IT is an Obſervation made by the Royal Preacher, Eccleſ. 3. 1, 2, 3. To every thing there is a ſeaſon, and a time to every purpoſe under heaven. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to break down, and a time to build up. Experience tells us 'tis ſo with men, and ſo with God too, who is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the great Maſter-builder, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , or chief Husbandman, Joh. 15. 1. We find him planting his Church under the Parable of a Vineyard, Iſa. 5. 1. fencing it and planting it with the choiceſt Vines, building a Tower in the midſt of it, verſ. 2. And again, verſ. 5. we find him reſolved to pluck down the hedge thereof, and break down the wall, and lay it waſte. But how, or by whom would he do this? Not by his own immediate hand from heaven, as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah; but by the hand of the Chaldeans, of whom the Pſalmiſt makes a grievous complaint to God, whether by way of Prophecy, as a thing to come; or of Hiſtory, as already paſt, is uncertain. Pſal. Vid. Dr. Ham. in locum.79. 1. O God, the Heathen are come into thine inheritance, thy holy Temple have they defiled, they have laid Jeruſalem on heaps. The Jews being by the juſt judgment of God carried Captives by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon, where they did duram ſervire ſervitutem, endure a long and miſerable bondage, began at laſt to bethink themſelves which way they might pacifie Gods wrath, and recover his favour; to which purpoſe they ord • ined ſolemn Faſts, Zech, 7. 5. When ye faſted and mourned in the fifth and ſeventh month, even thoſe ſeventy years, did ye at all faſt unto me, even unto me? And chap. 8. 19. there is mention of theſe two months faſt, and two more, the faſt of the fourth, and the faſt of the fifth, and the faſt of the ſeventh, and the faſt of the tenth. But when they found that for all their frequent faſtings God was not appeaſed, nor they delivered, they were moved to wonder and murmur at it, verſ. 3. of this chapter, Wherefore have we faſted, ſay they, and thou ſeeſt not? wherefore have we afflicted our ſoul, and thou takest no knowledgt? Whereupon God commands his Prophet, verſ. 1. Cry aloud, ſpare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and ſhew my people their tranſgreſſions, and the houſe of Jacob their ſins. Let them know, that their faſts, as they are compounded and made up of the bitter ingredients of injuſtice and cruelty, ſtrifes and debates, blood and rapine, would never be pleaſing to God; Behold, ye faſt for ſtrife and debate, and to ſmite with the fiſt of wickedneſs, verſ. 4. No, aſſure your ſelves, unleſſe to your bodily faſt you joyn a ſpiritual, abſtain from ſin, as you do from meat, and give to the poor what you ſpare from your own bellies; unleſſe your acts of mercy and charity conſecrate your faſts to God, they will not be accepted by him, for this is the faſt that he hath choſen, to loſe the bands of wickedneſſe, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppreſſed go free; to deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are caſt out to thy houſe, and when thou ſeeſt the naked to cover him, verſ. 6, 7. And if this faſt be truly and ſincerely kept, then the Prophet promiſeth from the mouth of God, for the mouth of the Lord hath ſpoken it, verſ. 12. that they ſhall enjoy all the happineſſe and proſperity as their hearts can wiſh, their prayers ſhall be no ſooner made than heard and granted, verſ. 9. Then ſhalt thou call, and the Lord ſhall anſwer; thou ſhalt cry, and he ſhall ſay, Here I am. Their ſickneſſe ſhall be turned into health, their darkneſſe into light, their ungodlineſſe into righteouſneſſe, their ſhame into glory, verſ. 8. Then ſhall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health ſhall ſpring forth ſpeedily, and thy righteouſneſſe ſhall go before thee, the glory of the Lord ſhall be thy rereward. And laſtly, to come to my Text, Thou ſhalt return from captivity to thy own native Country, And they that ſhall be of thee ſhall build the old waſte places: thou ſhalt raiſe up the foundations of many generations, and thou ſhalt be called, The Repairer of the Breach, the Reſtorer of paths to dwell in.

Diviſion▪ In the explication or unfolding of this portion of Scripture, I ſhall ſhew,

1. What is meant by the waſte places, the foundations caſt down, the breach or breaches, for I find the word rendred by Tranſlators in the plural number.

2. By whom theſe waſte places ſhould be built, the foundations raiſed, the breaches repaired, the paths reſtored, which is firſt expreſſed in the plural, They that ſhall be of thee; ſecondly, in the ſingular, relating to ſome one extraordinary and more eminent perſon amongſt the reſt, that ſhould be moſt ſignally and remarkably inſtrumental in the deſigning, ordering, and perfecting this great and glorious work, Thou ſhalt raiſe up the foundations of many generations. Thou ſhalt, &c.

3. The honor and dignity that ſhould accrue to this ſingular and ſuperexcellent perſon for the ſame, in perpetuam rei memoriam, Thou ſhalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of paths, &c.

Having cleared theſe points unto you as plainly and briefly as I can, according to the literal ſenſe; I ſhall eaſily and without any enforcement make application to the time and occaſion that hath brought us here together.

And firſt, the waſte places, and the ruined foundations, and the breach or breaches, fall under our conſideration; this may be underſtood of Jeruſalem in the letter, but of Chriſts Church in the Type of figure. They that refer it onely to the former, as relating to the reſtoration of the Jewiſh Church, the reparation of their decayed Temple and City by Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemia, are by St. Hierom tearm'd, amici occidentis litera, friends of the St. Hierom in locum.killing or dead letter. But pace tanti viri by the Fathers leave, whiles we hold the latter ſenſe with him, we ſhall not let go the other, but take both along with us, as the Text relates to them and us too.

True it was what the Pſalmiſt ſpake, Pſal. 79. 7. They have devoured Jacob, and laid waſte his dwelling place; and Pſal. 80. 16. It is burnt with fire, it is cut down; that is, the City and Temple, which was beautiful for ſituation, the joy of the whole earth, Pſal. 48. 2. ſo beautiful, that he thinks it worthy of all obſervation and admiration, verſ. 12, 13. Walk about Sion, and go round about her, tell the towers thereof, mark well her bulwarks, conſider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following. That famous City, that glorious Temple, with the Towers, the Bulwarks, the Palaces thereof, were totally demoliſhed, caſt down, deſtroyed, the inhabitants, as many as eſcaped the ſword and the famine, carried captive into Babylon, where they continued ſeventy years, and with tears in their eyes bewailed the miſerable deſolation of their Church and State, Pſal. 137. 1. By the waters of Babylon we ſate down and wept, when we remembred Sion. He muſt have a heart of flint, as hard as the neather milſtone, that could think upon Sion in this condition as ſhe was, and not diſſolve and melt into a ſhour of tears. We ſate down and wept; whereupon St. Chryſ. in Pſal. 136. St. Chryſoſtom, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , they do not ſlightly mourn, or take on a little, but make it their buſineſſe, their eyes vying with the Rivers of Babylon which ſhould moſt over-flow their banks.

