*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48370 *** Transcriber's Notes: Every effort has been made to reproduce the original text as printed. Sidenotes and footnotes in the original have been moved inline to follow applicable text. A SERMON PREACH'D Before the Right Honourable THE LORD-MAYOR, THE Aldermen and Citizens of _London_, AT THE _CATHEDRAL_ Church of St. _Paul_, On _Monday_ the 30th of _Jan._ 1709/10. BEING The ANNIVERSARY FAST for the _Martyrdom_ of King CHARLES the First. By _ANDREW SNAPE_, D. D. Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of _Somerset_, and Rector of St. _Mary at Hill_. _LONDON_: Printed for JONAH BOWYER, at the Sign of the _Rose_ in _Ludgate-Street_. 1710. _Garrard_, Mayor. _Martis_ vii. _die Februarii, 1709. Annoq; Regni Reginæ Annæ, Magnæ Britanniæ, &c. Octavo._ This Court doth desire Dr. _Snape_ to Print his Sermon, Preach'd at the Cathedral Church of St. _Paul_, before the Lord-Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of this City, on _Monday_ the Thirtieth of _January_ last, being the Day of Humiliation for the Martyrdom of King _Charles_ the First. _GIBSON._ 1 KINGS, XXI. 9, 10. _Proclaim a Fast, and set_ Naboth _on high among the People_: _And set Two Men, Sons of _Belial_, before him, to bear Witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the King: and then carry him out and stone him, that he may die._ There is scarce any one Instance of the shedding innocent Blood recorded in Holy Scripture which has not at some time or other been apply'd to the Occasion of this Day's Solemnity, even that of our blessed Saviour not excepted, whose Steps we have with one Voice declar'd in the Service of the Church the blessed Martyr cheerfully to have follow'd. [Note: _2d Collect for the day._] But here indeed it concerns us to tread warily. We can only affirm of the greatest Saints and brightest Luminaries of the Church that they have made some faint Approaches toward that great Exemplar, without presuming to equal either the Merits or the Sufferings of any meer Man to those of our crucify'd Redeemer: in all other Parallels there is less Danger of Excess, since most of 'em will be found, in many Circumstances, to fall short of the Fact committed on this Day. Now altho' in such a comparative way of arguing, where we single out some remarkable Passage from the Records of past Ages, and adapt it, as far as it will naturally bear, to some After-Occurrence that has fall'n out nearer our own Times, it cannot be expected that both the Cases should be in all Respects exactly the same, without the least Variation, yet when we can point out some of the principal and Master-Strokes of each of 'em which have a near Resemblance of one another, when the Methods and Ways of Acting, the Motives and Inducements to it, with other concurrent Circumstances, are the same; this may be enough to justify the Choice of the Subject, and make it serve at least as a fair Introduction to the Matter in Debate. I mention this, because of one remarkable Disagreement, which you must needs have been before-hand with me in observing, between the Case of _Naboth_, and that of this Day's _Royal Sufferer_, who as he had Liv'd the Ornament, so Died the _Martyr_ of the _English_ Church and Monarchy: And that is, that in the former of 'em, an innocent Subject was Murder'd by a wicked King (or at least by his Instruments and Agents, not without his Approbation and Consent, as appear'd by his subsequent Behaviour, in seizing his Inheritance, as well as by his own Confession, when he submitted to the Prophet's Charge, and humbled himself for it) whereas in the latter, a just and pious King was depriv'd at once of his Crown and Life by wicked and rebellious Subjects. But there are other Resemblances between 'em, that will make Amends for this Disparity. And therefore I shall proceed. I. To draw a Parallel between the two Cases, and shew what is common to 'em both. II. To consider the Nature and Consequences of the Fact committed on this Day. And III. I shall conclude with one or two Moral Reflections. I. I am to draw a Parallel between the two Cases, and show what is common to 'em both. Here then we may observe, that the Persons compar'd were both good Men: Both were Murder'd with a pretended Show of Justice, and with Religious Solemnities: Both for the same Cause, because they would not part with _the Inheritance of their Fathers_: Neither of 'em suffer'd singly; but the Enemies of each extended their Malice to the whole Race of 'em. First I say they were both good Men. That _Naboth_ was so, we may very fairly conjecture from his Behaviour in the Matter of the Vineyard; and from the Severity of God's Wrath toward _Ahab_ and his Family, for unjustly putting him to Death. For altho' the Murder even of a wicked Man, either by false Accusation, or secret Treachery, is a very heinous and detestable Thing; (and that Life that is Forfeited to Justice by a thousand real Crimes, yet if innocent _quoad hoc_, and taken away by wicked Subornation, on weak and insufficient