IT is not to be doubted, but the Deliverance the Text speaks of was Spiritual: Because the Coming of Christ did not, as most of the Jews and some Disciples grosly imagined, restore the Kingdom to Israel. And altho' Salvation and Liberty were actually brought and preach'd unto 'em by our Lord in Person, yet plainly they were still subject to the Roman Powers, and, as before, had Foreign Deputies to domineer over 'em. From whence it is evi­dent, that as our Saviour's Kingdom was not of this World, so neither was their Redemption common or carnal.

The Deliverance then here meant was from the Tyran­ny of Death and Sin, and that heavy Burden of Rites and Ceremonies, which We and our Fathers were not able to bear. And as our Jesus accomplished this great Design with the Expence of his Blood, (without which there could be no Re­mission) so the ordinary Means he was pleas'd to take to confirm to us, the Benefits of it may be reduced to these Heads. First, By giving us such Doctrines and Precepts as are not to be had in the Law of Moses, nor in any Reli­gion or Book besides the Gospel: And as their main Arti­cles were in an Emblem published from a Mount, so the Na­ture of 'em shows whence they came; and they are too sub­lime to be thought to have any other Original than that of [Page] Heaven. Whatever is necessary to compleat the Freedom and Happiness of Souls, whatever is expedient to re-esta­blish Man in his Primitive Perfection and Innocency; whatever may conduce to make the Conscience at Peace with God, and compose all those Disorders, which are too often found in our Minds, upon the dreadful Apprehensions of a displeased Creator and Judge. To use St. Paul's Words, Whatsoever Things are true, whatsoever Things are just, what­soever Things are pure,Phil. 4.8.whatsoeve Things are lovely, whatsoever Things are of good Report. Here we have these Things; here they are made necessary Duties, and adourably suited to our high Calling. And then, Secondly, He hath back'd these Duties with such excellent Motives, as are not to he found in any Profession but his own. For, as Sin is represented to be an abominable Thing, and odious to God: So we read that God sent the Son of his Bosem to rescue us out of the Domi­nion of it, whereby He sufficiently evidenced his Love to the World, to let a Person so dear to himself to become our Deliverer. And because Rewards and Punishments are the most prevailing Arguments to influence Humane Acti­ons, therefore He hath set before us Life and Death, Eter­nal Happiness or Misery, after the Resurrection of our Bo­dies from the Grave. And, Thirdly, Because ill Habits, and a long Custom in Sin are powerful Obstructions, and do not a little cool us in these Religious Attempts, He has been graciously pleas'd to afford us many outward and inward Helps to master these Difficulties, and make us successful a­gainst Satan and our Lusts. Without, we have the Preach­ing of the Word, the Administration of Sacraments, Prayer, and other Means to support and raise our Spirits. But which is more than all this, He has furnished us with such Proportions of his Divine Grace within, as thankfully accep­ted, and used, will effectually remove all Impediments, dis­solve those many Obligations we before lay under, and in the Issue, make us more than Conquerors.

'Tis to be feared, indeed, that too many of [...] not yet experienced these Effects of our Deliverance, We have not a due Sense of the Advantages and Benefits of a Re­deemer. We still find our Condition like that of our Fa­thers, and that we ere no better than they in Principles or [...]al Deakings. Still the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the Flesh, and th [...] contin [...]s contrary, as ever, one to the other. Our Passions are strong upon us; the Honours turbulent, and our better Reason as much in­slaved, as in the Ages before us. But then the Fault is our own, there is no Defect in what Christ has done for us, nor can we honestly charge Him with this Want of Success. For to explain this Matter by that Instance of St. Peter, when King Herod, to please the Jews, threw him into Pri­son: The Angel comes to him in this Condition, Acts 12. unlocks the P [...]son Door, takes off his Fetters, casts the Soldiers into a profound Sleep, shows him the Way out, offers to be his Guide, and the like: If St. Peter, after all this, will not stir a Foot, nor follow the Directions and Conduct of the Angel, is it not his own Folly, that he continues any longer in the Prison? Or put this Case, which sometimes falls out, that an Heroick Prince, sets himself up for an in­slaved People, is willing to head 'em, gives 'em Arins, and all other Conveniencies to free themselves; And yet that People is so stupid and sensless of their Liberty, that they overlook the Opportunity, and reject his Offers: In this Case will not they be solely to blame for all the Miseries of their voluntary Bondage, seeing they