amiss in a grumbling and a mutinous manner dissatisfy'd both with God's Government and Samuel's They have not rejected Thee but Mee i. e. not Thee in effect so much as Mee Not that the mischiefs He recounts neither are the inseperable concomitants of and for so a just exception to all Monarchie but of that absolute Arbitrary and despotic Monarchie of the Nations round about them which they particularly specified in their request And hence it is that He tells them of his taking their Sons and appointing them for Himself for his Chariots and his Horse-men Of his taking their Daughters for Confectioners Cooks and Bakers Of giving the best of their Fields and their Vine yards to his Officers Servants c. And who but a dull stupid Jew could expect better Treatment from such a Lawless Form of Government as that If then the Arbitrary Lashes of a Rehoboam's Scorpions if the violent perverting of Justice and Judgment in a Nation if the breach of Faith and the breach of Laws if the Insults and Insolencies of the bad and cryes of the Innocent under their Oppressions if the turning of all true Religion out of doors the discountenanceing of Piety and Virtue and the triumphs of Atheism Irreligion and all manner of Impieties c. be just cause of the most sensible grief to the best part of a Nation to all those who have any concern left them for the Honour of God there Religion and there Country then in all humane appearance will that Land mourn where the wicked bear rule and that mourning fall with so much the more weight and load upon the Land by how much 't is generally as to its causes remediless and incurable For tho I shall not here stay to determine whether it be lawful or no to check and oppose such Illegal Violences by force yet this much must be granted that generally speaking that kind of remedy equals the disease in the dangerousness of its consequences and so the Land under the Conduct of ill Men is inevitably doom'd to Misery and mourning either through Oppression on the one hand or Anarchie and Confusion on the other without the especial Intervention of such an Extraordinary Providence as our eyes have seen to come into its rescue Secondly when the wicked bear rule their ill Example rules also and by its unhappy Influence on too many men's previous Dispositions that way will give the Land just Occasion of mourning And of the truth of this we our selves have been no less notorious than deplorable Instance Flexibiles in quamcunque partein ducimur à Principe Says Pliny atque ut it a dicam sequaces sumus c. We are flexible and ductile as it were whatsoever way our Prince leads us For we naturally desire Says He his approbation and favour which which we cannot hope for whilest our Manners are unlike his And therefore as the wise Son of Sirachs observes to the same purpose As the Judge of the people is Himself so are his Officers and what manner of Man the Ruler of the City is such are all they that dwell therein So that if he set up his Standard for the Devil and in his Life proclaim warr against him whom he represents He shall not want Volunteers enough to come into his Service The meer want of good sense in some the want of Moral Probity in others a Profane and Irreligious Disposition in a third sort and the hopes of favours and Rewards in all shall make not only Proselytes to but loud Applauders of His Vices His sins shall in a competent time extend their Dominion equal with his and coming Authoriz'd as it were with the Royal stamp upon them will pass current amongst his Subjects and it shall come in time to be look'd upon as a distinguishing Character of true Loyalty to be Vicious And then tell mee if that Land will not have just Occasion to mourn first for the sake of the Dishonour done to God by such authentic as I may say Violations of his Laws which must doubtless be matter of very sensible regret to all â—hose who have any generous Remains of Piety 〈◊〉 Religion left about them and then secondly â—â—rough the fear of the Divine Vengeance upon a Land for such impudent Provocations of him For if He has inflicted Severe Judgements upon a people for the sins of their Governours only as we shall see a non how much stronger reason have we to expect that they shall be consum'd if they do wickedly both they and their King Thirdly then When the wicked bear Rule the Land in all probability will have just reason to mourn because God often times avenges the Iniquitys of a Prince upon his People as the Members frequently suffers through the disorders of the Head For if we remark strictly upon the History of the Jewish Kings we shall find that the Prince and the People have been mutually punish'd or rewarded for the Sins or the Virtues of each other For as it is not unusual with Providence to punish Princes by infatuateing their Councels and turning them into Folly by blasting their Endeavours