hardly poffible: or that we should love every neighbour alike; which if we fuppofe poffible were neither juft nor natural: or that we should do for our neighbour all that he now does, or that we, if in his circumftances, might perhaps wish and defire to be done for ourselves; for, fuch defires may be irregular; or if not finful, yet unreasonable: but it is to do all that for him, which, were our cafe his, and his ours, we should in reason and good confcience expect and be glad, to have done to ourselves. And,

As the love a man bears to himself is always fincere, fo should the love to our neighbour be, in this refpect, as that to ourselves; not mercenary and defigning, but difinterested and hearty intending the benefit of the party we exprefs it to: not in directly seeking our own profit or pleasure: and as an evident proof whofe good it is we aim at, not balking any proper expreffion of it, either to them who have no part or perfonal confideration to induce it; or to them from whom we can have no profpect or human poffibility of a return to be made for the benefit we bestow.

And,

king.

II. As the order of the commandments, the dictates of nature, and the ordinance of God, has placed the parental authority at the head of the fecond table, as Obey the containing the primary, focial and christian duties, being most prevailent upon peace and piety, and confifting chiefly of the civil, fpiritual, and natural parents: fo I intend first to treat of the relative duties between prince and people. In particular kingdoms, the king is the fountain of authority, from whence all power defcends upon lower magistrates; fo in the univerfal monarchy of the world, God is the fountain of all power and dominion, from whom all authority and right of government defcends upon princes. Therefore,

Seeing that fovereigns are God's vicegerents, and do reign by his authority, they have a right to be obeyed in all things, wherein they do not interfere with the commands of God; for in obeying them, we obey God, who commands by their mouths, and wills by their laws, and proclamations: and as he who refuses to obey the inferior magiftrates command, doth in fo doing, disobey the king himself, unless he commands the contrary; fo he who difobeys his fovereign, who

is

is God's magiftrate, doth in fo doing, disobey God, unless it be where God hath commanded him to the contrary. While he commands lawful things he hath a right to be obeyed, because his commands are ftamped with divine authority, and are thereby rendered facred, never to be violated.

As fovereigns, therefore, are the representatives Honour, of God's power and majefty upon earth, being his immediate officers; they have alfo a right to be honoured and reverenced by their fubjects, because they bear God's character, and do shine with the rays of his majefty; and confequently, it is an affront to God's own majefty, for fubjects to contemn and vilify their fovereigns, to expose their faults, and uncover their nakedness, and lampoon and libel their perfons and actions.

Aflift him.

And fince fovereigns are ordained by God for the common good, to protect the innocent and avenge the injured, and guard the rights of their people against foreign and domeftick fraud and violence; they must hereupon have an undoubted right to be aided and affifted by their fubjects; because without their aid it will be impoffible for them to accomplish the ends of their fovereignty: and therefore, for fubjects to refuse to aid their fovereign with their purses, or perfons, when legally required; or by Pay tribute. any indirect means to withdraw themselves from his affistance, whenever his and the country's real neceffities call for it, is to detain from him a juft right that is owing to his character: and to this the apostle fubjoins the tribute of our prayers.

Pray for him.

Duty of princes.

III. These are rights implied in the station of a fovereign, and there are others implied in the station of a fubject: for, fovereign power being ordained by God, for a publick good, to guard and defend the innocent, to shelter and relieve the oppreffed, to fence and propagate true religion, adjust and balance private rights and interests; every subject hath a right to be protected thereby, so far as can be, in his perfon and legal rights, in his juft liberties and privileges, and fincere profeffion of true religion; and that fovereign, who doth not employ his power to thefe purposes, but through

To protect

their fubjects.

wilful and affected error, or ignorance impofes a falfe religion on his people; or betrays, oppreffes, or inflaves them himself, or permits others fo to do, either out of malice, or careleffness, is an injurious invader of the rights and properties of his people; and though he be not accountable to an earthly tribunal, fhall one day answer for it at the tribunal of God, who is the King of kings.

Under pain

of God's dif

pleafure.

Duty to civil magi

ftrates.

