are not obliged for the removing the load of Guilt that is upon them the obtaining Forgiveness from God a well-grounded Peace in their own Minds and Esteem from Men sincerely to endeavour to repair the Injuries they have done Religion their Neighbours or their Country by their future Care and Diligence And till they do give the World some proof of this they will not take it amiss if we do not think that their late Representatives in Parliament have put them under too heavy a Charge and if we say that this is so very Great that tho' we are sure that the Christian Religion is the best Religion in the World yet it so much condemns such Practices that such as are guilty of them are a dishonour to their Profession that we reckon honest Heathens are not the worst sort of Men or rather that there are few if any worse than corrupt and unfaithful Magistrates And therefore methinks tho' such Magistrates were deaf to all Counsel were so given over to a Spirit of Slumber that no Motives that have been offered them from Religion will make any such Impression upon them as to awaken them to a sense of their Sin and Danger if they have yet any thing of the Modesty of Men remaining Shame might oblige them to a better Behaviour that they should not be able to look a Man in the Face that hath a Love to God and his Country but more especially that they should be in the greatest Confusion to hear in our Churches if they should come there the King's Proclamation Four times in the Year charging them with being the great Cause of the Increase of Prophaneness and Vice in the Nation It hath been generally thought an Indication of a good and generous Mind to desire an honest Reputation among Men and on the contrary a sign of a base Soul wholly to despise it on which Consideration Solon might well presume in the Laws he gave the Athenians That he that hath no Value for his Reputation will have little or no Regard to the publick Interest For how can it be reasonably imagined that he should have a tender sense of the Honour or Interest of his Country who hath no sense of his own Honour and greatest Interest but that he will sacrifice them upon Occasion Indeed he that hath neither regard to Conscience nor sense of Shame seems not only in great danger of not being reduced to Virtue by any common Methods but to be lost to almost all good Purposes to be unfit for common Intercourses with Men but much more unfit to be honoured and entrusted with the Care of the Execution and Maintenance of the Laws wherein the Religion * Inter omnia quae Rempublicam ejusque felicitatem conservant quid utilius quid praestantius quam viros ad Magistratus gerendcs eligere summa prudentia virtute praeditos quique ad honores obtinendos non ambitione non largitionibus sed virtute modestia sibi parent aditum the Honour and Prosperity of the Nation is so highly concerned And therefore I submit it to the Judgment of those who are more especially concerned to consider of these important Matters whether it is not highly to be wished that effectual Care may be taken for the preventing the fatal Consequences of such Mens obtaining in any future Reign Commissions of this kind particularly by disabling any to hold them after they are convicted a certain number of times of the Violations of the Laws which they are entrusted to execute For if we enquire into the Reasons of the Happiness of most if not all of those Nations who have arrived at the greatest pitch of Glory and Prosperity we shall I believe have a general Consent That the Diligence and Faithfulness of Magistrates have been one of the greatest Causes of it unquestionably far more instrumental therein than good †Verè dici potest Magistratum legem esse loquentem legem autem mutum esse Magistratum Magistratibus igitur opus est sine quorum prudentia diligentia civitas non potest stare Cic. de Leg. p. 232. Laws which we know are but dead Letters without the Magistrates Execution of them * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato de Legibus Lib. 12. fol 951. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lb. f 959. And therefore Plato in his Common-Wealth appointed that the Conservators of the Laws whose chief Care was to promote Virtue should be such Men as were Eminent for Virtue and †Cum leges omnes vel optimae absque probatissimis Magistratibus mortuae sint Magistratus autem optimi vel absque legibus scriptis ipsi sunt divae leges merito Plato non in condendis Legibus sed formandis Magistratibus omni diligentia elaboravit more apply'd himself to the Forming of Magistrates than Laws And accordingly 't was wisely observed by Cicero That if Magistrates keep the Laws themselves they had little more to wish for And by the Famous Athenian Law-giver That Magistrates ought to Obey the Laws as well as the People the Magistrates that a Government may be lasting Indeed we cannot easily conceive how any Nation can be long happy without good Magistrates So that 't is with great Reason that our Church directs us to pray That all that are put in Authority may truly and indifferently minister Justice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the Maintenance of God's true Religion and Virtue and that we esteem those that thus discharge their Duty as great Blessings to their Country and may praise God for them and on the contrary that we think that those unhappy Men who under the Obligations of Oaths and Trusts have neglected or opposed the Execution of the Laws for the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and Maintenance of Religion do deservedly lie under the dreadful Imputation of having been a great Cause of the Prophaneness and Debauchery of the Nation and the fatal Enemies of it since we may look on that Nation whether it be our own or any other to be in a very languishing Condition and in manifest danger of Ruine where the Magistrates and the Generality of Men of greater Ranks who have by their being placed in higher Stations as Stars in higher Orbs so many Advantages to conduct the lower Ranks of Men by the shining Examples of virtuous Lives to support the Reputation and Interest of Virtue do by the Abuse of their Authority or by their vicious Behaviour scatter a pestilential Infection where-ever they come basely make use of the Advantages they have above others to the Dishonour of God by whose Permission they enjoy them * Nam licet videre si velis replicare memoriam temporum qualescunque summi Civitatis fuerint talem Civitatem fuisse Idque haud paulò est verius quam quod Platoni nostro placet qui Musicorum cantibus ait mutatis mutari Civitatum status ego autem Nobilium vita victuque mutato mores mutari
