A king reigning in righteousness, and princes ruling in judgement. A sermon preached before His Excellency Thomas Pownall, Esq; governour, the Honourable His Majesty's Council, and House of Representatives, of the province of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New-England, May 31. 1758. Being the anniversary for the election of His Majesty's Council, for said province. / By Thomas Frink, M.A. Pastor of a church in Rutland. ; [Nine lines of quotations] Frink, Thomas, 1705-1777. Approx. 174 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 98 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI : 2008-09. N06409 N06409 Evans 8135 APW6929 8135 99013072

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Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 8135. (Evans-TCP ; no. N06409) Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 8135) Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 8135) A king reigning in righteousness, and princes ruling in judgement. A sermon preached before His Excellency Thomas Pownall, Esq; governour, the Honourable His Majesty's Council, and House of Representatives, of the province of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New-England, May 31. 1758. Being the anniversary for the election of His Majesty's Council, for said province. / By Thomas Frink, M.A. Pastor of a church in Rutland. ; [Nine lines of quotations] Frink, Thomas, 1705-1777. Massachusetts. General Court. [4], 93, [1] p. ; 21 cm. (4to) Printed by S. Kneeland, by order of the Honourable House of Representatives., Boston: : 1758. Half-title: Mr. Frink's sermon on the anniversary election of councellors, May 31. 1758. Errata statement, p. [94].

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Mr. Frink's SERMON On the Anniverſary Election of Councellors, May 31. 1758.

A King reigning in Righteouſneſs, and Princes ruling in Judgment.

A SERMON Preached before His EXCELLENCY THOMAS POWNALL, Eſq; GOVERNOUR, The Honourable His Majeſty's COUNCIL, And Houſe of REPRESENTATIVES, Of the Province Of the Maſſachuſetts-Bay, in NEW-ENGLAND, May 31. 1758.

Being the Anniverſary for the Election of His Majeſty's COUNCIL, for ſaid Province.

By THOMAS FRINK, M. A. Paſtor of a Church in Rutland.

Pſal. 2. 6. —I have ſet my King upon my holy Hill of Zion. Prov. 8. 15, 16. By me Kings reign, and Princes decree Juſtice: By me Princes rule, and Nobles— In hoc Reges, ſicut eis divinitus praecipitur, Deo ſerviunt, in quantum Reges ſunt, ſi in Regno ſuo Bona jubeant, Mala prohib ant, non ſolum quae pertinent ad humanam Societatem, verum etiam, quae pertinent ad divinam Religionem. Auguſt. Cont. Creſcon. Gram. Pietate ſublata, Fides etiam et Societas humani Generis, et una excellentiſſima Virtus, Juſtitia tollitur. Cicero de Nat. Deor'.

BOSTON: Printed by S. KNEELAND, by Order of the Honourable Houſe of REPRESENTATIVES. 1758.

In the Houſe of Repreſentatives, June 1. 1758.

Ordered, THat Col. Murray, Col. Watſon, and Col. Dwight, be a Committee to return the Thanks of this Houſe to the Rev. Mr. Thomas Frink, for his Sermon Preached Yeſterday, before the General Court, being the Anniverſary for the Election of Councellors; and deſire a Copy thereof for the Preſs.

T. HUBBARD, Speaker.
AN Election SERMON.

THE joyful Anniverſary is now arrived, the happy Day, on which the Tribes of the Lord, the Heads of the Tribes, the Repreſentative Body of this People, aſſemble in the City of our Solemnities, according to the Royal CHARTER of WIILLAM and MARY, of glorious Memory, to Elect his Majeſty's Council, the ſecond Branch of the Legiſlature of the Province.—The auſpicious Day is come, when firſt our Eyes behold with Joy, the moſt worthy Repreſentative of our moſt gracious KING, in the chief Seat of Government, and at the Head of our Tribes, directing, moderating, and ruling, in the great and important Religious, Civil and Military Affairs of the ſame.—And let us be glad, when they ſay unto us, Let us go into the Houſe of the Lord—Our Feet ſhall ſtand within thy Gates, O Boſton, the New-Engliſh Jeruſalem, whither the Tribes go up, the Tribes of the Lord, unto the Teſtimony of the New-Engliſh Iſrael, to give Thanks unto the Name of the Lord: for Here are ſet the Thrones of Judgment, the Repreſentative Thrones of the Houſe of the Britiſh David—The higheſt Judicatory of the Province.

At the Invitation of the Honourable Houſe, One among the leaſt of Chriſt's Miniſters, is drawn out of his beloved Obſcurity, and ſtands this Day in the ſacred Deſk to Preach before the General Court—And after ſolemn Invocation of the Supreme Ruler of the World, in the Name of the Son of God the only Mediator, He humbly aſks the Attention of this Auguſt Aſſembly to the Sermon on that illuſtrious Prediction of the Prophet,

ISAIAH, Chap. xxxii. 1, 2. Behold, a King ſhall Reign in Righteouſneſs, and Princes ſhall Rule in Judgment. And a Man ſhall be as an hiding Place from the Wind, and a Covert from the Tempeſt: as Rivers of Water in a dry Place, as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land.

THERE is no Part of the Bible that more deſerves the Thoughts of inquiſitive Men, than the Writings of the Prophets; and Perſons of very high Endowments, may find ſufficient Employnemt in unfolding the Types and Figures of the Jewiſh OEconomy, and in ſearching into the Depths of the Prophetical Predictions. And the metaphorical Style of the Prophets is very proper to inſpire the Minds of the Attentive, with noble Ideas of God's Wiſdom and Providence, and to affect us with the moſt lively Image of the glorious Kingdom of God and Chriſt, the Happineſs of thoſe that ſhall have a Share in the Triumphs of it, and the Terribleneſs of the Puniſhments which are denounced againſt ſuch as will not have Him to Rule over them.

The Books of the Prophets unfold the Methods of Providence in many remarkable Inſtances.—Such as—God's Diſpoſal of Kingdoms and Governments, and making Uſe of wicked Princes and Nations to be the Inſtruments of his Juſtice in puniſhing others, as bad or worſe—The gradual Diſcovery of the Coming of the Meſſiah, and the ſeveral Steps and Advancements by which God introduced his Kingdom into the World, and will ſtill carry it on, 'till the Conſummation of all Things.—And there is a Treaſure of heavenly Wiſdom contained in the Writings of the Prophets, that can never be exhauſted; and 'tis moſt reaſonable to believe that ſome Parts of theſe Prophecies reach to the End of the World; and 'tis alſo reaſonable to expect, that in every Age, Providence ſhould open ſome new Scene, which will give further Inſight into the Meaning of theſe ſacred Books.—And to extend the Prophetic Views to the End of the World, ſeems moſt agreable to that Deſcription of God's Preſcience, which is given us in Iſaiah, Ch. 46. ver. 10. viz. That He declares the End from the Beginning.—So that even when the whole Myſtery of God's Diſpenſations ſhall be finiſhed, it will appear that Nothing is contained in them, but what God hath formerly declared to his Servants the Prophets; as 'tis expreſly affirmed, Rev. 10. 7.

Iſaiah deſervedly holds the firſt Rank in that noble Order of Prophets; as he foretells the future State of the Church more frequently and fully than the others, and in the loftieſt Language, and boldeſt Metaphors.—His ſupernatural Gift of Prophecy added a new Luſtre to the greatneſs of his Birth, and his liberal Education furniſhed him with a noble Eloquence, and ſuitable to the Dignity of his Argument.—"His Style is great, noble, ſublime & florid: He paints Things to the Life, but with the ſtrongeſt and livelieſt Strokes." Dupin Can. Scrip. Vol. 1.

It has been obſerved, that the Commentaries on this Prophet fall ſhort of a full Explication of his Book, on Account of his Profoundneſs of Tho't, Loftineſs of Expreſſion, and Extent of Prophecy; and therefore may it not be ſaid, that I, ſo inferiour in divine Knowledge, need an Apology for attempting a Sermon on ſo remarkable a Paſſage of his Prophecy as my Text, eſpecially on this ſolemn Occaſion, and before ſo great and learned and honourable an Aſſembly.

Iſaiah lived and propheſied under four Kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah—If we ſuppoſe (for 'tis not certain) that the Prophecies &c. of this Book are put in the ſame Order in which they were at firſt written & publiſhed, the Book may be divided into four Parts or Sections. The five Chapters from the Beginning, contain the Prophecies which he made in the Time of Uzziah.—The Viſion of the ſixth Chapter happened in Jotham's Reign; and the following Chapters from the ſeventh to the thirty fifth incluſively, contain his Prophecies under the Reign of Ahaz.—And then follows an Account of Sennacherib's Invaſion, Hezekiah's Sickneſs & Recovery, Chap. 36, 37, 38. (that Hiſtory being a Key to open ſeveral Paſſages in the foregoing Prophecies) with a brief Prediction of the Jews Captivity by the Babylonians, on Occaſion of the King of Babylon's Ambaſſage to Hezekiah &c. in Chap. 39.—And the 40th Chap. and thoſe that follow to the End of the Book, do not only concern the Jews Return from Babylon, and the Reſtoration and Eſtabliſhment of their Eccleſiaſtical and Political State, but alſo the Call of the Gentiles, the Kingdom of Jeſus Chriſt, and flouriſhing State of the Church under his Government, and the Prophet deſcribes the future Glories of the Church, with a Loftineſs of Expreſſion ſuitable to the Dignity of the Subject.

And not only in this laſt Section, but alſo in the preceeding Parts of this Book, the Prophet in foretelling and deſcribing ſundry remarkable Events relating to the Jewiſh Nation, takes Occaſion to ſet forth the ſeveral Advances of Chriſt's Kingdom in after-Times. And the glorious State of the Church towards the End of the World, when the Fulneſs of the Jews and Gentiles ſhall come into the Church, is evidently predicted in the former Part of Ch. 2. and in 6, 7, 8, 9. ℣. of the 11th Ch. and that inimitable Deſcription of the new Face of Things, in Ch. 35. cannot with Propriety be applied, in its utmoſt Latitude, to any other than the Golden Age of the Goſpel, or Millennial State.

The Prophecies which foretell the Viſibility and Univerſality of Chriſt's Church, accompanied with perfect Peace, Proſperity & Holineſs, cannot with any Probability, be ſaid to have as yet received their Accompliſhment, as, neither have thoſe Predictions, which foreſhew the flouriſhing State of the Jewiſh Church & Nation in the latter Times.

Moreover, 'tis to be obſerved, that under the Old Teſtament, the moſt conſiderable Perſons and Tranſactions there mentioned, were typical, and prefigured the State of Things under the Meſſias. In the Characters given us in the Old Teſtament of Moſes and Joſhua, David and Solomon, Cyrus and Z rubbabel, and others I might mention, they are plainly deſcribed as Figures of Chriſt, ſeveral Circumſtances of their Lives did foreſhew the moſt remarkable Paſſages of his Life, & the Deliverances ſome of them wrought for God's People, were Earneſts of a greater Redemption to be accompliſhed by the Meſſias: And from hence we may conclude, that there is a Reſemblance or Correſpondence between many of the Tranſactions mentioned in the Old Teſtament, and thoſe which ſhould come to paſs under the New; and conſequently, that the Prophets when they ſpake of ſome Events near their own Times, probably had more diſtant Views, which might reach even to the latter Ages of the World. And it ſeems to have been a Maxim, in interpreting Prophecies, received among the Jews before Chriſt's Time, that whenever they obſerved an imperfect Completion of a Prophecy in the hiſtorical Event, which no way anſwered the lofty Expreſſions, and extenſive Promiſes, which the natural Senſe of the Text imported, then they ſuppoſed the Times of the Meſſiah to be ultimately intended, in whom all the Promiſes of God are Yea and Amen.

And among this kind of Prophecies, this thirtyſecond Chapter of Iſaiah, is an eminent Example, eſpecially the former Part of it, in particular the Verſes of my Text, and the two following Verſes—

My Text, in the primary Senſe, is to be underſtood of Hezekiah, and the Princes or Magiſtrates under him. The Character of that excellent Prince, and the ſubordinate Rulers, is here exhibited; but there are ſeveral Expreſſions, particularly thoſe in the 3d & 4th Verſes, that relate to happier Times than Hezekiah ever lived to ſee, and therefore we may juſtly ſay, that the Reformation made by Hezekiah, was but a Shadow or Image of thoſe greater Improvements in Grace and Holineſs, which properly belong to the Goſpel Times, under the Government of Chriſt, and the Aſſiſtance of his Spirit. And the Eyes of them that ſee, ſhall not be dim, and the Ears of them that hear, ſhall hearken—The Heart alſo of the Raſh ſhall underſtand Knowlege, & the Tongue of the Stammerers ſhall be ready to ſpeak plainly. God ſhall plentifully afford the Light of his Truth, and give them Grace to make a good Uſe of the Inſtructions he vouchſafes unto them. Thoſe that are weak in Faith ſhall come to more perfect Degrees of Knowlege; and the moſt rude and illiterate, ſuch as could not ſpeak ſo as to be underſtood, ſhall diſcourſe clearly & intelligibly of God and of their Duty;—the barbarous Nations being converted to Chriſt, ſhall give Praiſes to God in their ſeveral Languages."See Lowth's Comment.

And indeed my Text and Context have never yet been fulfilled, ſince the Coming of Chriſt, in their moſt ſublime Senſe, nor ſhall be, until the Millennial State advances, when the Kingdoms of this World ſhall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Chriſt. And therefore there is not only a primary but a ſecondary Senſe of the Prophet to be attended: To which may be added, with Propriety, an accommodated Senſe, the particular Illuſtration whereof will compriſe all I propoſe to offer from my Text on this great Occaſion.

I. This Prophecy of a King to Reign in Righteouſneſs, and Princes to Rule in Judgment, is primarily applicable to King Hezekiah, and the Prime Miniſters of State under him, and was fulfilled in Him and Them.

The firſt King of Iſrael by God's Permiſſion and Deſignation was Saul. Till this Time, God had governed the Nation by Judges, whom He raiſed up, & extraordinarily inſpired, when he ſaw Occaſion. He reſerved to himſelf the ſole Power of eſtabliſhing Laws, appointing Magiſtrates, and making War.—Joſephus (in his Book againſt Apion) makes the Government of the Iſraelites before they had a King different from all other, which he calls by a new Name ΘΕΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ (a Greek Word made by him to expreſs the ſame) Theocracy, that is, the Government of God. For God exerciſed the ſupreme Authority among them by his expreſs Command.

On Occaſion of the bad Conduct of Samuel's Sons (their taking Bribes & perverting Judgment) the Elders of Iſrael came to Samuel, and demanded a King to be ſet over them, like the other Nations, 1 Sam. Ch. 8. ver. 1,—4. God is offended at it as an interpretative throwing off his Authority, who was their King, but tells Samuel to conſent to their Demand, ℣. 7. at the ſame Time, ordering him to ſhew them the Manner of the King that ſhould reign over them, ℣. 9. (which Samuel faithfully relates to the Elders, ℣. 11—17.) that they might know what Kind of Government they choſe in Stead of God's. Samuel from God gives them a Deſcription of a moſt arbitrary and tyrannical Government, ſuch as the Kings of the Nations had acquired, for they deſired ſuch a King as their Neighbours had, who were all under the abſolute Dominion of their Princes, which is called by Ariſtotle (Politic. Lib. 5.) a Deſpotick Government.

The People of Iſrael had hitherto lived under Governours, raiſed up by Divine Inſtinct, who had exacted no Tribute from them, nor put them to any Charges. With which Government they being not contented, but deſiring to have a King like other Nations, that ſhould live in Pomp and Splendor, and keep ſtanding Forces about him, to be ready to reſiſt any Invaſion: Samuel informs them, what it was they deſired, that they might conſider, when they underſtood it, whether they would perſiſt in their Choice: If they would have a King magnificently attended, then he tells them, the King will take their Sons, and put them in his Chariots, &c. ℣. 11. If they would have him keep up conſtant Forces, then he muſt appoint them for Colonels and Captains, and employ thoſe in his Wars, who were wont to follow their Family-Buſineſs, ver. 12. And ſince after the Manner of other Kings, he muſt keep a ſtately Court, they muſt be content that their Daughters, (ver. 13.) ſhould ſerve in ſeveral Offices; which the King would think below the Dignity of his Wives and Daughters. Many Miniſters alſo in ſeveral Employments both in War & Peace, muſt have Salaries to ſupport them, which muſt be paid out of their Fields and Vineyards, ver. 14. For which Services, he tells them, the King will expect the Tenth of all belonging to them, that he may maintain his Royal Expences, ver. 15, 16, 17. In one Word, if they will have a King, he muſt be maintained, after a royal Manner, out of their Eſtates. Puffendorf de Rebus Geſtis Philippi in Patricks Comment.

Far be it from us to ſuppoſe, that Samuel here ſpeaks of a juſt and honeſt Right of Kings to do theſe Things, for their Right is quite otherwiſe deſcribed in that Part of Moſes's Law, which concerns the King's Duty, in Deut Ch. 17. ver. 18, 19, 20. Moſes there commands, that the King, when he ſat on the Throne, ſhould write him a Copy of the Law in a Book from the Original, or authentick Copy in the Sanctuary, under the Cuſtody of the Prieſts, and that he ſhould diligently ſtudy it, and learn his Duty therefrom, that he might be preſerved in the true Religion, and be acquainted with his whole Duty, and perform it accordingly: not imagining himſelf to be above all Laws, nor ſlighting his Subjects, but taking due Care to promote their Happineſs.

God had given Iſrael in the Wilderneſs, a Body of Moral Political and Eccleſiaſtical Laws, when he formed them into a National Common-Wealth and Church, or Political and Eccleſiaſtical State, and their Kings are by Moſes enjoined to govern themſelves and their People by theſe ſtanding aws.

From what is ſaid in the latter Part of the 20th Ver. (To the End that he, that is, the King may pro ong his Days in his Kingdom, he and his Children in the midſt of Iſrael) it appears that God intended to eſtabliſh a ſucceſſive Right in that Family, to which he gave the Kingdom, if they continued in a conſtant Obſervation of his Laws.

