Throne any less remarkable Whilst the Kingdom was yet divided against Him and but one of all the Tribes of Israel stuck firm to Him and own'd his Authority for above Seven years And when at last it pleased God to unite the whole People under him no sooner was He free from those Civil Disturbances at Home but a Forreign Enemy forthwith invaded him from Abroad and again exposed him to New Dangers 〈◊〉 out of all these Difficulties God deliver'd him and were it necessary for me to go on to the following parts of his Life we might find yet greater Instances than these of his Wonderful Preservations of him And as 't is certain that no One ever took more Care to magnify the Mercies of God than David did So I may say that never had any Prince greater reason than He had so to do Who seems to have been chosen by God out of all the Kings of the World to shew what a tender regard the Almighty has to his own Ministers whilst they take care to live well and to demean themselves as becomes that Place and Character which he has bestow'd upon Them This then was the Case of the Royal Psalmist when he resolved upon that Song of Eucharist of which the Text speaks in acknowledgment of all those Blessings which God had Vouchsafed to Him And if we Enquire into the Reason of all this What it was that moved God to shew such a particular regard to this Great Man I think we may give these two Accounts of it 1 st That He was King of Gods own peculiar People that People which he had chosen out of all the Inhabitants of the Earth to be his own Inheritance To whom alone of all the Nations of the World he had Declared his Will and given many noble Discoveries of himself whilst the rest of Mankind lay in a miserable State of Darkness and Idolatry And of whom therefore he took a singular Care more than of any Other People or Country besides Now if God had an especial regard to the Jewish Nation more than to any Other If he kept as it were his peculiar Residence among them and maintain'd a more than ordinary Communication in all other respects with them It ought not to be wonder'd If we find him in a singular manner watching over their King too more than over those of any Other People or Nation besides and in an extraordinary manner careful to save and desend Him But this is not yet All For if we look into the History of the Holy David we shall find that God did not only favour Him more than any King of all the Nations round about Him but more than any other King even of Israel its self And therefore I add 2 dly That this Great Man was not only King of God's own peculiar People and as such the Guardian of his Laws and Supporter of his Worship But he was moreover Himself a most excellent Person too A Man after God's own Heart and by his own Piety no less than by his place and Character in a more particular manner intituled to the Divine Care and Protection And this is what I take to be implied in that Expression of the Text where He calls himself God's Servant It is He that giveth Salvation unto Kings who delivereth David his Servant from the Hurtful Sword Intimating to us that it was This Relation in which he stood to God above all other Kings and indeed almost beyond all Other Men that ever lived in the World of being Zealous and Faithful in his Service that Engaged his Providence to such an extraordinary Concern for Him And if we look into all the following Reigns we shall find that according as any of his Successors shew'd themselves either careful for Gods Service or negligligent of it Accordingly God appear'd to be more or less careful to prosper and protect them Whilst Solomon continu'd to walk in the Steps of his Father David never was any Prince more Great or Honourable than He was But when Peace and Plenty His Wives and his Pleasures corrupted his Religion and made Him halt between God and Baal the Temple and the Groves tho' for his Father David's sake God would not rend the Kingdom from Him in his own time yet He threatned to deprive his Son of it and raised up many Dangers and Troubles against him to disturb his Peace and diminish his Glory On the other side we are told of Hezekiah 2 Kings xviii 5. That after Him was none like Him of all the Kings of Judah nor any that were before Him For he clave to the LORD and departed not from following Him but kept his Commandments which the LORD commanded Moses And what the Consequence of his Piety was we read in the very next Verse And the LORD was with Him and he prospered whithersoever he went forth It were an Easie matter to add many more Examples in proof of this Remark were it at all necessary to insist upon it The Summ of all is this That as God do's in a particular Manner Exercise his Providence