An Account of the SOCIETIES FOR Reformation of Manners IN LONDON and WESTMINSTER And other Parts of the Kingdom WITH A PERSUASIVE TO Persons of all RANKS TO BE Zealous and Diligent in Promoting the Execution of the Laws against Prophaneness and Debauchery For the Effecting A National Reformation Published with the Approbation of a Considerable Number of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal Who is on the Lord's side let him come unto me Exod. 32. 20. Who will rise up for me against the Evil-doers Who will stand up for me against the workers of Iniquity Psal 94. 16. LONDON Printed for B. Aylmer at the Three Pigeons in Cornhill and are to be Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster M DC XC IX GULIELMUS D Gratiae Angliae Scotiae Franciae et Hiberniae REX Fidei Defensor etc. By the King A PROCLAMATION For Preventing and Punishing Immorality and Prophaneness WILLIAM R. WHereas We cannot but be deeply Sensible of the great Goodness and Mercy of Almighty God in putting an End to a Long Bloody and Expensive War by the Conclusion of an Honourable Peace so We are not less touched with a Resentment that notwithstanding this and many other great Blessings and Deliverances Impiety Prophaneness and Immorality do still abound in this Our Kingdom And whereas nothing can prove a greater Dishonour to a well ordered Government where the Christian Faith is Professed nor is likelier to provoke God to withdraw His Mercy and Blessings from Vs and instead thereof to inflict heavy and severe Iudgments upon this Kingdom than the open and avowed Practice of Vice Immorality and Prophaneness which amongst many Men has too much prevailed in this Our Kingdom of late Years to the high Displeasure of Almighty God the great Scandal of Christianity and the ill and fatal Example of the rest of Our Loving Subjects who have been Soberly Educated and whose Inclinations would lead them to the Exercise of Piety and Virtue did they not daily find such frequent and repeated Instances of Dissolute Living Prophaneness and Impiety which has in a great Measure been occasioned by the Neglect of the Magistrates not putting in Execution those good Laws which have been made for Suppressing and Punishing thereof and by the ill Example of many in Authority to the great Dishonour of God and Reproach of our Religion Wherefore and for that We cannot expect Increase or Continuance of the Blessings We and Our Subjects Enjoy without Providing Remedies to prevent the like evils for the future We think Our Selves bound by the Duty We owe to God and the Care We have of the People committed to Our Charge to proceed in taking effectual Course that Religion Piety and Good Manners may according to Our hearty Desire Flourish and Increase under Our Administration and Government and being thereunto moved by the Pious Address of the Commons in Parliament Assembled We have thought fit by the Advice of Our Privy Council to Issue this Our Royal Proclamation and do Declare Our Royal Purpose and Resolution to Discountenance and Punish all manner of Vice Immorality and Prophaneness in all Persons from the highest to the lowest Degree within this Our Realm and particularly in such who are Imployed near Our Royal Person and that for the greater Incouragement of Religion and Morality We will upon all Occasions Distinguish Men of Piety and Virtue by Marks of Our Royal Favour And We do expect that all Persons of Honour or in Place of Authority will to their utmost contribute to the Discountenancing Men of Dissolute and Debauched Lives that they being reduced to Shame and Contempt may be enforced the sooner to Reform their ill Habits and Practices that the Displeasure of Good Men towards them may supply what the Laws it may be cannot wholly Prevent And for the more Effectual Reforming these Men who are a Discredit to Our Kingdom Our further Pleasure is and We do hereby strictly Charge and Command all Our Iudges Mayors Sheriffs Iustices of the Peace and all other Our Officers and Ministers both Ecclesiastical and Civil and other Our Subjects whom it may Concern to be very Vigilant and Strict in the Discovery and the Effectual Prosecution and Punishment of all Persons who shall be Guilty of Excessive Drinking Blasphemy Prophane Swearing and Cursing Lewdness Prophanation of the Lords Day or other Dissolute Immoral or Disorderly Practices as they will answer it to Almighty God and upon Pain of Our Highest Displeasure And for the more Effectual Proceedings herein We do hereby Direct and Command Our Iudges of Assizes and Iustices of Peace to give strict Charges at the respective Assizes and Sessions for the due Prosecution and Punishment of all Persons that shall presumē to Offend in any the Kinds aforesaid and also of all Persons that contrary to their Duty shall be Remiss or Negligent in Putting the said Laws in Execution and that they do at their respective Assizes and Quarter Sessions of the Peace cause this Our Proclamation to be publickly Read in Open Court immediately before the Charge is given And We do hereby further Charge and Command every Minister in his respective Parish or Chapel to Read or cause to be Read this Our Proclamation at least Four times in every Year immediately after Divine Service and to incite and stir up their respective Auditories to the Practice of Piety and Virtue and the Avoiding of all Immorality and Prophaneness And to the end that all Vice and Debauchery may be Prevented and Religion and Virtue Practised by all Officers Private Soldiers Mariners or others who are Imployed in our Service either by Sea or Land We do hereby strictly Charge and Command all Our Commanders and Officers whatsoever That they do take Care to Avoid all Prophaneness Debauchery and other Immoralities and that by the Piety and Virtue of their own Lives and Conversations they do set good Examples to all such as are under their Authority and likewise to take Care and Inspect the Behaviour and Manners of all such as are under them and to Punish all those who shall be Guilty of any the Offences aforesaid And whereas several Wicked and Prophane Persons have presumed to Print and Publish several Pernicious Books and Pamphlets which contain in them Impious Doctrines against the Holy Trinity and other Fundamental Articles of Our Faith tending to the Subversion of the Christian Religion therefore for the Punishing the Authors and Publishers thereof and for the Preventing such Impious Books and Pamphlets being Published or Printed for the future We do hereby strictly Charge and Prohibit all Persons that they do not presume to Write Print or Publish any such Pernicious Books or Pamphlets under the Pain of Incurring Our High Displeasure and of being Punished according to the utmost Severity of the Law And We do hereby strictly Charge and Require all Our Loving Subjects to Discover and Apprehend such Person and Persons whom they shall know to be the Authors or Publishers of any such Books
or Pamphlets and to bring them before some Iustice of Peace or Chief Magistrate in order that they may be Proceeded against according to Law Given at Our Court at Kensington the Four and twentieth Day of February 1697. In the Tenth Year of Our Reign God save the KING HER LATE MAJESTIES GRACIOUS LETTER In the Absence of the KING To the Justices of the Peace in the County of Middlesex July 9. 1691. For the Suppressing of Prophaneness and Debauchery MARIE R. TRusty and Well-Beloved We Greet you well Considering the great and indispensable Duty incumbent upon Vs to promote and encourage a Reformation of the Manners of all our Subjects that so the Service of God may be Advanced and those Blessings be procured to these Nations which always attend a Conscientious discharge of our respective Duties according to our several Relations We think it necessary in order to the obtaining of this Publick Good to recommend to you the putting in Execution with all fidelity and impartiality those Laws which have been made and are still in foâ—â—â— against the Prophanation of the Lord's-day Drunkenness Prophane Swearing and Cursing and all other Lewd Enormous and Disorderly Practices which by a long continued neglect and connivance of the Magistrates and Officers concerned have universally spread themselves to the dishonour of God and scandal of our Holy Religion whereby it is now become the more necessary for all Persons in Authority to apply themselves with all possible care and diligence to the suppressing of the same We do therefore hereby charge and require You to take the most effectual Methods for putting the Laws