A SERMON Preached at St. Catherine Cree-Church, Upon Sunday the 1st of MARCH, 1695/6. Upon Occasion of the Late Horrid Plot.  
By Nicholas Brady M. A. Minster of St. Catherine Cree-Church, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty.  
Published at the request of the Auditors.  
LONDON: Printed for Richard Parker, at the Unicorn, under the Piazza of the Royal Exchange. 1696.   

Mr: BRADY's SERMON Upon the occasion of the Late Horrid Plot.   
Exod. XIV. part of the 13th verse. 
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord.  
WE have lately been surprised with a dismal Account of an horrid Conspiracy carried on at Home, and have at the same time been no less Alarmed, with the well grounded Rumour of an Invasion from abroad; and this may, perhaps, too much dismay and discompose the Ignorant, too much affect the thoughtless and inconsiderate, who measuring the Forces of our Enemies by their Vanity and Presumption, or proportioning their Strength to their malice and inveteracy, may look upon the present Danger as much greater than it is, dress up a  in their own Imagination, and then tremble at the frightfulness of its appearance. But, as to be wholly unaffected with National Calamities, and to be utterly unconcerned at the disasters of the Public, is to be guilty of a vicious Carelessness, and deserves the Imputation of a Stoical Stupidity; so, to be too apprehensive of uncertain hazards, to magnify a danger only that we may the better excuse our fear of it, is a Proceeding mean and ungenerous, unbecoming the fortitude of English Men and Christians; since therefore Courage and Resolution are at all times necessary, either to make us despise a danger that is small, or to wrestle and encounter with such hazards as are greater; since, were our circumstances yet better than they are, a reliance upon God would be our surest Protection; I have thought sit, to Address myself to those who now hear me, as the Prophet Moses did to the People of Israel, to make use of his short, but comprehensive Exhortation; Fear ye not, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord.  
These words were directed by the Prophet to the Israelites, when they were all threatened with a general Destruction, which in human probability seemed utterly unavoidable. Pharaoh, being incensed at their going out of Egypt, to offer Sacrifice unto their God, pursues after them with his Chariots and his Horsemen, even all the Forces of the Land of Egypt; he overtakes them Encamping by the Red Sea, having the inaccessible Mountains of Baal-zephon and Pihahiroth on either side; the only passage, which Nature and the Situation of the place had left open for their escape, the Enemy possessed; and thereby reduced them to this sad Election, either of Perishing by the Sword, or by the Waves: Yet notwithstanding their condition was so very deplorable, that it made them to murmur both against Moses and their God; we find the Prophet Comforting, Encouraging, and reassuring them in the words of my Text, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord.  
Blessed be God, the hopeful posture of our present Affairs, and the happy circumstances under which we now are, make our case so different from that of the Israelites, that it does not deserve the name of a Parallel; I shall therefore consider the words nakedly in themselves, independently from the History of which they are a part, as they contain an Exhortation consisting of two branches:  
The 1st. persuading to Courage and Resolution; Fear ye not, stand still.  
The 2d. Advising to an absolute dependence upon God for his Protection; And see the Salvation of the Lord.  
1st. Then, here is an Exhortation to Courage and Resolution; Fear ye not, stand still.  
By not Fearing, I do not mean such a dull and heavy unconcernedness, by which a man is unsensible of approaching dangers, and careless to prevent or to resist them; but such a firmness of Mind and constancy of Spirit, as enables one fully to bear up under them, to struggle with, and overcome them: Neither by standing still, do I design, such a stupid quiet, and unactive cessation, by which one is contented to be a bare looker on, without any vigorous endeavours for the Common Preservation; but such a fixed and settled posture of the Soul, as may qualify one to stustain the shock of whatsoever dangers, and encourage him to repel them with an unshaken steadfastness. And in this sense it is that we ought to understand this pithy Exhortation to Courage and Resolution, Fear ye not, stand still. And indeed, as in concerns of a Spiritual Nature, Presumption is a sin of a very deep dye, being a positive offence against the Justice of the Almighty; and yet Despair a greater, as directly affronting his darling Attribute his Mercy: so also in Temporal Affairs, a too great Security, though very fatal and destructive, yet having something in it that looks like Manhood, does not appear so shameful and so , as a wretched despondency and distrust, which proceeds from weakness, and is utterly Effeminate. It is, we know, one of the Curses denounced by God against impenitent Sinners, That they shall fear where no fear is; and whosoever gives the Reins to this passion, farther than the occasion justly requires, is in some measure liable to this imputation: That therefore we may avoid so infamous a Character, by the due exercise of the opposite Virtue, let us view the obligations which lie upon us, under a twofold consideration.  
