THE DANGER OF THE
Protestant Religion
CONSIDER'D, FROM THE PRESENT PROSPECT OF A Religious War in
Europe.
LONDON:
Printed in the Year 1701.
To the KING.
SIR,
'TIS not the Meanest of Your Trophies, and of which Mankind speaks in Your Praise, that both Your Majesty and Your Ancestors have always been the Champions of Liberty, and the Great Defenders and Protectors of the Protestant Religion.
As such, this whole Nation made their Addresses to You, when they stood in need of a Deliverer from the Encroachments of
Popish
Powers and Councils.
As such, they receiv'd Your Majesty in the room of those who chose rather to Desert them, than to see them a Free Protestant People; and as such, they committed to Your Majesty's Government and Protection the Safety of their Religion and Liberties, which by Your Assistance they had recovered from the Invasions of
Popery;
and as such, the Author of these Sheets humbly Addresses them to Your Majesty.
The
Protestant Religion
seems to stretch forth her Hands to Your Majesty, as to her Constant Protector; You may view her in a Posture of Trembling at the Formidable Prospect of her Encreasing Enemies, and pointing to the Confederacies that are making against Her.
Providence, and the Crown You wear, claims Your Majesty's Concern for the Defence of Religion.
The Peace of
Europe;
the Preservation of Trade; the Leagues and Alliances made by Reasons of State, and for Interests of Government, are Things of Consequence to Kings and Nations; and Your Majesty is justly Concern'd about them.
The Liberties of this Nation, the Property of the Subject, the Encrease of Manufactures, and the Maintenance of the Poor, are Things worthy of Debates in the Great Council of the Nation, the
Parliament.
But these are all Antecedent to the Great Relative
Religion;
These are all but Circumstances to the Great Essential. Circles drawn about the Great Center
Religion.
Religion
is, or ought to be, the Great Concern of Kings and Nations; 'Tis for this Kings reign, and Parliaments assemble; Laws are enacted; Trade is carried on; Manufactures are improv'd; Men born, and the World made.
Your Majesty is a proper Judge, Whether the Danger of Religion in
Europe,
represented in these Sheets, be real, or not; And the Author freely Appeals to Your Majesty for the Truth of it.
If it be real, God and the Protestant Religion calls aloud on Your Majesty and the whole Nation; That laying aside the Debates of other meaner Affairs, the whole Strength and Soul of the Kingdom should be applied to, and concern'd about the Care and Preservation of that Inestimable Treasure.
Nor may the Trifles of Property or Prerogative, or any thing else, of how great Consequence soever, have so much as room in the solemn Consultations of the Nation, till this Great Affair is settled, and so secur'd, that the Power of
Popery
and
Superstition
may be incapable to hurt it.
We know that the Almighty Power, from whom all Human Strength is deriv'd, is able to preserve the
Protestant Religion;
and that without even Your Majesty, or Your Parliament's Assistance.
But as He always works by Means and Instruments, and has always own'd Your Majesty as an Instrument in his Hands for this Glorious Work; so Your Majesty is desir'd to reflect, that it wou'd be a Singular Mark of Heaven's Displeasure, if for want of a Continued Regard to the Security of that Religion which God has entrusted Your Majesty and this Nation with the Protection of, He shou'd be oblig'd to re assume the Special and Immediate Care of it Himself, and take the Work out of our Hands.
THE DANGER OF THE Protestant Religion, FROM THE Present Prospect of a Religious War in EUROPE.
UPON the Present strange Circumstances of Affairs in
Europe,
Occasion'd by the Succession of a Prince of
France
to the Crown of
Spain,
People are mightily concern'd, as their several Thoughts and Interests guide them.
Some, and reason good, apprehend
England
especially will come under many Disadvantages with respect to Trade, both in the
Straights
and in
America,
where the
French
will always have Assistance from the
Spanish
Power to encroach upon Our Trade, have the Preference in their Ports and Markets; and several other things which I cou'd enlarge on as well as another.
Some apprehend the Growth of the
French
Power at Sea, his Dangerous Neighbourhood, and his Encroaching Humour; which they give melancholy Instances of in all the late Wars, Particularly in 1672; which 'tis needless here to repeat.
But I do not yet find any Concern express'd, or any Danger fear'd for the Protestant Religion: Methinks 'tis too certain a Token the Care of it does not lye next our hearts.
We are allarm'd at every step made by our Powerful Neighbours, to the Detriment of our Politick Interest: We can see Dangers to our Trade and Shipping at the Distance of an Age or two; form Leagues, whether right or wrong; commence Treaties, settle Alliances, and join in Confederacies and Guarranties, for the Preservation of the Ballance of Power and Trade.
But since Answering of Questions is become the Subject, and some are pleas'd to Answer them before they are ask'd, give a poor Pamphleteer (or Scribler, or any thing what you please to call him) leave to ask one Question:
Where is the League or Alliance in
Europe,
made, or propos'd to be made, for the Preservation and Defence of the Protestant Religion?
The Concern of
Religion
is not the meanest Article in the Peace of
Europe.
I am not going to preach a Lecture of Divinity, to show the Value of Religion, and how near the Thoughts of it ought to lye upon our Minds; I wou'd have so much Charity, as to believe every
English
Protestant has a just Concern for the Prosperity, as well as the Security of his Religion.
But possibly every Man that does value his Religion, may not be sensible of the Danger it is in; and therefore it may not be amiss to examine the State of the Protestant Religion, as it now stands in
Europe;
with respect to its own Power, and the Power of its Enemies.
In order to which Scrutiny, 'tis necessary to go back a little to the Original of the present Settlement on which we stand.
The Protestant Religion has been profess'd in almost all the Dominions of
Europe, Spain
and
Italy
excepted, and in most of those Countries where it has obtain'd on the Inhabitants, it has been Establish'd by Leagues and Treaties; which Establishments have generally been the Effect of bloody Wars; the Liberty the Protestants enjoy, has, next to God's Goodness, been the Purchase of the Sword, at the Price of the Blood and Treasure of the People.
For the better understanding the present Condition of the Protestants in
Europe,
I shall Divide them into several Heads of Nations, and Discourse of them apart, bringing their short History down to the present Time.
First,
the Princes of Germany:
I place them first, because they were the first that stood up for the Defence of Religion; the Chief of these are the Kings of
Sweden
and
Denmark,
the Dukes of
Brandenburgh, Saxony,
and
Lunenburgh, Hanover, Hess Cassel, Zell,
with a Multitude of smaller Princes, States, and Cities.
