they had Covenanted to reform And having made themselves our Rulers impiously and sacrilegiously invaded the Revenues of the Crown and Miter plundered and oppressed imprisoned and murdered all that had opposed this New-invented Usurpation And finally they left the People no shadow of Liberty and broke Religion into so many petty and ridiculous Sects that we were the scorn of Atheists and Papists and a scandal to all the Christian World till these ambitious and bloody Oppressors fell out at last among themselves and nothing could make up that Breach but the Recalling the King to set up Monarchy and restore the Church § 1. This Office is introduced with some of the usual Sentences which are explained before The Minister hath the choice of Three all very proper The first is Daniel's Confession (d) Dan. ix 9 10. describing God's Mercy and our Sinfulness The other two are Jeremy's Prayer (e) Jerem. x. 24. for a mitigation of Judgment And David's Request (f) Psal cxliii 2. See Companion to the Temple par 1. for a total Sparing Instead of the Venite we have a very proper Hymn collected out of divers places of Holy Scripture so that the words are Divine and their pertinency to this Occasion will appear by the following Scheme This Hymn contains these Five particulars 1st A Preface owning 1. God's Righteousness Psal CXIX 137. Nehem. IX 33. 2. Our wonder at the Methods of it Psalm LXXIII 2 3. 2ly A Description of the matter of Fact setting out 1. His Enemies Plots Psal II. 2. LXXXIII 5. 2. Their Calumnies Psal XXXI 15. CIX 2. 3. Their Ingratitude Psal XLI 9. XXXV 12. 4. Their Injustice 1. To him Psalm LXXI 9. 2. To his Lament IV. 20. 5. Their Cruelty 1. In wishing his death Lament IV. 12. Psal XLI 5 8. 2. In condemning him falsly Psal XXXV 11. 3. In Executing him barbarously Lament IV. 13. 3ly A Reflexion upon it 1. With detestation as to our selves Gen. XLIX 6. Psal LXXX 17. 2. With contempt as to his mistaken Enemies Wisd III. 2. V. 4. III. 3. 3. With assurance of his felicity Wisd III. 4. V. 5. 4ly A Consideration of the Judgment due for it and thereon 1. The Prayer to spare the Innocent 1. The Nation Psal XCIV 1. LI. 18. Deut. XXI 8. 2. Our selves Psalm XXVI 9. LI. 14. 2ly The Reason why the Guilty may fear punishment 1. From God's hatred of such Psal V. 4 ver 6. 2. From his dealings with others Ps LXXIII ver 18 19. 5ly A Conclusion owning again God's Righteousness Apocal. XV. 3. Psal CXIX 137. Brief Notes upon this Hymn PSal CXIX 137. Even when we cannot discern the particular Reasons of thy Providence thy Nature assures us thou art ever Righteous and in time thy Judgments appear equitable Nehem. IX 33. It was a great Calamity to us to be so soon deprived of so excellent a Prince but we cannot censure thy Providence because we must own that though he were innocent yet we of this Nation at that time were grievous Sinners Psal LXXIII 2 3. But while so innocent and eminent a Saint a professor a practicer and defender of the true Religion suffers so unjustly and severely and the Hypocrites Atheists persidious and cruel Men who oppressed him prospered and flourished It startled many good Men (g) See Job XXI 6. Jer. XII 1. Flagitiosi vero in quantâvis prosperitate sunt calamitosi Apollon in Stobae who could not apprehend why God should seem to desert his Friends and abet the Cause which he hated Psal II. 2. LXXIII 5. The whole proceeding was indeed very strange the rabble and drags of the People mutinyed and the Great Men whom he had advanced met in Cabals and consulted how to pull down the true Religion which the Lord had planted here (h) Acts IX 4. me inquit Christus non meos Aug. de sanct Serm. 14. and to destroy Gods Anointed who they know would not permit them while he lived to overthrow the Church Therefore they plotted his destruction and entred into an illegal and wicked Covenant against him Psal XXXI 15. While he stayed in his Palace thousands of the vile Populace came in droves and railed at him crying out for Justice that is for Innocent Blood And He knew that those who stirred up these Tumults were then conspiring his Death Psal CIX 2. For the compassing of which bloody Design they represented all his Actions most falsly and maliciously in their Libels Speeches and Remonstrances and then raised open War against Him without any just Cause For he had not attempted either to alter Religion or invade Property as they falsly suggested Psal XLI 9. On the contrary He would have preserved both and was kind to all his Subjects but more particularly to some of these Traytors who had been raised to great honour and wealth by him enjoyed high and profitable Places under him and ate at his very Table (i) This is applied to Judas Mark XIV 18. yet like Judas these betrayed their Master Psal XXXV 12. These were very Monsters of Ingratitude like the young Ram which dashes with his horns the paps he sucks as the Greek Proverb is (k) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prov. ap Suid. They had received good from him but requited him with all the mischief they could do him This baseness touched him very neerly Psal LXXI 9. So did also the spiteful Reflexions they made on his Sufferings as if they were a demonstration of Gods having rejected and deserted him His losses and their success like David's Enemies encouraged them to persecute and seize him fancying Heaven would never call them to account for it But they were deceived both in their censures and their hopes for a little time shewed that God corrected Him in love (l) Hebr. XII 6. Prov. III. 2. and destroyed them in his anger Lament IV. 20. However they did prevail then but it was our loss more than the Martyred Kings for our welfare depended on his He was as necessary to our Safety as the Breath of our Nostrils is to our Life (m) Animus Rei Pub. es tu illa Corpus tuum Tu ille spiritus vitalis quem tot millia trahunt Senec. de Clem. l. 1. c. 4 5. And we hoped when God had Anointed over us so wise so pious and so gracious a King we might long have lived under him in peace and plenty and have been more happy than any Nation But God punished us in letting him fall into their Pits Lam. IV. 12. Psal XLI 5 ver 8. Who could have imagined that such Miscreants should have been let loose upon a rightly reformed Christian Church who should thirst so vehemently for the Blood of its Supream Governor And should be permitted to proceed to so high a degree of wickedness as to Try him without Law and pass Sentence on him that was intirely Innocent as if he had