In what a lamentable caſe were Gods people all this while, when not onely maenia Jeruſalimae, as Ʋatablus underſtands it here) the walls of Jeruſalem, but fundamenta Eccleſiae & Reipublicae, the very foundations of Church and Common-wealth were not onely ſh ken, but ſhatter'd to pieces, and the children of Edom had now their deſire, when they cried, Down with it, down with it even to the ground; or as the laſt Tranſlation reads it, Raſe it, raſe it even to the foundations thereof, verſ. 7. of the ſame Pſalm. The King and the Prieſt, the Lords and the Commons, all were made Priſoners and captives, from him that ſ • te on the Throne, to her that grindeth at the mill, God delivered his ſtrength into captivity, and his glory into the enemies hand, Pſal. 78. 61.

And now are we not ready to expoſtul • te in the words of the 80 Pſalm. verſ. 12, 13. Why haſt thou then broken down her hedges, ſo that all they that do paſſe by the way do pluck her? The Boar out of the wood doth waſte it, and the wild beaſt out of the field doth devour it. Why haſte thou ſuffered thoſe great Tyrants, the Kings of Aſſyria and Babylon to break in upon this thy Vinyard, and root out the Vine which thine own right hand hath planted? Why haſt thou ſcattered us among the Heathen, ſo that they which hate us ſpoil our goods? The anſwer is ſoon returned▪ The fault was not in the Lord of the Vineyard, who had done what he could for it, planted it with his own hand, watered it with the dew of his heavenly benediction, hedged it with his divine Providence; but the fault was in the Vine it ſelf, as he complains, Iſa. 5. 4. When I looked it ſhould bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. What wild grapes? he tells us, verſ. 7. He looked for judgment, but behold oppreſſion; for righteouſneſſe, but behold a cry. And therefore it follows, verſ. 9. Many houſes ſhall be deſolate, even great and fair without inhabitant. This, this was the cauſe that the Vineyard of the Lord of Hoſts, that is, the houſe of Iſrael, and the men of Juda his pleaſant plant, was ſo eaten up, ſo troden down, verſ. 5. This was the cauſe the Chriſtian Church went to wrack by perſecution under Heathen Emperors, Almighty God making them his Rod to ſcourge his backſliding people into repentance and better obedience; for we are not unlike a childs Top, that never goes upright without whipping. Cyprian de Lapſis.So St. Cyprian ſpeaking of the times of Decius, Quia traditam nobis divinitus diſciplinam pax longa corruperat, jacentem fidem & pene dixerim dormientem cenſura coelestis erexit. Becauſe long peace had corrupted the good order and diſcipline of the Church, delivered to us by divine Authority, the wiſdom of God thought fit by the hand of his juſtice to awake the dull and drouſie, and almoſt dead faith of Chriſtians. And from the ſame cauſe Euſebius derives the Original of Diocleſians perſecution, in whoſe words as in a glaſſe we may ſee the face of our own Euſeb. l. 8. Eccleſ. Hiſt. c. 1. times, with all its deformities; take the Latine for want of the Greek, Poſtquam vero res noſtrae per nimiam libertatem ad mollitiem ac ſegnitiem degenerarunt, & alii alios ſunt odio & contumeliis proſecuti, &c. After that our affairs through too great a liberty degenerated into ſloth and delicacy, and that one began to proſecute another with hate and contumely; and when we our ſelves onely oppoſed our ſelves with words of ſtrife and contention, when diſſimulation and hypocriſie was grown to the heighth of malice, Et qui paſtcros noſtri videbantur, repulſa pietatis norma matuis inter ſe contentionibus fuerunt inflammati, &c. And they that were or pretended to be our Paſtors and Miniſters, caſting off the rule of piety, blew the coals of diſcord among themſelves till it grew to a flame, and every one made his own ambition play the Tyrant as he liſted; when ſuch was the hardneſſe of our hearts, that we were not touched with any ſenſe or feeling thereof, nor endeavoured to appeaſe Gods wrath, but as if we thought God did not regard, and would not puniſh our ſins, but were ſuch an one as the Heathen phanſied him, Nec ben pro meritis capitur, nec tangitur ira. We ceaſed not to add ſin unto ſin, and then behold the divine judgment, after its uſual manner, began to viſit us by degrees. Ita ut perſecutio à fratribus qui in militia erant exordia ſumeret. So that our perſecution took its riſe and beginning from our brethren that were in the militia; then, then I ſay, according to that of the Prophet, Lam. 2. The Lord covered the daughter of Sion with a clowd in his anger, and caſt down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Iſrael, and remembred not his foot-ſtool in the day of his anger. The Lord ſwallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath thrown down in his wrath the ſtrong holds of the daughter of Juda, he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the Kingdom and the Princes thereof: he hath encreaſed in the daughter of Juda mourning and lamentation, and he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, he hath deſtroyed the places of the aſſembly. The Lord hath cauſed the ſolemn feaſts to be forgotten in Sion, and hath deſpiſed in the indignation of his anger the King and the Priest.

By this we have diſcovered what is meant by the old waſte places, the ruined foundations, the breach or breaches that were made in the Iſrael of God, with the reaſon thereof; which hath opened my paſſage to my ſecond Query.

By whom the waſte places ſhould be built, the ruined foundations raiſed, the breaches repaired, the paths reſtored; Ex te erunt, And they that ſhall be of thee ſhall build the old waſte places, &c.

In the ſeventh chapter of Nehemia, there is a long catalogue of the people, the Prieſts and the Levites, that had leave from the King of Babylon to go up to Jeruſalem and build the waſte places, eſpecially the Temple; their whole number is computed to be forty two thouſand three hundred and threeſcore, verſ. 66. among whom the grandees or chief are expreſſed by name, verſ. 7. and of thoſe I find moſt honorable mention of two above all the reſt, (as upon whoſe ſhoulders reſted the main of the work) Nehemia and Zerubbabel; and therefore we ſhall inſiſt ſomewhat upon both, as we meet with them recorded in ſacred ſtory.

