The Natural Frailty of PRINCES

Consider’d;

IN A

SERMON

Preach’d the 29 th of March, 1702.

Upon the sad Occasion of the

Death of the late High and Mighty Prince

WILLIAM the Third,

King of ENGLAND, &c.

1

The Epistle Dedicatory

To the Right Honourable

CHARLES

Earl of Peterborough, &c.1

My LORD;

WHEN I had determin’d to comply with the Request of my Auditors, in publishing this hasty Composure, Gratitude oblig’d me to inscribe it to your Name: For tho the Sermon is not in a Dress fit to wait on your Lordship, yet knowing that Men of the greatest Penetration are of the most extensive Charity , I was incourag’d not to let slip the first Opportunity to make a publick Acknowledgment to your Lordship, how sensible I am of the Honour your Lordship hath done me and my Friends on several Occasions; chusing rather to be censur’d for my Uncorrectness, than to fall under the Imputation of Ingratitude.

My Lord, I do not, in the following Discourse, attempt the History of the late King William the Third, but only glance on a few things, with much Simplicity, that aggravate the Nation’s Loss: A Loss! vast as our Hopes, and general as our Grief.

I am sure your Lordship’s unshaken Loyalty for our late Sovereign of Glorious Memory, and your known Zeal for the Protestant Religion and the Liberties of Europe, are so great, that they leave no room to doubt of your candid Acceptance of the meanest Performances sincerely design’d to celebrate the Memory of the best of Kings, and to improve this sad Loss to God’s Glory, and the Advancement of Practical Religion.

That your Lordship and your Noble Family, as they are here the Patrons of Vertue, and Defenders of Liberty, may hereafter shine in Regions of Bliss, is the earnest Prayer of;

My Lord,

Your Lordship's very Humble

and Obliged Servant,

JOHN PIGG0TT.

1

Charles Mordaunt (1658 - 25th October 1738) was, undoubtedly, one of the towering figures of his day. He succeeded to his father's titles, Viscount of Avalon and Baron of Ryegate. He was created Earl of Monmouth by William III and succeeded to the title Earl of Peterborough on the death of his uncle, Henry, and succeeded to the title Baron of Turvey on the death of his cousin, Mary. [Source http://www.mordaunt.me.uk/earls.html#four] Army officer and diplomat, and whig peer; son of John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon, and succeeded his father as Viscount Mordaunt in 1675. Having raised support for the future William III (q.v.), he was subsequently made a privy councillor, gentleman of the bedchamber, and first commissioner of the Treasury, amongst others. [Source

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG144036]

2

PSALM CXLVI. 3, 4. 2

Put not your trust in Princes, nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is no Help.

His Breath goeth forth, he returneth to his Earth, in that very day his Thoughts

perish.

THE Angels never die, but are immortal as the Souls of Men. Death cannot enter the Celestial Palace, tho it makes frequent Visits to the Courts of Princes. This lower World is the Place of its Reign, the upper Regions are free from its Tyranny. Here all that descend from the first Adam, however distinguished by Titles of Honour, cannot be exempted from the Stroke of Death.

They that are Titular3 G ods, lifted up above the rest of their Fellow-Creatures, yet die like Men. 4

There is a vast distance betwixt a Prince and a Subject while living, but Death puts both upon a level: They lie down alike in the Dust, and the Worms shall cover them. 5 Death is that arbitrary Prince that overthrows all; Your Fathers, where are they? and the Prophets, do they live for ever? 6

They whom God hath honoured with the highest Dignity in the Church, have fallen by Death, as well as the Noble and Powerful Guardians of the State: The richest Princes, the greatest Heroes, the brightest Examples of Virtue, must die as well as other Men. Death is a Monarch, that not only empties Cottages, but unthrones Princes, and on a sudden changes a glittering Palace into a dark House of Mourning.

A sad Instance hereof we have lately seen, in the surprizing7 and much lamented Death of that High and Mighty Prince WILLIAM III. King of Great Britain and Ireland. What use is proper to be made of so dark a Providence, the Words of the Text inform us.

Put not your Trust in Princes, nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is no Help. His Breath goeth forth, he returneth to his Earth, in that very day his Thoughts perish. In which Words we may observe,

First, A Dehortation,8 Put not your Trust in Princes, nor in the Son of Man.

Secondly, The Reason upon which ’tis founded, and that is, the utter Incapacity of Princes to help and save those that trust in them; which the Psalmist does amplify and demonstrate by two Things.

1 st. From their natural Frailty, they are subject to Death as well as other Men; His Breath goeth forth, he returneth to his Earth.

2 ly. From the immediate Consequence of this, as soon as ever he expires; In that very Day his Thoughts perish.

I shall (as God shall assist) discourse of these Things in their Order, and then make some Improvement suitable to this sad Solemnity, and that dark Providence we are now under.

First, I am to confider the Dehortation, Put not your Trust in Princes, nor in the Son of Man. I shall sum up what I have to say to this general Head in the following Propositions.

2

Psalm 146:3-4 ( Ed.).

3

A person who holds a title to an office, benefice, or possession, irrespective of the functions, duties, or rights attaching to it. Oxford English Dictionary online.

4

Psal. 82. 6, 7.

5

Job 21. 26.

6

Zach. 1. 5. [Zechariah 1:5, Ed. ]

7

In 1702, William died of pneumonia, a complication from a broken collarbone, resulting from a fall off his horse. Source New World Encyclopedia online (https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/William_III_of_England).

8

The action of dehorting from a course; earnest dissuasion. Dehort - to use exhortation to dissuade (a person) from a course or purpose; to advise or counsel against (an action, etc.). Oxford English Dictionary online.

3

1. Men are very apt to place too great Confidence in crowned Heads; the Truth of this may be learned from the History of all Ages, and our own Experience concurs to confirm it. The Psalmist tells us, That some trust in Chariots and some in Horses,9 i.e. in the Strength and Power of their Governors. There is not any thing more common, than for People to put a mighty Confidence in a Prince; especially if his admirable Qualities have distinguished him from other Monarchs; if his Courage and Constancy have rendered him as successful in the Toils of War, as he has been deservedly famous for his Prudence and Piety in the Arts of Government.

