A sermon preach'd at the chappel royal in the Tower upon the death of Her Sacred Majesty, our Late Gracious Queen Mary / by a true lover of the church, the King, and his country.

ISAIAH XL. 6, 7, 8.

The Voice ſaid, Cry. And he ſaid, What ſhall I cry? All Fleſh is Graſs, and all the Goodlineſs thereof is as the Flower of the Field.

The Graſs withereth, the Flower fadeth, becauſe the Spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it: ſurely the People is Graſs.

The Graſs withereth, the Flower fadeth: but the Word of our God ſhall ſtand for ever.

I Queſtion not, but upon the reading of the Text, you eaſily obſerv'd it to ſuite but too well with the ſad and bewailed occaſion of this Solemnity; which hath given us (beyond any thing to us known) a doleful Inſtance of its Truth: and all I can ſay will come infinitely ſhort of the ſad but clear Comment, which the Breath of our Noſtrils, She of whom we ſaid,Lam. 4.20. Nations ſhall reſt under her Shadow, hath given us upon it; who being dead yet ſpeaks, yea cries in a louder than the Prophet's Voice, All Fleſh is Graſs, &c.

All Fleſh. It pleaſed the great Creator of all things to make at firſt three ſorts of living Creatures: Angels he made pure Spirits without Fleſh, and therefore only for Heaven, not to dwell on Earth. Brutes he made Fleſh, without Immortal Souls, and therefore only for Earth, not to pretend to Heaven. Man is of a middle Nature, partaking both of Fleſh and Spirit, and therefore made both for Heaven and Earth. But as his Fleſh is but to miniſter and ſerve his Spirit, ſo he was made for Earth, but as his paſſage and way to Heaven, not that this ſhould be his Home or Happineſs.

But how wofully have we perverted this Order, whoſe inceſſant Cares for the Things of this Life ſufficiently declare, that we believe our ſelves here at home? One Man eagerly purſuing Senſual Pleaſures, as if he had nothing to mind or hope for but what the Beaſts enjoy. Another Riches, and that with ſo much Earneſtneſs, as if he were to enjoy the ſame for ever; tho the Fool knows not but this very Night he muſt part from them. A third hunting after Honour and Dominion, ſo as to ſtick at nothing that may compaſs it, and yet little knows how ſoon his Honour may be laid in the Duſt. A fourth after Popular Applauſe, which is nothing but a Blaſt, nothing more vain and uncertain than it is. Whereas, if we did but rightly underſtand our State and Condition here, and ſeriouſly conſider that all Fleſh is Graſs, we would little value theſe things, and at beſt, uſe the World as if we uſed it not: Uſe it no otherwiſe than a Traveller doth his Inn, and how is that? when he comes there, tho he finds every thing ready, a Room well furniſhed, and all things therein not only convenient, but delightful too; yet he is not ſo ſilly as to ſet his Heart upon them, becauſe he knows on the Morrow he is to leave them and be gone: And there's no Man that travels homeward, that would multiply Buſineſſes on himſelf unneceſſarily in the Way. When he is at Home in his Houſe, he may find ſundry Imployments to buſy himſelf about, but in the Inn he cares for nothing but Reſt and Refreſhment. So Men that are thoughtful or wiſe,1 Pet. 2.11. know themſelves to be but Strangers and Pilgrims here, and therefore look for a Country and City to come, and ſo think it no Wiſdom to intermeddle too much in the Affairs of that Country through which only they are to paſs; but, as Citizens of Heaven, ſend up their Hearts Deſire where they profeſs their Treaſure is. This Leſſon our Saviour teacheth when he tells us,Mat. 6.32, 33. After all theſe things below do the Gentiles ſeek, but ſeek ye the Kingdom of God, and the Righteouſneſs of it. And St. Paul aſſures us,1 Cor. 7.31. the Faſhion of this World paſſeth away, and wiſheth us not to faſhion our ſelves to it.

Could a Traveller juſtly ſeize all the valuable things that occur in his way, and convey them to his Home, ſo as to be of advantage to him there, his endeavouring it might be the more excuſable. And ſo in our Caſe, could a Man carry the World to Hell to bribe the Flames, or corrupt his Tormentors, there were ſomething to be ſaid for our Fondneſs of it; but the Pſalmiſt has already aſſur'd us of the contrary, His Glory ſhall not deſcend after him. Pſal. 49.17. Or could he (tho at the Expence of all his Worldly Enjoyments) buy out his Pardon, or procure his Peace, before he come there; this might well excuſe our graſping at it, but that's not to be done neither;Ver. 8. for the Redemption of the Soul is precious, and ceaſeth for ever: And what ſhall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul? Mat. 16.26. For what material thing can equalize a Spirit? Many things may be had more precious and fine than the Body, but all of them have no proportion to a Spiritual Being. St. Paul, we know, counts all things but Dung; Phil. 3.8. and can we think that God will take Dung in Exchange for a Soul? O! how dreadful will it be at laſt to think, that for a little of the World, for the Satisfaction of a Luſt, for a few droſſy Pleaſures, and ſenſual Delights, which have been here (not without the mixture of much Sorrow and Allay) enjoyed, you have loſt your Souls, and forfeited your Intereſt in thoſe Manſions that are above, where there are Pleaſures for evermore: And all this (in a great meaſure) becauſe we believe not, at leaſt mind not this Voice in the Text, All Fleſh is Graſs.

Man has many Excellences and Advantages which give him a due Preference above all other living Creatures; but as to his Fleſh there is nothing extraordinary in it. It's of the ſame Subſtance and Form, ſays one, with the Creatures we feed upon, altogether inclined to corruption, and nothing but Frailty and Vanity it ſelf. And we need go no further than the Expreſſion in the Text to evince it, All Fleſh is Graſs.

All that we ſee, all that we admire, all the moſt tempting Objects we gaze and dote upon, yea, the whole World, and all that is therein, is all but Fleſh, and all Fleſh is Graſs.

But is this a Truth ſo Univerſal, that it admits of no Exception? tho it may hold good, as to the generality of Men; yet are not the Princes and Monarchs, and Heroes of the World exempted? Have not they ſomething in them, that may privilege them againſt the Inſults, at leaſt, of the King of Terrors? ſomething that they may (upon occaſion) plead againſt the common Fate? The Prophet ſeems to agree to all this, and in the very Text makes ſome difference between a mean and a great Perſon, between a Subject and a Prince; but what is it? No other, than is between green Graſs and a Flower; which tho more beautiful to the Eye, more ſweet and pleaſing to the Senſe, is yet every whit as fading, as periſhing, and as ſubject to be trod under Foot, or to be ſcorch'd and wither'd by the Sun, as the Graſs is. As they grow together in the ſame Field, ſo they are equally liable to be cut down by the edg of the ſame Sythe: and therefore it is that the Prophet after the Voice had cried, All Fleſh is Graſs, adds, and all the Goodlineſs of it is as the Flower of the Field.

By the Goodlineſs of the Fleſh, he means its Youth, its Health, its Strength, its Beauty, its Vigour, or whatever in it is moſt Valuable and Pleaſing. By it we may underſtand the ſtate and condition of a Man that wants nothing, nay, that abounds in all things the World can afford: As Riches, Honour and Pleaſure. Fleſh, ſaith the Prophet, in all the Glory of it, in the free and full injoyment of all things on the higheſt Pinnacle of Honour, ſeated on a Throne, crowned with Diadems, and incircled with all the Badges of Royalty and Grandeur; yet in the midſt of all this Pomp and Splendor, it's ſtill but Fleſh, and liable to ſuch damping thoughts as theſe.