Saul their firſt King, diſobeyed God, and diſregarded his Laws, and therefore the Kingdom was taken from his Family, and given to David, who was a ſtrict Obſerver of the Divine Laws (except in the Matter of Uriah, which Sin on his Repentance, God pardoned) and the Kingdom was tranſmitted to his Son Solomon. He, tho' highly favoured of God, yet in ſundry Inſtances rebelled againſt him, and trampled on his Laws. For he not only gave himſelf up to the wanton Embraces of many Women, but of many ſtrange Women, ſuch as were not Iſraelites by Nation or Profeſſion, but of idolatrous Nations, with whom the Lord had expreſly prohibited Iſrael in general, but more eſpecially their Kings, to contract Marriage; and by their Allurements, he was ſeduced to worſhip filthy and abominable Idols of the Neighbour Nations. And in Puniſhment of his Idolatry and Apoſtacy, God rent away ten Tribes from his Son Rehoboam, & gave them to his Servant Jeroboam, the firſt Founder of the new & diſtinct Kingdom of Iſrael. God ſays, Solomon's Son ſhall have one Tribe, for his Servant David's ſake, and Jeruſalem's ſake, which he had choſen. 1 Kin. Ch. 11. 31, 32.—That David my Servant may have a Light always before me in Jeruſalem—ver. 36. By a Light, is meant a Succeſſion of Kings. Aſa & Jehoſaphat only of all the Kings of Judah from Solomon to Hezekiah, had the Character of pious and virtuous Kings, and tho' God in ſtrict Juſtice might have rent the whole Kingdom from the Family of David, when they turned aſide from God & Obedience to his Laws, yet for his Oath's ſake to David, he continued the Kingdom in his Family, and to his Poſterity, and thereby Jeruſalem was preſerved, and continued the Place of Worſhip, according to the Divine Inſtitution.

King Ahaz, the Father of Hezekiah, was a very impious Prince, yet when the King of Iſrael and the King of Syria, were in a Confederacy to cut off the Royal Family of Judah, God remembred his ancient Promiſes to David, and ſent Iſaiah to aſſure him, that their evil Counſel ſhould not ſtand, or come to paſs. See Iſai. Ch. 7. ver. 3—7. The Houſe of David was exceedingly moved at that Time, ver. 2. God offers Ahaz a Sign (which he himſelf ſhould chuſe) of the Truth of what he had declared and promiſed, ver. 10, 11. but Ahaz refuſed to aſk a Sign, becauſe he was in Deſpair, and diſbelieved God's Word, ver. 12. Iſaiah thereupon directs his Speech to the Royal Family in general, to comfort them under diſmal deſponding Apprehenſions, and aſſures them that God's Promiſes to the Family of David, ſhould never fail, but ſhould have their full and final Completion in the Meſſias, who ſhould be born of a Virgin, ver. 13, 14. This Prophecy, concerning a Virgin's conceiving and bringing forth the Emanuel, (God with us) was now delivered to raiſe and ſupport the drooping Spirits of the Houſe of David, who ſeeing ſo great a Force armed againſt them, were under terrible Apprehenſions of their utter Extirpation near at Hand, from which this Prediction did relieve them, by giving Aſſurance, that their Houſe ſhould ſtand and continue, 'till this promiſed Emanuel ſhould be born of their Race.

Ahaz, inſtead of being reformed by the Mercy of God in breaking the Confederacy of the two Kings, became more wicked than he was before, for he cleaved to the worſt Abominations of the heathen Nations round about him. See 2 Chron. Ch. 28. ver. 2, 3, 4. And therefore God for his Puniſhment, brought upon him again the two confederated Kings, from whom he had delivered him the former Year, who made terrible Havock and Deſtruction. See ver. 5, 6. and ſoon after the Land was invaded by the Edomites and Philiſtines, and expoſed to their Ravages. After all this he continued hardened in his Impiety, and would not ſeek to God, nor turn from his wicked Ways, but putting his Confidence in Man (and not in God) engaged the King of Aſſyria, by a ſacrilegious Preſent, to come for his Aſſiſtance, who rather diſtreſſed than helped him.

After this, he gave himſelf up to Idolatry, and worſhipped the Gods of the Syrians, as well as of the other Nations, and filled Jeruſalem and Judah with Idols, and their Altars.

And upon the whole it is evident that the Reign of Ahaz was a moſt calamitous Time, and the People of Judah and Jeruſalem were in an evil State, and all Things conſidered, a more diſmal Scene was open'd than ever before. He who apoſtatized from God, and bid open Defiance to his ſacred Inſtitutions, 'tis eaſy to ſuppoſe, did conduct in Violation of the political or civil Laws, as well as the Moral and Eccleſiaſtical.—He reigned in Unrighteouſneſs, & the Princes or Magiſtrates under him, by his Command, or wicked Example, ruled with Injuſtice. In Addition to the Calamities of War and Devaſtation from without by foreign Armies, Tyranny and Oppreſſion were triumphant within.

Now in this gloomy and tempeſtuous Time, the Prophecy of my Text and Context is publiſhed by Iſaiah, in the Name of the Lord, to ſupport the ſinking Spirits of his People, to raiſe in them a comfortable Hope, and to give them a joyful Proſpect of a Time ſoon to come, when God would graciouſly give them a religious and righteous King and good Magiſtrates, under whoſe wiſe and juſt and mild Adminiſtration of Government, they ſhould have ſome Reſpite, and be protected and ſaved from the terrible Evils that hitherto had come upon them, and almoſt overwhelmed them.

This Prediction is introduced with a Word demanding Attention to what ſhould be ſpoken, as a Matter of great Importance for the People to hear and underſtand—Behold—a King ſhall reign in Righteouſneſs, and Princes ſhall rule in Judgment—"Under the Government of ſo good a King as Hezekiah, inferiour Princes and Magiſtrates ſhall execute their Office with Integrity and Faithfulneſs." Lowth's Comment.

Righteouſneſs and Judgment are often uſed in Scripture the one for the other, and to expreſs the ſame Thing, and yet we may ſuppoſe that ſometimes they expreſs Ideas diſtinct or ſomewhat different.

The 72d Pſalm Beginning may be conſidered as a parallel Place with my Text—Give the King thy Judgments, and thy Righteouſneſs to the King's Son, ver. 1. As if David had ſaid, "O God, beſtow upon Solomon (who now ſits upon my Throne) ſuch a right Judgment in all Things, and ſuch Uprightneſs and Integrity of Heart, that he may govern thy People according to thy Laws, and tempering Juſtice with Mercy, may be a worthy Succeſſor of me." He ſhall judge thy People with Righteouſneſs, and thy People with Judgment, ver. 2. q. d. "He needs thy ſpecial Guidance & Aſſiſtance, by which he may be able to adminiſter all Affairs with ſuch impartial Juſtice and Clemency, that his pooreſt Subjects may be as dear to him, as they are to Thee; and recover their Rights, or be preſerved in them, from the Power of thoſe who would oppreſs them."Bp Patrick's Paraphr.

It follows in the ſecond Verſe of my Text, And a Man ſhall be as an hiding Place from the Wind, and a Covert from the Tempeſt, as Rivers of Water in a dry Place, as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land: That is, "This Man the Prince, the King, ſhall be a Refuge to us, when the Storms of Calamities overtake us, or the Oppreſſions of our Enemies, like exceſſive Heat, do ſcorch and conſume us." Lowth's Comment. A like metaphorical Expreſſion we have in Iſai. 25. 4. directed to God the great King— For thou haſt been—a Refuge from the Storm, a Shadow from the Heat, when the Blaſt of the terrible Ones is as a Storm againſt the Wall." Which may be apply'd to the Protection and Deliverance which God vouchſafed to the Jews from Sennacherib and his Army.

"The Prophet compares the Oppreſſions of thoſe Strangers & Infidels to an exceſſive Drought which parched up every Thing, & ver. 5. He ſays, God will over-ſhadow his People, and protect them 'till this Tyranny be overpaſt." A like manner of Expreſſion we have in Ch. 4. 6. And there ſhall be a Tabernacle for a Shadow in the Day-Time from the Heat, and for a Place of Refuge, and for a Covert from Storm and from Rain. That is, God will protect his People, defend and ſecure them from Calamities, Oppreſſions and afflicting Evils.

When Hezekiah ſet on the Throne, he reformed the Abuſes and Evils that had ſprung up and flouriſhed in the Reign of his Father: And whereas Shebna, who had not a good Character, was Prime Miniſter of State in the Reign of Ahaz, this King removed him, and put Eliakim, in his Place. Compare Iſai. 22. 15. with Ch. 36. 3. This Eliakim was a Father to the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem, and to the Houſe of Judah, i.e. had a tender Care of thoſe who were under his Government, Ch. 22. ver. 20, 21.—He was a Prince that ruled in Judgment.

The King began his Reign with the Reformation of Religion; he opened the Houſe of God, and reſtored the true Worſhip of God, according to the Divine Law; he ordered the Prieſts and Levites to attend their Duty at the Temple. He cauſed his Father's idolatrous Altar to be removed, and reſtored the Lord's Altar to it's Place, and purged the Temple of all other Pollutions, with which it had been prophaned.—The Houſe of God being ſanctified, the King, the Rulers and great Men of his Kingdom went thither, with the People, and offered Sacrifices of Atonement & Peace-Offerings. And the Service of God was fully reſtored, as it had been performed in the pureſt Times.

And the King called the People together from all Parts of the Land, to ſolemnize the Paſſover, at which there was a very great Congregation—and was the greateſt Paſſover that had been kept for many Generations paſt:—and when this Solemnity was ended, by the Command and under the Direction of the King, the People went out into all the Coaſts of Judah and Benjamin, and brake the Images in Pieces, and cut down the Groves, and threw down the high Places and the Altars, and utterly deſtroyed all the Monuments of Idolatry, which were found in Jeruſalem & Judea, and the Coaſt thereof; and thoſe of the other Tribes, on their return home, did the ſame in all other Parts of the Land; and ſo the true Worſhip of God was univerſally reſtored. And even the brazen Serpent made by Moſes in the Wilderneſs, was not ſpared; which had been (in the Times of Corruption and Apoſtacy) made an Object of idolatrous Worſhip.—Thus Hezekiah reigned in Righteouſneſs, according to the Divine Law.

And not only was he a religious and righteous Prince, but he was a Father of his People, in providing for their Defence againſt the Aſſyrian Army.

When Jeruſalem was threatned with Invaſion by Sennacherib, the King appeared in the Character of a couragious and magnanimous, as well as faithful Ruler. He made all manner of Preparations for the Defence of the City and Annoyance of the Enemy, in Caſe of a Seige. He cauſed the People to be enroll'd and marſhal'd, that were able for the War, and placed over them Captains of Experience, to inſtruct them in all military Exerciſes, and to lead them forth againſt the Enemy. And above all theſe Preparations for Defence, he put his Truſt in God, as appears by that excellent Speech 〈◊〉 made to the military Officers, 2 Chron. 32. 7, 8. Be ſtrong and couragious, be not afraid nor diſmayed for the King of Aſſyria, nor for all his Multitude that is with him, for there be more with us than with him—with him is an Arm of Fleſh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our Battles.—And 'tis ſaid, The People reſted themſelves upon the Words of Hezekiah: i. e. relied upon what he ſaid, as if it had been ſpoken to them by God himſelf. And God rewarded Hezekiah's Piety and his religious Regard to the Law of God in his Adminiſtration of Government, with a proſperous Reign, and a very ſignal Deliverance from the violent Attempts of the Aſſyrians; for when the Army was on a full March towards Jeruſalem, with a Purpoſe to deſtroy the City & Inhabitants, God ſent a terrible Deſtruction upon them, 2 Kin. 19. 35.

And upon the whole, 'tis evident, that this pious and righteous Prince, under God, was a hiding Place from the Wind, a Covert from the Storm of War, and Devaſtation thereof, as refreſhing Waters to the thirſty, as a Shadow of Defence from the violent and ſcorching Heat; a Protector & Defender of his People from the deſtructive Evils, with which they were threatned.

And this King of Judah is exhibited as a Pattern of Piety and Juſtice, exerted for the Honour of God, and his Laws, and for the Safety & Felicity of the People under his Government: He is ſet forth as a Pattern, for the Imitation of all Chriſtian Kings. Religion, in the firſt Place, ought to be the Concern of every Chriſtian Prince. He that ruleth over Men, muſt rule in the Fear of God, 2 Sam. 23. 3. i. e. in the exact Obſervance of all the Divine Laws. And accordingly (as you have heard) Kings were enjoined to copy out the Law, and read therein all the Days of their Life, (Deut. 17. 19.) that they might have a Senſe of Religion and Piety on their Hearts, and manifeſt it in their Practice. Hezekiah was eminent for Piety towards God, and a zealous Regard to his Laws and Worſhip, and therefore he reigned in Righteouſneſs, and the Magiſtrates under Him, ruled in Judgment. His Eyes (as David's) were upon the faithful of the Land, to dwell with him. i. e. to be of his Council, and he choſe them who were of a perfect Way, (i. e. honeſt & upright) to ſerve him in the Adminiſtration of Government. All good Kings are mindful of God and his ſacred Laws, and they think themſelves obliged to promote the religious Obſervance due thereunto.—It is the Province of Rulers to be Patrons of Religion, to be nurſing Fathers of the Church. And God is pleaſed to ſhower down his Bleſſings upon pious Princes, and He makes them great Benefactors to the People. A People are ſafe and happy, by the Favour of Heaven, under Rulers who, above all Things, have a ſtrict and zealous Regard to the Honour of God and Obedience to his ſacred Inſtitutions.

And now, having conſidered the primary Senſe of my Text, in Application to King Hezekiah; it follows,

II. To ſhew, that there is alſo a ſecondary Senſe of the Words to be attended, for the fuller Illuſtration of them.

This Senſe is very evident in a great many Prophecies of the Old Teſtament. It is called a ſecondary Senſe, not as if it were leſs principally intended by the Prophets, but rather with Reſpect to the Time, becauſe it is the laſt and ultimate Completion of their Predictions: Which is alſo called the myſtical or figurative Senſe, by which is meant a more remote, but a natural and neceſſary Signification, in Contradiſtinction to the literal or immediate Signification, which is a Type or Figure of the other. "All Types or Figures being to have a Reſpect to the Things figured; if we conſider them as Figures, we ſpeak at the ſame Time of that which they repreſent; ſo that which is ſaid, has neceſſarily two proper and natural Senſes; one that agrees to the Figure, and another to the Thing figured: Sometimes the Figure is more evidently ſpoken of than the Thing figured, but ſometimes alſo ſuch Words are purpoſely choſen, as agree better to the Thing figured than the Figure, to ſhew that what is ſaid is but a Figure, and ought not to be reſted in. The Old Teſtament is a Figure of the New, and all thoſe Things which befell the Jews, were Figures of whatever ſhould happen to Jeſus Chriſt, and his Diſciples." Dupin's Canon of Scripture, Vol. I.

The Apoſtle Paul thus expreſſes himſelf, in 1 Cor. 10. 11. Now all theſe Things happened unto them for Examples, or Types or Figures ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) according to the Greek, ſpeaking of Iſrael's being under the Cloud, and paſſing thro' the Sea &c. and their eating the Manna and drinking Water out of the Rock; all which were Types or Figures of Goſpel ſpiritual Bleſſings. See ver. 1—4.

"But tho' the chief Perſons, and principal Events of the old Teſtament are Figures, yet ſome are more evidently ſuch, and others more obſcurely; ſome are written only as Hiſtories, and left to be interpreted, and others are written ſo that we may plainly ſee they are but Figures, and their Relation naturally and neceſſarily carries the Mind to ſomething more lofty: Such are many of the Prophecies of the old Teſtament concerning Jeſus Chriſt, and his Church: They are capable of two Senſes, that of the Figure, and that of the Thing figured; this latter is not an arbitrary, but a proper and neceſſary Senſe, becauſe the Words themſelves ſhew that the Deſign of the Writer was to repreſent by a Figure ſomething more ſublime. As for Example, when the Kingdom of David, and the Marriage of Solomon is ſpoken of in ſuch lofty and magnificent Terms, tis viſible, the Writer intended to ſpeak of ſomething more ſublime; i. e. of the Kingdom of Chriſt, and his Union with the Church, to which what he ſays of the Kingdom of David, and the Marriage of Solomon, much more naturally agrees." Dupin' ibid.

And of this Kind is the Prophecy of my Text and Context, which tho' primarily relating to Hezekiah, and the Jewiſh Church and State, yet ſecondarily relates to Jeſus Chriſt, of whom that King was a Type; and tho' it might have, and hitherto has had a Fulfilment by ſeveral Steps and Degrees, ſince the Times of the Goſpel commenced, (as I ſhall ſhew under the third general Head, when I ſhall conſider this Prophecy by Way of Accommodation) yet as I obſerved in my Introduction, this Prediction has never yet been fulfilled ſince the Coming of Chriſt in its ultimate and moſt ſublime Senſe, nor ſhall be, till the Millennial Period arrives. And therefore I conſider this Prophecy as typical of that happy State of the Church and World in the latter Days. And in the juſt Latitude of its ſecondary or myſtical Senſe—1. Ahaz was a Type or Figure of Antichriſt, that apoſtatiſed from the true Worſhip of the true God to Idolatry &c.—2. Hezekiah was a Type of Chriſt in one of the laſt glorious Diſplays of his kingly Power and Office, in a thoro' Reformation of the Church, and cleanſing the Chriſtian Sanctuary from all Antichriſtianiſm. And 3. Senacherib with his Aſſyrian Army, was a Type of Gog and Magog, that ſhall ariſe at the End of the Millennium & compaſs the Camp of the Saints or New Jeruſalem.

(1.) Ahaz was a Type or Figure of Antichriſt that apoſtatized from the true Worſhip of the true God to Idolatry & Idolatrous Worſhip.—'Tis ſaid Ahaz made molten Images for Baalim, 2 Chron. 28. 2. which was a general Name of the Gods of the Nations round about 〈◊〉 in particular, 'tis ſaid, ver. 23. that he ſacrific •• 〈◊〉 the Gods of Damaſcus, that is, the Syrian God which were called Baalim; and ſetting up Image-Worſhip, according to the Practice of the Nations, he ſacrificed and burnt Incenſe in the high Places, ver. 4. i. e. unto his Idols. And ſuppreſſing the Worſhip of God according to his Law, by ſhutting up the Temple, he took Care the People of Judah ſhould not go up to Jeruſalem, by erecting high Places in every City, wherein to perform divine Worſhip and Service to Baalim, ver. 24, 25. Theſe Baalim call'd by the Greek Philoſophers and Poets Daemons ( 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) were an inferior Kind of deify'd Powers, as Mediators between the ſovereign Gods and mortal Man; and theſe Baalim or Daemons were the Souls of Men (Kings, Heroes & others) deify'd or canonized for Gods after their Death. This appears from Heſ od, Plato, and others.

