to which she is entitled by blood, and which was placed on her royal head, not only with the free consent, but with the universal joy and acclamations of her subjects-who rules a willing people, not by the terror of rods and axes, but with the indulgent tenderness of a common parent-who desires rather to be beloved than feared by them, and takes the truest way toward securing their utmost love by showing, in every step of her gracious conduct, that she entirely loves them-who hath no interest separate from theirs, and upon whom malice itself could never fasten a suspicion of her pursuing any measures which aimed rather at her own glory or advantage, than the common good of England?

The law is as much a rule to her as to the least of those who obey her-the fixed measure, not only of her governing power, but even of her will to govern; and she makes no other use of that power, with which the laws have invested her, than to give life and force to them.

The blessings of her mild and merciful government descend from the throne upon her people as the small rain cometh down. into a fleece of wool, without vehemence or noise; like the drops of rain that water the earth, gently and insensibly. She draws up the free offerings of our love and duty, only to return them back again in showers of royal bounty, which make glad the land, and produce a mighty increase.

Surely our lips cannot be better employed than in praising God for such mighty benefits as these, and for the blessed hand through which he conveys them.

Thirdly, those who governed the world, at or near the time of St. Paul's writing this epistle, had no personal merits or virtues to recommend them to the prayers of the faithful. Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, under whom the Christian faith was disseminated, and for all whom we may presume the faithful equally made their supplications, were not only bad princes, but bad men-infamous for their lust, cruelty, and other vices. But they were in authority, and that gave them a right to be mentioned in the stated offices of the Church.

How different from their case is ours, whose eyes behold on the throne a queen who deserves to sit there, as well by her virtue as by her birth! Who, in that public and exalted station preserves all the innocence and sanctity of a private life; who is superior to all the temptations which a great power suggests, and which nothing but as great goodness ever overcomes; and to whom, therefore, her subjects seem

to be almost as much obliged for the shining pattern of unaffected piety which she sets them, as for all the other blessings of her prosperous reign. The accession of such a queen to a crown is indeed a felicity which we may commemorate annually with a devout and a sincere joy. God grant that we may commemorate it often! And that we may still find more and more reason thankfully to acknowledge it!

Finally, the emperors of Rome, for whom the primitive Christians were obliged to pray and to give thanks, were their avowed enemies and persecutors, who did what they could to hinder the establishment of the Church of Christ, and to suppress those very assemblies wherein these devotions were offered up to God in their behalf.

Whereas she, for whom we now adore and bless the good providence of God, is, by her office, and by her inclination, the defender and friend, the patroness and nursing-mother of His Church established amongst us. In this Church she was baptized and bred, and therefore naturally loves it. She was made early and thoroughly acquainted with its doctrine and government, and consequently values it. She hath been a religious frequenter of its worship, and a steady adherer to its interest; and would have been prepared, in times of distress and danger, to suffer with it and for it. From her, therefore, now she is advanced to a throne, all the members and ministers of this Church may justly promise themselves, not only the opportunity of "leading a quiet and peaceable life" (the utmost which the first Christians could hope for from their emperors), but farther advantages; not merely protection, but all suitable instances of royal favour and encouragement.

THE DUTY OF PRINCES TO THEIR PEOPLE.

(PREACHED AT THE CORONATION OF QUEEN ANNE).

BY THE MOST REV. JOHN SHARP, D.D., LORD ARCHBISHOP OF YORK.

ISAIAH xlix. 23.

Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers.

I AM aware how much time the following solemnity will take up, and therefore I mean to give as little interruption to it as possible, being very sensible that the shortness of my sermon will be the best recommendation of it. Three things I beg leave to do upon this occasion:

First, to give some account of the promise here made in my text; and what obligation it lays upon princes, with relation to their subjects.

Secondly, to congratulate with you and the whole kingdom, the happy prospect we have of God's making good this promise to us at this day, in settling her present Majesty upon the throne of her ancestors.

Thirdly to show what returns of duty, and gratitude, and filial obedience, this consideration of the queen's being a nursing mother to her people, doth call for from us, and all other her subjects.

I begin with the first.

