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A60353
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A sermon preached on the thanksgiving day the 27 day of October, 1692 at Crosby Square by Samuel Slater.
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Slater, Samuel, d. 1704.
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1693
(1693)
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Wing S3974; ESTC R23646
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19,638
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40
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known to joyn with a common Enemy in order to the Overthrowing of all then it must be own'd a Mercy to have them taken away for it is a good Riddance and that Hand which gives them a fatal Stroke or a seasonable Remove reacheth out a singular Kindness to the People It 's sad when they sit in the Throne who will not mind and pursue the great Ends of Government But the Salvation of a Prince whose Heart is set for publick Good and who doth as David said bear up the Pillars of a Land should engage all his Subjects in the Work of Praise There are I would hope not many among us but what are sensible what a potent and cruel Enemy we have too too near us that hates us with an implacable Hatred a declared Enemy both to us and our Religion and who will if ever it come within the reach of his Power make us pay dear and smart bitterly for the Opposition we have made him and the Blows we have given him of which he possibly is soar and it is not a little slight Revenge that will satisfie his Rage Rods will not be thought bad enough no no they must be Scorpions And some who have their eyes in their Heads and open do and cannot but see what kind of Persons we have living among ourselves what Vipers lurk in our own Bosoms who are full of Discontent and Malice so that they cannot command themselves nor bridle their Passion but must give Vent We see their Restlesness we are not Strangers to their Purposes and Endeavours and we hear their Threatnings and if God had not been pleased to guard and establish the Throne to preserve our King abroad and our Queen at home and continue them both to us what Confusion would that sort of Men have put us into before this How would our Land have been made an Aceldama a Field of Blood But through Divine Goodness our King is saved our Peace is preserved you may follow your Callings take the Comfort of your Estates enjoy your Relations delight yourselves with and in your Friends meet together in the great Congregation Worship God in the Beauty of Holiness and sit under your own Roofs Vines and Fig-trees none making you afraid and therefore we have reason to rejoyce in the King's Salvation 3. The Salvation of the King is and ought to be the Matter of our Rejoycing because it is a great ground of Hope and comfortable Expectation for the future The broken hearted and weeping Prophet Jeremiah did teach the Inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem to bewail their own Loss by the early Death of that gracious and most excellent King Josiah in these Expressions 4. Lam. c. The breath of our nostrils the anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits of whom we said Under his shadow we shall live among the Heathen Blessed be God our King is not taken in their Pits nor fallen by their Swords nor stab'd by their Ponyards nor poysoned with their Figs nor wounded by their Bullets nor cut off by any of their cursed Plots But may we not say He is the breath of our Nostrils I mean under God for without him he is no more than another Man but it is to him under God that we do owe our being a Nation a Nation in so much Peace a Protestant Nation and may we not hope and say That under his Shadow we shall live notwithstanding the burning glowing Fury of our inraged Enemies and under his prudent and happy Conduct we shall be delivered from and prevail against the Power and Attempts of those Sons of Perdition who are skilful and greedy to destroy and who would gladly make us their Prey and swallow us up quick Surely we may look upon this Preservation in the midst of so many Enemies and Dangers as being a singular Token for Good and comfort ourselves with the thoughts of this that he is continued by God in Mercy to us to the Nation to Europe and to the Church of CHRIST And that as he hath not only exalted him and placed him in the Throne but likewise honoured him already by making use of him as an eminent Instrument in his Hand for Good so he will go on to imploy and prosper him yet further and that he still hath more great and excellent Work for him to do both among us and in the World And that as his Hands have laid most happily the Foundation of our Peace and Prosperity so he shall proceed until he hath added the Top-stone upon which theâ—e shall be joyful Acclamations Grace grace to it And since God hath put it into the Hearts of their Majesties with so much Thankfulness to own him in the Mercies which they have received in the Deliverances which have been commanded for them and in that signal Victory which was given their Forces at Sea I do heartily pray that they may and I do with no small Confidence perswade my self that they do and will look upon these Mercies Deliverances and great Success as laying upon them strong Obligations to a continued and vigorous Appearance for the Honour of his holy Name and the Prosecution of the great and glorious Ends of Government that so Mercies may not turn Plaintiffs nor the Expectations of God and good Men be disappointed I conclude that upon these accounts it is evident the Prince's Salvation should be the Peoples Joy My Work in the next place will be to offer to your serious Consideration some things which may advance and increase your Joy in order to the filling up of this Day with the Duty of it that the Flame may be answerable to the Occasion the high Praises of God being both in our Hearts and Minds Now to this purpose know that an ingenuous and rightly spirited People should and will raise up their Joy and Thankfulness to a lofty pitch a very high degree for the Salvation of their Prince when it is accompanied and cloathed with such Circumstances as these First When the Prince hath been the means of their Salvation when he that is now their King was before their Saviour when he is not only their Governour but their Redeemer and Deliverer also when that Crown which now he wears upon his Head was placed there by the Hands of an engaged and grateful People as a Reward due to him for the special Kindness he had shewn them and the eminent Service he had done them and when the Royal Scepter which he now sways was by them put into his hand as an Acknowledgement of his having drawn his Sword in their Quarrel and for their Defence Whatever some Sons of Discontent do mutter we cannot but know how sad and doleful our Condition was and what a black Cloud sate upon the face of Things among us when he was by a gracious and compassionate God sent in to our Relief You cannot so soon forget what a Multitude of perplexing Thoughts crowded in upon you what Fears did
