verance out of Egypt, and their fettlement in the Land of Promife. If they were procured by the divine interpofition, without the display of miracles, the happy arrangement of caufes which produced them, leads us to behold the hand of the Almighty, evidently working, and yet concealing its operations: without any pomp of appearance, controling equally the ordinary course of things, and the ftrongeft paffions of the human mind: rendering a powerful fleet and a numerous army entirely useless: making a tyrant to dethrone himself.

I fhall on this occafion, Firft, give you a brief account of the condition in which the Revolution found us. Secondly, I fhall ftate and vindicate the principles of Liberty on which it refts. Thirdly, I fhall confider the happy confequences of it: and, laftly, I fhall make a fhort application of the whole to the business of this day.

I. First, I fhall give you a brief account of the condition in which the Revolution found us. And, because there is no period of our history which the prejudices of of angry and partial writers have been more fuccessful in representing by artificial colours, I fhall go as far back as the reign of Charles I. and endeavour, by divefting myfelf of an obftinate attachment to the errors of every faction, to exhibit a picture taken from real life, without any affiftance from a melancholy fancy, heated by the violence of paffion. I fhall make no apology for any party, when the truth of hiftory will admit of none.

THIS Prince began his reign, with the univerfal love of his fubjects. Several private virtues he certainly poffeffed. He was temperate in his pleasures, moderate in his refentments, and generous in his difpofitions. From the humanity of his temper, men were willing to entertain the hope of relief, at least from the useless severities of a government, whofe genius was not accurately defined, and therefore favourable to the exorbitant claims of the

Monarch.

Monarch. They promised themselves a reign, as friendly to liberty as an age could produce, in which the privilege of the fubject, and the prerogative of the fovereign were not diftinctly marked, and the proper boundaries fixed. These were the prefages formed, at its commencement, of that tranquillity and happiness with which its progress fhould be attended. But thefe hopes, fo generally and fo fondly entertained, fuffered a fad reverfe, from the meafures he afterward adopted; fatal in their beginning to the interefts of his people, and concluding with his own ruin.

FOR these difafters we must account, partly by fome diffimilar features of his character, which were fufficient to defeat the influence of his good qualities; partly by the circumftances of the time in which he lived.

His opinions of the power of Princes, and of the obedience due to them, were, unhappily both for himself and his fubjects incompatible with every idea of a limited monarchy. Twas the prerogative, he thought, of a King to command; and the duty of those he governed, impli citly to obey. Parliaments he fuppofed were the councils with whom he might advife; but he either thought they had no fhare in the legislature, or that the share they had, was derived wholly from his grace and bounty. When the theory of this goverment was reduced to practice, which a misunderstanding soon occafioned it to be, it is eafy to conjecture what must be the fpirit of the adminiftration. The reprefentatives of the people, having in former reigns felt the weight of tyranny, determined, before they fupplied the King with money, which was all he wanted of abfolute power, to fecure the rights of the nation from future injuries, by erecting for the defence of liberty, barriers, which the prerogative of the Sovereign fhould not henceforth dare to tranfgrefs. To thefe limitations Charles would not confent, and the Commons thought, that it behoved them to be equally tenacious of

the

as he appeared to be of The confequence was,

the only privilege they had left, the power he reckoned his own. he proceeded to levy taxes by his own authority; a practice inconfiftent with almost every form of goverment known in Europe. Had he fucceeded in this attempt, and broken the spirit of liberty which animated the kingdom, a regular fyftem of tyranny had been erected, and every man's property lain at the mercy of the Prince. If the Crown can, without the confent of the people, take one penny in the fhilling, we shall enjoy the remainder, at its difcretion.

INTO thefe defperate measures, Charles was not more. led by the high opinion he entertained of his own authority, than he was precipitated by the High Church topics of a divine and indefefible right in Kings, to command the paffive obedience of every subject. These principles, which are inconfiftent with the reafon of mankind, as well as with the feelings of nature, were preached to men inftead of the doctrines of Chriftianity, because they reflected back on the throne, that luftre, the fuperior orders of the hierarchy derived from it.

