King David is a President to Kings in Thankfulness as well as Deliverance Psal 116.12 13 14. I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord I will pay my Vows now in the presence of all his People precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Here David most thankfully praises the Goodness of God in that he would not gratifie his Enemies so far as to give them leave to take away his Life 2. Kings when declar'd Favourites of Heaven by signal Deliverances should study to promote the Honour and Glory of that God who did deliver them And in this King David will direct them for after the forementioned Deliverance Psal 116. v. 16 17. he professes O Lord truly I am thy Servant and the Son of thy Handmaid thou hast broken my bands I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and will call upon the Name of the Lord in our dialect that is O Lord I am now and ought to be more devout diligent and zealous in thy Service than formerly for thou hast strengthened all thy former Obligations by this fresh one of my wonderfull Deliverance thou hast redeemed my Life and therefore the chief business of my Life must be to advance thy Glory and Honour It is the reasonable Duty of Kings to be zealous for God's Glory especially when they have experienced how Jealous God is for their Preservation and in truth I now think it seasonable to give you one account of the late Revolution it may be a standing warning not only to Kings and Princes but to persons in far lower stations Who could expert other than that the Crown should tumble from the Head of the late unhappy King for did he not by all ways imaginable discountenance and tread under foot the true Worship of God Was it any more than Justice that such a Prince as should erect Houses for Idolatry should find his own Palace made desolate What wonder was it to see the Peoples Hearts taken from such a Prince as had estrang'd his own from God But not the King only but we and all the Inhabitants of the Land nay our Posterity have a share in this gracious Deliverance 1. Therefore it is our Duty by all true and acceptable ways to express our Thankfulness and also to leave this Deliverance upon Record that the Ages to come may bless the Name of God when they read how wonderfully he preserv'd us our Religion Laws Lives Liberties and Land from the Enemy that was so wrathful so subtile so powerfull so cruel and in a way so hopefull to ruine and destroy us Oh that we had Hearts to praise the Name of God as we ought and that we may hearken unto the Prophet David Psal 118.1 Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good because his Mercy endureth for ever Had God forgotten to be Gracious had the Fountain of his Love been exhausted we had certainly perish'd when desperate Men thus rose up against us V. 2. Let Israel now say that his Mercy endureth for ever Let all that are true Israelites that are Protestants in Deed as well as Name declare and confess that God is still Gracious and Mercifull for though our sins have long cry'd for Judgment against us yet our God still exercises Mercy and Goodness towards us 3. Let the House of Aaron now say that his Mercy endureth for ever Let all that God hath called to wait at his Altar and to minister about Holy Things praise the Lord in his Temple and make his Name glorious Let them acknowledge that God's Mercy is everlasting for had their Enemies prevail'd either they had been driven from or murdered at the Altars of God 4. Let them now that fear the Lord say that his Mercy endureth for ever Let all that truly fear God be they of what Nation or Language soever be they Protestants or Papists Church-men or Dissenters Let all that name themselves Christians give God the Praise Honour and Glory belonging to his Name But Thanks are nothing worth if they are only made up of Words and do not effect the Heart with Piety and Devotion therefore 2. The next Duty of the Day is to be so thankful as to endeavour after Reformation to praise God in Holiness that is by holy Lives and Conversations God hath saved you out of the hand of your Enemies do not you therefore harbour any of his Enemies in your Hearts it is a great Mistake to think that we are delivered to continue longer in our Sins therefore if the right Praises of God are in your mouths let the two-edged Sword of his Word be in your hands to take Vengance of all his Enemies your Sins and Vices 3. Let our Thankfulness to God for delivering our King and us learn us the Duty of Allegiance Shall God appear so wonderfully in the King's Defence and shall not we take that notice of it as to direct our Love and Affection where God manifests his Our Reason our Interest would easily confute all disloyal Principles if we did attend their Teachings but could they not yet our Religion and Salvation would tell us it is our Duty to Love Honour Obey and Stand by that King by whose Preservation God hath preserved all that is near and dear to us 4. The Deliverance of this Day should press us to love Unity and Concord among our selves whatever Difference may be in Mens Judgments and Opinions there ought to be none in their Affections The Church of God is frequently compar'd to a Ship And now if the Winds rage without and the Mariners are at variance what can be expected but Shipwrack It is high time therefore in a common Danger to consult a Community of Love and Affection and the rather because is the Maxim our Enemies steer by Divide Impera Divide them and Conquer them Now God of his infinite Mercy teach all and every of us these and all other our Duties in this great Day of our Deliverance that we bringing forth such Fruit as answers God's Expectation may see our King sitting fast upon the Holy Hill of Sion and our Jerusalem in Prosperity all our Lives long Amen Amen FINIS ADVERTISEMENT THere was lately Printed a SERMON Preached by the same Author on the Association in which the Printer unhappily Omited the Word France in the King's Titles beginning the Dedication