These maintain'd a long and bloody War with the Emperor
Charles
the Fifth, who reduc'd them to low Circumstances; but by the Assistance of
Henry
the Second, King of
France,
their Religion receiv'd the first Security by Treaty at the Peace of
Passau,
in the Year 1525, and was afterwards Establish'd at the Diet, at
Augsburgh Anno
1555. But in the Year 1618, the War was renew'd again by the Emperor
Ferdinand
the Second, who by the hand of his Old General
Tilly
brought the whole Protestant Interest in
Germany
to the Brink of Ruin.
The
Bohemians
were ruin'd at the Battel of
Prague;
the Palatinate given to the Duke of
Bavaria;
the Circle of the Lower
Saxony
over-run by
Tilly;
and the King of
Denmark,
who headed the Protestants, overthrown at the Battel of
Kings-Lutter;
the Dukes of
Mecklenburgh, Pomeren,
Bishopricks of
Bremen
and
Halberstadt;
the Countries of
Slesia, Lusatia,
and innumerable others seized, and in the Emperor's possession, and the Victorious
Tilly
trampled down Religion, with the Fury of a True Son of
Rome.
The Protestants in this Distress, as we did lately here in a like Case, fly to a Neighbouring Prince for Protection.
Gustavus Adolphus,
King of
Sweden,
a King who perhaps never had a Parallel till now, came to their Assistance with only Twelve thousand Men; he Landed at
Straelsundt;
took all the Dutchies of
Pomeren
and
Mecklenburgh;
secur'd the Duke of
Brandenburgh
's Country, and enters
Saxony
just as
Tilly
had resolv'd to ruin it:
Tilly
meets him with an Army of Forty-four Thousand Old Soldiers, is overthrown, and his Troops entirely ruin'd at the Battel of
Leipsick.
—God, whose Instrument this Gallant King more particularly was, carried him on with such a Prodigious Course of Victory, that in Two years he over-run two Third parts of the Empire; settled all the Protestant Princes free and uninterrupted in the Possession of their Liberties and Religion.
And though he lost his Life at the famous Battel of
Lutzen,
though his Party was afterwards basely forsaken by the Duke of
Saxony,
who had been twice sav'd from ruin by them; though the
Swedes
were routed at the Battel of
Nordlingen,
yet they carried the War on with success, 'till they reduc'd the Emperor to demand a Peace, in which the Liberty and Religion of
Germany
was entirely setled on the Foot whereon it now stands. This is that famous Treaty of
Westphalia,
made in the Year 1648. and which the
Protestants
of the
Palatinate
now complain is broken; by this Peace care was taken, as it should be in all Leagues, of Religion first, and of Property afterward; the Liberty of the
Protestant
Religion in
Germany
has its being here, and the King of
France
and
Sweden
are Guarrantees of the Treaty.
The next general Clause of
Protestants
in my account shall be the
Hugonots
of
France;
these had long struggled with faithless Kings, had vigorously supported themselves in Eight Civil Wars, under the conduct of
Gaspar Coligni
Admiral of
France,
two Princes of
Condè,
and the King of
Navar.
The little Honour the
Papists
shew'd them in their Treaties, and the many Surprizes and Massacres they met with when under the protection of the Publick Faith, kept the Sword always in their hand, till at last a Breach between
Hen.
the III. and the House of
Guise,
forced that Prince, though he had used them very ill before, to throw himself into their Hands for protection, but being stabb'd by
James Clement
a
Jacobine Fryar,
he fell a Sacrifice to the fury of the
Guises,
and the Crown devolv'd to the King of
Navar, Henry
the IV. the Head of the Protestants; which King, though he chang'd his Religion to secure the Crown, yet so far he took care of the Protestant Interest, as to secure them in the free exercise of their Religion by the famous
Edict
of
Nants;
which how it has been observ'd you shall hear presently.
The
Dutch
are the next in course. These being Subjects of the King of
Spain,
but having embrac'd the Protestant Religion, were most cruelly treated by the several Governors sent from the Court of
Madrid;
and as Oppression is the first Motive to Complaint, they made their frequent Application to the King of
Spain
for redress of their Grievances, who answer'd them as
Rehoboam
did the
Israelites;
and to make his Words good, sent them
Ferdinand de Toledo
Duke
D' Alva,
for their Governor; who boasted that he had Executed Eighteen thousand of them by the hand of the Hangman: Which bloody Proceeding, together with the Approach of the
Spanish
Inquisition, which he was resolv'd to introduce drove the People to the last Extremity,
viz.
To use Force in the Defence of their Natural Rights, Lives and Religion: A Doctrine, which however it may be cried down by our Modern Politicians, has obtain'd upon the whole World, and been more or less practised by all Nations at one time or other.
This War begun by the Prince of
Orange,
the famous Predecessor of our present King, was carried on with various success; and the Union of the Seven Provinces, which we now call the States of
Holland,
was form'd headed and protected by him, 'till he was murther'd by
Balthazar Gerrard,
at the procurement of the
Spaniards,
being shot with two Bullets through the Body, as he was going from Dinner into a Withdrawing Room in his Palace at
Delft.
His Successor Prince
Maurice
carried on the War with better success for almost Forty Years, and at last reduced the
Spanish
Power so low, that they rather sued for Peace than granted it; which Peace was the known Treaty of
Munster;
at which the
Spaniard
renounc'd the Sovereignty of the United Provinces, and declar'd them a Free State as they are this day.
England, Scotland,
and
Ireland
is another Class: The Reformation obtain'd here with less difficulty, and has continued from the beginning of Queen
Elizabeth,
without such Opposition and Interruption as it met with abroad.
Let us now consider these Four Classes, under One General Head of Confederacy, as they were engaged in the late War, and we shall presently put the whole in the general Ballance, by which the meanest Understanding may make a judgment what is like to be the Condition of the
Protestant
Interest in
Europe.
Almost all the
Protestants
of
Europe,
the Two
Northern
Crowns who stood newter excepted, were unanimously confederated in the last War against the Power of
France;
and though the Emperor and
Spaniard,
guided by Reasons of State, join'd with them, 'tis plain to all the World what difficulty the Confederates had, what Blood, what Treasure was expended to reduce the
French
to the Terms of an Honourable Peace.
If we re examine the Present State of
Europe,
we shall find it, as to the Interest of Religion, in worse Circumstances on several Accounts, than it ever yet was since the Treaties of
Munster
and
Westphalia.
First, The
Saxon,
one of the most Considerable Princes of
Germany,
and formerly the great Barrier of the
Protestant
Religion on that side, is to be counted lost, their Duke turn'd
Papist
to get a Crown hardly worth keeping; a close Confederate with the Emperor, and dependant upon him for his support in his new gotten Kingdom.