in Execution against the Crimes above-mentioned and all other Sins and Vices particularly those which are most prevailing in this Realm and that especially in such cases where any Officer of Justice shall be guilty of any of those Offences or refuse or neglect to discharge the Duty of his Place for the suppressing them that so such Officer by his Punishment may serve for an Example to others And to this end We would have you careful and diligent in encouraging all Constables Church-Wardens Headboroughs and all other Officers and Persons whatsoever to do their part in their several Stations by timely and impartial Informations and Prosecutions against all such Offenders for preventing of such Judgments which are solemnly denounced against the Sins above-mentioned We cannot doubt of your Performance hereof since it is a Duty to which you are obliged by Oath and are likewise engaged to the discharge of it as you tender the Honour of Almighty God the flourishing condition of his Church in this Kingdom the continuance of His Holy Religion among Us and the Prosperity of Your Country And so We bid you Farewell Given at Our Court at White-Hall the Ninth Day of July One Thousand Six Hundred Ninety One in the Third Year of Our Reign By Her Majesties Command Nottingham To Our Trusty and Well-Beloved the Justices of the Peace for Our County of Middlesex at Hicks's Hall THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF THE House of Commons TO THE KING For the Suppressing of Prophaneness and Vice May it Please Your MAJESTY WE Your Majesties most Dutiful and Loyal Subjects the Commons in Parliament Assembled Do with great Joy and Comfort remember the many Testimonies which Your Majesty hath given us of Your Sincerity and Zeal for the True Reformed Religion as Establish'd in this Kingdom And in particular we beg leave to present to Your Majesty our most Humble and Thankful Acknowledgments for the late Gracious Declaration Your Majesty has made to us from the Throne That You would effectually discourage Prophaneness and Immorality which chiefly by the Neglect and ill Example of too many Magistrates are like a general Contagion diffused and spread throughout the Kingdom to the great Scandal and Reproach of our Religion and to the Dishonour and Prejudice of Your Majesties Government Therefore in Concurrence with Your Majesties Pious Intentions we do most humbly Desire That Your Majesty would Issue out Your Royal Proclamation Commanding all Your Majesties Judges Justices of the Peace and other Magistrates to put in speedy Execution those good Laws that are now in Force against Prophaneness and Immorality giving due Incouragement to all such as do their Duty therein And that Your Majesty would be Pleased to Require from Your Judges and Justices of Assize from time to time an Account of such their Proceedings And since the Examples of Men in High and Publick Stations have a Powerful Influence upon the Lives of others we do most humbly beseech Your Majesty That all Vice Prophaneness and Irreligion may in a particular manner be Discouraged in all those who have the Honour to be Employed near Your Royal Person and in all others who are in Your Majesties Service by Sea and Land Appointing Strict Orders to be given to all Your Commanders That they not only shew a Good Example themselves but also Inspect the Manners of those under them And that Your Majesty would upon all Occasions distinguish Men of Piety and Virtue by Marks of Your Royal Favour We do further in all Humility beseech Your Majesty That Your Majesty would give such Effectual Orders as to Your Royal Wisdom shall seem fit for the Suppressing all Pernicious Books and Pamphlets which contain in them Impious Doctrines against the Holy Trinity and other Fundamental Articles of our Faith tending to the Subversion of the Christian Religion and that the Authors and Publishers thereof may be Discountenanced and Punished And we do also most humbly beseech Your Majesty That Your said Proclamation may be Ordered to be Read at least Four times in the Year in all Churches and Chapels immediately after Divine Service and at the Assizes and Quarter-Sessions of the Peace just before the Charge is given We present to Your Majesty this our most Humble ADDRESS proceeding from our Duty and Zeal for the Glory of God and to the end that all our Counsels may be bless'd by his Divine Assistance and may produce Honour Safety and Happiness with all the Blessings of a Lasting Peace to Your Majesty and Your People To the AUTHOR SIR WE have perused the Book you sent us Entituled An Account of the Societies for Reformation of Manners the Design of which is so truly Great and Noble so much for the Honour of God the Advancement of Piety and Virtue and the publick Good both of Church and State that it cannot fail of being approved by all good Men. The Method likewise proposed in order to the Promoting and Accomplishing complishing the said Design is We conceive most proper and by the Blessing of God attending it most likely to prove effectual And that Pious Men of all Ranks and Qualities may be excited by this good Book to contribute in their respective Places and Stations their best Endeavours towards a National Reformation of Manners is the most Humble and Hearty Prayer of SIR Your very Loving Friends Lords Temporal Pembroke P
Undertaking as we might well believe would soon alarm the Enemy but which the Patrons of Vice would make no doubt to deseat before any Progress could be made and which the Prudent and Wise Men of the World who rely on second Causes with too little regard to the first the Almighty Creator and Governor of the World with whom as King Asa expresses it in his Prayer it is nothing to help whether â— Chron. 14. 10. with many or with those that have no power would look on with Pity if not with Derision and so it proved that the Champions and Advocates of Debauchery put themselves in Array to defend their wretched and infamous Liberties they set themselves to Ridicule to Defame and to Oppose this Design and to Overthrow the Hopes and Expectations of the Undertakers And some others whom in Charity we would not look on as Enemies of Religion and Virtue tho' we cannot easily esteem them our Friends whose Conduct has so greatly obstructed the Progress of this Design consulting Human Prudence or rather Worldly Policy too much and perhaps their own Obligations too little were very forward to censure these Attempts as the Effect of an imprudent and an unseasonable Zeal But notwithstanding a furious Opposition from Adversaries the ill Offices of those from whom better things might have been expected and the unkind Neutrality of Friends these Gentlemen who in a little time began to add some others to their Number not only kept their Ground but made farther Advances for our late Excellent QUEEN of Glorious Memory having this Affair laid before Her in the Absence of the King by a Prelate of great Learning and Fame the late Lord Bishop of Worcester She had just Sentiments of it and therefore thought it became Her to give it Countenance She Graciously condescended to Thank those who were concerned in it and readily promised them Her Assistance and afterwards upon this Application made to Her Majesty She was pleased to send Her Letter to the Justices of Middlesex commanding them to put the Laws against Prophaneness and Vice in Execution with all Fidelity and Impartiality and to this end that they should be careful and diligent in encouraging all Persons to do their part in giving Informations against Offenders as they were obliged by their Oath as Magistrates to do