in the Preservation of Kings and Princes above other Men so among them he is yet more especially careful to prosper and protect Those who profess his true Religion and take care both to Live themselves and as far as they are able to engage their People too to live according to the Rules of it Indeed there are Certain Seasons when God suffers the Best Princes not only to fall into some lesser Dangers but it may be utterly to be cut off by Wicked and Violent Hands When the Sins of a Nation are come to their full Period So that all the Piety and Prudence of their Governours are neither able to reclaim them from their Evil ways nor to intercede with God for a longer Forbearance of them Such was the Case of the Jews in the time of King Josiah a better Prince than whom never sate upon the Throne of David Yet God suffer'd him to fall by the Hand of Pharaoh-Necho King os Egypt that so he might not survive the Fortunes of his Country nor see the Evil which was then just ready to break in upon it And when Schism and Faction when Base Designs and Open Immoralities had in like manner prepared Us of this Country for some great Destruction We know how it pleased God from small Beginnings and unforeseen Accidents to throw us into a miserable State of War and Confesion and to deprive us at once both of an Excellent Prince and with him of our Church and Monarchy too But then even this God appoints in Mercy to them when it would really be more Grievous to them to Live than to Die And the Misfortune generally is not so much theirs as the Country's or Nation 's from which they are taken And so on the Other hand There is a time when the Worst Princes are strangely
at this Time have For indeed when did God ever more eminently shew himself to be the Saviour of Kings than in those frequent and signal Deliverances which he has afforded to our own Royal Soveraign from the Hurtful Sword If 1 st We consider his Personal Deliverances I may venture to affirm That never did any Prince more generously expose himself for any People than his Majesty in these late Years has done for Us nor I think ever did any more narrowly escape with Safety out of them For not to say any thing of the Common Hazards of War tho' perhaps no Prince either undertook more Expeditions or carried them on with greater Diligence or appeard in them with more Courage or Ended them with better Success or less consider'd His own Safety in comparison of the publick Good than our Royal Master has done since the time of Him of whom our Text speaks I can scarce yet without Astonishment remember How near the Fatal Blow came to him which had not the watchful Providence of God for sure nothing else could have done it prevented must for Ever have quench'd the Light of our Israel and have at once put a final period both to his Life and in that to all our Hopes But that God who raised him up to assert his Cause and to vindicate the Liberty not of this Country only but of all Europe from the Rage and Power of its Common Enemy and Oppressor had yet more Victories for him to obtain And therefore he heard our Prayers and cover'd his Head in that Day of Battle and sent him back to us with so much the Greater Joy by how much the nearer we were to have been utterly deprived of Him But that which ought yet more to be consider'd by Us and to raise up our Souls to a still greater heighth of Thanksgiving for this Deliverance is that as his Danger was Imminent so was it of such a Nature too that nothing but the same God who preserved David heretofore from the Hurtful Sword could have delivered our King from the Stroak of it Here was no room for Counsel or Advice No Opportunity for any Humane Means to have interposed for his Preservation Neither the Courage of his Bravest nor the Conduct of his Wisest Servants could have stood him in any Stead No it was that God who did Deliver Him that alone was capable of doing of it And therefore not unto Us O Lord but unto thy Name be the Glory of it And these are such Circumstances as would at any time have engaged us to a lively Sense of so great a Deliverance But at such a time as that was in which God was pleased thus wonderfully to preserve him to restore him again to us this is what gives a singular Addition to the Blessing of it For a Nation to be deprived of a Good Prince a King endued with all those Royal Vertues which even the Enemies of our Great Soveraign cannot deny to be most Conspicuous in Him must certainly at any time have been a very great Calamity and what would have call'd for the Lamentations of all that truly valued either the Honour or Welfare of their Country But to have been deprived of such a Prince in a time of Trouble and Difficulty when