A SERMON Preached at All-Hallows IN New Castle upon Tyne, ON THE 22 d. of September, 1695. Being the Day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Taking the Town and Castle of Namur, and for protecting his Majesty's Sacred Person. By Tho. Knaggs, M. A. and Chaplain to the Right Honourable Ford, Earl of Tankerville. LONDON, Printed for Richard Baldwin, near the Oxford-Arms in Warwick-Lane, 1695. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE FORD, Earl of Tankerville, Viscount Glendale, Baron of Werk, and one of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council. My LORD, AS soon as I yielded to the publication of this Sermon, I resolved to commit it to your Lordship's Patronage. The high Esteem, (together with an earnest desire publicly to show my gratitude) I have of your Loyalty to the King, your hearty Zeal and Fervour for the Protestant Interest, your dexterity in the management of public Business, your Sage and Eloquent way of Speech, and those many other high Accomplishments and extraordinary Endowments you are abundantly rich in, will, I hope, excuse the boldness of this Dedication, and obtain pardon for prefixing your Great Name to so slender a Discourse. My LORD, Your Lordship has improved the Honour you were born to, and advanced your Noble and Ancient Family, by standing fast to your Religion, and supporting our Laws and Liberties, when Popery and an Arbitrary Power were coming in to be triumphant among us. May your Lordship live long, to be an Ornament to your Country, and a Blessing to the Public, is, and shall be the daily prayer of My Lord, Your Lordship's most humble and most obedient Servant and Chaplain, THO. KNAGGS. PSAL. 126.3. The Lord hath done great Things for us already, whereof we rejoice. WHO was the Composer of this Psalm, I shall not curiously or nicely search into, seeing 'tis universally believed to be a joyful and cheerful Hymn made by Ezra, or some good Man, at the Jews return out of Captivity, who had been kept a long time in Bondage in a strange Country, among Infidels and Idolaters. When the People saw so wonderful a Change all on a sudden wrought for them, and Liberty granted to return into their own Country, they were so amazed and transported with the Deliverance, that they could scarce believe it to be true, and looked upon it only as a Dream, which vanisheth and comes to nothing. v. 1. When the Lord turned again the Captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. But awaking, and seeing their Deliverance to be real, v. 2. their Mouth was filled with Laughter, and their Tongue with Singing, crying out with joy and triumph, The Lord hath done great Things for us already, whereof we rejoice. I shall take the liberty, and that without any violence to the Words, to apply them to the happy Occasion of this Day. In which you may observe, First, A joyful Acknowledgement made to God, that he hath done great Things for us. Secondly, I will show what some of these great Things are. Thirdly, What our Duty is in return to the Almighty, for doing so great Things for us. Lastly, What Improvement we are to make of the whole. And First, A joyful Acknowledgement made to God, that he hath done great Things for us. The rich Man makes his Wealth his strong City, Joh. 31.24. He saith unto Gold, thou art my Hope, and unto the Wedge of Gold, thou art my Confidence, Pro. 11,28. but he that trusteth in his Riches shall fall. The worldly wise Man that thinks to save himself by his own policy, let him remember that God many times infatuates the Wisdom of the Wise, and brings their Counsels to nought; the mighty Man that trusteth in his Arm of Flesh, and puts his Confidence in the multitude of his Chariots and Horsemen, Isal. 31.1. That goes down into Egypt for help, and looks not unto the Holy One of Israel, and seeks not unto the Lord. Let him consider, v. 3. that the Egyptians are Men and not Gods, and their Horse's Flesh, and not Spirit; and when the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both the Helper and he that is Helped shall fall, and they shall altogether fail. It was the saying of One when he was falling into the Enemy's hand, My Kingdom for an Horse, but Psal. 33.17. an Horse is counted but a vain thing to save a Man, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. We know, that if we Isai. 30.2. v. 3. trust in the shadow of Egypt, and strengthen ourselves with the strength of Pharaoh, v. 3. the end of that Trust and Strength will be our Shame and Confusion. Jer. 17.5. Cursed be the Man that trusteth in Man, and maketh Flesh his Arm. Armies and Navies, Guards and Forts, Bombs and Cannon, Artillery and Ammunition are useless and unserviceable without God, and the Success in the day of Battle must be attributed principally to his Blessing. The divine Providence is our greatest safety and security both at Sea and Land; God must be consulted first about the event of things; his aid and help must be chief asked, and our confidence, when we go against our Enemies, must be wholly in him: This is to build our House with the wise Man upon a Rock, and therefore Matth. 