We are apt to think, if Men of Power are on our side, that our Mountain stands so strong it can never be moved;10 and so flatter our selves with a long and unshaken Felicity, altho we see that the Fashion of this World is continually passing away, and its best and brightest Inhabitants daily taking leave of it: Now this springs from our Ignorance, and the narrow Compass of our Thoughts, together with the Carnality of our present Constitution, which (as one expresses it) strongly inclines us to depend upon Princes, either for the obtaining what we desire, or the preventing what we fear.

For we commonly view things in a false and deceiving Light, and from thence take an estimate of their Sufficiency and Strength; not considering that if we make an Arm of Flesh the Object of our Trust, the end of such a Dependence will be our Confusion. Yet thus it was with us generally of late, till God convinced us by terrible Things in Righteousness; for he shook the Throne like Mount Sinai, and we were on a sudden invelop’d with Clouds and thick Darkness.

2. Tho a Prince deserves11 ever so well from the State he governs, yet he is not absolutely to be trusted in. Whoever hath an entire Dependence upon any Creature on Earth, exposes himself to the Curse of Heaven. Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the Man that trusteth in Man, and maketh Flesh his Arm, and whose Heart departeth from the Lord.12 The Jewish Nation was often guilty of this Sin; I’ll only mention an instance or two wherein God discovers his Displeasure against them for it. One is that of King Asa; And at that time Hanani the Seer came to Asa King of Judah , and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the King of Assyria , and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the Host of the King of Assyria escaped out of thy hands. 13 Instead of trusting in God, he placed all his Confidence in the Strength and Power of his Confederates and Allies, which was a kind of renouncing God as an Object of Trust; and herein did his Heart wretchedly depart from the Lord.

Again, how does God aggravate the Crime of the Israelites, for their trusting in Egypt! The Egyptians are Men, and not Gods.14 So that, in short, to place an absolute Trust in Princes, is to alienate the Rights of the Godhead; ’tis to rob the Deity of its Glory, and to turn a Prince into a provoking Idol of Jealousy. God cannot admit of Rivals in his Throne, for he will not give his Glory to another.

3. ’Tis not the Design of the Royal Psalmist, when he cautions against putting of our Trust in Princes, to depreciate that Faith and Credit, that Honour and Deference which is due to all good Kings from their own Subjects. The Psalmist himself was a great and a mighty Prince; and we cannot reasonably think, that he would recommend any disloyal Practices. What tho he tells us we must not trust in Princes, but rather advises to place our Confidence in Him, by whom Kings reign, as the best and safest course? Yet I say, this is not designed to lessen the Credit and Honour of Good Kings; ’tis not to render them contemptible in the Eyes of their People, as unfit to be regarded in the Civil Affairs of Life, and the Administrations of Government. The Psalmist cannot fairly be understood, as undervaluing Kingly Dignity, and representing Princes as useless Statues; but, as I

9

Psal. 20. 7.

10

Psal. 30. 6, 7.

11

To acquire or earn a rightful claim, by virtue of actions or qualities, to (something); to become entitled to or worthy of (reward or punishment, esteem or disesteem, position, designation, or any specified treatment). Obsolete or archaic. Oxford English Dictionary online.

12

Jer. 17. 5.

13

2 Chron. 16. 7.

14

Isa. 31. 3.

4

intimated before, the Design of the Caution is to prevent such a Trust in them, as is exclusive of the Divine Providence.

A good Prince, as he is the special Care of Heaven, so he is an extraordinary Blessing to a People;

’tis said, that because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee, King, (speaking to Solomon) to do Judgment and Justice.15 The Honour that is due to a Rightful and Lawful sovereign, involves in it all Duty and Allegiance, viz. the doing our utmost to support his Crown and Dignity, the putting the most candid Constructions upon his Actions, because a Prince may have Reasons for what he does which we are unacquainted with. The Arcana Imperii 16 are a great way out of our sight, who are at a distance from the Throne: Curse not the King, no not in thy Thought. 17 Thou shalt not curse the Gods, nor revile the Ruler of thy People. 18

4. No Pretence of Allegiance or Duty will justify our Trust in a Prince, whose visible Conduct declares his Defiance to Heaven, and whose Arts of Government are level’d against the Laws of God, and those of the Realm over which he presides. Magistracy is an Ordinance of God; and we are bound by Divine Revelation, not only to fear God, but to honour the King. But if a Prince once break his Coronation-Oath, and invade the Liberties of his People, he is no longer a Prince, but a Tyrant; for certainly the People have as just a Right to the legal Government of the Prince, as the Prince has to the legal Obedience of the People. “And if our Monarchy (as *one observes) be in the very Frame and Constitution of it a limited Monarchy, and establishsd not upon the Imperial Laws of a few visionary Politicians, but upon the Fundamental Laws of its own making, or allowing; then I must solemnly profess, that either I am uncapable of judging what Sense and Reason is, or it must follow that an absolute Monarch, a Prince not bounded by Law, but governing only by the Arbitrary Motions of his own Will, is no King of our acknowledging; our Constitution knows no such Monarch, nor did we ever oblige our selves to obey such a one.”

Upon these Principles proceeded the late happy Revolution in 88. 19 and by these the Throne of our Gracious Sovereign Queen Anne 20 is established, tho derived to her by a long Succession of Royal Ancestors.

To close this Head: If the greatest Prince upon Earth commands that which is contrary to the Word of God, I am bound to perform my Duty to God, before my Allegiance to my Prince. And for this we have the Determination of the whole College of Apostles; Then Peter and the other Apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than Man. 21 I proceed, Secondly, To consider the Reason of the Dehortation in my Text, why we are not to put our Trust in Princes; and this is founded on the Incapacity of Persons of that Character to help us: Put not your Trust in Princes, nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is no Help. If it be in their Power to relieve us, ’tis not always in their Inclination; and if they have a Will to protect and defend us, they may be

15

1 King 10. 9.

16

Latin for secrets of power, secrets of Empire, or State secrets ( Ed.)

17

Eccl.10. 20.

18

Exod. 22. 28.