nothing but his Conduct his Courage and Reputation could possibly have prevented Us from an utter Ruin and Confusion I want words to express how Fatal the Consequence must have been of it And yet this or rather if possible somewhat beyond all this was our Case when God sent us this great Deliverance Our Enemies defied us from Abroad They threatned us even there where we thought our selves the most Secure against Them Where we were wont till now to give Laws and strike Terrour into all other Nations besides And had they obtain'd this farther Advantage against us What could have hindred but that our very Name and Nation our Liberties and Religion must for ever have been buried in Reproach and Desolation Nor was the Insolence of Those within any less They began already to devour us again in their Hopes and expected only when the Happy Minute should come that would again have put them in a Condition to have accomplish'd their Wicked Designs against us Thus did all things seem manifestly to threaten us with Rain and Confusion Nothing now remain'd but the Dread of our absent Prince and whom tho' at the Greatest Distance they cannot but tremble at to rescue us from these Dangers And we may truly say it was the Reputation of his Name and the Apprehension of his Conduct that then kept us in Peace and Quiet when We justly fear'd that all was running into War and Tumults And had the Providence of God then fais'd him had not the Almighty in a most wonderful manner preserved Him and given him a more than Ordinary Success in his Undertakings We should now have been perhaps One of the most Miserable to be sure one of the most Slavish and Contemptible Nations in the World I should much exceed the Bounds of such a Discourse as this should I go on particularly to recount to you what mighty Deliverances God has again vouchsafed to Him since that of which I have been hitherto speaking To what Dangers he has been exposed in an Element that of All Others has ever been the most Contrary to Him What new Hazards he has again encountred in the Field And all this for our sakes to promote our Welfare and if it be possible secure it to all Succeding Generations Blessed be God! Who has again brought Him back to Us in Health and Safety and Crown'd him yet once more with Honour and Victory That has turn'd those Dangers we before lay under into some Hopes that I do not say into a fair Prospect of Peace and Security That has restor'd our Country its King Our Church its Defender and all of us Our publick Welfare and Security And who if We be not our selves wanting to his Desires shall by the Blessing of the same God not only save us from Ruin but repair our Credit and revive that Spirit amongst us which enabled our Ancestors so Gloriously to Triumph over their Enemies heretofore And shew that it is not in vain We either bear the Arms of France or pretend a Right and Title to it That Our Nation is still the same it ever was and has only wanted a Prince to lead it on And having now at last met with such a One who can tell but we may yet see that Proud Monarch at last shewn no longer to be Invincible But that a King of England supported by the Favour of God the Justice of his Cause and the â—â—â—â—age and Affections of his People is still able to give a Check to his Carier And deliver Europe from the Insolence of a Power which it had never fear'd had not the Pacifick Temper of our late Princes and even the Help of our Arms unhappily raised it
this to Him and more insensible than the very Gentiles themselves who as we have before observed never fail'd in the most solemn manner they were able so to do Such then was the Justice and Reasonableness of that Acknowledgment which the Royal Psalmist here engaged himself to make to God Almighty for delivering Him out of those imminent Dangers to which He had been Exposed I will sing a New-song unto Thee O God! upon a Psaltry and Instrument of ten strings Will I sing Praises unto Thee And it is supposed by some that the very next Psalm to this was that Hymn which he composed in pursuance of this Vow And in which with all the heighth of Poetry and in the most exquisite Form that Art and Piety joyn'd together and assisting one another could produce He sets forth the Glorious Goodness of God to the Whole World but especially to Mankind and among them more particularly to such as duly serve him and put their Trust and Confidence in his Mercy And in conformity to whose Example it will behove every One of us this day to lift up our Hearts to Heaven in Songs of Praise to that God who has now again in our Case as He did heretofore in Davids in so extraordinary a manner made Good the Character of the Text to us It is He that