themselves upon every little Affront should oppose their Lives to Utmost Peril and not find in their Heart so much as to Rebuke the Indignities daily put upon Heaven is an Ill Proof of Zeal and Religion But as Insensible as such are of their Duty God is not wanting to his own Glory he has forbidden these thihgs let Men disobey at their Peril Ye shall not Swear by my Name falsly saith God neither shalt thou Prophane the Name of thy God I am the LORD Hear O ye Swearers the Judgment of God has denounc'd against you Every One that Sweareth shall be Cut off how Cut off FROM GOD Again The Land is full of Adulteries and because of Swearing the Land Mourneth Behold the Whirl-wind of the Lord shall heavily fall upon the Head of the Wicked To this I shall add a Brief Reflection upon that Pernicious Sin of PROPHANENESS so near a kin to Oaths and Blasphemy Such is the Degeneracy of the Age we are fallen into that Prophaneness does not only go Unpunisht but boldly lays Claim to Wit and fills the Conversation of too many of those that think themselves rais'd above the Genius of the Vulgar He is reputed Formal that will not be Rude to Sacred Things and a Man Insipid of no Sence or Salt who cannot Jeer Devotion And which is strange they make the Bible a sort of Common Place but 't is for Mockery not for Piety The Phrases they use are pick't to Abuse that Holy Book and that Prophaneness is placed to the Account of Wit But truly if Men must Rallie Religion at the Peril of passing else for Fools and Abuse Scripture to purge themselves from the suspition of Reverencing it there is here an Unhappiness in being Conscientious and on the side of this World the Temptation to be Prophane is stronger than the Encouragement to be Virtuous For this is my Soul grieved that Men should use their Wit to Abuse him that gave it them and that though there is more to be said for Religion than there can be said against it both with Respect to its Reasonableness and Usefulness and that the Hazard of being Irreligious is incomparably greater on the part of these Atheistical Scoffers than of Men professing to fear God and believe another World they would yet be so Constant and Obstinate in their loose and lewd Conversation But if the Prophaning of the least thing that was Dedicated to the Worship of God in the Times of the Law was so Hainous a Sin what should we say when men â—tick not to Prophane the Name of God himself and scoff at his Revealed Will so much Greater than either Temple or Altar or any of those Rites belonging unto them And to you all that live in the Practice of these Crying Sins I have at this time insisted upon this I say unto you in the Fear of God REPENT OF THE EVIL OF YOUR DOINGS Bring not down the Judgments of God upon this Land they may be the Affliction of many but they will be your Punishment ye shall pay the Reckoning of their Sufferings in the other World and God will charge you with the Calamity that they shall Endure Remember before it is too late Dreadful Things are denounced against the Wicked Therefore go not on to Gratifie your Hearts Lusts and to forget the Living God for this shall be the End of such Works that God will certainly bring you to Judgment And who may Abide the Day of that Coming and who shall stand when he appears No Flesh can stand in his Presence Consider the Awakening Saying of the Apostle That the Righteous scarcely are saved and if so Where shall the Ungodly where shall the Wretched Sinner appear How shall such be able to hold up their Heads in the Day of his Wrath in the Hour of his Judgment at that Great Time of Reckoning when a Final Account shall be past when all must render an Account of the Deeds they have done and receive the Reward due unto them Therefore while it is to day harden not your Hearts against God and his Law flatter not your selves To be Christians ye must be like Christ and if ye will be Sav'd from Wrath ye must be Redeem'd from Sin Encrease not therefore Guilt upon your Consciences by Rebelling against the Light that shines in them but lay your Impieties to Heart mourn with true Contrition of Soul and yet love Righteousness and hate Iniquity and ye will prevent the Civil Magistrate and probably avert the Indignation of God that hangs over the Nation Having thus ended my Reflections upon the Five great Crying Sins of the Kingdom and my Reproof of the Actors and Promoters of them give me leave to make my Humble and Christian Address to you that are in Authority And in the First place I beseech you to remember that though ye are as Gods on Earth yet ye shall Dye like Men that ye are Encompass'd with like Passions and are subject to Sin Such therefore of you as may be concern'd in any of these Enormities to what-ever Degree of Guilt it be I beg you in the Name of God to search your selves and to be Just to your own Souls O! let the Mercies and Providences of God constrain you to Unfeigned Repentance Turn to the Lord Love Righteousness Hate Oppression and he will turn to you and love you and bless you In the Next place be pleased to consider your Commission and examine the Extent of your Authority ye will find that God and the Government hath impower'd you to punish these Impieties and it is so far from being a Crime that it is your Duty This is not troubling Men for Faith nor perplexing People for Tenderness of Conscience