Christian Loyalty. CHAP. II. THE REAL CHRISTIAN IS CONSCIENTIOUSLY A HE that said, fear God, immediately added as one evident proof of the reality of godly fear, honour the king. Being chief magistrate, the king is God's first temporal minister, who is to bear the sword of justice and judgment, for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well. The Christian then, living like a Christian, has no just cause to fear a wound. We are commanded by God to reverence those, who act under the king, for these ends; how much more then we are bound to regard himself! And if the Christian be concerned for his country, he cannot be unconcerned for his sovereign, who is more deeply interested in its welfare than any other man. He prays publicly and privately for his king, for his family, and for all that are put in authority under him. It is his wisdom, interest, principle, and duty thus to pray; because their prosperity is not only connected with his own, but their downfal would occasion the worst of hazards to millions of people. He, who countenances strife and sedition, can no more be a true and benevolent Christian than a real patriot and subject; for by these, confusion, rebellion, rapine, and murder, may overspread a land, to the general destruction, and to the reproachful hindrance of godliness and piety. I can find examples of par Christian Submission. don for the most atrocious private sins, in the Bible; but I do not recollect one instance of God's mercy, extended to the public crime of rebellion. Indeed the same word is used in the original both for rebellion and for apostasy from God; and probably because they are almost one and the same thing. Rebellion is an aggregate evil, inducing and involving every other wickedness, and is precisely that offence of the first magnitude, which ruined the fallen angels, and through them brought misery and mischief into this world, as well as occasioned the irreparable sorrows of eternity. A true Christian values private, public, and religious peace at too high a rate, ever to sacrifice it to the caprices and suspicions of selfish parties and worldly politicians. Corrupt as the world now is, he is thankful for the civil and religious liberty he enjoys, esteeming it a wonderful providence to him as a Briton above all other men; and therefore he is not captious and querulous because governors are frail mortals, like himself, and consequently cannot please every one, nor be absolutely perfect in all things. In cases of real oppression, the Christian hath a better God to go to, than his own passions, or the violences of sinful men, or the evil god of this present evil world, who kindles those violences and passions by his own. He doth not rave, but pray; swear and curse, but bless; not strive to cut throats for his own self-will, but to subdue his own heart first to the will of God, and then to soften the hearts of others by temperance of conduct, kindness of reason, and innocence of life. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But if ye suffer for Christian Obedience. righteousness sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. The word of God is the Christian's rule of politics; not the false, fanciful, ignorant, and impracticable speculations of men, who know not their own hearts, and who, deriving all from their own stock, or aiming like Belial, to live without yoke, could not have true wisdom or grace, and consequently could not truly and really govern themselves. Whatever principles, temper, and conduct, cannot be sanctified by the word of God and prayer, are absolutely unholy to a Christian, and strictly to be avoided by him. CHAP. III. THE REAL CHRISTIAN WILL PUNCTUALLY OBEY THE LAWS OF HIS COUNTRY, IN EVERY THING NOT OPPOSITE TO THE WILL AND WORD OF GOD. INIQUITY, not righteousness, is the object and occasion of law. Without law, so sinful is man, there could be no society, property, liberty, or peace. And though real Christians would, as such, do nothing but right, were there no law at all; yet as the number of these is few, and as the nature of man is frail and requires order and direction, they cannot better show, that they could live without laws, than by the most exact attention never to break them. There is only one case, in which a Christian can withdraw his obedience; namely, when the laws of Unreserved Obedience. men are directly opposite to the will, and word, and laws of God. But he ought to be very sure, that they are so, and should rarely trust to his own single judgment; lest, instead of suffering for God by resisting man, he only set up his natural self-will against that of others, and so disgrace rather than glorify the cause of goodness and truth. The laws of his country ought to be very dear, at this time, to a British Christian, because he is most unreservedly protected by them, in his liberty, property, and religion. He can now sit, and kneel too, under his own vine, none making him afraid. A professor of religion acts unworthily, when he strives to evade the spirit and intention of the laws, or to profit by secretly breaking them. It is no act of faith, either to smuggle, or to eat, drink, and wear, such things as the prudence of the state hath forbidden. Persons, who can allow themselves in this licentiousness, ought to examine the uprightness and sincerity of their own consciences, and whether they would not yet further contribute to the ruin and confusion of their country, if the punishment and force, meant for ungodly men, did not restrain even them. The Christianity of a smuggler, or shuffler of just duties and taxes, is as much to be doubted, as the honour and justice of a professed highwayman. It may be added, that the man deserves the highest blame, who, professing reli gion, can venture to do what religion and reason uniformly condemn. By his profession, he renders himself both a cheat and a hypocrite; whereas, without it, he would only have been demonstrated a knave. These are hard and bad Real Christian. names; but they cannot be so bad or offensive to us, as the persons, to whom they rightly belong, most certainly are in the sight of HIM, who hateth iniquity. CHAP. IV. HOW A REAL CHRISTIAN SHOULD CONDUCT HIMSELF TOWARDS THE CHURCH OF GOD. THE untamed corruptions and natural blindness of the human heart have introduced a great variety of disorders into Christian profession, and occasioned the whole multitude of sects and parties. All believers agree, that there is but one spiritual church, the bride of Christ and the mother of the faithful; but all believers do not act, as if they really consented to this truth. What mischiefs hath not the carnal mind produced in all ages! Superstition, bigotry, persecution, pomp, parade, and intolerance, are all of them the proper fruits of an evil heart, uncircumcised, unsubdued, untaught, by the Spirit and power of God. They are the evil detestable weeds in the spiritual field, which do nothing but stifle, overrun, rob, and impoverish the corn. There are real Christians perhaps in every Christian church or society; and it will scarcely be denied, that there are hypocrites, formalists, carnalists, and ungodly men in all. Let the Christian's conscience be free; for God is his only master in these things: but to whatever particular profession he may belong, let his conversa |