may easily change their Condition, if they had Courage to attempt it, or did car­ry themselves decently towards Him, who has both Cou­rage and Force enough to do the Work, and wants only their Consent to deliver 'em, and make 'em an happy People. The Lord Jesus has done this and more for us: He has taken off our Chains: He has led Captivity Captive: He has open'd the Door of the Kingdom of Heaven, and gi­ven us all necessary Means to bring us thither, and save us. [Page]But if we are so dispirited, so thoughtless of Futurity, so un­concerned for our selves that we do not so much as lift up our Hands to Him, to draw us out of the Dungeon; it cannot be said we want Help, we have not Wills to use it. That the People of Israel were so desirous, after their Deliverance, to return back into Egypt; because of the Flesh­pots, doth not at all reflect on the Conduct of Moser: And as little doth it lessen the Character of our Divine Joshua, that we move with so much Indifferency towards the Land of Promise. God doth not always command our Wills, yet He has given us excellent Precepts; He shews us the Way; He reaches forth his Hand; nay, he stretches out his Arm to recover us; and in fine, He has put his Gra [...] so much within our own Power, that if we ask, we sh [...]ll have; and if we seek, we shall find it. But if all these Incouragement will not do, let it be not only our Punishment, but our [...]hame, that ce [...]sure in the Prophet, O Israel, thon hast destroy'd thy self. Rom 3.9.

This is in few Words, the direct Sence of the Text, con­cerning the Spiritual Redemption we have obtained thro the Death and Merits of the Lord Jesus: But the Day tells us of another Deliverance, so great and so worthy our Remem­brance, that we should be very injurious to our own Safety, as well as unthankful to God, and not a little contradict the Solemnity of our Meeting together in this Place, if we past it by in Silence. It had like to have been, as the Pro­phet Joel speaks, [...]. 2.2. A Day of Darkness and Gloomtness; a Day of Clouds and thick Darkness; a Day of Fire and Smoak, Noise and Earthquake; and, which must have followed, a Day of Weeping, Joseph. An­ [...]g. l. 17. c. 8.Lamentation and Wee. A Day design'd for such an Execution, as Herod heretofore intended; which had it taken Effect, must have destroy'd One, at least, of all the Noble and Ancient Families of the Kindom, and put us all into a Colour that might well represent the Misery we were to expect, and was fignificant enough to set forth their Treason who caused it. The King and Three Estates [Page]to be blown into the Air, towards Heaven, indeed, but with no Mind to let 'em get thither. This was their Zeal, like the Fire they commonly use to convert People. A Zeal not to inlighten, but burn, not to warm, but consume Men. And certainly, as it is one Instance of the Goodness of our Reli­gion, that it is so much hated by them at Rome, so 'tis a Sign of the Badness of theirs, who take such Ways to make Men good as at the same Time make 'em cease to be longer Men. True Religion has other Methods: It's Way is to charm us to be good by it's Beauty, and to melt us with it's Sweetness, and perswades us to be saved by the indearing Arguments of our own Interest. The Gospel was not published with Thunder and Flames; nor doth it stand in need of Mahome­tan Logick, to convince the World, or argue it into Com­pliance with Sword or Powder. No; As the Doctrines of Christianity are pure in themselves, so are they inoffensive and peaceable towards others. Rom. 15.2 They require us to let every one please his Neighbour for his good to Edification. And the Authority or Power they give us from the Lord is to Edification, 2 Cor. 13.10.and not to Destruction. They do not teach us to draw Fire, either from above or below, to strike Recusants dead. But they say, If thy Enemy hunger, feed him, and if he thirst, give him drink; Rom. 12.20. and these are the only Coals of Fire we are to heap upon his Head. They would have Men to shine like Stars in the Firmament, but not as these People's Religion meant, make so many Princes, Prelates, and Others then in the Two Houses, to become like Blazing Meteors in the Air, to por­tend the Overthrow and Ruine of their Country. Abaddon and Apollyon, the Destroyer, is the Devil's Name, who goes about like a roaring Lion, seeking whom he may devour. Rev. 9.11. But the Author of our Faith, as it was his Doctrine, Luk. 9.56. that the Son of Man came not destroy Mens Lives, but to save 'em: So the Account we have of his Practice, is, Acts 10.38 That He went about doing Good; and all the Miracles He did, were not more the Signs of Power, than the Indications and Expressions of Compassion and Kindness, in feeding the Hungry, stilling [Page]the Tempests, and healing all that stood in need of healing. The constant Expedient He used to do Good to the Souls of Men, was by doing Good to their Bodies. He began with these Wants, to make way to the Others; and by opening the Eyes of the Blind, and the Bars of the Deaf, that was the Method he took to open their Ʋnderstandings. So that the Multitude of His Cures were always the Evidences of a tender Principle; and while His Power astonished, His Care and Pity of the Diseased reduced many of 'em; who went away with this Confession, He doth all Things well, and no Man can do these Things, except God be with Him.