7. when the Rain descends, the Floods come, and the Winds blow, and beat upon that House, it falls not, because it is founded upon a Rock. Unless God fights our Battles, Egypt and her Chariots and Horsemen are but sandy Foundations, and not to be trusted in. God has been pleased to do great Things for us; his gracious Providence never appeared brighter in any Cause than in our Deliverances; we acknowledge them to be his handy Work, his gracious care over us; and whoever will give himself the trouble, seriously to look back and reflect upon the Administration of Affairs since our happy Revolution, must needs see, that the Providence of God has concerned himself, interposed his Almighty Power and Wisdom, and had an hand in all our Successes and Advantages. They that will not believe this, I dare be bold to say, they believe no God, no Providence at all, or at least are angry at Heaven, because it will not smile upon their Cause, nor favour what they unreasonably would have uppermost. God has heard our Prayers, and answered them; we called upon him in the Day of trouble, and he has done far more exceeding abundantly than we could think; his Almighty Arm has saved us, the Lord himself has been on our side; he has been with our Forces in their passing through the Waters, and in walking through the Fire. The Victories we have got already are standing Monuments of his truth, and of the Lord's goodness to us. Psal. 44.5,6,7,8. Through him have we overthrown our Enemies, and through his Name have we trodden them under that risen up against us. We did not trust in our Bow, neither did our Sword save us; but the Lord saved us from our Enemies, and has put them to shame that hated us. In God we boast all the Day long, and praise his Name for ever. Psal. 33.16 There is no King saved by the multitude of his Host: a mighty Man is not delivered by much strength. Psal. 127.2 Except the Lord keep the City, the Watchman waketh but in vain. Eccles. 9.11. The Race is not to the swift, nor the Battle to the strong. 1 Sam. 2.9. In his own might shall no Man be strong. The Eyes of King Jehosaphat, and of all Judah, were in their great exigency and necessity, chief and principally upon God; for though his Army was great and numerous, yet when the Children of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir came against him, he proclaimed a Fast, and cried unto the Lord; 2 Chron. 20.12. O our God, we have no strength in us to stand before this great Multitude that cometh against us, neither do we know what to do, but our Eyes are upon Thee. Though Asa had an Army consisting of no less than Five Hundred and Fourscore Thousand Men, all of them Men of Valour, yet he looked upon them as no prop for Trust, as nothing without God, and therefore cried unto the Lord his God, and said: 2 Chron. 14.8.11. Lord it is nothing with Thee to help with many, or with no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest in Thee, and in thy Name are we come against this multitude: O Lord, thou art our God, let not Man prevail against Thee. When David was in the Wilderness of Ziph, Saul sought him every day, But what was the reason that he found him not? 1 Sam. 23.14. The Lord delivered him not into his hands, Nihil sine Deo, God is all in all; He is our Sun and Shield, our strong Rock, and Tower of Defence, and mighty Deliverer. Holy David ascribes all his Deliverances to the light of his Countenance, and the saving strength of his right hand. 'Tis He that gives Victory unto Kings. Prov. 21.1. The King's Heart, and his Breath, and all his ways are in his hand; Jud. 7. the Sword of the Lord and Gideon is spoken of as but one two-handed Sword. 'Tis Gideon that strikes, and 'tis the Lord that gives the Blessing. Psal. 118.8,9. It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any Confidence in Man; it is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in Princes; Psal. 20.7. some put their trust in Chariots, and some in Horses, but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God. When Doeg, the Edomite, regarded not God, nor sought to strengthen himself by his favour, David prophesied his destruction. Psal. 52. God shall destroy them for ever, he shall take thee away, pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the Land of the Living: Lo, this is the Man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his Riches, and strengthened himself in his Wickedness. When that proud King Nabuchadnezzar was