A DISCOURSE Concerning the Nature OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM With Relation to the Kingdoms of this WORLD IN Two Sermons Preach'd at St MARIES BEFORE THE University OF CAMBRIDGE By MILES BARNE Fellow of St Peter's College Publish'd by Authority The Second Edition CAMBRIDGE Printed by J. Hayes Printer to the University for R. Green Book-seller in Cambridge 1682. Imprimatur Nath. Coga Academiae Cantabrigiensis Procancellarius Jsph Beaumont Reg. Theol. Professor R. Widdrington D nae Margaretae Professor Geo. Chamberlaine Sen. Theol. Doctor TO THE Reverend and Right Worshipful Dr Nathaniel Coga VICE-CHANCELLOR And Master of Pem. Hall Dr Joseph Beaumont Regius Professor of DIVINITY And Master of St Pet. College And Other the Worthy HEADS of the University of CAMBRIDGE I Should not presume to prefix Your Great Names to this mean Discourse were I not encourag'd thereto by the Kind Reception it found from you when I had the Honour to Preach it before You. Your Attention then made me believe it not altogether Impertinent And Your Approbation since makes me think it not altogether unfit for the Publick It sets forth Guarded by Your Authority And therefore defies the Censure of the Factious and Schismatical For them to Cavil where you have given Judgment will only betray their wonted Prejudice Neither will Ye be asham'd of the Dedication when it shall appear That the Discourse represents You in Your Principles and Practices in Relation to the Government both of Church and State You are Undoubtedly in Your Capacities the Stable Supports and Ornaments of Both. For though Ye are fix't to particular Spheres yet Ye Influence the Nation by Your Learning Prudence and Loyalty His Majesty did lately of His own Accord vouchsafe to Honour You with His Royal Presence which Gracious Act does sufficiently Testifie to the world How well Ye have behav'd Your Selves in the Government of this His Vniversity and How worthy He thinks You of Greater Dignity May Ye always enjoy His Royal Protection encrease in the Esteem of all Virtuous and Judicious Men and never lose the Reputation Ye have already Gain'd as in Your several Colleges so in the Vniversity in General which is at this Day by Your wise Conduct so well manag'd as to be Dreaded by the Factious Loved and Respected by all Good Subjects That Ye would reckon me in the number of these is the Great Ambition of Your most Devoted and Obedient Servant M. Barne A SERMON Preach'd before the University OF CAMBRIDGE St John 18. 36. Jesus answer'd My Kingdom is not of this world WHich answer was occasion'd by Pilat's Question What hast thou done For Pilate urging Christ to confess whether He were guilty of the Crimes laid to his charge by his goodly Accusers the Chief Priests which were no less than High Treason and Blasphemy gave Him an opportunity to discourse of the Nature of His Kingdom And from thence to shew the Malice and Falsity of their Accusation He did not deny Himself to be a King but from the Quality of his Kingdom gave sufficient Proof that He was falsely accused as a Traitour and Enemy to Caesar As much as if He had said I confess my self to be a King yet by renouncing all earthly Sovereignty I make it plainly appear to you Pilate whom I own to be my Lawfull Judge for as much as you are commissioned by Caesar as He is by God That my Accusers the Chief Priests and their Accomplices are a Pack of Profligate Villains resolv'd to take away my Life either through Malice Revenge or what is worse the Unnatural Pleasure they take in shedding of Innocent Bloud And to effect this their Hellish Design they have no surer method no more plausible Pretence than to lay to my charge Crimes which I never was guilty of and such as my very soul abhors They would persuade you That I am a dangerous Person an Enemy to Caesar and a Conspiratour against the Government That I would subvert the establish'd and introduce a false Religion of my own Whereas had I any such Design I should not have appear'd in such mean circumstances as hitherto I have done attended only with a few poor Disciples and They too unarm'd and moreover by me strictly commanded not to draw the sword against Publick Authority upon any provocation whatsoever But like your Emperours I had march'd with my Guards about me and appear'd at the Head of twelve Legions of Arm'd Angels who should have fought my Bâ—ttels confounded mine Enemies and not have suffered me to have been deliver'd into their Hands And therefore believe me Pilate Caesars Kingdom is in no danger of being overthrown by mine which is no other than what the Jewish Prophets have foretold should be set up in these Days A Kingdom which would Legitimate the Jews and make them what they falsely pretend to be Children of the Faithfull Abraham A Kingdom which would make Caesar Great and Happy by making His Subjects Obedient and Loyal to Him whilst he approves Himself so to the King of Heaven This seems to be truly the Reason of Christs Declaration My Kingdom is not of this world From which Explication of the words and the