for there can be no Pretence of Conscience to be Drunk to Whore to be Voluptuous to Game to Swear Curse Blaspheme and Prophane no such Matter these are Sins against Nature and against Government as well as against the Written Laws of God They lay the Ax to the Root of Humane Society and are the Common Enemies of Mankind 't was to prevent these Enormities that Government was instituted and shall Government Indulge that which it is Instituted to Destroy this were to render Magistracy Useless and the Bearing of the Sword Vain there would be then no such thing in Government as A Terror to Evil-Doers but every one would do that which he thought Right in his own Eyes God Almighty defend us from this Anarchy There are Three Great Reasons which inforce my Supplication The First is The Preservation of the Government which by such Improvidence and Debauchery is like to be greatly Weakened if not Destroyed The Industry Wealth Health and Authority of the Nation are Deeply concern'd in the Speedy and Exemplary Punishment of these Extravagancies This is the Voice of Interest for the Common Good of the Whole Society Rulers and Ruled But there is an Higher Voice unto which Christian Men ought to have Regard
not my Soul be Avenged on such a Nation as this Truly 't is our very Case the same Impieties are daily found amongst us Certainly God is offended his Spirit grieved and Heaven is set against us For the Lord's sake Do your Duty in this present Conjuncture and mistake not your Measures Let every thing have its Due Weight and Place with you that is the Way to Succeed Ye are now Warmly concern'd in the Discovery and Prosecution of a Jesuitical Plot a Design it seems to Destroy the King and blow up your Religion and Wrest the Government out of your Hands in this doubtless ye do well and all Just Care to preserve the Peace of the Kingdom from such Mischievous Conspiracies is Most Commendable in you and deserves and draws all Due Acknowledgments from Honest and English Minds But I beseech you Let God have a share in your Concern Remember him as well as Your selves Ye confess this Great Discovery is only owing to his Goodness shall we be then more Zealous for our own Safety than for his Glory who when all is done must Save us or we are Lost Let us make him our Friend who is stronger than the Combinations of all our Enemies and guard our selves against that which can only bring their EVIL DEVICES to pass OUR SIN for that is their Strength and the Poyson of their Arrows let us Confess and Forsake it let us Humble our selves under the Mighty Hand of God that it may not Grind us to Powder And truly if our hearts were not harder than Adamants this Testimony he has given us of his Care over us notwithstanding all our repeated Provocations given him should break us into deep Contrition O! let his Long-suffering prevail upon us to Unfeigned Repentance then shall we stand Clear Men before God and if so he will quickly make our Enemies to fly before us If there be any Truth in Sacred Story any Credit to be given to Christian Religion or the Experience of Ages this that I say of God and Government is True it is our Duty yea our Interest the truest and easiest Way to Safety for God has decreed The Nation and Kingdom that will not serve him shall perish yea those Nations shall be utterly wasted Isa 60. 12. But Great is their Peace that Love this Law It shall go well with the Righteous but it shall go Ill with the Wicked upon them God hath threatned to Rain Snares Difficulties Perplexities they shall not know which way to turn I am not against the Use of Means Men have not Wisdom and Power for nothing but then let them use them in the Fear and Name of God Cursed is he that putteth his Strength in Man and his Confidence in the Arm of Flesh And in another place Wo to them that go down to Egypt for Help and stay on Horses and trust in Chariots because they are many and in Horsmen because they are very strong but they look not to the Holy One of Israel neither seek the Lord. 'T was his Reproof to the Nation that professed him That they should seek to the Stratagems and rely upon the Strength of Heathen Nations rather than upon Faith in him the Living God and the Reason he gives in the third verse is great viz. The Egyptians are Men and not God and their Horses Flesh and not Spirit when the Lord shall stretch out his Hand both he that helpeth shall fall and he that is holpen shall fall down and they all shall fail together If then the Hand of God be so much stronger than Man for the Lord's sake let us lay hold of it let that fight our Battels and decide the Controversie He that trusteth to the Lord shall never be confounded It was the saying of a Great King and a Great Conqueror By thee I have leaped over a Wall by thee I have run through a Troop c. who preserved the Israelites from Pharaoh's Fury threw down the Walls of Jericho when the Priests blew or sounded the Rams-horns with more of the like kind And we must not think that God is alter'd that Faith is weaken'd that no Wonders are reserved for the Latter and Christian Ages The Truth is that Faith generally speaking is lost and that holy Confidence now a days is esteem'd Presumption 't is become a Principle that such things are not to be expected so that we shut up or bar from our selves the True and most-Powerful Way of Deliverance