The Religious and Loyal Subject's Duty considered, with regard to the present Government and the Revolution.

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Prov. xxiv. 21.
My son, fear thou the Lord, and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change.

THERE is no need that I should acquaint any who are here present with the sad occasion of this anniversary solemnity; nor need I, I suppose, use many words to raise in you a just abhorrence of that most execrable parricide, which we are now bewailing. To be sure we do all of us, from the very bottom of our hearts, detest and abominate

it; unless we have been all this while in this holy place prevaricating with God and man, and adding a feigned humiliation to the number of our former provocations.

As it ought to be the earnest prayer and endeavour of all good men and loyal subjects, that no such wickedness may hereafter be committed among us, to the reproach of our nation, and of the holy Religion which we profess: so is it particularly incumbent on the ministers of the Gospel, to press upon men the due observation of those laws, which the most high hath enacted for the security and support of his vice-gerents on earth; and to caution men against those pernicious principles and practices, which in the last age brought a most excellent and gracious Monarch to the block; and quite overthrew our constitution in church and state: and which in all ages, if a timely stop be not put to them, will produce the like tragical effects, as having a natural tendency to subvert government, and to introduce anarchy and confusion amongst mankind.

For which reason I have chosen for the subject of my following discourse, this solemn charge of the wise King Solomon to his Son; My son, fear thou the Lord and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change. In which words are bound upon us three rules of life, very necessary to be observed by all who would not be deemed enemies to the publick peace and tranquility.

The first is, To fear the Lord.

The second is, To fear the King.

The third is, Not to meddle with those that are given to change.

Of each of these injunctions I shall discourse in order, and shall shew in what latitude, and with what restrictions, they are to be understood; how highly reasonable they are, and of how great importance to the preservation of human society, and the maintenance of the magistrate's authority.

The fear of God is a duty equally obliging persons of all ranks and conditions, at all times, and in all places; and in its full extent comprehends all other duties. It has for its foundation, all the glorious

attributes and perfections of God; but more especially his omniscience, his holiness, his justice, and his almighty power. For they who are firmly persuaded, that all their actions, and words, and thoughts, are open to the view of the Deity; that [A]he is of purer eyes than to behold evil with approbation, and cannot endure to look on iniquity; that he will one day judge all men in righteousness according to their works; and that the united force of all the creatures of the universe cannot hinder him from executing the terrible sentence which he shall then pass upon the transgressors of his laws; they who do, in good earnest, believe these things to be true, and frequently and seriously consider them, will of course be very careful not to incur the displeasure of the Almighty, by doing those things which he hath forbidden, or by neglecting to do what he hath commanded. Hence, in Scripture, the fear of God is often used to signify the whole of Religion: because in all who live under the influence of it, it is a very powerful

principle of constant and uniform obedience to the divine laws.

The fear of the King too comprehends the whole duty of a subject to his soveraign. To fear the King is, to yeild to him that homage, and submission, and obedience, which the laws of God, and of the land, do require: chearfully to contribute towards the supporting his royal honour and dignity, and the supplying the necessities of the state; to labour every one of us in our own sphere to defeat the expectations and contrivances of his enemies, and to promote the peace of his government, and the success of his designs; and continually to pray to him who disposeth of all events, to protect his person, to direct his counsels, and prosper his undertakings; to demean our selves towards him with profound reverence, to speak honorably of him, to think of him with aw, to entertain the most favourable opinion of his character, and to put the best construction upon his actions; and finally, to render due honour and obedience to all inferior magistrates and officers, who

act by his commission, and in subordination to him.

The reasonableness and necessity of all this, will appear by shewing, that nothing less than this, will fully answer the ends of government; and that the contrary practices are very injurious to the authority of princes, and do tend to the disturbance and dissolution of society.

Government it is clear cannot subsist, where there are none who will submit to be governed, and own their dependance upon their governours: there can be no soveraign, where there are no subjects; no commanders, where none will obey.

To call any one King, and at the same time to rebel against his authority, what is this but to mock him with an empty title? And it is nearly the same case, when subjects, though