several Circumstances of our Saviours Tryal we may observe 1. Under what vizard Calumny commonly wreaks its malice upon Innocent Persons Secondly The stedfast meen and undaunted carriage of Innocency under the most extream violence of its Oppressors Thirdly The salvage Fury of the Multitude who when stirr'd up by the Rulers nothing can appease but their louder cries Crucifie Crucifie must prevail Fourthly The Frailty of Judges sometimes through Fear but oft'ner through secular Interest corrupted to go against their Judgments But because these observations seem rather to arise from the previous and subsequent Circumstances of our Saviour's Tryal than any immediate foundation in the Text it self I shall be very brief in their Illustration First Under what vizard Calumny commonly wreaks its malice upon Innocent persons Humane Nature notwithstanding all the Affronts and Indignities which Mr Hobs hath thrown upon it is of it self very civil obliging and compassionate In common speech Humanity and Civility signifie the same thing Nothing makes a deeper impression upon our minds than to see Virtue oppress'd nothing is more grating than to see Villany prosper As the wisest men have not been free from Resentments of this Kind so the Best have not always been able to abstain from making some undue Reflections upon Providence upon this account The Heroick Patience of Job as 't was admirable so 't was singular He being the only Example of a meer man who ran through all the Dolorous Stages of Affliction with an unwearied and unblameable Constancy He alone deserv'd thaâ— great Character In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly This being truly the State of Humane Nature Whenever it has or shall be the Fate of Innocent persons to suffer in this Life to accomplish their Triumphs in the other it must be by making them
Guilty of the blackest Crimes I shall keep my self to the Instance of my Text our blessed Saviour who though He had done no violence neither was deceit found in his mouth yet He was accused by a Band of Priests His Accusation was Blasphemy and High Treason And so the Son of God was found Guilty of Blasphemy against God The Great Exemplar of Loyalty and Obedience was Sentenc'd to die and executed as the worst of Malefactors a Traitor against Caesar The Stedfast meen and Undaunted Behaviour of Innocency under all the Injuries of its Oppressors And indeed who but an Innocent Person could have sustain'd with so much Bravery and Greatness of Mind all those undeserv'd Indignities which were thrown upon Our Saviour For He was Judas-like betrayed by That which should be a Token of the Dearest Friendship a Kiss Rudely apprehended by Ruffians Cowardly deserted by his Disciples Inhumanely Buffeted and Scourged by the Rude Soldiers Mockingly Arrayed in a Purple Robe Falsely Sentenc'd to Death by Cowardly Pilate And all along His tedious and painfull Crucifixion mock'd and revil'd by His unrelenting Executioners Now as that Heroick Patience which shined forth in our Saviour under and above all these Cruelties convinc'd All but the Contrivers of them of His Innocency and extorted that Noble Confession from the Centurion Certainly this was a Righteous man So if the like Patience does not produce the like Effect in us towards all His Followers whom He out of His mighty Love has enabled to Drink of that bitter Cup which He Bless'd and Sweetn'd with His Sacred Lips 't is not a Sign of their Guilt but of a Jewish Obdurateness in our Hearts The salvage Fury of the Multitude who if once stirr'd up by the Rulers nothing can afterwards appease but their Louder Cries Crucifie Crucifie must prevail Pilate ye know was willing to have releas'd Jesus For He pronounc'd Him Innocent once and again But being frighted He was at length overcome by the Outragious Glamors of the People And then against Law and His own Conscience He deliver'd Him to the Will of His Adversaries Against Law for the Witnesses did not agree against His own Conscience for He took water and wash'd His Hands and Foolishly thought by that water to wash away the Guilt of shedding that Innocent Bloud not to be wash'd away but by the Virtue of that Bloud which He caus'd to be shed The Frailty of Judges sometimes through Fear but oft'ner through Secular Interest corrupted to Act against their Consciences I do not find in the whole Tragical story of our Saviours Tryal but that Pilate was of Himself a very Good Judge That He carried a fair mixture of Justice and Mercy For though He understood not the Great Worth of the Prisoner brought before Him yet out of the Gentility of His Nature he treated Him respectfully He seem'd rather to pity than upbraid His Calamities He forbore all Bitter Sarcasms and used no Reproachfull Language towards His Person so far was He from encouraging the Furious Proceedings of His Malicious Accusers by any Incentive Harangues That he endeavour'd what he could to mollifie and asswage them by Grave and Sober Speeches He was as willing to hear the Defence of the Prisoner as the Indictment which was alledg'd