THREE SERMONS PREACHED The First in Richmond Church, August 17. 1690. On the Most Happy Accession of Their Majesties, KING WILLIAM and QUEEN MARY to the Crown.  
The Second in Mortlake Church in Surrey, March 3. 1694. On the Death of Our Late Most Gracious Sovereign Lady the QUEEN, of Blessed Memory.  
The Third in Mortlake Church, April 16. 1696. Being the Day of Thanksgiving unto Almighty God, for Discovering and Disappointing the Horrid and Barbarous Conspiracy to Assassinate His Most Gracious Majesty's Royal Person: And for Delivering this Kingdom from an Invasion, intended by the French.  
By CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, M. A. and Schoolmaster of Richmond in SURREY.  
Printed to prevent Mistakes concerning the Author.  
LONDON: Printed for Samuel Buckley, at the Dolphin over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. 1696.   

TO THE READER.  
THE Reason of Printing these Sermons is this: Mr. Abiel Borfet, the late Minister of Richmond in Surrey, having written, and suffered to be dispersed, some Scandalous and Ill Notions, concerning the Present Most Happy Government; for which he is Deprived of his Cure; some Persons by Mistake did apprehend the Author of these Sermons, being a Clergyman, and living in Richmond, to be the said Minister thereof, and the Author of those Ill Notions. To obviate which, and rectify the Error; and to prevent for the future any the like Misrepresentations of this Author; He thought it convenient to make the following Sermons public.   

ERRATA.  
PAge 11. l. 9 calamnities r. calamities. p. 12. l. 2. are the cause, r. are often the cause. l. 29. in, r. on. p. 13. l. 24. flames, r. a flame. p. 14. l. 15. Dioclesian's, r. Diocletian's. l. 17. almost, r. for almost. p. 18. l. 1. Nay, r. Yea, l. 10. a, r. the. p. 21. l. 26. the first of, r. for. p. 22. l. 27. after Faith put? l. the last, in, r. as appears by. p. 23. l. 37. born by, r. born of. p. 25. l. 18. into his place, r. unto his place. p. 30. l. 7, and 8. r. threatened their total destruction, and in part at least wrought it. p. 31. l. 17. Her Household, r. the ways of her Household. l. 26. which, r. as. p. 48. l. 1. Proposition, r. Particular. Where you find rejoice, you may read rejoice. And if there be any more Erratas over looked, the Reader is desired to Correct them.   

The Deliverance of GOD's Church.  
SERMON I. Preached in Richmond Church in SURREY, August the 17th, 1690.  
On the Happy Accession of their Majesty's King William III. and Queen Mary II. to the Crown.   
NUMB. xxiii. 23. 
Surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any Divination against Israel:—  
AS God hath a Church Triumphant in Heaven; pure and undefiled, clean from all Sin, and free from all Sorrow; Glorious without Spot, and Joyful without the allay of but one Moment's Affliction; out of all danger of any Enemy, and Eternally blest with Crowns and Palms of Victory: So hath he a Church Militant on Earth, his Delight, and of him greatly Beloved; Holy, Catholic or Universal, full of good Works, but yet not perfect; some True, and though their Lights shine; in one sense, invisible Members thereof, because none knows the Heart of a Man; yet these not without Sin, though their Errors and Failings are pardonable, and shall be forgiven them: Others visible Members only, and Hypocrites, who make a bare outward show in the World, and whose Sins shall not be remitted unto them, without the special Grace of Repentance and Amendment, whereby a timely Conversion may, through the Merits of Christ, obtain Salvation. But the Church of God on Earth, not being perfect, is subject to Sufferings: Her own Sins arm, and make her Enemies powerful against her: Her Shame eclipseth her Glory, and causeth Sorrows, which often exceed her Joys: whilst always Fight, she is Victorious but in part, by reason of Sin, that doth so easily beset her.  
Yet her Infirmities do not annul God's Favours towards her; but when the Reins are let lose, and Provocations increase to a great height, Divine Justice is concerned in Vindication of itself, to unsheathe the Sword, and brandish it at least, if not strike, for the Amendment of those, who will be healed; and for the Terror and Astonishment, if not present Confusion, of obstinate Offenders. Neither is Justice alone here, but Love and Mercy are Concomitant therewith, because the Design of God in the whole is, that all may work together for the good of that Mystical Body, of which Christ is the Head: and therefore it is, that when a Lenitive will not Cure, he applies a Corrosive Plaster to the Sore. For various have been the Methods of the Almighty, to keep his People in his Favour, and at one with him.  
And not this only, but, what I am chief to insist upon, God hath in a most Eminent Manner, upon all Occasions, appeared in the Cause of his Church, for the Preservation thereof, against all her Foes, in the Patriarchal and Jewish, as well as Christian Oeconomy and Government; for such, we read, have been in Ancient time (besides what our Fathers have told us, and we next after them do now know, and hope further to see) the Mighty Deliverances of God's People, as declare them to be the only Immediate Care of his Watchful, and Allseeing Eyes of Providence, for whom Omnipotence itself hath, and doth stretch forth its Mighty Arm to work Wonders: Which great things very much need required to be done, all along from the beginning of the World unto this Day, for the Salvation of God's Church. For in the Infancy thereof, when there were only two, Adam and Eve, to gather together in God's Name to Adore him, and perform their Duties of Piety and Religion, even than the grand Enemy of Mankind set to work for their Destruction, by Hellish Enchantments, added unto the subtlety of that Serpent, which, though not the Devil himself in that form, yet at least, was possessed with, and spoke by him; and so by the Voice and Language of Satan, dressed up with many Artifices of pleasing words, the Temptation became so strong, that the Woman, soon beguiled thereby, caught at the deadly Bait, and did eat, and gave also unto her Husband, and be did eat: And then so far, even in Paradise itself, Satan accomplished his Design, and, as Fishes that are taken in an evil Net, and as Birds that are caught in the Snare, so were they both snared in an evil time, by that Evil One, the Tempter.  
But although our First Parents had the Misfortune to fall from such an high and lofty Sphere of Primitive Purity, to which they, or their Posterity might never think to ascend again in this World; yet was not Satan able to pursue, and gain a complete Victory over them, because God in Mercy reinforced them with such strength, by virtue of his Promise, that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's Head; according to the Covenant of Grace, wherein it was promised, that the Messiah should come into the World to Redeem Mankind, and to Destroy the Works of the Devil: Whereby a possibility of regaining what we have lost, yea, and a better Paradise too, is left unto us.  
And now the Devil being thus frustrated of his prime intended Mischief, and Cruel Invention against Man, and being enraged therefore; it is his Property ever since to go about like a roaring Lion, seeking whom he may devour, endeavouring to Circumscribe Hell and Earth in one Circle, and to unite the Forces of both for the Destruction of God's Church; to raise all sorts of Devilish Engines to hatter her, and to let no Stratagem escape him, that the Malice and Fury of Devils and Wicked Men can invent. But yet, neither the Sword, nor the Bow, the Horse, nor his Rider, shall prevail against her in the Day of Battle; not whole Legions of Devils, nor the Counsels and Purposes of Hell. No Sorcerer or Magician shall come to Curse or Defy God's Holy Church, but at last, after all ineffectual Trials and Devices against her, shall be forced, with a Blessing in his Mouth, instead of a Curse, to declare, Surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any Divination against Israel.  
These were the words of Balaam, a great Sorcerer in the Eastern Country, whom Balak King of Moab invited, and hired to come, and Curse Jacob, and to Defy Israel, the peculiar People and Church of God in those Days; and who Travelling to the Land of Promise, had Encamped in the Plains of Moab, whereupon Balak was almost at his Wit's end, seeing them vastly numerous, and knowing that lately, before them, Sihon King of the Amorites, and Og King of Bashan, two of his greatest Neighbouring Princes, had fallen: But chief he was afraid of them, because sensible of their Strength and Safety by the Protection of the Almighty, which he hoped to withdraw from them by the Assistance of Balaam: who yet was not able in the least to effect that wicked Desire, by all his Magic Arts and Sorceries, nor by many Altars, and Bullocks, and Rams offered thereon, for that purpose: But after much ado, and many Devices, he found himself under a constraint to Bless them, whether he would or no, and to speak the present Thoughts of his Mind thus, Surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any Divination against Israel.  
In which words there is a synonymy, that makes both parts of my Text to signify one and the same thing; upon which some have glossed thus, That there was no such thing as Sorcery or Enchantments, and such like evil Arts pleasing unto, or in use among the Children of Israel, by reason of the interdiction of the Law of God to the contrary; and this they take from those Translations, that render the Text by the Particle in, instead of against, and then the Text runs thus, Surely there is no Enchantment in Jacob, neither is there any Divination in Israel. Others, by reading the words according to the more natural or  Sense, as we have Translated them, Surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any Divination against Israel, paraphrase on them in this more currant Stile, that no Devilish Art can hurt the People of God: and so there is no effectual devising Evil against them, though by Witchcraft itself, nor any observing or presaging Evil Fortune unto them, by all the Black Art of Hell. And then from this Interpretation flows this Infallible Proposition.  

1. That the Church of God shall always stand firm against the Opposition and Fury of all her Enemies. To which I shall subjoin, that,  
2. She hath been, and shall be enabled, so to abide in Safety, by the Protection, and good Providence of God.   
1. The Church of God shall always stand firm against the Opposition and Fury of all her Enemies. For by our Blessed Saviour's words, we understand that she is Built upon a Rock, and that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against her. All the Powers of Darkness shall not undermine her Foundations, and no Storms or Assaults shall prevail for her Destruction: and if the Heathen, even all her Enemies should rage's against her, they shall only imagine a vain thing; though the Kings of the Earth set themselves, and the Rulers take Counsel together, how to pull her down, and lay her Honour in the Dust; how to make our Jerusalem an heap of Stones, so that Zion should be had no more in remembrance, that her Captivity should never return any more: Though they should endeavour this with all the Policy, and Power, and Wit of Man; yet let them know in the words of the Psalmist, That he that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision; that then he shall speak unto them in his Wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure, Psal. 2.4, 5.  
Where God is represented as sitting aloft in the Heavens, and as if from thence he were looking down upon the Children of Men, marking their Follies, in those ridiculous and vain Attempts, they so eagerly pursue, with all their might against his Church; and as if this did, after the manner of Men, cause laughter in him; and so first of all he did only mock at and deride them: But then at last seeing them continue to work Wickedness, he speaks unto them, and that in his Anger too. He gins to be Jealous for his People, and the Thunder of his Voice is heard, as well as that of his Power is felt, as it appears by these words, and he shall vex them in his sore Displeasure: which is done, when he turns the Counsel of the greatest Achitophel's into Foolishness, and defeats all their Purposes; when he sends out the Fingers of a Man's Hand writing upon the Plaster of the Wall, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN; God hath numbered thy Kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the Balances, and art found wanting, Thy Kingdom is divided, and given to Others.  
And then God vexeth the Enemies of his Church, when, as he did to Gideon, he sends his Angel unto some great Person, with this Salutation, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty Man of Valour; or by some secret Instinct moves him, and Seals his Commission with full Power and Authority to go forth for the Deliverance of his People, and is always with him: So that if he passes over the great Deep, God either stilleth the raging of the Sea, or else suffereth not the Floods, and tossing Waves thereof, to come near him. And if in the Field, and in the Battle, and the Engines of Destruction are planted against, and let fly at him, yet the very Messenger of Death sent from those Instruments of Cruelty very near him, shall have no power over his Life: but that God who sent him, will defend him, and give him Victory and Honour, against all the Plots and Contrivances of his Enemies, though they are in Conjunction with the Black Society of all the Infernal Regions: for what Evil they Invent, God Disappoints, that they may understand what they would not, The words of the Wise Man, Prov. 19.21. There are many Devices in a Man's Heart; nevertheless, the Counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. And so long as that stands, his Church shall stand firm. And if at any time she groans, by reason of the Fury and Oppressions of her Adversaries, he will hear her Cry, and help her. She shall stand still, and see the Salvation of the Lord, which he will show unto her. She shall be assured, that he will deliver her in Six Troubles, yea, in Seven: and then shall she rest satisfied, that although many are the Troubles of the Righteous, yet the Lord delivereth them out of them all, when she hath seen so much of the Goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living. But if at any time, her Sins, which (to be sure) are frequently the sad and woeful Cause of her Sorrows (for they merit Punishments) do give her Adversaries both time and power to insult over her, and her Faith and Hope begin to fail, so that she becomes dubious, and mistrusts the veracity of that Promise, made in particular to Joshua; but, by the Author to the Hebrews, applied unto all the Faithful, as a general and standing Rule of Trust and Confidence in God's Mercy and Protection, which is this, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, Heb. 13.5. In such Affliction and Anxiety of Mind, let her amend, and not despair of God's Love and Mercy. And if at the first appearance of help, and notice of God's especial Presence with her, after many Evils of Punishment from the Enemy, she should despond; like Gideon, when almost in Despair, an Angel appeared unto him, with this Sign in his Mouth, from the Lord, of the Israelites Deliverance from the Oppression of Midian, the Lord is with thee; who, with a sort of diffidence of the Divine Message, returned this Answer to the Angel's Errand, as it were with Sorrow in his Heart; Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his Miracles, which our Fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord bathe forsaken us, and delivered us into the Hands of the Midianites, Judg. 6.13.  
