A SERMON Preached before the KING AT MONT-St. Andre-camp, JUNE 29. 1694.  
By JAMES SMALWOOD, Chaplain to the Earl of RUMNEY, and HIS MAJESTY's First Regiment of Foot-Guards. Fellow of TRINITY-COLLEGE in CAMBRIDGE.  
Published now by the King's Command.  
LONDON: Printed for Jacob Tonson, at the Judge's Head, near the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet. MDCXCV.   

Mr. Smalwood's SERMON Preached before the KING, AT MONT-St. Andre-camp.   

TO His GRACE THE DUKE OF ORMOND, etc.  
MY LORD,  
IT was Your GRACE's Goodness that first recommended me to Preach this Sermon before the King, and therefore I presume, under your Protection, to recommend it to the World: It is, I confess, a Hardship Your Lordship in this Case lies under, that Your well-meaning and good Intention must be thus requited, and that it was not enough that Your Grace did me the Honour that I should appear before so Great a Prince; but that I must likewise lay my Infirmities and Imperfections at Your Door now in Public: It is indeed an Inconvenience that Great and Good Men sometimes bring upon themselves, even by the exercise of their Virtues; when they cannot show a Favour, or do an Act of Generosity, but oftentimes it is returned with troublesome and impertinent Acknowledgements; or else Their Patronage must be made use of to screen the Weaknesses and Defects of their Clients. However, my Lord, though the Workmanship of this Discourse may be but slight and ordinary; yet the Foundation and Ground of it, is firm and strong; and this Advantage my Pen has, that it is engaged in the same Cause with Your Grace's Sword.  
My Lord, It has been my Good Fortune from Your very Childhood, to have had Opportunities of observing all the Steps and Progresses of Your Greatness; The very Dawnings of Virtue and Courage were discernible in Your Grace's tender Years, which now shine forth Bright, and cast a Lustre over the World; even than those seeds of Valour and Magnanimity were easily to be seen which are now grown up to full Maturity and Perfection; and Your whole Life, my Lord, has rose by such regular Increases and Ascents, that it appears now like a complete Piece of Building, the bast Strong, the Superstructure Beautiful and Uniform, the whole Fabric Perfect, and without a Flaw.  
But, my Lord, within the narrow limits of a Dedication I must not think of comprehending Your Grace's Life; only one peculiar Virtue, I, in common with the rest of Mankind that ever knew You, cannot but mention, and that is, Your constant readiness of doing Good.  
That extraordinary Quality, that singular Goodness of Your own, was, my Lord, the Occasion of this Discourse; and the Reason why it has not appeared all this while in Print, when it was His Majesty's Pleasure, and the favourable Request of that Honourable Auditory that heard it, that it should; was, because we continued a long time after in the Camp, and since then, I, attending my Duty abroad till now, had not Opportunity of being obedient to their Wills; being reminded by some Friends now at home, under the safeguard of Your great Name, my Lord, I venture it out in Public, nor do I fear any Censures under the Umbrage of so great a Patron as Your Grace condescends to be to,  
My LORD, Your GRACE's Most Obedient and Most Devoted Servant, JAMES SMALWOOD.   

A SERMON Preached before the KING In the CAMP.  St. Luke 22. part of the 36. v. He that hath no Sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. The Context runs thus, And he said unto them, when I sent you without Purse, or Scrip, or Shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, nothing. Then said he unto them; but now he that hath a Purse let him take it, and likewise his Scrip, and he that hath no Sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 
IN this Warlike Assembly, I shall not take upon me to Read a Lecture concerning the Military Art, or to say any thing of the Discipline of War, before those that understand it far better, than either opportunity has given me leave, or my Profession requires: This absurdity, an Ancient Grecian Orator was once guilty of before a great General, which was censured by a very Judicious Author, as an improper and an assuming Action. I shall content myself therefore to act within my own Sphere, and accordingly will endeavour, from the Holy Scriptures in general, but more particularly from these words of our Blessed Saviour, to prove the lawfulness of the taking up of Arms by Christian Men, at some times, and upon some occasions.  