Theſe deceaſed Men thus turned into Gods had the Name of Baalim from Bell or Baal, the firſt King of Babel, after Nimrod, or rather Nimrod himſelf, Voſius de Idolol. who is ſuppoſed to be the firſt Man who was deify'd or reputed as a God after Death, and accordingly worſhipped.—And afterwards many other deceaſed Heroes & Kings were added and put among the Number of the Gods.—Baal, whoſe Worſhip Jezebel of Tyre, brought into Iſrael, was a deify'd Phenician King of that Name. This Order of Daemons had Place in the Religion of the ancient Romans, who called them Penates, Lares, and Dii Manes. See Danet's Dict. And when they canonized their deceaſed Emperors, (which began at the Death of Auguſtus) they called them Divi, that is, Gods of a ſecond Rank.—This was the Doctrine of Baalim, a middle Sort of divine Powers; their Office was to be Mediators or Agents between the ſovereign Gods and Men, and the Way of worſhipping them, was by conſecrating Images, in which to have and retain the Preſence of theſe Daemons at their Devotions. This Worſhip of Baalim or Daemons was bro't into Judah & Jeruſalem by King Ahaz, as it was b o't into Iſrael 200 Years before by Ahab & Jezebel. See 1 Kin. Ch. 16. 30, 31, 32.

And now let us ſee, how the Pagan Doctrine of Baalim and the Worſhip thereof is imitated by the Romiſh Church.

The great Apoſtacy of the Chriſtian Church began in departing from the Faith, and giving heed to ſeducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils, (Gr. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ) or Daemons, which is foretold by St. Paul, 1 Tim. 4. 1.

As the Reign of Antichriſt began in Boniface the Third, Bp of Rome, whom, (with his Succeſſors) Phocas, Emperor of Conſtantinople, made Supreme Head of the Church, and univerſal Biſhop over all Churches whatſoever, A.D. 606, ſo his immediate Succeſſor Boniface the 4th, in two or three Years after, by Leave from Phocas, opened the Pantheon at Rome, i. e. the Temple of Cybele, and all the Gods, and inſtead of the Pagan Deities, commanded the Virgin Mary, and all Saints and Martyrs, to be worſhipped in that Temple, and conſecrated it for that Purpoſe. Platin. Vit. Bonifac.

The Heathens generally worſhipped one ſupreme God, but with him they ſet up other inferior Gods, created Deities, whom they ſtiled Daemons or Heroes; theſe were ſubordinate Divinities, Mediators & Interceſſors with the ſupreme God. This was the Worſhip of Baalim, which Ahaz introduced into his Kingdom, in his great Apoſtacy from the God of Iſrael, and his true Worſhip.

So it is in the Church of Rome, and this was the great Apoſtacy of the Chriſtian Church, when from being the Spouſe of Chriſt, ſhe was turned into a Harlot, being guilty of ſpiritual Adultery, even as Iſrael & Judah. See Hoſ. Ch. 2. ver. 2, 4, 5. Tho' the Papiſts acknowledge the One true God, yet they have introduced Angels and Saints, as the Objects of Worſhip, to whom they pray, and before whom they proſtrate themſelves, and pay religious Adoration, which is correſpondent to the Daemon-Worſhip of the Pagans.—It is worthy of Obſervation, that when Ahaz cauſed an Idolatrous Altar (in Form of Baalim's Altar which he ſaw at Damaſcus) to be made and ſet up in the Place of the Altar of the Lord in the Temple, which he therefore cauſed to be removed. I ſay, when Ahaz did this, at the ſame Time he ſaid to Urijah, that the Brazen Altar (i.e. the Altar of the Lord) ſhould be for him to enquire by, 2 King. 16. 15. Tho' he made a ſolemn Injunction that all the public Sacrifices of what Sort ſoever they were, whether made by himſelf, or by the People, ſhould be conſtantly offered upon his Altar, which he calls the great Altar, (becauſe it was much bigger than the Altar of God) ver. 15. yet, he would not have it thought, that he intended wholly to lay aſide the Altar made by Solomon, but rather to do it great Honour, by reſerving it for his private Uſe, when he pleaſed to enquire of God, or at leaſt he pretended ſome Regard to it, tho' he had degraded it.See Bp Patrick's Comment.

And this is the Language and Practice of Antichriſt; for the Pope of Rome cauſes Shrines and Altars to be made and ſet up for the Virgin Mary and the Saints, the Chriſtian, or rather Antichriſtian Baalim, and orders ſolemn and divine Adoration and Worſhip to be given unto them; and at the ſame Time pretends to have a religious Veneration for God and the Lord Jeſus Chriſt; though hereby Chriſt is excluded his Office, as the one only Mediator between God and Man.—So the true Chriſtian Altar is removed, and the refined Altar of Baalim, with a Chriſtian Name is put in its Place. And as Ahaz in Conformity to the Pagans, worſhipped the Syrian Gods in & by Images and Statues or Idols, accounting them as Repreſentations and Symbols of the Gods to whom divine Worſhip was paid, (for neither He nor the wiſer Heathens tho't theſe Images to be Gods, yet the worſhipping them, and the Gods in and by them is true Idolatry)—So the Papiſts, who make and ſet up Images of God and Jeſus Chriſt, the Virgin Mary and the Saints, and do not take theſe Images to be Gods, but only Repreſentations of them, and erected to their Honour, are nevertheleſs juſtly charged with Idolatry, becauſe they fall down before them, and pay religious Worſhip unto them. And thus it appears, that the Apoſtacy of Ahaz from the true Worſhip of God to Idolatry, and the Worſhip of Baalim, was a Figure or Type of the great Apoſtacy of the Chriſtian Church to Antichriſtianiſm.

2. Hezekiah was a Type of Chriſt in one of the laſt and glorious Diſplays of his Regal Power and Office, when he ſhall throughly cleanſe the Chriſtian Church from all Antichriſtian Idolatries and Impurities.

"Jeſus Chriſt, the true and eternal God, has an eſſential Kingdom, co-eternal with himſelf, and inſeparable from his Being. And He has a Kingdom, and is King, as God-Man, and Mediator between God and Man, and the Church is more peculiarly his Kingdom, as conſiſting of that Part of the World which owns his Authority, makes a viſible Profeſſion of Fealty to him, and Submiſſion to his Laws: And as for the other Parts of the World, they are all of Right his Subjects, by Virtue of that univerſal regal Authority where with God the Father hath inveſted him, but in Fact are Slaves to the Prince of Darkneſs, whoſe Dominion in the World is no other than a Uſurpation on the Kingdom of Chriſt.—But the Church is that Part of the World, that hath thrown off the Yoke of this Uſurper, and by a ſolemn Profeſſion, ſurrendered up it ſelf to the Authority of Chriſt its rightful Lord and Sovereign: and hence the Members of the Church are ſaid to be tranſlated out of the Kingdom of Darkneſs, into the Kingdom of the Son of God. See Col. 1. 13." And this Church or viſible Kingdom of Chriſt may be thus defined:—It is one univerſal Society of all Chriſtian People incorporated by the New Covenant in Baptiſm under Jeſus Chriſt its Supreme Head, and diſtributed under lawful Governors & Paſtors into particular Churches, holding Communion with each other in all the Eſſentials of Chriſtian Faith and Worſhip and Diſcipline. Scot's Chriſtian Life, Vol. 3.

The viſible Body or Church of Jeſus Chriſt on Earth, comprehends all the Profeſſors of his Name throughout the whole World, who retain the Purity of the Faith and the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Love. King's Crit. Hiſt. Apoſt. Creed,

Now for this viſible Church or Kingdom on Earth, and the Government thereof, Chriſt the King has preſcribed Laws, firſt by himſelf perſonally, and afterwards by his Apoſtles under the Inſpiration of his Spirit, and as King over his Church, he defends it againſt the Attempts of its Enemies.—"And for this End, He appoints Kings and Governors the Nurſing Fathers of his Church, as was anciently predicted, Iſai. 49. v. 23. who in Analogy to that Name are to protect it, in the Profeſſion and Exerciſe of the true Religion, to ſecure its Peace and good Order by wholeſome Laws, to chaſten and correct its irregular Members, and to make proper Proviſion for the Decency of its Worſhip, and the Maintenance of its Miniſters, or ſpiritual Paſtors. Theſe are alſo of his Appointment (as King of his Church) to preach his Goſpel, to adminiſter his holy Sacraments, to offer up the public Prayers of Chriſtian Congregations, and to perform all other Acts and Offices in the Church, according to the Goſpel Inſtitution."

Jeſus Chriſt has had ſuch a Kingdom on Earth, ſince his Aſcenſion into Heaven, but hitherto his viſible Kingdom has not had a large Spread upon the Earth.—"The Infidel Part of the World is very vaſt and large—The greateſt Kingdoms of the Earth are Tartary, India, China, Perſia and Turkey, which are Strangers to the Religion of Jeſus, except a ſmall Number in Turkey.—If we divide the World into ſix Parts, we ſhall find that five of them know not Chriſt, but are either the idolatrous Pagans (which are the greateſt Number) or Jews or Mahometans; and of the remaining ſixth Part, Popery hath ſpread it ſelf thro' the moſt flouriſhing Kingdoms of Europe, and has got Footing in Aſia and Africa, and America; and among the Churches which diſown Popery, ſome are groſly ignorant, erroneous and ſuperſtitious, as the Churches of Muſcovy, Abyſſnia (or Upper-Ethiopia) and thoſe called the Greek Churches, both in Aſia and Europe; ſo that they hardly deſerve the Name of Chriſtian Churches"—Not to ſpeak of the Ignorance, Infidelity, Hereſy, & Immorality that ſeems to cover the Proteſtant Churches: So that the true Church of Chriſt is at this Day (as it has been in preceeding Times) a little Flock.—But if we look into the Prophecies of the Old Teſtament, we ſhall find they ſpeak of the vaſt Extent of Chriſt's viſible Kingdom on Earth, and ſeeing thoſe Prophecies have never yet been accompliſhed, we muſt conclude that there is a Time yet to come, before the Conſummation of all Things, wherein our Saviour will once more diſplay the glorious Banner of his Croſs, and like a mighty Man of War, march on conquering and to conquer, 'till he has compleated his Victory over all the Powers of the Earth, and brought all the World into a State of Subjection and Obedience to him and his Goſpel: When the Kingdoms of the World ſhall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Chriſt.

There are a great Number of Texts in Iſaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor Prophets, which ſpeak of this univerſal Kingdom of the Meſſias. I ſhall name only one or two. 'Tis ſaid in Dan. Ch. 2. 34, 35. that the Stone cut out of the Mountain without Hands, (by which all agree the Kingdom of Chriſt is ſignified) ſhould become a great Mountain, and fill the whole Earth. And in Zech. 14. 9. 'tis ſaid, the Lord ſhall be King over all the Earth. But the moſt ſignal and renowned Place of Scripture, concerning the future glorious State of the Chriſtian Church on Earth, is in the New-Teſtament: Rev. Ch. 20. begin. where is (in Viſion) expreſly foretold the Binding of Satan a thouſand Years, and the Saints living and reigning with Chriſt a thouſand Years.

That this happy Period is not paſt, we may ſatisfy our ſelves, by conſidering, that from the Beginning of Goſpel Times, to this Day, there never has been a thouſand Years that deſerve the Name, or anſwer the Characters of this bleſſed Millennium.

This laſt State of the Church and the World is expreſſed by new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteouſneſs, 2 Pet. 3. 13. which (ſays the Apoſtle Peter,) we look for according to his Promiſe, evidently referring to the Prophet Iſaiah, for this is his Style in expreſſing the glorious Times of the Goſpel; For behold (ſays God) I create new Heavens and a new Earth, Ch. 65. 17. And again, Ch. 66. 22.—The new Heavens and the new Earth which I will make—And from him (not only Peter) but the Apoſtle John borrows and uſes the ſame Metaphor of a new Heaven and a new Earth, (Rev. 21. 1.) in deſcribing the Millennium mentioned in the Beginning of the preceeding Chapter.

This cannot be meant of the Church triumphant and State of the bleſſed in Heaven; for the new Heavens and the new Earth, ver. 1. are the ſame with the holy City, the new Jeruſalem, ver. 2. into which the Kings of the Earth bring their Glory and Honour, ver. 24. i. e. the gentile Kings being converted to Chriſtianity, ſhall come with all their honourable Retinue, to ſubmit to the Sceptre of Jeſus, to own themſelves his Subjects, and ambitious to be Members of this glorious Church on Earth.

It is very evident, and I ſuppoſe univerſally agreed, that Jeruſalem the Metropolis of Judea, was a Type of the Chriſtian viſible Church (as the Temple and Sacrifices and other ceremonial Services thereof, were a Type of the pure Goſpel Service and Worſhip) and David under this Figure, celebrates the Beauty and Glory of the Goſpel-Church in the latter Days, Pſal. 48. ver. 1, 2.—The City of our God—beautiful for Situation, the Joy of the whole Earth, is Mount Sion, the City of the great King—i.e. the Chriſtian Church in her viſible and glorious State, the City of Chriſt the great King. And in the Book of Ezekiel, from Chap. 40th to the End of the Book, we have a Deſcription of the Millennial State of the GoſpelChurch, repreſented under the Figure of the City of Jeruſalem and the Temple.

The Prophet was in Viſion brought into the Land of Iſrael, and was ſet upon a very high Mountain, by which was the Frame of a City on the South, i.e. on the South-Side of Mount Sion. He ſaw to the South ward of him, a Repreſentation of the City and Temple ſtanding upon an Eminence, And John's Viſion of the new Jeruſalem (tho' it is to be obſerved there was no Temple there) is form'd upon the Plan of Ezekiel's Viſion. See Rev. 21. 10, 11. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain, and ſhewed me that great City, the holy Jeruſalem, deſcending out of Heaven from God, having the Glory of God. Now to prepare for this bleſſed State, the Lord Jeſus will come a ſecond Time, (not perſonally, but by his Spirit) with his Fan in his Hand, and will thro'ly purge the Floor of his viſible Church from all the Chaff of Superſtition, and Idolatry, Schiſm & Hereſy, Irreligion & Immorality, with which it is almoſt totally covered. And he ſhall be as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver, and he ſhall purify the Sons of Levi (the Miniſters of the Goſpel) and purge them as Gold and Silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an Offering in Righteouſneſs. See Mal. 3. 3. At this Time, that moſt corrupt Faction of Chriſtians, or rather moſt wicked Cabal of Antichriſtians (called in Scripture the myſtical Babylon & Antichriſt) ſhall be utterly broken, and the Kings & Princes of the Nations (the ten Horns) who had before been Partakers with the Romiſh Church in its ſoul Impoſtures and Corruptions, will be turned to hate the antichriſtian Whore, and ſhall make her deſolate and naked, and ſhall eat her Fleſh, and burn her with Fire, Rev. 17. 16.

This is the happy Time when Antichriſt's Reign, i.e. domineering perſecuting Power ſhall come to an End, which (as it began A.D. 606, and muſt continue 1260 Years) is at 108 Years Diſtance from the preſent Time. Then ſhall begin the cleanſing of the Sanctuary predicted and in Type foreſhewed in Daniel, Ch. 8. Tho' it may take up half a Century or more for the thorough purging the Church from all antichriſtian Impurities.

To prepare for the pouring out the 5th Vial on the Seat of the Roman Beaſt: The 4th Vial ſhall be poured out on the Sun: That is, the grand Supports of the Papacy ſhall be removed, the Houſe of Auſtria, and the Houſe of Bourbon—Theſe Powers of Europe ſhall be broken and their Empires overturned. After the Ruin of Antichriſt, follows the Downfall of the Turkiſh Empire, foreſhewed by the pouring out the ſixth Vial on the great River Euphrates (Rev. 16. 12.) i. e. the People inhabiting there, the Turks who dwell in that Part of the World—and the Water thereof was dried up, i. e. the Turkiſh Empire is overturned. It follows,—that the Way of the Kings of the Eaſt might be prepared. Some great Potentates of the eaſtern Nations ſhall come over to the Chriſtian Church, and the Goſpel ſhall be preached to thoſe Nations. The 6th Vial ſhall demoliſh the Turkiſh and Perſian Empires, and deſtroy the Mahometan Religion, in which Empires it now flouriſhes. This will prepare the Way for goſpelizing all the Nations of the Eaſt.—The 7th Vial poured into the Air is the immediate Fore-runner of the Millenium, when a great Voice came out of the Temple of Heaven from the Throne, ſaying, it is done, ver. 17.

Then the Goſpel ſhall be preached to all the Nations of the Earth.—The Jews ſhall be converted to Chriſt and gathered in, from all their Diſperſions, and the Fulneſs of the Gentiles ſhall come in with the Jews to the Chriſtian Church. See Rom. 11. 25.—This is the Time ſpoken of by the Prophet Iſaiah (Chap. 11. 9.) when the Earth ſhall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. And when every thing that offends is taken out of the Way, the Earth ſhall be bleſſed with an univerſal Peace, which is clearly predicted by the evangelical Prophet, Iſai. Chap. 2. 4. Nation ſhall not lift up Sword againſt Nation, neither ſhall they learn War any more: Which peaceful State is alſo foretold in many other Places of the Prophets. Univerſal Righteouſneſs and Holineſs ſhall be an Attendant of this laſt Diſpenſation—Thy People ſhall be all righteous, ſays the Prophet, Iſai. 60. 21. And they ſhall not defile themſelves any more with their deteſtable Things, Ezek. 37. 23. Religion ſhall appear in it's native Purity, the Influence of the holy Spirit on Men's Hearts, ſhall be conſpicuous in their Lives—then in a more eminent Manner, than ever before the bleſſed Jeſus ſhall be exalted and glorifyed. "In theſe bleſſed Days there ſhall be no new Religion, but new Hearts—Religion and Piety ſhall be in high Reputation, Goodneſs and Holineſs ſhall be eſteemed moſt honourable, all Perfidiouſneſs and Falſhood ſhall ceaſe and diſappear—Truth, Sincerity, Integrity and Open-Heartedneſs ſhall univerſally prevail—All ſiniſter and baſe Deſigns, all unworthy Aims and vicious Ends ſhall be laid aſide, and the Glory of God and the Honour of Chriſt ſhall have a mighty and moſt prevailing Influence in the Hearts and Lives of Men.

