Catholic Loyalty: UPON THE SUBJECT OF GOVERNMENT and OBEDIENCE.  
DELIVERED IN A SERMON, BEFORE THE King and Queen In his Majesty's Chappel-Royal at WHITEHALL, On the Thirtieth of January, 1687.  Prov. VIII. 15. 
Per me Reges Regnant: By Me Kings Reign.  
Published by his Majesty's Command.  
By the Reverend Father EDWARD SCARISBRIKE, Priest of the Society of JESUS.  
London: Printed for R. Booker. 1688.   

TO HIS Sacred Majesty.  
SIR,  
IN Duty and Obedience to Your Majesty's Order, and in a most Profound and Reverential Acknowledgement of the Honour of Your Royal Command, I have presumed to lay these Papers at Your Sacred Feet, as the truly Catholic Doctrine of that Society, whereof the Author hath the Honour to be a Member; and who is, to the highest degree of Veneration,  
Sir, The most Dutiful of your Majesty's Subjects; EDWARD SCARISBRIKE.   

Catholic Loyalty: Upon the Subject of GOVERNMENT and OBEDIENCE, etc.  Prov. VIII. 15. 
Per me Reges Regnant. By me Kings Reign.  
HEre is a whole Sermon (Sacred Majesty) wrapped up in a short Text, of only four words, Per me Reges Regnant: And in this plain, short Text, the Wisdom of God Preaches to the Sons of men. It Preaches, I say, to All, without Exception; to Rulers as well as to Subjects. It admonisheth Kings, by whose Commission they Govern, and Instructs the People at the same time, whom they are to Obey. If the Irrefragable Doctrine, and the Vncontestable Authority of this Emphatical Portion of Holy Writ, had been taken into Thought and laid to Heart, when time was, as it ought to have been; there would have been no occasion for the Rueful Solemnity of this days meeting: No Subject for an Anniversary, in perpetual Memory (and Detestation) of so Execrable, Treasonous and Barbarous a Regicide: A Regicide, committed in the Face of the Sun in Cold Blood, and under a Pretext of Law; Nay, and to consummate the wickedness, by the Hands of Rebellious Subjects, and before the very Gate of their Sovereign's Royal Palace.  
This is not a place or an Argument for high Flights, or florid Discourses; but without more words, it was a Diabolical Violence upon the Person and Dignity of a Lawful, a Just, a Merciful and most Excellent Prince. Now if Innocent Blood shall desite a Land, even in a private, single case of Murder; and barely for defacing the Image of God in a kind of Theological Allusion or Figure; what Judgements may not a Nation reasonably dread, and expect, from God's Justice and Vengeance, for so National, so Daring, so Complicated a Murder as this was! A Murder, that carried Oppression, Treason, Sacrilege, and the whole Roll of Crying Mortal Sins in the Veins of it. A Murder, that struck at the Divinity of Power, as well as at the Administration of it; and at the same time attacked the Life of the Prince, and bid a defiance to his Royal Character.  
Upon this consideration it is, that we are called together to Humble ourselves before Almighty God, with Fasting and Prayers, to Implore the Divine Mercy to accept of our true Repentance and hearty Contrition for all our bypast heinous Sins, and grant us his holy Grace, that we may live hereafter in perfect Union and Charity, and in a dutiful Obedience to God and our Governors, and in Love, Peace and Agreement with one another. For this reason it is, that we are now met to prostrate ourselves before the Father of Mercies, most fervently to beseech him in his Infinite Goodness, to be Gracious to our Brethren, as well as to ourselves; and to avert that destroying Vengeance which we may so justly fear, and cannot but tremble under the thought of, for the almost inexpiable Sin of Blaspheming Gods Anointed, and for the effusion of his Blood. Not but that I do in Charity hope, and in a full persuasion of Reason presume, that every Soul that hears me this day, can lay his Hand upon his Heart, and acquit himself of having had any part in this Hellish Tragedy, either in Thought, Word or Deed, in a direct tendency to so black an end. We cannot so much forget the Duties of our Profession, either as Christians, as Catholics, or as Subjects, for we have been taught better things; But a National Wickedness we know, calls for a National Punishment. And briefly, Be it what it will, we are all Offenders, all Provokers, and every good Christian is to bear his own Burden without Criminating Instruments or Parties. No, Beloved Christians, Repentance and Forgiveness is the Work and Duty of the day: and it would have a very ill Grace, whilst we are upon our bended Knees, in Supplications to the Dispenser of all Mercies, for an Act of Oblivion for ourselves; at the same time not to allow an Amnesty one to another.  