This is the main scope and drift of my present undertaking; To show, From Christ's Command to his Disciples here in the Text, of selling their  to purchase Swords; That the Accoutrements of War are, in some cases, to be provided before bodily Raiment; that Arms may not always yield to the peaceful Gown; but that at some seasons of imminent danger, of homebred Insurrections, or a prospect of Invasion, or Enmity openly declared; that then War and the Instruments of it are to be sought; then the Bow and the Quiver is to be made ready; then we must go, tho' like some of the Ancient Spartans', half-naked into Battle.  
But before I enter upon the Proof of this, I will clear one Objection, which may with some colour be laid before me at the very threshold, from the Opinion of some very Learned and Able Expositors.  
Dr. Hammond, Grotius, and some others, say, that these Words of our Blessed Saviour are not to be taken Literally, but Figuratively.  
Our Blessed Lord and Master, was now near the time of his departure out of the World; The Captain of our Salvation, was now about laying down the great Commission he had received from his Father; and now when he was taking leave of his Disciples, those Fellow-soldiers of his, those who had hitherto fought the same good fight with himself, against all the Powers of the World, or the Devil, those who under his care and conduct had served securely, and were protected safely, to whom he had formerly upon their several great and hazardous Expeditions, given Orders, to Provide neither 
Mat. 10. 9  gold, nor silver, nor brass in their purses, nor scrip for their journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; yet to them now he speaks otherwise, he foresees, that now shortly far more calamitous and perilous times would come, the conflicts they were to meet with both Corporal and Spiritual would be great, the dangers they were to encounter inevitable; he therefore Arms them now with an extraordinary Courage, and advises them to lay in good Provisions: The Bridegroom himself would be absent, and they must not expect any Personal Assistance or Subsistence from him; so that it would not now be sufficient to shake off the dust of 
Mat. 10. 14.  their feet against a House or a City, that would not receive and entertain them kindly, but they must supply themselves with all Necessaries requisite, both for the Maintenance and Defence of their Persons; they must not only fill their Purses and their Scrips▪ but they must provide themselves too of Weapons, nay, they who had no Swords, were obliged to sell even their very Garments and buy them.  
By all this, say these Learned Persons, is nothing more meant by our Saviour, than that his Disciples should Arm their Minds, against all the Spiritual Oppositions, and against all the Temporal Hardships they might meet with in the World.  
This perhaps might have been the Figurative meaning of our Saviour, That now he was going from the Head of his Disciples, They should put on a greater firmness and resolution of Mind, Arm their Spirits with an undaunted Courage and readiness to grapple with the severest Trials, and to surmount all difficulties; and the Sword here in my Text, might possibly be used in the same Sense by our Saviour, that St. Paul uses the Sword of the Spirit, the Shield 
Ephes. 6.  of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, or any of the other parts of Armoury, he there furnishes out his Christian Warrior with. However, admitting this Metaphorical acceptation of the Words, I see no absurdity or false Doctrine, in taking the Text in the more obvious and literal signification: St. Augustine, I am sure, a Father of no mean Authority, takes this very Text of Scripture, in the plain and verbal importance, and makes use of it for an Argument against the Manichees, a whimsical Sect of People, who decried all manner of use of Secular Arms, as unjustifiable amongst Christian Men. And it may be presumed, St. Peter that great Apostle, understood our Saviour according to the Letter too; for presently after the words were spoke, when he saw his Master fall into the violent hands of the High-Priest's Servants, he drew his Sword, and with it, gave a plain demonstration in what Sense he took the words. Nay, this was not only St. Peter's apprehension of these Words, but 'tis to be supposed, of all the Apostles likewise, for we find in the following Verse their joint Answer: He that has no Sword, let him sell his Garment and buy one, says our Saviour, And they said, Lord, behold here are two Swords, And he said unto them it is enough. However, thus much certainly may very naturally and very agreeably too to the Doctrine of Christ, be inferred from this Text, That tho' Spiritual Arms are the Christians commendable Weapons, in the Times of Persecutions and Oppressions; and a fortified Mind is then always required; yet even the outward Corporal Means of just Defence or Offence, are allowed Christians as well as other Men.  