This ſhall be the latter End of Chriſt's Kingdom on Earth. And this happy State of Things ſhall be enlivened and enlightned, tho' not with Chriſt's perſonal Preſence, yet with his Preſence by the Influence of his Spirit, in an high and very uncommon Meaſure; for ſo we read in the apocalyptic Viſion, that upon the new Jeruſalem's coming down from Heaven, a great Voice was heard ſaying, Behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men, and He will dwell with them; and they ſhall be his People, and God himſelf ſhall be with them and be their God."—By the powerful Aids of Heaven, Men ſhall be enabled to ſubdue their Luſts, to conquer their Vices, and with Exactneſs to conform their Lives to the Rules of the Goſpel.

"And as to the outward Means and Inſtruments, God will make Uſe of to bring about this great Work on Earth, 'tis moſt reaſonable to ſuppoſe it ſhall be effected by active and zealous Governors. Perſons of that Character have been heretofore raiſed up, in order to great Revolutions and Alterations in Church and State. This is evident in Cyrus and Conſtantine the firſt Chriſtian Emperor, and Charles the great, the Founder of the German Empire, in former Times: And in the Electors of Saxony firſt John and then Maurice at Luther's Reformation in Germany. And at the Beginning of the Reformation in England, what great and wonderful Things did the reſolute and courageous King Henry 8th bring to paſs?—Much more may be done in England & Europe, and all the World over by God's inſpiring the Hearts of ſome Chriſtian Kings and Princes with Valour and Reſolution, eſpecially by adding Virtue and Holineſs to their Courage, by touching their Hearts with a real Senſe of Religion. Kings and Governors thus qualified, can under God, accompliſh wonderful Things. Impious and debauched Rulers are the greateſt Miſchiefs & Plagues of the Earth; and accordingly it has been the Stratagem of Satan throughout all Ages to procure ſuch Magiſtrates as will abet and further his Deſign, i.e. who will patronize Irreligion & Vice, and if poſſible eſtabliſh it by Law: this has been the Cauſe of that Deluge of Vice and Debauchery which has broke into and overſpread Cities and Countries. But when God will vouchſafe to ſtem this mighty Torrent, he will ſet up ſome eminent Perſons in high Places, who by their powerful Laws as ſo many Walls and Ramparts ſhall effectually ſtop its impetuous Courſe. Edward's Survey, Vol. II." High Enthuſiaſts & Fanaticks make the Reign of Chriſt inconſiſtent with the Reign of Kings, and Rule of Princes. When Fifth-Monarchy-Men ſet up King Jeſus, they pull down all other Kings—But they forget that in the ſame Place where it is ſaid by the Prophet, Behold a King ſhall reign in Righteouſneſs, meaning Chriſt and this Kingdom I am now diſcourſing of, he adds, and Princes ſhall Rule in Judgment. So ſpeaks my Text: i.e. Kings and Potentates of the Nations, under Chriſt the great King.

The Monarchy of Chriſtian Princes is not incompatible with the Kingdom of Chriſt. "And ſo far are we from giving any Countenance to the Fifth Monarchy Enthuſiaſts and their Doctrine, that as we firmly believe, ſo we confidently aver, that the Kingdom of Jeſus Chriſt in the Millennial State (of which I am now ſpeaking) ſhall be ſet up and maintained by the Kings and Governours of the Earth; and I think we have good Ground for this, from Rev. 17. 16, 17. where we are expreſly told, that thoſe who formerly gave their Kingdom to the Beaſts, ſhall afterwards hate the Whore, and make her deſolate &c."

"And this great Work ſhall be alſo advanced by the Help of Goſpel Miniſters, whoſe Ability, Zeal and Faithfulneſs, are as requiſite in this great Affair, as of the Civil Magiſtrate.—Miniſters ſhall diſcharge their holy Function, according to the Chriſtian Law, ſhall make all Men ſee, that they make the Honour of God and Chriſt, and ſaving Mens Souls, the grand Deſign of their Miniſtry. Magiſtrates and Miniſters will go Hand in Hand towards accompliſhing that great Work of reforming the Church and the World. Zerubbabel the Governour, and Jeſhua the Prieſt, were joined in building the Temple, and in theſe happy Times to come there ſhall be no Diſagreement between the State and the Church.—In former Times very great Things have been done for promoting Religion and Virtue, by the hearty Concurrence of pious Magiſtrates & Miniſters—When they have acted jointly for the Advancement of Chriſt's Kingdom, wonderful Effects were viſible, as in the Times of thoſe religious Emperors Conſtantine and Theodoſius the elder. When Jeſus Chriſt ſhall ſend ſuch Princes and Leaders as Zerubbabel, and ſuch Miniſters of Religion as Jeſhua, ſuch Teachers and Scribes as Ezra, the Building of God's Houſe will ſoon be finiſhed.—When He appoints ſuch publick-ſpirited, pious & zealous Governours as Nehemiah, the Walls of the new Jeruſalem will ſoon be built up. Such great and noble Spirits being ſet on work, will by the divine Aſſiſtance eaſily bring the Work to Perfection. Then the Goſpel will be compleatly eſtabliſhed, Chriſtianity univerſally propagated, and evangelical Righteouſneſs will every where prevail upon the Earth."

And the Reformation begun and brought to Perfection by Hezekiah, an eminent Type of Chriſt, in this glorious Diſplay of his regal Power does moſt graphically ſet forth in Figure, this wonderful Reformation of the Church and of the World in the latter Days.

This pious King ordered the Prieſts to cleanſe the Sanctuary from all its idolatrous Pollutions—reſtored the Altar of the Lord to its Place; removed and deſtroyed the idolatrous Altars, and all Monuments of Idolatry; reſettled the Worſhip of God, according to the Law of Moſes; renewed the uſual Sacrifices, and cauſed the Paſſover to be kept with great Solemnity; reſettled the Courſes of the Prieſts and the Levites according to their Service; and in a Word, reſtored the ancient Worſhip in all its Order and Solemnity; a full Account of which we have in 2 Chron. Chapters 29. 30, 31. A moſt lively Emblem of what ſhall be done in the latter Times, when the Chriſtian Church ſhall be reſtored to its pure State & Worſhip, according to the Goſpel.

It remains to ſhew,

3. That Sennacherib with his Aſſyrian Army, was a Type of Gog and Magog, that ſhall ariſe at the End of the Millennium, & compaſs the Camp of the Saints, or the new Jeruſalem.

At the cloſe of the Millennium, the World again degenerates, and in a ſhort Time becomes very impious and wicked, by the Influence & Seduction of Satan, now comeforth from the bottomleſs Pit. At that Time, there ſhall be a woful Apoſtacy of a great Part of the World from Chriſtianity to Antichriſtianiſm; Papiſm, Mahometiſm, Paganiſm and Deviliſm—There ſhall then ariſe a deadly Generation of Vipers, a curſed Increaſe of the moſt profligate Sinners, who having ſeparated from the Church, will invade and endeavour to deſtroy it, and root out the Chriſtian Religion from the Earth. An Account of this we have in Rev. Ch.20. ver. 7, 8, 9. when the thouſand Years are expired, Satan ſhall be looſed out of his Priſon; and he ſhall go out to deceive the Nations which are in the four Quarters of the Earth, Gog & Magog, to gather them together to Battle, the Number of whom is as the Sand of the Sea, and they went up on the Breadth of the Earth and compaſſed the Camp of the Saints about and the beloved City, i. e. the new Jeruſalem. 'Tis propheſied in Ezekiel, Ch. 38, 39. that a little before the Beginning of the Millennium (figuratively deſcribed in the following Chapters) Gog and Magog (i.e. the Turks) ſhall beſet the Jews, at their Return from their Diſperſions to Paleſtine, with all their Force & Cavalry, and this for their Deſtruction. And the dreadful Overthrow of theſe Enemies of the Jews is there alſo foreſhewed. Soon after which that bleſſed State ſhall commence.

But that Gog and Magog is quite different from this in Rev. 20. Ch. For this Gog and Magog ſhall ariſe and invade the whole Chriſtian Church, Jews and Gentiles at the End of the Millennium. But John in other Inſtances, forming his Viſion on Ezekiel's Plan, as was noted before, ſo here, he takes from Ezekiel the Names of the laſt and moſt implacable Enemies of the Church, the Apoſtates from the Chriſtian Profeſſion; and ſo great ſhall be their Number when gathered in an Army, that they ſhall (as it were) cover all the Earth, and ſhall lay cloſe Siege to the beloved City; by which is meant the whole Church of Chriſt, the viſible Body and Society of Believers, which ſhall at that Time remain on Earth.

But obſerve the tragical Cloſe of all—Fire came down from God out of Heaven, and devoured theſe Armies of Gog and Magog, ver. 9. All which is repreſented in Figure by Sennacherib's Army, and the Deſtruction thereof.

The Aſſyrian Army went up on the Breadth of the Land of Judea. The whole Hoſt came up againſt the City, and begirt it with a cloſe Siege, on Deſign to take and utterly deſtroy it, and the Inhabitants thereof. God had promiſed that the King of Aſſyria ſhould not poſſeſs himſelf of the City, nor ſo much as ſhoot an Arrow into it. See 2 Kin. 19. 32. Iſai. 37, 33. and ſo it came to paſs. "In the very Night after the Army ſat down before Jeruſalem (as the Jews ſay in Gemara Sanhedrin) and were ſo weary, that they made no Attempt upon the City; the Angel of God went out, & deſtroyed the whole Army. That is, as the Targum ſaith, (which is related after the ſame Manner in the Babyloniſh Talmud) the Word of the Lord (the Meſſias) ſent Gabriel to do this Execution, who in the Paſſover-Night ſmote them with Lightning." Patrick's Comment.

A very lively and illuſtrious Figure of the amazing Deſtruction of the laſt Enemies of the Church by Fire from Heaven, or Lightning. And upon the whole we ſee, that there is a Reſemblance or Correſpondence between many of the Tranſactions mentioned in the old Teſtament, and thoſe which ſhould come to paſs under the new, and that the Prophets when they ſpake of ſome Events near their own Times, had more diſtinct Views, which might reach even to the latter Ages of the World.

And having conſidered and illuſtrated the ſecondary or myſtical Senſe of our Text.

I proceed,

III. To conſider and illuſtrate our Text by Way of Accommodation.—And the accommodated Senſe may with a Propriety be added to the primary and ſecondary Senſes.

I have conſidered the ſecondary or myſtical Senſe of my Text, as the ultimate Completion of this Prophecy—But then we are to obſerve, that this Prediction (as many other of the old Teſtament) is not limited to one ſingle Event, but may have different Views, and be capable of being fulfill'd by ſeveral Steps and Degrees.

"In the Interpretation of Prophecies, that Latitude muſt be allowed which is proper & familiar to divine Prophecies, that their Accompliſhments may be both perpetual and punctual, for they reſemble the Nature of their Author, to whom one Day is as a thouſand Years, and a thouſand Years as one Day.—And tho' the Fulneſs&Height of their Complement be many Times aſſigned to ſome certain Age or Period of Time, yet they have nevertheleſs certain Stairs or Scales of Accompliſhment throughout diverſe Ages of the World." Bacon's Advanc. of Learning, B. 2. Ch. 2. And the obſerving the Diſtinction between the different Times wherein the Prophecies relating to the Goſpel State ſhall be fulfilled, facilitates our underſtanding the prophetical Writings, and diſcovers to us a pleaſing Harmony between the Prophecies of the old and new Teſtament, and the State of the Chriſtian Church in the paſt Ages and Periods.

My Text underſtood by Way of Accommodation, is an Application thereof in Periods and Times of the Goſpel, to Chriſtian Kings & Emperors, who (under Chriſt) reigned in Righteouſneſs, and to Princes or chief Magiſtrates under them, who ruled in Judgment:—and were as an hiding Place from the Wind, and a Covert from the Tempeſt.

And for Illuſtration, I will name Chriſtian Emperors, Kings and Princes, who have reigned in Righteouſneſs, or ruled in Judgment, who were a Refuge and hiding Place to the People of God from the Storms of Calamities, and the Violence and Oppreſſion of its Enemies.

1. Conſtantine the great, the firſt Chriſtian Emperor, was eminently a King raiſed up by God, to perform wonderful Things for Chriſt and his Church, and to Him may our Text be applied and accommodated with an Emphaſis.

The Chriſtian Church had been for above two Hundred Years aſſaulted and afflicted by the furious Storms, and ſcorching Heat of Perſecutions, raiſed by the Pagan Emperors, and proſecuted by the Governors of the Provinces. The ten Perſecutions of the primitive Church are famous in Church Hiſtory. The tenth and laſt, began under Diocleſian and Maximian A. D. 303, and continued under ſome of their Succeſſors, was the moſt furious of them all, as well as of the longeſt Duration. In this diſmal Time, and moſt tempeſtuous State of the Church, God raiſed up Conſtantine to be a Protector of his Church, againſt the Outrage of its Enemies, a Deliverer from her Agonies and Terrors.

Conſtantine the Son of Conſtantius Chlorus (Emperor of the weſtern Provinces) & his Wife Helena a Britiſh Lady, was born in Britain.—As the firſt Chriſtian King in the World (Lucius) was a Briton, ſo was the firſt Chriſtian Emperor. "O happy Britain (ſays Eumenius Rhetor in an Oration to Conſtantine) and bleſſed above all other Lands, which didſt firſt behold Conſtantine Caeſar—And in another Oration—"Your Father Conſtantius did free the Britiſh Provinces from Slavery, and you have enobled them by taking thence your Original."—"Britons do juſtly boaſt of Conſtantine their Country-man, one among a thouſand and ten thouſands, who quenched the Fire, and overturned the Furnace of Perſecution, and enſranchiſed Chriſtianity through the Roman Empire."

No wonder that Britain is ambitious of having ſuch a Worthy born in her. This bleſſed Emperor, marching with his Army from Gaul to Italy, for the Suppreſſion of the wicked Uſurper. and moſt execrable Tyrant Maxentius, and for the Deliverance of the Romans from his horrid Barbarities & Debaucheries, as he was on his March, after Mid-day, had a wonderful Viſion: He ſaw in the Heavens a Pillar of Light in Figure like a Croſs, with an Inſcription thereon (in Greek Letters EN TOU Ω NIKA) In this overcome; and the Night following, Jeſus Chriſt appeared to him in his Sleep, and ordered him to make a Standard or Banner, like to that which appeared to him in the Heavens, and thereupon promiſed him Succeſs, and Victory over his Enemies.

Conſtantine according to the divine Command, made a Standard, and put upon it the Sign of the Croſs.—He gained an entire Victory over Maxentius, and put the Standard, as a Trophy in the middle of Rome.—Being inſtructed in the Chriſtian Religion, he embraced it, & made an open, publick Profeſſion of Chriſtianity; and as a Nurſing Father of the Chriſtian Church, he made many Edicts in Favour of Chriſtians, & the Chriſtian Religion.—He firſt granted to Chriſtians the free Exerciſe of their Religion, & reſtored to them their Churches, and conferred many Priviledges on them: He exhorted all his Subjects to quit Paganiſm, and embrace the Religion of Jeſus Chriſt. He cauſed moſt of the Heathen Temples to be ſhut up, or thrown down, & enacted Laws againſt the Heathen Religion. He ordered magnificent Churches to be built, and endow'd them, and granted Immunities and Priviledges to the Clergy. He manifeſted a fervent & unfeigned Love to Chriſt, and his Religion: He ſhewed extraordinary Kindneſs for the Chriſtian Church and the Miniſters of it, as became ſo great and good a Man: and ſo zealous was he in Chriſtianity, that his Palace reſembled a Church. He perſonally invited the Miniſters of Chriſt to him, and his Palace, & treated them with great Veneration and Honour; and by Deeds as well as Words, he gave them a moſt kind and courteous Reception. He made many Laws from Time to Time, for the Support and Emolument of the Church. He granted to all Clergymen and their Families, a Freedom from Taxes and Tribute; and in his Reign, and by his Example & Encouragement, the Church was enriched by Gifts and Offerings. In his Reign the Church enjoyed Peace; and under the Laws of Conſtantine, Chriſtians being freed from Perſecution, and perſecuting Powers, had a full and free Enjoyment of their civil Rights, and Chriſtian Liberties.

Conſtantine manifeſted a juſt Concern for the true Faith of the Goſpel, and the fundamental Doctrines of the Chriſtian Religion; and therefore when Arius broached his damnable Hereſy, concerning Jeſus Chriſt the Son of God (viz. that there was a Time when the Son of God did not exiſt, that he was created out of Nothing, and is of a different Subſtance from the Father) Conſtantine call'd a Council at Nice—the firſt General Council, compos'd of the Biſhops of the whole Roman Empire Eaſt and Weſt. He honour'd this Council with his Preſence, and by his Authority & Moderation, he preſerved Order and Peace.—This Council drew up a Creed (the famous Nicene Creed) in which it declared, that the Son of God was conſubſtantial with his Father; and anathematiz'd Arius and his Doctrine.

And tho' Conſtantine was afterwards deceived into a good Opinion of Arius by the Jugglings, and Prevarications of that Heretick, and his Partiſans, yet he always adhered to the Omooúſian Faith declared by the Nicene Fathers, and deteſted the Doctrine of Arius—Thus Conſtantine reigned in Righteouſneſs—and his Mother Helena Auguſta is celebrated by the Hiſtorians of thoſe Times, Euſebius and Socrates. for her eminent and unaffected Piety, Zeal for Chriſt and his holy Religion.—And as ſhe was rich in Faith, ſo in good Works—She was the liberal Soul, that deviſed liberal Things; and continued in Liberality and Beneficence.

