A SERMON Preached in the Cathedral Church OF BRISTOL JUNE xxi MDCLXXXV Before His GRACE HENRY DUKE of BEAVFORT His MAJESTIE's Lord Lieutenant for that City and County By RIC. THOMPSON D. D. Dean of Bristol and Chaplain in Ordinary to his late Majesty LONDON Printed for Luke Meredith at the King's Head at the West End of St Paul's Church-yard 1685. To His Grace HENRY Duke of BEAVFORT Marquess and Earl of Worcester Baron Herbert of Chepstow Ragland and Gower Lord President and Lord Lieutenant of Wales and the Marches Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Gloucester Hereford and Monmouth and of the City and County of Bristol Lord Warden of His Majesty's Forest of Dean and Constable of the Castle of St Briavells Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter Gentleman of His Majesty's Bed-Chamber and one of His Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council May it please Your GRACE I Was far from making the same Estimate of this Discourse which was put upon it by the Generality of Your Grace's Souldiers who heard it preach'd But since Your Grace hath had the Charity to think it worthy Theirs and other Peoples Reading I am resolved not to dispute Your Grace's Great Judgment and so do most readily submit it to the Press regardless of other mens Censures whilst Your Grace is pleased to look on it as a Dutiful and well-meant Performance Henceforward if any ask What is in this Discourse that should move Your Grace to Order its being thus publick I answer It was design'd to promote Loyalty the same Loyalty which now stands the Top and Comble of Your Grace's most Illustrious Titles and Characters which render'd You all along a Great Favourite of our late deceased Sovereign and makes You most Dear unto his present Majesty which prevail'd with Your Grace in the very worst of Times to assert his Majestie 's Interests in Contempt of all Your Own in defiance of the Excluding Bill and all the Trayterous Votes and Designs of the Associated Commoners who promoted it In short which brought Your Grace now down to Bristol by Your Vigilance and Resolution to secure this City for his Majestie 's Service at a Time when the Mock-King of Lyme had assured his Adherents That this City was most certainly his own But Your Grace hath so effectually suceeded in Your Vndertaking that the Daring Rebels had only so much Courage as to look upon the City at four Miles distance and wish it theirs The only Assault which they made upon Your Grace was a Volly of Lyes For having scarce laid it they raised their Siege with many bitter Cursings and Execrations of Your Wise Conduct at Midnight cowardly running away No wonder then that All honest and Loyal hearts within this City are now blessing God for Your Grace and celebrating Your deserved Praises as the only visible Means under Him that hath secur'd to them their Estates their Liberties and their very Lives As for my self the remembrance of my own Escape shall always live fresh in my mind and I shall not fail to owne it to Your Grace upon all Occasions as becometh May it please Your Grace Your Grace's most Humble and most obliged Servant Richard Thompson TITUS iii. v. 1. Put them in mind to be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates and to be ready to every Good Work THESE Words are part of those Instructions which St. Paul gave to Titus touching those Matters of Doctrine which he would have him vigorously to insist on in his Course of Preaching among the people of Crete They enjoin a peaceable and submissive behaviour in all Christians towards the Government under which they live Government being so great a Blessing to Mankind that without it the World would be no better than a savage Wilderness and an Habitation of Wolves and Tygers in humane shape rending and devouring one another Wherefore Christ when he came into the World though he resolved to set up a New Religion in it and knew that the present Powers would Oppose and Persecute the Professors of it to Death yet did he take care withal to counsel his Disciples and Followers patiently to suffer their utmost rage and cruelty rather than there should be any violent Alterations made in the Kingdoms of the Earth upon the very score of his Religion He would not have Princes turn'd out of their Temporal Jurisdictions nor the Sword wrested out of their Hands in order to the Establishment of his Own Throne neither would he that his Kingdom should go up with the Noises of Axes and Hammers If the Rulers of the World would keep up their old Religion and oppose his he would not have Fire to come down from Heaven to consume them nor Fire from Hell to blow them up but that all that were his Servants indeed should overcome with Patience and Meekness and shine in the whiteness of Innocency and not look dreadful with Garments roll'd in