This is a Position, that the strictest of our Saviour Christ's Precepts, does not contradict or disprove, for although Patience in Persecutions, long-suffering of Injuries, love of very Enemies, are recommended to us as the most sublime Christian Virtues; although by such Commands as this, Unto him that smiteth thee on the one Cheek, turn the other; we are admonished to pass by all trivial and accidental Injuries in common Conversation; although the first Methods of the propagation of the Gospel, were gentle and peaceable, and the same Methods ought still to be practised in the Conservation of it: Yet did I never meet with any so very Spiritualised a Casuist, that carried on the Doctrine of self-resignation so high, but that it was always allowed, That when private men's Lives are in danger; and much more, when the Public Life of the State is in jeopardy; and most of all, when Christianity itself is in hazard of being subverted or corrupted, that then the free use of all Means of both Personal and Public Security, were never Prohibited by our Saviour.  
This slender Objection being thus removed, I shall not scruple to take the Text in a Grammatical and Literal Sense, and from it so considered,  
I. First, I shall lay down this for a Positive and Contestable Assertion; That notwithstanding all the Doctrines of Humility, Patience, Submission, Forgiving of Injuries, Forbearance of Revenge, which the Gospel of Christ, and the Writings of the Apostles so much press upon us, and which are the Spiritual Weapons of our Warfare here in this World; yet still the Armour of the Body, and the just use of material Weapons, is, and in all Ages of the World before and since Christianity, was Lawful; nay, at some times, and in some conditions of Affairs, War is necessary, and more the Duty of a Christian People, than a slothful Peace.  
II. Secondly, I will inquire at what Opportunities and Seasons Arms may be taken up.  
III. Thirdly, I will make it appear, that our present War is to be justified by all the Reasons and Arguments that can be required for the carrying on of any.  
I. First, I am to prove the warrantableness of War amongst Christian People; and one would think, I needed not to spend much time in making good that universal and avowed Opinion; That all defensive and offensive Means of Safety, which amongst all Men are allowable, are equally so to Christians, as to any other part of Mankind.  
That War was both practised in the most ancient Seasons of the World, and not only countenanced, but directed and in a manner proclaimed too by God himself, is a thing plainly to be seen in many Places of the Old Testament; Moses was commanded to raise Forces and to form an Army by God's own special Order; Abraham commenced a War for the rescue of his Brother Lot; and many other Instances might be produced out of the Old Testament; but let us look into the New, the Precepts of which are far more obligatory to us Christians, and there we shall find the Equity of Arms as much established amongst the Christians, as they were made use of amongst the Israelites. For what did our Saviour intent by these Words, If my Kingdom were of this World, then would my Servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; what, I say, could our Saviour here mean, but that the taking up of Arms, at some Exigences of time, was a thing not only practicable, but warrantable? If my Kingdom were of this World, that is, if I did really pretend to erect any temporal and material Kingdom in this World, any more than a spiritual Sovereignty over Souls; then, as it is Customary with all earthly Princes in such Cases, rather than be thus used by these Jews, would I raise an Army to defend my Person, and to revenge the Injuries I have unjustly received at their Hands; then would I and my Army fight, as it is the manner of all worldly Princes to do, whenever their Dominions and Prerogatives are wrongfully invaded, or their Persons ignominiously treated. This seems to me to be the Meaning and Purport of that Text.  
