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En quò difcordia cives

Perduxit miferos!

To conclude this fad ftory: It was the Jews themfelves that by their own folly and diffenfions forced the Romans to this forrowful victory over them; for in truth all the remorfe and pity was on the enemy's fide. The Romans were little more than fpectators in this cruel tragedy; the Jews acted it upon themselves: and they only, who were arrived at that prodigious height of impiety and wickednefs, were fit to be the executioners of this vengeance of God upon one another: as if the Prophet had foretold this, when he says, Thine own wickednefs fhall correct thee, Jer. ii. 19.

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When impiety and wickedness are at their highest `pitch in a nation, then they themselves are the only proper instruments to punish one another. The Ro mans were by far too good and gentle to inflict a fuffering upon the Jews that was equal to the evil of their doings none but their own barbarous felves, who were funk down into the very lowest degeneracy of human nature, were capable of so much cruelty and inhumanity, as was requifite to execute the judgment of God upon them to that degree which their fins had deferved.

You fee, my brethren, by what hath been faid upon this argument, what were the faults, and what the fate of the Jewish nation. Now, thefe things (as the Apostle expressly tells us) were written for our admonition, and to the intent that we, upon whom the ends of the world are come, might be instructed by them: We, I fay, who next to the Jewish nation feem to be a people highly favoured by God above all the nations of the earth. We refemble them very much in their many and wonderful deliverances, and a great deal too much in their faults and follies.

But as I intend it not, fo God forbid, that there fhould be any just ground for a full and exact parallel between us. Yet this I muft fay, that nothing ever came nearer to them than we do, in feveral refpects; in our fickleness and inconftancy, in our murmurings and difcontents; for we are never pleafed with what God does,

neither

neither when he brings us into danger, nor when he delivers us out of it. We refemble them likewife in our horrible profanenefs and infidelity, and in our impiety and wickedness of several kinds; in our monftrous ingratitude and most unworthy returns to the God of our falvation; and, laftly, in our factions and divilions, which were the fatal fign of God's being departed from the Jews, and the immediate caufe and means of those difinal calamities which wrought their final ruin. And how can we chufe but dread, left their fate fhould overtake us, the example of whofe faults and follies we do in fo many things fo nearly resemble?

That this may not, nor any thing like it, be our fate, let us apply ourselves to the great duties of this day; a ferious and deep repentance and humiliation of ourfelves before almighty God, for the many and heinous fins which we in this nation have been, and still are guilty of against his divine majefty; by our profanenefs and impiety, by our lewdnefs and luxury, by our oppreffion and injuftice, by our implacable malice and hatred one towards another, and by our fenfelefs divifions and animofities one against another, without caufe and without end; by our neglect of God's worship and profanation of his holy day, and by our dreadful abuse of God's great and glorious name in those horrid oaths, and curfes, and imprecations, which are heard almoit day and night in the streets of this great city.

For these and all other our innumerable provocations of the patience, and goodness, and long-fuffering of God towards us, let us fadly repent ourselves this day; and turn unto the Lord with all our hearts, with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning and rent our hearts and not our garments, and turn unto the Lord our God; for he is gracious and merciful, flow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil: and who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him? Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.

And let us earneftly beg of him, that he would be pleafed to prevent those terrible judgments and calamities which hang over us, and which our fins have fo justly deferved fhould fall upon us; and that he would

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perfect that wonderful deliverance which he hath begun for us, and establish the thing which he hath wrought: that he would bless them whom he hath set in authority over us; and particularly, that he would preferve the perfon of the King in his prefent expedition, and crown him with victory and good fuccefs.

And to our repentance and prayers let us add our liberal alms; and, according to the counsel given by the Prophet to Nebuchadnezzar, let us break off our fins by righteoufiefs, and our iniquities by fhewing mercy to the poor, if fo be it may be a lengthening of our tranquillity.

We are yet, bleffed be God, in the full enjoyment of peace and quiet at home, and of our religion and civil liberties. God hath given us two excellent princes fitting on the throne together, and both of the fame religion with the main body of the nation; and as bright examples of piety and goodness as England ever faw; and who do by all ways and means ftudy and seek the good of the people committed to their charge.

So that if we did but know our own happiness, and how to value it, we might be the happiest people this day under heaven. And yet, for all this, we are very far from being happy; because we are neither contented, nor united; and though we have all the materials of happiness about us, and within our reach, yet have we not the fkill and wifdom to put them together.

