hence they are fitly stiled in Scripture Sons of Belial i. e. of the Arch-rebel These are the characters which David gives us of his enemies within the compass of this short Psalm and a true description of all their successors such as are enemies to Kings and Traytors to Governments and when we have put 'em all together their secret counsels and their bare-fac'd Rebellion their malicious slanders and their deep-laid Plots and all these acted with unwearied diligence and restless industry we need no further proof of his enemies designs and his danger But in the midst of all these dangers and in the height of their expectations the good man looked up to God and foresaw his own safety and their ruine ver 7. But God shall shoot at 'em with a swift arrow suddenly shall they be wounded God who hath set up Kings will defend 'em He that called David his Anointed did preserve him He that has said By me Kings reign has thereby entitled 'em to his protection And that it might appear that his rescue was from Heaven that both his deliverance and his enemies destruction was Gods own Act he has mentioned two circumstances which I shall briefly consider as most applicable to the case before us 1. The suddenness of their destruction And 2. The manner of the discovery and prevention of his danger 1. The suddenness of the destruction suddenly shall they be wounded When they were in the height of their hopes priding themselves in their well-formed Plots and secure of the success he that searched the secrets of their hearts and knew their treachery blasted the design and rendred all their contrivances vain and fruitless The suddenness of events does usually enhance the wonder and when things most improbable and unlikely are brought to pass in the twinkling of an eye when men least think of 'em and have no reason to expect 'em 't is a plain intimation that some more than ordinary cause concurr'd to their production and the finger of God is clearly visible in such surprizing and unaccountable events When the Israelites were delivered from Babylon after a tedious restraint and all of a sudden sent back to their own Country in peace as the joy of such an unexpected return almost amaz'd ' em When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion then were we like unto them that dream Ps 126. 1. they could scarce believe it to be real so they rightly concluded ver 3. The Lord hath done great things for us whereof we rejoyce Such sudden events are beyond the power of ordinary means and must needs be concluded to be Gods own work And so the sudden destruction of the wicked in the midst of their prosperity and when they think themselves most secure is a manifest proof that it is the Lords own doing To see fearless sinners baffled in an instant and sunk into confusion when they think of nothing less is an undeniable argument that it was an omnipotent arm which smote ' em And it quieted David's doubts of the equity of Gods providence when he saw the wicked brought into desolation in a moment Psal 73. 19. To behold them flourishing to day like a green Bay-tree and to morrow dried up like the Fig-tree cursed by our Saviour makes it notorious and plain that they were blasted with a breath from Heaven So perish'd David's enemies whereby it is evident it was Gods own work And so was it 2. From the manner of the discovery and the prevention of his danger ver 8. They shall make their own tongue fall upòn the head of themselves Intimating either that the mischiefs which they had devised for others should return upon themselves or that their own tongues should be made their own betrayers The first is the Psalmists common observation of the wicked and of the equity of Divine Justice in their punishment that they are taken in the snares which themselves had laid and are fallen into the pit they had digg'd for others And the other is as certain though not so common that the wicked are oft made the revealers of their own secrets and the contrivers of mischief are the betrayers of themselves And both are arguments of an over-ruling power in such mysterious events and manifest that it is Gods own doing And thus have we seen what work it was that David here ascribes to God namely the destruction of his enemies evident to be his doing more especially by the suddenness of their ruine and the manner of the discovery and prevention of his danger And the case suits well with the occasion and the day wherein we escap'd as great a danger by as strange a deliverance and that from God too and of the Lords own doing which will plainly appear when I have parallel'd the forenamed circumstances with the subject of this days solemnity I shall not need to describe the greatness of our danger when I have but mention'd the horror of this days Treason how the King and Prince with the whole High-Court of Parliament were all marked out for slaughter to be blown up alive and involv'd in one common death without a minutes warning And 't is not hard to imagine what tyranny and usurpation what oppression and blood-shedding had ensued what unspeakable misery had been entail'd upon us and our posterity to the loss of our liberty and fortunes to the change of our Government and Religion to the continual hazzard of our lives and of all that at present we peaceably enjoy which was all certainly intended though by the infinite mercy of God it was never executed A design so cruel that they who cannot but abhor it if true would willingly persuade themselves and others it is false and we are forbidden to trust our ears because we did not see it with our eyes 'T is hard that they who lay the greatest stress on Tradition should not allow us to believe one especially of a matter of fact of less than fourscore years and within the memory of some now living But what will not