A SERMON Preached at OXFORD, BEFORE Sir Will. Walker, MAYOR of the said CITY; Upon the 26th. of July 1685: Being the Day of THANKSGIVING, For the DEFEAT of the REBELS IN Monmouth's REBELLION.  
By Charles Allestree, A. M. and Student of Christ-Church.  
OXFORD, Printed for Henry Clements, and Sold by Joseph Hindmarsh, at the Golden-Ball in Cornhill over against the Exchange 1685.   
Judges 5.31. 
And the land had rest forty years.  
The whole verse runs thus,  
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him, be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.  
IT is very easy for any Man, that considers the context of these words, and the story upon which they are founded, to foretell the series of my ensuing Discourse, and to recollect in his mind both the subject matter that arises naturally from hence, and also to surmise the distinct sort of prosecution, which at this time, upon this solemnity and occasion, I intent to make: For whoever surveys the passages in this History and compares them with the particulars of our late UNNATURAL REBELLION, will find such an Harmony and Agreement, such a suitable Resemblance in every leading and preparatory circumstance, that the same Trouble of representing the Affairs of one WAR, will be a complete draught of all the occurrences of the other; And as the parallel runs exact in most of the great Lines of both these Invasions, so (I trust, by the mercy of God) the event will be answerable in all points, and prove so too, that our Land as well as Palestine, upon this Miraculous and providential Defeat of our Enemies, may find the blessing annexed here in the Text, of obtaining REST for FORTY YEARS.  
In this chapter Deborah and Barak are making an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Song of Victory to the most High God, for the deliverance of Israel from the calamities of War, from the danger of falling under a foreign Yoke, and of being oppressed by an insulting, and devouring Enemy. Here we may observe Sisera, captain of the Host of Jabin, King of Canaan, the irreconcilable enemy of Israel, bidding defiance to the Israelites Army, and invading the country with such powerful Forces, as on the one side gave certain hopes of victory and success to the Aggressors, and threatened no less, on the other, than an utter Ruin and Extirpation both of the People and their Government for ever. For the preparations (which Sisera made against this expedition) seemed so formidably great, and consisted of such vast Numbers of Experienced and Disciplined Men, that He bore himself above Danger and Opposition, and looked for no more trouble in the Conquest of the Land, than the Fatigues of an Orderly March could put him to.  
Even the Mother of Sisera was so confident of her son's Triumph, that she only waited for an express of the News of it; She did not in the least doubt of the event of Battle, or think that it could possibly be determined otherwise, than on her Son's side; She knew his strength, the courage of his Soldiers, and the Conduct of their Leader, and therefore only wished for the Time of Action, and to hear of the Engagement, being possessed with a strong Belief, that Conqest must follow on course, and attend the Victorious Arms of her Son: In her Richest Ornaments and best Attire, she stayed at a convenient distance from the Camp, expecting hourly to be brought to share in the solemnity of the Triumph: She looked out at the Window, and cried through the Lattess, why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariots? Have they not sped? Have they not divided the prey, to every man a Damsel or two? to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of Needlework, of divers colours of Needlework on both sides, meet for the Necks of them that take the spoil? v. 28.30.  
So that you see the great thoughts, and the swelling expectations, they had conceived of their Army's success, and that they dreamed of nothing but Laurel and Conquest and so be invested in the full spoils of the Israelites. All the Advantages that the prospect of victory could lay before them, was the sole entertainment of their thoughts. The Slaughter of their Enemies, the Plunder of Cities, the Rape of Women, and the Slavery of Captives was the common discourse & expectation of these Invaders, and animated them with vigour and resolution to maintain the Fight:  
And yet if we advert to the end, we shall find the discomfiture of these Forces, the Army shattered and defeated, and the General flying in a poor disguise, in a habit beneath the dignity of a private Soldier, shifting for himself in Woods and Lanes, and secret Recesses enduring the hardships of Hunger and Thirst, deprived of sleep and all the conveniences of Life, and supplicating at last at a Lonely house for a cup of Water to cool his Natural Thirst, and to refresh his Spirits with a draught of moisture and sleep. To that distress was this Mighty General reduced, that He who, some hours before, had all the stores and provisions of the Country at his command, and the richest pavilion in the Camp to rest in, with his Troops and Guards about him for his Protection, looked now upon the offer of a little Milk, upon the Accommodation of a private lodging, and the promise of a Woman's attendance, to be not only the greatest kindness and relief to him in his distress, but also the best security to his Person, as he lay down to take his Natural rest and refreshment.  