And firſt of Nehemias; He was cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, as he himſelf tells us chap. 1. 11. and a great favourite he was, as appears chap. 2. for when he (commiſerating the miſerable eſtate of his native country) preſented a cup of wine to the King with a heavy heart, which diſcovered it ſelf in a ſad face, the King ſaid unto him, Why is thy countenance ſad, ſeeing thou art not ſick? this is nothing elſe but ſorrow of heart, verſ. 2. To which Nehemia replied, verſ. 3. firſt, praying for the King, though a heathen, as his duty was; then telling him the cauſe of his ſadneſſe, Let the King live for ever. Why ſhould not my countenance be ſad, when the City, the place of my fathers ſepulcher, lieth waſte, and the gates thereof are conſumed with fire? Then the King ſaid unto me; For what d ſt thou make requeſt? verſ. 4. It ſeems the King was willing to grant him whatſoever he ſhould ask in reaſon. Obſerve the piety of the man, before he petitions the King, he makes ſupplication to the King of heaven▪ and that was the ſure way to ſpeed, for the hearts of Kings are in the hand of God; So I prayed (ſaith he) to the God of heaven, and I ſaid unto the King, if it pleaſe the King, and if thy ſervant have found favour in thy ſight that thou wouldſt ſend me unto Juda, unto the City of my fathers ſepulchers, that I may build it. Whereupon the King diſpatcheth him with a Commiſſion and credential Letters to the Governours beyond the River, that they might convey him over to Juda, and with a Letter to Aſaph the keeper of the Kings Forreſt, that he might give him timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the houſe, and for the wall of the City, and for the houſe of God, verſ. 8. and to ſecure him by the way, (for they that enterpriſe good and great deſignes, as this was, are like to meet with ſtrong oppoſition) the King ſent Captains of the Army and Horſemen with him, verſ. 9. Notwithſtanding he, like a prudent man, reſolves to carry on the buſineſſe more by policy than power. He comes to Jeruſalem, the Metropolis or head City of Judea, and was there ſome time before he told any man what God h • d put in his heart to do at Jeruſalem, verſ. 12. Then he takes a private ſurvey of the ruined walls; and when things were ripe for the work, he ſaid unto the Nobles, the Rulers, the Prieſts, and the reſt of the people, Ye ſee the diſtreſs that we are in, how Jeruſalem lieth waſte, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire. Come and let us build up the wall of Jeruſalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me. And they ſaid, Let us riſe up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work, verſ. 17, 18. Yet could not he with all his aſſiſtants carry on the work ſo ſmoothly▪ but that he met with ſome diſturbance, a phanatick party to hinder and oppoſe him; and to head them, they had a notable Leader, one Sanballat, verſ. 10. When Sanballat the H • romite, and Tobiah the ſervant the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly, that there was come a man to ſeek the welfare of the children of Iſrael. And therefore they fall firſt to jeer and ſcoff at them, verſ. 19. They laughed us to ſcorn, and deſpiſed us, ſaying, What is the thing that ye do? But Nehemia anſwered, verſ. 20. The God of heaven he will proſper us, therefore we his ſervants will ariſe and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jeruſalem. From ſcoffs they proceed to ſecret plots and force of arms, verſ. 7, 8. But when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Aſhdoties, heard, that the walls of Jeruſalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be ſtopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and to fight againſt Jeruſalem and to hinder it. And this they contrived in a clandeſtine way, ſaying, They ſhall not know, neither ſee, till we come in the midſt amongſt them, and ſlay them, and cauſe the work to ceaſe, verſ. 11. Whereupon Nehemiah plays the part of a pious and vigilant Commander, falling to his prayers, and ſetting a ſtrict watch, verſ. 9. Nevertheleſſe we made our prayer unto our God, and ſet a watch againſt them day and night; and raiſed a new militia, verſ. 13, 14. Therefore ſet I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places; I, even I ſet the people after their families, with their ſwords, their spears, and their bowes. And I looked, and roſe up, and ſaid unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the reſt of the people, Be not afraid of them; remember the Lord is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your ſons and your daughters, your wives and your houſes. When all this would not make him deſiſt, he receives an intimation, that they intended to aſſ • ſſinate his perſon, chap. 6 10. They will come to ſlay thee, yet he ſtill retains his wonted courage, ſaying, Should ſuch a man as I flee? Thus he ſtood like a Coloſius unmoved and undaunted till he had done the work. And now we have found the man that in the ſingular number may well be ſtiled, Reparator ruinarum, the Repairer of the Breach.

But can we find out ne'r another? Yes▪ we have him Ezr. 1. 8. by the name of Shesbazzar the Prince of Juda, or chief Governor deputed to that office by King Cyrus, and commiſſionated to build the Temple, chap. 5. 14. and build he did, verſ. 16. Then came the ſame Shesbazzar and laid the foundation of the houſe of God which is in Jeruſalem. This Shesbazzar is the ſame with Zerubbabel, who as a Prince is named in the firſt place among thoſe that came from Babylon, as the Captain General, chap. 2. 2. and chap. 5. 2. Then roſe up Zerubbabel, &c. And Hag. 1. 14. The Lord ſtirred up the ſpirit of Zerubbabel the ſon of Shealtiel, governor of Juda, &c. If we look into his genealogy, Matth. 1. 12. we ſhall find him like Moecenas deſcended from antient Kings, Joſias begat Jechonias, and Jechonias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begat Zerubbabel. This Zerubbabel, whoſe ſpirit God ſtirred up to this grand employment, went through his work with all alacrity and activity, Ezr. 3. he re-edifieth the Temple in deſpite of all adverſaries; the manner and means how it ſhould be done by him is foretold, Zech. 4. 6, 7. This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, ſaying, Not by might, nor by tower, but by my Spirit, ſaith the Lord of hoſts. What art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou ſhalt become a plain, and he ſhall bring forth the head-ſtone thereof with ſhoutings, crying Grace, grace unto it. Two great blocks were in the way to diſcourage Zerubbabel in the work, the one was the weakneſſe of his party that ſhould aſſiſt him, the other the ſtrength of the enemy that would oppoſe him.

Firſt, The weakneſſe of his own party, they were but a ſmall remnant of the poor captive Jews, whoſe ſpirits were dejected with their tedious ſervitude and extream oppreſſion; and this might make Zerubbabel diffident of the event, and reaſon thus againſt it: The work is great that we are to undertake, and our ſtrength but little, and therefore in all probability our endeavors are like to be fruſtrated, and we to periſh in the undertaking. To this God ſpeaks, Not by might, or army (as 'tis in the Margin) nor by power, but by my Spirit, ſaith the Lord of hoſts. Know, this work is not to be effected by human help meerly, but by divine power; not by ſtrength of man, but by the Spirit of God, whoſe ſtrength is made perfect in weakneſſe; by his Spirit who is Lord of hoſts, and commands all the Armies of heaven and earth. Though you had no ſtrength at all, though you had no life at all left in you, though you were but an heap of dead and dry bones, God can bring you together, put new life in you, and cauſe you on a ſuddain to ſtart up a numerous Army, as in Ezeki • ls viſion, chap. 37. 10. yea, though theſe bones were laid in the grave, covered never ſo deep in the earth, God can raiſe you thence. To ſuch a deſperate condition was Iſrael reduced at that time, that God was fain to quicken and revive their dead hope by the parable of thoſe dry bones, verſ. 11, 12. Then he ſaid unto me, Son of man, theſe bones are the whole hovſe of Iſrael: behold, they ſay, our bones are dried, and our hope is loſt, we are cut off for our parts. Therefore propheſie and ſay unto them▪ Thus ſaith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cauſe you to come out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Iſrael. The argument holds, a majori ad minus, he that can raiſe the dead out of their graves, can bring you out of captivity. Nay more, not onely from dry bones, but from very ſtones God can raiſe up children unto Abraham, rather than his Church ſhould not be builded.