Conscience sake and in obedience to the holy Law of God who hath advanced them for excellent ends even to keep off great evils and do much good (q) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. to thee and many others Ver. VI. Upon the same Principles of Conscience and Gratitude is your submitting to publick payments grounded For for this cause pay you Tribute also as an acknowledgment of their Supreme Authority and a just reward for their care in defending your Persons and Properties from publick and private Injuries (r) Nec quies gentium sine armis neque arma sine stipendijs neque stipendia sine tributis haberi queunt Tacit. An. lib. 4. The Gospel enjoyns you to pay these to Princes For they are Gods Ministers in this part of their Office also And as their time and pains are employed in attending continually on this very thing So Subjects are bound in justice to requite them for it and as they cannot govern and defend us without Tribute it would be wicked and ungrateful in us to deny it Ver. VII In a word you Christians are obliged in Conscience to give all sorts of Superiors that which is due to them by the Law of Nature or the Constitutions of your own Country Render therefore to all that are above and over you what is thus made their Due and particularly you must pay Tribute for your Persons and Lands to them to whom Tribute is due by Law and Custom for Wares and Merchandise to them to whom Custom is due by the Constitutions of the State To the Magistrates who have power to punish shew reverence and Fear for these are they to whom Fear is due And to all that are in any Dignity yea to all your betters give honour and respect these being they to whom honour justly belongs The Gospel St. Luke XI 51 56. § 13. THE design of this Gospel is to correct the unruly effects of mistaken zeal for Religion shewing that our Faith if it be never so true cannot warrant us to destroy all those that differ from us For Jesus who was the Truth it self when he was inhumanly used by the Samaritans out of meer Spite and Malice to the Jewish Religion then professed by our Saviour would not allow his Disciples so much as to wish Fire might come from Heaven upon these unnatural Miscreants Much less will he allow Popish Subjects unprovoked to plot the fetching Fire as it were from Hell to destroy their Soveraign and many hundred Innocents more only for being of a different Faith And by the same Rule it appears that Christ would not permit a Prince who had sworn to protect his Subjects to oppress ruin and persecute them purely for being of another Religion Whoever gives Subjects or Kings such counsel and calls it zeal for holy Church to rebel or persecute (s) Non est Religionis cogere Religionem Tert. ad Scap. they are led by the evil Spirit who was a Murderer from the beginning not by the Spirit of Christ they are false Teachers and Corrupters of the Rules of Christianity This Gospel gives the History of 1st Our Saviours 1. Intent to keep an holy Feast Ver. LI. 2. Care to be accommodated Ver. LII 2ly The Affront put on him by the Samaritans Ver. LIII 3ly His Disciples deep resentment thereof Ver. LIV. 4ly His own 1. Dislike of their mistaken Zeal Ver. LV. 2. His reason for that dislike Ver. LVI 3. His practice on that Occasion Ibid. A Paraphrase on this Gospel St. Luke IX 51. AND it came to pass A little before our Lords Passion when the time was drawing nigh and almost come that he should leave this World and be received up again with glory into Heaven Being then in Galilee he stedfastly resolved to keep the Passover and so set his face (t) 2 Kings XII 17. Phras signif Omnia fecit quo crederetur se iturum toward and was on his Journey to go to Ierusalem though he knew what he was to suffer there Ver. LII Now in his way from Galilee to Jerusalem he must pass through the Country of the Samaritans (u) John LV. 4. whose bitter aversion to the Jews he knew (w) Justinus M. olim Samaritan de sciâ—â—s o. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apol. 2. pag. 61. intending therefore to give them no trouble but for one Nights Lodging He chose out and sent Messengers probably James and John before his face that they might not be surprized and they went and entred into a village belonging to the Country of the Samaritans intending to make ready the Provisions they had brought for him and procure him a Bed for one Night Ver. LIII But so hot was their blind Zeal for a false Religion (x) Quibus nec Pontifex nec Templum Tert. de Samarit that his Disciples were denied the use of an House And they did not receive him so much as into their Town but though it was late and our Saviour weary they most inhumanly turned him out without any other reason for it but because he set his face as though he would go to Ierusalem to keep there the Passover For perceiving by this he was of the Jewish Religion which they hated they thought they were bound in Conscience to refuse him the most common favour