,transcribed from the #agjg ,w4 ,b4 edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,many thanks to ,kensington and ,chelsea local studies for finding this and allowing it to be transcribed4 ,picture3 ,public domain cover ,a ,,sermon ,preach'd upon the ,occasion of the ,anniversary ,thanksgiving ,of the ,fifth of ,november1 #agjf4 ,,at ,,the ,,church of ,,kensington4 99 99 99 99 99 ,by ,,nath4 ,,hough1 ,m4,a4 ,chaplain to the ,countess ,,fauconberg1 ,lecturer of ,kensington1 and ,fellow of ,jesus ,college in ,cambridge4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,printed by ,w4 ,b4 for ,,alexander ,,bosvile at the ,dial and ,bible over against ,st4 ,dunstan's ,church in ,fleet ,street4 #agjg4 ,,to ,,the ,,gentlemen ,,and ,,parishioners ,,of ,,kensington4 ,,this is the second ,instance of my ,service made publick upon an ,occasion of this ,nature4 ,as none can be more pleased with the double ,blessing of the ,day1 than your selves1 being the best ,subjects to ,her ,,majesty1 as well as the nearest ,neighbours to ,her ,court3 ,so ,i have this farther ,accession to the general ,joy1 viz4 ,as ,i have a small ,opportunity of shewing1 at your own ,request1 how much ,i am1 ,your most obliged ,servant1 ,,nath4 ,,hough4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,psalm cxxiv4 v4 #b4 and part of the #c;d4 ,if it had not been the ,lord who was on our side1 when ,men rose up against ,us2 ,then ,they had swallowed ,us up quick4 ,,whoever compares this ,psalm and this ,solemnity together1 will find the main ,lines of the one1 and the chief ,circumstances of the other exactly agreeable4 ,had ,we ,who live since the ,deliverance of this ,day was wrought1 been endued with the ,divine ,author's ,inspiration1 we could scarce have pitch'd upon more apposite ,words to express the surprizing ,manner of it4 ,swallowing up quick1 the ,kindling of our ,enemies ,wrath1 the ,torrents being like to go over our ,soul1 our ,escaping like a ,bird out of the ,fowler's ,snare3 ,all these are ,expressions so pat for the present ,season1 that whilst ,we sing an ,hymn1 we seem likewise to read a ,prophecy4 ,our ,enemies have took effectual ,care that the ill ,character in this ,psalm should not pass unfulfill'd3 ,and ,i hope we1 for our parts1 shall not be wanting to make good the pious ,acknowledgments of it1 saying1 ,blessed be the ,lord who hath not given us as a ,prey to their ,teeth4 ,but perhaps ,we are got so deep into a ,vein of ,thanksgiving for ,modern ,mercies3 ,our ,streets are so full of ,triumph1 and our ,churches of ,praise for the ,victories of the past ,year1 that either no ,place is left for the ,recollection of any former ,blessings1 or at least little or no ,taste4 ,the present ,solemnity finds our ,gratitude to such a degree exhausted1 that tho' at the utmost 'tis but an insufficient ,return1 yet at this ,juncture it must needs be more so1 considering how our late ,successes have already drain'd our very best ,acknowledgments4 ,thus the ,blessings of one ,age do a seeming ,injury to ,those of the foregoing2 ,and immediate ,deliverances bear down so strongly1 as to make distant ones shrink out of ,notice4 ,happy ,we1 who have such an agreeable ,excuse for being imperfectly thankful3 ,i mean1 when ,modern ,favours are so great1 as necessarily to impair the ,memory of the ,antient4 ,tho' upon second ,thoughts this ,excuse cannot hold1 since the ,favours lately received1 and ,those at this ,time recollected1 are so much of a ,piece1 that unless we break the ,chain of ,providence1 we cannot well pretend to acknowledge the one1 and yet wholly to overlook the other4 ',tis the same ,cause1 the same ,interest this ,year so gloriously promoted1 which upon this ,occasion we congratulate1 as twice wonderfully preserved4 ,the ,reign of our gracious ,sovereign directly perpetuates the double ,blessing which this ,day boasts of2 ,and 7,god be praised7 ,we obey a good ,queen1 who nobly maintains the ,reform'd ,religion1 which ,heaven so signally rescued under ,her first ,royal ,ancestor4 ,we cannot