and then no wonder if Blasphemies be their Language and Fleshly Lusts prevail against them And very often Religion is neglected on the Lords-Day for the sake of Drinking or Gaming and wasted away in those mean unprofitable Entertainments But since our Laws more directly take Cognizance of those other Sins I wou'd to GOD that our Zeal were successful in entirely suppressing them For they are the most pernicious Scandals to Religion and shou'd therefore be the more immediate Objects of our Zeal And were no Swearing heard among us were the Lords-Day employ'd in Exercises of Religion and Devotion and were all known Traders in in Lewdness driven away what a Holy what a Happy People wou'd we soon become How Glorious wou'd Piety appear with all its Beauteous Charms How wou'd Religion Prosper and Flourish How wou'd Wickedness Blush and Tremble and Fly away And this might soon be effected did all heartily join in it who are under particular Obligations so to do which brings me in the Second place to consider who are principally oblig'd and concern'd to be Zealously Affected against those dangerous Sins 'T is certainly reason sufficient why we shou'd be zealously affected against publick Vices that we are Christians Professors of that Religion which exacts the highest degrees of Holiness from our selves and requires us to be Zealous and Industrious in reclaiming others from their evil ways and in promoting Religion and Reformation of Manners in the World But sometimes particular Obligations arising from our Stations and Circumstances here are superadded to those which Christianity lays upon us which must be various as our Capacities and Conditions are I shall therefore mention several ranks of Men who are principally concern'd in this Great Work and are bound with more than ordinary Diligence and Zeal to apply themselves to it The First I shall name are the Ministers of Religion those who are Dedicated to the immediate Service of GOD to Preach his Word Administer his Sacraments and attend at his Altar And certainly we who are Embassadors from Christ for this very end and purpose to beseech Sinners to be reconcil'd to GOD to whose Service we are solemnly set apart by the imposition of Hands and Prayer we who are Messengers Watch-Men and Stewards of the LORD Titles of great Dignity and Honour and expressive of constant Diligence and Labour we I say shou'd oppose Vice with a very active Zeal and with unweari'd application shou'd encourage all proposals for Reformation of Manners and lead the way to others in putting them in Execution Shou'd like GOD's Ministers in Heaven be a Flame of Fire burning with Zeal so refin'd and pure that like theirs it may never fail so strong and vigorous as may spare indeed the Sinners but entirely destroy their Vices The Reformation of Mens Manners in order to the Salvation of their Souls is the end of our Preaching and all our Labours and shou'd we not animate those good Men who have avow'dly enter'd the Lists against Wickedness since we have reason to hope that thereby our Work will become more easie and delightful and that more encouraging successes will attend our Ministry the most difficult obstructions such publick Vices are being happily remov'd Nay shou'd we not bless GOD for exciting a Spirit of Piety and Religious Zeal amongst us that there are any in this degenerate World who have a true concern for Religion and Virtue And don 't all such deserve our Countenance and Encouragement our greatest esteem and tenderest affection And shou'd we not chearfully pertake in all their Difficulties and Dangers as we hope to share in their Rewards and Glory 'T is usual to complain of the Corruptions of the Age but complaints hardly ever work a Cure Our discourses may be passionate against prevailing Sins and yet those Sins continue to prevail the most Guilty being seldom our Hearers and when they are not regarding what we say It is fit then it is necessary that we use Arguments of another Nature and punish those who are proof against all Perswasions that with Stripes and Blows we make those Deaf Adders move who stop their Ears against the Voice of the wisest Charmer make those feel the coercive power of Humane Laws who impiously violate the Laws of GOD. We call our selves Successors of the Apostles and Prophets and such undoubtedly all Lawful Ministers are And shou'd not that one consideration inspire us with their Diligence their Courage and their Zeal That so we may oppose Prophaneness as Elijah did Idolatry and with the resolution of St. Paul Reason of Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come But shou'd there be any so Complaisant for Wickedness so Cowardly and Mean as to be afraid or asham'd to disturb it in its antient Possessions must they not Blush when Surrounded with a Cloud of Witnesses of their own Order of Apostles and Bishops and Pastors who were not only Preachers of Righteousness but Reformers of Manners Who did not think they had discharg'd their Duty by saying some handsome things against Vice buâ— being acted by a Holy Zeal were particular and warm in Advices vehement in their Expostulations and bold in their Reproofs While Men were wicked they pity'd them they pray'd for them but never made them their Intimates and Companions They treated them as their Patients whose recovery they heartily endeavoured but never by Flattery and Compliance encreas'd their Distemper I hope in GOD there are few or none among us guilty of these Faults so disagreeable to their Character and prejudicial to Religion the contrary I think is apparent that those who are most remarkable for their Piety and eminent for their Stations in the Church do further and encourage all prudent designs for suppressing Vice and restoring Piety to its just Glory But if there shou'd be any who have so far degenerated from the Zeal of their Primitive Predecessors as to be negligent and remiss in this important Concern and if some shou'd be so among so many 't is not at all to be wondred at nor any reasonable Objection against our Church for such this Address is intended and that sufficiently justifies the plainess of it since sure I am they need it Secondly Next to the Ministers of Religion the greatest Obligations of being Zealously Affected against publick reigning Vices lye upon Magistrates upon those who are invested with Authority and Power And that it is the Duty of Magistrates with great Courage and Impartiality to suppress and punish all Wicked Practices is plain from several Intimations of it in Holy Scripture As that Rulers are not a Terror to Good Works but to the Evil. And if we do that which is Good we need not be afraid of the Power but shall have praise of the same That he is the Minister of GOD for good and beareth not the Sword in vain and is a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doth Evil. Rom. 13.3 4. Again we are commanded to be subject to Governours who are
