I.

Let me recollect the Righteous Acts, or the Mercies, of the Lord. As for private and personal Mercies, I shall not at all insist upon them, but limit my Discourse only to those that are publick and national, such as have hap­pened to us as a Nation; for such are the Righ­teous Acts meant in the Text. And here let us reflect a little upon what God hath done for us of this Nation. And upon search and exami­nation we shall soon find, That his Goodness hath been marvellous and abundant towards us. Certainly, whatsoever great things other Kingdoms may boast of, as received from the hand of God, we of this Kingdom have had our share. And truly, I think, if a man should go all the World over, and take an account of every People and Language, this Island of our Nativity would be found to be the Happiest. And tho' doubtless all others have reason to be sensible of the Goodness of God to them in many respects, yet we of this Nation have far greater reason. We have swam in a greater Sea of Mercies, and our Cup hath more over­flowed: God hath given more notable and famous marks of his Favour to us English-men.

[Page 10]It will be convenient to mention some of them, because particulars do more affect; and as Samuel in this Chapter insisted chiefly upon three sorts of Mercies vouchsafed to Israel; so by way of Parallel, I will at this time reduce the Mercies of God to our Nation, under three Heads.

I. The Deliverance of our Force-fathers from the Spiritual Egypt, viz. The Bondage of Po­pery.

II. The placing us in a good Land, a se­cond Land of Canaan.

III. The Protections that God hath given us, from our Enemies round about us, that combined together against us, like the Cana­anites and the Perizzites, and the rest of the se­ven Nations, against Israel.

I. I begin with the Deliverance of our Fore­fathers from the Tyranny of Rome, and the bon­dage of the Popish Religion. A Yoke, which our Fathers, both Kings and People, many a year, had grievously laboured under; when a foreign Bishop had usurped Authority over our Estates [Page 11] and Liberties, our Souls and Consciences, in that sort, as tho' we had all been made only to serve the ends of his Ambition and Cove­tousness; and which was saddest of all, our immortal Souls were in imminent hazard, by reason of the wretched Ignorance, Superstiti­on, and false Worship Men were then nursell'd up in.

But the good GOD in due time looked down upon us, pittied our Bondage, and brought us up out of this Egypt, moving and emboldening the Hearts of our Governours to vindicate themselves from the Usurpations of Rome, and to dismiss Superstition and Idolatry from among us, and to set on foot a blessed Reformation from those notorious Abuses and Corruptions, in which our poor Church had been so long wrapt up before. The Scriptures, that shew unto us the Way of Salvation, lockt up before, were now opened: Our Prayers, that were hidden in an unknown Tongue be­fore, made intelligible: Worshipping of Saints, and making Addresses to Wood and Stone, abrogated: The Holy Sacrament of the Lord's. Supper, polluted by a Mass of Fooleries, and Corruptions, and Errors, restored to its Primi­tive use and practice; and a reasonable Service [Page 12] celebrated, and Preachers appointed to teach and instruct men, concerning the Contents of our Holy Religion; and Means of Saving-knowledg more and more brake in upon us And thus we were then delivered.

And this Mercy of God will appear to be the greater, if we consider what a small part of Christendome, in comparison, enjoy it beside our selves. God seemed to have picked us out from the rest of the World, to manifest This his Kindness to; for the greater part of Chri­stians still sit in Darkness, concerning CHRIST and his Religion; and while their Priests pre­tend to keep knowledge, they communicate little enough to them; they tell them, it is enough for them to believe as the Church be­lieves, That they must resolve their Faith into the Authority of the Church: But what the Faith of the Church is, they need not trouble themselves to know, let them but hear Mass and mumble over their Rosaries and their Latin Prayers; let them but kiss a Crucifix, and kneel before a Saints Image, and sprinkle themselves with Holy Water, and arm themselves with the sign of the Cross, and 'tis enough.

This, I say, is the condition of most Christi­ans; but God hath dealt more bountifully with [Page 13] you my Brethren; He hath given you means of more perfect knowledge of JESUS CHRIST, and of the way and means of Salvation by him.

In a word, We have our Christian Religi­on, that had been defac'd, blotted, and blur­red by Popish Superstition, cleansed from its Corruptions, and restored to us as it was in the Primitive Ages; a most invaluable Mercy and Blessing! so that nothing now remains for us to do, but to live according to the knowledge and means of Grace which we have. And this is one Rank of Divine Favours vouchsa­fed us of this Nation, viz. Our deliverance from the Bondage and Tyranny of Rome, an­swerable to that of the Iews from Egypt.