*

****** Dr. Wake in his Sermon preached at St. James’s Westminster , April 16. 1696. Pag. 10. [ A sermon preached in the parish church of St. James, Westminster, April xvith, 1696 being the day of the publick thanksgiving for the preservation of His Majesty's person from the late horrid and barbarous conspiracy and for delivering this kingdom from the danger and miseries of a French invasion, By William Wake, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty, and Rector of St. JAMES

Westminster. London, 1696, ( Ed.)]

19

Often call The Glorious Revolution. Glorious Revolution, also called Revolution of 1688 or Bloodless Revolution, in English history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of his daughter Mary II and her husband, William III, prince of Orange and stadholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Encyclopedia Britannica online.

20

Anne Stuart, (born February 6, 1665, London, England—died August 1, 1714, London), queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714 who was the last Stuart monarch. Anne was the second daughter of James, duke of York (King James II, 1685–88), and Anne Hyde. Although her father was a Roman Catholic, she was reared a Protestant at the insistence of her uncle, King Charles II. Anne to sided with the Protestant ruler William III of Orange, stadtholder of the Netherlands, when William overthrew James II in 1688. Anne became queen upon William’s death in March 1702. From the first she was motivated largely by an intense devotion to the Anglican church. Her last act was to secure the Protestant succession by placing the lord treasurer’s staff in the hands of a capable moderate, Charles Talbot, duke of Shrewsbury, who presided over the peaceful accession of the Hanoverian prince George Louis (King George I, 1714–27). From Encyclopedia Britannica online

21

Acts 5. 29.

5

destitute of Power. ’Tis true, Religious Princes, like the holy Angels, excel in Strength, when their Thrones are fixed in the Hearts of their Subjects; yet even then there are ten thousand Things which we need, that they cannot bestow. But I shall chuse to consider the Force of this, as ’tis amplified in my Text.

1. The Incapacity of Princes to help us is argued from their natural Frailty, they are subject to Death as well as other Men: His Breath goeth forth, be returneth to his Earth. ’Tis a lofty Character which the Holy Ghost gives to Princes; I have said that ye are Gods, and that ye are all the Children of the most High.22 Yet in the following Words he sets them with the lowest of the People, for he adds, Ye shall die like Men.23 Princes are distinguished from others in the Quality of Living, but (as one observes) they are under the same hard and inflexible Necessity of dying; they cannot retain one Ray of the superficial Lustre of their Crowns, to enlighten the dark Shadow of Death: Their Glory shall not descend after them.24 A Court lies as open to Diseases as a Cottge; Crowns and Scepters, Armies and Fleets cannot awe or bribe the King of Terrors. Surly and inexorable Death pays no more deference to a strong and mighty Hero, crowned with Laurels, and used to Victories, than to a feeble Beggar that stoops almost to the Earth before he drops into it. All Flesh is Grass, and the Glory of it as the Flower of the Grass. Death uses no Ceremony, but seizes all without distinction, rushes upon a Crowned Head as soon as another: hence arises that Proverbial Expression, Strong as Death that subdues all, cruel as the Grave that spares none. There is no man hath power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit, neither hath he power in the day of Death, and there is no Discharge in that War.25 As Royal Dust cannot be distinguished from Common Earth, so Death in his Approaches pays no more respect to him that fills a Throne, than to one that languishes upon a Dunghil. What Man is he that liveth, and shall not see Death? Shall he deliver his Soul from the Hand of the Grave? Selah.26 If Dying be the way of all the Earth, and the Grave the House appointed for all Living; then Princes, as well as others, must walk in the Gloomy Valley, and retire to the dark Chambers of Death. Their Breath will go forth, and they must return to their Earth. Dust at first composed the Royal Fabrick, and to that it shall be again reduced. All Human Bodies are made of the same frail Materials; and the primitive Sentence, Dust thou art, and to Dust thou shalt return, respects the Kings of the Earth, as well as the Subjects over whom they reign.

Nay, the Moral Glory of a Prince will no more secure him from Death than his Civil Grandeur; for Good and Bad fall undistinguish’d. The meek Moses King of Jeshurun, as well as proud Pharaoh King of Egypt; Good Josiah, as well as wicked Ahab; Religious David, as well as impious Saul, have submitted to the same Fate. And now, how shall I pronounce the sad Word! Glorious William the Third is fallen by Death, as well as unhappy James the Second. 27 And because of the natural Frailty of good as well as bad Princes, the Psalmist cautions against an absolute Trust in them: The Breath of Princes is in their Nostrils, as well as of other Men; and since they are thus subject to Change and Death, they are no way fit for an Object of our absolute Trust. For if our Dependence rest on a frail Creature, we may be disappointed at the very time that our Hopes are big, and our Expectations high. And this leads me to the second thing, which the Psalmist urges to enforce his Caution against putting an entire Trust in Princes, viz.

2. The immediate Consequence of their Death; In that very day their Thoughts perish. Not that we are to imagine that the Soul at Death passes into an unactive and thoughtless condition; that’s a Notion contrary both to Reason and Revelation.

22

Psal. 82. 6.

23

Ver. 7.

24

Psal. 49. 17.

25

Eccl. 8.8.

26

Psal. 89. 48.

27

James II: b. 14 October 1633; d.5/6 September 1701. William III: b. 17 November 1650; d. 19 March 1702.

