A pillar of gratitude. Or, A brief recapitulation, of the matchless favours, with which the God of heaven, hath obliged the hearty praises, of his New-England Israel. A sermon delivered in the audience of His Excellency, the Earl of Bellomont, captain general, and governour in chief, and of the Council & Representatives, of the General Assembly of the province of the Massachusetts Bay, convened at Boston, in New England. On May 29 1700 the day, for the election of counsellors, in the province. / By Cotton Mather. ; Whereto there is appendixed, an extract of some accounts, concerning the wonderful success of the glorious Gospel, in the East-Indies. ; [One line of Latin quotation]

A Pillar of Gratitude. At the Opening of the Grea•• and Gene|ral Assembly, of the Province of Massachuset-Bay, New England. 29 d. 3 m. 1700.

Psal. CXLVII.20.

He hath not so dealt with any Nation!

THere was a people, of whom the God of Heaven said, This people have I formed for my self, they shall shew forth my praise▪ And i•• there be such a people any where under the Cope of Heaven at this Day, 'tis in the English Nation. But of the En+glish Nation, certainly there is no Colony or Plantation that hath more cause it

Shew forth the praise of the Almighty, than that which is now and here Con|vened What more agreeable or profita|ble Address, can be made, unto a Great and General Assembly of this Province, than an Invitation to the Praises of our Good God▪ who as He is worthy to be praised, so, Desires to Inhabit our Praises, and reckons Himself Glorified, when we Offer them? The Royal Charter of our King, has made this, A Day of Election, for no small part of our Government: And though the Civil Affairs now to be atten|ded, will not al••ow this to be, A Day of Thank••giving, Yet no Thoughts were mo••e proper for a people rejoycing un|der the Protecti••n of such a Government, than those which would well become, A Day of Thanksgiving. Indeed, that Angel, who Flew thro the midst of Heaven, say|••ng, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Glory to him, would not be able fully to ••et off the Glory due to our God, for His matchless Favours unto us: But instead hereof a poor, shallow, sinful Mortal, must come to you, with this Message, Praise God, and Give Glory to Him! And ••et it will be a Melody unto the very

Angels or Heaven, to hear Mortals on Earth, Singing and Shouting forth, Glory to God in the Highest, for His Good Will to|wards men!

A people there has been, of whom that Account may be given, O Lord, Thou hast brought a Vine, thou hast cast out the Heathen, and planted it: Thou didst cause it to take deep Root, and it filled the Land▪ She sent out her Hou•••••• unto the Sea, and her Branches unto the River. My Hear|ers all this while know not, whether I am giving an Account of Old Israel, or of New-England: So Surprizing has been the Parallel!

The Matchless Favours of God unto Old Israel, are here C••l••brated in one of the Ha••lelujatic Psalms; and a Psalm on such a Subject, very fitly, both begins and concludes with; Hallelujah! The E|piphonema which crowns all, is this, He hath not so dealt with any Nation; Praise ye the Lord. It gives us this Instruction, That when the Blessed God Endows a people with Matchless Favours, it b••comes that people to bless Him with Hearty Praises. This is an Instruction, so plain, so evident, and so practical, there needs

no operation thereupon, to prepare it, for its Application unto our selves. The Matchless Favours of God unto New Eng|land are now to be set before you, in a Sh••re Catalogue of them: I say, a Short one, for who can in a piece of an Hour, Compose a Full one, or one that shall not fall short in many Instances? Behol|ding so much of New-England, from eve|ry Quarter, under such Characters, here come together, I shall take this opportu|nity, to bespeak your Hearty Praises to the Almighty God, for So Dealing with New-England as not with any Nation. And I have now chosen a Subject, that one, would think should be of all, the least liable to Cavilling Objections, and Excep|tions. For, if any man shall object unto any one Article, in all my Catalogue, We owe no Hearty Praises to God upon that Article, give me leave to say it, It shall be an Hyperb••le of Ingrati••ude; and, That man shall be a prodigy of Profanity, and Stupi|dity.

But I cannot introduce the Catalogue of the Matchless Favours, wherein our God hath so dealt with us, as not with any Nation. Until you have had some Re|marks

upon the Nature, and Meaning, and Ingredients of those Hearty Praises, which we are to render unto the Al|mighty for His Matchless Favours.

You will Remember then, That in our Hearty Praises o•• God, for His Match|less Favours, we are to Confess, to Admire, to Adore those Glories of God which are Conspicuous and Illustrious in His Favours. The Power, the Wisdom, the Mercy, and the Faithfulness of the Great God, gloriously Shine forth in His Dealing so with us, as not with any Nation. The Glories of God, that His Dealings, do tes|tifie and certifie, and signalize unto us, These we must very distinctly Sound forth, with His High Praises in our mouth.