1st. As we are Men.  
2d. As we are Christians.  
1st. Then, we are obliged not to fear, but to stand still, as we are Men.  
Whilst all the other parts of the Creation were form with dejected Countenances, in token of Obedience and Submission; Man was Created with an erected Visage, as the visible Characteristick of Majesty and Power: And as his outward structure bore all the marks of Sovereignty and Dominion, so was his Soul endued with a proportionable stock of Courage and Resolution; as may fully appear, by the first Couple's Conversing without fear amongst those very Creatures, which now to us are so terrible and frightful: Sin made the first breach upon this inward guard, this Armour of the Soul; that gave an entrance to the King of Terrors, and to all his pale Retinue of Fears and Apprehensions; For, as from God's question to Adam after his fall, (Adam, where art thou?) We may conclude that his hiding himself was unusual; so from his Answer we may learn, that Fear was the reason of it, I heard thy Voice in the Garden and I was afraid: By how much more therefore we indulge this unmanly Passion, by so much the more are we estranged from the dignity of our Creation, and from the Purity of our first Condition. It is Justly observable, that in all Languages, the word used to express manhood or courage, is derived from that which signifies Humanity itself; thus Virtus in the Latin, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in the Greek, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in the Hebrew, &c. by which the common consent of Nations seems to imply, that is a quality engrafted in, and resulting from our very Nature; and consequently the laying it aside, is a degrading ourselves from the rank of Rational Creatures, and levelling ourselves with Brutes; so that the man without Courage (as well as the man without understanding) may justly be compared unto the Beasts that Perish. But as the giving up ourselves to the unruly guidance of Fear, is the greatest baseness; so is it also the greatest Folly: Pessimus in dubiis augur Timor, Fear is the worst Counsellor in time of Danger; it distracts and confounds the wisest and the best of men; this caused Moses to staggar at God's Commandment; this caused Elias to fly from the Womanish Threaten of Jezabel; this caused Peter to deny his Maker; it undermines the strength, and betrays the succonrs of the Soul, deluding it with imaginary Ideas and false appearances; whilst like a deceitful Perspective, it represents the objects of our apprehension, nearer than the Truth, and larger than the Life: And therefore the Policy and Prudence of Gideon is justly to be commended, who proclaimed throughout his Camp by sound of Trumpet, Whosoever is fear full let him departed; the Nature of this Vice being so infectious, that it often times corrupts the neighbourhood about it. But as to Fear all things seem difficult, so to true Courage nothing is insuperable: In the Land of Canaan were Giants, to whom the Israelites compared, did seem but as Grasshoppers; yet said Caleb and Joshua, Fear them not, they are bread for us; bread, which is eaten without any labour or difficulty; which is so far from diminishing the Spirits, that it increases and augments the Health and Vigour of those that eat it. To this same purpose we read of Joab, that when he Warred against the Ammonites, he began his Exhortation before the Battle with these words, Be of good Courage, and let us play the men; as if, being Valiant, and being Men, were terms Synonymous, and only diversely expressed the same thing. If therefore we consider ourselves but barely as Men, this Exhortation must be proper and convenient, Fear ye not, stand still.  
But if we are obliged to Fortitude and Resolution, as we are mere men; much more are we so, if we reflect upon ourselves,  
2dly. As we are Christians.  