We shall endeavour presently to give Comfort and some Satisfaction, Should the Church and People of God, in Times of Affliction, answer after the same manner, If the Lord be with us, why doth the Enemy rejoice, and the Adversary triumph over us? If it be an Infallible Aphorism, that his Church shall stand always firm, against the Opposition and Fury of all her Enemies; how is it that from the beginning of the World unto this Day, Persecution hath been a large share of her Portion? Her Tears have been often poured into the Cup of trembling, to add the greater Bitterness unto every drop, she hath been forced to drink; and the Bread of Sorrow hath been her daily Food. Her Children have been stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain with the Sword, and a Thousand sorts of Deaths and Tortures have been inflicted upon them; so that no Sorrow was ever like unto her Sorrow. At one time Righteous Abel was Murdered by his own Impious Brother Cain; here the Bloody Tragedy began, and successively was acted on, with various Troubles and Torments unto the People of God, even to the Days of holy Elijah: who also then found himself grievously persecuted by wicked Jezebel, and that so sharply, that he preferred Death before Life, when he requested for himself that he might Die, and said, It is enough now, O Lord, take away my Life, 1 King. 19.4.  
And twice in the same Chapter, we find him sadly complaining of those who had deserted the true Worship of God, for that which was false and idolatrous, and did persecute those who would not departed with them, from serving the Living and True God; as these words of that holy Man do infer, The Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant, thrown down thine Altars, and slain thy Prophets with the Sword; and I, even I only am left, and they seek my Life to take it away.  
So sharp and general, it seems, was the Persecution, that Elijah thought, that all the Prophets, and Faithful People of God, were quite swept away thereby; for he had some time since fled for his own Life; and, as the words seem to intimate, when he came again, no true Israelite was to be seen, or did not dare to show his Face, and venture to stand before the heat and fury of Jezebel's inveterate Malice and Hatred to the Professors of True Religion.  
But yet, God be thanked, for the Comfort of good Elijah, Wickedness had not sat so long in the place of Judgement and Righteousness, to Triumph so far, as to bring the Church in those Days to so low an Ebb, as to have the Tears of but one true Member only to run down for her, and by the Destruction of whose Life, she should have been quite cut off: For in the 18th Verse of the aforecited Chapter, we find the Lord comforting Elijah thus, with a goodly number of truly Religious Persons still remaining, Yet, saith he, I have left me Seven Thousand in Israel, all the Knees, which have not bowed unto Baal, and every Mouth, which hath not kissed him.  
But now further may we find the Church clad in Sackcloth, with Dust and Ashes upon her Head, mourning in her Travail, and bringing forth Children with great Lamentation, weeping and wailing; for that, reckoning from the Days of Elijah forward, her Afflictions were from time to time renewed. Once a whole Seventy Years Captivity in a strange Land, besides many Wars and Troubles from the Enemy, before and after that, unto the time that Messiah the Prince, the Glory and Head of the Church came, when also He was cut off, not for himself, but for the Transgression of his People: This was most Amazing, and full of Woe, the cutting off of Members was not enough, but the Head must suffer as much too. This caused the Sun, that great Luminary, to put on mourning Apparel of the deepest Dye, a black and thick Darkness. It forced the Earth into a Convulsion, to shake and tremble, and the Temple to rend its Veil in twain. Then did Nature suffer a Dissolution for a time; and needs must the whole Creation groan, and be in pain, when Christ himself cried out with a loud and lamentable Voice, and suffered the deepest pangs of Body and Soul.  
This was the Child of God, and Heir of all things, that poured out his Soul unto Death, whom the great Red Dragon, mentioned in the Revelations of St. John, thought wholly to devour; but yet did he revive on the Third Day, and was afterwards caught up unto God: I mean, he ascended into Heaven, where he Reigns King and Head of the Church, in Triumph over all his Enemies.  
And now the great Red Dragon, that Old Serpent, called the Devil and Satan, being cast out into the Earth, as he made an Attempt against Heaven, hath, with all Choler and Wrath, vomited out of his Mouth whole Floods of Persecutions, one rolling incessantly upon the back of another, to overwhelm the Church in final Ruin and Destruction. And to make the Ocean of her Miseries, as it were, incomprehensible, and beyond thought, how have many of the Roman Emperors, and greatest Potentates of the Earth, added a Red Sea thereto, by shedding the Blood of the Saints, without end or measure? The Primitive Christians felt the smart first, and their Fellow-servants have been partakers of their Sufferings frequently unto these Days. And those who would come out of Babylon, that they might not be partakers of her Sins, nor receive of her Plagues, have had a restraint put upon them, that they should not; so that when persecuted in one City, or Kingdom, they could not enjoy the Privilege, given them by Christ in his Gospel, to flee into another.  
Now if we hear Zion bemoaning herself thus, over all the Evils and Calamnities brought upon her, for all the hurt and havoc that the Church of God hath suffered, from the beginning of the World unto this Day, besides what she fears may yet happen, and by some diffidence arising thereby, she should question whether her Basis, or Foundation be so strong, that it shall remain perpetually firm for the time to come, against the force and fury of her implacable and restless Foes.  
For her Comfort, and to resolve her Doubts herein, let her know, that all her Loss is Gain. Those that die for their good Faith, go from Warring and Fight here, in the Church Militant, unto the Mother Church of all, Triumphant in Heaven. Those, that amidst a World of Miseries below, were Faithful unto Death, ascend into Regions of Bliss above, to receive Crowns of Eternal Life.  
Neither is the number of her Members extenuated or diminished on Earth, by their departure from us for the Testimony of Christ, according to that common saying, Sanguis Martyrum est semen Ecclesiae; the bare Letter whereof is, That the Blood of Martyrs is the Seed of the Church, which the sense and meaning construes thus, That the more the Church of God is persecuted, the more at last she multiplies: Like good Seed cast into good Ground, it brings forth Thirty, Sixty, and an Hundred sold.  
And often, not only is the number augmented, but their Faith is the more vigorous and active too; for, Marcet sine adversario virtus, sed crescit sub pondere, their Faith doth fade and fail, and is not so lively and brisk, as when quickened by the Power and Trials of the Enemy, (as Rome when Carthage was destroyed, fell to Luxury). But under the pressure and weight of Sufferings it gets ground, and becomes of a more diffusive Nature; and therefore the Exercise and Trials of the Faith of the Best Men, are meant of God for good.  
And furthermore, the Church is to remember, that her Sins are the cause of all her Sorrows, without which she would have neither Pain nor Grief; nor any Enemy could Molest or Trouble her. For it is still with her as it was in the Days of the Judges of Israel. And we read in the second Chapter of their Book, that the People feared the Lord all the Days of Joshua, and all the Days of the Elders, that outlived Joshua, and so long it was well with them; but afterwards it is said, The Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forfook the Lord God of their Fathers, etc. The ill Consequence whereof was this, The Anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of Spoilers, that spoilt them, and he sold them into the Hands of their Enemies round about: So that they could not any longer stand before their Enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the Hand of the Lord was against them for Evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them, and they were greatly distressed.  
Now Sin was the cause of all this Trouble, and so it hath been, and will be the Origin and Fountain of all Misery: And therefore, it is the Duty of the Church and People of God, to submit unto his Chastisements, without complaint or murmuring, because they deserve them, and, it may be, want Correction to make them better. And then also we are to bear the Cross patiently, as did Christ, the Author of our Salvation; that so having our share with him in Sufferings, we may be partakers of his Glory.  
But yet could not all these Enemies, nor all the mighty numbers of them, since the World began, root out the true Church of God, from having a Being in the face of the Earth, neither shall they so prevail, so long as the Sun and Moon endure; but when they have done all they can, they shall themselves bear the Punishment: They shall reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken Man, and be at their Wits-end, when the Mischief intended by them to others shall fall on their own Heads. And therefore, though they should seek to destroy Jacob by Enchantments, and Israel by Divination; and also, to that end, should use Pious Frauds, and Religious Stratagems against the Church, with many fair and specious pretences outwardly; build Altars, and offer Sacrifices, even whole Hecatombs, without number on them: Though they should present Heaven with never so many Gifts, and Dedicate all the Gold of Ophir unto it, and pray Night and Day unto God, unto Angels, and Saints, and join thereto never so many Ave Maries unto the Blessed Virgin, and Court her with never so many Titles of the greatest Honour and Power in Heaven; creating her Queen Regent there, with full Authority over her Son, to make him do whatsoever she shall command him: Yet not all this, nor much more, that they can do, shall any whit prevail. Nothing thereof shall serve their turn against that Holy Church they would destroy, but she shall stand firm against all the Attempts of her Enemies, whatsoever they be; though their Folly (that is so great) be Converted into Fury, and their Malice be thereby the deeper, yet in their fiercest Rage shall they be weak, and like Water spilt on the ground; or as the Dust before the Wind, so shall the Angel of the Lord scatter them. For, surely there is no Enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any Divination against Israel; which introduceth my  
Second Proposition, That the Church hath been, and shall be enabled to abide in safety, by the Protection and good Providence of God.  
For it is He that keeps her as the Apple of his Eye. It is the Eternal God that is her Refuge. It is he that beateth down all her Enemies, and beareth her on eagle's Wings above them all, and brings her unto himself. And it is God, that maketh his Angel's Spirits, and his Ministers Flames of Fire, in their order to attend on every good Member of his Church, and surround them all with Horses and Chariots of Fire, against the Fury of the Enemy. He wrought sundry times, and in divers manners, strange and wonderful Deliverances, for the Children of Israel, time after time, when they repent of their Sins, and cried unto him, he raised up a Deliverer to them, who delivered them. So he raised up his Anointed Cyrus, to lose the Bonds and Fetters of the Seventy Years Captivity; to let the Prisoners return free to their own Land; insomuch that he made a Proclamation, and put it also in Writing, concerning the Re-edifying of the Temple, or House of God, Ezra 1. Here was Joy after much Sorrow, a sweet Refreshment of Pleasure, after the Wormwood and Gall of so long an Affliction in a strange Land.  
And so after the Days, wherein our Saviour himself cohabited on the Earth with a sinful Generation of Men; and as he had suffered, so left he his Followers to a wide World of Persecutions, yet how did God deliver his Apostles? St. Peter out of Prison by the Conduct and Ministry of an Angel; and St. Paul frequently out of Perils of divers kinds.  
And though Ten great Persecutions raged against the Christians, to devour them by so great a Flood, cast out of the Serpent's Mouth, to carry away, if possible, by its violence, the Woman that brought forth the Manchild; yet all could not effect the Cursed Design: And the Efforts of those persecuting Emperors of Rome, Nero, Domitian, Decius, and the rest, were all in vain, as to the utter Extirpation of Christianity; though they caused whole Clouds of Martyrs to Seal their Faith with their own Blood, and endeavoured to abolish the very Name of Christ, by inflicting most Cruel Deaths and Tortures upon his Saints on Earth. Nay Dioclesian's Persecution, the last of the Ten, though of a long continuance, and so hot and severe, that it is said some Thousands were slain almost every Day in the Year: And who being a Prince of such infinite Ambition, that he commanded himself to be worshipped as God, and therefore had so great an Antipathy to Christianity, that his whole Reign might be called one perpetual Persecution; yet it pleased God to preserve his Church still: Though the Woman was forced to fly into the Wilderness, yet there had she a place prepared of God, and there was she said. She had a Being still, though under a Cloud, and in Obscurity.  
But then, after so many black and dismal Days, the Sun began to shine clear, those Clouds of Egyptian Darkness were by the good Providence of God dispelled, and Heaven, with a serene Aspect, did smile on the Church, that had held out so long, and kept her Faith, under the Sword, and fiery Trials of so many persecuting Tyrants. And Emperors themselves became Nursing-fathers' unto her. Constantius Chlorus was, as it is said, (though not a known Christian himself, yet) a Friend to those that were such. But next after him, his Son Constantine the Great, the first Emperor, that countenanced the Gospel, and embraced it publicly, was a most Loving Father to the Church, who Nursed her tenderly, when he became a most Zealous Professor of her Faith, and the Gospel of Christ, by an extraordinary Providence, as it is described in History, after this manner; At the same time that he was saluted Emperor in Britain, Maxentius was chosen at Rome by the Praetorian Soldiers, and Licinius named Successor by Maximianus the associate of his Father Chlorus (whereby he had two Competitors for the Empire). Being pensive and solicitous upon these Distractions, he cast his Eyes up towards Heaven, where he saw a lightsome Pillar in the form of a Cross, wherein he read these words, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, hereby Conquer thou: As much as if it had been said to him, Turn Chrishian, and thou shalt get the Victory, and be Emperor of Rome. And it is further said, That the next Night our Saviour appearing to him in a Vision, commanded him to bear that Figure in his Standard, and he should overcome all his Enemies; this he performed, and was accordingly Victorious: For what could hinder him then, when once become a Soldier of Christ, he had him for his Chief Captain or General, and all the Hosts of Heaven to side with him?  