Evidence, for that which is not a Crime, or which was not committed, will derive a Sentence of Blood-guiltiness, nay of the Shedding innocent Blood, on the Contrivers and Actors in such an Execution;) yet we cannot suppose, that this is, in so excessive a Degree, provoking, or that it entails the Divine Vengeance on so many Generations, as when the Person Condemn'd is eminent for Piety and Vertue. If indeed we were to judge of Things by their first Appearance, the Carriage of _Naboth_ toward _Ahab_, in denying him his Vineyard, might seem to have been very Churlish and Undutiful, especially when offer'd a _better Vineyard_ in Exchange for it, or an equivolent in _Mony_. And the Kings condescending way of Address, when he thus expresses himself, _If it shall seem good to thee_, and _if it please thee_; might be thought to have deserv'd a better Answer than, _I will not give thee my Vineyard_. But we must consider on the other Hand, that the Thing which the King desir'd, was absolutely Unlawful, and expressly forbid by the Command of God; the smallest Ceremony of whose Appointment could not be dispens'd with. We may learn from _Lev._ 25. and _Num._ 36. how straitly the _Jews_ were enjoyn'd to look upon the Inheritance of their Fathers as Sacred: The very numerical Lands and Possessions were to be continually preserv'd in the respective Families to which they were allotted, and the present Occupants had no Power of totally alienating 'em, but only till they could be redeem'd by one of their Kin, and not so long as that, if a Year of _Jubilee_ should first happen, when all Things were to be restor'd as at the beginning: And even that temporary Alienation was not to be made, but under the Pressure of extreme Necessity, which it seems was not _Naboth_'s Case. So that he look'd on the Proposal, as a Thing he could not with a safe Conscience comply with, and therefore speaks, you see, with some Abhorrence of it, (tho' not altogether so bluntly as _Ahab_ repeated it to his Wife) _The Lord forbid it me, that I shou'd give the Inheritance of my Fathers unto thee_. From this I say, and the other Consideration before-mention'd, we may reasonably infer that _Naboth_ was a Man of Uprightness and Integrity; tho' the Scripture has distinguish'd him by no other Title, but that of _Naboth the Jesraelite_. But we have better Arguments than bare Conjectures and remote Conclusions to induce us to believe that our _Martyr'd Sovereign_ was highly deserving of this Character, of which we have all the Proof and Demonstration that 'tis possible for one Man to have of the Integrity of another. 'Tis true, God alone is an infallible Judge and Discerner of the Heart; _he_ only beholds with an unerring Eye the Uprightness or Obliquity of Human Thoughts and Intentions; and therefore none but he can absolutely and decisively pronounce of any Person, that he is either Holy and Sincere, or Wicked and Prophane. But we Men must form our Judgment from the outward Actions, and wheresoever we find a regular Conduct, where all the Duties to God and Man, as far as we can observe, are exactly and punctually discharg'd, where there are no visible Infractions of Divine or Human Laws, or none but such as may be imputed to Human Frailty; we are to look upon a Person so qualified as a Man of Probity and Vertue. This is no more than is due in _common Justice_. But _Christian Charity_ will oblige us yet farther, even where there are some suspicious Appearances, if the Character of the Person be in other Respects unblemish'd; to err (if we must err) on the better Side, and make a favourable Construction. This is Spoken at large, and not that there is any Occasion for this last Supposal, with Regard to the Subject I am upon: There being nothing in the Behaviour of that _excellent Prince_, that has so much as an indirect Aspect, nothing I mean that can affect his general Character. When I affirm this I consider him chiefly as a private Christian, for in his _Royal Capacity_ indeed, as we find him represented, by the designing Artifice of his malicious and restless Enemies, there are faulty Appearances enough. And yet the very Persons, who thus industriously blackned and defam'd him, and loaded him with so many unjust Reproaches on the Account of his _Regal Administration_; (which can never be so Excellent, as to give no Handle to the _Factious_, the _Guilty_, and the _Disappointed_, to censure and malign it, and will be always liable to Misconstruction, the Reasons of State being so Mysterious) yet cou'd never charge on him any gross Misbehaviour in Point of Moral Duty, any one habitual Vice, or indulg'd Passion, tho' they wanted not Means of prying into his most secret Commerce and private Correspondence, and nothing, we know, is so quick-sighted as Malice. His Devotion to God was regular and constant both in publick and in private, and that, not cold and formal, but with an ardent Zeal and enflam'd Affection. In the midst of the perplexing Cares that encompass a Throne, and with which _his_ Throne was peculiarly beset; he always