overthrowing them in Battel c. For the Sins of their People So on the other hand does the Old Testament-History afford us several Instances of severe Inflictions upon the People for the Sins of their Rulers Thus Saul's cruelty to the Gibeonites was revenged upon his People with three Years Famine in the Land and you all remember I presume the Instance of David's Sin in numbering the People to this purpose Now thô it is said that Satan stood up against Israel to provoke David to do this thing and that He himself acquits the People of the guilt in that compassionate Expostalation of His with the Almighty Is it not I that commanded the people to be Numbred Even I it is that have sin'd but for these Sheep what have they done Yet notwithstanding all this I say the Lord sent a Pestilence upon the People so that there fell of Israel Seventy Thousand men 1. Chron. 21. Thus again the Pride and Ingratitude which that good King Hezekiah chanc'd to stain his Memory with upon his deliverance from Senacherib's Arms was aveng'd not on himself singuly but on his Subjects likewise For because Hezekiah rendr'd not again according to the benefis done unto him but his heart was lifted up therefore says the Text there was Wrath upon him and not upon him only but upon Judah also and Jerusalem 2. Chron. 32. 25. And 't is peculiarly observable of the Sins of Manasseh that they left such an indelible stain of Guilt upon his Country that notwithstanding all Josiah did to wash it off and propitiate an Incensed Deity by purging out that Idolatry which heso much hated yet it is said for all that the Lord turned not from the Fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his Anger was kindled against Judah the whole People because of all the provocations that not only they but Manasseh
their King prcvoked him with all 2 Kings 23. 26. Such a Curse and a Plague may on evil Prince entail upon a Land for Generations after Him So sad and lasting an Occasion may it have to mourn for the wickedness of them that bear Rule in it Much more might be added upon this argument and much more upon the recent Experience of some later Years but I draw the Veil And hasten from this dark to the bright side of the Cloude to the reverse of this Melancholy part of the Text The Rejoyceing of the People when the Righteous are in Authority Which was the second thing to be considered And indeed the present Solemnity is an ample comment upon this part of the Text But more particularly First it cannot but be matter of rejoyceing to all good Men and it matters not for the rest to see the very Honour done to Virtue by placeing Her on the Throne and putting the Crown as it were upon Her head For thô she really reflects more true Honour upon Princes who profess Her than they can possibly reflect back again upon Her and she looks well wheresoever she dwells yet it cannot but be a prospect more than ordinarily agreable to those who have any just Sense of Her worth to see Her cohabit with Crowned heads and goe hand in hand with Majesty For then the moves in a Sphere worthy of Her and suitable to Her high Quality for she 's near allied to Heaven and so ought above all things else to be respected and preferr'd at Court And as any Man is naturally apt to rejoyce upon the promotion of his Friend So needs must a good Man be exceedingly transported to see his good Old-friend and Antiquated Acquaintanâ—e that true Piety and Vertue in whose Society He has all along delighted advanc'd at Court and brought back again into favour and fashion Secondly when Righteousness and Authority dwell together the people in all probability will have just Occasion to rejoyce by reason of those many Blessing which are like to descend upon the state from so happy a Conjunction and this both from the natural Tendencies of the thing it self to render a Nation happy and from the Divine favour prospering and going along with a Government so much after his own heart First From the Natural Tendency of the thing it self to render a Nation happy For righteousness or the Exercise of true Religion casts a very favourable Aspect upon the Temporal Happiness of a people in as much as it most effectually recommends and promotes the practise of those virtues which of themselves carry a mighty stroke in the preservation of a people such as Humility Contentedness of mind Obedience to Superiors mutual Concord and Amity true fortitude and Resolution of mind Industrie c. and as powerfully discourages those contrary Vices which naturally tend to the disolution of that Society where they reign such are Pride Dissatisfactions Refractoriness Hatreds Variance Voluptuousness Cowardice Idleness c. and indeed all vice in the General carries Confusion along with it were there no Justice above to look on and punish it Secondly from the Divine favour shineing upon a Government so much after his own heart