IV. In like manner, there is a relation of judges and juftices, governors of towns, cities, and provinces, and fuch like inferior magiftrates, who by virtue of that authority which is ftamped upon them, and which they derive, as I told you from God, who is the head and spring of all power and dominion, have by virtue of that, a right to be honoured, and reverenced, and obeyed by the people, according to the degree and extent of their authority and power: because, wherever it is placed, authority is a facred thing, as being a ray, and image of the divine majesty, and as fuch may juftly claim honour and reverence from all men; and whoever contemns the lowest degree of it, offers an affront to the highest, as I have obferved before. Whofoever contemns the inferior magiftrates, who are vested with the king's authority, doth therein contemn the king; and he who contemns the king, who is vefted with God's authority, doth therein contemn God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Therefore, we are not to evade our obedience, under any pretence of the unworthinefs or personal faults and defects of the magiftrates in commiffion; but, men ought to confider that their authority is a facred thing, and, as fuch, challenges their reverence and obedience by a right that cannot be difpenfed with; and that therefore, to behave themselves frowardly, ftubbornly, or irreverently, towards a lawful magiftrate, is to detain from him his due, and offer an unjust affront to his character; and confequently, let a man be never fo good in other inftances, fuch a rebellious behaviour will bespeak him highly dishonest and injurious in the fight of God.

And, as you have feen the relation of inferior magiftrates entitles them to the peoples reverence and obedience; the relation which the prince and people bear to

Their duty.

them,

them, entitles them both to their fidelity, vigilance, and juftice alfo; because, inferior magistrates are the king's trustees for himself and his people; and in their hands he To the king. depofites the honour, fecurity, and rights of his own crown and dominion, together with the fafeguard and protection of the just and legal rights of his people: fo that upon their acceptance of this truft, by which they engage themselves faithfully to discharge it, the king acquires a right to their faithful and vigilant care, to fee that his authority be reverenced, his laws obeyed, his perfon, government, and properties fecured; the people acquire a right to be protected by them in their perfons, reputations, liberties, To the peo- and estates: confequently, fo far as they are wilfully failing, either towards the king or the people, in any of these matters, they do unjustly detain the king's or the peoples rights, or both; they betray the trust committed to them, falfify their own engagements, and under the mask of authority are publick robbers of mankind, and may and ought to be punished as fuch, by those laws they have violated.

ple.

How to be punished.

It is the du

ty of lay

men:

V. Another distinguished branch of the parental authority, where the duties are mutual and reciprocal, is that of paftors and people. These spi

ritual parents discharge the like good offices to our fouls, which our natural parents do to our bodies: therefore, we proceed to enquire into the duty of the people to their minifters. The chriftians of the first ages always expreffed a mighty value and esteem for their clergy; because they were fenfible there could be no church without priests, and that it was by their means, that God conveyed to them all those mighty bleffings, which were purchased by the death of Chrift. Church history is full of instances of the refpect they then paid to their bishops and priests, by kiffing their hands, bowing to beg their bleffing; and all this even in the times of perfecution by the heathens.

To maintain,

Nor did they reft in this outward behaviour; for they gave all imaginable proof of a fincere and hearty love to their perfons, by maintaining them

liberally out of their fhipwrecked fortunes, and cheerfully

fubmitting

fubmitting to the fevere difcipline enjoined by them, from a fenfe of that authority minifters have received from Christ, the great Bishop of fouls; and in purfuance of those precepts which our Saviour and St Paul have left us for that purpose. Christianity being at last become the religion of the state, great honours and revenues were beftowed upon the clergy, not only for the fupport of religion, but

Reverence.

as a reward for those great fufferings they had undergone in defence of the true faith *.

Honour.

From whence we are taught to honour and esteem our fpiritual governors for their works fake; to treat them with respect; to love them; to provide for their maintenance; to pray for them, and to obey them, otherwife we should prove ourselves more ignorant and uncivilized than those who were only guided by the dictates of nature. For all nations, whether civil or barbarous, have agreed, as a common dictate of natural reafon, to exprefs their reverence for the Deity, and their affections for religion, by conferring extraordinary privileges of honour upon fuch as administer in holy things, and by providing liberally for their

maintenance.

We honour and efteem them, by confidering them as those that bear the great character of ambaffadors from Chrift, as St Paul calls them; and as inftruments of conveying to us the greatest bleffings we are capable of receiving, because they relate to our eternal falvation; and confequently, regarding them as commiffioned by him to that holy function: wherefore the authority they have received to prefide over chriftians, as governors of the church, muft always be owned to come from God; and this religious regard to their divine mission, must be expreffed in the whole courfe of our conduct towards their perfons. We respect and reverence them by our words and actions, expreffing all that honour and esteem we have for their character, treating their persons with great civility in converfation; fpeaking all the good we can of them in their absence, and throwing a veil over their infirmities; never making them the objects of our light mirth, nor proclaiming their failings in order to reproach their perfons, because

N

See the title of honouring God in his ministers, page 32.

it