then let one ,thanksgiving justle out another1 when the ,blessings which occasion them hang1 as it were1 upon one ,link1 level at the same ,end1 and are so many successive ,proofs of the same kind and watchful ,providence4 ,those ,enemies of our ,faith1 who formerly fought to undermine us at ,home1 now forcibly attack us from ,abroad3 ,so that whilst ,we are remembring the successful ,repulse of their open ,assaults1 it cannot be unseasonable to reflect too upon the happy ,defeat of their private ,conspiracies4 ,nor can ,distance of ,time be any just ,reason1 why the ,one should be forgot1 when the ,other are celebrated1 seeing the ,interval cannot seem long from the very first ,reformation1 or betwixt the ,reigns of two ,glorious ,queens1 whose ,characters come so near each other1 and do so happily resemble4 ,easie then it is in the general to vindicate the ,honour and ,justice of celebrating this ,day2 but 'tis as difficult to determine in what particular ,manner it may best be done4 ,to attempt an ,historical ,account1 wou'd be to trespass upon this judicious ,audience1 so well acquainted with the known ,matter of ,fact3 ,to aim at an ,elegant ,representation1 wou'd be only to fall short of those many ,excellent ,pens which have set the ,fifth of ,november in the best ,light it can bear4 ,for 'tis well known1 that this ,festival fixes not more ,calumny upon the ,romish ,clergy1 than it has serv'd to shew the ,oratory1 and advance the ,credit of our ,own3 ,and those ,designs which rais'd ,horrour in the ,enterprize1 have since produced much ,beauty in the ,description4 ,to these ,admirable ,discourses upon the ,subject1 ,i do pleasingly remit ,you2 ,and shall presume only to offer a few plain ,reflections upon the following ,words1 ,if it had not been1 c4 ,the main ,observation directly flowing from the ,text1 and properly suiting the ,solemnity is ,this3 viz4 ,that the ,defeat of such desperate ,enterprizes as proceed from a devilish ,intention1 and are not by any ,humane ,means to be prevented in the ,execution1 argues the unquestionable ,interposal of ,divine ,providence4 ,the ,observation1 ,i think1 is self-evident2 and shines by its own ,light3 ,for if we own the ,existence of a ,good ,being who loves and preserves ,us1 and of an ,evil ,one1 who hates and would destroy ,us1 where should the ,one declare his ,providence1 but where the ,other discovers his ,malice8 ,and in what ,cases can devilish ,malice be more visibly discover'd1 than in ,those1 where the ,general ,ruin of great ,numbers of ,people is design'd1 without any ,provocation1 and beyond all ,prevention8 ,or where can ,divine ,providence more worthily appear1 than in baffling those black and barbarous ,attempts1 which at once overcome ,force1 and escapes ,foresight4 ,here1 if ever1 is an important ,necessity of having the ,lord on our side1 when an ,insurrection is so cruel as not to be resisted1 and ,destruction swallows so quick as not to be remedied3 ,two ugly ,characters these1 which sit close upon the design'd ,tragedy of this ,day3 ,insomuch that 'tis hard to say whether the ,intention of it was more inhuman1 or the ,execution in all ,appearance more unavoidable4 ,first the ,conspiracy was cruel and inhumane4 ,and where can we find any thing like it either under ,heathen ,tyrants1 or amidst the ten ,christian ,persecutions8 ,a compendious kind of ,martyrdom ,this1 such as our ,church-,historians say nothing of4 ,without the ,formality of ,fire and a ,stake for every single ,sufferer1 here an entire ,nation was to be sent up for a ,burnt-,offering1 and the ,body of a ,people to be sacrificed at once in their ,representatives4 ,this was a noble ,dispatch of ,heresy1 compar'd to the dull ,proceedings of ,queen ,mary's ,reign2 and the ,reformation now was like to vanish in a ,cloud of ,smoke in one instant4 ,the ,king and ,princes of the ,blood1 the ,lords and ,commons of ,england were at the same ,minute to find both ,death and a ,grave2 ,and upon the ,ruins of one ,pile was to be rear'd the ,tomb of a whole ,kingdom4 ,glorious ,mischief6 and what might actually compleat 7that which a certain ,emperor only ineffectually wish'd7 the cutting off a ,common-wealth at one ,blow4 ,must not this barbarous ,scene1 tho' at a hundred ,years distance1 move every ,heart entirely ,english8 ,how does even the imaginary ,slaughter of our worthy ,ancestors come cold over our ,breasts1 and the ,blood which we draw from them runs chill upon the ,reflection4 ,had they indeed met with a fair ,enemy1 and heard any ,warning of their ,danger1 then1 no doubt1 their native ,courage would have left ,us as little ,cause of ,concern1 as their ,adversaries or ,boasting3 ,but for ,valour and ,bravery to be blown up by a scandalous ,stratagem1 for ,nobility and ,honour to be blasted by an underground ,attempt1 the ,thought raises ,indignation and ,compassion at once4 ,a ,prince and the ,peers of a ,realm to fall by the ,hands of a vile ,incendiary2 ,senators and wise ,counsellors1 when studying the common ,safety1 to sink into sudden ,ruin2 ,persons of the best ,quality and ,rank to be swallow'd up in ignominious and undistinguish'd ,dust6 ,who can hear the bare ,mention without a ,mixture of ,grief and ,horror8 ,a ,parliament in this dreadful manner dissolv'd could forebode no less than ,universal ,confusion1 and the entire ,overthrow of ,church and ,state4 ,let not a ,popish ,inquisition1 or a ,parisian ,massacre be any more talk'd of3 ,puny ,cruelties these1 not worthy to vie with the ,wholesale ,execution of a ,community3 ,course and common ,villanies1 much below the refin'd and exquisite ,methods of slaying ,numbers in a ,moment4 ,here that ,order of ,men1 which is ingenious in all the ,arts of ,ruin1 did many degrees outwit it self1 and learnt a new way of consecrating that sulphurous ,composition which an ,age or two before they had invented4 ,wo unto us3 ,for had the ,design taken1 ,we had been as ,sodom1 and been made like unto ,gomorra3 ,each ,destruction1 as to the ,materials of it1 was very much the same3 ,theirs only was rain'd from ,heaven2 ,ours was to rise from the ,bowels of the ,earth4 ,perhaps it might have1 in the ,conclusion1 been more tolerable for ,sodom and ,gomorra than for ,us3 ,just so much1 as 'tis better to fall into the ,hands of a merciful ,god1 than into ,those of ,bigotted and ,blood-thirsty ,men4 ,moreover1 ,what upon the ,principles of the ,romish ,church must add the finishing ,stroke to the cruel ,fact1 was1 the downright sending so many guilty ,souls into ,hell without any ,room for ,repentance1 or ,possibility of ,redemption4 ,there could be no ,purgatory to cleanse ,them1 unless the ,flames they were immediately to pass thro' could attain that ,effect4 ,no ,masses to be said for ,hereticks3 ,those were more worthily reserv'd for the ,chief ,promoters of this ,catholick ,cause1 supposing they should by any means miscarry in it4 ,the ,actors in this horrid ,scene had pardon and ,indulgence ready1 if not the ,promise of being ,canoniz'd2 ,but the poor ,sufferers were to perish under a ,curse1 and1 as if ,death was not enough to expiate their ,heresie1 an ,anathema too must attend them into the other ,world4 ,hard ,fate6 when the ,errors of unhappy ,protestants are not to be dispersed with their ,ashes1 but ,excommunications and ,interdicts must still pursue them into a miserable ,eternity4 ,the ,warmth of this ,resentment can want no ,apology1 when we consider farther that no ill ,usage before-hand gave the least ,colour to this unnatural ,conspiracy4 ,subjects they were1 who thus undutifully aim'd at the ,life of their ,sovereign2 ,and ,subjects too very tenderly treated1 who quietly enjoyed their ,liberties and ,estates1 and had no ,occasion to make them uneasie1 but the clearing of the same ,faith from additional ,superstitions1 which in ,substance we jointly believe4 ,was it fair to destroy their lawful ,prince1 because they were rid of a ,supremacy which made them meer ,slaves8 ,was it just to overturn the antient ,constitution1 because rescued from a ,discipline1 which1 if blindly followed1 