II. Another singular Mercy of God to this Nation, parallel to that God vouchsafed the Iews, is the good Land, wherein God hath planted us. As the former concerned our spi­ritual Good, so this our Temporal; indeed a blessed Country ours is, a true Canaan, a Land flowing with Milk and Honey. The British Islands were antiently and truly reckoned one of the best and happiest Soyles in the World.

[Page 14]And here I might insist upon the Fruitfulness of the Land, the Plenty of all things for the Life and uses of Men; the Temperature and Wholsomness of the Clime; the Health and long Age of the Inhabitants; the Manners and Dispositions of the People, who are naturally Loyal and True, Sober and Manly, Coura­gious and Valiant: For so the antient Inhabitants were reputed to be; and if they are not all so now, 'tis owing to their Sins, whereby many of us have marred and emasculated our Na­tures.

Moreover, I might insist upon the happy Situation of this Island, walled about with Seas, to defend us from Foreign Invasion, that am­bitious Princes may not so easily make Inroads upon us, and bring in their destructive Armies; God hath placed us in a World by our selves, and we were therefore sometimes called, Alter Orbis, The other World.

Under the consideration of the Happiness of our Country, I might likewise entertain you with a Discourse of our moderate and easie Go­vernment, and wholesome Laws: Our Kings rule by Law, and are not arbitrary; our Laws are framed and modelled by our own Represen­tatives; and so, in effect, we are under Laws [Page 15] of our own making. And among the rest of the Priviledges of the English Nation, this must not be forgotten, at this time especially, That for the saving us both the Labour and Ex­pences of long Journies up to Westminster-Hall, the Reverend the Judges leave their Seats there for our Ease and Convenience; and are sent down among us, twice a Year, in these their Circuits, to hear and determine our Grie­vances, and to do us Right, and to take Ven­geance on Malefactors, the common Mischieves of a Country. And thus Justice is brought home, as it were, to our own Doors.

In all which Respects, many wife Men, not only our Country-men, who may be thought to speak partially, but Foreigners, have held the English Government, To be one of the best constituted Governments in the World.

These things I can now but mention; but these, well thought on, will enhance the Va­lue of this second Rank of Mercies, referring to the Country, wherein God hath placed us, insomuch that we may truly use the Words of the Psalmist, The lines are fallen to us in a pleasant place, and we have a goodly Heritage.

[Page 16]III. There is another Mercy still behind, wherein God hath resembled us to his own People the Iews; and that is, The Protection of our Church and our Land from the Malicious and Unwearied Attempts of our Enemies. Mi­raculous have been the Deliverances that God hath wrought for us, from Foreign Invasion and Domestick Conspiracy.

I need but mention the Invincible Armada, in the Year 88. when the Pope and the King of Spain, and the Princes of Italy, marshalled up all their Strength and Wealth, and set forth the greatest Fleet that ever the Sea bore, with an intent to invade our Land, to massacre our Persons, and to reduce us to the old Egyptian Bondage again: But here the Winds and the Seas were on our side, and fought for us; and then God shewed strength with his own arm, and scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

I can but name that prodigious and unheard of Plot of Gun Powder, that should have made but one stroke of the three Estates, and cut them off at one blow; whereby both our Civil Government and our Protestant Religion should have been dispatched at once: But this, God, by a strange Discovery, disappointed also.

[Page 17]And when, of later times, we were embroil­ed in lamentable Civil Wars, and the Lord's anointed, our Natural Sovereign, slain by wicked Hands, and our antient Government subverted; in due time did the good God take pity upon the sad Estate of these Kingdoms, and brought back our Natural Prince, and re­stored our Counsellors, as at the beginning, and gave us our old Government again in Church and State. And thus God delivered us then also.

But there are later Deliverances than any of these, fresh in our Memories; wherein our merciful God hath aggrandized his Mercy, and magnified his Goodness to us; namely, in the two last Kings Reigns, when so many Plots and mischievous Projects were hatching and secretly carrying on against us; and of late more openly and avowedly, by our implacable Ene­mies of Rome, to enslave our free-born Persons, to overthrow our antient Government; and, which was worst of all, to extirpate our excel­lent Protestant Religion; having also the coun­tenance of Authority on their side; and a powerful standing Army to back them: And they thought, and so indeed did we all, That their Work was as good as done; nor had we [Page 18] the least Crevise of Hope, but began to pre­pare for Suffering, and to submit our Necks, as patiently as we could, to that heavy Yoke, which neither we nor our Fathers were able to bear. But, behold! in this very juncture, [...], did God, beyond our Hopes, or very thoughts, raise up another Cyrus to his People, who by a train of Miraculous and Strange Successes, which we ought piousty to attribute to the special Influence of Heaven, recover and restore this despairing Nation to its Property, Liberty, Peace, Religion, and every thing else that was dear and precious unto us; and we have a very fair Prospect, if our Sins and Follies do not prevent, of much future Tranquillity.

