soon heightened into open rebellion. To have lived in these beginnings of sorrows * must have been very dreadful; but how much more, when discord had brought forth its perfect work; had involved the three nations in bloodshed, and the numberless distresses, that belong to civil wars? After infinite sacrilege and devastation, committed under colour of religion and freedom, war indeed ceased for a time: but the fruits of war continued. The primitive form of our ecclesiastical government was illegally abolished: the universities, the clergy, the body of the people most cruelly oppressed; till one part of the conquerors attempting to extend their oppression over the rest, they took a desperate resolution, with which they persuaded each other Heaven had inspired them, to establish themselves by overturning the whole. Then the majesty of the crown, the honours of the nobility, the privileges of the commons, fell a promiscuous sacrifice, as the church had done before, to enthusiastic fury. Fresh commotions and a new effusion of blood attended this catastrophe. The subverters of lawful authority by force, underwent repeated subversions of their own one by another: the patrons of unbounded liberty sunk under the dominion of absolute tyranny : the asserters of an imaginary purity in religion, promoted its being defiled with pernicious corruptions: and, by a most instructive severity of Providence, all in their turns were made to eat the fruit of their own way, and were filled with their own devices †, to so surprising a degree of exactness; that there was not perhaps any one ill thing, which either side did, but the justice of God returned it visibly upon them.

Such was the state of our ancestors for many years: groaning under their present evils, and their hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which were coming on the earth *. But most unexpectedly, when all attempts for restoring our government and laws had proved ineffectual; when the few remaining defenders of them had neither strength of their own, nor hope of assistance from abroad; when their opposers had all the power of the nation in their hands; and, however divided amongst themselves, were engaged by principle and interest, by fear and hatred, to support their common cause: then did God bow the heart of his people, even as the heart of one man †, to recall their exiled sovereign, and re-establish their ancient constitution in Church and State. The merciful and gracious Lord hath so done his marvellous works, that they ought to be had in remembrance ‡. Praised be the Lord daily: even the God who helpeth us, and poureth his benefits upon us §.

But great as this deliverance was; yet every fibre of such a root of bitterness || could not be extirpated immediately and a new evil sprung up from it, which once more threatened us with ruin. Our princes, deprived in their tender years of the instruction and example of their royal father, banished into the midst of temptation, and seeing and feeling the terrible effects of a pretended or misguided zeal for our liberties and religion; returned to us with dispositions unfavourable to both. These, in the reign of the younger of them, had reduced us to the very extremity of danger: when the mercy of Providence, again interposing, delivered us; and not

* Luke xxi. 26. † 2 Sam. xix. 41. Psal. Ixviii. 19.

Heb. xii. 15.

Psal. cxi. 4.

only completed, but we hope hath secured to us for ever, the whole blessing of the Restoration, under our present happy establishment. Our sovereign, we are sure, hath the sincerest regard both to our civil and religious rights: his posterity have deeply imbibed the same generous principle: and all, that we can have to fear, must be from ourselves.

II. Let us therefore proceed to consider, what behaviour the great event, which we commemorate, prescribes what is the counsel, which God hath given us by it.

The greatest part of the instruction indeed must arise from our sufferings: but the whole power of making advantage of it, arises from our deliverance. And our sufferings being caused by mutual vehemence, and our deliverance being effected in peace: both may well dispose us to a mild consideration of what they teach. To make invectives now, against persons who are gone long ago to answer for their sins before God, can be of little benefit and to charge others rashly with inheriting their faults, may be great injustice: besides that generosity should restrain one side from bitterness; and decency, the other. Undoubtedly caution, to prevent the repetition of past evils, is highly requisite. But where so large a proportion of them was brought about by such as meant it not, the most needful caution is, that we each of us avoid falling into the same error : that we recollect, whatever our station or profession be, not only the injuries, which our predecessors in the same underwent, but chiefly those which they did; and apply our knowledge of former times, not to exasperate others, but to amend or warn ourselves. This is the use, which ought to be made of the plainest parts of the history: and much more should

we take care not to grow warm about the doubtful ones: but allowing men to differ from us, as they may very innocently, concerning the characters and conduct of persons and parties formerly, endeavour all to agree in the one material point, our own conduct now. And surely the period of time before our view, suggests very plainly most important directions to every sort of persons amongst us.

It must remind the governors of the established Church, that rigorous treatment of such as dissent from it, and endeavours to extend their own authority, or influence, beyond reasonable bounds, are methods as contrary to prudence, as they are to religion that neither learning, nor piety, nor eminence in other virtues, will be able to support them, without a suitable degree of humility and forbearance; but that care to be inoffensive, and diligence to be useful, are their true strength. And at the same time, they, who are prejudiced against the established Church, ought to remember, that its ruin was attended with that of the whole constitution: that there followed in its place, first another churchpower, allowed to be much more terrible; then all manner of confusion: and this continued, till Providence re-established us on the old foundation. So that even in those times their schemes were far from producing any good: and it cannot be fitting to revive them now; when, God be thanked, there never was so little of the bad spirit, which they pretend to fear. We do not desire to oppress: we do not desire to be formidable. We only desire protection and support in serving the cause of religion and virtue and it is a very unkind and discouraging return made us, for avoiding the faults imputed to

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our predecessors; if some will not see it, and others will give us no proof of their seeing it.

From the occurrences of the same times, counsellors of princes ought to learn, that the greatest interest of the sovereign and their own is, never to bear hard upon the liberties of the people; for they will restore themselves with dangerous force: never to give them jealousy; never to despise even their less reasonable complaints; but, as far as it is possible, always promote the public good by methods agreeable to the public inclination. And the several parts of the legislature should learn, each to maintain their own privileges with calm resolution; but to abstain religiously from mutual encroachments for not only the sacred obligation of justice requires it; but experience hath shewn, that when once the inward balance of a constitution is broken, endless disorders are likely to follow : and no part of the whole is in danger of suffering more, than that which at first appeared to be the gainer.

But besides the separate admonitions, given by the history of this day to particular sorts of persons; the instruction, which it offers to us all in common, deserves our serious attention.

Much of the misery, undergone by these nations, was owing to that unhappy proneness, which there is in mankind, not only to magnify the real inconveniences of their condition, but to add imaginary ones to them. And their own ill conduct is always the last thing on which they charge them; that of their superiors, usually the first. For these inconveniences, they flatter themselves in the next place, there must be some remedy: and then, whatever scheme for reformation either their own imagination