A sermon preached before the mayor, aldermen, and Common-Council of Nottingham in St. Peter's Church, on the 14th of Febr. 1688/9 being the thanksgiving day for our deliverance from popery and arbitrary power / by W. Wilson.

A SERMON Preached On the 14th of February, 1688/9. BEING The Thankſgiving Day. LƲKE V. 26.

And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, ſaying, we have ſeen ſtrange things to day.

SO much do the divine Perfections tranſcend all that we behold in this lower world, that it is not poſſible but the contemplations of an infinitely wiſe and powerfull Being ſhould fill us with wonder and aſtoniſhment, if we could but rid our minds of thoſe ſenſible impreſſions that fill our imaginations, and conſider him either as he is in himſelf, or according to thoſe Idea's of his excellent nature that he has imprinted upon our Souls; but to ſee him face to face, and know as we are known, is too great a thing for the condition of Mortals; this is the work and privilege of Angels and perfect Spirits, who dwell in that Glory that is unrevealed to us, and are the glorious Inhabitants of the City of the Living God, and honour'd with the privilege of ſtanding about his Throne, and being the miniſtering Spirits of his Providence, and which will be the bleſſing of us mortal creatures, when this corruptible ſhall have put on incorruption; and we ſhall not onely be received to an immediate fruition of him, but be rendered capable of ſeeing him as he is, by having the powers and faculties of our Souls exalted to the utmoſt perfection they are capable of.

But while we have our habitation in the Duſt, and converſe among ſenſible objects, ſo much power have they over us, that they darken our Minds, and ſo much hamper and clog our Souls, that they either look no higher than to the things that ſenſe or imagination do preſent us with; or if any time we by ſtrong reſolutions do reſcue our thoughts from the objects of ſenſe, and break thoſe chains wherewith they lead our Souls captive, and lift up our Minds to contemplate the glory and excellency of the divine Nature, we know but in part, and ſee through a Glaſs darkly. Hence it comes to paſs, that whenever God does in ſignal and remarkable effects diſplay the wonder of his Power, or any other Perfection, we, like creatures bereav'd of our ſenſes, are ſtruck with admiration and amazement.

Thus it was with thoſe Jews that beheld the miraculous cure of the Paralytick mentioned v. 18. they not onely conſidered our bleſſed Lord as a mere Man, but as one of the meaneſt of his Brethren; and therefore when the Faith of the ſick man, and that of thoſe that brought him, did ſo far excite his compaſſions, that he not only granted him the cure that he came for, but that which was much greater, the Forgiveneſs of his ſins; the Scribes and Phariſees not knowing him to be God manifeſted in the fleſh, began to reaſon among themſelves, and to charge him with Blaſphemy, for aſſuming a power that does not belong to Man: But how much ſoever they were miſtaken concerning the excellence and dignity of his Perſon, yet when they beheld the Paralytick to ariſe, and take up that whereon he lay, and to depart to his houſe, they could not withſtand ſo great an evidence of a divine Power: The meaner their thoughts concerning him were, the more ſurprizing was the miracle; it broke in upon their minds with the more force and violence, becauſe it was but little they expected from one of his low character and quality. They were all amazed, and glorified God, and were filled with fear, ſaying, we have ſeen ſtrange things to day. And if we conſider the occaſion of this day's ſolemnity, we may diſcern ſo eminent an inſtance of the divine Power and Goodneſs as few Ages can parallel: We have ſeen a Kingdom diſtracted with fears, languiſhing under diſmal apprehenſions, deſtined to ſlavery, and, which is worſe, threatened with Popery, reſtored to its ſelf, and raiſed to life again in ſo miraculous a manner, as may well give us reaſon to ſay, We have ſeen ſtrange things to day. That great and wonderfull Perſon whom it has pleaſed God to make the inſtrument of our deliverance, has by his heroick actions gain'd himſelf ſo great a Character in the world, and ſo high a Reputation for his love of Religion, and zeal for the true Intereſt of Chriſtendom, as might naturally prompt us to caſt our eyes upon him as the only viſible means to preſerve us. But yet when we either reflect upon his or our own circumſtances, ſo little methinks could be expected from him, when his own Countrey was extremely apprehenſive of the threatening Power of a potent Enemy, and ſo much appeared to be requiſite to our deliverance, when the Enemies of our Religion and Liberties ſeem'd to have ſo ſtrongly ſettled their intereſts, that we have great reaſon to ſtand amazed, and to glorifie God, to be filled with fear, and to ſay, We have ſeen ſtrange things to day.

From which words I ſhall obſerve, 1. How natural it is for men to be affected with admiration and aſtoniſhment at ſtrange and unexpected Events. They were all amazed, &c. 2. Upon what reaſon it is that we are ſo. 3. That God does expect that the remarkable inſtances of his Power and Goodneſs ſhould make ſuch impreſſions on us. 4. How much reaſon we have to be amazed, and to ſay, we have ſeen ſtrange things to day, if either we conſider the evils we were threatened with, or our deliverance from them. 5. The great reaſon we have to fear and to glorifie God.