The Electorate, though it remains
Protestant,
is beggar'd and exhausted to maintain their Prince in his New Throne; their Forces absent, and which is worse, already employ'd in an Unjust and Dishonourable War with a
Protestant
Prince, in defiance of Leagues unbroken, and begun on frivolous pitiful Pretences, and like to be carried on to the ruin of its Author.
The Palatinate, another
Protestant
Electorate, by the Succession of the House of
Newburgh
is fallen into the hands of the
Papists,
and now in the Power of a Prince, who in confidence of a support from the Emperor his Brother in Law, is making the first open Infractions into the Treaty of
Westphalia,
and persecutes his
Protestant
Subjects with all the rigor and cruelty of a Bigotted Prince, who thinks he thereby does God good service, and expects to be well paid for it.
The
Protestants
of
Bohemia
and
Hungary
are both remote, and both absolutely crush'd under the weight of the Imperial Rigor.
The
Protestants
of
France,
who I rank'd in the second Class, and were once a powerful Branch, are quite lost, sunk and gone; either supprest and driven to
Popery
at home, in defiance of the
Edict of Nants;
or like the Ten Tribes of
Israel,
scatter'd abroad into so many unknown Countreys, that they have lost themselves, and in one Age more will be quite sunk out of Name and Memory.
England
was at the brink of Ruin, and the Foundation of the
Protestant
Religion stood absolutely undermin'd, the Devil like
Guy Fauks
in the Gunpowder-Polt standing with the Dark Lanthorn and Match in his hand, till the people took such a Fright, as put the Nation into Fits, of which they could never be cur'd till they had spewed out that Generation of Vipers that would have betrayed their Religion to the
Pope,
and their Country to the
French.
God and the Prince of
Orange,
the one as Author, the other as Instrument, help'd us out; and I say without flattery, No Man can have a sense of the Goodness of the First, and have no Gratitude for the Good-will of the Last: And 'tis a just Cause of Wonder to consider what sort of Protestants they are, who have forgot the condition the Protestant Religion was in at the first coming over of our present King; and I would be glad to hear a
Jacobite Protestant,
if such a Heterogeneous thing can be, answer me this Question,
How any
English Protestant,
without mortgaging his Senses and Religion, can so much as wish either that King
James
should have continued King, or should return to be King in the same Temper, Power, and other Circumstances as he was in when his Present Majesty was invited over?
Thus we see several considerable Branches of the Protestant Power quite Lost.
The
Swede,
who is one of the most Potent Princes in
Europe,
in the part of the World where he is particularly useful, we find his hands full with two faithless Neighbours, and the flame of a War broke out, which if he be not timely assisted, may burn him out of
Germany.
He is a young King, though by what appears, likely to come behind none of his most Glorious Ancestors; and we have seen one Snare laid for him already, which if the
English
and
Dutch
had not untied, would have entangl'd him sufficiently; however, as he is, there can but small help be obtain'd from him, for the general safety of the Protestant Religion, who is now suing at the Courts of his Allies for Aid against the
Pole
and the
Muscovite.
It were to be wish'd the Protestants of
England
would agree to give such speedy and powerful assistance to the
Swede
in this juncture, as may effectually free him from both his Assailants, and put him into a posture to enter into a general Alliance for the defence of Religion, if there should be occasion.
There are some other Circumstances which weaken the Protestant Interest; and that is the Temper of the
Danes,
whose King seems disobliged in the highest manner against the
English, Dutch,
and
Swedes;
and some have said, how true I do not determine, not very zealous for the Protestant Religion—At least, no great matters are to be relied on from him, in case such a War should break out, unless you will suppose him to be first thoroughly reconciled to those three foremention'd Powers.
Whether the Business of making the Elector of
Brandenburgh
King of
Prussia,
and the Duke of
Hannover
Elector of
Brunswick,
may not cool the Zeal of those Princes, in favour of the Emperor, I shall not determine
Upon the whole it appears, that the whole strength of the Protestant Power in
Europe,
lies now upon the
English
and
Dutch,
and the
German
Princes in the Circles of
Suabia,
and the Lower
Saxony.
I shall next examine the growth and power of
Popery,
which plac'd in a just Balance with the rest, will need but a short Inference to shew any rational man the disproportion of power that lies between them.
The Popish Powers of
Europe
are as follow.
The
French;
a whole and entire Monarchy, undivided at home, and free from the incumbrance of
Protestants
among them, who had several times in former Wars either byas'd their Power in favour of the
Protestants,
as in the Reign of
Henry
the II. or diverted their Designs by Civil Wars at home, as in the days of
Lewis
the XIII. But the present King of
France
having not broken the
Edict of Nants
only, but abolished it, has entirely broke the Body of the
Hugonot
Party, and rooted the very name of it out of his Kingdom; so that the
French
Power being altogether
Popish,
and united under the greatest King
France
ever saw, may justly stand foremost as the First Champion of
Popery
in
Europe.
I shall not enlarge here on the formidable Power of
France,
how he has shown himself a Match for the greatest part of
Europe;
nor upon the zeal and fiery rage of the
French
King against the
Protestant
Religion; they are things so known in
Europe,
that it is needless to add any thing to our Apprehensions that way. Let the
French Protestants,
who are scatter'd over the face of all
Christendom,
be a daily Memorandum to us on that Head.
The Emperor, though he be the first Prince in
Europe,
I place next to the
French,
because I think him something inferior in power to
France,
at this time especially, in the Circumstances we now are treating of, disjointed from the
Protestant
part of the Empire.
By the Emperor here we are to understand the Emperor and the
Popish
part of the Empire, which may thus be enumerated.
The Emperor, the King of
Hungary,
and
Bohemia,
the Elector Duke of
Bavaria,
a warlike and powerful Prince, and always a Champion of
Popery;
the Elector
Palatine,
the Electors of
Ments, Trier
and
Cologn,
with the Bishop of
Munster,
and some smaller
Popish
Princes of the Empire.
The Third Head of Power on the
Popish
side is the
Spaniard,
under which Name I comprehend all the Princes and Powers of
Italy,
with the
Pope
the Grand Image of Antichrist, the Duke of
Savoy,
the King of
Portugal,
and the Provinces of
Flanders.
I have purposely omitted here the
Swiss
and
Grisons,
because being some
Popish,
some
Protestant,
and lying out of the way, they can neither add nor diminish in the case in hand, but will be hired on both sides, as the Parties find occasion for them, or can spare Money to pay for them.
It might seem needless to make any Remarks here on the Powers on one side and the other; those who are acquainted but in a tolerable measure with the present State of
Europe,
must be convinc'd of this just consequence, That there is no manner of Comparison to be made.
But since our Saviour directs those who go out to War, to consider whatever they are able with their Ten Thousand to encounter the Twenty Thousands of their Enemies, let us recollect the Debate, and consider the case, if it were now coming to a War.