against Him But notwithstanding all these promising Signs of Justice and an Impartial Tryal when He perceiv'd that the Chief Priests and Elders had got the Cry on their side and that there was Danger of loosing His Judges Place if he did not comply with the unruly Multitude when the bloudy-minded implacable Priests began to Brave him on the Bench and tell him to his face that if he let the Prisoner go he was not Caesars Friend he deliver'd Him up to the Will of his Crucifiers And neither his pretended Clemency the Intercession of his Beloved Wife the apparent and by him confess'd Innocency of the Prisoner could save Him from the Cross And thus the Great Sacrifice of the World was Sacrific'd to Interest and Popular Fury O Let all the Judges of the Earth take warning from Pilat's Frailty and learn to do Justice in spite of the Threats and Allurements of the world But to come yet closer to the Text Jesus answer'd my Kingdom is not of this world Because Jesus declar'd His Kingdom not to be of this world therefore had He not a Kingdom in this world did not all the Titles to Dominion meet and concenter in him For had not He the Right of Primogeniture whom the Father appointed Heir of all things Had not He the Right of Creation by whom He made the worlds The Right of similitude for was He not the Brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person The Right of conservation for does He not uphold all things by the word of His Power The Right of Redemption for has He not purged our sins And does He not now enjoy the Right of Exaltation and Possession for is He not set down on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High Which of the Potentates of the earth can shew more Glorious or just Titles to the Sceptres which they sway And therefore First as a Learned Expositor has observ'd these words cannot be understood so as to exclude Christs Right to a Kingdom in this world for in the next verse it follows expressly for this end viz. That I might be a King came I into the world Secondly These words cannot be understood as if there were Kingdoms of this world which were originally of this world though Christs Kingdom should not prove to be one of these This Exposition will suit with their Frantick Humour who place the Origine of Dominion in the People But what Jesus replied to the Roman President in the 11th v. of the next Chapter does sufficiently confute that wild and dangerous Position 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou could'st have no Power at all against me except it were given thee from above Now let but the People produce Jehovah's special Donation or immediate Conveyance of Power to them And then wee 'll be content to submit to their Government But if they can produce no such Instrument how Impious and Sacrilegious are they in challenging to themselves the Origine of Dominion which belongs solely to Jehovah And therefore Thirdly it follows the words themselves cannot bear this Construction That any just Power should be Originally of this world Force and Might may But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word used in the New Testament to signifie Power is Originally in God and Derivatively in Kings as Gods Vicegerents The Question then seemeth not fully resolv'd in what sense Jesus said My Kingdom is not of this world St Chrysostom thinks He spake of the Kingdom of Heaven for He does not say my Kingdom is not of this world as though He had not a Right to possess the Kingdoms of this world But because He had
being surfited with Plenty do we nauseat the Blessings of his Majesties happy Restauration We have indeed had our Portion in this Life And our Kingdom seems to have been too much of this world Our present Distemper proceeds from a Fullness of Humors and Rankness of Bloud Now if we would take the Gentlest way of Cure we are not to let out but correct and sweeten the Bloud And this in a Moral sense cannot be done but by Mortification by strict Fastings Watchings and Prayers Our Kingdom is not of this world and all that we have to do in it is to promote the Peace and Prosperity of it so long as we continue in it and to secure our own eternal wellfare when we go out of it The Founder of this our Kingdom spent much of his time in solitude prayer and abstaining from the common converse of the world When He was fullest of business He often went into solitude for Prayer And when He was on the last Stage of His Life even at Jerusalem He retired to the Mount of Olives to betake Himself to Private Prayer and was apprehended performing the Duty of solitary Prayer Let us in Imitation of Him and in Conformity to the Laws of His Kingdom Betake our selves frequently to solitary Prayers And in our Devout Recesses and Holy Retreats from the Noise and Impertinent business of this world Let us commend our Souls to God And in our prayers bewail more especially our sins of Murmuring and Ingratitude the Cause of our present Distractions and which will if not repented of Involve us in a more Terrible Destruction than the utmost Rage of our Enemies is able