Secondly, His great unwillingness to pronounce any Judgments at all againft Sinners, and his readi nefs to recall them upon their Repentance:

He is flow to Anger, and repenteth him of the Evil.

And because I would now, were I able, speak not so much to your Reason, as to your Senfe and Experience, to your Confciences and Affections; I will for the Proof of this, no more lead you back to the Ifraelites in this Prophecy; to Paft-times, and unknown Countries; but will rather defire you to confider your own Times, your own Country, and, if you will allow me freely to add it, your own Souls. Which of all these will not afford me an evident Demonftration of the Patience and long-fuffering of God? And speak him in the words of the Text, to be a God flow to Anger, and that repenteth him of the Evil?

That after fo many Sins, as we have every one, the very best of us, committed, we are yet alive this day; whereas God might, if he had pleased, long fince have cut us off in the midst of our Sins : That after fo many calls and invitations as he has fent to bring us to Repentance, he is ftill pleased to call and to invite us to it: That notwithstanding we have fo far abused his Goodness and long-fuffering, as to improve that which above all things fhould have the most engaged us to our Duty, into an encouragement to go on the rather in our Sins; he nevertheless still continues to us the Offers of Pardon and Peace, if we will even now in this our day confider the things that make for our Peace: What is all this but a moft Demonstrative, as well as a most Affectionate Proof, that God is indeed flow to anger, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to Repentance ?

That

That he has deliver'd us out of fo many dangers, in which, but for his Providence over us, we muft long fince have perish'd: That he has fmitten us in Mercy, and not in Judgment; to correct and admonish, not to ruine and deftroy us: That upon our deprecating his Anger, he has at any time heard our Prayers, and anfwer'd our Defires : What is this but a plain Evidence, that he fmites not willingly, nor loves to afflict the Children of Men: and fo is a God repenting him of the Evil that he is at any time forced either to threaten us with, or to bring upon

us.

Lam. iii. 33.

And if we look into his Difpenfations towards us in the common concern of our Country, and our Religion; How flow muft that God have been to Anger, who after fo many years Attendance, nevertheless ftill calls upon us, as at this day, to turn from our Evil way, and from the Ezek. xviii. violence that is in our Hands, that 30. our Iniquity may not be our ruine;

And for his repenting him of the Evil, which we have fometimes forced him by our continual Provocations to fend upon us: Let the Inftances which we our felves have known, fuffice to tell us, how unwilling he has fhewn himself to bring us to an utter defolation.

When it pleased God for our ini

quities, to defpife, in his indignation, Lam. ii. 6. both the King and the Priest; and by

the deplorable Judgment of Civil Confufions, has proved and exercifed us about Twenty Years; with what a Miracle of Mercy did he

1.

turn again the Captivity of our Sion, and Pfalm. cxxvi. restore to us both our Government and Religion, as before?

When

When this would not do, but our Sins and our Profperity return'd together; fo that we were again in a very few years become ripe for Judgment; He called forth a destroying Angel, He put a new Sword into his Hand, and commanded him to flay his Thoufands, and Ten Thousands in our Streets. The PLAGUE confum'd our Strength; and hardly was that pafs'd, when another Vengeance, a devouring FIRE, fuch as fcarce any Age or Country has ever heard of, burnt down our Dwellings : And had not the Hand of God won

Ifai. i. 9. derfully interpofed, me must have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrha.

And yet how did he .then cover us with his Hand in that day of his difpleasure? He neither fuffer'd our Enemies to invade us from abroad, nor any Domestic Quarrels to embroil us at home. He preferv'd us in Peace; he fent again the Bleffings of Plenty and Profperity among us, and our City is rifen more Great and Glorious out of its Ashes.

What shall I fay to the fears and jealoufies we have labour'd under fince, from a reftlefs Party, Enemies to the Name of Proteftant, and by Principle conjur'd, if they can, to root it out of the World?

In how many dangers has God deliver'd us? And how many Designs, for ought we know, may he have prevented, which have not yet been brought to light? And when at laft, either to awaken us the more effectually to a Repentance of our Sins, or it may be to accomplish the number of their Iniquities, he deliver'd us over for a little while into the Hands of our Enemies; and to convince the most incredulous among us,, what the true Spirit of prevailing Popery is, fuffer'd them with fuch an inconfi

inconfiderate Fury to purfue our Ruine, That no Ties, either of God or Man, were fufficient to reftrain them; but all Obligations, whether of Jüftice or Confcience, were equally trampled under their feet: How did it then pleafe our Almighty Defender to affert his Character of being a God repenting him of the evil that he had brought upon us, in a manner that is the Wonder and Aftonishment of the prefent; and that I am perfwaded, fhall be the Praise and Triumph of his Church in all fucceeding Generations?

He raifed us up a Deliverer out of the Houfe of his Servant David. He touch'd his Princely Heart with a generous Senfe both of the Evils which we had fuffer'd, and of the greater that we apprehended. His Honour and his Zeal enflam'd him to do fomewhat worthy Himfelf; and that might anfwer the mighty Hopes God had prepared us to conceive of Him. He meditated the great Work of delivering our Country from Oppreffion, and our Religion from Deftruction. And by the Bleffing of God, he accomplish'd it, in a manner fo extraordinary in all its Circumftances, as, I think, fhould not fuffer us to doubt from whofe Providence it was, that this Redemption was fent to us. This was the Lord's doing, and, whatever, it is, I am fure ought to be, marvellous in our Eyes: And may, I think, be a final, I hope it fhall be an effectual Confirmation to us of this Great Engagement of our Text, to turn to him with all our hearts; viz. That he is a God repenting him of the evil; and therefore whofe Mercy, if we now truly do fo, we may fecure depend upon both for the forgiveness of our fins, and for our deliverance from thofe dangers which our fins have fo juftly expofed is to:

And

And now what remains, but that having all the fe great Encouragements, fuch Promises, or rather, fuch an Earnest of God's Favour to us, we refolve, every one of us, feriously to comply with the great Defign both of this Day, and of this Difcourfe; and by our fincere Repentance for our paft Offences, obtain that Bleffing we fo much defire both for our Country, and for our Religion.

Never was there a time wherein we had greater Reason to hope for God's Acceptance than at this Day; and fuch an Occafion as this, to implore his Favour, there may not perhaps again occur in the Course of many Ages.

For indeed, what is it that we are now affembled to recommend to His Mercy, but in Effect the prefervation of our Selves, our Laws, our Liberties, and our Religion, against the Violence of those who have long confpired both Their and Our Deftruction.

That He would prefide in our Councils, and go forth with our Armies; and fo direct the one, and profper the other, that we may again enjoy the Bleffings of Peace and Security; that Pfal. cxliv.14. there may be no decay, no leading into Captivity, and no juft complaning in our Streets.

And this he will do, if we be not our felves wanting to our own Prefervation. Only let us act as becomes Good Chriftians, and True Englishmen ; let us do all things for the Glory of God, and for the Safety, Honour and Welfare of our Country: In the words of Joab to his Brother Abishai, upon an Occasion not much different from our own at this time; Let us be strong, and of good Courage, and let us play the Men for our People, and for the Cities of our God; and then he will not fail us, nor forsake us.

2 Sam. x. 12.

But