The Protestant King PROTECTED THE Popish KINGS Detected and Defeated IN A SERMON PREACH'D At St. James Clarkenwell April 16. 1696. being the Day of Publick Thanksgiving for the Deliverance of His Majesty K. William III. from Assassination and His Kingdoms from Invasion by the FRENCH By DEUEL PEAD Chaplain to His Grace JOHN Duke of NEW-CASTLE LONDON Printed for T. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside MDCXCVI THE Protestant KING protected c. Psal II. 1 2 3 4 5 6. 1. Why do the Heathen rage and the People imagine a vain thing 2. The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the Rulers take Counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed saying 3. Let us break their Bands asunder and cast their Cords from us 4. He that sitteth in Heaven shall laugh the Lord shall have them in Derision 5. Then shall he speak unto them in his Wrath and vex them in his sore Displeasure 6. Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion THis is a Day of Thanksgiving a Time of rejoicing not that Babylon is utterly fallen but because two Kings and their People who have committed Fornication with her are confounded in their black and bloody Designs When I first turn'd my Eyes to this Psalm and consider'd it as apply'd to our Saviour I did conceive the Tragedy committed upon him might guide me in describing that of this time but I soon found though in some Circumstances there was a resemblance as that the High Priest Scribes Pharisees and Rulers of the People laid and cherished the Design and that Loyalty and Allegiance to Caesar were pretended to give it the greater Countenance and also they were so far alike that the Devil had a part in it perswading one Disciple to betray another to deny and the rest to abandon him Yet there were other Particulars that did vastly differ as that the Jews aimed at a single Person the Plotters of this Day at multitudes of People young and old The Jews carried theirs on by a Form of Law they had their Sanhedrim Câ—â—apâ—â—â— and Pilate on their side but these Men design d to perpetrate their Villainy by Fire Sword Blood and Cruelty Again the Jews declare that what they did was from a Principle of Fear Joh. 11.48 for fear the Romans should come and take away their Place and Nation their Religion and Country they were forced as they thought to conspire against Jesus But now the bloody Treason at this time was therefore invented and hatch'd that Men of Romish Principles might have had the opportunity of destroying our King our Religion our Laws our Liberties our Lives our Wives Children and Country by introducing Popery and Slavery Disappointed therefore of my first Expectation I consider'd the Words with relation to David and his Affairs and so though I found many things paralel yet not all The Plot against him was very wicked but this of our Time exceeds it However seeing I cannot be so exact as I desir'd I must be content to go so far as I may The Words read acquaint us with a desperate Contrivance against the Crown and Dignity the Life and Person of King David and also they give us an Account of a seasonable and glorious Deliverance In the Plot we are to consider of Four Particulars I. The Persons contriving and carrying it on First The Heathen Secondly The People Thirdly Kings Fourthly Rulers II. The distinct Parts of every one of these First The Heathen raged Secondly The People imagined Thirdly The Kings stood up Fourthly The Rulers took Counsel III. The Persons against whom they plot The Lord and David his Anointed King IV. The End and Design of this Plot. Let us break their Bands asunder and cast their Cords from us In the Deliverance we must consider 1. The Success of the Plot. All that these imagined was vain 2. The Person working this Deliverance He that sitteth in Heaven 3. The Means by which it was wrought First He laughed at the Conspirators and had them in Derision Secondly He spake unto them in his Wrath. Thirdly He vexed them in his sore Displeasure Fourthly He established his Anointed Yet have I c. 4. The Time then when Matters as they thought were ripe and beyond disappointment 1. We begin with the Persons and their Actions And first the Heathen raged The Philistines Moabites and Edomites were in a great Heat against David understanding so religious and Warlike a Prince a Prince that had an undoubted Title having married Saul's Daughter was come to the Crown they now despaired of ever driving Israel out of Canaan and