and when there was further Occasion She shew'd She was in earnest to promote this Design by taking other more effectual Methods for that purpose But as it may well be supposed That the Queen's patronizing of these Endeavours could not but give Credit and Strength to them so the Affair by Her Death it may as easily be imagined must lose a great Advantage But yet the Loss tho' it appeared exceedingly great did not discourage those that were ingaged in this Enterprize For as they first set about it with little or no Expectation of such a Patroness because they thought it would be an acceptable Service to the King of Kings and that it would promote the true Interests of Religion and the Welfare of their Country So the same Considerations obliged them to pursue their Design with equal Vigour and Zeal tho' they were deprived of so great a Friend and Protector And Divine Providence had by this time seemed to favour their Endeavours by the great and remarkable Success that had attended them for Multitudes of Offenders had been by their means brought to Punishment The Publick Opposition that was at first made to their Vndertaking was broke through which the Lord Bishop of Gloucester who hath been a great Encourager of this Undertaking gave an Account of in his Vindication of it which it may be wished there may never be any further Occasion to remember and the Honesty of it had recommended it to the Virtuous and Unprejudiced part of the Nation whom the Account of these Matters had reached the Enemy after a severe Examination having not been able to discover that any illegal Methods had been used or that any secular Interest was pursued by those who bestow'd their Time and their Pains in carrying on so ungrateful and hazardous a Work as that of Reformation will be always found since it is the Opposing of ill Men in their sinful Indulgencies which are often more desirable to them than their very Lives With these Encouragements they prosecuted their Business increasing their Number by the Addition of Persons of considerable Note and of the best Character some of whom tho' they were of different Opinions from those of the Establish'd Church as to some Points concerning Religion were willing to unite their Strength in the common Cause of Christianity and engage in so Noble a Design that had done so much Good By whose joint Endeavours great Advances have been made towards a Reformation of Manners which is every Day getting ground Persons of various Ranks of considerable Fortunes and of the clearest Character offering Assistance to it not only in and about the City of London but from several Parts of the Kingdom But since it hath been long desired that a more distinct and clear View may be given to the World of this Vndertaking and of the Advances of it which those that have been principally concerned in it so industriously consulting Privacy have not hitherto been prevailed on by any Temptations either of Vanity or Resentment to make publick being more desirous that it should be known by the good Effects it produces than by any History or Narrative I ask leave to present the World with a short Scheme of the Design and some Account of the Managers of it that the well-disposed part of the Nation that have hitherto been Strangers to it may by the Knowledge thereof be induced to join in so good a Work and now especially since this Conjuncture is so favourable to it beyond our Expectation There is a very large Body of Persons compos'd of the Original Society before-mentioned with the Additions that have been since made of Persons of Eminency in the Law Members of Parliament Justices of Peace and considerable Citizens of London of known Abilities and great Integrity who frequently meet to consult of the best Methods for carrying on the Business of Reformation and to be ready to advise and assist others that are already ingaged or any that are willing to join in the same Design This Society is at a considerable Yearly Charge for the effectual managing their Business but takes no Contributions of any but their own Members by whose Endeavours as was said before Thousands of Offenders in London and Westminster have been brought to Punishment for Swearing Drunkenness and Prophanation of the Lord's-Day and a great part of the Kingdom has been awakened in some measure to a sence of their Duty in this respect and thereby a very hopeful Progress is made towards a General Reformation A Second Society is of about Fifty Persons Tradesmen and others who have more especially applyed themselves to the Suppression of Lewdness by
of Humane Society and if so surely it behoves good Men by all proper measures to assist Magistrates in their Endeavours effectually to suppress them If bad Men don't approve of these Methods 't is no wonder they are Enemies to good Order Law and Justice because these things are troublesome to them There is no doubt but the Gallows is a great Grievance to Murtherers the Discipline of Bridewell to Whores the Pillory to the Perjured and the Stocks to Drunkards But such Grievances as these are I conceive of near as long standing as Government and will not be thought proper to be laid aside whilst it lasts or at least till there is not so much Occasion for them since as hath been proved * Facile est imperium in bonos its Interest and chief Business is to cherish and support Religion and by consequence to take care that it be not treated with any disrespect particularly that it be not made the Scorn of any Order or Body of Men the common Subject of the Prophane Play-Houses or the Sport of Buffoons and that the open Violations of it by Prophane Swearing and Cursing Drunkenness Lewdness c. be suppressed as all wise Nations I conceive have ever done and ever will do Against these Enormities therefore that are the Plagues of Government the Enemies of our Peace the Dishonour of our Religion and the Reproach of our Nation have the Societies of Reformation applied themselves with so great Success as to give so very promising hopes as have been represented of a general Concurrence and Union of the Virtuous part of the Nation in the same Design and in consequence of a National Reformation and their Endeavours have been carried on as hath been observed for above Eight Years with as little or less occasion given to their Enemies of Objection either to the Methods of their Proceedings or to the Behaviour of the Persons concerned in them as perhaps have been often known in Matters of the greatest Consequence where such a number of Persons have been engaged though if the Prudence of some good Men who are either already engaged or that shall hereafter be concerned in this Undertaking is or should be less than their Zeal it will I hope be far from giving wise and well-meaning Men a just Prejudice to the Design it self or keeping them from Assisting in it But blessed be God a more glorious Prospect hath been lately given us by the Address of the late House of Commons to His Majesty for the Suppressing of Prophaneness and Debauchery and His Majesty's Proclamation in pursuance of it and His Princely Word in His Gracious Speech to both Houses of Parliament We have now then 't is evident His Majesty's positive Commands together with the concurrent Advice in this Matter of the late great Representative Body of the Commons of England for things I conceive not only unquestionably lawfull but highly important and necessary for the strict Execution of the known Laws of the Land against Prophaneness and Immorality agreeably to the Word of God that acquaints us That the Magistrate beareth not the Sword in Vain That Rulers are