But to hasten to my business, Here is a horrid thing done, which most certainly would never have been done, if the Doers of it had but kept seriously in their thoughts these words, Per me Reges Regnant, By me Kings Reign; and I do not know a better preservative for the future, against these Principles and Practices, that wrought all Our former Misery and Woe, than a plain Expounding upon this Text, Per me Reges Regnant. St. Paul speaks to the same purpose, Non est potestas nisi a Deo, C. xiii. V 1. ad Rom. That is to say, Government itself, and all the Powers of Government, are of Divine Appointment and Institution: And this shall be the first point of my Discourse.  
Now if it be granted, that Government is of God, it follows necessarily, that Subjection must be so too; for Order is the Excellency of Power itself; and they derive both from the same Fountain. Superior is Nonsense without Inferior: and the Relatives cannot stand one without another. If Governors be from God, so are the Governed; if Power, so is Subjection. Briefly, I find one Proposition here involved in another; and that the Obedience of the Subject falls as naturally within the prospect of my Text, as the Power of the Prince: and since they cannot be separated, I shall treat of both. First, of Government, how sacred it is, as being of Divine Authority. Secondly, of Obedience; with Doctrines and Applications suitable to the Matter and Occasion. They are both joined in the Methods of God's Providence in Nature, Reason, Religion, Policy, Law, Practice: In a word, the same Power which appoints Kings to Command, obligeth Subjects to Obey. To understand these two important Truths, we must beg the Assistance of the King of Kings and and Lord of all Powers, by the Intercession of the Virgin Mary. Ave Maria.  

The First Part.  
IT is observable, that in the whole Book of Life, we do not find any thing more plainly set down, more accurately read upon, or oftener inculcated, than the Doctrine of the sacredness of Governing Powers, which is no more at last than what naturally results from the very words of my Text: By me Kings Reign.  
To begin with the Institution of Power, give me leave to put three short Queries: 1. This Power; Is it so sacred? 2. Are we very certain that it is so? 3. With reverence to the Supposition, What if it be? I answer in order: First, That it is as sacred as the having God the Author of it, can make any thing. Secondly, We have the Veracity of Scripture that so it is; and lastly, If so it be; there is no contending with an Almighty Power, who hath placed Governors and Rulers over us; no expostulating with an Infallible Wisdom, who knows what is best for us; no playing fast and lose with an Allseeing God, who inspects the Thoughts as well as the Actions: There is no room in this case either for Fallacy, or force; Arms, or Arguments: But the Decretory four words here in my Text, By me Kings Reign, confounds all Sophisms, dissolves all Scruples, stops all mouths, and silences all Disputes. The challenges of the People, as if Authority were radically in them; the contradictory persuasions of Coordinacy; that is to say, of a sharing of Sovereignty amongst Subjects; the fancy of a Conditional Power, and a Conditional Duty; (as if Kings were only the trusties of the People) the Paradox of a singulis major, universis minor; the conceit of erecting Government upon the sandy foundation of a diffusive multitude: Take all these Cavils and Objections, and as many more of the same kind as were ever hammered out by the malice and wit of Hell, and corrupt Nature: In these two little syllables, Per me, By me; they are all answered and put to flight like the dust before the wind, and beyond all thought or possibility of resource: Unless they will appeal from the Potter to the Clay; from Omnipotence to Flesh and Blond; from the Truth of the Scriptures, to the Dreams of some here and there— What shall I say? some disaffected Achitophel, or Man of State. To proceed: By whom was the World made? By me, saith the Divine Wisdom. Whence had the Stars their Influences? the Celestial Orbs their Motions? Vegetables and Minerals their Virtues? Who was it, in fine, that made every thing out of nothing by one word; and by another drew Order out of that Confusion? This was all done, Per me still; and the original of Government was as much the work of God's Providence, as the Creation was of his Power. The holy Fathers speak so home, and so unanimously to this point, that the multiplying of Instances and Authorities, would but weary out your patience, and burn daylight.  