6

It's contrary to Reason; for this Principle supposes that the Soul either sleeps or dies, which no Reason induces to believe, because the Soul is immaterial, and consequently immortal: That which is immaterial is not compounded of Parts; it has no corruptible Principles to render it capable of Dissolution, as all mixt and material Beings are. Now if human Spirits are immaterial, ’tis impossible they should die: Tho I doubt not but that God can annihilate them, yet to suppose that the Soul dies with the Body, is to suggest its Materiality; which is an Hypothesis attended with many Absurdities, for it affirms that Matter is capable of Cogitation;28 and what is the Consequence of that, but that Effects may exceed the Cause that produc’d them? For how far does a noble Train of Thoughts exceed the most refin’d Matter, whether in Rest or in Motion? If there be such a thing as pure Intellection, or abstracted Notions and Ideas of immaterial things, which depend not upon bodily Figures, it’s impossible that these Notions should be lodg’d in any Subject but that which is immaterial, and consequently immortal: and if the Soul be immortal, and never dies, to be sure ’tis active in the other State; for an unactive Spirit is a sensless Paradox. Moreover, it has been remark’d, that many People have had clearer Notions, and a closer way of reasoning, just as their Souls have been loosening from their Bodies, than ever they had before. Now if the Soul be material, as some dream, why does it not equally decline with the Animal Spirits, which are but refin’d Matter? Since Experience testifies the contrary, we may conclude from Fact, that when the Soul is perfectly separated from this clogging Body, it enjoys the truest Liberty. This made Heraclitus say, that the Soul goes out of the Body as Lightning from a Cloud, because ’tis never more clear in its Conceptions than when freed from Matter. ’Twas a Thought of this nature, that help’d to perfect the late Earl of Rochester’s Persuasion of the Soul’s Immortality, viz. * “When Sickness had brought him so near Death, and his Spirits were so low and spent, that he could not move nor stir, and he did not think to live an hour; he said his Reason and Judgment were so clear and strong, that from thence he was fully persuaded, that Death was not the spending or dissolution of the Soul, but only the Separation of it from Matter.”

But farther, as the Notion of the Soul’s passing into an unactive State at Death is repugnant to Reason, so ’tis contrary to Divine Revelation. We read of the Spirits of just Men made perfect.29

Now tho the Perfection of departed Souls is not absolute, yet it is a Perfection that cannot consist with a dead Unactivity. How absurd is it to imagine that the Spirits of just Men are in a dead Sleep, from their Entrance into Heaven to the time of the first Resurrection, when they are again to unite with their Bodies? The Apostle Paul had certainly other Sentiments about human Spirits; for he asserts, That whilst we are at home in the Body, we are absent from the Lord.30 Again, We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the Body, and to be present with the Lord.31

From these places ’tis evident, that the Apostle believ’d that human Spirits did exist in a separate State, and that such as were united to Christ, did pass into his blissful Presence, immediately upon dislodging from their Bodies. And surely they cannot be unactive under the Influence of his Glory; the Views they have of his exalted Human Nature, make them like him: and this Likeness must needs produce Delight, and this Delight Wonder, and this Wonder the most Seraphick Ardours, and profound Adorations. Thus much may suffice to rescue this place from a Misconstruction, into which a cursory or unwary reading of the Phrase might probably lead less thinking People.

I shall therefore now give you the just Import of these words, In that very day their Thoughts perish; i.e. All the Designs they had form’d for this World, either respecting themselves or their People; they can no longer pursue the Plans they have laid, for the other State will furnish them with a very different Set of Thoughts. So that the force of the Argument lies here, That since Princes

28

The action of thinking or reflecting; attentive consideration, reflection, meditation. Oxford English Dictionary online.

*

****** See his Life written by Dr. Burnet, now Lord Bishop of Sarum, P. 20, 21. [ Some Passages On The Life and Death Of the Right Honourable John Earl of Rochester, Who died the 26th of July, 1680. Written by his own Direction on his Death-Bed, By Gilbert Burnet, D.D. London, 1680.]

29

Heb. 12. 23.

30

2 Cor. 5. 6.

31

Ver. 8.

7

are as frail as other Men, and their Designs die with them, their Thoughts vanish with their Breath;

’tis unreasonable to put an absolute Trust in such dying Creatures.

How many of the most excellent of the Earth has God remov’d by Death in the midst of their Work, before they could finish the Designs they had form’d?

Moses the Captain of Israel dy’d in the Wilderness, before he had conducted the Israelites into the promised Land.

Good King Josiah died before he was forty Years of Age, and in the midst of his excellent Purposes to reform and exalt his Kingdom.

And Edward the Sixth of England, whom some have call’d our English Josiah, was taken off very early, while carrying on the most glorious Designs to make England a happy People.

Julius Cesar was taken off by Death, while he was forming a design to epitomize the voluminous Works of the Learned Grecians and Romans; together with other Noble and Great things for publick Good.

Gustavus Adolphus, 32 that mighty General and true Friend to the Protestant Interest, was removed early by Death, before he was 38 Years of Age, and at a time when the Protestants had vast Expectations from him.

And thus it was with our late Sovereign of glorious Memory; he was taken away by Death, when the Eyes of all Europe were upon him, waiting for the happy Effects of his Prudent Counsels, and the Success of his Victorious Arms. Yet (blessed be God) we have some good hope, that his Thoughts will not so vanish with his Breath, but that his excellent Model, made from Axioms calculated to the Honour and Interest of Europe, will he pursu’d by his Illustrious Successor in the Throne;33 who has already given the utmost Assurance to make good all the Alliances into which his late Majesty enter’d with Foreign Princes, and to defend our Religion and Liberties.

Indeed this is a mighty Relief under our unspeakable Loss; a Loss we must needs deplore! O what a Prince, what a mighty Man is fallen in our English Israel! Can we forbear to mourn our Loss? No surely, it would argue a wretched Stupidity not to be affected with so sad a Providence. Surely nothing but a Stoick, or a sworn Enemy to the Protestant Religion, can refrain from adding a Voice to the Consort of Mourners, when the Death of so excellent a Prince has delug’d with Sorrow so many Kingdoms and States. It has been the Custom of all Nations, in all Ages, to use some solemn Significations of Mourning upon the Death of good Princes: When Moses the Servant of the Lord died (who was a King in Jeshurun) the Children of Israel are said to weep for him in the Plains of Moab thirty days. 34

When King Hezekiah slept with his Fathers, all Judah and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem did him Honour at his Death.35 And we read that upon the Exit of good Josiah, all Judah and Jerusalem mourn’d; and this Mourning was so deep, so solemn, and so lasting, that in a Book writ about an hundred Years after, it is said they continued their Mourning for him to that day: and when any

32

Gustavus Adolphus, also called Gustav II Adolf, (1594-1632). King of Sweden (1611–32) who laid the foundations of the modern Swedish state and made it a major European power. As the Protestant cause plunged to disaster in Germany, its leaders increasingly turned their eyes to Gustavus as a possible saviour. The motives prompting his intervention into what is known as the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48) have long been a subject of historical controversy. Earlier historians saw him as his contemporaries did, simply as the Protestant Hero, the “Lion of the North”. More recently he has been seen as having been moved by purely political considerations.

