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A. C. • Rebellious Enterprize both in the Eyes of Human, as well & 17. as Divine Law is an Accomplice and Partaker in the Guilt a Traytor to God and his Prince; a Patron and Protector of of Injustice, and a common Adverfary to himself as well as all Mankind. And the faid Henry Sacheverell hopes, 'what he hath faid in the Dedication of the fame Sermon, That there are not wanting fome to Preach the Truth, • and others to fupport it at the Expence of their Lives and Fortunes, will not be conftrued as exciting Her Majefty's Subjects to Sedition and Rebellion, firce that Truth which he commends fome for Preaching, and others for fupporting, is by him opposed to the Attempts of those who betray and run down the Principles and Interefts of our Church and Conftitution; and fince he then defervedly Commends the High Sheriff of that County, on the Account of his Steady Loyalty and Zeal, to serve her Majefty and the Government, for which he hath been fo remarkably diftinguished.

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In the Sermon Preached at St. Paul's, he doth indeed excite Chriftians to put on the whole Armour of God, as • wrestling, not only against Flesh and Blood, but against Principalities, against Powers, against the Rulers of the • Darkness of this World; against Spiritual Wickedness in •bigh Places. But he hath learned from the fame St. Paul, That the Arms of Refiftance taken up by Subjects against the bigber Powers, are not part of the Spiritual Ar. mour, and the Principalities and Powers by bim mention'd being plainly diftinguished from Flesh and Blood, can. · not, he thinks, be fo far mifinterpreted as to be under'food Earthly Potentates and Rulers.

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And as to fo much of the faid Fourth Article where⚫ by it is charged. That he the faid Henry Sicheverell doth wickedly wreft and pervert divers Texts and Paffiges of Holy Scripture, that his faid malicious and feditious Suggeftions may make the fronger Impreffion upon the Minds of her Majesty's Subjects. The faid Henry Sacheverell says, That having no malicious or feditious Suggestions to Imprint, he could not intend to wreft any Paffages of Holy Scripture to that wicked Purpose. Hard is the 'Lot of the Minifters of the Gofpel; if when they cite the Word of God in their General Exhortations to 'Piety and Virtue; or in their Reproofs of Men's Tranf greffions, or where they are Lamenting the Difficulty ⚫ and Conflicts with which the Church of Chrift, whilst • Militant here on Earth, muft always ftruggle: The 'feveral Texts and Paffages by them cited, fhall be faid to have been by them meant of particular Perfons and 'Things, and fhall be conftrued in the moft Criminal

Scafe,

'Senfe, and be made by fuch Conftruction one Ground of an Impeachment, for High Crimes and Misdemea

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And as to all other Mitters and Things in the faid Articles contain'd, and not herein before particularly • answered unto, the faid Henry Sicheverell faith, he is not Guilty of them, or any of them in Manner or Form, as the fame are charged upon him, in and by the faid Articles, and humbly submits himself to your Lord'fhip's Judgment.

A. C. 172.

On the 25th of January Dr. Sacheverell put in the foregoing Answer, which the Lords communicated the fame Day to the Houfe of Commons, defiring that the Origi ginal might be return'd with convenient speed; Whereupon the Commons order'd that the faid Answer be read the next Day; which being done accordingly, it was January Ordered, That the Anfwer of Doctor Henry Sicheverell 26. (feat from the Lords) be referred to the Committee · who were appointed to draw up the Articles of Impeachment, which were exhibited by the Commons to the Lords, againft him, for high Crimes and Misdemeanours ; and that they do confider thereof, and report their Oponion, what is moft proper to be done towards the further Proceedings thereon ; ⚫ and that they should have Power to fend for Perfons, Papers, and Records, and meet at fuch Times and Places as they fhould think fit.

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The 30th of January, being the Annaverfary of the The 3th of Martyrdom of King Charles 1. was obferved as ufual, and January fo great Notice was taken, at this critical Juncture, of the lemnized Sermons that were preach'd before both Houses of Parliament. Dr. William Fleetwood, Lord Bishop of St. Asaph, The Bp. who preach'd before the Lords, chofe bis Text out of of St. Afaph 11 Kings, Chap. viii. Ver. 13. and Concluded his Dif- fore the preaches becourse in this manŋer:

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Lords.

