continue still to be we can hardly give our selves any good Account of those Distinctions of Providence in which we have had so large a share It is true our Religion our Doctrines our Worship and our Constitution are pure but those we owe to the last Age and to the Laws then made about them All that belongs to us from them is the Reproach of corrupting our selves under such Advantages and our refining upon the Immoralities that are but too common to Mankind at all times by the Profanations and Impieties of the present Age. A new Species of Wickedness that perhaps has never appeared with such Impudence and in such bold Instances as among us and yet God has loved this Nation We must without any Compliment acknowledge it is not for our sake for any Worth or previous Merit in us but we may allow our selves to hope that tho' we have no Title to this Love and that it did not find us worthy of it yet it will have those Effects on us that may engage us to answer its Design so far at least that we may not quite forfeit it Who knows the Secrets of Gods Counsels or what lies hid under all that train of extraordinary Circumstances that we have seen Whether we are at last to be reformed by them and to be made the Instruments of spreading the Light of the Gospel in its Purity to other Nations as we have been already honoured to be the Instruments in this Gloirous Reign to give the Affairs of Europe another Face a truer Balance and the Prospect of a firmer Establishment For let the Men of Envy and Ill-nature look thro' our whole History and see where they can find in any Age since we were a Nation that we appear'd with so much Glory and made so great a Figure not only over our Neighbourhood but over the whole World as we do in this Re'gn This Disposes a Man to hope that the whole Designs of Heaven are not yet accomplished but that what we have seen is a Noble Pledge of somewhat further that is yet hid in the Counsels of God but is to break out in due time There is no need of great Meditation of much searching into History and a depth of Thought to comprehend this That Good and Bad Princes are among the chief Instances in which the Love or Anger of Heaven do discover themselves What greater Blessings can be hoped for on Earth than from the Reign of PRINCES that have in them the true Elevations of Greatness tempered with the Bowels and Compassions of good Nature that are faithful Observers of their Promises and are severe Lovers of Truth that not only maintain the Sacred Regards that are due to Equity and Justice but do generously reward those whom Merit distinguishes how little soever they may press forward themselves being as modest as they are deserving PRINCEâ— I say who treasure up the Services of their People and surprise them with such rewards as become Royal Minds So that the Fortunes of their Subjects are owing to the Value they set on them without those Abatements that will always be made in the Acknowledgments when Importunity or Intercessions are thought to have a large share in the Success A PRINCE who observes well and thinks much who descends oft to the Equalities of Friendship with his Subjects who hears the Petitions of the oppressed and hearkens to the Suggestions of the wise and good a PRINCE who has the Just and Noble Ambition of meriting Fame and Glory without the troublesome Vanity of shewing it who deserves all the Returns of Duty and Gratitude from his People without being fond of hearing or seeing it express'd tho' in the highest Forms of a Just Magnificence who is satisfied with this that it is apparent what all Men most think tho' it is not easie to them to find out the properest Methods of setting that forth which sometimes may shew greater when Surprizes does so fill the Mind that Men must be silent because they feel that Language is not copious enough to furnish suitable Expressions to such an overcoming Joy such a PRINCE as this will still be owned as one of the best Gifts of Heaven Forced Rhetorick and hired Panegyricks lie thick in the Lives of some Princes who have deserved them the least Perhaps Commodus had as many Flatterers as his Incomparable Father had silent Admirers The best Princes are those who feel the pleasure of making their People happy most sensibly and yet are uneasie and in pain when in compliance with what is not only decent but almost necessary on Solemn Occasions they submit to hear it acknowledged tho' in Strains far below the Dignity and Majesty of the Subject But the Happiness of good Government is then best felt when set in opposition to all that Train of Blood and Cruelty of Injustice and Rapine of a dissolution of Morals and a scorn of Religion that blacken a bad Reign Princes who have a wrong set of Mind wrong Notions of Government and worse of Religion who are corrupted by their own Principles and more by the Power that they suffer others to have over them are apt to grow to Excesses that are as insufferable to Mankind as they themselves are incapable of Cure Accidents how unusual soever cannot reform them they grow rather the worse for them Justinian the second delivered himself up to Tyranny