For Rightousness in Authority will engage the Blessings and Protection of Him who loveth righteousness on its behalf For if He is many times propitious to particular persons here upon the observance of his Laws tho' many times indeed He deferrs the payment till the General Audit of all the Earth when every work shall receive its full recompence of reward how will He not be much more so to a Nation fearing God and working Righteousness especially since a Nation as such cannot as particular persons may be Recompenc'd in the other world where all Political Relations are dissol'd and a done way And what sure ground of rejoyceing must this be to a people to have just reason to believe that they have obleig'd him who is the great and sole Arbiter of all Success upon whose pleasure alone when Men have done what they can all Events depend and whose sole Fiat all the United world is not able to reverse For Who hath resisted his will Or who hath harden'd Himself against Him and hath prosper'd And now if the Publick weal upon both these Accounts have so close a dependance upon the practise of true Piety and Virtue how highly does that Prince contribute thereunto and consequently to the rejoyceing of his People who enjoyns Virtue by his Laws recommends it by his Practise and spreads it ore the Nation by the powerfull argument of an Illustrous Example Vita Principis censura est sayes Pliny the Prince's Life is a taxing of other Men's Ad hanc dirigimur ad hanc convertimur nec tà m imperio nobis opus est quà n exemplo 'T is this by which we Steer our course of Life nor do we so much need His Command as His Example for He being the Fountain of Honours and Rewards Disgrace Punishments His Example cannot well fail for that very reason of a serious Imitation from His Subjects So that insuch an Auspicious Reign as this that we figure to our selves and which we are not without hopes but we may yet see beyond Idea how shall true Piety erects her depressed head And be be no more dash'd out of Countenance by those lewd Buffoons who think they Confute all they rail or laugh at And how upon her Score for She never goes alone shall all other Temporal Blessings flow in upon a People Sense and Reason shall be no longcr muzzeal'd by Prejudice and Folly And 't is no small comfort to a Man to dare to assert the truth Violence and Oppression shall give way to Justice and Propriety be secured to every Man under his own Vine and his own Fig-tree The Interest of the Prince and People shall be no more Disjoynt'd but flow in one common Channel Their Armes shall prosper whithersoever they carry them there shall be no leading into Captivity and one would think there should be no complaining in their Streets Righteousness and peace shall kiss each othor for when a Mans ways please the Lord He maketh even his Enemies to be at peace with him God shall give such a People his blessing and their Land shall yeeld her increase Happy shall the People be that are in such a case that live in such a Reign for such Righteousness as this will establish the Throne mauger all the little driveling Artifices of Domestick and the more powerful Forces of Forreign Enemies to subvert it Thirdly when the Righteousnes of the Text i. e. true Piety and Virtue is in Conjunction with Authority the People shall rejoyce because the Divine Wisdom and Goodness will in all probability direct the Counsels and prosper the endeavours of the Prince for his own and the Publick welfare Their Employ is arduous their Province highly difficult Their Deliberations are conversant about things noless intricate in themselves than uncertain
in their consequences events For the Race is not always to the swift nor the Battel to the Strong The grand Vessel of the Publick-weal which these Pilotes steer is subject to be split upon ten thousand Rocks and lyable to many a tempestous Storm and those too raised both within and from without the Vessel For so it is that the very Passengers many times that are in Her thô their safety too depends upon Her preservation are yet but too forward some of them through a narrow but mistaken Spirit to indeavour only the saving of their own cabin others through envy Malice c. to make leeks in her and and sink her if they can so that a man all consider'd has just reason to cry out with Sr. Paul upon another Occasion Who of Himself is sufficient for these things None but he who ruleth the rageing of the Sea and the madness of the People And therefore they of all Men liveing have need of an understanding heart of the Spirit of Councel and of the Spirit of Judgment of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Heroicke Princely Spirit as the Septuagint render it Psal 51. v. 12. which enables Men for Great and Generous undertakeings And if these Divine Assistances of Wisdom Conduct and Courage are so entirely requisite to the right management