This block thus removed out of the way, the other yet behind was the mighty power of Zerubbabels enemies, which is therefore called a great Mountain, and he ſpeaks unto it by an Apoſtrophe, as the more emphatical expreſſion, Who art thou, O great Mountain? before Zerubbabel thou ſhalt become a plain. Thou haſt hitherto oppreſt my people, and kept them in bondage: But beh • ld, I am againſt thee, ſaith the Lord, which deſtroyeſt all the earth; and I will ſtretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and make thee a burnt mountain, Jer. 51. 25.

Before Zerubbabel thou ſhalt become a plain. Though thou art high and ſtrong as a great Mountain, ſeemeſt in thine own eyes and others alſo irreſiſtable, invincible; thy pride ſhall be brought down, thy high looks abaſed, thy mighty ſtrength abated, thy huge and vaſt body laid level with the earth, and be made a plain, ſo that all thy oppoſition ſhall be as nothing, and all difficulties made plain and eaſie to Zerubbabel, by the power of my Spirit that ſhall ſupport him, and ſuppreſſe all his oppoſers.

It follows, He ſhall bring forth the head ſtone thereof with ſhoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it; verſ. 7. that is, He ſhall accompliſh the building with the joyful acclamations of the beholders, even to the wonder and aſtoniſhment of his very enemies, that ſhall ſay and ſay again, Grace, grace unto it. And not to it alone, but to us by it ſhall great grace and glory alſo come; and that they did ſay ſo, the Pſalmiſt tells us, Pſal. 126. 2. Then ſaid they among the Heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them; which the Jews as their eccho reſounded back again, verſ. 3. Yea, the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we rejoyce.

Laſtly, The Prophet adds as a Corollary and confirmation of all, verſ. 8, 9. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, ſaying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this houſe, his hands ſhall alſo finiſh it; statutum eſſe, it is a ſtatute, a decree paſt in the higheſt Court of Heaven, not to be reverſed, that as Zerubbabel hath begun the work, and laid the firſt ſtone, the head-ſtone of the corner; ſo with a non obſtante, maugre all contradiction, he ſhall put to his laſt hand and compleat the work.

Thus you ſee by whom this great work was effected.

Multorum manibus grande levatur onus, Many hands went to it, but two eſpecially, Nehemia and Zerubbabel, they were the principal inſtruments under God for the carrying on of the ſame, and therefore both of them juſtly meriting the ſtyle and title of honor and dignity that is here given in the Text, which is my third point, Vocaberis reparator ruinarum, Thou ſhalt be called, The repairer of the breach, &c.

And indeed, what better, what nobler title can be beſtowed upon a man? a more glorious one could hardly be thought on. Quanto honeſtius eſt principi ſi reparator ruinarum vocetur, quam vaſtator civitatum? as Marlorat notes well upon the place; How much more honorable is it for a Prince to be call'd the repairer of ruines, than the deſtroyer of Cities? It was a vain and horrible brag of Senacherib, which he ſpake as tending to the honor of his predeceſſors, and himſelf too as deſcended from them, 2 King. 19. 11. Behold, thou haſt heard what the Kings of Aſſyria have done to all lands, by deſtroying them utterly. And the like we read of Alexander and Pompey, who were called Great from the great conqueſts and bloody victories they atchieved, glorying in the many thouſands, yea, millions, they had ſlain. The two famous Scipios had their ſirn • mes from the Countries they ſubdued, the one was called Africanus, the other Aſiaticus. How much a better title was that of Solomon, and our King James of happy memory, Rex pacificus. I have heard it credibly reported (fides ſit penes authorem) I would not wittingly and willingly father a falſhood upon the worſt of men, but give even the devil his due) that the late Oliver Cromwel (in whom hypocriſie and tyranny ſtrove which ſhould be predominant) boaſted, he had been the death of near upon 40000 Scots in their own Country and at Worceſter, where beſides what were ſlain in fight, many were kill'd in cool blood, a cruelty which a Turk would be aſhamed of. I have read of Knolls his Turk. hiſt.a greater Warrior, and a better man than he, Tamberlane, who having fought a battel with the Muſcovites, wherein he had ſlain upon the turf about 40000 men, and taking a view of the dead, was ſo far from rejoycing at the ſight, that he lamented the condition of ſuch as commanded great Armies, commending his fathers quiet courſe of life; accounting him happy in ſeeking for reſt, and the other moſt unhappy, who by the deſtruction of their own kind ſought to advance their own glory; proteſting himſelf even from his heart, grieved to ſee ſuch ſad tokens and trophies of his victory.

Hence then let Princes and great ones learn how to raiſe themſelves a glorious name, that may ſurvive them, and be ſweet and precious when their bodies rot and conſume in their ſepulchers, while others take a pride and pleaſure to kill and deſtroy, let them labour to ſave and preſerve the world in peace; while others pull down and lay waſte Cities and Temples, let them raiſe up and repair the breaches, ſo ſhall they be truly called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , gracious Lords, Luk. 22. 25. Et reparatores ruinarum, the repairers of breaches, the reſtorers of paths to dwell in; which will be far greater glory to them, than if they accumulated all the titles of honor, that either Heraldry can invent, or this world confer. It was well ſaid by our late King of glorious memory, to his Son our gracious Soveraign that now reigns, vvhom God preſerve long among us, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 . 27 I had rather you ſhould be CHARLS le Bon, than le Grand, Good, than Great. Greatneſſe hath no better Character than that of Goodneſſe, vvithout vvhich, 'tis but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a cold and liveleſſe carcaſe of nobility, like a ruddy colour in a picture that hath no life or heat in it, a rich cabinet without a jewel: With ſuch an empty casket of honor without vertue, Minutius Minutius Felix Felix thus elegantly expoſtulates, Faſcibus & purpuris gloriaris? vanus error hominis, & inanis cultus dignitatis fulgere purpurâ, mente ſordeſcere. Nobilitate gloriaris? parentes tuos laudas; omnes pari ſorte naſcimur, ſola virtute diſtinguimur. Doſt thou glory that thou art inveſted with higheſt dignities, clothed with Purple and Ermin? Alas, thou deceiveſt thy ſelf; to be glorious in apparel, and ſordid in ſoul, is but a vain error, and whiles thy face ſhines with Moſes's, thy better part is clouded with Egyptian darkneſſe. In boaſting of thy noble birth, thou praiſeſt thy parents, not thy ſelf, if thou degenerate.

