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profperity, be joyful; but in the day of adversity, confider: Godalfo hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man fhould find nothing after him;" Eccl. vii, 14. " to the end that man," not knowing what fhall happen next, or how foon it may happen, fhould neither be too much elated by the one, nor dejected by the other. "God hath" indeed fometimes, "chaftened us with the rod of men, and with the ftripes of the children of men; but his mercy hath not depart ed away from us," 2 Sam, vii. 14. 15. The Lord will never leave off his mercy, neither shall any of his works perifh; neither will he abhor the pofterity of his elect: and the feed of them that love him, he will not take away." Eccl. xlvii. 22,

Be ye not therefore "wearied and faint in your mind." The order to which ye belong, and even the establishment on which it fubfifts, have often been struck at, but in vain; ftill every blow that was aimed at them miffed of its effect, and produced events contrary to the intention of those who direct it. Many remarkable inftances of this kind there have been; the time would fail me, should I attempt to number them: But one there is, which ought not to be paffed over, because it will adminifter reflexions of a very encouraging nature, and very appofite to the defign of this prefent folemnity.

When marriage, at the reformation, was first allowed to the clergy of this kingdom, there is no doubt, but that fome who then fat at the helm, and gave no good proofs of any real regard for religion, intended it as a politic device to leffen their intereft, and keep them low in the world, And

And yet fo has God ordered matters, that even from hence many fignal advantages have redounded to our church; fome of which I fhall fo far prefume upon your patience, as to lay before you.

And firft, feveral temptations, under which the Popith clergy lay, towards embracing an intereft diftinct from that of their country, are by this means effectually removed; and all uneafy jealoufies of our riches, greatnefs, power, and union, are in good measure abated. And this, in times when even the diminished revenues and privileges of the church are looked upon with a fufpicious eye, is fome advantage to her; as it gives her leave to enjoy thofe poor remains of ancient piety, which the poffeffes, without that envy and ill-will which would otherwife attend them. Little reason there is (God knows) to envy her on this account: for notwithstanding the large incomes annexed to fome few of her preferments, I will be bold to fay, and do not doubt to prove, that this church, in proportion to the numbers of its clergy, hath in the whole, as little to fubfift on, as almost any even of those Proteftant churches, which are thought to be most meanly provided for. However, fince this little is by fome thought too much, and vain jealousies of our ftrength and power are, on this account, entertained or pretended; 'tis well that these apprehenfions are qualified by a sense of our marriage circumftances, which even they, who are pleafed to think us under no other tye to the true intereft of our country, will allow to be an effectual curb upon us. They who marry, give koftages to the public, that they will not attempt

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the ruin or disturb the peace of it: fince in the public fafety and tranquillity, that alfo of their wives and children, that is, of their nearest and deareft relations, is involved, according to these remarkable words of the prophet Jeremy, directed to the Jews in Babylon."Take ye wives," fays he, "and beget fons and daughters, and "take wives for your fons, and give your daugh"ters to husbands, that they may bear fons and "daughters, that ye may be increased there, and 66 not diminished: And feek the peace of the 66 city, whither I have caufed you to be carried. "For in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.' Jer. xxxix. 6, 7.

By this means alfo the foul impurities, that that reigned among the unmarried, especially the monkish clergy, and the fcandalous reflexions which fell upon the whole order on that account, have been prevented. 'Tis true, thefe enormities have been thought more and greater than they really were. 'Twas the intereft of those, who thirfted after the poffeffions of the clergy, to represent the poffeffors in as vile colours as they could; and many of those poor people were, doubtlefs, frightened and betrayed into false and difadvantageous confeffions; the general prejudices of the time falling in with these acounts, and procuring them an univerfal reception; and our hiftorians taking them afterwards upon truft, as their credulity, lazinefs, or partiality led them. However, after all the abatements that can be made, there was too much truth in fome of these representations, fo much as brought the whole function into difgrace; and made the offering of

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the Lord to be abhorred. And it is plain, that the cure of this evil is one of thofe many bleffings, which have arifen to our religion, and church, from a married clergy.

Another is, that great numbers of men, defcended from them, have been diftributed into all arts and profeffions, all ranks and orders of men amongst us; and have, by the bleffing of God upon their induftry, thriven fo well, and raised themselves fo high in the world, as to become in times of difficulty, a protection and a fafeguard to that altar at which their ancestors ministered. And I queftion not, but that there are many here this day, who will have the fame fuccefs in the world, and will make the fame use of it. We may fay to our countrymen, as Tertulian, in his apology, did to the Romans, Hefterni fumus, ét veftra omnia implevimus, urbes infulas, caftella, municipia, conciliabula, caftra ipfa, tribus, decurias, palatium, Senatum, forum [c. 37.] We the fons of the clergy, are but of yesterday, as it were; and yet the country, the city, the court, the army, the fleet, the bar, the bench, and the Senate house itself, hath had, and still hath a large fhare of us: Men often famous, often highly useful in their generation; useful in their pub lic and in their private capacities; useful to their country, and useful to the church; being an honour and a fupport to that order from which they defcended. The lot of the fons of the cler gy in this cafe, is like that of the fons of Levi, of whom it was faid, "I will divide them in "Faceb, and fcatter them in Ifrael," Gen. xlix. 7. This difperfion of that particular tribe among

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the rest of the tribes, was intended as their puhishment, but proved in the event and in many refpects a great bleffing, both to them and to the whole Jewifb community.

Again, even the fecular cares and avocations which accompany marriage, have not been without their advantages; inafmuch as the clergy, have by this means, been generally furnished with fome measure of skill in the common affairs of life, have gained fome infight into men and things, and a competent knowledge of (what is called) the world: A knowledge to which moft of the order, while under the obligations of celibacy, were great ftrangers. And of this kind of knowledge they have made admirable ufe in their profeffion, towards guiding and faving fouls; for it has enabled them to preach to their flocks after the most rational and convincing, the moft apt and fenfible manner, "rightly dividing the word "of truth, like workmen that needed not to be "afhamed; and fo explaining and applying the general precepts of morality contained in the gofpel, as that the confciences of thofe to whom they addreffed their doctrine, should readily bear witness of the truth, and feel the power of its 'Tis, perhaps, for this reafon, among others, that our practical Divinity is allowed to excel; and to be as found and affecting, as that of our Popish neighbours is flat and unedifying. For he that preaches to man, fhould "understand what is in

man," to fuch a degrce as is requifite to qualify him for the task: And that fkill can fcarce be duly attained by an Afcetic in his folitudes, or a Monk in his cloyfter. I fpeak the fenfe of VOL. II.

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