1. How Natural it is for Men to be affected with admiration and aſtoniſhments at ſtrange and unexpected Events. There is ſo much Majeſty and Greatneſs viſible in all the works of God, ſo much Power and Goodneſs to be diſcerned in the moſt ordinary Occurences of the world, and the moſt common Diſpenſations of his Providence, as to thoſe that have piety to remark them, and are ſo much govern'd by Religion as to look to the hand that does the one, and diſpences the other, do afford ſufficient matter for Admiration, and reaſon enough to ſay, Great is the Lord and great is his Power, and his Ʋnderſtanding is Infinite. When holy David conſidered the Heavens, the work of his Fingers, the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, which he has ordained, he could not but with aſtoniſhment acknowledge that his Name was excellent in all the Earth; Pſal. 8.3.9. That the Heavens declared his Glory, and the firmament ſhewed his handy Work. That day unto day utters Speech, and night unto night ſheweth knowledge. Pſal. 19.1, 2. That there was ſo much art and contrivance in the work of the Creation as was an abundant proof of the Wiſdom and Power of him that made the Worlds, and ſo much Beauty and Order in the ſeveral viciſſitudes of Time, as is a magnificent teſtimony of the Wiſdom and Goodneſs of him that ruleth in Jacob, and unto the ends of the World. And when he reflected upon the ſtrange and prodigious Work of his own formation, he could not but acknowledge that God was a being of ſtupendious Operations, and that he was fearfully and wonderfully made. Pſal. 139. ver. 14. And of all his works he declares that they are great, ſought out of all them that have pleaſure therein; That they are Hononourable and Glorious, and that they are Verity and Judgement. Pſal. 111.2, 3.7.

But yet as ſignal marks of the Divine perfections as the moſt Ordinary Events do bear, as ſerviceable as they are to the ſeveral Intereſts both of our Souls, and our Bodies, and as needfull to our well-being in this life, we receive them generally as the Swine gather the Acorns from the Earth, without ever looking up to the Tree from whence they fall. But now when God does make us ſee ſtrange things, things that bear very viſible Characters of his Power or Wiſdom, his Goodneſs or his Juſtice; when by his own Arm he gets himſelf the Victory, and ſcatters the Proud in the imagination of their hearts; the Viſibility of his hand, and the Miracle of his Work, do, in ſpight of our ſtupidity, break in upon our minds, and force us to acknowledge that the hand of the Lord has done it. How careleſly ſoever we over-look the moſt excellent Pieces of a famed Artiſt, which we have opportunity to behold every day, yet when any thing New and Rare is expoſed to view, we gaze upon and admire it, at the leaſt for the Novelty, though we reap no benefit by it. And although the daily Bleſſings which we receive from the Hands of our Provident Father do very little affect us; yet when he expoſes his Power and Goodneſs to our view in effects that exceed our expectations, we cannot but ſtand amazed, and acknowledge we have ſeen ſtrange things.

Even thoſe who are not very apt to aſcribe much to Providence, are oftentimes ſurprized into an unuſual Admiration of Divine goodneſs by great and unexpected Revolutions, and till the next debauch does wear out the Impreſſion, and cool the warmth of a heated fancy, do find themſelves neceſſitated to deny ther own Principles and to own the Hand that ſaves them: As mightily as their minds are prejudiced to the thoughts of an inviſible Being, and as great an averſion to the Belief of a Providence as their luſts have warpt 'em to: As wiſely as they think they reſolve Effects into their proper Cauſes, and as skilfull as they take themſelves to unriddle the great Myſteries of Nature, yet the unaccountable Occurrencies of the World are two big for their Abilities, and do ſo abaſh their mighty opinion of the depth of their Wiſdom, and ſet the Providence that at other times they are unwilling to obſerve in ſo clear a light, as plainly convinces them of the unreaſonableneſs of their Infidelity, and forces them to recurr to that firſt and ſovereign Cauſe which they are as unwilling to own as it is folly any longer to deny. There are arguments that reach the minds of all ſorts of Men; and that not only make the careleſs to conſider, but awake the ſtupid and allarm the Atheiſtical. There are things that ſcatter the doubts of the Sceptick, and leave not the profane at liberty to believe as they would, or as the intereſt of their Luſts do perſuade them. They like lightening tear down all thoſe prejudices that ſtand in their way, and with an irreſiſtible force break in upon the Souls of the moſt dull and obſtinate: And were they but as wiſely and carefully improved as they are able to convince, they would undoubtedly drive Atheiſm and Irreligion out of the World. But the great miſchief is, that howſoever the firſt attach is too violent to be withſtood, ſuch is the froward temper of Men wedded to their Luſts, that they will not be perſuaded, although they are: But in a little time, when they have rallied their amazed Spirits, either employ their wits to ſolve the wonder, or profanely ſlight it. But how much reſolved ſuch men are againſt all Conviction, it abundantly manifeſts the mighty Power that is in ſuch Occurrences, that it is able to put the moſt reſolute wickedneſs to a ſtand. Such is the account that is given us of the perverſe and ſtupid temper of the Iſraelites, that they were ſeldom or never any longer mindfull of the God that brought them out of Egypt, than their erring humour was ſtaid by ſome wonderfull work. But as apt as they were to forget their mighty Deliverer, yet as oft as he viſited them, either with ſignal Muroies or Judgments, they ſaw his hand, and at leaſt for a time gave thanks at the remembrance of his Holineſs. Thus it is recorded of them, when they ſaw their Enemies overthrown in the Red Sea, That they Jang his Praiſe, though they forgot his Works. Pſal. 106 12, 13.