You will do well to observe and still keep in your mind, that the Doctrine of the Institution of Power, as I have here delivered it, is no other than that which hath been faithfully transmitted unto us by the blessed Author of Power himself. Per me, By me, is a sufficient Testimonial that it is of Divine Authority. But then there is Reges and Regnant, yet to come. And here we are to take notice of the extent and term, or duration of this Commission. It is spoken to all Kings, to all Sovereign Powers, under what form soever; and so it is to all People, in all Places, at all Times, and for ever; without any sort of condition, limitation, or restriction, in respect of Customs, Decrees, or any Political Sanctions, or Provisions: I speak this with all reverence imaginable to the Dignity of Humane Laws, and to the Order of Humane Society. But my meaning is, that as God is the Fountain, the inexhaustible Fountain of Power; and incomprehensible in all his Attributes, beyond what the Spirit of a Man is able to conceive: so we cannot without Blasphemy so much as fancy to ourselves, that Wisdom itself can ever mistake its measures: Which Contemplation brings me to the point I am now speaking of; which is, That all Humane Powers are but as Emanations out of the Bosom of God's Eternal Providence, without any other respect to mankind, than as a Rule and Direction for them to Govern by: Not but that Men are apt, instead of carrying the Copy to the Original, to bring down the Original to the Copy. But still By me King's reign, is a Doctrine not to be questioned; an Authority not to be disputed, and a Foundation never to be undermined.  
But it will be said perchance, That the Universality of this Proposition goes too far, and that the Canon of our Scripture is no Rule to a Pagan: I answer, This is a Truth founded in reasonable Nature; A Truth that every Man finds writ in his Heart; and in short, a Truth that is calculated for all Meridian's, for all Religions, for all Nations, Civil or Barbarous, with a particular regard to the Comfort, the Peace, and the Wellbeing of Mankind. There are in the World that take upon them to bond Sovereign Powers, by certain State-Measures and Models, according to popular Conceptions of their own, and to furnish plausible Arguments to the common People upon this subject. But these are Governments of man making, not of Gods: and a sort of Kings, that King Solomon never dreamt of, in his Per me Reges Regnant; By me Kings Reign.  
