OF PUBLIC EVENTS. 557 support what they call the northern heresy, and the pow- ers of darkness are engaged on their side. Yet this great man came to his. grave in peace, and died as Da- vid did, at a comfortable length of years, full of days, riches and honour. 3. It is to be reckoned among our mercies, since he- lived so long as to see the seeds of discord sown among the nations in Europe, and the first efforts of a war in Spain, that he lived also long enough to lay the founda- tions of an extensive peace. It is worthy our notice that the empress of Muscovy, who was known to be in a contrary interest, died but a few weeks ago, whereby it is supposed some of the foreign potentates were more powerfully and speedily induced to accept the preliminaries of a treaty of peace. Blessed be the God of peace that our sovereign lived to see these preliminaries signed : IIad he been taken off from the stage of action but a few weeks sooner, perhaps the peace and the treaty ,had been greatly retarded, and our ene- mies might have prosecuted the war with double vigour. Times and seasons, life and death are in the hands of God, and we have often seen that he bath marked out and limited the extent of the life of princes, to answer wise purposes, in his own government of the world, and his gracious designs towards Great Britain and the churches of Christ. 4. It is an instance of divine mercy beyond all expres- sion, that we have such an illustrious prince for a suc- cessor : One who is not only a firm protestant by the influence of his education.under such a Father, but from his own knowledge and choice infinitely prefers the reformed religion, and is a constant professor of it. Blessed art thou, O Britain, for " thy king is the son of nobles," descended from a race of sovereign princes trained up from his youngest years to the sublime art of government. Nor do we corne under the woe pro- nounced upon " the land, whose king is a child," 'a minor under age, that wants a ruler to beset over him. Our present sovereign hath attained to a sufficient gum ber of years, and a large share of experience of 'hurrram affairs, and has made wise observations of the various occurrences among states and nations, that .he may sway
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