May not God this very Night, take me away like the Fool in the Goſpel, from all theſe things, or theſe from me? May I not, nay, muſt I not within theſe few Years, it may be within theſe few Weeks, or Days, inſtead of my Honour be laid in the Duſt? inſtead of my Purple and Scarlet be clothed with Rottenneſs? inſtead of my Luxuries and Delicacies, become my ſelf the Food of Worms? Is not the poor Soul in my Boſom, an Immortal Soul? Muſt it not have a Being, ſo long as there's a God who is able to ſupport it? And will not all I toil and moil for here, all I covet and doat upon, all my beloved Bags and ſuperfluous Titles, my ſweeteſt Pleaſures, and my higheſt Preferments, my very Learning and my natural Endowments, and every thing ſave my Sins (which I muſt then reckon for) forſake me when I enter into that Immortality? I ſay, when a Man ſhall take himſelf thus to task, and his Conſcience ſummons him to ſuch ſerious thoughts as theſe; How will he be ſtartl'd and amaz'd under the Senſe of his own Frailty, and his little hopes of a better State? And how dreadful will it be for his Immortal Soul, to have nothing between it and Eternal Miſery, but that which will crumble and moulder into Duſt, and leave the poor Soul that truſted to it to ſink into bottomleſs Calamities?

Nor do our earthly Injoyments always continue with us even to the laſt; but often leave us before we our ſelves go off. Riches make themſelves Wings, Honour is fading,Prov. 23.5. Wit, Beauty, and Strength fail, all created Delights will quickly have an End; and the Caſualties that attend their very Enjoyment, doth ſufficiently diſcover their Vanity and the little Streſs that's to be laid upon them. One Rich to day, and Poor to morrow; in Health, Sound and Strong to day, to morrow Languiſhing and Expiring on a ſick Bed; now advanc'd to the higheſt Pinnacle of Honour, anon depreſt and expos'd to Infamy and Diſgrace; attended by trains of Paraſites and Flatterers to day, to morrow deſerted, ſlighted and forſaken by all.

And as it is with Men, ſo it is with Things. Cities, Towns and Villages Flouriſhing and Beautiful, Rich and Opulent to day, to morrow laid in Aſhes, and levell'd with the Ground. So that there's no Flower more fading, no Bubble more vaniſhing, no Dream more deluding, nothing more Vain, nothing more uncertain than the World is. It's all but Graſs, or at beſt but as the Flower of the Field; the Graſs withereth, the Flower fadeth.

But in the midſt of all this Miſery, Vanity and Uncertainty, the Prophet adds, what may ſtay and ſupport us, But the Word of our God ſhall ſtand for ever.

All that's in the World, all the Happineſs that that Fleſh which is but Graſs, can pretend to in its Paſſage here, is full of Vanity, Uncertainty and Diſappointments, and then uſually fail a Man moſt, when he moſt of all relies on them; which muſt needs be one of the greateſt Defeats that can be. For thoſe things wherein Men fear Miſcarriage, or expect Diſappointment, they prepare ſuch a diſpoſition of Mind as may be fit to bear it; but when a Man is ſurpriz'd with Evil, when that happens which he leaſt expected, the Novelty increaſeth the Trouble: And the Scripture expreſſeth the greatneſs of a Judgment, by the unexpectedneſs of it;Iſa. 6.3, 4. When thou didſt terrible things which we looked not for. Their not looking for it, rendred the Judgment ſo much the more Terrible. A Breach in an inſtant, a momentary, a ſudden Deſtruction, a ſwift Damnation, a flying Roll, a winged Woman, are all Expreſſions to denote a ſevere Judgment. Now Men are too too apt to promiſe themſelves much Contentment and Satisfaction in the Fruition of worldly Things; and to be herein diſappointed (as they uſually are) muſt needs be a great Surprize, and occaſion no ſmall Vexation.

But the Word of God is an abiding Word, as founded on the Immutability of God's own Truth: he that makes it his Refuge, relies on the Omnipotency of God himſelf; and has all the Strength of the Almighty, ingag'd to help him. Aſa was ſafe while he depended upon God in his Promiſes,2 Chron. 16.7, 8, 9. againſt the huge Hoſts of the Ethiopians and Lubims; but when he turned aſide to other Aids, and truſted too much in the Arm of Fleſh, he purchaſed to himſelf nothing but perpetual Wars. And this was that which eſtabliſhed the Throne of Jehoſhaphat, and cauſed the Fear of the Lord to fall on all the Kingdoms of the Land that were round about him; 2 Chron. 17.9, 11. becauſe he honour'd the Word of God, and cauſed it to be taught to his People. When Iſrael and Judah did at any time forget to lean upon God's Word, and betook themſelves to correſpondence with Idolatrous People, or other the like Helps, they found themſelves always bereft of Succour; and all their Hopes deceived and blaſted. Which ſhould teach us not to reſt upon our own Wiſdom, nor lean upon our own Strength, nor build our Hopes and Aſſurances upon Human Foundations; but in all conditions lay hold upon God's Word, which ſhall ſtand for ever, and ſupport us in any Extremity,Pſal. 23.4. and carry us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death it ſelf.

And thus I have done with what I deſign'd to offer from the Text: but to apply it to the Occaſion, I know neither how to begin, nor where to end.

The Voice cries ſo loud, and the Blow (tho for our Sins juſtly inflicted) is every way ſo amazing, that the very Thoughts of it were enough to make a Man loſe all Method, though he had ſtudied it never ſo carefully.

And therefore that I may neither confound you, nor loſe my ſelf, I ſhall only glance at ſome few things that may ſatisfy us, what great Advantages we might have reapt from her Life, had it pleaſed the wiſe Diſpoſer of all things to have continued it. And this will naturally tend:

Firſt, To give us a due Senſe of our Loſs.

Secondly, To quicken us to ſuch Duties, whereby (ſince 'tis impoſſible to improve it to our Temporal Advantage) we may yet make the beſt of it, that our Misfortune as well as our other Circumſtances will admit.

The Loſs of a good (tho private) Perſon, is at all Times, eſpecially in bad Times, a juſt ground of deep Sorrow; What then muſt be the loſs of a good Queen, who is a common Stock, in which Millions have a Share? A burning Lamp, which ſhin'd and imparted its Light to three great Kingdoms? No wonder if the exhauſting of ſuch a Store, the quenching of ſuch a Lamp, ſhould be Matter of doleful Complaint.

And here I could willingly indulge both yours and my own Paſſion, that we might ſit down a while in Silence, and only by the Language of our Tears ſpeak our Senſe of this heavy, this irreparable Loſs: But all Paſſions, eſpecially that of Grief, need rather a Bridle than a Spur; and we have ſomething elſe to do, upon ſuch an extraordinary Occaſion, than to bewail our Loſs after the common rate, tho that's allowed us too.

A bright Star is removed; nay, our Sun is ſet: Well may Darkneſs over-ſpread our Horizon;Zech. 11.2. A Cedar is fallen, well may the Fir-trees howl. A Cedar, which, had God ſo pleaſed, might have ſtood and flouriſhed much longer: But we often ſee the loftieſt Cedar cut down before the uſeleſs Shrub; And they frequently fall, (ſays one) who while they ſtood, not only graced the Foreſt, but gave Shade and Shelter to others too. And oh! that we had not now the Occaſion to bewail the Fall of the moſt flouriſhing Plant that grac'd our own or any other Soil; verifying that of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 7.31. The Faſhion of this World paſſeth away, and we together with it. The Throne leaves ſome, and others leave it:Heb. 12.28. and as there is but one Kingdom which cannot be ſhaken, Eternal in the Heavens; ſo there is but one King, who is the Immortal King of Ages, God over all, bleſſed for ever. All the reſt are but Fleſh, and all Fleſh is Graſs.