Nam genus & proavos & quae non fecimus ipſi Vix ea noſtra voco. We are born alike, being hew'd all out of the ſame Rock, our father Adam; 'tis onely vertue and noble actions that diſtinguiſh and ſet us above the vulgar. When Moſes goes about to deſcribe the genealogy of the Patriarch Noah, he begins it thus, Theſe are the generations of Noah: And Noah was a juſt man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God, Gen. 6. 9. Wilt thou be famous in thy generations as Noah? be juſt and upright as Noah, and thou ſhalt be Chronicled in the book of fame to all ſucceeding generations. Vocaberis, &c. thou ſhalt have an honourable name like this in the Text, Thou ſhalt be called, The repairer of the breach, the reſtorer of thy Country's peace and liberty.

The Wiſe-man is almoſt Non-pluſt and gravel'd, to think what praiſes ſhould be given to theſe Repairers of breaches, Eccluſ. 49. 11, 12, 13. How ſhall we praiſe this Zerubbabel which was a ring on the right hand, ſo was Jeſus the ſon of Joſedec: theſe men in their time builded the houſe, and ſet up the Sanctuary of the Lord again, which was prepared for an everlaſting worſhip. And among the elect was Nehemias, whoſe renown is great, which ſet up for us the walls that were fallen, and ſet up the gates and the bars, and laid the foundations of our houſes.

But behold a greater than Nehemias or Zerubbabel is here. This Zerubbabel, the chief among theſe Repairers, was a type of Chriſt, and ſo is preſented to us by the Prophet, Hag. chap. ult. verſ. ult. In that day, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel my ſervant, the ſon of Shealtiel, and will make thee as a ſignet; for I have choſen thes, ſaith the Lord of hosts. Chriſt was the true Zerubbabel, whom God the Father choſe from everlaſting to be his ſervant, in performing the great work of our Redemption: Iſa. 42. 1. Behold my ſervant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my ſoul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him, he ſhall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. This is he that hath built his Church upon a Rock, againſt which the gates of hell ſhall not prevail. This is he that hath raiſed up the foundations of many generations, and therefore is moſt worthy to be called, The Repairer of the breach, that vaſt breach which was long ſince made between God and man, that breach which was made between Jew and Gentile. Quae deſerta fuerant in Judaeis, dicimus aedificari in Eccleſia, non ad breve tempus, ſed in perpetuum: & fundamenta illius ex utroque populi, id eſt, in duabus generationibus ſuſcitanda, the waſte places in the Church of the Jews are built up by Chriſt in the Chriſtian Church, and the foundations thereof raiſed of both people, that is, in thoſe two generations of Jews and Gentiles. So St. Hierom underſtands my Text, according to that of St. Paul, Epheſ. 2. 14, 15. He is our peace▪ who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the croſs. And becauſe he humbled himſelf to the form of a ſervant to the death of the croſs, therefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name (above this name in the Text, and) above every name (beſides) that at the Name of Jeſus every knee ſhould bow, &c. Phil. 2. 7, 8 9.

I have done with the Explication of my Text, I come now to make ſome Application of it to the time.

I need not tell you of our waſt places, our ruined foundations, our vaſt breaches, they are too obvious to every eye, he that runs may re • d them. They may be reduced to theſe two heads, Breaches and Ruines and Waſtes made both in Church and Commonwealth.

To begin with the Church, for that is Gods method, Judgment commonly begins at the houſe of God. And, good God, who can think upon the Breaches, and not cry out with Job c. 22. v 6. Even when I remember, I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my fleſh, this were enough to make a good Chriſtian turn Quaker, and yet be a good Chriſtian ſtill. Not to ſpeak of the material buildings, the goodly foundations of ancient Churches demoliſhed and run to ruine, concerning which there goes a Proverb to the ſcandal of our Religion (though our Religion were not the cauſe of it) Pater noſter ſet them up, and our father pluckt them down. I ſhall not inſiſt upon theſe external breaches & ruines in the Church, though in reſpect of them alſo, I may take up the Pſalmiſts words, Pſalm 102. 13, 14. Thou ſhalt ariſe O God, and have mercy upon Sion: for the time to favour her, yea the ſet time is come; And why, thy ſervants think upon her ſtones, and it pitieth them to ſee her in the duſt.

The moſt conſiderable breaches were in the ſpiritual building, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , Ye are Gods building, &c. Eph. 2. 20.

O what breaches were made in this building! Even breach upon breach, Job 16. 14. Here were the living ſtones broken, heart broken, the principal Pillars thrown down? Able, painful and pious Paſtors and Preachers (ſuch as Dr. Featly, that Malleus Hereticorum, and many others of the Clergy, beſides the Reverend Fathers of the Church, the Biſhops, of whom the world was not worthy,) caſt out of their places and Livings upon falſe ſuggeſtions and informations; or if true, deſerving rather encouragement and protection; than impriſonment and ejection. Sequeſtred and caſt out they were, not for any thing really ſcandalous, but for being ſo conſcientiou, that they would not take new Oaths and Covenants contrary to thoſe they had formerly and lawfully taken: and upon the ſame ſcore would have ſuffered death (as ſome did) rather than run with the tide of the times againſt the known Lawes of God and man. So wide was this breach, and ſo farre from being well cloſed again, till this laſt year, that upon their excluſion, either none at all were put in their Livings, as in divers Counties of Wales, where the Tyths of many Pariſhes were engroſt in a few hands, two or three Itinerant Preachers ſerving for a whole Dioceſſe: or elſe for the moſt part, ignorant and factious perſons brought in their places, whoſe buſineſſe it was to ſowe ſedition and falſe doctrines, and whoſe preaching (if I may call it preaching) was full of curſing and bitterneſſe, Rom. 3. 14. And what betrer could be expected from them that enter not by the doore into the ſheepfold, but climb up ſome other way, John 10. 1. not by the regular way of Ordination, which hath been ever obſerved in the Church of Chriſt from the Apoſtles days to ours.