Giveth Salvation unto Kings that hath delivered David his Servant from the hurtful Sword But of our own concern in this Duty I shall take Occasion to speak more particularly hereafter In the mean time having thus briefly consider'd in the General What those Grounds were upon which the Holy Psalmist took up the Resolution you have seen in the Words of the Text I will sing a new-song unto Thee O God Let us for our further Direction in the Duty before Us enquire more expresly What the Subject of his Praise was and what Ours ought at this Time to be Now this He tells Us in the next Verse viz. that it should consist in a Grateful Acknowledgment of Gods particular Providence 1st Over All Kings and Princes whatsoever more than over other Men It is He that giveth Salvation unto Kings 2 dly Among Them in a more especial manner over Himself more than any Other King besides It is he that giveth Salvation unto Kings and delivereth David his Servant from the hurtful Sword And 1 st That we ought to bless God for that particular Providence he is pleased to exercise over Kings and Princes beyond what he usually does over other Ordinary Persons For let not the Greatest Monarchs mistake themselves as if it were their own Power or Conduct that secured them against those many and imminent Dangers to which their very Place and Station continually exposes them But rather let them consider What would all their Guards and their Attendants all their mighty Power and Forces avail Them were there not a superiour Eye of Providence continually watching over them to protect and preserve them That a whole Nation should stand in awe of one single Person whom they all know to be but a Man like unto themselves That they should obey his Commands and tremble at his Justice That those who oftentimes despise their own Lives should yet not dare to strike at His but startle at the very Thought of doing him a Mischief 'T is not their own Wisdom or Power or Resolution 't is not the Name or Ensigns of Majesty than can be thought sufficient to work such a Restraint It is the Providence of that God by whom Kings reign and Princes decree Justice that alone is able to give such a Reverence and Security to them He has set his Stamp of Majesty upon them He has declared them to be his Ministers and this forces even the most Violent Men to have such a regard for them as nothing but this could ever engage them to And this I say ought at all times but especially on such Solemn Occasions as these to be esteem'd a Matter of especial Praise and Thanksgiving to God for it For were it not for such a Restraint as that we have now been speaking of What would become of All the Peace and Order and Government of the World Kings might enact Laws they might settle our Liberty and Property at Home and enter into Leagues of Peace and Commerce Abroad But alas What precarious things would All these be were they left open by God to the Violence and Fury of every bold Invader and no longer to be of any Force than till some desperate and turbulent Spirits should be found to run All things into Disorder and Confusion But Blessed be God! who has not given Us up to the Wild Passions and ungovern'd Appetites of Wicked and Violent Men. But as he has laid the strongest Obligations upon Us to be subject to the higher Powers not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake to obey their Laws and support their Government to bear with their Infirmities and if Occasion be even Suffer too rather than dare to resist their Authority So has he impress'd on our Minds a certain Awe of that Power which he has put into their hands that will not permit us no not in our very Hearts to despise or disregard them and by frequent Instances of his Vengeance has effectually assured us that there is a Singular Eye of Providence that overlooks them and that no One shall lift up his hand against them and go unpunish'd This as it is the Great Security of all the Peace and Quiet of all the Happiness and Prosperity which we Enjoy So ought we upon all Occasions to be ready to declare our Sense of it by our grateful Acknowledgments to God for it But the Royal Psalmist had a yet more particular Subject for his Praise than this For 2 dly This God who has such a near and tender regard for All Kings and Princes whatsoever above Other Men did in a Singular Manner shew his Concern for Him more than for any Other Prince that then lived in the World If we consider Him before his coming to the Throne From how many Dangers did it even then please God to save and deliver Him Let the Hazards which he run with the Lion and the Bear His Encounters with Goliah first and then with whole Armies of the Philistines His narrow escape from the Javelin of Saul and his yet more narrow escape from the Hands of those Murderers whom he sent on purpose to slay him Let the Perils he underwent when Saul with his Army hunted him up and down from place to place forced Him to flee sometimes into the Wilderness among the Wild Beasts for Refuge at other times into the Enemies Country to those very Philistines whom he had so much enraged by his frequent Encounters against them not to mention any more Particulars declare to us Nor were those he underwent 2 dly after he came to the