of the nice and difficult province of a Ruler it will not I presume be denied me that the Righteous in Authority stand fairer for them than the wicked And then whatsoever Happyness by this meanes befalls such a Prince is necessarily derived down to the meanest of his People His Reputation is theirs His Glory theirs His Successes theirs His Gains theirs in as much as their Interests are now upon the same common bottom and it cannot be suppos'd but that next under God who directed him and his own Personal Conduct their Aid and Assistances contributed to all His Acquisitions So that what St. Paul says in relation to the members of the body and of the Church holds equally strong in case of a Righteous man become the head Politick of a Nation If that be honoured all the members rejoyce with it I have only to add in the 4th and last place That you need but at your leisure peruse your Bibles and so supersede me the Labour here to furnish you with pregnant instances of such Princes as through their excellent virtues have derived down happiness to their people I shall only more particularly remark that the Divine Goodness has been pleas'd to express that Special regard to the Righteousness of some Princes as perticularly to that of King David's that He allow'd it the priviledge to entail a blessing upon the Land for Generations after him Howbeit says he upon Occasion of Solomon's provocations of him I will not rend away all the Kingdome but will give one tribe to thy son for David my Servant's sake 1 Kings 11. 13. And when long after in the days of Hezekiah when Sennacherib laid siege to the City which He had chosen to put his name there He saved it says Isaiah for his own sake and for his Servant David's sake Isa 37. v. 35. Such a durable blessing did the Piety of one single Prince bequeath to the people And now lest I should be thought hitherto to have slurr'd over the Occasion of the Day thô I have not neither and so to have affronted both God and the King God the great and supreme Author of our happyness and the King His Instrument who with good Jehoshaphat returning from battel commands us this Day to repair unto the House of the Lord because He has made us to rejoyce over our Enemies I shall therefore add a few words concerning the Present Occasion of our rejoyceing and shew that it becometh well all the Just Honest Men in the Nation this Day to be thank full Thankfull for such a King thankfull for such a Delivernce For First If we respect Him whom God has set over us what is there wanting in Him to render Him a most compleat Prince and the Nation as compleatly happy under him What is there wanting in Him to recommend Him even to some of our own Nation For his Virtues and Exploits have done it long ago to all the World beside The one has made Him the terror of his Enemies The other the Darling of his Friends And both together have purchased him a Renown like the Jewels of His Crown both bright and Solid too Look we upon the Justice of His Reign What Violence is there done in it unless indeed it be that which He Offers might I so speak to Justice Her self through the extraordinary Clemency of his Natâ—re Look we upon His Wisdom in Deliberation 'T is like some great River the silence and stilness of whose Course is owing to the deepness of its Channel Look we upon His Vigour in Action The Lightning of his own Canon's scarce more quick nor an hungry Lyon more fearless than He that Insomuch we have just reason to say unto the King what the Men of David sware to Him after his Victory ouer the Philistines Thou shalt go no more out with us to Battle that thou quench not the light of Israel 2. Sam. 21. 17. And when it had pleased the great Lord of Hosts to bless such personal Prowess and Conduct with success see with what Gentleness and Moderation He us'd the Victory God had given Him how the Christian presently overcame the man and the Natural Lenity of his Temper conquer'd the Conqueror He pursu'd His scatte'd Enemies indeed but with the mildness of Declarations not the edge of the Sword Lastly Look we upon Him in his Devotions And His Behaviour looks as if His Kingdom were no longer of this World but He were expecting every hour to be translated to a better His Religion is our own and when could we truly say so of a Prince before that of our Excellent and Establis'd Church and thô his Enemies were pleas'd to fling out some surmises to the contrary foolishly endeavouring to blacken the Sun yet they consider'd not that the Prejudices of Education which stick so close by and clap so Fatal a by ass upon other men could not prevail over a Judgment so pierceing to discern the truth and a Mind so invincibly resolv'd to defend it And how then are we obliged upon all these Accounts to accost the King in Tertullies his Rhetoric to Felix Seeing that by Thee we ensoy great quietness and that very worthy deeds are done unto this Nation by thy providence We accept it alwayes and in all places most Noble Prince with all Thankfullness Remembring always that God expects returns of gratitude not only to Himself but to the glorious Instruments likewise which he is pleased to make use off in accomplishing the Deliverance of a People As it is reprochfully said of Isarel not onely that they remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the Hands of