Humane Nature is ſo contrived that there is not a monſter in Nature, nor an unſeen or unheard of rarity, but has Power to ſix our Spirits, and work upon our Curioſity ſo far upon the firſt view, or notice of it, as to interrupt for a time, and put a ſtand to the moſt weighty affairs that are upon our hands. Strange and unuſual ſights do ſo inſenſibly glide into our minds, and captivate our affections, that we have not power to reſiſt the charm; and according to their concernment and advantage to us, excite in us joyfull tranſports, and endear the cauſe thereof to our Souls. This is the reaſon of all thoſe Songs of Praiſe, and joyfull Feſtivities, that we read were compoſed by Moſes, when the Egyptians were drown'd; by Deborah, when Barack ſubdued Sicera; and were inſtituted by the Jews when they were delivered from Haman's conſpiracy, and the like. They ſaw ſtrange things, and ſtood amazed; and how apt ſoever they were to ſtart aſide from the God of Iſaac, yet when the Power and Goodneſs of his Works did check their wandering minds, They feared and glorified God.

And, 2. The reaſon of this is becauſe of the Agreeableneſs of Knowledg to the mind of Man; the little knowledge we have of the Divine Perfections; and the want of attending and applying our minds to the conſideration of his Ecellencies ſo far as we know them.

1. The Agreeableneſs of Knowledg to the mind of Man; which is as gratefull to the diſcerning faculty of our Souls, as light or the moſt amiable Object is to the Eye. The underſtanding is no more ſatisfied with knowing than the Eye is with Seeing; and every faculty of our Nature muſt neceſſarily be delighted with that good that does belong to it, and in the enjoyment of which does conſiſts it happineſs. This the Devil did ſo well underſtand, that when he tempted Eve to diſobedience, he repreſented the forbidden Fruit not onely as good and pleaſant Food, but as delightfull to the Eyes, and a fruit to make her Wiſe: Taking an advantange from thoſe deſires, that are in the ruling Powers of our Bodies and Souls, the Eye and the Unnderſtanding, to deceive and conquer.

And now is it any wonder that a Creature that does aſpire after Knowledg, and is ſo extremely ſatisfied with the emprovements of his Underſtanding, ſhould be mightily affected with ſuch ſtrange things as preſent themſelves to his contemplation, beſides the ordinary courſe of Nature? There is ſomething ſo gratefull in Novelties as does not only prompt us to ſearch after them, but detains us againſt our wills in the contemplation thereof: How much pleaſed are we to hear or read the ſtrange reports of foreign Countries, the mighty exploits of great and heroick perſons, and the accounts that ſuch as have been in the remote parts of the World do give of their travels. 'Tis this unbounded deſire of knowing does tempt Men to leave their native Soil, and carries them through a thouſand dangers, to enquire after unknown cuſtomes and unheard-of rarities of even barbarous Nations; and it is the ſame deſire of and ſatisfaction in Knowledg that makes ſuch ſtrange occurrences as happen beſide our expectation, to arreſt our thoughts and ſpirits, and is the occaſion of that admiration they generally fill us with; for while things are plain and accountable to us, we ſtay not to admire them, becauſe our Minds do eaſily penetrate and ſee the utmoſt that is in them; but when Events are great and unuſual, and the Cauſes thereof lie ſo deep and ſecret, that our Minds cannot preſently and eaſily reach them, they call together our amazed Spirits, and ſuſpend their operations upon the Body, that they may the more freely, and without interruption, contemplate the Wonder, and with ſtronger and more vigorous attentions pierce through the Difficulty to behold the Cauſe; and when the ſtrongeſt efforts of our collected Spirits are too feeble to make the diſcovery, we ſtand ſtill and admire what we are not able to comprehend.

2. Becauſe our knowledge of the divine Perfections is imperfect; although God has been pleaſed to imprint upon our Souls an Idea of himſelf, yet it is only ſuch as the narrowneſs of our faculties can receive; we can no more comprehend the Immenſity and Majeſty, the glorious Excellencies and Perfections of an infinite God, than a ſmall Bucket can hold the Water in the Ocean: 'Tis in the contemplation of his Works that we beſt come acquainted with his Boing and Excellency; but when holy Job had recounted them to himſelf, he at laſt broke out into that aſtoniſhment, Lo theſe are the parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him? the thunder of his power who can underſtand? Job. 26.14.

And indeed, when we conſider that God in the Works that he has made has not done all that is poſſible with infinite Power, not only our knowledge of him muſt neceſſarily be imperfect, and very little portion of him be heard and ſeen in the Works of his Creation and Providence, but the ſtrange and unuſual occurrences of the World, that either depend upon no viſible cauſes, or are in their circumſtances too big for their agency, muſt neceſſarily fill us with admiration, and wrap our minds into a kind of ecſtaſie, becauſe in them we ſee more of God's Power and Goodneſs, than is viſible in the things we daily contemplate.

Was it poſſible for us to ſee God face to face, and know ſo much of his excellent Nature as the Angels and perfect Spirits do, into how great aſtoniſhment would the firſt Revelation of ſo great Majeſty and Glory ſtrike us? Would it not ſeize us with as much pleaſure and delight, and for the time give ſuch a ſtop to the motions of our Spirits, that, like St. Paul in his rapture, we ſhould not be able to tell whether we were in the Body or no? And how can it otherwiſe be but when God in his wonderous and ſtrange works, as he calls them, does diſcoverment of himſelf, and the greatneſs of his Perfections than in thoſe which we conſtantly contemplate, that according to the diſcovery we ſhould be amazed, and glorifie God, and fear, ſaying, We have ſeen ſtrange things to day.