not a Rom. 13 4. Ver. 3. Terrour to good Works but to the evil c. Whoever therefore they are that in this Case oppose the King's Commands who either openly obstruct or secretly undermine the Endeavours of those who act in this Affair in Obedience to the Will of God the Command of the King and for the Good of their Country will I think find it somewhat difficult to acquit themselves from great Impiety And now can any that love their God their Religion or their Country hear of these transporting things without being affected with greater Joy than any Success in their own secular Concerns would give them and without thinking themselves under high Obligations after they have pretended to Fast and Pray and Mourn for our publick Sins for so many Years past as most if not all Orders of Men and Parties among us have done to do what they are able in their several Stations for the Suppressing of Prophaneness and Immorality and for the perfecting of this great Work of REFORMATION which I conceive it had been our Duty to promote if we had not met with so much Encouragement and Assistance from our Governours But how much stronger Obligations do now lie upon us to do it And how shamefull and inexcusable will our Neglect of it be now we have such an Opportunity by His Majesty 's repeated Declarations for our Engaging in it by the Advances that are already made and the Methods that are laid as perhaps may never again be offered us if we neglect this in Prosecution whereof it would I think become us to adventure all our dearest Interests in this World nay a Thousand Lives if we had them to lose Behold then a glorious Opportunity for all that make a Profession of Religion or any pretence to Virtue of what Rank soever to signalize their Love and Faithfulness to their great Lord and Master their Neighbour and their Country To all Orders of Men therefore whose Service His Majesty hath required to promote this great this necessary Work and who would not share in the dreadful Guilt and lasting Infamy of neglecting to promote a Reformation of Manners which now seems to be put very much in our power with God's Blessing to see effected I ask leave upon these Glorious Encouragements with all due respect to address my self To the NOBILITY that they would be pleased to consider That true Greatness doth not consist in the having of swelling Titles high Places great Power or large Territories which tho' they may be sometimes the Reward of virtuous and brave Actions as they ought to be are often the Gifts of Nature and it may be too frequently the Acquests of such Crimes as deserve Punishment instead of Recompence That the Persons who in all Ages have been most beloved and reverenced when Alive and most honoured by wise and good Men when Dead have been those who have been most beneficent and serviceable to the World not those who have amassed the greatest Estates and acquired the loftiest Titles to themselves the blind Heathens erected not their Altars to those that they did not think were some way or other usefull or serviceable to Mankind That they would therefore be perswaded that nothing will render them so much Blessings to their Country so truly noble and esteemed as their being Patrons of Religion and Virtue That they are not in their high Stations too great for that Employment which is the greatest Glory of Princes to set up their Standards for Religion and declare War against Vice and Prophaneness * Haud difficilius est errare naturam quam principem fui dissimilem formare rempublicam Quaecunque mutatio in principibus extiterit â—eandem populo secutam Cic. after the Example and under the Conduct of such a Prince and Leader as hath graciously declared in his
Speech to both Houses of Parliament that He esteems it one of the greatest Advantages of Peace that he is now at Leisure to apply himself to the Suppressing of Prophaneness and Immoralities and hath thereby given us some reason to hope that he may think it a far greater Glory of his Reign to be an Instrument in God's Hand of delivering us from the Slavery of our Vices of making us a virtuous and by consequence a happy People than in procuring us any other present and secular Felicities and Advantages and at last leaving us deluged in such Impieties as Infidels abhor and which may make God our Enemy and draw down his Vengeance upon us That they would for this purpose consider the Influence of their Authority their Interest their Fortunes and their Example and Employ which they cannot without high Ingratitude omit these and the other Advantages they have above Men of lower Ranks for the Glory of that God by whose Permission they have them for the Noble purposes of Opposing and Suppressing Debauchery and Prophaneness the retrieving the Reputation of Virtue the furthering the Interests of Religion and the saving of their Country which hath seemed to have declared in favour of Vice and Ruine and thereby approve themselves to the King as He hath now assured them they will to the Wise and Virtuous part of the Nation to their own Consciences to their Posterity and above all to the most High God To the Reverend the CLERGY That they who are looked upon as the Ambassadours of the Great God of Heaven and Earth and sent upon the most important Business of Reconciling Men to God and Watching for their 2 Cor. 5. 18 20. Heb. 13. 17. Souls and have as I conceive their Honour their Dignities and their Revenues given them without the common Incumbrances of other Men in regard to their Sacred Office and that they may attend without Worldly Cares and with the greatest Advantage to their Spiritual Employment would consider whether they have not a more favourable Opportunity for the Work of their Ministry and a National Reformation at this time than they have had for many years past They cannot I humbly presume but be sensible of the most deplorable Degeneracy of this Nation that the great Decay of Religion and the Leprosie of Vice and Prophaneness with which it is almost overspread does threaten its Ruine and that they have great reason to take to heart the no greater Success of their Endeavours for the Reforming of us that their Discipline which if it had been in force might have proved a Bank against the Flood of Wickedness that is broken in upon us is now so lost that it is of little use to them for this purpose that there appears too great ground to fear that the Tide of Wickedness will not be stopped whilst Religion is openly dishonoured Virtue despised and Vice and Prophaneness are so daring and triumphant that Men commit them not only with Impunity but Glory in them so as to esteem it an Act of Gallantry to ridicule their Sacred Office to contemn things Sacred and an Ornament of Style to imprecate Damnation upon themselves Is not this a Time for them that are Spiritual Watchmen and Overseers of the Flock of Christ Isa 52. 8. 56. 10. Acts 20. 