Sermons and Discourses Volume 3, Sermon 1
A SERMON Preached before the Honourable Houſe of Commons, Novemb. 5. 1678.
LUKE IX. 55, 56.
But he turned and rebuked them, and ſaid, Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of; For the Son of Man is not come to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them.
AMONG many other things, which may juſtly recommend the Chriſtian Religion to the approbation of mankind, the intrinſick goodneſs of it is moſt apt to make impreſſion upon the Minds of ſerious and conſiderate men. The Miracles of it are the great external evidence and confirmation of its truth and Divinity; but the morality of its doctrines and precepts, ſo agreeable to the beſt reaſon and wiſeſt apprehenſions of mankind, ſo admirably fitted for the perfecting of our natures and the ſweetning of the ſpirits and tempers of men, ſo friendly to human Society and every way ſo well calculated for the peace and order of the World. Theſe are the things which our Religion glories in as her crown and excellency. Miracles are apt to awaken and aſtoniſh, and by a ſenſible and overpowering evidence to bear down the prejudices of Infidelity; but there are ſecret charms in goodneſs which take faſt hold of the hearts of men and do inſenſibly, but effectually, command our love and eſteem.
And ſurely nothing can be more proper to the occaſion of this Day, than a Diſcourſe upon this Argument; which ſo directly tends to correct that unchriſtian ſpirit, and miſtaken zeal, which hath been the cauſe of all our troubles and confuſions, and had ſo powerfull an influence upon that horrid Tragedy which was deſigned, now near upon fourſcore years ago, to have been acted as upon this Day.
And that we may the better underſtand the reaſon of our Saviour's reproof here in the Text, it will be requiſite to conſider the occaſion of this hot and furious zeal which appeared in ſome of his Diſciples. And that was this; Our Saviour was going from Galilee to Jeruſalem, and being to paſs through a Village of Samaria he ſent meſſengers before him to prepare entertainment for him; but the People of that Place would not receive him, becauſe he was going to Jeruſalem: the Reaſon whereof was, the difference of Religion which then was between the Jews and the Samaritans. Of which I ſhall give you this brief account.
The Samaritans were originally that Colony of the Aſſyrians, which we find in the Book of Kings was, upon the Captivity of the Ten Tribes, planted in Samaria by Salmanaſſar. They were Heathens, and worſhipped their own Idols, till they were ſo infeſted with Lions, that for the redreſs of this miſchief they deſired to be inſtructed in the worſhip of the God of Iſrael, hoping by this means to appeaſe the anger of the God of the Country; and then they worſhipped the God of Iſrael together with their own Idols; for ſo it is ſaid in the Hiſtory of the Kings, That they ſeared the Lord, and ſerved their own Gods.
After the Tribe of Judah were returned from the Captivity of Babylon, and the Temple of Jeruſalem was rebuilt, all the Jews were obliged by a ſolemn Covenant to put away their Heathen Wives. It happened that Manaſſes, a Jewiſh Prieſt, had married the Daughter of Sanballat the Samaritan; and being unwilling to put away his Wife, Sanballat excited the Samaritans to build a Temple upon Mount Gerizim near the City of Samaria, in oppoſition to the Temple at Jeruſalem, and made Manaſſes his Son-in-law, Prieſt there.
Upon the building of this new Temple there aroſe a great feud between the Jews and Samaritans, which in proceſs of time grew to ſo violent a hatred that they would not ſo much as ſhew common civility to one another. And this was the reaſon why the Samaritans would not receive our Saviour in his journey, becauſe they perceived he was going to worſhip at Jeruſalem.
At this uncivil uſage of our Saviour, two of his Diſciples, James and John, preſently take fire, and out of a well-meaning zeal for the honour of their Maſter, and of the true God, and of Jeruſalem the true place of his worſhip, they are immediately for diſpatching out of the way theſe Enemies of God, and Chriſt, and the true Religion; theſe Hereticks and Schiſmaticks, for ſo they called one another. And to this end they deſire our Saviour to give them power to call for fire from Heaven to conſume them, as Elias had done in a like caſe, and that too not far from Samaria; and it is not improbable that their being ſo near the place where Elias had done the like before, might prompt them to this requeſt.