they deny who cry down the Bible it self and vilifie the testimony of Gods holy Spirit when it makes against them For unless the several publick Records of the Kingdom and the joynt consent of our deceased Fathers unless the confessions of the Traytors themselves and some of their own most creditable Wtiters nay unless our own senses at this very day and our fresh experience of the like damnable designs can be all suppos'd to deceive us a Conspiracy no less certain than barbarous as firmly to be believed as heartily detested by all that wish well to our English Israel and renounce those ungodly Principles which countenance or defend such unchristian and bloody practices I know rhere are few if any that hear me unacquainted with the story of this days Plot and therefore I shall leave it to your memories to run the parallel between David's Conspirators and these Traytors in the secresie of their Counsels designs laid
〈…〉 Nov. 1680. ORde◠〈…〉 of this House be retur◠〈…〉 for his Sermon yesterday 〈…〉 House at St. Margarets and that 〈…〉 the same And Mr. Speaker is 〈…〉 use to give him Thanks and to 〈…〉 of the House to Print his Sermon 〈…〉 Goldesborough Cler. Dom. Com. A SERMON Preached before the HONOURABLE House of COMMONS At St. Margarets Westminster November 5. 1680. BY HENRY DOVE D. D. LONDON Printed by M. C. for H. Brome at the Gun and Benj. Tooke at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-yard 1680. A SERMON Preached before the HONOURABLE HOVSE of COMMONS At St. Margarets Westminster Nov. 5. 1680. Psalm 64. 9 10. And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God for they shall wisely consider of his doing The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory THAT this Psalm is a Prayer of Davids for preservation of his Life from fear of the enemy we are assur'd from the title and the first verse And if that rule of Interpreters hold good That where nothing is new in the Title there the Argument is the same with the foregoing Psalm we may probably infer that it was indited by the Royal Prophet when Saul and his associates sought his life However it be for Expositors are not agreed about it without any force to the Text or any part of the Context we may fitly apply it to the Publick Solemnity of this day wherein we are assembled to magnifie the providence of God for his memorable deliverance of the King and Kingdom from the bloody designs of Popish Traytors and to implore his goodness for the continuance of his favour to our present Sovereign and the whole Nation to give him thanks for the great things he hath done for us already and to pray for the final defeat of the like hellish Plots against us This is a day which the Lord hath made let us rejoyce and be glad in it nay this is a season which he hath once more signaliz'd let us pray and sing praises to the God of our lives And what great reason we have to rejoyce in his Providence and glory in his Power and trust in his Goodness will be evident from the words when applied to the day for it is most remarkably of his own making he hath made it his by a miracle of mercy And all men shall fear and shall declare the work of God for they shall wisely consider of his doing and he hath made it ours by a return of duty The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and shall trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory In the words we have these three general parts I. An Act of God something of his doing II. Its Effect upon men in general All men shall fear and shall declare c. III. A special Duty resulting from it incumbent on good men The righteous c. I. I begin with the first as the ground of all the rest An Act of God which is twice mention'd called The work of God and His doing The expression is doubled to make it at once more certain and to bespeak our observance of it But what that work was and by what means accomplished we must learn from the precedent verses The Psalm as I said is a prayer of Davids for deliverance from his enemies with a description of their intended cruelty and a prediction of Gods judgments on them His enemies were strong and powerful but God was omnipotent and in Him was his help and trust they design'd his utter ruine but God turned the mischief upon their own heads And that we may see how great a deliverance God wrought for him let us first consider what they plotted against him In the description we have several characters of their rage and cruelty and as many intimations of his danger 1. Their secret counsels and midnight contrivances ver 2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked for so usually all Treasons and Conspiracies begin in private Combinations and clandestine Plots And though it be true of all sins that they are works of darkness yet Treasons most of all hate and avoid the light being hatch'd in the dark recesses of wicked hearts and promoted by secret Meetings and Consultations But their malice was too great to be long conceal'd by darkness it self and therefore it soon broke out 2. Into open Rebellion for so it follows ver 2. Hide me from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity that 's the next degree of their mischief and his danger They that harbour Treason in their hearts want only an opportunity to act it with their hands and when men are engaged in wicked Conspiracies they are soon drawn on to open Insurrections They that dare imagine evil against the King in their Bed-chamber will not stick to countenance Rebellion against him in the Camp For the malice of Treason like fire conceal'd will either find or force its passage So their secret counsels here were soon formed into an Insurrection and the heat of their rage kindled the flames of Rebellion 3. In their slanderous reproaches and unjust insinuations ver 3. They whet