But then, you will also Remember, that we are utterly unworthy of these Matchless Favours, for which we offer up unto God our Hearty Praises. When we Reflect on ••he Dealings of our God with us, we fearfully add unto our own unwor|thiness, if we don't sensibly▪ say with our Father Jacob▪ Lord, we are not worthy of the Least of all these Mercies. Truly, 'tis not because we are better than any other Nation, that our God hath so dealt with

us, as not with any Nation. We are more vile than every other Nation, if we don't own our selves as vile, as any Nation▪ When God had so dealt with His people of old, as not with any Nation, He, to re|••und and confound the vain Thoughts of pride in them, told them, Deut. 7.7, 8. The Lord did not set his Love upon you, be|cause ye were more in Number than any people, (for ye were the fewest of all peo|ple) but because the Lord Loved you. Such in Idem per Idem, is very good sense, in he Language of Soveraign Grace; The Lord Loved you, meerly because He Loved ••ou! Even so; 'Tis the meer Soveraign Grace of the God, who does all things ac|••ording to the Coun••••l of his own Will, that hath so Dealt with the English Nation as n••t with any Na••ion. O••r Ancestors were ••s fo••lo••n, wretched, rue••ul Pagans, as ••ur Indians; and there are now the same 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in our Nation▪ that there are in the ••hore Enslaved Neighbours, that are under ••he Houses of Bourbon, or of Austria▪ Why as the Lord so Dealt with thee, O New-••ngland, as not with any Nation! The very Iottantots of Africa, and Ca••••iba's on Flo|••••da are a Nation as worthy of the Divine

ties as thou art; and thou hast Sins e|nough to bring upon thee as many plagues and woes as the Greek Churches themselves are Languishing under. But, It is even so, O our Heavenly Father, meerly because it pleases thee!

Finally; You will Remember, That we don't offer up Hearty Praises unto God, for His Matchless Favours, if they be not Active Praises. When we Reflect on the Dealings of our God, with us, there is that ingenuous Question to be thought upon; Psal. 116.12. What shall we render to the Lord▪ for all His Benefits! Hath our God so dealt with us, as not with any Nation? We are then to study fit Returns of Gratitude, and Obedience, wherein we shall exceed every other Na|tion 'Tis not a formal saying, Thanks be to God! that will serve to Express our Thanks unto Him, for so dealing with us, as not with any Nation. 'Tis Thanks doing, and Thanks living, that must Express our Thanks. Without some agreeable Fruit|fulness in our Conversations, we have no True Thankfulness. We are then to think, What are the Fruits now Expected from a Nation, with whom God hath so dealt as,

not with any Nation? What must be our Fruitfulness, that we may still Enjoy, and not Forfeit the Bounties of God?

But let us now proceed unto the Mat••h|less Favours of th•• God unto thee, O New England, which call for such Hearty Praises.

And here, concerning the Constituti|on, of the Country it self, where the Most High hath divided, unto us our Inheritance, I will not say, God hath so dealt with us, as not with any Nation; But this If may say, There is many a Nation that is not near so well accommodated. Of the Land where our Lott falls unto us, our Good God may say, as in Ezek. 20.6. It is a Land that I had Espied for them. And tho' it be not, The Glory of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Lands, yet Englishmen could not have met with ma|ny be••••er Lands. Deservedly is it called, New England; ••or England, that bravest Lady of Europe, has no where in Ameri|ca, a Daughter that so much Resembles her. The Comforts of the Climate, abun|dantly outweigh the Hardships of it. The Poor find a more comfortable Subsistence in i••, than alm••st in any other. Almost ••very where else the Poor do rather En|dure

Life, than Enjoy it. But, the Poor of this Land, may say, God hath not so dealt with the rest of the poor in our Nation, or scarce in any Nation. And where the In|habitants of it use Discretion and Industry, they mos••ly furnish themsel••es, not only with Necessaries, but also with Convenien|cies Indeed New England is not Hea|ven: That we are sure old. But for my part, I do not ask to Remove out of New England, except for a Removal into Heaven. 'Tis 〈◊〉〈◊〉, s••me Troubles, but those rather in the Mora••, than the Natu|ral Circumstances of the Country, have often caused our most E••••••••ent. Elijahs, to wish, Oh! If they had the wings of a Dove, whither would they flee away! And, Whither, Syrs, I beseech you? I doubt, you don't know the World▪ Certainly, you'l find it Old Adams World, go w••ere you will. There grow Briars & Thorns, in other parts of the World, as well as New England. But, O Good pe••ple of New England, Tho' you are by the Royal Charter, delivered from the Ex••o••••ions of those▪ that once demanded of you, Quitrents for all the Good Land unto the possession whereof your Titles are now

Confirmed, yet Hear now thy Great Landlord, calling for His Quitrents, in those terms. Deut. 8 10, 11. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God, for the Good Land, which he hath given thee; Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping His Commandments.

But let us pass on to those Favours of Heaven, that are more Distinguishing, & Considerable, and without which, the best Countreys in the World, would be as undesitable as Italy it self: A Country that is the Garden of the World, and yet an Hell upon Earth.