This chapter out of which I have taken my text, hath always been understood to be, and it certainly is, a prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the propagation of his religion, and the spreading of his Church throughout the world; and it teacheth us, that though the beginnings of this religion, this Church of Christ, were very small and inconsiderable, yet in due time a vast number of nations and people should be brought in to it; so that kings and queens should submit their sceptres to that of Jesus Christ, and become nursing fathers and nursing mothers to his Church and people.

As for the fulfilling of this promise, especially among us of this nation, I shall say something by and by. That which I

now desire to take notice of, is the terms by which the relation between Christian princes and their people is here expressednursing fathers and nursing mothers.

Let us take these terms in what sense we will, whether for natural parents, or for those that supply the place of parents in the taking care of children-that is to say, guardians or nurses; yet the relation in both these notions doth imply a wonderful trust reposed in princes, and a wonderful care and solicitude and tenderness required of them on the behalf of their subjects.

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Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers." Oh! if all Christian princes considered this, and looked upon themselves as placed by God on their thrones for the making good this office and character, with what a zeal would it inspire them for their people's good!

They would then look upon the whole kingdom as their own family, and concern themselves as much for the welfare of their subjects, as parents do for their children, or guardians for their pupils.

It would be impossible, upon this supposition, that ever they should make their own interest distinct or separate from those of their people. How great soever their powers or prerogatives were, yet they would never think them well employed but when the public good was promoted by them. Nor could they propose any other end to themselves in their government, but to defend those under their charge from all insults from abroad, and to maintain them in peace at home, and to make every soul of them as happy as their condition will bear.

And for the doing of this they would think themselves obliged, above all things, to take care of the Church of God, remembering that it is chiefly with respect to that, that they have the charge of being nursing fathers and nursing mothers. As such, therefore, they would make it their business to maintain and defend the true religion, to encourage piety and virtue, to oppose and discountenance all atheism and infidelity, all heresies and schisms, and all vice, and wickedness, and impiety, of what nature soever. They would use their utmost endeavour to make all their subjects good men and good Christians, as knowing that it is impossible for them to be happy, even in this world, without being so.

And in order to this they would be sure, in their own persons, to set good examples to their subjects, of piety and devotion, of temperance and moderation, and all other virtues. And they would likewise take care, as much as in them lay, that all that are about them did the like.

They would be continually thinking of that psalm of David

which he composed upon his being advanced to the kingdom of Israel, and wherein he declares the rules he resolved to observe in his government. It is the hundred and first psalm. "I will sing (saith he) of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. O let me have understanding in the way of godliness. When wilt thou come unto me? I will walk in my house with a perfect heart. I will take no wicked thing in hand: I hate the works of the unfaithful; no such shall cleave unto me. A froward heart shall depart from me; I will not know a wicked person. My eyes look upon such as are faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me. Whoso leadeth a godly life he shall be my servant......I shall soon destroy all the ungodly that are in the land, that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord."

And as such nursing fathers and nursing mothers as we are speaking of, would thus concern themselves for God and his religion, and the spiritual interests of their people, so no less solicitous would they be to secure and promote their temporal peace and happiness; and accordingly they would think themselves obliged, as much as they could, to look into the affairs of the kingdom with their own eyes, and to see that all the magistrates under them did their duty in their respective stations and offices. They would take care not to suffer their favourites to encroach upon them, nor ever to make use of their credit with the prince for the oppressing the meanest of the people. But they would provide that impartial justice should be administered to all their subjects; but yet such justice as is tempered with mercy, remembering what God hath told them in the Scriptures, that "their thrones shall be upholden by mercy."

In a word, as the ends they proposed to themselves in their government would be the good of their people, so the measures they pitched upon for the administration of it would be accordingly-that is to say, in such a constitution as ours, where the people have their fixed rights, and liberties, and properties, the standing laws of the kingdom would always be the rule of their actions; nor would they either violate those laws themselves, or give any dispensation, or even encouragement, to others to do it.

O how happy is that people that have such princes to reign over them! They are out of all fears of despotic or arbitrary proceedings. Indeed, arbitrariness is a word fit for none but God, for all his creatures are under laws by which they must be governed; and yet I think it is an affront to God to say that even he himself ever acts arbitrarily, in the sense we commonly use that word.

God doth, indeed, "whatsoever pleaseth him, both in heaven