One great Advantage in the married State of the Clergy, is their fuller Knowledge of the World, and their being experimentally acquainted with the various Turns and Ha&rehy;bitudes of human Nature. So that Those of all Relations to whom Many of us mi&rehy;nister, may in some measure, and by way of humble remote Analogy, apply to Us that the Apostle observes concerning the High Priest of our Profession; We have not Priests who cannot be touched with the feeling of Infirmities, but are in all Points tempted, like as we are. Heb. 4.15. We cannot go on, and add, yet without Sins: That is not without Falshood to be affirm&rehy;ed, nor almost without Blasphemy to be imagined. God knows in many Things we defend all; Clergy, as well as Laity, and the best of Both. We are not only tempted, but often foil'd by Temptation. Nor does our admitting That Word, as apply'd to Marriage, in the least derogate from the Truth of what I observe under This Head. Nay, I acknowledge, (and shall have Occasion to take Notice of it again before I conclude) that the Inconveniences which attend a marry'd Clergy, are many, and great; and that sundry Temptations are adapted to That very State of Life as such. But This is nothing to the Point: All Con&rehy;ditions in This World are subject to Temptations, and Inconveniences, to Corrupti&rehy;on, and Sin: And however what the Apo&rehy;stle intimates concerning Marriage, with relation to all Christians, especially in times of Persecution, may be particularly apply'd to the Clergy in all Times, He that marrys does well, and he that marrys not does better provided he be well assured, that he can avoid the Dangers attending a single Life; I say, however true This may be, the only Questions to our Purpose are These Two; Whether, any Power upon Earth has Au&rehy;thority to make That unlawful in point of Morality, which God left indifferent? And, Whether as the Inconveniences are great on one Side; so, all things considered, they are not greater on the other? As to the Latter, the Allowance of This State to the Clergy appears to be least exceptionable in point of Prudence and Expediency. And as to the Former, to make it directly unlawful to any Order of Men, is certainly the Height of Presumption: And we may with some Variation apply to This Case Those Words of our blessed Saviour, concerning Marriage in general; What God hath at least permitted to be join'd together, let not Man absolutely put asunder.

III. My Third Observation was This: That not only spiritual Persons Themselves, but their Families likewise are particularly obliged to the Practice of exemplary Piety and Vertue. That such Persons Themselves are so obliged, is acknowledged on all sides, and too plain to be questioned. And one Duty, among others, which is so incumbent upon them, is That of promo&rehy;ting Piety in their Families, and educating their Children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord: Lest they incur the Guilt of the old High Priest Eli, against whom the severest Judgment was denounced, be&rehy;cause his Sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. Sam. 3.13. And This more than ordinary Obligation upon the Master of the House induces a more than ordinary one like&rehy;wise upon Those of his Houshold. The One flows from the Other: Because the better any one is taught, the more he is obliged to learn, and practise.

But besides This, their very near Relati&rehy;on to a Person of a sacred Character, is a pe&rehy;culiar Tye upon their Consciences; because by Means of That Relation they are more likely than other Laicks, to give Offence, and to prejudice Religion by their ill Behaviour. St. Paul gives especial Directions concerning the Behaviour of the Wives of Deacons: And they are more strongly applicable to Those of Priests, and Bishops; and by Parity of Reason, to the Children of all Three. Who all ought seriously to ponder in their Minds, and apply to Themselves Those Words of the Apostle: If the Root be holy, so are the Branches: Rom. 11.16. And Those of the Prophet, Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the Pit whence ye are digged. Isai. 51.1. The Apostle teaches us, that the Chil&rehy;dren of all Christians are, as such, holy in one Sense; viz. as they are even in their Infancy capable of being baptiz'd 1 Cor. 7.14.: But the Children of Christ's Ministers are doubly sanctify'd, not only by the common Faith, but by the peculiar Function, of their Fathers.