After ſuch a Voice, what can warrant any of you that you ſhall be alive while to Morrow? Who can be Security for his own Life one Moment beyond the preſent? You'll ſay, my Youth, my Strength, my Temperance, and my Vigour, theſe will ſecure me: But was there ever any more healthy, more lively, more temperate, or more vigorous than the Queen? How ſprightly, how fair, how hail, how charming was ſhe but this Day three Weeks, and almoſt a Week after? And yet the King of Terrors ſtole upon her, before her Self, or at leaſt her Friends ſuſpected, being even (after ſome Days illneſs) look'd upon as Safe, and paſt all Danger, on Tueſday; and yet, beyond all Expectation, given over, and the Sentence of Death pronounc'd by her Phyſicians before Noon on Wedneſday: So vain a Thing is Man.

But this can be no ſurprize to thoſe, whole uſual Exerciſe it is to die daily; and as St. Ambroſe conceived of Valentinian the Emperor, ſo may we of her Majeſty; The Evidences paſt in her Health, are fair Proofs of that Diſpoſition her Soul was in in her Sickneſs. But more of this anon: for tho all her earthly Advantages are now become the Spoils of Mortality, yet She's not to be laid in the Duſt like common Mold, nor depoſited in the Shades with ſilence.

It's true, in the bleſſed State to which ſhe is now arriv'd, crowned with an incorruptible Diadem, in the Company of Angels and Saints, and all her Triumphant Anceſtors; She needs no Praiſes of ours, but yet that which every good Man may claim, is much more juſtly her Due; Commendation after Death, being a juſt Tribute to a Religious Life.

Conſult the Scriptures, and you ſhall ſcarce find one Godly Man laid in his Grave without an Epitaph of Honour; view the Fathers, and you ſhall obſerve it their Practice, to honour the Death of the Good, eſpecially if Princes: and if this had never been done before, it might be now allowed to Her, who was as well the Beſt, as the greateſt among Women. As to the latter, 'twere eaſy to ſhew it, in the Inſtances of her Illuſtrious Birth, (being deſcended from a Royal Race of Kings, as well the greateſt, as of the longeſt and moſt uninterrupted Succeſſion now in the Chriſtian World) in her ſutable Education, in her natural and acquired Accompliſhments; which rendred Her the Darling of the Age, as well as the Glory of her Sex. But we muſt leave theſe, and many other Advantages, with all Her great Actions, to fill up Chronicles; and they will better become the Hiſtory and Annals of the Time, than the Nook of a Sermon.

The ſweetneſs of her Temper, her Beauty, Wit, and Charms of Converſation, which made Her, like Veſpaſian, Deliciae humani generis, and rendred her Amiable and Dear to all that had the Honour to know Her, (tho they were Gifts from Above) yet muſt they now be paſt over in ſilence, as being Praeda Mortis, a Spoil unto Death and the Grave.

Which Conſideration ſhould cure the undue Eſteem which too many Chriſtians ſeem to put upon them; being more ambitious to outvy others in every thing, rather than real Holineſs; which (after all's done) is the only Ornament that Death cannot ſpoil us of.

Nor were the Endowments of her Mind any whit inferiour to thoſe of her great Birth, and other Perſonal Advantages; her Apprehenſion more quick and lively, her Judgment more penetrating and ſolid, her Elocution more fluent, graceful, and every way more perſwading than is uſually found in her Sex. And what good uſe She made of theſe Talents, I need not tell you; and it may juſtly upbraid many other Ladies, even of the firſt Rank, who (I know not upon what pretences) omit improving them the ſame way.

I am ſure ſhe had more Buſineſs to divert her, more Plenty and Abundance to entertain her, as much Beauty to tempt her, and more Favour and Honour to entangle her, than any of them all, and live in the ſame Atheiſtical degenerate Age that they live in: An Age wherein a ſincere and ſerious, a religious and devout Temper is expos'd to Ridicule, and eſteem'd the moſt unmodiſh, unfaſhionable, and uſeleſs thing that can be.

And yet all theſe Diſadvantages, all theſe Temptations to raiſe her Pride, and make her haughty, to render her careleſs, ſecure and indevout, ſerv'd only to raiſe her Ambition to behave her ſelf more agreeable to her great Quality, by a Carriage truly Exemplary, and every way Great; a Carriage that was in all reſpects Religious, Honourable and Vertuous.

The great God of Heaven, the Creator and Diſpoſer of all things, was chiefly regarded in all her Behaviour, and the firſt and main Principle of all her Actions.

Hence ſprung that awful Regard and Reverence of his Divine Majeſty, which was viſible in all her Carriage; and I have heard that ſhe uſed frequently to expreſs a great ſenſe of the Folly, the Ignorance and Impudence of thoſe (tho eſteem'd Wits) who pretend to deny the Being of a Deity, when they had ſuch clear Convictions of Him, his Attributes, and Providence, in every particular of the Creation, even ſuch as were obvious and diſcoverable to their very Senſes. And as no Pulpit-Diſcourſes pleaſed her better, than ſuch as were dexterouſly levell'd againſt this unreaſonable, this helliſh Error; ſo for prevention of its growth in an Age ſo fruitful in Evil, they were always commanded to the Preſs.

It was upon this Belief, upon this Knowledg (as the beſt Foundation) that ſhe rear'd that noble Structure of Piety and Devotion, Uprightneſs and Sincerity, Purity and Charity, and all other the Duties of Chriſtianity, that ſhined ſo brightly through the whole Courſe of her Life.

Dr. Wak • 's Sermon at Greys-Inn on the ſame occaſion.But by a Diſcourſe juſt come to my Hands, I find my ſelf prevented, and every way out-done, as to what I offered upon theſe Heads; therefore I choſe rather to refer the Reader to it, and the rather, becauſe that Revevend Author ſpeaks all, or moſt, from his own Knowledg, which may render it more authentick, and more ſatiſfactory too; and (as he himſelf obſerves) the Reader need not fear his impoſing on him, for he may defy him to flatter if he would.

There you may behold this great Queen delineated at large; you may ſee how great, how good, how every way exemplary ſhe was in her Life, and ſhe is no leſs ſo in her Death; being an Object not lightly to be laid to all our Hearts not only as Subjects, not only as Chriſtians, but as Men, as Mortals too; warning all that have ſeen or ſhall hear of the ſudden blaſting of this Flower, that all Fleſh is Graſs; and louder than any other Voice cries, All the Goodlineſs thereof is but as the Flower of the Field.

There you may ſee how great a Friend ſhe was to the Church, how careful of the Welfare of the State, and how much ſhe did contribute to the Happineſs of both: how religious, how pious in Publick, how exact, how punctual in Private; how conſtant in the Chappel, how frequent in the Cloſet, and how ſincere and devout in both.

I had once the Honour to be near her when ſhe receiv'd the bleſſed Sacrament, and I ſhall never forget with what Reverence, what Humility, what Zeal and Intention ſhe did participate of that Divine Myſtery; which plainly ſhewed ſhe was as ſincerely as ſeemingly devout.

Her Affections ſeem'd to be raiſed above their common pitch, and her Carriage during the whole Action, was ſo Heavenly and ſo Divine, as if her Soul had actually aſcended to that God, to whom her Prayers were directed; and brought to my Thoughts that Saying of St. Luke's concerning St. Stephen, when he ſaw the Heavens opened, and Jeſus ſtanding at God's Right-hand; His Face, ſays the Text, was as the Face of an Angel.

And now ſhe, that by ſuch remarkable Inſtances of Piety and Devotion, manifeſted the profound Reverence and Veneration ſhe had for God, could not be wanting in any regard to the reſt of his Commandments; She that was ſo exact in the Duties of the firſt, could not be defective in thoſe of the ſecond Table. Her Righteouſneſs was no leſs illuſtrious in that reſpect, than her Piety was in the other.

Her Word was as ſacred as any Oath, and no Inconvenience would make her flinch from what ſhe had once promiſed. She ſo much abhorred a diſhonourable Receſs, that ſhe had no great value for thoſe, who by little Arts and Shifts would free themſelves from their Ingagements, and thereby diſappoint the Expectations they had raiſed in others.

