pray for the High Powers think that cross to be laid upon thee for thy Deserts amend thy life humbly lament thy cause to God who will not leave thee succorless and defend thy self against Satan and all his crafty suggestions with these Scriptures following f. 264. after which he cites very many places of the Holy Writ to confirm what he had said both Precepts and Examples out of the Old and New Testament * Catech. p. 343. Did not Christ teach Obedience toward the Higher Powers did he not pay Tribute c Did not the Apostles of Christ in like manner both teach and do neither lack we in the Holy Scriptures Histories which do manifestly declare what a great Sin Disobedience is and how grievously God hath punish'd it the Histories of Dathan and Abiron Zimri and Baasa c. confirm this it is good to follow the example of David ☜ which shewed such honour and reverence unto King Saul being both a Wicked Ruler and also his mortal Enemy that he would not once hurt him nor yet suffer any other to do it although he had sufficient opportunity and occasion at divers times to have slain him if he had been minded The Lord forbid said he that I should lay my hand on him again kill him not for who saith he shall lay hands on the Lord 's Anointed 2. Reg. 1. and not be guilty as the Lord liveth he dieth not except the Lord smite him c. and this Doctrine he confirms by many other examples both under the Law and the Gospel Id. Tom. and closes all with the example of the Thebaean Legion so vigorously did our Forefathers thunder with it Is the Magistrate appointed of God an Officer 1. f. 437. Obj. or is he rather a Tyrant Usurping Power and Authority over other Persons against all Right and Law Ans He is ordained of God to be a Ruler over his People and no Man hath justly Rule and Authority in any Common-wealth which is not ordained of God. Obj. But what if the Magistrates be evil wicked ungodly tyrants haters of the truth oppressors of the poor c. are they also appointed of God Ans In Job it is thus written for the sins of the People doth God make an Hypocrite to Reign over them and God himself says by the Prophet I shall give them Children to be their Princes and Babes shall have Rule over them the People also shall be pilled and polled c. Our Saviour Christ confest that the Authority which Pilate had although a wicked and ungodly Person was from God ☞ and he willingly suffer'd death under that Tyrant neither do we read that the Apostles at any time did reject and cast away the Regiment of the Heathen Rulers as a thing unlawful but they rather exhorted the Subjects to obey them so far as they commanded nothing contrary to God's word to honour them to pray for them to give them tribute c. Thus we see that not only Godly but also ungodly Princes not only righteous but also unrighteous and wicked Rulers are given us of God the one I mean the good for the favour which God beareth towards us the other I mean the evil for the anger and displeasure that he hath towards us when he sees us disobedient to his Laws and Ordinances †f. 504. Subjects from the very heart must love and reverence the civil Magistrates as the Ministers and Vicars of God. and if it be their duty to love and reverence and honour the Higher Powers with a true and inward affection of the heart then may they not hate them and unworthily speak of them 2. * f. 505. Their next duty is to pray for them that God may be with them assist them and defend them c. 3. They must humbly obey them and that not for fear of punishment but for conscience sake for as God hath commanded the Magistrate to rule so he hath commanded to obey this commandment of God may by no means be disobey'd for to disobey the Magistrate is none other thing than to disobey God whose Minister the Magistrate is and whose Office he executeth And having proved this by several places of Holy Scripture he subjoins If this Obedience were throughly grafted in the hearts of Subjects all murmurings tumults commotions seditions insurrections c. should soon cease in the Common-wealth they should soon cease for they should never be attempted but whosoever through the motion of the Devil enterprise such things against the Magistrates ☜ they always come to a miserable end so far is it off that they have good success in their wicked and damnable attempts as Histories of all Ages do evidently declare c. 4. The Office of Subjects is willingly and without grudging to bear such burdens and pay such charges as the Magistrates shall reasonably require of them c. but Qu. f. 506. But may the Magistrate take away the Subject's goods at his pleasure Answ Nothing less for there is a propriety of goods and possessions as well in the Subject as in the Magistrate so that if the Magistrate do unjustly take away his Subjects goods he is a Tyrant and shall not escape the terrible indignation and fierce Plagues of God as we may see in the History of King Ahab