But may not this Countenancing of War seem a most preposterous and surprising Doctrine for the Prince of Peace to deliver? How is this consistent with his own Life and Conversation, which was nothing else but one continued Act of Suffering? How comes He that endured all the Barbarous Usage, Buffet, Spitting upon, Scourge, that was led like a Sheep to the Slaughter, and like a Lamb that is Dummb? How comes He now to open his Mouth so angrily, and to breath forth nothing but War and Battle? How is it, that He, who at another time sends out his Apostles without any Equipage or the least Furniture, only with this poor Commission, Go and teach all Nations, and lo I am with you, how is it that now he recommends to them the Instruments of War, and makes Swords such useful, such indispensible Companions of their Travels, that, rather than want them, he bids them Pawn and sell their very  to buy them? Nay, how comes our Saviour, here in my Text, to prefer Swords before Garments, which was just before he was betrayed into the Hands of his Enemies, and looked as if he intended some Opposition against them, yet presently after, when he was seized by the High Priest's Officers, and Peter endeavoured to rescue him, by wounding one of them, He there altars his Mind quite, and rebukes Peter for drawing his Sword with this severe Reprimand, Put up thy Sword into its Place, he that taketh the Sword shall perish by the Sword.  
These two remarkable Sentences of our Saviour, that in my Text, and this to St. Peter, may at first hearing appear liable to contrary Interpretations; But if we rightly consider them, we shall find they do not only not thwart or invalidate one the other, but agree very well, and taking them both together, we may learn from them the whole Christian Doctrine of War, and what use of secular Arms the Gospel permits, and what it condemns.  
1. First then, St. Peter out of an overhasty Passion, and an unseasonable Zeal, when his Master was apprehended by the Ministers of the Chief Priests and Elders drew his Sword and struck a Servant of the High Priest, and smote of his Ear. This was done 'tis true, in defence of Christ himself, of the most Perfect Innocence that ever appeared in the World, it was too upon a Man that was performing a most unjust Act of Violence in itself, but what he was Commissioned to do by Public Authority; our Saviour therefore reproves St. Peter for striking with the Sword without a sufficient Warrant, and blames the Fact, as an illegal Attempt of a Private Man against a Public Officer set on work by a lawful Magistrate: But we are not to conclude that our Blessed Saviour, by this Check given to St. Peter, did absolutely prohibit all manner of using the Sword amongst Christians; if so, the Magistrate himself is prohibited the use of it, who we are told by the Apostle, beareth not the Sword in vain, but indeed he cannot be said to bear it otherwise than in vain, if he may never have the liberty to draw it.  
2. Secondly, We must consider when our Saviour gave this charge to his Disciples, they were then launching out into the wide World, where they must expect to meet with many Rubs, and Dangers, therefore he advises them to stand upon their own Legs, and be continually upon their Guard, that they should be Watchful and Cautious, able to repel any Injury or Violence offered to them, with Courage, and that therefore they should provide themselves of means necessary and requisite thereunto; In the foregoing Verse he appeals to them, and asks them, if they had any Complaints to make to him of his neglect of them, or whether they had wanted any thing in his Service, which they freely acknowledged they had not: He proceeds now he is leaving them, to bid them take all Care Men can of themselves, to be sure always to have their Purses and their Scrips in good Condition, and above all, to be well furnished with good Arms, not to act the least Private Injury, but to defend themselves as much as may be against all.  
So that our Saviour by the Check he used to St. Peter, does no more than admonish all Private Christians to abstain from passionate, giddy, and unwarrantable Quarrels, and not to confront Public Authority, leaving it nevertheless lawful for superior Magistrates to unsheathe their Swords in Defence of General Rights.  
And by the Words of my Text he intimates, that all Christians may justly make Provision against all Difficulties and Dangers that may happen to be encountered with in this World, and consequently against all wrongful Insults, Encroachments, or Invasions, upon either their Persons or their Properties; so that these two Texts are so far from contradicting one the other, that both joined and considered together, make up an excellent Rule for the use of the Sword.  
The conclusion from both may be this; That although it is not lawful for every Private Man to revenge Personal Injuries, or to make his own Sword the Judge of Differences, which belong properly to the decision of the Magistrate, much less to resist Public Justice, whether in a wrong or a right Cause; yet a Man's Bodily Preservation and Defence from sudden Attacks, God has in some measure committed to himself and his own Sword; And it is lawful, tho' not to offer Injuries, yet to resist forcible Ones with Force; but chief it is lawful for Men▪ to draw the Sword against Public Injuries, in assisting the Civil State of which they are Members, whensoever it calls for their Aid, being either openly threatened from Abroad, or secretly undermined at home.  