Ver. LIV. And when two of his Disciples Iames and Iohn who intirely loved their Master saw this barbarous rudeness in the Samaritans they said out of indignation against them and as they imagined true zeal for Jesus Lord wilt thou suffer such inhuman wretches to go unpunished We know thy Power and crave thy Leave that we in thy Name may command fire to come down from Heaven where thy Father dwells to destroy and consume them this moment and warn others that they may not dare to injure and affront thee for why may not we do as Elias did (y) 2 Kings I. 10. RR dicunt Deum sustulisse Eliam ob iracundiam dicendo Non expedit hominbus ille cui tantum zeli inest perderet enim cos Maimon praef ad Pirk. Ab. c. 7. upon a less provocation since a greater than Elias is here Ver. LV. For which zealous Design tending so evidently to Christs Honour and the confusion of a false Religion they expected such commendation and encouragement as the Romish Priests gave their People in the former and their Prince in the later Plot. But He turned back looked angrily on them and rebuked them sharply for their folly and dangerous mistake And said Do you take this for a motion of my Spirit and think it a just Zeal for me and your Religion to wish such dreadful Vengeance on those who are of a different Persuasion I tell you 't is Bloody Rage not Piety and a Motion not of the Holy but the Evil Spirit I find you know not what manner of Guide you follow nor what kind of spirit you are of it is the Devil who blows you up into
we are here before thee with all c. 2. Sacrifices of Praise and to offer up our Sacrifice c. 3. Promises 1. Of New Obedience to God Humbly beseeching thee to accept c. 2. Duty Loyalty to the King And promising in thee and for thee c. 3ly A Prayer for the Royal Family that they may be 1. Prosperous here Whom we beseech thee to bless c. 2. Eternally happy hereafter and to crown them with immortality c. A Practical Discourse on this Collect. § 7. O Lord God of our Salvation who hast been c. After so great and happy a Change our first Duty is to look up to the Glorious Author of it even to the Lord who shews himself to be our God not only by preparing Eternal Salvation for us in the next World but by saving us out of many Troubles in this for which Cause David seems much delighted in giving him often the Title of the God of our Salvation (d) Psal LXV 5. and LXXIX 9. and LXXXVIII 1. And as no Land ever had a more illustrious Testimony of Gods gracious Favour than we (e) Psal LXXXV 1. So no Nation hath more reason to use this Title than ours Let us consider what miserable Confusions we were reduced to both in Church and State when our Ancient Governments in both were subverted We had undergon variety of Changes and tried every way but the right to settle us again Lords and Commons Commons alone Keepers of our Liberties a Lord General a Protector a Committee of Safety and a Supream Military Government which ended in plain Anarchy In the Church variety of Sects and Factions but nothing established the Order of the Clergy laid in Common the Articles of Faith Rites of Worship and Rules of Discipline utterly broken to pieces and all Religion left Arbitrary to every puisny Party yea to every whimsical Man till there was not so much as the Face of Unity or Order left among us Now to rescue us out of this Chaos and restore both Church and State of a sudden to their pristine Splendor was really a most miraculous Providence By restoring to us and to his own just and undoubted c. From the consideration of the Author of our Deliverance and the Evils we were freed from we regularly pass to observe the means by which this was effected which was the restoring our late gracious King Charles II. to his People and to his rightful Throne They had Murdered his Father upon false Pretences but his Son and undoubted Heir had done nothing that seemed to forfeit his Title nothing but open Violence and unjust Force excluded him (f) Vis colitur jurisque locum sibi vendicat ensis Sil. Ital. de Bel. Punic l. 2. Ambition and Covetousness backed with usurped Power did first banish him and then kept him out of possession and persecuted him who had done them no injury nor had he any Crime but his undoubted Right Which at last of it self overcame the Hearts of the whole Nation so that without any opposition his Enemies fell before him and he was restored again to the joy of the whole Nation who had been so long oppressed by the very Dregs of their own Fellow-subjects that they expressed an universal satisfaction to see their own King the Defender of the True Faith once more set over Gods Inheritance Restoring also unto us the publick and free profession c. As much as Eternity exceeds Time and the Soul excels the Body so much if possible should our Joy for Spiritual Good Things surpass that which respects our Temporal Advantages and doubtless that was the greatest Cause of all Pious Mens rejoycing at the Restauration that together with the rightful King the publick and free Profession of the right Religion was also restored 'T was Julian's policy to permit the Jews and all sorts of Hereticks to profess their several Religions and prohibit only the Orthodox Christians and our Oppressors imitated him for they Tolerated the vilest Sects the falsest Opinions and the absurdest ways of Worship nothing was Penal nothing Forbid and Persecuted but the old established Religion of this Church So that for many years some thousands of the best Christians could not joyn in the Publick Worship of God nor had they any regular Offices or Sacraments but what they could enjoy in private from Persons silenced and deprived of all means of subsistence Now it was so happy and so comfortable a Change to these to have