therefore they â—â—ged tumultuabantur turmatim congregabantur they murmured and gathered together in a grievous Rage and Tumult against him they raged bitterly against David and Israel's Success and Prosperity 2. The second sort of Enemies are called the People and their part in this Plot was they imagined a vain thing The People i. e. David's own Subjects who should have both known and behaved themselves better yet these being poisoned by the Heathen imagined vain false foolish and wicked things against their King vain things such as they had no occasion for nor could expect any benefit by I will instance in one of these vain Imaginations 2 Sam. 2.8 Abner with a perverse Tumult set up Ishbosheth Saul's younger Son who had no more Right to the Crown of Israel than the pretended Prince of Wales hath to ours God having excluded him by electing David and this was foolish in that the Person design'd by them for the Throne was too weak and unable for Government and also because it was apparently contradictory to the Order of the King of Kings For when Men have done all they can it is God that putteth down one and setteth up another it is but labour in vain for the Wit and Power of the World to attempt the deposing a King against God's Consent and as fruitless it is to endeavour the restoring one he doth not favour 3. The next sort of Enemies were Persons of greater Eminency and Power and therefore might hope to speed better These were Kings of the Earth as the Kings of the Moabites the Kings of Syria and Edom and with them join'd the Lords of the Philistins and their part was to stand up against David to raise an Army and invade his Country Reges adstiterunt Standing up denotes utmost endeavour of an adverse Party standing in the way as the Angel did against Balaam with a drawn Sword These Kings saw they could not prevent David's Accession to the Crown and therefore now they muster up their Forces if possible to take it from his Head but their standing up was every whit as vain as the Heathens rage or the Peoples imagining For read Psal 60 8. In a short time Moab became David's Wash-pot and over Edom he cast his Shoe that is he reduc'd them to what they deserv'd namely a State of Subjection and Slavery 4. The next Enemies
were the Rulers so that David was miserably beset on all hands the Heathen accost him with Rage his own People with mischievous Devices his Neighbour-Kings with all their Force and Might and the chief Rulers and Statesmen some of his own and some of the Enemy's with their Counsel labour to ensare him Rulers Men of Honour of choice Education of great Parts and in high Places such as should have abhorred the base and mean Thoughts of Treachery were drawn into the Plot against King David such as should have been a Skreen to defend the King against all Rage and Insolency of the People consulted how to destroy him We have thus seen the Plotters and their Actions we come next to see Thirdly Against whom this Plot was devised and the Text saith they raged imagined stood up and took Counsel against the Lord and his Anointed So that this was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fighting against God Where-ever just and righteous Kings are invaded God espouses their Quarrel Hezekiah found it so as well as David 2 Kings 19.27 28. Senacherib was thought to stand up against Hezekiah only and to rage against him but you may there hear what God said to him I know thy rage against Me and because thy rage against Me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears therefore will I put mine hook into thy nose and my Bridle in thy lips and I will turn thee back by the way which thou camest So the War of Moab and Ammon against Jeohoshaphat God interpreted a War commenc'd against himself 2 Chron. 20.15 Thus saith the Lord be not afraid for the Battle is not yours but Gods You may observe it throughout all Ages such as God's gracious Providence places upon Thrones his mighty Arm doth ever defend and protect Fourthly The next thing to be considered is the End and Design of this Conspiracy of this raging imagining standing up and taking Counsel and we shall find it was Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us Their Bands and their Cords must have respect to the Persons preceding namely the Lord and his Anointed and by this we may perceive that these Conspirators were Persons of very perverse Minds they were impatient if under any Restraint from God or Man they rage stand up and take Counsel against any that shall attempt to keep them in good order Bands as it hath respect to God may imply the religious Worship of the Jews those Precepts that God had given them in Command to observe and then the meaning of those Plotters was they were resolv'd to extirpate the true Religion they would not be under any Obligation to the God of Israel but would continue in their blind and devilish Idolatry and therefore they conspire this against David because the Defender of the Faith It is strange to Reason though not to Practice that Kings should suffer the Displeasure of their Neighbours and People meerly for upholding God's true Worship Let us cast their cords from us Cords in Scripture-Phrase signifie Power and Authority