What better could be expected, when the Prophets two ſtaves were once broken; the ſtaffe of Beauty, and the ſtaffe of Bands, Veritas Evangelica, & unitas Chriſtiana, the true Doctrine and Uniform Diſcipline of the Church. When theſe, I ſay, were broken to pieces, behold an inundation of Sects and Hereſies like a ſecond Deluge over-flowed the whole Land, they came croaking about us like the Frogs of Egypt, and ſwarming like the Locuſts out of the bottomleſſe pit. Barclay in his Icon Animorum, writing of the ſeveral Sects in Religion which he had obſerved in England in King James his reign, tells a ſtory of a father and his two ſons who conſtituted or made up a Church between themſelves, but theſe three not long agreeing, the two ſons Excommunicated the Father, and at laſt one ſon the other, ſo that theſe three made three diſtinct Churches in their conceipts, and each one the true. What would he have ſaid, had he lived to ſee the many factions and fractions, Diviſions and Subdiviſions which have ſpawn'd ſince amongſt us. Our Church being well likened by the laſt Arch-biſhop of Canterbury in his Speech at his death, to an Oak cleft to ſhivers with wedges made out of its own body, and at every cleft, prophaneneſſe and irreligion entring in. It was a moſt charitable wiſh of judicious Maſter Hooker, and moſt ſeaſonable for our times, in his anſwer to Maſter Travers Supplication in Queen Elizabeths reign. Take it in his own words, for they are excellent, and deſerve, as Job ſpeaks in another caſe, to be graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever, to be ſo deeply imprinted in our hearts, as never to be obliterated or raſed out.

Since (ſaith he) there can come nothing of contention but the mutual waste of the parties contending, till a common Enemy dance in the aſhes of them both, I do heartily wiſh that the grave advice which Conſtantine gave for uniting his Clergy ſo many times, upon ſo ſmall occaſions, in ſo lamentable ſort divided, or rather the ſtrict commandment of Chriſt to his, that they ſhould not be divided at all, may at length if it be his bleſſed will prevail ſo farre at leaſt in this corner of the Chriſtian world, to the burying and quite forgetting of ſtrife, together with the cauſes which have either bred it or brought it up: that things of ſmall moment never disjoyn them, whome one God, one Lord, one Faith, one Spirit, one Baptiſme, bands of ſo great force have linked, that a respective eye towards things wherewith we ſhould not be diſquieted, make us not, as through infirmity the very Patriarchs themſelves ſometimes were, full gorged, unable to speak peaceably to their own brother. Finally, that no ſtrife may ever be heard of again, but this, who ſhall hate ſtrife moſt, who ſhall purſue Peace and Ʋnity with ſwifteſt paces. And to this I hope all my Brethren of the Miniſtery will ſay Amen, and make ſome amends for the Diviſions and Breaches which too many of them through their former miſguided zeal brought into the Church, by their earneſt endeavours for a happy ſettlement of all matters Eccleſiaſtical, and by their humble ſubmiſſion to that Order and Diſcipline in the Church as is or ſhall be eſtabliſhed by lawful Authority.

But behold more Breaches yet, the Hebrew 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is rendred by the LXX. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a Builder, a Maker or Repairer▪ of hedges. Now the Jews have a ſaying, Maſſora ſepes eſt Legis, Divitiarum ſepes decimae, that as their Maſſora was the hedge of their Divine Law, comprehending every verſe, word, and letter of it, ſo Tythes were the hedge of their riches, and beyond a hedge in this reſpect, as the ſame worthy Author hath very well obſerved; for an hedge doth only fence and preſerve that which is contained, but Tythes and Offerings did more, becauſe l. 5. Eccl. Po • .they procured increaſe of the heap out of which they were taken, witneſſe that ſaying of God himſelf, Mal. 3. 10. Bring ye all the Tythes into the ſtorehouſe, and prove me therewith, ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a bleſſing, that there ſhall not be room enough to receive it. Yet was this hedge going down apace, voted away from the Church by the Phanatick party, who had devoured them in their imaginary hopes, and taken ere this time all the houſes of God in their poſſeſſion, if they had not been in the nick of time ſtrangely prevented. The onely way they thought to enrich themſelves, was, to impoveriſh the Church, and ceaze upon the poor remains thereof. And whereas Abraham (long before the Law was given by Moſes, and therefore could not be ceremonial) paid Tythes of all the ſpoiles, theſe men would make a ſpoile of all the Tythes; then the Prieſts received Tythes from the Soldiers, now the Soldiers would have taken Tythes from the Prieſts, though to the ruine of themſelves, and their poſterities, and the whole Nation, that would have been involved both in the guilt and puniſhment, as was the whole Nation of the Jews for the ſame ſin, Mal. 3. 9.

For my part, I muſt confeſſe my fears, that the curſe which hath been upon out Nation of late years for this ſin of ſacriledge, amongſt other great and crying ſins, will not be taken off clearly (for we ſee Gods hand is ſtretched out ſtill againſt us in the late plague of immoderate rain and waters, which may breed a dearth, if not peſtilential diſeaſes) till ſatisfaction be made by reſtoring what hath been wreſted and raviſhed from the Church. It was the opinion of that great advancer of learning, Sir Francis Bacon, in his conſiderations touching pacification and edification of the Church, preſented to King James, and well-worthy the conſideration ofthis preſent Parliament, That all Parliaments ſince the 27 and 31 of Hen. 8. who gave away Impropriations from the Church, ſtand in ſome ſort obnoxious, and obliged to God in conſcience, to do ſomewhat for the Church, to reduce the Patrimony thereof to a competency; for ſince they have debarred Chriſts ſpouſe of a great part of her dowry, it were reaſon they made her a competent Joynture.

And bleſſed be God that put it into the Kings heart to take care, that all Biſhops, Deans, and Chapters, ſhould out of their Impropriations augment the ſmall Vicaridges belonging to them in ſuch a reaſonable proportion, as the Tythes will well bear. And 'tis to be hoped, that this will be a leading-card to invite and draw on others of the Nobility and Gentry to do the like, as ſome of them have done already, to their honor be it ſpoken, and therein have preveated his Majeſties deſires in that kind, and began to us; I could name ſome of them, but that I think they are ſufficiently well known to the world.

Conſider next the ruines and breaches in the State, Armies raiſed, Battles fought, Cities beſieged, taken, ſacked, Countries haraſſed, plundred, Parliaments purged, diſſolved at the pleaſure of a thing call'd Protector, or the Grandees of an Army, the Houſe of Peers aboliſhed, another of mock-Lords inſtituted, all the fundamental Laws violated. A breach upon our liberties, by impriſoning men without ſhewing cauſe, denying the people their voices in a free election of Knights and Burgeſſes.

—fingit ſolemnia Campus Et non admiſſae dirimit ſuffragia plebis. A breach upon our eſtates, by impoſing taxes what they pleaſed. A breach upon our conſciences, by enforcing Oaths and Covenants contradictory to former Oaths. And to fill up the meaſure of our ruines, a breach upon the Head-ſtone of the building, the chief ſtake in our hedge was cut up, when our King of ever glorious memory was cut off, and moſt barbarouſly murdered before his own Royal gate; a moſt inhuman unparallel'd Parricide, Regicide, I had almoſt ſaid Deicide, and if I had, it might admit of a ſober ſence, for Kings are earths Deities, Gods pictures in a leſſer form or model, and God himſelf hath honoured them with his own Name, I have ſaid, Ye are gods, Pſal. 82. 6. yet he did not fall like one of the Princes, but as if he had been an ordinary or common malefactor.