And yet as miserable and as deplorable as his condition really was, it could not move any pity, or procure any commiseration to his Person; The remembrance of his preceding cruelties, and the sense of the miseries He intended to have acted upon Israel, extinguished compassion, and left no room for the common effects of Humanity, so that the invitation of Jael, who diverted him from the Road, into her House, proved a snare to him; She fully resolved upon his Ruin and execution, and by one Generous stroke to revenge the disturbance he had brought upon the Children of Israel; neither the softness of her Sex, nor the tenderness of her Nature could restrain her hands from acting an Holy violence, or from assaulting the Person with Death, that designed her Country's slavery; she knew, that all Rebels and Invaders have lost their natural Right, and forfeited the protection of those Laws which they come to subvert and destroy; She knew, that in Extraordinary cases, every Person, of what ever sex, is obliged to turn both Judge and Executioner too, of their enemies, and that nature invests Mankind with as much Authority over the lives of Rebels and Invaders, as over Wolves and Tigers and other Beasts of Prey; and that we ought to embrace the first occasion to hunt and pursue 'em to Death; because in these Instances, every delay of Justice, or Dilatory expectation of a legal Process, may be dangerous, and expose the Government to a second shock, For the flight or escape of an Arch-traitor (which cannot by any method of restraint so effectually be prevented as by Death) may enable him to prosecute his pretences again, and animate him with more Vigour to attempt a second Trial, and to revenge the disgrace of his former miscarriage;  
Guided therefore by this principle, and moved by an Impulse from Heaven, She took a hammer, She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's hammer: And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his Temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell, where he bowed, there he fell down dead. v. 26.27.  
Thus was the end of Sisera; the calamity he intended to bring upon others, was executed upon himself, and returned upon his own head; He died Ignominiously, and perished by the weak hand and instrument of a Woman, and (as it ever happens in all Routs and Disorders) left his Soldiers scattered and divided in such small parties in the Country, that they became an easy prey to their Adversaries, and were slaughtered without making any considerable resistance or defence.  
When this Heroic exploit was wrought, and Vengeance fully taken upon Sisera, Jael stood openly at the door; and was prepared both to observe the Flight and pursuit of the enemy, and also to receive the Addresses, and Congratulations of the Israelites for her service: She saw the Troops and the Chariots flying, and promiscuous Havoc and slaughter that was made of the enemy; And tho' this indiscriminating way of destruction might tend in some measure to the establishment of peace again, and be a Political means to restore the happiness of Israel, yet still she knew, that the Glory of putting an end to all Future Fears, was her work alone, and solely to be ascribed to her Magnanimity and prowess. For what advantage can it be to a Nation, to destroy barely the common herd of Soldiers, whilst the chief Captain is escaped in safety, and remains alive, to take all opportunities of renewing his pretences again, and fomenting the causes of War hereafter? The security of Public peace consists principally in the death of him, whose Authority began and commenced the Invasion, and whose Popularity and Interest prevailed upon others to espouse and abet his cause with the utmost hazard of their lives; Now this political safety was wrought by her and perfectly accomplished in the destruction of Sisera; and yet to make the security more lasting, and to engage the protection of providence over the Nation, for the future, She calls Barak, the son of Abinoam, to share in the joy, and to return Thanks to Heaven for the deliverance. She shows him the Trunk and body of Sisera, and relates the Holy Arts she used to abuse his credulity, and bring him absolutely under her own power; And when all the History was finished, and a full contemplation taken of God's miraculous providence in this Victory, Barak jointly with Deborah (who at that time judged Israel) makes a solemn Form of Thanksgiving and Address to the Lord for his Mercies; And 'tis observable that this return of praises, this National acknowledgement procured the Blessing, which is mentioned here in the Text, That the land had rest forty years.  
By the word REST, is understood a freedom both from Foreign and Domestic enemies. For tho' in this place it is occasionally mentioned, as an Issue flowing from the defeat of Foreign Forces, yet it must comprehend and take in the other sense also. For if a respite from Civil War was not equally meant, as well as an universal peace abroad, what advantage could it be to the Israelites to be freed from the Invasion of their Neighbours, and yet be up to the ears in Blood themselves, and be cutting one another's Throats at home: It would be the exchange of one misery for another of a more dreadful and afflicting nature; so that in short by REST I understand an uninterrupted enjoyment of peace.  
I.— From these words I shall first treat of the happiness, which peace in general brings to a Nation.  
II.— Secondly, I shall represent the great advantages of enjoying peace for so considerable a Duration, as the space and compass of FORTY YEARS amounts to.  
III.— And lastly, I shall discover by what means this Blessing of seeing Public peace entailed upon us and conveyed down to posterity, may best be attained; and that is by returning Praise and Thanksgiving to God for every remarkable Instance of his providence, and more particularly for every great deliverance which he has wrought for a Nation.  