shaking his Plumes, and triumphing in the great Babel of his own building, Dan. 4. Is not this Great Babel that I have built for the House of the Kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my Majesty? As he was thus vaunting and magnifying himself, God drove him from Men, and turned him to grass among the Beasts. When Sennacherib had encamped against Jerusalem, and was attributing his Success to his own Strength and Wisdom, see how God dealt with him, 2 K. 19.28. He put a hook into his Nose, and a bridle into his lips, and turned him back the same way he came. And when Herod took that glory to himself which was due to God, Acts 2.23. The Angel of the Lord smote him, and he was eaten up of Worms. And 'tis to be hoped that God has put a stop to the bloody rage, and nipped the proud, insolent and ambitious Designs of the French King, who by treachery and policy had set great projects on foot to overthrow our Religion, and bring us under his slavish and tyrannical yoke. Exod. 13.21. It was not Moses but God that brought the Children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt; neither was it our own Arm and Strength that reduced the Town and Castle of Namur, but God's Arm; Power and Goodness going along with the Forces of his Majesty and his Allies that preserved our King, and gave us the Victory, for which we this day rejoice, Psal. 62.8. Trust in Him at all times ye people, God is a refuge. But Secondly, I proceed to show what some of those Great Things are, which the Lord hath done for us already, and I hope they will pass for Great Things, whether some Men will or no. And First, The Lord hath done great Things for us, in raising us up a Deliverer in the day of our distress; God has given us a King who has delivered us from Popery and Slavery, who secures our Rights and Liberties, who has protected us from bloody and barbarous Enemies, and makes choice of fit, able and faithful Governors both for Church and State: The divine Providence in raising him up, raised up One that has defended our Religion, brought back our ancient Laws and Liberties, and given a check to the Arms of that once potent and formidable Prince, the French King: A Deliverer, that has neither spared his Person or his Pains to do us good; who has made our Cause his own, even when we were falling as a prey into our Enemy's teeth. We would do well to call to mind the woeful state we were in before his Majesty landed, and then we may discern what Great Things God has done for us, in sending him to us. He that considers the tottering Condition both Church and State were in; how the Government we lived under was growing to be Arbitrary, and a superstitious way of Worship ready to be set up and Established among us; He that considers these things cannot, without a wonderful infatuation, but must see God has done Great Things for us, in raising us up a Deliverer, who has protected our holy Religion, and stood in the gap to hinder the way of the Destroyer, who had plucked down our Hedge and Fence. But Secondly, The Lord hath done great Things for us, in vouchfafing a particular protection unto this Deliverer in the day of danger. Run over his life, and see the miraculous Trains of Providence interposing for him; He has been the Darling of Heaven, and the special Object of Almighty God's singular care, insomuch that no Prince in the World hath had such signal Testimonies of the Kindnesses of Heaven; when some fell at his right hand and some at his left, the Divine Providence covered his head, and the Almighty hid him under the shadow of his wings. In his safety we are safe; his Health and Wealth is our Concern; his Preservation is of universal Concernment to Religion and the Laws, to Church and State, and 'tis a happy Blessing to all the Nation at once; and therefore we had need pray hearty to God to save him, who doth defend us all. Well might the people tell King David, 2 Sam. 18.3. Thou art worth Ten Thousand of us, because in his peace they should have peace: The safety of a good King is a public Blessing; the happiness of a Kingdom is twisted with the Welfare of such a Prince, the Kingdom, as it were, living and breathing in him. 