A SERMON Preached on the Thanksgiving-Day The 27 th Day of October 1692. AT CROSBY-SQUARE By SAMUEL SLATER Minister of the GOSPEL LONDON Printed for John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry over-against the Compter 1693. TO THAT Flock of GOD which meets at Crosby-Square Dearly Beloved THE following Discourse was through Divine Assistance prepared for you and deliver'd in your hearing it is now publish'd upon your Desire which would not take a Denial Ambition of appearing in Print is far from me the very Trouble of it is sufficient to discourage one who hath so much Work besides to engage him But you are so dear over me and to me that to refuse what you request is next to impossible specially when it speaks your Zeal for their Majesties Interest and tends to the promoting of common Good The Acceptance my poor Labours find with you is a great strengthening of my Hands as your Peace and Unity among yourselves and the sincere Love you bear to all that love our dear Lord Jesus is no less the matter of my Rejoycing Sad Divisions there are to be found up and down at this day which cause great Thoughts of Heart and call for great Searching Oh that the infinitely great and wise Physician would be pleased to speed the Healing of them and blessed be his Name the Devil hath not hitherto set his Cloven Foot among you and oh that he never may And that you may still keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace growing exceedingly and sensibly in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ shining with the bright Beams of Holiness to the Adorning of your Profession And that you may meet with God in Ordinances here to your Comfort and Improvement and after that have a full Enjoyment of him and immediate Communion with him in his Heavenly Kingdom for ever is and shall be the hearty Prayer of him who is Yours to serve you in the Gospel of Christ S. SLATER From my Study Nov. 14 1692. XX. Psalm v. We will rejoyce in thy salvation THIS short but sweet and excellent Psalm was indited by the holy Spirit of God and penn'd by David the sweet Singer of Israel in the form and manner of a Prayer for the help of the Church in their imploring Blessings and Successes upon their Kings whom God by his Providence had set over them though here is also a particular Reference or Respect had unto the Lord Jesus who is the Head of the Church and over all things to the Church King of Sion and of Saints Of whom those other Kings in their Power and Authority were Types shadowing of him out in his Royal Office and Dignity and some of them as David and Solomon were so in a more special and peculiar manner The Psalm indeed doth contain in it two parts or is made up of two things Prayer and Praise The former of these namely the Prayer takes up the five first Verses in which they do humbly and heartily beg of GOD these things for the King First They beg of GOD Audience for the KING The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble Where we may observe that Kings may be in Trouble as well as meaner Persons They have Burdens upon them the Burden of Government which calls for a strong Sholder and the Burden of Care which requires an able Head and Heart And as they have their Burdens so their Troubles Crowns and Thrones are not without their Thorns no more than other Things Trouble will make its entry into the Prince's Palace as well as the Peasant's Cottage Observe again As Princes have their Troubles so they should not be without their Prayer It is not enough for them that their Clergy and other Subjects are Suitors on their behalf but they ought to spread their own Case before God and make their Requests known to him while their People pray for them they should pray for themselves and their People too As they are Men of Power so they should be Men of Prayer I give my self unto prayer said David And happy that Nation which hath a Praying King such a King as is valiant and dares fight with Enemies for them and being gracious knoweth how to wrestle with GOD too It is in the Text taken for granted that the King prays and therefore they desire he may be heard Observe again While the King prays it is the People's Duty to back him and set in with God with him and for him We owe him a special Room in our Hearts and Petitions The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble Doth the King pray oh that he may prosper oh that his Prayer may come up before God as Incense oh that his Prayer may be accepted and granted The Lord hear thee Secondly They desire Protection for him The name of the GOD of Jacob defend thee Do Troubles encompass thee let Salvation do so too Are Men thine Enemies let God be thy Guard his Name is a strong Tower let it be so to thee from the Face of thine Enemies Let all his glorious Attributes which are as so many Letters of his Name be engaged and employed for thy Security and Preservation Thirdly They beg Assistance for him not only that the Divine Shadow may be over him but that the Divine Hand also may be with him and the Everlasting Arm stretched out on his behalf Send thee help from the sanctuary and strengthen thee out of Sion Help when thou needest it and callest for it maist thou never be without the help of God Strength when thou hast Enemies to grapple with that thou maist conquer them and when thou hast Work to do that thou maist go thorough with it and do it to Acceptance Praise and Honour send thee such Help as will be seasonable and such Strength as will be sufficient Fourthly They beg for him Acceptance with God and the gracious Remembrance of all his Religious Services Remember all thy offerings and accept all thy burnt-offerings O my Friends what a singular Comfort is it to a gracious People when they know their King to be a true Worshipper of God together with them and have reason to look upon him as one that is devoted to the Fear Service and Honour of God and when they are so perswaded it is unquestionably their Duty to desire that he might in all that he doth be accepted of God acceptable to his People at least to the best and most judicious of them and to his God too Lastly They beg the fulfilling of all his Counsels and of all his Petitions Verse 4. Grant thee according to thine own heart and fulfil all thy counsels And v. 5. of which the Text is a part The LORD fulfil all thy Petitions The Lord grant that when thou hast directed thy Prayer and lookest up thou maist see something of Mercy coming down That none of thy Prayers may miscarry none drop by the way and fall short of