and to Favourites to whom he gave up such unbounded Authority that his nearest Relations felt a large measure of it and that in barbarous Instances He was carried so far as to deliver Constantinople to them to be a Scene of Horrour and Massacre Such a pitch in Cruelty animated the World against him He was judged incapable of Government He had a mark set on him indeed but he was sent to live in Exile where he continued ten Years Two Emperours reigned in that Interval Discontents arose at last and a proper Season appear'd for him to attempt again A great Party of Justinianites was formed in Constantinople who invited him over when he crossed the Sea a storm had well nigh saved that effusion of Blood that was occasioned by his Restoration One about him ventur'd in that Extremity to suggest to him that he should now that if God would deliver him from that imminent Danger he would pardon all his Enemies But so fierce a thing is a Savage Tyrant that even under all those Fears he could not be softned for one single minute but said may I perish in this storm if I ever pardon one of them He was as good as his Word After his Party had made him Master of the Empire he discharged his first Fury on those who had possessed the Throne He made two of them to be brought to him he had the Brutality to trample on their Necks repeating these Words of the Psalmist Thou shalt tread upon the Lion and the adder And after some other Inventions of Infamous Usage he put
A SERMON Preached before the KING At WHITEHALL On the Second of DECEMBER 1697. BEING The Day of Thanksgiving For the PEACE By the Right Reverend Father in God GILBERT Lord Bishop of SARUM Published by His MAJESTY'S Special Command Printed at London and Re-printed at Edinburgh by the Heirs and Successors of Andrew Anderson Printer to His most Excellent Majesty Anno DOM. 1697. 2 CHRON. IX 8. Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighted in thee to set thee on his Throne to be King for the Lord thy God because thy God loved Israel to establish them for ever therefore made he thee King over them to do judgment and justice THESE are the words of an Arabian Queen who was so moved with a Noble Curiosity raised by the fame of Solomon's Wisdom that she undertook a Journey from the utmost parts of the earth furnished herself both with an Equipage and Presents suitable to her Rank and also with Questions by which she might judge whether Fame had not too much heightned this great King's Character She could not believe the half of what she had heard and having probably a good opinion of her own understanding she resolved to try His with those Questions that puzzled her self But when she came and found that Report instead of magnifying matters had been very defective when she observed the compass of his knowledge with the depth of his mind and that he applied his Speculations to the Arts of Government as well as to the Contemplations of Nature when she saw his vast Designs of Buildings his own as well as Gods House so wonderfully executed the Treasures he was heaping up and the Methods of Trade he was setting on for procuring constant and fresh Supplies and that he could join the Magnificence that belonged to his Character with the more real Greatness of his own Comprehensive Mind So that while he employed his Thoughts in the Sublimest Enquiries he did not neglect even those lesser ones of External Grandeur which how inconsiderable soever they may seem to a Soul capable of vaster things yet are necessary to maintain those Impressions of Awe and Respect which give Authority to Government When she saw the State in which he was served the Pomp of his Retinue and his glorious Processions to the Temple she was overcome with Wonder she despised her own Dignity and Kingdom And thought that the Subjects and Servants of such a Prince were happier than the Soveraigns of other Nations Her admiration of this being above all ordinary Expressions she vents it in those Raptures that I have read She adores the Great Jehovah of the Jews who had taken pleasure in advancing One who so well deserved it and who imployed it so worthily in raising the Honour of that God who had so eminently exalted him From hence she concluded That certainly God loved that Nation whom he had blessed with such a Prince by whose Wisdom and Conduct they were in all probability to be established on the firmest Basis The best Principles and Measures of Government which would make them Sure and Lasting Establish them for ever For she could not think but that so extraordinary a Blessing must be designed for great Ends. Such a King would certainly govern them both with Judgment and Justice Two words that seem to signify the same thing yet the Masters of that Language put this difference that the former relates to the Rewarding and the latter to the punishing part of Justice So wise a King would maintain a severe Execution of Law against Offenders and be no less careful to find out the Men of Merit and to trust advance and reward these Certainly such a Prince and such an Administration are so great Blessings and so much the greater because so little