3. Becauſe we do not conſider the divine Perfections ſo far as we are capable of knowing them, the things of this lower World have ſo much power over our Minds, and viſible objects do ſo much lie in our way, we are ſo much commanded by our Senſes, and Imagination does work ſo ſtrongly in us, that the operations of our ſuperiour faculties are mightily check'd and dull'd thereby; and it is but at ſome times and ſeaſons, and that with difficulty too, that we command our Senſes to ſtand ſtill, and call up our Minds to the more noble employment of contemplating the Glories of the divine Nature: God has been pleaſed to furniſh us with ſuch faculties, and to reveal himſelf under ſo great and excellent a character, that though we are not capable of knowing him as he is, yet we may know ſo much of him as is ſufficient to excite becoming affections in us toward him; but while we converſe with earthly and viſible objects, our minds are drawn ſo much downwards, and become ſo overcharged with terrene affections, that it is with great difficulty that we exalt them to Heaven, and enter upon any ſerious conſiderations of the Glory of our Creatour.

But now when God by any viſible demonſtrations of his Being & Providence does diſcharge our minds of that weight that hangs upon them, like Men rouſed out of a dream, we wonder, and ſtand aſtoniſhed at the Greatneſs of his Power, and Exellency of his Wiſdom, and the Miracle of his Goodneſs: Though he has not left himſelf ſo much without witneſs, that the notice of his Perfections is altogether new to us, yet the conſideration of them is; and by being raiſed to more brisk and vigorous Reflexions than uſually, we begin to ſay within our ſelves, as the Jews did when they beheld this Miracle, We never ſaw it on this faſhion, as Saint Mark's expreſſion is, Ch. 2. v. 12. And,

3. God does expect that the remarkable inſtances of his Power and Goodneſs ſhould make ſuch impreſſions on us. As the natural tendency of them is to awake us to thoſe conſiderations of his Being and Providence, which are the proper exerciſe of our reaſonable faculties, ſo the very reaſon of his doing them is, that he may overcome the ſtupidity of our Minds, and quicken that ſenſe of his Majeſty which worldly cares and ſolicitudes are apt to decay and ſtifle: He has made the glorifying his Name the great end of our Beings; and becauſe we are too apt to employ our faculties ſo much in projecting for a temporal happineſs, as in time to grow cool and languid in our affections toward him, he makes uſe of his ſtrange works as an extraordinary means to remind us of our duty; and to be as ſtupid as Beaſts before him, who are not capable of conſidering the greatneſs of his Power when he ſtrikes ſo forcibly upon our Minds, is as well an argument that we have loſt the ſenſe of our duty, as that we have put off the genuine and proper affections of our Nature: For the reaſon why things of this Nature are called his wonderfull Works is not becauſe they are ſtrange and aſtoniſhing to him, who very well knows the extent of his Power and Goodneſs, but becauſe they ought to be ſo to us, whom he intends thereby to make more apprehenſive of his Being, and more heartily to glorifie him. All men ſhall fear, and ſhall declare the work of God, for they ſhall wiſely conſider of his doing: The righteous ſhall be glad in the Lord, and all the upright in heart ſhall glory, ſaith holy David, Pſal. 64.9, 10. In which words the Royal Prophet does not onely recount the Events which do naturally reſult from ſuch eminent occurrences, but the duties we are obliged to upon the account thereof: For as he tells us, Pſal. 111.4. God has made his wonderfull Works to be remembred. The great deſign and intent of them is to oblige us more firmly to the intereſts of Religion, and to give us the moſt unanſwerable reaſon for that love and dependence upon him, that he expects from us: And therefore he frequently charges it upon thoſe whom he has ſo eminently diſcovered the Majeſty of his Providence unto, as a prodigious ingratitude to him, as well as ſtupidity in themſelves, when they make no ſuch return unto him. Our Fathers underſtood not thy wonders in Egypt, they remembred not the multitude of thy Mercies. Pſal. 106.7. Let favour be ſhewed to the wicked, yet will be not learn Righteouſneſs, in the land of Ʋprightneſs will he deal iniquity, and will not behold the Majeſty of the Lord. Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not ſee. Iſ. 26.10, 11.

As God in all the works of his Hands does aim at his own Glory, the exalting his Name, and the rendring his Perfections amible, and acceptable to the World, he expects that all his Creatures ſhould concurr with him in promoting theſe ends; and to receive the aſtoniſhing Effects of his Power and Goodneſs that he may not appear to have miſcarried in his deſign. The Lord has made his holy Arm bare in the eyes of all the Nations, and all the ends of the Earth ſhall ſee the Salvation of our God. Iſ. 52.10. So that to ſee his Salvation is the gratefull return that he looks for, when he makes his Arm bare, and ſtretches out his hand, to bring to paſs the aſtoniſhing purpoſes of his Goodneſs. Thus when he ſent his Son to be the Redeemer of Mankind, he ſtyled him, The light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of his People Iſrael; and this was ſuch a manifeſtation of himſelf to the World, as did to a miracle exceed all thoſe occaſional appearances whereby he had made himſelf known to the preceding Ages. And the compaſſions he expreſſed to the houſe of Iſrael, even when by defiling their own Land by their doings they had provoked him to ſcatter them among the Heathen, were for the ſanctifying his great Name, which was profaned among the Heathen, that they might know that he was the Lord. Ezek. 36.23. Thus to obſerve his doings is not only accounted a proof of our Wiſdom, Let him that gloryeth, glory in this, that he underſtandeth, and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exerciſe loving Kindneſs, Judgment, and Righteouſneſs in the Earth. Ger. 9.24. but is both God's way of exalting his Name, and making his Praiſe Glorious, and that retribution which he expects from Creatures that he has obliged by ſuch remarkable inſtances of the goodneſs of his Providence. Thus when he promiſed to plant in the Wilderneſs the Cedar Tree, &c. his purpoſe therein was that his People might ſee, and know, and conſider, and underſtand together, that the hand of the Lord had done this, and the Holy one of Iſrael had created it. Iſ. 51.20. And accordingly 'tis made the mark of folly and ſtupidity, the Character of a brutiſh Man not to know, and of a Fool not to underſtand.

