I have no Need of thee; nor again the Hand to the Foot, I have no Need of thee. Nay, much more, thofe Members of the Body which feem to be more feeble, are neceffary. And whether one Member fuffer, all the Members fuffer with it; or one Member be honoured, all the Members rejoice with it. The Cafe is directly the fame among Mankind. The Prince cannot say to the Merchant I have no Need of thee; nor the Merchant to the Labourer, I have no Need of thee; nay, much more those Members, &c. for the Poor are generally more neceffary Members of the Commonwealth than the Rich; which clearly fhews, that God never intended fuch Poffeffions for the Sake and Service of those to whom he lends them; but because he hath affigned every Man his particular Station to be useful in Life; and this for the Reafon given by the Apoftle, that there may be no Schifm in the Body.

From hence may partly be gathered the Nature of that Subjection which we all owe to one another. God Almighty hath been pleased to put us into an imperfect State, where we have perpetual Occafion of each other's Affiftance. There is none fo low, as not to be in a Capacity of affifting the highest; nor fo high, as not to want the Affiftance of the lowest.

It plainly appeareth, from what hath been faid, that no one human Creature is more worthy than another in the Sight of God farther, than according to the Goodness or Holiness

I 4

Holinefs of their Lives; and, that Power, Wealth, and the like outward Advantages, are fo far from being the Marks of God's approveing or preferring those on whom they are beftowed, that, on the contrary, he is pleafed to suffer them to be almoft engroffed by those who have leaft Title to his Favour. Now, according to this Equality wherein God hath placed. all Mankind, with relation to himself, you will obferve, that in all the Relations between Man and Man, there is a mutual Dependence,, whereby, the one cannot. fubfift without the other. Thus, no Man can be a Prince without Subjects, nor a Master without Servants, nor a Father without Children. And this both explaineth and confirmeth the Doctrine of the Text: For, where there is a mutual Dependence, there must be a mutual Duty, and confequently a mutual Subjection. For Inftance: The Subject muft obey his Prince, because God commandeth it, human Laws require it, and the Safety of the Publick maketh it necef fary. (For the fame Reasons we must obey all who are in Authority, and fubmit ourselves, not only to the Good and Gentle, but also to the Froward, whether they rule according to our liking or no.) On the other Side, in thofe Countries that pretend to Freedom, Princes are fubject to thofe Laws which their People have chofen; they are bound to protect their Subjects in Liberty, Property, and Religion; to. receive their Petitions, and redress their Grie

vances :

vances: So, that the best Prince is, in the Opinion of wife Men, only the greatest Servant of the Nation; not only a Servant to the Publick in general, but in fome Sort to every Man in it. In the like Manner, a Servant oweth Obedience, and Diligence, and Faithfulness to his Master, from whom, at the Time, he hath a juft Demand for Protection, and Maintenance, and gentle Treatment: Nay, even the poor Beggar hath a juft Demand of an Alms from the rich Man, who is guilty of Fraud, Injustice, and Oppreffion, if he doth not afford Relief according to his Abilities.

But this Subjection we all owe one another is no where more neceffary, than in the common Converfations of Life; for without it there could be no Society among Men. If the Learned would not fometimes fubmit to the Ignorant, the Wife to the Simple, the Gentle to the Froward, the Old to the Weaknesses of the Young, there would be nothing but everlafting Variance in the World. This our Saviour himself confirmed by his own Example; for he appeared in the Form of a Servant, and washed his Difciples Feet, adding thefe memorable Words, Ye call me Lord and Mafter, and ye Jay well, for fo I am. If I then your Lord and Mafter wash your Feet, how much more ought ye to wash one another's Feet? Under which Expreffion of washing the Feet, is included all that Subjection, Affiftance, Love, and Duty, which every good Christian ought

to

to pay his Brother, in whatever Station God hath placed him. For the greatest Prince and the meaneft Slave are not by infinite Degrees fo diftant, as our Saviour and those Disciples whofe Feet he vouchfafed to wash.

And, although this Doctrine of fubjecting ourfelves to one another, may feem to grate upon the Pride and Vanity of Mankind, and may therefore be hard to be digefted by those who value themselves upon their Greatness or their Wealth; yet, is it really no more than what most Men practise upon other Occafions. For, if our Neighbour, who is our Inferior, cometh to fee us, we rife to receive him, we place him above us, and respect him as if he were better than ourselves; and this is thought both decent and neceffary, and is usually called good Manners. Now the Duty required by the Apoftle is, only that we should enlarge our Minds; and that what we thus practise in the common Courfe of Life, we should imitate in all our Actions and Proceedings whatever; fince our Saviour telleth us, that every Man is our Neighbour; and, fince we are fo ready in the Point of Civility, to yield to others in our own Houses, where only we have any Title to govern.

Having thus fhewn you what Sort of Subjection it is which all Men owe one to another, and in what Manner it ought to be paid, I fhall now draw fome Obfervations from what hath been faid.

And,

And, FIRST, A thorough Practice of this Duty of fubjecting ourselves to the Wants and Infirmities of each other, would utterly extinguish in us the Vice of Pride. For, if God hath pleased to entrust me with a Talent, not for my own Sake, but for the Service of others, and at the fame Time hath left me full of Wants and Neceffities which others must fupply, I can then have no Caufe to fet any extraordinary Value upon myself, or to despise my Brother, because he hath not the fame Talents which were lent to me. His Being may probably be as useful to the Publick as mine; and therefore, by the Rule of right Reason, I am in no Sort preferable to him.

SECONDLY, It is very manifeft from what hath been faid, that no Man ought to look upon the Advantages of Life, fuch as Riches, Honour, Power, and the like, as his Property, but merely as a Truft, which God hath depofited with him, to be employed for the Ufe of his Brethren; and God will certainly punish the Breach of that Truft, although the Laws of Man will not, or rather indeed cannot; because the Truft was conferred only by God, who hath not left it to any Power on Earth to decide infallibly, whether a Man maketh a good Ufe of his Talents or no, or to punish him where he faileth. And therefore God. feemeth to have more particularly taken this Matter into his own Hands, and will most

certainly