I'll allow that the
Protestants
on every side were firmly leagu'd together by their own Interest for their general preservation; and that all private Divisions, petty Disputes and Quarrels among themselves were at least laid aside for the present, till the Common Danger was over; which if it be not true, I wish it were.
I must suppose also that which I think there is too much reason to fear, that the
Popish
Powers before mentioned, whether ally'd or no, should join in a Common Design to suppress their
Protestant
Neighbours; and whether jointly or separately it matters not much, should fall upon those which lay next them.
Having rang'd the Powers of either Party, 'tis necessary to declare the posture of such a War, in case it should ever come to pass.
If ever the
Popish
Powers of
Europe
should enter into a Confederacy to attack the
Protestants,
it would be thus.
The
Dutch
would be fallen upon by the
French
on one side; and the
Spanish
Netherlands being in the hands of the
Papists,
the Barrier of
Flanders
is lost, by which means the War is brought home to their own Doors, and the first Shock must fall on their Frontiers, where they must defend themselves against the
Spaniards
on the side of
Sluice, Bergen Op Zoom, Breda,
and the
Bosch,
against the
French
on the
Maes
and the
Rhine,
from
Maestricht
to
Nimeguen,
and against the
Munsterians
on the Frontiers of
Groninghen
to the side of
Embden
and the Sea.
Nor wou'd their Fleet stand them in any stead, the War wou'd be all by Land: They must maintain Three Royal Armies at least to keep the Field, or their Enemies will break into their Country, and make them maintain both Armies in a place.
The
Dutch
are not insensible of the Truth of this, as may be plainly prov'd by the Care and vast Expence they have been at to protect
Flanders
in all the last War; from which all the Benefit they have propos'd to themselves, has been the Maintaining a good Barrier between Them and
France,
and thereby keeping the War from their own Country.
The
German
War will in all probability be on the Banks of the
Elb,
the
Oder,
and the
Main:
The Protestant Countries lye from the
Oder
to the
Rhine,
and contain the whole Circles of the Upper and the Lower
Saxony,
and a small part of the Circles of
Westphalia, Franconia,
and
Suabia.
But the Weight of the War on the Protestants must lye on the
Elb
and the
Main:
On the
Elb
the
Imperialists
will have their main Forces to Attack the Dukes of
Brandenburgh
and the Princes of the House of
Lunenburg;
and on the
Main,
the
Hessian,
with the Princes of the Lower
Saxony,
will be Attackt by the Duke of
Bavaria,
the Prince
Palatine,
and the Electors of
Treves, Mentz,
and
Cologn;
backt still by the Emperor, the
French,
and the
Spaniards.
The
Swedes
and
Brandenburghers
will again have the Emperor on their backs upon the
Oder,
with the
Poles
to assist him.
Here, if ever such a Time shall happen, the War will be very bloody; and were not the
French
to join on the Banks of the
Main,
perhaps the Emperor might have his hands full: But a
French
Army to fall in among the Princes of the Circles of
Franconia
and
Westphalia,
is an Article not to be consider'd without giving up the Cause;
Nothing but the Angel of God in the Army of
Senacherib,
can prevent their Total Destruction.
I foresee I shall be attackt by a sort of Men, who are Carrying on Designs of their own, and think every Man aims at them with Arguments like these.
1. This is Discovering the Weakness of the Protestants, and leading their Enemies by the hand to destroy them; betraying our Friends, or exposing them. Or,
2. This is frighting the World with Chimera's of our own brain, which perhaps may never come to pass. Dangers as likely, as that the
Turks
may Over-run
Christendom,
and Extirpate the whole Christian Religion: Things to come to pass,
when the Sky shall fall.
3. This is another Shift to bring
England
to a Necessity of a Standing-Army, which some people mightily want, to subject her Liberty to the Arbitrary Designs of her Enemies.
For the First I answer: 'Tis no Discovery at all; and they that will make such an Objection, must suppose the Popish Princes of
Europe
very dull, if they do not know it as well as we.
But to make my Answer as short as the Question: They who please to inform themselves, will find that in the several Audiences of the
French
Ambassadors at
Rome,
his Holiness gave the most Christian King several Exhortations to restore Peace to the Church; which we find explain'd at
Paris
in the Speeches made to the King of
France
by the Pope's Nuncio, where he Exhorts him again to Peace with the
Spaniards,
that their United Arms might be employ'd
in the Extirpation of Heresy.
If I shou'd need Arguments to convince Men, that the
French
know as well as we the Power of the Protestant Princes, I cou'd refer them to a late
French
Pamphlet, printed at
Paris,
and Re printed at
Rome,
Entituled
La Crusade,
which laments the Catholick Princes tearing out the Bowels of their Mother the Church; and Exhorts them very passionately to employ their Victorious Arms to the Extirpation of Heresy, and the Destruction of the Enemies of God and the Blessed Virgin.
2. As to the Improbability of the matter, and its being a Chimera,
&c.
First, Gentlemen, it is no such Improbable thing neither; for
what has been, may be. Charles
the Fifth undertook it single-handed against all the Protestants in his time; and though the
French
Opposed him, he went a great way with the Work; for he reduc'd them to such low Terms, that had not the Treaty at
Passau
been obtain'd by the Power of
France,
the Protestant Religion had been totally suppress'd in
Germany.
Secondly, The
French
have absolutely Effected it upon one of the most Considerable Branches of Protestants, and thereby shown us a Test of their Good will to the whole, and given an Instance of the possibility of the practice.
Thirdly, The Protestant Power was never in weaker Circumstances, nor the Popish in stronger, if they shou'd but Unite: So that I must own, if they do not attempt it, they slip a manifest Opportunity, and must be counted Fools too; which, by the way, we never found them to be.
3. As to
England,
Standing-Armies, Liberty, Arbitrary Power, and the like, I must crave leave to say a little. I have no mind to meddle with the Disputes of Politicians, nor know nothing of those who have Designs either way.
They that wou'd Enslave our Liberty by Standing-Armies; and they that wou'd leave us naked to our Enemies, or put us out of a Posture to help our Friends, are equally Enemies to the Protestant Religion.
They that wou'd make our Kings out of Love with their Protestant Subjects, or our People jealous of a Protestant King, are
Beautefeus
of their native Country, and want to see her again involv'd in Blood, that she may not be able to protect or defend the Protestant Religion.
They who wou'd advance the Prerogative of Kings to the Ruin of the Subjects Properties; and They who wou'd subdue the
English
Monarchy, and the Just Power of the King to the Will and Pleasure of a Party, equally drive at the Destruction of Our Constitution, and in that of the Protestant Religion.