their tongue like a sword and shoot out their arrows even bitter words This is the usual Prologue to all Traytorous designs to calumniate the Government and speak evil of Dignities to reproach the one and make it odious by traducing the other and rendering them contemptible They shoot out their arrows intimating the number of their slanders for such will be sure to say enough that something at least may be believed Or if their reproaches be too gross to find credit then they rail and discharge bitter words sharpned with spight and envenomed with malice and these they dart in private suggestions and crafty insinuations ver 4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect suddenly do they hit him and fear not And when they have infected others with this poison of asps that is under their lips we soon find 'em in the next place 4. Met at their private Cabals to animate the Traytors and carry on the Treason ver 5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter and commune of laying snares privily For Treason is usually an underground work and as far as possible is brooded in the dark mischief is the design and secresie is the midwife to bring it to the birth and no means unattempted lest it should prove abortive which is a further description of their designs and his danger 5. Their great industry and diligence ver 6. They search out iniquity they accomplish a diligent design There is not a more active Principle in the world than malice nor any malice more devilish and busie than that of Rebels 'T is the Devils malice that makes him restless and Rebels have so much at least of his temper that they leave no stone unturn'd which may carry on or accomplish their mischievous designs and
deep as Hell and black as utter darkness in the maliciousness of their calumnies and imbitter'd slanders in the insolence of their insurrection and bold-fac'd Rebellion and in their industrious sedulity to carry on their Treason and an unquenchable thirst after blood and ruine to all which they wanted only success to make 'em the most matchless villains that perhaps ever trod on the earths surface But he that sits in Heaven laugh'd 'em to scorn the Lord had them in derision What David foresaw God himself reveal'd by discovering the Treason and confounding the Traytors which happy discovery gave birth to this days joyful gratulations to praise the Lord for his goodness and declare the wonders that he doth for us the children of men To which as the proper matter of this days duty I hasten when I have first briefly evinc'd that this was also Gods own doing which will be more evident from the same arguments wherewith David manifested the destruction of his enemies to be Gods own work 1. From the suddenness of their destruction When there was but one night between us and ruine and e're the next Sun had set the whole body of this flourishing Kingdom had either bled its last or fainted with the loss of its best blood when the Treason was ripe for action and nothing wanting to the execution but only stretching out an hand to fire the fatal train when the Traytors grew big with hopes and altogether fearless of disappointment God shoots at 'em with a swift arrow and suddenly they are wounded They had posted themselves in several quarters of the Kingdom looking for destruction and it came so effectually on themselves that as they did not suspect it so they could not possibly avoid it Their designs were so near the issue that their Confederates at a distance believ'd 'em done and so nigh was our danger that we might truly say with David 1 Sam. 20. 3. As the Lord liveth there was but a step between us and death But God who rescued Isaac from the knife and the fiery pile withheld That terrible Blow and made them the sacrifice to their own merciless cruelty delivered us from the fire and made them the offering consuming 'em in a moment by their own wickedness For 't is no new observation that several of those rebellious accomplices who had prepared the fatal Pile were first scorch'd and afterwards slain by the direful effects of that very element which they had chosen as an instrument of our ruine And when we see such notorious offenders corrected by their own sins when they are punish'd by the same thing wherein they have offended and made to drink as it were out of their own cup we may easily discern who administers the potion and how just the retaliation is And 't is oft the case of the wicked that Gods hand may be manifest and his providence glorified by the resemblance of the punishment to the sin The Psalmist hath noted it Ps 109. 27. Hereby shall they know that it is thy hand and that thou Lord hast done it and how 's that ver 29. in that they are cloathed with their own shame and covered with their own confusion as with a mantle That they fall as fast as they rise are still confounded by their own devices and still thy servants rejoyce 2. In the manner of the discovery and prevention of the danger That the Traytors should be made their own Betrayers and one of them by endeavouring to save a Friend should destroy all the rest of his accomplices That darkness should bring their deeds to light and one night discover what ten months had conceal'd That the obscurity of a Letter should prove the best comment to find out its meaning and the darkness of the Text give light to its interpretation That the Actors should be apprehended on the Stage when they were just ready to begin the Tragedy and all the danger blown over in a moment That the intended Massacre should be the means to our greater safety and the ruine threatned to our Church should prove its establishment These are all undeniably such effects as carry on 'em the Signacula Dei the print of Gods finger the legible characters of infinite Wisdom and Omnipotence So that we may boldly appeal with David to all that see it O come hither and behold the work of God how wonderful he is in his doing Psal 66. 