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A37279 A sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor and aldermen at Guild-Hall chappel on Sunday the 11th of April being the anniversary of His Majesties coronation microform / by Sir William Dawes, Baronet ... Dawes, William, Sir, 1671-1724. 1697 (1697) Wing D457; ESTC R17840 12,505 40

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are idle and Work not at all 1 Tim. 5.13 Rom 12.11 1 Thes 4.11 exhorts us not to be slothful in business and expresly commands every Man to study to do his own business and to work with his own hands If then Prov. 14.23.21.6.10.4 in all labour there is profit if the thoughts of the diligent tend onely to plenty and the hand of the diligent maketh rich How mightily will Riches and Plenty there abound where every particular Member of the Community shall make his own labour and diligence a sure Fund for Publick Wealth and Plenty Secondly By promoting frugality and good husbandry I do not mean stinginess or covetousness for these Religion abhorreth but onely a prudent care not to squander away our Wealth in Vice and Luxury It is in vain for that Nation to hope to grow Rich which spends as fast or faster by Intemperance than she can get by Diligence and lavisheth away by Luxury with one hand more than she can fetch in by Industry with t'other But there can be no fear at all of this in a Religious Nation because the Rules of Religion are Rules of sobriety and good husbandry and as long as any Nation keeps to these it is impossible it should be extravagant Lust and Vice will indeed soon eat up the most Immense Treasures and what the Wise Man observes of single persons is every whit as true of Whole Bodies or Communities Prov. 21.17 That Nation that loveth pleasure immoderate forbidden pleasure shall be a poor Nation but it was never yet known that Sobriety Temperance and Modesty which are the peculiar ornaments of the Righteous impoverish'd or wasted the stock of any Nation but they often have nay they always must increase and double it Thirdly By making a Nation famous for those Vertues which are the foundation and encouragement of all mutual Commerce and thereby inviting Forreign Nations to Converse and Trade with it Such are Justice Honesty Simplicity and Sincerity in dealing being reasonable and easie in making Bargains and exactly just and punctual in keeping them when made such Vertues as these will soon render any Nation amiable in the sight of the World and its acquaintance and commerce very desirable and can no more fail of bringing Chapmen to its Markets than Injustice Dishonesty Trickishness and Underhand-dealing Extortion in making and unfaithfulness in keeping Bargains can fail of frighting them from them There onely will Men be fond of Trading where they can Trade with safety and security with benefit and advantage and there only can they do this Ecclus. 42● 4.5 where Religion shall warrant them exactness of balance and weights and of the Merchants indifferent impartial fair selling as the Son of Syrach expresseth it If then Religion instructs men not onely by their Diligence to bring in Riches to the Common-wealth in which they live but likewise by their prudence and frugality to improve the stock lay'd in by Diligence If it will make a nation so famous that the merchants of the country round about her 1 Ma●● ● ●1 hearing of her fame shall take gold and silver very much with servants and come to buy I think I need not thank any man for assenting to the truth of my Third proposition viz. that Religion conduceth very much towards the increase of Riches plenty and trade among any people And now surely I shall hardly be ask'd to make good My Fourth Proposition which is this that Religion conduceth as much towards the gaining honour and respect to any nation from all the nations round about it For this is so plain and necessary a consequence from what has been already said that I should think it a reflection upon such an auditory as this to spend any long time in a solemn proof of it For who knows not that a nation that either enjoys it self in peace at home and is famous for being useful and beneficial to all other nations or at least is victorious in all it's wars abroad that flourisheth in wealth and plenty and extends it's trade over the whole earth must needs be honourable among all people Who knows not that as love and kindness do invite so power and wealth command respect and veneration I shall therefore but just mention two other considerations proper under this head First That a Religious nation will be respected purely for it's being Religious Religion is a thing in it self so truly amiable so agreeable to the reason and nature of man and so worthy of and like to God that however some few men may make a hard shift by doing violence to their natures to contemn and neglect it yet the far greater part of mankind always have had and always will have a veneration for it Insomuch that we may safely observe as Tully did of old concerning the beleif of a Deity that there is hardly any nation so barbarous and so entirely forsaken of good manners that doth not respect and honour such as are truly Religious And therefore we find Solomon throughout his whole book of Proverbs make honour a constant attendant upon wisdom or Religion Secondly Religion is the great patroness of Arts and Sciences they always walk in her train and flourish where she flourisheth For as she preserveth men from those vices which swallow up both their time and parts and leave them neither opportunity nor capacity to improve in Art and Knowledge and by so doing keeps them always in a fit temper ready and prepar'd for study and business so doth she likewise encourage and command them to be always exercising their Talents improving their faculties and exerting all their utmost powers in making useful searches and enquiryes for the good and benefit of mankind And when men shall diligently bring all their natural faculties in their full force and vigour under the command of Religion to lay close siege to the fort of knowledg how can they possibly fail of taking it This then will be another part of a Righteous Nation 's Glory It 's Learning shall be equal to it's Piety make it admir'd and courted by all abroad and all the foreign sons of Learning that nobler and better part of the World shall rise up and pay obeysance to it Thus much will Religion consider'd in it self do towards the exalting of any Nation And here I dare appeal to the Atheists themselves how little soever they may care to say any thing in commendation of Religion whether what I have said of it be not true I am sure if they will not allow it to be so they have done very foolishly in giving Religion the name of a State-Engine of a politick device to keep people in awe and good order of an Instrument of Government and the like But to proceed Religion will still do much more towards the exalting of any Nation if we consider it Secondly As it gives a Nation a sure Title to the protection favour and blessing of God who is the