Blood And therefore he hath given it in charge to all the Ministers of his Gospel To put all the Professors of his Religion in mind To be subject to Principalities and Powers to obey Magistrates and to be ready to every Good Work In which words Two things are observable I. What the Duty of all Christians is who live under Government viz. To be subject c. II. What the Duty of all the Ministers of Christ's Gospel is viz. To put the people in mind to be so I shall only be able to speak to the First of these at this time viz. The Duty that God hath bound upon all Christians that live under Government viz. To be subject to those Principalities and Powers under which they live Where my work will be to shew Two things I. Wherein the Practise of this Duty doth consist 2. The Extent of it I. I shall shew wherein the Practise of this Duty of Subjection doth consist Now the Practise of this Duty of Subjection consists in Three things First In paying an Active Obedience to all our Prince's Just Commands Secondly In suffering patiently in case they should oppress and punish us for not observing even their Vnlawful Commands Thirdly In honoring the Persons of the Princes under whom we live First This Duty of Subjection it requires we should give an Active Obedience unto all our Prince's just Commands i. e. We are to own their Authority in all things that are not sinful for us to do For in such cases we may not satisfie our selves that we are ready to undergo the penalties of Laws For the Design of the Law is to have Men Obey not to have them Punished And Men ought in those cases to be subject not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake i. e. for the Lord Christ's sake by whom our Consciences are obliged It is said of Aristippus That being asked what he had benefited by Philosophy he Answered To live uprightly and justly although there were no Laws to compel or Gods to punish him And if
away our own Right yet we have no power to give away our Prince's Right Our Obedience is our Prince's Right and if he will not remit it we are bound to give it him For if in a Christian Common-wealth men should be free from Laws by pleading That they give offence then every man that had no mind to Obey would defend himself with this Plea and so it would be left in the Vp-shot to the Peoples pleasure whether they would obey or no. And consequently none or very few Laws would be observed And Secondly As our Obedience unto our Prince is not limited by a Case of Scandal so neither is it limited by a Scrupulous Conscience I mean when a man considering the Action that is commanded doubts that it is Vnlawful but he is not certain he hath some fear and distrust upon him but he is not fully perswaded he cannot shew where in Scripture it is forbidden but he only doubts Now though a man in his Private single Capacity is in such case bound to suspend Acting until his Conscience be duly inform'd because whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin i. e. whatsoever is not done in such case with a full perswasion that it is lawful is sin Yet when the Prince requires Obedience and we only doubt whether the Command be lawful we are then bound to obey the Prince because he commands and not to suspend acting because we are scrupulous For it is certain that we owe our Prince our Obedience but it is not certain that the Command is unlawful and it is our Wisdom and our Duty to adhere to the safer side For otherwise to refuse the Prince would be to run into a certain sin to avoid that which is uncertain To obey the Prince in such case is not for a man to act against his Conscience For a doubting Conscience is not properly a Conscience because it prescribes no Rules nor doth it like a Judge pass a Sentence neither can it excuse or condemn Nay Thirdly Subjection to the Prince is due neither can it be with-held from him no not by virtue of any Antecedent or Subsequent Vow Indeed it is written in the Law of Moses Numbers 30. v. 2. That if a man in a private Capacity vowed a Vow unto the Lord or swore an Oath he should not break his Word he should do according to all that proceeded out of his Mouth But if a Woman vow'd and her Father heard it and disallow'd it in the day that he heard it it is there also written That not any of her Vow was to stand The Reason is because she was under subjection And by as good Logick as any is the same may be concluded concerning the Obligation which lieth upon the people in respect of the Prince The Sovereign Prince is the Father of his people and therefore if the people should make a Vow and enter into a Solemn League and Covenant and the Prince should by a publick Declaration disallow it when he heard it such Vow of the people could have no binding power in it and there lay no Obligation upon any such Subjects from any such Vow that they