Fourthly To offer such Motives as may best excite and confirm our Zeal that so we may be Zealously Affected always in that good thing about which we ought to be engag'd I. I am to enquire what those particular Sins are in suppressing of which we ought to be most Zealously Affected It has already been observ'd in general that promoting our known Duty undisputed Piety and Virtue is the best thing wherein we can be Zealously Affected For these are the Essentials of Religion without which no other priviliges we can enjoy or boast of will be of any advantage to us Now this will be most happily effected by suppressing those Vices and Impieties which more directly dishonour GOD and weaken Religion and such undoubtedly are Blasphemous Oaths and Curses Prophaning the Lords Day either by our Ordinary Labours or Scandalous Diversions together with the Brutal Vices of Intemperance and Lewdness Now we ought to be more Zealously Affected against these than other Sins because they are more destructive Enemies to Piety there 's more of Leprosie and Infection in them and they are attended with more Fatal Consequences Other Sins I say which being more private and unobserv'd draw not such a Train of Mischiefs after them The first Sin then against which it is a good thing to be Zealously Affected is Prophane Cursing and Swearing That horrid Sin which Dares Omnipotence and Mocks avenging Justice which affronts GOD out of Diversion and Plays with his Thunder and Lightning That Sin which strikes at the Foundations of Religion by involving Men in frequent Perjuries and taking off all Reverence for an Oath That Sin which hurries daily many Souls to Hell and is the fearful of Language of that place of Impiety as well as Torment and where the Damn'd at once Gnaw their Tongues for Pain and Blaspheam the GOD of Heaven That Sin I say shou'd surely stir up the Indignation and Zeal of all those who have any Honour any Love for GOD or Religion to punish to destroy it so effectually to suppress it that it never may again Triumph in our Streets The misplac'd Devotion of the Athenians inflam'd St. Paul's Zeal He was fill'd with various Passions of Anger of Pity and of Grief to see the City wholly given to Idolatry He Argued he Contended with their greatest Philosophers and even hazarded his Life to Convert them And shou'd not our Spirits be moved within us to hear the Venerable Name of the True GOD Impiously Prophan'd and Ridiculously Invok'd and that not by Ignorant Heathens but Pretended Christians by those who while they usurp that Sacred Title Are not only far from GOD in their Hearts but with their very Lips Dishonour him It must needs therefore be a good thing to be Zealously Affected against this prevailing Sin to Vindicate GOD's Honour and bring those who Prophane his Name to Punishment A Second Sin against which it is a good thing to be Zealously Affected is the Violation of the Lords-Day that Day which is Dedicated to the Worship and Service of GOD. The Prophanation of the Lords-Day has so fatal an influence on Religion and tends so naturally to deface it that they who are Zealously Affected for the one must have a tender regard for the other For the concerns of this World do so steal upon Mens Minds so charm and bewitch them that did not the constant returns of the Lords-Day relax their Thoughts and call them off from Business and Diversion to Religion and Devotion not only the Power but form of Godliness wou'd be lost not only the thing it self but very Name of Religion wou'd be Banish'd the World Whereas the Religious Observation of the Lords-Day does often awaken those good thoughts which all the Week have lay'n Buried under Cares and Pleasures And many who at first go to Church out of Decency and Custom will at length go out of Religion and Devotion And indeed our joyning in Devout Prayers and Heavenly Praises hearing the Holy Scriptures Read and our Duty affectionately recommended all these preserve Spiritual Life keep Conscience sensible and tender And the more strictly the Lords-Day is kept the better will it answer the end of its Institution the more effectually promote Piety and secure Religion whereas if only a part of it be allow'd to the Worship of GOD and the rest taken up in Sports and Diversions it is to be fear'd that our Morning Thoughts will soon pass away and that the Evening Pastimes will deface all the good Impressions of the Day Now shall we not do excellent Service to Religion by rescuing the Lords-Day from Scandalous Abuses and hindring those Practices which must if not prevented destroy it The Honour of GOD is inseparably united to that of his Day And Religion must languish and decay when that Day is Neglected or Prophan'd Publick Worship must be disus'd and Private fall of Consequence Of this our Governours are sensible and therefore good Laws have been Enacted to hinder it which are but a dead letter unless vigorously Executed This surely then deserves and calls for our most active Zeal to put the Laws in Execution against the Prophaners of the Lords-Day since the preservation or ruin of Religion does in a great measure depend upon it Thirdly They who are Zealously Affected against Sin must labour to suppress Lewdness and Uncleaness and make those Wretched Creatures feel the just Severity of the Laws who set up Factories for Wickedness and make Prostitution their Trade Christianity is an Undefil'd Religion Ja. 1.26.3.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Wisdom from above is pure or chaste it prohibits all Lascivious Practices and lays restraints on our Thoughts And is it possible there shou'd be any Country where this Holy Religion is Publickly Profess'd and Divine Laws enforc'd by Temporal Punishments where there are Christian Ministers to perswade and Christian Mgistrates to correct Offenders In which notwithstanding Lewdness and Debauchery should be so much so long wink'd at as almost to plead Prescription and Toleration That there shou'd be Seminaries for Uncleaness and yet unpunished unregarded Thus it has been heretofore among us and these Vices are still not only too commonly committed but glory'd in to the great Dishonour of GOD and Reproach of Religion That then must be an excellent Zeal which dares check and oppose these abominable Sins which inspires us with Courage to Rescue our Christianity from Contempt by bringing the Scandals of it to just Punishment and Shame without being mov'd at their Insolence or afraid of their Revenge There are many other very common very dangerous Sins against which it is a good thing to be Zealously Aflected particularly Common Drunkenness and Excessive Gaming For these are not only great Sins in themselves but often the unhappy causes of those I have already nam'd Gaming inflames the Passions fills the Mouth with Curses and the whole Man with Rage Drunkenness divests Men of their Reason and puts every irregular desire into a Ferment
prevented seeing the case is so I think it plainly follows that those Men of Eminent Integrity and Virtue how low soever some of their Fortunes may be who without any prospect of Worldly Advantage nay to their manifest loss have resolv'd to encounter Difficulties and Dangers and undergo Calumnies and Slanders rather than Wickedness shall continue bare-fac'd and Vice spread every where without opposition any more Those Men I say deserve all Encouragement to themselves and their design The countenance and protection of our Governours and all who wish well to Religion 'T is true they have had no small share in Censures and Objections But what Person so innocent what Design to laudable as to escape them If Christianity the best Religion If the Blessed Jesus the Holiest Person that ever was have been and daily are Blasphem'd Revil'd and Slander'd What are you my Brethren that you shou'd hope to be Exempted from the Common Fate of the best Men in the World Has Satan entirely chang'd his Nature and laid aside his Malice Is he not only transform'd into the likeness of an Angel of Light but become really one Will he no more oppose Religion no more obstruct Reformation of Manners Or has the Old Serpent lost at once his Cunning and his Poyson Has he so often mis-represented Religion with great success and expos'd it to publick Hatred by Painting it as some frightful Monster And won't he still prosecute the same Methods which have hardly ever fail'd him