Imprimatur Guil. Jane R. P. D. Hen. Episc. Lond. a Sacris Domest Febr. 27. 1678. A SERMON PREACHED At St. Martins in the Fields ON NOVEMBER the Fifth 1678. By WILLIAM LLOYD D. D Dean of BANGOR and One of His MAIESTIES Chaplains in Ordinary LONDON Printed by T. N. for Henry-Brome at the Gun in St. Paul's Church-yard 1679. JOHN 16. 2. They shall put you out of the Synagegues Yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service THe Words are part of that Discourse which our Saviour made to his Disciples the Night before his Passion The Words of a Dying Man use to leave the deepest Impression And that was the end for which Christ intended this Discourse He knew there would be a more than ordinary need of it That which gave such force to his Words was the very cause of this need that is his Death For Him to suffer Death whom they lookt upon as their Messias Him that was to restore the Kingdom to Israel For Him to Frustrate that great Work by Dying They were in pain to hear this For Him to suffer such a Death They were offended at it often offended as often as He spoke of it Our Saviour considered their Weakness in this and mildly told them it should not be so but much otherwise That which they were so apt to be offended with when they heard it He made them hear it that they might not be offended when it came to pass These things have I spoken to you saith he to the end that ye should not be offended that you should not be scandalized nor deterred from my Service by any thing that I am to suffer Nay more What you shall see done in Me will likewise be done in You. As I am rejected and put to Death so shall You be and that for Righteousness sake They which now begin their Work with Me shall deal likewise with You when I am gone The time comes and thus it will be till time be at an end The time comes when they shall remove you from their Assemblies they shall put you out of their Synagogues Excommunicate you for your Christian Profession And having done so they shall kill you and all this in Zeal thinking it not only lawful but acceps to God They shall do it as Men that would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do God Service or Worship so the Original signifies as if in so doing they should offer Sacrifice to God It is a wonderful thing That Men of Knowledge and Conscience and Religion they who doubtless were a True though then a Corrupt Church of God should think to please God with those Sacrifices which were scarce offered to the Devil by any other but the most Barbarous and Brutish part of Mankind What To Sacrifice to God with Human Blood which in his Law he had positively and directly forbidden To kill Men upon His account that has expresly said Thou shalt not kill To kill not Malefactors but the most faithful Servants of God the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ To kill them to do God service was surely a most preposterous way But they that did it thought otherwise and they thought as they were taught they acted according to their Principle It was the Principle of their Religion that false Prophets are to be put to Death 'T is most true God had so ordained it in his Law as you read Deut. 13. six first Verses But how should a false Prophet be tried Among the Jews he should be tried by his Doctrine And how his Doctrine By Scripture God sent them to the Law and to the Testimony and declared that if Men that took upon them to Prophecy spake not according to this Rule they had no Light in them then they were to be taken for false Prophets But these of whom our Saviour speaks the Jews of his Age had another way of Trial which they held at least equal with the Scripture That was their Oral Tradition Our Saviour told them of it He blamed them smartly for preferring it before Scripture You make saith he the Scripture of no Effect by your Tradition By this Tradition if they tried Christ and his Apostles and judged them all to be False Prophets that would not receive it they must judge Christ and his Apostles to be False Prophets and as such must kill them by their Law Thus they did They dealt so First with Christ himself and Then with his Apostles And they thought they did well in it They did this upon the Account of Religion It was indeed for their Religion such as it was not grounded on Scripture but on that False Rule of Oral Tradition In Defence of their Traditions they killed the Followers and even the Writers of Scripture Tanto in Religio potuit Such a mischievous pernicious Inflorence hath misguided Religion upon the Souls and Consciences of Men. So that now in my Text we have two things to consider You see the Theme of it is Persecution against the Followers of Christ. You see First the Cause of it is Misgrounded Religion In these Jews it was grounded not on Scripture but on Tradition Secondly you see the Effect of it in their carriage towards the Followers of Christ. The Effect is twofold First to shut them out of the Church by Excommunication Secondly having so done to put them to Death They shall Kill you saith my Text. Now Killing again is twofold either Publickly by the Magistrate or Privately by any particular Person 'T is all one to him that Suffereth whether he die by the Sword of Justice or whether he have his Throat cut in a Massacre or by Assassination But as to the Authors 't is far different The Sword of Justice may be Abused in many respects and is so sometimes in all Nations It may kill the Innocent through Misinformation and the Magistrate may be faultless in doing it But for Private Mens Killing by Assassination