It is the true and genuine property of our Christian Profession, to sublimate and exalt to a higher degree of Perfection, whatever Virtues it finds implanted in our Nature: For it is a slander cast upon Religion, by such as are wholly unacquainted with it, and by such as maintain false Notions of Honour, that it only serves to make men Cowards; the Fear of God, is the best Armour against the Fear of Man, and true Devotion is the Root of Courage: By Faith our Father's subdued Kingdoms, waxed valiant in Fights, put to flight the Armies of the Aliens, says the Author to the Hebrews. And thus indeed it ought to be, if we will but look a little backwards, upon the first Inlet and occasion of Fear and Apprehension: Original Gild was the fatal cause, of which Fear is the unhappy effect; when the former ceases, the latter cannot possibly subsist; but as we are Christians, we have renounced the One, and therefore the other should necessarily vanish: And indeed, if we consider the matter impartially, we shall always find our sins to be the occasions of our Fears; not only, as they are the means of drawing down those Judgements of which we are apprehensive; but also, as they destroy that confidence and assurance, which we ought to have in our Almighty Protector: Fear therefore being the consequence of Gild, if Christianity obliges us not to sin, it at the same time teaches us not to Fear; and as no Christian will dispute the one, so no rational concluder can deny the other; especially, if we take notice, that the three most Eminent Christian Graces, Faith, Hope, and Charity, are absolutely inconsistent with the Practice of it. And,  
1st. As to Faith; we have our Saviour's own Authority for it, in the 14th. chap. of St. Matthew's Gospel; where stretching forth his hand to sinking Peter, he reprehends him in these words, O thou of little Faith! wherefore didst thou doubt? Wavering and doubtfulness, which is but the first step towards downright Fearing, being here branded (though the danger was so imminent) with the black aspersion of weakness in the Faith.  
2dly. As to Hope; though it may allow of such a mixture of uncertainty, as may sharpen its Appetite, and make that more eager (and this it always will partake of till it is changed into Fruition;) yet such a Fear as we now speak of is utterly incompatible with it; and these two can no more be found together, than contraries can mutually support each other, or contradictions shake hands and be reconciled.  
3dly. As to Charity; the beloved Apostle informs us, That there is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out Fear; now Charity being the Perfection of Love in its highest and most intense degree, must consequently have the deepest aversion against that sordid Passion, which is hereby declared to be inconsistent with perfect Love. And certainly, the Love of God and his Religion, can enliven Christians with a much greater warmth of Courage and Resolution, than the bare Love of ones Country, or one's Honour, could possibly inspire into the Natural Man: This has been evidenced by a Cloud of Witnesses: Let the Heathens brag of their Decius and their Curtius, that devoted themselves to Death for the safety of their Country; we have our Moses and St. Paul, that desired to be made accursed for the Children of God: Their Socrates drank his poison cheerfully; our Cyprian said Amen, to the sentence of his own condemnation: Their Scaevola burned his hand with an unaltered Countenance; we are able to name a whole Army of Martyrs, who have kissed the stake, enjoyed the flames, and sung Hymns in the midst of their Torments and Persecutions. Thus in true courage, the Christian world as far exceeds the Heathen, as in the motives to it, and in the goodness of the cause. Some indeed there are, and those too many, who think courage to consist in Roaring and Blaspheming, in speaking big words, and Tyrannising over their inferiors, in quarrelling and duelling, in trampling under foot all Laws and Constitutions both of God and Man: but these things, my beloved, ought not so to be: True Christian courage, such as I recommend to all who now hear me, is fearful to offend God; has a Reverend regard to the Laws; is obedient to lawful superiors, courteous to equals, affable and indulgent to inferiors; evermore grounded upon a good cause, and therefore still accompanied with Piety, Cheerfulness, and Resolution. The Wicked indeed fleeth, when no man pursueth; but the Righteous is bold as a Lion: He shall not be afraid for any evil Tidings; (the reason follows immediately after) for his Heart standeth fast and believeth in the Lord. And this leads me to the consideration of the  
2d. Branch of my Text; namely, The Prophet's Exhortation to an absolute dependence upon God for his Protection; fear ye not, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord.  