But I need not ſtay upon this: Her Vertues in this kind were ſo eminent, and ſo conſpicuous, that (conſidering the Orb ſhe ſhone in) it was impoſſible they could be concealed; and this it was that made her ſo juſtly admired, and ſo entirely beloved of all.

She was of that Sweetneſs of Temper, of that Kindneſs, Affability, and (conſidering her great Quality) of that Condeſcenſion and Courteſy in all her Demeanour, as rendered her very dear, and her Converſation grateful and deſirable to all that had the Honour to be near her.

She was uſually very pleaſant and chearful, but her Mirth was always managed with Deſcretion, and bounded with Religion; her Prudence kept her within the Limits of Reaſon, and her Piety reſtrained her from being vain; in both which ſhe was very Excellent, and very Exemplary.

She was in her Converſation (notwithſtanding the Reſpect due to her Quality) far from ingroſſing all the Diſcourſe to her ſelf: And when ſhe did ſpeak, ſhe ſtill (according to the wiſe Man's Character of the good Woman) opened her Mouth with Wiſdom, Prov. 31.26. and in her Tongue was the Law of Kindneſs. And ſhe did ſo far excel all others this way, that if a Stranger who had never ſeen her, had come in and found her at work among her Maids of Honour, (as he often might) or in the Company of other Ladies, without any Badges of Royalty and Diſtinction; he had been very undiſcerning, if (after a little Obſervation either of her graceful Meen, or winning way of Addreſs) he had not preſently concluded, That's the Queen. In a word, ſhe was ſo great a Proficient in all the Arts of Obliging, that ſhe reigned over the Hearts, as well as the Perſons of all thoſe who were happy in the Honour of her Converſe.

And now, ſhe who was thus exact, thus perfect in all the Duties both of the firſt and ſecond Table, muſt needs excel in that which is the great Badg and Character of them all, Charity; of which ſhe was ſo compleat a Pattern, that if ſhe out-did her ſelf in any one thing, it was in this, which ſhe extended both to the Perſons and Neceſſities of all.

Being all Goodneſs her ſelf, ſhe was apt to believe moſt People good too, or at leaſt, better than perhaps they were; Charity thinking no evil. 1 Cor. 13.6. And ſhe uſed this good Opinion of others, as an Inſtrument to make them what ſhe was ſo willing to ſignify ſhe thought them: And ſo would make People good by believing them to be ſo, and by this Engagement make them aſhamed to deceive or diſappoint her Expectation and Thoughts of them.

And then, as to the Neceſſities of others, ſhe was willing to her Power, yea and beyond her Power, 2 Cor. 8.3. to relieve them. God,1 Sam. 2.30. who always honours them that honour him, had given her Riches and Honour in abundance, 2 Chron. 17.5. as is ſaid of King Jehoſhaphat; yet her Heart was not puffed up by them,Ver. 6. but lifted up under them in the Ways of the Lord. And the great Satisfaction ſhe took in them, was the Opportunity they afforded her of doing Good; and when at any time they would not anſwer the great Deſigns of her willing Soul,Pag. 36. the fore-mentioned Diſcourſe tells us what her Concern and Regret was.

She had a deep ſenſe of the Wants of all Perſons, and would catch at the leaſt hint of any proper Object of Charity when at any time mentioned, and never declin'd relieving any Indigent, either Families or private Perſons, when recommended to her.

Nor was her Charity confined only to ſuch here, but extended to Ireland too; and not only to thoſe there, who had ſuffered for their Religion, or for eſpouſing her Intereſt, but even to the Iriſh Orphans, that is, the Children of ſuch Parents who died in actual Rebellion and fighting againſt her, and that after they had robb'd, and ſtripp'd, and kill'd, and murdered many of her loyal Subjects; yet to their Children was her great Charity deſign'd. And ſhe was (to my knowledg) very ſolicitous to have ſome Fund ſettled for their Support, that they might be brought up in the Proteſtant Religion, and maintained while fit to be put to Trades, or otherwiſe diſpoſed of.

This was Charity indeed, the doing Good for God's ſake, without any other than a Chriſtian and truly Pious Inducement,1 Tim. 6.19. Luk. 16.5. to lay up in ſtore a good Foundation againſt the time to come; and to make to her ſelf Friends of the Mammon of Ʋnrighteouſneſs.

She had a great Compaſſion for ſuch Foreigners as fled for their Religion, as being forward to do good to all, ſo eſpecially to thoſe of the Houſhold of Faith.

But ſhe had a particular Concern for ſuch indigent Perſons, whoſe Circumſtances had been any ways conſiderable in the World; there being ſome Objects of real Charity, which are not ſo to vulgar Eyes or Purſes, on whom ſhe would confer, and whom ſhe would ſurprize with great and ſutable Aſſiſtances; and to ſuch ſhe was generally kind in the very manner as well as meaſure of her Charity, being as tender of their Modeſty, as ſhe was compaſſionate of their Neceſſity; and by her ſweet obliging way, made her Gift ſeem more a Preſent than a Charity. But I ſhould never have done ſhould I inſiſt on Particulars, or ſay all that might be ſaid of her in a private Capacity, as a Chriſtian. And how much more might be ſaid of her in relation to others?

As ſhe was the beſt of Queens, ſo ſhe was the beſt of Miſtreſſes, to thoſe who had the Honour to ſerve her; never (as I am informed) urging her Commands upon them ſo much by her Power and Authority, as obliging them by her Kindneſs and Condeſcenſion, treating them more like Friends than Servants. And as their Quality did intitle many of them (as much as any of their fellow-Subjects) to her Friendſhip, ſo ſhe loſt nothing by affording it, but did ſecure their moſt ready Obedience upon ſtronger Principles than that of bare Authority, even thoſe of Love and Gratitude; which as they are moſt acceptable and pleaſant on all ſides, ſo are they moſt faithful and moſt laſting. In a word, I have been told, that her Carriage among them was ſo obliging and prudent, that ſhe was never known to ſay or do any thing unworthy of her great Self, or unbecoming that great Wiſdom and Diſcretion that appeared in all her Actions.

I ſhall now conſider her as a Queen, and that but briefly, fearing to outſtrip my time. And firſt, As a Queen Conſort, as a Wife; and here we may ſay as the Scripture ſays,Prov. 31.11, 12. The Heart of her Husband did ſafely truſt in her, and ſhe did him Good and not Evil, all the days of her Life. Prov. 12.4. Never was Woman more a Crown and Ornament to Man. She liv'd doubtleſs with a great Senſe of the Covenant of God that was between them, upon her Heart, and might ſay, as her Royal Grand-father in his Meſſage to his Queen, that ſhe never tranſgreſs'd the Obligation of Fidelity or Affection to Him, no not in Thought.

She was all Love, and all Obedience.

A great part of her Care, was to obſerve every thing that was moſt pleaſing to him, and ſhe was in all reſpects what ſhe ought to be, A Help-Meet. Gen. 2.20. And the inexpreſſible Sorrow his Majeſty groans under for her Loſs, is a too ſufficient Manifeſtation of all this.

And upon this Head it might not be improper to add a word or two, as a juſt and farther Vindication of her Majeſty in the only thing her moſt malicious Enemies could charge her with.

She, who was ſo generally and ſo juſtly beloved and admired by all, had yet the hard Thoughts of ſome few biaſt and unreaſonable Men, who pretended forſooth to be diſſatisfied with her way of coming to the Crown, and were therefore ſo impudent as to cenſure her for it. But had there not been other great and weighty Reaſons, yea an abſolute Neceſſity for it, as great as the ſaving three tottering Kingdoms from ſinking, and our Religion, Laws and Liberties, and after them our Eſtates and Lives from expiring: Had there been, I ſay, none of theſe or any other Inducements, yet the Obligations ſhe lay under as a Wife (which by one of the firſt Sanctions in Holy Writ,Gen. 2.24. are far greater than any due from a Child to a Parent) might very well have excuſed her, and removed their Diſlike upon that ſcore, and ſo rendred her as amiable and dear to them, as ſhe was to all others.