Our Saviour ſeeing them in this heat notwithſtanding all the reaſons they pretended for their paſſion, and for all they ſheltered themſelves under the great Example of Elias, doth very calmly but ſeverely reprove this temper of theirs, Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of: for the Son of Man is not come to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them.
Grotius obſerves, that theſe two excellent Sentences are leſt out in a Manuſcript that is in England. I cannot tell what Manuſcript he refers to, but if it were a Copy written out in the height of Popery, no wonder if ſome zealous Tranſcriber offended at this paſſage, ſtruck it out of the Goſpel, being confident our Saviour would not ſay any thing, that was ſo directly contrary to the current Doctrine and practice of thoſe times. But thanks be to God, this admirable Saying is ſtill preſerv'd, and can never be made uſe of upon a fitter occaſion.
Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of: That is, Ye own your ſelves to be my Diſciples, but do you conſider what ſpirit now acts and governs you; Not that ſurely which my Doctrine deſigns to mould and faſhion you into, which is not a furious and perſecuting and deſtructive ſpirit, but mild and gentle and ſaving; tender of the lives and intereſts of men, even of thoſe who are our greateſt Enemies: You ought to conſider, That you are not now under the rough and ſowr Diſpenſation of the Law, but the calm and peaceable Inſtitution of the Goſpel; to which the ſpirit of Elias, though he was a very good man in his time, would be altogether unſuitable. God p rmitted it then, under that imperfect way of Religion, but now under the Goſpel it would be intolerable: For that deſigns univerſal love, and peace, and good-will: and now no difference of Religion, no pretence of zeal for God and Chriſt can warrant and juſtifie this paſſionate and fierce, this vindictive and exterminating ſpirit.
For the Son of Man is not come to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them. He ſays indeed elſewhere, that he was not come to ſend Peace, but a Sword; which we are not to underſtand of the natural tendency of his Religion, but of the accidental event and effect of it, through the malice and perverſeneſs of men: But here he ſpeaks of the proper intention and deſign of his coming: He came not to kill and deſtroy, but for the healing of the Nations; for the ſalvation and redemption of Mankind, not onelyonly from the wrath to come, but from a great part of the evils and miſeries of this life: He came to diſcountenance all fierceneſs and rage and cruelty in men, one towards another; to reſtrain and ſubdue that furious and unpeaceable Spirit, which is ſo troubleſome to the world, and the cauſe of ſo many miſchiefs and diſorders in it: And to introduce a Religion which conſults not only the eternal Salvation of mens ſouls, but their temporal peace and ſecurity, their comfort and happineſs in this world.
The words thus explained contain this Obſervation, That a revengeful and cruel and deſtructive Spirit, is directly contrary to the deſign and temper of the Goſpel, and not to be excuſed upon any pretence of zeal for God and Religion.
In the proſecution of this Argument, I ſhall confine my Diſcourſe to theſe Three heads.
Firſt, To ſhew the oppoſition of this ſpirit to the true▪ Spirit and deſign of the Chriſtian Religion.
Secondly, The unjuſtifiableneſs of it upon any pretence of zeal for God and Religion.
Thirdly, to apply this Diſcourſe to the occaſion of this Day.
Firſt, I ſhall ſhew the oppoſition of this ſpirit to the true Spirit and deſign of the Chriſtian Religion: That it is directly oppoſite to the main and fundamental Precepts of the Goſpel, and to the great Paterns and Examples of our Religion, our Bleſſed Saviour and the Primitive Chriſtians.
