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Show 70" 1675· v--v-v Ch1p.UI. England's Prefent Intmfl Corzfider'd. VoL. I. Mankind (the Creation of one God, that bath upb~ld them tot1hi6 Day) of One Accord at leaft in the Weighty Thrngs of Gods Ho,Y Low . 'T's Wan'r of Prallift ::md roo much Prnte, that harh made Way for all the lncharityand iU Living rbatis in the World. No Matter. w~ar Men_f~y, jf the Devil keep the Haufe. Let t~e G_rac/ of God, the Prznap~e of d1vme Life (as 3 rear Man lately called it m bts Spf'ech) but be HeartliJ andRe· verenrly !nren:~ined of Men, that teac~es 111. to deny all l!n;odlmefs, ~n.d convcrfe Joherly, ri.t)teoufly ~n_d godly, m tb;s prrJcnr.tviiT1 o~ld, and u JS not to be doubted bur Trongzulay, at leaft a very ~mtcob/e Cotrefpondenu wii!t~~n~;:·not to be reputed Good by their Opinions or Profeffions ofR_eli~ ion: Nor is it that whi<:h ought ro e~ga~e t ~ . c Governmen.t, but PrafiKe; •g· h' th tmuftJavcor Jamn Chnit mhts Reprefentauonofthegreat {, 1 :/ ~otha not tell us, tll:lt it (h~U be faid to. Me~, Tl"ellfaid or Wd talke~. but fVeO done, Good and Faiihful Srrvan~ : ~euh.er ts ~he Depart from me, dt~ reaed to any, but the Wor.ttrs of lm')ZJIIJ; Error IS ~ow rranfi~ted fro~ the Si nific:Hion of an c'l.:il Life, to. a~ unfound fr~pofit.to.n, :~s Fbilofo£ /Jy 1s from tie Jrjoruficaticn, :md Well hvmg, t~ an tmn~tUtgtblt 1ya1 ofrt rang( in . And a Man is more b.itterly, harraff d for ::1 mi.flaJ:en !'ollon_, though · th; Party holding thinks h not fo, :and the Party chargmg It demes an In· fallible Judf rr:ent (fo that i1 may as ~·ell tie true as ~a If~ fo~ all t~em) than for the 1,~oJl diUd11te or im:noral Lif e. ~nd t~u~y t.t 1s htgh T1me, that Men (hould givC better Teftimony ot t.heu Cbrifbamty.: For .Cn11lty ha.th Sh:ue in <...hriU's Religion, and Cureton upon Confclence, JS unerlr_ tn~~ nfiilent with the \'try Nature of his Kingdom. He rebuk~d th3t Zea~ which would bnve Fire '~"'.~down from Heavctt, to devour Di.Jfentcrr, tho 't came 1rom his cwn Dlfctples ; :1nd forbad them ro pluck up \he Tarer, !hough none had a more gentle or inf:~llible Hand to doh with. . He p1eferred li1ei'CJ before Sacrifice, and therefore we may well ~elte~'t, that the unmerciful Sacrifices fome Men now .o.ffer, I .mean 11»pri[o11mg Perj0,11, jpoihng ofGoodr, nnd leaving v:h~le F11.m~lur de.[lttute of S~bjiftence, as well as dlfinheliting them of all Ct'<'il Pnv1leges m th.e GO\ernmenr, are far from being grateful to him, who therefore came l~to thJ:: Wo~ld, and pre:Ich'd that Heavenl.f DoB:rin~ of Forhe11rin~, and Lovmg of Ene11nu, 3;Ild laid down his mGft tmrocent Life fo1 us, wb1lft we were Rebels, ~hat by fuchpeJceable Precepts, and fo pltient an Example, the World m1gh1 be prevailed upon to leave thofe barbarous CoDrfes .... And doubtlc:fs, very lamentable w1ll their Condition be, who at the Commg of the gre:n Lord, iball be found Beattrr of tbrir FeUow-Servantr. . In vain do Men go toCburch, pray, preach, and flile thrmfeivu Behe'!err, Cbriflinns Children of God, &c. Whilft fuch A as of Seventy are chenfhedl among th~m ; and any Difpofition to moleft harmlefs Ne1gh~ours for thor Con{Cience, fo much as coztnltndnc'J by them. A Courfe. quite repugnant: to Chrifi's Example and Command. In thort, .the Promoun_g of th1s Gen~: :·al Religion, by a fe:vere Reprebenjion and P11nifh,ment of Vue, and Enco111 ragenunr oJVirtut",. is the lntereft of. o11r Supen or_r •. feveral Ways. 1 In that it meets with and rakes mall the Rehg10us Perfwabons of the Kingdom for :~ll pretend 'to make this their Co.r"er Stone. Let t~em. b~ equally e~couraged to fquare their Building by; Jt. Penal Lawrf.or Re[gt· on ir a Cb11rcb with a Sting in her Tail; t::tke that out, ~md there IS n.o ear of'the People's Love and Duty: And what better Obligatio!J.or Secumy can the civil Magiftrate ~efire? Every . Man owns the Text; us th.e Com me~: that's difputed. Let It bur pleafe htm to ma~e the !ext only Strc~ ed and l\ e. u.DOry, and leave Men to keep Company wnh thetC own M~amogs or C~n fi!quences, and he docs not only prude:ndy t~kc in all, bm .fuppre!T'eth mce Searches, Fixes Uniry upon Materials, Qmers pre~en,t ~tffercnces aboul Things of leffer Moment, retrieves Humanity, a.nd Ctwif!ran Clemency, and