Now if any Person hath not Faith enough to believe this Relation of this great Christian Emperor's Conversion, that it was thus strangely brought to pass. Yet, that by the great Providence of God he was Converted to the True Faith, that he was a Nursing-father to the Church of Christ, and a great Lover and Favourer of Christians, and so in this respect, an Enemy to those that were Enemies to the Cross of Christ, and the Christian Religion, no intelligent Person will doubt.  
Now, besides the many and wonderful Deliverances of the Church, in former Ages, we may meditate upon what great things God hath wrought for her in these Nations, since the Reformation: To recount them all is needless, for who is he that hath not heard of them? But to speak once for all; it is worth our notice and observation, that as in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Five Hundred and Eighty Eight, a mighty and vast Navy, with Confidence and Ostentation enough, by the Vainglorious Name of an Invincible Armada, was set out for the Destruction of us and our Church, which, by the good Providence of God, was defeated and scattered, and with Infamy came to nought: So, when time, that under God worketh all things, had spun out an Hundred Years more, making the next Eighty Eight Memorable and Glorious, there came forth another Fleet or Navy, for our Help and Deliverance from apparent Dangers, for the Security of our Religion, the Church, and Nation, and by the Blessing of God had Power to prevail, for our Good and Safety, under the Conduct of that Wise and Valiant Prince, who is now our Most Gracious King, and Mighty Deliverer: So that if our Enemies had but Egyptians Eyes in their Heads, and their Understanding in their Hearts, they might see and know, that this is the Finger of God, and that it is hard for them to kick against the pricks, and fight against God. Although he did once suffer him, in whose Strength they repose all their Confidence, to take his Pastime, like the Leviathan, in the Waters, and for some time to show his Power on the Deep. Yet may God one Day, when he cometh out boasting in his own Strength, put his Hook in his Nose, and his Bridle in his Lips, and so give him proud Sennacherib's Fate and Doom, with Shame and Confusion make him glad to return, as well as he can, the way that he came. This let us hope for, because God will defend his Church and People, to save them for his own sake, and for all his Faithful Servants sake, and under the Wings of his Almighty protection, we shall find shelter, and abide in safety, and the Stars in their Courses shall fight against our Enemies.  
But yet, by way of Application, this is upon condition, that we keep ourselves so free from the Defilements of Sin, that Iniquity may not be our Ruin. For, to illustrate this, when Balaam would have Cursed the Israelites, but had not power to do it, he told Balak, God did force him contrariwise to bless them, as it is in the 20th Verse of this Chapter of my Text, Behold I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. And then ensues the true Cause of this Blessedness in the next Verse, He hath not beheld Iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen Perverseness in Israel. The People were Holy and Righteous, and so long God's Especial Presence was with them, as the following words do declare, The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. But yet, when a little after they were subjected to Sin, and committed Lewdness and Folly, and bowed down to other Gods, than God withdrew his gracious Presence, and, instead thereof, sent a Plague among them, which lessened their number by Twenty and Four Thousand, that were quickly swept away, Numb. 25.  
Whereby we see, it is the Evil of Sin, that causeth the Evil of Punishment, one particular Act whereof is enough to provoke Divine Justice to strike, and satisfied it must be, either by Contrition, and true Sorrow of Heart here, or Pain hereafter. And then how aggravating is it for Men to proceed still in an Habit and Custom of the highest Provocations, without any Remorse or Consideration at all of the Evil of their Do? Notwithstanding God's calls to Repentance and Amendment; at one time, by Judgements inflicted upon a People, or Nation; and at another time impendent, and hover over their Heads, like a huge black Cloud, threatening a most violent Storm.  
From which near and approaching Danger nevertheless, when God hath made a way for an escape, and a great Deliverance, then for Men to be unthankful; after fears of Evil, to murmur at Mercy: To be pleased no way, neither in Danger, nor out of it, is a strange, and almost, if not altogether, an unpardonable Crime; for the Sin of Ingratitude, in its own Nature, must needs be very heinous and provoking in the Eyes of a most Wise, and a Good God; especially when Mercies are extraordinary in their kind, and like to Miracles; then to be angry, even as Jonah, because Nineveh was not destroyed: To be displeased at the great Instrument, under God, of our Deliverance; and in the Heart to desire Spoilers to Invade the Land, is Malicious and Spiteful. And in the Mind, to wish for, and bid welcome to the Forces of a known Foreign Tyrant, who know no other, than to Burn and Destroy, when and where they have Power, and thus in effect to hope for Slavery, is a Wickedness and Folly, scarce, or not at all, to be paralleied in any History.  
But now let the People of this Land show themselves unto the World, to be a Wise and Understanding Nation, let us all declare ourselves to be Men of Reason and Prudence, by being sensible of our late wonderful Deliverance, and knowing our present Happiness. Let us be just unto God, by due praises to him, for this great Blessing upon us. Let the Te Deum be always in our Mouths, and the Trisagion sounding out of our Lips, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; with continual Hallelujahs; praise ye the Lord, praise, O ye Servants of the Lord, praise ye the Name of the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his Mercy endureth for ever. Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath Redeemed from the Hand of the Enemy.  
And next, let us render unto Caesar our due Tribute of Thanks, and Faithful Obedience, for venturing his Life for us, and Fight our Battles. Nay this to the King and Queen both let us give, for their Zeal and Courage, and great Conduct of Affairs; for their good Will and tender Affection towards us all. Let us be sensible of our Happy Condition, under the Influences of their most Auspicious Government; and let us Congratulate one another therein; because they will, by the Blessing of God, support and defend us, and our Religion, our Laws and Liberties. And then let us manifest unto the World, that we do fully know, and understand, and are satisfied, that God hath undeservedly and greatly Blessed us with a most Religious, Wise, and Gracious King William and Queen Mary. For whom let us pray, That God will grant Them an Happy Meeting by the King's Safe Return from the Wars with Victory and all Good Success; and that He will Establish Them in the Thrones of Their Kingdoms, and Enable Them to lay a lasting Foundation to the Peace and Tranquillity of Our Church, and These Nations: That They may be Victorious over All Their Enemies, both by Sea and Land; and strengthen the Hands of Their Allies, against the Great Troubler of our Israel, and the Common Disturber of all Christendom; that Their Reign may be Prosperous, and Their Days many; Their People Loyal and Dutiful Subjects unto Them: And that They may Both so serve God here, that when He shall be pleased to Call Them from these Earthly Crowns, unto Himself, He may Crown Them with Eternal Glory and Felicity in the highest Heavens. In which Prayer let the whole Nation join together; and to it now, let all this Congregation say, Amen.   

The GLORY Departed.  
SERMON II. ON THE DEATH Of Our Late Most Gracious Queen Mary II. Of Blessed Memory.  
Preached in Mortlake-Church in Surrey, on the Third Day of March, 1694.   
ISAM. iv. 22. 
— The Glory is departed from Israel:—  
IN a most sad and lamentable manner is this Scripture of late fulfilled in your Ears. And Oh! that my Head were Waters, 
Jer. 9.1.  and mine Eyes a Fountain of Tears, that I might weep Day and Night for the unspeakable Loss of that Glory, which is departed from our Israel, by the surprising Decease of Our Most Gracious and Pious Queen Mary, of Ever Blessed Memory. The Solemnity of whose Funeral beging near, it may be proper now to speak of her Majesty; of whom we said, Under Her Shadow, with the Joint-protection of His Most Excellent and Sacred Majesty King William, we shall live among our greatest Enemies; And through the Mercy of God, who gave unto us those two Unparallelled Virtuous Princes, we shall, they Reigning over us, in defiance of the proudest Powers, enjoy our Religion, our Laws, and Liberties; have all Rights, Immunities, and Privileges restored to our Nation, settled and confirmed unto us, and our Posterity on a lasting Foundation. Yea, although we have lost the Best of Princesses, we still hope by God's Grace for those Blessings, through our Surviving Sovereign's Auspicious and Valiant Endeavours; through his Wisdom, and the great Counsels of our August Assembly, the thrice Honourable Senators of our Land.  
But alas! the unexpected Breach, that is made, is Dismal and Amazing; when God had given us a double portion of his Spirit of Love and Kindness in two such Religious and Hercick Princes, so Tender and Affectionate, so Careful and Solicitous for our Welfare and Happiness in all respects; of the good of Christendom; yea, what in them lay of the whole World, for the Establishment of Peace and Quietness therein, as soon as possible to be obtained. That by them, next under God, the Temple of Janus might, as well as 'twas in Caesar Augustus' Reign, be shut up, and Wars cease. That if not fully, yet in some measure at least, that glorious Prophecy of Micah might be fulfilled, They shall beat their Swords into Ploughshares, 
Mic. 4.3, 4.  and their Spears into Pruning-books: Nation shall not lift up a Sword against Nation, neither shall they learn War any more. But they shall sit every Man under his Vine, and under his Figtree, and none shall make them afraid.  
For it was the united and constant Study of both Our Dread Sovereigns, to do good in a most abundant manner to all: It was their delight; their Bowels yearned after it, that Men might enjoy Liberty and Property. They were unanimous and fixed in such Principles, as chief conduced to the Glory of God, and the true Interest of Mankind, both in Sacred and Civil Concerns. Their Royal Thoughts were always employed therein with a sweet and agreeable Harmony, knit together with the Golden Chain of Princely Love and Affection; wisely consenting in sound Judgement, and moving together into the Centre of Reason, for the real Good of others, rather (we may believe) than their own Greatness; prompted by Noble and Rational Sentiments to the Deliverance hitherto effected, and not out of private Ambitious Designs, as Men may well think, upon mature Consideration.  
All this, and more of the like good and high Nature, which we either know not, or cannot think of, being put together, is it not melancholy and astonishing, that we have lost Our Most Gracious and Religious Queen, the Great Patroness of our Church, and Mighty Defender of our Faith. And thereby the Glory is departed from us; the Glory is departed from Israel.  
Which words of the Text, before we proceed any further on our mournful Subject, claim some Consideration from us, as to the Original Reason and Occasion, for which they were spoken. Which we find to be the sad and woeful News that on a sudden was heard in Israel, causing great Weeping and Lamentation. For we find in this Chapter, there had been two successive Battles fought between the Israelites and the Philistines, in both which the Israelites were worsted. In the former they lost about Four Thousand Men. Upon this ill success, they resolved, by the Advice of their Elders, to fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto them, hoping for Preservation and Victory thereby, in these words, That when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our Enemies, Ver. 3. And fetched accordingly it was: Upon the Arrival whereof in their Camp, it was saluted with a great and general shout of all Israel, that the Earth rang again, to the great Terror and Astonishment at first of the Philistines, pronouncing thereupon Woes to themselves, for that they thought the God of Israel was come into the Camp of his People; and no doubt it might have been so with good effect, had not their Sins lain in the way. Whereupon the Philistines thinking their Case desperate, upon the Divine Presence of that God against them, who had before-time so fatally overthrown the Egyptians, took such Resolutions as Warriors have sometimes done, when driven thereto by Despair of any Relief; for they animated one another to frame themselves to their Condition, and Fight as desperate as their Case seemed to be, that they might not fall into the Power of, and be in Bondage to their Enemies; thus encouraging and exhorting themselves, Be strong, and quit yourselves like Men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not Servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you, quit yourselves like Men, and Fight, Ver. 9 The Israelites, on the other side, hoping for that which the others feared, that God was amongst them, and would push down their Enemies; but give them a Victorious and Joyful Day, joined in Battle with those Heathens, from whom they received a second, and more bloody Overthrow than the first, of their Infantry especially; for now there fell of Israel Thirty Thousand Footmen: And this not all neither, as the sad sequel of the Story makes out, for the Ark of God, their great Hope and Confidence was gone too, 'twas taken Captive; and the two Sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. The bitter News whereof coming to old Eli's Ears, was present Death also to him, fainting and falling backward at such mention being made of the Ark of God, by which fall he died.  