the true Articles of Faith and Ancient ways of Worship restored with the Bishops the Liturgy and the holy Sacraments that nothing was so pleasing to their Souls as this The end for which Kings are advanced is to be Ministers of God to their People for good (g) Rom. XIII 4. Now the chiefest good that Christian People can have from a Prince is his protecting the True Religion his being a Nursing Father to the Church (h) Isai XLIX 23. and Custos utriusque Tabulae a Keeper of both Tables that is not only to see that every Man doth right to his Neighbour as the Second Table directs but that the True God alone is Owned Worshipped Rightly Reverenced and served by all as the First Table requires A just King is a great Blessing but if he profess and defend the True Religion also that makes him a double Blessing for then he fully answers the end of his Advancement to God and comes up to whatever good Subjects can desire Now this being our Case at the Restauration there was great reason for pious Men to express an extraordinary satisfaction yea those who had no concern for Religion or however for that established had temporal grounds to rejoyce because the State as well as the Church was restored to its former Peace and Prosperity Every private Man regained his just Rights the Prince was content to govern by Law and the Subjects were protected from Injuries at home and abroad Trade flourished Plenty every where abounded and there was a happy Peace given us to improve and enjoy all these Blessings (i) Dulce nomen est Pacis res verò ipsa jucunda tum salutaris Cicer Philip. 2. Now all this after a long War and all the Miseries attending it after Arbitrary and Illegal Uncertain and Violent Methods of Government and finally after such cruel Invasions of Liberty and Property as we had long smarted under must be very sweet and very grateful to all considering Men We are here now before thee with all due thankfulness c. Upon this prospect of our Deliverance and all its blessed effects we must ask David's Question What shall we return unto the Lord (k) Psal CXVI 11. And the Collect leads us to a threefold Return which all of us ought to make for so general a Blessing First to make a publick acknowledgment before Almighty God of his unspeakble Goodness herein and if we forget or neglect this our Ingratitude may
valiant for Civil War And if any of their Princes were more Pious and Gracious than the rest they all combined against him as the subverter of their Country (f) Fortes ad Bella civelia Si quis principum mitior in hunc quasi Britanniae subversorem omnium odia telaque torquebantur Gildas de excid Britan. This verified that Reproach which a Foreigner in the last Age said of the English That we were a stubborn and unruly People whose custom it was often to kill our Kings (g) Textor Officin Tit. Siti Fame Mortui p. 156. h. And in a word this horrid Cruelty and impudent Hypocrisie made our Country-men hated and abused all over Christendom Ver. V VI VII But the whole Nations Fame ought not to be blasted for the faults of a few We had very many good Men who expostulated with God for correcting his best Servants so severely and begged he would turn his Indignation against his Enemies who had committed blacker Crimes than were to be found among the most savage Heathens who did not so much as know nor pretend to worship God for these had (h) Mitius inveni quam te genus omne ferarum Ovid. Parcit cognatis maculis fera murdered their rightful Sovereign and their Fellow-subjects yea and laid waste their own native Country Ver. VIII IX X. These holy men in those sad times bewailed both their Sins and their Misery They confessed their old Offences in the days of Peace and Plenty and earnestly begged pardon for them They most importunately prayed for speedy help and deliverance from the Iron Rods of these Insolent Tyrants whose success in Wickedness had made them despise the Righteous Cause of the King and the Church and they insulted over both as if God had forsaken them (i) Theodosius in praelio contra barbaros recitat hunc versum viz. Psal LXXIX 10. Et Deus dat ei insperatam victoriam Ruffin hist lib. XI cap. 33. and this reflexion upon Gods Honour pierced their hearts deeper than all their other sorrows and sufferings Ver. XI XII XIII These righteous Souls vexed at the open and barefaced Violence and Cruelty of those Atheistical Hypocrites and troubled at the Righteous Blood they had spilt Prayed for speedy Judgments upon the Guilty which might for the Honour of God be as Publick as their Crimes And for such as they had unjustly shut up in Prisons the Confessors in our Martyrs Cause whose Blood was designed a Sacrifice but they were yet alive They interceded with God to rescue them out of their Persecutors hands Finally As to those of the Roman Communion who reproach and blaspheme thy True Religion as if that or its Professors were guilty of this Murder (k) The Royal Martyr affirms that none was active in th s War that was a true Lover of the Protestant Religion established in England 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Letter to the Prince p. 235. Thou who knowest the fashood of this Charge and their treasonable Doctrines and Practices they wished they might be severely punished (l) Gen. IV. 15. Septies pro poenâ gravissimâ as so foul a Calumny justly deserves Ver. XIV And upon Gods gracious hearing and answering these Prayers they promise that they and their Posterity who were Gods peculiar People and under his special Care would Praise his Name and Publish his Glory from Age to Age. Which Promise of our Innocent Ancestors We who have seen their Desires fulfilled are bound this day to keep and so we close this Psalm with our Glory be to the