Church, and most deplorable state of religion in those times; when it seemed all to degenerate into a solemn cant, or into the vilest hypocrisy; was mostly outside, cover, and pretence, to beguile some persons out of their estates, and others out of their lives.

But I forbear: let us come to the consideration of God's overruling providence in those sad calamities. It may sound harsh to say it, but so it was; the hand of the Lord was in all this. Those deplorable distractions were his judgments; the enraged multitudes were the ministers of his vengeance: and what they did wickedly, traitorously, rebelliously, was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, wisely, righteously, and even graciously permitted. Perhaps for the trial and exercise of good men, to improve their virtues, and to heighten their rewards: perhaps, to teach us, by dear-bought experience, to set the higher price and value upon good order and regularity, and to make us for ever after abhor such principles or such practices as tend to overthrow them. Perhaps for the greater honour of our excellent Church, permitted, for a while, to lie bleeding of the wounds received from her enemies; that as in most other circumstances she had come the nearest to the primitive churches, so she might not be far behind them in sufferings also.

However dark and mysterious the designs of Providence may be, one thing however is evident, that God's avenging justice was particularly seen in those times of trouble; justice upon a sinful nation, upon all orders and degrees of men, upon all kinds, sects, and parties; as all, more or less, contributed either to the rise, or growth, or continuance of them. Faults there were, many and great, on all sides; and all in their turns suffered for them. The churchmen and royalists, many of them, for being too full of heat and resentment, for taking unwarrantable steps at the beginning, and making use of unseasonable severities, and some unusual stretches of prerogative; which gave great offence, and first paved the way to our future troubles. And these were the first that felt the weight of the ensuing calamities.

The disciplinarians as justly suffered for the lengths they ran in the rebellion; for their unreasonable prejudices against the crown and the mitre; and for the desperate steps they took to introduce their discipline, and to new model our religion. They were remarkably defeated and disappointed in all their fairest hopes and most promising expectations; the Divine justice, at

length, raising up a new sect to be a scourge for them, as they had been to others.

And even the new sect, or medley of sectaries, (as they were then called,) they did not long enjoy the spoils of their iniquity, but were many of them grievously oppressed and harassed by the tyrannical power which themselves had set up, Thus was the Divine justice visibly exercised upon all parties one after another: which at length happily ended in disposing all to accept of their true and only cure, the Restoration. The Sovereign resumed his throne; the nobility their ancient grandeur, and seats in parliament; the Bishops their sees; the loyal gentry their estates and privileges; the commons their rights and franchises; the whole kingdom their freedom, safety, and tranquillity. The power military again became regularly subject to the civil; and now law and justice flowed in their ancient channels: mutiny and discord ceased; all things reverted to their primitive order and regularity, calm, quiet, and composed: nothing but joy and gladness seen in every face; some few only excepted, whom their crimes had made desperate, and who were left to repine in corners. "This was the Lord's doing, and it is yet "marvellous in our eyes:" that so many jarring factions, and disunited parties, with so many different views, divided interests and affections, should yet unite together in one common design, should join heads, hearts, and hands in the Restoration; though they had most of them again and again entered into solemn resolutions and repeated oaths, covenants, and engagements to the contrary. What could ever have brought about so surprising a revolution, so easily, so suddenly, so irresistibly, but an Almighty arm presiding over kingdoms, and bearing sovereign sway over the very hearts and wills of men? I need not proceed further in describing the happiness of the Restoration: I have been doing it in effect, and perhaps in the strongest and most awakening manner, while I have been setting forth the many and dreadful miseries which preceded it, and from which we were delivered by it.

All happiness in this world is but comparative, and is never so clearly seen, or sensibly perceived, as when we duly consider or experimentally know what it was to want it. The blessing of health is then best understood after we have felt the pain, the wearisomeness, the anguish of an acute disease or a long sickness. The fruits of liberty have the more grateful relish after the

uneasy hours of a close and tedious confinement. How welcome is repose and rest after great toils and fatigues! How comfortable is peace after the doubtful hazards and hardships of a consuming war! And how exceedingly delightful and transporting must good order and government appear, after recounting the miseries of popular tumults, the distracting scenes of anarchy and confusion!

Seeing then it hath pleased Almighty God thus miraculously to heal our breaches and to bind up our wounds; what remains, but that we "rejoice in the day which the Lord hath made,” and that we endeavour proper and suitable returns of praise and adoration, of obedience and service to him? Which brings me to my last general head, namely,

III. To point out the proper use and improvement to be made of all. And here I need not go further than the advice of the text; "In the day of prosperity be joyful;" but consider also that the day of adversity may come. Therefore prepare for it, and guard against it. And in order thereto, out of many good rules which might be proper to this end, I shall mention two only, that I may draw to a conclusion.