The unwelcome Relation of all which fearful Tragedy, and doleful Tidings, caused his Daughter-in-law, Phinehas Wife, great with Child, to Travail, and have her Pains come upon her, and even to breathe out her Soul also, without minding or regarding any Comforts, no, not that of a Son being Born by her, any farther than before she expired, to give him a Name of a proper signification to the Calamity of the then present time, which was Ichabod, expressing thereby the Loss of Glory, and chief for the Ark's sake, saying, The Glory is departed from Israel, (because the Ark of God was taken, and because of her Father-in-law, and her Husband). And she said, The Glory is departed from Israel, for the Ark of God is taken.  
Now this Ark was glorious, as it was God's own Ordinance, made by his express Order, who appointed both the Matter and Form of it, 
Exod. 25.  how it should be made, and with what; its Dimensions also, and Appendages; and that it should be overlaid within and without with pure Gold, and be adorned with a Crown of Gold upon it round about. It was not lawful for any to bear or carry it but the Levites: Wherefore God shown his Displeasure at King David's putting it upon a Cart, to bring it from Abinadab's House, when he smote Uzzah for touching it, being Sacred and Glorious, when so unadvisedly degraded; which Royal David's own words confirm, 1 Chron. 15.13. The Lord our God made a Breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order: Forasmuch as it was the Office of the Levites, or Priests, (they being of the same Tribe) to bear it, as Persons sanctified and consecrated to that Service. Glorious the Ark was farther yet by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the Propitiatory or Mercy-seat of pure Gold, placed above upon it, with the two Golden Cherubims on the two ends thereof, and that the Testimony, or Two Tables of the Law were put into it, of the Law or Ten Commandments, which God spoke with so great Terror on Mount Sinai; and therefore 'tis styled in Holy Writ, The 
(a) Numb. 10.33.  Ark of the Covenant, and the 
(b) Numb. 4.5.  Ark of the Testimony, with many other Glorious Titles and Appellations, as, the 
(c) 2 Chro. 35.  holy Ark, the 
(d) 1 Sam. 7.1.  Ark of the Lord, the 
(e) 1 Sam. 14.18.  Ark of God, the 
(f) Psal. 132.8. Heb. 9.4.  Ark of his Strength. It was kept in the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holiest, in the Tabernacle; and afterwards brought into the Oracle of the House, to the most Holy Place of Solomon's Temple. The Author to the Hebrews seems positive that it had in it the Pot; The Golden Pot (says he) of Manna, and Aaron 's Rod that budded, as well as the Twe Tables of the Covenant. And therefore because 'tis said, 1 Kings 8.9. to which is consonant, 2 Chron. 5.10. that there was nothing in the Ark, save the Two Tables of Stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a Covenant with the Children of Israel, when they came out of the Land of Egypt; because of this saying, some think the Apostle's meaning is rather, that the Golden Pot of Manna, and Aaons' Famons' Rod that brought forth buds, and bloomed Blossoms, and yielded Almonds, were only put into the Tabernacle, meaning that part of the Tabernacle, after the second Veil, called, The Holiest of all, according to that of Exod. 16.34. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it (i. e. the Pot of Manna) up before the Testimony; to the end it was that it might be kept for their Generations. And Numb. 17.10. The Lord said unto Moses, bring Aaron 's Rod again before the Testimony to be kept for a Token against the Rebels. So that both were to be preserved before the Testimony, or the Two Tables of the Law; but whether in the Ark with them, or out of it before the Ark, and so before the Testimony, which was included therein, is the question. If we think both were put into the Ark before the Testimony, we must judge they were taken out by some means before Solomon sent for the Ark: Or else that these words, There was nothing in the Ark save the Two Tables of Stone which Moses put there at Horeb, are to be interpreted, that only those Two Tables were placed then alone in the Ark, when the Priests brought it into his place into the Oracle of the House, (i. e. the Temple) to the most holy place under the Wings of the Cherubims, 1 King. 8.6. Or else, because it seems plain by the Apostle's words well observed in the Original, that both the Pot of Manna, and Aaron's Rod were in the Ark, as well as the Two Tables of the Covenant: It may be satisfactory for reconciling the whole, to suppose according to Theophylact, that though in Solomon's time there was nothing in the Ark, but the Two Tables; yet, in some time afterwards, the Pot of Manna and Aaron's Rod were put therein also.  
But to proceed, the Ark was Glory chief, because of the Glorious Presence and Majesty of God on the Mercy-seat between the Cherubims, that his Name was called on it, that at it they enquired or asked Counsel. For there was the Divine Oracle, from thence God himself did vouchsafe to speak, as he told Moses, There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee, from above the Mercy-seat, from between the two Cherubims, which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in Commandment unto the Children of Israel, Exod 25.22. And it was a sign of God's Especial Presence among his People; a signal instance whereof was that in Joshua's time, at the Israelites pasage through the River Jordan, when the Ark passing before the People into that River, as soon as the Feet of the Priests that bore it were dipped in the brim of the Water, at the time of its overflowing in Harvest, the Waters which came down from above, stood and risen up upon an heap, and those that came down failed, and were cut off; the Priests that supported the Ark standing firm on dry ground in the midst of the River, until all the People were passed clean over on dry ground also, Jos. 3. And Moses before at the Ark's setting forward, as certain of God's Presence, used this form of Speech: Rise up, Lord, and let thine Enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee, flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many Thousands of Israel, Numb. 10.35, 36.  
And so Glorious was the Ark, and so Wonderfully was God's Presence with it, though in Captivity by the Philistines, and brought into the House or Temple of their god Dagon, that their Dagon could not stand before it; his place could not contain and hold him fast from prostration, for down he fell upon his Face to the Earth, as it were, saluting it with the greatest reverence, as one would think, if Dagon had been endued with any the least Life or Sense. And when he was reestablished in his place, and fastened perhaps with much Art, down again he fell upon his Face to the ground before the Ark, with a worse Fate than before, for now total Destruction came upon the Insensible god; he was dashed to pieces, his Head and Hands cut off upon the Threshold, and no more than his Stump left to him.  
Next after this defeat of their Idol, the Philistines themselves very sorely smarted, and felt the Mighty Power and Presence of God with the Ark, for the Hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, destroying them, and smiting them with Emerods', their very Coasts not exempted from the sad Calamity. And when upon Consultation with their Lords how they should remove the Evil from them, they carried it about to Gath, than Woe to all of that City, small and great, an heavy Destruction upon them by the Hand of the Lord: And when sent to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, as sensible of the Fate of others, and what was falling upon them, Saying, They have brought about the Ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our People, as it came to pass, for there was a deadly Destruction throughout all the City, the Hand of God was very heavy there also, making the Cry of the City go up to Heaven, 1 Sam. 5. So that better it had been for the Philistimes never to have touched the Holy Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, for it was the worst Captive to them that ever they took, it made such work and woeful slaughter amongst them; and forced they were to send it away, and ask Counsel of their Priests and Diviners with what they should send it to its place; whose Advice was, not to send it empty, but in any wise to return the God of Israel a Trespass-Offering. And that they should moreover give Glory unto the God of Israel, giving them some Hopes thereby of a Release from the present Punishment, thus, Peradventure he will lighten his Hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your Land, 1 Sam. 6.  
So that from hence we may conclude also, that Eli's Daughter-in-law might with strength of Reason on her side say, The Glory is departed from Israel, because the Ark of God was taken; which when present with them was Salvation to them, if Sin did not bar out the Blessing; and 'twas Death and great Destruction to their grand Enemies, when amongst them, tho' in Captivity, plaguing and slaying them in a very large measure.  
Furthermore, so glorious was the Ark, and holy, that altho' the Bethshemites rejoiced at the sight thereof, upon its arrival out of the Philistine's Country into their own, and offered Burnt-Offerings, and sacrificed Sacrifices unto the Lord the same Day; yet because they presumed to pry and look into it, he smote of the People Fifty Thousand Threescore and Ten Men: to their great Lamentation, with Astonishment, saying, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? 1 Sam. 6. But on the other hand, we find it procured a Blessing to Obed-Edom, and all he had, when Three Months in his House, 2 Sam. 6. from whence David brought it into the City of David with gladness, and great solemnity, his own Royal Person Dancing before the Lord with all his might, with Sacrifices and Offerings; shouting, and the sound of the Trampet.  
Very glorious also was the Ark in a farther prospect than yet we have mentioned; or either, perhaps, Old Eli, and Phinehas' Wife, or any of the Israelites did perceive, or think of, when 'twas captivated, that is, in its mighty Symbols and Prefigurations, its Noble Type and Representation of Christ and his Church in the Evangelical Oeconomy; its glorious Figures thereof, as to itself, and all that belonged to it, or was preserved and contained in it, of which we have not time now to speak. So that Glory it was to Israel, in their then present honourable Thoughts and Conceptions of it, according to what they did know, and far greater Glory in what they did not understand or conceive.  
Sad then! that the Heathen their Enemies should both overcome them in Battle, and take it Captive; their great Hope be suddenly gone with Terror and Amazement! It was enough for a deep and general Mourning in all Israel; enough to make all Disconsolate, and some to bid Adieu to all Comforts here, to take leave of the World; and, like Old Eli, and his Daughter-in-law, yield up the Ghost.  
And now, to return from one sad Scene to another, from Israel's Loss to our own. Their Sins had provoked God to afflict them with a terrible stroke. And so have ours caused him in his Displeasure to take from us that great undeserved Blessing, which in his Mercy he gave unto us, in the Royal Person of his Anointed, that Wise and Incomparable Princess, for whom the Mourners do now go about the Streets; our Late Gracious Sovereign Lady the Queen, whose Princely and Sublime Virtues were so numerous, and of such a large size and substance, by the growth and perfection she gave them, through her Most Excellent and Sacred Majesty's daily Increase in all Goodness; that we may easier form a Galaxy, or Bright Circle of them in our Noblest and Loftiest Conceptions; or fix them in the Orbs of our Minds, as whole Constellations of Stars of the first Magnitude, than speak clearly and fully of all those shining Graces, which in her Living were visible to the Eye of the World, but now are hid from our Eyes. But let the Memory of her Majesty, and those her Rich Ornaments be kept Sacred to Posterity, that the Generations to come may bless the Age she lived in, and withal reprove the wilful Blindness, and blackest Ingratitude of those, who did not observe her Virtues, nor Honour and Esteem her Royal Person with that Duty and Veneration, as became Men, who by her Enjoyed the Blessings of Heaven above, and of the Earth beneath, Spiritual good things, and Temporal. She, who was the Glory of her Age and Sex, of our Church, and these Nations, to her own Greatness, and all her Royalties, giving Lustre to the Throne, by her most Eminent Virtues, in great Wisdom and Prudence Crowned all herself. So that I may make Application upon her great Fame, 
1 King. 10.  as the Queen of Sheba did to Solomon: Happy were her Men, happy were those her Servants, which did stand continually before her Majesty, hearing her Wisdom, her good and gracious Words, and observing her Piety and Religious Ways; a lively Pattern and Example to all about her, and who of both Sexes, and all Qualities, in Sorrow and Bitterness of Heart, have caused a Voice to be heard, like that of Rachel in Rama, Lamentation and Weeping, and great Mourning, Weeping for her Most Excellent Majesty, and would not be comforted, because she is not; she is not in the Land of the Living: And because the Glory is thereby departed from them. And from us all of her Majesty's Realms and Dominions, and many more parts of the World is, The Glory departed. So that we in great multitudes, Domestic and Foreign, may join with the Royal Palace, and take up a wailing for us all, that our Eyes may run down with Tears, and our Eyelids gush out with Waters.  
But while we mourn, let us not forget to make Honourable mention of her Majesty yet further; and tho' we cannot paint out to the Life those many Graces, which did constantly attend her, or rather were implanted in her; yet let us Celebrate her Obsequies, and Revere her Ashes, those Sacred Remains, by so just a Commemoration of her Excellent Endowments, as the Confusion of Grief and Woe in our Minds will permit.  
Now, Virtue in general seemed innate or connatural to her Majesty, by that firmness of Root it had gained in her Royal Breast; and therefore those many Species thereof, which Philosophers, for some Thousands of Years, have Disputed and Reasoned about, and Divines have much preached, and written of, were Eminently conspicuous and demonstrative in her. When she was but a Child, they appeared like Aurora before the Sun, as an happy Omen of what her Riper Years would produce. She was then a bright Morningstar, and like good King Josiah began, when she was young, to seek after God, Dedicated herself unto him, and never desisted to the Day of her Death. Not forsaking God when she felt the Thorns of her Crowns, and the multitude of Business thronged her, or the Baits and Allurements of Recreations might tempt her aside. And as she was steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the Work of the Lord; so she required her People and Servants to wait upon God, with a Vigilant Care herself over all, who ought to repair unto the Chappel-Royal to attend on him in his Worship; imitating Faithful Abraham, 
Gen. 18.19.  in commanding her Household after her to keep the way of the Lord; retrieving thereby the long lost Honour of the Court, by Converting the Reigning Sins thereof, through her Great Example and Pious Authority into Religious Services. Sitting therein a Queen to do the Will of the Lord, and not of Men. And in all respects her Virtues shaking the Foundation of those Vices, which had Triumphed too much, threatened their total, and in part, at least, wrought their Destruction. This made her truly Great, added much to her High and Illustrious Birth, and to her Person on the Throne.  