Common so few Instances of them occurring either in the Observation of the present Age or the Records of past times that wheresoever we meet them we ought to acknowledge they are the special Favours of Heaven and the most distinguishing Marks of God's loving a Nation The Blessings we now enjoy and that great One which at this time we do particularly acknowledge do so naturally carry us to Devotions like those in my Text that all my Hearers must be beforehand with me in the Application But in our case there are some Specialities that give it a peculiar Exaltation Solomon had his Crown his Treasures and Armies transmitted down to him Conquests were made for him he himself had gone through none of those Scenes of Horror but had an easy Inheritance conveyed from his Father without Battels or Blood Fatigue or Danger He was bred up to the Maxims of Government and acquâ—inted with all his Fathers Secrets his Designs as well as his Conduct so that he began upon great Advantages David's long and glorious Reign before him had prepared Peoples Hearts to â—ove and Obey him who was God's Choice as well as his Father's The Building so Magnificent a Temple in the beginnings of his Quiet and Auspicious Reign made him the Delight and Wonder of his People Thus the Causes of his being so Great and Prosperous were very visible If then the Queen of Sheba was so struck with seeing Solomon in all his glory with how much louâ—er Accents ought we to carry on the Hallelujahs of this Day who see a Prince Raised and Conducted by such a special Train of Amazing Providences without any of those Supports that every Step he has made carries in it Characters of a particular Direction from Heaven He has indeed the Blood of Soveraigns in â—im but his Crowns are the Gifts of Heaven The two great Heroes of the last Age the Defenders of Religion and the Patrons of Liberty were proper Sources to give Life and Descent to One in whom their Characters were to be Exalted as well as their Dignity was to be Raised They were Both of a Race of Sovereigns One was of the First Form but what might be wanting in the Extent of their Territories and the Lustre of their Coronets was fully made up in those truly Royal Accomplishments of their Minds They were Capable of the greatest things and Acted in a Sphere suited to their Capacity They Talked little but did Wonders They had all the Gravity as well as all the Virtues of Religion in them without the Affectations of Shew or Hypocrisy They had none of the Arts of Flattery or Insinuation yet could bring vast Multitudes to Depend on them to Trust to them and to Obey them They had Souls of so peculiar a Make that they seemed Born to Animate whole Nations to a pitch of their own Courage to a like Zeal for Religion and a like Love of Liberty They lived Great but died Greater the greater for the conjunction of their Descent the mixing those Noble Qualities of their Minds as well as their Blood The Issue of which an Union was designed to Perfect the Work which they had begun That seemed buried with them but was
has made strong for himself whom he has delighted to set on his Throne It is his doing and it is wonderful in our eyes The Characters of Gods Care of his Affairs have been no less Signal than those relating to his Person Good Seasons and favourable Winds have attended constantly upon him The critical Turns of those Winds that brought him first hither were so amazing that those who observed them can never reflect on it without a constant freshness of Admiration All the many Passages that he and his Forces have since that time made on the Seas have been not only successful but smooth and quick On two great Occasions Nature seemed to go out of its Course to cover us from Invasion In the first the calmest Moneth in the year was a coutinued Storm till we were ready to make use of fairer Weather and then we had it and by a great variety of Circumstances as happy to us as cross to our Enemies we had the most glorious Day that ever the Channel saw Beacons of a new form Fires from the Sea carried the dismal Tidings to the adverse Shores and scattered the Army lying ready to invade us That seemed to put an end to all Dangers from that Element we were restored to our Empire on this Sea which recovered and established our then sinking Reputation We found at another time a no less unusual reversing of Seasons we had a Winter that seemed to anticipate the Spring the Wind stood all the while in the warm Corner and broke the designs of sending a great part of our Naval Strength from us We little knew our danger and that all this was stopt by a watchful Interposition to cover us from a second Design of Invasion we were uneasie to see the Season so obstinately good so contrary to our intentions and to what was to be expected at that time but we afterwards had large opportunities to observe the kind Direction of Heaven that made the Seasons wait on us and as it were conspire to break their own Laws rather than suffer a Breach to be made upon Us. Other favourable Circumstances shewed us also how God delighted to maintain him on the Throne under whose Shadow