Encyclopedia Britannica online

33

Queen Anne Stuart (1663-1714). Reigned 1702-1714. Succeeded William III ( Ed.).

34

Deut. 34. 8.

35

2 Chron. 32. 33.

8

extraordinary Mourning happen’d, it was said to be like the Mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, which was the Mourning occasioned by the Death of good Josiah.

Again, the Historian tells us, that when Constantine the Great died, the Tribunes, the Centurions, and the whole Order of Judges and Magistrates greatly lamented his Death. And certainly we of these Kingdoms have great occasion of Sorrow, if we consider but a few things with respect to that Excellent Prince whom Death has ravish’d from us. I confess I shall labour under great

Disadvantages, in speaking concerning our late Sovereign, because ’tis impossible I should relate those Matters which they can, who had the Honour to attend his Person.

Yet suffer me to say a little, tho ’tis very little that I can say; for ’tis a Work would become the best Orator to pronounce the Character of William the Third: Whose Name will be renowned from Generation to Generation, for He deserves to be had in everlasting Remembrance.

Pliny esteem’d them happy who wrote things worthy to be read, but prefer’d those in the degree of Felicity who acted things worthy to be written: And surely no Prince’s Actions did more deserve to be written on durable Monuments than the Actions of William the Third; a Name that shall thine in the Records of Fame, and be read in the British and Dutch Annals as long as Honour, Courage, Justice, Clemency, and Religion shall be thought to have any Lustre, or find any Countenance in the World. He was the Active and Sprightly Genius of Europe (for so he was call’d abroad) the Glory of Crown’d Heads in this Age, and shall be a lasting Wonder in Ages to come; He was the Darling of Providence, the very Man that God delighted to honour.

I cannot now speak of the Royal Stem from whence our late Sovereign sprung, and of the Glory and Renown of the Illustrious Family of Nassau, of which Stock were the principal Defenders of the Protestant Religion in the Low Countries for the last Ages.

I shall but briefly glance on a few things with respect to the late King William.

First, In regard of the Time and Manner of his Accession to the Crown.

Secondly, I shall mention some things remarkable during his Reign.

Thirdly, Take notice of some special Circumstances attending the time of his Death.

First, We are to consider the Time and Manner of his late Majesty’s Accession to the Crown: It was when a Design was form’d to fetter our Liberties, and extirpate our Religion; when all things were almost ripe and ready for Execution, our Feet being in the Snare before we perceiv’d it was spread for us: the flattering Promises of a Popish Prince having shock’d our common Prudence, so that our Enemies began to triumph and to insult us as they had done our Laws. Even at this desperate Juncture did our late Sovereign enterprize our Deliverance, and hazard his own Person to save a sinking Nation, and to relieve the Reformed Churches. And nothing could discourage this Prince, tho many Difficulties met him in this Noble Undertaking; for God was on his side, and struck his Enemies with a panick fear, so that they were suddenly scatter’d as Dust before the Wind, and the People of England were prepar’d to receive him with Acclamations of Joy. Providence conducted him to the Throne of these Realms, not through a Sea of Blood, for we were not conquer’d, but consented, in the Representative Body of the Nation, to receive William and Mary as our Rightful and Lawful Sovereigns.36 Now as the Time and Manner of the late King’s Accession to the Crown

36

King James II, a Roman Catholic, had so antagonized his subjects by his despotic and romanizing policies that by 1687 many of them were urging William to intervene. In 1688 the birth of a son to James, which opened the possibility of a Roman Catholic succession, finally brought matters to a head. An invitation, signed by a representative selection of James’s opponents, was dispatched on July. In November William and his army landed at Brixham on Tor Bay in Devon and proceeded almost unopposed to London. James fled to France, and the so-called Convention Parliament, summoned in January 1689, declared that James had abdicated and offered the vacant throne, with an accompanying Declaration of Right, to William and Mary. This change in the monarchy is often call the Glorious Revolution, the Revolution of 1688 or Bloodless Revolution. Encyclopedia Britanica online 9

did endear him to us, so it deeply aggravates our Loss, and gives a terrible Accent to our Sorrows.

But,

Secondly, Let us glance on a few things very remarkable during the Reign of the late King WILLIAM. Immediately after his settlement on the Throne, he enter’d into a War with France, and in his own Person engag’d from time to time at the Head of his Army, where he always signaliz’d himself for his Prudence and Courage. He was as well acquainted with the difficult Arts of Government, as the noble Stratagems of War; so that I shall not scruple to say of him, that he was the Greatest Statesman, as well as the most Renowned Hero of the Age.

What Difficulties did he struggle through, and vanquish at the Boyn, where his Preservation was equal to his Success, both of them great?37 So that what our King did there will be reckon’d by Posterity amongst the most remarkable Achievements of War; for in that Expedition it was very visible, God had girded him with Strength unto Battel. And in many other Instances did his watchful Providence discover its care of his Majesty’s Person, preserving it by a Succession of Wonders, against the Instruments of Death abroad, as well as from the murdering Hands of bloody Assassins at home. I forbear to recite the Battels our Prince fought, and the Victories he won; his regulating the debas’d Coin of the Nation at a very critical and hazardous Juncture; 38 the Honourable Peace he procur’d, and the Check he gave to the Insolence and Pride of an Arbitrary Prince, who was aspiring after Universal Monarchy:39 not doubting but that you’ll meet with all these in his History.

Indeed if his pretended Friends should be ungratefully silent, and forget him after his Death, his Enemies will record his Vertues, and speak of his Valour. What Age ever produc’d a Prince of such Mildness and Lenity? a Prince that did Justice without Revenge, that shew’d Mercy without Weakness, was kind to the unthankful, heaping Coals of Fire upon the heads of his Enemies. He was the Refuge of those Protestants that fled for their Religion, as well as the common Father of his own People; which he eminently discover’d by his extraordinary Clemency and great Moderation, carrying it with an even hand betwixt contending Parties, so that he deserv’d to be call’d, The Healer of our Breaches, and the Restorer of Paths to dwell in: for he well knew that domestick Divisions would put us into greater danger than a Foreign Power.

