A SERMON Preached before the KING, AT St. James'.  
OCTOBER 13. 1695.  
By EDWARD PELLING, D. D. Rector of Petworth in Sussex, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY.  
Published by His Majesty's Special Command.  
LONDON: Printed for W. Rogers, at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet. MDCXCV.   

A SERMON Preached before the KING, At St. James'.  PSALM CIX. 27. That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it. 
THIS Psalm, it's thought, was composed by David, when he was wrapped up in difficult, perplexing Circumstances, by the Faithlessness and Cruelty of Saul and his Adherents. The greatest part of the Psalm is made up of Complaints, and such Expressions of Resentment as are commonly thought to be direct and formal Imprecations. And admitting they were such, a Question might arise, Whether they were not innocent in those days, when the Jews lived under a Law which some have thought permitted them to hate their Enemies, and consequently allowed them to call upon God to appear against their Enemies; especially such Enemies as David now was so grievously entangled by; men of that State, and of those Fortunes, that they were out of the reach of ordinary Justice. What could be done in such a case, but to flee immediately to God, when there was no help from Man? But the candid Construction of many Divines is, That David here did not Curse, but Prophecy: Nor is it unusual in the Scripture, especially in the Book of Psalms, for Predictions to run in the Form and Style of a Prayer: And if this be so, then David did not so much express his Desires what should befall his Enemies, as his Belief and Foresight what he thought would befall them.  
The next part of this Psalm consisteth of humble Prayer and Supplication; the Sum whereof is, That God would save and deliver him out of his Troubles in such a manner, as that all reasonable men might be convinced it was God's own special Work; and that his Preservation depended not upon blind Chance, or upon David's Conduct, Force, or Courage, how great soever his Fortitude was; but upon the Particular Goodness, and Signal Power of God himself; That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou Lord hast done it.  
In discoursing upon this Subject, the Nature of it will lead me to these Three Things:  

I. First, To show that there are some Acts of Providence so Signal and Remarkable, that in the judgement of all discerning men who believe a Providence, they ought after a peculiar manner to be ascribed unto God as his own Handiworks, though done by the Co-operation of Subordinate Causes.  
II. Secondly; To consider what Acts of Providence may be reasonably looked upon as such; or by what Signs and Marks we may discern the special Hand of God in them.  
III. And then in the Third place, To draw down this Consideration so as to render it Practical.   
I. That there are some Acts of Providence so Signal and Remarkable, that in the judgement of all discerning men who believe a Providence, they ought after a peculiar manner to be ascribed unto God, as the Works of his own Hands, though done by the Co-operation of Subordinate Causes. I do not now speak of Miracles. For many Effects may be wrought, and in former Ages have been wrought, which either as to the nature of them, or as to the manner of their production, surpass all the Power of Created Being's: And that such Effects are to be ascribed to God's own immediate Hand, no question can be made by those who believe that such Extraordinary Works have been done. But the ordinary way of God in his Government of the World, especially in governing Human Actions and the Issues of them, is to use the Concurrence of Inferior Agents: And when not only men's Faculties of Acting are preserved, but moreover their Natural Powers are so influenced and raised, their Designs are so ordered, their Actions are so directed, and Events are so brought about, that Wise and Great Things are done after a Stupendious and Amazing Manner; then are they to be accounted the Works of God's own Hand, whatever Instruments he made use of: In those cases the Glory of all must be given unto God; and we must say as the Devout Psalmist did, This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.  
Indeed we live in an Age when some are ready to scoff at Providence. But if God were not wont signally to interpose, and remarkably to interest himself in Human Affairs, what reason could David have had for his Prayer, that God would adjust the whole Cause between him and Saul, so that his Deliverance from him might be acknowledged by his very Enemies to come from God's own hand; and that God did it, whatever it was that David had done himself, or his Forces for him?  
Or what reason could he have had for that Request, Psal. 86. 17. Show me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast helped me, and comforted me?  
Or, lastly, What reason could there be for those Expressions, Psal. 58, 10, 11. The righteous shall rejoice when he seethe the vengeance, so that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous; doubtless there is a God that judgeth in the earth?  