And now we might conſider her as a Queen Regent. And here again, as a farther Demonſtration of his Majeſty's great Affection, when the aſpiring Deſigns and Attempts of a potent and haughty Enemy, forc'd him from her and us, and neceſſarily required his Preſence elſewhere, he entruſted the whole Management of the State to her Care and Conduct; to which, tho ſhe was (in his Abſence) qualified and entitled by Law, yet it was a high Teſtimony of his Confidence in her Prudence, to leave and intruſt it to her ſole Care. Which Truſt ſhe diſcharged with ſuch Dexterity, ſuch Exactneſs, and ſuch admirable Wiſdom, that ſhe never gave or left occaſion for any Complaint, but rendered all more than ſilent, ſatisfied; and not only ſatisfied, but applauding and admiring her prudent and honourable Conduct.

And tho ſhe loved, and even hugg'd her Retirements as her greateſt Satisfaction; yet when the Exigences of Affairs required it, ſhe would deny her ſelf, and her particular Inclination, to comply with a Duty of a more publick Concern; and chearfully ſuſtained the hurry of Buſineſs, which was inevitable, and always acquitted her ſelf (with Honour and Applauſe) of the great Truſt impoſed in her.

But never did any Man, after a long and uneaſy Confinement, meet his Liberty with more Joy and Satiſfaction, than ſhe did ſolace her ſelf, when ſhe had eſcaped the Noiſe and Crowd of Affairs, which muſt needs have ruffled and diſturb'd her Quiet, and (ſo far) leſſen'd, or (at leaſt) ſuſpended the full enjoiment of her Self.

And now by ſuch a Regular, ſuch a Pious and ſuch a Righteous Life, we cannot eaſily ſuſpect She could be unprepar'd even for the moſt ſudden Death; and tho the Warning was indeed but ſhort, yet we have no reaſon to fear it was much ſurprizing to one that always lived in expectation of it.

She was always (as I was inform'd) in the midſt of her Health and Strength, apprehenſive enough of the Diſeaſe whereof ſhe died; yet being ſeiz'd with it, ſhe ſeem'd not at all diſcourag'd, and profeſs'd her ſelf entirely willing to acquieſce in the Will of God; and all the while of her Illneſs continued in the ſame Frame; and notwithſtanding a Complication of Diſtempers, notwithſtanding the troubleſome Preſcriptions of Phyſicians, and the no leſs troubleſome Applications of others; notwithſtanding her own Pain and Diſorder, of which (her Conſtitution, and other Circumſtances conſider'd) She could not but be very ſenſible, yet with an admirable Patience and Reſignation to the Will of God, with a great Contempt of the Vanities of the World, and with a holy Indifference even to Life it ſelf, ſhe was ready to anſwer when it pleaſed God to call; being impatient in nothing, nor importunate in any thing, ſave an earneſt deſire that ſhe might know her Danger: and when it was at laſt declared to Her, O God, how like an Angel, rather than a Soul clogg'd with Fleſh, did She receive it! with ſuch an humble unconcernedneſs, ſuch ſubmiſſion, and ſuch evenneſs of Temper, as nothing could have given but an innocent and meek Spirit, and a Conſcience void of Offence, towards God and towards Man: And reſigned up Her great Soul in Death, with the ſame Courage, and the ſame Quietneſs, that She had poſſeſt it in Patience all her Life.

And thus lived, and thus died (who can ſpeak it without Tears?) this Great Queen, this Glorious Saint; tho not full of Years, yet full of mature Fruits and Graces; when all Men judged Her worthy of a longer, but God, the only unerring Judg, found her full ripen'd for a better Life. And after he had prevented Her with the Bleſſings of Goodneſs, and ſet a Crown of pure Gold upon her Head; after he had given Her the univerſal Eſteem, Love and Admiration of all that knew Her; the bleſſing of a good Name, and more than unſpotted, a bright and reſplendent Reputation: After he had granted Her the Requeſt of her Lips, and ſhut not out her Prayer: After he had made Her glad with the Light of his Countenance, and given Her a Heaven upon Earth, the Bleſſing of a calm, purified, and well-aſſured Conſcience. In a word, after he had taken out the Sting of Death, and made it an eaſy Paſſage to Everlaſting Life, he then took Her from her Corruptible and Earthly, to an Incorruptible and Heavenly Crown.

And She is now ſafely arriv'd at that happy Place, where (as the Father ſweetly warbles) there's Vita Aeterna, Beatitudo Perfecta, & Summa Voluptas; Fulneſs of Joy, Eternity of Life, and Perfection of Bliſs. Where her Faith is turned into Sight, her Hope into Fruition and Love, everlaſtingly ſatisfied with the Preſence of God, the Face of Jeſus Chriſt, the Fulneſs of the Spirit, with the Communion and Society of all Saints, and the Spirits of Juſt Men made Perfect; where all the Cares and Troubles annext to an Earthly Crown are now done away; and where ſhe is, and ſhall be for ever raviſhed in joining with Angels and Saints, and all the Choir of Heaven, to carol forth Praiſes, and ſing Hallelujahs to him that ſits upon the Throne, to the Lamb, and to God for ever. The moſt glorious Imployment, the moſt happy State that the greateſt Monarch, the greateſt Angel ever arrived to: And tho it be every way her Advantage and her Gain, yet it's ſtill our Loſs; and Her many Excellencies before-mentioned, may ſatisfy us what great Advantages we might have expected from her Life, had it pleaſed the Almighty to have continued it.

And now let us ſuſpend our Sorrow a while, and conſider what may be juſtly expected from our ſelves on this ſad Occaſion. And here I could lay before you a Pattern worthy of your Imitation; ſuch a Pattern, as in all reſpects this Age perhaps has not produced; a Pattern that may for ever ſilence, what either the greateſt or the meaneſt Perſon can offer againſt the Reaſonableneſs or the Neceſſity of a Holy Life; and may ſufficiently convince us, that there are no inſuperable Difficulties in Religion: for tho She was a Queen, yet ſhe was a Woman, of the feebler Sex, a great and a rich Woman;Mat. 19.23. and how hardly can ſuch be ſaved? A Woman of like Paſſions with your ſelves, inwardly clogged with the ſame corrupt and ſinful Nature, outwardly beſet with the like or greater Temptations; and yet ſhe caſt off the Weight that hung upon Her, broke through the Difficulties that did incompaſs Her, and ran the Race which was ſet before Her; and thrô Faith and Patience has obtained, and now inherits the Promiſes, and that ſure Reward, that Crown of Glory, that endleſs Kingdom, which God hath provided, and Chriſt hath purchaſed and promiſed to Her, and all them that love and fear him, and wait for his appearing.

I could likewiſe here ſhew you, how idle and frothy are the Projects and Purpoſes, the Deſigns and Reſolutions which worldly Men are too too apt to promiſe to themſelves on the Hopes, and to build upon the Aſſurances of long Life; than which there is nothing more vain, nothing more uncertain.

If ever any meer Mortal could, by any Privilege whatſoever, pretend or hope for Exemption from the Arreſts of an early Death; this Good, this Great, this Young, this healthy Queen might: and yet all the Advantage She has now over common Duſt is, that to Her may David's Lamentation over Saul be more fitly applied; O, how is the Mighty fallen! 2 Sam. 1.19. how lovely and pleaſant was She in her Life! and yet ſhe is fallen, as if ſhe had not been anointed with Oil. And indeed nothing in the whole World could have more convincingly aſſured us of this Truth, that all Fleſh is Graſs, than her Fall hath done.