and endeavour to defeat the good Designs of some Men by raising unaccountable Jealousies and Fears in others and labour to undermine by secret Calumnies and Slanders what he wants Power directly to oppose But yet if Two or Three sorts of Persons were silent very few Mouths wou'd be open'd against Societies for Reformation Those who take things upon Trust and Condemn without knowing the Merits of the Cause who have been impos'd upon for want of due enquiry by false Representations both of the Design and Persons concern'd in it Or those who being not truly Zealous themselves are angry that any shou'd go beyond them and thereby tacitly reproach their want of Zeal or they lastly who are enrag'd that their unlawful Liberties shou'd be check'd and restrain'd that any shou'd presume to Curb their Lewdness and Prophaness But the Clamours of these kinds of Men are ill grounded and unjust such as can be no surprize to any who are acquainted with the Corruptions of Humane Nature and consider the active indefatigable Malice of the Devil and therefore can never shake a prudent well establish'd Zeal And such I trust in GOD your Zeal will always be and that you will still find that Encouragement and Protection to which you are justly intitl'd by the Excellency of your Undertaking and Prudence of your Behaviour I am perswaded you did not enter into these Societies rashly and unadvisedly but weigh'd all the hardships and inconveniences you might reasonably expect on the one hand and consider'd the motives which excited your Zeal on the other and after mature deliberation chose the good part and resolv'd with great Constancy to adhere to it chearfully to bear Opposition Contempt and Reproach provided you might be able to put a stop to any one prevailing Sin But the same Christian Zeal which first mov'd you to Asscociate against Vice will oblige you to continue and persevere to become more Active and Zealous in suppressing it To this your Obligations are great as Members of the Christian Church into which when you were admitted you vow'd to continue Christs Faithful Servants and Soldiers to your Lives end But your belonging to a Society whose sole end is Reformation of Manners has much encreas'd them A Design the best and noblest in the World but which ought to be Prosecuted with a very constant prudent Zeal that the Enemies of Piety may not be able to insult may have no occasion to upbraid any of you either with Negligence or Imprudence And then will you more successfully promote your Great and Excellent End and in due time stop the Mouths of Gain-sayers These are the several orders of Men who are particularly oblig'd to be Zealously Affected in suppressing Prophaness and Vice not that any are exempted from it it is the Business and Duty and ought to be the Study and Practice of every Christian. Here all are Commanded and may without a Crime put forth their Hands to support the Ark. 'T is true they cannot they must not all attempt to do it the same way what is the Indispensible Duty of one may be a Great Sin in another to pretend to And tho all ought to shew their Zeal for Religion and Reformation yet they must take different ways of shewing it which leads me to the Third Particular I propos'd to speak to which was to point out those ways wherein we may best employ and shew our Zeal so as to attain the Excellent Ends it aims at Something of this I have hinted at already for by mentioning those several sorts of Men who are oblig'd to higher degrees of Zeal against Vice than others I did in effect shew how their Zeal is to express it self Thus for Example Are we Zealous Ministers of Religion Then must our Zeal appear both to GOD and Man in our Publick Preaching and Exemplary Life and in our Private Labours and Endeavours to infuse Piety and Zeal into others We must shew our Zeal by leading the way to others in the best manner Prudence directs and so far as our Duty requires And lastly our Zeal must express it self in Constant and Fervent Prayers to GOD for his Blessing and Assistance Again are we Zealously Magistrates Then are we to employ our Zeal in Vigorously Executing the Laws against Immorality and Prophaness We are to Countenance and Encourage all who are engag'd in the Service of Religion and Reformation and secure them from the rude insults of those who have made themselves their Enemies And to influence others to Honour Religion by the Brightness of our own Examples As for those of Inferiour Degree whose Station is Private and whose Condition is Obscure even they may many ways testifie the sincerity of their Zeal and make it very serviceable to Piety and Virtue The meanest Man among us has a Family to take care of and that he may preserve from the Infection of Reigning Sins He can Admonish can Reprove and Correct his Child or his Servant with Authority and good Effect He may also Exhort and Advise his Neighbour of his own Rank nay he may Reprove him too upon a Just Occasion and in a Prudent Manner and thereby contribute much to reclaim him Such a Man may especially be very useful to Religion by bringing the open Enemies of it to deserved Punishment He will unavoidably be often a Witness of Publick Sins He will frequently see the Lords-Day Prophan'd and hear GOD's Holy Name Dishonour'd and Blasphemed and that by those who are too Great
A DISCOURSE CONCERNING ZEAL AGAINST Immorality and Prophaness Deliver'd in Two SERMONS IN St. Michaels Church DVBLIN October 29 and November 26. 1699. DUBLIN Printed by Joseph Ray in Skinner-Row for Jacob Milner Bookseller in Essex-Street 1700. TO THE SOCIETIES FOR REFORMATION of MANNERS I Consented the more readily to Publish the following Discourse least I might be suspected as wanting that Zeal my self which I Recommended to others and as Afraid of those Censures which I Exhorted you to Despise Since therefore you think the Publication of it may do some Service to Religion and Promote that Excellent Undertaking wherein you have engag'd your selves I do willingly put it into your Hands without making any Apology for those Defects which may render it lyable to Exceptions For True Zeal Studies to do Good rather than to Please To Improve Men in Piety not to Gratifie a Vain Curiosity Plain Dealing is a Part of its Character and it boldly tells Men necessary tho often disobliging Truths being more concern'd that the Food it gives be Wholesome and Nourishing than Drest up with great Nicety and Art That GOD wou'd Strengthen and Improve your Zeal and add to your Numbers many more Zealously Affected in all good things That he wou'd Bless your Endeavours against Vice and Prophaness with Success and make You happy Instruments of Advancing and Establishing a General Reformation of Manners and at last Reward your Piety and Zeal with the Glories and Happiness of Heaven Is with great Sincerity Pray'd for by Your Faithful and Affectionate Servant William Hamilton Gal. IV. xviii It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing THE Two great Extremes in Religion opposite to the genuine Spirit of Christianity and equally destructive of it are a Cold Indifference on the one hand on the other an Intemperate Zeal This Transports a Man beyond all bounds of Sobriety and Prudence and where the other prevails that Life and Fervour must be wanting without which we can neither be good Christians our selves nor successful Instruments in making others so So that it is in the Moral as in the Natural World wherein there are violent Degrees both of Heat and Cold there are Regions continually expos'd to the Suns hottest Rays there are others under the constant power of Ice and Snow in the one you Freeze you are Scorch'd