1. This ſpirit which our Saviour here reproves in his Diſciples, is directly oppoſite to the main and fundamental Precepts of the Goſpel; which command us to love one another, and to love all men, even our very enemies; and are ſo far from permitting us to perſecute thoſe who hate us, that they forbid us to hate thoſe who perſecute us: They require us to be merciful as our Father which is in Heaven is merciful; to be kind and tender-hearted, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel againſt any, even as God for Chriſt's ſake hath forgiven us: And to put on as the elect of God, bowels of mercy, meekneſs and long-ſuffering, and to follow peace with all men, and to ſhew all meekneſs to all men; And particulary the Paſtors and Governors of the Church are eſpecially charged to be of this temper, The ſervant of the Lord muſt not strive, but be gentle unto all men; apt to teach, in meekneſs inſtructing thoſe that oppoſe themſelves, if peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth. To all which Precepts, and many more that I might reckon up, nothing can be more plainly oppoſite than inhumane Cruelties and Perſecutions, treacheroos Conſpiracies and bloody Maſſacres, a barbarous Inquiſition, and a holy League to extirpate all that differ from us. And inſtead of inſtructing in meekneſs thoſe that oppoſe themſelves to convert men with fire and faggot, and to teach them as Gideon did the men of Succoth with briars and thorns; and inſtead of waiting for their repentance, and endeavouring to recover them out of the ſnare of the Devil, to put them quick into his hands, and to diſpatch them to Hell as faſt as is poſſible. If the precepts of Chriſtianity can be contradicted, ſurely it cannot be done more groſly and palpably than by ſuch practiſes.
2. This ſpirit is likewiſe directly oppoſite to the great Paterns and Examples of our Religion, our Bleſſed Saviour, and the Primitive Chriſtians. It was propheſied of our Saviour that he ſhould be the Prince of peace, and ſhould make it one of his great buſineſſes upon earth, to make peace in heaven and earth, to reconcile men to God and to one another, to take up all thoſe feuds and to extinguiſh all thoſe animoſities that were in the world; to bring to agreement and a peaceable demeanour one towards another thoſe that were moſt diſtant in their tempers and intereſts, to make the lamb and the wolf lie down together, that there might be no more deſtroying nor devouring in all Goll's holy mountain; that is, that that cruel and deſtructive ſpirit which prevailed before in the world ſhould then be baniſhed out of all Chriſtian ſocieties.
And in conformity to theſe predictions, when our Saviour was born into the world the Angels ſang that heavenly Anthem, Glory to God in the higheſt, peace on earth, and good will among men. And when he appeared in the world his whole life and carriage was gentle and peaceable, full of meekneſs and charity. His great buſineſs was to be beneficial to others, to ſeek and to ſave that which was loſt; he went about doing good, to the bodies and to the ſouls of men: his miracles were not deſtructive to mankind, but healing and charitable. He could, if he had pleaſed, by his miraculous power have confounded his enemies, and have thundred out death and deſtruction againſt the Infidel world, as his pretended Vicar hath ſince done againſt Hereticks. But intending that his Religion ſhould be propagated in human ways, and that Men ſhould be drawn to the profeſſion of it by the bands of love and the cords of a man, by the gentle and peaceable methods of Reaſon and perſwaſion; he gave no example of a furious zeal and religious rage againſt thoſe who deſpiſed his Doctrine. It was propounded to men for their great advantage, and they rejected it at their utmoſt peril. It ſeemed good to the Author of this inſtitution to compell no man to it by temporal puniſhments. When he went about making proſelytes he offered violence to no man, only ſaid, If any man will be my diſciple, If any man will come after me. And when his diſciples were leaving him he does not ſet up an Inquiſition to torture and puniſh them for their defection from the faith, only ſays, Will ye alſo go away?
And in imitation of this bleſſed Patern the Chriſtian Church continued to ſpeak and act for ſeveral Ages. And this was the language of the holy Fathers, Lex nova non ſe vindicat ultore gladio, the Chriſtian Law doth not avenge it ſelf by the ſword. This was then the ſtyle of Councils, Nemini ad credendum vim inferre, to offer violence to no man to compell him to the Faith. I proceed in the
Second place, to ſhew the Ʋnjuſtifiableneſs of this ſpirit upon any pretence whatſoever of zeal for God and Religion. No caſe can be put with Circumſtances of greater advantage and more likely to juſtify this ſpirit and temper, than the caſe here in the Text. Thoſe againſt whom the Diſciples would have called for fire from heaven, were Hereticks and Schiſmaticks from the true Church; they had affronted our Saviour himſelf in his own perſon; the honour of God, and of that Religion which he had ſet up in the World, and of Jeruſalem which he had appointed for the place of his worſhip were all concerned in this caſe: ſo that if ever it were warrantable to put on this fierce and furious zeal, here was a caſe that ſeemed to require it: But even in theſe circumſtances our Saviour thinks fit to rebuke and diſcountenance this ſpirit, Ye know not what manner of ſpirit ye are of. And he gives ſuch a reaſon as ought in all differences of Religion, how wide ſoever they be, to deter men from this temper, For the Son of man is not come to deſtroy mens lives, but to ſave them; that is, this Spirit is utterly inconſiſtent with the great deſign of Chriſtian Religion, and the end of our Saviour's coming into the world.