found Leisure for the Exercises of Religion: He was never so dazl'd with the Splendor of an _Earthly_ Crown, as not to prefer before it a _Heavenly_ and _Immortal_ One: Nor was he ever unmindful of this important Truth, that as _his_ Subjects were accountable to _him_; (tho' in the End they quite inverted that Order) so was he himself to render an Account of _his_ Actions at a greater Tribunal before the King of Kings. In the midst of the highest Plenty, and all the Means of gratifying a sensual Appetite that _Royal Affluence_ cou'd Administer, he was remarkably Temperate, Chast and Sober. His Conjugal Affection has been even imputed as a _Crime_. He was an inviolable Observer of his Matrimonial Vow, a Vertue not _too common_ in the World, a very rare one indeed in _Princes_. Nor was he less eminent for Clemency and Justice, and a tender Regard for the Welfare of his Subjects. And if we consider him in the last Scene of his Life, in his Behaviour both before, and at the Scaffold; we may observe an admirable Composition of Christian Meekness, and Royal Grandeur, how under the extremest Pressures he wou'd never be prevail'd with, to do any thing unbecoming either the _Christian_ or the _King_. As he had Liv'd, he Died a true Professor of the purest reform'd Faith: And his Character has this Advantage, even from the _reproachful_ manner of his Death; that his last Declaration so publickly made in the Face of the World, was not capable of being denied, or misrepresented. Whereas had they dispatch'd him by Poyson or Assassination, or any other way of Murder, that had carried less of Pomp and Ostentation; the Accusation had been obvious, that he Died a _Papist_, which his Enemies would not have fail'd to have reported, and his Friends could not so convincingly have disprov'd. His admirable and instructing Legacy to his Children, his Praying for his Murderers, his patient Resignation to the Will of God, and indeed all the several Parts of his Deportment at that dismal Juncture; do conspire to raise in us the highest Esteem and Veneration for his Memory. And sure we may allow to one who was endu'd with so large a Share of Vertues, with so inconsiderable a Mixture of Defects, the Character and Denomination of a good Man. I mean, in a qualified Sense, for, in an absolute Sense, we know who has told us, there is none good but God. And this is one Point in which _Naboth_ and he agree. The next is, that they both were Murder'd with a pretended Show of Justice, and with Religious Solemnities. In order to _Naboth_'s Murder there was a _Fast Proclaim'd_, _a solemn Assembly call'd_, a formal Accusation forg'd, and suborn'd Witnesses produc'd. The principally intended Wickedness was thus usher'd in with a preparatory Combination of other Crimes; thus closely was the Train of Mischeif laid, by the Contrivance of wicked _Jezebel_; that _Hypocrisy_, _Perjury_ and _false Judgment_ should be the Prelude and Introduction to _Murder_. And was not this exactly the Case of our _Royal Sufferer_? Was there not a Day of _Humiliation_ appointed? Was not the nefarious Business in Agitation dignified with the specious Title of _the Lord's Work_? Did not the cheif Authors of that Cruelty pretend to be _seeking the Lord_, whilst their Instruments were embruing their Hands in the Blood of the _Lord's Anointed_. How horribly did they profane the Name of God, whilst they invok'd him, as Accessary to their Bloody Machinations, and besought him to strengthen their Hands in that diabolical Work! How wretchedly did they pervert his Word, which teaches all Obedience and Reverence to Princes; whilst even from those sacred Writings they would pretend to justify not only the highest Insolence and Contempt, but even the actual Murder of his _Lawful Vice-gerent_! To how base Purposes were the Ordinances of Religion prostituted, whilst they fasted for the Success of that impious Act, which it requires a perpetual Fast to deprecate the Guilt of: And _made long Prayers_ only _for a Pretense_, when they were making a Royal Widow, and devouring Houses and Lands, stately Palaces, and Princely Revenues with insatiable Greediness! How ill did it accord with their profest Purity and Godliness, after they had strain'd at so many Gnats, to swallow such a Camel! Could they, in Reality, have been held by any Religious Ties, they would have paid some Regard, if not to the general Precepts of Obedience, if not to the former Oaths of Allegiance they had taken; yet at least to their own _Solemn League and Covenant_, that precious Test of Disloyalty, they so eagerly contended for, and which they had contriv'd as a Snare for others, whilst, thro' the Deadness of their Consciences, they were unrestrain'd themselves. Even _that Engagement_, rebellious as it was, provided for the Security of the King's Person, which they were bound, by all that was Sacred, to protect and defend; and consequently the putting him to Death, besides all the other bad Circumstances, was an Act of the most _deliberate Perjury_ that ever was committed. But as if something was