in the other But still betwixt these Extremes lye Temperate Climates where Cold and Heat are regularly divided where there 's enough of each to answer the Necessities of Nature and Ends of Creation Thus it is thus it ought to be in Religion we are to choose a middle way betwixt the Lethargy of the Careless and Violence of the Zealot A Religious warmth shou'd actuate our Spirits but no Wild-Fire shou'd inflame them We shou'd have a hearty concern for the Honour of GOD and the Promotion of Piety and an equal abhorrence of Prophaness and Vice but then Modesty and Humility Sincerity and Prudence shou'd still accompany our Zeal It shou'd be Peaceable and Impartial its End manifestly good its manner of Acting Regular and Legal And then it wou'd be such Zeal as St. Paul recommends to us It is good to be Zealously Affected always in a good thing Zeal in the general acceptation of the World signifies such a fervent emotion of our Spirits such an inflammation of our Passions and Affections as makes us pressing and earnest in the pursuit of any undertaking together with some degree of Trouble and Impatience at our being oppos'd in our Designs and obstructed in the attainment of them Whatever we vigorously contend for and prosecute with a strong endeavour for that thing we may be said to be Zealous Zeal then resides in the Affections and has its sway over them and indeed whenever we are Zealously Affected all our Passions and Affections have new Heat and Vigour infus'd into them and they become more strong and lively than before Our Love fixes on the Object of our Zeal and we grasp it with a powerful bent of desire and Zeal excites our passion of Hatred against whatever is contrary to the thing we Love Zeal enlivens our hopes with the flattering expectations of success but sometimes dejects our Spirits with the apprehensions of disappointment Great Joy attends a Prosperous Zeal and 't is hard not to be griev'd when we are Zealous in vain So that Zeal is strictly nothing else but a very strong and active warmth of the two prevailing Passions of Love and Hatred of Love towards what appears Good and Excellent Of Hatred against what we judge Evil and Dangerous all our other Passions and Affections Fears and Hopes Joy and Grief being consequent upon these Thus for Example Do we passionately Love GOD and Burn with some degree of Angels Fire Does he possess the Chief Empire of our Hearts and Minds and do we suffer nothing to out-Rival him in our Affections The consequence of this must be that with great industry and application we propagate his Service and earnestly contend for his Glory That we make it the constant matter of our Study and Prayers to engage others to Love his Name and Obey his Laws That our most sensible Grief shall be the effect of seeing him Dishonour'd our greatest Joy of seeing Religion Prosper And thus we may be said to be Zealously Affected towards GOD. Again do we hate and abhor Sin with the same degree of Passion wherewith we love GOD Do we see something in it contrary to the Divine Nature to Infinite Purity Justice and Goodness as also to our own reason and Happiness Then we must needs labour to destroy it as a common Enemy and cannot but mightily Rejoyce when we do it with any Success And so we are Zealously Affected against Sin I own the Word Zeal is frequently in Scripture taken in a bad sence Emulations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are by St. Paul reckon'd among the works of the Flesh Gal. 5.20 And St. James cautions us against 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bitter Envying or Zeal Ja. 3.14 And indeed it is the Object of our Zeal together with its manner of acting that renders it either Vertuous or Unlawful a Duty or a Sin If we envy our Neighbours Happiness are uneasie at his Prosperity and pleas'd with his Misfortunes Then is our Zeal highly Wicked it is the prevailing Quality the very Essence of the Devil But if our Zeal fixes upon a right Object proposes as its end something morally good and prosecutes that end by fair justifiable Methods Then is it a Commendable and Christian Zeal But now to render our Zeal truly such these two Qualifications are necessary That it be constant and lasting and that it be employed in a good thing I. Our Zeal must be constant and lasting It is good to be Zealously Affected always True Zeal is no sudden Heat no violent Transport nor gust of Passion which is vehement for a while but soon blows over but is a constant Religious frame of
Mind 'T is true it is not always upon the stretch nor acts to the utmost of its force yet is it habitually dispos'd to it Like Fire it is ever moving yet burns not still alike but is sometimes blown up into a Flame But that which in the Second place Consecrates our Zeal and renders it such as St. Paul's was and such as he proposes to us as excellent and necessary is the goodness of its Object It is good to be Zealously Affected always provided it be in a good thing For the more intense our Zeal is the greater mischief it does if we mistake in the Object of it As the sharper the Weapon and the more violent the Blow the deeper the more dangerous must be the Wound And both Sacred and Prophane History afford us many melancholly instances of the dismal effects of a Misguided Zeal which being mistaken in its Object and over violent in its degree has prov'd fatal to Religion and set the World on Fire But now since the case is so since Zeal which is not determin'd to a right Object is generally hurtful and always vain the great Question is what is the proper Object of Religious Zeal and what is that good thing wherein it is good to be always Zealously Affected This is on all hands allow'd to be that what ever that particularly may be whereby the Glory of God is Promoted Religion Strengthen'd the good of others and our own Salvation Advanc'd and Secur'd So far there is no Controversie and all persuasions agree But the misery is when Men come to enter upon Particulars their Zeal is for the most part confin'd to the interest and opinions of a Party to things of smaller Concernment and Importance to the externals of Religion and modes Worship things wherein Men never did nor ever will agree And while they nicely dispute and eagerly contend about these they too often overlook The weightier Matters of the Law Judgment Mercy and Faith The Life of Religion Piety and Virtue It is very true that nothing in Religion shou'd be esteem'd little or inconsiderable if it belongs to Religion at all it must be of moment and challenges our regard Yet it will be easily acknowledg'd that some things of greater necessity than others and tho nothing is small enough to fall below our notice yet what is of greatest Weight deserves our first and greatest Zeal and as our Saviour speaks in a Parallel case the one we shou'd be sure to do yet so as not to leave the other undone Mat. 23.23 Those things therefore which the Natural Reason of Mankind approves all the differing Parties of Christians agree in as good and excellent those are undoubtedly the fittest Objects of a Christian's Zeal and the good things wherein we ought to be most Zealously Affected Such are the great and substantial Parts of our Duty to GOD and our Neighbour the constant exercise of Piety and Devotion towards the one of Justice and Charity towards the other The attainment of the particular Virtues of the Christian Life such as Humility Meekness Patience Self-denyal and the like and promoting as effectually as we can the Practice of them in others And such likewise in a particular manner are suppressing publick and scandalous Immoralities and restraining the progress