And in all respects her Qualifications enforced and drew a lively pattern from her, for all to profit by, according to their several States and Conditions.  
As a Queen and a Ruler, let Kings, and all Princes follow her with the highest Emulation, if with her they will take God's Directions, amongst King David's last words, into their Books of Politics, how to Govern; which Divine Lesson was her Majesty's grand and principal Point, in the whole Compass of her Government, how to steer by, and which way to move: The Needle pointing always in her Thoughts to these, and the like holy Instructions, He that ruleth over Men must be just, ruling in the fear of God, and he shall be as the light of the Morning, when the Sun riseth, even a Morning without Clouds, as the tender Grass springing out of the Earth by clear shining after Rain, 2 Sam. 23.3, 4.  
Which Sacred Aphorism herein seems to have been the Golden Rule and Line she measured her Royal Thoughts, Words, and Actions by, all her Reign; the holy Balance in which she first weighted every proceeding, through the whole Series of her great Affairs. And so she answered likewise this Divine Simile, as in Water Face answereth to Face, truly and exactly. Let it be said then of our most Devout and Religious Queen, that, like holy David, she was after God's own Heart. With Hezekiah and other Pions Kings, She did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. And like good King Josiah, she declined neither to the right Hand, nor to the left. Mercy and Justice resided in the Throne with her; the former rendered her very Compassionate; but yet her Prudence and Magnanimity were such, as shown her how she should not bear the Sword in vain, she being the Ordinance and Minister of God. And as she was in high Authority, so was she above all idle and vulgar Censures, or what was little and mean.  
Consider her Majesty as a Wife. Our Great Monarch, whom she hath left behind, and whom God in his Mercy long preserve to us, will witness; yea, his great Grief of Heart doth Attest, how she answered God's intent in the Creation of Woman, that she should be 
(a) Gen. 2.18.  an help meet for Man. And according to the Apostolical Canons, with a meek and quiet Spirit she gave reverence and yielded Subjection to her Royal Husband, who with mutual Returns of Endearment, according to like Holy Rules loved and honoured her as the weaker Vessel; and his Glory also, For, the Man is the Image and Glory of God: but the Woman is the Glory of the Man, 1 Cor. 11.7.  
She well deserved the praise of the Virtuous Woman in the last Chapter of the Proverbs; 
Ver. 11, 12.  For the Heart of her Husband did safely trust in her, and she did do him good, and not evil, all the Days of her Life. Her Candle did not go out by Night; 
Ver. 18.  for she was always mindful of her Duty and great Affairs. She looked well to her Household, and did not eat the Bread of Idleness; 
Ver. 27.  for by her own Labours she gave a New-birth to Work and Industry. Her Children, her good and dutiful Subjects I mean (for she was a most Dear, Tender, and Compassionate Mother to us all) did arise up and call her blessed; her Husband also, and he praised her: 
Ver. 28.  Both whose mutual Affections and Returns of Love and Kindness united their Two Royal Persons into One.  
Think upon her Majesty only as a Woman; but of an uncommon Excellency of Spirit, and largeness of Heart; of such a Capacious Soul, and Radiancy of Mind, which is very seldom found; and all tending more to Ambition of Goodness, than Desire of Greatness: for Majesty itself could not tempt her to Pride in any thing. All which looked as happy presages of bringing much Benefit to Mankind. But according to our purpose to descend from the Throne, let us view her, as if in a far lower Station amongst her Sex, and say no more, but she was a Woman: We shall find her Exemplary Virtues justly Claim an high precedency amongst the whole Feminine Race. For, show us such another; when we call to witness her Majesty's profound Piety and Devotion, her admired Meekness and Humility, her Sweet Temper, her Courteous Behaviour and Affability, yet preserving Majesty as a Queen, and her Moderation, which was known unto all Men; with that Serenity and Evenness of Mind also, that not Passion, but Reason moved and swayed her; that not easily lifted up, nor soon cast down; Heroick and Free, yet Serious and Grave; Cheerful, but without Levity. She opened her Mouth with Wisdom, and in her Tongue was the Law of Kindness: 
Pro. 31.26.  so Obliging and Discreet, that she gained much upon the Affections even of her Enemies, and at least often silenced the Tongues of unreasonable Men, if she could not correct and alter their Judgements.  
But to Crown all her Majesty's Excellencies; she was a holy and good Christian, Zealous always in that one thing needful. Her unspotted and unblameable Life and Conversation shined before Men, whilst she adorned the Gospel of Christ with her Divine Graces; amongst which we must again enrol her Piety, her unaffected Piety and Devotion, and all the  Virtues, that belong to the Christian Chain, with an unwearied Constancy in all her Duties. At the Head of all placing her servant Charity, that notable Badge of Christianity; by which she forgave many Affronts, and returned none: but with an high sort of Divine Clemency, did do good for evil, that her Light might shine; not for vain Ostentation, far from it was she, but for God's Glory, and an imitable Example to all others, and that by an entire Resignation of her Will to Christ's Law, which himself exemplified, in pardoning and praying for his bitterest Enemies, 
Mat. 5.48.  she might be perfect, as her Father, which is in Heaven is perfect. Add we here her Boundless Charity in giving and distributing to those in Want: Alas! how many indigent and decayed Persons, whom her Royal Bounty and Pity Relieved, may bemoan themselves? For her Charity was so unlimited, that few, if any but herself, knew its utmost extent, or could give it a place wide enough in the vast Sphere of Imagination, that the compass of any Persons Thought could comprehend it So Largely and Secretly, but Prudently withal, did she stretch out her Hands to the Poor; yea, she reached forth her Hands to the Needy. In general, showing the Celestial Extraction of her Blessed Soul; when her Love and Charity was Universal, like that of her Heavenly Father, which our Blessed Saviour hath set forth for our Imitation, 
Mat. 5.45.  Who maketh his Sun to rise on the evil, and on the good; and sendeth Rain on the just, and on the unjust. After such Charity, 'tis impossible for us to doubt of her Faith and Hope; but we may rest assured, that both were very great.  
And in short, that she might finish her Course with Joy, she left not the great Work of Repentance to the last Call; but with the Wise Virgins, had her Lamp ready trimmed with Oil in it, when the Bridegroom came, requiring her to come away. So did she watch, that when her Lord came, expecting immediate Attendance, she was not found Sleeping, nor Trifling or wasting away her precious time, but in the Exercise of all those Christian Graces, which, with her humble Submission and Resignation to God's Will, through Christ translated her from the Corruptible Crowns here below, to an Eternal and Glorious Diadem above: when being Faithful to her Death, God gave her a Crown of Life. O to her most Happy and Glorious Second Coronation, in the highest Heavens, while we Mortals here below lament our Loss, which is her Gain!  
Thus have I Coasted upon the Seashore of those Graces and Virtues, which did shine on Earth in God's Anointed, and the Nursing-Mother of our Church. And to launch out farther into the unfathomable Ocean of them, would require more time, with a stronger and larger Vessel than my poor Talon can equip, and send out into so vast a Deep. An Ocean of them I mention, because her Brook became a River, and her River became a Sea, a main Sea, 
Ecclus. 24.31.  encompassing that whole Globe of Goodness, which was inherent in Her Majesty, while she acted in that great Sphere of Glory and Honour here, to save our Church, and these Nations, and the sinking Parts of Europe out of the Hands of their Potent and Common Enemy; which was purely Her Majesty's Design, and is the Intent of the Mighty NASSAU, our Most Gracious King. And so to prevent a Rushing Destruction at Hand, and be the Deliverers of many Nations and People from Ruin, by the Power put into their Hands through God's Merciful Providence, when the Nobles and Patriots of this Nation made their Requests to Their Majesties; and the People's Cries, and humble Prayers and Solicitations by their Representatives, wrought upon them to fill the Empty Throne therefore: This did not, I hope, infrinnge, or trespass against the Fifth Commandment; when the People of the Land took them, and made them KING and QUEEN; their Crowns were even forced upon their Heads for the Salvation of our Church, and an Universal Deliverance from the approaching Thraldom of a Foreign, but yet too Near, and too Potent an Enemy.  
I Challenge the World then to find out any Blemish or Spot in that Bright and most Clear Luminary, which now, the Curtain being drawn by the interposition of the great Veil and Canopy of the Heavens between her and us, suffers an Eclipse in respect of ourselves, but not of her, who enjoys a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory. And yet Her Just Title here was Glorious too, MARY the Second, by the Grace of God QUEEN of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc. But she added thereto the Choicest Ornaments, and most precious Rubies in her Crowns, the Transcendent Virtues of her most Comely and Graceful Person, with great Majesty outwardly, and all Mercy within. So that as our Loss is more than we can express, so are her due Praises beyond all the Flowers of Rhetoric, and Art of Elocution. To Enumerate whose Virtues, as the Honourable House of Commons said, were to aggravate our Sorrow. 
Address to the King, Dec. 31.1694.   
Wherefore a mighty Glory is departed from us, from the Christian World; from all true Protestants chief, whose great Hope, and Joy, and Comfort she was. And France itself, tho' different in Religion from us, is not free from that Cloud of Darkness (whether sensible of it or no) that covers us by the Decease of Her Most Excellent Majesty. That such an Unparallelled Good Princess had so Just a Title to that Crown from Her Royal Ancestors. For not to insist upon all that we might, we will only mention, that our Valiant King Edward the Third, but for the unjust Salic Law, was Heir to France after the Death of Philip the Fair; 
* Philip Duke De Valois the other. See Sir R. Baker's Chron. Life of Edw. 3.  being then, according to some Histories, the nearer in Blood of the Two Competitors, but drawing his Pedigree by a Female. Our Victorious King Henry the Fifth was Proclaimed in France, as well as in England, to be the only Regent of that Realm, and Heir Apparent to that Crown. Whose Son, the Devout King Henry the Sixth, was not only Proclaimed, but with all usual Ceremonies Crowned in Paris King of France.  
And now consider we; what profound Veneration and Love had this our Great Princess gained in the Minds and Affections of those beyond the Sea? What Universal Affliction is in those Countries she lived in? What huge Expressions of Sorrow for her Death do they give? Blessed be they of the Lord for the great Honour and Kindness they bore to her, when she was in a strange Country! But O the unexcusable Ingratitude of those who did not the like to Her Majesty in the Land of her Nativity! When in other Parts of the World, she so drew the Eyes and Hearts of all People after her, that she was Beloved to Admiration, and was their great Desire. But now she is taken from us, as well as from them: Of whom the World was not worthy, she being too Good and Virtuous for this Wicked and Adulterous Generation: And so like another Astraea, she is fled to Heaven for a Restingplace. And what Vows would we make? What Prayers would we offer up to Enjoy her again? What Returns of Praises and Thanksgivings would we present to God, in imitation of David and all Israel, when they brought home the Ark? But alas! she is gone, and shall not return to us: Which sad Affliction is enough to damp and weigh down the greatest Spirits, and to strike us all Dumb, that we open not our Mouths, only by the way of Mourning and Humiliation, because it is God's doing; who in the Flower of her Days, as well as of our Hopes, sent forth his Decree to call her hence. To reverse which (if it had been the Blessed Will of the Lord) what Prayers, what Sighs and Tears were poured forth, and Means used, that the Distemper might not prevail over her, nor the King of Terrors Conquer by, to us, such a bitter Destiny, cutting so early the Thread of so Precious a Life, so universally desired long to remain? But Oh! the Hand of the Lord hath been very heavy upon us for our Sins, and to the utmost period of her Race here she hath suddenly and unexpectedly run. So that with Job we may now say, Our Harp is turned to Mourning, 
Job 30.31.  and our Organ into the Voice of them that weep, and with him sit down in the Ashes. And we may mourn with the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddon, as all Judah and Jerusalem did for Josiah. 
Zech. 12.11. 2 Chron. 35.25.  And as the Prophet Jeremiah lamented for him, so have we cause to do the like for our Deceased Gracious QUEEN. Our Singing-men and Singing-women may, as theirs did a long time for that good King, speak of her in their Lamentations. We have too sad Cause to Transcribe a Copy from them, to make it an Ordinance in our Israel, and from their Original to write us a Book of Lamentations, and therein, The Joy of our Heart is ceased, our Dance is turned into Mourning. 
Lam. 5.15, 16.  The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have sinned.  
Thus let us humble and afflict our Souls before God, who is justly displeased for our manifold Iniquities, and Contempt of his Mercies; and in the midst of our Sorrows pray we him to remember Mercy: And when we have poured out our Souls, with the bitterest Grief and Sorrow of Heart for our inexpressible Loss, in such a deep sense as so sad an Occasion requires, let us say, 
Ver. 19  Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever, thy Throne from Generation to Generation. 