still wanting to fill up the Measure of their complicated Impiety; they added Hypocrisy to the rest, gave a Religious Turn to their execrable Proceedings, and in the Depth of all this Mischeif, pretended a Zeal for God's Glory, and to have nothing so much at Heart, as promoting the Purity of his Worship. Nor was _Piety_ the only false Pretence, they wou'd make a show of _Justice_ too: They would seem to do that by _Law_, which was an open Violation of all the Laws both of God and Man. To this End was erected a Mock-Tribunal of Self-created Judges, who by Vertue of that usurp'd and imaginary Authority, presum'd to set before 'em as a Criminal, their unquestionably rightful Sovereign. They had false Witnesses, _Sons of Belial_, ready at hand to have born their Testimony against him, and to have charg'd him with such Things, as he not only, in Fact, was clear of, but which he was not capable of committing. _Naboth_ indeed might, 'tho' he did not, have Curs'd _God and the King_. [Note: So the Hebrew Verb should be rendred here, as it is elsewhere. The _Arabick_ and _Chaldee_ express it by two different Words. Thou didst _Blaspheme_ God, and _Curse_ the King.] There were really such Offences, tho' there was no such Offender. Whereas in the Case of our Martyr'd Prince, the Crime its self was as Fictitious as the Personal Charge. He not only was not, but cou'd not be guilty of that Treason they accus'd him of, since by our known Constitution, it was against himself only that any Treason cou'd be committed. We find in no Records the mention of such a Crime, as the _Lese-Majesty of the People_, nor that the cruellest Tyrants were ever tax'd with being _Rebels_ to their own Subjects. 'Tis possible for 'em to Misgovern, to subvert Fundamentals, to abuse their Trust, or to forsake it, and drive the People to a Necessity of transferring their Allegiance (of which our own Times have furnish'd us with an Instance:) But they can never be guilty of _Treason_, nor suffer the Punishment of _Traytors_. When therefore the good King disown'd this illegal Judicature, and refus'd (as he well might) to Plead his Cause before 'em; they still went on with a Mask of Justice, and in Mock-Representation of a legal Process, to Sentence and Condemn him, and Sign a Bloody Warrant for his Execution. Another Thing in which his Case does nearly resemble that of _Naboth_ is, that they both were Murder'd for the same Cause, because they wou'd not part with the _Inheritance of their Fathers_. _Naboth_ might have compounded for his _Life_, by relinquishing his _Vineyard_, nay he might have had an equivalent too. But as he conceiv'd himself bound in Conscience, religiously to preserve his original Patrimony, he was under an unhappy Necessity of making such a Refusal, as brought him to that untimely End. And the Desire of his _Inheritance_ was the Motive that induc'd our unnatural Country-men, to take away the Life of their Lawful King. The Inherent-Rights and Prerogtiaves of the Crown, which his Royal Predecessors had uncontestably enjoy'd, thro' a Succession of many Ages, were one after another disputed with _him_, and in the End violently extorted. What he cou'd depart from, with safety to his Conscience and Honour, he gave 'em, by a voluntary Consent, to preserve the Quiet of his Kingdom; but when he perceiv'd that nothing wou'd content 'em; (their Demands still rising, as his Concessions were larger) he adher'd with a steddy Resolution to those Branches of Power, which he judg'd to be inseparable from the Royal Dignity, and parted with them and his Life together. Before they had thus compass'd their wicked Ends, and were become Masters of all without Controul, whilst there was yet the Appearance and Shadow of Kingly Government, and nothing cou'd be valid without the Royal Sanction; even then, tho' they left him the _Name_, they arrogated to themselves the _Power_. With what repeated Importunities did they Daily tear from him his most trusted and faithful Servants, under the Character of _Evil Counsellors_, and thrust into his Presence and Councils, their own Mercenary Creatures, Men of notorious Faction and Disloyalty, the profest Haters both of his Person and Authority, as the only Men to be _confided_ in! How justly might he have answer'd their haughty and unreasonable Demands (for such in Effect were their _humble Petitions_) in the Words of the wisest of Princes (when a very improper Application was made to him, in behalf of one, who had so little Pretension to _Favour_, that _Impunity_ was more than he had deserv'd) _Ask for him the Kingdom also_. [Note: _1 Kings_ 2. 22.] They wanted, in short, such a Power as should create Dependencies on _them_, and tie fast to their Service such Instruments of Mischeif as they should have Occasion to make use of. And not to descend to all the several Branches of Royalty, 'twas Dominion and Government they aim'd at; an Affectation of Lording and Ruling it, was the real Ground of their seditious Outcries (as the Event sufficiently show'd) however they varnish'd over their Designs with more plausible Pretences. Once more, we may observe another Resemblance between these two Innocent Persons, in that neither of 'em suffer'd _singly_, but the Enemies of each extended their Malice to the _whole Race_ of 'em. Tho' the History now before us is silent as to _Naboth_'s _Family_, and only relates what befel him in his own _Person_; yet we may learn from _2 Kings_ 9. 