Of these and the like Passages in Scripture, no tolerable Construction can be given, if it be not granted, That in some special cases, however subordinate Agents do move, the Hand of God in guiding and directing their motions, is so plain and evident, that men of ordinary understandings may easily observe and take notice of it, if they will not shut their eyes; and that God's Providence in making Examples of some, and in protecting and delivering others, is sometimes so particularly remarkable and wonderful, that every one who will use his own Reason, cannot but discover the Hand of God, if he be persuaded of the Being of a Deity, and that there are Operations of Providence in the World.  
But the truth is, 'tis a very hard matter to convince some people of this; because they do not in these days see with open eyes such sensible, such miraculous Tokens of God's Hand, as he shown in the days of old, in his Oeconomy and Dispensations towards the Jews. The Strokes of Moses his Rod in Egypt, the casting up of the Waters into solid Banks, so that the People passed through the Sea dryshod; these and many more Miracles did very deeply affect the outward Senses of men: And by reason there are not now such sensible Operations, such visible Miracles, some who are very fond of their Natural Senses, renounce the belief of a Supernatural Power; others, that cannot be so hardy as to deny God's Existence, are ready to question his Providence and Superintendency, especially over Human Actions; and many of us are apt to set too mean and low a Rate upon the Mercies of God; nor are the generality of men so thankful for them as they ought to be; and all this because they do not so sensibly perceive the Hand of God, as the Jews did.  
Now these men do not rightly consider, that there is a great difference between the Jewish State and ours, and consequently that it is fit for the Divine Providence to be different as to its Quality and Manner of Acting. The Jews were a dull, stupid, carnal People; and God being to form them into a Commonwealth of his own, and intending to found his peculiar Government and Dominion over them; to make them beforehand throughly sensible of his special Care of them and Goodness towards them, did most wisely in doing such Miracles before their eyes, as rendered the Belief of his Providence unquestionable; and by those extraordinary Works, which were so evident and obvious to their outward senses, they were irresistibly led on to believe all God's Gracious Declarations; to hope and trust in him, and to depend upon his Providence continually. But now the case between God and us doth not stand after this manner, because there has been already a sufficiency of Miracles to bear witness to his Providence; so that there is no need of more for our Conviction; and therefore it would be unreasonable for us to expect Miracles, properly and strictly so called; that is, Works done, as they were of old, either without the Use, or beyond the Power of Natural Causes. There is not the same reason for God now to show his hand by such Acts of Omnipotence. There is not the same reason now for God to exercise his Almighty Power by Signs and Wonders of that high nature, to demonstrate his Providence, because Demonstrations enough have been given of that already. Besides, the old, Carnal Polity of the Jews is now changed into a Government of a Spiritual Nature, administered immediately, but after an invisible manner, by Jesus Christ: Whose Exaltation unto the Right Hand of his Father, and whose Power of judging the quick and dead is of itself alone an abundant Proof of a Providence; because it would be impossible for him to judge the world righteously in the next life, or to secure and protect his Church in this, without a Providence; that is, unless he did observe the Actions of men, and interest himself in the Affairs of the World. In short, Miracles are not necessary in these days to attest the Divine Providence; and therefore we must not expect to see the Hand of God in such Supernatural Operations.  
However, God hath not shut himself out of the World: Though Miracles are ceased, yet his watchful Care of us doth never fail. Nor will it follow, that there are no special Acts of Providence, because we see not those Tokens and Signs from Heaven, which the Children of Israel saw. It is one thing to Govern the World, and another thing to make the World sensible of it by Ocular Evidence. The Christian Church is under a Spiritual Polity; and God doth use his Power now as efficaciously as ever, though after a more secret and insensible manner. And hence it follows, that the Hand of God may be, and is in many Events, though they be not in a strict sense Miraculous. Tho they be brought about by the ministry of Second Causes, yet are they Effects of God's Special Providence, because his own Hand doth direct and govern their Causality after a Special, Stupendious, and Amazing Manner.  
II. Now that we may be always the more Thankful to God for such Signal Instances of his Providence, it concerns us in the Second Place to consider, What Acts of Providence may be reasonably counted his own Handiworks, though done by the Co-operation of Inferior Agents; or by what Signs and Marks we may discern the Special Hand of God in them.  