And truly, to add this to the rest, It is a Mercy of God, not to be forgotten, that not­withstanding the Iesuites and Emissaries of Rome, have all along from Generation to Ge­neration, from one King's Reign to another, been so busie to overturn us, though they bring up Youth in Foreign Schools, founded on pur­pose to plot Treasons, and compass the Ruine of our Kings and Kingdom; they have never yet these hundred Years and upwards, been able to effect their cursed Designs: And what is all [Page 19] this to be attributed to, but the special Provi­dence of God over us? God still blasts them, disappoints them, discovers them, counter­mines them, makes them false to one another; and we have, blessed be God, a Protestant King, and a Protestant Religion still; such, such have been the miraculous Appearances of God for this Church and Nation.

O thou Nation of England, beloved of God, too much, beyond thy Deserts.

And thus I have set before you the Mercies of God, his righteous Acts towards us and our Fathers: Thus Good, thus Gracious hath he been, so happy hath he rendred us, so often hath he delivered us, so tender hath he been of us, as if he had adopted us for his second Israel; he hath dealt with us, indeed, as his Children, as his Friends, as his Beloved: How abundant, O Lord, is thy goodness to the Sons of Men? the memorial of thine abundant goodness shall be shewed, and men shall sing of thy greatness: One generation shall praise thy works unto another, and declane thy power.

[Page 20]And thus I have finished the first Stage of my Discourse, and that was, To recollect unto your Thoughts the Righteous Acts of the Lord.

II.

And now I come to reason with you here­upon, What shall we say to these things? But that my Reasoning with you may be the more effectual, and make the more deep and lasting Impression, I should discourse, if I had Time, from these three Heads.

I. To consider what such gracious Dealings of God, do in all Justice and Equity call for.

II. What our behaviour hath been.

III. To expostulate and reason with you upon the whole Matter.

I. To consider what such gracious Dealings of God do in all Justice require of us: for natural Reason will dictate to us, That there doth arise an Obligation upon us from Favours received, so that in Point of Equity certain Duties are owing to our Friend, or our Deli­verer, [Page 21] or he that hath contributed toward the Comfort of our Life; but above all, when the great God of Heaven and Earth, who is infi­nitely above us, takes Care of us, and is some waies or other notably beneficial to us; What is Man now to do? certainly his Heart ought to be lift up in Thankfulness to the great Benefactor: His Mind ought alwaies to bear the Characters of the Divine Goodness en­graven upon it, as it were with the Pen of a Diamond: And this Sense of Divine Favour ought to express it self by demeaning our selves loyally towards that God, from whose Hands these Favours have fallen; by loving him, fearing him, obeying his Command­ments, and complying with his blessed Will, and by devoting and submitting our selves intirely unto him. But,

II. Let us see what our Behaviour hath been: We have been such as have participated, in a large manner, of the Bounty of Heaven, as I have shewn you already; the Paths of God have been all Mercy and Truth to us, and to our Fathers before us. But now, to come nearer to you, What have you done for God? Where has your Gratitude, your [Page 22] Loyalty been to him? Have God's Mercies made us any whit the better? Nay are we not the worse? Have we not kicked against him, when he hath sed us to the full? Have not the Lives of many of us been such, as if they were led on purpose to confront him? As if we were resolved to offend him? As if we cared not for his Favour? How often have we sinned against God, when with the same Ease we might not have sinned, or have done somewhat that might have pleased him? How frothy and unchristian have our Words and Discourses been? How unjust and un­righteous, and uneven our Dealings? If we have been in Prosperity, how forgetful have we been of him? How insolently have we carried our selves? How have we trampled upon our Inferiors, and oppressed our Underlings? If we have been in Ad­versity, how unadvisedly have we spoken with our Tongues? into what Indecencies hath our Passion, or Anger, or Sorrow dri­ven us.

But particularly, what little Correspon­dence have we born towards that infinite Mercy of restoring the true Religion to us? We pretend, indeed, to value and love [Page 23] our Religion. We speak much of our Hap­piness in professing it; We shew great Dislike and Abhorrence of Rome and her Practices; but alas! our Lives bear no Proportion to our Words and Professions.