Psal 129.4 God hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked i. e. hath destroyed all their Tyrannical Power In this sence this bloody Contrivance against David was to destroy all Legal Authority that the longest Sword might carry all Cords have another signification and proper to the Case in hand The Hebrews divided the Land of Canaan by Lines and Cords setting out thereby every ones Portion Psal 16.6 The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places so that this considered the Heathen the People the Kings and the Rulers though they pretended Rage against King David only yet their chief Design was to beat Israel out of Canaan to root them out so that they should be no more a People Some Rings it is to be feared go to War upon no other account The 2d part of the Text is the Deliverance from this desperate Plot. And herein 1. We may behold the Success of this raging imagining standing up and consulting it was all a vain thing And what is it but vain false and deceitful for Men to take in hand what they are assured God will blast It is true if divers Kings stand up against one weaker according to humane Proceedings they may compel and force him to alter and change his Mind suitably to their Will and Pleasure but when once God shall have engaged when the King of Kings shall have sworn that he will not fail David not all the Kings Popes and Grand Seigniors on Earth can constrain him to alter the thing that is gone out of his lips They may dig as deep as Hell and conjure the Devils to their assistance but still he that sitteth in Heaven will disappoint them Psal 37.12 The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth He hath whetted his teeth and is ready to devour him yet he shall miss his Prey For Ver. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him for he seeth that his day is coming 2. The Person working this Deliverance He that sitteth in the Heavens God is described as sitting in the Heavens not as a regardless Being but as having the advantage to behold wicked Men in their secret doings Psal 10.14 Thou hast seen it for thou beholdest mischief and spite to requite it with thy hand He that sitteth in Heaven argueth the Power of God that he ruleth over all and will be too hard for the Kings of the Earth their Adherents and Counsellors 3. The means whereby this Deliverance was wrought First God laughed at the Conspirators and had them in derision he infatuated their Counsels and defeated all their Purposes Secondly He also spake unto them in his wrath If we look into the 6th Verse we may see the Words God did speak unto them viz. Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion Speaking when referr'd to God is put for doing for non tam linguâ quam manu loquitur Deus He will speak unto them in his wrath Such Rebellion and bloody Designs will kindle God's wrath and then he will afflict such Punishments upon them as he is used to cast upon those that rebel against him 3. And vex them in his sore Displeasure These Words manifesting God's Resolution of upholding his King must needs vex them That was so hard a saying who could bear it that had evil Will at Sion It was certainly the greatest mortification imaginable to these Conspirators to see that the more they shook David's Throne the faster it should stand Fourthly The last means of the Deliverance was God's confirming his former Grant to David when by his good Providence he so over-rul'd all the rage of the Heathen the imagination of the People the standing up of the Kings and the consulting of the Rulers that notwithstanding all David sat fast he reigned a long time in Peace and Prosperity and after he had settled his Kingdom died in Peace and Honour 4. The fourth Particular relating
to the Deliverance was the Time specified by the Word then then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore Displeasure then when they least thought on such a thing when they were past all Fears and Jealousies when they scorn'd all Terms of Accommodation as presuming upon Success when they had filled their own and Neighbours Courts with the vast hopes they had of subduing Israel then he that sitteth in Heaven laughed at all There is yet the first Word of the Text this must be regarded also Why The Text is delivered by way of Interrogation and that first to evince the Truth of the Matter David made not Enquiry of what they had done for that was sufficiently apparent but he wanted to know Why Again this Why argues his surprize at the hearing of these Designs not knowing what Fault of his had thus inflam'd their Rage arm'd their Hands and employ'd their Heads And lastly Why does upbraid them as if he had said Why to what purpose is all this adoe What will you get thereby in the end but shame and confusion Here I shall break off from David I am apt to think that from what hath been already spoken you have some insight into the rebellious Conspiracy lately transacted among us However our Duty this Day being great and necessary namely praising and blessing the Name of God for fear you should do your Work by halves I will go through with mine and make the Words applicable to our present purpose Mercies and Deliverances are not likely to be rightly acknowledged