'Tis not Arbitrary Power which is the present Case, nor Standing-Armies, nor Liberty, nor Property, but the Protestant Religion. Let
England
have a care she does not take so much Care of her Liberties, as to forget her Religion: But let us so see the one done, as not to leave the other undone.
In Reading some late Pamphlets
Pro
and
Con
about the Danger of Trade, and the Power of our Enemies, I observe some are for maintaining Confederacies with Foreign States, and Alliances with Neighbours, and some are against it.
Truly, Gentlemen, in the Case I am Treating, I Rank all the Powers of
Europe
into two Classes only,
Papist
and
Protestant:
And we are supposing the Popish Powers shou'd link themselves together in a Confederacy for the Extirpation of Protestants, whom they call
Hereticks,
let any Rational Man make the Consequence: What shou'd Protestants do? Can any human Methods preserve them, but a strict Union among themselves to join in their mutual Defence?
I know better than to reflect on Parliaments: But if a Parliament of Protestants forgets the Safety of the Protestant Religion, they neglect the chief Work they assemble about.
Trade, Liberty, Property, Right and Wrong, Justice and Equity, are Things the Convocated Assemblies of the People are call'd together about; and they are in the right: but these are but the subservient Preliminaries to preserve a State or Country in Peace, that they may with their joint Force resolve, and be able to defend and secure their Religion.
The Protestant Religion is the Fundamental of the
English
Constitution; and I hardly ever remember the Assembling a Parliament in
England,
but they had their Grand Committee for Religion. What those Committees have done of late towards the propagating or securing Religion, is best known to them who can search the Journals of the House; nor is it proper for me to examine.
I am not for prescribing Methods how the Protestant Religion is to be Defended; but I crave leave to give some Hints from the present Circumstances of Affairs, to awaken Protestants, that they may see their Religion is aim'd at by the Popish Powers of
Europe;
a weak Politician may foresee, That if ever a Union shou'd happen between the
French, Spaniards,
and
Germans,
all the Protestants of
Europe,
except us, are lost and undone, unless some wonderful Revolution, which a wiser Head than mine cannot foretel, shou'd happen.
Wherefore I desire only of Parliaments, of Protestants and Kings, that they wou'd condescend so far, as to take the poor Distressed Protestant Religion into their Care:
Let it be by such Ways and Means, as to their Honour in their Great Wisdom shall seem meet.
If it may be done without Standing-Armies or Confederacies abroad, with all our hearts: If the Walls of
Jericho
will fall down at the Sounding of Rams-horns, never let us raise Batteries, or plant Cannon against them.
Here is no room to talk of Pretences and Shooing-horns for Standing-Armies; God and the Protestant Religion calls upon all the Professors of it in
Europe
to look to themselves, and to stand up
for the City of our God:
And if the Enemies of the Church of Christ say,
A Confederacy,
they are to give the Curse of God on all those who shall refuse
to help the Lord against the Mighty.
In this Case a War of Religion will require us to lay aside all our ill-natur'd Animosities: Here is no Foreigners, no Refugees, no
Dutch
Men; 'Tis a
Protestant,
is the General Term; as in Two Armies that are to Engage, where One Party wears a White, and the Other a Green Signal in their Hats, they do not enquire what Nation any Man is of; but if any of the White Party meets a Souldier with the Green in his Hat,
Down with him;
if they see another with the White in his Hat in Distress,
Relieve him
is
the word.
In this Cause of Religion, Gentlemen, if the
Swede,
or the
Dane,
or the most remote Nation be Attackt, we are only to examine if the Protestant Religion be his Signal; if so, we ought to help and relieve them, let them be what Nation or People soever; and let Natural and Political Aversions be never so great, if our Enemy's house be on fire, we'll endeavour to put it out, if it be for nothing else but for fear it shou'd burn our own: When the Protestants in any part of
Europe
are Attackt,
Proximus Ardet;
Let us consider, if ever the Fire of Popery consumes the Protestant Powers of
Europe,
the Flame will certainly catch hold of us in
England.
Some Gentlemen have said lately, That Confederacies and Alliances never are of any Advantage to
England,
because we live by our selves in an Island, and have a good Fleet.
I shall not examine whether what they say will hold in Matters of Policy and Government: But, Gentlemen, let me tell you, If the
English
Nation shou'd see the Rest of the Protestants of
Europe
destroy'd, without helping them, even with all her Forces, upon this principle, That we are safe, having a good Fleet; shou'd we not expect, besides all the other fatal ill Consequences, our Saviour shou'd rank us among those, who
when he was an hungry, gave him no meat;
or, when he was in Distress, gave him no help,
which is all one.
But because I wou'd a little prescribe in the Case too, and come to Answering Questions as well as other people, I shall enquire, What
England
ought to do?
I Answer,
Principiis obsta;
prevent the Conjunction of Popish Powers; crush the Leagues and Confederacies of Popish Princes in the beginnings of them, and by all possible Methods keep them from such a Union as is here supposed to be aim'd at.
This is the way to take away the Cause, that the Effect may vanish: This takes away all shadow of designing a Standing-Army; there will be no Occasion to Fight; divide but the Interests of the Popish Powers of
Europe;
if you can do so, you certainly divide their Forces.
The late War is a certain Demonstration that they will never unite against Religion, if they cannot unite their Interests. Whoever gives themselves leave to examine, will plainly see 'tis Interest, not Religion, governs Princes. I refer for it to the Answer the Emperor gave to King
James
when he demanded Assistance of him against King
William.
When having told King
James,
"That if he had rather hearkened to his friendly Remonstrances, made him by the Imperial Ambassador the Count
de Kaunitz,
than the Deceitful Insinuations of the
French;
and if he had put a stop by Force to the many Breaches made by the
French
in the Treaty at
Nimeguen,
of which he was Guarrantee, and had entred into Consultations with the Imperial Court, and their Confederates, he might have quieted the Minds of his People; and then enumerating the Cruelties of the
French,
chiefly in the Catholick Countries, exceeding the
Turks
themselves;
the Emperor concludes,
"That the Interest and Safety of the Empire is a sufficient Argument to justify his not assisting him on account of the
Popish
Religion against the
Protestants,
having a
Papist
to Encounter with, who on account of Interest and publick Safety, ought in the first place to be Opposed; and that for mutual Preservation and Defence he must be justified in taking Measures, with all those, meaning the
Protestants,
who are concern'd in the same Design.
Thus we see when joint Interest and Preservation is the Case, even the
Popish
Princes themselves think it justifiable to join in Confederacies, even with
Hereticks,
to suppress an unjust Invasion of an encroaching Neighbour, though a Catholick.