But before I proceed upon these Heads, I shall crave leave to show the concurrence of our REBELLION with this which I have described to you from my Text; and shall examine by the way the reasons and pretences that gave Birth and Growth to it; and in this prosecution I shall tie myself up to the method of tracing it in these several parts of Resemblance, both in the formidableness of the Invasion, the greatness of our enemy's hopes, and their utter defeat at the last.  
We are assembled here, in obedience to our SOVERAIGNE's command, and in pursuit of his pious inclinations to render our utmost tribute of Praise and Adoration to Heaven, for the signal deliverance which God has been pleased to vouchsafe this Nation, and for the mercy of rescuing us from the miseries of a Civil and Intestine war: A War, that in all appearance seemed to have been contrived for the destruction of all that is dear to us, and to have involved us all in Rapine and Blood: A War, that shaked not only the Foundations of our Religion but what was coequal to Christianity itself) our MONARCHY too, and was raised by SONS of BELIAL to have extinguished this glory of our ISLE, this race of HAEREDITARY MONARCHES, and the light of the Gospel also: A War, that was undertaken upon such colourable pleas, and carried such visible danger along with it, that not only the present Age but future Generations were likely to feel the Bloody effects of it, and Unborn Children might hereafter have been made sensible of its Rage, and have been subject to the dismal consequences of it: A War of the greatest Horror and Dread that ever History could give an Instance of, or our own apprehensions frame an Idea off; For so violent were our Inflammations at home, occasioned by the false suggestions of an Unruly and Fanatical party, so much heightened and improved were our discontents by these men's industry and care, and so conscious were the fugitives abroad of our distractions, and of the good affection the Multitude bore to their cause, that they presumed on Victory, and did not on the least question that success would crown their enterprise. Their expectations were raised to that pitch, that in all their debates they had not any apprehensions of being defeated, but their discourse was founded upon the supposition of the ruin of the Government, and so their thoughts were wholly employed in the contrivance and choice of a new Frame or Model to be erected in its stead. For when the two GRAND REBELS had concerted their measures, and agreed upon the INVASION, they neither of 'em imagined, that in the several Kingdoms, where they resolved to Land, they should meet with such opposition from the King's Forces, as should be sufficient to retard their progress, or make any compitent head against them; No, they swallowed that point, and took it for an indisputable proposition, that the present Establishment must expire and end. All their debates in Council rested upon this complex Question, whether Monarchy should be totally abolished, and a new Commonwealth created upon its Ruins? And tho' their divided Interests would not suffer them to come to a full resolution in the matter, and they left the dispute to be decided by a conference hereafter, or (what is more likely) by the Sword, yet their deportment evinces the great assurances and hopes, and the full persuasion, they had of success. For tho' this subject was not adjusted betwixt them, yet they centred in this resolution to attempt the Invasion, and make a descent upon this Island, in several places at once, that so the King's Forces might be distracted, and their friends have an opportunity of coming with ease amongst them, and joining one of their Armies which would have been a difficult task to men in remote places, had there been but one ARMY in the Field to invite and receive them. And yet this cautionary method did not so much argue distrust and fear as prudence; For they could not be so divested of common reason, as to think that a whole Nation would run mad together, and as well vacate their Oaths of Allegiance, as cancel all those other obligations, which the endearments of our Sovereign's Reign have laid upon us; some show of resistance they could not choose but apprehend, and think that the principles of Loyalty, which the Church of England teaches, would unavoidably detain her True sons under strict sense of Duty and obedience to their Prince. However the numbers they dreaded of this sort were infinitely overbalanced by the prospect of all the divided Sects and Malcontents flowing into their Army: So that, in much confidence, they undertook with all the Mercenary powers, they could collect abroad, to hasten to Sea, and begin their Voyage not doubting but, upon their first appearance upon English-ground, and Publishing a Declaration of the Reasons and Motives that induced them to COMBINE, Ten thousands of unwary People would have been prevailed upon to join in the same Cause, and assist them with their utmost might and endeavours.  
And indeed there were two pretences started, which being adverted to, and supposed to be the real truth, would have proved of more moment and advantage to the late TRAITOR's cause, than all the succours he brought along with him. The first was the common pretext of protecting Religion, which tho' it never did nor ever can advance a Rebellion; yet never failed of being made use of to this purpose in every Civil War that has been commenced in a Christian society. And the second was, the pretext of Title and Proximity of Blood.  
Now these two considerations are very great Incentives, and are apt in their own nature to engage Mankind upon very violent courses for the preservation of 'em: For what would not people that have a zeal for God's worship, and an honour for the Royal stock, be inclined to do, to secure the purity of Religion, and to maintain the Descent of the Crown in the Right Line? And yet (as I said just now) Religion is the worst thing in the World to countenance or support Rebellion: All its precepts being of a direct contrary tendency, and enjoining us Obedience to the Supreme powers under no less penalty than eternal damnation. And Christ who refused to have his person defended by violence, will not surely have his Religion propagated by such means.  
