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tion-day; that combines caufal-virtue with vital in private animal-life, and legiflative with executive in publick: as in the three judicial-fyftems of ftatute-law, common-law, and equity or law of nature and nations, in fo many courts of justice, in the vulgar tongue, on the 6th creation-day, confummated by Chriftlike union with the laws of God fcriptural (commonly underftood) in the 7th ftep now to follow by fentence of this Lord from heaven tri-uniting moral, caufal, vital virtue in private life-animal, and legal, legislative, executive in public. Gen. i.-24-31. 1 Cor. xv. 47].

40. AT whofe coming, all men fhall rife again with their bodies [into fyftematic life]: and fhall give account for their own works [by habits vifible to all; now confirm'd and unalterable].

41. AND they that have done good [by acquiring virtuous Godlike habits], fhall go into life-everlasting [or Avial as free-men and fons; fabbatically, on the 7th endless day or perpetual noon of this regenerationweek] and they that have done evil [by acquiring evil habits], into everlasting [Arial] fire [of coercion; as flaves irreclaimable. For now the door is fhut; and the fyftem compleated, by the tri-union of loyal, legislative, and executive virtue in political-life; as of moral, caufal, and vital in private-life].

42. THIS is the catholick faith [or univerfal rule of the chriftian life]: which except a man believe faithfully [as the rule of his practice, to enlighten his paths and guide his fteps in his fpiritual walkings], he cannot be faved [from everlafting mifery].

III. HAVING thus declared the attributes of God and Chrift, that render them fupremely worthy of the highest praises and adorations of all mankind: I fhall. now proceed to enumerate, under the 3d. head of this difcourfe, fome of those numberless mercies and acts of divine goodness to these nations, that loudly call for the highest strains of praise and thanksgiving to God and Chrift our King. And as it is impoffible, to bring within the compafs of a fhort difcourfe the many figC 2

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nal mercies and deliverances and unmerited favours receiv'd at the bounteous hand of divine-providence, by these nations. We must be contented with reciting the chief of them; and that as briefly as may be.

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If we look back to the times of darkness and confufion before the reformation: how difmal is the scene of ignorance and fervitude to antichriftian tyranny in matters of religion? and of inteftine commotions and statefeavers always accompanied with great fhedding of blood; in a conflitution then not truly ballanced, but eagerly defirous of liberty and to transmit it to pofterity?

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THE example of ecclefiaftic tyranny in an apoftatiz'd church (that was believed to have the keys of heaven and everlafting-life and infallibility), gave a colourable pretence and fanction to the like exercise of dominion in fuch civil governments as fubmitted to the papal yoak and borrowed their form of life and political fupport from it. But the spirit of liberty, fo natural to the fons of Japhet, and imported into the Roman-empire broken and divided among the ten governments founded by the northren defcendents of Japhet; could never be totally extinguifh'd in Britain, tho' often greatly distress'd: and at laft, after a fhort, but fevere tryal under the perfecutions of queen Mary's reign, it raised its head above the power of its enemies, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, by a happy union of church and state in a national parliamentary eftablishment of a truly chriftian free government both in church and state; not only reforming from the er rors of Rome in religion, but rejecting also, in the exercise of dominion, the anti-chriftian tyranny of her form of government both civil and ecclefiaftic,

HOWEVER happy this new-born reformation-union of church and state, upon a fcriptural and genuine christian foundation, was during the reign of queen Elizabeth; it was not firmly enough establish'd, to efcape the fnares of Rome in the next following reign. When Rome could no longer prevail by open. vio