It was therefore a wrong determination of one of the Ancient Fathers, to infer from our Saviour's Command to St. Peter to put up his Sword, that it is unlawful for Christians at any time to draw theirs, and that all Military Employments are consequently criminal. This is an Opinion not only not to be maintained by any Evangelical Writing, but it is really absurd in itself; for what would that be but to make Cristianity a Prey to its insatiable, and a Laughingstock to its insolent Enemies? This were to prostitute the Lives and Fortunes of Christians, to the outrageous Wills of their professed Enemies, Turks and Pagans; This were the readiest means for Kings and Princes to become useless Creatures; This were to deprive good Subjects of Opportunities of exerting their Loyalty, and of rewards justly due to Them, who venture their lives for their Church and Country when under any Oppression; Nay, this were to blacken the Honour of all those ancient Warriors, who fought so valiantly for the sake of Religion against Infidels and Barbarians.  
If any Man shall object, that some of the Primitive Christians were of Opinion that the use of the Sword was unlawful, and that therefore it is still so.  
1. It may be answered, that it was not the general and established Opinion of the Primitive Church, but of some particular Men, that affected an harmless kind of Life, and were fond of being reputed the Fathers of some extraordinary and more than Humane Opinions.  
2. Some of the Primitive christians were so nicely Conscientious, that they would not list themselves Soldiers, nor take up Arms, because some of their Emperors, though lawful, were Heathens, and their Consciences were so scrupulous, that that they could not serve them, whilst others, and with as good a Conscience, took the Military Oath, and did serve; with as good a Conscience, I say; for the Military Oath at that time, tendered to those that were willing to go into the Army, interfered not the least with any Principle of Religion, it forced no Man to worship their false Gods, it was no Test of Conscience, any farther than an Obligation to observe the Articles of War, to obey superior Officers, to submit to Words of Command, and whatever outward Services Martial Laws require.  
We read, that some of the Jews desired sometimes an exemption from Military Employments, lest their frequent being upon Duty might prevent their exact Observance of all the Niceties of the Law; and they might be compelled sometimes to bear Arms upon the Sabbath, or in their Marches to exceed a Sabbath-Day's-Journey. So amongst the Christians, there were some perhaps, at the beginning of our Profession, so very refined, that might upon a scruple of Conscience, decline taking up of Arms: The Primitive Christians were inflamed with a mighty Zeal to all Holy and Sublime Performances; the very Counsels of the Gospel had with them the force of Positive Commands, and a great many of them, out of a Pious Weakness, rather than Sound Judgement, like some of our modern Sectaries, would do things that were never directly required in the Scriptures; thus some of them thought it a Sin to Marry, because St. Paul prefers a Single Life; some again, because our Saviour says, Swear not at all, chose rather to lose their Deuce, than they would take an Oath in a Court of Justice to maintain them. But this is no Argument against the generality of Christians; what a few out of their exalted, or perhaps distempered Judgements shall do, can never oblige all Mankind to the same Practice, without a positive Precept for the same; if a Sickbrained Man shall, because our saviour checked St. Peter for drawing his Sword, or because it is written, unto him that smiteth thee on the one Cheek turn the other. If, I say, any wilful Person, shall, out of his own misunderstanding of these Passages, resolve to bear all Injuries and Abuses that can be offered him, this can be no Rule to Mankind, we are prompted otherwise by the Law of Nature, and the Law of Christ did never abolish that.  
I would not be mistaken; the Law of Christ I assert, did never utterly disannul and abrogate the Law of Nature; but this it does, it restrains and corrects the Visciousness of it: The Law of Nature, and the Dictates of Reason were Imprinted on the Hearts of Men by the Finger of God, and the Rules and Precepts of the Gospel were drawn up by the same Hand, so that since the same God was the Author of both, they cannot contradict each other, though the latter does govern and curb the Exorbitances of the former; every thing that Nature prompts or provokes us to, is not to be done; because we have several Evangelical Precepts against the corrupt Inclinations of it; But whatever Nature directs, and the same is not only permitted, but to be maintained also, and justified by the Laws of Christ, that certainly is Lawful and practicable by Christian Men.  