and Naboth the Jesreelite c. 5. and finally it 's requir'd of Subjects that they do not blaze nor publish abroad but rather conceal and hide the faults oversights and negligences of the Magistrates c. This was the Doctrine which the Catechists of those days taught the People And as Men were taught to believe in those days ‖ Id. tom 2. op f. 211. in the pomander of Prayer so were they also taught to pray As it is thy Godly appointment O Lord God that some should bear rule in this World to see thy Glory set forth and the common peace kept so it is thy pleasure again that some should be Subjects and inferiors to others in their vocation altho before thee there is no respect of Persons and forasmuch as it is thy good will to appoint me in the number of Subjects I beseech thee to give me a faithful and an obedient heart unto the High Powers that there may be found in me no disobedience no unfaithfulness no treason no falshood no dissimulation ☜ no insurrection no commotion no conspiracy nor any kind of Rebellion in word or in deed against the Civil Magistrates but all faithfulness obedience quietness subjection humility and whatsoever else becomes a Subject that I living here in all lowliness of mind may at the last day through thy favour be lifted up unto everlasting Glory where thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest very God for ever Amen The same Author in his Treatise Tom. 3. f. 499 500. called the Glorious Triumph of God's most Blessed Word introduceth the Holy Scriptures thus vindicating themselves
on Prov. xxiv 21. Ep. ded P. 17 19 20 c. with the same sincerity as I would confess my Soul to God that my design in this Discourse was only to promote the Peace and Happiness of Men. These are the ways of knowing Men when they are given to change 1. When Men who have actually chang'd the Government already begin to re-advance their old Methods and Principles it 's a certain sign they are given to change 2. When Men make that a pretence for publick Clamor and Bustle which themselves have little or no claim to or regard for that is Religion it 's a certain sign they are given to change 3. When Men pretend Religion or publick Reformation but pursue it by sinful and indirect means it 's a certain sign c. Now Religion is as great an Enemy to Lying and Rebellion as it is to Popery 4. When under pretext of reforming the Government ☜ Men reproach and vilifie the Persons of their Governors 5. When Men shift their Principles with their Interests and to serve a turn can comply at one time with that which they condemn at another Tho in following our Principles we may sometimes indanger our worldly Interest and fall under the disgrace of a Rabble and the Persecutions of a prevailing Faction yet our very Enemies will be forc'd to revere and honor us to acknowledge that we are constant and brave and honest and resign'd to our own Principles 6. and lastly When Men who in the ordinary course of their Conversation are proud and quarrelsome and impatient of Contradiction set up Pretences of Religion against the Government †Id. Serm. on Rom. xiii 1. p. 25 26. Consider that upon our faithful Subjection to our Prince the safety of our Religion depends for there is nothing in the World can more indanger our Religion than our making it a pretence for Rebellion for hereby we inevitably expose it to the hatred of Princes and do what lies in us to arm their Power against it ‖ Id. Artillery Serm. p. 31. If you be courageous from a Principle of Righteousness you will honor the King as well as fear God and obey his Ordinances for God's sake you will never conduct a rebellious design under the sacred Banner of Religion nor pretend Loyalty to God to cover your Disloyalty to his Vicegerent you will never press the Scriptures to fight against the King Pag. 32. nor arm his political against his personal Capacity nor assume his Authority to cut off his Head nor on the other hand will you ever allow him to be unking'd by the sentence of a domineering Prelate c. In a word you will never confront those loyal Admonitions of S. Peter and S. Paul with the treasonous Canons of the Councils of the Ungodly nor levy Arms against your Prince upon that counterfeit Commission of his being pronounc'd a Heretick by a Congregation of Impostors who would fain fetch Pretences for their Treasons and Rebellions from the most loyal and peaceable Religion that ever was The ADDRESS of the University of Cambridge presented by Dr. Gower then Vicechancellor Sept. 18. 