to effect But most especially let us pray for the safety of His Majesties Sacred Person and the Long continuance of His Life for the Peace of Jerusalem and the Prosperity of Sion That He would confound His Enemies and make all His Royal Friends to Rejoyce That He would deliver the Innocent from the Oppressor and bring the perjur'd man to condign punishment That He would preserve the purity of the Religion establish'd amongst us from Superstition and Enthusiasm In a word That He would infuse Grace into all our Hearts that we may in all things walk worthy of our High calling and shew our selves Loyal Subjects of Christs Kingdom by our stedfast Obedience to our Supreme Governour the King and to all Subordinate Magistrates as sent and Commissioned by Him That so with St Luke whose Praise is in the Gospel and all the Glorious Army of Saints and Martyrs we may at length Arrive at the Kingdom of Heaven Amen The End A SERMON Preach'd before the University OF CAMBRIDGE St John 18. 36. If my Kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews IN the former part of the verse Christ declares his Kingdom not to be of this world which Declaration is here confirm'd by a reason drawn from the Nature and Practice of the Kingdoms of this world which should be to defend their Kings as to the immunity and safety of their Sacred Persons so likewise in the free exercise of their just Rights and Prerogatives whensoever one or the other shall happen to be invaded either by Faction from their own Subjects or Violence from forein Enemies Kings by their Coronation Oaths have made themselves Accountable to God Almighty and Him alone if they fail in their Duty of defending the Liberties and Properties of their People for which reason they ought to be the more circumspect in their ways for as much as the Divine vengeance is more to be dreaded than any which the strongest arm of flesh can inflict And the People have indispensably obliged themselves by Oaths of Allegeance and Fidelity to afford them such Assistance both from their Persons and Estates as shall be judged convenient and necessary for the maintaining their Crowns and Dignities In this mutual Assistance and Confidence of each other consists the Beauty Strength and Safety of Government Without which a King would be no better than a piece of Gaudy Pageantry set up to be gaz'd on and pull'd down by every Caprice of the Multitude And the People would be depriv'd of the Benefits which they might reasonably expect to enjoy under the Government Our Saviour then infers by a Logick very proper and concluding If my Kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews If the Kingdom which I have been promoting ever since I was born into the world but more especially these three last years of my Reign were of the same nature with the Kingdoms of this world then would my Subjects draw their swords in my just defence and not suffer me to be thus basely betrayed and deliver'd into the hands of my insulting Enemies the Jews The words then of my Text without force or wresting afford these three following Positions 1. That 't is Lawfull and the Duty of Christians to draw their swords in defence of their Sovereign 2. That 't is not Lawfull but highly impious in Christians to Rebel against their Sovereign or disturb the Government under the specious pretence of defending their Religion 3. That 't is the Duty of Christians patiently to suffer for their Religion if it be their Lot to fall into persecuting times and this in most cases the best and in some the only Remedy left them 1. I begin with the First Position That 't is Lawfull and the Duty of Christians to draw their swords in Defence of their Sovereign If my Kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews Whereby the King of Heaven and Prince of Peace approves of the Practices of the Kings of the earth who have their Guards to defend their Sacred Persons Their Armies to oppose and subdue their Enemies Whereby He gives a Commission to all Christians to fight for their Lawfull Sovereigns and to lay their Enemies prostrate at their triumphant feet It was therefore a rash Determination in Tertullian from our Saviours command to St Peter to sheath his sword to infer it unlawfull for Christians at any time to draw theirs And 't is highly culpable in his followers from this one instance to conclude all warfare Criminal as if Christ had hereby disbanded all Christian Soldiers What is this but to make Christianity a prey to the Unsatiable a laughing-stock to the Insolent to prostitute the Lives and Fortunes of Christians to the pleasure of the Outragious and to make Christian Kings of all men most despicable if it were not Lawfull for them to repel Injuries by open Force when all other means prove ineffectual This were to deprive Subjects of the opportunities of shewing their Loyalty of the Rewards due to those who bravely venture their Lives to relieve Widows Orphans or any that are unjustly opprest to defend Churches and the Sacred Revenue from avaricious and sacrilegious Hands