— When some of the Samaritanes, as you have heard in the Gospel for the Day, were so churlish, as to refuse Him and his Disciples a short Entertainment, because his Face was as tho' He would go to Jerusalem. James and John, indeed, were moved at the Inhumanity, and upon the Repulse proposed Fire from Heaven to consume 'em, as Elias did; but the Gos­pel no where saith that Jesus gave these Samaritanes one an­gry Word, or a sowre Look; howbeit, the Motion of his Dis­ciples He answered with some Indignation, You know not, saith he, of what Spirits you are. Yet 'twas barely a Que­stion in 'em, and no more. We do not read of any Im­precation, or wish to this Purpose; and, 'tis very plain they did not offer the least Violence towards 'em, but only demanded whether such a Thing should be done; whether he was pleas'd to give them Commission to do it; for they knew well enough they could not do it without him. And they asked it for His sake, for the Affront done Him, and to gain Him Honour before an unmanly People. But he gives no Countenance to Cruelty of any kind: He doth not love these hot Spirits; nor did he think it fit that Hea­ven should flatter, and justifie Humane Passions, and re­venge the Loss of one Meal, or a Night's Lodging, with taking away the Lives of an whole Village. So meek was He towards those who used Him ill, but so angry with His Disciples, that they durst act contrary to the Lessons He [Page]had often taught 'em, to be merciful, and loving even to their Enemies, and be sure never to requite Evil with Evil. So again in Malchus's Case, who was one of those that come to apprehend Him in the Garden, and whose Ear Peter had cut off, He for his part cured the Man immediately and order'd that warm Disciple to put up his Sword into the Sheath, as a Weapon not becoming Men of his Profession; tho' his Successors at Rome imitate him in nothing more, and too often draw it to the Scandal of Priesthood, and the Shame of that Religion, they would thus propagate by Violence, and by shedding of Blood. But others have learnt Christ better. One Night, saith Tertullian, with a few Firebrandt would yield us Revenge enough, but God forbid, we should re­venge our selves with Humane Fire. Yet they were then un­der severe Persecutions; and if Revenge be ever seasonable, it must be when Self-preservation calls for it. Our Adversaries here had better Circumstances; for they had the common Protection of the King's Subjects, and the same Benefit of the Laws: They were not only eased of many Penalties, but some of 'em promoted to Honour and Profit, and in so much Favour with their Prince, that it afforded Matter of Reflection, and made People suspect his Sincerity in what he profest, and that he was too well inclined to them and their Religion. But ill Principles will over-look all such Ad­vantages; and where these Principles are Ingratitude shows 'em. These Incouragements to Peaceableness and Loyalty were not sufficient. They must have all or they think they have nothing; nothing to make 'em happy: And truly, Hell it self could not have contrived a surer and quicker Way to gain their Ends; when as Caligula wish'd, they had got all the Powers of the Nation within the Reach of One Stroke; one Moment had removed all the Obstacles that stood in their Way, and at once they had killed and taken Possession. Such was the Plot and the Design of it. And it was carried on with so much Secrecy, that it was as little perceived as the Air, into which they were blowing our Liberty and Reli­gion. [Page]Nothing but the Eye of Providence did see, and no­thing but His Hand could hinder it. The Divine Wisdom has many Ways to disappoint and make known the Intrigues of the Wicked, but this He now took was a very strange One; To make that Principle of Tenderness and good Nature, which should have prevented the Attempt, the only Means to render it unsuccessful; and a Letter sent to save one Mem­ber of the Parliament, happ'ly secured the whole Body. 'Tis true, it was writ, according to a great Part of their Religion, in Mystery and Riddle; but as the Providence of God, which doth not Things by Halfs, unexpectedly brought it into the King's Hands, so He put it also into the King's Heart to understand the Meaning of it; and without making the Experiment how soon the Letter would burn, he took a better Way to explain and remove the Danger. And now, God be blessed, the Powder had no other Effect than to noise abroad the Treason, and the Lanthorn, as dark as it was, had sufficient Light to discover the Villany; so that none in the Issue suffer'd but the Contrivers themselves, whose Mischief return'd on their own Heads, and their violent Dealing on their own Pates. Neither can we forbear Rejoycing to see the Ven­geance; and I hope we shall be ever ready to say, Verily, there is a Reward for the Righteous, doubtless there is a God that judg­eth in the Earth.—