28. as they have a Concern for God's Honour and would prevent his Judgments falling upon us as they would consult the Honour and Interest of their sacred Order and their own Reputation to concur with His Majesty's pious Declarations for this purpose and cheerfully to embrace the Assistance of the Civil Power for the Vindicating of the Honour of God's Laws the Stopping the Avenues to notorious Enormities the breaking the hellish Confederacies and the taking out of publick View the contagious Examples of bad Men and by these Methods to prepare Men the better for the Restoration of godly Discipline for the greater Influence of their Doctrine and good Examples upon their Minds Is not this a Time for them to favour the successfull Endeavours of the Societies of Reformation which are levell'd at the strong holds of Debauchery and the Religious Societies that are now spreading through the Kingdom that seem so directly to tend to the Promoting the Power of Religion so far as they carry on those great Ends wherein we may I think appeal to the whole Christian World whether they do not do it and readily to accept of the Assistance that is now or hereafter may be given them by Christians of any Denomination in the common Cause of Christianity And if they can think of any other or better Measures than those that are recommended in these Papers that may promote the Glory of God and the Good of Souls for whom Christ died and their own comfortable Account of themselves to Him that will judge the Quick and Dead to engage in them 2 Tim. 4. 1 2. without delay with united Counsels and Endeavours with double Diligence and Zeal and in Conjunction with all the various Works of their Ministry among which their going from House to House for the enquiring into the Acts 20. 20 21. Spiritual State of the Souls of those that are committed to their Charge and the applying proper Directions and Encouragements accordingly in the Judgment of the most pious Divines I have had the Honour to know is thought to be a very usefull Method is what one of the most * Dr. Stillingfleet the late Bishop of Worcester's Charge to the Clergy of his Diocess p. 25. Learned Prelates of this Age and Nation hath in his printed Charge to the Clergy of his Diocess put them in mind of and which †The Bishop of Salisbury's Pastoral Care p. 207. another of our Learned Bishops hath told this Sacred Order in his Pastoral Care published by the particular Approbation of the late Great Primate Arch-Bishop Tillotson is to be lookt on as the Foundation an Exemplary Life being supposed on which all the other parts of the Ministerial Office may be well managed and which he says will seem no hard matter to such as have a right sense of their Ordination Vows of the Dignity of their Function or the Value of Souls To the MAGISTRATES of all kinds That they would make just Reflections upon that terrible and lasting Imputation that they do now lie under by His Majesty ' s Proclamation which is to be read Four times a Year in all Churches through the Nation and the Address of the late Honourable House of Commons to the King of their being so great a Cause of the Debauchery and Prophaneness of the Kingdom by their ill Example and Negligence in their Office That they would consider as hath been observed how many Nations have been ruined and Cities brought to a heap of Rubbish for their Immoralities which the Magistrates Vigilance might have prevented That their Power comes from God the Fountain of all Power and that they are supposed to be
ne quis Magistratum ullum gerere posset qui impudicitiae aut alio turpitudinis genere notatus fuisset Sigonius lib. 111. p. 532. Novem viri antequam assumerentur ad Magistratum illum de omni vita acta causam dicere solebant quod si nullam dedecoris labem perpetua innocentia contraxisse videbantur ad 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 adsumebantur deinde Magistratus gesti causam dicentes rationesque ferentes si tum quoque innocentes usquequaque apparuissent ad Areopagiticum Senatum conscribantur Sam Petitus de Leg. Atticis fol 190. Introducebantur autem omnes illi Magistratus quorum anteactam vitam expendi eam inquiri oportet Pet â—f 223. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isocratis Oratio Areopagitica p. 285. Grecian Common-Wealths having had a great regard to Virtue in the Choice of their Senators and Magistrates which seems to have been one of the greatest Causes of their Stability and Prosperity And herein our Gentry and Commonalty have likewise manifestly greater Advantages and Opportunities for the Promoting of the Work of Reformation for the making one brave Effort for the Interest of Religion and Virtue for the Honour and Welfare of England and thereby to recover the former Glory of their Ancestors who were Famous for their Virtue and Love to their Country and which appeared so glorious in the Heroes of the Gentile World And for the Encouragement of those that are destitute of the Advantages of Riches and Honours of Authority and Learning to use their Diligence and Zeal in the Instances I have given or in any other Expressions of their Duty for the Promoting of this Work †Si quis rem considerare velit omnes eos vel saltem maximam partem eorum qui in hoc toto terrarum orbe res praestantiores aggressi sunt atque inter caeteros aevi sui heroes excelluerunt aut obscuro aut abjecto loco editos prognatos fuisse abjectis parentibus Non est praetereundum maximorum virorum plerosque patres ignoratos matres impudicas fuisse Scaliger I will put them in mind that it hath been long observed that the Persons who have been thought to have performed the bravest Actions and done the greatest Service to the World have frequently been Men of obscure Birth and Parentage who were without Riches and Honours and often I conceive without Learning of which a multitude of Instances might be given if 't was necessary here to insert them That though 't is freely allowed that Authority and Quality when they are accompanied with Virtue as they ought to be or when they are the Rewards of it * Alii pro pecunia emunt Nobilitatem alii illam lenocinio alii veneficiis alii parricidiis multis perditio nobilitatem conciliat plerique adulatione detractione calumniis c. Agrippa de vanit Scien Aude aliquid brevibus gyaris aut carcere dignum Si vis esse aliquid Indignissimus dignissimo praefertur plerunque illaudatus laudatissimo Ille crucem sceleris pretium tulit hic diadema which too seldom happens are truly honourable and enable those that have them to be more serviceable to the Interest of Religion and the Good of Mankind which is their proper Business but when they are separated from Virtue they render those that possess them truly scandalous and highly pernicious * Ut omnium rerum sic literarum quoque in temperantia laboremus Sen. Ep. 106. 'T is true likewise That when Learning is moderately pursued and for the Service of Religion and Good of the World it is both innocent and laudable and the Advantages of it for those ends are confest yet 't is plain from too sad Experience that 't is too generally sought upon base Considerations and frequently applied to very ill Purposes as is allow'd when 't is made use of for the Raising of Heresies the Adulterating or Confounding the Simplicity of the Christian Doctrine with Philosophical Notions and Distinctions or to the raising and continuing of unnecessary and dangerous disputes out of Pride and Vanity of Passion or Worldly Interest to the disturbing of the Peace of the Church the Ruine of Charity and manifest Injury of Religion †Paucis opus est literis ad mentem bonam But as Virtue may be obtained without great Natural parts or acquired Knowledge as is evident by the Lives of the common Body of Christians in the first Ages and is ‖ Nobilitas nil aliud sit quà m cognita virtus quis in eo quem vetera scentem videat ad gloriam generis antiquitatem desiderat Sed genus proavos quae non fecimus ipsi Vix ea nostra voco Tota licet veteres exornent undique cerae atria Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus honourable without any Ornaments from Birth and Honour Authority or Learning so it makes Men capable of doing much good Let them consider not only this but further That it pleases Almighty God sometimes as it seems to raise the Spirits of Men above their natural pitch for great Performances to make use of mean and contemptible Instruments in Humane Appearance to bring about the great Ends of his Providence whereby his Wisdom and Power is more visible and the Pride of Man is more humbled and that among the various Instances of this kind which Sacred and Prophane History acquaint us with he did so in the Publishing of Christianity when he chose the foolish things of the World to confound 1 Cor. 1. 