You have had here the Dignity of Power secured, and the Officer Commissioned; and the last word of my Text does now hand us forward, from the Faculty and Signature of Power, to a Consideration of it in the Exercise, with a respect to the right Use or Abuse of it. I shall not need to enlarge upon it, that in all Power there is first a Regard to be had to the Character; and then again to the Use or Administration of it. The first is wholly Divine and Perfect; the second liable to the frailties and passions of Flesh and Blood; so that as the Divinity of the one shall in no sort excuse the personal failings of the other: Neither shall the Sacred Image of God that is stamped upon Sovereignty suffer any diminution of Reverence for these mistakes; on the other hand it is not in the Power of the Person to Vnking the Office; and much less in the Power of the People to call Gods immediate Minister to an Account: It is Per me Reges; by me Kings: Not per me Senatus Populusque: By me the Senate and the People Reign, in an Imperial State. There is no room for Intruders, betwixt the King of Kings and his Vice-gerents. Be this spoken to the shame of Calumniators, and to the confusion of those that instead of Trying the Crooked by the Straight, bring the Straight to the Crooked; and force the Oracles of the Holy Scriptures to the bent of their own Carnal Lusts, Interests and Designs. Is a Prince Religious, Just, Gracious, Merciful? Is he Resolute in War, and Temperate in Peace? Is he Firm to his Honour, to his Word, to his Conscience? Is he Tender of his People and his Friends, and placable to his Enemies? Is he all this, and as much more as might be added, to make up the most Consummated Character of a Governor after Gods own Heart? Per me Regnat, He Reigns by me. On the contrary, is his Government Heavy upon us by Oppression, by Injustice, by all sorts of Vexations? Per me Regnat still. The Good and the Bad Prince are Creatures both of the same Power, stamped with the same Impress, and as inviolably Sacred the one as the other. Happy is that People however whose blessed Lot it is to fall under the influence of so Divine a Conjunction; as when the Person that Governs is previously adapted by Grace and Nature to all the ends of his Office and Employments. I cannot pass this Hint without a thankful Consideration of God's infinite Mercy and Goodness to us, in the Person of Our Dear and Dread Sovereign. It is no flattery, but Duty, Truth and Gratitude, to own the Comforts we enjoy in the Confluence of all those Royal Endowments in the Ruler whom God hath set over us, which may make a Prince, Great and Glorious, and a People Happy. A Blessing that hath scarce left us any Temporal Comforts further to pray for, beyond the Continuance of what by God's Mercy we at this day enjoy. A Prince under whose Protection we are safe; in whose Clemency we are free and easy: A Prince whose Benignity of Nature hath left us nothing to fear; and whose overflowing Piety and Goodness hath hardly left us any Place for more to hope for. It would be as endless to Enumerate the Mercys that we are possessed of, as it would be difficult to say what we want. Blessed be God's Holy Name, for the share we have, (all that are here present) in so inestimable a Blessing; a Blessing that hath been snatched out of the very Jaws of so many several deaths, by as many Miracles. May the same Watchful, Powerful Providence, still and for ever cover that sacred Head: and preserve Him hereafter as hitherto, from his open, and from his secret Enemies; and in one word, from the raging of the Seas and from the tumults of the People. I have done with the Division of my Text in the several parts of it upon the heads of Government: It remains only to speak a word of the whole, by way of Innuendo or Application, taking it all together.  
Per me Reges Regnant, By me Kings Reign. These few words in the Context, Preach this Doctrine to all Kings and Governors: By me, it is you Monarches of the Earth, saith the Almighty, that you Reign: You hold your Commission at my Will and Pleasure; There is no other Power that hath any thing to do with you. I have placed you in the Throne of my Greatness, invested you with the Robes of Dignity. I have armed you with the Sword of Justice, I have deposited all the Ensigns of Majesty in your hands: Not for yourselves to Alienate or Dispose of, but in Trust, as you shall Answer it at my Tribunal. Who then shall dare to Oppose You? You Reign by my Order, and who shall presume to dispute your Authority? You Reign in my Name, and who shall Question your Deputation? In few words, You Reign for me, in me, by me; stick to the Order I have given you, and execute it. I will-have not sharers in Royalty; I will suffer no Popular Competitions, whether the Prince or Subject shall be uppermost; or, which is the same thing, whether God or Man shall be Master. Do you maintain the Dignity and Prerogative of your Commission; and I'll maintain the Sacredness of your Persons. Do not suffer your selves to be transported in the Contemplation of the dazzling Splendour of a Crown: But look up to the Original of all your Greatness and Glory, in whom you Live, you Move and have your Being: and by whom King's Reign, Per me Reges Regnant.  
But it is time now that I speak a word to the Subject, upon the point of the Obligation of his Obedience; for the same Power (as I have said) which ordains Kings to Command, obligeth Subjects to Obey.   

The Second Part.  