to too Great a heighth either for the Common Peace or our own Security Which brings me to the Consideration of that Other sort of Deliverances which God has vouchsafed to our King as he did to David heretofore viz. 2 dly From the Force and Power of his Enemies And this again carries me into a new Field of Discourse and ministers another large and noble Subject to us of Praise and Thanksgiving It is but a little while since we seem'd to have been a Nation mark'd out by Heaven for Ruin and Destruction Our Religion and Liberties were begun to be both equally trampled under foot Our Laws were over-ruled and become no longer of any Use to us The very Legis-lative Power its self contrived by our Ancestors in such a manner as to be the Great Security of the Subject and Barrier against the Arbitrary and unbounded Power of the Prince by Secret Practices and unwarrantable Attempts endeavour'd to be turn'd against us and made the very Means of running us into Slavery In the midst of this Distress God raised up a mighty and unexpected Salvation for us A Prince not less injured but much more able to assert his Rights and exact a Satisfaction than We were And God prosper'd his Enterprize in such a manner as I believe is not to be parallell'd in Story nor will Posterity perhaps believe it That there should be a Conquest without a Battle A Kingdom peaceably Deliver'd up by a Prince to his greatest Enemy who had at the same time to all Appearance a better Force actually in the Field to defend it than the Other had to force him out of it But what can be done when God infatuates Mens Counsels and strikes a Terror upon their Hearts that will not suffer them bravely to defend what they have Vainly undertaken And tho' Subjects for Conscience sake may submit to the most unjust Usurpations and not dare by Force to Right themselves Yet I think few have ever been so delicate in their Obedience as to esteem themselves under any Obligation to fight themselves into Slavery and contend for their Chains with those who would set them at Liberty from them Thus did God begin to Save us from our Enemies and from the Hands of those that Hate us Or rather in the words of the Text from the hands of strange Children whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their right hand is a right hand of Falshood But we have yet more than this to fill out our Hymns of Praise and Thanksgiving God has not only saved Us from this Danger within but has preserved us too from that which was the natural Consequence of it the Fury of War-Abroad And given such a Success to our Arms as I am perswaded the most Sanguine amongst us could hardly have flattered Himself withall When was it ever heard before that a little weak Town and a few undisciplined Men baffled all the Attacks of a numerous Army provided with all things necessary for the reducing of it And at last forced them after a Siege of Fifteen Weeks to quit their Attempt as Vain and Unpracticable That a whole Kingdom fenced by Nature to a degree of being almost impregnable supported by Men every way engaged both by Interest and Religion by all their Hopes of this World and the Other to do their utmost to Defend it Assisted by a Powerful Force from Abroad and to all this animated with a Spirit of Hatred and Revenge should yet in two years time be reduced to that Degree as not to let the least corner of it remain Unconquer'd Where can we find any Instances that may serve to parallel the Battles that have been fought and the Attempts that have been made upon this Occasion Scarce did ever Despair its self oblige Men to run such Hazards as our Forces have freely done and that by the wonderful Providence of God with Success too Nor let any here Object either the Treachery or Cowardise of our Enemies as if it were to those we ought to ascribe a great part of that Success we have had against them But rather let us attribute these Blessings as most certainly we ought to do to the Favour of God to the Justice of our Cause and to the Fortunes and Bravery of our Princes dear to Heaven and raised up by it to be the Instruments of Providence in reforming the Manners and redressing the