• I fear I have already been too long, but yet muft ask The Conthe patience of two or three Minutes more, to fay two clufion of bis things, which, if the Text fhould not, the Day will cer- Sermon. tainly bear me out in. The firft is this:

This

Day is, through the exceffive partiallity of fome of 'both fides, become a Day of great Trial to the Preach'ers; Talk of the Duty, Honour, and Obedience of the 6 Subject to the Prince, and you are thought, by fome, to preach away the People's Liberties, and make them Slaves; Talk of the Peoples Liberties, and you are opening, prefently, a Door to Mutiny, Difloyalty, and flat Rebellion, with iome Others. They are both of

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them,

A. C.

17.

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them, God be thanked, in the Wrong; and the Truth, is (like our happy Conftitution) betwixt them. The 'Crown has many, and excellent Prerogatives, and will, I hope in God, never have lefs, or fewer. The People ⚫ have great Liberties, and will, I hope, deserve them, and enjoy them, whilft they are a People. Who are thefe People, but our felves? All but the Prince are C comprehended in that Word. The Priests muft • preach up, Tribute to whom Tribute is due, Fear to whom Fear, and Honour to whom Honour and muft affirm all that St. Peter, and St. Paul have faid, of Peoples being fubject to the Powers that are set over them, for Good. . They cannot elfe difcharge their Duty; nor the Peo ple elfe enjoy the Benefits of a good Government. 'But may it not be lawful alfo for the Priefts to tell the People, in proper Seafon, of their Liberties; and fhew them wherein they are fo happy, above all the People of the Earth befides? That they may underftand, know how to value, be careful to preferve, and to continue to Pofterity, and thank God for thefe fingu⚫lar ineftimable Bleffings. May not these things be faid without incurring the odious Brand, of Airring up Se⚫dition and Rebellion? I know not where these things will end; but 'tis plain, they make it harder, than it need be, for honeft and fincere Men, to do their Duty, on these Occafions.

• The other thing that I would fay, is this

that the Obfervation of this Day is become (like the Vth of Nov. to the Papifts) exceedingly grievous and • diftaftful to all Diffenters; as well for the License that (they fay) is taken, upon it, of inveighing againft them, as for the Praises that are fo liberally beftowed · upon King Charles, which look, to fome of them, as fo many Exprobrations and Reproaches. As for the Licenfe that is taken upon this Day, inveighing againft • Diffenters, let them who do it, juftify themselves; I am . no Advocate for any of them: It was not, certainly, appointed to become a Day of Wrath, and Provocation of our Fellow-Subjects; and, I dare fay, thofe Liberties have done no Service; nor are they fitted to do any ; but, confidering human Nature, they muft needs have done fome Mifchief, by Irritation, and the hardning of Men's Hearts. And, tho' we do not fee fuch Courses • have be taken, by those who were moft concern'd and ' touch'd, as wife and good Men might have taker to filence thefe Reproaches, and to caufe thefe Provocations, in great part, to cease; yet ftill these furious bitter Spirits will not be excufable. I verily believe (and fo do

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all of you) that more Men have been famed by gentle ufage, than revil'd into Repentance, by thofe they thought their Enemies. As for the Praises that are 'beftow'd upon King Charles, I know not who fhould en

vy them; nor how a Church of England Minister can 'honeftly decline them: He muft know nothing of that 'Prince's Hiftory; he must have little Senfe of Justice, Gratitude, or Honour, by whom his Memory is not held moft precious. 'Twere a small thing to fay, No Prince '(altho' his Father was a very Learned One; ) but I will lay, no Private Gentleman did ever underftand the Con"Atitution of our Church better, defend it with ftronger

