the Interceffions of foreign Ambaffadors; to all the Importunities of their own Friends and Relations; and to the preffing Instances of their own General Fairfax; and had no Manner of Regard to their own former folemn Profeffions and Declarations. In short, when they were refolved to seize on the Inheritance, nothing could hinder them from destroying the Lord and Owner of it. The Sum of what has been faid in this Comparison, is this-The Mariners, after much Struggle with themselves, caft into the Sea one that was a perfect Stranger to them, but who had acknowledged that he had greatly offended his God, and greatly endangered them, by coming amongst them. The Regicides of this Day, threw their very Pilot over-board, and perfecuted and deftroyed not only the Lord's Anointed, and their own lawful King and Sovereign, but one like David, a Man after God's own Heart, a Man of exemplary Piety and heroick Goodnefs, a Father of his Country, and a true Lover of his People. The Mariners fhewed a great Unwillingness and Averseness to the laft, to caft Jonah into the Sea, tho' advised and defired by himself to do it. The Regicides went on in their black Defign, in the moft daring Manner, without any feeming Check or Remorse, and cut off a most righteous and gracious Prince, Prince, tho' preffed on all Sides not to do it. The Mariners were in the utmoft Peril of their Lives, and might have pleaded for themselves, that it was expedient that one Man fhould die, and that the whole Crew perish not; and yet could scarce prevail with themselves to make Trial of this Expedient, tho' it proved the happy Means of faving themselves and the Ship too. But the Regicides were in no Manner of Danger, and no Way neceffitated to ufe any defperate Remedy: On the contrary, they had the Command of All, and then lorded it over three Kingdoms; and were fo far from confulting the Peace and Safety of the Nation, or their own Security, in what they did, that they brought thereby utter Ruin and Defolation, and fuch an unmeasurable Load of Guilt, Infamy, and Misery, upon themfelves and upon all the People, as has miniftred but too juft an Occafion ever fince for ferious Lamentation, and the most folemn Acts of Repentance and Humiliation. And this leads me to The Second Thing to be confidered, namely, The Duty incumbent on all the People of the Land, to deplore the Guilt, and deprecate the Judgments, that may justly be inflicted upon us, for the national and crying Sin of this Day. For national Sins call for national Judgments; and these can be prevented or averted, only by a na tional tional Humiliation and Repentance. And that the Sin of this Day is to be reckoned the Sin of the whole Nation, may appear, among other Reasons, from confidering the Perfon fuffering, and the Perfons offending. As to the Perfon fuffering. We are to remember that this was not a folitary or private Perfon, but the Head and Reprefentative of the whole Body politick; and tho' fome Limbs or Members may be taken off, without the Ruin or Demolition of the Body; yet here the Body itself was loft or killed in the Head, fince one cannot furvive the Deftruction of the other. For 'tis the Head in the political, as well as the natural Conftitution, that communicates Life, Vigour, and Spirits, to the feveral Parts: So that in destroying one they must neceffarily destroy the other; and therefore, in this Cafe, we may truly and properly fay, that a whole Nation was cut off at one Blow, and that Church and State fell with King Charles the First: Confequently with Respect to the Perfon fuffering, this could be no other than a national Sin, which requires a national Humiliation; and there is no Perfon fo pure or righteous, so free or exempt in this Cafe, who is not obliged to bewail the Guilt of it, and to deprecate the Vengeance that is due to it, Then Then with refpect to the Perfons offending. Tho' thofe more immediately concerned were but few in Number, no more, as it were, than a Handful of Men in Comparison of the reft; yet they affumed and acted in the Name of all the People of England, and afterwards by the Permiffion of Providence, ufurped and exercised a Power and Authority, over the whole Nation for many Years together. Not to mention, that great Part of the Nation might be very blameable, in not being more vigorous and active, in oppofing and endeavouring to hinder the Murder of their Sovereign. And no doubt the Sins of All, more or lefs, or fome Way or other, contributed to the bringing down that heavy Judgment upon them. But for the clearer Apprehenfion of this Matter, it will be neceffary to diftinguish here, between a national Act, and a national Sin. For 'tis certain that there may be a national Sin, when the outward Act which conftituted the Sin, cannot strictly or properly be called national. Thus in the prefent Cafe, the Act itself was fudden and violent, short and tranfient, and committed only by a few abandoned Mifcreants; but the Guilt of this Act is of a deep Dye, and of a lafting and extenfive Nature, looking backward to many preceding Facts that opened and led the Way to it, and reaching forward forward to all fecret Likings and Approbations, as well as open Juftifications of it; and fo affecting many more Persons in both Ways, than can be known or well imagined, unless we could refolve all the Questions that may be raised upon this Point; among which I fhall mention only this one that has been hinted before, viz. Whether the Neglect of the Royalists to interpofe in their King's Behalf, in order to prevent his Murder, by a verbal Remonftrance at leaft, if they could not venture upon actual Force, might not be imputed to them by God, as a criminal Neglect, and bring them in as partly acceffary to the Guilt of this Day? For my Part, I can't affirm that it will, nor can any one prove that it will not. I only observe, that in this and all other Cafes of fo heinous, publick, and complicated a Nature, there is a certain noxious Quality, that spreads itself all around, and threatens Infection to all that are within the Verge of it's Influence and Power. Or to illuftrate this by another Comparison Such publick and frightful Enormities that ripen by Degrees, and are compleated at laft by a fmall number of Men, are like those dangerous Indraughts which Mariners. have discovered in fome Seas, and which they are fo careful to avoid, the Force or Suction of which is in fome Places of wide Extent, and endangers all Veffels that come within the |