But as the best Things are capable of be&rehy;ing abused, and the Corruption of the best is always the worst; it may accidentally happen, that such Children may be unholy upon the ve&rehy;ry Account of their Extraction: Which is no Wonder; since the same Thing may, and sometimes does, happen to their Fathers, upon the very Account of their Function. What should have been for their Health may be unto them an Occasion of falling: The Spiritual Food, and Physick, given them by their Parents, may be perverted to Poison; and their very Religious Education make them wicked. Thus Christi&rehy;anity it self, which by its natural Efficacy tends to Peace, does (as its Blessed Author foretold it would) sometimes by Accident cause Division. There are Temptations particular&rehy;ly adapted to the Children of the Clergymen. Those of them, for Instance, who are placed in the lower Part of Life, in mechanical, or other mean Occupations, being by their E&rehy;ducation more knowing, and more re&rehy;ligious than Persons of the same Craft generally are, may be tempted to Pride, and That the worst Sort of it Spiritu&rehy;al Pride; and, as a Consequence of This, to That most unchristian Vice Censori&rehy;ousness; may be apt to exercise themselves in great Matters which are too high for them; to despise their Equals, and be insolent to their Superiours; to be impatient under Afflicti&rehy;ons, and ungrateful to their Benefactors. Against These, and such like, Corruptions they ought to be carefully guarded; ear&rehy;nestly to pray God, that the good Seed sown by their Parents may not be lost up&rehy;on bad Ground; sincerely to repent of any Misbehaviour they may have been guilty of in any of These Respects; and seriously to consider the Deceitfulness of Sin; which is such, that, without great Care and Caution on our Part, it may turn our very Advan&rehy;tages to our Detriment: So that the Chil&rehy;dren of Clergymen may for That very Rea&rehy;son, joined with others, be twofold more the Children of Hell. They may likewise be scornful, and fastidious, to mean Trades; be&rehy;cause in their Father's Family they were better bred: Not considering, that, to ballance This, they were religiously bred too; taught Meek&rehy;ness, and Humility, Contentment in low Circumstances, and Patience in distressful ones; that the blessed Apostles of their Sa&rehy;viour were Fishers, Tentmakers, and the like; and their Saviour himself the reputed Son of a Carpenter.

Another Fault, though not peculiar to Them only, of which Some among them are said to be guilty, (and which, if they are, I am sure they ought to reform) is especial&rehy;ly to be mentioned upon the Occasion of our present Meeting; because it relates to their indigent Circumstances. I mean Those of Them (if such there be) who, if there be One among them who is Himself a Clergyman, are unreasonable in their Ex&rehy;pectances from him, and make him un&rehy;grateful Returns for what they have alrea&rehy;dy received. Because he is a Clergyman, they imagine they have a Right to lay any Loads upon him; whether he be able to bear them or no; and are continually reminding him, that he is bound in Duty to support his Colla&rehy;teral Relations. No doubt he is so, if it be in his Power, and if it be consistent with his superiour Obligations to Others: But of That He is to judge, not They; Though they may have Presumption enough to in&rehy;struct Him, from whom they ought in Meek&rehy;ness and Humility to receive Instructions. According to Their Doctrine, That of the Scripture is revers'd; and a Man, instead of leaving even his Father, and his Mother, and cleaving to his Wife, must leave his Wife and Children, and cleave to his Brothers and Sisters. Gen. 2.24.

I must confess indeed, (if I may take Oc&rehy;casion from hence to make a little Digression) that, in my humble Opinion, the above men&rehy;tioned Law, if we understand it of any Thing more than local Leaving, which indeed I be&rehy;lieve is all that is strictly and literally intend&rehy;ed by it, does not take place with regard to a Man's Father and Mother, as compared with his Children; however it may with regard to his Wife: As to the Latter it takes place, in respect of Those Contracts or Agreements which were made before Marriage. That it obliges with Reference to These, must be granted; because no Charity is truly such, which is founded upon Injustice. But as to one's Parents compared with one's Children, my Meaning is This, (and it affects Laity and Clergy in common) If both be e&rehy;qually indigent, (and other Circumstances equal, or very near it) the Former have the first Title or Claim to our Assistance. The dearness of Blood is the same in Both: And though it be commonly said, that natural Af&rehy;fection rather descends, than ascends; yet I doubt This is no good Principle of Human Nature. Among Brutes, indeed it is in Fact so: But the Case here is quite different, for reasons too plain to be insisted upon: And our Rational Faculties were given us to cor&rehy;rect the Errours of the Animal Ones. Whether the natural Yearnings, in Men of the best Temper, be stronger to the Parent, or to the Child, is not easy to determine: But This is undoubted, that the Obligation to the First is prior and superiour: And we are not so much obliged to Those whom we edu&rehy;cate, as to Those by whom we were educa&rehy;ted ourselves. There is in Nature and Reason something more emphatical in our Duty to the Former, than to the Latter: The one is called Piety, the other barely Duty; And Those Words of the wise Man must sure&rehy;ly draw Tears from all good Christians, when their Parents are in Poverty and Di&rehy;stress; Hearken unto thy Father that begat thee, and despise not thy Mother when she is old. Prov. 23.22.