And now having given this general Account of theſe words I come,

4. To conſider how great reaſon we have to be amazed and to ſay, we have ſeen ſtrange things to day: For we have ſeen ſuch things as will make the compilers of our Hiſtory go near to be ſuſpected by future Generations, as ingenious improvers of the circumſtances of things, rather than read as the impartial deliverers of matters of Fact; For will it eaſily be believed that a free Prince ſhould be ſo much in love with Bondage, as to be willing to take that heavy yoke upon his neck again, which his Predeceſſours had found ſo uneaſie and troubleſome while they bore it, and had taken care by many wholeſome Laws to ſecure their Poſterity from, when they had thrown it off: That he ſhould be willing to admit of a Foreign juriſdiction into his Kingdom, which by thoſe that maintain it would have been declared to be ſuperiour to his own, and to be ſo vigorouſly ſet upon this glorious project, as to frown upon thoſe that were diſirous to preſerve all the Jewels of his Crown, and to maintain his Authority entire? Will it gain credit that the great and ſworn Enemies of the Kingdom ſhould be the directours if not the diſpoſers of the publick Authority; and they who had plotted the deſtruction of his Grandfather, and the whole Royal Family, in the moſt barbarous manner, ſhould be cheriſhed as the beſt and moſt Loyal Subjects? Theſe are things ſo incredible that Poſterity will read them with as much amazement as we have beheld them. But that it may appear how much reaſon we have to ſay we have ſeen ſtrange things to day, give me leave to rimind you.

1. Of the Evils that threatned us. 2. Of our Deliverance from them.

1. Of the Evils that threatned us. Which are of that dreadfull Nature, that we may well ſay of our ſelves that in our own eyes we were but as dead Men, ſince Death would have been much more welcome than the one, and the moſt ſavage Inhumanites muſt have been ſuffered if we could not have embraced the other: For we were not onely proudly threatned that we ſhould eat our own Dung, and drink our own Piſs; but, which is moſt amazing, this was to have been the reward of our conſtancy to our God, our fidility to our Prince in his greateſt extremities, and our zeal for the true intereſts of our Country: Vertues of that Noble ſtrain and generous magnitude, as would have been careſs'd and encouraged by any Prince whoſe Principles are not debauched, and whoſe Generoſity over ruled by a Bigottry to a Religion that knows neither Conſcience nor Honour: But when a violent zeal to convent was adjudged the Character of a much greater Soul, and a more heroick Spirit, than to conquer Kingdoms, it became our crime that we could not obey God leſs than Man; a crime ſo heinous in the opinion of that Church that is much more zealous for her own than God's Laws, that nothing but the Death of ſuch Obſtinate Hereticks could expiate. And ſince we could not ſuffer our ſelves to be cajol'd and complemented out of our Religion, nor would be ſo mannerly as to quit it as a Teſtimony of our Loyalty, we were, God knows, reduced almoſt to ſo deplorable a condition as would have made it impoſſible to have preſerved our lives and our intregrity too: For to ſpeak at once the miſchief that for theſe late years we have trembled to think of, and almoſt felt, Popery was to ſupplant Proteſtantiſm; and ſince at no cheaper rate we could be made Papiſts, Slavery was to humble us, and a rampant Army to eat up our Engliſh Liberties; Evils that threatened us both as Men and Chriſtians.

1. We were threatened by Popery. A Religion that lays the moſt baſe and ſervile yoke upon the Souls and Conſciences of Men; and that for the making Proſelytes has ſhed more bloud, and practiſed more dreadfull Inhumanities than ever Heatheniſm did. A Religion that would firſt have unmann'd you, by depriving you of the uſe of your Reaſons, and then have taught you the generous thing of believing Contradictions; that would have inſtructed you how to honour God by breaking his Commandments, and have made you excellent Catholicks by teaching you to be Idolaters. A Religion ſo deſtructive of the very foundations of Faith, ſo wicked in its Principles, and ſo barbarous and bloudy in its Practices, that I cannot but think it would be every whit as pleaſing to God, and as becoming our own Nature to be of no Religion at all, as that which makes men ten times more the ſlaves of the Devil than they were by Nature.