of Vice by a just Execution of our Laws against it stemming the Torrent of Impiety and Prophaness and correcting Lewd and Disorderly Practices Zeal that is employ'd in such things as these is truly Glorious and it is good to be Zealously Affected always in them It is good to be active and industrious constant and indefatigable in so Divine a Service a Service that has all the Encouragements of Earth and Heaven to invite us to it intitles us here to GOD's particular Grace and Favour and to extraordinary degrees of Glory hereafter This my Brethren is the good thing wherein you have been and I hope still are so Zealously Affected You have stood in the Gap and oppos'd that Flood of Wickedness which not long since had almost overwhelm'd us You have in some measure check'd those Crimes which heretofore were publickly committed with Impunity and without shame Your Endeavours and Examples have gain'd many Proselites to Piety which after long languishing begins to recover both Strength and Courage and to shine forth like that Great Light which rules and makes the Day tho like the same Sun its Brightness is sometimes obscur'd by Clouds Its Branches are adorn'd with very fair Blossoms which promise a plentiful Stock of excellent Fruit. You have engag'd in a Service acceptable to good Men and what is infinitely more valuable pleasing to GOD himself and you may be assur'd you shall never want their Prayers nor his Blessing A Service so Heavenly that it renders the meanest concern'd in it truly Honourable and adds more than a Title an Estate or even a Crown to the lustre and dignity of the Greatest A Service which we are all oblig'd to encourage and promote according to our different Capacities and Conditions if we are Ministers by earnest Exhortations and good Example If Magistrates by a just and impartial exercise of our Authority And if we are but Christians we may be useful to it by the sincerity and constancy of our Prayers Now the First of these is what at present my Office and your Desires oblige me to Perform I shall therefore testifie my own Zeal to the great Work you have taken in hand by offering the best Motives I am able to Excite and Confirm yours That so your Zeal may never languish nor your Affections to your Masters service abate and cool But that this Heavenly Flame of True Zeal may Burn Brighter and Stronger in your Souls to the last may in the Evening of Life maintain its Noon-Day Vigour until with the Spirits wherein it dwelt it be Translated to the other World and from the Zeal of Men be refin'd to that of Angels That so likewise unreasonable Calumnies and Censures may never divert you from your Noble Resolutions but that you may become more Fixed Couragious and Undaunted in advancing Piety and suppressing Vice more earnest in your Prayers to GOD to keep you stedfast and firm to your good purposes and to bless your Endeavours with success And tho I can say little upon this Argument but what you have already heard and know yet I hope to be at least your Remembrancer if not your Instructor to put you in remembrance of these things tho you know them and be establish'd in the present Truth 2 Pet. 1.12 In order to which I purpose to do Four Things First To enquire what those particular Sins are in suppressing of which we ought to be most Zealously Affected Secondly To consider who are principally oblig'd and concern'd to be Zealously Affected against those dangerous Sins Thirdly To point out some of those ways wherein we may most usefully employ and shew our Zeal so as to attain its excellent End And
appointed for the punishment of Evil Doers and the praise of them that do well 1 Pet. 2.14 From all which it appears what sort of Persons Magistrates shou'd be to evil works they shou'd be still a Terror and the Sword of Justice they shou'd never bear in vain Upon them that do Evil 't is their Duty to execute Wrath but good Works they are to Encourage good Men they are to Support and Praise 'T is for this end that they have Power given them over others by him from whom they originally derive their Commissions all Power being Ordained by him for by him Kings Reign and Princes decree Justice and therefore his Service they shou'd constantly perform and study the Vindication and Promotion of his Honour Besides the Suppression of Wickedness and Vice is one great End of all Magistracy and Government because thereby that which is its sole end the publick Peace and Safety is effectually attain'd and secur'd For it is inconsistent with the Publick Safety to suffer Wickedness to go on unrestrained Wickedness I say which has a natural tendency to Confusion and Disorder endangers the Peace and destroys the happiness of Society For the Natural Consequence of this must be the entire Ruine of Religion and when that is gone and Men are under no Tyes of Conscience have no regard for GOD believe not his Providence and are under no apprehensions of his just Indignation what Villanies then must be every where committed What Feuds must continually arise betwixt Governours and Subjects the one being Tyrannical and the other Rebellious What security can Men have for their Lives or Fortunes when Perjury shall be no longer dreaded as a Crime What an Emblem of Hell must this World become Criminals being too numerous too big to be Corrected when those who by their office are supposs'd to be Guardians of Virtue by their Practice will appear Patrons of Impiety Nay the resemblance will hold not only in the Worlds Wickedness and Confusion but Misery too since Vice Countenanc'd by the neglect of Magistrates must needs exasperate the Wrath of Heaven and bring down heavy Judgments on those Nations where it is allow'd to thrive where warm'd and nourish'd by Connivence But surely Magistrates cannot neglect the Execution of the Laws against Immorality and Prophaness upon such easie Terms as some of them if we may judge by their Practice imagine since when they enter upon their Office they are Sworn to Execute and Maintain those Laws after their Wit and Power with equal respect to Poor and Rich and therefore every wilful Omission of their Duty is a Violation of a Solemn Oath and adds a new Perjury to all their other Crimes And what a sad account shall such Men have to make at the Day of Judgment Must they not be rank'd with Judas and such other Wretches having betray'd that Religion they were oblig'd to defend and protected those Vices they were commanded they were sworn to Suppress And how happy wou'd it be both for them and us did all our Magistrates consider and act agreeably to the great Trust repos'd in them Did they with united Counsels and Endeavours put a stop to Vice and not commit those Crimes themselves they were commanded to punish in others How wou'd all the Blessings of Heaven and Earth flow down upon us And what a happy change wou'd their Zeal and Courage soon produce Vice wou'd sneak and not dare to shew its Deform'd Face Men wou'd be asham'd of their Wickedness and tremble for fear of a Discovery but never dare to Glory in it and all their deeds of Darkness wou'd retire and shun the Light And certainly a Faithful Magistrate is a Publick Blessing He 's the most useful Member of the Common-Wealth the best Patriot of his Country and to his Prince a most Valuable Subject He deserves all the Honour the present Age can give and while the Name of some shall Rot Generations to come shall call him Blessed And Praised be GOD's Holy Name such Magistrates are not wholly wanting among us there are some even in this City who upon all proper Occasions express a generous Zeal against Lewdness Immorality and Prophaness and have been glorious Instruments