But to return from This Digression; If the Children of God's Ministers are particularly obliged to be holy in all manner of Conver&rehy;sation; what is to be said of Those among them, who turn Profligates, and Libertines, both in Principles, and Practise, on purpose to disown their Parentage? Why we must say of them, that from being ashamed of one's Glo&rehy;ry, it is a short Step to glorying in one's Shame: Which is the last Degree of Wickedness. Some of the most envenomed Arrows that have of late Years been shot against the Church and Religion, have, as it is said, been drawn from the Quivers of Those who are Sons of her Ministers. If it be asked, why may not Both be furiously and openly at&rehy;tacked by Some, who, notwithstanding their Extraction, are mere Laicks, as well as un&rehy;dermined, and in a great measure even o&rehy;penly (though not so furiously) assaulted by Others, who are not only Clergymen's Sons, but Clergymen themselves: I leave the Answer to the Persons concerned; and say no more of the Thing it self at present; but proceed to my Fourth Observation, which was This, viz.

IV. That the Afflictions of This Life are accident to the Best of Men, whether Spiritu&rehy;al, or Temporal; and to their Families, as well as to Others. This needs no Proof: Nor should I have laid down This Head, but for the sake of its Connexion with what precedes, and follows it. The Example in my Text is plain: Religion and Experience concur, to verify This Proposition. This World neither is, nor was ever intended to be, a State of Reward and Punishment, but of Trial. Here, as the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of under&rehy;standing, nor favour to men of skill, so neither is Reward to the Righteous, nor Punish&rehy;ment to the Wicked; but Time and Chance happens to them all Eccles. 9.11.. There is indeed in the New Testament something of Promise as to Temporals, though not much: But it is not my Business to discuss This Point at present. I only observe, that Spiritual good Men, and Their Families, are no more exempt from the Calamities of This Life, than Tem&rehy;poral. The Tribe of Levi, however sepa&rehy;rated from the rest of Mankind in other Respects, is not at all separated from them in This. And yet a certain popular Saying, that the Children of Clergymen (as distin&rehy;guished from Those of the Laity) are gene&rehy;rally unfortunate, is full as easily denied by Some, as affirmed by Others. Neverthe&rehy;less certain it is, that, taking things in gross, the secular Circumstances of Them, and of their Parents, are in This Part of the World bad enough. Which leads me to my Fifth Observation, viz.

V. That the Temporal Condition of Spi&rehy;ritual Persons, and of their Families in This Church and Nation, is, upon the Whole, very hard and unequal. The Hardships under which the Clergy labour, are of Two Kinds; Those which are imputable to the accidental Corruption of the Age in which we now live, and relate not only to their For&rehy;tunes, but likewise to their Reputation, their Studies, and the whole Course of their Mini&rehy;stry: And Those which relate to their For&rehy;tunes only, by the Necessity of our Constitution it self, ever since a very Material Change was made in it. The Last mentioned only are im&rehy;mediately and directly to be accomodated to the Design of my Text, and of our present Assembly: But the First are by no means forreign to our Purpose; and are too considera&rehy;ble to be passed over in Silence, upon This publick and solemn Occasion.