all their Enemies on every side but that they shewed no kindness to the House of Jerubbaal namely Gideon who had been his Instrument in it According to aâ— the goodness which He had shewed unto Israel Jud. 8. 34 35. I said Secondly It would well become us to rejoyce and be thankfull upon the Score of the great Deliverance which the King under God has wrought for Us. Imagine but that you see the Sword going through the Land wearied and blunted by destruction and Dragoons usurping the Office of Apostles with the cruelty of their Persecutors Imagine your holy Religion ravish'd from you and turn'd out of doors and this Excellent Church made a Prey and a Scorn to the dullest Impudence and the vilest Superstition and in a word all Europe Enslaved to the merciless Tyrany of one great Leviathan who takes his Pastime therein in Scenes of Blood and Desolation Go aske in France and Piedmont in Ireland Inquire of the Inquisition and then give me an aestimate of our Deliverance But I 'le dwell no longer upon this Argument He who is not at this day sensible of the inseperable attendants upon those twins of Popery and Arbritrary-Power doubtless one of those who would fain represent the little Finger of a Tax rais'd to keep them out heavier than both their Loins is proof against all reason and experience and boldly out-faces all mankind and pittie it is but He were taught them as Gideon taught the men of Succoth with Briers and Thorns Judges 8. 16. We may likewise Farther to excite our thankfulness upon this joyfull Occasion recollect the several appearancâ—s of God's finger through many of the Periods of this great Affair as that a Design of such Importance and which we since find was communicated to so many should yet be carried on with such Secrecy and Reserv'dness that farr the greatest part of the Nation was surpriz'd into Safety That the counsels of our enemies Achitophels was turn'd into such gross folly as to help on the Advancement of that which they so zealously sought to destroy That the Nation as debaucht as it was by their means and Artifices could not yet be corrupted or putrified I may say into Popery That a great and formidable Army should scatter and disperse it self almost without Opposition That the breath of the Winds were lately so suddenly stopt and their Mouth 's turn'd quite another way to save our Fleet and us from destruction That another Numeroâ—â— Army should be seized with a sort of panick fear before any just cause of fear overtook them These I say together with the preservation of the King's Person in such Eminent hazards and several other particulars that need not to be enumerated are such plain Signatures and Characters of an Immediate Interposal from above that a man may verily say This is the Day which the Lord hath made we will rejoyce and be glad in it And long may the happy Occasion of this Day not only endure like the day of Josuah when the Sun stood still in Gibeon and the Moon in the Valley of Ajalon but like the Sun its ordinary course arise in due time to its Zenith make a perfect day and bless all the Confederate Regions with Its warmth and influence May the glorious Occasion of it be joyn'd with the days of Heaven and be measur'd together with Eternity Blessed then be God who hath not cast out our Prayer nor turn'd his Mercy from us but hath turned our fasting into feasting and our heaviness into joy who hath put off our sackcloth and girded us with gladness Blessed be God who hath not deliver'd us up as a prey unto our Enemies teeth nor hath made those that hate us Lords over us but hath turn'd the Captivity of our Sion preserv'd our Religion and continued the Establishment of our Church Blessed lastly be God and let all the people say Amen who hath delivered the King and Servant From the peril of the Sword and has given Him Victory in the battle Even so Amen FINIS ERRATA EPist Dedicat. line 4. r. Auditors l. the last r. Prayer pag. 1. l. 8. for here r. sure p. 2 l. 11. for this r. the. p. 4. l. the last but two for whatsoever r. howsoever p. 5. l. 14. for these r. those p. 6. l. 4. blot out for and read so far p. 10. l. 12. blot out now and read where p. 11. l. 15. blot out onely and l. 17. for on r. an p. 14. r. done away p. 16. l. 4. r. muzzel'd l. 10. r. disjoynted p. 21. l. 7. blot out that and read insomuch that p. 22. l. 9. r. Tertullus l. 10. r. enjoy p. 23. l. 20. r. is one p. 26. l. 2. for and r. his