or by Massacre it is and ought to be odious in all Nations Yet some will do it and Justifie it My Text says some would not stick to do it yea and justifie it upon the account of Religion Thirdly the Time when they will do this The time comes says our Saviour Comes when Now under the Gospel The Jews did it at the Entrance of the Gospel In After-times that Christians should do it that profess to believe the Gospel Did our Saviour ever think of this If he did you may soon guess of what sort he meant For I know but one sort of Christians that do it and that justifie it upon account of Religion I know not any Principles for it among Christians but theirs in the Roman Church It seems as if Christ looked upon them when he said these words to his Disciples It appears he thought of them if what he said to his Disciples were intended of any sort of Christians He declared elsewhere Ioh. 17. 20. that what he said he
12. When St. Paul was so protected by the Magistrate that they could not come at him in a Legal Judicial way then they resolved to Assassinate him They bound themselves under a Curse that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul And they were more than forty of the Jews that had made this Conspiracy Those were of the Cannitae or Zealots as they called them Men that took upon them the Cause of God to avenge him of his Enemies whether it were to kill any single Person or a Family or a Nation if they were able to compass it They stuck at nothing that stood in the way of their bloody and barbarous Sect disguised under the mild and sacred Name of Religion I shall not shew nor will it be greatly material to tell you what Reaks they played among the Jews nor what Havock they made of the Christians of those times I have shewn you enough of their Way and of their Principle which suits the immediate scope of my Text. This together with the rest that I have said was that measure that the Apostles of Christ were to expect and to receive from the Jews upon the account of Religion that is indeed of Tradition against Scripture But now I come to consider the Time when this Prophesie was to be fulfilled I have shewn you that besides the Completion in that Age it is as capable to be extended to any future Age any Age before the Resurrection for even That lies within the reach of these words Venit Hora The Hour comes in my Text. The Hour cometh saith our Saviour when they that are in their Graves shall hear the Voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth John 5. 28. The Notation of that word then it is plain is large enough to extend even till the Resurrection And if our Saviour spoke this First of the Jews in the Apostles times of whom should he intend that they will do this in Future Ages Could he mean this of the Unbelieving Gentiles Saint Austin says No in his Book Contra Literas Petiliani For saith he They do not use Excommunication nor when they kill do they think that they do God good service What then Could it be said of the Jews in after-times Much less For they were in no condition to kill They have been killed in every Age both by Heathens and by Merciless Christians But for them to kill Christians it hath not been in their Power at any time since the Destruction of Ierusalem Of whom then are we to understand this If not of Gentiles nor of Jews 't is surely meant of some kind of Christians in Future Ages So the same Saint Austin doth understand it in his Book Contra Epistolam Gaudentii This he says is to be understood of Heretical Christians They will be ready to kill the Orthodox Christians whensoever they have them in their Power But how shall we know who are Heretics We know who they are that are given to Kill among Christians upon the account of Religion I dare appeal to themselves in the Roman Church whether any but themselves either Teach or Practice this among Christians at this present Day First I am sure for the Cause which these Jews had they also have it They have the same Zeal that those Jews had for Unwritten Traditions And as the Jews called theirs by the Name of the Law so the Papists make bold to call theirs The Vnwritten Word of God So they call it expresly in the fourth Session of the Council of Trent All that which they chiefly contend for is wholly founded on their Unwritten Traditions Run through all those Points that they have added to the true Christian Faith What Pretence or what Colour have they for the proof of them For many they do not so much as pretend a word of Scripture For some they do But God knows very wretchedly and absurdly For every one of them the true Bottom is nothing else but Unwritten Tradition Is there any thing else for seven Sacraments of Christs Institution For their Picturing of God the Father and of the Trinity For their Worshipping Images For their Denying the Cup to their Laity For their Doctrine of Purgatory For their Indulgences and the like The learned Writers among them do acknowledge even while they maintain these Traditions while they endeavour to prove them that there is no Proof for these out of Scripture For all the rest of their Doctrines they may have some Colour but they have no manner of Proof for any of them but what the Jews had against Christ himself and as Christ convinced the Jews so Our way to convince them is by Scripture But what Return have we for it First Excommunication to be sure Let any among themselves argue any thing against their Tradition Let him offer to name Scripture against it Nay let him own his right to read Scripture 't is enough to bring him under the Sentence