The Result and Inference from hence is this, That the taking up Arms upon a just Account, and allowable Conditions, is Lawful, as a thing as well permitted by the Law of Christ, as we are inclined and directed to it by the Law of Nature.  
And that Nature does direct Mankind to a Defence against all outward Annoyances, and an Offence of those that manifestly declare themselves Enemies to it, not only every Man's own Breast, but every Author in all Ages informs us. This is a Law, says Tully, Non Scripta, sed Nata, etc. Not 
Orat. pro Tit. An. Mil.  drawn up in Writing for us, but Born with us, which we have not learned or acquired by Reading, but it was instilled into our very Being's, That, whenever our Lives are in any Perils, either from treacherous Thiefs and Assassins, or from open Enemies, than all means of freeing ourselves and obtaining Safety, are Just and Honourable; This Principle was looked upon by the Romans so very Just and Reasonable, that they transferred it into their Twelve Tables, and made it Authentic by Law.  
I would not be misapprehended; While I justify the War, and taking up of Arms by the Law of Nature, I would not be understood to countenance all Acts of Violence, or Rapine, or Bloodshedding, or that it were Naturally Lawful for the Stronger Part of Mankind, to pray upon, or devour the Weaker; For this, though Mr. Hobbs has been pleased so to scandalise it, is not any part of the Law of Nature, Humane Nature rightly disposed and undepraved, is not of that fierce and brutal Temper, Do as you would be done by; Give every Man his Due, and such like, are Laws of Nature; all which, tend to the Welfare and Quiet of Mankind: Humane Nature is Gentle, and Tractable, and Courteous, and is so far akin even to Christian Charity itself, that sometimes it can suffer long; nor will it be easily provoked; But when the Man is justly provoked, and the furious Enemy breaks in violently upon him, than it is, that Nature reaches out the Sword to him, and Christianity forbids him not the use of it.  
Thus far my First Proposition stands good, and thus far the taking up of Arms is agreeable to the Doctrine of Christ.  
II. Secondly, I will now inquire at what Seasons and Conjunctures of Time, Arms may be most justly, and with truest Praise employed; and that  

1. In respect of Private Persons.  
2. In respect of Public States and Governments.   
1. In respect of Private Persons; A Private Man may unquestionably draw his Sword when assaulted and put in danger of his Life; Murder or the taking away a Man's Life upon deliberation and with a premeditated Malice, is both a very heinous Sin, and very prejudicial to the Government; and therefore it falls under the cognizance of the common Law; but if I am set upon unawars, and brought to the unavoidable necessity of either being killed myself, or by killing my Adversary to save myself, here not only Nature and common Reason advises me to secure my Person, but the Law too acquits me of the Fact. In this case, says the Heathen Orator, the Law connives and is silent, nor does it expect 
Silent Leges inter Arma, nec se Expectari jubent, quum ei, qui expectare velit, ante injusta Poena luenda sit quam justa repetenda. Pro Tit. An. Mil.  to be referred to, when a Man, though he is willing perhaps the Law should be his Judge, may wrongfully suffer, before he can legally right himself. Whenever therefore any single Man is so straightened that his Sword must remove his Adversary, before he can be sure of himself, there the taking away of the Aggressor's Life, is as Commendable and Just as it is Natural. This is a Truth, says the same Author, that Men of Learning are convinced of by Reading, Uncivilized and Barbarous People are taught by the Power of Reason, all Nations Practise by Custom, and even Brute and Irrational Creatures are guided to by Nature.  