In Those Respects then the Ministers of the Gospel in our Church are ill treated; be&rehy;cause the Church, and the Gospel it self, are so: For the Sake of which, we are calumni&rehy;ated to such a Degree, that we are obliged to be continually making Defences(or, as they were anciently called, Apologies) for our selves; like Those of the primitive Fa&rehy;thers to the Heathen Emperors, and Magi&rehy;strates, in Times of Persecution. For there may be Persecution, or something ve&rehy;ry like it, from private Persons, as well as from the higher Powers. The Time would fail us; should we go about to give a Detail of Instances exemplifying the Treatment we receive from some Men. I say from some Men: For even in These licentious Times the generality of the People have a great Love and Reverence for the Church and Clergy: And Many of the Gentry and Nobility are not only affectionate, and respectful, (for so I trust, and believe, Most of them are) but liberal, and munificent, to Both. The Lord remember Them, and Theirs, concerning This; and eternally reward their good Will to Si&rehy;on. But then too many have exceeding evil Will at Sion: And without Restraint or Controul express it in the most publick and insolent Manner; representing the Ministers of Christ in This Church, as the worst and vilest of Mankind; even worse, (if possible) than they Themselves really are: Making it their whole Employment and Study to blacken and traduce them, by charging them with what is false, and monstrously aggrava&rehy;ting what is true; laying the Faults of the Worst among them upon the Best; of Some upon All, and of the Persons upon the Fun&rehy;ction itself. Nay, so far does their Malice blind them; that their Slanders are incon&rehy;sistent in their Nature; and by abusing Us, they contradict one another, and very often Themselves. Thus for Instance, the main Body of the Clergy are represented as sordidly covetous, and profusely luxurious; sneakingly meanspirited, and insolently proud; crafty as Serpents, more silly than Doves; formidable for their Wealth and Power, contemptible for their Poverty and Weak&rehy;ness. In short, Priests, wicked Priests, is the Outcry of the whole Party: Insomuch, that were a Stranger in our Israel to receive no Information concerning us, but what he has from the Conversation, and Wri&rehy;tings of such as These; He must send his Thoughts to Sodom and Gomorrah for a Pa&rehy;rallel with the Generality of the English Clergy. Let Heaven and Earth, God and Man, even the Consciences of These Accusers Themselves be Witnesses, whether the Character They give be really true; nay, whether the very Reserve of it be not true: And if so, whether there were ever any Age or Nation, in which so many Thou&rehy;sands of innocent, pious, and holy Men, whose constant Business and Labour is to save Souls, even the Souls of their most bitter Enemies, for whom they continually offer up their Prayers to the Throne of Grace, who by their Office are Servants of the most High God, Most of them with Meek&rehy;ness and Patience struggling under extreme hard Circumstances, All of them as to tem&rehy;poral Regards weak and defenceless, were ever with such unchristian Prophaneness, with such unmanly Bareness and Cowardise, with such inhuman Cruelty, with such Di&rehy;abolical Malice, outraged and insulted? All of them have their Infirmities, and even their many and grievous Sins: The Best of them are but Men; and Some of them, no doubt, very wicked Men: For the Last, let Them look to it, and be assured that they will most severely answer for it. But what is That to the Purpose? Is our Case an Exception, in which it is good Logick to argue from Particulars to Universals? The Apostles themselves were not only Men, but sinful Ones: All of them were so; and One of them was the worst Man that ever lived. And we may, I am sure, with great Modesty affirm, that not One in Twelve among our Clergy is near so wicked as Judas Iscariot. Yet I never heard, that His being a Traytor was any Slur upon the other eleven Apostles.

I will only observe further, That what our Adversaries object concerning the ill Lives of Some, and the Infirmities of All, who minister in holy Things, is a most pro&rehy;phane Reflection upon the Wisdom of God himself; in making mere Men his more im&rehy;mediate Servants, and committing so rich a Treasure to Earthen Vessels.