5. And what 's that that such as are rebellious are not able to exalt themselves ver 7. but are snared in the work of their own hands for it was this day done the ungodly were caught in their own snare and trapped in the pit they had digged for others even without a figure They said among themselves Come and let us make havock of 'em all together by undermining 'em in that very place where they have made such Laws against us They sought deep to hide their counsel and their works were in the dark and they said Who seeth it and who knoweth it They took an Oath of Secresie nay they received the Sacrament upon it Blessed Lord that thy most Holy Ordinance should be thus prophaned that men should call upon thy Name while they deliberately blaspheme thine Honour The Seal of Confession must not be violated to save the King and Kingdom but the Seal of our Eternal Redemption is made the Bond of Iniquity without any scruple Such is the Piety of those who make Religion a cloak for Treason and turn Rebels out of Conscience They stuck you see at nothing to lodge the Secret safe but God aveng'd their prophaneness by infatuating their Counsels He darts a scruple into one of their minds Lest the righteous should perish with the wicked and makes his own Conscience tell him more than seven Confessors He reveals the Treachery by the hand of a Confident and makes the mischief betray it self that he might protect the Innocent and make himself known by the execution of his Judgments upon the wicked especially on such as delight in Treason and Blood and so horribly dishonour Christ as to call it His Religion So the Plot was discovered and the crafty confounded whereby it is evident it was Gods own doing That 's the first general the work of God II. But when God makes bare his arm and stretcheth out his hand to work wonders sure the world must be awakned into an observance of them and that 's next to be considered Its Effect upon men in general and here 's a threefold Effect mention'd 1. All men shall fear 2. Shall declare the work of God 3. Shall wisely consider of his doing 1. The first effect is Fear which naturally arises in mens minds upon the apprehensions of Gods irresistible power and greatness For who has an arm like God or who can thunder with a voice like him yea who can hear his voice and not tremble or see his hand stretched out and not be afraid Thou didst cause thy judgment to
detest the sins for which others have been so notably punish'd But there is something more yet to be done as the proper work of the day and that is III. A duty resulting from all these considerations and chiefly incumbent on good men and that as the other is three-fold 1. Rejoycing in the Lord. 2. Trusting in him 3. Glory and triumph The righteous shall c. 1. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord. A duty no less easie than pleasant and that which we all seem to covet and desire most that which we eagerly pursue as the best of this worlds satisfactions joy and rejoycing There is no such gladness of heart as that which a good man enjoys in the contemplation of Gods goodness And sure we need no invitations to what we are all so naturally inclin'd God himself requires it the deliverance of the Day and the discoveries of a later date call for it Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous and again I say rejoyce for the voice of praise is comely and it becometh well the just to be thankful And seeing God requires a sign and some outward testimony of your joy and thanks let me bespeak your Charity to the Poor in those emphatical words of Nehemiah 8. 10. Go your way eat the fat and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy unto our Lord neither be you sorry for the joy of the Lord is your strength God who frankly bestows his blessings loves a chearful return of what he gives and since our goodness extends not unto him but to the Saints that are in the earth he has left the Poor among us as his standing Receivers by his own Patent The poor ye shall have always with you says our Saviour and whensoever ye will ye may do them good Mark 14. 7. Do it therefore at this time above all and make them partakers of your fulness and joyfulness for then we glorifie his name when we joy in his salvation and are glad to do good to others as God hath done unto us when the voice of rejoycing is heard in the Tabernacles of the righteous and the tokens of our joy are sent to the poor and needy And that our joy may be perfect let us temper it with Faith and add the next degree of our Duty 2. The righteous shall trust in him And good reason indeed to trust in him of whose favour and loving kindness we have had so large experience well may we rely on that power which is so able to protect us well may we depend on that providence which so remarkably takes care of us And herein lies the difference of the effects that such works of God have upon the righteous and the wicked that the one are struck with horror from the apprehensions of his power and providence and confounded with the sense of their own guilt whilst good men glory in the demonstrations of Gods power and make all his Dispensations an argument of a more chearful dependance on him 'T is this that supports the spirits of good men under all the troubles and distractions of the world and keeps 'em from despondence with fear of future evils and apprehensions of mischief and disturbances when they call to mind the deliverances of past times and Gods manifold appearances in the cause of his Church and People And what if a cloud appear or the storms arise if we build our confidence on the rock of ages we have a shelter against the Tempests a strong consolation and a good hope as an anchor of our souls both sure and stedfast And what if the same danger threaten us and the storms arise from the same quarter we have still the same God to flee unto who hath manifested his care of our Church by a continued series of Miracles and Mercies Though the unquiet spirits of the world and the powers of darkness combine against us yet if we hold us fast by God he will never leave us nor forsake us if we adhere constantly unto him his Faithfulness and Truth will be our Shield and Buckler and while we are under the defence of the Almighty we shall not be greatly moved This was David's confidence whose deliverances always equal'd his dangers and from his own experience he encourageth others to depend upon God Psalm 62. 