good service There He will find Persecution Rapine Sacrilege Preach'd and practis'd There He will find speaking evil of Dignities the Holy Idiom and priviledg'd Language of the Godly There He will find the Murther of Kings encourag'd effected justified in short for I delight not to dwell on so ungratefull a Subject there He will find all the most consummated Villanies consecrated which were in the power of the Sons of Perdition to Act since the shedding of the Bloud of Righteous Abel unto the Murther of Righteous King Charles and so down to this very day But thou O Holy Christian who art so indeed and not in outward shew only as thy heart bleeds within thy Breast to think that there should be such Miscreants that all that name the Name of Jesus should not depart from such horrid Impieties so thou knowest it to be thy Duty to follow thy Master in the several steps of his Life to Fast with him in the Wilderness as well as Feast with Him at the Marriage in Cana to watch and pray with Him in his Agonies in the Garden as well as dwell with Him in his Glorification on the Mount to act a part with Him in his Tragedy in the High Priests Hall as well as attend Him in his Triumphs to Jerusalem Thou knowest it to be thy Duty not Only to accompany Him to the Judgment Hall but moreover to Mount Calvery and there to die for Him who suffered the most dolorous Death for thee And thou art invited hereunto by the Example and Precept of Jesus the Captain of thy Salvation and Finisher of the Faith His Glorious Company of Apostles His Noble Army of Martyrs who in all Ages have finish'd their Course fought the good Fight and receiv'd a Crown of Righteousness Thou canst pity those who laugh at the Doctrine of passive Obedience and conclude their Religion false which will not sustain suffering for Christ's sake In a word thou art resolv'd in the whole course of thy Life to maintain the Wisdom of the Serpent and the Innocency of the Dove Jesus answer'd my Kingdom is not of this world if my Kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews Upon the whole matter give me leave to make these following Observations and conclude 1. That we do not sin against the Rules of Christian Patience if we Defend our selves when brought before Magistrates for though Christ willingly submitted to the Sentence yet He carefully acquitted Himself of the Treason laid to his charge This is confirm'd to us by the Practice of the Prophets Elias Jeremias the Example of the Apostles particularly Saint Paul's who appeals to the Roman Laws Flies to their Guards for Protection against his Conspirators and did not disdain even Humane Policy for He divided the Multitude made the Major Part of his side by Crying out Men and Brethren I am a Pharisee the son of a Pharisee of the hope and Resurrection of the Dead I am called in question 2. That since Christ's Kingdom is not of this world that therefore we should not immoderately thirst after Riches or affect Glories and worldly Greatness 3. We must not take it heinously if in perilous circumstances we should be betrayed by our friends or deserted by those from whom we expected Protection for this was our Masters case betrayed by one Disciple forsook or denyed by the Rest by Pilate deprived of the common privilege of the Law He who before had furnish'd his Enemies with a Band of Ruffians to apprehend Him denies Him common Justice from the Bench for fear of displeasing the Jews 4. This place gives us comfort in our greatest and most publick Calamities for since Christ's Kingdom is not of this world It shall never be overcome or destroyed by all the united Forces thereof Heaven and earth shall pass away but Christ's Throne is establish't for ever His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion 5. Lastly This place manifestly reproves those who have so long boasted themselves Christ's Vicars for He whom they pretend to represent declares His Kingdom not to be of this world But they usurp to themselves the Kingdoms of this world dispose of them at pleasure as if that prophecy They shall Bind their Kings in chains did literally appertain to them to fulfill By this their wicked and Audacious Practice how ill do they prove their Title to Christ's Vicarage Do they not rather shew whose servants they are viz. His who proudly said All these thingswill I give thee If thou wilt fall down and worship me for by the Vanity and Pageantry of a Pompous Religion adorn'd with the false Glories of this world they have bewitch't too Great a Part of the Nations of the earth for I dare boldly say that the Doctrines of Image-worship Invocation and Adoration of Saints Indulgences Purgatory Prayer for the dead as they are practis'd in the Church of Rome Transubstantiation Participation in one Kind Papal Supremacy the making which necessary Conditions of Communion justifies us and laies the Schism at the Imposers Door I dare boldly affirm that they are fond Things vainly feigned that they are contrary to the Simplicity and Truth of the Gospel that they have no better support than Credulity Force Falsification of Antiquity