in restraining those Crimes which were usually committed with a daring Impudence Magistrates who are Zealous for their Masters Honour and protect and encourage those who are active and forward in his Service whose actions are agreeable to the end for which they were appointed the Punishment of Evil-doers and Praise of them that do well The Merit of such Excellent Men challenges the most publick and grateful acknowledgments which the Friends of Piety can pay and next to the great GOD of Heaven we shou'd be loudest in the Praises of these Ornaments of Magistracy Supports of Virtue and Zealous Promoters of Reformation And I 'm very confident they shall never want a more valuable benefit than Commendations the sincere and constant Prayers of all good Men for their temporal and eteranal Happiness And I trust that the same GOD who has begun a good work in them will continue will improve and bring it to perfection That he will so animate and assist them that they shall never grow weary in well-doing nor think any thing a trouble wherein GOD and Religion are concern'd And others will I hope be influenc'd by these Examples to walk in their Steps and immitate their Zeal That so all our Magistrates may enjoy the invaluable satisfaction which doing good to the World does here afford all may be intitl'd to a Glorious Reward in Heaven Whatever particular Obligations lye upon Magistrates to be Zealously Affected against Prophaness and Vice do likewise respect the Nobility and Gentry 'T is true they are not all Sworn to Execute the Laws yet Honours and Estates are conferr'd upon them by the Sovereign Proprietor of all things that they may be qualifi'd thereby to be the more serviceable to the interests of Piety and Religion These Gifts of Heaven are Talents for which they must render an account to the Great Donor of them And if they improve them to his Glory and the good of Mankind If they will not decline expence nor trouble to destroy Vice and make Religion prosper then they answer the intention of Providence and shall be able to give an account of their Stewardship with Joy They shall entail lasting Blessings upon their Families and secure endless Glory to themselves Nay they will silence the Clamours of Malice and Envy since few won't rejoice at the greatness of those who make all their privileges subservient to Piety and Virtue A Third sort of Persons who are concern'd to be Zealously Affected against those dangerous Sins are Penitents Those who having heretofore been engag'd in sinful Courses are by the Grace of GOD delivered from their Bondage and restor'd to a better Mind 'T is a common observation that Penitents are more Zealous than any others against Sin And indeed ther 's a Natural
Reason why it shou'd be so for the more Men know of Vice when once throughly awaken'd from its Charms they more they will abhor and detest it Besides 't is what they are strictly oblig'd to in Conscience For having heretofore dishonour'd GOD obstructed Religion and made Men Enemies to Virtue They are bound if I may so speak to make what Restitution they can to all those for the Injuries they have done them Have they heretofore Prophan'd GOD's Name or his Word or his Day Then surely if their Repentance be sincere they will not only in the highest manner honour these themselves but be very assiduous to procure them all possible Reverence from others Have they entic'd others to Sin and been but too unhappily successful in it Shou'd not then their Zeal be constant and active as the Sun and Light and bring Men to a sense of their Duty that so they may be Instruments of saving more than they have been the Fatal Means of destroying Have they injur'd Religion by their Evil Examples Then surely their Lives for the future shou'd be bright and unspotted their Actions Eminently Holy and a most engaging Pattern of Piety they shou'd set to the World Had they almost miscarry'd and been ruin'd for ever by their Wickedness had not the Goodness of GOD miraculously interpos'd for their Deliverance Then 't is certainly their Duty to caution others of those Rocks whereon they had well nigh been Ship-rack'd Such was the Practice of those great Examples of sincere Repentance Holy David and St. Paul After the former had in very passionate terms bewail'd his Sins and implor'd the Pardon of GOD for them as the natural consequence of his Repentance he declares his Pious Resolution I will teach thy ways to the Wicked and Sinners shall be converted unto thee Psal. 51.13 And thus it was with St. Paul after his Conversion Did he once make Havock of the Church He afterwards labour'd more abundantly than all the Apostles to enlarge and strengthen it Was he once a bitter Enemy to Christianity a Blasphemer and Reviler of the Son of GOD He afterwards prov'd a most Zealous Advocate for the one a most Successful Preacher of the other Did he hale the Saints to Prison was he consenting to their Death To the same Religion they profess'd he adher'd faithfully unto Death and for it was Crown'd with Martyrdom himself And thus shou'd all true Penitents behave themselves whatever tends to the Advancement of Religon with all the powers of their Souls they shou'd pursue themselves and recommend to others with a most Industrious Zeal Then wou'd their Repentance be not only sincere but compleat available to their Pardon and cause Joy in the presence of the Angels Fourthly and Lastly They who have enter'd into Societies for Reformation of Manners and thereby avow'dly engag'd in the service of Piety and Religion are particularly oblig'd to be Zealously Affected against those foremention'd Dangerous Sins My Argument does not require that I shou'd undertake a just Vindication of such Societies and prove the usefulness of them this has been fully done by others and the great service they daily do Religion sufficiently proclaims it Yet we may in general observe that Vice is too potent an Enemy to be defeated by any single endeavours Vice which too often baffles the united Labours of the best Men in the World and is supported by a confederacy of all the Powers of Darkness Besides we cannot but be sensible that good Men have need of Companions to animate them to a work of Difficulty and Danger We are afraid to appear Champions for Religion are afflicted with an evil shame and easily discourag'd when alone But a competent number when join'd in a Society advise support and excite one another The Prudent Calmness of some restrains the Irregular Warmth of others whose Vigorous Zeal on the other hand like Fire communicates Heat and Life and Spirit to the Negligent and Indifferent gives flame to their Affections and enlivens their Souls Again 't is reasonable to believe that what the United Councils of many resolve upon and what is Prosecuted by their joint Endeavours will be more wisely undertaken and more successfully accomplish'd than if there were no such Union either in Council or in Action So that a great many good Men who wou'd otherwise be of little use to Religion do very much advance and promote it by thus joining together their Hearts and Hands for that purpose as those many little Stars which make up what we call the Milky way in the Heavens wou'd if separated wholly disappear but by their Conjunction afford a very useful Light to the World We are all sufficiently convinc'd of the necessity of Societies in many other cases for carrying on any design of Importance If a Prince is become too Potent for one Neighbour whom he is likely to Devour then many become Confederates to humble him Is any great Trade to be undertaken which is too difficult and expensive for any Private Fortune and