Now, First, Let not the Method be charged with any Rudeness, if Religion take the first place, in our Enumeration of those Matchless Favours, wherewith our God hath obliged us infinitely This, This was the grand point wherein the Israelites of old, were the Favourites of Heaven The Lord shewed his words, [i e. the Ten Commandments of the Moral Law] unto Jacob, his Statutes (or the Ceremonial Law) and His Judgments (or the Judicial Law) unto Israel: And Then it follows, He hath not so dealt with

any Nation; Praise ye the Lord. God in ••avouring us (and the English Nation,) with the Knowledge of the Christian, and the Protestant Religion, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 so dealt with us as not with any Nation. As it was said, Psal. 148.14. He Ex••••teth the Horn of His People, even of the Children of Israel, a peo|ple near unto Him. When God makes a forlorn Race of Ge••tiles, to become his Israel, and by His Holy Religion brings them near unto Him, it becomes them to Exalt the Horn, that is to say, to utter His Praises with Higher Notes than ordinary. 'Tis done for the English Nation, and ve|ry singularly done for thee, O New Eng|lish Israel How much ought we to Praise the Lord, for that Religion, which alone teaches us how to Praise the Lord! When the Herald of the King of Spain, pro|claimed the Greatness of his Master, by more than Forty several Titles, the He|rald of the King of France, as often re|peated that one Title, The King of France, France, France! In••im••ting, that this One, was more than all the other This I will say, Tell me not of more than Forty B••••ssings and Stapl••s and Pleasures of other Countreys. My New England has

one Thing that will weigh down more than Forty of the best things that other Countreys on brag of; That is, Religi|on, Religion, Religion! The Christian Reli|gion, is indeed a Matchless Favour of Hea|ven to them that have it Revealed, and published among them. By this Religion men are Lifted up to Heaven, and have Heaven coming down to them. We have the Gospel of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, which is most justly called, The Glorious Gospel of God: And this Gospel will make a Glorious People: But, O Gospellized Peo|ple, then Glorify God! They are most No|ble Mysteries that the Gospel of the Christi|an Religion, does Enrich us withal, and they are most Noble Directions with which it counsils us. O New-Englanders, While you have a Bible in your Habitations you Eat Angels Food! A man that Feeds and Lives upon the principles of this Re|ligion, is a Noble Creature, and a Candi|date of the Angelical Life. The Regions that have not our Gospel, are the Regions that Sit in Darkness, and in the Valley of the Shadow of Death▪ If we receive this Gospel of the Christian Religion, in the Love of it, it will infallibly bring us to

Everlasting Blessedness. If this our Gos|pel be Hid, it is Hid unto them that be lost. The Strangers to this Religion, are With|out God in the World, and without Hope of Blessedness in another World. The Lands that have not our Gospel, what are they, but the Habitations of Devils, and all the year long, in a more lamentable plight, than the furthest and frozen Re|gions of the North, which have all Night for many months together? In the Gospel of our Christian Religion, we have, in one word, A CHRIST, A CHRIST, in whom our Hungry Souls have the Bread of Life, and in whom our Thirsty Souls have the Water of Life: and our Naked Souls, the Splendid Garments of Salvation. Out of Heaven, hath, God, the perfection of Beauty shone upon us. Our CHRIST, He is the Way; without Him, we were Va|gabonds, and going astray in the greatness of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Folly; He is the Truth; without Him, we are a prey to the Father of Lies, and our Deceived Heart can't be Sav'd from a Lye in our Right Hand: He is the Life; without Him, we are Dead in Trespasses and Sins Blessed JESUS, 'Twere better we should not be at all, than be without

Thee! But, that bright Sun of Righteous|ness, hath dart••d His Healing Beams down upon thee, O New England; when so many millions of m••n, are left unenligh|tened. Above hal•• the Children of men, I suppose, are Idolaters to this Day; and almost a Quarter, if I mistake not, are Mahometans▪

Astonish'd at the Matchless Favour of God, that has made us Christians, Let us Employ our Pitty, and Prayer, & Care, for those that are Exposed unto D••struct|ion every day, by their▪ Lack of our Know|ledge. Blessed be God, that has Crown'd the Labours of His Dutch Ministers in the East Indies of late years, with such rare Successes, that Hundreds of Thou|sands of the Na••ives, are Converted from their Idolatry, and their Mahometanism, & are Baptis••d into the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Strike on, O Arm of the Lord! What we have done, for the E…vangelizing of our Indians, has been as great an Honour to New England, as any that ever befel it. The like H••nour in some regards has not befall••n any, Nati…on; Praise ye the Lord! I veh••m••ntly be|seech you, Let not that Evangelical Work

now come to nothing. Rescue it from the Decayes, and Choak weeds which do Threaten it; and see whether we can't extend it even unto the Five Nations of the West, as well as that in the East. If they be not by our mea••s made Christi|ans, we can tell who will use all means to make them, twofold more Children of Hell, than they are already.

Well, but when our God has granted us the Christian Religion, there is a Second Flight that our Thou••hts are to m••ke, into the State of the Case which renders it a Matchless Favour of God; And this is, That it is Truly Christian. Two Hundred years ago, were the Dark Times of the Ro|mish Ap••stasy. Wherein Satan, by his Vicar and Viceroy at Rome rendred a very Ge|hinnom, that which was called Christen|d••me. The Unsearchable Judgments of God, gave up all Europe, unto the Chains of Darkness, which Popery, that is but a Disguised, and Revived Paganism laid up|on it: Except here an•• there some Wit|n••ss••s in Sackl••th, which by barbarous Crusades, & Cru••l••i••s against them, were made Sheep for the slau••hter all the day long. But about one hundred and f••ur|score

years ago, God Showred a Spirit of Reformation, upon the Nations of Eu|rope; and Antichrist Lost Half his Em|pire. God in some things then dealt with our English Nation, as not with any Nation: For the Mystical Jericho being then demolished before the Evangelical Shouts of the Reformation in England, the Curse of our Blessed JESUS, hath ever since in a stupendous manner fallen on the Heads of all that have gone to Re|build it, and blasted all their Enterprizes. And God hath Raised up a Golden Gene|ration of men in the English Nation, who notwithstanding many discouragements and disadvantages, from the Masquera|ded Adversaries of the Reformation, as they have kept the Lords Day more strict|ly, so, for all the other strictness of Man|ly Christianity, and for the Power of God|liness, and for mighty Elevations of Holiness, have none to equal them▪ (or not many, I am sure) among the Sons of Adam.