But I haſten to what yet remains.

There are two Duties that ſeem ſpecially and neceſſarily to be incumbent upon us at this time.

Firſt, What we are to do to ſanctify, or at leaſt how we are to demean our ſelves, that God may ſanctify this great Loſs to us.

Secondly, What we are to do to leſſen it, ſo as it may not prove fatal to us.

Firſt, How we are to improve this, ſo as to have it ſanctified to us.

This is certain, by ſuch Diſpenſations as theſe, the Death of his Servants, God doth forewarn us of future Judgments; eſpecially if they be ſuch as are great and eminent, whether in Church or State: We have now loſt the Greateſt in both; and this is a fearful Sign that ſome heavy Judgment attends the Remnant of the People. This is that whereof our Prophet ſpeaks, Behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hoſts, Iſa. 3.1, 2, 3. doth take away from Jeruſalem, the mighty Man, and the Man of War, the Judg, and the Prophet, and the Prudent, and the Antient, the Captain of Fifty, and the honourable Man, and the Counſellor; and all this threatned as the Fore-runner of heavy Judgments; ſuch as the having Children for their Princes, Ver. 4, 5. their oppreſſing one another, Ver. 8. and no leſs than the Ruin of Jeruſalem, and the Fall of Judah. And the ſame Prophet elſewhere tells us, That the Righteous periſheth, Iſa. 57.1. and no Man layeth it to Heart; and merciful Men are taken away, none conſidering that they are taken from the Evil to come.

Thus was that good King Joſiah dealt with; not long after whoſe Death, followed the Captivity of Babel. In the Grave wherein he was interr'd, the Liberty, Glory, and Peace of Jewry, lay alſo buried.

I would not willingly be the Prophet of our Wo; but whatever we may think, or however we may flatter our ſelves, God never withdraws ſuch great Lights out of the World, but at the approach of ſome black and dreadful Tempeſt; which, if we humble not our ſelves under his mighty Hand, and prepare to meet him in the Way of his Judgments, will certainly overtake us. And therefore while it is called to Day, let us not harden our Hearts, but look to the Things that concern our Peace. Let us ſearch and try our Ways, and turn again unto the Lord. We cannot think he hath made this great Breach, only to open a Paſſage to our Sorrow, much leſs to furniſh us with new Matter of Diſcourſe: No, he deſigns that we ſhould glorify him in our Hearts and Lives, more than formerly we have done; and therefore let it be our Wiſdom and our Care, to hear the Rod, and who hath appointed it, to turn every Man from the Evil of his Way, before the Lord's Wrath be further kindled, and to repent and relent for all our Tranſgreſſions, that ſo Iniquity may not be our Ruin.

Secondly, Let us ſee how we may leſſen this great Loſs, at leaſt ſo far as to prevent its being fatal to us. And I conceive, the beſt Courſe we can take in order to this, is to place a double Value upon Him, whom God in his Mercy yet ſpares to us, our Gracious King. Let this heavy Stroke render his Life more dear to us: Let us pray more conſtantly, and more fervently, for his Health, his Safety, his Happineſs, and his Succeſs.

We may be induced ſtrongly to this, upon theſe Grounds.

Firſt, We are to do this for her Sake that is gone.

Secondly, For his own Sake.

Thirdly, And eſpecially upon the Account of our ſelves.

Firſt, For her Sake that's gone. While She lived, She loved, honoured and admired Him: She knew his Worth beyond what we do; and beſides His many other Accompliſhments, which His very Enemies admire in Him, She knew, that in His greateſt Undertaking, His chiefeſt Aim was the Intereſt and Good of Europe; and eſpecially that part of it which needed moſt his Help, and to which He was in all Reſpects moſt obliged to give it, Great Britain and Ireland.

In a word, She beſt knew Him, and therefore juſtly valued Him: And ſurely if the Saints departed have any knowledg of what paſſes here below, we cannot perform a more grateful Service to her Memory, than to value Him, to love, honour and admire Him too.

Secondly, For his own ſake. Remember he is a Prince that has yet got nothing by us but Trouble, and Care, and Travel, and Toil, and Danger: A Prince, who when we were in the extreameſt Danger, upon the Brink of being ruined and undone, ſtaked his Life, his Fortune, his All, to ſave us; in which Attempt, (conſidering the Seaſon, and the powerful Army there was to oppoſe Him, with the other Difficulties he had to ſtruggle with) the Diſcouragements were ſo many, that none but a Courage, great like His, could have encountred them: And indeed the Undertaking was ſo great, and the Means to carry it on in Proportion ſo little, that we need not think it an Hyperbole in Him, who concludes, there was a Power more than Humane in bringing it to paſs, and the Iſſue ſeems to confirm it: Inſomuch that France her ſelf, that laugh'd at the Attempt, was yet amaz'd at the Succeſs; and well ſhe might, it being the likelieſt ſtep that was ever made towards her Ruin. But to return.

Remember, He is a Prince, who after many Years Effeminacy, Luxury, Eaſe and Softneſs, (wherein the Engliſh Valour ſo ſamed heretofore, lay withering and fading, unactive and ruſting) hath renewed to us the Memory of thoſe great Kings who headed Engliſh Armies abroad; and hath done more in his own Perſon, than all the Crowned Heads of this, or (for ought I know) any other Age. What Prince ever ſo oft expoſed to the Dangers of the Sea, as well as to the Plots of Aſſaſſines, and the Arms of the Enemy by Land as He has been?

A Prince, that as always, ſo lately, and eſpecially in the Reduction of Ireland, hath made good the Character of his Illuſtrious Family, in being the Deliverer of oppreſſed Nations. In a word, a Prince who hath every way performed his Part, how much ſoever his Affairs hath been clogged at Home, by the unnatural Treachery of ſome, who like the true Seed of Nero, can rake with delight in the Bowels of their Mother, and betray the native Intereſts of their Country, to its moſt inveterate Enemies; not only holding a Correſpondence with them, but offering up Vows and Prayers for their Succeſs, and diſcovering a curſed kind of Laughter and Satisfaction, at the Loſſes and Misfortunes of their own Nation; an Indignity which no Government in the World deſerves leſs than this, and none upon Earth would perhaps bear but this: But Mercy is a God-like Temper, and it would ill become this Place to offer any thing againſt it; and I doubt not but Heaven it ſelf will take care to avenge ſuch monſtrous Ingratitude.

I could further ſhew you, with what Wiſdom He unites and keeps together the Confederates, againſt the Diſturber of the Peace of Chriſtendom, for which we are (next after our Deliverance it ſelf) as much beholden to Him, as for any one thing whatſoever. For by this means the War is kept at a diſtance, and we live free from all Diſturbance; without which, what could England hope for, but to be a Field of Blood?

It had long ſince been ſo, had not his Majeſty interpoſed; we were ready to ſheath our Swords in one another's Bowels, while a third Party (under the Pretence of Aſſiſting one) was gaping for an Opportunity to devour both. Nay it had been ſo, notwithſtanding this Interpoſition, were not the Enemy kept at a Diſtance by continuing Flanders the Seat of the War: and (after all our Noiſe) all that's done to ſupport our Allies, is no leſs than neceſſary to ſupport our Selves; it's to find the Enemy work on that ſide, that we may live in quiet at Home; No common Bleſſing, if we conſider what our Neighbours, both in Flanders and Germany, and elſewhere, ſuffer by the Scourge of War. And notwithſtanding the malicious and unreaſonable Suggeſtions of ſome who cry out, (tho with no other Deſign, than to foment our Animoſities and Diviſions) that we are at the vaſt Expence of a needleſs War, to maintain the Dominions of a Foreign Prince: Yet all Men of Senſe know, that the Preſervation of Flanders is as much, nay more, for the Intereſt of England than of Spain: If that ſhould once fall a Victim to France, we need not ſure be told, at this time of Day, what would ſoon follow.