Sir WILLIAM DAWES's SERMON Preach'd before the Lord-Mayor April the 11th 1697. CLARKE Mayor Martis xiii die Aprilis 1697. Annoque R. Rs. Wilhelmi Tertii Angliae c. Nono THis Court doth desire Sir William Dawes Baronet to Print his Sermon Preach'd at the Guild-Hall Chappel on Sunday last before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of this City GOODFELLOW A SERMON Preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor AND ALDERMEN AT GUILD-HALL CHAPPEL On Sunday the 11th of April being the Anniversary of His MAJESTIES CORONATION By Sir WILLIAM DAWES Baronet D. D. and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty LONDON Printed for Thomas Speed at the Three Crowns near the Royal Exchange in Cornhill MDCLXXXXVII A SERMON PREACH'D before the LORD MAYOR Proverbs Chap. IVth Vers 34. The former part of the Verse Righteousness exalteth a Nation THE word which we here translate Righteousness and which is sometimes us'd in Scripture to signifie the particular vertues of Justice or Mercy has in many places more especially of this Book of Proverbs a more large and comprehensive signification taking in the whole of Religion or the universal practice of Piety and Vertue In this sense we find it us'd no less than three times in one Chapter Chap. 11. where it is oppos'd to wickedness transgression and a persuit of evil in general and consequently ought to be generally understood of vertue obedience and a persuit of that which is good And that this is the sense in which it must be here taken is evident from the opposition of it to sin in the Verse out of which I have chosen my Text Righteousness exalteth a Nation but sin is a reproach to any People By exalting a Nation is meant the rendering it a great and a famous a flourishing and mighty nation abounding with blessings of all sorts at home and respected and reverenc'd by all abroad Z●ph ● 2● a making it as the Prophet Zephany speaks a name and a praise among all the nations of the earth that so it may be said of it as it was of old of the Children of Israel what one nation in the earth is like this People 2 Sam. 7.23 The full sense and meaning then of my Text may be brought within the compass of this single proposition viz. that Religion or the universal practise of piety and vertue in any nation will infallibly make it a great and a happy nation For the clearing and making good of which proposition I shall endeavour to prove First That Religion doth in its own nature very much tend to promote the publick good and prosperity of any nation Secondly That it gives it a secure Title to the protection favour and blessing of God who is the supreme Lord and Governour of the World and setteth up or pulleth down nations when and as he pleaseth First That Religion doth in its own nature very much tend to promote the publick good and prosperity of any nation And here if my time would give me leave it would be very easy to show how great an influence every particular vertue has towards the happiness or well-being of any people but this being too large a subiect for the present I must content my self with a short proof of these following particulars which I hope will abundantly illustrate and confirm the truth of the proposition now in hand First That Religion conduceth very much towards the preserving any nation in peace both at home and abroad Secondly Towards the making it cautious valiant and successful in war Thirdly Towards the increase of it's Riches plenty and trade And Fourthly and Lastly Towards the gaining honour and respect to it from all the nations round about it First That Religion conduceth very much towards the preserving any nation in peace both at home and abroad And First For Domestick peace which must certainly be well secur'd where ever the Laws of Religion are well observ'd because by these the very springs and fundamental causes of all intestine quarrels and divisions in any nation will be either effectually stopp'd or totally remov'd For as St. James puts the question Chap. 4. v. 1 From whence come wars and fightings among you come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members And are not the Laws of Religion admirably well fitted for the quieting and suppressing of these Lusts Will they not effectually remove those sins which are the fruitful cause of all our Civil discords and contentions and by so doing make room for peace and quietness to come unto us and encourage and invite them to take up their abode with us But to be more particular How is it possible there should be any room for quarrels and contentions in that Nation where all Men's troublesom passions shall be carefully kept under due government and subjection where there shall be no black plots of envy nor blustering storms of rage and anger to disturb the common peace and quiet where revenge and malice pride and ambition shall have no place but an universal evenness and sweetness of temper an universal meekness and contentedness of mind shall obtain among Men where no Man shall invade another's right or property but all shall be exactly just in giving each other their dues of what nature or kind soever where Kings shall Rule their People with equity and tenderness and Subjects shall obey with Zeal and Loyalty the one enjoy his Prerogative secure and the other be undisturb'd in the possession of their Lawful Rights where the Duties of all Relations shall be nicely observ'd and every Man shall enjoy his own and not meddle with that which belongs to another In a word where Men shall heartily and sincerely love each other earnestly desire each other 's good and faithfully and industriously endeavour to promote it where they shall pity and pass by one another's Infirmities and Mistakes be cautious of doing Injuries and ready to forgive them what ground or even pretence for quarrelling can there be in such a Nation And thus it must be wheresoever true Religion bears an universal sway for this sets bounds to our Passions Col. ● 5. Rom. 12.10 Heb. 13.1 ●it 2.12 Mat. 7.12.22.21 Rom. 13.7 8.12 18. mortifyeth our inordinate lusts and affections and fills us with brotherly love and charity This it is which teacheth us to deny all worldly lusts to do to other men as we would they should do unto us to give to Caesar and every body else the things that are theirs and to endeavour if it be possible as much as lyeth in us to live peaceably with all men And then as for peace abroad Religion has already more than half obtain'd this by securing peace at home The greatest encouragement which Foreigners can possibly have to make war upon any Nation are the Civil Discords and Intestine Quarrels that devour and weaken it within They know that a Kingdom divided against it self cannot stand and that they shall obtain an easie victory