Nature of that Religion is when once it hath got the Power in its Hands it will suffer none to stand by it whatever Laws Provisions or Promises are made for the securing of any other as is apparent from the Popish Management in the Neighbour-Nation where such a Persecution hath been set afoot and carried on against the Protestant Party as the Tongue of Man is not able to express nor the Pen of any to depaint in its right Colours And neither the Merits of that Party nor the Edicts and Laws that were in their Favour could ward it off which is an Evidence besides the many sanguinary Proceedings and bloody Massacres that have been before executed in that and other Popish Countries what we must have look'd for when once that Religion had got the Ascendant over us that it had been out of Fear of Danger it self What could we then have expected but that Prisons and Racks Confiscation of Goods and Fire and Sword must have been our Portion as well as our Neighbours having also had so many Testimonies and Marks of their Kindness to us in former Ages at home But we have cause to fear that this would not only have been the end of this Religion when once it could have come to its Growth and Establishment which must have been a long time first if that was to be procured by ordinary and common Methods But the fiery Zeal of our Enemies was too rapid and fierce to be contained within the ordinary Bounds of slow and usual Methods we must have expected it to have broken out far beyond and it is not to be doubted but if they could have been secure of their Arms at home and of a Fleet at Sea to have served the Design or as soon as they could have ordered the matter that it would have been so there should a forreign Force have then joyned with them and we should have had Swords and Guns to have converted Protestants which Arguments and Reasons had been too dull Tools to effect what the Politicks could not have brought about should have been attempted by main Might And what between the Prerogative of a bigotted Prince the Sentence of corrupt Judges the Colour and Favour of Laws to be procured for Popish Service and the Violence of an armed Force poor Protestants could have expected nothing else but to have been ground to peices as between so many Milstones And this was coming upon us a-pace if our Almighty Deliverer had not procured for us a Remedy in good time And if once England had become a Prey to Popish Rage which hath been justly esteemed the great Bulwark of the Reformation the Protestant States abroad had not been like to subsist long but in humane prospect of things must have undergone the same Fate And whose Heart would not ake then to consider the Power and Prevalence that the Romish Religion should have had not only among us but all Christendom over if God had not put a stop to its rising Greatness and beat off the Chariot Wheels by which our Enemies did drive so fast and in the nick of time drown the Egyptians before they could overtake his Israel The glorious Reformation which hath so long shined with a mighty Lustre must then have set in obscure Darkness And those Protestants that would still have kept the Faith and a good Conscience must have run to Caves and Holes of the Earth for Shelter for there had been no longer any place of abode for them in the City that is set on a Hill. Then you must have been bowing your Knees to Idols again and falling down before Stocks and Stones or would have had such a weight of Oppressions and Cruelties laid on that would have broke your very Backs and if we could not admit to bear the Load of all the Popish Superstitions we should have had a Load of another Nature that without the Strength of Martyrs we must needs have fallen under We must have taken the Mark of the Beast in our Foreheads or we should hardly have bought and sold in the Markets Then Traditions and Canons must have been our Rule rather than the Holy Scriptures Yea we should not have been allowed to have believed our own Senses nor to have made use of the most natural Right which belongs to us as rational Creatures to have judged for our selves but must have submitted Sense Reason Conscience Scripture and all to a pretended infallible Judge though we know not how he came by his Infallibility nor can see any thing in the World that he hath to say for it but big Words and proud Boasts But we must have put out our own Eyes and yet have been forc'd to have followed blind Guides If we had kept the Foundation we must have had Hay and Stubble built upon it and then if ever we had been saved it must needs have been with the greatest Difficulty imaginable We and our Children must have been nurtur'd up with corrupt Doctrines and false and lying Legends instead of being fed with the sincere Milk of the Word You must have had half Sacraments and Latin Prayers that you should not have understood what you had been about and you must have worshipped a little piece of Dough for a God conjured into a Deity by five words of the Priest when you may have as good an one your selves in your own Cupboards And if you could not have turned Papists throughly then at least you must have turned Hypocrites and dissembled before God and the World or else a Crusado of red Coats and Dragoons fit for the purpose would have tried their skill upon you But all this and much more which might be represented our gracious Saviour hath mercifully prevented and not only so but we have good hopes of such an Establishment and Settlement that all our other Grievances may be redressed likewise and Peace and Righteousness may flourish in our Land. I have good hopes that we shall not only be feoured from the Fears of Popery and Slavery but that we may see a long-look'd-for blessed Union among Protestants and Religion in its Power and Purity in good Reputation among us that it shall be a thing of as bad a Name to be a wicked Man as to be a Papist It hath been a mighty Work which hath been done already and that will give us Encouragement to hope for more if we thankfully accept and improve that which is begun You will all allow that these are great things indeed there being nothing that is more dear to Men then the saving of Life Liberty and Religion But these great things hath God done for us in this his wonderful Dispensation at this time Secondly It will appear that God hath done great things for us if we consider the Circumstances As that it was at a time when our Enemies were bold and confident when they thought all things secure to themselves and past danger of miscarrying they had the Advice and Assistance