But however granting that Men might lawfully take up Arms for the maintenance of the True Religion: yet, even upon this supposition, No man can be authorised to raise Rebellion in these Kingdoms. For has our RELIGION been in the least danger of being invaded or snatched from us? Do we not enjoy it, and are we not likely to have it continued in all it's essential purity, and primitive Holiness to our posterity for ever. Have we not the free use of the Sacraments, and all the Ordinances of God uncorrupted for the assistance of our Devotion, and for the enlivening of our Faith? And have we not the promise of our King for the continuance of these spiritual enjoyments to us? Of a KING, that never had the imputation and scandal of breaking his Word, or dealing unsincerly in any Instance of his Life? This is so remarkable a Character, and so peculiar to his Majesty, that even his Adversaries had never impudence enough to assault him with this charge, or to deny him the honour of being always Just and true to his engagements. We cannot therefore have any colour to doubt of the continuation of our Religion, or suspect the faithfulness of that DECLARATION, which of his mere Grace and voluntary motion, he was pleased upon his first coming to the CROWN to make to his Honourable Privy Council, and renewed again in the same Terms in a greater solemnity, before the Three Estates assembled in Parliament. Can any thing be more irrational and absurd, than to entertain an opinion, that He who in private, betwixt himself and some Humble petitioner, has ever proved punctual and observant of his Word, should now at the last turn inconstant to his ancient course, and violate his Faith to a Nation, when the whole Kingdom would become witnesses of his falsehood and upbraid him with prevarication? Such a dishonourable carriage on our parts would not only be a diminution of that Respect, which this Nation has ever been used to return their Respective Monarches, but it would be senseless & ridiculous in itself, and contradict the common rules of reason.  
And yet if Men will be harkening to their own suggestions of fear, and study their own disquiet so much, as to distrust every promise, and conclude it vain and elusory, because it is possible it might have been given with an intention to deceive, yet there is one unerring sort of Trial, one way of exploring Truth and convincing ourselves, and that is by a continued Series and Flux of TIME. For those that will not at first give credit to a bare asseveration, must believe the reality of that Man's intention, that made it, when there is nothing done in the Revolution of time, but what strengthens and confirms it: Now we have had half a years experience of our KING's government over us, have had leisure enough to observe the Justice of his Reign, and find all events answerable to his first Assertion, that HE WOULD MAKE IT HIS ENDEAVOUR TO PRESERVE THIS GOVERNMENT BOTH IN CHURCH AND STATE, AS IT IS NOW BY LAW ESTABLISHED.  
For have not all the Vacancies, that belong to the disposal of the CROWN been carefully filled and supplied with Men of Great learning and Abilities to support our Religion, of Great zeal and inclination towards it, and whose secular Interest is inseparably bound up in the preservation of it? And can there be any furer Argument of the KING's sincerity, than his readiness to make choice of such instruments to fill the vacant places in the Church, who are every way qualified to maintain the Established Religion, both in their Abilities, and willingness of mind, and also are prompted to it from the consideration of their own Temporal Concernments? All arguments conspire for a sure belief of the KING's resolution to keep inviolabely his WORD, and there neither is nor can be any single instance produced to weaken or invalidate the credit of it.  
So that granting we might fight for our Religion, if it was in danger of being lost, yet no man upon this Plea, can be justified in his attempts upon the present constitution and Government, and it is surely much better and more agreeable to the precepts of Christianity, to sit still, and enjoy it with content and Thankfulness, than by engaging in Rebellion to lose and destroy it. For that would certainly have been the Issue, and we could have had no Religion at all, had God, in punishment to this Nation, suffered the late Rebellion to have been prosperous and successful. For what Religion could HE have been supposed to have been zealous for, who had so far debauched the natural light of his conscience as to esteem Adultery and Rebellion to be no sins? I grant that, in a sudden Transport, men may sometimes be hurried upon the commission of ADULTERY, and yet, upon a serious and particular repentance, be reconciled to the Church, and prove very good Christians again; But He, that in his cooler thoughts, at the last Hour, with all his senses entire, and the full use of his judgement, shall undertake to palliate the sin, or extenuate the guilt of it, is in a fair disposition to receive any Religion, and may easily be brought to embrace the ALCORAN, and exchange Christianity for Mahometism. So that if Religion can at any time bear mankind out in opposition to the Higher Powers, it would with much more reason have justified us against the late REBEL's claim and pretensions, even allowing his Title to have been just; But indeed our Divine institution can do no such thing, it is as far from giving Indulgence to invade any Man's Right or Property, as it is from excusing any seditious practice against a Lawful Governor: tho' it must necessarily have obliged us to have resisted his Usurpation upon another score, upon the account of the Insufficiency of his Title, which comes next to be considered.  
