God will awake for his own fake, and his Truths fake, and plead our Cause, and that of Religion, with his and our Enemies. But may I not fay to you as the Baptift did to the Jews, on a like occafion when the Ax was laid to the root of theTree, Think not to say in your felves we have Abraham to our Father; verily Ifay unto you, God is able of these Stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Though Earthquakes fhould fink this Ifland into the Sea, yet the Church of Chrift wou'd ftand upon a Rock, and the Gates of Hell fhould not prevail a gainst it; and should this whole Nation turn Atheists or bigotted Papists, yet would God never want fuch who should worship him in Spirit and in Truth. If ever God could have been influenced by refpect of Perfons, furely it must have been towards the Jews; and yet how often, and irrecoverably too at last, was Jerufalem laid defolate, and that by the Idolatrous and Impious Heathen too? Jerufalem the Seed of Abraham, the Mother of Prophets, and once the refidence of God himself, when he dwelt between the Cherubims, on the Mount of Sion.

But

But you will fay, We reft not here, we acquiefce not in any pretenfions to extraordinary Privileges, above other Nations; but we offer up to God Fafting and Prayer, and fet apart days of Solemn Humiliation. 'Tis very well: But I muft put you in mind, that Repentance must be joyned with Fafting, and Refor. mation with Prayers, or else this will avail us little. 'Tis plain from several places in the Prophets, that the Jews were an hearing, praying People, at the fame time when they were a disobedient one too; that they wearied God with their Sacrifices and their Fafts, at the fame time that they wearied him with their Sins too. And how God refented this, the Prophet Ifaiah teacheth, us, Chap. I. 13. Bring no more vain Oblations, Incense is an abomination to me; the new Moons and Sabbaths, the calling of Affemblies, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even your folemn Meetings. But will not the Prayers of Righteous men avail much? They will: I would to God they were more,and that they were more united.But we have Prayers against Prayers, and Fafts against Fafts,as if we were come to that last and worst state of Jerufalem, when Jefus Chrift himself could

do

do no more for it, than weep over it Tears of Compaffion and Defpair: If thou hadst known, even now at last, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they are hid from thine Eyes, Luke 19. 42. But were the Hearts and Prayers of the few Righteous this day one and the fame, yet you know, there is a time when the Provocations of a People are grown to that height, that though Noab, Daniel, and Job stood in the Gap and interceded, they should fave none but their own fouls. How far we are advanced toward this ftate, or whether we are arrived at it, I dare not pretend to judge: Only I muft fay, we have great reason to fear it; when we confider how many Judgments and how many Mercies have been loft upon us.

And yet if this be our ftate, we have one Refuge, one Comfort left us; that where Interceffion cannot, Reformation will prevail; where Fafting and Humiliation will not be accepted, there Repentance and Righteousness will.

This is evident from plain Scripture; for in the very fame Chapter, Ezek. 14. wherein God affirms, that when he fhall enter into Judgment with a Nation for its grievous Trefpafles, Noah, Da

nel, and fob fhould be able to save only their own Souls, by their Righteousneß: yet verfe 6. he exhorts the Jews to Repentance, as that which would be able to effect what Noah, Daniel, and fob could not. So Jer. xviii. 7, 8. God tells us in fo many words, That at what inftant I shall Speak concerning a Nation, or concerning a Kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy; if that Nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil, I thought to do unto them.

Let us then think every one upon our ways, and turn our Feet to the Testimonies of God; let us by Prayers and Tears, Repentance and Reformation, rout our Enemies, difperse our Fears, guard the Throne, and fupport the Church: O that this might prove the bleffed fruit of our folemn Fafts throughout the Nation this day, Reformation on our fide, and Favour and Protection on God's!

I fhould not then doubt, but that our Light thould break forth as the Morning, and our Health, or Salvation fhould fpring forth speedily; Then fhould Righteousness, i. e. Deliverance, go before us, and the Glory of the Lord fhould

fhould be our Rereward; then should we call and the Lord would answer, we fhould cry, and he would fay here I

am.

Then should Success wait upon our Councils, and Victory upon our Arms; Peace fhould be within our Walls, and Plenty within our Palaces; the Voice of Joy fhould be heard in our Streets, and upon all, our Glory there fhould be a Defence; and after all, all this fhould be but the foretafts of a more bleffed State, and our Canaan but a Pledge of Heaven. Happy are the People that are in fuch a cafe, yea blessed are the People who have the Lord for their God, Pfal. 164. 15.

Now to God the Father, &c.

The