Ver. 21.  Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and so shall we be turned, renew our Days as of old; renew them, O Lord, and continue them unto us in our Gracious KING WILLIAM. And God be praised that we Enjoy him, together with our Religion, our Laws, our Liberties, and Properties. What a Mercy is it that we have His Majesty still? In whose Preservation, not only the Welfare of his own Subjects, but of all Christendom, is so nearly concerned. 
See the Addresses of both Houses to His Majesty, Dec. 31. 1694.  As the Right Honourable the House of Peers, and agreeably thereto the Honourable Commons, have in their great Wisdom pronounced.  
Let us then turn from the Evil of our Ways, and lift up our Hands and Hearts to Heaven, that God may be Gracious to us, in granting Him a long and happy Reign over us: And pray we that God will Support and Comfort His Majesty and Us, under the Burden of His and Our Great Loss, 
(a) In His Majesty's Gracious Answer to the Address of the House of Peers, Dec. 31. 1694.  which He was pleased to declare is above what he can express: And that he was able to think of nothing but it. 
(b) Answer to the House of Commons Address.  So sharply did his Grief thereupon assail and pierce his Royal Heart. Tho' always known to be of such Heroic and Invincible Courage, that nothing could dismay him; this sad Affliction alone Conquered him, has been of such weight, as to over-burden and sink his Spirits; the like to which no Difficulties, no Dangers could ever before effect; not Ten Thousand Messengers of Death flying about him. Behold how he loved Her!  
Pray we then to God to be His Majesty's Comforter in this great Trial, and to make us all most Dutiful and Obedient Subjects unto him, paying him double Homage and Fealty; that we may not once waver in our Fidelity, but multiply in our Hearts Zealous Prayers, and all good Desires for his Long Life and Prosperity; and then we may expect to Enjoy a large share of Her Late Majesty in Him: He will not only Defend us as He hath done, but also will be unto us in her stead, by His more abundant Favours to us; if an addition can be made to His former; because Virtue and Goodness were conjunctive in Their Majesties; what One did, was generally the Act of Both. And as they by Marriage were one Flesh, so they seemed, by an Happy Unity and Concord in every thing, to have one and the same Mind, as if they had had but one Soul. Therefore I say, we may trust He will take all the Care of us upon himself, and be unto us both as KING and QUEEN, to do us all the Good that lies in His Royal Power.  
Wherefore, to conclude, as we mourn for Her Majesty, and desire to Consecrate her Memory to be for Ever Blessed, thus paying our last Tribute unto Her in Tears: So let us with the highest Deference Honour and Obey His Majesty, the Great Patron and Assertor of the Liberties of Europe, of Ours chiefly: And let us always Pray, GOD Save KING WILLIAM. Amen.   

The Living Lord, a Rock of Salvation.  
SERMON III. Preached in Mortlake Church in SURREY, April the 16th 1696.  
Being the Day of a General Thanksgiving for the Preservation of the KING, from the Intended Assassination of His Royal Person, etc.   
2 SAM. xxii. 47. 
The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock: and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation.  
THat the Merciful and Gracious Eye of God's Wonderful Providence hath, in a most Signal manner, watched over this Nation for good, especially since the Blessed Reformation, is beyond all possibility of Contradiction. That he hath been sundry times, and in divers manners, a Rock of Salvation unto it, by many powerful Deliverances thereof from Evil, is as certain, as if it were a thing proved by Mathematical Demonstration: To recount, and enlarge upon all which, time would fail me. But for a full Testimony unto my Assertion, let us look back into the Annals and Histories of Times past, but of One Century of Years, and part of another; and by those lasting Monuments of the Dead, let us ask our Fathers, and they will show us, our Elders, and they will tell us, what great and marvellous Things God did in the Days of Old, for them, and us their Posterity. They were Eye-witnesses in times past, and Partakers of the Goodness of the Lord unto the Sons of Men in this sinful Land: And are not we in this respect, the like to the full in our Generation, as they were in theirs? Or rather, hath not God superadded to us, and made his present measure of Grace and Favour to overflow amongst us, by his great Salvation given unto us? Of which, every one who will not close his Eyes, hath ocular and sensible demonstration laid before him in view, in such large and legible Characters, that he that runs may read it.  
And this we may all read in the Book of our own Remembrance, that when our Consciences were in apparent danger to be Enslaved with Erroneous Doctrines, Superstition, and a False Way of Worshipping God; or else our Lives must be Sacrificed to the merciless Fury of our Implacable Enemies; that when our Laws, our Liberties, and Properties, were to be swallowed up by such a Power, as would know no Limits: Then God, that heareth Prayer, the Prayer of the Humble and Afflicted, heard our Petitions; and when we could not imagine which way the Salvation should come, or by whom under him it should be effected; then he appeared to be a God, who judgeth the Earth, and bowed the Heavens, and came down, sending to our Aid, with the Arm of Power, and Crowning with Glorious Success His Present Most Excellent and Sacred Majesty, our Most Gracious Sovereign, and Rightful Lord, KING WILLIAM: For whom all Praise, Adoration, and Thanksgivings, which the Finite and Weak Understandings, and Faculties of Mortal Men can give unto an Infinite Being, an Immortal and Omnipotent God, are a Tribute due unto Him.  
But though God be always Merciful, there are Sons of Belial, who will be most Wicked, will Murmur and Repine, and even Despise and Cross the Divine Goodness, and will not have Him to Reign over us, whom God hath appointed to be our King, and hath made, next to Himself, our Mighty Deliverer.  
Against whom nevertheless, that there should be Men Living under the Benign Influences of His Merciful and Happy Government, who Conspire with Gall and Bitterness of Spirit, not only to Dethrone Him, but Insidiously and Basely, in a most Barbarous and Inhuman manner to take away His Sacred Life, by the Assassination and Murder of His Royal Person, notwithstanding all his Clemency; and thereby to make way for a Foreign and Arbitrary Power to rush in upon these Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Destruction of our Religion, Laws, and Liberties. It would seem incredible to Men of Reason and Ingenuity; be to them more than a Paradox; but that it is no longer in the dark, being now clearly discovered, and (the Good God be Blessed and Praised therefore) the Mischief most providentially prevented. Wherefore, Sing we every one, with holy David in the front of this Divine Canticle, 
Ver. 2, 3.  or Psalm, The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer: The God of my Rock, in Him will I trust: He is my Shield, and the Horn of my Salvation, my high Tower, and my Refuge, my Saviour; Thou savest thine Anointed and Us from Violence. And again join we with the Royal Psalmist in a joyful Hope and Confidence in God, in Acclamations of Benedictions and Praises unto Him; evermore rejoicing and saying, The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation.  
Which words are part of holy David's Song of Deliverance; (this Chapter and the 18th Psalm being of one and the same substance, but run with a little variation of reading in some parts) wherein that great Saint, then but Militant, did Celebrate the Solemnities of an holy Triumph and Praise, to the God of his Salvation; who had preserved his Person from the great Dangers that had threatened him from the violent Hands of Saul, and other his Inveterate Enemies, who had by various Snares and Stratagems sought his Life; for thus we find the Preface, or Inscription to this Thanksgiving Hymn of the sweet Psalmist of Israel. And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this Song, in the Day that the Lord had delivered him out of the Hand of all his Enemies, and out of the Hand of Saul.  
And with such a lofty strain of Melody and delightful Harmony has he run through this his Noble Anthem, as must needs Charm his chief Musician, both in setting and playing the Tune proper to it. And also with a Ravishing Delight raise and exhilarate the Spirits of the whole Choir; those concerned therein, either with Vocal or Instrumental Music; those that sang, or those that played on the Organ, Harp, or Cymbal, etc. cheering and refreshing even the Hearts and Souls of all then present.  
And most grateful are his Acknowledgements of God's Gracious Benefits unto him, flowing from many of his Holy and Essential Attributes; from his Free and Immense Goodness and Mercy, his Incomprehensible Wisdom, Infinite Justice and Power, and that great Providence, which attended him through so many various Scenes of Troubles, in the most difficult Stages of his Life.  
Very expressive also is he of the Sense he had of the Dangers he escaped: Such like as those out of which God (Blessed be his Holy Name for it) lately delivered our Most Gracious King, even the Waves and Snares of Death, the Floods of ungodly Men, their deep and subtle Plots and Conspiracies, their violent Stratagems and Devices, as unavoidable as Floods and Inundations of Water are, till God puts a stop to them by his Omnipotent Command, Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further. When after such a wondrous and special manner he is pleased to be present; as holy David hath set him forth with the highest flights of Divine Rhetoric, using many exalted Metaphors to express the same; as, of the Earth trembling and shaking, as also the Foundations of Heaven itself being put into the like terrible Commotions, with such Thunders and Lightnings, Storms and Tempests of his Wrath, as aforetime had really destroyed the Enemies of his People.  
And then, after many Blessed Eulogies, and Seraphical Raptures of Holy and Eloquent Dictates from that Spirit, which taught him how to pray unto, as well as to praise his Mighty Deliverer; he closes the whole Encomium, with glorying in the God of his Salvation, and yet further Returns of Blessing and Thanksgiving to him; part whereof the Text doth especially denote unto us. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock: and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation.  
For the Interpretation and Explanation of which, and for our present Edification (on this Day of a General Thanksgiving throughout this Nation for His Majesty's Blessed Deliverance, and our Happiness thereby) I shall observe these Two following Particulars.  
First, Holy David's Joyful and Triumphant Acknowledgement of God and his Providence, in the former words, The Lord liveth.  
Secondly, His grateful Return to God of Benediction and Praise, or Exaltation, for his Wondrous and Powerful Deliverances of him from the Mischiefs form against him, Emphatically expressed in the following parts of the Text,— and blessed be my Rock; and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation.  
First, The Lord liveth, is a Recognition of God and His Providence, even with an Ecstasy of Joy. The Royal Saint being Transported thereby into Triumphant Acclamations, in consideration of God's Potent Deliverances, and Manifold Benefits, through abundance of various and critical Circumstances of his Race under the Sun, frequently rescuing him out of the very Jaws of Destruction, as they were ready to tear him in pieces; as from Saul's Javelin at one time; his and other wicked men's Instigations, their Combining Plots, and Snates, and Conspiracies to snatch away his Life, at other times. For all which he might with great Reason pronounce, The Lord liveth. As for Deliverances from great and apparent Dangers, especially from the intended Mischief of Bitter Enemies, it is very proper for Men to express their grateful Sentiments in these, or words of like consonance and import: There is a God; a God that Ruleth all; a God that helpeth in time of need; yea, and when we are Poor, and Naked, Blind, and Lame, that without him we should be remediless, being ourselves neither able to see the approaching Destruction, nor to ward off the Blow, if we have time to see it. But the Comfort of all is, The Lord liveth, who seethe what we cannot so much as think of, and saves us, when we are ignorant of our Danger, and of our Help and Salvation, ready at the same time, the one to devour, and the other to rescue and protect us Wherefore again, and again, we will with great Joy say, The Lord liveth: Or, Let the Lord live, if any will have it Translated so, in way of Triumph also. As the Hebrews were wont to express their Joy and good Wishes for their Kings, Let the King live; which we turning into an Anglicism, or form of Speech agreeable to our own Idiom and Language, do express by saying, God save the King, and so we have Translated it in several parts of Scripture; as that, God save King Solomon, at his Inauguration, when he was Anointed King.  
Which, both in the Hebraism, and our Mode or Way of speaking, implies Zeal, and a joyful Acclamation of Triumph and Delight, for the King, and also a Prayer for his Life: in which last sense it is improper to Translate this part of the Text, Let the Lord live, but not so in the former; for with an holy Zeal, and Joy, and Triumph, Delight and Pleasure, for his Gracious Goodness, it may, without any Solecism, be said, Let the Lord live, as well as, Let God arise, Psal. 68.1. that is, Let the Lord appear and manifest himself to the World, that He is the only Living God, the Almighty and Merciful Johovah, in saving his own People, by putting his Hook into the Noses, and his Bridle into the Lips of their Enemies, and thus checking their malignant Rage and Fury.  
But to return, as we have most fitly rendered it, The Lord liveth, we may farther take this weighty Clause to have been directed by holy David's Eye against a set of Ungodly and Atheistical Men; against such, as was the Patron of all Fools, the Fool that said in his Heart, 
Psal. 14.1.  there is no God; a Fool's saying indeed, for who but a Fool would ever have said so? And therefore they thought it impossible their Devices should prove Abortive; for if there had been no God, by his Omniscience and Providence to disclose their Secret Cabals, and the Arrows of Death prepared by them to let fly against the Lord's Anointed, the stroke would have been unavoidable, and fatal; for it is not in Man to discover the Secrets of the Hearts of other Men: It is a peculiar Prerogative of the Great Searcher of Hearts to do it, who knows the Thoughts thereof long before their Conception. What a miserable Condition than had holy David been involved in, amidst all his Enemies Plotting and Devising his Ruin, if there had been no God? He must then have fallen into their Pit.  