Now this is a subject which has been searched to the Bottom, and examined ABOVE with all the fairness of procedure imaginable, in a Venerable, Just and August consistory of men: And as it has been rejected there upon a serious and Impartial enquiry, as Fabulous and without Ground, so no doubt but, upon a rational discourse, it will appear so to every considering man. For First I will take these Two preliminaries for granted; That every Father has a greater tenderness and affection for his Son, than his Brother; especially if there be no disobedience in his Child, nor any deformity in his Person to alienate his Love from Him; And Secondly, I shall suppose, that it tends more to the Honour of a Father to have his Kingdom descend directly down upon his Son, than to demise it to a Brother or to any Collateral branch of His family.  
Now these things being premised, it is very obvious to recollect that never Father loved a Son with greater passion and tenderness, than our late most excellent Sovereign did the Duke of Monmouth; and never any man had stronger Reasons, or more forcible Inducements to engage his love; For the personal qualifications and address of his Son, the filial Duty and respect he always used to return in his Younger years, were so many motives to extort the utmost Tribute, which nature in this kind, could pay; so that the KING grew lavish and profuse in his bounty, He heaped honours upon him, and loaded him with riches, and not only advanced him as high as 'twas possible for a subject to be promoted, but (what was infinitely above all honours) gave him the first place in his affection: And when his Kindness had fixed him in that station of Grandeur, as to render him popular and courted by a Faction, when he presumed by the instigation of his party to lay claim to the Crown, and assert his Legitimacy by the promiscuous mouths of the Rabble, and caused it to be whispered abroad, that there were not only witnesses, but Records under hand and seal of his Mother's Marriage to the King: His Majesty (out of a just regard to the sacredness of Truth, and without diminishing his love to him) did not only declare upon the word and honour of a Prince that there never was any contract of Marriage betwixt Him and the said Duke's mother, but summoned the pretended witnesses before him in Council, to speak their knowledge, and give in their evidence concerning the matter inquestion; Now they all of 'em severally disclaimed the knowledge of any such thing, or the being conscious of any Records that could attest it, and only said that their names were abused for the support of a Lie, without their privity or consent. And this transaction, and the King's positive Averment was enroled in all the Courts of Record in Westminster, with the hands and attestation of every member of Council at the bottom of it.  
Now this Affair was transacted at a season, and in such a Juncture, when the KING had been several years married to the Queen without any hopes of Issue by Her. So that if truth had been industriously concealed and stifled at first for the better facilitating the treaty of Marriage, and for the removing the impediments, that might obstruct this Illustrious Princess her consent to the Alliance, because upon such a discovery her children must have been postponed, and allowed to have only a secondary relation to the CROWN, yet now it might have been owned and publicly avowed without any detriment or damage to her Interest; and yet notwithstanding this favourable conjuncture, and the extraordinary kindness of the KING towards him, his Legitimacy is disclaimed, and absolutely denied with the solemn protestations of his Father; which is an undeniable evidence, that these were the words of soberness and truth; delivered purposely by that ADMIRABLE PRINCE to prevent the effusion of blood, and the great slaughter of Men, which must unavoidably follow the belief of starting of such a title. Nay even MONMOUTH himself no more believed that he was the lawful son of the late KING, than any man of this Auditory, or I that am arguing for the truth against this opinion; For in his Letter to our present SOVEREIGN (which you may find attested by the hands of two Reverend Bishops, and other worthy divines of the Church of England, Men of such approved integrity and sincerity that they cannot be supposed to cheat the World with a Lie) he voluntarily declares, that his Father assured him, that He never was married or promised in marriage to his Mother.  