'Tis no Small Thing that God has done for our English Nation, in delivering it from, the Political Mischiefs of Popery, under which the Nations yet Intoxicated

with the Popish Abominations are ••ining a|way. The Protestant Religi••n hath not been set up scarce in any Nation, but it has made them, even in Temporals, with|in a very little while, twice as Rich and as Great as they were before; And one, somewhat curious in his Calcula••ions, has demonstrated, That the Abolishing of Popery in the English Nation, is worth at least Eight Millions of Pounds Sterling, yearly profit unto it. But this is a Small Thing, in comparison of what has been done by God for the English Nation, in its Deliverance, from the Spiritual Mischiefs of Popery For 'tis peculiarly concerning the Roman Catholicks, that the Spirit of God uttered that Oracle in 2▪ Thes. 2.11, 12. God shall send them strong Delusion, that they should Believe a lie, that they all might be Damned, who Believed not the Truth▪ Praises, where are you? Let Heaven ring wi••h our Praises unto our God, for the Religion of England. Praised be God, That the Treasures of His Blessed Word are not lock'd up from us! That we are not Priest ridden by the Janizaries of Antichrist! That we have not Non sensical Figments, thrust down our Throats

with Burning Fire brands▪ That we may use our own Descretion in the concerns of our own Salvation! That we are not by bloody Inquisitions, or Drag••u••ings, or Faggots, and Gibbets, driven to worship the Works of mens Hands! Truly, There are many Nations, that are not so Dealt withal. But you, O dear People of New-England, have your Share in this amazing Deliverance.

Astonish'd a•• the Matchless Favour of God, which has made us Protestants▪ Let us put on all Bowels of Charity, for our Brethren, that are Confessors, and Refugees, for the cause of God. Let us annex the Cries of our Prayers, unto the Cries of the Souls under the Altar, for a speedy and rapi•• Thunder storm, upon those, who have the Cry of all the Righteous Bl••od that has been Shed from to the Blood of Abel, to the Blood of Bro••ss••n, whom they lately broke upon the Wheel, going up to God against them: Ut convert••n|••ar, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 percan••, aut confundantur ••t noce 〈◊〉〈◊〉. Yea, Bu•• more than all 〈◊〉〈◊〉; Let us 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Efficacy of our Holy Religion▪ upon our own Hearts, and L••ves, Let us Live up to the Maxims of our Holy Religion, and

Live under the awful and joyful Force thereof. Otherwise a prov••ked God, may put us upon Severe Trials, to pre|serve it: but if we have not had the Holy Relish of it, we shall, when we are Tried, soon give it away.

But are there no Specialties of Religion, in which New England▪ hath received the Matchless Favours of God, even beyond the rest of the English Nation. This is a Third Flight, that we are now to take in the Praises of God. I am not indeed so inconsiderate, as to boast of my Country: and, Ah, New England, thou hast enough and enough to Humble thee. Yea, I will readily grant, That in one City of the English Nation (I mean, the Capital) there is a greater Number of Pious People, than in all this whole Province. And I am no•• so Absurd & M••rose and Little, as to dream, that there are no Pious People, bu•• what are in lesser points of my own perswasion. But the Favours of God must not be d••n••e••.

Our Degeneracies are horrible: they Expose us to the Dreadful Wrath of the L••r••, who when Churches Leave their first Love, does Quickly come sorth against

them, with Horrible Desolations. Never|theless, As they tell me, That the Peasants in most other Countreyes are meer Bruits to what they are in England: I suppose, Ours are not worse than Englands. Yea, I have heard unprejudiced strangers own, That there is yet left proportionably more of Piety in this Land, and the Com|mon people are for the most part, better instructed, than in any that they know of under Heaven. And I hope they will have cause to say, that they see more Honesty too; or Else the Piety is worth nothing at all. He that is but a Publican at the Second Table, is but a Pharisee, as to the First. Modesty forbids me, to say much of This; though I wish I could say More; and, Comparisons are Odious.

But there are some further Specialities.

The Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England, through the Matchless Favour of God, are more universally Hold, & Preach'd in the Churches of New-England, than in any Nation, and far more than in our own It is more than I know, That there is One Socinia•• in all the Cou••••••ey; And a|mong all the Pastors of our Churches, I do not know that there is one Arminian The

pure Doctrines of Grace, which are a Match|less Favour of God unto the Churches that have them, are the p••ssant, and publick Doctrines of the Countrey. Yea, The Neonomian, and the Antinomian Errors, about that Great Point▪ of, A Sinners Ju|stification before God, which have bred such a Scandalous Contention, among the Non Conformists beyond Sea, have not yet Straggled over the Atlantic, among this people of God. The two Covenants, that of Works, and that of Grace, are not here so confounded, as in many other places. The Everlasting Gospel, is here Preach'd with Purity, more universally, than in any Nation. God hath not so dealt with any Nation; Praise ye the Lord! We don't pretend here, that we have taught our Neighbours, The whole Duty of man when we have Lest out the Main Dut•• of all. And give me leave to say, There is CHRIST Preach'd in thy Churches, O New England; and the Shout of that King is heard in the midst of thee. I hope, there is nothing of Religion among us, but ordinarily you shall hear something of CHRIST in it, before you have done and you have the Truth as it is in Jesus

Our Preachers don't value their Sermons, upon being as Austin complain'd, the Writings of Tully were, Without so much as the Name of CHRIST in them: and would not have you be like those whom the writings of the Ancients do brand, sine Christo Christians. A Nation full of Preachers, that will contrive to make Hara••gues upon Moral Vertues, but banish CHRIST as much as they can out of all their Treatising, must needs be very obn••xious to the R••sen••men••s of Hea|ven: I will say with Luther, Quicquid O|ratur, Docetur, Vivitur extra Christum, est Idolo••atria coram Deo, et peccatum. Yea, to use the Expression of an Excellent person, If I were in a Church full of Kings, I would say so! But God has not so dealt with this our little Nation. How will you now Praise God for this Matchless Favour? How? But by prizing of His CHRIST, and loving of His CHRIST, and yield|ing a••l possible Obedience to the CHRIST who is the Author of Eternal Salvation, to as many as Obey Him. I'l drive that Nail, with one stroke of History. There had been much of CHRIST, at Capernaum of old: A CHRIST was a Resident at

Capernaum Yea, but our CHRIST was grievously undervalued there; and there|fore our Lord fore-told, Mat. 11.23. Thou shalt be brought down to Hell. Now I find in the Jewish Talmuds that Capernaum af|ter this given up to the most Hellish Wick|edness that ever was: The Town of Ca|pernaum, was a meer Sodom, and Hell a|bove ground. There was not a more Hellish place for Filthiness, and Sorcery, on the Face of the Earth. Oh, Consider of it!

Moreover, Is it not a Matchless Favour to Sit under the Wings of Churches, where|in the Primitive Discipline is Restored: E|ven the Discipline, that Cranmer, and Hoo|per, and other Great Lights of the Church of England, wish'd for, and wrote for, & would gladly have Dy'd for? A Disci|pline wherein all Things are Conformed, as well as we can understand, unto the Word of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, & wherein the Elders have their Authority upheld, the Brethren have not their Liber|ties over laid, and all things Conspire to Represent the Holiness of the Kingdom of Heaven unto the World; it is a Matchless Favour of Heaven, to the Nation that is

Illuminated with it. In whatsoever we may want of this, may the Great Shepherd of the Sheep ••ead us, and make our Works perfect before Him. In whatsoever we have attained of i••, it will be a very sad unhappiness, for any man to be so Left of God, as to be the Instrument of Discom|posing it: it were better to Dy, than come under that unhappiness. God grant we may hear that, which they tell us, was one of the Songs, at the Feast of Ta|bernacles, Blessed be our Youth, that have not made our Old men Ashamed.

But is it not a Matchless Favour of our God unto us, that for the Propagation of Religion and Civility among us, there has been a COLLEDGE Erected in these Ends of the Earth? Truly, God hath not so dealt with any Out-goings of our Nati|on! Had it not been for such Ministers as have Shone in most of our Towns, the Wild Beasts of the Desart, in a little while would have Lien there, the Houses would mostly have been full of doleful Creatures, and Owles would have dwelt there. A Learned and a Godly Ministry, hath been the Matchless Favour of God unto New-England: Men of whom that Account

might be given, which the Great Cran|mer, in his M••m••irs gave of one, for whom he des••gn'd prese••ment, Nihil ap|petit, nihil ardet, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••••mniat, ••is•• Je••um 〈◊〉〈◊〉; Men, of whom it might be said, as it was of a certain Scotch Divine, That he di•• Eat and Drink, and Sleep the Kingdom of Heaven: Men that have been Timothies in their Houses, Chrysostomes in their Pulpits, and Augustines in their Dis|putations. Impostors have but seldome got in, and set up among us; and when they have done so, they have made but a Short Blaze, and Gone out in a Snuff; and some Hand or other, hath done such a Service for the Lord Jesus Christ, as to Scourge the Thieves out of the Temple But Ministers that have been Pastors after the Heart of God, these have still Flourished like a Green Olive tree in the House of God, and have been the means for their peo|ple to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 with them. If any under|value this Matchless Favour of God, I will mind them of a Speech used by the Lord Burleigh, when he heard some underva|luing the Ministers of the Gospel; Well, God Bless them, by whom God Blesseth us▪ This could not easily have been, if it had

not been for the Seminary of Good Letters and of Good Manners; for which our God may say unto us, as unto His Israel, I Raised up of your Sons for Prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites: Is it not e|ven thus, O ye Children of New England? The Reverend Chauncey, once Prae••dent of our Colledge, published a Sermon on those words of the Prophet, wherein he has a line or two, not improper now to be Repeated. Saies he,

This Great Blessing is not regarded by Covetous Earthworms, and many make wicked Returns for the Blessing, and seek to pull down Schools of Learning. How hateful unto the Lord is this Unthankful|ness? Do ye thus requite the Lord, ye foo|lish people and unwise?