I know how willing some of that Communion are to remove the Scandal, and frequently call it a Trick of State, and the Policy of that Age, to expose them and their Religion. And were it so, I should have a worse Conceit, than I have hither­to had, of our present Constitution, for making that Law which concerns the Day, to prevaricate so grosly with God and Man. Next to the holding of that pernicious Principle, to do Ill that Good may insue, I cannot but think it a very great Sin to charge the Innocent with it. Sure I am, St. Paul makes no Difference in the Punishment of 'em both; for, saith he, Rom. 3.8. Their Damnation is just. I do not know a greater Good than God's Glory; yet we are not allow'd to advance [Page]it by the lowest Degree of Falshood. Will you speak wick­edly for God, or will you talk deceitfully for Him? No, Job 13.7. God for­bid; He wants not a Contradiction to defend his Truth; His Cause is able to support it self, without indirect Means. And if our Religion were of this Complexion, I should be apt to take it for no more than what the Atheist affirms it to be, the Politicians Brat, and a Creature of Man; or as the Papists speak, the Parliament-Religion, which as they made they might repeal it at their Pleasure, and reform it every Session, till they bring it to nothing. Let us see then if the Slander be true, if I may so word it, because if true, it is no Slander.

First for the Matter of Fact. That there were a great many Barrels of Gun-Powder put into the Cellar, under the Parliament-House, is beyond a Doubt; That they were lodg­ed there for some mischievous End, no other Reason be­ing assign'd for it, is more than probable; That there was a Man lurking in a Corner of the Place, with a Dark-Lant­horn in his Hand, and in his Pocket a Tinder-Box and Touch-Wood, is not to be denied; especially to me, who had a Mr. Hey­wood, of Heywood, in the County Palatine of Lanca­ster; con­cerning whom we have this Memoran­dum, That he, Peter Heywood, did in the Year 1604, by Order of Council, search the Rooms under the Parliament-House, and then and there did actually apprehend Guido Faulks, with his Dark-Lanthorn;—which Lanthorn he the said Peter Heywood, in perpetuam rei Memo­riam, did afterwards present to the University of Oxon, where it remains now reposited with his Name to it, and some other Particulars relating to that Affair.—Then follows:—And the said Peter Heywood Esq; in the Year 1640, as, by Order of Parliament, he was carrying up the Names of Popish Recusants in Westminster, to the House of Commons then sitting, was for this and his former vigorous Prosecution of that Party (as the publick Safety and his Station required) stabbed with a Dagger in Westminster-Hall, by one John James, a Do­minican Fryar; by reason of which Wound he was immediately confined to his Bed and Chamber, and never stirred abroad to the Day of his Death, tho' he lived about Twelve Months after. near Relation then concern'd in the Search and Seizing him, and who some Years after was stabbed in Westminster-Hall by one of that Party, for his constant Zeal against it. That at the supposed Hour of the Execution of this Plot, a Multitude of Men, under the Pretence of an Hunting-Match, met near Dunchurch, and there made Speeches against the Government, and at last own'd that the true Meaning of their assembling together, was to pro­mote [Page]their Cause, and that they would rather die than not effect it: All this is so evident from the Records of those times, that I do not see how they can disprove one Tittle of it. Let us then in the next place examine what these Men were, and what the Cause to be helped by this Conspi­racy. The Cellar was hired for the Use of Piercy, a Papist. Faulks, who was found in it, and who endeavoured to hide himself, was Mr. Piercy's Servant, under a borrow'd Name, and of the same Communion. Catesby and Piercy were the Heads of that Body of Men which met in War­wickshire; they both declared for the Catholick Cause, as they stiled it, and were both slain in their Zeal for it. The Persons who suffered Death on this Account were Ro­manists by Profession. The Proofs were full and clear a­gainst 'em. And tho' some had hard Foreheads and seer'd Consciences, either to evade or justifie the Attempt, yet the Hearts of others were softer, and not only confest the Truth, but Garnet in particular, as much a Jesuit as he was, died very penitent, and exhorted those Catholicks he had any Influence over, never to go about that or the like Treason.