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Arguments, adhere to it with more Judgment, adorn < it with better Manners, live up to its good Principles • with more Virtue, nor in Performance of its Offices, fhew more devout, and exemplary good Behaviour (I will not, in these things, except the QUEEN upon the 'Throne, nor that bless'd Saint in Heaven, her Sifter) than did King Charles the Firft. No Prince did ever fhew more Perfonal Favour to its Minifters, nor give more Countenance and Credit to its Difcipline and Or'ders. And muft I fay, No Prince, but He, did ever • Die in its Defence, to juftifie the high Efteem we have of • Him in? I may, because it is fo true, that they who

envy him the Glory of that Title, upon all Accounts besides, will yet allow he fell a Martyr for the Church of <England. Would not that Church be, moft defervedly, the Hatred and Reproach of all the World, that should ⚫ be fparing of her Praifes, and beft Incense (but let it • ever be unhallow'd Incenfe) to his Memory? Let them (to make an End) take heed, left fome degree of Guilt be thought to make thofe People over-tender, who ' are foon offended with the Praises of King Charles the Firft. And let even Us our felves take heed, that fuch our Praises may appear fo well defign'd, and be managed with that good Temper, Sobriety, and modeft Truth, that they provoke thofe Men to nothing but 'Compunction, and Relentings, and Repentance, where these things are wanting; and both our felves and them, to the Imitation of all thofe excellent good Qua 'lities, thofe civil Virtues, and thofe religious Chriftian 'Graces, that made him appear fo highly Exemplary, both in Life Death.

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17.

Dr. West

Doctor Richard Weft, Prebendary of Winchester, who preach'd before the Commons, as he chofe a Text more preaches be agreeable to the Sentiments of the Majority of his Audi- fore the tory, viz. (out of Jeremiah Chap. XXXI. ver. 29. In thofe Days Commons. they fhall fay no more, the Fathers have eaten a fower Grape,

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A Short A count of bis

Sermon.

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and the Children's Teeth are fet on Edge) fo, in the Handling of his First Point he told them, That they must be forc'd to look back upon a dreadful Complication of Crimes: Such unnatural Heats and Divifions; fuch Sufpicions and Jealoufies; fuch Outrages and Barbarity, as ended in the Overturning of the Government, and in the Murder of the King himself; fuch Degrees of Wickedness as one cannot but wish, out of Refpect to our Nation, might be for ever laid in that Darkness, where all Things are forgotten. But added, If Sins may be thought · to draw down fuch heavy Judgments, we shall perhaps find, that they were too univerfal, to be charged only upon one Set or Party of Men. Too few undoubtedly there were, that could juftly Glory they had no share in the Guilt, or could, by Vertue of their own Innocence and Righteoufnefs, upbraid others, with Royal Blood lying only upon them and their Children. The Characters (drawn by an eminent Hiftorian) even of those, that shared moft of the Royal Bounty, and feemed most to love the facred Perfon of his Majefty, don't appear quite fo free from Blemish, as that they could not be in any fort the unhappy Occafion of their Prince's Fall. If they were Rebels to God, their Loyalty and Faithfulness to their Sovereign, would not hinder their being, in fome Measure, acceffary to his Miseries?

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The Crimes of Men, continued he, were indeed very unequal, and fome there were very much an Over-match in the Art of finning for others. As,

I, 'The Disturbers of the publick Peace and Quiet, whose Spirits were continually working to ftir up Contention. Some out of felfifh Views, mif-reprefenting the Subject to the Prince, and others for the fame Reasons as active, to create Jealoufies of the Prince among his Subjects. One fort inftilling into the Sovereign, that the infitting on the Rights and Priviledges of People, was an Invafion on his Prerogative; and others as foully afperfing his Majefty to the People, that the Mistakes he had ⚫ been carried into, had too deep a Root ever to be cured.

Some Men injudiciously afferting a kind of unlimited Power in the Prince, and framing an abfolute paffive Obe dience for the Subject, gave Advantages to others to fpread and foment Jealoufies of Defigns at Arbitrary • Government; and on the other fide, the honest Zeal fome exprefs'd against these novel and dangerous Tenets, gave Opportunities to others, to reprefent them to his Majefty under the odious Characters of Factious, Turbulent Spirits, of Republican Principles, and Enemies to bis Government.

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