Thus the Renow|ned Old man Exclaimed in his Day. All that I shall add this Day upon it is, That except we do immediately ask and take the Advice of our Excellent GOVER|NOUR, for the obtaining of a Good Establishment of this our Colledge, it is much to be fear'd it will presently be broken up; Without his Direction and Countenance we can do nothing to pur|pose; & it is a Matchless Favour of God

that we may have it. If meerly thro' our Neglect, an Ominous Ruine come now upon our Colledge, monstrous, and shameful, and senseless will be our Unthankfulness unto God, who hath so Dealt with us, as not with Every Nation; and they that wish well unto New England will say, Surely no other Nation would have been such Felones de se, or have dealt so by its own greatest Interest!

But, if we now make our Transition in the Second place, unto our Civil State, We shall therein see much of That which hath secured unto us, the Enjoyment of our Holy Re••igion, and find our selves further followed with the Matchless Fa|vours of our God. When we look either upon our Subsistence heretofore and hither|to, or upon the Government under which▪ we do now Subsist, New England may be 〈◊〉〈◊〉 by the Angels, whom the most High God has used in conveying these His 〈◊〉〈◊〉 unto us, as in Luk 1.28 Hail 〈…〉〈…〉 ar•• Highly Favoured, the Lord is 〈…〉〈…〉!

Though I am no••, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 has our Pro|vince any one that is. He, who in the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Common wealth is called, The

Divine of the Star••; Yet I may so far take notice of what Occurs in our Civil State, as to say:

First, Our Subsistence, ••t has been al|most by Miracle: Our God has not so 〈◊〉〈◊〉 with any Nation. How strangely was the Settlement of New England at first brought forward, and at last brought about; When God brought a Nation out of the midst of a Nation! There were some Occurrences in that Thing, which would make that Challenge not unreasonable, Deut. 4.32 Ask now of the Dayes that are past, which were before thee, since the Day that God Created man upon the Earth, and ask from the one side of Heaven unto the o|ther, whether there have been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? And ever since the Settlement, how strangely have we been Relieved, Sup|ported, Supplied in our frequent, and frightful Exigencies? We have often been in very sore Distresses; but being Distress'd, This poor people has cried unto the Lord, who hath heard and sav'd, with most seasonable and unexpected Salvations. Hath God so dealt with every Nation? Truly No! I must say unto you, as in

Deut 4 7. What Nation is there, that hath God so Nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things, that we call upon him for? There have been formidable Attempts of Satan and his Sons, to Unsettle us: But what an overwhelming Blast from Hea|ven has, defeated all those Attempts? And very particularly, When the Carel•••• Persecution so raged against our Brethren in the English Nation, That a late Wri|ter affirms, More were then Starv'd, or o|therwise Dy'd in noisome Prisons th•••• what I care to mention; We felt nothing of it; but were so dealt withal, as not at that very Time our Brethren in our Nation. Be|sides, and after, a vast number of Ebene|zers, Erected by New-England upon all its various Interests, whole Nations of Sal|vages from one end of the Land unto the other, took up Arms against us. But the Sword of God, in one years time, cut off those Nations: for, O New England, Thou didst not get the Land in possession, by thy own Sword, neither did thine own Arm Save thee At length it was propo|sed, That a Colony of Irish might be sent ••|ver, to ch••ck the growth of this Countrey: An Happy Revolution spoil'd that Plot:

and many an one of more general con|sequence than That! But the Tribulation for Ten Dayes, which we then had, in a variety of Calamities, afforded us a vast variety of Experiences, upon which we might set up our further Ebenezers. Es|caped New-England, may with exceed|ing Wonderment, cry out, Having obtain|ed Help from God, I continue to this Day! The Ancient Historian could say, Nun|quam majori Triumpho vicimus, quam cum Decem Annorum strage vinci non potuimus: Thus may we say, 'Twas a Matchless Favo•••• of our God unto us, that when this Little Vessel was in a direful Storm for Ten years together, it has after all out liv'd the Storm. And I may add hereupon, though we drank Deep of the Cup of Trembling, which the Hand of God carried about unto the Na|tions in the Late War; yet there were several Merciful Dispensations of Hea|ven, wherein God so dealt with us, as not with any Nation.

But then, Secondly, In the Government ••et over us, we may and must say it, Our God has done Great Things for us!

It is no Little Blessing of God, that

we are a part of the English Nation. Our Dependence on, and Relation to, that brave Nation, that man deserves not the Name of an English man, who despises it. There is no English man but what has for his Birthright those Liberties, which are a rich Inheritance: When all the Na|tions of the Northern Europe, of late years foolishly Lost their Liberties, the brave English, (tho' with st••uggle enough, a|gainst the Unnatural Conspiracies of the Late Reigns) have still preserved Theirs: They are none but the Sons of Edom, that undervalue those Liberties: and who do not see, that God hath not so dealt with any Nation.