Let us not betake our selves to the Common Arts and Stratagems of Nations Incredulous of the Strength of the God of Israel who is the God of True Christians too O! that our Faith may be greater than our Arms no matter for the Strength of our Enemies if God be our Strength and truly 't is vain to acknowledge a Providence in Humane Things and not to confide in him and rely upon him that provides for us I was Young said David and now I am Old but I never saw the Righteous forsaken nor his Seed begging Bread It shall go well with the Righteous Therefore fear God put away the Evil that provokes him and trust not in Man but in the Living God and it shall yet go well with England What Noble Feats did the Ancients do by FAITH and shall Christians have less than Jews had Is not God the same yes he is Un-Changeable but Alas we are not the same that 's our Mischief Christ did not many Mighty Works in some places because they believed not in him if our Confidence be not in God our Hopes will prove Vain and our Success will fail us We shall but have MEN of our side not God Flesh and not Spirit and if we should be so Unhappy as to make this our Strength both the Helpers Helped will fall together But let Nineve teach us better things and may her Zealous King be the Example of ours and let all the people say Amen! The Sutableness of which Story to our present Occasion makes me chuse to End this First Part of my Address with it For Word came unto the King of Nineveh Yet Forty Dayes and Nineve shall be Overthrown And he Arose from his Throne and he laid his Robe from him and covered him with Sack-cloth and sate in Ashes And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineve by the Decree of the King and his Nobles saying Let neither Man nor Beast Herd nor Flock taste any thing let them not feed nor drink Water But let Man and Beast be covered with Sack-cloth and cry mightily unto God yea LET THEM TURN EVERY ONE FROM HIS EVIL WAY and from the Violence that is in their Hands Who can tell if God-will turn and repent and turn away from his Fierce Anger that we perish not And God saw their Works that they turn'd from their Evil Way and God repented from the Evil that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not O God thou that
is like God the Father that is in Heaven who is Love 9. Christ teaches us to avoid Ostentation in our Charity Take heed that ye do not your Alms before Men to be seen of them 10. He teaches us the Duty of Prayer where and what not in the Corners of the Streets nor in the Synagogues to be seen of Men but in the Closet in the secret of the Heart betwixt God and the Soul 11. He forbids Hoarding and Laying up of Money in Bank presses Treasuring up of Wealth in Heaven and the Reason is this that the one is Corruptible and the other is Incorruptible 12. He teaches Dependence upon the Providence of God calling the Dis-trustful O ye of little Faith Which of you says he by taking Thought can add one Cubit to his Stature therefore take no Thought saying What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be clothed for after all these things the Gentiles seek for your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you 13. He sets up a Discrimination or Distinction between false and true Prophets those that are his Disciples from Counterfeits Ye shall know them said Christ by their Fruits Do men gather Grapes of Thorns or Figgs of Thistles even so every good Tree bringeth forth Good Fruit but a Corrupt Tree bringeth forth Evil Fruit. A Good Tree cannot bring forth Evil Fruit neither can a Corrupt Tree bring forth good Fruit Wherefore by their Fruits ye shall know them This was the Distinction given by Christ to his Followers the Tree was not accounted Good or Bad by the Leaves but the Fruits not by the Opinions but the Holy living The Faith in that Day was an Entire Resignation and Dependence upon God and not a Subscription to Verbal Propositions and Articles though never so True that was the Work of After-times more Corrupt and Superstitious Ages But 14. Lastly Christ preaches the General Judgment Many will say to me in that Day what Day the Day of Account and Final Reckoning with Mankind Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and done many wonderful works And then said Christ will I profess unto them I never knew you Depart from me ye that work Iniquity Not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven Therefore whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him unto a Wise Man which built his House upon a Rock and the Rain descended and the Floods came and the Winds blew and beat upon that House and it fell not for it was builded upon a Rock And every one that beareth these Sayings of Mine and doth them not shall be likened unto a Foolish Man which built his House upon the Sand and the Rain descended and the Floods came and the Winds blew and beat upon that House and it fell and great was the Fall of it And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these Sayings the People were astonished at his Doctrine for he taught them as one having Authority and not as the Scribes By all which it is most plain that as Christ is the Rock on which true Christians build so none can be said truly to build upon this Rock but those that keep his Sayings that do his Commandments that obey his Doctrine Wherefore that Faith of JESUS to be the SON and CHRIST of GOD must be such a Faith as does the Will of the Heavenly Father and keepeth THESE SAYINGS of Christ There are Two places in which Christ seems to sum up his blessed Doctrine One is this Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets Which Christ came not to destroy but to fulfill But the other Passage seems to be more full the first relating only to our Dealings with Men this Second Passage comprehends our Duty both to God and Men viz. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind this is the first and great Commandment and the second is like unto it Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self In these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets This is the Perfection of the Christian Religion the Great Commandment of Christ the Certain Token of Discipleship A new Commandment said Christ I give unto you that ye Love one another as I have loved you that ye also love one another by this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye have love one to another Again Christ speaks to his Disciples If ye keep my Commandments ye shall abide in my Love even as I have kept my Father's Commandments and abide in his Love and this is my Commandment that ye Love one another as I have loved you Yet once more Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you and these things I command you that you Love one another He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him but he that loveth me not keepeth not my Sayings So that only those are Friends and Disciples of Christ Jesus that do his Sayings and keep his Commandments and the Great Commandment of all is LOVE for upon this One Commandment all the rest depend For he that loves God above all will leave all for God not one of his Commandments shall be slighted and he that loves his Neighbour will much more love the Houshold of Faith Well may such be True Christians when their Faith in Christ works by LOVE by the Power of this Divine Love he that dwells in this Love dwell in God if John say true for he is Love And in this he recommended his Love unto us that he sent his only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have Everlasting Life Also herein did Christ manifest his Love in laying down his Life for us This is my Commandment said Christ that ye Love one another as I have loved you and Greater love hath no Man than this that a Man lays down his Life for his Friends ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you Indeed he gave his Life for the World and offered up One Common Sacrifice for Mankind and by this One Offering up of himself once for all he hath forever perfected that is quitted and discharged and taken into Favour them that are sanctified who have received the Spirit of Grace and Sanctification in their Hearts for such as resist it receive not the Benefit
Knâ—wing this that our Old Man is crucified with him that the Body of Sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve Sin Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be Dead indeed unto Sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. As if he had said The End of Christs Coming is to turn People from their Sins and that those who persist in their Disobedience resist the Benefits that come by him Let not Sin therefore reign in your mortal Body that ye should obey it in the Lusts thereof Neither yield ye your Members as Instruments of Unrighteousness unto Sin but yield your selves unto God as those that are Alive from the Dead and your Members as Instruments of Righteousness unto God Know ye not that to whom ye yield your selves Servants to obey his Servants ye are to whom ye obey whether of Sin unto Death or of Obedience unto Righteousness For when ye were the Servants of Sin ye were free from Righteousness What Fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed for the End of those things is Death But now being made Free from Sin and become Servants to God ye have your FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS and the End Everlasting Life For the Wages of Sin is Death but the Gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. To Conclude nothing can be more apparent then that Freedom from Actual Sinning and giving Newness of Life to the Souls of Men was the great Reason of Christs Coming and the End for which he hath given us out of his fulness of Grace and Truth and Grace for Grace and that to be under Grace and not under the Law is not to have Liberty to do that now which ought not to have been done before as the Ranters interpret it but to be Freed from the Condemnation of the Law First through Remission of the Sins that are past upon Faith and Repentance and next by Fulfilling the Righteousness of the Law in receiving and obeying the Light and Grace that comes by Jesus Christ Very pertinent is that Passage of the Apostle Paul to Titus to our present purpose for it seems to comprehend the End of Christ's Coming the Faith and Duty of his people which our Great Selden after all his Painful Readings and Curious Inquisitions said but a little before his Death was the Most-Weighty Passage of the whole Bible to him as the Bible was the best of Books in the World viz For the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men teaching us that denying Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World