Father c. Psal XCIV is upon the same Subject and consists of Seven Parts 1st A Prayer to God to exert his Justice Ver. I II. 2ly A Complaint for his seeming to defer it Ver. III IV. 3ly A Description 1. Of his Enemies evil Deeds Ver. V VI. 2. Of their vain Hopes to escape Ver. VII 4ly A Confutation of those hopes 1. From Gods Omniscience Ver. VIII IX 2. From his Justice on others Ver. X XI 5ly An Exhortation to Patience from 1. The Comfort of that Grace Ver. XII XIII 2. The Certainty of Deliverance Ver. XIV XV. 3. The Assurance of Aid Ver. XVI 6ly A Declaration of his Faith by 1. Remembring former Mercy to him Ver. XVII XVIII XIX 2. Considering the Reason why it was unlikely God should help them Ver. XX. XXI 7ly A Conclusion full of hope both that 1. God would support him Ver. XXII 2. And also punish them Ver. XXIII Brief Notes upon the XCIVth Psalm § 2. Ver. I II III IV. WHen the Pious Mourners for our Royal Martyr saw those who had shed his Blood and seized his Dominions were grown so proud with long impunity they called to mind that Vengeance belonged to God (m) Rom. XII 19. and that he was the Supream Judge of the World (n) Gen. XVIII 25. wherefore they justly appealed to him who seemed to sleep while he spared these bold Sinners and laboured to awaken his Justice by their importunate Cries They joyned with their Martyred Friends in Heaven and said (o) Rev. VI. 10. How long O Lord holy and true c. Their Triumphs over oppressed Innocence and proud boasting of their prosperous Crimes were so provoking that they could not but expostulate with Heaven for a seeming delay of Justice (p) Luke XVIII 3. Importunus vincâ—t â—â—lum quanto magis bâ—â—tatem mundi Liâ—r San. hedr. in Talm. â—ol 105. and the Calamity being so intolerable excused the Importunity and the Complaint also For they bragged God was on their side and impiously appointed days of publick Thanksgiving (q) Quotiens fagas caedes â—ussit Princess tetiens grates Dijs actaâ— quaeque rerum secundarum olâ—â— tam publicae cladis insigma fuisse Tacit Annal. l. 14. p. 1007. as often as they had success in their wicked Cruelties being so far from repenting or pitying the innocent Sufferers that they despised the Righteous but Afflicted Cause Ver. V VI VII Who can blame them in this Case for setting out the matter of Fact before the supream Judge Wherefore they declare that these wicked Men had slain and cut off many good Christians by the Sword and the Ax and had disquieted this Land where the true Religion was professed with an Unnatural Civil War And when they had made many Widows and Fatherless without any regard to Heaven which is wont to avenge their Cause (r) Exod. XXII 22. Duo ista nomina in quantum destâ—tuta humano auxilio in tantum divinae misericordiae exposita suscipit tuâ—ri Pater onâ—mum Tert. ad Ux. l. 1. p. 166. they starve them by plunder and Sequestrations Yet after all they are so miserably blinded and hardned as to boast that they shall never be accountable to God for this Cruelty and Injustice and because thy Sentence O Lord is not yet executed they think they shall finally escape Ver. VIII IX X XI But this is an imagination as
Psal LXVIII 26 19. 7ly A Pious Wish that 1. Sinners may be punished Psal VII 9. 2. Good Men may rejoyce Psal XL. 19. Brief Notes on this Hymn Psal LXXXIX 1. THE restoring our Monarchy and reestablishing our Church were such a demonstration of Gods loving kindness to us and of the certain Truth of all those Promises which we relied on in our Trouble That his Goodness and Truth ought both to be the constant Subjects of the Praises of this Age and of the next Generation also Psal CXI 4. 'T is pity any of his Works should be forgotten But there was so much Free Grace and Mercy in his delivering us from our Oppressors and such Miracles of Wisdom and Power in restoring our ancient Government and Religion that we should be hateful to God and Man and the most ungrateful Wretches in the World (a) Omnes enim immemorem beneficij oderunt Cicer. de Offic. lib. 2. if we do not keep a Memorial of this for ever Psal CVI. 2. 'T is true this and the rest of Gods Noble Acts are such complications of Infinite Wisdom Power and Goodness and all of them so perfectly excellent that no man can sufficiently describe them nor express all the Praises due to their Divine Author (b) Ecclus XLIII 30. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hermes Aegypt So that being overwhelmed with Admiration at their astonishing Glories we must at first wonder in silence and Adore Psal CXI 2. However good Men delight in nothing more than in studying and meditating upon the Mercy which Contrives the Wisdom which Conducts and the Power which Accomplishes these stupendious Works 't is pleasant above all things to them to search into the Causes and happy Effects of them (c) Non patior me quicquam nescire de eo quem amem Plin. Epist they could with great satisfaction if it were possible spend their whole time in these Contemplations Psal CXLVII 6. If we turn our thoughts from hence to the most righteous administrations of his Providence thence will arise new matter for our Praises How often doth he pity the Humble and Meek who though extremely injured are perhaps not able however not willing to avenge themselves And doth he not at the same time cast down their impious and proud Oppressors from their usurped Power and Authority Psal CIII 6. They may be so strong and so secured that Men dare not accuse or cannot punish them but the Lord the supreme Judge of all will at last take the innocent Mans case into his hand and will not only pass a righteous Sentence but also execute it effectually by shewing Mercy to the Oppressed and sending his Judgments on the Oppressors Ver. 9. As to