I do believe they are ashamed of it, and the rather for not being successful: But that there is no Abhorrence, and that in reality they dislike not Attempts of this kind, is very obvious, as long as they still pursue the Game (for I cannot but call it so, when they make a Sport of Blood and Ruine) and their several Treasons of a nearer Date are fresh Evidences, that they are and will be the same Men. Indeed, How can it be otherwise? Why should we expect better Fruits, when we consider the Tree and the Soil from whence they come? The Doctrines of the Pope's Infallibility, his Supremacy, his Ʋniversal Monarchy, his absolute and un­limited Authority, his Power to depose Kings, and dispose of their Dominions; and that it is no Injury to 'em to be thus deposed, when a Spiritual Good, and the Necessities of the Church call for it; That Subjects are no longer obliged [Page]to their Governours, then while they do their Duties, and of this the Bishop of Rome is the sole Judge; That Priests at least may deal with Princes as they think fit, as not be­ing their Subjects: These and the like Lessons, as long as they are taught, must needs impress and byass the People, who thereupon cannot but have a natural Tendency to all sorts of Treasonable Practices: Neither am I much sur­prized to read of one Clement, Ravilliac or Guy Fauks, but I more wonder that the World doth not swarm with such bold Assassines, seeing it is made de fide (so Bellarmine and Lessius word it) and a Matter of Conscience to use any Means, how bad soever, for that Church's Interest. This is the common Assertion of their Doctors, Casuists and Lawyers: And when we remember that all the Acts of Princes are subject to a Prohibition from the Court of Rome, and are superseded and controuled by that Religious Maxim among 'em, In ordine ad Deum; What an easie thing is it to give the Pope Offence if they offer to struggle, and how heavy will the Consequence be of his Holy Indignation?

Yet some of 'em profess, that as the Oath of Allegiance is Security enough from the Subject to the King, so the Pope himself cannot give a Dispensation to break it: No; for, say they, it is Contra jus Divinum, the Gospel allows no such Dis­pensation. How then? What makes Princes in so much Danger? Why, thus it is, saith Bellarmine, in his Book a­gainst Barclay, if the Pope makes him who was your King, to be King no longer, then the Oath of Allegiance ceases of Course, his Power over you is become null and void, and he is for the Future no more a King to you, than you are Kings to one another. So that the Subjects Allegiance de­pending on the Royal Character, and that Character on the Pope's Will, we see how precarious the Governments of Princes are, and what a Motive to Resistance and Rebellion such a Re­ligion is, Cui proprium est odisse Cesares, as Guicciardine has it, which can so easily unmake a King, and dissolve all Ob­ligations between the Subjects and him. Thus in general, [Page 12]but our Case here in England has this sad Circumstance, that Innocent the Fourth, out of his abundant Meekness and Mo­desty could tell the Colledge of Cardinals, That the Kings of England were (not as Boniface the Eighth called King Philip of France) his Subjects, but his very Slaves. And as such, some of his Followers dealt with 'em, endeavouring on all Occasions to pull off their Crowns, by requiring the Peo­ple to deny 'em Obedience, and take up Arms against 'em. Thus Paul III. used Henry VIII. And his Successors Queen Elizabath, who in a Fit of Bounty, which produced the ter­rible Armado of 88, gave all her Realms to the King of Spain. Clement VIII. writ after these Copies, and sent hither Two Breves by Garnet the Provincial, forbidding his Catholicks to admit any Prince to succeed Queen Elizabath, who was not a Friend to their Religion. And tho' notwithstanding all their Arts, King James got Possession, yet Catesby thought the Bulls still in Force, and supposed it the same Thing to re­move him from the Throne, as to keep him out of it. Qui ad­mitti nolit, speaking of the Pope expelli velit. And on this Principle was founded the Gun-powder-plot, which we are now remembring, that the Execution of Vilany might be somewhat like the mad Zeal which contrived it; or rather that the indifferent Part of Mankind may see whence such De­vices come, and whither, in all likelihood, they must return again, without the Repentance of those who trade in 'em.