we are all to sit safe Plenty at home made us easie under all the Charge of the War and while our Neighbours for we have now no more any Enemies were much pressed with even the extremities of Want under those vast Impositions that lay on them we had enough and to spare to furnish the rest of the World and to supply that great waste of Treasure which came back in some years faster than it went out And after all the unconceiveable Expence of the War with all the Losses we made in it yet if it had not been for the wicked Practises of those Corrupters of our Coin at home with all the Train of mischievous Consequences that have followed upon them which was an Evil of our own growth and that had no relation to the Affairs abroad we had gone through it without feeling any uneasie pressure by it But that we have been able to provide effectual Remedies to the one while at the same time we have so gloriously maintained and now so happily finished the other is a secret Indication of the Power and Riches of the Nation in this Reign of which perhaps the most Sanguine could not have been convinced if they had not seen it Add to all this the noble Triumphs of Liberty One of the Common Topicks of the Enemies of Publick Liberty is That upon great occasions the Divisions in Councils and the length of Debates that do naturally arise in Free Assemblies bring such a backwardness and slowness on their Deliberations that the best Opportunities of acting are lost while they are consulting Here the Publick Interest was so visible that a concurrence beyond all former Examples has appeared in supporting Undertakings that seemed above the Strength and Wealth of the Nation Nor could such a Treasure have been raised by all the Efforts of Arbitrariness for nothing but the Certainties of the Faith given by the Body of the Nation could have created the Credit that was necessary in such unsual Supplies These went on with that Unanimity and Heartiness that we have reason to put this among the great Articles of that over ruling Providence that has watched over us If at any time insuperable Difficulties made the Publick Consultations go heavily the Season was stopt the Course of Nature seem'd to stand still till we were ready for it So wonderfull a Conduct has appeared both at home and abroad and in all the Elements as if every thing had been set at Work either to do us Good or at least to shelter us from Evil. I reckon not among the happy Instances of God's Care of us our being preserved from the restless Attempts of some wretched Incendiaries among our selves those Betrayers of Religion and their Countrey They are too inconsiderable to be ranked among the Occasions for which we do now celebrate the Blessings of Heaven If their Power and Skill had been equal to their Malice we should indeed have had great reason to rejoyce that we have been preserved from a Race of Men whose Tongues have been set on Fire while the Poyson of Asps seemed to lie under their Lips but the one has proved as contemptible as the other was odious They ought not to be mentioned in a time of rejoycing in which Objects that give Horror ought to be kept out of sight yet how little reason soever we may have either to value or to love them we ought still to pity them and to pray for them that if possible they may be recovered out of the Gall of Bitterness and the Bond of Iniquity Let us turn to Nobler Objects and rejoyce in the Glory of God and in our own Happiness while we see who is the Man whom God delights to honour whom by a concurrence of many Providences he first led to his Throne and whom he has hitherto maintain'd on it by as many more and has now given him as full an Establishment upon it as Humane things are capable of He has made his Enemies to be at Peace with him and while the much greater half of Europe own him to be its Recoverer and Restorer the rest do now unanimously call him that which He is Independent on all Foreign Acknowledgments THE RIGHTFUL AND LAWFUL KING OF THESE REALMS And to make the Parallel to my Text run exactly a much greater King lying at a vaster Distance leaves his Throne and Dominions in the midst of War struck with the Fame and amazed at the Actions of this Prince In stead of a little Southern Queen a mighty Northern Emperour covered with Laurels and us'd to Victories resolving to raise his Nation and enlarge his Empire comes to learn the best Methods of doing it and goes away full of Wonder possessed with truer Notions of Government But while we humbly adore