Now what clearer proof or demonstration can be offered to invalidate the belief of this man's right to the Throne, than to have his Legitimacy disowned by himself, and protested against by his Father, at a time when he loved him above all worldly enjoyments, and could receive no possible advantage by concealing the secret, and keeping it from the knowledge of the World? And yet the matters are thus clear, and 'tis evident beyond dispute, that RELIGION cannot justify REBELLION, neither had MONMOUTH any sort of right to the Imperial CROWN of this Realm, yet we know what a dangerous and formidable Rebellion was lately raised in the Western parts of this Kingdom upon no other ground, but the impudence of imposing these two falsehoods upon the World. Some people even against demonstration, will have that which makes for their Interest, and suits best to their inclinations, pass for truth; or at least they will lay hold of it and embrace it as such, because it may contribute to promote their Revenge and Ambition, or advance some other secular concernment: So that when the misguided Prince had sucked in these false principles, and landed in the West to make good his claim, his Abetters flocked to him in so great shoals & numbers, & saluted him with such cheerfulness and acclamations of joy, that in a very little time he grew so strong, that neither he nor any of his followers dreaded the event of War, or apprehended a defeat of so numerous a body of Men, of proportionable courage and Resolution; They presumed at first on victory, and thought their own strength sufficient to conquer and overthrow the opposition of their enemies; and yet they had such moral assurances of new supplies, and so great an expectation of their Forces being multiplied, and increased with the additional succours and Auxiliaries of Men, that would be induced to follow their example, that they turned their thoughts to the consideration of dispensing Rewards, and dividing the great Offices of state amongst themselves. To this stupendious height was their confidence advanced! and in all probability it had not been a vain or an impracticable supposition, had not the KING in his wisdom provided for the preservation of his Throne and Person by securing, under strict guards and restraint, all those disaffected Citizens, whose principles and discontents rendered them justly suspected and obnoxious to the Government, and by this providential policy cut off the supplies of money, which was secretly conveyed through their hands, and transmitted for the assistance of the Rebels, and for the maintenance of the War. (And by the way I cannot but observe that all those persons who in other places were thus confined and imprisoned for a time, are infinitely obliged to his Majesty's goodness and care, for using this compendious method to secure them from the Temptation of running into Rebellion, ruining their Families, and damning their own Souls for ever.) When therefore the source that fed this REBELLION was stopped, when the Nerves and sinews of War were shrunk, and moneys fell short in the Camp, they then resolved, by one bold attempt, to attack the ROYAL ARMY, and by the advantage of a surprise to force their way into some other Country for Relief and Assistance: Now this contrivance was formed with so much Art, and managed with so much Dexterity, Prudence, and Conduct, that had not God interposed, and miraculously baffled them with his own mighty hand, more visibly than by any Humane power or strength, they had not only made themselves masters of the Field and Cannon, but had ravaged the Country, seized the Richest spoils and Treasures of the Camp for their Booty, and all the Ensigns of Honour had been so many Trophys of their victory. But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Providence of God disappointed their designs; the Stars in their course fought against Sisera, and even as inconsiderable and as unintelligent creatures lent their Aid, and contributed to the overthrow of our Enemies; For their Horse were not able to sustain the Onset, or bore the discharge of a Volley without confusion and disorder; but fled upon the first shock, leaving their Infantry exposed to several varieties of death, which were justly inflicted upon them without Discrimination or Mercy.  
Even the GENERAL himself, upon this discomfiture consulted his safety by Flight, and attempted his escape in such an ignominious Habit, that he appeared really in outward show, to be of that Low Rank and Order of Men, to which the heinousness of his crimes had degraded him, and the justice of the Laws condemned him to before. He tried Two days the extremity of Fortune, and was not only divested of Friends, but deprived even of the common sustenance of Life, Sleep and Necessaries. He durst not venture himself abroad into the hands of Ingenious men, being pressed down with the load of his own Gild, and fortified against a surrender of himself by the greatness of the Reward, that his head was prized at; But chose rather to abscond himself in Thickets and Woods, and to relieve his hunger with Peascods and green Fruit, than to expose himself to the mercy of a People, whom he had justly provoked to the highest degrees of Outrage and Violence; When he had languished in this condition, and fed upon Bare Nature so long, that he groaned under more Corporal weaknesses and Agonies of mind than the purchase of a Kingdom could recompense, He was at last seized by the vigilance of the Soldiery, and conducted safe to the Royal presence, being insensible of his Gild and offering no manner of excuse for the Cruelty of his Invasion: The sentence and Doom he received here was proportionable to the greatness of his crimes; for tho' it was circumstantiated with Mildness, in regard to the honour of his former Quality, yet death being the end and satisfaction of the Law, and every man measuring the Ignominy of it by the crimes that produce it, and his Treasons being of the deepest Dye, we may pronounce that he died with more Shame and Disgrace than Sisera, being made a spectacle to the World, and falling by the Hands of a public executioner at last; And so let all thine (AND THE KING's) enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun, when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.  
From these words I proposed first to treat of the Happiness, which PEACE in general brings to a Nation.  