In Conſtantine and his Mother Helena was eminently fulfilled that Prediction of the Prophet, Iſai. 49. 23.—concerning the happy Times of the Goſpel, when Kings and Queens gave up their Names to Chriſt, & ſupported the Church—And Kings ſhall be thy nurſing Fathers, and their Queens thy nurſing Mothers—It is very evident that this Prophecy was firſt remarkably accompliſhed in the Favours which Conſtantine, and his Mother Helena ſhewed to the Church, and had a further Accompliſhment afterwards in other Emperors, Empreſſes, Kings and Queens. The latter Clauſe of the Verſe, They ſhall bow down to thee with their Face to the Earth, may be juſtly applied to denote the great Honour & Deference which the Chriſtian Kings and Emperors ſhould pay to the Church, ſubmitting themſelves to the Laws of Chriſt, and owning themſelves his Diſciples—but to none may it be accommodated and applied with ſo great a Propriety, and Eminency, as to Helena and Conſtantine.

2. Theodoſius the Elder, who alſo merited the Title of Great, is renowned in Hiſtory, for his mighty Atchievements, & Victories over Tyrants and Uſurpers, & delivering the Empire from their Outrage; and is juſtly celebrated on Account of his Piety, his Zeal in the Cauſe of Chriſt, his Care of the Church and extraordinary Affection to the Miniſters of Chriſt. He was famous for his Orthodoxy in Religion, and called the ſecond General Council, at Conſtantinople, againſt Macedonius, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Ghoſt. Which Council, in their firſt Canon confirmed the Nicene Creed, and Anathematiſed the Arian & Macedonian Hereſies. Theodoſius is illuſtrious, and his Memory precious for his perfecting that good Work began by Conſtantine againſt Heatheniſm. Conſtantine was not able to finiſh ſo mighty and arduous an Affair, as the Extirpation of Paganiſm; but that idolatrous Religion was quite expelled by Theodoſius A.D. 390. after which Time, it was never publickly maintained in the Roman Empire, He purged Rome from pagan Superſtition, & Idolatry, and gave Order that all pagan Sacrifices and Feſtivals ſhould be aboliſhed, and the Statues and Images of the Gods, broken in Pieces; and the pagan Temple of Serapis at Alexandria in Egypt, which remained to that Time, and had been ſo famous in the World for the Statelineſs of its Structure, and Solemnity of its Worſhip, was by the Emperor's Command, utterly deſtroyed. Theodoſius reigned in Righteouſneſs, and was a Covert from the Tempeſt, as Rivers of Waters for Refreſhment &c.

3. Alfred (Alured) King of England (from whom King GEORGE is lineally deſcended) Grandſon of Egbert the Founder of the Engliſh Monarchy, and the firſt anointed King in Britain, is one of the moſt famous Kings in all Hiſtory, for his Wars and Victories, for his Adminiſtration of Juſtice his Learning & Religion. He ſo diſcharged all the Offices of a King, & of a Chriſtian, as perhaps no One in any Age can be found ſo eminent. I muſt account him (human Frailties excepted) a perfect Character. England may boaſt of an Alfred, as Britain of a Conſtantine.

In his Reign the Danes invaded England, and he was to his Subjects a Covert from the Daniſh Tempeſt, and as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land. In all Bartles he was preſent every where, ſtriking Fear & Terror into the Hearts of his Enemies and giving new Courage to his own Men. He alone would expoſe his Breaſt to the Swords of the Enemy: He alone would reſtore the Fight when his Army was ready to flee, and by his own Example, he conſtrained his Soldiers to repel the inſulting & purſuing Pagans. Fifty-ſix ſet Battles he fought againſt the Danes by Sea and Land, and of theſe, eight in one Day: And by his miraculous Courage and Conduct, he ſo afflicted and worried his Enemies, tho' they came in freſh Numbers upon him, that they were forced to give up what Hoſtages he demanded, and ſubmit to ſuch Conditions as he thought fit to impoſe—And that theſe are no Flouriſhes, the univerſal Conſent of Hiſtorians bears Witneſs: All celebrate him as an Heroe and by an unparallel'd Example tax him with no Vice.—And tho' Egbert is generally accounted the firſt Monarch of the Engliſh Saxons (our Anceſtors) yet in Truth, he only mark'd out or began what was perfected by his Grandſon Alfred.

He was admirable in the Adminiſtration of Juſtice, wherein to relieve the poor & diſtreſſed, he travelled Night and Day through his Kingdom; for beſides him, the People had in a Senſe no Protector. There was ſuch Partiality among the inferiour Judges of the Land, that the King was perpetually troubled with Appeals from their Deciſion of Cauſes, into which he ſo diligently enquired, that all Villany was ever bro't to Light. If he found his Judges unſkilful, he gravely admoniſhed them, and in Caſe they did not improve in Knowlege of Juſtice, they were to loſe their Places.

The King himſelf being the ſuperiour Judge (not only as to Authority but Adminiſtration of Juſtice) took Care that his People ſhould be furniſhed with able Miniſters: He alſo provided them with good Laws, and for the better Government of the whole Engliſh Nation, brought up ſeveral laudable Cuſtoms, which continue to this Day.

As to his Learning, he was the Wonder of his Age—He had a vehement Deſire after Knowlege: and by reading Night and Day, or hearing ſome learned Men, he had a thoro' Knowlege of Books, and ſuch Improvement did he make, that he became an excellent Grammarian, Philoſopher, Rhetorician, Hiſtorian, Muſician, & Poet: And he was a perfect Architect, and Geometrician; and that Learning might flouriſh in the Land, he laid a Foundation for the Improvement thereof among his People: He founded a School at Oxford (ſince a famous Univerſity) for training up Youth in the liberal Arts, and endow'd it with a Part of his Revenue.

As to Religion, he excell'd more than in Learning. He made a Vow to dedicate to God, in ſolemn Meditation & Prayer, the one half of his Time, except the Time of Sleep and neceſſary Refreſhments.

I cloſe with a ſummary View of him, by a learned AntiquarySir Henry Spelman. in this Exclamation:

"O Alfred, the Wonder and Aſtoniſhment of all Ages!—If we reflect upon his Piety and Religion, it would ſeem that he had never gone out of a Monaſtery—if on his Warlike Exploits—that he had liv'd no where but in a Camp—if on his Writings and Studies—that he had ſpent his whole Life in a Univerſity—and laſtly, if we conſider his Adminiſtration of the Affairs of his Kingdom and Subjects, one would think, that his whole Time had been employed in nothing elſe but enacting Laws, and promoting Juſtice in his Courts, & Tribunals."— Behold here in Alfred, a King that Reigned in Righteouſneſs.

Sir Richard Blackmore in his Prince Arthur, B. 5. introduces King Uter deceas'd, appearing to Prince Arthur in a Dream—repreſenting to him the moſt illuſtrious Perſons who ſhould ſucceed him, with their Characters, and the Revolutions in their future Hiſtory— "See Alfred there, all ſhall his Praiſes ſing, A pious Soldier, and a humble King. Hero and Bard, able in lotty Verſe, His own great Deeds. and Triumphs to rehearſe. Rever'd by all, while his reſiſtleſs Arms, Shall to their Coaſt repel the Daniſh Swarms. Amidſt the Seas, ſwept by his potent Hand, Thoſe northern Locuſts, leave th' afflicted Land. Then his wiſe Laws, and Diſcipline ſhall ſmooth Unpoliſh'd Manners, and rough Nature ſooth. On the fair Plains, where Iſis' limpid Streams, Haſte to th' Embraces of delightful Thames. This mighty Prince ſhall a fam'd Empire found, Where Science with unfading Lawrels crown'd, With all her ſacred Arts and letter'd Train In ſtately Schools ſhall unconteſted reign. BLACKM. P. Arthur.

4. Henry Earl of Richmond, afterwards the ſeventh of that Name, King of England, muſt not be paſſed over in Silence.—This mighty Prince at the Invitation of an affrighted, afflicted and diſtreſſed People came over from Britany, and by the Bleſſing of God, delivered the Nation from the Outrages of that moſt cruel Tyrant, & bloody Caitiff Richard, who had murdered his own Nephews, and uſurped the Crown.—The Battle on the Plain of Boſworth is famous in the Engliſh Chronicles, & the compleat Victory obtained by the young Heroe over the infamous Uſurper. In the Field of Battle, he kneel'd down & gave Thanks to Almighty God for this ſignal Favour.—In him concentred the royal Saxon 〈◊〉 Norman & Britiſh Lines; for by Owen Tudor (ap Theodore) his Grand-Father, a Welchman, he deſcended in a right Line from Cadwallader the laſt King of Britain 700 Years before. And to this Henry Tudor is by ſome applied, what is ſpoken by Anchiſes to AEneas, concerning Auguſtus: Hic Vir, Hic eſt, tibi quem promitti ſepius audis. This, This is he, the Man whom thou haſt heard —ſo often promis'd. "Our Blood the Royal Channel now regains, Deriv'd thro' our brave Offspring Tudor's Veins. Which with the Norman join'd, the confluent Tide As long as that of Time, ſhall downward glide: From their Embrace, to rule Britannia, ſprings A glorious Series of puiſſant Kings. See the firſt Tudor, who rever'd ſhall reign After the hardy Deed on Boſworth's Plain. He ſhall the Sceptre ſway with great Applauſe, And guide the Iſle with wiſe and equal Laws. BLACKM, P. Arthur.

For it had been foretold to Cadwallader, that in after-Times his Race ſhould ſet upon the Throne; and King Henry VIth plainly foreſhewed that he ſhould be King, even when he was a Child. He joined the two Roſes in one, i. e. united the contending Houſes of York and Lancaſter, by marrying Elizabeth eldeſt Daughter of King Edward 4th. He laid the Foundation of uniting the two Kingdoms of England & Scotland under one King, by giving his eldeſt Daughter Margaret, in Marriage to James 4th King of Scots, from whom deſcended our King James 1ſt of Great Britain. He manifeſted his Regard to the Church, by employing Biſhops Morton & Fox, and his Chaplain Urſwike, in the greateſt Part of his Negotiations. He put an End to all Civil Wars, and ſettled the Nation in Peace. He with his Parliament, enacted excellent Laws, in particular one for Admiſſion of poor Suitors at Law (in Forma Pauperis) without paying Fee to Attorney or Clerk.

As he was reputed an Oracle in his Time, ſo his Parliament was treated by him as his Oracle, for in all Matters of Importance, he would aſk their Advice, and he ſometimes put even his Prerogative into their Hands; which is to me an Evidence of his great Wiſdom. The City of London was his Paradiſe, for what good Fortune ſoever befell him, he tho't he enjoy'd it not, 'till the Citizens were made acquainted therewith.—He reigned in Righteouſneſs, and to England he was eminently as a hiding Place from the Wind, a Covert from the Storm, as Rivers of refreſhing Waters, and as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land.

5. Queen Elizabeth ſhines among the Potentates of England, with the brighteſt Rays. She was the Wonder of her Age, the Glory of her Sex, and the greateſt crowned Head of Britain, from King Alfred to King William the Third. She delivered England from Popery, and bloody Perſecution, and re-eſtabliſhed the Proteſtant Religion.—By the Bleſſing of Heaven with her Wiſdom, and Magnanimity, and the Courage and good Conduct of her Sea-Captains, ſhe ſaved the Nation from the Spaniſh Invaſion, in which the Proteſtants were marked out and doom'd to utter Deſtruction.—Her religious Reſpect to God in the Defeat and Ruin of the Spaniſh Fleet was apparent, when immediately thereupon, ſhe came into the City, attended with the Nobility, as it were in Triumph, and in the Cathedral of St. Paul, in a moſt humble Manner, gave Thanks to the Almighty, in the great Congregation.—She ruled over the Nation in Righteouſneſs, and her Princes or chief Magiſtrates in Judgment; ſhe had always a wiſe and faithful Council, and her great Officers were excelling Patriots, Lovers of the Nation, and ever ſeeking its Proſperity and Peace.—She was the Protector of Holland from the Rage and Fury of that execrable Tyrant Philip of Spain, and by her powerful Aids, the united Provinces were eſtabliſhed a flouriſhing and happy Republick.—She ſo held the Sceptre, that her Subjects regarded her as the kindeſt Mother: The neighbouring Princes eſteemed her as the wiſeſt Queen; her Enemies feared her as a righteous Avenger, and the whole Chriſtian World with Admiration beheld her as the Preſerver of the Peace of Europe. She has been juſtly compared with Auguſtus for the Length and Felicities of her Reign.—Let her Name never be forgotten by Britons, by Engliſhmen. Her Memory is bleſſed. "There ſee, Eliza does auguſt appear, Enlight'ning with her Beams the Britiſh Sphere. The indulgent Mother of her People, ſhe Shall love and feed Britannia's Family. Heav'n's and her People's Rights ſhe ſhall protect And for her Kingdom's Eaſe, her own neglect. Her Sons ſhe ſhall defend with pious Care, And from her Coaſts drive back th' Iberian War. Bleſs'd Times, when ſhe that wears the Imperial Crown Regards her People's Safety as her own. BLACKM. P. Arthur.

6. James the 6th of Scotland, and firſt Monarch of Great-Britain (in whom were united the Royal Britiſh, Saxon, Norman, and Scottiſh Houſes) makes a grand Appearance, by his Grand-Daughter Sophia (the moſt accompliſhed Princeſs in Europe) as the great Progenitor of the illuſtrious Princes of Brunſwick-Hanover, and Brandenburg-Pruſſia, the Protectors of the Proteſtant Nations, and the nurſing Fathers of the Proteſtant Churches. Erneſt Auguſtus, Duke of Hanover, Brunſwick and Lunenburg, created the 9th Elector in 1692 (deſcended from Henry IId. King of England, by Maud his eldeſt Daughter, married to Henry Duke of Saxony, by which, the illuſtrious Houſe of Hanover is of the Royal Blood of England, as well on the Father's, as on the Mother's Side) married Sophia, Daughter to Frederick Vth. Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia (by Elizabeth only Daughter of King James I. of Great Britain) and Mother to King George I. of Great Britain. Frederick Elector of Brandenburg, and the firſt King of Pruſſia married the Siſter of King George and Daughter of Sophia. His Son and Succeſſor married the Daughter of King George I. and Siſter of King George II. Mother to the preſent King of Pruſſia.

True Proteſtant Calviniſts behold him as a Defender of the Faith, zealous in the Cauſe of the true Religion, againſt the Blaſphemies and monſtrous Doctrines of Vorſtius the Socinian, whom the Arminian Faction in Holland had procured to ſucceed Arminius as Profeſſor of Divinity at Leyden. He powerfully interpoſed to ſave both State and Church from the Ruin threatned by that fanatick and tumultuous Cabal.

By this King's repeated preſſing Inſtances, joined with Maurice Prince of Orange, the States-General at laſt agreed to call a National Synod, and to invite all the Reformed Churches to ſend Deputies to it—which brought forward the renowned Synod of Dort, at which were preſent famous Calviniſtical Divines by the King's Appointment to repreſent the Church of England. In this Synod the Five Articles of Arminius and the Books of Vorſtius were condemned: The Belgick Confeſſion of Faith, and the Palatine Catechiſm were approved—And the States-General giving their Sanction to the Canons of the Synod, the Arminian Faction was broken, and Peace reſtored and eſtabliſhed both in Church & State—And King James (by the Bleſſing of Heaven) was, to the Dutch Calviniſts, a hiding Place from the Wind, and a Covert from the Tempeſt of Arminian Fury. But I haſten,

7. To name that illuſtrious Hero William-Henry, Prince of Orange. —"The great Deliverer Illuſtrious William, yonder he's in Sight, In whom Naſſovian Blood, and Our's unite. "And now intent on that great Monarch gaze So much diſtinguiſh'd by his brighter Rays: This is the Man, This the Naſſovian, whom I nam'd the brave Deliverer to come: Succeeding Prophets under your great Name This our bright Offspring ſhall aloud proclaim Rais'd from a noble Branch of Tudor's Line, From Thamiſis tranſplanted to the Rhine. Ages to come, amaz'd will ſcarce believe, The generous Deeds this Leader ſhall Atchieve. He ſhall outſhine his own Heroick Race Europe's Protectors, he ſhall Tyrants chace. And Monſters vanquiſh with Herculean Toil, And from their bloody Jaws extort the Spoil. The Blooming Warrior's firſt prevailing Arms Shall free his Country from the Gaul's Alarms. Who of ſubdu'd with reeking Streams of Blood, Shall now augment fair Moſa's red'ning Flood. And now with ſlaughter'd Heaps deform the Rhine, And with ſtrange Parple ſtain the generous Vine. At length the ſuffering Britons ſhall invite, The fam'd Deliverer to aſſert their Right: And with his Arms the Tempeſt to repel, Which, threat'ning Albion, rolls from Rome-and Hell. Then Liberty her drooping Head ſhall rear,. And bleſs'd Religion on her Throne appear. BL. P. Ar.

This, this the Man, the great Naſſovian Prince, Offspring of Heroes, deſtin'd to reſtore The Golden Age in Britain Hic Vir, hic eſt— Princeps Naſſovins, Divi Genus, aurea condet Saecula—

When his Birth under many and great Diſadvantages is conſidered; who could have thought, that he was born for the Preſervation of Europe, and the Proteſtant Religion? His whole Life from twenty Years of Age, was one continued Campaign againſt Popery and Tyranny.

Louis of France, and Charles of England, confederated in 1671, to enſlave Europe, and introduce and eſtabliſh Popery in England, and Holland, and the other Proteſtant States; & the next Year, the French King with a great Army invaded the Netherlands, and came down to Utrecht like a Land-Flood, and ſoon poſſeſs'd himſelf of three Provinces. This ſtruck a univerſal Terror into the Dutch; but God raiſed up this glorious Prince to ſtem the Torrent of the raging Waters. With Wiſdom and Vigilance above his Years, and amazing Courage & Preſence of Mind, he oppoſed the Enemy's Force, obtained Victories, retook important Places, & in a ſhort Time recovered all, drove the French out of the Provinces, and forced them to evacuate and give up all their Conqueſts, and ſo the whole Face of Affairs was changed.

This was the Beginning o the Fifth Criſis, brought on the whole Reformation, or the critical Time for the Proteſtant Religion and Liberties. It was but the Beginning, for Europe was in the Agitations of this Criſis forty Years; i. e. till the Peace of Utrecht—And here I will take Occaſion to give ſome brief Account of the other four.