From whence I draw this short Consequence,
That if you keep the
Popish
Powers of
Europe
from Uniting their Interests, you, in effect, keep them from Uniting their Forces, and thereby from Invading the Protestant Religion.
By preventing the Union of the
Popish
Powers, possibly some may suppose, I mean, that
England
shou'd Engage in a New War with
France,
to support the Title of the Arch-Duke
Charles
to the Crown of
Spain;
and there comes in the Old Story, a Standing-Army, again by head and shoulders.
Why truly, Gentlemen, If ever we pretend to have a War, whether it be with
France,
or any body else, we must certainly have an Army of our own, or some bodies else, or we shall make but sorry work on't.
Whether those Gentlemen wou'd not chuse to see the Protestant Religion in
Europe
sunk and lost, rather than see an Army raised in
England,
I cannot conclude? But this I am bold to affirm, That they who had rather run the risque of the Protestant Religion, than of their Liberties, value their Freedom above their Religion, and may very well be suspected to have no Religion at all.
Now the Risque is not equal neither; for we have had Armies in
England,
and have lost our Liberties; and we have had Armies in
England,
and have not lost our Liberties. The Difference lies here, That we had Armies rais'd to Enslave us, and they did it; but the last were raised to Defend us; and when that was done, submitted the Military to the Civil Power, and left our Liberties entire. I wou'd say also, but that I shall offend some folks, That the grand Difference lay in the Kings we had.
Some of our Kings design'd our Ruin, and in a great measure compleated it by Standing-Armies; but a King that protects the Laws by a principle of Honour and Justice, can make Armies that are so fatal to Liberty, be the protection of Liberty: So that really it has been our Kings
of pious Memory,
who have been Agents of the People's Ruin; and the late War has shown the World, that Armies may be rais'd and laid down again, if Kings, who Command them, please but to say the word, without ruining a Nation's Liberties.
On the Other hand; If Religion be attackt, it must be defended, or 'twill be lost.
Thus far I have ventur'd to touch the nice Article of an Army in
England;
I hope every
Englishman
will agree with me in this, That I had rather see an Army in
England
and run the hazard of our Liberties, than see the
Protestant
Religion in
Europe
trodden down for want of our helping to defend it.
But these are General Points only.
There are a great many Methods to be prescrib'd how the
Protestant
Religion may be Defended, and yet no standing Forces raised or maintain'd in
England,
and so our Liberties may not be in danger; and the first is touch'd at already, prevent the Union of
Popish
Powers and Interest, and you'll need no fighting.
Whether this may be done by giving powerful Assistances to the Emperor, to carry on the Pretensions of the House of
Austria;
or by appearing in the
Mediterranean
with a good Fleet, to confirm the
Italian
Princes in the Interests of the Emperor; or by sending over what Forces we have in
England
and
Ireland,
to make a Diversion, in Conjunction with the
Dutch,
on the
Rhine,
or in
Flanders,
or by what other Ways or Means it may be done, with or without an Army, 'tis all one, so it be but done, that the
Protestant
Religion may be protected, and the
Papists
prevented from Overturning us with a General destruction.
But that no Man may have any shadow to suspect me guilty of a Design to Argue for a Standing-Army, which is
the great Bugbear of the Times,
or at least made the
Watch-word of a Party
that wou'd be thought to be more Zealous for our Liberty than any body else; I'll put it on another point: Our Neighbours may be so assisted by our Money, as never to want our Men; and so, Gentlemen, you will be try'd whether 'tis your Liberty or your Money that so much stir has been made about; and if we shall let our Protestant Neighbours sink, rather than part with our Money to support them; then the Truth will come out,
That 'tis our Money which was at the bottom of the matter:
For really, Religion and Liberty are so much in the same Interest, that 'tis very seldom they Clash; and he that shall refuse to defend his Religion for fear of his Liberty, deserves to lose both.
Thus we are got over the point, that our Neighbours may be supported, the Protestant Religion defended, and the Union of the
Popish
Powers of
Europe
prevented, by the
Protestants
at this time falling in, to support the Emperor in his just Pretensions on the
Spanish
Dominions; and all this without a Standing-Army in
England.
Our Pamphleteers need not dispute about the Consistency or Inconsistency of an Army with the
English
Constitution, nor whether they that are for or against it are the best Subjects: I am sure he that has the greatest Concern for the Protestant Religion, is most likely to be the best Christian; They need not Entertain us with their Discourses of the Danger of our Liberties and Properties from a Standing-Army, with their little Reflections on the King, by way of Exclamations against the sad Consequences which may happen, or may not happen; They need not enter into the Histories of Standing-Armies, nor tell us the Wonderful Power of our most Formidable Militia: But the Case will be alter'd when your
Protestant
Brethren call for Assistance, if you are afraid to trust Arms in the hands of your own Countrymen: As
truly
Englishmen
are dangerous Fellows when in Arms, very surly, and loth to be Disbanded without their Pay.
If therefore we do not think it safe to Trust our Own people, never let us desert the
Protestant
Cause; for
Germany
and
Swisserland
are Inexhaustible Store-houses of Men: If you will but assist the
Protestants
with Money, 'twill be the same thing; or if we assist the Emperor at this time, it may be the same thing; for Prevention is all one as Execution, or rather the better of the two.
And this leads us to consider what, with submission to better Judgments, seems to me to be the only possible Means to prevent the Union between the
Popish
Powers of
Europe,
and therein the Ruin of the
Protestants.
I have said already, Our way is to Crush the Confederacies of the
Papists;
and if I do say, that the Only way to do so, is to prevent the Crown of
Spain
descending by Will to a Prince of the House of
Bourbon;
and that Prince marrying a Daughter of the House of
Austria,
I shall believe I am in the Right, till I can hear a better method propos'd.
This Union is much easier prevented than it will be dissolv'd; Treaties and Alliances may disappoint it. Now whereas Armies and Fleets will hardly defeat it afterward, if the House of
Bourbon
and
Austria
Unite, and Conform the Interests of their Dominions, they can have no body to bend their Arms against, but the
Protestants,
or the
Mahometans.
I see no War can be Rais'd in
Europe,
but what will of Course run into a War of Religion: For if the
Popish
Princes agree in Interests, they can have nothing to quarrel about: And to confirm this, I appeal to a Review of the General History of
Europe:
In which I offer to make it appear, That setting aside the Quarrels between the
French
and the
Spaniards,
and between the
English
and the
Dutch,
almost all the Wars of
Europe
have been Wars of Religion.
