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3
A
REFORMATION
SERMON.
chael
and
his
angels
must
fight
too, and sometimes
it
is
necessary
to
use
the weapons
of
civil
authority against
them.
I
was
constrained
to this kind
of
discourse,
after
had meditated
a gentler
subject,
by
several gentlemen
of
your
number providentially'assuring
me,
there
was
never
more need
of
severe discipline
than
now
;
for
that
you
had
lately discovered many assemblies
of
unnatural
lust,
and
the fatal contagion
was
spreading
among multitudes.
You
desired
me to
excite
you all to
a
vigorous
and
mortal
pursuit of
wickedness
in all its
private
haunts and cor-
ners,
that
it
might
be
brought
to light,
and
be
rooted out
for ever.
But I
return
to
answer the accusation
brought
against
you
of
cruelty
and
unkindness
:
So
may
a surgeon
be
called unkind and cruel
whose design
is
to
heal;
but
a
dangerous
tumour,
or
a latent
ulcer
first
demand the
incision-
knife,
or the actual
cautery;
cutting
and
burn-
ing must
be
the first and
immediate
work,
that
the
dead
flesh
or the callus
may be removed,
and a
way
made for
healing medicines.
Punishment
is
to
be
inflicted on those
on
whom
persuasion
has no
force.
There are
some sin-
ners
whose
consciences
are
wrapped
in
scales
of hard-
ness,
and
the sword
of
the magistrate
is
the
only
instru-
ment that
can make
way to
the sensible and
tender part,
if
any
such
remain
within
:
Then
perhaps
the
thoughts
of
a
God
or
a
hell may have some influence
to
reclaim;
and
the promises
and
graces
of
the gospel be success-
fully
preached
and administered
to
allure
them to
piety.
This sort
of
cruelty
is
an
instance
of
the
truest
kindness:
Our
Lord Christ
himself, who
was
love
incarnate,
and
preached the
gospel
of
peace, yet, once
saw
reason
to
practise punishing
zeal,
when
he over-
turned
the
ta-
bles
of
the money changers,
and
scourged the
profane
sheep -merchants
out of
the temple
;"
John
ii.
15.
Thus
the
God
-man whose compassion
to
sinners
was
stronger
than death, exercised
his
anger and resentment against
the breakers
of
the
laws
of
heaven
and
his
country,
and
the
transgressors
were
whipped and
fined. Severe
justice
toward
single sinners
is
sometimes made
by
divine
grace
à
blessed
method
of
their
own
salvation, and
if
it
appear
hard
in some
particular
instances, and should
not
effec-
tually reduce the
transgressor, yet it
is
often found
of
necessary and happy
use
for the welfare
of
a whole com-
munity,
by-
deterring
'others
from
the
same crimes.