26. what became of 'em. _Surely I have seen Yesterday the Blood of _Naboth_, and the Blood of his Sons, saith the Lord, and I will requite thee in this Plat._ It cannot, I confess, be equally affirm'd, with relation to our Martyr'd Sovereign, that the Blood of _his Sons_ too calls for Vengeance, _that_ only Stream of Royal Blood having been Spilt, that ran within his own Veins. But tho' they escap'd with Life, (no Thanks to the Usurpers of their Inheritance that they did so) yet were they devested of their just Rights, which none of 'em had then done any thing to forfeit, driven into Exile, branded with Names of Infamy and Reproach, and declar'd _Traytors_ and _Rebels_ themselves, as well as their Abettors and Adherents. Having said thus much by way of Parallel, give me leave to conclude the Comparison between these two Innocents, as I first introduc'd it, with taking Notice of one other material Difference between the two Histories. _Naboth_'s Murderer, tho' _above_ the Reach of _human_ Justice, saw, and confess'd, and bewail'd his Guilt, and humbled himself so effectually before God, that the Vengeance he requir'd for that _innocent Blood_ (for _innocent Blood_ will be aveng'd, nor is it any Security to us, that it was not shed by _us_, or in _our Days_) was not immediately taken, but postpon'd till another Generation. But the _Royal Murderers_ show'd _no_ Remorse. The _Regicides_ of _this Day_ continu'd to the last Inflexible and Obdurate: Their Hearts were so hardned by the just Judgment of God for their accumulated Wickedness; that even those of 'em who, by his peculiar Providence, were reserv'd for _publick Justice_, were so far from any Signs of Repentance, that they even _Gloried_ in the inhuman Deed. I come now in the II. Place to consider the _Nature and Consequences_ of the Fact committed on this Day. The _Nature_ of it may be in a great Measure judg'd, from what has been already said. But farther to convince us of the enormous Guilt of it, let us take it, as attended with the following Circumstances. For a Sovereign and _Hereditary Monarch_ (it was then an _Hereditary Monarchy_ sure) after many other previous Outrages and Affronts, to be brought to the Bar, as a _common Malefactor_, and that before a pretended _High-Court_ compos'd of his own _Subjects_, surrounded with a Guard of his own _Soldiers_, to be Arraign'd of _Treason_, to be Sentenc'd to _Death_, and Executed on a _Scaffold_, in his _Capital City_, and before the Walls of his own _Palace_: And all this to gratify the Ambition or Revenge of a few turbulent Spirits, whilst a far greater Number, who disapprov'd of that rigorous Extremity, cou'd yet be contented to stand by as unconcern'd Spectators, and suffer the bloody Tragedy to be Acted, without offering to interpose, or stirring to the Rescue of their Prince: The Fact I say thus circumstantiated, is not to be equal'd in any History, by which Majesty its self, as well as the Person of the King, was so outragiously insulted. And that all this should be done in a Kingdom, _by the undoubted and fundamental Laws_ whereof (I speak in the very Words of a Law, made indeed since the horrid Fact, but made, not to constitute, but recognize this _Essential Prerogative_, as antecedently inherent in the Crown, that) _neither the Peers of the Realm, nor the Commons, nor both together, in Parliament, or out of Parliament, nor the People Collectively, nor Representatively, nor any other Persons whatsoever, ever had, have, or ought to have any coercive Power over the Persons of the Kings of the Realm_. [Note: Stat. 12. _Car._ 2. Ch. 30. §. 7.] And if no such Authority was lodg'd with the _whole Body_ of Subjects, how much less cou'd it be claim'd by that _inconsiderable Remnant_ of one House, which without the Concurrence of the other, and whilst the far greater Part of its own Members were kept out by Force of Arms; had the Confidence to usurp the venerable Name of _Parliament_. Never was that _happy Part_ of our _Constitution_, that _Necessary Fence_ against _Arbitrary Rule_, and Bulwark of English Laws and Liberties, so reproachfully perverted. Never were the People of _England_ so untruly said to be represented: which they no more were, by the corrupt Refuse of that Assembly; than the _Catholic Church_ was fairly represented in the pretended _Council_ of _Trent_, where only those cou'd be admitted, who were the known Favorers of the _Pope's Supremacy_, and who wou'd be sure to do his Work effectually. But let us suppose they had a Power over his Person, and withal that he had misemploy'd his Regal Administration as much as some have represented him to have done; let us take all for Truth that