Since the Race is not always to the Swift, nor the Battle to the Strong, or the Courageous, but time and chance (as the Preacher observes) happens to them both; the best way to secure to ourselves a certainty of Success, is to fix our dependence upon the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning: Then though the Arm of Flesh should be never so strongly exalted against us, yet shall we find, that the Right hand of the Lord has the preeminence, that the Right hand of the Lord bringeth mighty things to pass: It is better therefore to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in man; it is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in Princes. But since the mercy of God is not such a foolish tenderness, or unaccountable relenting, as is sometimes found in those whom we style good-natured Men, an easiness of being wrought upon without any reason for it; I shall therefore,  
1st. Inquire, what is to be performed upon our part, in order to fit us for the Divine Protection, or to qualify us for seeing the Salvation of the Lord. And,  
2dly. I shall prove, that if we are so qualified, we shall certainly be Protected, we shall assuredly see the Salvation of the Lord.  
1st. Then, I shall inquire, what is to be performed upon our part, in order to fit us for the Divine Protection, or to qualify us for seeing the Salvation of the Lord.  
The Lord is on my side, says the Royal Psalmist, I will not fear what man can do unto me: We must be secure that God is on our side, if we would be free from Human Apprehensions. Now to make us secure of this, it is not enough that we can say we are Christians, we are Protestants, we are called by his Name, we are Members of the Purest Church upon Earth. No, unless our Practices are agreeable to our Profession, unless we exemplify our high calling in our Lives and Conversations, these are but so many enhancements of our guilt, abuses of the manifold advantages which God has bestowed upon us, and are so far from affording us impunity and Protection, that they only qualify us for being beaten with many stripes. Neither are we to reflect upon the faults and errors of those who seem designed for the inflicters of God's Judgements; and from thence presently conclude, That God will not Fight against us upon their side: Their Offences are no extenuation of our guilt, and the Scourge may be made use of, though it is afterwards to be cast into the Fire: Executioners (we know) are seldom chosen out of the best of men; the vilest and the meanest are generally thought fit enough for such an employment; and not only the wicked part of human Kind, but even Lice and Flies; the meanest Particles and Refuse of the Greation, in the avenging hand of God, become dreadful Instruments of his wrath and indignation. The surest way to give a guess at our own condition, and the circumstances we lie under for a well provided hope of Protection, is to examine our own ways; lest otherwise, by endeavouring to shun one extreme, we should ignorantly and unadvisedly run into another; and avoiding Despair, should be guilty of Presumption. To this purpose, the Royal Psalmist (in the person of God) gives us this clear information; O! That my People would have hearkened unto me! For if Israel would have walked in my ways; I should soon have put down their Enemies, and turned my hand against their Adversaries: This is the necessary and indispensible condition, without which we have no title to the Protection of our God. Let every one therefore amongst us duly inquire into himself, and Commune with his own Heart secretly: Have I harkened unto the Voice of my God, and have I walled in his ways? Have I diligently sought out his will, and carefully endeavoured to square all my Actions according to that rule? Have my Paths been the Paths of Righteousness, and have I walked faithfully with my God? He that upon such an Examination, finds his Conscience bearing witness for him, may Expostulate with the Almighty, in the Pathetical words of the Prophet Isaiah; Look down, O Lord, from Heaven, and behold from the Habitation of thy Holiness and of thy Glory: Where is thy Zeal, and thy strength, the sounding of thy Bowels, and of thy Mercies towards me, are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not; thou, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer, thy name is from everlasting: But if upon a due examination we find the contrary, as I fear it is the case of too many amongst us, upon a just and serious Reflection, that we have harkened only unto the voice of our Lusts, and that our ways have been the ways of Death; let us then, in the Name of God, endeavour to renew ourselves by a hearty Repentance, by a thorough Reformation; immediately setting about to remove our Sins far from us, by which only we can be removed from the Protection of our God: Let every man turn from his evil way, and from the violence which is in his hand; and God will assuredly turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not. Thus, if by a speedy and sincere Repentance, we make our sins, that were red as Crimson, become whiter than the Wool; God also will certainly do his part, he will make us to hear of joy and gladness, and cause the bones which he had broken to rejoice: Then may we take up the Prophet David's cheerful Ejaculation, God shall deliver us from the snare of the hunter, and from the noisome Pestilence; he shall defend us under his Wings, and we shall be safe under his Feathers, his Faithfulness and Truth shall be our Shield and Buckler; we shall not be afraid for any Terror by Night, nor for the Arrow that flieth by day; a thousand shall fall beside us, and ten thousand upon our Right Hand, but it shall not come nigh us; for the Lord is our defence, the God of Jacob is our Refuge. And this leads me to the consideration of the  
2d. Particular, namely, to prove, that if we are thus qualified, we shall certainly be Protected, we shall assuredly see the Salvation of the Lord. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord.  
Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; unless our iniquities do separate between us and our God, and our sins do hid his Face from us; he will hear the cry of such as call upon him, yea, of all such as call upon him faithfully. This we find to have been his constant way of Proceeding with his chosen People; If they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the Council of the the most high; then he brought down their Heart with labour, they fell down, and there was none to help: But when they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, he delivered them out of their distresses; he sent his word, and healed them; and they were saved from their destruction. The truth of this Doctrine is undeniably made out, by the remarkable deliverance pointed at in my Text. The Israelites were pursued by the whole strength of Egypt; they could not turn on either side, for the Mountains that environed them, their progress was stopped by the Red-Sea before them, and their retreat cut off by the Egyptians behind them: The poor Fugitives thus miserably hemmed in, were a naked and defenceless multitude; their very number, which yet was all they had to trust to, was not their smallest inconvenience; being chief composed of Women and of Children; whose Tears and Lamentations, softened those Hearts into tenderness and compassion, which should have been steeled with Courage and Resolution: What should they do, being thus surrounded with horror and destruction? We are told in the 10th. verse of this same Chapter, that when they lift up their eyes, and beheld Pharaoh marching after them, they cried out unto the Lord: And we find the consequence to be, that the Lord heard them; and turned that attempt which was designed for their destruction, into a signal Instance of his Favour towards them, and the utter ruin of their insulting Adversaries. And since in this particular our case resembles that of the Israelites, namely, that the cause of the Malice of our Adversaries, is only that we will not becomes slaves to the Egyptians; and that we will not bow down before the Idols of Egypt; but are resolved to Offer Sacrifice unto the Lord our God; were our condition as helpless as we find theirs to have been (and God be praised it is most happily different) we are as justly entitled to a Miraculous Deliverance. But we need not go abroad for Instances of this Nature, our own experience will abundantly supply, considerable Examples of the Divine Protection. How wonderfully has God appeared in our behalf, not only in completing that advantageous change in the Government of these Nations, by which our Religion and our Liberties were secured; but also by watching over it in a peculiar manner, and defeating all designs which were devised for its Destruction! For, not to look backwards to former deliverances, which are much too numerous to be insisted upon at present, how wonderful a Mercy have we lately experienced! if an attempt be made to surprise us unprovided, (as in the Invasion at this time designed) the Winds and the Wether conspire to keep back our Enemies till their intentions are discovered, and their contrivances laid open: If secret Practices are leveled against the Government, and Plots are carried on for the imbroiling us again (as in the Horrid Treason so freshly discovered) the Providence of God interposes for us visibly, and brings to light the closest Machinations: Thus by the wonderful goodness of Almighty God, no Weapon, no Design formed against us has prospered; but our Souls have escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowler, the net is broken, and we are delivered. Give me leave to stop here a little, and to take an imperfect Prospect of that most valuable Blessing, which has so lately been conferred upon us: And we cannot any way more justly make an Estimate of it, than by considering the Miseries to which we must have been exposed, had we not been rescued from them by so eminent a Providence: What Confusions, what Distractions must we have lain under, if by a Barbarous and Bloody Assassination, the Confederate Armies had lost their General, and Neighbouring Allies their Chief Magistrate, these Nations, their LAWFUL and RIGHTFUL KING! And that at a conjuncture the most likelist of any, when the embasement and scarcity of our current Coin, had spread a general uneasiness throughout the Kingdom; and when all these perplexities were about to be increased, by the additional Calamity of a Foreign Invasion! The Scene of Affairs must have been so dismal, that it requires some of that Courage which I have been recommending to you, to take a view of those extremities, though we have happily escaped them. But as this Design was a Masterpiece of Villainy; and timed with all the Artifice of cunning Malice; so has it pleased God, by his gracious Disappointment of it, to raise much Good out of that Evil; and to Establish the Government, by those very means, by which its Enemies contrived to overturn it: For as it must needs confirm the Layalty of the well-affected, by showing them the great importance of His Safety, who is both their King and their Benefactor; so I hope it will open the Eyes of some deluded People, by shewin them the weakness and the badness of that Cause, which makes use of such vile methods to sustain and support itself. How cheerfully then, upon a due Contemplation of such remarkable Providences, as I have just now been treating of, may we Exhort one another not to fear, since so often heretofore, and so signally of late we have seen the Salvation of the Lord.  