Oppressions of an injured and groaning World In short to the Help of that Hand which has so plainly shewn its self in all this Deliverance that we may with Assurance cry out with the Holy Man in our Text It is the LORD who Giveth Victory unto Kings that hath delivered David his Servant from the Hurtful Sword And having thus fulfill'd this first part of the Duty of this day let us now to our Tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving add 2 dly Our Prayers too that He would vouchsafe to Accomplish what He has thus graciously begun for Us and not cease to protect our King and Prosper his Arms till he shall have finally deliver'd us out of all our Dangers It was the great Complaint of David heretofore and what made him so much the more Earnest in his Requests to God for his Assistance that his Enemies were Men of no Religion neither whose Faith could be rely'd on nor could any thing keep them from doing him a Mischief but only their being reduced into such a State as not to have it in their Power to hurt Him This is the Character which He gives Us of Them in the Text And what a deep Impression the Consideration hereof made upon his Mind we may see by this that he not only insists upon it in his Prayer to God against Them as one great Motive to implore his Help for the utter Destruction of them but repeats it again and again Send thine hand from above says He rid me and deliver Me out of the Great Waters from the hand of strange Children Whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their right-hand is a right-hand of Falshood Vss. 7 8. And again Vs. 11. Rid me and deliver me from the Hand of strange Children whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their right-hand is a right-hand of Falsehood So that then if We would know how far we are concern'd to joyn with David in the Prayer before us we must stop a little and consider how nearly our Enemies resemble his And if upon the Enquiry it shall appear that they come up in every particular to the full Character of those in the Text If it shall be found that We have now to do with the same Strange Children that he had heretofore Whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their right hand is a right hand of Falsehood Then doubtless it must remain that we ought also to pray as he did that God would rid us and deliver us out of their Hands And 1 st As to what concerns the Point of Religion they are in the utmost import
Sam. Ch. ii iii iv Ib. Ch. v. 5 17. Psal. 135. 4. Deutr. iv 7 8 32 c. 2 Sam. vii 23. Exod. xxv 8. Jer. vii 12. Ezek. xxxvii 26. 1 Sam. xiii 14. Psal. v. 12. xxxiv 15 17. xxxvii 17 c. ‖ Compare 1 Chron. x. 13 14. with Joseph Ant. L. vii c. 4. Where speaking of David's Care in this particular He observes That it was the Neglect of this that ruined Saul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Sam. vii S. Ib. xxii 21 c. ‖ 1 Kings xv 4. 2 Kings x. 30. 2 Chron xv xvii 5. xx 37. xxvi 5. xxvii 6. * 1 Sam. ii 30. 1 Kings xi 11 31 33. xiv 9 10. xv 29. xvi 12 13 19. xvii 18. xxi 10. 2 Chron. xii 5 6 c. xxv 14 15. See 1 Kings c. x. 1 Kings xi 4. 9. 11 12 13. 14 23 26. Hosea x. 3. xiii 11. 2 Kings xxiii 26. ‖ 2 Kings xxii 16 â—… xxiii 26. †2. Chron. xxxv 2â— c. ‖ 2 Kings xxii 18 19 â—…0 Isai Lvii. â—… 2 Kings xxii 18 c Jer. xxv 12. L. 18. Jer. xxv 9. xliii 10. Ezek. xxvi 7. Themist Orat. xvii p. 462. Ed. Paris 4to Psalm â—…iii 11. Habet hoc primum magna Fortuna quod nihil tectum nihil Occultum esse patitur Plin. Paneg. c. 83. 2 Sam. v. 17 See Jos. Ant. l. v. 1 cap 4. 2 Sam. viii 1 c xxi 15 c. Compare with xxii 1. See Joseph Anâ— lib. vii cap. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At the Bâ—â—â—e in Ireland 2 Sam. xxi 17. Psalm Cxv. 1. †see the Declar of the Lords and Commons Feb. 13. 1688. ‖ see Knyghâ—on p. 2681 K. Ch. Ist Ans. to the xix Propos. †See 2 Inst. f. 169. â—… Inst. 10. Stat. 7. H. 4. See K. J's Letter to the E. of Fev about Disbanding the Army with the E's Letter thereupon to the Prince of Orange Luke I 74. a See a Catalogue of them set out in Triumph by Monsieur le Feure Nouveau Recueil a la fin de la 3 me Partie Monsieur Varillas boasts that they were 2150. b See * Plaints des Protestans * ' Etat des Reformez en France * Lettres Pastorales de Mr. Jurieu * Recueil de Mr. le Feure * Defense des libertez des Eglises R. de France c See * Plaints des Protestans * ' Etat des Reformez en France * Lettres Pastorales de Mr. Jurieu * Recueil de Mr. le Feure * Defense des libertez des Eglises R. de France d See an Account of this in the Letters between the D. of Savoy and the Fr. K. translated from the Originals and Printed Anno 1690. e Arrest du 11. Janvier 1636. A la charge qu'ils ne pourront faire