to another world, where all kingdoms and people are to be swallowed up in the kingdom of the Lamb, and to become one fold under one Shepherd; and that the punishments inflicted by God on nations in this life, may be altogether, or in part, deferred by God for some time, till the iniquity of those nations is full, and the sinners grown ripe for vengeance: these are all points sufficiently evident from reason and Scripture, and the history of the world; they need no solemn proof, because they admit of no great doubt. Little indeed is said on this head in the books of the New Testament, which were all written for the use of private scattered Christians, ere as yet any one entire nation was converted, or any of the great rulers of the world had submitted their sceptres to the sceptre of Christ: and, therefore, the precepts there contained, relate chiefly, if not solely, to the conduct of particular persons, and are silent as to the methods of God's dealing with public bodies and societies of men. And there was the less occasion for any instructions of this kind in the New Testament, because they had been given so frequently and fully in the Old; the prophetic parts of- which do every where inculcate these doctrines, as the matters of fact, recorded in the historical books, illustrate and confirm them. And from thence, therefore, all our observations must be drawn, concerning the influence which a people's sins have upon their sufferings, and concerning the measures of that political justice, by which God governs the world. And in truth, it was proper that the directions of this kind should be given under the institution of Moses; the letter of which extended no further than to the concerns of this life: whereas the duties, the promises, and threatenings of the Gospel do all look beyond the grave, and are designed to regulate our behaviour in this world, as it relates and leads to another.

The doctrine then of God's visiting nations, as such, for sins committed by them in that capacity, being sup-. posed; let us briefly apply it to the present case, and see how far we ourselves are concerned in it.

That the sin of this day was national, is not to be denied; the nation itself confessed it, by appointing and observing these public and stated humiliations. It was under the colour of a national authority, that the rebellion was first raised, and all along carried on, and at last consummated by the erection of that infamous high court of justice, which gave the finishing stroke to the successful villanies of that time, by taking away the life of our sovereign. Indeed, the greatest part of the nation abhorred that barbarous act, (and, had their power been equal to their inclination, would have prevented it ;) but many of them had contributed to it too much, and too long before; and, having joined in all the steps that led to the murder of the king, could not at last, by expressing their detestation of the crime, excuse themselves entirely from the guilt of it.

It was the nation, therefore, that sinned; and sinned with an high band, and with all the inflaming circumstances of guilt and aggravation. They made their way to the completion of this wickedness, through the most solemn engagements, through all the ties of reason, and the reluctances of conscience: the laws of God and man were but as withs upon the arms of these Samsons, which they broke at pleasure; and, when they had once overleaped the mounds and fences of justice, were resolved to think every step lawful, which was necessary to justify those they had already taken. Many years they continued steadfastly pursuing these unrighteous measures; they held fast deceit, and refused to return, Jer. viii. 5; and after heaping transgression upon transgression, did at last, through the blood of many of their fellow-subjects, arrive at that of their sovereign, and in the calmest and most deliberate manner perpetrate the black design they had for some time meditated.

The common methods, made use of by rebellious subjects in the destruction of princes, did not please them; poison, or a private assassination, was too hasty and clandestine a way: they were resolved to have the proceeding more public, and slow, and solemn; to carry

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it on by the forms of law, and with the mock shew and pageantry of justice (a way which crowned heads had not hitherto been treated in); and since the crime itself was old, and had been often repeated, to recommend it at least by the newness of the invention in which respect, it must be confessed, that they outstripped all their rivals in this sort of wickedness, even the bloodiest of their king-killing neighbours. Indeed, new inventions for slaughtering kings, and overturning states, are the peculiar reproach of this nation; of which we have two eminent proofs upon record, not to be paralleled in other histories, the gun-powder treason, and that of this, day; one of them contrived by papists, the other by wild sectaries and enthusiasts; neither of them, God be thanked, by the members of the church of England!

