better then the present with a particular Attention She heard of a Spirit of Devotion and Piety that was spreading it self among the Youth of this great City with a true Satisfaction She enquir'd often and much about it and was glad to hear it went on and prevailed which was her hearty Wish and daily Prayer Now out of these Religious Societies at London there have been two associated Bodies form'd who have made it their Endeavour to inform against Profaneness and Vice meeting weekly to carry it on according to the legal and prudential Rules which some Lawyers drew up for ' em In which work besides time labour and reproach some of 'em have run considerable hazard of their Lives He tells us also There is another eminent Society in London consisting of many considerable Gentlemen and chief Citizens who frequently meet to super-intend direct and pursue this glorious work of Reformation consulting the best methods to carry it on and promoting it by large and honourable Contributions By which means several thousands of Drunkards Swearers and Profaners of the Lords-day have been brought to just Punishment Besides this Society many Justices of the Peace meet weekly on this Design There is also saith he an active Society for Reformation consisting of about Sixty Persons most House-keepers in and about the Tower-Hamlets to whom several Persons of the City are joyn'd with several Church-Wardens Constables and other Officers All these tho' of different Persuasions joyn against Profaneness and Debauchery And these have put down several Markets kept on the Lords-Day and supprest some hundreds of Houses of ill Fame And by the industry of this Society alone about two Thousand lewd Persons have suffer'd the
Heaven He is thereby constituted the Guardian of both Tables of the Law and is therefore oblig'd to promote the Observance and to restrain the open violation of its excellent Precepts He is the Minister of God appointed by him as a Revenger to execute Wrath upon Evil-doers 13 Rom. 3 4. And indeed if he do not so manage his Power as to render it a Terror to all such by restraining their publick and enormous Vices he so far bears the Sword in vain by not answering the great End for which he is entrusted with it And 't is the Magistrate's Authority must give Vigour and Force to all regular Attempts this way and 't is their Zeal and Resolution must put Life into ' em And accordingly You see in my Text it was Nehemiah the Governour that here set this excellent Work of Reformation on foot 'T was he rebuk't the Nobles of Judah for encouraging this Profanation of the Sabbath 'T was he commanded the Gates to be shut and by his threatning of just Severity put a stop to that shameful Traffick by which that Sacred day was Polluted But since the effectual suppression of Profaneness and Wickedness tho' warranted by the Magistrate's Authority does necessarily require many Hands to concur in it I therefore add That all shou'd be ready to joyn in so excellent a Design so far as their regular Endeavours in their Station can be Serviceable to promote it Thus this pious Reformer orders the Gates of Jerusalem to be shut he sets his Servants there to stop any burthen from entring into ' em And because the People would probably pay a greater reverence to the Levites he orders them to keep the Gates that they might reprove the People for their profanation of the Sabbath and urge 'em to the Sanctification of it Thus were all proper hands set at Work to carry on so necessary and Religious a Design On this Observation I shall only make the two following Reflections 1. We may hence see matter of great thankfulness to God and of Encouragement in this excellent Work That our Magistrates to whom it principally belongs are so far engaged in it What reason have we to bless and adore the divine Majesty that he has incited and directed those that are entrusted with the legistative Authority to enact so excellent Laws against the profanation of his holy Name and Day That he has fill'd so many inferior Magistrates with Zeal for the Execution of ' em But above all how shou'd our hearts be chear'd and our hands strengthened by that publick Declaration which our gracious Sovereign has so lately made That he esteems it as one of the greatest Advantages of the Peace that he shall now have leisure as for other important Affairs so particularly for this of effectually discouraging Profaneness and Immorality O may the King of Kings confirm these Pious purposes in his Royal Heart and inspire him with suitable Resolution and Courage in the happy Execution of ' em May the Restoration of the Honour and the vital Power as well as the Preservation of the External Profession of the True Religion among us be the principal Glory of his Reign May his eminent Conquest over the Vices of the Age the most Dangerous and deadly of all our Enemies add a New and Brighter Lustre to his Crown While others stain their Government by such unwarrantable acts of blind Zeal as the extinguishing the Light of Divine Truth may his become truly Illustrious by such commendable instances of regular Zeal as the suppressing the unquestionably Evil and pernicious Works of Darkness May our Publick Reformation most eminently begin where our Corruption did before at our Court and amongst our Nobility and Gentry that there may be a happy Conjunction of Great Examples with Just Authority to put Irreligion and Wickedness if possible out of countenance and to retrieve the declining Reputation and Interest of true Piety and Holiness Nay We shou'd not in our Thankfulness to God overlook the wonderful efficacy of his Grace in exciting the Zeal of so many private Christians to concur in this excellent Work tho' under the greatest Discouragements And especially when we consider how deeply the contagion of Impiety and Lewdness had infected our Youth What a surprising Mercy is it to behold so many of them so resolutely engaging in this Religious Design To Observe such a Spirit of warm Devotion spreading it self among those of the Rising Age to see them prefer the strict Exercises of serious Piety before the folly of Plays and the Riot of Taverns to see them not only to renounce those Lusts themselves which their Age has usually the strongest propensity to but to contribute their utmost Endeavours to suppress 'em in others to behold them so declared Enemies of Irreligion and Vice and so vigorous Abettors and commendable Patterns of Godliness and Sobriety this is so marvellous an instance of Divine Grace 'T is so astonishing and reviving a Sight that we cannot but look upon it as a happy Prognostick of future good and from thence conceive Great and Glorious hopes concerning the ensuing Age. 2. We shou'd hence be all of us excited to do our utmost towards the advancing this excellent Design according to our capacity and opportunities of promoting it Those concern'd in the framing of our Laws have already done their part Nay they have laid a considerable Obligation on Inferior Magistrates to do their part also by subjecting those to Penalties that neglect their Duty But yet it were much to be wisht that all our Justices of the Peace wou'd imitate the Activity and Zeal which some of 'em in this City have to their perpetual and deserved Honour set 'em so Noble a Pattern of I mean That they wou'd animate and encourage the Zeal of honest Informers and do their utmost by their prudent management of this Affair to Cover and Protect 'em from the Notice and Malice of those enraged Offenders whose Reformation they truly seek Constables shou'd also perform their part with Integrity and Diligence with Courage and Resolution They shou'd not be accessary to these Vices by their connivance at or partial Lenity to Offenders Nay all that can contribute to the success of this great Undertaking by giving Informations against Vice shou'd also faithfully do their part And indeed 't is chiefly on private Persons now that the main stress of this important Work is devolv'd For 't is on your Resolution and Industry to convict Offenders that the Execution of these good Laws and the happy effects we hope thereby almost entirely depend For without continued Convictions these Vices will still go Unpunisht And consequently the profane and proffligate Sinners of the Age will still persist in their Wickedness with as secure contempt of the Sword of Justice in the Hand of the Magistrate as hitherto of that in the hand of God Whereas the more active your Societies combin'd for this excellent purpose are and the more the Numbers of