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A53968
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A sermon preached upon September the 9th, 1683 being a Thanksgiving Day for a late deliverance from a fanatick-conspiracy / by Edward Pelling ... ; printed in his own defence.
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Pelling, Edward, d. 1718.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing P1094; ESTC R38188
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15,408
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38
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their while or consideration to Fore-cast Where the Traytors of the Late Times were Defective and Overseen there these Rebels would have been very Circumspect and Wary so that they would have left us no tolerable Hopes of ever seeing the Royal Family and our Ancient Legal Government restored again And what infinite Havock and Destruction would not this have cost For had these men prevailed which was not possible for them without the Expence of many thousands of Lives besides the sacred Life of Him who is an whole Kingdom unto Vs but had their Villany prospered they could not have been secure long if but a Remnant was left of such as are faithful Friends to the Crown and Church So that they could not propose to themselves any other probable ways of setling themselves in that Power they longed for but by the utter Ruine of Loyalty and by a total destruction of every Honest Family from the Father to the Child in all parts of the Nation And what then would the sum of all have been why I will give it you in the words of a zealous Writer in the Late Dr. Gaâ—den 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Times We should have left us a Kingdom without a King Government without Authority Magistrates without Power People without Laws a Body without an Head Sheep without a Shepherd Christians without Christ Churches without Ministers or Ministers without maintenance and a Nation without Faith and let me add too a Land without any Peace Armies without any end Oppressions without any Mercy Protestants without any Religion and an Associated Heard of the most Savage and Vnclean Beasts without any God That this is not our present Condition we must ascribe it wholly to the great Goodness of God whose Mercies and Compassions never fail And that we may now make some use of this whole matter 1. The Consideration both of our Dangers and of our Deliverance serveth First To Justifie the Zeal of those who for these several years have given the World warning of the Dangers we were in and have vigorously appeared for the interest of the King and the Church Though the generality of Men have been strangely Blinded and Mis-led by the Artifices of those who made use of Mens Fears of Popery to promote their own Fanatick and Republican Interests yet there were many who would not be wrought upon to bow down their Knees to Baal nor suffer themselves to be cheated of their Consciences but told men plainly That Factious and Antimonarchical Designes were carrying on and that Ruin would be at the end of all if they did not take heed in time For how could it otherwise be without the help of Gods special Providence but that men would fall into the same Pit again when they drave on so furiously in the very same Broad ways which led us to Destruction before Yet these Faithful and Plain-dealing not to say Prophetick Monitors were then either laugh'd at for a sort of rash and impolitick Fools or stigmatiz'd for Men of Hot Heads for talking so much of Forty One and of an Intemperate Zeal for Arbitrary Power and Popery And in this respect the honest Clergy some in the Country divers about the City of London have suffered in a very great measure being oftentimes pubickly and in Print exposed to the Fury of a mad Rabble not only as weak and undiscerning men but also as direct Betrayers of the Nations Liberties and Religion But there is a time when Wisdom will be justified of her Children and now all well-meaning nay even the moderate men so called must own that there was too great cause for us to act and say as we did Did not the Faction every day grow not in numbers onely but in insolence too beyond all Comparison And when they had so much Strength Malice and Authority on their side what did they want but our Pulpits Had the Alarm been but given there the Sword had been presently drawn and such another Rebellion had followed as was once proclaimed with a Curse ye Meroz and was Sanctified in so many Churches as the Cause and Quarrel of God Indeed I cannot vouch for every Pulpit especially since it is Discovered that Three famous Non-conforming Preachers have baen zealous Promoters of this Horrid Conspiracy and time must shew us how many more of them have been holding forth the Armatum Evangelium the same Gospel of War which was once before covered with Buff and sprinkled with the Blood of a Scotch-Covenant but 't is very suspicious that more than an Ecclesiastical Council of six have been beating the Drum though God be blessed it was only a dead sound in a Corner and the generality of Men have hitherto been out of the hearing of the Beat. 2. I have not said this for the Honest Clergy of our Church for I except a Judas and a Julian out of any Principle of Vanity or with a Design to insinuate that we are any more than mean and poor Instruments in the hand of God No it is the great Bishop of the Church and of our Souls the Lord of Glory and Power to whom we owe this and all other our wonderful Deliverances to and who with his own right hand and with his holy arm hath gotten himself the Victory And therefore Secondly The sense of this Deliverance should make such a deep Impression upon all our Hearts as will bring us to a thorow Repentance from all dead Works and to an Vniversal Obedience to his Heavenly Will And this not only as the best Expression of Thankfulness for this Mercy hitherto but also as the best and only means to incline the Divine Goodness still to perfect that good work which he hath of himself begun among us Lord how near were we to Destruction Upon the very brink and edge of it so that to all Humane appearance had his Sacred Majesty staid at New-market but two days longer of necessity we must have been all Buried before now in a Common Ruin Blessed be God the God that doth wondrous things that he hath given us this one opportunity more to praise his Name and to declare the Works that he doth even for the unthankful children of men But this is not all our Business to offer up unto him the Sacrifices of our Mouth and the Calves of our Lips for unless we be careful to direct our Lives and to order our Conversation as it becometh Saints we shall come very short of our Duty and for ought I know may still come short of our Deliverance Remember what Samuel said to those willful and ungrateful People 1 Sam. 12. 25. If ye shall still do wickedly ye shall be consumed both ye and your King We all pretend great Honour and Affections for his Majesty and a most tender care for his Safety and Preservation Why I will tell you a short and a ready way how he may be safe and happy and continue a long Blessing to us and to our Children Let