And now, what hath the Church of Rome to plead for her cruelty to men for the cauſe of Religion, which the Diſciples might not much better have pleaded for themſelves in their caſe? what hath ſhe to ſay againſt thoſe who are the objects of her cruelty and perſecution, which would not have held againſt the Samaritans? Does ſhe practice theſe ſeverities out of a zeal for truth, and for the honour of God, and Chriſt, and the true Religion? Why, upon theſe very accounts it was, that the Diſciples would have called for fire from Heaven to have deſtroyed the Samaritans. Is the Church of Rome perſwaded that thoſe whom ſhe perſecutes are Hereticks and Schiſmaticks, and that no puniſhment can be too great for ſuch offenders? So the Diſciples were perſwaded of the Samaritans; and upon much better grounds: Only the Diſciples had ſome excuſe in their caſe, which the Church of Rome hath not; and that was Ignorance: And this Apology our Saviour makes for them, ye know not what manner of ſpirit ye are of: They had been bred up in the Jewiſh Religion, which gave ſome indulgence to this kind of temper, and they were able to cite a great Example for themſelves; beſides, they were then but learners and not throughly inſtructed in the Chriſtian Doctrine. But in the Church of Rome, whatever the caſe of particular perſons may be, as to the whole Church and the Governing part of it, this ignorance is wilful and affected, and therefore inexcuſable. For the Chriſtian Religion, which they profeſs to embrace, does as plainly teach the contrary as it does any other matter whatſoever: and it is not more evident in the new Teſtament that Chriſt died for ſinners, than that Chriſtians ſhould not kill one another for the misbelief of any Article of revealed Religion; much leſs for the disbelief of ſuch Articles as are invented by men, and impoſed as the Doctrines of Chriſt.
You have heard what kind of Spirit it is, which our Saviour here reproves in his Diſciples. It was a furious and deſtructive Spirit, contrary to Chriſtian charity and goodneſs. But yet this may be ſaid in mitigation of their fault, that they themſelves offered no violence to their enemies: They left it to God, and no doubt would have been very glad that he would have manifeſted his ſeverity upon them, by ſending down fire from Heaven to have conſumed them.
But there is a much worſe Spirit than this in the world, which is not only contrary to Chriſtianity, but to the common Principles of Natural Religion, and even to Humanity it ſelf: Which by falſhood and perfidiouſneſs, by ſecret plots and conſpiracies, or by open ſedition and rebellion, by an Inquiſition or Maſſacre, by depoſing and killing Kings, by fire and ſword, by the ruine of their Country, and betraying it into the hands of Foreigners; and in a word, by diſſolving all the bonds of humane Society, and ſubverting the peace and order of the World, that is, by all the wicked ways imaginable doth incite men to promote and advance their Religion. As if all the world were made for them, and there were not only no other Chriſtians, but no other Men beſides themſelves; as Babylon of old proudly vaunted, I am, and there is none beſides me: And as if the God, whom the Chriſtians worſhip, were not the God of order but of confuſion; as if he whom we call the Father of mercies, were delighted with cruelty, and could not have a more pleaſing ſacrifice offered to him than a Maſſacre, nor put a greater honour upon his Prieſts than to make them Judges of an Inquiſition, that is, the Inventors and decreers of torments for men more righteous and innocent than themſelves.
