ftanding; by which we may, as the apoftle directs, be ready always to give an answer to every man, that afketh us a reafon of the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear.

And thus I have done with my fubject, which, probably, I fhould not have chofen, if I had not been invited to it by the occafion of this feafon, appointed on purpose to celebrate the myfteries of the Trinity, and the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, wherein we pray to be kept stedfaft in this faith; and what this faith is I have fhewn you in the plaineft manner I could. For, upon the whole, it is no more than this: God commands us, by our dependence upon his truth and his holy word, to believe a fact that we do not understand. And this is no more, than what we do every day in the works of nature upon the credit of men of learning. Without faith we can do no works acceptable to God; for if they proceed from any other principle, they will not advance our falvation; and this faith, as I have explained it, we may acquire without giving up our senses, or contradicting our reafon. May God of his infinite mercy inspire us with true faith in every article and mystery of our religion, fo as to difpofe us to do what is pleafing in his fight; and this we pray through Jefus Chrift, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, the mysterious incomprehenfible One GOD, be all honour and glory now and for evermore. Amen.

A SER

A

SER MON

T

ON

MUTUAL SUBJECTION.

I St. PETER v. 5.

Yea, all of you be subject one to another.

HE apostle having, in many parts of this epiftle, given directions to chriftians concerning the duty of fubjection or obedience to fuperiors; in the feveral inftances of the fubject to the prince, the child to his parent, the fervant to his mafter, the wife to her husband, and the younger to the elder; doth here, in the words of my text, fum up the whole by advancing a point of doctrine, which at firft may appear a little extraordinary; Yea, all of you, faith he, be subject one to another. For it fhould feem, that two perfons cannot properly be laid to be fubject to each other, and that subjection is only due from inferiors to thofe above them: yet St. Paul hath feveral paffages to the fame purpose. For he exhorts the Romans [z], in honour to prefer one another; and the Philip

[x] Rom. xii, 10.

P 3

pians,

pians [a], that in lowlinefs of mind they should Let each efteem other better than themselves; and the Ephefians [b], that they should submit themselves one to another in the fear of the Lord. Here we find these two great apoftles recommending to all chriftians this duty of mutual subjection. For we may observe by St. Peter, that having mentioned the feveral relations which men bear to each other, as governor and fubject, mafter and fervant, and the reft which I have already repeated, he makes no exception, but fums up the whole with commanding all to be subject one to another. From whence we may conclude, that this subjection, due from all men, is fomething more than the compliment of courfe, when our betters are pleased to tell us they are our humble fervants, but understood by us to be their flaves.

I know very well, that fome of thofe, who explain this text, apply it to humility, to the duties of charity, to private exhortations, and to bearing with each other's infirmities; and it is probable the apoftle may have had a regard to all thefe. But however, many learned men agree, that there is fomething more understood, and fo the words in their plain natural meaning must import; as you will obferve yourfelves, if you read them with the beginning of the verfe, which is thus: Likewife ye younger fubmit yourselves unto the elderyea, all of you be subject one

[] Philip.. 3. [b] Ephef. v. 21.

to another. So that upon the whole there must be fome kind of fubjection due from every man to every man, which cannot be made void by any power, pre-eminence, or authority whatfoever. Now what fort of fubjection this is, and how it ought to be paid, fhall be the fubject of my prefent difcourfe.

As God hath contrived all the works of nature to be useful, and, in fome manner, à fupport to each other, by which the whole frame of the world, under his providence, is preferved and kept up; fo, among mankind, our particular ftations are appointed to each of us by God Almighty, wherein we are obliged to act, as far as our power reacheth, towards the good of the whole community. And, he, who doth not perform that part affigned him towards advancing the benefit of the whole in proportion to his opportunities and abilities, is not only an useless, but a very mischievous member of the publick: because he takes his fhare of the profit, and yet leaves his fhare of the burden to be borne by others, which is the true principal caufe of moft miferies and misfortunes in life. For a wife man, who does not affift with his counfels, a great man with his protection, a rich man with his bounty and charity, and a poor man with his labour, are perfect nufances in a commonwealth. Neither is any condition of life more honourable in the fight of God than another; otherwife he would be a refpecter of perfons, which he

affures

Thus

affures us he is not: for he hath propofed the fame falvation to all men, and hath only placed them in different ways or stations to work it out. Princes are born with no more advantages of ftrength or wildom than other men; and, by an unhappy education, are ufually more defective in both than thousands of their fubjects. They depend for every neceffary of life upon the meaneft of their people befides, obedience and fubjection were never enjoined by God to humour the paffions, lufts, and vanities of those who demand them from us; but we are commanded to obey our governors, because disobedience would breed feditjons in the state. fervants are directed to obey their masters, children their parents, and wives their hufbands; not from any refpect of perfons in God, but because otherwife there would be nothing but confufion in private families. This matter will be clearly explained by confidering the comparifon, which St. Paul makes between the church of Chrift and the body of man: for the fame resemblance will hold, not only to families and kingdoms, but to the whole corporation of mankind. [c] The cye, faith he, cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the hand to the foot, I have no need of thee. Nay, much more, thofe members of the body which feem to be more feeble, are neceffary: and whether one member fuffer, all the members fuffer

[c] Rom, xii. 21, 22, 23. 26.