where they are not fully considered nor can our Thankfulness be such as it should if our esteem and value of the Blessing be not such as it ought it is unreasonable to expect they should magnifie God's Name for this wonderful Preservation of our King and Kingdoms who either know not our Danger or repine at our Deliverance I will therefore endeavour to take away the Excuse of Ignorance and I hope that of Prejudice by giving a particular and faithful relation of the whole Matter I have those farther hopes that if any one crowded in among you who have been any ways accessary to the black Design either in wishing Success speaking too favourably thereof or otherwise concealing the Actors of it I may yet prevail upon them to be thankful for this great Mercy and I may boldly say theirs is not the least Share for Providence having interrupted the perpretation of the intended Invasion Assassination and Massacre they are in a possibility of repenting for I must declare I have rarely if ever met with Persons who have murder'd lawful Princes and turn'd their Kingdoms into Blood have ever found the Grace of Repentance for either when their Heat and Fury their Barbarity and Cruelty is over the Devil takes the advantage of their Guilt and precipitates them to Despair or else he breeds in them such a Complacency and Delight in what they have done that they rather expect an Angel to conduct them to an heavenly Reward than one of the bottomless Pit to hurry to them to the Place of Torment and being thus secure they come to a fearful End To proceed In this Plot we have 1. The Heathen not Philistines or Edomites but bloody-minded Papists And because I expect some to question upon what account I call them Heathen who call themselves Catholicks I therefore answer I understand nomina to be notamina Names to be Indications of the Nature and Properties of Persons and upon this account it is notoriously evident that the Name of Heathen does better accord with these Papists than that of Christian in that their Behaviour is not such as becometh the Gospel of Christ but rather the Customs of savage Heathen nor do I see any impropriety in writing him most Heathenish who would be called most Christian because he blushes not to act what Turks and Infidels and the very Heathen would tremble at the â—â—ming And with these Heathen we must rank some Protestants seeing they are so become by their vilainous Practises Having thus told you who these Heathen are we now consider their doings they raged and tumultuously congregated against the Lord and his Anointed our gracious King William who may truly say of them in the Words of David Psal 110.12 They came about him like Bees a proper resemblance either in respect of their number or malice for besides the several thousands of them belonging to the Hive at home ten thousand more were upon the wing to come from abroad Bees for their malice also are these Heathen for when Bees take pet against any thing they seize it with that ardent desire of Revenge that to sting others they disarm and kill themselves The like have some of these Heathen done having most justly forfeited their Lives in contriving and endeavouring the Assassinating his Majesty There is one Particular farther wherein I hope to see these Heathen like David's Bees for they were extinct as the Fire among the Thorns So these though they rage horribly and make a great noise shall be able to do no more hurt than a Fire among a few Thorns These Heathen rage they hum and mutter Slanders and reviling Speeches against the Lord 's Anointed and such as faithfully adhere to him they rage against our Religion against our Prosperity and especially because God hath raised us up such a mighty Deliverer It is observable that they who have the Plague are doubly infected in Mind as well as Body and therefore they use all means to derive their Disease to others Such a Plague is Slavery that these French and Frenchify'd Heathen are more troubled at our Liberty than their own Thraldom and would be much easier in their Shackles could they see a probability of getting our Feet into the same Stocks and for this end they jeopard their Lives unto Death 2. The second rank of our David's Enemies from which we may praise God that He and we are in so hopeful a way to be delivered is the People The People his People those very People that by their own Choice Laws and Oaths as well as God's particular Providence have made and own'd him their King The People the People our King hath redeem'd with the Price of his Blood and the Hazard of his Life The People the English People the greater Shame seeing they have ever till now highly honour'd obey'd greatly lov'd and rever'd their Wise Good Just Valiant and Moderate Princes The People a People that long ere this had been no People had he not been King yet this People forgets David aad the Dangers he hath expos'd his Sacred Person to for their sake The People a People that are naturally impatient of Arbitrary Government yet they imagine wicked and cruel things against their King that ruleth by Law and with abundance of Prudence and Mercy The People a People that are very jealous of their Liberty and Privileges but yet Conspire with them that would