should say they cannot obey in this or in that thing by reason of it For they are under Subjection This would hold if the Vow or Oath were a thing lawful in it self But much more will it hold then if the Oath is an unlawful Oath as it needs must be if people shall take an Oath and enter into a Covenant to alter the Government and depose their Governour and especially when they have before taken an Oath of Allegiance to their Governour and an Oath to maintain his Government Such an after-Oath of the Peoples is unlawful in it self and therefore not binding but they ought to obey the King for all that in what lawful Instances soever he requireth their Obedience This is the Extent of the Subject's Obedience as to the matter of it It now remains That Secondly We consider the Extent of it as to the Persons to whom it must be paid and that is General to all Principalities and Powers without any Limitation or Distinction Subjects are not only to obey them that are Religious and whom they acknowledge to be Christian but even those who are of a contrary Religion and when they persecute and oppose theirs Subjects must submit to those Princes if they be theirs For they are still the Ordinances of God whatever else they be Thus though the Principalities and Powers in St. Paul's time were Heathen and Enemies to the Faith of Christ and the Supream Power was then vested in Nero a very Cruel and a very Debauch'd Prince yet for all this the Christians were not to withdraw from him their Obedience It was not permitted to any of his Subjects to say of him that was their Prince neither is it permitted to any Subjects whatever to say of their Prince That he is an Ill man and a Tyrant and an Enemy to Godliness and a Hater of Christ and Religion and that therefore it being the Cause of Christ they are bound to stand up and shake off the Yoke and come forth for the help of the Lord against the Mighty i. e. to pull down Kings and Kingdoms For Christ hath commanded all Subjects to submit themselves and render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's yea although Caesar should take no care to render unto God the things that are God's Nay Christ himself when upon an Occasion the People would have taken him by Force and made him a King refused it and chose to pay Tribute to Caesar yea though Caesar held his power from and under him And at another time he declared That his Kingdom was not of this World least his Souldiers should fight for him From whence also it may be concluded That since Christ's is a Kingdom of another Nature his Souldiers are not to fight against their Temporal Governour even in Defence of Christ himself Since the Expulsion of the Canaanites by Joshua there is no such thing in Nature as an Holy War though it be against Infidels to advantage Christ's Religion and destroy theirs and therefore when the Popes of old excited Christian Princes to the Expedition against the Turks for propagating the Gospel and when in the late great Rebellion amongst us the Presbyterians conspired against their Sovereign King Charles the First under pretence of setting Jesus Christ up upon his Throne they both of them prosper'd accordingly God as he hath not allow'd any such Wars in his Word so he blasted those by his Providence and that he will still blast all such Designs unto the end of the World I make not the least Question when I consider in the next place Thirdly How long this Law of Christian Obedience is extended in respect of Time There are some Laws in Scripture that bind only for a Time such as are the Divine positive Laws the Ceremonial of the Jews and such as the Apostles laid
on the Gentiles that were expedient for the present Juncture and Necessity as Not to eat things strangled and To abstain from blood because a charitable respect was expedient to be born to the Jews until the Temple and Mosaick Institutions should be abolished Some there also that have boldly affirmed in print of late days That the Law of submitting to Governours especially Heathen Ones obliged no longer than the present Necessity and the Churches Infancy Vid. Jonson's Julian the Apostate That it was to expire when Christians had gained a stronger power to defend themselves That men are to follow Providence as God puts them into a greater Capacity and to use their power and to understand all their former Obligations accordingly That to submit was only a provisional Precept for the present time That St. Paul laid this charge on the first Christians because they durst not by their Censures threaten and provoke the Heathen Emperours for fear of plunging the Church into a Sea of Persecution and that for this Cause alone they did not exercise this Power This is the Account also which all Rebels give of themselves and their resisting of Kings when they are charged with walking contrary