humane Romantick Tradition or the Pride and Coveteousness of the Ecclesiasticks Indeed I never thought those the most Eloquent Preachers who can call Whore and Antichrist loudest and perhaps 't is not necessary that all our Sermons should be turn'd into invective Harangues against the Idolatries of the Church of Rome but it has often griev'd me to think that St Peters Successour hath made that Title so much his own as to endanger Mahomets Claim that a Mother Church should be so leudly fall'n from that Gravity Purity and Chastity which in St Pauls time and some Centuries after she so eminently possess 't I have always thought I might discharge this part of the Ministerial Function as much to the benefit of Souls in pressing upon them the Duties of Love and Obedience in Defending the Doctrine Government Solemn and Publick Prayers of the Church of England in whose holy Communion I do believe Salvation may be had with greater Certainty than in any other Church of any Denomination whatsoever To conclude The Kings of the earth shall stand up and take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed Which Prophecy implies that Christ shall be a King and that the Kings of the earth would conspire the Ruine of His Kingdom And this is the true ground of all those dire strifes and contentions which have fill'd the world about the Christian Faith Because they will not have this Man to Reign over them For this reason the Jews conspired the Death of Christ they pretended indeed to the Romans that He intended to set up a Fifth Monarchy but the true reason was because He did not answer the fond
Secondly Whose Kingdom do they belong to who negotiate the affairs of Souls after another manner than Christ did Who aim at Superiority in the Church with a Design to Lord It over Christs Flock and exercise Tyranny over the Consciences of men Who take upon them the Ministerial Function to gratifie their Avarice and Ambition and make the Patrimony of the Church subservient to base Secular ends Who if once arriv'd to a pretended unappealable degree of Hierarchy presently exalt themselves above all that is called God These are so far from being Faithfull Subjects of Christs Kingdom that they are the very enemies of Christ For if the Governours of the Church of Good Shepherds become Ravenous Wolves And instead of Reducing the Strays to the Flock in the Spirit of meekness they shall by their Pride and Haughtiness Drive the Sheep from thence what a sad account will they have to make hereafter to the Great Shepherd of Souls How guilty the Pope and his Ecclesiasticks have been of this Charge I shall not need declare But so long as the Governours of the Church execute their High Calling according to Christs Prescript the Practice of the Apostles and Primitive Bishops with Humility Sobriety Hospitality Gravity and Moderation there is yet great hopes that the Governed the People may yet bring forth the blessed Fruits of Love Peace Joy Obedience Long-suffering Goodness Faith Meekness and Temperance Thirdly Let us enquire whose Kingdom they belong to who would destroy all those whom they account the Enemies of Christs Kingdom with other weapons than He hath allowed of Of all Feuds those about Religion are the fiercest And therefore 't is well the Captain of our Salvation hath told us what kind of Armes we are to use in its Defence otherwise the Christian Camp through the Perversness of the Commanders had made but one common Field of Bloud Lukewarmness in Religion or an Indifferency to All Religions is as bad as if we profess'd none at all To maintain our Religion by Cruelty or Injustice is worse than if we profess'd none at all He who denies a God only proclaims himself a Fool But we want a name to distinguish him by who makes God the Author of Impieties or his Religion a Countenancer of Injustice He who out of Zeal to God robbeth Caesar of his Dues were it in his power would de-throne God and set himself up in His Room Jesus answer'd My Kingdom is not of this world What then shall we think of His pretended Vicar who impudently claimeth a Right to all the Kingdoms of this world Who whilst he hypocritically stiles himself a servant of the meanest of the servants of Jesus Christ Usurps the Power of deposing Kings and disposing of their Kingdoms To deal sincerely with you I think this Impious Practice to be one of the most Irrefragable Arguments to prove him to be The Anti-Christ That whereas some have taken a great deal of Pains to prove Him so from the obscure Prophecies of Daniel And others with great Labour and Difficulties have applied all the Phaenomena and Characters of the Apocalyptical False Prophet to the Pope This is a more sure and compendious way of stamping upon him the Mark of the Beast Christ was both a King and a Priest His Priestly Office in the most solemn manner He conferr'd upon the Apostles His Kingly He left where He founded It Delegated by His Father upon the Emperours of the world and confirm'd that Delegation to us by His own Obedience to Them Now then if the Pope out of Great solicitude for