of Excommunication As for us that do all this we are cut off from their Church at one stroke We are Excommunicated in a heap We are Anathematized in Bulla Coenae by his Holiness in Passion Week 'T is his Charity to us at those times when he most solemnly betakes himself to remember the Death of Christ in that Sacrament And being so Excommunicated and Accursed by him as we are you must not wonder at the Names which they are pleased to give us They call us Heretics and Schismatics in their modest Appellations Yea Infidels and Atheists whensoever they please And whether they do not treat us like such that comes next to be considered Do I say they treat us like such No I know they do much worse Except at the first Conquering of the Indies when the Spaniards killed some Millions I say Millions of that poor miserable People Except that time they have dealt more favourably always with Heathens than with us They kill none usually where they are Masters but only Heretics And they killed not even those as they do Heretics in those Countries which are wholly under the Dominion of Popery As namely in Spain and in Italy in those Parts where they have the Inquisition Whosoever there sides with Scripture against their Traditions is no sooner discovered but hurried away to Prison where no Friend is suffered to come at him no Relief to come near him no Hope of better in this World All which taken together make it Hell upon Earth and the rather for from thence there is no Redemption Well he may scape by Dying there But if ever he comes forth 't is to be burnt If one dies there in the Popes Slaughter-House or if one scape coming thither which is impossible but by not being discovered if he be discovered after death they will not allow him Burial Or if he be buried first then they dig up his Body to be burnt So that whether one dies in their hands or no 't is all one
intended not for them alone but for them also who should believe on him through their word I say therefore if our Saviour had any thought of Christians that should suffer from their Brethren as his Disciples did from the Jews I know not where to apply this but only to them of the Roman Church Of them only among Christians he had Occasion to say this They shall put you out of the Synagogues yea when they kill you they shall think that they do God service So that I have a twofold Consideration in these words First in relation to the Jews and Secondly to the Romish Christians First in relation to the Jews Christ said these words immediately to his Disciples that the Jews would Excommunicate Them and Kill them in pure Zeal for their Religion To pursue this in the Method that I propounded at first First the Cause of those Evils which the Jews did to the Apostles was meerly Zeal for their Traditionary Religion What their Zeal was you know is often spoken in Scripture S t Paul testifies of them Rom. 10. 2. They had a Zeal but not according to Knowledge They reckon'd it Zeal towards God Acts 22. 3. They were Zealous of their Law Acts 21. 20. But by the Law they meant chiefly their Customs So 't is explained Acts 6. 13 14. Those Jews that bore Witness against Stephen their Witness was that He blasphemed against God and against Moses Vers. 11. How did it appear In the the Thirteenth Verse He spoke against the holy Place and the Law What did they mean by the Law Even the Customs which Moses delivered them No doubt their Hebrew word was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their Cabalistical Rites their Traditionary Customs Quos Moses Tradidit which Moses delivered by word of Mouth That this was their meaning it appears by St. Paul's Explication Speaking of himself what he did when he was a Jew Gal. 3. 14. Saith he I beyond measure persecuted the Church of God and wasted it A Jew persecute the Church of God Wherefore did he do it He declares what I have said I was saith he exceedingly Zealous for the Traditions of my Fathers That stuck more with the Jews than the Scripture the Written Law of God They insisted much less upon the Law than upon the Traditions Yea they called their Traditions the Law as you have heard and contended for them as being Essential to Religion Saith the Apostle I profited in the Iews Religion above many of my Equals in my own Nation being more exceedingly Zealous for the Traditions of my Fathers So we have found out the Cause of this Carriage that follows The Jews Cause was the Defence of their Traditions Their Carriage it self was First to Excommunicate and Secondly to Kill those that convinced them out of the Written Word of God Since their Religion was founded not on Scripture but Tradition in those Points that were in Controversie between them and the Disciples The Disciples not owning but condemning those Traditions they lookt upon them as Men of Another Religion that is both as Heretics and Schismatics And as such They put them out of their Synagogues they cast them out of the Church they cut them off by the Sentence of Excommunication Even while our Saviour lived they had agreed among themselves that whosoever confessed him should be turned out of the Synagogue Joh. 9. 22. According to this Agreement when one born blind being cured by our Saviour confessed him and maintained it that he that cured him could be no other but a Prophet sent from God They were so moved at this Confession and so inraged at him that had received his Sight the more inraged because the matter was so evident that not knowing how at that time to revenge themselves otherwise for the People took Christ for a Prophet therefore they durst not meddle with Him they fell upon the Poor Man they took Occasion against him to turn him out of the Synagogue Iohn 9. 