27. the Wise and the weak things of the World to confound the things which are Mighty when he Commissioned a few mean and illiterate Persons to Preach the Gospel which notwithstanding prevailed over the Policy and Learning the Worldly Interest and Prejudice the Strength and Opposition of the World and that as then not many Wise Men after the Flesh 1 Cor. 1. 26. not many Mighty not many Noble were called so in the Ages since though there hath been of all Conditions as well Noble as Ignoble Learned as Illiterate Kings and Philosophers Emperours and States-men who have been truly devoted to Religion and have shewed the mighty Power and Energy of it and adorned the Ages in which they have lived yet it hath been a general Observation among Heathens as well as Christians and 't is a terrible one for great Men to reflect upon * Luxuriant animi rebus plerunque secundis Prima peregrinos obscoena pecunia mores intulit turpi fregerunt secula luxu Divitiae molles Pecuniis augetur improbitas Divitiae seculi sunt laquei diaboli Divitiae rarò virtutis sunt comites Pietas probitas fides privata bona sunt Fortuna quem nimium fovet stultum facit That Riches and Honours do in the Nature of them tend to corrupt Men's Minds are great Clogs to Wisdom mighty Obstructions in the Business of the Christian Warfare to those that possess them And therefore That the Great
own Diligence and Conduct considering that the Zeal we have for God's Honour and the Success of it is from Him that our best Endeavours herein as well as our other Performances will have a great mixture of Humane Frailty and that after all we shall do we shall be but unprofitable Servants Luk. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If they thus go on with Sincerity with Prudence with Courage with Humility and trust in God they may I think face all the World we may soon see what Courage Vice hath whether Prophaneness and Debauchery will be able to hold up their heads with their Supporters which they have too long had within our Memory as Religion hath often done without them and when the Powers of the World have been against it No Sin is of the Nature of the Devil its Author cowardly and sneaking and will with God's Blessing give way when thus opposed which those concerned in the Transactions I have given an Account of have experimented and who have had so great Success as makes it very evident that a general Concurrence of good Men may with God's Blessing effect a general Reformation but if the Concurrence of Men of Religion should not prove so universal as is hoped it will or if our Endeavours should not succeed to a National Reformation as is proposed we may however hope to do a great deal of good we shall bear our Testimony to Religion against the Corruptions of the Age and we cannot I think fail of giving a great Check to publick Wickedness and though we should not after all by our Prayers and Endeavours prevent the Deluge of Calamities that threaten us an Ark may mercifully be provided for us we may deliver our own Souls and it will then be known who they are that are to be thanked that a thorough Reformation was not effected and the Misery of the Nation prevented not only those who by desperately discouraging and opposing pious and proper Endeavours for Promoting a Reformation seem to be of the Number of those that may be said in some sense to fight against Acts ch 5. v. 39. God but those likewise that despised the Warnings we gave them of their Danger all the Persuasions with which we pressed them to set about it and would not be prevailed with to give any hearty Assistance to the Work Supposing then that we are to prepare in the Prosecution of this Enterprize for evil Surmisings and reproachfull Words for Storms of Malice and ill Will which the Enemy of all Goodness and the Passions of Men may be expected to raise this I conceive may now the Tide is turning be generally the greatest Opposition of the infatuated and senseless Slaves of Vice for in Reverence to our common Nature I must presume that there are few that will be declared Agents for the Devil that are so abandoned of all sense of Honour all Concern for their Reputation as to enter publickly the Lists and venture their Lives for his Service And as wicked Men have therein the worst Cause they have I think no settled and steady Principles to act upon but little true Courage and not much Faith among them they will often betray one another when Occasion offers and therefore we may conclude that they will never make a firm stand against the united Body of good Men if they acquit themselves as they ought in so glorious an Undertaking To the Men of Religion and Virtue of all Ranks Orders and Denominations without distinction I ask leave therefore in this common Cause of Religion humbly to apply my self Your Religion is avowedly attacqued by the desperate Rebels of Christianity and Enemies to Virtue your God is publickly dishonoured yea sometimes 't is still to be feared Blasphemed for the Entertainment of Persons of all Degrees all Ages and both Sexes His Laws are trampled on his Servants despis'd the Notions of Good and Evil are endeavoured to be confounded and your Country is in imminent danger of being lost if in the present Contest between Religion and Debauchery Religion does not prevail You are all confessedly by your Baptismal Engagement listed Soldiers for God's Service against the Devil's Kingdom And as God hath an undoubted Title to your Service the King by publickly declaring for a vigorous Execution of the Laws against publick Wickedness and the Cause of Religion hath given you an happy Opportunity of discharging your Fidelity and Zeal for your Great Lord and Master and your Fellow-Christians who are already successfully engaged in a publick Opposition to Vice and Prophaneness to these Rebels to Religion and Enemies to your Country seem to call on you to enter into their pious Confederacy as Moses heretofore did on the Israelites when he slood in the Gate of Exod. 32. 20. the Camp Who is on the Lord's side let him come unto me Or as Holy David of P◠94. 16. old Who will rise up for me against the Evil doers Who will stand up for me against the Workers of Iniquity Now then is the Time to make one general and brave Effort for the Interest of Religion and for the Welfare of the English Nation And will you any longer defer your Declaring and Engaging in this Glorious Work now it seems so apparent that this Cloud that appeared so little to you at first is like to overspread our whole Horizon that one of the most plausible and uncomfortable Objections which was made to this Undertaking of its being impracticable which we have too much reason to suspect to be upon other like Occasions a frequent Excuse for Fear Laziness or want of good Principles is taken off by the great Success that hath attended it that the Heat of the Day the fiercest Opposition to these Attempts seems much over and that you have so very great reason to conclude that the Virtuous part of the Nation of all Parties will fall in and give their Assistance in it when more particular Methods shall be laid before them that if we point our united Batteries against the strong holds of Debauchery and Prophaneness if we prosecute this Religious War with Conduct and Resolution which is so successfully begun with so unequal a humane force we have Victory in view we may with God's Blessing see a Reformation throughly essected and put upon such a firm Foundation as that it may not be easily in the Power of a viciuos Court or of a degenerate Nobility or Gentry in a succeeding Reign to overturn it again to debauch the Nation and bring it in such danger of Ruine But is it not enough that you that have had an early Knowledge of these Transactions have not sooner engaged in a Cause which you could not well be supposed without great Inconsideration or Prejudice but secretly to approve of under all its Disadvantages when it was in it self the same as it is now with its Success and meerly perhaps because you thought the Service might be too hot for you and therefore you left it