I would to God, a due consideration of those several particulars, wherein God has appeared to espouse the cause we stand for, would prevail with those who are Enemies to our Peace, no longer to combat the workings of Omnipotency; but to take the advice which God formerly gave to the House of Judah, Ye shall not go up to Fight against your Brethren, for this thing is from me: Especially that such among them as are Englishmen, and Protestants, would cease to act so unsuitably to both those Characters; by betraying at once their Liberty and Religion, in desperately abetting the attempts of those, who would give us nothing else but Slavery for the One, and Popery for the Other: And this I wish, chief for their own sakes; since I am not apprehensive that they are so considerable, as to bring Danger, but Scandal, upon their Country and Profession. If therefore we are not so mad as to play booty against ourselves; if we will not Fight the Battles of our Enemies, by unqualifying ourselves for the Divine Protection; we shall assuredly find, that God, who is a present help in trouble, will never leave us, nor forsake us: Then may we lay hold upon all God's attributes, and engage them to Fight in our behalf: The Bowels of his infinite Mercy will yearn over us; his impartial Justice, when thus appeased, will cease to be our Accuser, and become our Advocate; his eternal Truth will stand bound to make good his gracious Promises; his unbounded Wisdom will find out the method for our deliverance; and his almighty Power will execute and go through with it. Fear ye not therefore, stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord; firmly rely upon him for his Protection, and cast your care upon him, for he careth for you; not that you must so far depend upon him, as to neglect the means which he has put into your hands; we stand not in need of a Miracle for our Preservation, and therefore we must not expect one for it: Let us cheerfully, and with confidence use our own endeavours; and God will not fail to do his part too, in giving a blessing to our undertake: his former favours are so many earnests of future indulgences; unless we make ourselves unworthy of them, either by our ingratitude, or our distrust. Let us courageously and undauntedly prepare ourselves, to confront whatever dangers may oppose us, in the maintenance of a cause so good and justifiable: Let us Arm ourselves with Innocence, and Fortify ourselves with Faith; and we need not fear what man can do unto us. Thus being resolved to discharge our duty, let us leave the event of things to God and his good Providence; that the Glory of our Deliverance may be his alone, in whom we live, and move, and have our Being.  
I shall close up all, with Joab's exhortation to the Armies of Israel; Be of good Courage, and let us play the men, for our people, and for the Cities of our God; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good.  
Now to God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost, be ascribed all Honour, Power, Might, Majesty, and Dominion, henceforth and for evermore, Amen.  
FINIS.   

Sermons Preached by the Reverend Mr. Brady, and Printed for R. Parker.  
A Sermon Preached at Helmingham in Suffolk, June 30th, 1694. at the Funeral of Lieutenant General Talmach. Published at the request of the Friends of the Deceased.  
A Sermon Preached at Whitehall, March 3. 169●. upon occasion of her late Majesty's Death, before the Right Honourable the Countess of Derby, and the rest of the Mourning Ladies. Published at the request of that Honourable Audience.  
A Sermon Preached at the Parish-Church of St. Martin's Ludgate, Sept. 12th. 1695. before the Incorporated Society of Apothecaries of London. Published at the request of the Society.