Thus to miſrepreſent God and Religion, is to deveſt them of all their Majeſty and Glory. For if that of Seneca be true, that ſine bonitate nulla majeſtas, without Goodneſs there can be no ſuch thing as Majeſty, then to ſeparate goodneſs and mercy from God, compaſſion and charity from Religion, is to make the two beſt things in the world, God and Religion, good for nothing.
How much righter apprehenſions had the Heathen of the Divine Nature, which they looked upon as ſo benign and beneficial to mankind, that (as Tully admirably ſays) Dii immortales ad uſum hominum fabrefacti penè videantur, The nature of the immortal Gods may almost ſeem to be exactly framed for the benefit and advantage of men. And as for Religion, they always ſpake of it as the great band of humane Society, and the foundation of truth, and fidelity, and juſtice among men. But when Religion once comes to ſupplant moral Righteouſneſs, and to teach men the abſurdeſt things in the world, to lye for the truth, and to kill men for God's ſake: when it ſerves to no other purpoſe, but to be a bond of conſpiracy, to inflame the tempers of men to a greater fierceneſs, and to ſet a keener edge upon their ſpirits, and to make them ten times more the children of wrath and Cruelty than they were by nature, then ſurely it loſes its nature and ceaſes to be Religion: For let any man ſay worſe of Atheiſm and Infidelity, if he can. And, for God's ſake, what is Religion good for, but to reform the manners and diſpoſitions of men, to reſtrain humane nature from violence and cruelty, from falſhood and treachery, from Sedition and Rebellion? Better it were there were no revealed Religion, and that humane nature were left to the conduct of its own principles and inclinations, which are much more mild and merciful, much more for the peace and happineſs of humane Society; than to be acted by a Religion that inſpires men with ſo wild a fury, and prompts them to commit ſuch outrages; and is continually ſupplanting Government, and undermining the welfare of mankind; in ſhort, ſuch a Religion as teaches men to propagate and advance it ſelf by means ſo evidently contrary to the very nature and end of all Religion.
And this, if it be well conſidered, will appear to be a very convincing way of reaſoning, by ſhewing the laſt reſult and conſequence of ſuch Principles, and of ſuch a Train of Propoſitions, to be a moſt groſs and palpable abſurdity. For example, We will at preſent admit Popery to be the true Religion, and their Doctrines of extirpating Hereticks, of the lawfulneſs of depoſing Kings, and ſubverting Government by all the cruel and wicked ways that can be thought of, to be, as in truth they are, the Doctrines of this Religion: In this Caſe, I would not trouble my ſelf to debate particulars; but if in the groſs, and upon the whole matter it be evident that ſuch a Religion as this is as bad or worſe than Infidelity and no Religion, this is conviction enough to a wiſe man, and as good as a Demonſtration, that this is not the true Religion, and that it cannot be from God.
How much better Teachers of Religion were the old Heathen Philoſophers? In all whoſe Books and Writings there is not one Principle to be found of Treachery or Rebellion; nothing that gives the leaſt countenance to an Aſſociation or a Maſſacre, to the betraying of ones Native Country, or the cutting of his Neighbours throat for difference in opinion. I ſpeak it with grief and ſhame, becauſe the credit of our common Chriſtianity is ſomewhat concerned in it, that Panaetius and Antipater and Diogenes the Stoick, Tully and Plutarch and Seneca were much honeſter and more Chriſtian Caſuiſts, than the Jeſuits are, or the generality of the Caſuiſts of any other Order, that I know of, in the Church of Rome. I come now in the
Third and laſt place, to make ſome Application of this Diſcourſe.
1. Let not Religion ſuffer for thoſe faults and miſcarriages which really proceed from the ignorance of Religion, and from the want of it. That under colour and pretence of Religion, very bad things are done, is no argument that Religion it ſelf is not good: Becauſe the beſt things are liable to be perverted and abuſed to very ill purpoſes, nay the corruption of them is commonly the worſt; as, they ſay, the richeſt and nobleſt Wines make the ſharpeſt Vinegar. If the light that is in you, ſaith our Saviour, be darkneſs, how great is that darkneſs?