Love to God any Charity to Man any Concern for their Country or Regard to their Posterity to engage them in it consider that we have herein the Laws of God and the Nation the Commands of the King the Concurrence of a late Representative Body of the Nation the Prayers of good Men the Pretences of those that carry but a Form and Profession of Religion and the Consciences that are not hardned even of bad Men on our side and moreover the great Success that hath already attended these Attempts to animate and encourage our Zeal and Diligence in it So that if we acquit our selves herein like Men and Christians if God is on our side we know there is as Solomon says no Wisdom nor Vnderstanding Prov. 21. 30. nor Counsel against him we need not much fear the Strength or Policy of the World or the Powers of Darkness we may with God's Blessing see Prophaneness and Debauchery every day more and more fly into dark Corners as Idolatry of old did at the appearance of Christianity Vice be branded and confounded Virtue embraced Religion prevail England flourish and give such an Example as may provoke succeeding Ages and other Nations to an Imitation and give perhaps Occasion to reform Christendom and Mankind But what Triumph of Soul which neither Riches nor Honours nor the Flesh can give such happy Souls may Living or Dying have who have undergone Shame and Sufferings in the faithfull Discharge of their Duty and for the Cause of God who have been his Instruments in bringing about such blessed Effects nay in discharging their Duty herein and in other respects sincerely tho' Success which is not in our Power and will not be required of us should not attend it And on the contrary what severe Reflections they may hereafter make on their Behaviour who after this Matter is plainly laid before them and a publick Reformation of Manners seems to be put as it were into their hands will either openly oppose or secretly undermine the just Endeavours of it or that will not be prevail'd upon either to concur in the Methods that are already laid or to engage in any other that they can suppose may be more effectual for the carrying on a National Reformation that can contentedly look on and see their Fellow-Christians suffer in any kind by their brave Opposition to the declared Enemies of God and the Devil's Kingdom the Cause of Religion to be injured and depressed and their Country so much endangered for want of their giving their seasonable and zealous Assistance to it I will not undertake to describe I will only add That if the Attempts of Reformation which were began with so great Disadvantage have born up under so many Difficulties which are carried on by the united Endeavours of such Bodies of Men in the several Parts of this City are spreading through the Cities and Corporations of the Kingdom and are propagating in those of Ireland who have a Communication with one another are governed by Methods that have been approved by Persons of great Wisdom and consummated Judgment and which have been so highly successfull should be defeated by the Industry and Power the Number and Interest of its Enemies If I say we should suffer Debauchery and Prophaneness to regain their ground and to carry the Victory after the Advances that are thus made towards the Suppressing of them and the Encouragements and Advantages we have for the Carrying of them on to so glorious an Issue have we not very great reason to fear that we may never again have such an Opportunity put into our Hands Can it be thought easie humanely speaking to bring the Body of Men together that are now engaged in it to rally and reassume a Baffled Cause wherein they may perhaps be apt to think they may have made a full and dismal experiment of the desperate Aversion and Opposition of this Generation to Reformation have if they have acted therein and in other parts of their Duty sincerely kept the Guilt of publick Wickedness from lying on them and may have delivered their own Souls Or is there any probability that this Cause will be revived and successfully retrieved by those whom no Arguments will now prevail on to concur in the present Methods or to give any other zealous Assistance to it And who is there that believes that there is a Righteous God that governs the World that will not fear how sanguine soever some Men may be upon the firmness of our present Peace and Settlement that notwithstanding our Councils and Confederacies we shall feel the Effects of the high Displeasure of Almighty God upon whose Blessing the Stability of our present Peace and outward Prosperity does depend that He will be avenged on such a Nation as this And if Jer. 6. 9. this should prove to be our dismal Case might it not then be said over us O ungratefull and rebellious Nation that wouldest so provoke infinite Patience and Forbearance wouldest obstinately refuse so many gracious Offers contemn such various Methods of Mercy as if thou had'st been desperately resolved upon Destruction O England England To what Misery have thy Sins brought thee But the Cause of Reformation is God's Cause His Providence hath seemed to me to favour the poor Endeavours of it which are represented in these Papers and therefore I hope they will with his Blessing so prosper and prevail that such a National Reformation may be effected as may prevent His heavy Judgments falling upon us And may Almighty God who is pleased to magnifie his Power in Weakness for this end mercifully direct and support those who are sincerely engaged in this Glorious Work give what is said herein agreeable to his Will some Success in the furthering of it and graciously pardon any thing in it that may not be acceptable to Him for the Lord Jesus Christ's Sake All Glory to God ERRATA Pag. 5. lin 23. for evil read wicked p. 21. l. 3. for Interest r. Interests p. 26. l. 6. dele and. p. 41. l. 6. for know r. knew p. ibid. l. 26. for hath r. have p. 47. at the end of the Marginal Note dele p. 66 67. p. 57. l. 5. for do r. doth p. 5â— l. 4. for hath r. have p. 84. l. 2. for seems r. seem p. 98. l. 15. for pervented r. prevented p. 113. l. 16. for hath r. have p. 115. l. 7. for have r. hath Advertisement ABstracts of the Laws against Prophaneness and Debauchery Blank Warrants against prophane Swearing and Cursing Drunkenness and Prophanation of the Lord's-day by Tipling in Publick Houses and Exercising of Trade Blank Registers of such Warrants for the Magistrates calling of Constables Church-Wardens Overseers of the Poor c. to account at the Sessions or otherwise for the Execution of them and the application of the Mony thereby levied to the use of the Poor Prudential Rules for the giving of Informations to Magistrates in these cases Printed for the ease of