dans le Royaume aucun Exercise de leur Religion f Du 12. Juillet 1686. Art 1. Nous defendons a tous Ministres de la R P. R. tant Francois qu' Estrangers de rentrer dans notre Royaume-pour quelque raison on pretext que ce puisse etre en cas qu'il s'y en trouve voulons qu'ilsâ—â—â—ent punis de MORT See their Majesties Declaration of War against the French K. * Alone against All. Un a Tous ‖ See le Feure in his Dedication On se persuaderoit difficilement que Vous euâ—â—iez forcé toute l'Europe a embrasser les Conditions de Paix qu'il avoit plu a V. Majesté de luy prescrire Que vous euâ—iez Obligé des Souveraigns a venir implorer votre Clemence aux pieds de vostre Trone Nor is this any more than what their publick Inscriptions justifie In one we find this Verse Undarum Terraeque potens atquo ARBITER ORBIS In another He is set forth under the Emblem of the Sun at whose breaking out all the other Princes like so many Stars disappear with this Motto UT PATET ISTA LATENT Particularly with relation to England a Lion is represented running from the Cock with this Motto Veni Vidi Vici And to mention no more in another Medal the King of France is drawn standing with the Globe on the Point of his Sword vaunting that he do's what he pleases with it Quod libet licet See the Collect. of Father Menetrier 〈◊〉 an Acount of All this in a little Tract lately Reprinted viz. Christianissimus Christianandus ‖ Charles IX 1573. gave them an Edict which He call'd Perpetual and Irrevocable This was confirm'd by Hen. III. in 1576. and 1577. And again in 1579. and 1580. Then follow'd the Great Edict of Nantes under King Hen. IV. This was confirm'd by Lewis XIII An. 1610. again An. 1615. And by the present K. An. 1643. and 1652. In the former of which speaking of the Edicts before mention'd 't is said Lesquels Edits bien que PERPETUELS nous avons de nouveau entant que besoin est ou seroit confirmez Confirmons par ces dites Presentes †See Def. des lib. des Egl. R. de Fâ— pt 1st ‖ See the State of the Protestants in Ireland Chap. III §. 13. p 169 c. to 178. †See this largely discuss'd by Grotius de Jure Belli c. lib. iii. ch 11 12 13 14 15. See Grotius ib. l. 3. cap. 11. §. 2. Themist Or. x. p. 259. ‖ In a late Medal they represent themselves under the figure of a Bomb towring in the Air with this Inscription Quocunque cadat Dat Stragem Spire Worms Ban c. See the Emperor's Letter to King James Apr. 9. 1689. A great part of the Nor of Ireland burnt by Rosen ‖ See Grotius l. c. St. Austin commends the Goths when they took Rome for sparing these De Cio D. l. 1. Grot. ib. Xenophon O Econ l. 2. See Diodorus Siculus l. 2. To which Grotius adds many more Instances De Jure B. ac P. l. 3. c. 12. §. 4. in Annot. ‖ In another of their late Medals they have represented the Helm of a Ship in the Sea with this Inscription Legem poâ—… Aquiâ— Luke I. 74. 2 Sâ—… xxii 40 41 42. 50 51. 1 Tim. I. 17. Ib. VI. 15.
preserved tho' yet even then we may observe that for the most part they perish miserably in the End When God raises them up to be the Scourge and Plague of a wicked World and makes use of them as he did sometimes of the Kings of Egypt and Babylon heretofore to punish the People and Kingdoms round about Them But otherwise I believe it will generally be found true that the more Careful any King or Prince is to live well and govern justly and do what in Him lies to propagate a true Sense of Piety among his People the Happier He proves and is the more Eminently preserved by God as he is certainly the more dearly Beloved by Him And good reason there is why God should observe this Method with them For 1 st This if any thing will lay the Strongest Obligations upon such Persons to be Very careful to support the Honour of God and the Credit of Religion When once they shall perceive that their Welfare in this present World as well as their final Happiness in the Other depends upon it And I need not tell you what a mighty Advantage this must needs bring to Vertue and Piety To find not only a Refuge in the Courts of Princes but a Respect and Encouragement too And be countenanced by those whose very Examples are Influential and will contribute more to the promoting a Sense of Religion in the World than all the Motives or Arguments that we can urge will ever be able to do without it 2 dly Such a Procedure as this gives a Great Justification to the ways of Providence in the Menagement of Affairs here below It shews that there is a God who judgeth in the Earth That he do's not look on as an unconcern'd Spectator of the Affairs of Men but when he sees Occasion both can and do's interpose too and reward or punish the Greatest Persons according to their Works The Fortunes of Princes