Well then might he Joy in the God of his Salvation, and Congratulate his own Safety, with these words, expressing his Assurance of Omnipotency on his side against his Enemies, to their Confusion, The Lord liveth; baffling all hereby, who in his Days denied the Omnipotent Being, or lived and acted as if there were none.  
And the words have the same force against the Atheists and Wicked Men of our Times, who deny the Existence of a Deity, or else, surely, never have him in their Thoughts; but Plot on, and imagine Vain Things, in their ungodly Counsels, until they fall into the Pit, which they make for the Lord's Anointed, and for the Destruction of his People.  
But further, this Clause seems also to be levelled against a second sort of Fools, who, it's true, might have such a Grain of true Faith, as to make a Confession of the Godhead, but received false Articles into their Creed, in respect of his Providence and Government; as that having his Throne so high in the Heavens, he would not humble himself to behold the things done on the Earth, and so never took any Care of Sublunary Affairs, neither of setting up, or pulling down, of right, nor wrong, of oppression, or injustice, or any sore evil under the San: So that wicked Men might live in Robbery, Spoil, and Oppression, committing Outrage and Violence, and brave it along, saying, Who is Lord over us? And spurning at Omniscience, say, Tush! How should God perceive it? Is there Knowledge in the Most High?  
And how shall we think better Principles have governed or influenced those amongst us, who so lately meditated upon Regicide, Rebellion, Invasion, and a Total Subversion of these Three Kingdoms; besides all the Evil Consequences, that would necessarily, like a mighty Deluge, have flowed in upon many other Nations and People: For their Barbarous Practices seem to be the Interpreters of their Minds; so that if any will deny the Hypothesis, that they were such; the sequel drawn from their Bitter Designs infers a Conclusion, proving as much against them in deed and reality; let them plead for their Thoughts, and their Faith or Belief, as they please; at most their Arguments can be of no force on their side, any otherwise than those of Rank Practical Atheists are against them we call speculative: And certainly they are the worst of Men, who profess to believe well, and practise most ill; and such justly incur the Divine Abhorrence, are frequently forsaken of God, being Vessels of his Wrath, and left alone to themselves, working out their own Destruction. That burden of the Lord in the 23d Chapter of the Prophet Jeremiah, v. 33. being their Portion, I will even forsake you saith the Lord; with that direful Catastrophe, as an Appendix to the Curse subjoined in the end of the Chapter, And I will bring an Everlasting Reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten. This was to be the Fate of some Prophets, and Priests, with the People, who were untoward, and dissatisfied with God's Ways in those Days. And let them, who find themselves alike grieved in our Age, make Application hereof to themselves; whilst we, who are sensible of God's great and undeserved Blessings to us, in our Most Gracious King, and this Deliverance, and are thankful for them, will sing Hallelujahs unto His Infinite Holiness; and with Glory, and Triumph, express the gladness of our Souls, in saying every one of us with the Royal Psalmist, The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation. Which introduces the  
Second Proposition, comprehending King David's grateful Return to God of Benediction, and Praise, or Exaltation, for his Marvellous and Powerful Deliverances of him from the Mischiess form against him, Emphatically expressed in these words,— and blessed be my Rock: and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation.  
Agreeable to the Dutiful and Pious Custom of God's Church in all Ages, of blessing and praising Him, for His particular Providence, in great Deliverances, (besides the Acts of His Universal Goodness) is this Hymn of holy David. And of the whole Composure, these words last recited have a sound, which seems the most Harmonious, because they rebound with so pleasant an Echo, as is enough to refresh a Devout and Pious Soul, meditating upon the Mercies of God.  
So that an Excellent Pattern of a great Solemnity in this kind we have here; and many more there are in the holy Records of the Jewish Church: 
Exod 15.  Such is the Song of Moses and the Children of Israel, after the Overthrow of Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea, and their own safe passage through the same, from their hard Servitude and Bondage in Egypt. Such is the Song of Deborah and Barak, 
Judas 5.  for their great Victory over Sisera, Captain or General of the Host of Jabin King of Canaan; and Israel's Deliverance from his Master's Oppression. Such is the Celebration of King Jehoshaphats and his People's Praise, 
2 Chro. 20.  and Joy, and Triumph, for a mighty Victory over, and Salvation from, a numerous Heathenish Host; besides many others, which deserve our Observation. When Godly Princes and Rulers have excited themselves and their People to be thankful, as our Most Gracious King has commanded us now to be; as His Royal Ancestors, and many other Kings and Potentates have, upon the like Occasions, sent out their Mandates and Decrees, requiring their People to give Glory and Praise unto the God of their Salvation. And a good Principle it is of the Church of England, readily to obey, from time to time, the Defenders of Her Faith, in commanding that, which she owns an Indispensible Duty and Tribute to the King of Kings; from which may not any of her Members swerve at this time! But may every one with joint consent hearty say Amen this Day to these words,— blessed be my Rock: and exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation, and that upon the account of our present Grounds for Thanksgiving!  
Which Metaphor of a Rock is of frequent use in Holy Writ, and hath divers significations: So that this thankful Expression,— blessed be my Rock, carries the sense and authority of, Blessed be my sure and  Foundation: Blessed be my Help and mighty Defence: Blessed be my Refuge and Salvation: And so Blessed be my God Himself, who is all these to His Faithful Servants. As (to illustrate this by other Examples) he is also an Horn, and Tower, or Fortress of Salvation unto them: For a Horn denotes Glory and Strength, great Power and Might, all which are Infinite in Him: And a Tower is the Emblem of Succour and Safeguard, and, as such, well applied unto God, Prov. 18.10. The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower, the Righteous runneth into it, and is safe.  
Wherefore holy David aptly resembles God to a Rock: For what in Nature is stronger than a Rock? And therefore what could be a more proper Hieroglyphic than it, to express God in His Attribute of Omnipotency, by which He is able to deliver His Servants, when void of all Hope; and who is not only above Nature, but infinitely transcends all other Supernatural Being's, whether they be Thrones, Principalities, Powers, or any other Order and Degree, of the whole Celestial Hierarchy itself.  
And whereas it follows in the Text,— exalted be the God of the Rock of my Salvation: The meaning is obvious and easy, with this Comment or Gloss unto it, naturally drawn from the aforesaid Interpretation of the Trope, by which the Lord is likened to a Rock; for by it this Clause doth ascribe Exaltation and Praise to the God strong and able to save. As if the Royal Prophet had magnified him thus; exalted or praised be the God of the Strength, or of the Power of my Salvation, by whose irresistible Might I was preserved from the Violence of my Cruel Enemies. Not that Man can add any thing to God in all this, whereby to make Him greater, in any respect, than He is in Himself; but it is by way of an humble and thankful Declaration of His Glory, His Greatness, His Immense Power, and Goodness. It is a telling out of His Praise, and Wondrous Acts; a showing forth the Mercy and Lovingkindness of the Lord, with Gratitude and Joy: When Men are not hardened against Mercy, but are sensible that they have seen and tasted the abundant Goodness of the Lord, after His Countenance hath, of His Free Grace, shined with unspeakable Favour upon them.  
And now, 
Deut. 32.1.  Give ear, O ye Heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O Earth, the words of my Mouth. For I will publish mighty things, that the Lord hath done for us: And I will ascribe the Glory and Greatness of all unto our God.  
For, many and great are the wondrous Works, which the Lord our God hath done, like as be also his Thoughts, which are to us-ward; O how great is the Sum of them! Who can reckon them up in order to Him? If I should declare them, and speak of them; they should be more than I am able to express. Wherefore I shall not pretend to enumerate and publish the whole Series and Catalogue of His Mercies, from time to time conferred upon us; for, if I could bring them all within the reach of my Discourse, which is next to impossibility; yet my present Task does not oblige me to run through so large a Province, but more especially binds me to the Business of this Day; of the Great and Auspicious Deliverance, for which we Celebrate the Solemnity of a Public Thanksgiving, for God's late unspeakable Mercies to the King, and these Realms. And therefore we will in silence admire His Marvellous Preservations that are past, and employ our Thoughts on his present Salvation. We will only think how Famous the Two last Eighty Eights are: The former by a Successful Deliverance of this Nation from the threatened Destruction, when her Enemies sent against it their Invincible Armada, as they then in the height of Pride and Ostentation named it, and which perished with Shame and Confusion: And the last Eighty Eight is Glorious for our Memorable and Blessed Preservation from Apparent Dangers at Home, from Evil and Destruction growing up in the midst of us; the Flames of which were quenched, and the Rage and Fury stopped, by the most Happy Coming of our Good and Gracious KING WILLIAM to our Relief, making thereby another Fifth Day of November as great an Ensign of God's special Providence to us, as that Fifth of November still is by the Discovery of that Horrid, that most Traitorous and Bloody-intended Massacre by Gunpowder. These things let us think on with the Praises of God in our Mouths, and with all Humility, Devotion, and Gratitude in our Hearts.  
And for His unspeakable Goodness, for which we Solemnize this Day, set apart by Royal Authority for the Holy Exercise of Praise and Adoration unto the Supreme Governor of the Universe, from whom cometh Salvation at all times; let us believe in the Lord, with Joy and Thanksgiving; and Triumphantly say, That the Lord liveth; that He seethe and ordereth all things; that his Presence fills all places, and his Providence is busy and active every where; that He hath done great things for us, whereof we rejoice. And this affirm we in defiance of all, who deny Him, or his Providence, whether in Thought, or in Act, or be it by both. And for all this may we fear Him; may we love Him above all things in Heaven and in Earth: May all our Hearts, all our Souls, our Minds, and our Strength, have a full share in this Affection towards God; and so by the Operation of every Faculty and Power in us proper thereto, may we take our fill in loving Him; that as He hath loved us, so the love of Him may dwell plenteously in us!  
To excite us the more to our Duty of Love, and Praise, Adoration, and Thanksgiving, it is requisite that we consider what and how great the Blessing is; wherein consists the Salvation wrought so lately in our Land.  
And of the Blessing of God now upon us, and His Salvation vouchsafed unto us, none can be ignorant; forasmuch as all know, that God Almighty has manifested his Providence, his Power, and Mercy towards His Most Excellent Majesty, and His People, by laying open the Depths of Satan, and the secret Intentions of wicked Men; that He has Discovered, and Delivered the King from an Horrid and Barbarous Conspiracy of Papists, and other Traitorous Persons, to Assassinate and Murder His Royal Person; and the Kingdom from an Intended Invasion by the greatest Enemies to its and all Europe's Repose, the French. By which great Deliverance, the King's Royal Person is saved from Destruction, His Government Secured, and this Realm Freed from that Total Subversion of its Religion, Laws, and Liberties; which, if God had not thus mercifully interposed, would have been the Fate of it.  
Lo! this is the Blessing, and it is very great; this is the Salvation we now give thanks for, and it is wonderful. Here is repeated Mercy and Goodness, to an unwise and foolish People, who have ill requited God with Ingratitude for His former Lovingkindnesses.  
But as we now meditate on His Mercy; so may we, with Rivers of Tears in our Eyes, think of the other Method, God so lately used to reduce us unto a right Sense of ourselves; by the Deplorable Loss of that most Virtuous and Pious Princess, the Queen of Blessed Memory; who fell by a heavy stroke, alas! To us it was; God punishing us for our many Provocations, our Incorrigible and Undutiful Behaviour to Him, that He might melt us thereby into Sorrow and Repentance; that He might force us to humble ourselves with Weeping and Fasting, and to  our Souls with Mourning Attire, when the thick Cloud of his Anger overspread these Nations, by Her Death.  
And now again He invites us to Him in love; for, lo! the Bright Beams of His Mercy shining every where. He hath called us this Day out of the Houses of Mourning, into those of Joy. He hath put a new Song into our Mouths, even a Thanksgiving unto our God, for the Safety of our Most Serene and Illustrious Monarch, KING WILLIAM, the Father of our Country; the Great Joy, and Hope, and Support of many Nations; the most Heroic and Noble Patron and Assertor of ours, and all Europe's Liberties; by whose Crown falling from His Head, and so the Glory departing again from us, God might have laid us with Bleeding Hearts in Dust and Ashes; have heaped upon us all the Mischiefs, that the Rage and Madness of our Incensed Enemies could bring; who would have numbered their Merits by the quantities of our Blood, they should have caused to run in our Streets; when the more of us they had killed, the more Service to God they would have boasted that they had done; like that Duke D'Alva, who assumed much Glory and Honour to himself, for the Slaughter he made of many Thousand Protestants, or Heretics, by such Men of Blood, falsely so called.  