1. The firſt Criſis was—when Charles 5th. Emperor of Germany, by defeating John Duke of Saxony, and the Landgrave of Heſſe, and getting them into his Hands, had ſubdued the Smalcaldick League, in which the Strength of the Proteſtants did then conſiſt: upon that Defeat all ſubmitted to the Emperor.

Maurice now made Elector of Saxony, at the Head of the Imperial Army, at laſt reſolved not to ſee the Ruin of Religion, & Liberty, fell ſo ſuddenly and unexpectedly with his Forces upon the Emperor, that he was very near having ſurprized and taken him at Inſpruck, and ſo overturned all that Deſign, upon which the Emperor had been labouring for many Years, viz. deſtroying the Proteſtant Religion and Liberties—This brought on the Treaty of Paſſau, and a Peace thereupon between the Emperor, and the Proteſtant Princes and States, whereby the free Exerciſe of Religion was ſecured to the Proteſtants; and ſo that Criſis paſſed over.

2. "The ſecond Criſis was towards the End of the Reign of Queen Mary, when the Proteſtant Religion ſeemed almoſt extinguiſhed in England, and the Cardinal of Lorrain, chief Miniſter of France, and Cardinal Granvel of Spain deſigned a Peace between the two Crowns, that their Maſters Henry the 2d, and Philip 2d. might be at Leiſure to extirpate Hereſy, as they call it, i. e. the Proteſtant Religion, which was then ſpreading in both their Dominions. But after they had formed their Scheme, Queen Mary died, and was ſucceeded by Queen Elizabeth in England; and ſoon after that the French King was accidentally killed, and that Kingdom fell under a long Continuance of a Minority, viz. Charles the 9th, and a civil War on Account of Religion; and the Netherlands felt from thence and from Queen Elizabeth, ſuch Encouragement that they made the longeſt and braveſt Reſiſtance againſt the Power of Philip, that is to be found in all Hiſtory; and the Criſis ended."

3. The Third Criſis of the Reformation began in 1585, and laſted three Years.—The Catholic League (ſo called) of the Papiſts in France, was fomidable for a Time to the Proteſtants; the Prince of Parma was victorious in the Netherlands; the Prince of Orange was murdered, and the States fell under great Diſtractions, & Spain entred into a Deſign of invading England, & dethroning Queen Elizabeth, and putting the Queen of Scots in her Stead: In order to that, the King of Spain was for ſome Years preparing the greateſt Fleet that the World had ever ſeen, which came to be called the Invincible Armada; and with the Diſappointment & Ruin of that Fleet, this Criſis went off.

4. The Fourth Criſis came on in the Reign of Ferdinand 2d Emperor of Germany, and King of Bohemia—His Government was ſevere in that Kingdom, and he reſolved to extirpate the Proteſtants, and began to break through the Privileges that were ſecured to them by the Laws of the Kingdom: This occaſioned a general Inſurrection, which was followed by an Aſſembly of the States, who depoſed him, and offered the Crown to Frederick th Elector Palatine, who accepted it, depending on the Aſſiſtance of his Father-in-Law James King of England, He married Elizabeth only Daughter of King James. which if he had afforded, here was the moſt probable Occaſion that had been, or has yet been offered ſince the Reformation for the full Eſtabliſhment of the Proteſtant Religion in Europe.

The Engliſh Nation was much inclined to ſupport Frederick, but he had an invincible Averſion to War, and was ſo poſſeſs'd in Belief of a Divine Right in all Kings, that he could not bear that even an elective and limited King ſhould be called in Queſtion by his Subjects, ſo he would never acknowlege his Son-in-Law, nor give him any Aſſiſtance for the Support of his new Dignity; and Holland was very backward in giving Aſſiſtance. Frederic being beaten by the Emperor's Army near Prague, was drove out of his new Kingdom; the Palatinates, his Patrimony or Hereditary Dominions, were taken from him, and ſo he and his Wife and Children fled to the States of Holland, for a Place of Reſidence.

Againſt the Imperial Army (which was ſent into all Parts of Germany to diſtreſs it) the Circle of Lower Saxony did arm it ſelf, under the King of Denmark their General, but he received a great Overthrow by Tilly the Emperor's General, and thereupon the whole Power of the Proteſtants was broken.—The Emperor was ſo elevated with Succeſs, that he did not Queſtion, but for the future to be abſolute in Germany, and with that View publiſhed a Proclamation, enjoining the Proteſtants to reſtore to the Catholicks all ſuch Church Lands or Revenues, as were taken from them ſince the Peace made at Paſſau, and under this Pretence he hoped quickly to ſubdue the reſt of the Proteſtant Princes. Indeed the Proteſtant Princes entred into a defenſive Alliance at Leipſic, but without any great Proſpect of Succeſs, if young Guſtavus Adolphus King of Sweden, had not come to their Aſſiſtance—This King came with an Army into Germany, and drove the Imperial Forces out of Pomerania, and the neighbouring Countries, and having afterwards joined his Forces with thoſe of the Elector of Saxony, defeated Count Tilly in the memorable Battle near Leipſick, when the Emperor at one Stroke, loſt all the Hopes he had conceived from the happy Succeſs of his Arms for twelve Years before: From thence Guſtavus marched on to the Rhine, where he made almoſt miraculous Progreſſes—And tho' in a Battle afterwards he loſt his Life, yet his Army was victorious over the new Army raiſed by the Emperor under Welleſtein.

After his Death, the Generals & Confederates carried on the War under the Conduct of Oxe ſtiern, Chancellor of Sweden, with good Succeſs, and carried the War into the Emperor's Hereditary Countries, which brought on a Treaty at Oſnaburg, and a Peace was concluded between the Emperor and the Swedes, by which the Authority of the States of Germany, and the Proteſtant Religion, were eſtabliſhed at once, and the Emperor's Power confined within ſuch Bounds that he could not eaſily afterwards attempt any Thing againſt either of them; and ſo this Criſis paſſed over by the Bleſſing of God, on that mighty Hero Guſtavus, and his victorious Army.

And the Fifth Criſis which I touched before, began in 1672, when Louis and Charles confederated to ſwallow up the united Provinces, to maſter England, to demoliſh Proteſtantiſm both in England & Holland, to pave the Way for the Extirpation of that Religion through all Europe, and for eſtabliſhing Popery.

This Criſis, as I ſaid, continued in Agitation forty Years—The glorious Prince of Orange broke Louis's-Meaſures, and overturned his Schemes for that Time; yet not many Years after, the Criſis roſe again, viz. in 1685; when Louis recalled, and vacated the Edict of Toleration of the Proteſtants, as he had been for many Years before weakning the Proteſtant Intereſt in France, to prepare for this fatal Stroke.

"The Year Eighty-five, muſt ever be remembred as the moſt fatal to the Proteſtant Religion. In February King James II. of England declared himſelf a Papiſt, and went openly to Maſs. In June Charles the Elector Palatine (Grandſon of Fredirick) whoſe Father Charles Louis had been reſtored to the Lower Palatinate & Electoral Dignity) dying without Iſſue, the Electoral Dignity went to the Houſe of Newburg, a moſt bigotted popiſh Family.

In October the King of France recalled the Edict of Nantes, and in December the Duke of Savoy by the Perſwaſions or Threats of the Court of France, recalled the Edict that his Father had granted to the Vaudois; ſo it muſt be confeſſed, that this was a very critical Year. And at this Time was the Height of the Fifth great Criſis of the Proteſtant Religion in the Opinion of Biſhop Burnet." Hiſtory of his own Times.

"The King of France let looſe ſome Bodies of Dragoons to live upon the Proteſtants at Diſcretion, who were put under no Reſtraints, excepting Rapes and Murder. This was begun in Bern, and ſoon after the ſame Method was purſued in Guienne, Languedoc and Dauphiné, where the greateſt Number of Proteſtants were; and not only the Dragoons, but all the Clergy and the Bigots of France, broke out into all the Inſtances of Rage and Fury, againſt all Proteſtants that did not change, upon their being required in the King's Name, to be of his Religion, for that was every where the Style."

"Men and Women who would not yield, were not only ſtrip'd of all they had, but kept long from Sleep, and driven about from Place to Place. Women were thruſt into Nunneries, where they were half ſtarved, whip'd & barbarouſly treated. Multitudes of Proteſtants were baniſhed the Kingdom by publick Edict, and great Numbers were chained to the Gallies, and the publick Exerciſe of the Proteſtant Religion ſuppreſs'd throughout all his Dominions—And upon the whole, here was one of the moſt violent Perſecutions that is to be found in Hiſtory, and has been compared to the Tenth Perſecution of the Primitive Church, under Diocleſian."

And I cannot but account it a Specimen or Pattern of the Slaughter of the Witneſſes foretold in Rev. 11. 7. 8. by which I underſtand the killing or baniſhing all the Miniſters and other eminent Confeſſors of Chriſt and his Religion, and the entire Suppreſſion of the publick Exerciſe of the true Chriſtian Religion throughout Chriſtendom for three Years and a half; and in this Perſecution of the Proteſtants in France, we may have ſome Idea of what will then befall all the Proteſtant Nations and Churches. But to return,

Popery ſoon grew rampant in our Nation, and King James proceeded with an uncommon Zeal and Application to advance the Roman Intereſt; Britain was then in greater Danger than ever before; the King being in League with Louis, and having one of his own Kingdoms of his own Religion—The Forts and Caſtles were in the Hands of Papiſts, and the Army under popiſh Officers. The Romiſh Worſhip was ſet up in ſeveral Places of the Nation, and even in its great Metropolis, Jeſuits, thoſe Frogs of the Myſtical Egypt (Father Petre and his croaking Company) were in the King's Chambers: Monks & Fryars appeared publickly in their Habits: The Engliſh Laws were trampled upon, and England was ſtrip'd of their Rights and Immunities.—In a Word, Hell & Rome were Day & Night at work to add the finiſhing Stroke, to what had been ſo long contriving.

For the Succour of the moſt diſtreſſed and affrighted Nation, God raiſed up a Deliverer, this glorious Prince of Orange, and in Conſequence of his Expedition to England,—King James's Abdication —the ſetting the Crown on the Head of the Prince and Princeſs of Orange; and the Reduction of Ireland, the Nations were for that Time ſaved from Popery and Slavery.

But the Criſis roſe again in the Beginning of this Century.

In 1700, the abdicated King James died in France, and the French King cauſed the pretended Prince of Wales, to be proclaimed with great Solemnity, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, and therein his Deſign was evident enough.

And a little after in the ſame Year Charles the Second of Spain died (without Iſſue) and by his Will (real or forged) the Duke of Anjou ſecond Son of the Dauphin was made his Succeſſor to the whole Spaniſh Monarchy, contrary to the Treaty of Partition: And upon his declaring that he accepted of the Will, he was proclaimed, ſaluted and treated as King of Spain, and thereupon he went to Spain, and took Poſſeſſion of his new Kingdom.

And immediately French Troops were ſent to take Poſſeſſion of the Spaniſh Netherlands. This unexpected Event threw a dark Cloud over the Face of Affairs in Europe. France was now poſſeſs'd not only of the Netherlands, but of the whole Spaniſh Monarchy too, & therewith of all the Riches of America.—And the Scheme of Louis for an univerſal Empire, and the Extirpation of what he call'd the Northern Hereſy was again viſible in erecting.

England was diſarm'd and divided; Holland was encompaſſed by the French Power; the Empire was weak, becauſe disjointed, and the Affairs of Chriſtendom were brought to as dangerous a Criſis, as could eaſily be imagined.

The vigilant King William was active & buſy in oppoſing the Deſigns of France, and perfected an Alliance between the Emperor, England and Holland, and before his Death projected the whole Scheme of the War, that became abſolutely neceſſary for the Preſervation of Europe: And 'tis well known, that in the Reign of Queen Anne, by the wonderful Succeſs of the Arms of the Allies under the valiant Eugene and Marlborough, that aſpiring Monarch Louis 14th, was humbled & broken—And that long Criſis came to a full Period, at the Death of Louis 14th; and when the great Elector of Hanover ſat on the Britiſh Throne.

The Appearance of King GEORGE, as of the Sun in his Strength inſtantly diſpell'd the Miſts, ſcattered the Clouds, and diſſipated the gloomy Terrors, and filled the Hearts of true Proteſtant Britons with Joy, as the Light of the Morning when the Sun riſeth, even a Morning without clouds.

King GEORGE I. (of bleſſed Memory) was our Protector and Defender from Jacobite Outrage, and popiſh Tyranny—And our gracious Sovereign now Reigning, GEORGE II. is as the Light of our Eyes, and the Breath of our Noſtrils: GOD hath ordained a Lamp for his Anointed, and upon himſelf ſhall his Crown flouriſh.

And now to cloſe this Section, which was an Accommodation of my Text to the Prince of Orange, the glorious King WILLIAM, I will only add, "That this great Man muſt be conſidered by us Proteſtants, as raiſed up by God to reſiſt the Power of France, and the Progreſs of Tyranny and Perſecution.

The Series of the Five Princes of Orange, that ended in him, was the nobleſt Succeſſion of Heroes that we find in any Hiſtory, and the thirty Years from 1672, to his Death in which he acted ſo great a Part, carry in them ſo amazing Steps of a glorious & diſtinguiſhing Providence, that in the Words of David, he may be called the Man of God's right Hand, whom he made ſtrong for himſelf." Burnet's Hiſtory, Vol. 2.

It may be ſaid with great Propriety in the accommodated Senſe of my Text, that King William reigned in Righteouſneſs, and was as a hiding Place from the Wind, and as a Covert from the Storm of War & Perſecution—as Rivers of Waters in a dry Place, as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land.

"All the Circumſtances of the illuſtrious Life of our Prince (i.e. the Prince of Orange, King William III.) ſeem to have conſpired to make him the Check and Bridle of Tyranny; for his Mind has been ſtrengthned and confirmed by one continued Struggle, and Heaven has educated him by Adverſity to a quick Senſe of the Miſeries & Diſtreſſes of Mankind, which he was born to redreſs: In juſt Scorn of the trivial Glories, and light Oſtentations of Power, that glorious Inſtrument of Providence moves—in a ſteady, calm, and ſilent Courſe, independent either of Applauſe or Calumny, which renders him if not in a political Senſe, yet in a moral, a Philoſophick, an Heroic and a Chriſtian Senſe, an abſolute Monarch: who ſatisfy'd with this unchangeable, juſt, and ample Glory, muſt needs turn all his Regards from himſelf to the Service of Others; for he begins his Enterprizes with his own Share in the Succeſs of them; for Integrity bears in it ſelf, its Reward, nor can that which depends not on Event, ever know Diſappointment.

With the undoubted Character of a glorious Captain, and (what he much more values than the moſt ſplendid Titles,) that of a ſincere and honeſt Man, he is the Hope and Stay of Europe, an univerſal Good, not to be engroſſed by us only, for diſtant Potentates implore his Friendſhip, and injur'd Empires court his Aſſiſtance. Sir R. Steele's Chriſtian Hero. publiſh'd 1751.

I have now conſidered & illuſtrated my Text in Accommodation to ſeven great Perſonages (if King James the Firſt may be admitted, by the Courteſy of England.) And to theſe I will add,

8. A mighty Man, and the Proteſtant Heroe, another Prince of Orange, Charles Frederick the preſent King of Pruſſia, His Titles are Charles-Frederick by the Grace of GOD King of Pruſſia, Margrave of Brandenburg—Prince of Orange &c. ſprung from noble Anceſtors, zealous Proteſtants and Calviniſts, and true Patriots.

"Frederick-William Elector of Brandenburg (and Father to the firſt King of Pruſſia) who deceaſed in 1688, had ſet it up for a Maxim, that the Electoral Families in Germany had weakned themſelves ſo much, that they would not be able to maintain the Liberty of the Empire, againſt the Auſtrian Family, which was then riſing by their Victories in Hungary—He obſerved that the Houſes of Saxe and the Palatine, and of Brunſwick and Heſſe had done this ſo much, by the diſmembring ſome of their Dominions to their younger Children, that theſe Houſes were mouldring to Nothing, he therefore reſolved to keep all his Dominions entire in one Hand—This he thought would make his Family the Balance to the Houſe of Auſtria, on whom the reſt of the Empire muſt depend. Burnet's Hiſt. Vol. 1.

This Paſſage is very remarkable, and worthy of particular Obſervation.

It was of God, that Frederick-William had ſuch Sagacity and Foreſight; and 'tis apparent that by the Bleſſing of God, in Conſequence of his wiſe Conduct, his Family is, in leſs than half a Century, become the Balance to the Houſe of Auſtria, and the great Bulwark of the Proteſtant Religion and Liberties in Germany.

His great Grand-ſon Charles-Frederick was able in the laſt preceeding War, to give Law at the Head of a mighty Army, to the Empreſs Queen, to the King of France, and the other contending Powers of Europe.

And in the preſent War, by the Divine Aid, he has cut off one Head of the grand Confederacy againſt him, Auguſtus King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony.—This mighty Man, this illuſtrious Prince is the moſt renowned of the Age, for Wiſdom and Valour, for Religion & Virtue, and the greateſt and moſt valiant Leader of Armies in our Times, next to Charles 12th King of Sweden, who (in my Opinion) was greater than Alexander and Caeſar for martial Skill and Proweſs, nor does the Battle of Pultowa, which ruin'd all his Affairs, leſſen the Hero.

GOD has raiſed up the King of Pruſſia to execute his Will, for He has a terrible Work in doing among the Nations.

This glorious Potentate lives, and wars, and triumphs in the midſt of numerous and potent Enemies—The popiſh Confederacy for the Ruin of the Proteſtants is formidable: It is indeed a ſtrong Confederacy of Auſtria and Bourbon, 'till now, never united.

And this muſt be accounted the ſixth great Criſis of the Reformation, when the proteſtant Religion and Liberties are in a very dangerous Situation; and yet, to me, it does not hitherto appear ſo dangerous a Criſis as the fifth and laſt preceeding —How much higher it may riſe, and how long Europe and America ſhall be under the Agitations of it, we cannot foreſee or foretell without the Spirit of Prophecy.

God only foreknows the Iſſue of the preſent Wars and Commotions that are among the Nations of Europe.