to the Doctrine of St. Peter and St. Paul But now Contrarily hereto I shall shew that St. Paul c. intended this precept to hold in force for ever not only from what hath already been observed out of the Life of our Saviour but first of all and chiefly from the Reasons given by St. Paul for Subjection for those Reasons are permanent and of Eternal Verity ex gr That the Magistrate is the Minister of God That all Powers are of God That the Magistrate bears the Sword to execute Justice on those that oppose him That to resist him is to resist the Ordinance of God That we must be subject not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake These Reasons are still permanent and of Eternal Verity and therefore it may be inferr'd That because these which are the Foundation of the Command continue always therefore the Command will be always in force too and so the Precept of Submission was never intended for a mere provisional Precept Moreover if this and other like Commands of God were to be thus interpreted as mere provisional Precepts why then by parity of Reason the whole Scripture as well as the Ceremonial Law might be devoided of its Authority And as the Case may be put there may be more Reason and it would be more agreeable to the sence of the Scripture to read the Text backward viz. to put the people in mind not to be subject or to be subject only for wrath but not for Conscience sake i. e. for fear of provoking the Powers to destroy us but not out of any lasting obligation that Christ hath laid on us to Submit 2. To say that these Precepts of Submission were only provisional for the Infant-State of the Church and not lasting Laws would be to charge all the Ancient Professors of Christianity with the deepest Dissimulation and Hypocrisie It is to say their Obedience to the Principalities of their Times was but counterfeit extorted and wrung out of them by force That all the Submissive Apologies and Supplications of the Fathers the assured Testimonies of their Allegiance Humility and Patience were only certain Forms of disguised Speech proceeding not freely from the Suggestions of Fidelity but faintly and feignedly and as proceeding from some violent Convulsion of Fear Whereupon it must inevitably follow That all their Torments and Punishments even unto Death are wrongfully honour'd with the Title and unjustly crown'd with the Crown of Martyrdom because their Patience according to this Supposition proceeded not from Choice and Election but was violently produced by force and Necessity and so whereas they did not mutinously and rebelliously rise in Arms to asswage the Flames of Tyrannical Persecution it was not for want of Will but for lack of Power of which false and forged Imputation the Fathers both Greek and Latine have cleared themselves in their Writings In them you will find that the Primitive Christians did not give place to the violence of Heathen Rulers by virtue of this Precept as a Provisional Direction accommodate to the Temper of those Times but as to a necessary and certain Command of God and which was to be in force when the Church was grown up into a power and Multitude 3. To say That the Precepts of Obedience and Submission were only Provisional c. is to teach a Doctrine that is most highly prejudicial or dangerous to Christians living under Heretical and Pagan Powers ex gr make it but once known to the Emperour of the Turks that the Christians living within his Empire do take God's Commands of Obedience to the Prince whom they count an Infidel to be only provisional Precepts for a time and that they are only to wait for an Occasion to shake off the Yoke of Turkish bondage and doubtless he will not spare with all speed to root out the whole Stock of Christians out of his Dominions He would hold himself concern'd to do this for his own Safety And then this would be a just Recompence of their Errour that would thus make void the Commandments of God through their vain Traditions By what is said it is evident enough that there is nothing so Unchristian nothing so Unreasonable as for Subjects to seek Occasions to dispute the Wills and Pleasures of their Princes and how much more to raise Tumults and levy Arms against them Yea though they were Heathens and Tyrants and the most professed Enemies that can be imagined to God and Goodness There is nothing so great a Contradiction to right Reason and the Spirit of the Gospel as is the Spirit of a Rebel and a Traytor to his King and Country For the Spirit of the Gospel more especially it is a Spirit of Love and Joy and Peace and Patience and Long-suffering and Gentleness towards them even towards the froward and unkind how much more towards those that are Gentle and Good And therefore there needeth no other Light to set off the Foulness of that Spirit that ruleth in the hearts