fills the Kingdom with Lo\'e and Ref pea Y:' thell' ~uperu?rs. . . _ 2. Next, A Promotion of GeneraL Religtc~, .wh.tc~. bem~ m. 1t f~If ~r~f. rical; , briu_gs bJck ancient Virtur. Good Ll\' tng wtll thnn m thts M~ Vo~:. I. Engl~nd'J P,rejtnt Interefl Confidtt'd. Men will grow H.Jne{1, Trujly,and Temperate; we may expect Good Neighb, ourhood and cordi Jl Friendfhip: One may .th.en depend more upon a Word, than now upon an Oar h. How bmcntable IS 1t to fee People a'fr.1id of one another; Men made and provided for of one G od, and rhat mufibejudged by chat one Fter~al God, ycr full of Diffidence in wh:it eaCh other f:~.ys, and molt commonly tmerprer, as people read Hebrew1 all Things backward. 3· Tlu. 17J!rd Benefit is, that Men will be more induftrious· more diligent iii their lawful CaUi~rgr, which Will encreafe onr Manufa8:u;e fet the Idle' and Poor to work for their Lively-Hood, and enable the feve;al Countries wi th more Eaf7 and . Decency to maintain the Aged and· impotent amoni them. Nor will thts only help ro make the Lazy confdentioufty induftri-' ous, bur .the lnduftrious and Confcientious Man thtarful at his Labour, when he IS afi'ured ro keep what he works for, and that the Swelt of his Brows !hall not be made a Forfeit for his Confcience. 4- It will render the !"fagifirates Province more f:~cil, and Government a Safe ~s .wel.l as Ea.fy Thmg.. For, as Tacitus f3ys of Agri&ol11's inftrutling the Bnraznt 10 Arts a-nd Sc1ences, and ufing them wirh more Humanity than other Governors ha.d done, that it made them finer for Government· So if Practical Religion, and the Laws made to maimain it, were dutY regarded, ~every Natures of Men. now wild and froward, by a Prejudi .. ced Educauon and Crofs and Jealous Interefis would leJrn Moderation and fe~ ic to b~ their greateft lnterefi to purfue 'a Sober and Amicable Con: verfauon ,; wh1ch WOl.lld Ea.fe the Magifirate of much of his preienr Trouble, an~ mcrcafe the Nu~ber of Men fir to govern; of which the Parlia~ . rnent-T1mes are an und~nrable lnfrancc. And the Truth is, 'd$ a Piece of Sll"ery to have the Reg1mem of lgnoranrs and Ruflbns J but there i's ttue Glory in having the Governmem of Men, inftruEted in the Juitice and Pru. • dence of their own Laws and Counrry. Lajl!y, It is oUt of this Nurfery of Virtue, Men ihould be drawn to be planted in the Government, not what is their Opinion, but whac is their Manners and Capacity ) Here the Field is large, and the Magifirate has Room to choofe good Officers for the Publick Good. Heaven will profper fo nariual, fo noble, and fo Chriftian an Elfay; which ought not ro be the leaft Confideration with a good Magifirate; and the rather, becaufe the ~egle8: of this PraEtical Religion, hath been the Ruin of Kingdoms and Commonwealths, among lteatbenr, }ewr and Ch'riflians. This laid Tar~ quin low, and his Race nner rofe· more: · How puiffant were Laced41110n and Atbe,u of Greece, 'rill Luxury had eateh out their Severity, and a Pompous Living, contrary to their Excellent Laws, render'd their Execution intolerable? And WJS tlot Hanihafs Army a: Prey to their oWn 1dlenefs 1nd .Pleafure, which by effeminating their Natures, conquer'd them, when tke whole Power of Rome could not do it? What elfe betray'd Rome to Ctfa/s Ambition, and made Way for the After-rents and Divifions of the Empire, the Merit a·s well as Conqueft and Inheritance of a we11_govern'd People for feveral Ages, as long as their Manners lafted ? The fewr likewife were profperotrs, while they kept the Judgmenrr ond Statut~s of their Gad 4 bu't when they became Rebellious and Diffolute, the Almighty either Vifited them fror;r Heaven, or expofed them to the Fury of their NeighbourS. No· thin~ elfe fent Z edekiah to Babylon, and gave him ;md the People a ViB:im tu 1\ebll(i .. dnezzar and his Army. Neg/e£1 of Laws and Dij[olure .Living, .Andrew Horn (that lived in the Time of Edward rbe Fitfl, as before cited) tells us, was tbe Cauft of tb' Miferab/e Thrtt/Jo,n and Defolation the Britains j11jlained 7 J.,vaderr and Conquerorr. An(pray, what elfe hath been the Englifh o ou-r Sweeping Ptfliience, Dreadful Fires, and 011tragiom FaOionr of late fears? Hun- . dreds of Examples might be brought in this Cofe' but thm E1cquency · tb:Jll excufc me. Thus |