And here we must be very careful how we interpret Events at every turn, lest we ascribe unto God some things which he hath no special hand in; and which the Passions, Prejudices, and Fancies of unwary people are wont to entitle that Wise and Holy Being unto, without sufficient or just grounds. Some things he only Permits; as the Sins and Wickednesses men do; wherein God hath no more an hand, than in upholding the Faculties of Human Nature, as he upholds the Powers of all other Being's in the world. Some things he Appoints and Orders; as the Evils men Suffer, and chief the Good they Enjoy. And that we may rightly judge what Good that Transcendent Being hath a Signal Hand in, this general Rule, I conceive, is very necessary; namely, That we attentively observe in every Event, what Evidences there are of Wisdom, Power, and Goodness. For these are God's own Perfections; and the more of them we see in any Event, the more of God we see in it; that is, when a Wise and Good Event is powerfully and effectually brought to pass, we may then know, That it is God's hand, and that God hath done it.  
Now if we apply this general Rule to particular Cases, methinks all reasonable and discerning men may plainly see the Marks of God's Hand, or the Evidences of his Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, in these Four Cases; not to mention any more. 1. When a Great and Important Good is done; especially if it be done surprisingly. 2. When a Great Good is done at a very Critical Juncture. 3. When it is done by a Train and Series of Unexpected Accidents. 4. When Evil Designs are so powerfully overruled, as to be made the Instruments and Means of Good.  
1. First, We may reasonably look upon it as God's Hand, when a Great and Important Good is done; especially when it is done after a surprising manner. By a great and important Good, I mean that which is highly valuable in itself; as the Preservation of the True Religion, and of men's Lives and Fortunes; and that too which is of great Importance to a whole Community, a Church or State. Such a Good is a most worthy Object of God's special Providence; most becoming God to do: For if it becomes him to provide for the Private Good of Particular Persons, much rather doth it become him to provide for the Public Good of a whole People professing his Religion. This is the most important Good; and God's way is to adapt his Providence in proportion to the Worth and Value of the Object which his Care is conversant about; so that as things differ in their Rate or Estimation, so is God's Care lower or higher in its degrees, less or more signal. This appears from our Saviour's Words to his Disciples about their relying upon God for their Food and Raiment: Is not life more than meat, and the body than raiment? And, Are not ye much better than the fowls of the air? And again, Are not ye of more value than many sparrows? Where the stress of our Lord's own Argument lieth in this, That the Measures of the Divine Providence are suitable to the Nature and Value of Things. To the ordinary Parts of the Creation it is extended in an ordinary measure; 'tis particular over men, and more particular over those men who work the Works of God, because they are better, more valuable, more useful than others. And hence it follows, that if the special Providence of God be concerned for this and that Man in particular, it must be concerned in a very high and eminent degree for a whole Religious Community, because the reasons are still the greater and stronger; a whole Nation being of far more value than a few Individuals. So that when a Great Good is done to a Kingdom; when the True Faith is preserved in a Nation; and when the Fortunes and Lives of a People are Providentially secured (all which are things of the highest value) it is reasonable to conclude, That there was the Hand of God; especially if that Great Good was wrought by unforeseen and unexpected means.  
This was the Case of all the Jews in the Reign of Ahasuerus, when that Haughty and Bloody Minister of State, Haman, upon advising with his Friends, was resolved to get Mordecai hanged the very next day, as he had before sent out Orders under the King's Seal, for the utter Destruction of all the Jews throughout One hundred twenty seven Provinces, upon the Thirteenth Day of the Month Adar. Here was a Total Extirpation of God's People intended, and with them the Extirpation of God's Faith and Worship that had been established among them. And yet on a sudden the King's Mind was changed, and the Execution of the whole matter was strangely prevented, by the wise Intercession of Queen Esther at a Banquet. The Intercession was hers; but the Hand of God was over her, and over the King's heart, and over the whole affair: And to show his hand, what an unexpected, wonderful course did God take to preserve his People? Abasuerus could not sleep the night before poor Mordecai was destined by Haman to be sacrificed, though Ahasuerus knew nothing then of Haman's Intentions. God held the King's eyes waking: That occasioned him to call for the Public Records: In them he discovered that Mordecai had done him very eminent Service; and finding that he had not been rewarded, the King ordered him, instead of being hanged, to be exalted with Honour; and so Haman, the great Contriver of Mischief, fell. This was an Accident which flesh and blood could not have dreamed of; and that which soon introduced a change of the whole Scene: For Queen Esther was heard; her Request for her People was granted; the Letters for their Destruction were reversed; Mordecai was advanced; Haman himself was hanged; the Jews every where were allowed to slay their Enemies; and so their Deliverance was wrought; and all this by unexpected means; by the Diversions of a Banquet, and by the loss of a few hours Sleep. A Great and Important Good indeed, and that which was a plain Manifestation of the great Wisdom, Goodness, and Power of God, working with his Secret Hand after that wonderful manner.  