And if it be a Matchless Favour of our God unto us, that we have our claim to English Liberties, (though our Task masters Twelve years ago, told us we had None!) Let us not be insensi|ble of His Matchless Favour unto us, (for it is Now so!) that we have a claim to the KING of England, as having these Dominions also under His Auspicious Influences.

GOD, by a wondrous Revolution hath brought unto the Throne of Three King|doms,

by the Voice of all the good peo|ple therein, a KING, whose Royal Ver|tues are such, that we may truly say, God hath not so dealt with any Nation: As the English Nation is the most Glorious of any under Heaven, so there is no Na|tion, that can boast of such a KING, as ours! A KING Raised by Heaven, to save Three Kingdoms from the Chains of Popery and Slavery that were Treacherous|ly prepared for them, and break those that were apace putting upon all Europe also: A KING us'd by Heaven, to put an Hook in the Nostrils of a Leviathan, and make him disgorge at the Peace of Ryswick, Cities and Countreys, which contain as much in Bigness, as all the Kingdom of England: A KING, whose Royal Assent unto sundry Acts of Parlia|ment, has advanc'd the English Nation, unto Priviledges, richly worth all the millions of Money, that have been spent since the Revolution; and the Scotch Na|tion is likewise Restored unto its Desired Faelicity. As New England, was the Ear|liest of all the Plantations in Declaring for this Illustrious PRINCE, thus from New England also there go up as Lively

Acclamations, as from any whatsoever, Long, Long may we have such a KING to Reign over us!

When the KING, Resolving to Favour us, with a most Exact Image of His own Royal Vertues, in a GOVERNOUR, gave His Commission unto the truly No|ble Earl of BELLOMONT for the Go|vernment of these Plantations, we were from almost every Quarter told, That the Nobility of Three Kingdoms could not have afforded a person more charming|ly Agreeable: But since His Excellency's Happy Arrival, we now find, That the One half was never told us. You will pardon me, My Lord, if I call upon my people to Bless God, and Thank the King, for Your EXCELLENCY, when I am reckoning up the Things, wherein we are so Dealt withal, as not any Nation. I do not forget that I am standing in a place, very near Heaven, in which, more than in any under Heaven, Flatter•• would be offensive: to My Maker. Yea, I do Believe, our▪ GOVERNOUR Him|self, hath so much of the Great Constan|tine in him, that I could not more Offend Him, than by going to El••ter him.

Nevertheless, I Judge, it would be no less than a Sinful Omission in me, if I should not reckon our GOVERNOUR, among the Matchless Favours of our God unto us. I am not Praising of Him; for in the Langua•••• of a Divine, I must call to mind, that he is Nothing, but what GOD makes him to be: But I am urg|ing you, to the Praising of GOD for Him. Yea I will say [And I wish I could so speak it, that all New England might Hear it!] That as we made our GO|VERNOUR, a Great Article of our Prayers to GOD, before we Received Him, So, now we see our Prayers thus remarkably answered, if we don't make him an Article of our Praises to GOD, not only in publick, but also in private, every where throughout the Land, we deserve the Disaster which the Enemies of the Kings Interests d••sire to see befall|ing us; that is to say, to be Deprived of so great a Blessing▪ But I am the more Excused from insisting on this Matchless favour of God unto us, because I per|ceive, our people Generally have some affectionate Resentments of it. It was of old said, Psal. 144.14, 15. Let there be

no Complaining in our Streets; Happy is that people that is in such a case. Now, tho' I must freely own it, That no people has been more prone to Complain than we, yet I have heard persons that converse among all sorts of people, say, That they never yet could see the man, who uttered, or muttered, the least Complaint against His EXCELLENCY'S Government. Say, O New England; Has the Lord so dealt with any Nation? The only People, that Com|plain of Him, so far as I can Learn, are those worst of People, the mortal Ene|mies of all People, the Pyrates, and their Abettors. The Inflexible Justice of our GOVERNOUR, perpetually and suc|cessfully, pursues those Horrid Sea-Mon|sters; But for those Bloody Harpi••s, and those that are in Confederacy with them, to Complain of the Vengeance that follows them, is Musick in the Ears of all that would not see these Plan••ations Ruined. All Honest men, Rejoice when such are Grieved, That there is come a Man, that seeks the Welfare of this Little Israel.

What shall we now Petition His EX|CELLENCY to do for this his people I Shall we petition Him, to Look with a

Gracious, and Fatherly Compassion, upon our Weaknesses? To Improve his Inte|rest in the Court of England, so that His Great Friends, may for his sake be ours? To Defend us from Injuries, to Direct us in Difficulties, to Countenance our just Liberties, and the best Friends of them?

EXCELLENT SIR, You prevent us, in all our Petitions: You Do for us, whatever we would Ask for: You leave us, nothing to Do, but to Study how we may Show all Thankfulness, for the Great Quietness we Enjoy by You, and the Worthy Deeds which are done to this Nation by your Providence.

The ELECTIONS, for which the Province this Day sends in a General As|sembly, Exemplify to us those our Liber|ties, wherein God hath so dealt with us, as hardly with any Nation. Indeed con|sidering what New England had from the Beginning done, to deserve singular Li|berties, and considering what precious Liberties had been ravished from New-England, it was a fruit of the Royal Ju|stice, as well as Goodness in His Majesty, ••o Endue New England with a Charter of Liberties, above the rest of the Plantati|ons.