6 7. He only is my rock and my salvation he is my defence I shall not be moved In God is my salvation and my glory the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God And then immediately it follows ver 8. Trust in him at all times O ye people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us Selah The times and seasons to come are in the hand of God alone and we know not what a day much less what a year may bring forth though we cannot but know what our sins have deserv'd if God should enter into judgment with us yet even this is matter of great rejoycing that we are still assembled to give him thanks in the great Congregation and to praise him among the Heads of the people And this too is an encouragement to rely on the same infinite Power and Goodness for the continuance of our safety That the next year shall be as this and much more abundant That God will settle and root us faster by shaking us a little That he will perfect his own work by a full detection and final defeat of all our implacable enemies And in this humble confidence and assurance of his favour we triumph and glory Which is the last branch of our Duty 3. All the upright in heart shall glory They shall glory in his strength and triumph in his favour But that 's not all they shall glory in the confusion of the wicked and rejoyce in the continual disappointment of such treacherous designs And they that do not rejoyce and glory in such Discoveries and Deliverances are none of the upright in heart for they defraud God of his due and deny him the honour of his own work and they give us reason to suspect that they wish the Treason had been acted They that refuse to give thanks for the Deliverance want only an opportunity to contrive the like mischief and put the Design in execution But let us I beseech you as men upright in heart with all our Souls yea with heart and voice offer up our Thanksgivings to the God of our mercies and confess his Name and glory in his Strength and triumph in his Goodness As we are sensible to whom we owe our safety let us keep the Feast with joyful and thankful hearts making it like the Feast of the Passover a day to be much observed throughout all our Generations let us all as friends to Sion the Church we wish well to give thanks to the preserver of our Sion as Subjects of a Kingdom whose peace and prosperity we pray for let us bless the God of our Israel the mighty defender of our Nation We have heard with our ears and our Fathers have declared unto us the noble works which God did in their days and in the time before them How he did deliver our Nation from the Tyranny of the Pope the Usurpations of his Sea the Treasons of his Emissaries and from the Idolatry Superstition and Cruelty of his Religion I call it His for Popery is no more like Christs Religion than a Wolf is like a Lamb. How soon he extinguish'd the fire of the Marian Persecution and in the years next ensuing gave us Beauty for Ashes even ten for one How he put to flight the Forces of the Aliens and display'd his wonders in the deep in 88 and how he delivered both our Church and State as on this Day And as we have heard so have we seen how miraculously he dispell'd that dismal Cloud which covered us by bowing the hearts of all-the People as the heart of one man to bring back the King to his own Throne How he made Him among the Princes of the earth the First-born as it were from the dead How his Hand hath held him fast in the midst of manifold dangers and by Gods protection of Him we also are protected in the quiet enjoyment of our Lives Liberties Fortunes and Laws and in the free and open Profession of Christs true Religion Oh! let us walk worthy of these reiterated Deliverances and live as becometh a Reformed and a Redeemed People Let not our Heats and Divisions on one hand nor our Looseness and Prophaneness on the other give occasion to the Enemy to triumph over us lest they say in their hearts There there so would we have it lest we ruine our selves in a more effectual manner than all the Papal Conspirators in Europe can devise But let us manifest our thankfulness to God by living piously and peaceably in the stedfast Profession of his holy Gospel and in hearty Loyalty and Fidelity to our King whose strength and security next under Providence does principally depend on the Hearts and Affections of his Subjects on the Counsels and Assistance of his Parliament So shall we best secure our selves consulting at once our Duty and our Interest so with St. Paul may we hope in God who hath delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will evermore deliver us 2 Cor. 1. 10. From all Sedition privy Conspiracy and Rebellion from all false Doctrine Heresie and Schism from all Popish Principles and Practises good Lord deliver us through Jesus Christ our Saviour and mighty Deliverer To whom with thee and thy Holy Spirit three Persons and one Eternal God be ascribed of us and thy whole Church all Power and Glory Thanksgiving and Praise now and evermore Amen FINIS