.11 SermonPreach'd Jan.~ 1. 169g. Yea, put the Cafe as high as we can; fuppofe that Chriftian Subjetl::s fhould live under the Dominion of a Prince, who, as he is a God in refpect of Power, fo he is a De-vil in refpect of Ouelry and Mfchief: Suppofe the two worft Cafes that can befa! them. Fi1jf; TI1at he fhould injoyn them Suprrftition and Idolatry. Secondly; That he fuoltld opprefs them by Perfecution and Tyranny. ~fever ~h~r~ we~e a fpcciou~ Pretence for Subjects to fay, Shall 1/mife him, j1Mill [mtte him? 1t 1s m th1~ Suppofitton. Here feems t~e beft Caufe, and thelugheftEquity 111 the World, to dehver the World from a Monfte'r, and the Church from a Devil. Yet I fay, neither ofthefe can juftify Rebellion a~ainft him, or Revenge upon him. Wa~ there ever a more accomplifu'd and coqfummate Wretch than Nero l A Man that • Pmunti· made the maYtyrdom of Chrifi:ians his Paftime? *and burnt them in the Streets of ~~: (~bri· Rome to light him from the Stews. And yet St. Paul commands the Roman Chri- ~;:,~)~~X· fi:ians to fubmit ro him.for ~nfcience#fake, a?d threatens them with :p~mnation if they tlitll, ut fe-refifl· No, we ought m th1s Cafe (thou~h It be farfr~m the fiery Spmt ofour Times) rnrum trr: to rec~ive Blows, bnt not to ftrike again, and rather to mdure the greateftof Cruelties, f~:~:;:,eat, than lift up our hands to r~yenge them. 1AnUminttrirmt, Att: m"ibus nffi:~:i IIUtjiiJmmAn#i; Af'Jitubitlt{ttiffitdm, in ufum ntffurni /umi•is Ult7'tntN1'. Tacir ;!n1111f. 1. J~. 2 . ,, S· And indeed there is a great deal of reafon for it. For, . Firfl; Punifhmem iS an Act of Ycngeance. Now Revenge is fttcb a wild untamed thing, that God bath not trufted it in any private hands, but referved it to himfelf, who can beft difpeJife and govern it. Yengeance i5 mine, faith the Lord, and I will repay it, Rom. 12. 19. So that none ought to intermeddle with this part of Jufticc, but thofe whom GOd bath impower'd thereunto, and made hls Subftitute Officers and Minifters to difpenfe it, and that is onlY the Magifl:rate. Ram. 13. 4·· He it the JY{inijfet of God, a Revenger to execute J.f!o:th upon him that doth tiJi/. None are to be Revengers but Go4 and Mag_ifh:atn. Magift~ates upon .evil Meti, and G~ upon evil Magiftratei. Pnvatc Chnfhans have nothmg to do With Re-Venge, or Pumfhrhent: no., not to infliCt it .one 11pon another; much lefs upon their Rulers: and if they do, as they 1cbcl againft Mm, fo they uju1p upon God, and put themfelves .in his ftead. Seco-ndly; Princes ate fupream to all but God; and theref~re accountable to none befides him. All Huh1a~e Power is Jubordi'!ate to th~U:s, and derived _from It: for from the chief, do other Magtftrates receive the1r Authonty and Cornmtffion; and therefore cannot any Humane Power punifh thofe on whofe Authority they depend. Thirdly; What a wide Gap for all manner of Omfufion and Diforder., would this open to the World! who, that fancies himfelf aggrieved and wrong'd, would not prefcntly make a Party, and found the Trumpet, and proclaim that he had Equity and Jnft ice;: on his fide, and fo hnrl all into Tumultt and wild Clmfu{ion l But though thou mayft have ihffered real injufrice; yet thou oughteft nor to rebel, The Wife Man hJth long fince condemned the flriking of Princes for Equity,_ Prov. 17· 26. Whether for their EquitieJ fake or thine. And t~e Apoft~e rec.kons 1t the glory of ~ ChriftiJn, and an acceptable Service to God, pattently to mdure when we juffer Evil for doinu We/[. 1 Pet. 2. !9, 20, 21. Whatglory is it, ifwhen ye be bujfoted for your Faulu, )'e jiMil ~ake it pAtiently? But ifwhen ye do well, and fujfet for it, ye take [t patitntly, thi~ is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: becaufe alfo Chrift fujfered for us, leaving 11J tm Example, th~~tt ye Jhould follow hiJ f!eps. . . Yea, even Relt~r,ion, t~e beft a!J.d rnoft p_rec10us of all .our EnJoyments, ts too weak a canfe to juftify Rebellion and lnft~rrethons. To .thmk t~at. u:pon the account of Religion, or any Form, or Mode, etther of Worfinp or D1fctplme, that Men are zealous for, they may law.fully oppofe, yea, and depofe the Authority that God hath fet over them, is a Tenet utterly irreligious. ~nd truly R~ligion can never fo much fuffer by the fierceft Perfocution, as by fuch wild and rebellious Princifles. It is a DoCtrine quite contrary to the true Genius and Omftitution of Chriftiantty. In the Primitive Times, for the long fpace of Three hundred Years, till at length the Rom~~tn Emperours gave . ~p their Names to Chrift, thofe who commanded the whole World, fet all their Wit and Force to crufu this growing Dodrine, but Were !till difappointed in this Attempt. Whence this Defeat? Was it becaufe they were overborn by the too powerful Refiftan<e that the Chrillians made againll them ? Nothing
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