But for Revenge of Injuries received, it is not Lawful for a Private Man to have recourse to his own Sword; that is a Privilege not to be usurped by every Single Person: It is therefore nothing else but a perfect Invasion upon Public Authority, and an open trespass upon Justice; That too common Custom amongst us of men's doing themselves Right, as it is falsely Phrased, by Private Duels. It is not only a Violation, but a rude Contempt of the Government to which they belong, that Private Men should take the Sword of Justice into their own Hands, and take upon themselves to redress those Grievances which they have received, the doing of which, is the sole Business, as well as the undoubted Prerogative of the Magistrate; and then that Military Men should upon every imaginary Pique, or trifling Affront, every Shadow of Honour hazard their Lives one among another, which might more Honourably be ventured in the Service of God and their King, that brave and gallant Men should thus unprofitably fall, is not only a great pity, but a great Damage and Dis-service too to the Cause they are publicly engaged for; Julius Caesar tells us of Two of his Officers that had a Quarrel, and that their way of ending the Dispute, was not in a single Duel behind a Hedge, but by challenging and defying one another in an open Engagement with the Enemy, who should approve himself then the braver Man; This was Heroically performed and like true Romans: For they who were the most Victorious Nation of the Ancient World, never practised this mistaken way of Honour, called Duelling: Nay, that very Nation of the modern World, that principally introduced it, has now quite forgot it. The English methinks should not esteem that a part of Bravery, which the Old Romans, whose greatness of Mind they do in other things come up to, never thought so: But let us learn from our very Enemies, for Virtues are to be approved of even in them, as we follow them in other Fashions, so to imitate them in this; but if that Consideration will not take place with us, let us leave of this Vicious Custom in very despite of them, that They may not by this have any Advantage over us.  
2. As by Private Men for safety, though not for revenge, the Sword may be justly drawn, so much more by all in a Public Cause, and then not only for Safety, but for Revenge. The repaying of Vengeance is a Privilege God claims to himself, and to none in this World but to the Magistrate of Justice has God committed that Power: The right of Punishment is Originally invested in himself, though he is pleased to commit the Execution of it to the Hand and Management of Man: And as the Sheriff does inflict the Punishment on a Malefactor, in the Name, and on the Behalf of the King, so does the King himself derive his Power and Right of Correcting Wickedness, and Exercising the Sword, from God: This is a Truth, that not only holds good in formal Processes of Law against Murderers, Thiefs, or any other Disturbers of the Civil Peace and Societies of Men; but also in national Grievances and Oppressions: Whenever any People or Government is either invaded or threatened; when national Injuries are apparently designed or actually offered, when Ruin and Desolation, like the Father of them, go about seeking whom they may devour, and nothing can satisfy them till they are glutted with the Possessions of their Neighbours round about them; in a Word, when the boundless Ambition of any one Potentate shall thirst after nothing less than an Universal Dominion, then certainly to put a Hook into the Nose of this rolling Leviathan, then to levy a War, and to endeavour to put a stop to this swelling Torrent, then to draw the Sword and to oppose this impetuous Furuy, is not only Lawful, but Necessary.  
And certainly if there ever was any Cause, any time since Christianity was first heard of, to which either Reason has more than ordinarily persuaded, or Religion recommended, The use of the Sword, and the due Preparations for using it, This of ours is the Cause, this the Time, which brings me to my Third and last thing I proposed to show, which was,  
III. Thirdly, that the War we are at present engaged in, has all the Arguments to justify it, that can be required for the carrying on of any.  
Some of the Doctors of the Schools tell us, there are Four Conditions requisite to justify a War;  

1. The Cause must be just,  
2. The Authority must be lawful,  
3. The Manner of it must be fair,  
4. The End proposed must be for the Public Good.   
It would be too tedious to enlarge upon upon every Condition separately. The War now undertaken, and hitherto (blessed be God) successfully carried on by the Confederate Christian Princes, was concerted and raised certainly upon the justest Cause whatever, which was the vindication of both Ecclesiastical and Temporal Rights: The Authority is unquestionable, which is founded on the Unanimous Consent of so many Princes and Potentates, who are God's Delegates here upon Earth: The Manner is fair, which is Defensive against the unjust Incursions of one great Disturber of the Christian World: And the End proposed is for the Public Good, which, 'tis to be hoped, may be an honourable and an advantageous Peace.  
This is the Nature of our Present Confederacy; the Grounds and Occasion of it may be maintained by all the Laws of God and Man; the Methods it is supported by and nourished are honest and equitable; and the Ends we aim at are every way conformable to the Holy Religion of Christ, which prescribes Peace and Quiet, Charity to Neighbours, and Good Will to all Men.  