But, O that Men would praise the Lord for his Goodness, and declare the Wonders he doth for us the Children of Men, when by a Miracle of Mercy we are saved from that Woe and Destruction, which otherwise would at this time have been raging by Fire and Sword in these Islands; with Apparent Danger of Ruin and Desolation upon all the Confederate Countries, by that Ambitious Prince, who has hunted after the Precious Life of our KING, that he might Subdue the Nations to the Rod of his Power, and tread them under his Feet. But behold the Justice of the Lord, as well as his Mercy, in the King's Salvation: For what had Men to do to take God's Prerogative out of His Hands, and to number the King's Moment's of Life, by the time they should set a Fatal period thereto. So long as God hath bound up his Soul in the Bundle of Life (and may it be, I pray God, for many Years, even to a good Old Age) those who have to do with the Stool of Wickedness, may sit thereon long enough, Plotting and Contriving his Death; thus imagining or framing Mischief, by their own Wicked Counsels, as a Law or Decree, written like, but more Cruel than those of Draco said to be in Blood, and yet shall not be able to prevail, with all the Powers of Hell on their side: For no Sorcery, no Divination, no Enchantment, no Conspiracy, or Weapon formed against this Mighty Defender of our Faith, and of the Liberties of Europe can prosper, so long as the Lord is on our side; so long as He is the Rock of our Salvation; and He will not leave us, nor forsake us, if we do not leave Him first. O therefore draw we near unto Him in Faith and full Assurance of His continual Favour, and keep we from every wicked thing; from Atheism of the Mind, from Atheism of the Will, and the Act: From Profaneness in our Hearts, in our Words, and in our Deeds! Let us Religiously observe this Day with an holy Joy, that it may be acceptable unto the Lord. Let no vain Oaths cause the Land to mourn; nor any other Sin of our Souls or Bodies pollute this Day. And let us observe every Lord's Day with greater distinction from other Days, than we have hitherto done. And so may we now turn unto the Lord, and prosper. May we wash off all Stains and Blemishes of past Ingratitude, and be thankful for evermore hereafter.  
And then will we say unto the Grand Enemy of Europe, The Virgin, 
Isa. 37.22.  the Daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn, the Daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her Head at thee. Then the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church of England; for her Faith is Built on a Rock, and He, who is truly the Defender thereof, shall stand by Her, with Power from God, to preserve Her, as He hath promised to do, to His utmost.  
To our Consolation then be it spoken, That Great Deliverance giveth God unto His King; that he is a Tower of Salvation unto him, and sheweth Mercy unto His Anointed. Wherefore will we rejoice and sing triumphantly, The Lord liveth, and blessed be our Rock, and exalted be the god of the Rock of our Salvation. We will magnify His Name, by declaring what He hath done for us. We will trust upon Him that He will grant the King a Long Life, and not deny Him the Request of his Lips, but that he will give Him His Heart's Desire, the firm Settlement of our Church and State, and the Peace and Tranquillity of Europe. To this end we will pray, That God will keep Him from every Evil Man, and preserve Him from all those Wicked and Violent Men, who lay Snares for Him: That He will set His Feet upon a Rock, and establish His Go. And then, unto thee, O God, will we give Thanks, unto thee will we give thanks; as we do this Day, for smiting the Hearts of some of the Conspirators, forcing them thereby to disclose the wicked Devices of Ungodly Men, to bring the most Secret Deeds of Darkness to Light, and prevent the Execrable Attempt.  
And Blessed be thy holy Name, O Lord, for giving the August and most Honourable Senate of this Land a true Sense of the Danger, we have escaped; Wisdom to consult for the King's Safety, the Welfare and Happiness of these Islands, and the Utility and Repose of Europe, with Brave and Heroic Courage, and Resolution to knit together as one Man, for the Defence of the KING, and Support of His Government. And Blessed be God, the generality of these Kingdoms, such vast numbers of Men of all Orders and Degrees, States and Conditions, do follow their Example, in showing their Resentments and Abhorrence of the Hellish and Villainous Design, and in Associating for the Defence of the King, and His People; which let us all do with our Hearts, as well as our Hands; and so have the Honour of Associating with the King Himself, and His Parliament, with Foreign Princes and Potentates, as well as with the numerous Armies of our Fellow-Subjects.  
And the more to stir us up to our Duty, observe we farther the Abhorrence and Detestation, with which Foreign Princes, States, and People, express themselves in this matter: How they rejoice at the Happy Discovery; for which (we hear) some sing the Te Deum; some appoint public Thanksgivings in their Churches throughout their Dominions; and others give ample Proof unto the World, that their Souls rejoice at the King's Deliverance. And Blessed of God be all that are thankful, and do rejoice for His unspeakable Mercies, whether they be the King's Subjects at Home, or His Friends, and Allies Abroad.  
Now, as it highly Concerns all to be thankful; so likewise to turn from the evil of their Ways, that the Lord may continue his watchful Providence over them; and either melt the Hearts of the Stubborn and Rebellious into Softness, into Quiet and Peaceable Tempers; or else, if they continue Obdurate, and Mischievous in their Principles, that He will Infatuate their Counsels, and Defeat their Malignant Purposes, that they may not quench the light of our Israel.  
To raise our Thoughts then unto a just Exercise of our Duty; let us consider how Black and Extensive the Cloud lately hanging over our Heads was; how general and fierce the Storm would have been, if it had fallen upon us by the King's Death, and a sudden Invasion from France. We know not what would have become of us by this time, how we should have rolled in Blood  this; whether any distinction of Age or Sex, Order or Degree, would have delivered any from weltering in Blood. It is likely, High and Low, Young and Old, the Mother and her Sucking-Infant, should have equally suffered in the Common Calamity. Some, perhaps, who can make Shipwreck of their Faith, would have flattered themselves with Vain Hopes of their Airy Imaginations, that the Mountains of Idle Thoughts, heaped up confusedly in their Heads, should have brought forth Wonderful Matters, a Mighty and Blessed Offspring; whereas the Birth would have made them so Ridiculous, as to Merit Shame and Hissing, and as Miserable, as they were fond of their Babel, by which they would mount on high, and get a Name: And a Name they have gotten, but 'tis of Shame and Reproach; 'tis a Name that stinks; 'tis one that shall rot, and their Memorial shall perish with them, or else a Curse and Infamy will attend both, if they are not forgotten.  
But why so Bloody and Base, as to Assassinate His Most Sacred Majesty? Is Regicide become no Sin? Is the Murder of a Great Prince Meritorious at last? And that by waylay Him, to Circumvent and Trappan Him out of His Life: O horrid Crime! But know ye wretched Souls, and Bloodthirsty Spirits, and know it to your Terror and Confusion, that our KING is ready often enough to present Himself in Battle-array to His Enemies, if they would accept of a Challenge. But they know His Valour and Conduct too well, to venture upon that, which is wont to Cost them so Dear, by over-warm Receptions for such their Cowardice and Fear, which have Betrayed them to Unnatural and Savage Methods; for which may Shame and Reproach cleave unto them, as the Leprosy of Naaman did upon Gehazi for his Lie, 
2 Kings 5.  and Prevarication. For wicked Men they are: Instruments of Cruelty, Weapons of Violence are in their Habitations. O my Soul, come not thou into their Secret, 
Gen. 49.5, 6, 7.  unto their Assembly mine Honour be thou not united. Cursed be their Anger, for it was fierce, and their Wrath, for it was cruel. May God divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel, that Confusion may cover them; and may their Practices be abhorred of all Men.  
But now further, what a Change of Religion should we have had, with a fiery Trial to bear Witness unto it? And as for Laws, what help could we have expected from them, when the Sword should have supplied their room, and superseded their Authority? And as for Liberty, they would have taken all that from us, and assumed it to themselves, that they might have done with us as they had pleased. And as for Property, that should have vanished with our other Felicities, or else have been transferred wholly to them, for nothing must we have called ours, when all should have been in their Possession.  
And how strangely would the Face of Affairs Abroad have been changed for the worse, to all Europe? How would the Edge of the now Victorious Sword of all the Confederate Princes have been turned, and blunted? How would the Two Great Enemies of Christendom, the  and Mahometan, have Triumphed, and with all Fury imaginable set upon the Nations thereof? When they would not have been ware of the Blow, until it had put them into much Consternation and Disorder. And it would have been Sad and Lamentable indeed, if the Stroke should have forced them (as too soon it might) to submit unto the Inglorious and Servile Terms, which Two such Ambitious and Cruel Enemies should have imposed upon them; if any thing would have contented them, besides absolnte Conquest, Will, and Pleasure. O, therefore, great is the Deliverance, beyond the Comprehensions of our Understandings. And praised be the Lord, who hath not given us over for a prey unto their Teeth, for our Soul is escaped as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler: the Snare is broken, and we are delivered.  
For which may all, that are, or would have been sensible of the Black Device, if it had taken its Dismal Effect, Bless and Exalt God's holy Name. May all the good People of this Nation Obey their Sovereign Lord the KING's Commands in such manner as may be acceptable to God. And as His Majesty doth, so may they acknowledge the singular Mercy and Goodness of God. 
See His Majesty's Most Gracious Speech to Both Houses of Parliament, Feb. 24. 1695.  May all His Subjects Piously and Joyfully keep this Day, and ponder the Occasion of it in their Hearts, with a Perpetual Thanksgiving to the utmost extent of their Lives, for so great a Salvation. May it make such deep and lasting Impressions in their Souls. Yea, let them tell it to their children's Children, that the Generations to come may Bless God for it. And may no Rank, or Quality, Sex, Order, or Degree, think themselves exempted from their Duty on this Day, which the KING, with the Advice of his Nobles, hath thought fit to apply to so Solemn and Sacred a Use: But praise the Lord, ye House of our Israel; praise the Lord, ye House of Aaron; praise the Lord ye House of Levi; ye Clergy of this Land: Ye that fear the Lord, praise the Lord, and confess he is Gracious, and his Mercy endureth for ever. Kings of the Earth, and all People, Princes, and all Judges of the World. Young Men and Maidens, Old Men and Children, praise the Name of the Lord: for his Name only is Excellent, and his Praise above Heaven and Earth. He shall exalt the Horn of his People, all his Saints shall praise him.  
And now pray we unto God to open men's Eyes, that they may see, and know those things that belong unto their Peace; that they may not be Credulous of Dreams and Fancies, nor give heed unto Fables: As if that Monarch, who has Troubled Christendom a long time, has Cruelly Persecuted and Tormented Protestants, and has laid waste Defenced Cities into Ruinous heaps; as if he would show all Clemency and Kindness to us; as if he would make every one Happy and Great, with large Donatives of Riches and Honour, Fields and Vineyards, and all the Delights of the Sons of Men; which to think is very incongruous to Reason, and dissonant to the Sentiments of common Prudence; unless he, and all his Admirers and Favourites loved the People of this Nation better than they do; and except we would abandon our Religion; which may we never so much as think of doing, nor fear his Menaces, or any high and lofty Looks.  
But keep we steadfast to our God, and our Faith; to our Duty and Allegiance unto our Sovereign Lord the KING's Majesty; to our Laws, our Liberties, and our Country, and to one another, in Love and Unity. And may god shower down His Blessings upon us, and make His great Salvation, for which we now offer unto Him the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, a Pledge of more His abundant Favours to His Anointed, and His Subjects. And let us always therefore have somewhat of a Divine and Holy Song or Eulogy in our Mouths: Plenteously may we be furnished in the Song of Moses and the Children of Israel; of Deborah and Barak; and in that great Magazine of Praises and Benedictions, the Book of Psalms, together with many other places of the Sacred Canon of Scripture. Let us often think of God's Mercies to us, and make Melody in our Hearts unto Him, with such Excellent and Proper Lessons, as may be taken out of those Breathe of the Holy Ghost. Let Lute and Harp awake, and let us awake right early, with the high Praises of God in our Mouth. Let this be the Badge of our Honour and Gratitude, Praise ye the Lord. Let us bind it as Signs upon our Hands, and Frontlet's between our Eyes; together with the Te Deum, the Benedictus, the Magnificat; and like Joyous and Devout Trophies of God's Salvation. Evermore with the Choir of Saints and Angels above, Chanting forth the Trishagion, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabaoth, Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy Glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High.  
Finally, As we praise God this Day for His Admired Mercy, so let us Beg His Continuance of it to us, and pray hearty that the now ensuing Campaign may be Victorious, both against F●ance, and the Ottoman Empire; and that an Honourable and Lasting Peace to England, and Her Allies and Friends, may succeed thereupon; and that God will be pleased to Bless with Length of Days, and Riches and Honour in His Throne here, and to Crown afterwards, with a far more exceeding, and Eternal Weight of Glory in the highest Heavens, His Anointed Servant, our Dread Sovereign Lord, and Lawful and Rightful KING WILLIAM. Amen.  
FINIS.