They will say, That these are the Practices and Doctrines of particular Men; and to reflect on their Religion on this Ac­count, the Rigour of the Proof may reach our selves, and by the same Way of arguing, we may expose our own. And the Truth is, there are ill Professors, and Men of working Heads in all Communions and Societies of People; and the Greater the Paradox or Problem is, it serves the more to set forth his Wit and Skill who is able to support it. But God forbid, the Truth should suffer, much less be lost by any single Author's Covetuousness, Pride or Ambition. In this Case, we must refer ourselves to the Authentique Records of [Page 13]each Constitution. And as to our selves, who are Members of this Church; whatever we find contrary to our Liturgy, Homilies, Injunctions and Articles, which show how we un­derstand the Word of God in those Points that concern our Salvation; we consider 'em no more than the Piae fraudes of designing Men; who to get their Ends, will not be obliged to the Sence of our Church, nor care much what becomes of our Religion, but as it is modell'd to serve and raise 'em. But to answer their Apology. 'Tis not only Bellarmine, Suarez, Lessius, Santarel, Emanuelsa, Simanca, Mariana, Campian and Creswel talk after this Manner; but many of their Popes (whereof I gave some Instances; and Bellarmine reckons up 18 of 'em who assumed this Right, and 16 or 17 Emperours and Kings against whom it was asserted) say the same Thing: And, I hope, they will not be so bold as to make those infallible Judges of all Controversies, those living Oracles of God, those Heads of their Catholick Church, to be no more than Members of their Body, and rank 'em in the Number of Private Men. But if they will have it so after their usual Way, to serve a Turn, we can appeal to their Councils, where in one at Rome, Gregory VII. expresly de­crees, That the Pope may dethrone the Emperor. And in the Laterane Council under Innocent III; And in another under Leo X. Subjects are absolved by the same Authority: And the Article had its Ratification in the Councils of Lyons, Florence and Trent. These we take to be the safe Repositories of the Doctrines they hold; and sure we are, Excommuni­cation is the ordinary Sanction and Penalty for those who re­fuse 'em. So that 'tis no Calumny to charge their Church with these Positions, which some of their Popes and Synods assert and settle with the severest Anathema's; and, tho' o­thers among 'em of better Temper, are not, perhaps, so well pleas'd with 'em, yet even these have winked at the Er­rors, and have not had so much Honesty and Care as to [...]ensure and disclaim 'em, unless sometimes in France where, [Page 14]however it was, rather an Act of Civil Policy, than any In­stance of their Religion.

And if this be Christianity, I must say as he did, Sit ani­ma mea cum Philosophis. And, I think, the poor Indians, in America, were much in the Right, to suppose their Hea­ven to be no fit Place to make the Soul happy. I go not about to enumerate the Tortures those poor Wretches in­dured by the Hands of blood-thirsty and cruel Men; nor will I speak of the Murders committed on the Waldenses, nor the several Massacres in Paris and Ireland. Our Annals will present us with a nearer Catalogue of our own at Home: However they and our martyr'd Fathers had this Advan­tage in their Sufferings, that they were allowed Time to think and recommend their Spirits to the God they wor­shipped, before they died; whereas this Way of Execution was so unexpected and sudden, that as it was intended to kill the Body, so 'twas contrived to damn the Soul, and they had not so much Warning as to ask God for his Mercy: Such their Faith is, such was their Hope, and such their Charity. O my Soul, come not thou, then, into their Secret, unto their Assembly, mine Honour, be not thou united, for in their Wrath [ [...]. 70. intentionally] they slew a Men, say the Gr. and Syr. which better ap­plies it self.Man, and in their Self-will, they [actually] dug down a Wall. Cursed he their Anger, for it was fierce, and their Wrath, for it was cruel.— But Salvation is from the Lord, and his Blessing is upon his Peo­ple. They dug a Pit for us, but they alone fell into it. They spread a Net, but it was to take themselves. They only pe­rished thro' their own Imaginations. Praised therefore be the Lord, who has not given us over for a Prey to their Teeth. No; our Soul is escaped even as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler; the Snare is broken, and we are delivered.