2. Let us beware of that Church which countenanceth this unchriſtian ſpirit here condemned by our Saviour; and which teaches ſuch Doctrines, and warrants ſuch Practices as are conſonant thereto. You all know, without my ſaying ſo, that I mean the Church of Rome; in which are taught ſuch Doctrines as theſe, That Hereticks, that is, all who differ from them in matters of Faith, are to be extirpated by fire and ſword; which was decreed in the third and fourth Lateran Councils, where all Chriſtians are ſtrictly charged to endeavour this to the uttermoſt of their power, Sicut reputari cupiunt & haberi fideles, as they deſire to be eſteemed and accounted Chriſtians. Next their Doctrines of depoſing Kings, and of abſolving their ſubjects from obedience to them; which were not only univerſally believed, but practiſed by the Popes and Roman Church for ſeveral Ages. Indeed this Doctrine hath not been at all times alike frankly and openly avowed, but it is undoubtedly theirs; and hath frequently been put in execution, though they have not thought it ſo convenient at all turns to make profeſſion of it. It is a certain kind of Engine, which is to be ſcrew'd up or let down as occaſion ſerves; and is commonly kept like Goliah's Sword in the Sanctuary behind the Ephod, but yet ſo that the High-Prieſt can lend it out upon an extraordinary occaſion.
And for Practices conſonant to theſe Doctrines, I ſhall go no further than the horrid and bloody Deſign of this Day. Such a Myſtery of Iniquity, as had been hid from ages and generations; Such a Maſter-piece of Villany, as eye had not ſeen, nor ear heard, nor ever before entred into the heart of man: So prodigiouſly Barbarous, both in the ſubſtance and circumſtances of it, as is not to be parallell'd in all the voluminous Records of Time from the foundation of the World.
Of late years our Adverſaries (for ſo they have made themſelves without any provocation of ours) have almoſt had the impudence to deny ſo plain a matter of fact; but I wiſh they have not taken an effectual courſe by freſh Conſpiracies, of equal or greater horror, to confirm the belief of it with a witneſs. But I ſhall not anticipate what will be more proper for another Day, but confine my ſelf to the preſent Occaſion.
I will not trouble you with the particular Narrative of this dark Conſpiracy, nor the obſcure manner of its diſcovery, which Bellarmin himſelf acknowledges not to have been without a Miracle. Let us thank God that it was ſo happily diſcovered and diſappointed, as I hope their preſent deſign will be by the ſame wonderful and merciful providence of God towards a moſt unworthy People. And may the lameneſs and halting of Ignatius Loyola, the Founder of the Jeſuits, never depart from that Order, but be a Fate continually attending all their villanous Plots and Contrivances.
I ſhall only obſerve to you, that after the diſcovery of this Plot the Authors of it were not convinced of the evil, but ſorry for the miſcarriage of it. Sir Everard Digby, whoſe very original Papers and Letters are now in my hands, after he was in Priſon, and knew he muſt ſuffer, calls it the beſt Cauſe; and was extremely troubled to hear it cenſured by Catholicks and Prieſts, contrary to his expectation, for a great ſin: Let me tell you, ſays he, what a grief it is, to hear THAT ſo much condemned, which I did believe would have been otherwiſe thought of by Catholicks. And yet he concludes that Letter with theſe words: In how full joy ſhould I dye, if I could do any thing for the Cauſe which I love more than my life? And in another Letter he ſays, he could have ſaid ſomething to have mitigated the odium of this buſineſs, as to that Point of involving thoſe of his own Religion in the common ruine, I dare not (ſays he) take that courſe that I could, to make it appear leſs odious, for divers were to have been brought out of danger, who now would rather hurt them than otherwiſe. I do not think there would have been three worth the ſaving that ſhould have been loſt. And as to the reſt, that were to have been ſwallow'd up in that deſtruction, he ſeems not to have the leaſt relenting in his mind about them. All doubts he ſeems to have look'd upon as temptations, and intreats his Friends to pray for the pardoning of his not ſufficient striving against temptations ſince this buſineſs was undertook.
