II. CHRON. c. xxxii. v. 33. ‘And Hezekiah ſlept with his Fathers; and all Judah, and the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem did him Honour at his Death.’

HEZEKIAH, King of Jeruſalem, was one of thoſe few illuſtrious Sovereigns recorded in Holy Writ to have done Right in the Sight of the Lord; one, who by his Example influenced, and by his Authority reformed a corrupt and ſinful Nation: he wrought that, ſays the ſacred Hiſtory, which was good and right, and Truth before the Lord his God, and in every Work that he began in the Service of the Houſe of God, and in the Laws and in the Commandments to ſeek his God, he did it with all his Heart, and proſpered.

THE Conſequence of ſuch Conduct and ſuch Succeſs was what might naturally be expected from it: his Piety and Goodneſs, his Juſtice and Benevolence ſo gain'd upon the [4] Hearts and Affections of a grateful People as to render him the Object of univerſal Eſteem, Love, and Admiration, inſo⯑much that when he died, every Heart was depreſſed with Sorrow, and every Eye was wet with Tears; the whole Nation lamented their Loſs with unfeigned Sincerity, they wept for him as a Father, they mourned for him as a Friend, and all Judah, and the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem did him Honour at his Death.

A Teſtimony, ſo full and ample, of exalted Merit on the one Hand, and extraordinary Gratitude on the other, reflects Honour on the Prince, who deſerved, and on the People, who beſtowed it: Bleſſings, no doubt, which a Nation re⯑ceives, a Nation ſhould pay; and Grief, which is univerſally felt, ſhould be as univerſally expreſſed: the Circumſtance before us is ſuch, as would, at any Time, affect us, but at this, muſt demand our immediate Application.

THE late ſudden and dreadful Calamity, which hath fallen on theſe Kingdoms, by the Death of our ever-honoured and beloved Sovereign, hath ſpread univerſal Sorrow over his afflicted People.

WHEN private Individuals pay the Debt of Nature, it affects, and deeply perhaps, a few unhappy Dependants; the Grief, that ariſes, ſpreads only through the ſmall Circle of Kindred and Relations; and the Tears, which are ſhed, flow within the narrow Channel of domeſtic Friendſhip; but when Death ſelects a royal Victim, when he adorns his Tri⯑umph with Thrones and Scepters, when the Kings and great [5] Ones of the Earth ſink into the Grave, when the mighty fall, and are no more, the Blow is felt, as it were, on every Side, and Thouſands fall beneath it: the Influence of ſuch Planets is ſo wide and diffuſive, that the Eclipſe is felt by whole Nations; a People puts on Sackcloth, and a Kingdom mourneth.

CIRCUMSTANCES indeed will ſometimes happen, by the Intervention of Providence, that may render the Weight leſs heavy, and the Calamity leſs dreadful; ſuch is the happy and envied State of Britain under her preſent Affliction; but God forbid that thoſe Things, which ſhould heighten our Grati⯑tude, and enhance our Affection to the beſt of Kings, ſhould leſſen and diminiſh them. To the Care and Conduct, to the paternal Love and Tenderneſs of our departed Sovereign are we indebted, in a great Meaſure, for our Succeſs and Proſ⯑perity; the greater Reaſon therefore we have to be eaſy and happy, with the greater Regret ſhould we lament him who made us ſo. The grief, which we feel at his Loſs, is the only Grief, which he ever gave us; and the Tears, which flow at his Deceaſe, are the firſt, which he hath cauſed us to ſhed; ſurely then, all the little Teſtimony, which we can give of our unfeigned Grief, and all the Honours, which the Inha⯑bitants of our Jeruſalem can do him at his Death, are but a poor Tribute to his Memory, in Return for ſo many Years of his gracious Favour and Protection.

HE is now removed, by the divine Will, far above all the Cares, and all the Pleaſures of Mortality; above Cenſure, and [6] above Praiſe; removed to a Place, where only his Virtues can be truly known, and thoroughly rewarded; to a Place, where all the little Honours, which we can pay to his Memory, are but as Duſt in the ballance compared with that divine Fa⯑vour, which ſhall recompenſe him; and that Applauſe, which he ſhall receive from the King of Kings; and yet, if the Souls of good Men departed have Knowledge of what paſſeth here be⯑low, his, no doubt, will look down with tender Complacency on the unfeigned Sorrows, and grateful Remembrances of his beloved People.

THINGS, which we have been long attached to, even though of an indifferent Nature, and from which neither Pleaſure nor Advantage, in any great Degree, can be expected, we yet can⯑not part from without Regret; but when a Sovereign and his People have been long and cloſely united, by the ſtrongeſt Ties of mutual Love and Affection, when every Fear is baniſhed, and every Jealouſy removed, when many Years Experience have convinced them that they are happy in, that they were made for each other, ſuch a Separation is generally a fatal, always a melancholy Circumſtance.