And here I may take up the Complaint that an English Protestant Writer, Tho. Deacon in his Preface to his Iewel of Ioy. in the very beginning of the Reformation, and of Fame in those Times, used in reference to this Matter: ‘What a Swarm of gross Gos­pellers have we among us? who can prat­tle of the Gospel very finely, talk much of the Justification of Faith, crack very stoutly of the free remission of all their Sins by Christ's Blood, avaunce themselves to be of the number of those, which are predestinate unto everlasting Glory: But how far doth their Life differ from all true Christianity? they are puft up with all kind of Pride, they swell with all kind of En­vy, Hatred, Malice & Enmity against their Neighbour; they brenne with unquench­able Lusts of Carnal Concupiscence; they wallow and tumble in all kind of beastly Pleasure; their greedy covetous Affections are unsariable; the enlarging of their Lord­ships, the encreasing of their Substance, [Page 24] the scraping together of worldly Possessions, infinite, and knoweth no End. In fine, all their Endeavours tend unto this End, to shew themselves very Ethnicks, and utterly estranged from God in their Conver­sations, although in Words they otherwise pretend▪ all their Religion consists in Words and Disputes; in Christian Actions and godly Deeds, nothing at all’ And so he goes on.

This then you see hath been a Charge; that hath stuck on the Protestants from the very first Times of our Reformation, in the Reign of Edward VI and I am afraid those Com­plaints may more truly be taken up against them in these degenerate, backsliding Daies of ours; I appeal to your selves for the Truth of these things. Thus good hath God been to us, and thus froward and disingenuous have we been to him.

III. And now, in the third Place, let me expostulate and reason with you upon the whole matter: Is it possible, that the goodness of God hath had no better, Success upon us? Have we thus required the Lord, foolish People and unwise? What strange Stupidity [Page 25] possesseth us, that we carry our selves so un­towardly toward the best Friend we have in all the World? Was ever more disingenuity or folly known? Disingenuity, to affront so good a God, to be so base there where we have been so kindly dealt with; and Folly too, in exposing our selves to the Effects of that Fury, that is begotten of Kindness abused.

Let us at last be persuaded to leave these Courses: Oh! be not so weak, to suffer so vile a thing as Sin to impose upon thee? What? Shall I dishonour my God? Shall I displease him? Shall I be guilty of so gross Ingratitude to my dearest Benefactor? And all this only to gratifie a Lust? Shall I sooner listen to a Passion, to a Folly, than to my God? Hath Sin deserved better of me than God hath? Oh! far be it from me. And certainly this Expostulation will take hold of all Men▪ that have any Spark of Ingenuity in them. For these things, that I am now dis­coursing, touch upon the tenderest part of the Soul, and make a very close Address unto the igenuous Part of it.

I shall propound one or two good Coun­sels to you, with reference to the present Dis­course, and so make an end.

[Page 26]I. In reference to the Mercies of God in general, endeavour to bear and keep up a quick Sense of them alwaies upon your Minds: Oh! bear about with you these Marks of Divine Love and Favour: The Remembrance of them will be of excellent Use for the checking us in our Careers of Sin, and the forwarding us in the Course of Piety; for a Man can scarcely think of God's Goodness to him, and at the same time play the Villain and the Rebel against him. But on the contrary, God's Mercies will enkindle a Love of God in our Hearts; and if we love him, we shall obey him, and do and suffer any thing for his sake. And therefore, I say, let not the goodness of God depart out of your Minds, but frequently call upon your Souls, Psal. 103. 2, 3. as David did upon his, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name: Bless the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his Benefits.

II. and lastly, as to the Mercy of the Pro­testant Religion in particular, the Counsel I would give you in relation to this is, that we walk answerably unto it; and that our [Page 27] behaviour be such, as may become it. And there are two things that are great Ornaments unto it, and that will set a mighty Lustre upon it, and indeed are indispensably re­quired by it: The one is a Peaceable Spirit, and the other a Holy Life. Peace and Holi­ness, which are both joyned together in one Verse, Heb. 12. 14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness; and they are recommended unto us by the most prevalent Argument that can possibly be invented, because without them no man shall see the Lord: seeing the Lord in Heaven, in Glory, being made Partakers of the blisful Vision, depends upon the pursuit of Peace and Holiness.

First, Peace, That venerable, sacred, in­violable thing: Peace, the great primary Law of our Holy Religion; the truest distinguish­ing Character of a right Christian; the best Prop and Pillar of Christianity. Quid est Christianismus si Pax absit? said Erasmus, What is Christianity it self without Peace? As though it could not subsist without Peace, that there could scarce be Christianity without it. Nay, it is the Happiness of Heaven: There is no­thing there but a sweet union of Spirits, and harmony of Souls; and, in a word, it is the [Page 28] Name that GOD himself is called by, viz. The God of Peace. Heb. 13. 20.