the Churches committed to His charge makes any unjust Attempts upon their Regalities He strikes at the Kingly Office of Christ and endeavours Solvere Jesum the Dissolution of Jesus as the Vulgar Translation and those Greek Copies it follows have it Now since He dares not pretend to this Power immediately from Christ for He cannot find any such Donation amongst all the Rights He pretends to as St Peters Successor His Indirect Power and in Order to Spirituals will not serve his Turn For to suppose the worst That the Kings of the earth should stand up and take Council together to destroy Christs Kingdom shall therefore his Holiness add Impiety to their madness by Deposing them and absolving their Subjects from their Obedience If he does he is so far from being Christs Vicar That he is a Barabbas and though he may escape as Barabbas did Punishment in this Life yet that eternal Vengeance which pursues Robbers and Murtherers will overtake him in the other All that the Governours of the Church can do in this Extremity is to Advise Admonish Rebuke with all Gravity and Humility to set before them the Folly and Danger of such Councils and the certain Destruction which always attends them And if such with all other Christian means prove ineffectual they having discharg'd their Duty must commit Themselves and Their Cause to God in Tears Fasting and Prayers And in those very Prayers they must remember more especially their Persecutors Lastly if God so willeth in a Patient suffering the Loss of Life These are the only justifiable weapons by which the Church of Christ opposeth Her Enemies And now give me leave in a few words to bring all home to our selves None of us have been so closely Immur'd in our Studies but we must have observ'd something of the present State of Affairs How that our Church hath two Potent and Restless Enemies to Encounter the Romanists and the Presbyterians with all the Inferior Sects that fight under their Banner We have been sufficiently Alarm'd by the Hellish Plots of the one And we have by sad Experience felt the unsupportable Tyranny of the other Yet God forbid that we should serve Them as they would do Us Defend Our Religion by the same unwarrantable Practices by which they would Destroy It. The Reformed Religion of the Church of England as it has the most of Primitive Purity in worship Doctrine and Discipline so hath it of Christian Loyalty of any other Religion in the world And 't is our Happiness to live under as Gracious a Prince as ever Sway'd the English Sceptre since the Conquest Who has through his whole Reign been more Tender of the Liberty and Property of the Subject than of his own Prerogative Whence then these Hideous Murmurings and Complainings in our Streets Whence these Daily Outcries and Fears of being led into Captivity Are they not from hence that there are a sort of restless ungratefull people amongst us who under pretence of Securing the Protestant Religion would ruine the Church of England the best and surest Guard against Popery Who by wheadling the People with the specious Names of Liberty and Property would undermine Monarchy the strongest bullwark against Tyranny and Arbitrary Power But is it possible that the same cheats should pass twice upon a Nation in the same Age Have we so soon forgot the Miseries and Desolations of the late Usurpation or
taken from Him And after all let it be added for our comfort If our Religion be that of the One Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church If it be that which our fore-Fathers learn't from the Apostles which the Apostles learn't from Christ which Christ learn't from God as I am firmly assured Ours of the Church of England is Then 't is founded upon a Rock against which the Gates of Hell shall never prevail 't is Christ's own promise and He hath hitherto made it good in all Ages of the world and will do unto the Consummation thereof when the Spouse shall meet her glorious Bridegroom and be presented to him without spot or wrinkle 2. 'T is not Lawfull but highly impious in Christians to Rebel against their Sovereign under the specious pretence of defending their Religion because thereby some of the most Fundamental Points of Christianity are overthrown There is nothing more contrary to the Laws of Christ nothing forbidden under severer Penalties than Rebellion He that resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves Damnation There is nothing more agreeable to the Laws of Christ nothing encouraged with more glorious Rewards than suffering for Righteousness sake Blessed are they who are presecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven If then we resist the Higher Powers under pretence of securing Religion we fall under the Damnation of the worst of Rebels and lose the Reward of the most Noble Martyrs He that raiseth Parties to promote Sedition and disturb the Peace of the Civil Government is a Traitour to Christ a Deserter of the Cross a Subverter of His Kingdom and were it of this world would endanger its final Overthrow If any crime of this nature had been prov'd