1681. to the King at Newmarket Sacred SIR WE your Majesties most faithful and obedient Subjects of the University of Cambridge have long with the greatest and sincerest joy beheld what we hope is in some measure the effect of our own Prayers the generous Emulation of our Fellow Subjects contending who should first and best express their Duty and Gratitude to their Sovereign at this time especially when the seditious Endeavours of unreasonable Men have made it necessary to assert the ancient Loyalty of the English Nation and make the World sensible that we do not degenerate from those prime Glories of our Ancestors Love and Allegiance to our Prince That we were not seen in those loyal Crowds but chose rather to stand by and applaud their honest and religious Zeal we humbly presume will not be imputed to the want of it in our selves either by your Majesty or your People for Sir it is at present the great honor of this your University not only to be stedfast and constant in our Duty but to be eminently so and to suffer for it as much as the Calumnies and Reproaches of factious and malicious Men can inflict upon us And that they have been hitherto able to do no more than vent the venom of their Tongues that they have not proceeded to Plunder and Sequestration to violate our Chappels rifle our Libraries and empty our Colleges as once they did next to the over-ruling Providence of Almighty God is only due to the Royal Care and Prudence of your most sacred Majesty who gave so seasonable a check to the arbitrary and insolent Undertakings But no earthly Power we hope no Menaces or Misery shall ever be able to make us renounce or forget our Duty We will still believe and maintain That our Kings derive not their Titles from the People but from God that to him only they are accountable that it belongs not to Subjects either to create or censure but to honor and obey their Sovereign who comes to be so by a fundamental hereditary Right of Succession which no Religion no Law no Fault or Forfeiture can alter or diminish Nor will we ever abate of our well-instructed Zeal for our most holy Religion as it is professed and established by Law in the Church of England that Church which hath so long stood and still is the envy and terror of her Adversaries as well as the beauty and strength of the Reformation It is thus Dread Sir that we have learned our own and thus we teach others their Duty to God and the King in the conscientious discharge of both which we have been so long protected and encouraged by your Majesties most just and gracious Government that we neither need nor desire any other Declaration than that Experience for our assurance and security for the future In all which Grace and Goodness Great Sir we have nothing to return we bring no Names and Seals no Lives and Fortunes well capable of your Majesties Service or at all worthy of your Acceptance nothing but Hearts and Prayers Vows of a zealous and lasting Loyalty Our Selves and Studies all that we can or ever shall be able to perform which we here most sincerely promise and most humbly tender at your Majesties feet a mean and worthless Present but such a one as we hope will not be disdained by the most gracious and indulgent Prince that Heaven ever bestowed upon a People SECT XXXIII Dr. Grove * Short def of the Church and Clerg of Engl. p. 81. p. 84. This is the main occasion for which so many of the Conformists are clamor'd against they are presently branded for medling with matters of State if they do but teach their Hearers to be obedient to Magistrates and are not furnish'd with Jesuitical Distinctions to shew in what Cases it may be lawful
Impiety but to charge them with faults they have not is shameless Blasphemy SECT III. To this purpose also the Author of a discourse concerning Supreme Power and common right calculated for the year 1641. but publish'd an 1680. is very full and pertinent I must recommend the Book to the Reader while I cite only one passage out of it Kings have a right of security against all Violence P. 33. they are above all humane judicature and only under God as the People are under them for which God styles himself Lord of Lords and King of Kings Sam. Otes Chaplain to Sir Francis Walsingham Lond. 1633. fol. P. 206 207 c. and other Persons of Honor in his Seventeenth Sermon on S. Jude's Epistle v. 8. Our Lord Jesus performed all Obedience to Rulers even then when they were Heathen and knew not God his precept was Give to Cesar the things that are Cesars his practice he paid tribute and Paul 1 Tim. 2.1 willeth the Ephesians to pray for them even then when like Manasses they poured out blood like water and made Towns and Cities swim with blood as he did Jerusalem when like the Chaldees ☜ they gave the dead bodies of God's Servants unto the Fowls of the air and the Flesh of his Saints unto the Beasts of the field When like Antiochus they burnt all Libraries and consumed the days of the Christians like smoak and their Bones were burnt like an hearth when they were like Pelicans in the Wilderness and like Owls in the Desarts when they did eat ashes like bread and mingled their Drink with weeping and to shew the constant practice of this not to go back like the shadow of Ezekiah 's Dyal to the time of the Law the Jews are commanded to pray for Nebuchadnezzar tho as