those Instances of the good Pleasure of our God towards his Anointed let us also with the same holy Gratitude observe how he has shewed that he loved us as well as that he delighted in him who now sits on the Throne We are separate from the Continent and were cut off from the great Affairs of the World till Navigation and Trade brought us into them with the more advantage because our Situation keeps us at a Distance from the Confusions of War and secures us from the Inroads and Depredations of Enemies while the Sea that covers us gives us also a Passage to let in their Wealth among us and to pour out our Force upon them Our Seas and our Fleets are both our Fences and our Mines which others seem to work for us and give us no other trouble about them but that of a safe Conveyance All this how flourishing soever yet gave us but a melancholy Prospect while we saw a mighty Rival so near us rising up to an Equality with us in that which was our Strength as well as our Glory The Counsels at home were then employ'd in Designs of another nature they were laying down Methods to subvert our Constitution to corrupt our Senate and destroy such as were above their Practice The Laws of England the Charters of our Towns as well at the Great Charter of the Nation our Religion and Liberty were all the Conquests that were then projected while the Safety of the Whole at home and the Security of our Neighbours about us were abandoned So the beloved Design prospered it seemed to be laid down for a Maxim That it was better to Reign at the Discretion of a mighty Prince than under the Restraint of Laws which was called the Reigning at the Discretion of Subjects So infatuated we were that a Competition or rather a Superiority in that which hitherto we claimed as a Property gave us no Jeulousie we seemed pleased with it and were glad to promote it We had so far retir'd our selves from that Share which we ntaurally ought to have in the Publick Concerns of Europe that we seemed to forget them We had so much Work at home that there was no room for Foreign Speculations We had been engaged once and again into Wars with those who as they are our near Neighbours so have been in all Ages our faithfullest Allies We fell into Contentions at home by the Direction of our Enemies who plaid us so dexterously one against another that we hoped to have done the best half of their Work by making us first hate and then destroy one another while they were ever ready to support those whose Passions and Circumstances might contribute the most for carrying on their Design All this seemed too slow to those who thought they lost time and therefore began to quicken their Pace and make a little more haste in destroying us Then it was fit for God to interpose when All was struck at There was no Prospect of Deliverance but from one single Corner and even that seemed doubtful It was the Reverse of Elijah's Vision one Hand-breadth of a Cloud in a clear Sky gave him the welcome Hopes of the Rain he pray'd for Here the whole Sky seemed set for Storms and Thunder while but one Speck of Blue appeared in the whole Horizon Who could have thought that this should have conquered all the Clouds and have given the Heavens and the Earth a new Face All Eyes turned that way because it was plain there was no other Hope left us Yet many thought it was too great an Attempt to be expected from the cold and cautions Counsels of a State naturally slow and apprehensive of Danger The Interpositions of Providence were not wanting in this Extremity many favourable Accidents concurr'd Popular Assemblies agreed then so unanimoufly together that there was not Opposition enough made to create Delays The STATES seemed to rejoyce that an Opportunity offer'd is self in this Age for them to repay what they had been owing to England ever since the last And they were willing to perish with us if we could not both flourish together An advanced Season made the Sea less practicable All was to be put to hazard because all lay at stake A long Course of cross Winds and rough Weather in the beginning looked like the Frowning of Heaven The first Attempt was unprosperous This would have shaken any Mind less firm than that which animated the whole Undertaking A Constancy was then observed so steady and inflexible that not so much as an Inequality of Temper could be discovered The Unsuccessfulness of the first Step would have damped a Mind that was either feeble or superstitious tho' our returning all safe after three Days tossing in a Strom was an Earnest of a particular Care even in that seeming Disappointment But after the Roughness of the Season had continu'd long enough to teach us all to depend a little more on Providence and to apply our selves more carnestly to him that rules the Seas and the Winds at his pleasure and after there was a full and visible Experiment made of the Steadiness of him on whose Mind Seas nor Storms could make no Impression then God commanded the Winds and rebuked the Seas and after that first Rub all our Affairs were so conducted that every thing succeeded beyond our Hopes I had almost said beyond our Wishes An orderly March of a friendly tho' foreign Army an unslained Victory an overturning of that which had design'd all our Ruine by their own Counsels and Practices a sinking of Heart and a Giddiness of Head among them made the way smooth Then we saw that Success in its turn had as little power to exalt as Misfortunes had to depress a Soul raised above both An abandon'd Nation sought for shelter to him to whom the chief of them had before sought for Relief All Men were left to the Freedom that became such important Deliberations without any disturbance Neither Violence nor Threatnings were used no not so much