But further, like one that lov’d his People, and had a deep Concern for their Happiness, he did constantly in his excellent Speeches from the Throne, recommend Reformation of Manners, thereby scattering away Evil with his Eyes.

And how great Concern did this Prince discover for Posterity, by his earnest and seasonable recommending to the late Parliament the Succession to the Crown in the Protestant Line, thereby extinguishing the hopes of a Suppostitious Heir, to make the clearer way for that admirable Princess that now fills the Throne?40 So that however some Male-concents have been uneasy under his Administration, yet the Generations to come will call him Blessed; because if the Religion and

37

Battle of the Boyne (July 1, 1690). A a major conflict fought along the Boyne River in Ireland between King William III (William of Orange) and the exiled king James II. James II sought to retake his throne through an alliance with Ireland and France, having been deposed and exiled after William’s landing at Brixham and subsequent English desertions. A string of Irish Jacobite victories in the northern country were followed by a swift but indecisive loss on the Boyne River. Although James’s escape dragged the First Jacobite Rising into 1691, the Battle of the Boyne reassured William’s allies of his commitment to defeating all French-aligned forces. Encyclopedia Britannica online

38

The Great Re-coinage of 1696 was an attempt by the English Government under King William III to finally replace the hammered silver that made up most of the coinage in circulation, much of it being clipped and badly worn. From https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2015/07/19/the-great-monetary-crisis-of-the-1690s/

39

King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715); reigned (1643–1715). In a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, Louis XIV extended France’s eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs. England, the Dutch, and the emperor united in the Grand Alliance to resist Louis’s expansionism. The resulting war lasted from 1688 to 1697. This anti-French alliance was reactivated by William of Orange before his death (1702) when Louis XIV sought to establish his grandson on the Spanish throne. This resulted in The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), with Louis engaged against a hostile European coalition. Encyclopedia Britanica online

40

The Bill of Rights had established the succession with the heirs of Mary II, Anne and William III in that order, Mary had died of smallpox in 1694, aged 32, and without children. Anne's only surviving child (out of 17 children), The Duke of Gloucester, had died at the age of 11, and William was, in July 1700, dying. The succession had to be decided. The Act of Settlement of 1701 was designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne, and to strengthen the guarantees for ensuring parliamentary system of government. According to the Act, succession to the throne therefore went to Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, James VI & I's granddaughter, and her Protestant heirs. The Act also laid down the conditions under which alone the Crown could be held. No Roman Catholic, nor anyone married to a Roman Catholic, could hold the English Crown. The Sovereign now had to swear to maintain the Church of England (and, after 1707, the Church of Scotland).

Source https://www.royal.uk/william-and-mary

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Liberties of England be transmitted to late Posterity, the Possessors thereof will be indebted for them to the Care of this excellent Prince, under the Providence of God. For what excellent Laws have been enacted during his Reign, and what care did he take to improve his Interest and Time in concluding Alliances with Foreign Princes and States, in order to reduce the exorbitant Power of France, that England might still hold the Ballance of Europe? So that, in short, he has rais’d the Honour of the English Nation, and acquir’d to himself such a just Esteem abroad, that all Foreign Princes and States have reckon’d him as the Center and Soul of our whole Alliance, as well as the Arbiter of Europe. But alas! this Great Prince in the midst of his Noble Designs has his Health impair’d by Distempers, and his Body sinks down under the uncommon Weight of a fatiguing Reign into the Dust of Death: and this leads me to consider,

Thirdly, The Circumstances that attended the Death of the late King William, which together with the things I have already mentioned, greatly aggravate our Loss, and justify our solemn Mourning.

He was taken away at a time when his Experience had to a very great degree ripen’d him for Counsel, and cultivated his excellent Notions of Government: At a time when we wanted his Direction and Conduct: At a time when we hop’d God had much Work for him to do, and we had rais’d Expectations of his enterprizing Great things: At a time when we needed him to go forth in the Head of our Armies. But alas! alas! on a sudden we lose our King and our Hopes together. Lord, what have we lost!

A Prince that deliver’d us from Popery and Arbitrary Power.

A Prince that was for reforming our Land, as well as fighting our Battels.

A Prince that had every thing in him to render his Government a Happiness to all his Subjects.

A Prince that prudently sway’d the Scepter of Peace, as well as courageously manag’d the Sword of War.

A Prince whose mild Government proclaim’d him to be the brightest Example of Clemency and Good-Nature.

A Prince who had the greatest Honour, and the largest Interest in all Europe.

A Prince endear’d to us by the Hazards he ran, and the Deliverances God wrought for him.

A Prince that was the Terror of the Papal Hierarchy.

A Prince (if I may say so of any since the Exit of good Josiah) that was the Breath of our Nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord, the Delight of our Eyes, and the Joy of our Hearts.

A Prince that adorn’d the Crown he wore, while we were blest with the happy Influence of his Government; but the Shadow of Death has stain’d our English Glory.

I close this rude and imperfect Character with only adding, that blessed be God, He that did not fear Death in the Field, was as undaunted when it approach’d him in his Palace; for I am well assur'd by those that had the Honour to be near him, that He died with the greatest Resignation, full of Charity and Peace. What Use is proper to be made of this Subject and Providence, I shall now briefly suggest, and so conclude.

1. Beware you do not murmur at the Divine Conduct, or pass any rash Censure on the Providence of God. God’s Ways are always equal, but his Dispensations are sometimes dark. It will be a desperate Conclusion for any to say, God has forsaken this Earth; and that all things roll under the Sullenness of Fate, or the Giddiness of Chance. For ’tis certain he that rules amidst the Armies of Heaven, does does still govern amongst the Kingdoms of Men. Our Blessed Saviour assures us, that the Hairs on our Heads are all numbred.41 And if a Hair cannot fall from our Heads without Heaven’s Permission, much less can a Crown’d Head drop into the Dust without the Allowance of the

41

Luke 12. 7.

