very One besides, and lofe them your felves, at laft: You will raife Armies, and become their Subjects; make to your felves Captains of thousands, and ten thoufands, and fubmit your Necks to their imperious Orders; involve your Country in Defolation, and much Blood; trample down Ancient Honour and Nobility; difperfe your Princes into Foreign Countries, where they fhall take up Manners that you hate, Maxims deftructive of your Liberty, and a Religion you abhor: Vanquish your King, deprive him of his Friends and Servants; diftrefs him to Diftraction; force him to fly into the very Arms of 'Mischief, from whence you will redeem him, like a Slave, to caft him into Fetters of your ❝ own; defpoil him of his Regal Honours; ftraitly imprifon him; and put him to the Sword at laft, (Horror to think upon!) with all the Cirftances of Scorn and Ignominy poffible. These are the Things that you will do, to fecure your "Chriftian, and your Civil Liberties.' Whofo fould thus have prophefied, fhould certainly have had my Text return'd upon him--- What, is thy Servant a Dog, that he should do thefe great Things? Yet thefe great Things were done; and in a manner worfe than I exprefs them These great

Things are paft and gone; and I have no worse Purpose in remembring them, than to advise, That all who had no hand therein, fhould be as careful to avoid all manner of Occafions of Evil, as they, we think, ought to have been, who were the moft concern'd in them. I apprehend no Cause of Fear, and therefore know not how to give any Caution, of falling into thofe enormous Crimes, that make this Day the blackeft in our Kalendar, excepting One, with which I never dare compare it. But there is need of all imaginable Caution, that People do not readily engage in

Mat

Matters of Importance, especially relating to the Publick, trusting to good Intentions only, and to the Mind, they are, at prefent, in, without confidering what may follow. Mens Heats are Heats of Zeal at first, benign and gentle; but little Accidents may raise them to a hot confuming Fire, that may, in time, deftroy their Neighbours and themselves. It was the turbulent and reftlefs Humour of private People, and the Conceit of their Abilities, thrufting themselves into Publick Matters, and stirring up their Neighbours to complain, and fhew themfelves uneafy,, that contributed a great deal, to the Misfortune of those Days, that brought this Anniversary amongst us, fo grievous both to Friends and Enemies. And can we do a better thing, upon it, than advise all Men, to study to be quiet, and do their own Business; to keep within their proper Compass; reform themselves, and all that are within their Care ; but leave the Publick Matters to the Hands to which they are entrusted; give no Disturbance to their Management, nor diftract them from attending to the great Affairs, on which depends our very Civil Life and Being, by little private Differences, and poor Debates, that may be very fafely laid afide for ever; or, at the leaft, fufpended for a while, and easily refum'd again (if there be need) when the great Struggle. of the World is over, and the Fortune of Us and our Pofterity decided.

The Application of the Latter-part of the Text, to the Business of this Day, would carry me farther, than I have either Time, or Will, to go. Thofe wicked Men had no Prophet fent to them from God, to tell them what great Things would befal them; but yet there were not wanting Men that undertook to lead them, by the Word of God.

all the mischievous Designs imaginable. They

were

were not tempted to engage in thefe Affairs, by any fuch Prediction as Elba uttered to Hazael but they found Men, in Prophets Cloathing, that both excited them, and promifed them Succefs, in the Name of the Lord. The word of God, I own, was never worfer used, by furious, ignorant, mifguided (but ftill I hope, not profane) Spirits. The Word of God, can never contradict his Will, which is, that Peace, and Righteoufnefs, Truth and Goodness fhould for ever flourish on the Earth, and that Men fhould live in Quiet, Order, and good Government, and enjoy the happy Fruits of that good Stock. And whenever you find the Scriptures leading Men into any Evil, or doing any Mischief to Mankind, efpecially to Government, you may be fure they are mifapplied, perverted and abused.

I fear I have already been too long, but yet muft ask the patience of two or three Minutes more, to say two things, which, if the Text fhould not, the Day will certainly bear me out in. The firft is this This Day is, through the exceffive partiality of fome of both fides, become a Day of great Trial to the Preachers; Talk of the Duty, Honour, and Obedience of the Subject to the Prince, and you are thought, by fome, to preach away the Peoples Liberties, and make them Slaves; Talk of the Peoples Liberties, and you are opening, prefently, a Door to Mutiny, Difloyalty, and flat Rebellion, with fome Others. They are both of them, God be thanked, in the Wrong; and the Truth, is (like our happy Conftitution) betwixt them. The Crown has many, and excellent Prerogatives, and will, I hope in God, never have lels, or fewer. The People have great Liberties, and will, I hope, deferve them, and enjoy them, whilft they are a People. Who are thefe People, but our Selves? All but the Prince are comprehen

