MAN, tho formed in respect of his Bo­dy of Corruptible Principles, yet these did the Almighty so equally Poise, so harmoniously Attemper, that the Divine Work­manship, had it not dasht itself in pieces, might have been for ever free from Corruption. For in so blissful a Condition God Created Man, with such light of Understanding, holiness of Will, Affections so Regular, and with such Strength and Ability to have withstood the Temptations of the Serpent, that he might not only have seated himself in Immortality, but have convey­ed it down to his Posterity. But aspiring to a more high and exalted degree of Happiness, than the all-wise God had thought fit to place him in, he fell from his Original Excellency, and For­feited his Incorruptibility. That Decree Gen. 2. v. 17. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt [Page 2]surely dye, took then immediately Life and Vi­gour, and an universal Mortality came into the World; every one became obnoxious to Death, and all past Generations are but Monuments of its Reign and Triumph: The Young Dye with the Old, the Rich with the Poor, the Wise with the Foolish, Good Josiah as well as Wicked A­hab. Could Goodness or Greatness, Youth or Beauty, or any other Human Excellency, have been any security against Death, our most Incom­parable Princess had still Sate upon that Throne, which She sola tely Adorn'd with Her Royal Pre­sence; but to our unspeakable Grief, and the Asto­nishment of all round about us, She was quickly snatcht away by Death, and no doubt in Mercy, as good Josiah was, that her Eyes might not see the Evil, which (we know not how soon) may befall us, without a speedy Reformati­on. Her Prayers doubtless, as well as Jo­siah's, had a mighty Energy in them to turn a­way the fierce Anger of God, and to encline Him to Mercy: Yet whatever Benefit we we might reap from them in Her Life-time, we were soon Deprived of Her, and that in a time when we thought Happiness at Hand, and our selves Embracing it. A Lovely Scene of Affairs [Page 3]had but just presented itself, with a very Charming Aspect; a Check was given to our Enemies abroad, the King (to the great Rejoy­cing of His Royal Consort and People) return­ed home in Safety, and a Loyal Parliament As­sembled, ready and prepared to Execute what­ever might truly tend to the Honour of the Na­tion, and the Interest of Church and State; so that the Hearts of all good Men did exceeding­ly Rejoyce, and they already anticipated that Happiness, which they expected (without inter­ruption) to Enjoy. This was the goodly po­sture of Affairs, when we were all surprised by an unexpected turn of Providence: And this was the State of Judah, when Josiah was ga­thered to his Fathers; the Jews then promised themselves some long Prosperity, when on a sudden, a fatal Arrow from the Egyptian Host, cut off their King and Hopes together. It was indeed said of him, That he should be gathered to his Grave in peace, for he had no open Ene­mies, none that made War against him, yet not harkning to the words of Pharaoh Neco, who went up to War against the King of Assyria, by the Ri­ver Euphrates; not harkning, I say, to his Words, from the Mouth of God, would needs [Page 4]Fight him in the Valley of Megiddo, where re­ceiving a sore Wound, he was carried in a Cha­riot to Jerusalem, where he dyed and was bu­ried in one of the Sepulchres of his Fathers; and what great Impression his Death made up­on all the People is here Expressed: And all Ju­dah and Jerusalem Mourned for Josiah.

Which words teaching us that it hath been the Practise of the Church, mournfully to Resent the Death of Religious Princes, the Method I shall confine my self to in the Prosecution of them, will be

1st. Of all to offer some Reasons in General, to show, That the Death of good Princes is mat­ter of great Mourning and Lamentation, to a People or Kingdom.

2dly. I shall Enquire more particularly, into the great Cause the Jews had to Mourn for the Death of good Josiah.

3dly. Upon the sad Occasion of the Death of our late most Excellent Princess; I shall set before you the great reason we all have to Mourn for so Great and Irreparable a Loss.

4thly. and Lastly, I shall apply what hath been spoken in Two or Three Natural Inferences.