2. Secondly, We may reasonably look upon it as a Mark of God's Hand, when a Great Good is done at a very Critical Jnncture. Calamities are not always foreseen; and when they are discovered it is not always in Human Power to avoid them; and than it is a very Critical Season, when Dangers are not only apparent, but imminent and extreme; when Destruction is just coming on; when Preparations are at the height, and the Blow is ready to be given Such a disconsolate, amazing condition Jews and Christians have been often in; so that to human appearance no door of hope hath been open, no way left for Innocence to escape. Now when in such a case a surprising Deliverance happens, and such extraordinary Events fall out, as work that Deliverance beyond men's expectations, they carry with them Tokens of an Over ruling Hand, and are arguments of Divine Wisdom and Goodness, armed with  Power; especially when the Evils that were ready to come to pass, were not apprehended or thought of; as commonly it hath happened. For so credulous are people of simple minds, and so  are those whose business doth not lie in Intriguing, (and the world is for the most part made up of such) that it is usual for people to be lulled asleep, and to rest confident of their Peace and Safety, little dreaming of Snares and Death by their Bed sides. They who are dextrous at mischief never care that the Dangers they are contriving should appear with a grim and open face, to awaken men out of their security till it be out of their power to keep the Enemy off, and to escape from him. In such Extremities it is the work of God to lay to his hand; and when an happy Turn of Affairs doth ensue, it is to all thinking men who own a Providence a plain sign of an Allseeing and Almighty Superintendent, who watcheth over people day and night, and without whose Wisdom, Goodness, and Power, a Rescue would be impossible for them, when evil designs are once ripe and the Pit perfectly prepared to receive them. This is a glorious Evidence of God's own hand; because none but that Omniscient Being can discern the whole Series of Contrivances from the beginning to the end, and none but that Benign and Powerful Being can dash them into nothing, and save his poor Creatures; as he did the Jews, when the Sentence of their Destruction was now sealed; and as he did Mordecai, when the Gallows was just going to be fixed; and as he did Isaac, when the Fire and the Wood was ready, the Knife drawn, and Abraham's hand stretched out; and (to come home) as he once saved King and Parliament here, when the Match was just ready for the Powder. It is the peculiar Perfection and Glory of God, that he is privy to all the intentions of the heart; that he spieth out all the first formations of mischief; that he observes all the motions of cruel and bloodthirsty men; that his Eye goes along with the whole tract of their designs; that he is able, when he pleaseth, to prevent the Calamitous Consequents of them; and that he knoweth the time when it is fittest for him to interpose, and to gain himself Honour, as he did upon Pharaoh when he and his Host were in the midst of the Sea. And when a Deliverance comes at such a Critical Juncture, in which Death and Ruin follow men close at heels, so that of necessity there must be either Salvation to day, or Destruction to morrow, it is some what beyond the hardness even of an Egyptian, not to be sensible that there the Hand of God fighteth.  