IN this member of the Partition I shall observe the same Method of Distribution I did in the former. Per me, etc. By me Kings Reign. That is to say, God makes Kings, and Commissions them to Govern. Do they Govern well? Thank God and bless Heaven for it. Do they Misgovern? There is no affronting the Minister upon any account whatsoever, without falling foul upon the Ordinance, and consequently breaking in upon the Divine Authority itself. The common Objection upon this Topique is this; Rulers are to be a terror to Evil Doers, not to those who do well; and that the Almighty Wisdom never gave a Commission of Power to destroy the main Ends of Government, which consists in the Order and Peace of humane Society. Put case that this Power may be sometime perverted. Is Fire and Water ever the less necessary for the Use and Comfort of Life, because of now and then a Deluge or Conflagration? The Possibility of an abuse of Power is Incontestable; for a Prince cannot Defend or Protect his People, without such a force as may enable him to oppress them. But what need many words? Every man stands or falls to his own Master: he that gives, may take; he that sets up, may cast down. By me Kings Reign, is exclusive of any other Commission. It sounds as much, as by me alone they Reign: Which is all one with saying in the Inference, To me alone shall they account for the Execution of their Trust.  
It would be well, if all the Despisers of Dignities, and the Murmurers against the ordinary Courses of God's Providence in the Government of the World, would thoroughly weigh and consider the Force, the Intent and Authority of this same Per me, in my Text, before they enter into Censorious Expostulations with God himself, about the Prerogative of his Ordinance of Power; or with God's Ministers, about certain imaginary Conditions, which they fancy to be employed or included in their Original Grant. If they would but give themselves time for one sober Thought upon this matter, it is impossible but they must be convinced of the Vanity and Folly of all those Popular Schemes and Systemes of Power, which Ambition and Carnal Policy have fashioned to themselves. Are they afraid of Tyranny, and not of Anarchy? The one, at the worst, is only Personal, Temporary, Local; the other extends to all Men, to all Times, to all Purposes, to all Places, and embroils Humane Society in a Civil War over the Face of the whole Earth. But what is it at last that the Troublers of Public Order contend for? Would they be Uppermost? There is no Uppermost upon a Level; and that's the very point before us. As for Liberty and Property, there's no such thing, where all is Common. Our Reason tells us so, and upon woeful Experience we have found it so. There is no thought of removing the bounds that God hath set us: no place for Reforming or Refining upon the Regulations of Providence; Government and Governors are Sacred and Inseparaable: God hath joined them, and Man is not to divide them. It hath a more pardonable appearance, I must confess, to wage War with Man, then with God. But what is the difference betwixt saying to the Almighty, We will have none of your Governors; and we will have none of your Government. Non te abjecerunt, Sed me, says God to Samuel, They have not cast you off, but in you, Me they have Rejected. For it is not only Per me, By me, But Pro me, For me, that Kings Govern: That is to say, It is in God's stead, as well as by his Divine Commission that they Reign; they are covered over with the Rays of his Glory, and are the Instruments of his Wisdom, as well as the Creatures of his Power.  
Per me (By me) that King's Reign, is a word of Comfort to the Obedient, seeing they have the Creator of Heaven and Earth for their Protector: and it is a word of Terror on the other hand, to the Stubborn or Rebellious; when they consider that they Fight against God, and have the Lord of Hosts for their Avenger. And there is no place neither for doubting whether it be Per me, or not; for Truth itself hath made Proclamatation of it, in the very Syllables of my Text. There seems to be a certain kind of Rhetoritical Dignity in the very Marshaling of the words; a particular Emphasis in this same Per me, that puts a little stop to a man's thought, as if it were to bespeak a Reverence for that which follows: the very stile imports a Declaration, with a Be it known to Men and Angels, to Heaven and Earth, that by me Kings Reign. So that as the Obedient are sure of God's Favour and Indulgence, so the Almighty takes to Himself all the Indignities that are offered to Majesty. They that make no Conscience of laying Violent hands upon the Thrones or the Persons of Kings, would not spare the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth, if they could reach him. Whosoever strikes at the Divine Order of the World, strikes at the Power and Wisdom that Created it. Take away that Order, and what's the remaining Mass without it, more than the Chemists Caput Mortuum, that serves for noose or purpose?  