I.— Now I shall no further prosecute this subject, or handle it in any larger method, than as it is introductory and leads me to the consideration of my next Head; because it is so plain and evident in itself that it needs no Illustration or proof. Every man will allow, that PEACE has the same important influence over the Body politic, as Health & vigour of Constitution has over the Natural one. Without it no enjoyment can be relished, no pleasures tasted, no Innocent Friendship or conversation delighted in, but even those things, which otherwise would prove the most grateful Accommodations to the palate, become nauseous or Insipid. And is not mankind exactly in the same case, for all manner of enjoyments, amidst the Noise and Rumours of War? How are the Generous and Great Spirits (that spend themselves and their stock too in the improvement of the public) sunk at the News, and let fall their endeavours, since the next Victory may ravish the Glory of their work from them, and render it either a prey to the Conqueror's Avarice, or a Victim to his Superstition? How visibly, in such a juncture, is Generosity and Charity checked and discouraged? since the next decisive Battle may not only alienate the Revenue itself, but possibly erase the name, and make the memory of the benefaction to be lost too: How deserted and unimproved lie all the Arts of Trade and Husbandry? how visibly must prodigality be advanced? and the concerns of Families neglected? because it is evidently the same thing in effect to enjoy no stores or provisions at all, as to see 'em either Plundered from 'em in the Barn, or trodden down in the Field before Maturity: the same thing for mankind to leave no estate behind 'em for their children, as to see it violently seized before their eyes, and taken possession of by Rebels and Strangers: nay more, how dangerous and sufpected do even our Friendships, in the time of civil War, become? For no man can have such an assurance in another, but he may reasonably fear that some Temptation may prevail upon him to betray and Sacrifice his Friend, and so the confidence, he supposed in him, may turn his snare and Ruin; In short, not only our Temporal enjoyments but even our Spiritual concernments, Religion suffers and almost expires in the heat and fury of a civil War; But in the Affluence of peace, we may (like the Israelites in Goshen) enjoy a cheerful serenity, and participate of all the Desirable blessings that God and Nature can furnish us with, whilst all the World around us is in Darkness and Confusion. The Land prospers and flows with Milk and Honey, Commerce and Trade are improved, the reputation of a Nation exalted, the Sacred person of our KING revered at home, and adored abroad for his Grandeur and Magnificence, the honour of God & his Religion promoted, and the great business of Devotion carried quietly on without interruption or molestation; and in fine all the blessed advantages, that tend either to render us happy here or hereafter, lie before us. PEACE therefore being so great a Blessing in its consequences and effects, I shall, in the Second place, recount the happiness of a Nation, that is possessed of it for the space and compass of FORTY YEARS.  
II.— Forty Years is not only a very great period of our Time, but has, ever since the flourishing of the Patriarches been esteemed the most considerable portion of Man's life, in any Climate of the World; It must needs therefore be acknowledged a Blessing, deserving our utmost thanks, to enjoy this long series and succession of Time, in a constant serenity of Peace without any molestation of War to chequer or palls the enjoyment of it. For whoever duly considers the time of Infancy, and observes how little obnoxious those tender years are to the impressions either of private calamities or public sorrows, must abstract from the Computation all Minors or children under the Age of discretion, and date the beginning of his account from the expiration of Sixteen years at the least: (for before the completion of that time, no person can in a due measure contemplate his own sufferings, or be truly sensible of the miseries of State) and from thence measuring the compass of Forty years, the sum reaches to the period of a Man's ordinary Age, or at least it brings him to that height and degree of it, which by the constitutions of all Kingdoms upon earth, is dispensed from Military service, and exempted from Attendance in War: So that, in this sense, the bestowing of PEACE for Forty years, is in effect the granting a lease of it for a Man's whole life.  
But since Number itself is not Infinite, much less so inconsiderable a quantity of it, and Forty years of Peace must speedily be run out and swallowed up in War, let us consider the great Advantages that this PROMISE brought to the public, or to a new Race of men under other circumstances, that did not share the full time of peace, nor knew the beginning of its Reign, and let us examine the great reason, which they had, to value the happiness of so many Halcyon days, as had elapsed over the Nation before their Birth.  
Now we know that the Israelites were a sort of people that wandered in the Desert, and for some time had no fixed or certain habitation to reside in; And even the Country which they did possess at last, was of a very narrow compass and extent, easily travelled through in a few days March, and as easily measured with the Number of a few Paces. They were surrounded on all sides with enemies, and they that hated them were their Neighbours; They had no Garrisons or Frontier Towns either to defend their Boundaries, or enlarge their Borders: And as they did thus lie open to the encroachments of every Invader, so they never were freed from the Incursions of their enemies without a particular Miracle and Providence of God; and 'tis observable that they-lost more men in their Engagements, and in disputing their Spot of Ground, than any of the Four Monarchys of the World ever lost at a time in a single pitched Battle; and these Encounters came so frequent and so thick upon them, that it is deservedly esteemed a Miracle, that they were not dispeopled and brought to excision. Is it not therefore, judging by all Humane measures, a vast happiness to a Nation in these circumstances, to be freed from the Terrors and destruction of War, and to enjoy peace and plenty for so considerable a season, as might enable 'em to repair their Losses with a new race and production of Inhabitants, and give 'em time by Natural causes to increase to that degree of strength, as should empower them to oppose and repel the force of their Enemies. So that certainly upon this consideration, upon the account of the growth and Peopling the Land again, it was an inestimable Blessing to obtain the security and promise of Rest for Forty years.  