34. And the Matter was so notorious that some that did believe in Christ yet durst not confess him Iohn 12 4. They knew they ought but they durst not for fear of being turned out of the Synagogue 'T is known to them that are conversant in the Writings of the Jews that whensoever they had any cut off by their Censures it was their way to expose them with Contumelious Names They called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Heretics and Schismatics Secondly Whom they cast out for a Heretic or a Schismatic they lookt upon him as not worthy to live When St. Paul discovered himself to be a Christian they threw off their Clothes they threw Dust into the Air they cried Away with such a Fellow from the Earth for it is not fit that he should live Acts 22. 23. They would have stoned him if they durst but that the Roman Governour was present as you read there Vers. 34. By saying That he ought not to live their meaning was That it was a good deed to kill him which was the usual Effect of their total and final Excommunication The Effect of it was Killing with those horrible Circumstances that whereas he that was killed was judged an Enemy of God he that killed him was considered as having done God a great piece of Service which made this much different from any other kind of Death He that killed a Man otherwise knew he did Murther He that killed him for God's sake lookt upon it as a Sacrifice So far from being an Offence against God that it rather made amends for all his other Offences And whereas he that ordinarily kills a Man seeks nothing more but to be rid of him as soon as he can and therefore makes haste to put him out of his Pain Those that put Men to Death for Religion think no Death too severe Single Death is not enough It is too soon over They will make such a one feel how he dies Common Rage is but a blunt Sword in comparison of that which is whetted and edged with a Zeal of mistaken Religion First by the Sword of Justice If the Jews put one to Death for Religion it must be done by the Sanhedrim who were their Judges in Ecclesiastical things But the Sanhedrims way of putting Men to Death was by Stoning which was a very Unmerciful Death St. Stephen felt it He was thus put to Death for Religion And they stoned Stephen calling upon God When Herod that had no such Motive as Religion was yet pleased for Popularity to put St. Iames the Apostle to Death he only killed him with the Sword Acts 12. 2. If the Jews had had the doing of it it would have been done at another Rate Else possibly for Haste or for Concealment or the like when they could not intend those more exquisite Cruelties and so in those cases where the Sanhedrim had no power there they were for destroying by Assassination as you read Acts 23.
and Favour He Knighted Many of them and even One that was afterwards in this Treason This Gunpowder-Treason was Encouraged or at least Hastned by those Means I speak in the very Words of that King Saith he The Papists themselves grew to that Height of Pride in Confidence of my Mildness that they did directly expect and assuredly promise themselves Liberty of Conscience and Equality with my other Subjects in all other things When they found that King Iames was not for down-right Toleration then they were for his Blood Nothing would satisfie them but his Blood And not only His but the Queens and his Childrens I speak the Words of His MAJESTIES Proclamation and of the Act of Thanksgiving upon this Day The King the Queen the Prince were all at one Thunder-Clap to be sent to Heaven together Oh Barbarous and Horrid and Execrable Cruelty How could it enter into the Hearts of Men but by the Instigation of the Devil to do such horrid things as they had design'd To destroy their own Prince the Anointed of the Lord His Gracious Queen their Hopeful Children their whole Parliament with them and GOD knows how many more that should come within the reach of that Blow The Innocent with the Guilty Yea all Innocent for there were none Guilty of any thing but the Protestant Religion And their Religion was according to Scripture Only it was against the Popish Traditions as the Scripture it self is The Scripture is against those Popish Traditions What then If others do what Christ and his Apostles did muâ—t they be such Arrant Jews to kill them for this Yes and that with the same colour of Duty and Religion It was resolved To be Lawful to be Laudable to be Meritorious or as my Text says a good Service an acceptable Sacrifice to God I know how they that come afte do endeavour to excuse this and shall lay open their Excuses more fully elsewhere I shall only at this time desire you to think what they can say for themselves and much more for the Authors of this Wickedness What they first say is That the Authors did not come of themselves but were drawn into it They were indeed led into this Wickedness by their Religion They acted according to their Consciences as the Jews did in Crucifying Christ. They were drawn in by none but their Spiritual Guides by their own High Priest and their Rulers by the Pope and the Governing Clergy For the Minister of State whom they Now charge with this there was no Ground for such a Charge but his Vigilance There was not the least Intimation of any other in those days Both they that died and they that survived accused none but themselves left no shadow of Guilt on any other But what then Were they Rashly drawn into it Nothing