I cannot but take notice here, over and above, of the Indubitable Truth and Authority of the Assertion; that By me Kings Reign; carries a much greater weight and force with it, than (Kings Reign by Me) the latter imports only a bare Answer to a plain Question. As if a body should say, By whom do Kings Reign? By me, says my Text. The other with a wonderful Energy, determines the Question by Anticipation. He goes too far that doubts. The whole Scheme of Power is accurately Delineated and in the uttermost extent of it, as fully comprehended in these four words: The very Stamp consecrates the Matter; and challenges a Resignation, even before and without knowing what our Obedience is to be exercised upon. For all the measures we have of Good or Evil, are the proportion our Thoughts, Words and Actions hold to the Holy Will and Pleasure of Our Heavenly Father. It is Per me, that teacheth the People their Duty, sets them Right, and keeps them right: It prevents Mistakes, clears all Cavils, and answers all Pious Ends: And in all cases of Difficulty, Claim or Dispute, whether should we fly, but to the Original of Power, with our last Appeals? It is Per me in fine, and only Per me, that decides all Controversy.  
We are now come in course to the two remaining parts of my Text, Reges and Regnant, Kings and Reign. These words give the People to understand, that their Governors are Gods Ministers, and so there is no meddling with them; and as the Prerogatives of Government are God's Powers, so there is no controulling them.  
It would be hard after all this, yet if the Opposers of Royalty and Royal Preeminences, should not find something at last to say for themselves in Excuse, at least, if not in Defence of their departure from the Doctrine of the Revealed Will of God, as we read it both in his Holy Word, and in the common Principles of Reason and Nature. It is their way to hold their Disciples in hand, that the Per me here in the Text, doth not so much import an Authoritative Institution, as a Permission of Government; as if Order were the work of Passion, Interest or Chance: and an effect rather of Humane Necessity, then of Divine Appointment. The very fancy of such a Permission, is little less than Blasphemy: for it lays the Foundation of all Policy, in Blood and Confusion; so that out of War, and from plain Cutting of Throats, comes forth the Whimsy of their distinction of a Divine Permission.  
There are others again, that will allow Kings to Govern as God's Ministers; but for the behoof of the People; infer a forfeiture of their Right to Govern, from a violation of their Commission. These People are not ware, that the Character does not depend upon the Administration: for whatever the Man be, the King is God's Ruler still, and the People are still the King's Subjects. The Administration I say, does not dissolve the Relation. To sum up all in a few words; Kings are Gods Deputies, and the Powers of their Commission are of no less Authority than the Character of their Creation. It is God that is the Author of both; and the Duty of our Allegiance is of the same extraction with the function of the Government. What is Reigning, without Subjection? What's the Dignity of Power, without the Obligation of Submission or Obedience? Or what is Government itself, but such a Chain of Connection, as if but one Link of it be taken out, the whole Frame would be in danger to fall to pieces? To pass now from the Doctrine to the Application. How vain, how foolish, and how impious is it for men to contend with an invincible, and irresistible Power, and to oppose false Glosses and Reasonings, to the undeniable voice of Truth? In a word, the Foundations of Power are laid in the Decrees of God, and there is no undermining of them. By me Kings Reign; denounces a thousand woes to the undutiful and Seditious. Who shall dare to say they shall not Reign, when God says they shall? And especially upon the Terms of a Qui resistunt sibi ipsi condemnationem ferent.  