Good God! that any thing that is called Religion ſhould ſo perfectly ſtrip men of all humanity, and transform the mild and gentle race of mankind into ſuch Wolves and Tygers, that ever a pretended zeal for Thy glory ſhould inſtigate men to diſhononr Thee at ſuch a rate! It is believed by many, and not without cauſe, that the Pope and his Faction are the Antichriſt. I will ſay no more than I know in this matter; I am not ſo ſure that it is he that is particularly deſigned in Scripture by that Name, as I am of the main Articles of the Chriſtian Faith: But however that be, I challenge Antichriſt himſelf, whoever he be, and whenever he comes, to do worſe and wickeder things than theſe.
But I muſt remember my Text, and take heed of imitating that Spirit which is there condemned, whilſt I am inveighing againſt it. And in truth it almoſt looks uncharitably to ſpeak the truth in theſe matters, and barely to relate what theſe men have not bluſh'd to do. I need not, nay I cannot, aggravate theſe things; they are too horrible in themſelves, even when they are expreſs'd in the ſofteſt and gentleſt words.
I would not be underſtood to charge every particular perſon who is, or hath been in the Roman Communion, with the guilt of theſe or the like practiſes: But I muſt charge their Doctrines and Principles with them; I muſt charge the Heads of their Church, and the prevalent teaching and governing part of it, who are, uſually the contrivers and abetters, the executioners and applauders of theſe curſed Deſigns.
I do willingly acknowledg the great Piety and Charity of ſeveral perſons who have lived and died in that Communion, as Eraſmus, Father Paul, Thuanus, and many others; who had in truth more, goodneſs than the Principles of that Religion do either incline men to, or allow of. And yet he that conſiders how univerſally almoſt the Papiſts in Ireland were engaged in that Maſſacre, which is ſtill freſh in our memories, will find it very hard to determine how many degrees of innocency and good nature, or of coldneſs and indifferency in Religion, are neceſſary to overballance the fury of a blind zeal and a miſguided Conſcience.
I doubt not but Papiſts are made like other men. Nature hath not geneally given them ſuch ſavage and cruel diſpoſitions, but their Religion hath made them ſo. Whereas true Chriſtianity is not only the beſt, but the beſt-natur'd Inſtitution in the world; and ſo far as any Church is departed from good nature, and become cruel and barbarous, ſo far is it degenerated from Chriſtianity. I am loth to ſay it, and yet I am confident 'tis very true, That many Papiſts would have been excellent Perſons and very good Men, if their Religion had not hindered them; if the Doctrines and Principles of their Church had not perverted and ſpoiled their natural Diſpoſitions.
I ſpeak not this to exaſperate You, worthy Patriots and the great Bulwark of our Religion, to any unreaſonable or unneceſſary, much leſs unchriſtian Severities againſt them: No, let us not do like them; let us never do any thing for Religion that is contrary to it: But I ſpeak it to awaken your care thus far, That if their Prieſts will always be putting theſe, pernicious Principles into the minds of the People, effectual Proviſion may be made, that it may never be in their Power again to put them in Practice. We have found by Experience, that ever ſince the Reformation they have been continually pecking at the Foundations of our Peace and Religion: When God knows we have been ſo far from thirſting after their Blood, that we did not ſo much as deſire their diſquiet but in order to our own neceſſary ſafety, and indeed to theirs.
And God be praiſed for thoſe matchleſs Inſtances which we are able to give of the generous humanity and Chriſtian temper of the Engliſh Proteſtants. After Q. Marys Death, when the Proteſtant Religion was reſtored, Biſhop Bonner notwithſtanding all his Cruelties and Butcheries was permitted quietly to live and dye amongſt us. And after the Treaſon of this Day, nay at this very time ſince the diſcovery of ſo barbarous a Deſign, and the higheſt Provocation in the World, by the treacherous Murder of one of His Majeſty's Juſtices of the Peace, a very good Man and a moſt excellent Magiſtrate, who had been active in the diſcovery of this Plot; I ſay, after all this, and notwithſtanding the continued and inſupportable inſolence of their Carriage and Behaviour, even upon this occaſion, no Violence, nay not ſo much as any incivility, that I ever heard of, hath been offer'd to any of them. I would to God they would but ſeriouſly conſider this one difference between our Religion and theirs, and which of them comes neareſt to the Wiſdom which is from above, which is peaceable, and gentle, and full of mercy. And I do heartily pray, and have good hopes, that upon this occaſion God will open their eyes ſo far, as to convince a great many among them, that that cannot be the true Religion which inſpires men with ſuch barbarous minds.