And therefore, ſince we have no other Choice than to fight for Flanders, or for England in Flanders, or in England, there's none but Men beſides themſelves, or otherwiſe notoriouſly biaſt, that would chuſe the latter.

But I need inſiſt no longer upon this. It's but too plain, we ought to value and admire Him for his own Sake:

Let us now ſee what Obligations lie upon us, to do it for our Own.

And what can in this caſe be leſs expected from a grateful and a brave People, to ſo generous, ſo deſerving a Prince? But that we contribute our Endeavours, that we may neither be wanting to our ſelves, nor in Duty and Affection to him, but that we ſhare in his Dangers, and promote his Deſigns, and do all that in every one of us lies, to keep him in a Capacity of meeting his Enemies with equal Numbers, whom they dare never attack but with unreaſonable odds.

This indeed is but what we owe to our ſelves, to our Country, our Families, our Poſterity, and beyond all, to our Religion; for all theſe are at ſtake, and they are (let ſome pretend what they will) the very things we contend for in the preſent War with France, which is endeavouring to get not only our Houſes, but the Houſes of God into their Poſſeſſion: and how they will uſe both them and us, they have given us more than a Specimen by what they have done at home in their own Country; where within a few Years, there were more than a thouſand places of God's Publick Worſhip, where ſome hundred thouſands of Proteſtants ſerved God religiouſly and truly; and yet the French, at leaſt the Popiſh Fury, hath turn'd all thoſe Churches into ruinous Heaps, and treated the poor Owners of them (tho their Countrymen, their Neighbours, their Friends and Relations) with more Scorn and Contempt, more Barbarity and Cruelty, than has been heard among Turks and Infidels: So that it's every Man's Intereſt to engage in this Quarrel; and were it not only ſo, yet a due ſenſe of Honour might excite all Perſons of Character and Reputation, to follow the Example of their KING, who hath ſo often expoſed himſelf for us, and who is ſtill ready to ſacrifice his Life for our Safety.

I am ſure there's no Man can tell me, what it was (for almoſt this Age paſt) we deſired more than ſuch a King; what it was we long'd for more than a Prince without any private Deſigns, and beyond all ſuſpicion, firm in the Nation's Intereſt and Quarrel againſt France: This very Qualification had aton'd for all other Failings, and the want of it (for ought I know) hath been, in a great meaſure, the Source of all our Miſcarriages; and not only miſchievous to us, but fatal to all Europe. And now that that God, who brings Good out of Evil, hath as it were mercifully comply'd with our Deſires, and bleſt us with a Prince, who (beſides his other Endowments) is of all other the beſt qualified this way; a Prince whom that Monarch always fear'd, and has now more reaſon to fear than ever: Shall we not lay hold of the Opportunity, and puſh on the preſent War with the utmoſt Vigor?

Believe it, to talk or think of reſtoring the late King without a French Army, (as ſome of our diſaffected Scriblers would ſeem to impoſe upon us) or to think that ſuch an Army, if they could reſtore him, would then only take their leave and • e gone, (as others of them would perſwade us) is a • anity, • Madneſs that may require our Pity, but ſeems to be paſt our Cure. And therefore to Cabal or Plot, Cenſure or Murmur, or if we arrive not to this height of Undutifulneſs and Folly, but only remain unconcern'd, or ſtand only gazing and looking on, as if it were no great matter how the War ſucceeded, muſt needs be becauſe we will not exerciſe ſo much Fore-thought, as to conſider the dreadful Conſequences of miſcarrying in it.

All wiſe Men will tell you, we had better be ſubdued by any Nation under Heaven than the French; for beſides that no other, conſidering our Situation (as one hath lately obſerv'd) hath Naval Forces enough to ſecure ſuch a Conqueſt; ſo no other would inſult and inſlave us at the rate they would. If the Turk ſhould ſubdue us, he would (ſaith the ſame Author) miſerably Tyrannize, but yet for a ſmall Yearly Tribute, he would allow us the Exerciſe of our Religion. If other Nations, either their Diſtance would ſlacken our Bonds, or their Weakneſs would preſs us more lightly: But France is our next Neighbour, very powerful by Sea and Land, able to load us with heavy Chains, and to rivet them upon us: Beſides, ſhe hath found us capable of being a Rival to her Glory, and we know who it is at this minute that ſtops her Conqueſts, who gives Check to all her aſpiring Deſigns: nay, ſhe has felt the Power of our Arms in her Bowels, and has beenThis Conqueſt was undertaken upon juſt Grounds, Edward II. King of England, having married Iſabella Daughter to Philip the Fair of France, whoſe three Sons dying without Iſſue, the Crown deſcended to the Heirs of Iſabella; and then it was when Edward III. in right of his Mother claimed the Kingdom of France, that they made their Salick Law, which could however bar only for the future, and not for the time paſt; and therefore the King invaded France, and was very ſucceſsful in all the Battels he ſought; but by reaſon of ſeveral Diverſions at home, this Succeſs was not purſued by his immediate Succeſſors; yet Henry V. (a Prince of a Warlike Temper) coming to the Crown, and conſidering that not only Normandy, Guien, Aquitain, and A • j • u, were the rightful Inheritances of the Kings of England, but alſo his juſt Title to the whole Kingdom of France, derived from Iſabella aforeſaid; after he had firſt by Ambaſſadors ſet forth and demanded his Right, he with an Engliſh Army invades France, and having won ſeveral Battels, was at laſt married to Katherine, Daughter of Charles VI. and thereupon declared and crowned King of France in Reverſion: Charles and Iſabella his Queen to reign during their Lives, and Iſabella ſurviving Charles, at her Death made a Will, declaring her Son-in-Law Henry V. Heir to all her Goods, and to the Crown; which gives the Kings of England a farther Right to the Kingdom of France. And I am perſwaded, if the French King had half ſo much Right to England, as the King of England hath to France, we ſhould be peſtered with his Manifeſto's and Scribles, alledging his juſt Pretenſions, as he calls all that he makes. conquered by us, and has had ſuch fatal Proofs of the Engliſh Valour, that ſhe would be ſure to take care never more to ſtand in fear of her Antient Enemies: And upon theſe Grounds we are to expect no Mercy at her Hands, but the worſt of an Hoſtile Fury; and nothing leſs perhaps than our total Subverſion would ſerve their turn. Nay, when we conſider how barbarouſly they uſe the People whom they ſubdue, tho of their own Religion, without regard to Churches or Religious Houſes, or the very Sepulchres of the Dead, tho of Princes themſelves; we may believe our Engliſh Papiſts (hower they may flatter themſelves) would meet with no better Quarter than others. But for thoſe Proteſtants, who, tho at eaſe in their Fortunes, and enjoying all the Privileges of their Fellow-Subjects, are yet reſtleſs and diſſatisfied, and weary of a Government, that's the only Security of their Religion and Eſtates; ſurely, as they will be the eaſieſt, ſo they will be the moſt deſpiſed Prey of their Enemies, who, if they have any Manhood, or any thing that's great in them, will ſhew more Favour to the brave Defenders of their Country, than to thoſe who have ſo baſely and treacherouſly deſerted and betrayed it.

But I know if I ſhould diſcourſe at this rate out of this place, or where I might expect an Anſwer, I ſhould preſently be told, that I had uſed a great many words to little purpoſe, and had run on all along upon a falſe Ground; for that the great King of France hath nothing of Self in all this, nor is he further concerned, than out of a Principle of Honour and Generoſity, to eſpouſe an Oppreſſed, and to reſtore an Exil'd Prince. That he was neither oppreſt nor baniſhed is plain enough; and on whoſe ſide the Oppreſſion lay we all know; and yet we will allow them, that that Monarch may ſeemingly with much Gallantry, eſpouſe his Cauſe till he ſee a fair opportunity of ſetting up his Own, but to be ſure no longer. Or, ſuppoſe he ſhould not do this, can we however think that he would not demand ſo great a Charge, as the whole Wealth of the Nation would be too little to anſwer? And were it not better Policy in us (tho we had no other Inducement) to ſupply him, even to a Moiety of what we have, who will preſerve the reſt by keeping ſuch Enemies out, and by cheriſhing and protecting us in our Religion, and other Rights?