his own Children though they often offend him and sometimes go on a long time in their folly yet such is his gracious Nature that he bears with them a great while before his anger begin and then also it is soon over (d) Irasci quidem rebus indignus sed flecti citò Aurel. Victor de Theodos he doth not keep it for ever Ver. 10. When our Sins compel him to correct us for the vindication of his Laws he punishes us less than our iniquities deserve the Correction begins not so soon rises not so high nor endures so long as it justly might Ver. 11. His Mercy is as much higher and greater than ours as his Glorious Habitation of Heaven is higher and larger than this Earth on which we dwell this is but a small point compared to that vast Circumference yet such are all human Compassions in comparison of his infinite Pity towards us Ver. 13. We may help our weak Apprehensions by likening his Affection and Kindness to those that fear him when they are in distress to the tender pity that a loving Parent hath to his dearest Child when it is in extream Torment But this will fall far short of Gods Infinite Compassion Psal LXVI 9 11. Yet as the kindest Father is sometimes forced to correct his beloved but offending Child so our Sins and Corruptions do often compel our Heavenly Father to afflict us He is necessitated to put us into the Fire of Calamity and try us as Silver is tried (e) Omnia adversa caercitaâ—iones putat Sen. de Prov. cap. 2. but his design is not to consume but purifie us and therefore if we bear them patiently they ever end well Thus in our Case while our Oppressors had Power they used us with as much contempt as if they had trampled us under their Horses Feet we escaped as narrowly as if we had been to run through a raging Fire (f) 1 Cor. III. 15. or wade over a deep Water But the happy Restauration brought us into a condition of Safety Peace and Plenty again Psal LXXI 18. Lord how many Miseries did then beset us Our Religion our Liberty our Estates and Lives were all at Stake yea we and our Hopes also seemed to be buried in the Earth Yet according to thy wonted Compassion thou didst turn and refresh us with an unexpected Deliverance So that our Church and Monarchy with all the true Friends of both seemed to have a new Resurrection from that Grave in which our Foes hoped they would have slept for ever Psal CXXXVI 23 24. Our Estate before was very low Plundering and Sequestration Fines and Imprisonment Banishment and the Sword had made our Condition seem helpless and our Ruin unavoidable But when thou O Lord didst undertake our Rescue moved by thy never-failing Pity we were suddenly and strangely set free Therefore we will sing that triumphant Psalm (g) Solet iste Psalmus rebus laetis auâ—iberi Gâ—ot in Psal 136. which celebrates the eternal duration of thy Mercy and was wont to be used on the most joyful occasions Psal LXXXV 1. and LIX 10. Never was so Blessed a Change in so short a space brought about in any Land and Heaven was eminently gracious to ours in so wonderfully putting an end to our miserable Bondage We had a most convincing Evidence of Gods abundant Goodness in his letting our Eyes see what our Hearts had so long wished even the Cessation of that Tyranny under which we had groaned Psal XX. 18. and XXXVI 12. By thy Providence we saw them fall from their usurped Authority and our selves raised up to our ancient Freedom under our Rightful Prince They were exalted by Injustice and we had been depressed by Violence therefore their Ruin is most just and we hope their Recovery impossible so long as thou O Righteous Lord dost govern the World Psal CXV 12 13. We thought our Misery very tedious and our Burden very heavy but found at last that God had us in his Mind all those sad times therefore why should we not hope he will go on to Bless both his People and his Priests after this Deliverance We cannot doubt the continuance of his Favour if we continue to fear him in our Prosperity as we did in our Adversity
if our better Fortune make us not worse men (h) Rarò simul hominibus bonam fortunam bonamque mentem dari Asdrubal ap Liv. our Happiness shall be as durable as it is universal Psal CVII 21 22. Considering then the greatness of our Obligations God grant we may none of us prove ungrateful for this mighty Instance of his Goodness Oh that the whole Nation may publish the Wonders he hath done for them and on this solemn Day offer up their Sacrifices of hearty Praise may it be their Delight as it is their Duty to spread abroad the Glory of his Works Psal LXXVIII 4 6 9. May it be our endeavour to make the Memory of this Deliverance to endure longer than our Lives by acquainting our Children what Honour God acquired by his Justice on our Foes and his Mercy on us and our injured Prince on this Occasion This will eternize his Praise and bring the Children yet unborn to see the grounds of it as well as we and may probably prevent their engaging in so Unnatural a War against so Gracious a King when they see how severely it was punished in the Ages before them Psal LXVIII 26 19. Let the Priests excite the People and let them stir up one another this Day to go to the Publick Assembly and there to rejoice and give Thanks not only outwardly and with their Lips but inwardly and sincerely from the bottom of the Heart Nor is one Day sufficient for this Duty the Lord deserves daily Praises for there is not a day when we are in Trouble that he doth not help us not an hour wherein he doth not pour his Benefits on us so liberally as to load us with his kindness (i) Who daily loadeth us with Benefits New Translation ver 19. Psal VII 9. and XL. 19. And that our Joy and Praises may receive no check let us pray that wicked Men may never again go on so prosperously in their Sin as they did here in those Times and that He who did assert our righteous Cause will secure it So shall thy true Worshippers O God who daily call on thee and Bless thy Name continually rejoyce under thy Constant Protection And all that delight in observing how thou savest thy own People by this means will have fresh Testimonies of thy gracious Providence and frequent Occasions to say The Lord be praised Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Proper Psalms CXXIV CXXVI CXXIX and CXVIII § 2. THE first of these Psalms viz. CXXIV hath been explained in the Office for Novemb. 