3. It is a sign of God's Hand, when a Great Good is done by a Train and Series of unfortunate Accidents. For this we need no other Instance but that of Joseph. What a long Series of Providences did he go through, which no creatures could any more foresee, than they could foresee the End, which God had an eye upon throughout all. God had promised Abraham's Posterity the Land of Canaan, and thought fit to transplant them first into the Land of Egypt, there to grow and increase into a Numerous Nation, so that they might come to the Possession of the Promised Land all at once, in a great Body, and after a plain, remarkable manner. To make way for their Reception in Egypt, Joseph was to be sent thither beforehand to get all the Power of the Kingdom under Pharaoh. In order to this, first he dreamt two Dreams, importing that his Father and his Brethren should bow down themselves to him. To remove him from home he was sent away into the Field to see his Brethren. They consulted there how they might use that opportunity to rid themselves of the Dreamer; and would have killed him, had not Reuben prevented it. He advised to cast him into a Pit, and there to leave him to the mercy of some wild Beast; but the Ishmaelites coming accidentally that way, they sold him to those Merchants; and they again made Money of him in Egypt. There one of Pharaoh's Officers bought him; his Mistress fell in Love with him; and being disappointed in her Amours, became the means of his being cast into Prison. Thence at last he was advanced by interpreting some Dreams, first the Butler's, and then the King's. Joseph being now in Power, a Famine is sent into the Land of Canaan. That forced his Kindred to repair into Egypt, and so his Brethren fell into Joseph's hands, as he had fallen into their hands before. By degrees they became known to one another; and in the end their poor, aged Father, and all his Family were sent for, and cherished; and so they multiplied exceedingly, till the time of the Promise drew near. What a Train of strange Events was in all this matter? Joseph observed how the Hand of God was in it all; and had he not told his Brethren so, they must of themselves have acknowledged that such a long, continued succession of odd Events, all of them terminating at last so wonderfully in so great a Good, could never have been so ordered, governed, directed, and ended, but by the special Providence of a Wise, Gracious, and overruling Being.  
But the Jews have not been the only People for whom the Hand of God hath appeared. Other Nations, and especially We of this Kingdom, have with Admiration seen it act for us by a long Concatenation of Events, which no Human Wisdom could forecast or think of. How many Virissitudes and Changes have we seen? What Difficulties and Perplexities have we been surrounded with? What Labyrinths and Pits have we been in? How dark and mysterious have many proceed seemed? How dismally have they looked and operated? How deeply have we been affected with the sense of them? What Groans have we sent up to the God of Comfort under our burdens; not able to guests where or how they would end; and yet what surprising Joys and Triumphs have they ended in? Which is enough to satisfy all considering men, that throughout a long course (a seemingly incoherent course) of affairs, an Invisible and Wise Hand disposed and ordered all; and brought every thing to such a Prosperous Issue, as cannot be justly ascribed to any thing but a Divine Power, Wisdom, and Goodness.  
4. Lastly, It may reasonably be thought to be the Hand of God, when Evil Designs are so strangely overruled, as to be made the Instruments and Means of Good. In this there is a double demonstration of God's Hand, and of his Divine and Glorious Perfections; when wicked Contrivances are not only frustrated, baffled, and defeated, but are moreover diverted and turned to ends quite distant from, nay, contrary unto the purposes of evil men. This is plainly a stroke from above; when their Designs recoil upon themselves, so that what was form and laid for the ruin of others, at last terminates in their own. It was a glorious sign of God's Special Providence, which David observed in the Fall of his and the Church's Enemies; That as they had made a pit, and digged it, so they fell into the ditch they had made; that their mischief returned upon their own heads, and their violent deal came down upon their own pates; that in the net which they had hid, their own feet were taken; and that they were snared in the works of their own hands. An Observation which we ourselves have to our great satisfaction seen lately verified here in this Kingdom; our bitterest Enemies have ruined themselves by their own Devices; and their Counsels have been so wonderfully and providentially overruled, and even when they thought themselves sure of Success, that what was Politicly laid for the destruction of Truth, Peace, and good Government, in the Event proved an effectual means to six all upon the firmer Foundation; the Contrivers themselves going off with visible Marks of Divine Vengeance upon them.  