ded

ded in that Word. The Priefts muft preach up, Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Fear to whom Fear, and Honour to whom Honour; and muft affirm all that S. Peter, and S. Paul have faid, of Peoples being subject to the Powers that are set over them, for good. They cannot else discharge their Duty; nor the People elle enjoy the Benefits of a good Government. But may it not be lawful alfo for the Priefts, to tell the People, in proper Seafon, of their Liberties; and fhew them wherein they are so happy, above all the People of the Earth befides? That they may underftand, know how to value, be careful to preferve, and to continue to Pofterity, and thank God for, thefe fingular ineftimable Bleffings May not these things be faid, without incurring the odious Brand, of stirring up Sedition and Rebellion? I know not where these things will ed; but 'tis plain, they make it harder, than it need to be, for honeft and fincere Men, to do their Duty, on thefe Occafions.

The other thing that I would fay, is this --- that the Obfervation of this Day is become (like the Vth of Nov. to the Papifts) exceedingly grievous and diftaftful to all Diffenters; as well for the License that (they fay) is taken, upon it, of inveighing against them; as for the Praises that are fo liberally beftowed upon K. Charles, which look, to fome of them, as fo many Exprobrations and Reproaches. As for the License that is taken upon this Day, of inveighing_againft Diffenters, let them who do it, juftify themselves; I am no Advocate for any of them: It was not, certainly, appointed to become a Day of Wrath, and Provocation of our FellowSubjects; And, I dare fay, thofe Liberties have done no Service; nor are they fitted to do any; but, confidering humane Nature, they muft needs have done fome Mischief, by Irritation, and the hardning of Mens Hearts. And, tho' we do not fee fuch Courses have been taken, by thofe who were moft concern'd and touch'd, as wife and good Men might have taken, to filence these Reproaches, and to cause these Provocations, in great part, to ceafe, yet ftill these furious, bitter Spirits will not be excufable. I verily believe (and fo do all of you) that more Men have been shamed by gentle ufage, than revil'd into Repentance, by those they thought their Enemies. As for the Praifes that are beftow'd upon King Charles, I know not who should envy them ; nor how a Church of England-Minifter can honeftly decline them: He muft know nothing of that Prince's Hiftory; he muft have

little

little Senfe of Juftice, Gratitude, or Honout, by whom his Memory is not held moft precious. 'Twere a finall thing, to fay, No Prince (altho' his Father was a very Learned One;) but I will fay, no Private Gentleman did ever understand the Conftitution of our Church better, defend it with stronger Arguments, adhere to it with more Judgment, adorn it with better Manners, live up to its good Principles with more Virtue, not, in Performance of its Offices, thew more devout, and exemplary good Behaviour (I will not, in these things, except the QUEEN upon the Throne, nor that blefs'd Saint in Heaven, her Sis fter) than did King Charles the First. No Prince did ever thew more Personal Favour to its Minifters, nor give more Countenance and Credit to its Difpline and Orders. And must I fay, No Prince, But He, did ever Die in its Defence, to juftify the high Efteem we have Him in? I may, because it is fo true, that they who envy him the Glory of that Title, upon all Accounts befides, will yet allow he fell a Martyr for the Church of England. Would not that Church be, moft defervedly; the Hatred and Reproach of all the World, that fhould be fparing of her Praifes, and beft Incense (but let it ever be unhallow'd Incenfe) to his Memory? Let them (to make an End) take heed, left fome degree of Guilt be thought to make thofe People over-tender, who are foon offended with the Praifes of King Charles the Firft And let even Us our feives take heed, that fuch our Praifes may appear fo well defign'd, and be managed with that good Temper, Sobriety, and modeft Truth, that they provoke thofe Men to nothing, but Compunction, and Relentings, and Repentance, where these things are wanting; and both our felves and them, to the Imitation of all thofe excellent good Qualities, thofe Civil Virtues, and thofe Religious Chriftian Graces, that made him appear to bighly Exen. plary, both in Life and Death.

FINI S.

t

THE Relative Duties of Parents and Children, Husbands

and Wives, Matters and Servants, confider'd; in Sixteen Sermons With Three more upon the Cafe of Self-Murther. By William Fleetwood, now Lord Bishop of St. Afapk, in 3vo. Printed for Charles Harper, at the Flower-de-Luce, overagainst St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-ftreet. Price 5 s.