less It was a Deliberate Plot. It was begun and carried on with great Consultation It was some Years in Contriving before it was to be put in Execution But it was managed only by a Few Desperate Men that were thrust upon it with some great Provocations That is a second Excuse But for the Provocation take it in the King 's own Words There was no Foreign Grudge nor no Inward Whisper nor Discontent that was any way appearing before this Plot. For their Condition the chief Actors in it were Men of Great Estates and spent many Thousands of Pounds in it and were able to have spent many more For the Number I believe the Design it self was known to Few But that there was a Design was known to many more King Iames himself tells us so A great Number of my Popish Subjects of all Ranks and Sorts both Men and Women as well within as without the Country had a Confused Notion and Obscure Knowledge that some great Thing was to be done in that Parliament for the Weal of the Church Though for Secresies sake they were not to be acquainted with the Particulars But perhaps those Many were of the more Ignorant sort that were drawn into it for want of Knowledge Nay they knew as much as they generally care to know They understood the mind of their Governours concerning this matter Their Spiritual Governours were the Chief Men in it themselves Garnet the very Chief Man was the Provincial of the Jesuits and the rest of his Order were the chief Instigators Who not only consulted and contrived but formed Prayers for this Purpose and used them in their several Congregations for the good Success of this Business These are again the Words of King Iames in his Book But it will be said The Catholicks ever since have disowned it I think and doubt not many of them do from their Hearts But I assure you 't is disown'd by not many of the Governing Party Some of the Traytors themselves confest their Guilt at their Death three of them and no more The rest justified themselves and stood in it to the last Some of them refused to ask any Pardon for it One of the Jesuits said It would have been Commendable if it had been done A Lay-Gentleman said even at his suffering He hoped their Sons would grow up to Revenge their Cause One of them being advised to Repent of that Sin answered chearfully He was satisfied it was far from being a Sin Nay that he trusted the Merit of that Vndertaking would amply suffice for the Satisfaction of his Sins Thus they thought What others did it appeared after their Deaths Some of their Leaders are yet esteemed no less than Martyrs in their Church And those Principles by which they went are yet the very Catholic Doctrines I know or believe at least they are detested by some Members of that Church But they are as boldly and as strenuously asserted by the Head of that Church and by all the Principal Members They do really that which Christ foretold some would do in future times upon the Account of Religion They will saith he put you out c. The more evident this is in them the stronger Motive it should be to us both to Zeal for our Religion at all times and now especially to Thankfulness to God for this Deliverance For our Religion we know it is from the God of Truth and theirs as far as it differs from ours is from the Father of Lyes And they take his way to maintain it if Fraud and Violence are of the Devil which they are as sure as Truth and Goodness are of GOD. Blessed be GOD for our Religion for giving it for keeping it from all Danger and especially from this He deserveth no other MERCY that is not thankful for this LORD We deserve none at all We deserve nothing but Judgment We are below even the least of thy Mercies It was for thy Mercy sake for thy own sake that thou didst this Oh never let it be forgotten in our Days Never let it be remembred or thought of but with Thanksgiving to our God! And as the highest Motive upon Earth to those Ways that are pleasing in his sight To a Zeal for his Truth to Love and Unity among our selves to true Holiness in all our Conversations And having this Experience of GOD's Care for his Church in these Kingdoms let us learn by this to trust him with it on all other Occasions We have a great Occasion at present and GOD knows what we are like to have more Let us Trust in Him that as He has done so He will still deliver us But withal Let us Keep His Way and not follow our Adversaries in theirs It is properly their Way to Kill Men for Religion GOD forbid we should follow them in it But for those other things in which they give us Example for Zeal and Activity and Undefatigable Diligence as they are Theirs in an Ill Cause so in a Good they may and ought to be Ours And in these if we cannot out-do them yet for shame let us not be out-done Let us not as perhaps we are too apt to do so much relie on our Cause as to think that we need not defend it Lastly Let us follow our Endeavours with our Prayers to Almighty GOD That being delivered from the Hands of all our Enemies we may serve Him without fear That having escaped the greatest Cruelty on this side Hell we may at last escape that too And that Living and Dying in the Communion of his Church we may be Partakers of his Kingdom in Life Everlasting FINIS Vers. 1. Matth. 15. 16. a Sir Everard Digby b King Iames's Works pag. 253. c King Iames's Works pag 224. d Thu. Hist. Tom. 4. p. 1206. E. King Iames's Works pag. 503. e King Iames's Works p. 225. f King Iames's Works pag. 291. g King Iames's Works p. 273. g Ibid. p. 291. h Winter Rockwood and Digby i King Iames's Works pag 291. k Hall l R. Winter m Grant