at hand But God put forth his Voice and called back the proud Waters that they have not prevailed over us He hath brought us out and hath set our Feet in a large place Our Government is vindicated from Tyranny and Usurpation our Liberties and Rights rescued out of the Hands of Invaders our Religion preserved which we were afraid would have been lost and we hope all will be but the more furbish'd up and rendred brighter by those Rubs and Oppositions that it hath met with And must not we say that these are great things when the deepest Policies have been defeated Arms and Power have been turned against the Users a Deliverance wrought and yet so little Effusion of Blood in the procuring of it The Minds Counsels and Policies of Men turned about upon a sudden A mighty Revolution and yet almost without any noise A new Face of things appears which looks beautiful though it be not yet fully filled up II. Now let us consider then the Praise that is due to God for all this for all these great Things that he hath done for us For this Gladness which is in our Hearts should flow out in Praises to God for that is the best Expression both of Gladness and Gratitude which in such a case should always go together Oh clap your hands all ye People shout unto God with the Voice of Triumph For the Lord most high is terrible he is a great King over all the Earth Sing Praises to God sing Praises Sing Praises unto our King sing Praises God reigneth over the Heathen God sitteth upon the Throne of his Holiness He is our Refuge and Strength a very present Help in Trouble The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our Refuge Selah And now there are these four things to be considered in that Praise which is due from us to God at this time 1. It is to be acknowledged and confessed by us that it is his Work that it is he that hath done these great Things for us though it hath been by the Intervention of Means which he works as he commonly doth yet these Means are of his providing choosing exciting and become prosperous by his Assisting and Blessing and therefore though Means are to be valued and honoured in their places yet it is to God that the principal Tribute of Praise belongs And in all such cases we find that this hath been the Method of the Church to give God the Honour When Moses and Aaron brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt Moses was an eminent Instrument he was their Counsellour and Captain yet the Glory of the Deliverance is ascribed to God and these were but the Means Thou leddest thy People like a Flock say they by the Hand of Moses and Aaron Psal 77.20 So in the Victories of Deborah and Barak over Jabin and Sisera Praise ye the Lord say they for the avenging of Israel Judg 5.2 And so always when ever any Deliverer was raised up or any Deliverance wrought it is observed as the Lords doing still For this God is our God for ever and ever Psal 48.14 And therefore Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O People saved of the Lord the Shield of thy Help and the Sword of thy Excellency And therefore thine Enemies shall be found Liers unto thee and thou shalt tread upon their high places as Moses speaks in his Blessing of the People Deut. 33. ult And this is the Churches constant Opinion and Sense of things as appears in that Psal 124. which is calculated for any times of Deliverance If it had not been the Lord who was on our side now may Israel say If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when Men rose up against us then they had swallowed us up quick when their Wrath was kindled against us our Help is in the Name of the Lord who made Heaven and Earth The like may we now say and it is unto God therefore that we must give the Glory of all that Mercy that we have received as the principal Author Exciter Promoter Worker of our Deliverance And there are several Things that do manifestly speak the Divine Counsel and Power and Providence to have been eminently in all this Affair in that there hath been such a strange Concurrence of all things to bring it about to the pass that 't is now in As besides the more remote Providences of former Years the present Ability and Wealth of that Neighbour State by whose Counsel and Assistance our great Deliverer under God was enabled to undertake this Enterprize they being together embark'd in the same common Protestant Interest with our selves And then the Concurrence of the States about in the same Design all the Protestants expecting to undergo the same Fate with us And moreover a general Union of the Popish Governours themselves against the French Nimrod upon whose Assistance the Popish Farty at home did build their Hopes as from him they had derived their Counsels and the very Winds and Elements made to conspire for the convenient Passage of the Troops that were engaged to help us And such an Union of all Parties that duly considered of things among our selves either to join in with the forreign Helps or at least not to oppose them as hath not been known in this Nation for a great while past For there was an Universal either Suspicion or Discontent in all Parties against the Power that is now fallen for fear either of its Frauds or Violences And it pleased God to enlighten at perswade those that were able to do most hurt by the Arms that they were impowered with not to concur with Usurpation and Tyranny to the Ruin of their Country but rather to give an helping hand by an amicable Conjunction with those that sought its Preservation And such a wise Counsel and Conduct hath been pursued in the Affair all along and such Shame and Guilt such Distrust and Trembling seized upon our Adversaries that there hath been nothing considerably to stop the coming of this Matter to such a blessed Issue as we could not foresee So that that is come to pass which neither they did fear at first nor we could hope That proud and fierce Jesuit that stood so near the Throne hath been heard to make a mock of Providence when in Discourse one said to him that God in his Providence would take care to maintain that Party that had Justice on its side He replied scoffingly What do you talk of Providence now a-days But he hath found there hath been a great and wise Providence that hath over-ruled all and hath outdone all his Counsels and Policies And it is our parts then to ascribe the Glory of all to this Holy and wise Providence as being in such an eminent manner concerned in bringing all about which we now hear and see in putting such a Spirit of Counsel and Courage in our great Deliverer providing sufficient Means