〈…〉 King Josiah's fall proved the utter Destruction and Downfall of the people themselves; whilst he lived, he was the fountain of their Liberty and Security, insomuch that they promised to themselves a lasting security in his life, of whom we said, 〈…〉 20. Under the shadow of his Wings we shall live among the Heathen. But how close did their Ruin and Destruction follow the loss of that exemplary and pious Prince? * When the noble Epaminondas the Theban fell, Thebes itself fell with him. What Great Things then has God done for us, in watching over our King night and day, in preserving him at his Uprising and Downlying, and compassing his paths. God has suffered no Policy, no Secrecy to circumvent him, no Treachery to take him off, no Snares to catch him, not to fall into that Pit that was digged for him, nor no Weapon formed against him to prosper; he has stood by him in the day of Danger, given his Angels charge over him and brought him off with Victory and good success. As to the instrumental Cause of that Victory we this day celebrate, much may be ascribed to the wise conduct of our Lord the King; He has done Great Things for us. Such Great things, as may challenge any Prince in the world to show the like, wrought for any People or Nation: 'Tis true indeed, the Author of all our Victories and Deliverances we must own and acknowledge to be God; to him principally we must give the Glory and Honour, and praise him; but when it will be found among the Files of Records, that next under God, our King did these Great things for us, how will his Memory be had in Everlasting Remembrance? How will the Ages to come tell of him? How bravely big will his Name look in Story? And how will his famous and noble Achievements be commended by admiring Posterity? These will entitle him a Isai. 49.23. Nursing Father of the Church, a Defender of the Faith, and a Restorer of our Religion, Laws, and Liberties. Jud. 8.22. Come thou and rule over us, said the people, to Gideon, for thou hast delivered us from the hands of our Enemies. 1 K. 1.25. God save the King, was an usual Form of Prayer in Adonijahs time. And when Joash was made King, They clapped their hands, used the same form of Salutation, 2 K. 11.12 God save the King. 1 Tim. 2.1.2. I exhort you, saith St. Paul, to make prayers for Kings, That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. And in the succeeding Ages of Christianity, I find the Christians were highly solicitous about the safety of their Princes. Nor was this the temper of a Christian Spirit only, but of Heathens and Infidels, for it was a Decree made by Darius' King of Persia, Ezra 6.10. that all the Elders of the Jews should be furnished with young Bullocks, or Rams, or Lambs, Wheat, Salt, Wine and Oil, that they may have to offer sweet Odours unto the God of Heaven, and pray for the King's Life. The fall of a King shakes the whole Kingdom; there is a Sympathy between the Head and the Members, when the Breath of our Nostrils is taken from us, needs must the Body faint and languish, & expire in gasping Agonies when the Royal Oak is cut down, we are bereaved of all the benefits of its shelter; and the birds of Prey will soon snatch away the Chickens, when there is no Hen to gather them under her wings. Wherefore if we love our Country, if we have any regard to the Welfare of ourselves, if we tender the interest of the Protestant Religion, of our Temporal Rights and the Common Good, we must from the bottom of our hearts pray for our King's prosperity, wish him long life and health, and earnestly desire his welfare and safety, because in his peace we shall have peace. Dan. 3.9. O King live for ever. Thirdly, The Lord hath done Great Things for us, as to the preservation of ourselves, what might have been befallen us we know not; the fate of things looked once very black upon us; those Barbarities, Massacres, Prosecutions with Fire and Faggot, and shedding of Blood that is proper to Popery, and those inflicted upon Protestants, for refusing to comply with Superstition and Idolatry, may open our Eyes, and let us see what we might have expected from the Romish Faction. Our own Nation knows it by sad experience, that in the Reign of Queen Mary, many pious and good people were burnt at a Stake, for their denying to subscribe, to their wicked and false Doctrines. Surely our Malcontents and Murmurers do not know the Principles, or Spirit of Popery; they must be ignorant in the Case of Henry the third of France, who was stabbed, and the bloody Art applauded by the Pope himself, for not purging his Country from the Corruption of Heresy, being admonished so to do. The Church of Rome is guilty in this respect, in looking upon us Protestants as so many Heretics, and what work her Sons had 'ere this Day been employed in, if our late Revolution had not happened, we may very well guests. Thanks be to God for That, and all his other Mercies to us; and let it ever be recorded for the praise of his present Majesty, who next under God, delivered us from Tyranny, and Popish Cruelty. Thirdly, I proceed to show what our duty is in return to the Almighty, for doing so great things for us; for if the fore part of the Text belongs to God, the latter I am sure belongs to us: If the Lord hath done Great things for us, than we are to rejoice, and this Day is set apart for it. Now that our rejoicing this day may be pleasing to God, it must first begin at the Church; there it must first show itself, be first seen and heard there, thither we must go in, and in the Congregation give thanks unto the Lord, for the Great things he hath done for us; we must first be joyful in the House of Prayer, and our joy must exert itself first after a Godly manner. Hos. 