inveterate Malice, or factious Prejudice has endeavour'd to fasten on him; even these Provocations were far from sufficient to justify so extravagant a Remedy as the shedding of his Blood. Much less when they liv'd under so mild a Government, and a Prince so tender of the Rights and Liberties of his Subjects as he naturally was in his own Temper. I pretend not to deny that, even in _his_ Reign, there were some just Causes of Complaint, some real Grievances, some unwarrantable Impositions and unjustifiable Demands. Princes are but Men, and fallible like other Men, nor is it any great Wonder if the best of 'em mistake the Extent of their Prerogative, when persuaded into an undue Opinion of it, by those that shou'd advise 'em better. But how easily might those Greivances have been set right in Time, had not the rough and undutiful Manner in which the Redress of 'em was sought, made him believe for a time there were none that needed it. But when once he was convinc'd of their Reality, how willingly did he redress 'em all, and more than all, that cou'd with any show of Justice be complain'd of, or be thought to deserve the Name of Hardships! How often might Things have been brought to a better Temper, and the unhappy Breach accommodated, had not their own Obstinacy prevented it, whom no Degree of Royal Condescension would satisfie or appease; but his Blood they _would have_, and his Blood they _had_: The Guilt whereof has ever since lay heavy on this sinful Nation, and even now calls for our deepest Humiliation, to deprecate that Vengeance of Almighty God, which might justly be inflicted on the _remote Posterity_ of the Actors in that _unnatural Parricide_. He has abundantly testified his Displeasure at it, by many bad and mischeivous _Consequences_ it has produc'd, some of which we still smart under, tho' not the first I am going to mention, which is The Confusion of those Times that immediately ensu'd. The miserable State of _Anarchy_ to which this unhappy Country was reduc'd, after the Extirpation of the _Royal Family_, may be a Warning to all querulous Innovators, who are never contented with the present State of Things. They compass'd their Wish at last, and had the Satisfaction of seeing both _Kingly and Episcopal Government_ at once abolish'd, and themselves, (as they suppos'd) in a State of _religious and civil Liberty_. But did they enjoy that _Liberty_ any otherwise than in Name? Did it not cost 'em much dearer to maintain their _new Lords_ in their ill-gotten _Tyranny_, than ever it had done to supply the Exigencies of their _lawful Prince_? Was the Freedom of _Parliament_, and Right of _Elections_ more inviolably kept? Were they less under the Terror of an _armed Force_? Were there fewer _Executions_, _Fines_ and _Imprisonments_? Was the Course of the _Law_ more free and undisturb'd, or _Justice_ more equitably and impartially Administer'd? Were the _Taxes_ more moderate, the _Loans_ of Money less constrain'd, or the _Public Faith_ (when no Body knew what or where the _Public_ was) a better Security for what was lent, than before this violent Convulsion of the State. No. The Reverse of all this is notoriously true, if there be any Truth in History. They dream't and rav'd of Oppression before, but they were then opprest in Earnest. They were before chastis'd with imaginary Whips, but then with real Scorpions. And surely it was a just Judgment of God upon 'em for their Inconstancy of Temper, and Eagerness for a Change, that when once they had shaken off their just Allegiance, and chose new Masters for themselves, they were afterwards forc'd to be perpetually changing, and cou'd find no Power that was able to protect 'em long, but saw more Turns and Revolutions in the Compass of a few Months, than had happen'd in a Thousand Years before. New Schemes and Models of Government were daily Fashion'd, some of which died in _Embryo_, others made a Blaze for a short Time, but no sooner had they turn'd themselves to the new-started Light, in hopes to be warm'd and directed by it, but the Airy Meteor disappear'd. 'Twas a common Thing then to see Servants on Horseback, whilst Princes walk'd on Foot, to see the meanest of the People in the highest Places; and one might have seen _Jotham_'s Parable exactly verified, when instead of the _Fatness of the Olive_, and the _Fruitfulness of the Vine_; the Supreme Dominion was invested in the despicable, the useless, the hurtful _Brambles_. Then as to _Spirituals_. Did the _Authors_ of those Troubles find their Account in 'em? Were they able at last quietly to Establish their own Way of Worship, and had they not many contending Rivals? Were not their own Complaints against the Hierarchy, of _taking too much upon 'em_, _imposing_ on the _Lord's People_, and depriving 'em of their _Christian Liberty_, return'd upon themselves? Was there a greater Advancement of Piety, whilst the _Sacrament_ was rarely Administer'd, the Catechizing of Youth exceedingly neglected, and almost all Religion resolv'd into _Hearing_? Was there a greater _Liberty of Conscience_, when the prevailing Sect for the Time Condemn'd the _Toleration_ of the rest as _Anti-christian_? ----_En quo Discordia Cives Perduxit miseros!