he both may, and will, whenever he sees it expedient, interpose in the concerns of men; and that he will more particularly sometimes rescue his faithful servants from impending misery and ruin, is so far from being incredible, or even improbable, that it would be injurious to the honour and dignity of his government, it would be repugnant to all our ideas of his moral attributes, and even to the clearest principles of reason and sound philosophy, to suppose the contrary.

It would be preposterous to maintain, that he has so entirely given up the reins of government out of his hands, so irrevocably bound himself by fixt and immutable laws and ordinances, that he can never, in any eircumstances, or on any emergency, show himself plainly to be the Sovereign Ruler of the World. That he should thus manifest himself at proper intervals to the sons of men, not only to protect the good, but to awaken the thoughtless from that forgetfulness of him, into which they are but too apt to fall, seems highly requisite, and worthy of him who is the great Lord of the Universe. All ages, and all nations, have con

curred in believing such interpositions of the Almighty, and have applied to him on that belief; and Revelation places the doctrine beyond all controversy.

And, thanks be to God, these conclusions of reason, and these promises of Scripture, have been happily confirmed to us by our own repeated experience. There is not a nation upon earth, that has been favoured with a greater number of providential deliverances than our own; and there are none of these that are impressed with plainer and more unequivocal marks of a divine interposition, than that which is now the subject of our thanksgivings to Heaven. Incredulity itself has been compelled to own, that the hand of God has been visible on the present occasion; nor is the joy of the nation more universal, than its belief of that great and important truth. But above all, the heart of our SOVEREIGN is deeply impressed with this conviction, that IN GOD WAS HIS HELP; and that, to his peculiar blessings on the means used for his recovery, that recovery is to be ascribed. Throughout the whole of his severe trial, his TRUST IN GOD never

forsook him: and before that God he now appears in this holy and venerable structure, surrounded with his faithful and affectionate subjects, to offer up in the most public manner, and with a seriousness and a solemnity suited to the occasion, his praises and thanksgivings for those signal mercies, which have been so recently vouchsafed to him, and through him to this whole kingdom. A spectacle more striking, more awful, more dignified, more interesting, more edifying, has scarce ever been presented to the observation of mankind. I know not whether we are to except even that celebrated one recorded in the first book of Kings, where a great and a pious monarch, in the presence of his whole kingdom, prostrated himself before that magnificent edifice, which he had just erected to the honour of his Maker, and then spreading forth his hands towards Heaven, poured out the devout emotions of his soul, in that inimitable prayer delivered down to us in the sacred writings.* This, it must be confessed, was a scene most eminently calculated to raise

*1 Kings viii. 22.

the soul towards Heaven; to fill it with the sublimest conceptions of the Deity, and to impress it with the liveliest sentiments of veneration, piety, devotion, and gratitude. And surely effects of a similar nature, and little inferior in degree, may be expected from the present awful solemnity. For though the two occasions are, it must be owned, in some respects dissimilar; though we are not now met to dedicate a TEMPLE to God, yet we are met, I trust, for à still nobler dedication, for the dedication of a WHOLE PEOPLE, with their SOVEREIGN at their head, to their Almighty Protector, their common Benefactor and Deliverer; for the dedication of ourselves, our souls and bodies, throughout the whole course of our future lives, to his worship, his service, his laws, and his religion. Nothing less than this can be any adequate return to our heavenly Father, for raising up our beloved Sovereign from the bed of sickness, and preserving to us, in his person, every thing that is dear and valuable to us as Men, as Britons, and as Christians. For how is it possible, on such an occasion as the present, not to remember,

or not to acknowledge, the many other invaluable blessings we possess, as well as that which completes and confirms them all, that which we this day commemorate? Are we not as a people blest beyond example, and almost beyond belief? Do we not enjoy the purest mode of worship, the best constituted form of government, the most equal laws, the most able and, most upright administration of justice? Are we not perfectly secure in our persons, our properties, our civil and religious liberties? Are not our manufactures flourishing, our population increasing, our public burdens gradually lessening, our agriculture highly improved, our commerce boundless? Are not the marks of peace, of comfort, of cheerfulness, of affluence, visible on every side; and are not our credit and reputation abroad, commensurate to our prosperity and happiness at home?

If this be a true picture of our situation, how can we ever express, as we ought, our thankfulness to the gracious Author of all these mercies? It is not the observance, it is not the devotion, however ardent, of a single day, that can be a sufficient evidence of our gratitude. The only sure and certain