as the secret Arts of Practice or Insinuation Some thought there was a Coldness of Behaviour express'd on that occasion that seemed too indifferent but the Directions of Providence were depended on Men were left to themselves or rather to that invisible Chain which encompasses and governs all things here below We pass'd from the Extremities of Danger to an entire Establishment without those Intervals of Confusion that may be well look'd for in so great a Turn When we reflect on all this and on what has happened since which must be too present to our Thoughts to need any further Enlargement have we not reason to conclude that God loved our Nation and that because he has loved us he has set such a King over us Indeed it is much easier to observe how God has loved us than to find out the Reason of his doing it When we look at our selves at what we were then and what we have been ever since and
by touching defiâ—'d The happiness of this Reign is that in it all those Attempts made on Law and Liberty have been stigmatiz'd as they well deserv'd to be but with such mildness towards those who had offended hurried on in the Croud or betray'd by their Fears that those who understand not how boundless a thing Royal Clemency ought to be have from thence pretended to infer That the not punishing Offenders was a Confession that their actings were Legal and Innocent But a Government that was Merciful as well as Just was as gentle in punishing past Offences as it intended to be exact to provide against the like for the future The Laws have been fortified by new Explanations which assure us of their true meaning These have deliver'd us for the future from the ractices of those Corrupters of Justice and Enemies to Liberty nor is this all but where our Ancient Constitution seem'd defective and had not guarded enough against the Fraud of Sycophants it has been fortify'd by the addition of further Securities which as Buttresses were judged necessary to support the Fabrick The bringing matters on the other side of the Sea to juster proportions the raising of some depressed Princes and the limiting others that were over-grown has laid the Fears that the World had fall'n under of being over-power'd by a new Monarchy and has provided for our own quiet by stoppâ—ng the progress that was made upon our Neighbours by which we have secured to our selves all the returns of gratitude acknowledgment and dependency that can be expected in such cases Both Ancient and Modern Writers have thought that Theâ—dsius Conquering Mâ—ximus and Restoring Valentinian the Second not only his own share of the Empire but to Gratian's likewise was a Subject fit for Rhetorick Yet that cost him but one Campaign and in it there were only two days of Action neither the Charge nor the Danger were extraordinary Besides that it was a just gratitude to Gratâ—â—ns Memory who had raised him to a Partnership with him in the Empire to revenge his Death and to Restore his Brother How much 〈◊〉 is the Panegyrick when we see a Prince in a course of many Years carry on a War into infinite Dangers and at an inestimable Charge and that only to preserve the States of Neighbouring Princes without any other Advantage but the Pleasure of having Protected the Oppressed and of having secured the Neighbourhood not reserving any one Place either as a Pledge upon his Allies or an encrease of Dominion to himself In all Ages Princes have been ready to assist their Neighbours with Auxiliary Troops and sometimes with hired Armies but it is the peculiar glory of this Age that we see a King who has maintain'd a long War led the Armies and exposed himself to innumberable hazards only to maintain others in their Right If this adds nothing to his Crown yet as it makes it sit the firmer so it must be acknowledged that it makes it shine the brighter The Gems of it have a peculiar Luster a Glory of which former Ages cannot boast This is indeed to answer that Character to which all Princes pretend how few soever of them study to deserve it of being God's Representatives and Vicegerents who takes pleasure in delivering the Oppressed setting him at liberty from him that puffeth at him Thus we see what are the two great Ends of Government as they are set forth by this Southern Queen Next let us view the Measures to be kept in the Admistration to do Judgment and Justice The Generosities as well as the Severities of Government are believed to be implyed in these two The rigour of Punishment being the harder part not so natural to Minds of the best Mold is to be left to Persons of that Robe who ought to be so chosen that they be Men fearing God hating Gifts and eschewing Covetousness They Minister in the less acceptable part and to them it ought to be left except when the interposition of a just Mercy softens the rigour of strict Justice I say a just Mercy for there are Mercies that are cruel When upon false suggestions Blood is cover'd or encouragement is given to enormous Criminals when they have the hopes of Favour especially when they see that it may be purchased this will soon dissolve the Strength as well as the Order of Societies