If I could believe that the fourth Vial ſhall be poured out (i.e. the grand Supports of the Papacy removed) before the Slaughter of the Witneſſes, I might ſuppoſe that it is now in pouring out by the King of Pruſſia, but ſeeing (as appears to me) the Slaughter of the Witneſſes ſhall precede that Vial, which will come to paſs at or about the End of their Prophecy or the 1260 Years, the pouring out the Vial muſt be at a great Diſtance from our Times—And according to my ſmall Knowledge of Scripture-Prophecies concerning the future State of the Church, I cannot think that any remarkable Prediction is now in the fulfilling: i.e. in a ſtrict and proper Senſe of the Prophecy. Nor do I ſuppoſe, that any great Revolution in Europe will enſue the preſent War, or any great Change in North-America. At the End of the preſent War, this ſixth Criſis may go off, as others before, without any remarkable Alteration in the Face of religious Affairs, whether popiſh or proteſtant.

The next or ſeventh Criſis may iſſue in the Slaughter of the Witneſſes, (i.e. the total Suppreſſion of the publick Exerciſe of the true Religion &c.) and not many Years after, Rome Papal will fall, and in due Time the Millennium will commence.

In the mean Time, and in the preſent gloomy and tempeſtuous State of Things, let the proteſtant Nations and Provinces look to God and truſt in Him—Let us know and remember, that when all the Sluices are opened, and the Flood-Gates broken up, ſo that we expect nothing but to be over-whelmed, God can raiſe up ſuch Banks, and Ramparts, as ſhall keep out the raging Waters, and reſtrain their Violence.

Indeed it is told us Proteſtants, that France is confederate with Auſtria, & our Heart is moved—but let us not fear for the two Tails of theſe ſmoaking Fire-Brands—God is our Refuge & Strength, a very preſent Help in Trouble, therefore let us not fear, tho' the Waters of the Sea roar, and be troubled, tho' the Mountains ſhake with the Swelling thereof, there is a River, the Streams whereof ſhall make glad the City of God: God is in the midſt of her; ſhe ſhall not be moved; the Lord of Hoſts is with us, the God of Jacob is our Refuge.

Having now finiſhed the doctrinal Illuſtration of my Text, I ſhall make Application in a Word of Inſtruction, reſpecting civil Government in general—the Britiſh Government in particular—and the Priviledges of Government in this Province by Royal CHARTER under the Smiles of our gracious Sovereign—And ſhall then cloſe with particular Addreſſes.

I. Let us improve our Text reſpecting civil Government in general, & duly acknowlege the divine Goodneſs in ordaining Magiſtracy among Men.

Indeed God Almighty, the ſupreme Lord of Man, has not himſelf inſtituted a civil Government among other Nations, as he did over the Nation of Iſrael; and the political Government of that Nation by Divine Inſtitution wholly ceaſed, when its national State was utterly broken, and their Commonwealth demoliſhed—Nor has Jeſus Chriſt the mediatorial King left any deſigned Plan or Model for the political Government of Chriſtian Nations—Nor doth God himſelf name and appoint the Perſon who ſhall hold the Sceptre, in any Nation of the World, as he did to the Iſraelitiſh Nation in the Perſons of Saul and David, and others afterwards; nor has God appointed any particular Perſons, in any Nation, to make civil or municipal Laws or Statutes; nor has he named, nor does he name the Judges that are to interpret the Laws, and put them in Execution; and yet the Apoſtle Paul ſays, that there is NO Power but of God, the Powers that be, are ordained of God, Rom. 13. 1.—"The Powers he there ſpeaks of muſt be the Roman Emperors, and thoſe that rul'd under them; for he wrote in that Time, when Rome was the Miſtreſs of the World, and to Chriſtians living in the Metropolis, Rome herſelf."—"Now the Roman Emperors then in Being were not in ſtrictneſs of Speech ordained of God, but were elected by the Roman Armies, or choſen and confirmed by the Senate." And hence Dr. Whitby (on that Text) makes this clear Inference, "That an immediate Appointment or Deſignation of the Perſon by God cannot be neceſſary, to render any Prince, God's Ordinance"—"And though it be granted that God has made a general Appointment or Ordinance, in the fifth Commandment, or by a Law of Nature, requiring that all Nations ſhould have ſome Government placed over them, yet no individual Perſon can claim a Right, to be the higher Power in any Nation, more than others, nor are the People by it, tied to yield Obedience to this Man, more than that—This therefore cannot be ſufficient to make a Man the individual Perſon, who is God's Ordinance, in Reference to ſuch a Nation.—It remains therefore that this Authority be conveyed to this or that individual Perſon or Family, by Compact, Conſent or Choice of the Perſons governed, that ſuch a Perſon or Family ſhall have the ſupreme Authority in ſuch Nation. It therefore muſt be ſuch a Choice, Conſent or Contract, that renders any Perſon the Ordinance of God to ſuch a Nation. And this is what Men call a legal Right or Title to the Crown, i.e. a Title by the Laws & Conſtitutions of the Land." Whitby's Annot.

And this is the Baſis of the Eſtabliſhment of Royalty in the Houſe of Hanover, viz. by the Repreſentative of the Nation in Parliament.—And King WILLIAM our great Reſtorer, had a clear Title to the Britiſh Crown by the Choice & Conſent of the People in Parliament, which is indeed the only good Title of all lawful Governments; and ſo both He and his Succeſſors to our preſent King GEORGE the Second, have the Title to the Crown more fully and clearly than any Prince in Chriſtendom.

"But then, as mu •• al Conſent and Contract make two Perſons Man and Wife, and yet Matrimony is God's Ordinance, and the Power of the Man over the Wife, and of the Wife over the Body of the Huſband is from God—and as among us (in England) one becomes a Maſter, and another a Servant by Conſent and Covenant, and yet the Maſter hath from God Authority over the Servant; ſo here the individual Perſon becomes the higher Power, by the Conſent, the Choice or Contract original or actual, of the Community, but yet the Power he exerciſes in that Station is of God the Fountain of all Power, and he acts in that Station not as the Miniſter of Man, but of God." Whitby Ibid.

And ſo at this Day a King reigns in Britain, and Princes or chief Magiſtrates under him rule by the Ordinance and Appointment of God, and under Jeſus Chriſt the mediatorial King, into whoſe Hand all Power and Authority is committed by the Father, for the good of the Church.—And hence by him (the eſſential Wiſdom of the Father, as himſelf ſpeaks in Prov. viii. 15, 16.) Kings reign and Princes decree Juſtice, by him Princes rule, and Nobles, even all the Judges of the Earth.—

This Ordinance of God is well adapted to ſerve excellent Ends & Purpoſes of good to Mankind—Hereby the juſt Rights and Properties of Men are ſecured, and good Order preſerved—And this is one great End of political Society and Government, and hereby the true Religion is maintained, for advancing the ſpiritual and eternal Intereſts of Men; but I would not be underſtood to inſinuate, that the true Religion of Jeſus cannot be ſupported on Earth, without the Countenance of the Magiſtrate and human Laws.—The Church of Chriſt is founded on a Rock, and the Powers of Hell ſhall not prevail againſt it ſo as to overthrow it, even though it had no outward, or Protection of earthly Powers.—And the Chriſtian Religion was maintained in the World from the firſt founding of the Church for almoſt three hundred Years, without the Support of human Laws, or Chriſtian Emperors & Kings, Britain only excepted, where King Lucius (the firſt Chriſtian King in the World) towards the latter End of the ſecond Century, protected and cheriſhed the Britiſh Churches, by his Government & Laws. Bedae Eccl. Hiſt. Gent. Angl. Lib. 1. Cap. 4. But excepting him, there was not any Chriſtian King or Emperor on Earth, 'till Conſtantine the Great; and moſt of the Emperors before him, were profeſs'd Enemies to the Chriſtian Religion, and with Rage and Fury perſecuted the Profeſſors of it—And yet the Church was upheld, the holy Religion of Jeſus preſerved and propagated; and it was ſaid, the Blood of the Martyrs was the Seed of the Church—And afterwards when the true Church was under the terrible Perſecutions of the papal Antichriſt, yet being founded on a Rock, it was not demoliſhed, it weather'd out all Storms & Tempeſts.—But all this notwithſtanding, it muſt be acknowledged as a great Favour and Smile of Heaven, when the great Powers of the Earth turned Chriſtian, or openly appeared for the Protection & Encouragement of the Chriſtian Religion; a ſpecial Favour, when God raiſed up Kings the nurſing Fathers, and Queens the nurſing Mothers of the Chriſtian Church.

When Kings & Emperors turned to be Chriſtians, they were in a Senſe Vicegerents of Chriſt, who is the Head of the Church, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, Rev. 1. 5. Under Chriſt the mediatorial King, who reigns in Righteouſneſs over the Church, earthly Princes profeſſing his Religion rule in Judgment, and are to the Church as a hiding Place from the Wind, and as a Covert from the Tempeſt of Perſecution; a Refuge of Defence from the Rage and Violence of wicked Men. And under Jeſus Chriſt the great King, Chriſtian Princes who underſtand their Duty, uphold the true Religion, maintain the true Worſhip of God, and preſerve the Church in the Enjoyment and Exerciſe of her Chriſtian Rights and Liberties—And this Ordinance of God being ſo well adapted to ſerve ſuch excellent Ends and Purpoſes, let us acknowlege the Goodneſs of God in the Ordinance of Magiſtracy on Earth. I proceed—

II. To make Application of our Text reſpecting the Britiſh Government in particular, and the happy Eſtabliſhment thereof.

(1.) Let us thankfully obſerve the diſtinguiſhing Favour of Heaven to our Nation and Land, in ordaining for them ſo happy a Conſtitution of civil Government, ſo well adapted to anſwer the Ends of the Magiſtracy.

"The grand northern Hive, (from which have iſſued thoſe mighty Swarms of Goths, Vandals, Saxons, Angles, Franks, Huns, Danes and Normans, which ſubdued all the weſtern Parts of Europe) has been ſtil'd by ſome Authors Officina Gentium, the Shop of the Nations; and might with as much Juſtice have been called Officina Libertatis, the Shop of Liberty. For wherever thoſe People ſettled, they eſtabliſhed a Government of Liberty, and ſhewed themſelves to be greater Maſters of the great Secret of governing ALL by ALL, than thoſe Nations that had given them the opprobrious Name of Barbarous; and as they were all Joint-Adventurers in their military Expeditions, ſo all had a Share in their civil Government, and the Lands they conquered. For they choſe their General and great Officers, to conduct them in the War (which great Officers were a Council of War to the Generals in leſſer Matters, but in Affairs of greater Importance, they aſſembled the whole Army, and conſulted with all the Soldiers or People under their Command. When they came to be ſettled in Peace, the Lands of the conquered Country were divided; the General had his Share, the Officers their's, and the Soldiers or People their's. The General became their Prince, and when he died, another was choſen to ſucceed him by a general Election. The great Officers were now his Council of State in leſſer Matters, as they had been before, his Council of War; but in great Affairs, and Matters of Weight relating to the Publick, all the People were aſſembled, and adviſed with in the Manner they had been during their military Expedition. The Shares of Lands given to the Officers were afterwards called Baronies, and thoſe given to the Soldiers, Feuda, or Fees.

Wherever theſe northern Nations ſettled, they eſtabliſhed a Government, framed out of Monarchy, Ariſtocracy, and Democracy. France, Spain, Italy, and Britain, had all this Sort of Government, which is no other than a limited Monarchy, tho' Britain is the only Nation in the World that ſtill retains it. The Founder of this incomparable Sort of Government very well knew, that Monarchy, when corrupted, degenerates into Tyranny; that Ariſtocracy, (i.e. The Government of the Nobles) being corrupted, turns into an Oligarchy; (i.e. Government by a few, or a ſmall Number) and that Democracy (i.e. the Government of the People) was liable to Tumults and Confuſions: and therefore to avoid the Danger, that might ariſe from either of them ſeparately, compoſed the moſt exact Scheme of Government out of them all, and which in our Language is called King, Lords and Commons. Each of theſe have their proper Spheres to move in, and whilſt they continue within them, the Government is eaſy, and the Conſtitution ſafe; but if the Motion of any one of them interferes with that of the other, the whole Frame is out of Order, and the Conſtitution immediately falls into Convulſions, and without wiſe and ſpeedy Applications, muſt expire in an Apoplexy.—In the happy Iſland of Britain, which well deſerves the glorious Name of the Capital of Liberty, the Property of the meaneſt Subject is ſo ſtrongly guarded by Law, that a moderate Fortune here is infinitely more valuable than the higheſt Honours, and greateſt Riches, a Subject is capable of attaining in any Country of the World, where the Will of the Prince, (and not the Safety of the People) is the ſupreme Law.—

—But though in Great Britain only, the ancient, generous and manly Government of Europe ſurvives and continues in its original Luſtre & Perfection, and is a moſt exact Scheme of Politicks; yet it may be endangered by any one of the Branches of the Conſtitution invading the Province of the other. And if hereafter this Nation ſhould ſo far loſe its Virtue, as to have its Lords and Commons become baſely ſervile and mercenary, there will not be wanting evil Miniſters, who will adviſe the Prince to lay hold of the Opportunity to purchaſe from them their Liberty, and bribe them into Slavery."

The Britiſh Conſtitution is a mix'd Government or bounded Monarchy—The ſupreme Power of Great Britain, conſiſts of the King, the Nobility, and the Repreſentatives of the People, called the Commons—Theſe are the three Branches of the higheſt Power in the Nation, who make Laws for the Government of the Nation; and the putting theſe Laws in Execution, is in the Hands of the King, who for the impartial Adminiſtration of Juſtice, erects Courts and appoints Judges and other Court Officers under them for this Purpoſe. And the King and his Officers are obliged to Rule according to the ſettled & known Laws and Statutes of the Nation."The King at his Coronation does ſolemnly promiſe, and ſwear to govern the People of England, and the Dominions thereunto belonging, according to the Statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the Laws and Cuſtoms of the ſame, and to his Power to cau •• Law and Juſtice in Mercy to be executed in all his Judgments; and to the utmoſt of his Power to maintain the Laws of God, the true Profeſſion of the Goſpel, and the proteſtant reformed Religion as eſtabliſhed by Law."—And every Man has the Privilege of being tried by his Peers, as we ſay, or Equals; and therefore Juries are choſen from among the People, appointed and ſworn to bring in their Verdicts on Caſes before them, between Man and Man, according to Law and Evidence.—And excepting the common Infirmities of human Nature, impartial Juſtice may be expected in general to be dealt out in Court Proceſſes.

And by this Conſtitution every Member of the State is treated in ſuch a Manner as is moſt rational, moſt equitable, and moſt conducive to the publick Good—And this Government requires no unnatural and unjuſt Precautions, to ſupport it, but in it's own Nature tends to it's own Preſervation.

It is ſo far from requiring Art or Violence to ſupport it, that both theſe are needful in order to diſturb it—There is nothing in this Conſtitution (in it ſelf conſidered) violent or oppreſſive, but every Thing is founded on Reaſon & Juſtice. All underſtanding Men will become its Guard, becauſe they ſee they cannot poſſibly have any Intereſt to make it otherwiſe—and its Excellency is viſible in this—that notwithſtanding the Luxury and Corruption of the laſt hundred Years, yet the Form of Government is ſtill ſubſiſting, and is ſeen to anſwer the Ends of Government. Indeed it cannot be ſaid that the Britiſh Conſtitution prevents all Inconveniencies; ſuch a perfect Government is not to be expected on Earth, but this is certain, that theſe Evils are better guarded againſt, or more eaſily remedy'd under this Conſtitution, than under any other. And 'tis no rhetorical Flouriſh, but an honeſt plain Truth, that the Britiſh civil Government is the beſt Conſtitution and Eſtabliſhment that is now on the Face of the Earth."It is a mix'd Government—for here is Monarchy, the firſt and beſt Form of ruling the People, according to the Judgment of Plato and Ariſtotle. Here is Ariſtocracy, that is, the Nobles and chief of the Nation have a Share in the Government, which was approved by Moſes, and by the moſt eminent Lawgivers of Greece, as Licurgus and Solon.—Here is Democracy, that is, a popular State, wherein the common People rule by their Repreſentatives: All our Laws are made by the common Conſent, as in the famous Commonwealths of Athens and Rome. The Britiſh Government is made up of all theſe, and reſembles that of the wiſe Lacedemonians, which was a mixture of King, Nobility & Populace, for the Ephori were choſen out of this laſt. This is the Nature of our Government, and is certainly more eligible than any unmixed ſimple Species of Government. Here the Excellencies of all the individual Models of Ruling meet together and conſpire, the Prerogative of Kings, the Dignity of Nobles, the Privilege of the People."—Moſt certainly every one will readily grant, that 'tis unſpeakably better than that of France, and ſeveral other Kingdoms of Europe, as well as the Turkiſh and Eaſtern Governments, where their Kings and Emperors have a deſpotic, i.e. an abſolute arbitrary Power over the Lives, Liberties and Eſtates of their Subjects, and ſo the Condition of the People in all thoſe Countries, is properly ſpeaking a State of Slavery—where the Will of the Prince is the Rule & Law for the governing of his People—Whereas according to our Conſtitution, the Britiſh People are in a State of Liberty; i.e. under a legiſlative Power, eſtabliſhed by Conſent in the Common-wealth or Kingdom, and not under the Dominion of any Will, or the Reſtraint of any human Law, but what that Legiſlature ſhall enact according to the Truſt repoſed in it."The King of England governs his People by politick Power, which is a mix'd Power, and therefore he cannot make his Will his Law, he cannot alter the Laws of the Kingdom as he pleaſes, becauſe his Power is mix'd and limited." Sir John Forteſcue de Laudibus Legum Angliae.

It is the happy Freedom of Britons, of Engliſhmen under Government, to have ſtanding Laws to live by, common to every one of the Community, and made by the legiſlative Power erected in the Nation, as was before hinted.—And under this happy Conſtitution, and the Execution of theſe Laws, Liberty is preſerved, Property is ſecured, Order is maintained, and above all, the true Religion is upheld and promoted, to the Glory of God, the Honour of the bleſſed Jeſus, and the ſpiritual Felicity of all honeſt Profeſſors of Chriſtianity.

