356 THE RELIGIOUS IMPROVEMENT the British throne, such a defender of the faith ; such a glorious deliverer of the nation from the imminent perils under which we lay, Wherein property and religion, liberty and life were all exposed. Blessed be the hand of our _God that interposed in so signal a, season, and confounded. all the devices of oiar enemies; he blasted their presumptuous hopes at once, and overwhelmed them with a huge and fatal disappointment : " The snare was broken and we escaped ;" Ps. cxxiv. 7. The protestant succession obtained, and king GEORGE was raised to his appointed throne, and all that is dear to us was rescued from the hands of popish, tyranny, which was ready to invade us. Let us recollect with pleasure the mercy Of our God who inspired his predecessor king William of glorious memory to lay the foundation of the protestant succes- sion to the crown of these kingdoms. Then he prepared a healing balm for the wound which we received at the death of our late sovereign, and made a happy provision against a thousand distant dangers. Let us give glory to our God who prolonged the life ofour lateking, and made him the author of numerous blessings for almost thirteen years together : A large space of the .life of man, wherein we enjoyed our civil properties in peace, and our religious privileges were confirmed to us by the constant favour of our prince ! Though in the beginning of his reign, the enemy made their utmost efforts against us by lifting up axes and hammers against our places of worship, because of our inviolable attachment to his interest, yet his wise and steady conduct Soon suppressed those riots, and the law secured us against future fears. 2. It must be acknowledged as an instance of divine mercy, that our king was not taken from the earth by the hands of violence. A bloody death had been a much more formidable appearance. This would have filled our hearts with dismay, lest a secret train of mischiefs should have been contrived and broken out to our great confusion. Blessed be the name ofour God that guarded his precious life from day to day, and continued him to a good old age, though he had, such a multitude ofene- mies on earth and in hell. The agents of Rome are never wantingto contrive the destruction of all those that
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=