Miferable people! that may be happy and will not; whom neither fo fresh a deliverance from fo great a danger as was just ready to have swallowed us up, nor the fear and apprehenfion of falling again into the like confufion, can be a warning to us from returning again into the fame folly. For thofe odious and unhappy names of difference which fome years ago fprang up among us, the devil knows how, did feem, whilft a common danger threatened us, to be quite dead and buried: but no fooner was the danger over, but, by a kind of miraculous infatuation, behold a fudden refurrection of them, with greater heats and animofities, if poffible, than before: Juft as it was with the Jews in the fiege of Jerufalem, when the Romans had made a wide breach, and the city was furiously affaulted, the factions then gave truce to one another, and ran in to the common defence;

but

but as foon as ever the danger was a little over, they fell on afresh, and profecuted their main design of deftroying one another.

And now that the danger is a little over with us alfo, how like a fate upon us does it look, that we are fo foon altered from our wifer and better temper? Did we well and wifely before our late happy revolution, when we united for our common defence against a common danger, and did let thofe unlucky names of diftinction fall, fo that they seemed to be quite extinguished? and can it be now wife to revive them, and to take them up again, when the fame danger, in fome degree, and from the fame implacable enemies, ftill hovers over us? No, furely; it would not be wife, if the danger were quite paft and over: but when it ftill remains, and threatens us, what greater folly and infatuation can there be, than ftill to divide and quarrel among ourselves? Will nothing but fad and bitter experience be an admonition to us? Will nothing but the last neceffity, and extremity of things, bring us to ourselves, and teach us wisdom?

Methinks we should all now be glad to be at rest, after the tedious troubles and diftractions, the fruitless quarrels and divifions of fifty years. So long I remember; and in all that space how very few years paffed over us without fome great calamity and difmal event? So that, by this time, one would think we should all be fick of our own follies, and fo tired with our unprofitable feuds and diffenfions, as to make both fides look about them, to fee if any body will take pity on us, and step in to part our quarrels.

And now I begin to be fenfible, that I have engaged in a tender point indeed, and do feel myself standing upon a very flippery place. For who is fit to interpofe in fuch hot and fierce differences? who can do it without danger, or with any hopes of fuccefs? and yet for Zion's fake I will not hold my peace, for Jerufalem's fake I will not keep filence. Of fo great confequence is it to the peace and happiness of this church and nation, that thefe names and diftinctions of parties fhould be laid down, and abolished for ever.

In order whereunto I take it for granted, and lay it for a principle, that he who hopes to perfuade both fides,

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must provoke neither: and therefore I will not fo much as inquire where the fault lies. It is in these civil differences, as in family-quarrels between man and wife, if any man afk, on which fide lies the fault? one may almolt fafely anfwer at a venture, on both fides. It muft indeed begin on one; but if it be not presently healed, and made up, the other party is always fo civil, as to run in and take a share of the fault, that all the blame may not lie wholly on one fide.

And now, my brethren, let me for once perfuade and prevail with you for your good; let me be fo happy, as to fay fomething that may fink into your hearts, and incl ne your minds to peace and good agreement with one another. Have falt in yourselves, (lays our bleffed Saviour, the great peace-maker), and peace one with another. By falt is meant grace and spiritual wisdom; and if that do but rule and fway in our hearts, we shall then endeavour, if it be poffible, and as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. If we have falt in ourfelves, that is, if we be wife, we will then certainly have peace one with another.

enemy.

And if we were but once come to this healing temper, in this divided and distracted nation, we should not then need to fear all the power of the And this our enemies know full well: and therefore their chief policy and wisdom is, and ever hath been, to divide us; and it will be our own great folly and weakness, if we suffer ourfelves to be divided: for who that is wife will take counfel and advice from an enemy? But if we could agree, and hold together, then our Jerufalem would be as a city that is compact together, ftrong and impregnable.

Let us then be inftructed, and know in this our day the things which belong to our peace, before they be hid from our eyes. And let us all earneftly endeavour, and pray for the peace of Ferufalem. They shall profper that love her, fays the Pfalmift, Pfal. cxxii.; and they do not love her, that do not feek her peace, and endeavour by all means to procure it: That peace may be within her walls, and profperiy within her palaces. The one cannot be without the other; without peace there can be no profperity. And to go on with the words of the Pfalmift, let every one of us fay, yea let us all with one heart and voice fay, For

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