I would not be thought to be ſo uncharitable as to think it impoſſible that any that profeſs it ſhould be ſaved, or that they are in a worſe condition than if they had been of none; for we do hope, that there may be ſome in that Communion whoſe Devotion and Piety may be ſo ſincere that God may in Mercy overlook their errours; but if any of that Church be ſaved, we do not believe it is for the goodneſs of their Religion, but becauſe their ignorance of the illneſs of it may be excuſable in the ſight of God. But it is ſure no very great commendation of a Religion, that a man may be ſaved that profeſſes it, if he have but the good fortune to believe & doe he knows not what; but that he muſt certainly be in a very ill caſe if he underſtand it, and yet continues to profeſs it; and yet this is the Religion that threatned you; a Religion that no man can any longer profeſs with ſafety, than he is totally ignorant of it, or knows not that God has provided better for his Soul.

'Tis true, we had the word of a King to aſſure us, that no ſuch evil was intended us, but that our Religion ſhould be upheld and maintained: And is it not pitty but a perſon of his ſacred Character had been of a Religion that would have ſuffered him to have been as good as his word: For at the ſame time that a Prince promiſes ſafely to his Haretical Subjects, he runs the hazard of being excommunicated and depoſed; and as he deſires to be reputed a Good Catholick, he is bound by the Decree of the 4th Lateran's Council to doe his utmoſt to purge his Countrey of Hereſy, and to extirpate thoſe that obſtinately adhere to and maintain it. So that ſuppoſe a Prince be never ſo ſincere in making ſuch Promiſes, and according to the moſt generous Principles of Humanity does incline to protect thoſe whom his Church condemns and obliges him to extirpate, the forfeiting the Reputation of being a Good Catholick and his Crown to boot are two things ſo dreadfull as will lay a ſtrong Biaſs upon the moſt Noble temper.

But beſides, it is but two well known that this has been one of the Arts whereby poor Proteſtants in our Neighbouring Countrey have been reduced to the utmoſt extremity of Miſery; that at the very time they were perſecuting them, they gave aſſurances that the King had no deſign againſt their Liberties; and in almoſt all the Edicts that Prince ſet forth, he inſerted ſome Article to lull them aſleep; and when the Electour of Brandenburgh did intercede for them, that King aſſured his Highneſs, that ſo long as he lived no wrong ſhould be done to his Subjects of the Reformed Religion; that he acknowledg'd them for good ones, and would maintain them in all their Privileges: But yet in the very ſelf ſame inſtant that he gave this publick aſſurance, he cauſed many of their Temples to be demoliſhed, and others to be ſhut up; put the Miniſters into Priſon, and made Children to be taken from their Parents, and to be ſhut up into Convents, with a ſtrict charge not to let their Parents ſee them. Such is the Spirit of Popery, and ſuch are the methods it makes uſe of for the propagating it ſelf; Methods that overturn the very foundations of Communities, and make Society far more uncomfortable than a Deſart: And yet this is not the worſt of it; for it is a Religion,

2. That when all other methods fail'd for the making you Papiſts, endeavour'd to make you ſlaves: And to a generous mind death is not ſo terrible as the inſultings of a barbarous Army, and the inſupportable Miſeries of an Arbitrary Power. I ſpeak not here my own ſenſe of our lamentable condition, but that which the Compoſers of the Prayers for this joyfull day, and an auguſt Aſſembly has given as the reaſon of their appointing this Feſtivity; nay that which you and the whole Kingdom have complained of, and groan'd under: For to what other purpoſe was a diſpencing Power veſted in our Prince, and ſtiffly maintained as the Diana of all his other Prerogatives, but that if his intereſts did ſo require, and his Soul could ſtoop to ſo baſe a thing, he might exerciſe an uncontrol'd. Authority over your Perſons and Eſtates, and leave you no other way to help your ſelves and eaſe your ſad complaints but your Prayers and Patience: To what purpoſe were you deprived of your privilege of petitioning, a privilege which God, the ſupreme Monarch, not only allows, but charges the neglect thereof as a great impiety; to what purpoſe, I ſay, was this made a mark of Faction, and exclaimed againſt as a crime tending to Rebellion, but to teach you the tameneſs of the moſt ſluggiſh Brute, to take up your burthen, and bear your ſtripes, without any ſeeming ſenſe of the weight and painfulneſs thereof? To what purpoſe was the humour of addreſſing for ſuch things as were the Kingdom's Grievances promoted and encouraged, but to inure you to like the hardeſt things that ſhould be put upon you by the Court? To what end was an Army kept up in a time of peace, but to make it fatall almoſt to groan in private under your calamities, and to give the Popiſh Faction an opportunity to advance their deſigns with more haſte and fury, than they could by the ſlow ſteps of the preceeding Reign? To this end were our Laws diſpenſed with, Judges diſplaced when their Conſciences permitted them not to be the betrayers of their Countrey, and to act according to the Directions and Councils of Father Peters and his party, & Perſons diſabled by our Laws, put into Places of the greateſt Truſt and profit. In a word, for I need not ſet before you all the methods that have been taken for the deſtroying the fundamentals of our Conſtitution, ſince they are too freſh before you not to be remembered by you with bleeding hearts; to what purpoſe, I ſay, was the violent invaſion of your Rights, and the treachery of ſurrendering your Privileges, but to give the Court a power to pack Parliaments at their pleaſure, and to undoe us by a Law?