treats them like ,fools8 ,or if they were still so much in ,love with the ,usurpations of the ,popedom1 could not they be content to bear the galling ,yoke themselves1 without compelling others into the same ,bondage8 ,and compelling them too in such a savage manner1 that the ,best of the ,kingdom must be kill'd outright1 in ,order to enthral the ,rest4 ,their ,consciences were full in their own keeping1 or in that of their ,confessors2 and their usual ,violences were not practis'd1 tho' to bring them over to a purer ,communion3 ,sure then 'twas better for them to enjoy their ,religion in private1 and be peaceable1 than to let it come abroad to the ,ruin of the ,publick4 ,we do not find the ,romish ,missionaries are generally so forward as to propagate their ,faith ,abroad1 where there is a ,hazard of dying for it3 ,but at ,home1 where ,they may profess it without ,disturbance1 the ,death of their own ,countrymen is not stuck at to make way for its general ,reception4 ,to advance only one ,step farther3 ,let us grant ,popery for once to be as pure and ,primitive1 as its most zealous ,votaries contend1 and as ,catholick too as they could wish to have it2 yet it makes the ,argument still more guiltily recoil1 to carry on a holy ,cause by impious ,projects1 and to promote a merciful ,religion by inhumane ,practices4 ,lord6 how did it ever enter into the ,hearts of ,christians1 that a kind ,religion which heaps ,coals of ,fire upon the ,heads of ,enemies1 should do ,this not in a moral ,sense to melt and soften1 but in a natural ,one to burn and consume4 ,the ,spirit of ,jesus is distinguishable by its ingenuous ,simplicity3 ,greater ,shame1 that ,those who emphatically stile themselves ,his ,order1 should be famous for pernicious ,subtlety1 and fatal ,intrigue6 ,how comes the ,propagation of the ,gospel to be a perfect ,contradiction to its ,precepts1 the latter enjoining whatever is good and benign1 the former authorising whatever is cruel and destructive8 ,a strange ,way of converting either ,infidels or ,hereticks1 when the ,doctrine of ,christ is directly overturn'd in the manner of the ,publication4 ,upon all these ,accounts1 and under all these ,views such a complicated ,cruelty is not to be met with in ,story2 and to dwell longer upon it would be apt only to raise too much ,heat1 and run us upon the ,hazard of losing ,temper4 #bndly1 ,the ,conspiracy was to all appearance as certain in ,execution as in ,intention1 cruel4 ,the ,seat of this clandestine ,wickedness was dark and obscure1 as far remov'd from any mortal ,eye1 as one would have thought the ,mischief it self was from ,humane ,invention4 ,the ,situation of the ,place1 as well as ,nature of the ,fact1 shew'd that it came too near the ,dominions of the ,prince of ,darkness3 ,and ,he sure was too well pleased with the ,infernal ,plot ever to give us the least ,intimation4 ,more likely it was the ,evil ,angels should be ,ministers and ,accomplices1 than ,betrayers and ,divulgers of the ,hellish ,deed1 too bad sure ever to be begun without their ,instigation1 or to be accomplish'd without their ,assistance4 ,in one ,sense truly this ,pit which ,they had digg'd for ,us was unlike the ,bottomless ,one3 ,the ,access to it was difficult1 the ,avenue narrow1 and hard it was to find the ,way down to these ,chambers of ,death3 ,but1 in another ,respect it resembled it too much1 namely1 that being once sunk into the sad ,abyss1 there could be no ,hope of ,return4 ,how then must the secret ,villany but needs succeed1 which no prying ,sagacity could discover1 and from which no appearing ,strength deliver ,us8 ,what ,arbitrary ,power above a ,parliament was ever so dangerous1 as this insidious ,design which in another ,sense lay beneath ,it8 ,the immediate ,agents were not more cunning in the ,contrivance1 than obstinate in the ,concealment4 ,for apprehending 7as truly they had ,cause enough7 that ,nature would shrink at the forbidding ,fact1 and ,humanity not be able to hold out1 they thought no ,course so sure as fulfilling this ,morning's