II. Let us moſt gratefully obſerve the wonderful Appearances of a gracious God for theſe Nations, in preſerving to them this excelling Conſtitution of civil Government, and ſaying them from Tyranny, Slavery and antichriſtian Darkneſs. Many a Time has the Lord delivered his People when in Danger of ſudden Deſtruction, and has cauſed Light to ſhine out of Obſcurity. It will ſuffice, if I go no further back than the Reign of King James the Second, who ſet up his Will and Prerogative above the Laws of the Land, and endeavoured to overturn the whole Conſtitution; and upon the Diſſolution of the old eſtabliſhed Government, to introduce an abſolute deſpotick Power, in Imitation and according to the Pattern of Louis 14th of France, and therewith to bring in the popiſh Religion, ſo well calculated for an Agreement with arbitrary Power in the State, under a Prince wholly Jeſuited, and under the Influence of Bigotry to the Romiſh Principles almoſt without a Parallel.

But lo! in the midſt of Diſtreſs and Perplexity of the Britiſh People, God raiſed up a Deliverer, the Prince of Orange, afterwards the glorious King WILLIAM, the great Reſtorer of the Engliſh Conſtitution, and under God their Saviour from Slavery and Popery.

God ſuddenly broke the Schemes, diſappointed and blaſted the Deſigns and Stratagems of France and Rome for our Ruin. And on the Prince's Arrival, the golden Phantoms of unbounded Rule and Sovereignty that had ſo long glittered in the King's Eyes, diſappeared in a Moment, and he found himſelf ſtanding on a frightful Precipice, and the Support that bore him broke under him. The happy Revolution ought never to be forgotten by Proteſtants, Britons, and Tranſmarine Engliſh.

The Nations were delivered from an arbitrary popiſh King and jeſuitical Counſels; and from the Hazard of having a ſuppoſititious Heir of the Crown impoſed on them, and educated in the Romiſh Communion, to the Ruin of their Religion and Property.

And in the Reign of this our great Deliverer and Reſtorer, the Succeſſion of the Britiſh Crown was ſettled in the Houſe of Hanover, the parliamentary Eſtabliſhment of the Succeſſion in that illuſtrious Family, to the Excluſion of all Papiſts, tho' nearer in Blood, was the Conſequence of the happy Revolution.

And this indeed is an undoubted and indiſputable Title, being done by the whole Legiſlature of a wiſe and free proteſtant People, jealous of their civil Liberties, and highly regarding the Protection of their religious Rights, as proteſtant Britons.—And from the Time forward the ancient good and wholeſome Laws and Statutes were reſtored for the publick Weal. And the Nation being recovered to a State of Freedom, did by their Parliaments make uſe of their Liberty, to make ſuch other Laws, and take ſuch other Methods as were moſt proper to preſerve them from ſuch Dangers in Times to come. "And moreover the Nations were delivered from a Remnant of Popery, that ſtuck ſo long to them, viz. Perſecution of proteſtant Diſſenters, by the Act of Toleration, which ſtill ſubſiſts, and God grant it ever may continue in full Force, according to the true Intent & Meaning thereof, whereby all Proteſtants are at Liberty to worſhip God, according as they are perſwaded in their Conſcience is moſt agreable to his Will, without fear of being ruin'd in their Perſons or Eſtates by any Faction prompted thereunto by the Court, and without Hazard of having any Party of Proteſtants join with Papiſts to overthrow the eſtabliſhed Church for private Intereſt." Nor ſhould we overlook the former and late Deliverances granted by our God from the popiſh Pretenders both Father and Son. This, this is an unſpeakable Mercy—For woe, woe to the Britiſh Nations and Plantations, if ever the Pretender, or any of his Race gets Poſſeſſion of the Britiſh Throne. But we truſt in God who hath delivered, that He will yet deliver us, that the King, the Prince, the whole Royal Houſe, with the Nation, may joy in the Strength of the Lord, and greatly rejoyce in his Salvation.

I go on,

III. In Application of our Text to this Province, and the civil Government thereof, as a Branch of the Britiſh State and Empire.—Let us with deep Attention conſider its peculiar Privileges by the Royal CHARTER, and the Smiles of our gracious Sovereigns, and let us acknowlege the divine Goodneſs in preſerving to us our excellent Conſtitution.—

This People have been favoured in former Times with excellent Governours, or chief Commanders, by the tender Care of our nurſing Fathers and nurſing Mothers—among whom a Dudley, a Belcher, and a Dummer, cannot be forgotten; Gentlemen of Wiſdom, Juſtice and Goodneſs, in the Adminiſtration of Government—of Religion and Virtue, and memorable for their great Regard and Affection to the Miniſters of Religion.

Mr. Dummer will be remember'd in the Land, for his moſt prudent, righteous and mild Conduct of the public Affairs, ſo happy for the Province, and ſo pleaſing to the People.—He retired from the Government to a private Life, with a Temper and Behaviour ſo ſuitable to a Soul that is raiſed above the World, and the Honours of it, to a devout Contemplation on heavenly Glories.—In his advanced Age, he has the Comfort in Reflection of having ſerved his GOD, his King & his Country, with Integrity.

We cannot be unmindful of the Smiles from the Throne in the Appointment of ſo diſtinguiſh'd and accompliſh'd Gentlemen as Mr. Addington, and Mr. Willard, to the very important Place of Secretary.—Mr. Secretary Addington was famous in his Day for Wiſdom, Probity and Fidelity in the diſcharge of the public Truſt.—And the Name of Mr. Secretary Willard (the good Secretary) is as the moſt fragrant Ointment. The Fame of his good Deeds, his long and ſaithful public Services, remains after he is dead, and he will live in a good Report.—His Continuance in the Secretary's Office forty Years, and in all that Time managing the Affairs under his Care, not only without Error and Fault, but with univerſal Applauſe, is without a Precedent, and cannot but raiſe our Admiration.

He was a Chriſtian of a true primitive Spirit, an Iſraelite indeed, without Guile, and a ſhining Example of Piety and Virtue. This excellent Servant of God is deceaſed—and is it not our Duty to embalm his precious Memory? And can thoſe who for many Years were acquainted with his eminent Graces and moral Endowments, refrain dropping a Tear on his Grave?—O Boſton! thy Beauty is faded—the Lord hath taken from thee—the Judge, the Prudent, and the Ancient, the Honourable Man, and the Councellor—Help Lord, for the godly Man ceaſeth—and where is the Man to be found among you to ſtand in the Gap?—Bleſſed be God, our Eyes ſee one of a like Spirit, Piety and pure Converſation, by Royal Appointment, repairing the public Breach.—And Mr. Secretary Oliver excelling in Prudence, Uprightneſs, and unblemiſh'd Virtue, will obtain the juſt Rewards of his faithful public Services.

But to return from this Digreſſion, for which I aſk Pardon, if I have offended.

As we have in Times preceeding been happy under wiſe and good Governours, ſo we hope to be thus happy in Times coming.—

Our good and gracious KING has given us a freſh Mark of his Royal Favour, in appointing Mr. POWNALL to the chief Seat of Government, at ſuch a Day as this.—

Your Excellency in your great Goodneſs, will permit me on this public Occaſion & Solemnity, to congratulate you as the chief Prince among the Princes of the Province, truſting in God, that you will rule in Judgment under King GEORGE, who reigns in Righteouſneſs—that under GOD and the KING, you will be as a hiding Place, and a Refuge from the Storm, in the preſent tumultuous and tempeſtuous State—as Rivers of Waters in a dry Place, as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary Land.

We render our hearty Thanks to God the ſupreme Governor among the Nations, that he has directed the KING to a Gentleman of ſo great Capacity for Government.—Though with the aged, by long Experience, there is Wiſdom; yet God giveth to the young Man alſo, Knowlege & Diſcretion.—Elihu, though inferior in Years to Job and his three Friends, yet appeared much ſuperior to them all in Underſtanding, in a right Knowlege of God, his Attributes, Providence and Government of the World:—And we hope the Underſtanding of an Elihu will appear in all your public Conduct.

All civiliz'd Nations and Countries have expreſſed their Senſe of this; that Governors and Men in Authority ought to be Men of good Capacity and Knowlege.—When our Saxon Anceſtors gave the Name of Koning (by Contraction King) that is, a wiſe Man, to their ſupreme Magiſtrate, they taught us, what was a neceſſary Property in crowned Heads, which is alſo a neceſſary Qualification in Governors & Magiſtrates under them.—The Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus Philoſophus) had very often in his Mouth that Saying of the great Philoſopher Plato, that then indeed Common-wealths would flouriſh, when Philoſophers reigned, when Rulers were ſkilled in Philoſophy. Jul. Capitolin. Such an one was Marcus himſelf, and ſuch was the Character of ſome of his Predeceſſors, as Auguſtus, Titus, Adrian, and Alexander Severus. And ſome of his Succeſſors, Conſtantine the Great (as appears by his very learned Oration to the Convention of the Saints) and Theodoſius the Elder, and Charles the Great—all good Rulers, as well as learned Princes.—And therefore may we not hope for great Felicities under the Government of a Gentleman of polite Literature, ſkill'd in the liberal Arts, and a Philoſopher.—We are perſwaded ſuch an one will favour Learning, and ſmile upon Men of that Character.

The Character of a true Philoſopher takes in religious Endowments, & moral Virtues, in which we ſhall behold you no common Example—And a generous public Spirit is alſo a conſtant Companion of true Philoſophy—and therefore we believe, you will aim at the common Good and eſpouſe the public Weal.—The true Philoſopher prefers the Advantages of the Community, before his private Intereſt.

The Emperor Adrian's Motto is an excellent one for Rulers (Non mihi, ſed Populo) not for my ſelf, but the Public, i.e. the Welfare of the People muſt be my chief Aim;

Princeps exiſtimat, non Re publicam ſuam, ſed potius ſe eſſe Reipublicae. 〈◊〉 de Clementia, Cap. 1.

Si conſu •• s Populo, remove te a Suſpicione al •••• us Commodi tui Fac Fidem te nihil niſi Populi Utilitatem et Fructum quaerere. Cicero.

which well agrees with that Preface or Head to the Laws of the twelve Tables—(ſalus Populi ſuprema Lex eſto)—Let the Welfare of the People be eſteemed the higheſt Law—which muſt have a governing Power over all Laws.

A true philoſophical Soul only, is fit for public Employment, and Government.

We may obſerve in the fifth Verſe of our Context, a happy Change in the State of Things, when religious, virtuous, public-ſpirited Men were in civil Rule—the vile Perſon ſhall no more be called liberal, nor the Churl ſaid to be bountiful, i. e. ſhall not have the Style and Title of Prince beſtowed on them, for ſo the Words in the Original import—"Under a Prince that loves and honors Virtue, unworthy Perſons ſhall not be advanced to Degrees of Honour & Dignity."—There follows in 6, 7 & 8 Verſes, an excellent Illuſtration, For the vile Perſon will ſpeak Villany, & his Heart will work Iniquity—to make empty the Soul of the hungry, and he will make the Drink of the thirſty to fail—the Inſtruments of the Churl (that is, the ſelfiſh, ſordid, covetous Man) are evil; he deviſeth wicked Devices to deſtroy the poor with lying Words, even when the needy ſpeaketh right; but the liberal deviſeth liberal Things, and by liberal Things ſhall he ſtand.

"Which Words ſhew the different Temper and Method of the baſe & narrow-ſoul'd Man, and of him that is truly generous & public-ſpirited.—The former hath no true Senſe either of Honour, or Conſcience, but makes it his Buſineſs, under ſpecious Pretences, to prevent Judgment & Juſtice, Whereas the Deſigns of the latter, are truly great and worthy of his Character, and it is by theſe only, that he ſeeks to ſupport his Dignity." Lowth's Comment.

We believe, that under the Direction of ſuch a noble Spirit, this People ſhall have Occaſion, by many Thankſgivings, to expreſs their grateful Senſe of the divine Favour vouchſafed in that Regard.

Your Excellency will (I hope) ever have a wiſe and faithful Council, in all the public Affairs that you ſhall open before them; who will give their beſt Advice for the KING's Honour, & the People's Happineſs.

And thoſe Gentlemen that from Year to Year ſhall be choſen to Repreſent the ſeveral Towns in the General Aſſembly, will be Men of Underſtanding and Integrity, and will approve themſelves Pillars of the State, and ever ſtudious of the public Safety and Peace.

The Miniſtry, who are (as well as the Magiſtracy) moſt loyal to King GEORGE, & zealous for the proteſtant Succeſſion in his Family, and Friends to good Government, will be inceſſant in their Prayers to Almighty GOD, that your Adminiſtration may be attended with great Proſperity both to your Excellency & this People—

Sir,—we behold you as a true Proteſtant (a profeſſed Member of a moſt illuſtrious Branch of the Reformation, the Church of England) a true Britain, and whoſe Heart is entirely Engliſh—and therefore we perſwade ourſelves, you will nouriſh and cheriſh true Proteſtants, and Britains in America—that you will naturally love & care for your own Country-men on this Side the Atlantick, & ever purſue their beſt Intereſts.—Our ſmall, but very flouriſhing Academy (at Cambridge) under the Direction and Government of the very learned, virtuous and worthy, the Preſident, Profeſſors and Tutors, will not be neglected by you, as your Excellency has a ſpecial Relation thereto, being Head in the Viſitation.

And after a long & happy Adminiſtration for the Intereſt of Religion and Learning, and the public Weal—when it ſhall pleaſe the KING to advance you to a Place of greater Honour, and more extenſive Uſefulneſs—or when it ſhall pleaſe the Great King to advance you to heavenly Honour and Glory, may the Name of Governor POWNALL, be more fragrant, and his Memory be more precious than the Name and Memory of DUDLEY and BELCHER.

As Mr. THOMAS HUTCHINSON This Addreſs, tho' (by Advice) paſs'd over in Publick, is now offer'd to his Honour the Lieut. Governour from the Preſs, as if it had been ſpoken from the Deſk—And 'tis thought there is no Impropriety therein, as the Royal Commiſſion to Him was publiſhed the Day after the Election. is by the Royal Commiſſion, advanced to the ſecond Seat of Honour and Government in the Province, I may with a Propriety addreſs him alſo as a chief Prince among the Princes.

I beg your Honour will allow me to join my hearty Congratulations, with the Rejoycings of all this People, for this great Favour of our God and our King.

Your Honour has for many Years, even from youthful Age, ſhined in important Stations, in the Houſe, at the Board, and as a Judge; and by your excelling and unexceptionable Conduct, have been univerſally approved and applauded, as a Gentleman of great Wiſdom, Integrity, Publick-ſpiritedneſs & Virtue: You have purchaſed a good Degree, and merited this further Advancement; wherein you may by the Bleſſing of Heaven, ſtill ſerve God, your King and your Country. The Voice of the King and the Voice of the People united, muſt undoubtedly be deemed the Voice of God; and ſtimulated hereby, you will continue to make Uſe of your great Abilities, and larger Intereſt, and Opportunity alſo, as God ſhall offer, to ſeek and promote the Peace and Proſperity of the Province, civil and religious: that both your Honour and all this People, may hereafter have Reaſon to remember GOD and the KING with Thankſgiving.

Among the Favours of God vouchſafed to this People in their political State and by Charter, ſome of the greateſt are, the free Election of the Repreſentatives of the People in General Court; the Freedom of the Houſe, even as the Britiſh Houſe of Commons, in all that comes or lies before them of a publick Nature, and reſpecting the Community they repreſent; and the Election of his Majeſty's Council, the ſecond Branch of the Legiſlature: Great and important Truſts! And we muſt acknowlege the Divine Goodneſs, that this our political Conſtitution is ſtill preſerved, and that the Province has for ſo many Years been bleſs'd with a Houſe of Repreſentatives, Fathers of their Country, Guardians of our Liberties, and who from Year to Year tranſact our publick Affairs for the common Good. And that ſuch worthy Gentlemen are annually elected into Council, as under God and our King and his Repreſentative, have been publick Bleſſings, and Benefactors.—And may the Divine Influence be vouchſafed to the Electors on this great Anniverſary.

Honoured Fathers, the Council and Houſe of Repreſentatives:

This whole Aſſembly rejoyces to ſee this auſpicious Day; and the Language of thoſe who love their Country is, The Lord direct you; Your God proſper you: And the Miniſters of Chriſt in his Sanctuary, may be heard to ſay, We bleſs you out of the Houſe of the Lord.—In the Tranſactions of this Day, and in all Concerns of a publick Nature, may the higheſt Judicatory of the Province, be adorned with the Wiſdom that is from above, pure and peaceable, gentle, and eaſy to be intreated; full of Mercy and good Fruits, the Fruits of Righteouſneſs, without Partiality, and without Hypocriſy—And ſeeing and knowing what is their own and this People's beſt and higheſt Intereſt, may they ſteadily purſue it, to the general Approbation of the Province, and even to the Joy of future Generations.

And now, to ſhut up all, what Nation is there on Earth ſo great as the Britiſh Nations, and American Provinces?—What other People is there, that hath Statutes and Judgments ſo righteous, as the Laws Divine and Human that are ſet before us? Only let us take heed to our ſelves, and keep our Souls diligently, leſt we forget the Lord our God, and his marvellous Loving-kindneſs—And let us keep and do thoſe Statutes and Judgments, for this is our Wiſdom & Underſtanding in the Sight of the Nations and People that are round about us.

And Oh that there was ſuch a Heart in us, that we might fear the Lord, and keep all his Commandments always, that it might be well with us, and with our Children forever.

AMEN.
ERRATA.

PAge 39. l. 3. from the bottom, read Chapters. p. 41. l. 17. f, diſtinct, r. diſtant. p. 51. l. 17. blot out, or, between Saxon and Norman. p. 60. l. 5. r. Frederick Vth.

A Margin Note omitted in p. 51. l. 17. after—in him concentred the Royal Saxon,—to be read,—

Margaret (Siſter to Prince Edgar (Edgar Atheling) and Grand-Daughter to King Edmund Ironſide) the only Survivor of the Royal Saxon Houſe of Alfred, that had Children, was married to Malcolm III. King of Scotland, and There the Royal Seed was preſerved. And King Henry I. of England, Son of William the Conqueror, married Maud or Matilda the Daughter of King Malcolm by this Margaret: And all the Kings of England ever ſince (excepting King Stephen Grandſon of William the Conqueror by his Daughter) have derived from this Matilda and ſo the ancient Royal Houſe of Alfred was reſtored to the Throne of England, and at this Day poſſeſſes it, by the Lines of York and Lancaſter, derived from King Edward III and united in Margaret eldeſt Daughter of King Henry VII. and Great Grand-Mother to King James I. of England.