as they are placed in a much Higher Sphere than those of Other Men so are they by consequence more Conspicuous too and lie open a great deal more to publick Observation And when once it shall be remark'd that they flourish or decay are either Exalted or Cast down according as they live or not in the Exercise of Piety This will effectually silence all the Cavils of the Greatest Sceptick in his Disputes against a Providence and force him whether he will or no to confess that Verily there is a reward for the Righteous doubtless there is a God who observes whatsoever is done by us and will not suffer the Wicked always to go unpunish'd Again 3 dly It is commonly alledged and I think very truly too that Kingdoms and Nations are therefore either rewarded or punish'd in this World because they shall not as such be judg'd in the Other And the same may be said of their Rulers too When the Greatest Monarch goes down into the Grave all his Pomp and Power His Titles and Majesty perish together with him And he shall stand in Judgment in the same undistinguish'd Rank with the meanest of his Subjects Whatsoever Reward therefore God shall please to give to such an One as a King it must be all in this present Life Now tho' I will not deny but that those who employ their Power and Authority which God has committed to them to the Ends of Vertue and Religion to promote the Peace and Welfare of their Country and as far as they can to procure the Happiness of all the Nations round about them both may receive a super-abundant reward for it and I doubt not shall receive a more than ordinary Retribution in the Other World Yet I cannot but think there may be some reason too why they should meet with some part of their Recompense in this And since to their private Piety as they are Christians they add a publick Concern for the Glory of God and the Good of the World as they are Princes Tho' I dare not say that God in Justice ought yet I think we may affirm that 't is not without good reason that he do's vouchsafe in a singular manner to watch over them as a common Blessing to Mankind and prosper their Endeavours in what tends so much to the noblest Ends of his Providence to his own Honour to the Interest and Reputation of his Religion and in one word to the publick Advantage both of Mâ—ns Peace and Tranquility in this Life and of their Everlasting Happiness and Salvation in the Other And this may suffice for the first thing I propoâ—d to speak to Of the General Obligation which â—…y upon the Royal Psalmist thus to praise God and of the particular manner wherein he engaged to do it I shall add but very little as to the Other Consideration II dly Of the Prayer with which he closed up his Thanksgiving Save me and deliver Me from the hand of strange Children whose Mouth speaketh Vanity and their right hand is a right hand of falshood I have before observed that the Enemies against Whom David here prays and whom he brands with the Ignominious Character of a Vain Idolatrous and Perfidious People were the Philistines who declared War against him immediately upon his being Anointed King in Hebron Now tho' by the Blessing of God he had already obtain'd two considerable Victories over them whereby he was for the present at Ease from them Yet he knew that by the assistance which the Neighbouring Countries were all ready to lend to them they would again be in a Condition in a little while to make Head against him and he doubted not but that as soon as ever they were able they would be Treacherous enough to do it And it was upon this Apprehension that having first given Thanks to God for his present Deliverance he in the next place subjoyn'd his earnest Request to him that he would in like manner preserve him from their Attempts for the time to come And how necessary such a Prayer was the Event shew'd For it was not very long before he was again engaged with them And then God remembred his Prayer and not only deliver'd him out of their hands but strengthen'd him in such a manner till at last after many Encounters He utterly disabled them from giving any farther Trouble to Him But I insist too long upon the Consideration of these Words as they lie before me in this Psalm And the Solemnity of this Day calls me off to another Application of them And tho' I doubt not but you have in a great Measure prevented Me in your Reflections upon the foregoing Parts of this Discourse yet I cannot conclude without pointing out to you somewhat more plainly how great an Interest we have in the Subject of it And I st As to what concerns the Eucharistical part of the Text never had any People greater Reason to joyn with Holy David in his Thanksgiving to God than We of this Nation