1st. The Death of Religious Princes is mat­ter of great Mourning and Lamentation; and surely were it not so, there had never been such Lamentations for their Death Recorded in the Sacred Scriptures: When Moses the Servant of the Lord Dyed, the Children of Israel are said to weep for him in the Plains of Moab thirty days, Deut. 34. v. 8. When Samuel Dyed, all the Isra­elites were gathered together, and Lamented him, 1 Sam. 25. v. 1. When Hezekiah slept with his Fathers, all Judah and the Inhabitants of Je­rusalem did him Honour at his Death, 2 Chron. 32. v. 33. And this Mourning for Josiah in the Text, was a very great Mourning, 'tis said to be as the Mourning of Hadradrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, Zech. 12. v. 11. Eus. Ecc. Hist. de vi­ta Constan­tini lib. 4. cap. 65.67. And when Constantine the Great Dyed, how greatly did the Tribunes, Centurions, the whole Order of Judges and Magistrates Lament his Death; all places were filled with doleful Shrieks and La­mentations, that the common Good of them all was taken from them.

These Instances plainly prove, That to make doleful Resentments upon occasion of the Death of good Princes, was the practice of the Church of God; and a Practice 'tis as Old and [Page 6]Ancient as the Church it self, for 'tis founded up­on the Law of Nature; How pleasing and a­greeable to Nature is it, to Weep and Grieve for the Death of our Natural Parents, especially if they be Good? Much more then surely, if we have any true Zeal for Religion, any regard for the Publick Good, ought we to express our Grief, when the Fathers of our Country are by Death taken from us.

For 1st. A Religious Prince is a great Bles­sing to a Nation, a promised Mercy, Isaiah 49. v. 23. 'Tis said, Kings shall be thy nursing Fa­thers, and their Queens thy nursing Mothers. A Godly Prince is an unspeakable Blessing, such a ray of Divine Love and Favour to a Nation, as be­speaks a very peculiar and distinguishing Provi­dence presiding over it. Because the Lord loved Is­rael for ever, therefore made he thee King (speaking to Solomon) to do judgment and justice, 1 King 10. v. 9. or to establish them for ever, as 'tis ren­dred 2 Chron. 9. v. 8. When Princes are endued with Wisdom, Piety, and the Fear of God, 'tis at once the greatest Lustre and Glory to themselves, and the greatest Mercy and Blessing which a People can enjoy. Blessed be thou O Land, when thy King is the son of Nobles, and [Page 7]thy Princes eat in due season for strength, and not for drunkenness. On the other hand, An Irreligious Prince is a sure Token of Gods hea­vy Displeasure against a People, and of sore Judgments and Desolations to be poured out up­on them. Wo unto thee, O Land, when thy King is a Child, and thy Princes eat in the morning, Eccl. 10. v. 16. when thy King is a Child, that is in Understanding; such was Rehoboam in the midst and strength of his Age, a Child of one and forty Years old.

2dly. Princes have a very great Influence upon their People, either to diffuse and spread the true Religion, or Idolatry and Prophaneness throughout their Territories. Thousands, nay almost whole Nations and Kingdoms imitating and following their Examples; for what Enter­tainment Religion meets with at Court, the like for the most part it finds throughout the King­dom. A Religious King therefore is a mighty Instrument both to establish the true Religion and to engage his Subjects in the ways thereof, by setting over them faithful Pastors, Men of Learn­ing, Integrity and Piety, such as shall feed them with the spiritual Food of sound Knowledge, and win them by the Prevalency of their own [Page 8]good Examples. Jehosophat a Religious Prince sent Princes, and with them Levites and Priests, to Teach in all the Cities of Judah; and Asa his Father a good King commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their Fathers, and to do the Law and the Commandments; and what great Influence it had on the People, you may find in the 2 Chron. 15.12, 13. verses. Thus Jo­siah made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God, and all his days they departed not from following the Lord the God of their Fathers: but in his Sons days, who did Evil in the sight of the Lord, they re­turned to Idolatry, for all the chief of the Priests and the People transgressed very much, after all the abomination of the Heathen, and Polluted the house of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Je­rusalem. In Vide Eu­seb. Zozom. Theodor. Ecc. Hist. et Magde­burg. Ecc. Hist. the Reign of Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperour, what Numbers, what Multitudes of Proselytes were daily added to the Church? And what effectual Care was there taken to suppress Heresies, and to recon­cile differences in Opinion? (but yet) in the time of the Arian Emperours, the wonderful growth of Arianism gave occasion to that Com­plaint of St. Hierom, that almost the whole [Page 9]World Mourned to see itself become Arian. Thus in Julian the Apostates Reign they re­turned to Idolatry, and did with the utmost Zeal espouse it, Contending as eargerly for Error as Truth itself.