a Man he deserved not the Name of a Man but a Beast yet as a King he is called the Servant of the Most High God. Mr. Rob. Bolton Batchelor in Divinity and Preacher of God's Word at Broughton in Northamptonshire in his Epistle Dedicatory to the Honorable Sir Rob. Carre Gentleman of the King's Bed-Chamber A gracious Man about a Royal Person is a goodly sight and full well worth even a King's Ransom For never any except himself truly fear the great God of Heaven can possibly be cordially and conscionably serviceable to any of our earthly Gods A Principle so clear and unquestionable that no Man of Understanding and Master of his own Wits except himself be notoriously obnoxious can have the face to deny it Please they may be politickly plausible flatter extremely and represent themselves to ordinary observation as the only Men for Loyalty and Love but if we could search and see their hearts we should find them then most laborious to serve themselves and advance their own Ends when they seem most zealous for their Sovereign's Service Achitophel in the sunshine of Peace and Calmness of the Kingdoms did accommodate himself to the present both in Consultations of State and religious Conformity but no sooner had this hollow-hearted Man espy'd a dangerous Tempest rais'd by Absalom's unnatural Treachery but he turn'd Traytor to his natural Lord When he observ'd the Wind to blow another way he follow'd the blast and set his Sails according to the Weather which made David after complain but it was thou O Man even my Companion my Guide and Familiar We took sweet Counsel together c. Wherefore let great Men without Grace profess and pretend what they will and protest the Impossibility of any such thing as Hazael did in another Case yet ordinarily in such tumultuous times and of universal confusion for the securing of their temporal happiness which without timely turning on God's side is all the Heaven they are like to have in this World or the World to come I say upon a point of great Advantage and Advancement with safety they would fly from the declining State and down-fall of their old Master tho formerly the mightiest Monarch upon earth as from the Ruins of a falling House And it can be no otherwise for they have no internal Principle or supernatural Power to illighten and enable them to set their shoulders against the Torrent of the times and be overflown with it But now he that truly fears God would rather lose his high Place nay his Posterity as much Hearts-blood if he had it as would animate a whole Kingdom than leave his lawful Sovereign Lord in such a Case upon any terms tho he might have even the Imperial Crown set upon his own Head. For Conscience that poor neglected thing nay in these last and looser times even laughed at by Men of the World yet a stronger tye of Subjects hearts unto their Sovereigns than Man or Devil is able to dissolve ever holds up his Loyal Heart erect and unshaken when all Shebnas Hamans and Achitophels would hide their heads and shrink in the wetting Which Conscience of his if upon such occasion he should unhappily wound he knows full well it would follow him with guilty Cries for his so base temporizing and traytorous flinking all the days of his life Mr. To. 2. Ser. 8. p. 637. Faringdon If we make no better use of our Liberty than to fling it over our shoulders and wear it as a Cloak of Maliciousness the spirit is ready to pull it off and tell us our duty that for all our liberty we are to serve one another that Christianity destroys not relations of Son to Father of Servant to Master of Wife to Husband of Inferior to Superior but establisheth them rather and his Practice was according to his Doctrin for he was an Eminent Confessor to Loyalty in that great Rebellion as was also his dear Friend Mr. Chillingworth between whom there was a great Sympathy of Sentiments and Sufferings for both were harass'd for Preaching the same truth His first Ser. before the King on 2 Tim. 3.1 2 c. p. 6 7 c. especially the later but nothing could affright him from his duty which obliged him freely to reprove the vices of the Age he lived in the chief actors in this bloody Tragedy which is now upon the Stage who have robb'd our Sovereign Lord the King of his Forts of the Persons of many of his Subjects and as much as lies in them of the hearts of all of them is it credible that they know and remember and consider the example of David recorded for their instruction whose heart smote him when he cut off the hem of Saul 's garment they that make no scruple at all of fighting against his Sacred Majesty and shooting Muskets and Ordnance at him which sure have not the skill to choose a Subject from a King to the extreme hazard of his Sacred Person whom by all possible obligations they are bound to defend do they know think you the general rule without exception or limitation left by the Holy Ghost for our direction in all such cases