THURSDAY, MAY 9.

ORDERED, that the speaker do give the reverend father in God, the lord bishop of Down, the thanks of this house for his yesterday's pains; and that he desire him to print his sermon.

JOHN KEATING, Cler. Parl.

XI. die Maii, 1661.

ORDERED, that Sir Theophilus Jones, knight, Marcus Trever, esq., Sir William Domvile, knight, his majesty's attorney-general, and Richard Kirle, esq., be and are hereby appointed a committee to return thanks unto the lord bishop of Down for his sermon preached on Wednesday last unto the lords justices, and lords spiritual and temporal, whereunto the house of commons were invited; and that they desire his lordship from this house to cause the same to be forthwith printed and published.

Copia vera.

Ex. per PHILIP FERNELY, Cler. Dom. com.

A

SERMON

PREACHED AT THE

OPENING OF THE PARLIAMENT OF IRELAND,

MAY 8, 1661.

BEFORE THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS JUSTICES,

AND THE LORDS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL,

AND THE COMMONS.

BY JEREMY TAYLOR, D.D.,

LORD BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR.

Salus in multitudine consulentium.-[Prov. xi. 14.]

TO THE

RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL

AND COMMONS OF IRELAND

ASSEMBLED IN PARLIAMENT.

MY LORDS AND Gentlemen,

I OUGHT not to dispute your commands for the printing my sermon of obedience, lest my sermon should be protestatio contra factum here I know my example would be the best use to this doctrine, and I am sure to find no inconveniency so great as that of disobedience; neither can I be confident that I am wise in any thing but when I obey, for then I have the wisdom of my superior for my warrant, or my excuse. I remember the saying of Aurelius the emperor, Equius est ut ego tot et talium amicorum consilium sequar, quam ut tot et tales amici meam unius voluntatem sequantur. I could easily have pretended excuses: but that day I had taught others the contrary, and I would not shed that chalice which my own hands had newly filled with waters issuing from the fountains of salvation.

My eyes are almost grown old with seeing the horrid mischiefs which came from rebellion and disobedience; and I would willingly now be blessed with observation of peace and righteousness, plenty and religion, which do already, and I hope shall for ever, attend upon obedience to the best king and the best church in the world. I see no objection against my hopes, but that which ought least of all in this case to be pretended: men pretend conscience against obedience; expressly against S. Paul's doctrine, teaching us to 'obey for conscience sake;' but to disobey for conscience in a thing indifferent, is never to be found in the books of our religion.

It is very hard when the prince is forced to say to his rebellious subject, as God did to His stubborn people, Quid faciam tibi? I have tried all the ways I can to bring thee home, and what shall I now do unto thee? The subject should rather say, Quid me vis a [Capitolin. in vit. Antonin. cap. xxii.] b [Rom. xiii. 5.] [Hos. vi. 4.]

facered, what wilt thou have me to do?' This question is the best end of disputations. Corrumpitur atque dissolvitur imperantis officium, si quis ad id quod facere jussus est non obsequio debito sed consilio non considerato respondeat, said one in A. Gellius; when a subject is commanded to obey, and he disputes, and says, Nay, but the other is better; he is like a servant that gives his master necessary counsel, when he requires of him a necessary obedience; utilius parere edicto quam efferre consilium, he had better obey than give counsel,' by how much it is better to be profitable than to be witty, to be full of goodness rather than full of talk and argument.

But all this is acknowledged true in strong men, but not in the weak; in vigorous, but not in tender consciences; for obedience is strong meat, and will not down with weak stomachs: as if in the world any thing were easier than to obey; for we see that the food of children is milk and laws; the breast-milk of their nurses and the commands of their parents is all that food and government by which they are kept from harm and hunger, and conducted to life and wisdom. And therefore they that are weak brethren, of all things in the world have the least reason to pretend an excuse for disobedience; for nothing can secure them but the wisdom of the laws; for they are like children in minority, they cannot be trusted to their own conduct, and therefore must live at the public charge, and the wisdom of their superiors is their guide and their security. And this was wisely advised by S. Paul', "Him that is weak in the faith receive, but not to doubtful disputations;" that's not the way for him; children must not dispute with their fathers and their masters. If old men will dispute, let them look to it; that's meat for the strong indeed, though it be not very nutritive: but the laws and the counsels, the exhortations and the doctrines of our spiritual rulers, are the measures by which God hath appointed babes in Christ to become men, and the weak to become strong and they that are not to be received to doubtful disputations, are to be received with the arms of love, into the embraces of a certain and regular obedience.

But it would be considered, that tenderness of conscience' is an equivocal term, and does not always signify in a good sense for a child is of tender flesh; but he whose foot is out of joint, or hath a biles in his arm, or hath strained a sinew, is much more tender. The tenderness of age' is that weakness that is in the ignorant and the new beginners: the tenderness of a bile,' that is soreness indeed rather than tenderness, is of the diseased, the abused, and the mispersuaded. The first indeed are to be tenderly dealt with, and have usages accordingly; but that is the same I have already told; you must teach them, you must command them, you must guide them, you must choose for them, you must be their guardians, and they