3ly. Religious Princes are the Defence of a People; they are as the Walls of a Nation, as the Chariots and Horse-men thereof: The Psalmist Ps. 47. v. 9 calls them the Shields of the Earth; for by their Pray­ers they engage the Irresistible Strength of Heaven to be on their Side. Whilst the Governours and Princes of Israel and Judah were Religious, and kept close to the Ser­vice of God, they were Victorious and Tri­umphant, as in the Days of Joshua and the Elders who out-liv'd him; and as in David's, Asa's, Jehosaphat's, and Hezekiah's Reigns: But when they forsook the Lord their God, his Word and Ordinances, they soon fell as a Prey into the greedy Jaws of the Assyrian Monarchs, by whom they were carried a­way Captive. At least good Princes stave and keep off the Execution of Judgments upon a Nation, when they cannot by all their Prayers and Tears turn them away; [Page 10] Hezekiah, when such black Clouds of Wrath did hang over Judah and Jerusalem, that Micah Prophesied chap. 3. v. 12. That Zion should be Plowed as a Field, and Jerusalem should become heaps, and the Mountain of the house, as the high places of the Forest, did yet so far prevail, that Peace and Truth Flou­rished in his Days. And in Josiah's Reign, when that Nation was in such deep Arrears to the Almighty, that the Execution of all the Threats and Judgments Denounced a­gainst them, was ready to take place; yet by Prayer and Humiliation did this good King so far mitigate the Divine Wrath, that it did not lay hold on them, during his Life. When good Princes are taken away from a People, 'tis like the breaking down the Bounds of the Sea; a passage is thereby laid open for the Divine Wrath to break in upon, and overwhelm them: Well there­fore may the Death of good Princes be thought matter of great Mourning and La­mentation to a Kingdom or People. I pro­ceed

2dly To enquire more particularly into the great cause of the Jews Universal Mourning for the Death of Josiah, to which Enquiry we shall receive abundant satisfaction, if we do but Contemplate the greatness of the Loss they sustained by his Death, which I shall endeavour to set forth by describing,

First, His Great and Extraordinary Piety.

Secondly, His Zeal against Idolatry.

Thirdly, His Publick Spirit.

Fourthly, The time of his Death.

First, He was a Prince of most Illustri­ous Piety, one of the brightest Stars that did ever Shine on the Throne of Israel or Ju­dah. There are some special remarks of his Piety: In the Eighth Year of his Reign, that is, the Sixteenth Year of his Age, (for he was eight years old when he began to Reign) whilst he was yet young, he be­gan to seek after the Lord; Solomon also sought the Lord God of his Fathers, whilst [Page 12]he was young, but his Piety was strangely Clouded and Eclipsed in his elder years; for it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his Wives turned away his heart after other Gods, 1 Kings 11. v. 4. But Josiah's Seek­ing of the Lord was as clear as the Morn­ing, as bright as the Sun, it knew no De­clension. His Piety did surpass that of all the Kings of Israel and Judah which were be­fore him: The Holy Ghost gives this High and Honourable Character of him, that like unto him there was no King before him, that turned to the Lord with all his Heart, and with all his Soul, and with all his Might, ac­cording to all the Law of Moses, neither after him arose there any like him. Other Kings there were in Israel and Judah of very high Elevations in Gifts and Graces, whose Hearts were sincere and perfect with the Lord, and lifted up in his Ways, yet they had some foiles, their Beauty was sullied with some spots and blemishes: But this good King was unspotted in his Reputation, and so in­nocent in his Life, that we cannot charge him with any thing unbecoming his Pro­fession.

Secondly, He was a very Zealous Prince, a Burning Lamp of Zeal for the Glory of God, and Purity of his Worship, the most Zealous of the Kings that did ever sit on the Throne of Israel or Judah, in rooting out I­dolatry. In the twelfth year of his Reign, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the car­ved Images, and the molten Images; and they brake down the Altars of Baalim in his Pre­sence, and the Images that were on high a­bove them, he cut down; and the Groves, and the carved Images, and the molten Ima­ges he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the Graves of them that had Sacrificed unto them; and he burnt the bones of the Priests upon their Altars, and cleans­ed Judah and Jerusalem, 2 Chron. 34. v. 3, 4, 5. Of other Reforming Kings 'tis noted, That they took away the Altars of the strange Gods, the high places, brake down the Images, and cut down the Groves: Howbeit the High Places were not taken away, they took away some, but not all; but this good King destroyed all the Monuments, all the [Page 14]Reliques of Idolatry, as you may read at large in the 2 Kings chap. 23. from the 4th. to the end of the 20th. verse.