_ _These_ were the _Blessed_ Fruits of _Discord_ and _Rebellion_. _This_ was the Price of over-turning a legally and peacably settled Constitution. As another bad Effect (but God be prais'd that's over too) of this Day's Cruelty, may be reckon'd the imminent Danger we were in, not many Years since, of the Return of _Popish Superstition_ into this Nation, to which, in all human Probability, the greatest Part of it had in a little time relaps'd, had not Providence defeated the Designs that were form'd against our Holy Religion, by the late _Happy Revolution_. That very Danger, I say, of _Popery_, may be imputed, in its Original, to those who, by Banishing the _Royal Progeny_, and obliging 'em to fly for shelter to the Court of a _Popish Prince_, expos'd 'em to the utmost Temptation of changing the Religion of the Country they had left, for that of the Place where they were Entertain'd. It did, in Fact, so happen, that they were earnestly solicited to that Effect, and one of 'em, we know, (and we had like to have known it at too dear a Rate) unhappily complied with the Temptation. But there are some ill Consequences of that great Rebellion, that still affect us, and particularly the unhappy Divisions that reign among us. 'Tis a sad and deplorable Thing indeed, that Men who are Professors of the same Religion, who have the same Political Obligations, who are bound by all the Ties both of Interest and Duty to direct their Designs and Actions to the same End, should notwithstanding, fly into such opposite Extremes, and brand each other with such opprobrious Names. Such Jealousies and Surmises, such _Names of Distinction_, and forming of _Parties_, were the fatal Beginnings of that _Intestine War_, which depopulated and laid Wast this flourishing Kingdom, and ended in the _Murder_ of the _Sovereign_, and the total overthrow of all orderly Government both in Church and State. And that Spirit of Division which then began to Reign has never since been totally ejected. Add to this, that many loose Principles as to _Government_, were then imbib'd, of which it were much to be wish'd, there were no Tincture still remaining. And (which is worst of all) it is too certain that the Pretences to a more than ordinary Sanctity, and the great Apperance of Godliness in such Numbers of Men, who yet, when the Mask was off, were found to be wicked to the last Degree, and to have acted by no Principles but _Iuterest_ and _Ambition_; gave an unhappy Disgust to many Observers of their Conduct, against all that favor'd of Piety and Goodness, and rais'd an unjust suspicion in 'em, that all Religion was counterfeit, that whoever went under the Character of a _devout Person_, was only acting a Part, in order to deceive. Thus were the Seeds of _Atheism_ and _Irreligion_ sown, which have since thriven but too well, and yielded a very ungracious Encrease. 1. To the same Cause too we may ascribe almost all our Differences in Religion. We can call upon all the Persuasions but one, who enjoy the Benefit of the _Toleration_, (and may it ever be enjoy'd by Consciences truly tender) to look back to those unhappy Times for their first Original, and see, in the midst of how much Licenciousness and Disorder they were propagated, and began to spread. I shall only crave your farther Patience, while I apply what has been said in two short moral Reflections, both which I shall take from the concluding Prayer in the Service for the Day, where we beseech God, _that neither the splendor of any thing that is great, nor the Conceit of any thing that is good in us, may any ways withdraw our Eyes from looking on our selves as sinful Dust and Ashes_. 1. Then, from the tragical Event of this Day, we may observe the _Uncertainty_ of all _Human State and Grandeur_. Of how short Continuance, and consequently of how little Value is the most glittering Pomp, that attracts our vain Eyes, and strikes us with Admiration! Of how slippery a Tenure must _lesser_ Dignities and Honours be, if _Majesty_ it self be so insecure! How little is the Condition of Princes to be envied, who have often Occasion to envy the Quiet and Repose of the meanest of their Subjects, who can Sleep securely, whilst _they_ are waking and caring for 'em! They are equally expos'd to Pain and Sickness, to Infirmity and Diseases; they lye as open to a natural, and much _more_ open to a violent Death. _Plots_ and _Conspiracies_, _Assassinations_ and _Poysonings_ are Accidents peculiar to the _Royal List_ of Mortality, and seldom bring a Subject to his End. Nor is the _Fame_ of Princes less liable to Injury, than their _Persons_. Calumny dares even assault the _Throne_, and fears not to trample on _Regal Sepulchers_. There is none so great and inaccessible, as to be out of the Reach of that intruding Monster; who will blacken and sully the clearest Fame, turn the brightest Ornaments and Beauties into Deformities, detract from the