II. As man is the object of it; have a very large field before us. be confidered under these three ranks, I. SUPERIORS:

2. EQUALS; and

3. INFERIORS:

and here we For men may

and to every of these the meekness of a Chriftian is to diffuse and extend it felf.

1.] FIRST therefore, for fuperiors; all those in general who are above us, and especially fuch as have a right to govern and command us.

In the number of fuperiors to whom we are to exercise this grace of meeknefs, we must reckon firft, the Supreme civil power, established by the laws and cuftom of the country, whether in a fingle hand, or many, and by whatever title diftinguished, as Emperor, King, Prince, States, &c. For let the conftitution or the name be what it will, if there be an inveftiture of power legally in the person or perfons to govern, there is a meekness due towards them, from those who are under their government. I fhall here confine my self to the polity of our own kingdom, and confider how we are to express this chriftian meekness to the king or queen. And this we are to do,

FIRST, By a chearful and diligent obfervance of their commands, or of the laws by which they govern. By the commands of the king or queen, (refpecting ftill the government of our own nation,) I mean thofe proclamations or injunctions iffued out in their names, (by virtue of their royal prerogative) upon particular occafions, or any prefent emergency. By the laws, I mean thofe which are generally known and called fo, the ftatutes and common customs by which this kingdom is governcd. The meeknefs we are to fhew in relation to both thefe, is an obfervance, or actual performance

of

of them, and obedience to them, doing what they enjoin, and forbearing to do what they forbid. And this obedience must be chearful and diligent, not fo much from fear left we be punished for the neglect or contempt of them, but from a principle of duty and humility; * Ye muft needs be fubject, fays St. Paul, not only for wrath, but for confcience fake.

THE second expreffion of meekness towards them, is a patient and quiet fubmiffion to the punishments they inflict. For they are the minifters of God, to execute wrath upon him that doth evil; whofoever therefore refifteth the power, refifteth the ordinance of God, and they that refift shall receive to themfelves damnation.

BUT befide the fupreme or fovereign, there are other fubordinate powers commiffion'd and deriv'd from that, fubordinate indeed to the prince, but ftill fuperior to the fubjects, viz. magiftrates or governors appointed for particular purposes, and in particular diftricts, for the better administration of juftice, and other ends of civil government. And thefe also have the fame facred ftamp of authority upon them, though not fo large and extenfive. St. Peter is very clear in this matter, Submit your felves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's fake: whether it be to the king as fupreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are fent by him, for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. To these our meekness is to express it felf, firft, By honour and reverence, according to their refpective qualities and degrees of power; and this forbids all defpifing and degrading of them, all calumniating and fpeaking ill of them, all rude, bold and obftinate behaviour before them. condly, By obedience to their due commands in

Rom. xiii. 5. † Ibid. ver. 24.

Se

1Pet. ii. 13, 14.

the

the exercise of that authority which is entrusted with them. And, thirdly, In fubmitting without refentment or impatience to the penalties which they inflict in the execution of the laws upon us.

IN the fecond order of fuperiors to whom we are to exercise this grace of meeknefs, are the governors and paftors of the church, the bishops, priefts, and deacons, whom our Lord Jefus Chrift, the great Shepherd of the fheep, has fet over us for our edification, and by whom accordingly his fpiritual Ifrael has been fed and taught, govern'd and guided these fixteen hundred years and more, ever fince the time of the Apoftles. To these the first duty of meeknefs is reverence and regard. This St. Paul requires, * And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour amongst you, and are over you in the Lord, and to efteem them very highly for their works fake. Their office, and the work they do, require this tribute of respect from those especially, amongst whom and to whom they do it. It was the work of Chrift himself, who went about preaching, and praying, rebuking and comforting; and as he is ftill the Head of the Church, he has appointed this order of men to supply his personal abfence in the world, and fhew unto us continually the way of falvation. And for this reason it is alfo, that, in the fecond place, our meekness towards them ought to fhew it felf in a due obedience to their inftructions, admonitions and reproofs. Obey them that have the rule over you, fays St. Paul, and fubmit your felves; for they watch for your fouls, as they that must give an account: that they may do it with joy and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. If you regard not their advice, the lofs will be your own, though the grief of it must needs make them un

* I Theff. v. 12, 13.

† Heb. xiii. 17.

eafy.

eafy. As to the particulars of this obedience, it is to be (1.) in matters of doctrine; we are to fubmit to their directions and expofitions, where they are not plainly contrary to the word of God; for in matters of doubt and difficulty, we ought rather to rely on their judgments than our own. And (2.) in point of worship, that is, the order and manner of publick prayers and fervices, which with us are drawn into one form, and commonly known by the name of the book of CommonPrayer. To this we ought in meeknefs to conform our felves, as to the care and wisdom of the rulers of our Church. And (3.) we are to express our obedience (and in that our meeknefs) to them in the point of ecclefiaftical difcipline, exercifed according to the law of Chrift, and the conftitutions of particular national Churches. The ordinary, and fuch as are in authority under him, are here in the place of magiftrate, and officers of juftice, to fee that scandals be punish'd, and decency and good order kept up, according to the spiritual laws or canons of the Church; and fuch as they ought to be obey'd: *If he neglect to hear the Church, fays our Saviour, let him be to thee as an heathen man and a publican.

THERE are still remaining three other objects of this chriftian meeknefs, under the head of fuperiors, and they are parents, mafters, and husbands, to whom there is a debt of meeknefs owing rcfpectively from their children, fervants, and wives. I am not now concern'd to lay down the whole duty of every one of these relations, but only fo much of it as muft proceed from a fpirit of meeknefs, and that is the fame in general, which I have mention'd two or three times before, upon account of other fuperiors, viz. (1.) Reverence or honour, and (2.) Obedience.

* Matth. xviii. 17.

Το

To begin with the firft, which is reverence; and here,

1. WITH the reverence due from children to their parents, who next under God are authors of their being, their lives, their substance, and all other advantages, and having by the very law of nature a large power and command, are to be owned and respected accordingly. Thus the fifth commandment exprefly obliges us to HONOUR our father and mother; and by feveral other places in holy Scripture, it appears to be a natural duty, prefumed, known, and taken for granted in all parts of the world. So God complaining of the rudeness of the priests, and the irreverence of the people, and the difhonourable use of holy things amongst the Jews, takes the advantage of reprehending it from the cuftom, or at least the acknowledg'd and prefum'd right of reverence and honour to parents, in these words, * A fon bonoureth his father, and a fervant his mafter: if I then be a Father, where is my honour, faith the Lord of bofts. Agur alfo giving an account of an evil generation of men, reckons this amongst the reft;

There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. And how monftrous and unnatural the fin is, appears from the punifhment affign'd it in the fame chapter, The eye that mocketh at his father, &c. the ravens of the valley fball pick it out, and the young eagles fhall eat it. By all which it is fufficiently evident, that children owe a reverence to their parents. The particulars of which I fhall only give you in general. It expreffes it felf in all civility and decency of manners, in complying with thofe infirmities to which the years of parents probably may expofe them; in loving their perfons and their memory, ftanding

* Mal. i. 6. † Prov. xxx. 11.

Ibid. ver. 17.

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