second ,lesson1 and binding themselves 7like the ,way-layers of ,st4 ,paul7 under ,oath and ,imprecation4 ,religion was speciously call'd in to back the accurs'd ,confederacy1 to stifle the faint ,motions of ,compassion or ,conscience1 and to gloss over a ,crime too gross to go down1 if not superficially sanctified3 ,and 7what is ,ill beyond all ,epithets7 the ,holy ,sacrament was made the ,test of the ,treason1 and the sacred ,seal of the ,new ,covenant of ,grace made to confirm ,one of ,treachery and ,malice4 ,if we count it so bad to prostitute this ,institution1 even for a temporal ,preferment2 ,what must it be to make it jointly the ,cement1 and the ,cover of such an ,infernal ,machination8 ,no ,thought then but the fatal ,train must take1 when the ,mouths of the wicked ,associates were as cautiously stopp'd1 as the very ,passages tending down into the dark ,apartment it self4 ,so far were the ,conspirators from any ,fear of ,detection1 that they hugg'd themselves over it1 as a finish'd ,work3 ,so far from any ,purpose of ,confession1 that they bless'd themselves for it1 as a brave ,achievement4 ,the ,sense of ,punishment1 even when the ,affair had miscarried1 could extort no ,discovery2 much less could ,pity1 or any other ,principle do it1 whilst it was in ,agitation4 ,to this ,day ,we do not find ,they are asham'd of the ,thing1 or afflicted at any ,part of it1 bating the ,disappointment4 ,the ,picture of an ,english ,jesuit1 who was principally concern'd in it1 is now shown at ,rome among the ,rarities of the ,place1 and preserved there as a venerable ,relique3 ,this looks like recommending the ,crime to ,posterity1 and facing the present ,solemnity out of ,countenance4 ,this tells us that if more such ,champions for the ,romish ,see are to be met with1 their ,merits shall not go unrewarded3 ,and consequently1 what ,cause ,we have to be still upon our ,guard1 and to keep up the ,anniversary ,memorial1 not only by way of ,thankfulness for what is past1 but of ,warning too for the future4 ,no ,danger could insensibly be nearer the very ,act and ,minute of ,accomplishment4 ,the whole ,scheme was laid2 ,the gloomy ,theatre prepar'd2 ,the fatal ,materials ready2 ,the ,undertakers resolute2 ,the nick of ,time at ,hand1 and nothing but a thin ,partition betwixt the ,regions of ,light and ,darkness1 of ,life and ,death4 ,upon firm ,ground we seemingly stood1 not dreaming that without a ,parable1 ,there was a great ,gulf fixed1 and ,we inevitably to perish in it1 unless some kind ,messenger from the other ,world would inform us of the ,hazard4 ,the granting of that deny'd ,petition seem'd now the only ,expedient of our ,rescue4 ,how slender a ,support at that ,minute had the ,fate and ,felicity of ,england8 ,upon how slight a ,bottom was our ,hope and ,happiness founded8 ,a small ,surface of ,earth1 the ,space of a few ,hours was all that ,mediated betwixt us and ,ruin3 ,then by a ,fate not unlike to ,corah and his ,company1 was the ,earth to open and devour ,us1 tho' 7thank ,god7 for no ,fault of the same ,nature4 ,if to every ,nation there be1 as some have thought1 its adverse1 and its tutelary ,angel1 we cannot doubt but the utmost ,contest was betwixt ,them at this critical ,period2 ,the ,one eager to push on our impending ,overthrow1 the ,other as ,industrious to prevent it4 ,no3 ,what do we talk of ,tutelary ,angels8 ,if the ,lord ,himself had not been on our side1 ,they had swallowed ,us up quick3 ,to frustrate an ,intention so cruel1 and an ,execution so certain1 was something sure which wanted immediate ,providence1 and worthy of it also4 ,to save a whole ,community1 when upon the ,brink of ,peril1 as little appriz'd of it1 as they gave their ,enemies ,occasion to design it3 ,to catch ,conspirators in the ,snares of their own ,policy1 and to plunge them into the ,pit which they had prepar'd for ,others3 ,to guide inconsiderable ,causes to the producing of wondrous good ,effects1 and to make accidental ,hints the ,means of mighty ,preservations3 ,all these1 and many more ,particulars