most Heroical and Princely Vertues, and transform, to the Appearance of such as see by her Glass, a good _Josiah_ into a wicked _Jeroboam_. And as the most conspicuous _Greatness_ is no Preservative against the common Calamities of the World, so neither 2. Is the most eminent _Goodness_. Tryals and Afflictions are the common Lot of Mortality, and every Man, more or less must sustain his Share of 'em. In this, the Righteous and Wicked fare alike, nor can a Man judge of Love or Hatred by all that is before him. There are indeed many Passages of Scripture, that encourage a good Man to expect even the Blessings of this Life, and ordinarily Speaking, he does actually enjoy 'em, at least in a contented Mind and quiet Conscience, which comprehends 'em all. But we are to look upon these Passages, as moral Observations, not as absolute Promises: That according to the most rational, most probable, most natural Event, such temporal Blessings would be allotted to good Men, not that each particular good Man should be possess'd of every one of 'em, for that would be in some Measure, to have his Portion here. All this is beside our Contract with God. The Reward there stipulated, is the _Kingdom of Heaven_, and if he does think fit to _add these Things unto us_, and to enlarge our Portion, by the Accession of some external good Things, 'tis over and above our covenanted Recompence. But whatever the Lot may be of a righteous Man here on _Earth_, he will be sure of his Reward in a _better Place_, in those Regions of endless Bliss and Glory, where the _Blessed Martyr_, whom we this Day Commemorate, we may Charitably presume, is now adorn'd with that _Crown of Life_, which he Purchas'd by his constant _Perseverance unto Death_. _FINIS._ _BOOKS Printed for, and sold by_ Jonah Bowyer, _at the Rose in_ Ludgate-street, _near the West-End of St._ Paul_'s Church._ Fourteen Sermons, preach'd on several Occaosins, together with a large Vindication of the Doctrine contain'd in the Sermon preach'd at the Funeral of Mr. _Thomas Bennet_. By _Francis Atterbury_, D. D. Dean of Dean of _Carlisle_, Preacher at the _Rolls_, and Chaplain in Ordinary to her Majesty. Not included in the said Volume; a Spittal Sermon preach'd at St. _Bridget_'s Church, before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, _&c._ _Concio ad Clerum Londinensem, habita in Ecclesia S. Elphegi, Maij 17. 1709._ _A Francisco Atterbury_, S. T. P. _Carliolensis Ecclesiæ Decano, & Regiæ Majestati a Sacris Domesticis._ _Sancti Patris nostri Joannis Chrysostomi Archiepiscopi Constantinopolitani de Sercerdotio Libri_ VI. _accessere Dissertationes quædam Promiales de Dignitate Sacerdotali, item S. Chrysostomi Vita e Celeber. Cavij Historia Litteraria desumpta. Adornavit, Præfationemq; adjecit Joannes Hughes_, A. M. _Collegij Jesu apud Cantabrigienses Socius. Cantabrigiæ Typis Academicis._ Instructions for the Education of a Daughter, by the Author of _Temelachus_. To which is added a small Tract of Instructions for the Conduct of young Ladies of the highest Rank, with suitable Devotions annex'd. Done into _English_, and revis'd by Dr. _Geo. Hicks_: The second Edition. The glorious Descent, or the Blessings of the Holy Ghost, represented in thre Discourses on St. _John_, vi. 7. Lately preach'd at _Triploe_ near _Cambridge_. To which are added, three other Sermons, Two on the Feast of _Easter_; and, one on the Nativity of our Lord. By _Edmund Brome_, B. D. and Fellow of St. _John_'s College in _Cambridge_, being improv'd with Notes and Enlargements. An Account of the Earl of _Peterboroughs_ Conduct in _Spain_, chiefly since the Raising the Seige of _Barcelona_, 1706. To which is added the Campagne of _Valencia_. With Original Papers. The second Edition corrected. _Epicteti Enchiridion_, made _English_, in a Poetical Phrase. By _Ellis Walker_, M. A. A Sermon preach'd at the Anniversary Meeting of the Sons of the Clergy, in the Cathedral Church of St. _Paul_, on _Thursday, Dec. 2. 1708_. By _Phillip Basse_, D. D. A Sermon Preach'd before the Sons of the Clergy, at their _Anniversary-Meeting_ in the Church of St. _Paul_, _Dec. 6. 1709_. By _Francis Atterbury_, D. D. Preacher at the _Rolls_, Dean of _Carlisle_, and Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty. To which are annex'd, An _Abstract_ of the _Charter_, erecting the _Corporation_; and a True Account of the _Sums_, distributed sinee its Erection. _Just Publish'd_ A True State of the Case of the Reverend Mr. _Greenshields_, now Prisoner in the _Tolbooth_ in _Edenburgh_, For Reading _Common-Prayer_, in an _Episcopal Congregation_ there; tho' qualify'd by taking the _Oaths_, and praying for the _Queen_ and Princess _Sophia_. With Copies of several Original Papers relating to his _Accusation_, _Defense_, _Imprisonment_, and _Appeal_, first to the Lords of the Session in _North-Britain_, and since to the House of Lords. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor : the aldermen and citizens of London, by Andrew Snape *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48370 ***