This indeed is the best, and the only true Cause, for which all good Subjects are obliged in Conscience to fight, The Cause of God and their Country; the Goodness of which appears from the several Interests united in it: For in this, not only the Happiness of the Nations to which we belong ourselves, not only the Security of our own Persons is involved, but the Inheritances and Possessions, the Honour and Interest of most of the Christians of Europe are intermixed and woven: And that so mighty a Design should all this while be so successfully carried on, that so many different Parties and States should join, and as firmly combine as the Heart of one Man, This is a wonderful thing, and must needs point out the Almighty Contriver of it; This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes: This is the Lord mighty in Battle.  
The Success of King Cyrus when he went against Babylon, is very memorable and remarkable: We meet with several Instances of an Almighty and overruling Power throughout that whole Expedition: For what was it else, but the Hand of God, who governs and commands the Hearts of Men, that brought in so many Confederate Forces to his Assistance, some of which were not only Allies, but even Subjects to the Babylonians, without whose concurring help the whole Enterprise had miscarried? That great Victory is not to be imputed to the sole Conduct and Management of King Cyrus; or indeed, to the Strength of his Army, but to him, to whom (as the Prophet speaks) All Nations are as the drop of a Bucket. He that told Cyrus, I have girded thee, though thou hast not known me. He it was that provided the Means and effected the Work; He set up the Standard, and blew the Trumpet, and prepared the Nations.  
We have great Reason to acknowledge the same Power with us too; He it is that goeth forth with our Armies to Battle, and protects us against all the close and inveterate Designs of our Enemies; He it is that has influenced the Councils of so many distinct Governments, to join their Forces against one mighty Devourer of his Neighbours: And who may this potent Adversary, who may this great Incendiary of Christendom be? Even he, who nevertheless is not ashamed to bear the Title of the most Christian King.  
And here I cannot but reflect upon what Spirit it must be that does actuate this mighty Man, that no Laws, either Humane or Divine, can fasten any Obligations on him: How many Treaties of Peace has he trampled upon and broke? What Nation round about him has not He been unfaithful to? It were superfluous to mention his Attempt upon Spain after the Pyrenean Peace; Munster, and Nimegue, and his late Violation of the Truce agreed upon by his own Proposal for Twenty Years, do all testify against him: And above all, his entering into a League Offensive and Defensive with the Turk, the known and declared Enemy of Christendom, at a time too when that Empire was in its Declination, shows plainly how much his Ambition oversways his Faith and Honour, and how every way deserving he is of the Title of the most Christian King.  
Against this Man, if their Temporal Interests were not concerned, the very regard to the Christian Religion would justly Arm all the Professors of it. But the Consideration of Worldly Peace and Quiet, the Enjoyment of our proper Possessions, the free Exercise of Trade, the Recovery of what has been forcibly usurped, the requiring of Satisfaction for the Breach of Trust and Honour, as well as the Vindication of our most Holy Religion; and many other Considerations do concur to recommend and justify this present Cause of ours.  
And This is a Cause, for which sure nothing but our own Sins can hinder God Almighty in his due time more signally to appear: This is a Cause that I am verily persuaded, and dare almost presage, will, whenever God's Chastisements shall have wrought their intended Effects upon us, prove successful: To this let every Man stretch his Arm; in This let all engage with Cheerfulness and Alacrity; in This great numbers of our Countrymen have already ventured and lost their Lives; One of our most 
D. of O.  noble Patriots most eminently hazarded his: For this it is that our most Gracious KING does so often choose to harass and expose His Sacred Person. This then, after so great an Example, all of us should in our several Stations manfully maintain and stand up for: For this every True Englishman that has no Sword, should, if need so require, sell his Garment and buy one; we having such Laws and Liberties to defend, we having such a Church and Faith to contend for, we having such a Faith's-Defender, whom we ought to serve with our Purses, our Scrips, our Swords, our Lives.  
FINIS.