Commandments Then saith Ezra Wouldst not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no Remnant nor escaping Ezr. 9.13 14. We must not think that we are therefore delivered to work Wickedness or that we may sin with the greater Boldness God hath a Divine and Holy end in this and all his Dispensations towards us as Luke 1.69 He hath raised up an Horn of Salvation for us that we being delivered out of the Hands of our Enemies might serve him without Fear in Righteousness and Holiness before him all the Days of our Lives We must not think that we are delivered from Popery to serve our own Lusts which is every whit as dangerous an Idolatry as to bow to dumb Images and to serve Stocks and Stones We must not think that we are saved from Errours in our Faith and Doctrine that we may have worse in our Lives For there is no such Errour and Heresy in the World as a bad Life and a wicked Heart And we must not think that our Liberties and Properties are preserved that we may revel more with them in Wantonness and Excess If our Laws and Government are preserved yet that will little avail us if we do not govern our selves well and our own Affections and Passions It is not the saving of our Laws will save us if we are lawless in our own Spirits If we are secured from outward Tyranny what will that signify if our Sins and Corruptions within do still tyrannize over us the World or Sin in our Hearts will be a worse Tyrant to us than ever any Prince that could sit upon the Throne The Pope or French King could never hurt us as our own evil Affections can It had been better a thousand times that our Bodies had been hack'd and massacred at the command of furious Jesuits or that we had been Slaves for ever to the most cruel Lords if thereby our Virtue and Innocency might have been preserved than that we should be the Devils Martyrs or be living Slaves to the World and Flesh It is a Reformation that God intends in what he hath done for us and that is it therefore which we should also intend Let not our Deliverance lull us asleep in Security For if we do not make that Divine and Holy use of it as we ought God can quickly turn his Hand upon us in Fury And though one Instrument be gone he can quickly sind out another to punish us or he can easily make us a Punishment to our selves if he should but suffer an evil Spirit of Division and Discord to seize upon us God hath Axes and Hammers enough at command that he can make use of to chastise us if yet all he hath done doth us no good As we sind in the History of the Judges that when the People corrupted themselves after their Deliverance God soon raised up other Enemies that a long time kept them in hard Bondage till they repented themselves of their Sins and then the Lord heard their Groanings and saved them Jer. 7. 8. Ye trust in lying Words that cannot profit if ye think you may sin securely and because of presâ—nt Mercies that yet shall be henceforth out of Danger Will ye steal murder and commit Adultery and swear falsly c. And come and stand before me in this House which is called by my Name and say We are delivered to do all these Aborninations No. But go ye unto my place which is at Shiloh where I set my Name at the first and see what I did to it for the Wickedness of my People Israel So what Calamities and Miseries have befallen other Churches and Countries and how can you but expect the like if you do not take warning by their Falls Thus saith the Lord of Hists The God of Israel amend your Ways and your Doings and I will cause you to dwell in this place We are told by the Psalmist Psal 33.12 That blessed is the Nation whâ— hath the Lord for their God and blessed is the People whom he hath chosen for his Inheritance For if God be for us who can be against us If the Eternal God will be our Refuge and will but put under the everlasting Arms who is he that can hurt us So that the greatest thing we can do towards our own Happiness is to engage the mighty God to be on our side and to secure his gracious and blessed Presence that it may be ever with us But then for this we must see that we depart from all Iniquity for he is not a God that hath Pleasure in Wickedness neither can Evil dwell with him We must see that we walk before him and be perfect For his Eyes run to and fro to show himself strong in the Behalf of them that walk uprightly then he will be with us and save us and he will never leave us nor forsake us if we keep his Covenant and his Testimonies We have plainly seen that the Lord's hand is not shortned that it cannot save neither is his Ear heavy that it cannot hear and he is the same God yesterday to day and for ever But let us see that we do not at last provoke him to leave us by our Sins let us see that our Iniquities do not separate between us and our God. He seemed for our Sins to threaten us sore and to write bitter things against us but he hath not yet done his Work his strange Work he hath not brought to pass his Act his strange Act. As the Work of Judgment is called because he is slow to anger Isa 28.21 Let us see that we do not provoke him by our Sins to return upon us in Fury It seems as if our gracious God had had a Dispute with himself not to do with us as once he had about the People of Israel Hos 11.8 How shall I give thee up Ephraim How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zeboim My Heart is turned within me my Repentings are kindled together I will not execute the Fierceness of mine Anger I will not return to destroy Ephraim For I am God and not Man the Holy one in the midst of thee So that at length Mercy hath prevailed over Judgment and we are saved as it is this Day And now shall not the Goodness of God lead us to Repentance shall we no better improve but basely despise the Riches of his Goodness and Forbearance and Long-suffering should we still continue to walk after our Hardness and impenitent Heart What would this be but to treasure up to our selves Wrath against the Day of Wrath and Revelation of the righteous Judgment of God which yet we may expect if we should continue to do wickedly It is prophesied of Mount Sion Obad. 17. That upon Sion shall be Deliverance and there shall be Holiness and then the House of Jacob shall possess their Possessions Why should it not be