We have a Royal Charter, which Effectually Secures unto us, all Christian Liberties, and all English Liberties, for which, I may say with the Rabbi; If the Heavens were Parchment, and the Seas were Ink, they would not suffice to write the Just Praises of God. We have a Royal Charter▪ so Shel••ering us, That no Counsel••ors, nor Judges, nor Justices, can hereafter 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Arbitrarily Imposed upon us. Yea, we have some Advantages not only above any other Nation, but also above any part of our own Nation.

Syrs, I cannot more Emphatically tell you, What Praises are due to the God of Heaven, for these His Matchless Favours, than in those words, Gal. 5 13 Brethren, ye have been called unto Liberty, only use not your Liberty for an occasion to the flesh. God forbid. That in the use of our Liberties and Elections, we should be acted by any Spirit, but that of Respect unto the Publick Welfare. I hope, we are a people of more understanding, than to think, That the Saving a little Money, is New-England's greatest Interest. God will soon con|vince us, That this evil principle will be the Root of all Evil. And almost all our

Losing, has usually been by improper Sa|ving. I will humbly take leave to add, Let us Beware of Narrow, and Little, & Selfish Designs; Beware of unjust Censures, and Slanders, upon Persons of Merit; Be|ware of all Self-undoing prejudices, in our Elections. And especially Beware of counting those persons our Adversaries, that are of all the most Able, and the most Willing to be our Benefactors. I am not afraid of telling You, That I am ve|ry much perswaded, the Factious Dispositi|ons with which our Elections were some|times managed, were not the Least of those Provocations, against which, Hea|ven testified by taking away our Charter from us. It is possible, That at this very Time, there may be peculiar cause for some caution; That our Elections may be so manag'd, as to demonstrate, that we are not a Contemptible, but a Wise, and a Good people, and that we are not Ignorant of our true Interest.

But You that have hitherto been the Elected RULERS of this Province, will bear with me, i•• La••t of all, I mention You, as not the Last, nor the Least of those Matchless Favours, which our God

hath given us. In your Piety, in your Faithfulness, in your Zeal to D•• Good, w•• have seen in some Good measure Judges as at the First, and Counsellors as at the Be|ginning. If you should meet with any Ostracisms, You will resent it no other|wise than the Heroic Lacademonian, who rejoyced, That Sparta had so many men more worthy than himself: Tho' for my own part, I know not where we can mend our selves. If God continue your Opportunities, we make no Doubt, that He will continue your Inclinations: and if a Pagan Cicero, much more will a Christi|an Magistrate, Look upon his place in the Government, Velut Tutela, ad Utilita|tem Eorum qui Commissi sunt. Nor will you Lay aside those two Remembrances, wherein the Great Lord Chancellor of En|gland once observed, all ••he precepts for the Duties of Rulers to be summed up; Remember that you are Gods, and, Remem|ber that you are men. But it will remain to be wish'd for you, That you may be fortified with an Exemplary Patience. To contribute whereunto, I will at this Time only Remember, a memorable passage in the Jewish Records. There

was a publick Officer, at whose House many people every day gratis received Reliefs and Soccours. One Day he ask|ed, Well, what do our people say to day? They told him, Why, the people partook of your Kindnesses, and Services, and then they Bless'd you very fervently Did they so? Said he: Then I shall have no great Reward for this Day. Another Day, he asked, Well, and what say our people now? They told him, Alas, Good Syr, the people En|joy'd your Kindnesses and Services to day, and when all was done, they did nothing but Rail at you. Indeed! said he; Now for this Day, I am sure that God will give me a great and a good Reward. Much Honou|red; May the Lord hear you joyfully going before Him with that Request, Neh. 5.19. Think upon me, for Good, O my God, according to all that I have done for this people. And may you think, up|on the words of that Eminent person; who was rewarded with Banishment by the Ungrateful Genevians, after he had been among them, the most Serviceable man, that ever they saw, Certe si homini|bus servivissem, Certainly, If I had serv'd ••one but men, in what I have done, I were

very ill Rewarded; but it is well, that I have Serv'd Him, who alwayes well re|quites those that Serve Him.

Enough and Enough hath now been said, for to bespeak our Hearty Praises unto God. If these Matchless Favours of God unto us, will not, what will bespeak our Hearty Praises? Truly, since our God hath so Dealt with us, as rarely with any Nation, it becomes us, in Choosing those things that please Him, to Exceed Every Nation. Hath more been done for us, than for others? Common Ingenuity will make this Inference; Then, in all God|liness, and Honesty, and in all those things that may Adorn the Doctrine of God our Saviour, Let us Do more than others.

But, as I find both Basil and Austin, de|clining to speak, What they could not Finish within the space of an Hour, I am sensible, the Occasions before the Great and General Assembly this day▪ do forbid me to Speak what I can't Finish in an Hour, and Com|mand me to Finish what I Speak with the Hour. My Discourse is now there|fore to be concluded, Lest you should have the Inconvenience that Nazianzen

would complain of, namely, Satiety in a Sermon. But I must conclude, with an earnest protestation, that we are a people, under more than Ordinary Occasions, to Tremble at that word of God: Amos 3.2. You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth: therefore I will punish you for all your Iniquities.