THERE are in human Nature various Qualities and Perfec⯑tions, adapted to the various Ranks, Circumſtances, Stations and Conditions of this Life; and that, which would be uſeful and beneficial in one, would only be deſtructive and pernicious in another; that Wit and Vivacity, which would recommend a private Companion, would only demean and diſgrace a pub⯑lic Character; and that Ambition, which would immortalize [7] a General or Stateſman, would only make a Sovereign miſer⯑able, and involve a Nation in Ruin. Piety, Juſtice, Tem⯑perance and Benevolence, are the brighteſt Jewels that adorn a Crown, and all theſe ſhone lately with diſtingaiſhed Luſtre in the Britiſh Diadem.

FEW Kings, we know, deſerve the Love of their People; and ſtill fewer perhaps fully experience or enjoy it. The moſt loyal Subjects may not have Opportunities to ſhew their Loy⯑alty, and the moſt affectionate may not meet with any to ſhew their Affection; but WE may all remember the Time when the Loyalty and Affection of England were put to the Teſt: At that Time with what Zeal and Unanimity did the People riſe up as one Man, to vindicate, with their own, the Rights of their injured Sovereign! That filial Love, which glowed in the Breaſt of Culloden's Hero, ſeemed to ſpread itſelf through the whole Nation. He had acted as a Father to us, and we, as Sons, united to defend him. From that Hour, to the laſt fatal one, which tore him from us, never did Diffi⯑dence, Diſguſt, or Diſcord ſully his auſpicious Reign; mutual Confidence eſtabliſhed itſelf between Prince and People, Obe⯑dience ripened into Love, and Duty ſoftened into Affection: Every Year added ſtrength to the Chains of Harmony, which nothing but Death could ever have diſunited. Shall we not then ſet apart a few Minutes for the Remembrance of him, to whom we owe ſo many Years of uninterrupted Felicity?

[8] THOSE, who are confined within the humbler Sphere of Action, and walk as it were in the lowly Vale of Life, enter⯑tain very falſe and inadequate Ideas of what paſſes above them; we ſee the Pomp and Pageantry attendant on the Great, but are Strangers to their Cares and Anxieties: ſuperior Rank and Title bring with them ſuperior Toils and Labours; and Kings, though the greateſt, are by no means therefore the happieſt of Mankind, as he, who lately filled the Throne of theſe Kingdoms did himſelf, no doubt, often and fully experience: Convinced that Induſtry was neceſſary in the Performance of every Office, and above all in the higheſt, he was himſelf the nobleſt Example of it: He never thought that the Eminency of his Station exempted him from the Duties of a Man, or that the Splendor of a Crown could diminiſh the Weight of it: He applied himſelf to the Buſineſs of his exalted Rank with unwearied Diligence, even in the Decline of Life purſued it with a Vigour and Activity, which would have done Honour to Youth, and gave as little Time to Amuſe⯑ment and Relaxation as the meaneſt of his Subjects.

The Welfare and Happineſs of England were indeed his chief and perpetual Concern; if his Induſtry and Aſſiduity were by any thing exceeded, it was by his Benevolence: Ever anxious for the Good and Happineſs of his Subjects, he ſuffered no private Cares and Anxieties to interrupt the public Buſineſs, or to retard the public Good. That Length of Days, which was ſo beneficial to us, brought heavy Calamities on himſelf, and oppreſſed him with domeſtic Sorrows, which bore hard upon his declining Age. Many of thoſe, whom he loved and [9] eſteemed, were ſnatched away from him, and many of his beloved Children dropped into the Grave before him: But amidſt all his Cares and Sorrows he was ſtill attentive to the Duties of a King; the Misfortunes of his Country always affected and diſtreſſed him equally with his own: his laſt Wiſhes were for the Happineſs of his Kingdoms, and his laſt Prayers for the Peace of his Jeruſalem.

NEVER, perhaps, were Juſtice and Judgment more duly and conſcientiouſly adminiſtered than in the late auſpicious Reign. The Power of Life and Death, entruſted to the King as ſupreme Magiſtrate, could not have been lodged in a more equal Hand: Unbiaſſed by private Favour, and uninfluenced by partial Attachments, he held the Scales with unſhaken Firmneſs, and diſpenſed Rewards and Puniſhments with the ſtricteſt Regard to Truth and Equity: Whenever the Laws of Humanity, as well as of his Country, were trampled on by the Aſſaſſin and the Murtherer, by Crimes that deeply affected the Community, he permitted no Interceſſion, how powerful ſoever, to avert the Sword of Juſtice; and, above all, if at any Time his injured People demanded a Victim for the Violation of Public Truſt, then would he not ſuffer any ill-exerted Solicitation to ſcreen the guilty Delinquent. Mercy, notwith⯑ſtanding, (for the Juſt are always the moſt humane) was the conſtant Inmate of his royal Breaſt: Whenever Crimes admitted of Alleviation, whenever Circumſtances ſoftened the Offence, or Merit pleaded for the Offender, he readily and chearfully extended his Pardon. So great, and ſo remarkable were his Tenderneſs and Humanity to the Unfortunate, that he always [10] pitied, even when he could not forgive, and lamented the Man, whilſt he puniſhed the Criminal.