And, shall I not visit for such things, saith the Lord? shall not my soul be avenged of such a nation as this? Jer. v. 8. Shall a people sin in this remarkable manner; and shall not that sin be as remarkably punished? It was immediately, and, in some measure, punished by the fatal and necessary consequences of it, by the sad disorders and confusions that attended it. For, had Zimri peace who slew his master? 2 Kings ix. 31. Did the partners in this black crime quietly reap the expected fruits of it? No; they did not, they were soon displaced from the high seat of authority which they had usurped, and gave way to other usurpers, and to various forms of government which prevailed in their turns. The feverish nation rolled from one posture, one expedient to another, and found rest in none. It then soon

appeared, how great the loss was of their admirable prince, and of their ancient constitution, which perished with him. The people, who had miscalled his mild and gentle reign, oppression and tyranny, found themselves now ruled with a rod of iron, and broken in pieces like a potter's vessel, Psal. ii. 9. They had complained of arbitrary power without cause, and now sinarted under it without remedy. To secure their liberty and laws, they had made this change; which left both of them at the

mercy of standing armies. Thus did their own wickedness correct them, and their backslidings did reprove them, Jer. ii. 12. They had pulled down a regular primitive church; and immediately churches, sects, and religions, without number, sprang up in the room of it; instead of the honest English plainness and simplicity, a demure and sly hypocrisy prevailed; instead of sober and well-weighed devotions, all the freaks and rants of enthusiasm, Every way of worshipping God, but the true one, was publicly allowed; all men were admitted to the exercise of the sacred function, but those who were most lawfully called to it, and best qualified for it. A loud and causeless complaint of impositions on the consciences of men, in things pertaining to God, had helped to ruin the church; and now, every little society, pretending to that venerable name, did the very thing they had complained of; imposed the platform of their doctrine, discipline, and worship, as divine; and were for rooting out all that opposed, or did not comply with it. In the mean time, they, who preserved themselves free from this sort of infection, were in as much danger of swerving to a contrary extreme, and of making inferences to the prejudice of religion itself, which they saw perverted and prostituted to the worst designs. Even good men, at the sight of these prosperous hypocrites, were ready to cry out in the words of complaining Jeremiah : Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? why are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them; yea, they have taken root; they grow, they bring forth fruit thou art near in their mouth, and far (very far) from their reins! Jer. xii. 1, 2. Then, when these hypocritical pretenders to godliness abounded, did an opposite spirit of open levity and profaneness begin to gain ground upon a serious and religious people: then were those seeds of infidelity first sown among us, which have since sprung up, and increased into a mighty harvest. Our endless divisions were a scandal to the truly pious,

the boast of Rome, and the sport of atheists: we were made a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that were round about us; a by-word among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people we lay down in our shame, and our confusion covered us, Psal. xliv. 13, 14. No words can express the various sorts of misery, under which this nation then groaned, by reason of the multitude of oppressions and oppressors, Job xxxv. 9. New lords had dominion over us; the very refuse and outcast of the people; the head became the tail, and the tail the head; the child behaved himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable, Isa. iii. 5. From violence and bloodshed this new model of government had arisen; and the same methods were requisite to cement and uphold it. Plunder and rapine completed the devastations which war had begun armed force decided right, or executed the sentence of those, who had no manner of right to decide it: they were altogether like wolves, ravening the prey to shed blood, and to destroy souls to dishonest gain, Ezek. xxii. 27. As the voice of a woman in travail, as the anguish of her that bringeth forth her first child; such was then the voice of the daughter of Sion, that bewailed herself, that spread forth her hands, saying! Wo is me now, for my soul is weary because of murderers! Jer. iv. 31.

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At last this storm ceased, the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone out again in his strength; the royal family returned, and with it our old constitution in church and state; the regicides suffered, and the land seemed to be cleansed of the royal blood that was shed therein, by the blood of those that shed it. Thus, for a while, we vainly imagined; but sad experience soon undeceived us. Not many years passed, before God did again empty, as it were, at once, all the vials of his wrath upon us: the sword raged abroad; fire and pestilence at home and when this goodly city was laid in ashes, and desolation and emptiness reigned in her streets, doubtless pious persons did often reflect, how