And therefore this is to be preserved sarta tecta, by all the care and means possible. And because our difference in Opinion is so apt to do violence to this Sacred Badg of Christianity, let us take great care, whatsoever our Judgments be, that it have not that very bad influence upon any of us. And to re­medy this, either let us sacrifice our private Opinions to Peace, which is of far greater va­lue than our Opinions can be; or, if we do not that, yet by providing by all possible means against disturbances and clamour, and all bit­ter zeal: And that we may do, partly by concealing our different Judgments, and ha­ving our Faith to our selves, Rom. 14. 22. as the Apostle adviseth; partly by complying with, and sub­mirting to the Customs of the National Church, as far as we can possibly, that so far as lies in us, we may live peaceably with all men; partly by being modest in our Sen­timents, not confident or stiff in our own Con­ceits, apt to think charitably of those that differ from us; not fond of a Party, nor cry­ing, I am for Paul, and I for Apollos; nor cherishing Prejudices against all that are not [Page 29] of our own way. It is a thing of a very bad consequence, and oftentimes falls out to the breach of Christian Peace and Love, that we usually espouse a Side, and then we are par­tial to our selves, and very critical in espy­ing faults in others, and rigorous in censuring and condemning the Practices of all besides our own Party.

It brings to my mind a Passage, that we read in our Books, Gilbert. Fo­liot. God. Caral. of Bishops, of a certain Bishop of Lendon in King Henry II. his Reign. This man discoursing one day with a Friend of his, concerning this temper, saith he, ‘When I first entred into a Monastery, I was wont to blame very much the sluggishness of my Governours: When I became a Prior, I would complain of Abbots: Afterwards arising to the Honour of an Abbot, I favoured my fellow-Abbots, but ceased not to reprehend Bishops: And lastly, When I was a Bishop my self, I began to see how much more ea­sie a thing it is to find Faults than to mend them.’ By which he did shew, in himself, the temper of most men, how apt they are to favour their own side, and how diligent to ac­cuse their Superiors, and how ready to be an­gry with all of a different Order, Sect, or Per­swasion. [Page 30] And withal, upon maturity of Years and Judgment, he gave us to see, how unreasonable and childish this is; and there­fore, that it is much better to be of a cha­ritable modest Spirit, to cover some defects that we espy in others, and not to think our selves without fault, alwaies remembring, that There is nothing perfect under the Sun. And this would prove an excellent means for the com­posing and pacifying the Minds of Christians to one another, and for the promoting of Peace.

Let us then labour after the things that make for peace: Let us seek peace and ensue it, and ap­prove our selves the true Disciples and ge­nuine Followers of the loving and peaceable JESUS, by being peaceable and peace makers our selves. He was of a peaceable Spirit, and underwent much for Peace sake, and was the great Pacificator between GOD and Man; the infinite Benefits whereof, such as the Par­don of our Sins, and the blessed Hope of ever­lasting Peace, we Christians feel, to our great and endless Comfort; the consideration of which Blessed things, brought about by our great Peace-maker, should make us Friends, and Sons of Peace.

[Page 31] Secondly, To Peace join Holiness; and indeed the one is a proper Door and Entrance into the other: The peaceable Christian is the only probable Man to make a truly holy Christian. When the Soul is calm, and the storms of Pas­sion and Contention are all lay'd and still; then the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Peace and Love enters. Let not the profession of Chri­stianity serve thy turn, without the Spirit and Life of it. Be very conscientious in all the great and divine Laws of it, Mortification and Self-denial, Justice and Temperance, Humility and Patience, Meekness and Chari­ty, Love and Good-will, subduing our Hu­mours, and bridling our Passions, and bring­ing our Spirits under Discipline, and framing our Minds more and more to a relish and de­light in holy Exercises, to a love of God, to a contempt of the World, to an ardent de­sire to be admitted into that Coelestial State above.

This is the true divine Life and Spirit, that becomes all the Professors of the Gospel, that should be their chief End, and their great and earnest Care, as they would walk worthy of that holy Name, whereby they are called. And when all is done, after all our talk and [Page 32] dispute; after all our heats and contests; after all our Books and Writings, there is no­thing so effectual to make God our Friend; nothing so much adorns our Excellent Prote­stant Religion, and better secures it to us and our Posterity: In a word, nothing treasures up so much solid Peace and holy Assurance unto our Souls, as the sincere honest application of our selves to the Practicals of RELIGION.