Contrivance Then is it usually accomplish'd by a Society or Company Our Common Safety shews us the necessity of Parliaments which are but great Societies for Reforming the Common Wealth by redressing Grievances and making Useful Laws And is Religion the only that either does not need or does not deserve a Society to promote and secure it Is not suppressing Publick Impiety Lewdness and Prophaness bringing those who are openly Wicked and Proud of being so esteem'd to Punishment and removing from others the Pestilence of Evil Examples are not all these Matters of great Weight and Moment and which deserve the most serious Thoughts of the Prudent as well as the Religious And if these things can be better effected by Societies than any other way does not that fully evince the Usefulness or rather great Necessity of them If Reformation of Manners can be accomplish'd more successfully by other Methods than these of Societies it wou'd do great service to Religion to discover them to the World but since that has not yet been done 't is very reasonable that Persons of Piety and Zeal shou'd go on in the way they know till they be made acquainted with a better I own did every Man among us Conscientiously discharge his Duty in his Station and according to his Capacity were there no Negligent Ministers nor any Unfaithful Magistrates and did every other Person in his Private Capacity do what in strictness he ought to do then the whole Church wou'd be one great Religious Society and that wou'd supersede the necessity of any other But seeing that never was in any Age of the Church not in the most Primitive and Purest times Seeing that Ecclesiastical Discipline is fallen so very low that Church Censures are lost upon the greater part of Mankind And seeing we have no prospect of any publick alteration for the better but have cause to fear that every thing will become worse unless the impending Mischief be in time
to be Reprov'd by him and who wou'd answer all his Grave Advices with Scorn and Rage But then that Man ought if he has any Zeal for the Honour of GOD to Inform the Magistrates of what he has Seen and Heard and shew his own Zeal by giving them an opportunity of exercising theirs He ought without any by-regards to Interest or Friendship to acquaint those who bear the Sword with the Crimes that have been committed before him that the Guilty may feel how they bear it not in vain This is what many among us have of late done with very great success and therefore what I cannot but recommend to all as the most effectual means of entirely rooting out all gross Immoralities and publick Vices especially those more heinous ones I have so often nam'd And since it has pleased GOD to give us some good Magistrates who want neither Zeal nor Courage to put the Laws in Execution what remains to accomplish a through Reformation of Manners but that we contribute our Endeavours to it by giving constant and Impartial Informations against Offenders It is true an Informer has been generally esteem'd a Name of Imfamy and Reproach and in many cases not without reason It is an Employment has been sometimes taken up by Men of Blasted Reputations upon the basest motives and manag'd in the most disingenuous manner When we saw a Man accuse others of a Crime whereof he was himself more Guilty and that not out of remorse of Conscience or Zeal to have Criminals Punish'd but in hopes of Favour and Money from those in Power When we saw Informing made a Trade and Men getting Bread by Perjury mixing much Falshood with a little Truth When we saw all the Laws of Hospitality and Friendship violated and things spoken with Freedom and without Design told with Aggravations to a jealous Government When I say Informing was such an Employment as this no wonder if it was Scandalous to be concern'd in it But the Informing I am recommending is of another nature it is not to catch at an unwary expression which Malice may wrest to an ill meaning or when spoken under the Seal of Friendship But it is acquainting our Governours and Magistrates with those Blasphemies and Oaths which are often vented in Publick and those other Instances of Lewdness and Immorality which are overt-acts of Treason and Rebellion against GOD. In such cases it is our Duty and we shou'd reckon it our Glory to be Informers since GOD himself at the Last Day will encrease our Honour for being thus Instrumental in Vindicating His. 'T is true the Enemies of Religion have been and still are very loud in their Clamours against this Practice and do with great Industry throw an Odium on those who make Conscience of Informing against them But they have especially rais'd a mighty cry of Injustice against that manner of Informing which is found necessary to restrain Prophane Cursing and Swearing that is when the Guilty Person knows not his Accuser I shall therefore at present endeavour to Vindicate both these and shew that to Inform against Vice is every Mans Duty and that Private Informations are not only Just and Reasonable but of absolute Necessity And this I hope will be judg'd no digression since it tends to confirm us in one of the most useful and necessary Expressions of our Zeal I begin with the First of these which is to shew that we are strictly oblig'd in point of Duty to Inform against Prophaness and Vice This will appear if we consider First The Commands and Examples which in Holy Scripture require it Secondly If we consider the reasonableness and necessity of the thing First Let us consider the Commands and Examples which in Holy Scripture require it And can any Command be more positive express and clear that what we find in the 13 th of Deut. from the 6 th to the 12 th verse If thy Brother the Son of thy Mother or thy Son or thy Daughter or the Wife of thy Bosom or thy Friend which is even as thy own Soul entice thee secretly saying let us go and serve others gods which thou hast not known thou nor thy Father Thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him neither shall thine Eye pity him neither shalt thou spare him neither shalt thou conceal him But thou shalt surely kill him thine Hand shall be first upon him to put him to Death and afterwards the Hands of all the People And all Israel shall hear and fear and shall do no more any such Wickedness as this is among you From which words it is plain that to Inform against dangerous Infectious Sins such as have a tendency to destroy Religion and the Worship of GOD is so in dispensable a Duty that no consideration of Blood or Friendship can excuse us from it Our Duty to GOD Cancells all Obligations to Men and nothing must be allow'd any compitition in his Love Those who lye nearest our Hearts our Brothers and Wives and Children and our best Friends must be torn thence when GOD and our Duty call when His Service requires it who is our most Indulgent Father our Truest Friend and our most Generous Benefactor But Idolatry was not the only Sin the Israelites thought themselves oblig'd to suppress by Informing against it Cursing and Blasphemy were to undergo the same just severity As appears from the instance of the Israelitish Womans Son Lev. 24.11 12 14. Who Blasphemed GOD and Cursed Those who heard him were not troubl'd with that nice Honour some now a days pretend to and thought it no reflection upon them to acquaint Moses and Aaron with his Crime tho nothing less than his Death was the consequence of their Information The Witnesses were Commanded to lay their Hands upon his Head and all the Congregation to Stone him with Stones till he Dy'd And yet tho the Forfeiture of a small Sum of Money be all the Penalty inflicted among us for the Prophanest Oaths and Curses how few are there who have Zeal and Courage to exact even that who do not let that Sin be often committed in their presence and yet are afraid or asham'd so much as to reprove it Nor was the Sabbath-Breaker treated more gently than the Blasphemer by the People of Israel They who found the Man gathering Sticks upon the Sabbath-Day immediately brought him to Moses and Aaron and all the Congregation and he was Stoned with Stones till he Dy'd Numb 15.32 Had these Men liv'd among us how wou'd they have been Hated and Derided as Officious Informers who meddl'd in things that did not at all belong to them But they were convinc'd that no Man ought to stand Neuter when the Laws of GOD are publickly Violated and that the cause of Religion every own shou'd esteem his own and espouse and promote it with the same Warmth and Resentment But that it is our Duty to Inform against Prophaness and Vice will farther appear if we