I speak it in the Present Tense, and in the first Person; We are delivered.— We, tho' then unborn, and now hear only of the Plot, and that wicked Attempt against the King, Parliament, and the Nation: They, indeed, had [Page 15]been blown up; They had perished in that fatal Clap of Thunder; They had been all dead Men, had the Train of Powder once taken Fire: But still They had all died in the True Religion; and as the Powder had hurried their Bodies into the Air, so their sound Principles had further advan­ced their Souls to Heaven; and charitably speaking, they had all been happy. But then Religion also had expired with them. We, who now live, had been left in a greater Darkness, than what that Smoak produced. Not only our Patrimony had been forfeited, our Goods seized, and our Liberty wrested from us, but their Tyranny over our Souls had been of more fatal Consequence, than the other over our Bodies or Estates. For our Reformation must have had its Period; our Religion had been lost; Religion, the only Comfort Men have when they are going to die, and by the Help of which they hope to live for ever. Instead of the Bible, we must have been contented to swallow all Things under the false Name of Old Traditions. For one Mediator we had had many; so many, that as it would have puzzled us which to apply to, so 'twould have created mighty Fears, lest we should address the wrong One, and so made our Case much the worse, by provoking some other touchy Saint, to revenge the Mistake and Affront done him. Religion before this time, must have dwindled away into Pageantry and Ceremonies, which, whether more in their Number, or more trivial in their Signification, is very hard for us to say. For a Way of Devotion, which every Body understands, we must have pray'd in an un­known Tongue; as if among the many Defects and Weak­nesses which attend our Worship, they were resolved to add this Obstacle to our honest Intentions and Desires, to make our Prayer consist of we know not what, and thereby incense God, instead of gaining his Favour. In­stead of using our Reason, that Candle of God, to judge of what He requires of us, and what we are to give him, [Page 16]we must have submitted to an implicite Faith; renounced our Senses; suspended all the noble Faculties God has blest the Soul with; made Ignorance the Mother of Devotion, and been obliged to reconcile all Contradictions, to render our Religion the greater Mystery and Miracle. Every Priest would have been a Bishop, and every Bishop a King. Our Case had been like theirs abroad, a poor Life and a bad Religion; neither happy in the Things of this World, nor happy in the Means to get a better. In all likelihood, we had been miserable now, and hereafter miserable.

These are a few Instances of that Condition we are de­livered from: And shall we not lay these Things to Heart, and consider seriously what God has done for us, and our Religion, and how remarkably He has preserved both from this and many other Attempts made against 'em. None of their Conspiracies have hitherto taken Effect, and it will be our own Faults, if we have not the same God to give us Protection. Should it otherwise happen, I am very sure, God suffers it not to justifie their Religion, but to pu­nish us for the Neglect of our Own. For this Reason, in­deed, it sometimes falls out, that Turks and Infidels carry it high over the Cross of Christ; and that Papists have Suc­cess against the ungrateful Professors of our excellent Re­formation. But then it is, as I said, in Judgment to us, and not in Favour to them. And, methinks, these Reflections should engage us to esteem that Way which God has set so great Value on, and perswade us to approve our selves sound Members of this Religion, by showing our Love to it, and that Love by our Obedience to what it teaches us. This, without doubt, is the End that God has secured both it and us for: And therefore, let us put on this holy Reso­lution, That being delivered out of the Hands of our Enemies, we serve this God, in Holiness and Righteousness, before him all the Days of our Life.

And truly, since it plainly appears to be the Eye of God to discover, and the Hand of God to rescue us from the close Designs and Violence of these Men, it is but reasonable that we should own our Deliverer, and having gain'd as it were a new Life, we ought to devote it to his Service, who has been pleas'd to give it us. — Redemptus redemptori Serviat. — A Service we owe God, as He made us, as He provides ordinarily for us, as he has redeem'd us by Christ Je­sus: But these are common Motives, and all Christians are concern'd in 'em, as well as we. But our Case is particu­lar; the Deliverance of the Day is such, as no People ever had; and from a Villany that no People ever thought of, but themselves, who contrived it. Let our Acknowledg­ments therefore be some way suitable to such a Deliverance, in praising God, and publishing the Blessing: And let us do this all our Days, every Day serve Him, because every Day He doth, and must save us, or else we perish; so mali­ciously are they set against us, so implacably busie to work our Ruine.

