Fifth Commandment. And if any of you have reafon Cadly to complain of the Stubboroncfs and DifobedicQ.ce of your Children, I befeech you ferioufly to refleCt: upon the caufe of it, and confider whether it m:ty not be juftly imputed to thy want of Care in their E· ducation, or to thy bad Examples thou haft.given the_m; or pollibly by their Rebellion and Undntifuln~fs towards thee, God Juftly punlfheth thy Rebellton and Undu· tifulncfs towards thy Father; I remember a Story of a gracelefs aud defpcratc young Wretchl who being thwarted by his Aged Father in fome of his lewd Pran~s, invaded his grey Hairs, and dragg'd him by them ~long the gr~und to the very 1 hrefh?ld of his Door: His poor ol~ Father fuffered It filently ull then, but then look1ng pitifully upon him he f.11d; Son, forbear now .and let me go, for I remember I dragg'd my Fathe; to this ~ery ~lace, and t.here left him; and acknowledge? the righteO\lS Judgment of God 111 fo Jufi: a Reqmtal. But whatfoever thy Cqnfcience fhall fuggeft to thee to have been a Provocation unto God thus to pun_ilh t~ee, (and certainly, it is one of the .grcateft Punifuments that can bdal a Man m thtsWorld) humbly crave Pardon of him who is thy Father, and beg him that he would be plea-: fed to turn the Hearts of the Children unto their Fathers, and the Hearts of allt~n ... to himfelf. Thus we have conlidered the Duties of natural Parents towards their Children, and the Duties of Children reciprocally towards their Parents. · But there is a1fo another Rank of Fathers, and they are Political; PatreJ Pd• tri.t , the Fathers of their Country, unto whom we owe Honour and Reverence by .the Obligation of his Command. And thefe are the Magifi:rates and Go-· vernours that God bath fet over us: They a•e his Deputies and Vice-gerents upon Earth1 and the Authority with which they ftand invefted, is originally in and derivatively from the fupream King of Kings, and Lord of all Lords; their Kingdoms are but the feveral Provinces Of his Univerfal Empire; He bath given them their Pz.tent to be his Lieutenants and Vice-Roys, for by him Kings Reigtt,. 11nd Princes decree 'Juftice, Prov. 8. 15. Not.by his Pcrmiffion only, but by his Ordinance and Appointment. And whereas a great and confpicuous part of the Image of God con lifts in his Sovereignty and Dominion, he hath fo expt'efiy ftamp'd this lma?,e of his upon them, that for their likenefs to hi111 in it, he gives them the fame glorious Name by which himfelf is kno~n, Pfal. ~h. 6 , I have faid, ye are Gods; Jofephus and, Exod. 2l.. 28. Thou/halt not revtle the Gods, nor turfe the Ruler of thy People. 1. 2 • conrr.," And our Saviour tells us, 'John 10. 3S· That they- are called Gods, becaufe theWord Appion, _ of. God cao_1e unto ~hem: T~e Word of God, that is, the Appointment and Com~· app!ic$f m1fiion wh1ch they have recelVf:d from God. ~.t.~() . It is obfervable, that as other inferiour Creatures revere the very Countenance tox,,; z:z,. of a Man, and thofe few Stri8ures of the defaced Image of God which are ftilt He~~thm remaining there, and that although they far exceed in Strength, yet dare not Go:ls. (unlefs enraged) make ufe of it againft their natural, though weaker Lords: So alfo, that God bath fpread fuch ~n awe upon the Face of Auth<Jrity, that a Look or a Word from a lawful Magiftrate, fhail more daunt and terrific, than the armed Force of an Enemy. Th~re is fome fecret Charaa:er that God bath imprinted on them, which makes them venerable; and although their SubjeCts do as far exceed them in Strength, as they do in Number, yet Strength alone was never made to Command, but rather to Obey and Execute, and Power ought to be the Servant of Authority. Nor hath God ordained Magiftracy only opt of refpea to fome few whOm he bath ennobled, that they might enjoy a Privilege and Prerogative above the corn.. mon and vulgar fort of Men, but he hath ordained it for Lhe genera1 Good of Mankind ; yea, and I have of[en and ferioufiy thought, that neXt to the invalua.. ble Gift of Jefus Chri!t, t\1e belt and the greatell Good that God ever gave the \Votld, was this Appointment of Magiftracy. For were it. not for this, the whole World would be turned into a Wildernefs, and Men into falvage Beafts, preying one upon another: Did not the Fear of Man reftrain them, when they have c~ft off the Fear of G~d; did they no~ dread the lnfliCl:iou of temporal Pumlhments) when they fitt,ht the Threatnmgs of Eternal, we might be as fafe a- ~ong ~yons .and Tygers, _as a~~ng Me~; ~nd find better Refuee, and better SoCiety m Sohtudes, [ban tn Cmes: W1thm would be Fears, without Violence, and every where Tumults, Uproars, and Diftractions; our Dwellings, our Perfans). our Po[effions, all expofed to the Fury· of Bloody and Mercilefs Invaders ; P p aod,
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