III. And now to come to that which I proposed in the Third Place, What better Improvement can we make of this whole Subject, than seriously to reflect upon that Signal Hand which from time to time God hath showed for this Church and Kingdom; and impartially to consider what Expressions of Thankfulness are called for at Our hands, who have been so long and so deeply indebted to the Hand of God? Particularly, how thankful to him should we be, for saving us hitherto from the Hand and Power of a Foreign Prince, of whose Cruelties many of his own Natural Subjects are a dismal Cloud of Witnesses. Sceptics may be unwilling to see and own it; but all indifferent persons who have a sense of God, must look upon it as God's Hand, upon all those accounts I have now spoken of. For,  
1. Nothing but a Special Providence, directing and blessing the Means of our Safety, could have preserved to us all that is so dear and precious in our sight: Those Fortunes whereby we live; that Liberty which enhanceth the value of Life itself; those Laws which are the peculiar Glory of this Nation, and that Religion wherein is wrapped up the Eternal Interest and Happiness of our Souls. How light soever some may make of this Consideration, (for no other reason, but because we have not severely smarted under the Evils that were coming upon us) yet our Dangers were apparent; Dangers to which all our dearest and most valuable Concerns were exposed; and the Signal Preservation of them ought on that account to be looked on as an argument of God's Hand, to which so Great and Important a Good is to be ascribed.  
2. To raise the sense of it yet, we should consider at what a Critical Juncture this Good was done. At that nice season, when an unprovided, defenceless People were to wrestle with a most Potent Enemy; when his Hopes were at the height; when the Victory seemed to him unquestionable; and we looked like men almost captivated at Home in our own Native Country. In this our distress God that laughed all the Heathen to scorn, did with the Turn of his Hand break and dissipate the Cloud, which hung lowering over our heads; and that so suddenly and beyond expectation, that We, and our Enemies too, were like those that dream, and could scarce believe our own senses.  
3. Thirdly, if we observe how one thing followed another, we may well admire the Special Providence of God through a continued Train and Course of unforeseen Events; whereof, though some seemed very threatening for the time, yet the most uncomfortable accidents have now turned to our great advantage. How long still God will please to vouchsafe his hand over us, is a Secret hid in the Counsel of his own Will. Success for the future depends much upon the use we make of his Providence to this day. If we will not be sensible of his Hand, nor be thankful for it, nor be led by it to Repentance, we know not how soon those Judgements may be executed against us, which were often denounced against the Jews for their Hardness and Ingratitude in the like cases. However we may be wanting to ourselves, the hand of God hath not been wanting. Since the time that the Day of our Salvation began to drawn, though there have been so many Difficulties before us, yet by the good Hand of God the main Interest of the Kingdom hath so prosperously gone on, that every day we have the stronger reasons to hope, That God will not only save us from the Power of that Oppressor who hath been such a Scourge to Christendom, but will moreover settle us upon such solid Foundations, that neither the Policy of Rome nor the Gates of Hell shall prevail against us. The present Complication of Affairs is such, that the Hand of God is not hard to be seen by unprejudiced people, who believe the Being of a Deity, and the Operations of a Providence.  
4. And what can be a fairer evidence of it to strengthen our belief still, than this Fourth Consideration, That the Devices of our Enemies are not only rendered ineffectual, but are after a most wonderful manner turned upon themselves? Those Arts which had been so long used against our Established Religion, did so return upon the Authors of them, that perhaps the Church of Rome never suffered greater Disgrace and Prejudice than she did in that little time she stayed here: And when a Strong Wind carried her Politicians away to their Homes abroad, they went off with such Infamy, as if God intended to stigmatize and brand them, that they might be disdained and hooted at by all the world.  
That Good, overruling Hand which God was pleased to stretch out for us in and since that Remarkable Juncture, he hath not yet drawn back into his Bosom. Still it may be seen in the Happy Successes which God hath granted unto, and in the Signal Preservations wherewith he hath blessed our most Heroic, , and Indefatigably Zealous Prince, whom he thought fit to make use of as the most proper Instrument in his Hand, to Rescue Three Kingdoms from Vassalage and Idolatry. For all which, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name let all Praise and Thanks be given, through Jesus Christ our Lord. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all Honour and Glory, world without end.  
Amen.  
FINIS.   

A Practical Discourse concerning Holiness. Wherein is showed the Nature, the Possibility, the Degrees, and Necessity of Holiness; together with the Means of Acquiring and Perfecting it. By Edward Pelling, D. D.  
Printed for W. Rogers.