Carnificis dextra Cromwelli-potentis obiram Procumbit. And when he fell all fell with him, ever ſince we have been a Tohu & Bohu, rudis indigestaque moles, a meer Chaos of confuſion, a ſecond Babel, or like a Tennis-ball toſt from hand to hand, a reproach to our neighbours, a ſcorn and deriſion to all that were round about us, Pſal. 44. 13.

Sen. Trag. Nec ulla requies, tempus autt ullum datur Niſi dum jubetur. We were put to it beyond Hercules's labours, no reſt, no breathing time, no relaxation from our burthens allowed us by our worſe than Egyptian-Taskmaſters, we muſt make brick without ſtraw, pay contribution doubled and trebled, as they were pleaſed to vote it, when many had no mony to diſcharge it, but what (as the young Prophet ſaid of his ax head) was borrowed. Nor was it ſafe for any man to complain of this extream bondage and oppreſſion, it being our caſe in theſe times as it was the people of Ariminum in Caeſar's,

We were fain to mourn in ſecret, and not diſcover our grief in words or tears. Was it not now high time for us to ſay with the Pſal. 119. 126.Pſalmiſt? and indeed Nihil hic niſi vota ſuperſunt, 'Tis time for thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void thy Law; yea, all the Laws both of God and man. When all endeavours of men failed, and no hope of human help appeared, then was it Gods time to work; and work he did beyond all expectation, even to admiration. As he ſtirred up the ſpirits of Zerubbabel and Nehemias to repair the breaches in the Jewiſh Church and State, ſo hath he done for us; we have a Nehemias and a Zerubbabel as well as they, ex te erunt, and we have them of our ſelves. As it was our unhappineſſe, that like the ſpider we ſpun the web of our miſeries out of our own bowels, and with our own hands pulled our own houſes upon our own heads; ſo it was our happineſſe again, that God hath raiſed up from among our ſelves Heroes, and men of renown, to ſtand in the gap, to turn our captivity as the Rivers in the South, to build up our waſte places and repair our breaches: For had we ſent abroad for builders, as Solomon did to Hiram, 2 King. 2. they might have built a Babel inſtead of a Temple, and overthrown more with one hand than they ſet up with two. What tongue can tell, and what heart would not ake to think, what deſolations had been wrought in the earth, if the way to the Throne had been hewed out by the ſword of aliens and ſtrangers to the Common-wealth of England: Nay, had Sir George Booth's deſign gon on, in probability it might have coſt hot water, multo ſanguine & vulneribus, &c. and we had ſeen another A • eldama or bloody field; and even then the King had been fain to ſwim unto his Crown through a Red-ſea of his ſubjects blood, an ungrateful paſſage both to him and them.

But bleſſed be God, that as in Solomon's Temple there was no ax, nor hammer, nor iron tool heard in the houſe, while it was in building, 1 King. 6, 7. ſo in raiſing the foundations of this great work, and bringing it to perfection, no ſword nor battle-ax, no inſtrument of vvar lifted up, no canon, nor muſquet, nor piſtol diſcharged.

Time vvould fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, of Samſon, and of Jeptha, of all our vvorthy Patriots in Parliament, in City, in Country, that by Votes, Declarations, or other vvays, joyn'd heads, and hands, and hearts, to the contriving, compaſſing, compleating of this glorious vvork. Give me leave to ſingle out one from the reſt, unus inſtar omnium, I hope vvithout envy I may name him, vvhoſe name vvill be like an oyntment poured forth, precious to poſterity, the Lord General Monck, vvho hath upon our ſtage acted both parts of Nehemia and Zerubbabel to the life.

As another Nehemias he carried on his work prudently and cloſely, he came up to our Jeruſalem or Metropolis, and was there ſome time before he told any man what God had put in his heart to do. Artis eſſe, celare artem, a man ſhews his art in concealing his art. An unſeaſonable diſcovery fruſtrates a good deſign, whiles a diſcreet ſilence fits it for maturity. Had he taken off his hood or veil at the firſt approach▪ God knows what reſiſtance he had found, but as long as he carried it in a clowd, and hung like a Meteor between heaven and earth, or as the Papiſts picture Eraſmus between heaven and hell, each party took him for their own, and ſo neither oppoſed him. True it is, he put many in a maze, and the whole City in great fears, when in a ſeeming compliance with, and obedience to the command of thoſe that pretended to the ſupream authority, like Samſon he went away with the gates of the City, bars and all; but he ſo on made them amends by ſetting them in ſtatu quo, or in a much better condition than he found them.

Martial. Ʋna eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit. The ſame hand that brake their head, gave them a plaiſter. Then again, like Nehemias, he calls the Nobles and Rulers together, brings in the Secluded Members to conſult how our breaches might be made up; and to ſecure their ſitting, ſets a guard, and raiſeth a ſtrong Militia. Thoſe members having made ſome notable Acts, in order to a further ſettlement, diſſolve, and quickly after a full and free Parliament ſucceeds them, and proſecutes, if not perfects, what the other had ſo well begun. Thus you ſee how he perſonates Nehemias in theſe particulars.

And may he not paſſe for a Zerubbabel too? I am ſure like Zerubbabel he did his work not by might, nor by power, but by Gods Spirit. Lambert. Sanballat marched towards him with a more potent Army than his, which ſtood like a great Mountain in his way, but he had vertue enough to remove this mountain, it became a plain before him, and he might have ſaid to his ſouldiers as Ceſar in the like caſe to his, Tela tene jam miles, ait, ferumque tuenti▪ Subtrahe: non ullo conſtet mihi ſanguine bellum. Hold your hands, here is no need of weapons nor blows, this victory ſhall not coſt a drop of blood: As the Magitians ſaid in another caſe, ſo may I in this, Digitus Dei▪est hic, even an Atheiſt may diſcover the finger, yea, the whole hand of God in it, and be, if not converted, at leaſt confounded at the ſight. May I not take up the Apoſtles exclamation with a little alteration? Behold, ye despiſers, ye phanaticks, and wonder, and periſh, for God▪ hath wrought a work which you would in no wiſe believe, though a man had declared it before-hand unto you; nor will your poſterity eaſily credit it, though a man declare it unto them in the next generation, it will ſound in their ears more of a Romance than a true ſtory▪ and we our ſelves that know it to be true, may ſay of it as the Jews did of the like in their time, Pſal. 126. 1. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion, then were we like unto them that dream; ſo ſtrange, ſo unexpected, ſo beyond hope, that it ſeemed rather a phancy in a dream than a real deliverance. What remained for him to do that he might make up the parallel, but that with Zerubbabel he bring forth the head-ſtone of the building with ſhoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it; and this was done when CHARLS the Second by the grace of God, &c. was firſt Proclaimed, and after Crown'd, all the people with lowd acclamations crying out, God ſave the King.