of the Now Rebels in Arms against our present most Gracious and Liege Lord and Sovereign King JAMES the Second than to describe to you the true Spirit of the Gospel as it was recommended by our Saviour unto his Disciples and Followers But because the Now Rebels to colour their most horrid Treason against their Lawful Sovereign have endeavour'd to poyson the minds of their Followers where they come with I know not what dark and damnable Insinuations against A Prince so every way Great and Just and Good I shall humbly crave leave upon this Occasion and before the Common Souldiery here assembled to expose the Monstrosity of the now Traytors treasonable pretensions and practisings and I shall expose it by the Sun-beam Light of his Majesty's Undoubted Right of
Blood to the Crown and of his Unparallell'd Merits and his Interests to defend that Right against all Treasons and Traiterous Conspiracies whatever And First I shall crave leave to speak a few words with Reverence concerning his most Gracious Majesty's most undoubted Right of Blood c. It may seem needless to have his Majesty's Titles after Proclamation to be declared especially in the Pulpit Yet give me leave in Remembrance of the BLACK BOX and the Excluding Bill more Black than That and that still more Black and Bloody Association that follow'd it and which still worketh in the Hearts of the Children of Disobedience to put you especially of the Common Souldiery in Remembrance That our now Sovereign Lord King JAMES the Second is the now only surviving Son of King CHARLES the Martyr Grandson of King James that was of Scotland the Sixth of that Name and of Great Britain the First who was lawfully descended both by Father and Mothers side from King HENRY the Seventh and the Great ELIZABETH Daughter and Heir of Lionel Duke of Clarence third Son to Edward the Third Which King Henry the Seventh entailed the Crown of England by Act of Parliament upon the Issue of His and his Queens Body Lawfully begotten No Prince ever mounted the Throne of England with a Title more undoubtedly apparent and clear Clear as the Sun in its brightest Meridian Clear as the Late King could make it in a Declaration written with his own hand to prevent the now Rebels pretensions and to prevent and avoid any Disputes for time to come concerning his Now Majesty's Succession to the Crown His late Majesty's own Words to this purpose are published by the truly Loyal and Judicious Authour of the Address to the Freemen and Freeholders of the Nation Vid. part ◠p. 14 15 16 17 But Secondly Had not his Majesty been born to be a King I think there are but few that have the Honour to know him who do not think him the Worthiest Person to have been chosen our King For if ever we had a Prince that came to the Crown in the full Ripeness and Maturity as well of Royal Uertues as Years one who brought to the Government of his people all that Experience which others are a long time at much charge and more hazard to learn it is our present most Gracious Sovereign King JAMES A Prince whose Wisdom Justice and Mercy if men will be but so merciful to themselves as to do any thing that may deserve it A Prince whose Munificence and Magnanimity whose Sobriety and Temperance whose Courage to dare bravely in the greatest dangers equal to his Christian Fortitude in bearing the worst of Evils from the hands of a sort of Men-Devils among us A Prince whose firm Fidelity to his Friends and whose Zeal for the Honour of the English Name and Nation are so notoriously known both at home and abroad that even base Envy and Detraction have but render'd them the more acknowledged and Jllustriously Conspicuous All these shine by their Own Light and need not my dim Taper to shew them by But there is one Qualification which will gild and adorn his Crown and add a Lustre to his Great Name in Chronicle and that is his Ueracity And King JAMES the Second shall be known in the Ages to come by this Appellative of King JAMES the Just Prince of his Word Go to then all they that whine and fear for their Religion their Religion blush they and let them all be ashamed and confounded because of the Evils which they fear only because they are not Have we not for our Security as a Pawn the Word of a Prince who never yet broke his Word But if neither his Royal Title nor his Royal Merits may prevail with rash and unadvised Men to work them up to Obedience let it be consider'd in the Third place of what value his Interests are to secure and defend the Rights both of his Title and his Merits For though his Majesty hold all by Love all his Kingdoms and Countries having long since received him into their Hearts yet I shall here subjoin to the Honour of his Majesty the Comfort of his Friends and the Terrour of his Enemies these two Considerations First That his Majesty hath the undoubted