Princes by so doing render themselves in some sort accessary to all the Crimes that happen to be committed afterwards by those whom thro' a feebleness of Grace they have rescued from deserved Punishment Judgment is the more acceptable part The Branches of this are the distributing of Trusts and Rewards the delivering tho Oppressed and the relieving the Necessitous beginning at those who are brought low by a heavy share in common Calamities especially those of War which entitle them to more special degrees of the Prince's Favour and Bounty There is in all this such a shadow of Divinity that in it lies the Noblest part of a King's Prerogative It is not he but the Law that punishes the Bad but the distingushing the employing the honouring and rewarding of those who deserve well of him and the Publick is singly in him All must owe this only to the Bounty of the Prince yet the whole is a Trust from Heaven and those who Rule for God and the good of their People will manage this as knowing that they must answer it to the King of Kings This Subject is too tender to be enlarged on by any Person below that High Dignity let us then hear the Resolutions of a Good as well as a Warlike King when he found himself setled on the Throne to which his Son had no doubt a particular regard Psalm 101. I will behave my self wisely in a perfect Way I will walk within my house with a perfect Heart I will set no wicked Thing before mine Eyes a froward Heart shall depart from me I will not know a wicked Person Who so privily standereth his Neighbour him will I cut off him that hath a high Look and a proud Heart will I not suffer Mine Eyes shall be upon the Faithful in the Land that they may dwell with me He that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve me He that worketh Deceit shall not dwell in my House He that telleth Lies shall not tarry in my sight I add not the words that follow for they seem too severe for the milder State of the Gospel I will early destroy all the Wicked of the Land There would be little occasion for this if the former Resolutions were exactly maintained Kings have a Dialect peculiar to themselves they will understand one anothers Language and penetrate into their Thoughts therefore I will not presume to add to these Words either Paraphrase or Inferences But now having looked over all that compass of Thoughts to which this Noble Devotion of the Royal Traveller led us It remains that we conclude in turning the whole to Solemn Adorations and to the Celebrating the goodness of God both to King and Kingdoms Our Hearts are now so full of Joy and our Mouths so full of Praise that these will inflame us to Hallelujahs equal if not to the Occasion for what can rise up to that yet to our strength which will naturally carry us to the highest Transports the loudest Acclamations and the perfectest Harmony that we are capable of This will go easily we can hardly restrain our selves from it Our Thanksgiving must go further We must study to express them in more valuable as well as more lasting Instances Let us remember and pay all the Vows that we made to God in our Days of Fasting and Prayer Let us now resolve to live as a Nation deliver'd and Redeem'd of God and blessed with the most special favour of Heaven Let us walk suitably to that Light and to those Advantages that we enjoy beyond all other Nations Under God the Fountain of our Life as well as the Giver of our Peace let us make all the Humblest Returns of Duty and Gratitude of Fidelity and Zeal to our Great Deliverer Let us continue our most earnest Prayers as well as our highest Thanksgiving to God for him I will not suggest to Melancholly a Thought as the Change in Solomon's Reign The difference between its bright Beginning and dark Conclusion None how Great or how Wise soever are so established in the ways of Vertue as to be above Prayers and beyond Temptations Let us all therefore Pray that God may long Preserve the King whom he hath set over us and the Peace that by his means is procured to us May his Reign of Peace be as Glorious as his Course in War has been but of a 〈◊〉 longer Continuance May he be long the Delight of his People the Arbiter of Europe the Patron of Justice and the Maintainer of Right all the World over May the Nation still Flourish and the Church be ever Glorious by his Conduct and Care And may he be as Happy in the Love of his Subjects as he has made them safe under his Protection To Conclude in a Devotion Dictated by a Royal as well as an Inspired Author The Lord hear thee in the Day of Trouble Send thee help from his Sanctuary Grant thee according to thine own heart and fulfil all thy Counsels The Lord fulfil all thy Petitions We will rejoice in thy Salvation Now we know that the Lord saveth his Anointed He will hear him from his holy Heaven And we will remember the name of the Lord our God for we are risen and stand upright O Lord save the King And Mercifully hear us when we call upon thee FINIS William Prince of Orange Gaspar de Coligny Admiral of France Una morientis ad Deum vox Miserere Populi Grot. Annal. lib. 4. Rhinotmel Cedrenus Theophanes Psal. 21.