of this ,day1 are plain ,instances of ,divine ,interposal4 ,strange it was that such a ,relenting ,message should be sent at all1 when the ,conspirators were so hardened in ,bigotry1 and bandied together upon ,principle6 ,stranger still that it should be so fortunately misconvey'd and come to a ,person for whom it was not meant6 ,strangest of all1 that being writ in such blind and ambiguous ,terms1 it should be so speedily and seasonably explained6 ,so many concurring ,circumstances1 when meeting in such a ,momentous ,point1 cannot fairly be resolved into ,chance1 one of which had no manner of ,coherence with the ,other4 ,how should the ,king1 without some ,glance of extraordinary ,light1 pierce into the horrid ,vault1 the hidden ,store-house of ,destruction8 ,how without some ,touch of a ,prophetick ,spirit should ,he ever think of that fatal ,one that was to blow up both the ,houses of ,parliament4 ,the ,conjecture at first ,hearing must appear as ridiculous1 as the ,fact it self was barbarous2 ,and the ,wit of ,man seem'd as incapable of hitting upon the ,one1 as his ,malice of committing the ,other4 ,but the less the natural ,likelihood was1 the greater was the ,providential ,appearance2 ,and what might be laught at under the ,notion of a ,humane ,guess1 upon the ,proof of the ,thing we adore the more as ,divine ,discovery4 ,never sure shall we cease to ,adore the ,great ,author of our unexpected ,safety1 who rescued us at once from the ,fiery ,furnace1 and from the devouring ,den3 ,those ,punishments which ,old ,babylon distinctly inflicted1 the ,new had join'd together1 as it were in ,one4 ,how unwillingly were the base ,workers of ,iniquity expos'd to open ,day1 unable to bear it1 because their ,deeds were reproved8 ,how happily did ,we escape the perpetual ,night in which they sought to overwhelm ,us8 ,loth were ,they to quit their private ,cell wherein they labour'd for our ,overthrow1 as the ,miner for his ,oar1 and counted our ,ruin their ,riches4 ,but ,heaven sent a sudden ,damp upon their ,designs1 and the ,weapons which they had formed in this ,hellish ,forge would not prosper4 ,so far was ,god from giving us up unto ,destruction1 that he suffer'd us not so much as to fear ,it1 but scatter'd both the ,fear and ,destruction at once4 ,no ,peril was ever more imminent1 and yet our ,deliverance scarce put ,us to the ,expence of a ,fright2 ,and without ,time for being troubled1 ,we saw our ,danger1 and gave our ,thanks4 ,the ,plot was just perfected to the clear ,conviction and ,condemnation of our ,enemies2 ,and yet conceal'd from ,us1 till 'twas prevented1 that ,we might labour under no ,confusion4 ,astonishing ,wisdom6 which knows how to let the ,wicked prosper for a while1 and yet at the same ,time not to perplex the ,good3 ,so that in the ,event the ,one may be more justly punish'd1 the ,other more surprisingly saved4 ,we have yet taken but a ,half-view of this ,happy ,day4 ',tis famous for a second ,deliverance of later ,date1 tho' very much of the same kind4 ,the ,adversaries the same1 the ,hazard as great1 and the ,escape at that ,juncture not less welcom4 ,one serves to heighten and advance the ,other1 tho' each of them singly stands above ,acknowledgment4 ,they both have a like ,place in the ,offices of the ,church1 and equally adorn its ,calendar4 ,to give as particular ,relation of ,this1 as of the ,former1 would be both ,unnecessary and ,indecent3 ,unnecessary1 as copying only what is writ in your own ,memory3 ,indecent1 as seeming to call your ,gratitude into ,question4 ,few here present have forgot the dreadful ,apprehensions of approaching ,popery3 ,not twenty ,years are turn'd1 since ,liberty and ,religion1 the two great ,blessings of ,humane ,life1 were taking their flight from this melancholy ,island4 ,unhappy ,britain was putting on ,her ,chains1 lay sunk and dispirited1 fighting for ,relief1 but saw it not4 ,that ,church which is the ,bulwark of the ,reformation1 was ,her self defenceless2 ,and ,she to whom her ,sister-,churches fled for ,refuge1 thought of