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ence: the first attempted to destroy the religious and civil liberties of England by cutting off, at one fecret blow, the King and both houses of Parliament, after many fruitless plots in the foregoing reign of queen Elizabeth. This moft execrable plot, commonly known by the name of Gun-powder treafon, being prevented by a vigilant and benign over-ruling providence: the devouring dragon changed his form into that of a fubtil infinuating ferpent, and fow'd the feeds of divifion between the government and fubjects of the strongest and beft fecur'd national establishment upon earth. An establishment of a truly chriftian church and well-order'd civil-liberty fitly bounding the rights of every member of the community by laws, to which he was either born a subject or affented himfelf or by his representative in parliament. The then reigning prince was feduced by flatterers (probably fet on or encouraged by emiffaries of Rome; as is well known to have been the cafe in the next following reign), to aspire after abfolute-dominion independent of parliaments: and the people grew jealous of the crown, and by degrees withdrew their affections from it: infomuch that about the 18th year of that reign, the two parties for and against governing by parliaments, came to a head and introduc'd themselves into the parliament of 1620, from which time a judicious hiftorian dates the rife and progrefs of our prefent wellballanced constitution and happy establishment: for the errors of that reign gave birth to the following ftruggle that ended in the diffolution of the conftitution, the murder of the King by an ufurping faction, new forms of government, all of them oppreffive to the subject and deftructive of religiousand civil liberty. So that being experimentially convinced of the goodness of their old parliamentary conftitution in a limited monarchy, above all the other forms they had tried the nation fighed for a restoration of it. Divine providence heard them, and pitying their diftrefs, granted their request

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by the reftitution of the King and Royal family and the restoration of the government, after many years interruption, in the year 1660. This was follow'd by fuch mutual careffes between King and People in Parliament affembled; that the Popish party began to form new schemes of disturbing the new happy fettlement, left time should cement it too firmly for them ever to overturn. Hence proceeded the rigors of that reign against protestant Diffenters; to make them favour a general toleration, and the Pretenfions of the Crown to a power of difpenfing with the laws, when matters should be ripe for the projected establishment of Popery and an abfolute government. They founded their hopes on the King's only brother being a papift, and his great intereft with the King, and the profpect of his fucceeding to the crown. Upon the acceffion of this prince (i. e. King James the 2d.) to the throne; they had well nigh deftroy'd our conftitution had not divine providence again interpofed in the wonderful and glorious accomplishment of the Revolution happily effected by King William the 3d. never to be forgotten (as being the happy inftrument of divine providence in working this great deliverance.) To him alfo, under God, we owe the prudent provifion for the perpetuity of our conftitution, by limiting the fucceffion to the crown to the protestant line and guarding against all future attempts to destroy our liberties religious or civil. The happy acceffion of the prefent royal family to the throne, without any confufions, at a time when the popish party and the friends of a popish Pretender had again rais'd a spirit of Jacobitifm into power, is the next great event now to be remember'd with the highest gratitude to divine providence.

THE more a conftitution is advanced in its progress to perfection; the more harmful and wicked is any attempt to deftroy it; and the greater bleffing is the deliverance from fuch attempt or the rendering it fruitlefs. As the prefervation of a man is of greater mo

ment,

ment, than that of a child. Thus; the reftoration was a more important bleffing, than the deliverance from the preceeding plots; but yielded in value to that of the Revolution, under divine-providence atchieved by our glorious deliverer King William; as that, to the Protef tant fucceffion taking place in 1714. And this last great deliverance (we are this day to commemorate) from the late unnatural rebellion against a mild, and truly paternal administration and the best of constitutions, in being fo happily accomplish'd by the vigilant and wife conduct of a brave young prince, at an age when others are devoted to the pleasures of youth or little acquainted with military skill, exceeds them all, not only in that refpect, but alfo in being a fure pledge of the continuance of God's protection for the perpetuating our present happy establishment by watching over our princes in the day of battle and præfiding in their councils, that both in the field and cabinet all may be directed for the glory of God and good of these naaions.

IV. I SHOULD Now proceed to fhew, by what steps our excellent conftitution has attain'd to its prefent perfection, and in what that perfection confifts. But I take it for granted, you have prevented me; by obferving the refemblance between our parliamentary conftitution and that of the chriftian-church (wherein the offices of bishops, priefts or presbyters, and deacons respectively answer to thofe of king, lords, and commons in our parliamentary conftitution). This was the conftitution of the original chriftian church; having Chrift himself for bifhop, the twelve apostles for presbyters, and the feventy difciples for deacons. After Chrift's afcenfion; the apoitles became bishops by Chrift's appointment and the defcent of the Holyghoft at Pentecoft: and the feven deacons were conftituted in the mother-church at Jerufalem, by laying on of the apostles hands, in place of the feventy difciples, who were probably conftituted elders, i. e. presbyters by the apoftles; for we read of elders with the apostles at Jerufalem in the first council. For a

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