What great advantage the Contrivers of our miſery gained by this forward Treachery, and what uſe, when the poſture of their affairs would have permitted, they might at leaſt make thereof, the lamentable caſe of thoſe of New-England is a very ſad and lively inſtance: For no ſooner were they poſſeſſed of their Charters, but their new Maſters who were ſet over them told them that their Charter being gone, their Title to their Lands and Eſtates were gone therewith, and that all was the King's; that they repreſented the King, and that therefore all perſons muſt take Patents from them, and give what they ſaw meet to impoſe, that ſo they might enjoy the Houſes their own Hands had built, and the Lands which at vaſt Charges, in ſubduing a Wilderneſs, they had for many years a rightfull poſſeſſion of; and accordingly the Governour ordered the Lands beloning to ſome in Charles Town to be meaſured out and given to his Creatures, and Writs of Intruſion to be iſſued out againſt others: And if there were any that were ſo hardy as to offer to maintain their Rights by a courſe at Law, they were impriſoned and fined: Such was the miſerable ſtate that People were reduced to, and which the violent Counſels of the Romiſh Party filled the Minds of the whole Kingdom with frightfull apprehenſions of.

But God, who at ſundry times, and in divers manners, ſaved our Forefathers from the helliſh Conſpiracies of theſe wretched Men, has been pleaſed mightily to interpoſe in our favour, and to deliver us from the dread of Romiſh zeal and bigottry. Which brings me,

2. To conſider our Deliverance, which is ſo conſpicuous a demonſtration of the amiableneſs of the divine Perfection, and the goodneſs of his Providence, that we have infinite reaſon to ſay, We have ſeen ſtrange things to day: For we have ſeen the faireſt proſpect, and the moſt aſſured hopes, Popery ever had of ſettling among us ſince the Reformation, defeated and diſappointed; not only the arguments of the Romiſh Miſſionaries baffled, (for if the Field was to be wone with no other weapons but theſe, I dare ſay, that they themſelves have long ago ſeen reaſon ſufficient to deſpair of a conqueſt,) but their Dragoons, whoſe weapons of cruelty they much rather depend upon, vanquiſh'd and ſcatter'd. It is not my deſign to inſult upon the misfortunes of an unhappy Prince, whom the Counſels of that reſtleſs Party have undone: But this I may ſay, that ſince he was ſo unfortunate to eſpouſe an Intereſt ſo contrary to that of his Kingdom, which ought to have been his deareſt, and the Counſels of Jeſuites influenced the publick authority, as our Danger was the more threatening ſo our Deliverance is the more amazing. Such are the Principles, ſo black the Deſigns of that reſtleſs Party, that as by their frequent endeavours to ſubvert our Religion and Goverment, they have given us but too great reaſon to ſay, It is impoſſible that State ſhould ever continue long in peace and quiet which they have opportunities to creep into; but when they find ways not only to corrupt a Court, but to pervert a Prince, and unhappily to engage him in their deſigns, as his caſe is much to be lamented, their attempts grow more bold and daring, and the ſafety of a State muſt neceſſarily be put into the greateſt extremity of hazard; and this is that which does magnifie the Deliverance we now bleſs God for: For we have not only ſeen the great Incendiaries of Kingdoms, the ſpightfull Enemies of our Religion and Liberties, chaſed from their private Cabals, and ferreted out of their holes and dark retirements, but from their Schools and Colleges, from the places of of greateſt Truſt, and publick Employments; and above all, from their Chairs of Confeſſion, and the King's Privy Council; we have ſeen a Church doom'd to ruine, and violently ſhockt by the vigorous attacks of implacable foes, to triumph over the infatuated Counſels of Prieſts and Jeſuites, and a State threatened with a Government of the French mode reſcued out of the hands of French and Iriſh; a Church to ſtand in ſpight of Eccleſiaſtical Commiſſioners, and a State preſerved in ſpight of diſpenſing Judges; we have ſeen the enemies of our Church and State falling, I cannot ſay into the Pit that they dug for us, (for God knows they dig as deep as Hell, and nothing on this ſide utter deſtruction can poſſibly ſatisfie their rage and fury,) but from the greatneſs of their expectations, and, I hope, from all poſſibility of ever occaſioning the like convulſions among us; in a word, we have ſeen the worſt of Enemies baffled, and the beſt Religion and Government in the World preſerved: and I had almoſt ſaid, (which is the only Bleſſing we want to complete our happineſs,) that we have ſeen a broken Church made whole, and Proteſtants united; but though this as yet is the matter of our Wiſhes and Prayers, yet I hope we have ſeen, at leaſt I am ſure we ought, a very fair ſtep towards it in the uniting of our hearts and affections, and that whatever is wanting towards ſo great a Bleſſing, is as much the deſires of our Souls as the generous endeavours of our honourable Convention. This, this alone will fully complete our Deliverance, for as there is nothing has given the Romiſh Party ſo great an advantage againſt us as our Diviſions, ſo nothing will give us a more aſſured conqueſt over them than our Union; and how much ſoever we owe to that good and great Prince, whoſe zeal for Religion, and concern for the good of Chriſtendom, prompted him to hazard his Perſon through Winds and Waves into a foreign Countrey, at a ſeaſon when Navigation is moſt dangerous, and Armies retire to warmer Quarters than the Field covered with Snow, or ſoak'd with Rain, yet 'tis only then I ſhall begin to think we are fully delivered, when like Brethren we dwell and aſſemble together in Unity. And now what remains but we ſhould conſider,

5. What reaſon we have to fear and glorifie God. As our danger was from Jeſuites, the worſt of Enemies, and our Deliverance from Popery and Slavery, the greateſt of evils that can threaten our Souls and Bodies, theſe are ſuch things as may well aſtoniſh us, and teach us to fear and glorifie God.