IT would be highly injurious to his Character, not to ob⯑ſerve on this Occaſion, that the ſame love of Juſtice, which actuated his Breaſt as a Magiſtrate, directed his Conduct alſo as a King: Never, during the Courſe of his Reign, did he draw the Sword but in her cauſe; never did he think himſelf at liberty, as too many of his Predeceſſors have, to exhauſt the Treaſures, and ſpill the Blood of his Subjects in fruitleſs and unneceſſary Wars, to ſatisfy the Cravings of Avarice, or to ſooth the Madneſs of Ambition; nobler were the Purpoſes, which he had to ſerve, and higher the Ambition, which he deſired to gratify; to defend his own Kingdoms, to aſſert his own Rights, to repreſs the Pride of the Inſolent, and ſupport the Cauſe of the Injured and Oppreſſed: In this Cauſe he fought, and in this he conquered: The Almighty was on his Side, and who could withſtand him? God went forth with his Fleets and Ar⯑mies, the moſt High did mightily defend him.

A CONDUCT thus noble and diſintereſted, a Behaviour thus candid and upright, ſufficiently pointed out the Spring, which actuated every Motion; his Manners ſpoke his Religion, his Practice bore Teſtimony to his Faith, and his Actions proved themſelves the genuine Offspring of Chriſtianity: Such a Tree alone could produce ſuch Fruit; Waters ſo pure and untainted could flow from no other Fountain.

[11] AMONGST all the Titles of an Engliſh Monarch, that of Defender of the Faith is doubtleſs one of the moſt illuſtrious; a Title, which whilſt it gives him the Power to promote the Honour and Glory of God, is at the ſame Time the beſt Support of his own Authority, and the beſt Guardian of his own Prerogative: the Intereſt of Church and State, in our ex⯑cellent Conſtitution, are ſo intimately blended and united, as to convince every wiſe and good King, that they are truly and eſſentially the ſame; and yet, how often hath the Want of this Conviction been fatal both to Prince and People? Our late Sovereign was too ſincere a Friend to the Faith, which he profeſs'd, too worthy a follower of it's Doctrines, to neglect the ſacred Charge committed to his Care; to neg⯑lect a Charge, on the due Performance of which, he well knew the Stability of his Throne, and the Happineſs of his Kingdoms ſo immediately depended. Never did the Church of England, and the Proteſtant Eſtabliſhment, boaſt a warmer Advocate, or a more zealous Defender; Vice dreaded his Power, Virtue experienced his Protection, Religion felt his Influence: if, during his long and illuſtrious Reign, England was ſometimes unfortunate, and oftener guilty; if evil Coun⯑ſels did at any Time (and where is it that they do not ſome⯑times?) prevail; the ſober and diſpaſſionate Part of his Sub⯑jects knew too well who were to blame, to attribute it to their noble Maſter; who ſubmitted but to Evils, which he could not prevent; and ſuffer'd by Meaſures, which he could not approve.

[12] IN a Word; to ſum up his Character without Flattery and without Exaggeration, he was, what one of the nobleſt of our Poets calls, the nobleſt Work of God, an honeſt Man; in him, Juſtice hath loſt an able Defender, Truth an Advocate, Religion a Friend; his Servants lament a generous Maſter, his Children the tendereſt Father, his Country the beſt of Kings.

GOD, in Reward of his Merit on Earth, bleſſed him with Length of Days; beſtowed on him the Dignity, the Autho⯑rity, and Privileges of Age, without the Weakneſſes and Infirmities of it. The Buſineſs of his Life was to make England happy and ſucceſsful; and Providence, which is ever gracious to this unworthy Nation, would not interrupt him in ſo glorious a Work; the Almighty knew the Wiſh of his Soul, and bleſſed him with it.

HE lived to ſee Corruption, which unknown to and unli⯑cenced by him had well nigh eſtabliſh'd itſelf, debaſed and degraded; to ſee thoſe deſtructive Principles, which had long been undermining the Conſtitution, detected and deſtroyed; he lived to ſee a Spirit of Freedom, Courage, Honeſty and Activity, breathe throughout the whole Nation; to ſee Britain emerge from a State of Lethargy, Sloth and Contempt, to Strength and manly Vigour; to ſee her ſhine once more in her native Luſtre, reaſſume her antient Dominion, and give Law to the Nations around her; he lived to ſee Faction ſub⯑dued, to ſee all the hydra Heads of Party cut off, and it's very [13] Name obliterated from amongſt us; to ſee that worſt of Monſters chain'd down by national Union, and buried, we hope, at laſt, in eternal Oblivion.