Thirdly, He was of a very publick Spi­rit, for when he understood by the words of the Law, That great was the Wrath of the Lord that was to be poured out upon Judah and Jerusalem, because their Fathers kept not the Word of the Lord, he com­manded Hilkiah the Priest and others saying, go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them them that are left in Israel and Judah concern­ing the words of the book that is found; And he endeavoured partly by Penitential Tears, and deep Humblings of himself, to allay the Divine Wrath and Indignation (for his heart was tender, and he did humble himself before God) and partly by entering into a Covenant with God: the sum and te­nor of which was, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his Commandments and his Sta­tutes, with all his Heart, and with all his Soul, and to perform the words of the Cove­nant, which are written in the Book of Moses: And he caused all that were present [Page 15]in Jerusalem and in Benjamin, to enter into the Covenant, and to stand to it; and the In­habitants of Jerusalem did according to the Covenant of God, the God of their Fathers, as you may find it written, 2 Cron. 34. ver­ses 31, 32. All this did this good King to avert, were it possible, imminent Judg­ments and threatned Desolations; but he came to the Throne in such an ill time, when they had so highly offended the Majesty of Heaven, and so increased his Anger through their many Sins and repeated Provocations, that notwithstanding all this great Reforma­tion, and the keeping of such a Passover as never was kept in Israel, since the days of Sa­muel the Prophet, yet the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kinled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasses had pro­voked him withal.

Fourthly, Josiah was taken away when their Hopes and Expectations of some last­ing Prosperity, both in Church and State were advanced to the highest pitch; There­fore Jeremiah thus Laments his Death, The [Page 16] breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits, of whom we said, un­der his shadow we shall live among the Hea­then, Lam. 4. v. 20. I am apt to think, that this was not spoken of Zedekiah, as some would have it; for under such a Wic­ked and Idolatrous Prince, they could not promise themselves any safety; and when Josiah Dyed, all their swelling hopes of future Prosperity expired and dyed with him; then the Godly amongst them expected no­thing but a Deluge of Sin and Misery to break in upon them; For their splendid Re­formation was only superficial, a meer veil of Hypocrisie, as Jeremiah who Prophesied in Josiah's Days, complains, Her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned to the Lord with her whole heart, but feignedly or in falshood, Jer. 3. v. 10. Having given some Account of the Jews great and universal Mourning for the Death of Josiah, I come

Thirdly, To set before you the reasons of our Mourning for the Death of our late most Excellent Princess; which well weigh­ed [Page 17]are of force to dissolve three Kingdoms into Tears; For

First, She was a Princess of most Illustri­and Singular Piety; She Sacrificed the Flow­er of Her Age and Time to the Service of the Great God, from whom She had Her Being: No Person had a greater sense of Religion, or was more sincere in Her Devotions, in which she was as constant, as the returns of Day and Night; the lofty Elevations of her Soul, and her daily flights to Heaven did plainly show, that Her Conversation was there also, and that She had Communion and Fellow­ship with God the Father, and with Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant. Her Life was so exactly Correspondent to Her Profession, that She became the greatest Or­nament and Example of true Piety, that these later Ages have produced. That Honoura­ble Character given Josiah, that like unto him there was no King before him, may in some respect well become Her: For She was the first of all the Kings and Queens that sate upon the British Throne, who appointed After-noon Sermons to be Preached every [Page 18]Sunday at her Chapel in White-hall, which She was pleased to Honour and Countenance with Her Royal Presence. Now that She did so greatly promote and encourage Reli­gion amongst us, is a plain proof, an unde­niable Argument, that (like Her Pious Grand­father, that great Luminary of Religion, both in his Life and Death) She truly lov­ed that Church, in the Communion of which She was Baptized, Educated, and so lived and dyed: Nothing was wanting in Her to bring Religion into the greatest Vogue and Reputation. Had it pleased the Almighty to have lengthned out Her Life, Vice must have sneaked into Corners, and the Person of Honour, and the Gentleman had need­ed no other Distinction but their Virtues, than which nothing can be more becoming them.

Secondly, She was a very Zealous Princess, so Zealous against the Idolatry of the Ro­mish Church, that in that case like Levi of old (for which he is so highly extolled in Sacred Writ) She knew neither Father or Mo­ther: When Israel fell first to Idolatry, and [Page 19] Moses said who is on the Lord's side? The Sons of Levi stood on the Lords side, and appeared against Idolatry; even so our Queen by appearing against Idolatry, proved Her­self to be on the Lord's side, and that in a time of imminent Peril and Danger.