1. To fear: For as the Paſſions God has planted in our Nature were deſigned to be ſerviceable to the ends of Religion, it is highly reaſonable that we ſhould fear the Lord of Hoſts, and at all times tremble at his Majeſty; but when he repreſents himſelf fearfull in praiſes, and terrible in his doings, it is very fit that a Creature that is apt to fear where no fear is, and to dread the effects of a much leſs power, ſhould be ſtruck with an awfull regard of his glorious Majeſty, and feel our Souls ſtirr'd within us to ſuch apprehenſions as are ſuitable to the greatneſs and glory of his Works. Tremble thou earth at the preſence of the Lord, at the preſence of the God of Jacob. Pſ. 114.7. Though God in reſpect of the immenſity of his Being be always preſent with us; ſo that if we ſhould take the wings of the Morning, and dwell in the uttermoſt parts of the Sea, yet there his hand leads us, and his right hand holds us; yet the greatneſs of his doings among the Children of Men are ſuch glorious manifeſtations of his preſence, that we, who at other times ſee very little of him, cannot but behold it; and when God does put on righteouſneſs as a Breaſt-plate, and a Helmet of Salvation on his Head, it is a time that our fear ſhould be as great as his Attributes are conſpicuous, and that the glory of his preſence in diſpenſations ſo full of wonder, ſhould take down all hour high thoughts, and abaſh us into the moſt humble frame. I am troubled at his preſence, when I conſider I am affraid of him, ſaith holy Job, Ch. 23. v. 15. And again, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye ſeeth thee, wherefore I abhor my ſelf, and repent in duſt and aſhes, Ch. 42. v. 5, 6. to ſuch a low and humble poſture was this good man brought when he ſaw, nay, when he conſidered the preſence of God. And it is not only that which God deſigned we ſhould be wrought to by the conſideration of his glorious Attributes, when he gave us the affections of our Nature, but what the aſtoniſhing Diſpenſations of of his ſtupendious Providence ought more effectually to caſt us into.

2. To glorifie God; to aſcribe to him the honour of his doings, and with Souls full of gratitude to ſay, This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes; this is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoyce and be glad in it; For as the divine purpoſe in ſuch mighty and admirarable occurrences, is to reſtore a decaving Piety to life, and to renew the impreſſions of his Perfections in our Souls, which Time and ſecular cares are apt to wear our, ſo it highly becomes us to expreſs our reſentments in the efforts of the moſt livey and vigorous Piety. O God, my heart is fixed, I will ſing and give praiſe, even with my glory, i.e. with my tongue, and all the faculties of my ſoul, which are the glory of humane nature, will I commemorate thy goodneſs and ſignal mercie. Awake Pſaltery and Harp, I my ſelf will awake right early. I will praiſe thee among the people, and I will ſing Praiſes among the Nations; For thy mercy is great above the Heavens, and thy Truth reacheth, unto the Clouds. Be thou exalted O God above the Heavens, and thy Glory above all the earth. Pſal. 108.1, 2, &c. 'Tis not enough indeed that we can aſcribe to the great vertue of that Heroick Prince whom God in mercy raiſed to be our Deliverer. It was not the glory of a Crown that tempted him to ſo hazardous an enterprize; for beſides that a little time would in all probability have given him a more eaſie poſſeſſion thereof, his Piety would never have permitted him to have invaded the right of ſo near a Relation as a Father, if his Piety to God had not ſtrongly prompted him to endeavour the preſervation of thoſe ſacred Truths which he beheld to be miſerably invaded, and ready to be deſtroyed: But it was the ſetling a tottering ſtate, and the ſupporting a ſinking Church, nay the ſecuring the little tranquillity that was left to all the Reformed Churches in Chriſtendom from the furious inſults of thoſe that threatned them with utter extirpation. This was the thing that he declared for, and ſo true has he been to his Declaration, that he much rather deſerves the Character of the Juſt, and the Faithfull, than any other Prince to whom with the greateſt induſtry it has been given: For when he might have taken the Crown as the fruit of his Labour and Conqueſt, he waited till it was given him by the Honourable Repreſentatives of the Kingdom, with the Concurrence of the Peers, as the Reward of his Merit.

But as it is not without the Lord that is come up to this Kingdom, while we admire his Wiſdom and Conduct, his Courage and Succeſs, let us remember to give God the Glory of ſo mighty a Deliverance. Let us in contemplation of ſo ſignal a Bleſſing ſay with the Pſalmiſt. The Lord is my light and my ſalvation, whom ſhall I fear; The Lord is the ſtrength of my life, of whom ſhall I be affraid. Though an hoſt of Men ſhould encamp againſt me, my heart ſhall not fear; though War ſhould riſe againſt me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I deſired of the Lord, that will I ſeek after, that I may dwell in the houſe of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his Temple. For in the time of trouble he ſhall hide me in his pavilion: in the ſecret of his Tabernacle ſhall he hide me, he ſhall ſet me up upon a Rock. And now ſhall mine head be lifted up above mine Enemies round about me; therefore will Loffer in his Tabernacle ſacrifices of joy; I will ſing yea, I will ſing praiſes unto the Lord. Bleſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael who only does wondrous things. And bleſſed be his glorious Name for ever, and the let whole Earth be filled with his Glory, Amen, Amen.

FINIS.