do generally improve and nourish Virtue and will it not be base and dishonourable shou'd we hereafter fall short of what is publish'd to the World concerning us Are our Magistrates and Clergy Commended for discharging their Duty with so much Zeal And shou'd not those among us Blush who are conscious to themselves that they are Intitled to none of these Praises Let us then resolve not to lose the Reputation we have already gain'd least it be hereafter as publickly declar'd of us that for a while indeed we seem'd warm and in earnest against Vice but that our First Fervours are gone and we are unhappily reconcil'd to our Old Sins and are lyable to the Character of the Foolish Builders who began a good Work indeed but cou'd not bring it to an end 'T is true we ought no more to do a Good Action to be Prais'd of Men than we shou'd do an Evil one to avoid their Censures And I trust in GOD that your Zeal will never be Infected with the least mixture of Vain Glory Yet just Praises are the Rewards of Virtue and shou'd be so esteem'd And it is our Duty not only to be sincerely Religious but open Advocates for Piety to stir up others by our Zeal and so to let our Light shine before Men that they may see our good Works and Glorifie our Father which is in Heaven I might mention as another Motive to excite and confirm your Zeal against Prophaness and Vice the necessity of it to avert the just Wrath and heavy Judgments of GOD and the reason we have to expect and dread them if Iniquity still prevail And that we can hope to escape them on no other Terms than our Endeavouring with great Industry and Sincerity to suppress all kinds of Wickedness The truth of this might be easily demonstrated from the Word of GOD and from the End and Reason of this Judgments this is most apparent from his Method of dealing with other Nations of this we may be convinc'd from his dealings with our selves But this has been so fully insisted on and largely prov'd by others that I shall do no more than name it And pass on to a Fifth Motive to excite and confirm our Zeal for Reformation of Manners and against all Prophane and Immoral Practices namely that we have reason to hope that it may prove hereafter an excellent means of Uniting the Establish'd Church and the Dissenters and of Propagating the Reform'd Religion among those who are Strangers to it and prejudic'd against it It will not be here needful to inquire into the Immediate Causes of our unhappy Divisions nor shall I take up your time in Lamenting the Miseries which have been and still are the consequences of them It concerns us much more to learn how our Breaches may be Heal'd and those Wounds Cur'd which have often reduc'd our Religion to a very Languishing Condition And they who have most seriously considered this matter have with great reason observ'd that nothing will more allay our Heats and Animosities nothing lay a better Foundation for a firm and lasting Union among Protestants than our becoming Zealous and Active against Vice and Prophaness For First our jointly endeavouring to beat down Publick Wickedness must needs Unite the Affections of all those who are concern'd in that Excellent Undertaking We cannot but Love and Value all who have an Active Zeal for GOD and Religion tho in some things their Judgments may be different from ours There are Charms in Piety which none can resist and if we Love GOD our selves we must Love those also who serve him in Humility and Sincerity of Heart tho we may judge them mistaken in things of lesser Moment But now Unity of Affection is a necessary Preparative for Unity of Judgment and true Holy Zeal Unites the Minds as well as Hearts of all those in whom it dwells And if we go on to assist one another in Suppressing Lewdness Immorality and Prophaness we will soon be convinc'd that differences of Opinion about the circumstances of Religion when we agree in all the Essentials of it shou'd never make us Hate and Calumniate one another But that whatever our Sentiments as to some particulars may be we are Brethren and Fellow Christians Servants of the same Lord Partakers of the same Blessed Hope and Heirs of the same Eternal Kingdom That tho we differ in a little in the Roads we take yet we both direct our Course towards the same Heaven whither they who are truly Pious Humble and Sincere of both Parties may hope to arrive at last and where without Controversie or Dispute they shall for ever dwell together in the profoundest Peace and most charitable Agreement But as our being truly Zealous against Prophaness and Vice has a natural tendency to Unite our Affections so in the Second place it will convince us of the necessity of Uniting together in Worship and Sacraments and every other way For the more Zealous we are against Vice the more clearly will we see the great Mischiefs which are caus'd by our Divisions the more fully will we be convinc'd that they are the great Hindrances of a General Reformation of Manners that the most prevailing Vices and Impieties are owing to them and that till they be remov'd Reformation may be wish'd for but can never be happily Effected For this is the great Popular Objection against our Religion insisted on so much by the Enemies of Piety that there are so many Parties among us that they know not whom to close with and therefore will treat them all with equal Neglect and Scorn This is what some pretend to justifie their Impiety and is the real cause why others are Prophane and cannot be but a Stumbling Block to many weak Minds Besides Dissentions in Religion destroy Ecclesiastical Discipline and deprive Church Censures of their Force They enfeeble the Civil Power and compell Magistrates to Wink at great Irregularities They distract Private Families and separate the nearest Relations Where they prevail the State is seldom free from Tumultuous Disorders not the Church from numerous Heresies and Schisms without end And in short they naturally lead to the Subversion of all sober Religion all Peace and Order Nay our Divisions not only cause most of our Distempers but hinder our Cure they weaken the Hands and obstruct the Endeavours of those who are Zealous for Suppressing Publick Vices For he must be a Stranger to Humane Nature who does not know that so long as there are separate Parties there will be separate Interests and that many will Prosecute their particular Designs to the prejudice of the common cause of Religion One Party will be sometimes for Acting alone and that will raise Jealousies in the other at least there 's cause to fear that they will not always Act with that Confidence in each other upon which in a great measure their Success depends These things I confess ought not to be so and all that can be said