To be ſparing in a caſe of ſuch Neceſſity, is to be wanting, and indeed cruel to our ſelves, and our Poſterity; like the fatal Parſimony of the People of Conſtantinople, who refuſed to ſupply their own Emperor (tho by way of Loan) with a thirtieth part of that Money, which the Turkiſh Emperor depriv'd them of, together with the Lives of the Wealthieſt of them. Whereas by that ſeaſonable Supply they might, in all likelihood, have preſerved their City and their Lives too.

'Twere eaſy to ſhew, what a poor thing Money is, in reſpect of our Religion, our Lives, our Laws, and our Liberties; and it's not yet ſeven Years, ſince all conſiderate Men and good Proteſtants amongſt us, would have given more than this War will coſt us, to have been under the Circumſtances we now are. But (God be thanked) there's no need to inſiſt upon this. Thoſe worthy Patriots who ſo freely and chearfully find out Ways and Means to ſupport the War, are highly ſenſible of it. And all I have to offer upon their Accounts, is, to pray as David, when the People, even beyond what he expected, offer'd ſo willingly towards a Publick Good; O Lord God of Abraham, of Iſaac, and of Iſrael our Fathers, 2 Chron. 29.18. keep this for ever in the Imagination of the Thoughts of the Heart of thy People. But to return, that I may leave nothing unſaid, to open the Eyes of thoſe who are not wilfully blind, I will for their ſatisfaction ſuppoſe, that this extravagantly ambitious King (upon whom they ſo much depend) had no private Deſign, but would only clear the Way to the Throne, and then fairly draw off, without any other Conſideration than the Satisfaction of his own haughty and ambitious Humour: Let us, I ſay, ſuppoſe this, (tho indeed it's next to impoſſible) yet even in this Caſe, might not the Prince whom he left repoſſeſt, (I only preſume to ask the Queſtion) juſtly write himſelf James the Conqueror? And tho I am not to determine how mercifully he might uſe us if left to his own Conduct, (tho we muſt believe him more than a Saint, to forget what is paſt) yet, conſidering how he has been influenced, and (conſidering his Princicles) how he ſtill muſt be, if ever Divine Judgment, as a Puniſhment for our Sins, ſhould ſuffer this to come to paſs: The very Thoughts of what we might expect, are ſo full of Horror, that I chuſe rather to draw a Vail over it, and paſs it in ſilence, than go about to diſplay it; and if any Man be ſo weak, or ſo ſhort-ſighted, as to wiſh or deſire it, I am perſwaded, that a ſhort Change with a Subject of France, would very effectually cure him of his Malady and Folly too.

And yet our Caſe might be much more deſperate than ſome of theirs, and no better to be ſure than that of the Proteſtant Subjects under that Crown; and how it ſhould be worſe is not eaſy to imagine. And now,

Since thoſe very Men amongſt us, who ſeem moſt fond of the late King's Return, do yet pretend they would by no means have him come with a French Power, as being aware of the dreadful Conſequences thereof: Since it is not poſſible he ſhould come by any other, or any other Way; the abuſed Affections of his Quondam Subjects (except a few not worth the naming) being now ſettled upon a Prince, who has gained them with the Hazard of his Life; a Prince, that is not only Fleſh of our Fleſh, and Bone of our Bone, and ſo our natural Leige Lord, but of our Religion alſo, and therefore the dearer to us, as we are every way, and eſpecially in that the ſafer: This being ſo, it is not poſſible they ſhould think of recalling a Prince, under whoſe Adminiſtration they ſuffered ſo much, and whoſe incenſed Wrath would not be eaſily appeaſed; and whoſe Thirſt for unlimited Power, he would be ſure to quench at our Coſt; and therefore muſt come by a French Power, or not at all.

Since ſuch a Power, if they could ſet him on Engliſh Ground, (which I much queſtion) would either, in his Name, and under his Umbrage, do all for themſelves; or at their going off, demand ſuch vaſt Sums as we could never pay; and yet for not paying, would be expoſed to all the Miſeries that Scorn or Cruelty could invent.

Since after they had done this, (or ſuppoſe they ſhould not do it) they would at beſt leave us in the Hands of a Conqueror, all incenſed, full of Wrath and Revenge, who uſed us not over-well when he had no Pretence to that Title; but would now, be ſure, (without uſurping a Diſpenſing Power) make his Will our Law, and impoſe whatever his own Reſentments and Bigotry, his Wrath, or Jeſuitical Zeal, and the Cruelty of thoſe about him, could inflict.

Since our Religion (with which nothing ſhould come in competition) is by the late happy Revolution, ſecured to us and our Poſterity, being wrap'd up and ſafe, not only in his Majeſty, (whom God long preſerve) but in thoſe Illuſtrious Heirs of the Crown, her Royal Highneſs, and her Royal Son, in whom we may one Day be happy.

Since our Laws are once more Sacred, our Privileges allowed, our Rights and Liberties cheriſhed: And ſince we are bleſſed with a King, by whoſe Proweſs and Conduct, by whoſe Juſtice and Goodneſs, we may (if not wanting to our ſelves) be as Great, as Happy, and as Dreadful as ever.

Since this, I ſay, is ſo, it is not poſſible, unleſs we be in love with Chains, and fond to ſee our Religion truckle to Popery, our Liberty to Slavery, our Rights and Privileges to Courteſy; unleſs we deſire to ſee our Lives expoſed, and our Eſtates offered as an Oblation to a ſuperſtitious greedy Church; or as a Reward to the Souldier that ſhall deſtroy us: Unleſs, I ſay, we are fond of theſe things, it is not poſſible we ſhould deſire, or ever long for ſuch an Adminiſtration as will certainly produce them.

And therefore if we have any natural Love for our Country, or any ſupernatural Affection for our Religion, or any natural Inſtinct of Self-preſervation, or any Senſe of Honour in acting ſutably to ſuch Principles; If a Royal Example can incite us, or our own Welfare and Safety encourage us; let us, in the Name of God, as we value any, or all of theſe dear Things, in all due Thankfulneſs to the Author, and in all Loyal Duty and Affection to the Inſtrument of our Deliverance, turn from our Sins, and unite and ſtrengthen our ſelves againſt the Common Enemy of our Religion and Civil Rights, as the only way to have our Peace and Happineſs reſtored and ſettled upon ſure and laſting Foundations.

And this I conceive is the beſt Courſe we can take to leſſen this great Loſs, ſo as it may not prove fatal to us; To ſtand by our King with our Lives and Fortunes; to pray conſtantly, and to pray fervently, that God would protect Him from the private Machinations and open Violences of his Enemies; that he would preſerve him to perfect that Great, that Glorious Work he hath ſo generally and ſo ſucceſsfully begun, that ſo we may enjoy Him in Peace,2 Sam. 21. and eſteem Him as the Iſraelites did David, the Light of our Iſrael; and as they did Joſiah, the Breath of our Noſtrils. Lam. 4.20. The ſerious Acknowledgment whereof, will not ſuffer us to be wanting in all Duty and Affection to Him, whom God continue long over us; and let all that love the Peace and Happineſs, the Welfare and Glory of Great-Britain and Ireland, ſay, Amen, Amen.

Now to God only Wiſe, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt, be aſcribed, as is moſt due, all Glory, Honour, Power, Praiſe, Might, Majeſty and Dominion, now and for ever, Amen.

FINIS.