Thirdly, She was of a very Publick Spi­rit, for when the Roman Eagle began to expand its spreading wings, and we were possessed with the justest Fears and dangers, she with an humble Trust and Confidence in Divine Mercy, readily parted with whatever was dear to her, nay, with her Royal dea­rest Husband for a time; who in the most dreadful Season of the Year, ventured on a very dangerous Expedition, seconded with innumerable Difficulties, to rescue us from the daily Rapes committed upon our Laws and Liberties, and to preserve and continue the beauty of the Gospel among us, for which the Hearts of all good Men did then tremble, as much as the Heart of Eli for the Ark of God, when he understood it was in danger of being taken by the Philistines: with so much gallantry and greatness of Mind, [Page 20]mixt with the most submissive Resignation to the Will of Heaven, did this most tender Wife and truly Wise Princess behave her­self, in order to prevent a near-approaching Bondage, worse than that of Israel in Egypt, for that was only on their Bodies, but this on our Souls: And it might have been of as long continuance too, as theirs in Egypt was; when for the long space of four hun­dred years, they Groaned under the heavy yoak and burden thereof. The Queen, con­sidering the large and capacious Endowments of Her Mind, had doubtless as clear and bright perceptions as any Person; what great dangers Her truly Loving, and as truly beloved Husband would (in all probability) expose His Royal Person to; yet so fixt, so intense (to the Eternal Honour of Her Sex) were Her Thoughts, upon the Glory of God, and the Publick Good; that she found no satisfaction within Herself, till our Rights, which did then Bleed, were Asserted, and the Welfare of all the Protestants in Europe, which then lay at Stake, was in some good measure secured. Had She lived to have seen a setled Peace, what great and glorious [Page 21]things might both Church and State have ex­pected from Her?

Fourthly, She came to the Throne by a signal hand of Providence; so very visible and conspicuous were the Rays of Divine Wisdom, Power and Goodness in bringing it to pass, that the worst of Men must (with Pharaoh's Magicians) cry out, this is the finger of God. We were then in a very low and helpless Condition, our Hair was shorn, our Strength quite gone, all outward means failed us, and we saw nothing but Death and Destruction before us; and yet this was the Critical Minute, wherein Infinite Wisdom found out a way for our Delive­rance; and the Thunder of God's Power, the Arms of his Omnipotency brake asunder whatever hindred it: Salvation arose as light out of darkness, for God in Judgment remem­bred mercy. Now that our Illustrious Prin­cess was taken from us, soon after so great a Diliverance as this, may strike Dread into our Hearts, and chill our Spirits! For tho She was gathered to Her Grave in Peace, yet for ought we know, it may be a sad Presage [Page 22]of many Miseries and Calamities ready to betide us: Mercies and Deliverances, when abused, turn into Judgments. In Josiah's days God offered the Jews Mercy, but what­ever ties and Obligations lay upon them to reform and amend, they would not hearken to the voice of God, nor turn from their Evil ways, which proved their utter Ruin and Destructi­on: And I pray God that our ingratitude and unreformedness under our late great De­liverance, may not end in one of the sorest Judgments, that ever yet befel this Nation; if it be so, we have none to blame but our selves, but yet from former instances of Gods Love and Goodness towards us, we need not doubt, but that he hath still Mercy in store for us: The only thing wanting is an Heart truly sincere, and duly qualified to receive the same at his hands.

Fourthly and Lastly, What remains fur­ther to be added, is to consider the Lessons and Instructions to be learnt from this Discourse; the more closely we apply to [Page 23]our selves what hath been spoken, the grea­ter Benefit we shall reap from it.

First Then, If the Death of Religious Prin­ces be matter of great Mourning: We may hence take just occasion to upbraid the fol­ly of such, who are so far from condoling the death of our most Religious Princess, that they Rejoyce and Triumph at it. For the Conviction of Men so degenerate, and void of all Natural Affection to their Coun­try, as well as Prince, it may not be inex­pedient or unseasonable to argue thus: That if the thickest Darkness be more desireable than Light, if the heaviest Bondage be a more discreet choice than liberty; or the sight of Fields streaming with Blood, be more amiable and lovely than Peace, then here is a sort of Men who may rejoyce; but if to be deprived of the brightness and pu­rity of the Gospel, to be harassed with An­ti-Christian Tyranny, and and to be involved in Confusion and Blood be sore Judgments (which every one that loves his Religion and Country must own) upon a Nation, then they ought to pay the just Tribute of Tears, [Page 24]to the Death and Obsequies of our Great and Merciful Princess.