1. The first is, to be watchful over the beginnings, over the first tendencies to public broils or distractions. To what a hideous length did many run in our late troubles, who at first never intended it? But one thing insensibly drew on another; and many unforeseen incidents drove men on, when once entered, beyond their first thoughts and counsels, till they were gradually led up to the very highest pitch of impiety and wickedness. From representing grievances, they proceeded to undutiful petitions, from petitions to seditious remonstrances, from remonstrances to covenants and associations, then to riots and tumults, and so on to open rebellions. Thus came our miseries rolling on, like the waves of the sea, till they overwhelmed us. A few wise counsels and healing measures, at the beginning, might have accommodated the rising differences, and have prevented what followed.

2. A second good rule of prudence and necessary maxim of life is, for men to know when they are well: not to be too humoursome and delicate, if things do not exactly answer what they may fondly expect or wish for; nor to affect changes at any time without the greatest necessity. This one lesson, well studied and practised, might have prevented our twenty years miseries; and

might have preserved to us, for the whole time, all that happiness which in the end we only regained. We have felt the mischief of disturbing settlements, and throwing government off the hinges let it be a warning to all, not to be fond of experiments of that kind, but to prize and value an establishment when they have it; particularly to be thankful for the present one, which, through many doubtful struggles and weary strifes, has been transmitted to us, from the Restoration down to this very day; but withal augmented, improved, and strengthened, as later experiences have brought in more wisdom.

Some, perhaps, led away with the empty name, not considering the thing, may be weak enough to wish for, or even vain enough to expect another restoration, as they would falsely call it. To such, let the advice be, to know when they are well. Restorations, properly so called, such as we this day commemorate, are truly valuable. The restoring a king to his just rights, and a people to their religion, liberty, and estates, and all orders and degrees of men to their ancient powers and privileges: such a restoration is a blessed thing indeed; it is like restoring life to three kingdoms. But what is it that wants to be restored at this day? Is it the people's liberties? But no nation under the sun enjoys more or greater: or if they did not, yet certainly they can never improve national liberty by the admission of arbitrary rule and Papal tyranny.

Is it religion that wants restoring? But though religion is not perhaps altogether in so flourishing a state as its best friends may wish, or its enemies fear; yet (God be thanked) it still retains a good degree of strength and splendour; both which would be mightily impaired and obscured, and in a while destroyed, by letting in upon us Popish superstition and idolatry.

Does monarchy, or episcopacy, or parliamentary powers, want to be restored as formerly? the nobility to their seats, the clergy to their cures, the gentry to their paternal inheritances? No. Nor would the return of Popery be a proper means, were there any thing wanting of this kind to restore or to resettle men in their just rights, but rather to unsettle every thing, and to throw us back again into the wildest confusions.

Does the royal family, as formerly, still want restoring? But who knows not that his Majesty now reigning (and long may he reign) is a branch of the same royal stock with him whose restoration we are now celebrating; and but one remove further

distant, in the course of natural descent, from the same royal progenitor.

But strict lineal succession, perhaps, is wanting. Be it so it is a happiness which many or most of our ancient and best kings, from the conquest downwards, have also wanted. A happiness, no doubt, it is to have it, (for peace and tranquillity sake,) when it can be had; that is, when it falls in with, or is not a bar to a kingdom's safety; which is always of nearer concernment than peace or tranquillity. As bare conveniences must ever yield to necessities, so must considerations of peace to those of safety and preservation, such as without which a kingdom cannot tolerably subsist.

To be short, lineal succession is still kept up, as far as is consistent with the nation's just rights and liberties, or with the fundamental laws and constitution of the kingdom; that is, as far as our ancestors (in whose power it was) ever intended any such strict rule of succession, or in fact observed it: nor can reason, or good sense, or common justice to a free people, and under a limited monarchy, demand or admit of more. All parties, in their turns, will make use of such a plea or pretext about hereditary right, when it favours their purposes, or falls in with their inclinations: but as it never has been, so we may be confident it never will be, a reason with any considerable numbers of men, but such as have been before determined by other reasons, stronger and more prevailing.

Real scruples of conscience, as to this particular, remain but with a few, and those the most sedentary and least enterprising of any and it will always cast a damp upon men of that religious frame and devout temper of mind, to consider, that what they would call restoring a king to his just right, would yet be restoring the kingdom to nothing but slavery, penury, or persecution, it may be, for the present, and in the end, superstition, darkness, and idolatry. What good man, however scrupulous about the rights of princes, would not even dread such a restoration; and rather sit down with his scruples in retirement, solitude, and repose, than be ever consenting (upon very uncertain reasonings, and as uncertain prospect of success) to bring certain misery upon his fellow subjects?

Upon the whole it appears, (which is what I intend by all I have here said,) that such a restoration as some have vainly thought on, or endeavoured, could be nothing akin to that which