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Supreme Governor. If the most minute things are under the providential Care of Heaven, much more Great and Good Princes, who are God’s Ministers upon Earth. And it must be confess’d, that when such are remov’d in the midst of their days, ’tis like the Sun’s going down at Noon, and the darkning of the Earth in a clear Day.42 Something like this have we seen in the Death of our excellent King; yet it becomes us to be silent, because we have sinned. Thus the Royal Psalmist behav’d himself under pressing Trials; I was dumb, and open’d not my Mouth, because thou didst it. 43 Many of the Providences of God are very obscure, and the Methods he takes seem to us to be very intricate and perplex’d; yet there is great reason to be calm and resigning, since whatever his infinite Power hath produc’d, his steddy and unerring Wisdom governs. The People of God shall be happy in the end, tho the Reasons of many intermediate Events are conceal’d from them in the way.

God maketh the Clouds his chariot: He walketh upon the Wings of the Wind.44 His Providential Motions are so mysterious and dark, so sudden and swift, that we are uncapable to view them in their Extent; we can only gaze, wonder, and resign. And there is great reason for our Resigiation to God; For, tho Clouds and Darkness are round about him, Righteousness and Judgment are the Habitation of his Throne.45 Tho the Reasons of the Divine Procedure are far out of our sight, yet a silent Submission becomes us, because he in whose hands are the Reins of Government cannot err.

Moreover, the wise Man tells us, ’Tis the Glory of God to conceal a thing. 46 The Glory of the Divine Nature is exalted, by being incomprehensible to us; and so the inexplicable Methods of the Divine Providence, the Unsearchableness of God in his Dispensations, raise the Glory of his Wisdom and Sovereignty; which is a powerful Reason for our ready Resignation.

Again, if there were not some dark Dispensations of Providence, we should not have such an Opportunity as these afford for the Exercise of our suffering Graces. The Probity and Patience of Job would not have shone with so bright a Lustre, nor have render’d him so famous in after Ages, if there had not been great Obscurity in the Providences he was under: his not knowing what God was about to do, gave him occasion to exercise an invincible Constancy, and an unwearied Patience. To close this Head, let us always remember, that we are but of Yesterday, and know nothing: That God’s Judgments are unsearchable, and his Ways past finding out. That Precious and Valuable Life, that was so soon ended, was measur’d out by the Infinite Wisdom of God, who for Reasons

unknown to his Creatures, lengthens or shortens the Lives of Princes at pleasure. What God does now, we know not, but we shall know hereafter. For the Days are approaching wherein the Mysteries of Providence shall be unveil’d, and we shall see that the Obscurities thereof, like Shades in Painting, set off the Beauty with the greater Advantage.

2. Let us stand in awe of Him, in whose hands are the Keys of Death and Hell. God’s Throne is plac’d in the Heavens, and his Kingdom ruleth over all. He has an absolute Sovereignty over Angels and Men: He killeth and maketh alive; he woundeth, and his Hands make whole. With what Reverence and Awe should we think of this mighty Jehovah? who can add Years to our Days, or cut them off in the midst at his pleasure; who is Lord of all our Time, and in whose hands alone are the Issues from Death. Fear to offend this God by the least Sin, for ’tis the abominable thing that his Soul hates. In a word, never dispute his Authority, but obey his Commands, lest he pursue you with the Terrors of his Wrath, for despising the Offers of Peace; lest he frown you into a bottomless Lake of Fire, for rejecting boundless Rivers of Pleasure; and bind you with the Chains of an eternal Wrath, for trampling on the Blood of a compassionate Saviour.

3. Let us not only mourn our Loss in the Death of our Excellent King, but mourn for those Sins with a peculiar accent of Grief, that have occasion’d it. May this Stroke awaken all Europe, and inspire

42

Amos 8. 9.

43

Psal. 39. 9.

44

Psal. 104. 3.

45

Psal. 97. 2.

46

Prov. 25. 2.

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all that bear the Christian Name, to take up Resolutions of Reformation in the strength of Divine Grace. God’s Hand has been lifted up; may the Inhabitants of this and the neighbouring Lands learn Righteousness. God sometimes sends evil Kings in his Anger, and takes away good ones in his Wrath. And for the Iniquity of a Land, many are the Princes thereof. There is scarcely any Affliction that befals a People, but has been occasion’d by Sin. ’Tis Sin that brings Hosts of Diseases like Locusts, to prey upon, and destroy the Bodies of Men. ’Tis Sin that kindles a Train of liquid Fire in the Blood, to scorch us in a Fever; and that produces large quantities of Water, to drown us, as it were, with a Dropsy.47 ’Tis Sin that brings publick Calamities on a State, and that spreads Misery and Desolation over the face of the Earth: Thus a fruitful Land becomes a Wilderness, for the Iniquity of those that dwell therein. Now since Sin is the sad cause of our Miseries, and particularly of that dark Providence under which we groan; let us not forget to mourn for our Personal as well as National Sins. Who can forbear to drop a few Tears, and send some Sighs after our Excellent Prince? But Rivers of Tears should run down our Eyes for those Sins that have provok’d God to remove him from us.

4. Let us endeavour after a firm Union among Protestants. Death frequently weakens our hands, by taking from us the Instruments of our Good; and surely ’tis unreasonable we should weaken our own hands, by dividing our Strength. Our Union will be a Wall of Defence, which nothing can demolish but our own Divisions. Every Age confirms the Truth of that Maxim, A Kingdom divided against it self cannot stand.

’Twas the Differences that were fomented betwixt Aristobulus and Hircanus, that brought Pompey to Jerusalem, by whom they were made a Roman Province.48

The Divisions of the Old Britons subjected them first to the Roman Yoke.

The Christians lost Palestine by their unhappy Divisions, tho it was a Place they had gain’d by a prodigious Expence of Blood and Treasure, and had been poffess’d of it about a hundred Years. I need not say how England has suffer’d by intestine Divisions, and a Civil War. 49

’Twas a Maxim laid down by Cardinal Richelieu, 50 That England could never be destroy’d but by her self. And accordingly we find it has been the Policy of the Court of France to disperse a great number of Jesuits thro Protestant States, to sow Discords amongst them. But I hope our Eyes are open, and our Resolutions are fix’d for a firm Union: That we begin to have softer Thoughts of each other, and to disuse the Reflections that were formerly made on the account of Differences in lesser Matters: So that the fire of Contention, which the common Enemy of Protestants has been a long time blowing up, will gradually decline till it is totally extinguish’d, than which nothing can more contribute towards the making us the most powerful People, and a lasting Terror to France. To close this Head, may all Protestants zealously practice what the late King seasonably recommended to this present Parliament, in his last excellent Speech from the Throne, viz. “Let there be no other

47

A morbid condition characterized by the accumulation of watery fluid in the serous cavities or the connective tissue of the body. Oxford English Dictionary online.

