SEcondly, Religion is the most proper means to procure our external safety, liberty, quiet.
By safety, I mean a freedom from those common dangers and mischiefs which others are exposed to.
By liberty, the being at our own disposal, and not under bondage, restraint, imprisonment.
By quiet, an exemption from those many molestations and troubles by reason of disappointments, enmity, contentions, whereby the conditions of some men are rendered very burdensome and uncomfortable.
I put these things together, because of their near affinity to one another.
Now Religion is both the moral and the natural cause of these things.
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‘Tis the moral cause of them, upon account of that divine protection and assistance, which the light of nature will assure us we are intituled unto in the doing of our duties; besides the many assertions and promises in Scripture to this purpose; of being protected in our ways, and secured in times of danger. If you will (Lev. 25. 18) keep my statutes, ye shall dwell in the land in safety. Whoso hearkeneth to me shall (Prov. 1. 33) dwell safely, and shall be quiet from the fear of evil. There shall no evil happen to (Prov. 12. 21) the just, but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. The Lord delivers the righteous (Psal. 34. 17) out of all their troubles. When a mans ways please the Lord, he will make his enemies to be at peace with him.
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‘Tis the natural cause of these blessings, by preventing or removing all such things, whereby the contrary evils are occasioned. The most usual and general cause of mens sufferings, is from the neglect of their duty, and the violations of law; they are obnoxious to the punishments of banishment, imprisonment, loss of goods, or of life, upon the account of some illegal irreligious acts, murder, theft, sedition, injuring of others, needless contentions, medling in other mens affairs where they are not concerned. ‘Tis observable, that in the legal form of inditing men for crimes, our Law doth ascribe their guilt to their want of Religion, their not having the fear of God before their eyes, which doth dispose them to commit such acts as makes them obnoxious to legal punishment. Now nothing can so effectually prevent such things as Religion. This will teach men to obey laws, and submit to government: This will keep them within the bounds of their duty, both towards God and man: This will remove all those dividing principles, of selfishness, and pride, and covetousness: It will teach them charity and meekness and forbearance, to study publick peace and common good, to be generous and large in their well-wishing and their well-doing: Which are the most proper means to provide for our own quiet and safety.
And the truth of this may be evident likewise from common experience; by which it will appear, that for the general, no kind of men do enjoy so much external peace and freedom and safety, as those that are truly religious. The Apostle seems to appeal to that common notion in the minds of all men, concerning the safety belonging to innocence, when he puts it by way of question, who is he that will harm you, if you be followers of that which is good? Implying, that ‘tis a thing generally known and taken notice of, that there is a kind of natural reverence and awe amongst the worst of men, towards such as are innocent and virtuous.
And on the other side no men do incur so many hazards, molestations, contentions, as those that are vicious; what from their violations of law, their needless provocations of those they converse with, being scarce ever free from danger and trouble; which the Wise-man seems to appeal to, as a thing evident from experience, in those short questions which he proposes: Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? (Prov. 23. 29) who hath contentions? who hath bablings? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? ‘Tis particularly spoken of the drunkard, but ‘tis proportionably true of other vices likewise.
There is one objection that lyes very obvious against what I have been proving; and that is from those Scriptures where ‘tis said, that whoever will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution, and that the world should hate them; besides what may be alledged from common experience to this purpose, concerning the sufferings of some that are good men.
To this two things may be said by way of answer.
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Every thing is not persecution for Religion, which men may be apt to style so. Some persons who for the main may be truly religious, may yet by their own follies and imprudence, expose themselves to needless sufferings. And in such cases, Religion is not to be charged as being the cause of their suffering, but their defect in it, and mistakes about it.
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There may be (as was said before) some exempt cases from the general rule, and such must those be granted to be, which concern times of persecution; when Religion will be so far from protecting a man, that it will rather expose him to danger and sufferings. And such were those primitive times to which these Scriptures do refer, when it seemed good to divine providence, to make use of this as one means for the propagating of Christianity in the world, namely, by the suffering of those that professed it. And in such cases, when men are persecuted properly upon the account of Religion, God doth usually compensate their outward sufferings with some inward advantage, supplying them with such patience and courage, as will support them with joy and comfort in their suffering for that which is good. But then it must withall be granted, that these Scriptures are not equally applicable to such other times and places, when and where the true Religion is publickly professed and encouraged, when Kings are nursing fathers, and Queens nursing mothers to the Church; because in such times and places, the profession of Religion will be so far from hindering, that it will rather promote a mans secular advantage.
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