And that I may not be thought to speak withoutbook, I refer the Reader to Examine,
1. The Wars in
Germany,
which, with some few Intermissions, lasted from the Year 1508, to 1648, being 140 Years; and begun on pretence of Recovering the Lands of the Church, sequester'd by the Duke of
Saxony,
and ended by the Conquests of King
Gustavus
and his Generals, at the Treaty of
Westphalia;
in which War, that Great Conquering King lost his Life, and confirm'd what I am saying in his last Words, which some Histories tell us were thus: being wounded with a Carabin-shot, and ask'd by a
German
Trooper who he was, Answer'd
I am the King of
Sweden,
who do Seal the Religion and Liberty of the
German
Nation with my Blood.
2. The Wars in the
Low-Countries
begun with the
Spanish
Inquisition being Introduc'd into the
Netherlands,
and Continued to the Peace of
Munster,
with the Intermission of Twelve years Truce only, and ended in the Liberty of the Protestant States, being declar'd free by the King of
Spain;
which War
Philip
the Second of
Spain
declar'd a little before his Death, had cost him 564 Millions of Ducats, and the Expedition to Invade
England
12 Millions.
3. The Civil Wars of
France,
which began in the Reign of
Henry
the Second, and Eight several Times engag'd the whole Kingdom; and after that was carried on by
Henry
the Fourth against the
Guises,
and the League backt by the whole Power of
Spain,
on account of Religion, and never had any long Cessation till the Edict of
Nants,
and the Peace of
Vervins.
I forbear to Instance any more, being unwilling to enter into the Miseries of our Native Country: but I think the Matter admits of no dispute. That if the Union we speak of should ever come to pass, there hardly can Commence any War in
Europe
but what must be upon the account of Religion.
Europe
has really nothing else to quarrel about, or nothing but what Neighbours and Guarrantees can oblige one another to decide without a Rupture, as lately it was in the Case of the
Dane
and the Duke of
Holstein.
Religion is the only Dispute left: What bloody Battels have been fought! How has
Europe
been fill'd with Slaughter between those powerful Princes,
Charles
the Fifth, and
Francis
the First, for the Kingdom of
Naples,
for the Dutchy of
Savoy
and
Millan,
and for the Frontiers of
Burgundy
and
Flanders!
What incredible Expences, and how many heaps of slaughter'd Carcasses has the Quarrels between the
French
and the
Imperialists
cost on the Banks of the
Rhine
and the
Moselle,
and between the
French
and the
Spaniards
in our Age in
Catalonia
and
Flanders!
These have been the Capital Wars of
Europe;
and if the Union between
France
and
Spain
be compleated, the Cause is remov'd, and the Effects cease of Course: There can be no War in this part of the World but what must Engage the
Protestants,
unless the
Protestants
shou'd fall out among themselves; which wou'd be worse still. Hitherto the Wars between the
Popish
Powers has been the Safety of the
Protestants;
if one potent Prince has Attackt them, the Jealousy of another has Defended them. The
Protestants
have from the very beginning been shelter'd and protected only by the Animosities and Jealousies maintain'd between the
French
and the House of
Austria.
I cannot liken the Protestants of
Europe
to any thing more aptly than to the City of
Hamburgh,
between the
Danes
and the Dukes of
Brandenburgh
and
Lunenburgh;
or to the Duke of
Savoy
's Dominions, between the
Spaniards, French,
and
Italians.
If the City of
Hamburgh
had had but one of those Neighbours, it had either been
no City at all,
or
their City,
long ago: but the Jealousy and Misunderstanding of those Princes is the Security of the
Hamburghers.
Either the
French
or the
Spaniards
had long ago Annexed the Dutchy of
Savoy
to their Estates, had the one been but willing to sit still, and let the other Enjoy it.
Charles
the Fifth had certainly subdued all the
Protestants
in the Empire, if
Henry
the Second of
France
had not upheld them; and that not from any kindness he had to them, but that he was not Easy to see the Emperor be so Great. Afterward the Emperor himself encourag'd the
Protestants
of
France,
and suffer'd Men to be Levied in the Empire for the King of
Navarr;
lest he being quite suppress'd, the
French
shou'd be at leisure to quarrel with him. Thus the Jealousies between the Powers of
France
and
Germany
have been the Security of the Protestant Religion in
Europe.
Since that, in our Memory, the Emperor and King of
Spain,
both
Papists,
Declar'd War against
France,
and Form'd the Tripple Alliance only to save the Protestant States of
Holland
from falling into the hands of the French
Anno
1672, when our Protestant King,
Charles
the 2d, of pious Memory, did his Utmost to Overthrow them, and subject them to an Absolute
French
Conquest.
If any man shall be so weak as to Reply in the Language of some late Pamphlets, What's all this to us? What does the Union of
Spain
and
Germany,
or of any body else, signify to us? I crave leave to Answer such a Question, by saying as our Saviour to the
Pharisees, And I also will ask you a Question:
What signifies the Protestant Religion to us?
And if they will undertake to Answer the Last, I will promise to Answer the First.
I might go on here to give Instances how near the
Protestant
Religion has been to be suppress'd in
England,
and what a just Concern other Nations have always had for its preservation.
But setting that aside, for we do not love to hear of it: I desire only to re-mind the Reader, That the Parliaments of
England,
together with our
Protestant
Kings and Queens, have always express'd deep Resentments at the Danger of the
Protestant
Religion, and of our
Protestant
Neighbours; and have always thought it became them by Treaties and Intercessions to procure their Repose, or by Money and Forces to assist them to defend themselves.
And after giving some Instances, I shall examine the Reasons of it, and see if the same Reasons do not now call on us for the same Proceedings.
Queen
Elizabeth,
after she had provided for the Safety of Religion at home; her next Care was to assist her
Protestant
Neighbours. What vast Sums of Money did she Give and Lend; what Number of Troops did she Raise to support the
Hugonots
in
France,
and Prince
Maurice
in the
Netherlands;
Even before she had any actual War with the
Spaniard?
The Histories of those Times reckon up above 80000
English
Soldiers, including Volunteers, that fought during that long War, in the Quarrel of the
Protestant
Religion in the
Low-Countries;
where they behav'd themselves so well, and gain'd such Reputation, that 40 Years afterwards, when our Civil Wars broke out in
England,
an Old
Low-Country
Soldier was always counted a Man of Value.
Queen
Elizabeth
sent at several times 40000 Men to the Assistance of the
French Hugonots
under
Hen.
the 4th.
After the Death of Queen
Elezabeth,
King
James
the First, though he had not Courage enough to break with
Spain
in the just Quarrel of the
Palsgrave,
King of
Bohemia;
yet we find the
English
Nation and Parliament all along Resenting, not so much the Injury of that Family, as the Ruin of the
Protestants
of the
Palatinate;
and several Bodies of Men were sent over to Count
Mansfield
to defend it; though by the Craft of the
Spaniard
the
Scotish
King was Cajol'd into an easy Deserting the Cause both of the
Protestant
Religion and his own Family.