5. § 4. And our Church may properly repeat it again this Day for the Papists and Sectaries though like Sampson's Foxes they look contrary ways do both joyn in supporting Fire to destroy us (k) Licet diversa tractantes ad unius veritatis expugnationem conspirant Tert. de praescript adhaeret cap. 41. their end is the same though their Methods have been different The next Psalm is the CXXVIth The CXXIV Psalm hath Four Parts 1st The consequence of Israels Deliverance which was 1. As to them 1. Very surprizing Ver. I. 2. Very joyful Ver. II. 2. As to others very remarkable Ver. III. 2ly An acknowledgment of what God had then done Ver. IV. 3ly A Prayer that he would perfect this Work Ver. V. 4ly A General Observation that Adversity doth commonly precede the Prosperity of the Pious Ver. VI VII Brief Notes on the CXXVI Psalm Psal CXXVI 1. WHen the Cities of Judah had been destroyed their Temple burn true Religion banished and the Professors of it had long been made Slaves and Captives God was pleased so suddenly to turn their Affairs and restore their Government Liberties and Religion that those Pious but long oppressed Jews who lived to see that joyful Day could scarce be persuaded the thing was real the Happiness was too big for their Faith (l) Gaudium tam insperatum ut vix credibilo erat Ab. Ezr. in loc And like the conquered Corinthians who expected nothing less than Slavery hearing the Roman Praetor proclaim their Freedom they were apt to fancy it was only some pleasant Dream or waking Delusion of their Imagination (m) illi vero mirabundi somni speciem arbitrabantur Livius and feared their Senses did deceive them such was the surprize of their Joy and Wonder Now this was also our Case at the Restauration Ver. II. But so soon as they and we recovered our Selves and found our Deliverance was real the restoring of our Religion and Liberties was celebrated with all imaginable demonstrations of Joy our Looks were sprightly and cheerful and we universally expressed our inward satisfaction by just and loud Praises to our Deliverer Ver. III. Whos 's kindness to us in this auspicious Change was so remarkable that all our Neighbour Nations took notice how suddenly and wonderfully our God had changed the Face of our Affairs so that from Exiles and Bondmen we were become perfectly Free Ver. IV. But while they only wondred at this it becomes us to own that it was the hand of God alone that brought it about for our good and to rejoyce exceedingly for the mighty Favours we have already received so far beyond our Deserts Ver. V. And because there still remains some bitter Roots of those old seditious Principles and factious Opinions then sowed among us We will pray that this Example may root them out and make us all truly Loyal to our King and unanimously Conformable to the Church established O that the evil success of open Rebellion and endless Schisms might bring in a Flood of Converts from among our deceived Brethren this would make both Church and State quiet and fruitful and like Egypt when the Sun hath melted the Snow and Ice in the Head of Nilus (n) Nilus erat eo tempore omnium Fluviorum maximè Australis and made it overflow its Banks to abound in all Plenty This would be indeed a complete turning our Captivity a perfect removal of all its ill Effects Ver. VI. Then we should be like the Egyptian Husbandmen who sow on a wet and slimy Soil but reap so plentiful a Crop as makes them wondrous glad We bewailed our sufferings and Sins for many Years and with Tears lamented the Hypocrisie of some and the Delusion of others of our Adversaries but if God would open their Eyes and turn their Hearts our former Trouble would make our Joy for their Conversion (o) Quam utile est ad usum secundorum per adversa venisse Plin. Paneg. p. 36. more sweet and satisfactory Ver. VII But whatever effect it have on others we must own that we are abundantly rewardded for all our Penitence and Sorrow for our Prayers and Tears in those suffering Times And as the Countryman never hath a better Harvest than when he bears his good Seed to the Field in a showry day and Heaven seems to steep it in Tears So Gods People never lose by
bless with all increase c. Lastly As an assurance that our Loyalty is grounded on our Affection and from our Heart we do according to Gods Command devoutly pray for him and them (y) 1 Tim. II. 1 2. First as to this World we pray that neither He nor his Successors may want Grace to persevere in the profession and practice of the true Religion The want of which now we know by sad experience to be as woful a Judgment as can befall us Secondly That they may rule so uprightly and act so wisely and justly as not owe all their Honour to their Royal Extraction and Supream Dignity but to their Virtues (z) Magna est Christi gratia nobilitatem moribus superasse Foelix 4. Pap. ep 2. wherein we pray they may as much excel others as they do in Degree and Fortune And Thirdly That they may live long in Health and Wealth Peace and Plenty being ever Successful and Victorious and abounding in Power and Friends which will be their Subjects happiness as well as theirs who