seeking the same favour1 and could no where find it4 ,our ,ark was actually tottering1 and no one could put his ,hand forth to uphold it1 without feeling ,uzziah's ,fate3 ,not inflicted indeed for the same unwarrantable ,cause1 but equal to it in the ,certainty of the ,danger4 ,we could not tell how soon our ,bibles might be shut1 and our ,temples4 ,it was already common with us to offer up our ,prayers in an unknown ,language1 that ,i mean wherein we privately begg'd of ,god to defend his poor ,church1 but durst let none hear ,us but our selves4 ,the ,fountains of ,education were insensibly corrupted3 ,what follow'd was no ,knowledge at all1 and ,superstition in lieu of it4 ,the ,host was daily expected in our ,streets1 the next was ,flame and ,faggot for not adoring it4 ,i appeal to the dejected ,looks1 and down cast ,eyes of every true ,protestant at that ,time1 if it was not ,thus4 ,no ,glimpse of ,assistance all this while from ,heaven1 or any ,humane ,power4 ,the former seem'd angry2 ,the latter was impotent1 and could not help ,us4 ,thus was ,darkness and ,despair spread over the ,face of the whole ,kingdom1 till an ,invited ,prince rose from the ,east1 and rejoiced with the ,sun to begin his ,course4 ,we saw ,him1 as upon this ,day1 appearing with feeble ,rays1 with few ,forces1 attended tho' with united ,wishes4 ,his ,coming was not with a killing ,lustre1 or with a ,glory that destroys1 whilst it shines2 ,but all ,folks then were refresh'd with the pleasing ,sight1 and felt a strange ,revival4 ,by his ,presence ,he caus'd an ,effusion of ,joy1 but none of ,christian ,blood4 ,the farther he advanc'd1 his ,influence was found the more agreeable4 ,slavery and ,idolatry instantly vanish'd1 and the ,shades of ,superstition fled before ,him4 ,the ,emissaries of ,rome1 those ,creatures of ,prey1 got them away together1 and laid them down in their ,dens4 ,into ,holes and ,corners they retir'd1 haunted by the ,guilt of their ill ,counsels1 and as forward to desert an unhappy ,prince1 as formerly they had been to ,mislead ,him4 ,we1 in the mean ,time1 wrapt up in ,silence and in ,wonder1 where wholly like to them that ,dream4 ,to us the ,deliverance seem'd meer ,vision1 and the ,surprize into which it cast ,us1 would scarce allow us to think it ,real4 ,our ,rescue was well nigh over1 as soon as undertook1 and we lifted up our ,heads to see a ,safety obtained1 in which our ,hands had no share4 ,the only ,difficulty ,we were then left under was how to prize and honour our ,deliverer enough4 ,we judg'd it as impossible ever to be unthankful for the seasonable ,relief1 as once it seem'd so1 ever to obtain it2 ,and we could repine at nothing 7how much soever ,we have done it since7 but at our own ,inability1 justly to acknowledge so great an ,undertaking4 ,may this ,auspicious ,day ever bear a bright ,figure in the ,english ,annals1 and continue1 as it always has been1 the ,ornament of ,history1 and ,shame of ,popery4 ,may the glad ,celebration of it run down to late ,posterity1 and so keep those ,blessings upon perpetual ,record1 which otherwise1 as at present they are too big to be own'd2 so in an ,age or two would seem too great to be believ'd4 ',tis but fitting the ,church should observe a ,festival1 from which she dates her double ,preservation2 ,and we cannot fairly grudge the ,day a ,share in her ,service1 when without it the ,whole had been lost4 ,it has in former ,time been thought1 that the ,conjunction of ,stars made some ,days particularly successful to ,persons1 or ,nations3 ,but our ,faith upon this ,occasion carries ,us above ,those1 and puts us under a higher and a better ,aspect2 namely1 that of a wise and benign ,providence4 ,heaven will not allow us to be ungrateful1 when we are thus critically and opportunely reminded1 twice ,i mean on one ,day4 ,this confirm'd ,experience gives us cause enough to conclude with the last ,words of this ,psalm3 ,our ,help standeth in the ,name of the ,lord1 who hath made ,heaven and ,earth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,finis4