I have now done, and if I have been tranſported upon this Argument ſomewhat beyond my uſual temper, the Occaſion of this Day and our preſent circumſtances will, I hope, bear me out. I have expreſſed my ſelf all along with a juſt ſenſe, and with no unjuſt ſeverity, concerning theſe horrid Principles and Practiſes; but yet with great pity and tenderneſs towards thoſe miſerably ſeduced Souls, who have been deluded by them, and enſnared in them. And I can truly ſay, as the Roman Orator did of himſelf upon another occaſion, Me natura miſericordem, patria ſeverum, crudelem nec patria nec natura eſſe voluit. My nature inclines me to be tender and compaſſionate; a hearty zeal for our Religion, and concernment for the publick welfare of my Country, may perhaps have made me a little ſevere; but neither my natural diſpoſition, nor the temper of the Engliſh Nation, nor the Genius of the Proteſtant, that is the true Chriſtian Religion, will allow me to be cruel.
For the future, Let us encourage our ſelves in the Lord our God; and commit our Cauſe, and the keeping of our Souls to Him in well doing: And, under God, let us leave it to the wiſdom and care of His Majeſty, and His two Houſes of Parliament, to make a laſting Proviſion for the ſecurity of our Peace and Religion, againſt all the ſecret contrivances and open attempts of theſe ſons of violence. And let us remember thoſe words of David, Pſal. 37.12, 13, 14, 15. The wicked plotteth againſt the juſt, and gnaſheth upon him, with his teeth: The Lord ſhall laugh at him, for he ſeeth that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn out the ſword, and bent their how, to caſt down the poor and needy, and to ſlay ſuch as be of upright converſation: Their ſword ſhall enter into their own hearty, and their bows ſhall be broken.
And I hope, conſidering what God hath heretofore done, and hath now begun to do for us, we may take encouragement to our ſelves againſt all the Enemies of our Religion, which are confederated againſt us, in the words of the Prophet, Iſa. 8. 9, 10. Aſſociate your ſelves, O ye People, and ye ſhall be broken in pieces, and give ear, all ye of far Countries: Gird your ſelves, and ye ſhall be broken in pieces: Gird your ſelves, and ye ſhall be broken in pieces: Take counſel together, and it ſhall come to nought: Speak the word and it ſhall not ſtand. FOR GOD IS WITH ƲS.
And now what remains, but to make our moſt devout and thankful acknowledgments to Almighty God, for the invaluable bleſſing of our Reformed Religion, and for the miraculous Deliverance of this Day, and for the wonderful Diſcovery of the late horrid and barbarous Conſpiracy againſt our Prince, our Peace, and our Religion.
To Him therefore, our moſt gracious and merciful God, our Shield, and our Rock, and our mighty Deliverer: Who hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, and out of the Houſe of bondage; and hath ſet us free from Popiſh Tyranny and Superstition, a yoke which neither we nor our Fathers were able to bear.
Who hath, from time to time, delivered us from the bloody and mercileſs deſigns of wicked and unreaſonable men; and hath render'd all the plots and contrivances, the miſchievous counſels and devices of theſe worſe-than-Heathens, of none effect.
Who did as upon this Day, reſcue our King and our Princes, our Nobles and the Heads of our Tribes, the Governours of our Church and the Judges of the Land, from that fearful Deſtruction which was ready to have ſwallowed them up.
Who ſtill brings to light the hidden things of darkneſs, and hath hitherto preſerved our Religion and Civil intereſts to us, in deſpight of all the malicious and reſtleſs attempts of our Adverſaries.
Ʋnto that great God, who hath done ſo great things for us, and hath ſaved us by a mighty Salvation: Who hath delivered us, and doth deliver us, and, we truſt, will ſtill deliver us: be glory and honour, thankſgiving and praiſe, from generation to generation. And let all the people ſay Amen.