flourish in Prosperity under Pious Wise and Happy Governours and therefore we ask Blessings for our selves while we beg these Mercies for them But Finally Since all these are but the appendages of a fading Earthly Crown and we know the greatest of Princes as well as the best of Men are mortal our good wishes reach further and we pray that after we have enjoyed them long to our Comfort and Advantage here they may after many years (a) Serus in coelum redeas diuque Laetus intersis populo Quirini Horat. Od. 2. be translated to a higher better and never-fading Crown of Glory to reign with him in Heaven whose Honour they have asserted and whose Truth they have maintained in this World to which Prayers may Almighty God for Jesus sake say Amen The Third Collect. § 8. THis Prayer being the same for the main with that which is the first in the Office for November 5. needs not any Analysis or Explication here except only as to the recital of the Deliverance this Day compleated by the Restauration The Actors in the Popish Treason and this pretended to be as different in their Principles as they were in their Methods but their Ends were one and the same which was to ruin the Established Government and Religion and though their success was different for a while yet the same Gracious God who had prevented the first blasted also the later Design So that it is proper enough in general to make the same Acknowledgments on both Occasions But as to that which relates to this Day we may note 1. The Efficient Cause of this singnal and wonderful Deliverance which was the allwise and good Providence of God whose Wisdom baffled their Policies and whose Goodness moved him to Pity the injured King and the oppressed People of this Land and as on this Day he rescued both in so strange a manner as exceeded any thing that the Usurpers could fear or the Sufferers hope for For so great so sudden and so peaceable a Change never was wrought in any Nation in the World before it was the visible hand of God that did effect it Secondly The Objects of this Favour were our late Gracious Sovereign King Charles II. with the whole Royal Family who returned this Day from that tedious twelve Years Exile into which their Enemies Malice had driven them and in which their Power had till then detained them But the Mercy was not confined to them all Orders and Degrees of Men in Church and State shared with them in this Blessing The Nobility and Gentry had been trampled on and impoverished the Orthodox Clergy sequestred and silenced the Commons overburdned with Taxes and Freequarter and all but the Usurpers and their Myrmidons ruined and undone but with the King and his Family all these were restored to their Priviledges Honours Offices and Estates And Thirdly it should add to our joy to consider what the Nation was delivered from that is from an unnatural Rebellion wherein Subjects were engaged against a most religious King the Father of his Country and Natural Fathers against their Sons Brother against Brother and Relations obliged to kill their nearest Friends (b) Non victoria est ista quae à Civibus reportatur ferro quo ipsos necas teipsum confodis Job Ludolf histor Aethiop l. 3. c. 12. So that which side soever gained the Nation was sure to lose Again We were delivered from that Usurpation and Tyranny which the pretended Saints but really impious Conquerors had got by Force and exercised with Cruelty over their Fellow-subjects Finally We were delivered from all sorts of Confusions in Church and State and the woful Ruin to private Families and Persons consequent thereupon For all this to end in Peace and Tranquility and every ones regaining his own Rights was a stupendious Mercy deserving all those Acknowledgments and Praises with which this excellent Collect ends * Note The 4th and 5th Collect are repeated here and were explained before The Gospel § 9. THis Epistle is the same with that for January the 30th excepting the two first Verses which we will paraphrase here and refer the Reader for the rest to the Office for that Day 1 Pet. I. Ver. XI Though I have called you Christians a Royal Priesthood a chosen generation c. Ver. 9 10. you must not think your selves exempted from subjection to Governours or imagine that Dominion is founded in Grace No my Dearly Beloved Countrymen and Converts I beseech you for all these spiritual Priviledges to consider your selves as strangers not only far removed from Canaan but from Heaven also your proper and most desirable Country and as pilgrims in this World travelling toward your Fathers House Now such use not to concern themselves with the Government Fashions or Interests they find in those Lands they sojourn in or are to pass through (d) Vid. D. Bern. Serm. in loc p. 118. In like manner you must abstain from fleshly lusts especially those which will make you uneasie to the Government of the Countries where you are viz. Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murders and the like (e) Gal. V. 10 11. For it is not only contrary to the Character of Strangers and Pilgrims to be thus mischievous and troublesome But it will be hurtful to our selves to nourish such unruly Lusts which war not only against the Rulers of this World but against your own souls also encreasing your Guilt hindring your Devotion devesting you of Humility and Meekness Patience and Peace and extinguishing your Prudence as well as your Charity Ver. XII And besides abstaining from these Lusts will be much for the Honour of Christianity for your having your conversation honest and living quietly among the Gentiles will alter their Opinion of you So that whereas ranking you with the unconverted Jews they speak against you as being seditious stubborn mutinous (f) Adversus