THE Lord hath indeed done great Things for us, how ſhall we recompenſe him for them? We have payed our laſt melancholy Duty, and all Judah and Jeruſalem have done him Honour at his Death. Let us then turn our Eyes from the ſolemn, mournful Scene, towards a fairer, and a brighter Proſpect.

THE ſame gracious Providence, which continued a Life ſo precious, beyond it's common Limits for our Sakes, hath extended itſelf ſtill farther, by preſerving another no leſs dear, or leſs neceſſary to our Happineſs, that of his illuſtrious Succeſſor: there is not perhaps a Nation on Earth, except our own, whoſe Sovereign's Death would not be attended with moſt fatal Conſequences to the public Weal; whoſe Meaſures new Parties would not diſconcert; whoſe Plans new Miniſters would not change; whoſe Unanimity, Diſcord and Diviſion, would not looſen and diſſolve: but this, we truſt and believe, will not be our Misfortune; the ſame Sun, which ſo lately ſet in Glory, ſeemeth to riſe upon us with Rays of added Luſtre: the beſt and nobleſt Part of him, whom we lament, ſtill ſurviveth; that patriot Soul, which animated our Councils, inſpired our Armies, and led us on to Victory and Proſperity, is tranſmitted to the Heir of his Virtues and his Throne, who hath already promiſed, and ſacred is his Word, to purſue the ſame Meaſures, to follow [14] the ſame glorious Deſigns, to guide himſelf by the ſame Wiſdom, and to tread in all the Steps of his honoured Predeceſſor.

IF Britons were to form a Wiſh with Regard to their future Sovereign, whoſe Completion would ſatisfy all their Deſires, what would it be? Doubtleſs it would be to have a King de⯑ſcended from him, whom they ſo long loved, and ſo ſincerely lamented; to have a King born in the Land, which he is to reign over; acquainted with thoſe Laws, by which he is to govern, and that Conſtitution, which he is ſworn to protect; to have a King, who to the active Vigour of Youth ſhould join the ſober Serenity of temperate Manhood; who had im⯑bibed, from his earlieſt Years, the heartieſt Affection for his People, and the warmeſt Love for his native Country; with a Mind attentive to the Inſtructions of Wiſdom, and flexible to the Dictates of Experience; Liberality diffuſive as his Power, and Benevolence extenſive as his Dominion; an Eye intently fixed on the Intereſts of Britain, and an Ear open to the Cries of the Injured, the Wants of Merit, the Complaints of Juſtice, and never ſhut but againſt the Voice of Flattery and Diſſimula⯑tion. If to this could be added alſo a refined Taſte, and Know⯑ledge of thoſe Arts and Sciences, which ſue for his Influence, and demand his Protection, what might we not hope for in the World of Literature, when a Monarch ſhould unite ſuch Abilities to diſtinguiſh Merit, and ſuch Power to reward it? What might we not expect in the Seats of Wiſdom, and in the great Councils of the Nation, when ſuch a Prince ſhould preſide over them?

SUCH a King would begin his Reign with doing Honours to the excellent Sovereign, who reigned before him, and whilſt [15] he lamented ^* his own Loſs, and that of the Nation, would graciouſly declare his own ſincere Attachment to his native Country, whoſe Honour, Intereſt, and Happineſs are moſt dear to him. He would begin his Reign by the Encourage⯑ment of Piety and Virtue, ‘"ſeriouſly and religiouſly conſider⯑ing that it is his indiſpenſible Duty to be careful, above all other things, to preſerve and advance the Honour and Ser⯑vice of Almighty God."’ ^† How aweful is Virtue, when ſhe dictates from a Throne! How amiable is Goodneſs, when cloathed in the Robes of Royalty! Such a King would by his firſt Appearance and Behaviour to all Ranks and Degrees of Men, conciliate the Affections of his Subjects, raiſe their drooping Spirits, wipe the Tear from every Eye, and diſpel the Anguiſh from every Heart.

IF we know ſuch a King, we know the greateſt Happineſs that a Nation can enjoy; let us put up our earneſt Prayers to Heaven for the continuance of it.

LET thy Wiſdom, O God, be his Guide, and thine Arm ſtrengthen him; let Juſtice, Truth and Holineſs flouriſh in his Days; direct, O Lord, his Councils, and proſper his En⯑deavours for the Glory and Welfare of this Nation; and, that we may always rejoice in thy Bounties, may theſe Bleſſings be continued to after Ages! Let there never be one wanting in his Houſe to ſucceed him in the Government of theſe King⯑doms, that our Poſterity may ſee his Children's Children, and Peace upon Iſrael. Now to God the Father, &c.