Ir was not thought fufficient that the liberties of men were violated, their reafon infulted, their property plundered, their perfons imprisoned, their bodies difmembered, their families ruined, and their country enflaved. As if all thefe methods of oppreffion had not been enough, religion itself was brought in, not to fupport, but to overwhelm their finking courage. When they were robbed of all that was valuable on earth, they were denied the laft, the best confolation, that of a treafure in heaven; unlefs they confented to banish the feelings of men, and tamely to fuffer their wrongs. This friendly retreat, which ftands ever open to receive the afflicted, they were forbidden to enter, unless they came, divefted of the nobleft paffions inherent in the human frame. That foftening

balm,

balın, prepared for affuaging the wounds of honeft anguish, they were prohibited in the name of God from applying, except they parted with felf-prefervation, which is nature's first law. The King, finding that his abfolute power was confirmed by the fanction of religion, would very naturally conclude, that every exercise of it was warranted by the fame authority. From believing that his fubjects were made for him, the afcent was easy to the fuppofition, that their interefts were to be facrificed, when his ambition or his caprice, when his paffions or his peevifhnefs demanded the facrifice. To convince an impartial obferver, there is no ftronger proof wanting, that there must be fome defect in the prefent conftitution of human nature, elfe a man's appetites never could fo far overpower his reason, as to make him believe, that many millions of his own fpecies, placed by nature on a level with himself, came into the world, to be kicked on the stage of life, the sport of his petulance, and of his humours.

On the mind of Charles, the principles of religion feem to have operated with confiderable energy, but they were deeply tinctured with fuperftition. At the fame time that he was averfe to the fpeculative errors of popery, the real fpirit of his devotion was formed on that fantastic model. Instead of retrenching any of thofe ceremonies, with which the public worship was fuppofed to be loaded, though folicited by the representatives of the people, this was the time he chofe, for adding to the burthen of which they complained. Archbishop Laud took the management of thefe ecclefiaftical innovations, and was the principal adviser of all the violences which were done to the civil and religious liberties of the nation. The haughty and imperious temper of this man led him, in courts, by their very constitution arbitrary, and governed by no law, but the pleasure of the judges, to fubdue what remained unextinguished, of the fpirit of generous freedom. The smallest expreffion

expreffion of difcontent with the tyrannical government established in Church and State, incurred the punishment, due only to flagrant crimes. For no other cause, and indeed without any other pretext, many were condemned to lofe their ears, were whipped, or pilloried, or fined to their utter ruin.

THE Church of Scotland, from the commencement of its reformation, had embraced the Prefbyterian difcipline. Bishops had however in the former reign been introduced by James, in oppofition both to the nature of its establishment, and to the wishes of the people. The indolent difpofition of that Monarch, and his love of eafe more than a due regard to the happiness of his fubjects, made him relinquish the plan he had formed, of uniting his kingdoms in the fame mode of religious worship. Charles took up the projected alterations where his father had left them incomplete. He fettled the power and the revenue of the Bishops, as much on the model of the Church of England, as the circumstances of the country would permit. A few of the Bishops framed a liturgy, nearly the fame with that established in the fouthern part of the kingdom, but approaching nearer to the doctrine of tranfubftantiation. The steps taken to introduce epifcopacy and the ceremonies, were ratified by the parliament, though oppofite to the fentiments of that body; who were hurried into a feeming approbation, by the exorbitant authority of the King. Having proceeded fo far with the fhadow of national approbation, he thought he might fafely finish what remained, without it. The liturgy was accordingly, by his Majesty's fole authority, fignified by proclamation, impofed upon the whole kingdom; and the ftrictest conformity enjoined. It is not neceffary for us to enquire, whether this manner of worship be the most confonant to the spirit of Chriftianity. With Theological controverfies, I do not propofe to meddle. Were we to

fuppofe