And in him we have found another Zerubbabel, and a greater than the former; the General was but his 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (as John the Baptiſt was to CHRIST) his Forerunner or Harbinger, to prepare the way before him; and lo, he is come like Zerubbabel from a ſtrange Country (where he lived in exile divers years) to his own native ſoil and dominions, over which may he and his Poſterity reign happily to the worlds end.

And upon this very day whereon he came into the world, he came into his Royal City, being juſt thirty years old, as David was when he began to reign. A Prince, whom time, and ſufferings, and converſe with forrein Nations, have adapted for a Crown and heroick actions. A Prince whom the heavens honoured with a Star at his birth, which prognoſticated him to be a man of wonders. A Prince moſt juſtly meriting the title which was given to Titus the Emperour, Deliciae humanae generis, The delight of mankind, even his enemies being judges, if yet he can have any enemies, whom God hath brought in with ſo high a hand, and out-ſtretched an arm.

This is that ſingle perſon whom God ſet as a ſignet on his right hand, and preſerved him as the apple of his eye from the hand of that uncircumciſed •• om ••• .Philiſtine at Worceſter, who with his numerous Army, like fat Bulls of Baſhan, thought to have cloſed him in on every ſide, they ſaid, Perſecute and take him, for there is none to deliver him; but God gave him cauſe to ſay with David, My ſoul is eſcaped as a bird out of the ſnare of the fouler, the ſnare is broken, and I am delivered. And from that mir culous eſcape it was eaſie to propheſie of his future felicity, his happy return to us, as it is this day. And though many concluded him then for a loſt man, that this our Sun was ſet to us, and had bidden us good-night for ever; yet we did hope that this Sun would ariſe again in glory to our Horizon, and that with healing in his wings, to ſalve and cure all the wounds and diſtempers in the body politick, and Eccleſiaſtick too, of this Nation.

When that little Veſſell now upon the Thames where it deſerves to be kept like Theſeus his ſhip for a monument to after▪ ges; when that Veſſel, I ſay, had ſafely conveyed his Majeſty to the Haven where he would be, me-thinks I ſee him looking back to England, and ſpeaking comfort to his yet loyal, though then drooping and diſconſolate ſubjects, as Aeneas to his companions in the Poet, —revocate animos, maeſtumquc timorem Millite, forſan & haec clim meminiſſe juvabit. Recal your courages, lay aſide your fears; both I and you ſhall have cauſe to give God thanks for this deliverance; which we remember this day with all joy and thankfulneſſe

This is that ſingle Perſon whom Rebels abjured and devoted to deſtruction, but the Lord ſeparated and ſet apart from the womb to be the Repairer of all our breaches in Church and State, the Reſtorer of paths to dwell in. Every one may now repoſe himſelf under the ſhade of this Royal Oak; and whereas the common priſons were of late years the proper places for loyal ſubjects, now they may ſit ſecure under their own vines and fig-trees. —Deus nobis haec otia fecit.

Again, As Zerubbabel lived long in the King of Babylon's Court, yet retained his own true Religion, worſhipping the God of his fathers in his true way and manner as he had commanded him: So hath his Majeſty lived long in the Courts and Territories of forreign Princes, of different Religion from him, yet, with Job, he held faſt his integrity, ſtood like a Coloſſus, or Rock immovable againſt all ſurges of temptations that were raiſed to ſhake his faith, to alter his Religion, witneſſe the ſharp aſſaults (as we have heard) of Monſieur Militiere and others he met with beyond-Sea. Like Ʋliſſes he bound himſelf to the maſt of a well-grounded reſolution, that no Romiſh Syrens could draw him out of the ſhip of the Church of England, in which he was baptized and educated, though that ſhip were like the other wherein Chriſt and his Diſciples ſailed, in all appearance ready to ſink; and when he had no power viſible to defend himſelf, he would be ſtill the Defender of the faith once delivered to the Saints, therein following the great example of the beſt of Kings, his Royal Father, who to his death maintained the Religion of the Church of England, and died a Martyr for the ſame.

Laſtly, When Sanballat and others beyond the River offered their ſervice to joyn with Zerubbabel in carrying on the work, Ezr. 4. 2. ſaying, Let us build with you; his anſwer was, You have nothing to do with us, but we our ſelves will build unto the Lord our God, &c. So did his Majeſty wave all forreign aids tendred to him, waiting Gods ways and leiſure as the beſt, who hath given him the hearts of his people, and found a way for his coming in ſine coede & ſanguinem, without bloodſhed; Thanks be unto God who hath given him this innocent victory through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. Thus, what the Pſalmiſt ſpake of our Saviour, may, in an inferiour ſenſe be fitly applied to his annointed, and our Soveraign, The ſtone which our late builders refuſed (if I may call them builders that were deſtroyers) is become the head ſtone of the corner, This is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoyce and be glad it.

And that he might be Charles the Great indeed, the great repairer of our breaches, he hath publickly declared his great Mercy in granting a general Pardon, and paſſing an Act of Oblivion, yea, and preſſing this preſent Parliament to a confirmation thereof. He hath manifeſted his great Charity, in aboliſhing all notes of diſcord, and difference of parties, conjuring all his ſubjects to a perfect union among themſelves. He hath ſhew d his Pitty in indulging a liberty to tender conſciences in matters of Religion, which diſturb not the peace of the Kingdom. He hath expreſt his great Juſtice, in being himſelf ſworn to govern, not by his arbitrary will, as our late Maſters did, but by the known Laws of the Land, leaving all his Subjects to be tryed by them. But I caſt water in the Sea, His own gracious Meſſages, Letters, and Declarations, both before and ſince his coming, ſpeak him much better than I can, and therefore to them I commend you.

To conclude all, How ſhall we praiſe this our Zerubbabel, whoſe renown is great, who hath ſet up the Sanctuary of the Lord again for an everlaſting worſhip, and laid the foundations of our houſes, made both Church and State riſe out of their ruines, as the world out of a Chaos, and become glorious to the wonder of our own and other Nations? How ſhall we praiſe him as he deſerves? We will call him the Repairer of our breaches, the Reſtorer of paths to dwell in; and we will wiſh him all proſperity in the Pſalmiſts words, Good luck have thou with thine honor, ride on becauſe of the word of truth, of meekneſſe, and of righteouſneſſe, and thy right hand ſhall teach thee terrible things.

I will diſmiſſe you with the words of Nehemia to the people, chap. 8. verſ. 10. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the ſweet, and ſend portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord.

Now to the King of Kings, that brought our King this day to us, be aſcribed all honor, and glory, and thankſgiving, this day and for ever, AMEN.