against St Paul when He stood before the judgment seat not Felix but He himself must have trembled at the sight of his Accusers And how would the rest of the Apostles have been confounded when they were brought before Governours and Kings for his Name had they been found guilty of Plots against the State or putting the world into an Uproar as was falsely laid to their charge For might not the Judges before whom they stood have given them this or the like Reproof You who call your selves the Disciples of that Master who taught Blessed are the Peace-makers do you disturb the Government You that pretend to be the Subjects of that King who renounc'd all earthly Sovereignty do you Tumultuously affect Dominion Your Master commanded you to Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesars and do you withhold from Him the just Tribute of your Obedience Next the Miracles which He wrought his peaceable conversation his exemplary Patience his Precepts of Obedience had almost persuaded us to turn Christians But hearing of his unexampled Charity and humility in praying for his very Crucifiers when He hung on the Cross we could not but altogether confess that He was a very just and Holy Person But what perverse followers are ye of so good a Master What a scandal to his Cross and contradiction to your Profession And were He now upon earth He must either disown his own Doctrine or you for his Disciples Your turbulent Behaviour hath justly provok'd Caesar to unsheath his Sword of Justice to deliver you over to the Executioners His Consuls have Rods for the Backs and Axes for the Necks of you the vilest of Impostors And you deserve to be treated with greater severity than any other sort of Enemy The rude Scythians seem more capable of the Emperours Clemency for they profess cruelty Outrage and Barbarity by long custom are become natural to them But for you who profess Gentleness Civility and Condescension who pretend to know nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified who to assure the Empire of your Loyalty and Fidelity have inforc't Obedience upon a Principle of Conscience as well as Wrath and entail'd eternal Damnation upon the violation of it who to assure us that you had no sinister Designes upon the Estates of other men have forsaken your own Possessions for you at last to be found guilty of Insurrection Tumult and Violence makes you fall more unlamented than Catiline or the most cursed Conspirators ever did In short you have done what in you lay to make good the Treasons which were falsely laid to your Masters charge much more than the Scribes Pharisees chief Priests and Lawyers those Crafty Managers of his Tryal were able to do I know not what Evasions may have been found out since by the Theologo-Politico's of our Age but sure I am the Apostles could never have avoyded this just Reprimand for they had every one of them fall'n under that worst of Condemnations ex ore tuo serve nequam out of thy own mouth thou wicked servant thou art condemned Thirdly 'T is not Lawfull but highly impious for Christians to Rebel against their Sovereign disturb the Government or use violence under the specious pretences of securing their Religion Because It ought to be preserv'd and continued in the world by the same methods it was at first propagated Now setting aside those mighty Works which our Saviour wrought to convince the Jews that He was the true Messias whom their Prophets had foretold should come into the world and the Heathens that He was a Person of greater worth acted by a more Divine Principle than any of their most celebrated Masters of Wisdom Setting aside this his Divine Power What was there that did more recommend his Religion to the world than the kind Aspect It had towards the Peace and Prosperity of the Empire Than the security It gave to the Civil Magistrate by the Obedience it taught and the Protection it might reasonably hope for under them by a Practice conformable to that Doctrine This consideration makes it a greater wonder to me that the Roman Emperours held out so long before they yielded Obedience to Christs Sceptre than that Constantine the Great came in so early to make good that Prophecy Kings shall be nursing Fathers c. Among all the Arguments which the Noble Apologists used to persuade the Emperours and their Ministers of State to forbear persecuting the Innocent Christians produce me one which carries the least shew of menace or force along with it when they had both Numbers and Arms to have disputed their cause O let not the Example of the noble Thebean Legion ever be forgotten They persuaded them that it was for their safety to cherish and protect such Subjects as gave such daily Instances of their valour by suffering joyfully the most cruel Deaths that it was for their Interest as well as their Glory to embrace that Religion which bred such couragious and yet such Obedient Loyal Professors who could endure the most exquisite Torments rather than deny their Religion because they knew if ever they rebell'd their Master would deny them Among all the