As there are but Three great Concerns in which Mankind can be affected, their Estates, their Bodies, and their Souls; to answer These, there are so many Professi&rehy;ons, or Faculties appointed, Lawyers, Phy&rehy;sicians, and Divines: Only with This Dif&rehy;ference, the two First are from Men, the Last from God. And do the two First meet with the same ill Usage as the Last? They do not; and God forbid they should: But what should be the Reason of This? Why because Men value their Estates, and their Bodies, more than they do their Souls; because the World is wicked, irre&rehy;ligious, Atheistical: And the Wit of Man cannot assign any other adequate Reason. For without detracting from the real Ho&rehy;nour and Benefit of Those noble and use&rehy;ful Faculties, it is certain that the Other is the greatest of the Three; if Heaven be superiour to Earth, and Time less conside&rehy;rable than Eternity. And without reflect&rehy;ing upon any other Profession, or Body of Men, much less upon the Laity in general; we may justly add, that as the Clergy in an especial manner profess Religion, so they in an especial manner practise it: And I appeal to the Experience of the whole Kingdom, for the Truth of This Assertion. The Con&rehy;tempt of the Clergy therefore proceeds from the Contempt of Religion: And That again proceeds not so much from the Vices of the Clergy, as from the Vices of Those who despise and hate them. I say, not so much: For we are very ready to acknowledge, that if Any among Us are notoriously vici&rehy;ous, They greatly contribute towards it: For which (as I said before) They must severe&rehy;ly answer. And we leave This Subject at present, with That Observation of our Bles&rehy;sed Saviour: It must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh. Mat. 18.7.

And as the Ministers of Christ in This Church are neither to be hated, nor despi&rehy;sed, upon the Account of their Behaviour; so I hope we may with Modesty presume to say, that they are not very contemptible in other Respects. It is a publick Truth, and ac&rehy;knowledged by every body in all Nations of the World, except Some in our own, that the Clergy of England, and her two famous Universities (in which the Sons of the Prophets are bred) have made their Country the Glory of all Lands. If, in These degenerate Times, they in some degree partake of the common Contagion, and are more and more corrupted; our Adversaries may be silent upon That Article: because that they are so, is chiefly, if not solely, to be imputed to Them, and their Principles.

To declaim against the Wickedness of the Age, is, I am sensible, the easiest, the dullest, and the most unpleasant Subject in Nature: And did we preach only to please Men, and to serve, or recommend our selves; it would certainly be the Last we should make choice of. But alas! That is a wretched Principle for a Minister of Jesus Christ, in the Execution of his Office. As we act upon other Views, we are constrain&rehy;ed to observe, upon This Article concern&rehy;ing the Hardships of the Clergy proceeding from Those of Religion, that Heresy, Infi&rehy;delity, and Atheism it self were never pro&rehy;pagated as they are Now; and that they are advanced to such a Pitch of bare-faced Impudence, as would be endured by no Nation under the Sun professing Christiani&rehy;ty, except our own. The Limits of our Time allotted for This Service permit me not so much as to mention the several Par&rehy;ticulars. And I have more-over This unhappy Excuse, that the Notoriety of the Facts renders it superfluous. One Thing it is much if we do not observe, in Conse&rehy;quence of These Abominations, that amidst our Controversies with one another (let Those see to it, who made them necessary) God's Controversy with the Nation in gene&rehy;ral, which has been a very long one, seems now to be drawing towards a Con&rehy;clusion. And, without pretending in the predictive Sense, to be either Prophets, or Sons of Prophets, we may say, that in all Appearance he has something very extra&rehy;ordinary ready to be discharged upon us; and that without a speedy, and wonderful Reformation, (of which there seems to be little Hope) it is morally impossible that he should forbear us much longer.