A SERMON Preached upon September the 9th 1683. BEING A Thanksgiving-Day For a Late DELIVERANCE From a Fanatick-Conspiracy By Edw. Pelling Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Somerset Printed in his own Defence LONDON Printed for Will. Abington next the Wonder Tavern in Ludgate-Street 1683. To His Grace Charles Duke of Somerset Marquess and Earl of Hertford Viscount Beauchamp Baron Seymour of Trowbridge Lord Lieutenant of the East-Riding in Yorkshire and of the County of Somerset May it please Your Grace AFter so many Honourable Titles some due to you by Inheritance some given you by your Prince his Favour All Your own besides that of Your Virtue and Loyalty which is Your greatest Character it might justly be expected that some Considerable thing something more than an Ordinary Sermon should be presented to Your Noble Patronage and I have only this to say in my Excuse that it comes from the hands of him who has nothing Great enough to lay at Your Feet My Lord I am bound to tell You that the reason of Publishing these Papers is my own Vindication some Passages therein being so mis-represented as if I had made several Rude and Unjust Reflections from which nothing can clear me but the submitting of the whole Sermon to Publick Censure And now My Lord I cannot blame that Necessity which obligeth me at once to do my self Right and to express my Duty to Your Grace whom I am bound to Honour particularly not only for the sake of the same Loyal Principles but also in the Bond of Natural Affection which is no more than a Just and Necessary Homage from me I most humbly beg Your Favourable acceptance of this my Duty beseeching God to Bless Your Grace and Your Noble Consort with a long Continuance of the Dearest Love with a Noble Train of a most Prosperous Issue and with all the Blessings of This world and a Better it is the Hearty desire my Lord of Your Graces most Dutiful and Affectionate Servant and Chaplain Edw. Pelling Sept. 13. 1683. Psal XXXIV 19. Many are the afflictions of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all THE Special Providence of God is seen in nothing more than in watching over Princes in preserving Them and their Kingdoms and in supporting their Government and just Authority For the Hearts of Men are Naturally so impatient of Subjection and so greedy of Power their particular Interests are so Divided their Designs are so Various their Passions are so Violent their Principles are so Different their Minds are so set upon Villany and Mischief and what through Ambition or Covetousness or Discontent their Spirits are so Restless that 't is by a daily Miracle that Princes live and that their Thrones stand and 't would be impossible for them to be safe one moment did not the immediate hand of God of whom alone they hold their Crowns shelter and protect their Persons and over-rule the Madness of Turbulent and Bloud-thirsty People Perhaps no Prince living ever had such ample Experience of this as King David had unless we will except our own Dread Soveraign whose case comes nearest to a Parallel David's Title to the Crown was unquestionable for it was set upon his Head by the direct appointment of God himself His Government was equal and easie His Heart was of a Tender and Compassionate Temper he was ready to Forget the greatest Wrongs and not only to Forgive but also to express Kindnesses to the greatest Criminals insomuch that Joab had the Confidence in the heat of his Passion to tell him That he loved his Enemies more than his Friends and by so doing shamed the Faces of all his Servants 2 Sam. 19. All this notwithstanding though David was a man according to Gods own Heart a Character which God himself gave of him yet the poor Prince found Troubles on every side First he was persecuted by Saul and anon forced to a Controversie with Saul's House One while he was in danger from Enemies Abroad and another while from dis-affected men at Home Now he was Conspired against by Absalom which afflicted him the more because the Rebel was his Son This Conspiracy was fomented by that Oracle of Treason Ahitophel that afterwards Saddled his Ass and Ran for it and ended his Life miserably through Discontent Then he was railed at by Shimei that Dog as Abishai rightly called him the Sire of all that Litter which are continually yelping at the Lords Anointed Nor was this all for after all this Sheba and his Fellow-Traytors raised a formidable Insurrection against him being frustrated of their Expectations at the Kings Return For David had been in Exile being forced to flee from his Rebellious Subjects and upon his happy Restauration some Israelites were inraged that they had not that Interest at Court which they hoped for and hereupon they were vexed that the King was come home and so an Alarm was sounded Every man to his Tents O Israel 2 Sam. 20. Had not the Divine Providence been David's Shield and Salvation that Excellent Prince had been utterly Ruin'd by this Army of Troubles which continually follow'd him at the Heels But God was his support and stay and though there was Plot upon Plot and Rebellion after Rebellion yet he trusted still to the Righteousness of his Cause and to the Promise of God That he would cloath all his Enemies with shame and that upon his own Head his Crown shall flourish This was his Hope and Confidence and this Hope made him not asham'd David Commemorates with Thankfulness throughout this his Book of Psalms the Singular Mercy of God to him and to his People And from that constant experience which He and They had of Gods unwearied Goodness he draws this Conclusion for the Comfort of all Righteous Princes which should come after that though God may and many times doth for great Ends and Reasons suffer them and their good Subjects to be Evil-intreated for a time yet he will not only be with them in their Troubles but also will sooner or later give them a fair Exit out of all their Distress Many are the afflictions of the Righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all I shall not for the further clearing of this matter speak more of David's Troubles and Deliverances for our own late Deliverance which we thankfully Commemorate this day is a plain Comment upon my Text. A Deliverance which the very immediate hand of God hath wrought for us as we shall see anon A Deliverance of a Righteous Church of a Righteous Prince and of all his Righteous Subjects throughout the Nation A Deliverance which if we consider the Nature of it is one of the most Signal if the Manner of it is one of the most Surprising and if we consider our own former Ingratitude one of the most Unpresidented Deliverances that ever was wrought for a People But before I speak of the particular Branches of this Deliverance 't is necessary for me