looâ—ing for that Blessed Hope and the Glorious Appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from ALL INIQUITY and purify unto himself a peculiar people Zealous of Good Works In which Comprehensive Passage we find the End of Christ's Coming to be Our Redemption from all Iniquiquity both to blot out our Sins that are past to purify our Hearts from the Sin that remains We have the means that works and brings this Salvation into our Souls which is the Grace and the Way by which this Grace doth accomplish it is by Teaching us to deny Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Which has this great Encouragement joyned to it that those who so live have only right to look for that blessed Hope and the glorious Appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ I will add the Testimony of his Beloved Disciple John who has defined to us the End of Christ's Coming thus Whosoever committeth Sin Transgresseth also the Law and ye Know that he was manifested to take away our Sins And to shew that this is understood not only of the Guilt of Sins past but of the Nature and present Power of Sin in Man observe what follows Whosoever abideth in him Christ SINNETH NOT. As if this Apostle had foreseen the present Mischief Christianity labours under both on the side of Evil Men and but too many Mistaken Professors he adds Little Children let no Man deceive you he that doth Righteousness is Righteous even as he is Righteous he that committeth Sin is of the Devil for the Devil sinned from the Beginning Now comes his most express Passage to the Matter in hand For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might DESTROY the Works of the Devil Which is more than the Remission of Sins that are past here is the DESTRUCTION of the Power and Kingdom of Satan They that know not this know not Christ for as we so our Lord is known by his Fruits by the Works which he works in us therefore it is said that His own Works praise him He therefore that lives in Sin denyes Christ by denying the End of his Coming The Fool did not say with his Mouth but in his Heart There is no God yet but too many now adays plead with their Tongues and Pens for Sin Term of Life by endeavouring to shew the Impossibility of overcoming Sin But what saith this Apostle further of the Business Whosoever is born of God doth not commit Sin In this the Children of God are manifest and the Children of the Devil whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God neither he that loveth not his Brother But if you walk in the Light as God is in the Light we have fellowship one with another and the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all Sin Again He that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk even as Christ walked A little lower in the same Chapter he says I have written unto you Young Men because ye are strong and the Word of God abideth in you and ye have OVERCOME the Wicked One I will add one Scripture-Testimony more in the present Case and it is this Herein saith John is our Love made perfect that we may have Boldness in the Day of Judgment because as he is so are we in this World Behold now the true End of Christ's Coming viz. To SAVE FROM SIN and to purge us from all Iniquity that he might present us to God without Spot or Blemish Let us not then Flatter our selves for we shall be the Loosers neither let us make the Impossibility through our Infidelity which a Grain of Sincere Faith can make not only Possible but Easie What has been may be again nay in this Case must be Did the First Christians overcome the VVicked one so must the Last Christians too were those Ages led by the Holy Spirit and taught by the Grace of God to live God-like or like God in the World so must we of these Latter Ages too if we will be blessed forever that having put off the Old Man the Devil and his Works we may put on Christ the new and heavenly
Ecclesiasticks consider the Civil Magistrates share herein for though the Church-Men are principally guilty that being profest Ministers of a Religion which renounces and condemns Force they incite the Magistrate to use it both to impose their own Belief and suppress that of other mens yet the Civil Magistrate in running upon their Errands and turning Eexecutioner to their Cruelty upon such as dissent from them involves himself in their Guilt That in this Protestant Country Laws have been made to prosecute men for their Difference and Dissent from the National Worship and that those Laws have been executed I presume will not be denyed for not only our own Histories since the Reformation will furnish us with Instances but our own Age abounds with Proofs Thousands have been Excommunicated and Imprisoned whole Familes Undone not a Bed left in the House not a Cow in the Field nor any Corn in the Barn Widows and Orphants Uncommiserated no regard had to Age or Sex and what for only because of their Meeting to Worship God after another yet not a less Peaceable Manner then according to the Way of the Church of England Nor have they only suffered this by Laws intended against them but after an excessive rate by Laws known to have been never design'd against them and only intended against the Papists and in these Cases four times the Vallue has not served their turn we can prove 60 l. taken for 13 l. and not