And here again (as in point of Practise, of which we have spoken before) it were to be wished, that the whole Tribe of Levi were entirely free from Infection. But as Some of them (though, God be prais'd, but very Few) have published their Names to the whole World, assuring us of the con&rehy;trary; we must be forced to acknowledge what, if it were possible, we should industri&rehy;ously conceal. Since it is not possible; the only Way to do our Duty to God, and Ju&rehy;stice to Ourselves, is as publickly and openly to protest against Those of our own Pro&rehy;fession; who would do well to consider, how much it tends to their Reputation, to have their Praises celebrated by the Tongues and Pens of Infidels and Atheists. As to the Honour of our Function in general; the foolish Arguing from Particulars to Uni&rehy;versals, and from Persons to Things, has been already taken notice of. Were we only attacked from Without, not betray&rehy;ed from Within; the united Powers of Earth and Hell could not hurt our Cause. Its pro&rehy;fessed Enemies would scarce be formidable; were it not for Traditors among our selves. So True is That Observation, Nothing can ruin the Church, but the Church: Meaning by the Latter, Those of her Ministers, who either openly oppose, or secretly undermine, both her temporal and spiritual Interests. Set&rehy;ting aside That, we might securely bid Defiance to the Powers of Darkness, to the Enemies of God and his Church; stand firm in one compacted Body, impenetrable to their Assaults; and be terrible against them as an Army with Banners. But, by the just Judgment of God, for our manifold Provocations, it happens to be otherwise; And we have, besides, This, Misfortune, that by reason of the Corruption, Vices, and Follies of the World, one bad Member a&rehy;mong Us can do more Mischief, than many sound ones can do Good. The Doctrine of the most holy, and ever blessed Trinity, has been impugn'd by Some, who might have made a better Use of their Talents, than by denying the Deity of Him who gave them. Others have argued against the Authority of the Church, the very Be&rehy;ing of their own Order, and all the Fences of Religion, whether Ecclesiasticall, or Civil: Advancing such prodigious Paradoxes upon These Subjects; that we are at a loss to de&rehy;termine, whether their Impiety be more detestable, or their Absurdity more ridicu&rehy;lous; and so whether they ought to be answered by Argument, or neglected with Contempt: Thus leaving us in a Strait between Wickedness and Nonsense; the on&rehy;ly Dilemma of any Moment they are able to put upon us. The most considerable of them have been over and over confu&rehy;ted, to a Demonstration: Confuted I say; for I despair of their ever being silenced: For the rest, I hope Nobody will be found so very idle, as to honour them with any confutation at all.

I will only observe This of them in com&rehy;mon, from the smallest to the greatest, that as they are not really of us, it would be kind in them to go out from among us; And, by the way, were Church-Discipline in full Force, I am sure they had long since been driven out from among us. If they must fight for our Enemies, let it be under Their Colours, not Ours: They would be more to Us, and (especially upon their boasted Principle of Sincerity) more consistent with Themselves, if they would no longer bear an Office which according to their Doctrine, is unlawful; nor wear the Habit of an Or&rehy;der which they do their utmost to de&rehy;stroy.

It would be just too, if These, and all other our Adversaries, whether Within, or Without, would not still charge Us with breaking the Peace; when They are the Ag&rehy;gressors, and We are upon the Defensive; when They are for introducing something New, and We are yet in Possession of the Old; when They are a Few single Persons obtruding their own private Notions upon the Pub&rehy;lick, and We are the main Body defending the Constitution of the Church, and the common Principles of Christianity. For the same Reasons it ill becomes Them, to upbraid Us with intemperate Heat, and Violence, Rudeness, Insolence, and Scurrility in our Disputes with them: Especially since They treat the whole Church with the last Degree of Haughtiness and Scorn. Besides the Arrogance, and contemp&rehy;tuous Behaviour, even of the most mo&rehy;derate among them, towards Some in parti&rehy;cular of the most shining Lights in our Church; One, especially, of her chief Mi&rehy;nisters, who, of all Men living, cannot be charged with excessive Passion; and whose great Learning and Piety, will ever be respected by All, but Those who have nothing, or not much, of Either.

We would farther intreat them to ask their own Consciences, whether they are sure they strictly adhere to Truth; while they go on in the old way of taxing Us with being Popishly affected: Whether they do not believe that We are at least as averse from the Corruptions of Rome, as Them&rehy;selves: Whether our Principles do not tend to keep out Popery, and Theirs to bring it in: Whether in Fact many more, than is usual in the same Space of Time, have not been perverted to it, since the late Propa&rehy;gation of Their Doctrines; and whether there be not a very good Reason to be gi&rehy;ven for it: Whether Those of our Church whom They condemn have not always been the greatest and most formidable Champions against Popery: And lastly, whether there be no Medium between a Papal Infallibility, and That Ecclesiastical Authority for which We contend. I am indeed not afraid to say, that, in some things, Papists (corrupt as they are, and Nothing can well be more corrupt) have been falsely accused by Protestants: and that in some, on the other hand, Pro&rehy;testants have been justly accused by Papists; particularly in the Instance of too much relaxing Ecclesiastical Discipline, and Want of Respect to Priests and Priesthood. Against which, and others, which might be named, we have nothing to alledge with Reason or Truth, but to wish we could give a better Answer, than That old, trite, and yet very emphati&rehy;cal, Saying, continually cited in such Cases;