〈…〉 We read of some who kept their King's Day with flagons of Wine, and by drinking to that excess, till they were sick: They made the King glad with their wickedness. v. 3. Such Riot and Excess was used upon that festival Day, that as the Prophet Malachy speaks of some others; There came nothing of their feasts but dung: All they did was, they sat down to eat, and drink, and risen up to play; but with none of these was God pleased: Religion must this day be first observed: It is not enough that in our Feasts this day we drink the King's Health, clap our hands, and cry, God save the King, but we must first regard the work of the Lord, and consider the Operation of his hands: It is not Enough, that with the Harp and the Viol, the Timbrel and the Pipe, we give Thanks out of Custom, but we must first go into the House of the Lord, and there pour out our souls in Thankfulness to God, in a thankful Remembrance; and then after we have done here, we may lawfully go and rejoice in our houses, so long as Temperance is observed, and all manner of Riot and Excess laid aside. It was God's command under the Law, that upon their rejoicing for his removal of any Plague, the Trumpets should blow; And shall we, whom God by this happy day, calleth us to rejoicing by a great Victory, and the preservation of his Majesty's Person, shall we whom God hath called to joy, hang down our heads like a Bulrush, droop, and slight the Office of the Day? When the Grecians were set at Liberty by Flaminius, Plutarch tells us, they cried out, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Saviour, Saviour, with such a Sound, that the Birds in the Air which flew over their heads fell astonished to the ground. And shall we be so little affected with our good Success, and Deliverances? No, let our Ears be cheerfully open to the ringing of Bells, and to the noise of Musical Instruments: Our Hosannah's this day shall be heard in the highest, for This is a Day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. What Nehemiah said unto the People upon hearing the law read, I say unto you. Neh. 8.10. Go, and Eat of the Fat, and drink the Sweet, and send Portions unto them for whom none is prepared, for this is a joyful Day indeed, be ye not sorry therefore, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength. I come Lastly, To consider what Improvement we are to make of the whole. And First, If we would strengthen that which God hath already wrought for us, and carry on, and perfect his marvellous Works towards us, we must be followers of that which is good, and live so, that God may take delight in us, bless us with the continuance of his Blessings, and may have no occasion given him to repent him of the Mercies shown to us. Whilst we are under such a gracious and benign iufluence of Heaven; we must take care that we do not by our Sins, make such a separation between it and us, as may provoke God to throw off his care of us, and withdraw his helping hand from us. What's to be done then, to procure a continuance of those Great Things he hath done for us already? Even this, to come to Repentance, and that's the way to carry them on to perfection: O let his mercy and goodness lead us all to Repentance: May his wonderful Deliverances oblige us all to love and fear him; and may his many and great preservations of our King endear our Righteousness, and excite our Obedience to him, and then the Deliverances we have had will be a pledge of more. This would heap Palms and Laurels upon our Cause, and bring us off Conquerors, for the Eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him: He takes pleasure in such, and it shall go well with them. Evil-doers and Transgressor's shall be cut off, and rooted out, but those who trust in the Lord and do good, shall by so doing, dwell in the Land, and verily they shall be fed. Jer. 7.23. Obey my voice, said God to the Jews, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my People; and walk ye in all the Ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you: And he tells the Israelites, that Exod. 19.5. if they would obey his Voice indeed, and keep his Covenant, that then they should be a peculiar Treasure unto him above all People. Even an Heathen Poet made this Observation to the Romans, Horat. Diis te minorem quod geris, imperas. That their Success was owing to their piety, and their Obedience to the Gods, made them Rulers and Commanders: And therefore may we all be so wise, as to say as