one Penny returned as we made appear before a Committee of the late Parliament which is the Penalty of four Offences for one to say nothing of the gross Abuses that have been committed against our Names and Persons by men of ill Fame and Life that have taken the Advantage of our Tenderness and the present Posture of the Law against us to have their Revengeful and Covetous Ends upon us And though yet unredrest not a Session of Parliament has past these Seventeen Years in which we have not humbly remonstrated our suffering condition we have done our Part which has been patiently to Suffer and modestly to Complain 't is yours now to hear our Groans and if ever you expect Mercy from God deliver us The late Parliament just before its Dissolution was preparing some Relief for us if that Parliament could think of it yea begin it we hope you will finish and secure it To remove all Scruples or Objections that Politically or Ecclesiastically on the part of the State or the Church may be advanced against us in this request I shall divide this Discourse into these two Parts First Caesar's Authority next the Church's Authority about Force in things that relate to Faith and Conscience with my Reasons briefly to both Our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did long since distinguish the Things of Caesar from the Things of God in his plain and notable Answer unto that ensnaring Question of the Jews about paying Tribute to Caesar Render saith he unto Caeâ—ar the things that are Caesar's and to God the Things that are God's that is Divine Worship and all things relating to it belong unto God Civil Obedience to Caesar God can only be the Author of right Acts of Worship in the Mind this is granted by all therefore it is not in the Power of any Man or Men in the World to sway or compel the Mind in Matters of Worship to God Where this is attemped God's Prerogative is invaded and Caesar by which Word I understand the Civil Government hath All. For he doth not only take his own Things but the things appertaining to God also Since if God hath not Conscience he hath nothing My Kingdom says Christ is not of this World nor is the Magistrate's of the other World Therefore he exceeds his Province and Commission when ever he meddles with the Rites of it Let Christ have his Kingdom he is sufficient for it and let Caesar have his 't is his Due Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's Then there are things that belong not to Caesar and we are not to give those to him such are Gods things divine things but those that belong to Caesar and his Earthly Kingdom must be of Duty rendred to him If any should ask me What are the Things properly belonging to Caesar I answer in Scripture Language To love Justice do Judgment relieve the Oppressed right the Fatherless be a Terror unto Evil-doers and a Praise to them that do well for this is the great End of Magistracy But perhaps my Answer shall be reckoned too general and ambiguous and a fresh Question started Who are the Evil-doers to whom the Civil Authority ought to be terrible But this ought in my Judgment to be no Question with men that understand the Nature of Civil Authority for those are the Evil-doers that violate those Laws which are necessary to the Preservation of Civil Society as Thieves Murderers Adulterers Traytors Plotters Drunkards Cheats Vagabonds and the like mischievous and dissolute Persons Men void of Virtue Truth and Sincerity the Foundation of all good Government and only firm Bond of human Society Whoever denies me this must at the same Time say that Virtue is less necessary to Government than Opinion and that the most Vitiated Men professing but Caesar's Religion are the best Subjects to Caesar's Authority consequently that other Men living never so honestly and industriously and having else as good a Claim to Civil Protection and Preferment shall meerly for their Dissent from that Religion a Thing they can't help for Faith is the Gift of God be reputed the worst of Evil-doers which is followed with exposing their Names to Obloquie their Estates to Ruin and their Persons to Goals Exiles and Abundance of other Cruelties What is this but to confound the Things of Caesar with the Things of God Divine Worship with Civil Obedience the Church with the State and perplex human Societies with endless Debates about Religious Differences Nay is not this to erect new Measures to try the Members of Worldly Societies by and give an Accession to another Power then that which is necessary to the Constitution of Civil Government But that which ought to deter wise Rulers from assuming and exercising such an Authority is the Consideration of the pernicious Consequences of doing so For First It makes PROPERTY which is the first and most fixt Part of English Government floating and uncertain for it seems no Conformity to the Church no Property in the State and doubtless the Insecurity of Property can be no Security to the Government Pray think of that 2dly It makes me owe more to the Church then to the State for in this Case the Anchor I ride by is not my Obedience to Laws relating to the Preservation of Civil Society but Conformity to certain Things belonging to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church so that though I may be an honest industrious English man a great Lover of my Country and an