This minds me of the Celebrity of this day; a day for Sackcloth and Ashes: A day of Blackness and Horror: A day not to be mentioned, not to be thought of, but with weeping Eyes, and bleeding Hearts: A day of Sin, and a day of Judgement, meeting in the same Act; as in a kind of deplorable Contention, which of the two should exceed the other. No Age, no Story can match either the Transcendent Degree, or the Daring Pomp and Ostentation of this wickedness. In short, behold a Great, a Glorious, and a Gracious Prince, exposed upon a Stage as a Criminal of State: Arraigned, Tried and Sentenced as a Traitor to his own Subjects; and his Head severed from his Body by the Common Axe, under a form of Justice. You have here before you the fruit of a Rebellion, that perfected the Ruin of Three Kingdoms in the Murder of their Sovereign. The Common People felt on't too; and by contending for an unnatural Freedom, became the most wretched and contemptible of Slaves: I shall not need to run into History, and rifle the Journals of those days, for instances of Merciless, and of Inexorable Cruelties. The Havoc that was made upon the Subject's Liberties and Properties; the Depredations upon the Revenues of the Crowns; the Oppressions of Widows and Orphans, the Sacrilegious abuse of Holy Places, and Holy things, the concurring eviednces of the numerous Train of crying sins which were cast in, to inflame the Reckoning. This was our miserable condition. This, and as much worse, as it is possible for any man to imagine. And how could it well be otherwise, so long as the Laws were either silenced, or turned like Guns against their Master: and all Controversies left to the Decision of the Sword?  
What have I to do now, beloved Christians, but to beseech you to ponder well these things, and by a close and affectionate application of matters, to see what good may be drawn out of evil. Here was Resistance with a Vengeance. A Resistance attended with all sorts of Sins, to draw on all sorts of Calamities: and the Punishment still treading upon heel of the wickedness. I would beg of you, as you love God and your Sovereign, your Souls, Bodies, Liberties and Estates; as you tender your Religion, your Country, Peace of Conscience, and a Good Name; do but look back now into the leading causes to these dismal effects. Consider the Reasonable Tendency and Operation of them; and how naturally one thing passes into another through the whole series of this History, from first to last. You will find upon the scrutiny, that this Bloody Rebellion began in Thought, Thoughts broke into hard Words, and those Words were followed with Blows.  
They began first with Jealousies, Fears, Misunderstandings, Misinformations, Invidious Reflections, False Reports, False Appearances of things; and from thence, sprung impotent Passions, Provoking Language, Bold and Intemperate Words, Audacious Prints and Discourses in diminution of the Royal Dignity, Character and Administration: for the making of the Prince Cheap and Contemptible, And at the same time, Clamorous Remonstrances and Complaints were blown about to render him as Odious to the Common People; while the multitude in the mean while were misled by false Doctrines about the Original and Sacredness of Power, by false Notions of qualifying Conditions, cases of Government mis-stated, false Descants upon the Laws; and the Liberties of the Subject set above the Prerogative of the Prince: These were the intoxicating Amusements that poisoned the Understandings of the Ignorant; this was that Licence that put things to extremities; and without consideration either of Heaven or Hell, hurried us into those barbarous confusions that brought Charles the First of happy memory to the Scaffold. This was the Root of all our Woes; and from hence we may gather the necessity of setting a Guard upon our Actions, our Lips and our very Thoughts. Upon our Thoughts, not only by the exclusion of rash Censures, but with a regard to the reverence of Imperial Edicts and Commands. And so upon our words; for the Reviling of a Prince, is a foul step towards the Beheading of him. The wounding of him in his Honour, is only a slyer way of striking him to the Heart. But pray take notice, I do not speak of Words only of Outrage and Disrespect; for the sins of Omission are sins of Commission, in this case: the want of Love and Affection is a grand failure in Duty. Neuters are lost to the ends and service of Government; and men grow cold by example. The ways of Flattery and Reproach are in some sort somewhat akin. That's the most dangerous flattery