the people did to Joshua, Jos. 24.24. The Lord our God will we serve, and his Voice will we Obey. Thirdly, We have had Great things done for us, and therefore in order to have God still on our side, it is a Duty incumbent upon us to be thankful for them: There are some Men of so unhappy a Temper, as to forfeit the Advantages of them, if God would have taken it at their hands; that with the ungrateful Israelites are in love with the fleshpots of Egypt, and would return back into that Land. Strange perverseness and blindness! That the Israelites would not know when they were well used, but instead of showing their gratitude, undervalved the vouchfafements of Heaven's favour, as if the very reason of their quarrelling, God's goodness, was none other but this, that it infinitely surpassed all their deservings. I wish some among us did not too near resemble these ungrateful Israelites; but I shall not blow the coals; a just amazement to see those Miracles of Mercy fling up, and that some men should go about to make those blessings God has bestowed upon us for our good, an occasion of falling, fills me with dread & horror of the judgements of God, which may well fall upon the Land. For if Mercies cannot prevail with us, what can we expect but the next scent should be Judgements? If Men will kick and spurn against Heaven, and throw themselves back into that, or a worse condition than they have yet been in, 'tis not to be expected that God will work new miracles every day for them. If Rev. 22.11. He that is filthy will be filthy still, he must expect Ephraim's doom, Hos. 4.17. Ephraim is joined unto Idols, let him alone, let him follow the Counsels of his own heart, and be filled with his own Devises. Jer. 51.9. We would have healed Babylon, and she would not be healed, forsake her; We would have healed Babylon, There is Mercy and Goodness on God's part, but she would not be healed, there is a Despising of his goodness on her part, and then follows desertion on God's part, forsake her. Psal. 81.11,12. My people would not hearken to my voice and Israel would none of me, so I gave them up unto their own Hearts lusts, and they walked in their own Counsels. v. 13,14. Oh, that my People had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my Ways; I would soon have humbled their Enemies, and turned my hand against their Adversaries. 2 Thess. 2.10.11. Because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved, for this cause God shall send them strong Delusions to believe a Lie. For how just is it with God, to lift up his hand against a people, and overthrow them, as he did the unthankful Israelites, for not keeping in mind the Deliverances he had granted them? We are an happy people, if we did but know it: Sufficiently happy, if some were not so foolishly industrious to make themselves unhappy. We are not involved in Blood and Confusion, as our Neighbouring Countries are. We live in peace and plenty, whilst in the mean time other Nations are frighted with the sound of Trumpets, the Beating of Drums, the neighing of Horses, the roaring of Cannon, the howling of Women, and the schrikeing of Children exposed to the rage and fury of merciless Soldiers. We build and plant, beautify and adorn our Houses and Habitations, whilst others are burnt down, battered about their Ears, and lie in ruin and desolation. We have plenty, whilst others are in want. We sow in Peace, and reap in peace, whilst other Men's labours are enjoyed by Strangers and Enemies. Such Blessings as these, cry aloud to us to be thankful to Heaven. O that we were wise, that we would consider this, and praise the Lord for his Goodness, and declare the Wonder that he hath done for us. Thirdly, The Lord hath done Great Things for us, in raising up our King to be the happy Instrument of our Deliverance, and therefore next being thankful to God, we are under an high Obligation to be Loyal and Obedient to his Majesty, and to study the things that make for his Honour and Glory, as he has done those that make for our Peace and Safety: And for this no Charges ought to be spared, no Power from France feared, otherwise this opportunity of making ourselves under him happy, will one day rise up in Judgement, and condemn us. May it please a gracious God, who hath done Great Things for us already, to continue his Mercies to us: And may we, considering the Dangers we have been in, quicken our Zeal, show Vigour in the Cause of our Religion and the present Government: And may it please God to move the hearts of such as are in Authority, to be active and diligent in their Duty, that so those Deliverances may be strengthened which God hath wrought for us. Crown our King, O Lord, with Honour and Success here, and with an everlasting Crown of Glory in Heaven hereafter. Amen. FINIS.