And is our condition so distinguishable in this particular from the children of Israel, that Rest of the same duration will not be equally as great a kindness, and lay as universal an obligation upon us, as it did upon them? Have we not the like reason to rejoice upon the same confidence and assurance, being seated in a Climate so desirable, as invites not only the Visits, but the Depredations of our Neighbours? Does not the Richness of our Soil, the Fruitfulness of our Land, and the Treasures of the Inhabitants become a Temptation for the Inroads of Invaders from abroad, or for the Assaults of Domestic enemies at home? Is not the happiness of this Island such an Invitation to Ambition, as Beauty is an allurement to a Rape? And have we not been so constantly harassed, and almost dispeopled with War, that in all the History of England, for the space of Six hundred years and upwards, ever since the CONQUEST, there has not been so long a Vacation, as to comprehend the space of half this time, and give us a succession of PEACE for Twenty years together? But either Intestine broils have disturbed our Rest, or Foreign Invasions called us to the vindication of our Honour, and to the Defence of our Country, by the Sword. Have we not reason therefore to lay hold of the promise of Rest for Forty years, and to embrace it with all the joyfulness imaginable, and diligently inquire after the Means of attaining and securing it? which I told ye, in the last place, was to be accomplished effectually by returning Praise and Thanksgiving to God, for every Signal Deliverance which he has been pleased to vouchsafe to a Nation.  
III.— Now it is highly reasonable upon this Account, because in all victories God has not only a signal share and part in the purchase; but some there are so miraculously atcheiv'd, and wonderfully wrought, that the whole operation is solely to be ascribed to his immediate power and efficiency, and not to any humane policy and Conduct. And of this Nature was the Deliverance which we commemorate this day, being visibly effected by his Mighty hand and outstretched Arm. We know that in all Engagements, the Glory of a Conquest (however purchased) is ever imputed to the Bravery of the General, that commanded and led the Soldiers on; And surely in a Christian State we ought to advance the glory higher, and refer it solely to God, who in a peculiar manner is styled The LORD OF HOST: Now this standing Appellation of Honour, which he has been pleased to give himself, was not barely a Temporary title, appropiated to the constitution of the Israelites, because he personally led them to War, fought their Battles, and governed them by a THEOCRICY, but is adapted to the state and condition of all the EMPIRES upon earth, because in every Country, he does in an eminent manner preside and Govern all Occurrences of War; And his providence, in no Instance of Humane Affairs is so visible as in the Disposal of the events of Battle. Not unto us therefore, not unto us but unto thy Name be all Honour and Glory.  
But the Best way to raise our Gratitude proportionable to the Deliverance, is to take a Prospect and full view of the Complication of Miseries, which the mercy of God has released us from.  
Now what a Load and oppression of Grief must there needs have been upon the Spirits of the present Generation of Men in the late REBELS success? In that nothing that was Sacred, nothing that was Dear, nothing that was innocent, could have been supposed to have remained inviolated in his prosperous and Triumphant Rebellion. Majesty itself and the Royal Dignity must have been Sacrificed, and trodden under Foot: All the Religious parts of our Devotion would have been prostituted to His, and his Accomplices superstitious Avarice; The Revenue of the Church must have been alienated, and made an Oblation to his greedy Appetite and Sacrilegious Desire. All the properties of the Subject would have been exposed, and lain wholly at the mercy of these Invaders. The Liberties of a Freeborn People would have been Subject to his Arbitrary Will and pleasure; and in short the Lives and Fortunes of all Englishmen had been absolutely dependent upon the Breath of his mouth, and, what is more, all these Miseries would have been entailed upon Future Generations, and plagued Posterity for a succession of many Rolling years together.  
And shall not we in the lowest posture of Devotion and Humility, think ourselves obliged to return our Thanks to Almighty God, that the Breath of our Nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord is not taken in the Pit that was prepared for him, but is escaped as a Bird from the snare of the Fowler? Shall not our Gratitude rise in some Degree and Proportion to the sense we conceive of the greatness of the Blessing? And shall not our Breasts be filled with true Notions of the Deliverance, and express its motions in a suitable Return of Praise and Thanksgiving, for all the Mercies that he has showed to Israel, and the wonders he has wrought for his Servant David?  
Let then the meditation and Reflection upon these Calamities, which by a Signal providence we have escaned excite in us a hearty Thanksgiving not only for this late Deliverance, but also for all the Public Mercies which his Goodness has poured down upon this Nation.  
To him therefore, who is the Giver of all Victory, be ascribed all Glory and Honour, from this time forth and for evermore.  
FINIS.