that is covered under an artificial appearance of Reproof; and that the most Popular and Operative Calumny, that is couched under the countenance of Good Faith, Compassion and Respect; with the sting of a But in the tail of it. We are not only to Obey Kings, but to Please them also, in all things not repugnant to the will and commands of a just and a gracious God. Nay we do but discharge our souls towards God himself in so doing. Let me add, that Obedience at last is not so much the Ornament of a Christian, as a peremptory Obligation upon him: a Duty that he is bound to, upon a Penalty. But to perfect the Character, there must be certain freewill offer over and above: There must be a study to please, and industry to find out what will please; a Joy in the Discovery of it, and Cheerfulness in the Performance. Lord, cries out a Pagan upon this Topique, If I had known thy Will, my Obedience should have prevented thy Command: Shall the Feet presume to direct the Head? or the Animal Nature take upon itself to give Laws to the Reasonable? Such as the Soul is to the Body, such is the Ruler to those that God's Wisdom hath placed in a state of Subjection. 'Tis the Office of the One to Direct, and of the Other to Excuse; without the Indisputable Authority of the One, the Obedience of the Other, is but Precarious; and it is left at the choice of the Multitude, whether they shall think fit to be Above, or Below; what Government to Resolve upon, or whether there shall be any Government or no. My words are too scant for my affections, and my Time for my Matter: But before I Conclude, I beseech you turn your Eyes yet once back again upon the Judicial Tragedy that hath occasioned this Anniversary. Be not imposed upon hereafter by false Maxims and Rumours; let us be Wise, though at the cost, upon Miserable Experiment, of Royal Blood, and Three desolated Kingdoms. Beware of Wolves in Sheep's clothing. May God open your Eyes, that you may see and discern the Blessings which you do this day enjoy; and grant that the calamities of the last Age may be documental to the present, and those Ages that are yet to come. In a word, I shall commend to every one this General Rule to walk by. Where ever you find private Meddlers in Politics, commenting upon the King's Prerogatives; or haranguing to the People, upon the subject of Maladministration; know it to be a seditious Post, and Practice that they have taken up, for the undermining of the Grown: and that there is most certainly a Snake under that Leaf. These are not Liberties to be either given or taken; for when men are once possessed with cross Principles, so as to set up Conscience against Duty, to make God and the King, Plaintiff and Defendant; the Honester the men are, the more desperate is the Conspiracy.  
I am not unmindful that I have passed my, measures; but it is the goodness of God's Providence many times to turn Mourning into Rejoicing; and to improve our deepest Humiliations into an occasion of thanksgiving. We have proceeded thus far in a dutiful, and a sorrowful reflection upon the most execrable Murder of one of the best of Princes; whose Memory ought to be for ever tender and dear to us, not only for the sake of his Royal Blood, Function and Qualities; but as he was moreover the Instrument of Divine Providence, in transmitting unto us the Blessings, (in Compensation of so inestimable a Loss) which through God's Mercy we at this day enjoy, in the Life, Virtues and Government of our most Gracious Sovereign, whom God long preserve. A Prince, in short, of Piety, Tenderness, and Justice, to the Perfect wish of all Good Men, and to the uttermost possibility of flesh and blood. May the Spirit of Grace and Wisdom rest upon his Sacred Head. May his Life be long, and his Reign happy; happy in Himself, in His Illustrious Consort, and in a neverfailing Succession, to inherit the Virtues as well as the Crown of their Royal Progenitors. And it is, finally, our fault, beloved Christians, if we do not contribute all that's possible, by a cheerful and an Indispensable Resignation and Obedience, to the further comfort and satisfaction of a Prince, whom God, in a manner, miraculously hath placed over us. For a conclusion, I wish the words of my Text, Per me Reges Regnant, By me Kings Reign, which have been so often in my mouth, were deeply writ in your hearts; that so having discharged our Duty in this Life towards God, and our King, we may come all in the next to Reign for ever, with the King of Kings; which God of his infinite goodness grant us. In Nomine Patris, etc.  
FINIS.