The Way to express this Service to God, is by Holiness and Righteousness;—Words which comprehend the Two Tables of the Law, and signifie the Whole Duty of Man. That which respects God is called Holiness; and by Virtue of it, we endeavour all we can to be holy, as he is holy, and pure as he is pure. — By Righteousness is meant Honesty and Fair-dealing, and may be well explain'd by that Golden-Rule, by doing as we would be done by: Which if observed, had prevented this Solemnity; wherein we remember the black Design of our Romish Adversaries, to root us out, that we might be no more a People, or give us at least such Usage, as themselves would not be contented to receive at our Hands. The Text makes these, Two Duties inseparable, and the Particle between 'em inforces the Necessity of keeping 'em both intire; to be not only Holy, but Righteous, and not only Righteous but Holy; both are jointly proposed, and in doing [Page] both consists our Service. The Pharisees had a Principle, to salve all their Omissions of Charity and Justice with the Corban, which was a Gift to God, or Dedication of their Substance to pious Uses: And if they could pretend to be Good this Way, no matter if Parents or Children starved for Hunger, forgetting that great Debt Nature has charged us with, [...] Tim. 5.8. to provide for our Families; and if St. Paul says true, Not to pay it, denies the Faith, and makes us worse than Infidels: And this was to be Holy without being Righteous. — On the other Side, there are some honest, just and fair Men (good Moralists we call 'em) so punctual and careful in their Way of Life, with Respect to themselves and their Neighbours, that we shall not be able to tax 'em with the least Miscarriage or Wrong; yet these at the same Time, rob God of his Honour and Worship, by taking no Care to do him Service: And this is to be Righteous, without be­ing Holy. But God who has made every Precept the In­stance of his Will, expects an integral and uniform Obedi­ence to all of 'em indifferently; and to offend in one Point, is to be guilty of the Whole. In Truth, the Partiallity shews, that we obey God, not because He commands, but because He commands what of our selves we are inclined to do. But if, what we did, was on a Principle of Obedience, then the Motive would be the same, and altogether as for­cible to make us obey all the Commandments, as to comply with One of 'em; because the Divine Will is diffused thro' 'em all, and that Will is opposed in any one Particular, where­in we offend Him. And thus the Apostle argues; He that said, Jam. 2.11.do not commit Adultery, said also, do not Kill. Now if thou commit no Adultery, yet if thou Kill, thou art become a Transgressor of the Law;—not only that Law which saith, Do not Kill, but all other Laws, which, with Respect to the Will of the Legislator, is equally concerned with this against Murder. Let us put the Duties of the Text in the Places of these Two prohibited Instances St. James mentions, and [Page]the Argument will hold good in the Application: And therefore on the Reason of an impartial Obedience to the Com­mandments of God, let us take Care to serve him after Zachary's Way, both in Holiness and Righteousness, and keep our Conscience void of Offence, towards God and towards Man. And this is to be done sincerely and heartily, as in his own Presence, [...], so before him, as that we believe Him privy to all our Actions.

That we are always in the Presence of God, is a Truth not to be questioned, either in Philosophy or Religion; for that is a Consequence of his Infinite Nature, and to take it from Him, destroys the Notion of the Deity. And that He is sensible of every Motion of the Heart, is agreeable enough, not only to Scripture, but our very Reason; For why should not He who made the Heart, be able to understand it? And if so, what a Check should this be to ill Thoughts, and ill Actions? For that which incourages Wickedness, is the Hopes of Concealment and Secrecy. And if the Chamber-Door be locked; the Curtains drawn, and the Light kept out, the Harlot thinks her Condition safe: Who sees me, saith she? I am compassed about with Darkness, and the Walls cover me, and no Body seeth me; What need I fear? How? No Eye seeth: Doth not God and Angels behold the Lewdness, the Foulness of this Practice; and shall not the Things so [...]ecretly done, be one Time or other published, and rewarded openly? Doth not the Wretch blush, doth she not tremble to think that the Eyes of the Lord are Ten Thousand times brighter than the Sun, beholding the Ways of Men, and consider­ing the most secret Parts? And that He seeth, should, methinks, frighten more than if all the World were Witnesses to the Crime: But she doth not, will not see Him; and thence she flatters herself into the Conceit of Safety. And 't [...]s this invited the Conspirators to the Villany of the Day: For had they thought, and been perswaded of the Omnipresence of God, and remembred that He takes Knowledge of what is done [Page]here below, surely such a Reflection must needs have pre­vented an Attempt, which they could not expect God would ever bless with Success, and suffer it to be executed to his own Dishonour. But the this Doctrine made no Impression on their Heads, yet let it have its due Effect on Ours, to keep us from this or any other Wickedness, because God sees it: His Eye is every-where: And 'tis well it is, or else what had become of us? What had been the Nation's Lot on the Fifth of November? Yet, because his Eye is every where, let us do nothing that we may be ashamed of, no­thing unbecoming the Religion we profess, and which at sundry Times, and in divers Manners (One whereof with Re­spect to the present Prince we now comemorate) He has so wonderfully preserved to us. And because we cannot do this without Him, let us turn the Text into a Prayer, and beseech Him,