In the Reign of K.
Charles
the First, what vast Sums of Money were given by the Parliament to assist the
Protestants
of
Rochelle;
which tho' by the Mis application of the Court and the Duke of
Buckingham,
did them little service; yet 'tis plain by it, that the Parliament knew the Protection of our
Protestant
Neighbours, was a Work the whole Nation had a just Concern in, both on Civil as well as Religious Accounts.
After this you have 6000 Men at a time twice raised, besides Recruits, and sent by Sea as far as
Pomerania
to assist the King of
Sweden
in the Quarrel of the
Protestants
in
Germany.
In the Year 1679, the Parliament of
England
address'd K.
Charles
the 2d to Enter into such Leagues and Alliances with our
Protestant
Neighbours, as might effectually preserve
Flanders
from falling into the hands of the
French;
and I refer to the Words of that Address, where you have the whole People of
England
Remonstrating of what Consequence the preservation of
Flanders
was to the
English
Nation; and which stands as an Invincible Argument against our Modern Politicians, who are for no Leagues nor Confederacies, nor Neghbours, and think
England
a Match for all the World.
These seem to be Instances enough, and 'tis matter of Wonder to me, what sort of Amphibious, Neutral Creatures those
Protestants
are, which shall ask what signifies the
Protestants
abroad to
England?
Supposing there was no real Danger of our selves in the Case.
Let us examine, in the next place, the Reasons which have all along induc'd the
English
Nation to assist their
Protestant
Neighbours: and they are of two sorts;
Reasons of Religion, and Reasons of State:
And I'll be very short with them both, because they are touch'd at already.
Reasons of Religion,
are such as
Charity,
which obliges the Strong to protect and defend the Weak, when they are oppress'd and injur'd, and unable to defend themselves: The several Commands of our Saviour, for the Relief of such as are in Distress, Illustrated by the Story of the Good
Samaritan,
the Declaration which our Saviour has made, That
whatsoever is done to the least of his, is done unto himself,
and shall be Rewarded accordingly, and the like.
Reasons of State
are principally the Great Doctrine of Self-preservation, which branches it self in such Methods as these:
Keeping Danger at a distance.
Keeping a good Barrier between Our selves and powerful Neighbours, that you may not be forced to a Defensive War.
Preventing the Union of Neighbours of different Interests from Our selves.
2
dly.
Preserving publick Peace; which is best done
By strong Alliances and Guarrantees:
By keeping an Equality of Parties, or a General Balance of Power:
And by being always in such a posture of Defence, as to make it dangerous for a Neighbour to break with you.
These, with many others, are the Reasons why our Princes, and our Parliaments too, have always thought it both their Duty and their Interest to protect and defend the
Protestant
Religion abroad, and have always been very tender of the Injuries done them by their
Popish
Adversaries, and resented them accordingly.
I shall give one Instance more:
I hope the Reason of State will not be lik'd the worse for the Statesman;
and that was
Oliver Cromwell;
who being sollicited by the Protestant
Vaudois
in
Savoy,
used all his Interest to mediate with the Duke their Prince for a Relaxation of their Miseries; and in his Letters both to the Duke and the
French
King, after a great deal of fruitless Intercession, threatens to turn all the
Roman Catholicks
out of
England
and
Ireland,
and seize their Effects, if some speedy Regard be not had to the Afflictions of the distressed Protestants. I refer the Reader for the Particulars, to the
Latin
Copies of the Letters wrote on that Subject by his Secretary of Foreign Dispatches, the Learned
Milton;
in which there are Reasons given why the
English
Nation shou'd think themselves oblig'd to concern themselves in the Sufferings of the
Protestants.
But methinks it shou'd be needless to go any farther than the Journals of our own Parliaments since the Restoration; where it will evidently appear, that
English
Parliaments have always had a deep Resentment at the Growth of
Popery,
and the Danger of the Protestant Religion; and there is, no doubt, but an
English
Parliament will ever maintain the same Sentiments.
The Growth of
Popery
is certainly dangerous to the Protestant Religion; They are the two Buckets in the Well, the two Scales on the Beam of Power; if One comes up, the Other must go down; if you add to the Weight of One, it will lift the Other out of its place.
Let all those who wou'd stand Neuter in this Cause of Religion, remember that God Almighty has declar'd against such as are lukewarm Christians: There is no Neuter Gender in Religion. In the Cause of Religion, They who are not for him, are against him; the Defence of the Protestant Religion calls upon all Men who have any Value for it, to appear in the time of its Danger: Defend Religion and Politick Interests will be easily secur'd:
à jove Principium, God and your Country;
but first God, and then your Country.
In short, though I am no Prophet, nor the Son of a Prophet, I think a man with but a small Talent of forcast, may be able to foretel, That if we are wanting to God in the due and vigorous defence of his Church and Worship, which is in
English,
the
Protestant
Religion; his Providence has so wisely disposed the matter, and made our Liberty so dependant on, and relative to our Religion, that it is morally impossible Liberty in
England
can be any longer liv'd than Religion.
Popery
and Slavery are like Sin and Death, direct Consequences of one another; and whenever we think fit to admit the first, any body may promise us the last.
The CONCLUSION.
I Cannot conclude this matter without remembring two Exceptions that lie against any body's pleading the Cause of Religion.
First, That in all the ill practices of the World, the Revolutions of States, Rebellions of Subjects, and Tyranny of Princes,
Religion is the Mask
to hide the Deformity of the Monster conceal'd.
Secondly, That
God is Omnipotent,
and the
Protestant
Religion is under his immediate protection, that he is able to defend it without means, and against probability.
To the First, I make answer in the words of the Prince of
Denmark,
in the Letter he wrote to the late K.
James,
on his joining with the Prince of
Orange,
our present King, at his coming in to
England;
That were not Religion the most justifiable Cause, it would not be made the most specious Pretence.
And to this Quotation I shall add; You may as well argue against the Christian Church administring the Eucharist, because
Hen.
VII. Emperor of
Germany
was poison'd by a Consecrated Host.
As to the Second Argument, 'Tis true God governs the World, and in his governmen
of the World he has ordered that we should govern our selves by Reason. God has subjected even the ways of his Providence to Rational Methods, and Outward Means agree to it. The great Chain of Causes and Effects is not interrupted, even by God himself; if it be, it is on Extraordinary Occasions, which we call Miracles.
Now according to the Nature of Causes and Consequences, the Argument for our care of Religion must be good; as to those people who look for Miracles, I have nothing to say to them.
FINIS.