Forces of England Scotland and Ireland and all other his Dominions and Countries in his own power and at his sole Command And the Numerous and very Loyal Addresses that have been sent from all the Quarters of these his Kingdoms are so highly expressive of a Godly Emulation in all his Loyal Subjects to serve him that it hath hitherto seem'd the only Contest within the three Kingdoms who should be the forwardest in Duty to vow their Lives and Estates a Sacrifice in defence of his Imperial Highness and the Prerogative What should I speak of his Militia of his Magazines and his Naval Forces at Sea and of his most Wise Council What of the Thrice happy Agreement which hath been all along and still is and which we beseech Almighty God to continue between him and his most Loyal Parliament Consider we Secondly His Friends and Alliances abroad and their mighty Puissance to assert his Right They are all of them of such Invincible strength and might both by Sea and Land as by God's continuing to bless the Union will give no Cause to fear either the growing Factions at home or the growing Greatness shall I call it of our Neighbour-Nation Nunc Causa valens causà mque tuentibus Armis And therefore as the King doth no doubt out of a most Religious and Godly heart so let us lift up our Hands and our Eyes to God on High and let us from the bottom of our Hearts beseech him to keep and defend His own King whom maugre all the Evil Designs of Evil Men among us he hath set on the Throne of the English Nation for the Glory of his Name and for the comfort of us his Subjects Let us pray for him and against his Enemies That God would abate their Pride and asswage their Malice and discover daily more and more and confound their Devices And to our Prayers let us each man in his Station manfully endeavour his Peace and our own in His. And to this End let all Murmurings and Repinings and Discontents towards the Government for ever cease from amongst us Let us follow Peace and the things that make for Peace and the things in which we may Edifie one another quietly submitting our selves to the Government that God hath set over us and blessing God that he hath accounted us worthy of so Good a Prince to Rule and to Reign over us and beseeching him to continue his Reign long and prosperous even for Many and for Many Years And to this Good Prayer let every one here present be concern'd to say Amen FINIS A Catalogue of some Books Printed for and Sold by Luke Meredith at the King's Head at the West End of St. Paul's Church-yard AN Introduction to the Old English History comprehended in Three several Tracts The First An Answer to Mr. Petyt's Rights of the Commons Asserted and to a Book Entituled Jani Anglorum Facies Nova The Second Edition very much enlarged The Second An Answer to a Book Entituled Argumentum Antinormanicum much upon the same Subject Never before Published The Third The Exact History of the Succession of the Crown of England The Second Edition also very much enlarged Together with an Appendix containing several Records and a Series of Great Councils and Parliaments Before and After the Conquest unto the End of the Reign of Henry the Third And a Glossary expounding many Words used frequently in our Antient Records Laws and Historians Published for the Vindication of Truth and the Assistance of such as desire with Satisfaction to read and truly understand the Antient English Historians and other Pieces of Antiquity By Robert Brady Doctor in Physick Two Treatises The First Concerning Reproaching and Censure The Second An Answer to Mr. Serjeant's Sure-Footing To which are annexed Three Sermons Preached upon several Occasions and very useful for these Times By the late Learned and Reverend William Falkner D. D. A Dialogue between a Pastor and his Parishioner touching the Lord's Supper Wherein the most material Doubts and Scruples about Receiving that Holy Sacrament are removed and the Way thereto discovered to be both plain and pleasant Very useful for Private Christians in these Scrupulous Times By Michael Altham The Second Edition To which are added Some short Prayers fitted for that Occasion and a Morning and Evening Prayer for the Use of Private Families Sober and Serious Considerations Occasioned by the Death of His Most Sacred MAJESTY King Charles II. of ever Blessed Memory And the Serious Time of LENT following it Together with a Brief Historical Account of the First Rise Progress and Encrease of Phanaticism in England and the Fatal Consequents thereof Now made Publick in tendency to the Peace of the Kingdom By a Gentleman in Communion with the Church of England as now by Law Establish'd The Songs of Moses and Deborah Paraphras'd with Poems on several Occasions Never before Published To which is added A Pindarick on Sir Roger L' Estrange The End of the Catalogue