Secondly, Did all Judah and Jerusalem Mourn for the Death of Josiah? Let then all Persons among us, of what Rank and Qua­lity soever, learn to Mourn for the Death of our Royal Sovereign the Queen.

Let the Nobles Mourn, for their Mighty Princess is fallen, whose chief care was to support the Protestant Interest and Religion throughout all Europe.

Let the inferior Dispensers of God's Word and Sacraments Mourn, for they have lost the best of Queens, who was a true tender Nursing Mother to the best of Churches.

Let the more immediate Attendants on Her Majesty mourn, for they have lost a Queen, whose great design was not only to make them Great and Honourable here, but also truly Religious, that they might be bles­sed and happy for ever.

Let the Officers of the Army mourn, for she Cloathed them in Scarlet, and put on Ornaments of Gold upon their Apparel.

Lastly, Let all the Inhabitants of the Land Mourn, For the Beauty of Israel, the Glory of our Nation is now clad and wrapt up in Mourning.

And now having filled our Hearts with a deep sense of Grief, for the Death of our Pious Princess, what we are chiefly and more especially to Bewail, is our Sins, which are the true cause of all the mischief done us; and will, if not timely and sincerely repen­ted of, do us more. Let us then lay our Hands upon our Breasts, and weep bitterly, that the Floods of Impiety are risen to such an height, that they break through all Banks, all Bounds, all Laws, as if they had got the Ascendency of the Word, and were out of the reach, and above the check of an Al­mighty Power. Jeremiah complaining of the many and heinous Sins of Judah, tells us, that Prophaneness was gone forth into all the Land, and that Men were grown Impu­dent in Sinning; Were they ashamed, when they had committed abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, neither could they blush, Jer. 8. v. 12. And can we when we reflect up­on [Page 26]the common Practices of this dissolute Age, and how greatly Iniquity abounds among us, think our selves deserving a better Cha­racter? It is manifest, that there is an excess of Corruption and Degeneracy among us, that neither the most endearing Mercies, nor the most terrible Judgments can reclaim us; that Religion, notwithstanding the great helps and advantages it meets with (than which, perhaps no Age had ever greater) is in a very low and languishing Condition, hardly able to come up to the Character of the Church of Laodicea, being fallen from luke-warmness, to somewhat farther distant from the Temper, which God requires: So that without endeavouring to aggravate that, which already exceeds all Number and Mea­sure, we may safely sit down with this per­swasion, that we, as well as the Jews have done enough to make God angry with us; and least we should continue to provoke his Anger against us, let us not only Mourn for our own Sins, and the Sins of the Land, by fits and starts, but let us instantly manifest [Page 27]the truth, reality, and sincerity of our Sor­row, by an outward entire Reformation of Life, and an inward change of Mind; this will prove the most effectual Method, to turn away the fierceness of God's Anger, that we Perish not.

Thirdly and Lastly, Are Religious Prin­ces a mighty Blessing to a Nation? This then should teach us to set a very great and due value upon our present Sovereign, and to fix all that Love and Affection that was divided between the Royal Pair upon him alone; it was for our Sins, as well as the Tryal of his Christian Valour, that Heaven so unexpe­ctedly smote him in the most tender part, to allay and sweeten therefore so severe an affli­ction, Let us esteem the early acknowledg­ments of Duty and Loyalty among the least of those many and innumerable Services we stand indebted to him; let us prize him as God's Vice-gerent, as the anointed of the Lord, as the Breath of our Nostrils: Let us offer our most humble and devout Prayers to God for him, beseeching him to Crown His [Page 28]Arms with success both by Sea and Land; that he may be a terror to his, and our Ene­mies, to cover him with his Providence, as with an impenetrable Shield, to preserve his Sacred Person from all the Plots and Attempts of his Enemies both at home and abroad, and after a long and happy Reign here on Earth, to change a Fading into an Incorrup­tible Crown of Glory, to be worn in the highest Heavens. Now to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, three Persons, but one Eternal God, he ascribed all Glory and Honour, Dominion and Majesty, both now and for ever.