What, do we either teach or raise sedition? Do we speak evil of the ruler of our people? Or do we stir them up against any of those that are put in authority under him? Do we directly or indirectly promote faction, mutiny, or rebellion? I have not found any man in his senses yet, that would affirm this. “But it is plain, peace is broke and disturbances do arise, in consequence of your preaching.” I grant it. But what would you infer? Have you never read the bible? Have you not read, that the Prince of peace himself was, in _this_ sense, a disturber of the public peace? _When he came into |Jerusalem|_, (Matthew xxi. 10.) _all the city was moved_, (ἐσείσθη) shaken as with an earthquake. And the disturbance arose higher and higher, till _the whole multitude_ cried out together, _Away with him, away with him; crucify him, crucify him, and Pilate gave sentence, it should be done_. Such another disturber of the public peace, was that _Stephen_, even from the time he began _disputing with the Libertines and Cyrenians_, till the people _stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city and stoned him_. Such disturbers of the peace were all those ringleaders of the sect of the _Nazarenes_, (commonly called _apostles_) who wherever they came, _turned the world upside down_. And above all the rest, that _Paul_ of _Tarsius_, who occasioned so much disturbance at _Damascus_, (Acts ix.) at _Antioch_ of _Pisidia_ (chapter xiii.) at _Iconium_ (chapter xiv.) at _Lystra_ (verse 19.) at _Philippi_ (chapter xvi.) at _Thessalonica_ (chapter xvii.) and particularly at _Ephesus_. The consequence of his preaching there was, That _the whole city was filled with confusion_. And _they all ran together with one accord, some crying one thing, some another_: inasmuch _as the greater part of them knew not wherefore they were come together_. *2. And can we expect it to be any otherwise _now_? Although what _we_ preach is the gospel of peace, yet if you will violently and illegally hinder our preaching, must not this create disturbance? But observe, the disturbance begins on _your_ part. All is peace, till you raise that disturbance. And then you very modestly impute it to _us_, and lay your _own_ riot at _our_ door! But of all this, our Lord hath told us before. _Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth_: that this will be the immediate effect, wherever my gospel is preached with power. _I am not come to send peace, but a sword_: this (so far as the wisdom of God permits, by whom _the hairs of your head are all numbred_) will be the first consequence of my coming, whenever my word turns sinners from darkness to light, from the power of _Satan_ unto God.