48

A ristobulus II, (died 49 BC), last of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) kings of Judaea. On the death (67 bc) of his mother, Salome Alexandra, he succeeded to the throne, defeating his brother and rival, John Hyrcanus II (q.v.). When Hyrcanus sought help from the Nabataeans, the Romans under Pompey intervened and subjected Judaea to their rule (63 bc). After an unsuccessful attempt to regain power in 56, Aristobulus was sent to Rome as a prisoner and remained there until his death. John Hyrcanus II, (died 30 BC, Jerusalem), high priest of Judaea from 76 to 40 BC, and, with his brother Aristobulus II, last of the Maccabean (Aristobulus IIHasmonean) dynastic rulers. Under Hyrcanus’ vacillating leadership, Judaea (southern of the three traditional divisions of ancient Palestine, today mostly in Israel) fell into vassalage to Rome. Pompey the Great, Latin in full Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106-48BC), one of the great statesmen and generals of the late Roman Republic, a triumvir (61–54 BC) who was an associate and later an opponent of Julius Caesar. He was initially called Magnus (“the Great”) by his troops in Africa (82–81 BC), and he assumed the cognomen Magnus after 81. He attempted to arbitrate between the brothers Aristobulus and Hyrcanus. Eventually, after he had laid siege to and captured Jerusalem, appointed Hyrcanus II as high priest without the title of king adopted by his predecessors. Encyclopedia Britannica online

49

1642–51.

50

Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de Richelieu, by name the Red Eminence, French l’Éminence Rouge, (1585-1642), chief minister to King Louis XIII of France from 1624 to 1642. His major goals were the establishment of royal absolutism in France and the end of Spanish-Habsburg hegemony in Europe.

Encyclopedia Britannica online.

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Distinction heard of among us for the future; but of those who are for the Protestant Religion and the present Establishment; and of those who mean a Popish Prince and a French Government.” 51

5. Let us live in the expectation of our own Death, and labour to prepare for it. If I wait (says Job) the Grave will be my House. I said to Corruption, Thou art my Father; and to the Worm, Thou art my Mother and Sister. We shall take but a few turns in this World, and then step into another. Man in his best Estate is altogether Vanity, whether in the flourishing bloom of Youth, or advanc’d to a more mature Age. Therefore redeem your time, work while it is call’d to-day, for the Night cometh when no Man can work. No Time is properly ours but the present Moment, the next is out of our power. What manner of Persons therefore ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness?

In a word, let us esteem all things but as Dross and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledg of Christ Jesus our Lord; and labour to be found in him, not having on our own Righteousness, but the Righteousness of God by Faith in Jesus Christ.

6. Since Princes are frail and subject to Death as well as other Men, let us put our Trust in Him who hath only Immortality.

There is nothing in this World that is fit for us to lay the stress and weight of our Souls upon; but Jehovah is an adequate Object of Trust, for in him is everlasting Strength. Tho the Earth shake under our feet, and the Heavens are dark over our heads; tho the Elements should melt with fervent Heat, and the Earth be tost from its Center; yet those that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, that can never be moved. I close this Head with the Words of the Psalmist immediately after the Text; Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his Help, whose Hope is in the Lord his God.

Lastly, Let us not forget to bless God for a Protestant Queen, and her peaceable Accession to the Throne. This Excellent Princess discover’d a becoming Zeal for the Reform’d Religion, in opposition to Popery, when the mov’d in a lower Orb; 52 we have therefore just reason to expect that her Zeal will be as warm and regular now she acts in a more exalted State. And let us not cease to pray for our illustrious Queen ANNE, That she may have Wisdom as an Angel of God, to go in and out before so Great a People; that she may be the Deborah of our English Israel, and a nursing Mother to all the Reform’d Churches: that she may have a prosperous Reign, along Life, a safe Government, a secure Palace, prudent Parliaments, faithful Counsellors, valiant Armies, and a loyal People: That she may trample upon the Necks of her Enemies, and reign in the Hearts of her Subjects; that under the Influence of her wise and mild Administration, true and undefil’d Religion may revive and flourish

.

To which I wish all Her Majesty’s Subjects may as heartily say Amen, as do the Protestant Dissenters of the Three Kingdoms: then shall I not doubt, but this will yet be Immanuel’s Land, and God will dwell in the midst of us.

_________________________________________

51

Speech made on 31 December 1701. A partial modernised transcript can be found at http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1701-1750/king-william-addresses-

parliament-on-the-french-question-31-december-1701.php University of Groningen.

52

Anne’s unremarkable position in the line of succession during her formative years resulted in her being underprepared to rule England as a queen regnant compared to many of her male and female predecessors. Her schooling also contributed to her unpreparedness in many attributes of leadership because she was educated as a late seventeenth-century noblewoman who might become a princess or a foreign queen consort, but not a queen regnant. Her devotion to the church is often spoken about in her letters to her sister. As James attempted to convert Anne to Catholicism in early 1686, she professed to Mary that “I will ever be firm to my religion whatever happens,” and “I do count it as a very great blessing that I am of the Church of England.” Anne excelled in scripture and divinity studies. In this pursuit, she was rarely surpassed by her Stuart predecessors. From T. Heffernan, Never the Queen: Anne Stuart’s Formative Years. Chapter 6 in V. Schutte (ed.), Unexpected Heirs in Early Modern Europe, Queenship and Power (2017). DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55294-1_6

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This text was transcribed from image files generated from the Google Books version of John Piggott’s book, Eleven Sermons Preach’d Upon Special Occasions (London: John Darby, 1714), 123-154 (https://books.google.com.au/books?id=ARkHAAAAQAAJ). The original is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford University.

Note: In the original text, there were a number of marginal references (mainly Scripture references).

These have been rendered as footnotes in this text. The position of these footnotes were assigned by the transcriber and any inaccuracy in their positioning is his alone.

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