Mirabilia Dei. An essay on the very seasonable & remarkable interpositions of the divine providence, to rescue & relieve distressed people, brought unto the very point of perishing; especially relating to that twice-memorable fifth of November. Offered in the audience of His Excellency the governour and the General Assembly of the Massachusetts-province, New-England, on the fifth of November. 1719. / By Cotton Mather D.D. & F.R.S.

AN History of Seasonable Interpositions; Especially Relating to the Twice-Memorable Fifth of November.

BOSTON. 5d. IX m. 1719.

GENESIS XXII. 14.

It is said unto THIS DAY, In the Mount of the LORD, it shall be seen.

AND upon THIS DAY, What Remarkable, What Admirable Occasions, has our Glorious GOD given us to Repeat this Proverb of Israel!

AS there never was any Man on the Face of the Earth, whose Name has been so uni|versally known among the Children of Men, as the Patriarch Abrabam, to whom a Great Name had been Promised by our GOD, so

there is nothing more known about this Renowned Patriarch, than this, By Faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and be that had received the Promises, offered up his only begotten Son; Accounting that GOD was able to Raise him up even from the Dead. This Memorable Friend of GOD, after ma|ny previous Trials, at last had his Faith tri|ed unto the uttermost, with an Order from the Sovereign Lord of Life, making His usu|al Descent in the Shechinah unto him; an order whereof every Word was a Thunder|bolt; It was, Take now thy Son, thine only Son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into a Land, forty miles off, and offer him for a Burnt offering upon a Mountain there. The Obedience which our Father paid unto this astonishing Order, has been celebrated in all Succeeding Ages, and with very many Nati|ons. The Ancients, who have employ'd their Pens in the celebration, have also told us, that the Story was rarely beheld in a Picture, without Weeping Eyes among them. The Pagans had their famous Traditions of the Matter; Especially That of Saturn Sa|crificing of his Jeoud. The Jews tell us, That the Two Sons of Sennacherth had like to have been a Sacrifue to the Tradition of Abraham's. I am not sure, That Satan took Advantage from hence, to draw the poor Pagans into Humane Sacrifices, particularly

of their Children unto Moloch. But I find philo, notably censuring and confuting the Envious Detractions of those who would go to compare them with the Piety of our In|comparable Abraham.

The Action you know. The Action of Binding Isaac on the Altar, on the Account whereof the whole Business is by the Jews called, Gnakidah Jitzchah, Or, The Binding of Isaac. The brave Young Man, tho' above Twenty Years of Age, readily Submitted un|to this Action of his Father. Doubtless the same Eaith which was in his Excellent Fa|ther, filled and acted the Soul of this won|derful Youth! But what was the Issue of the Action?

Our Glorious GOD would see the Triumph of the Faith, with which He had Enriched the Soul of the Patriarch; and at the same time give in his Isaac a Lively, and Lovely Type of what was afterwards to be done unto our SAVIOUR. Abraham does as firm|ly Believe, that GOD would Raise his Isaac from the Dead, yea, out of his Ashes, as if he had seen it with his Eyes. Isaac is laid on the Altar. Every thing is ready for the Mortal Stroke. The Father gives his Last Kiss to the Resigning Victim. The Knife is in his hand. His hand is lifted up. One Second of a Minute more, and the deadly Stab reaches the Heart that lay expos'd un|to

to it; Isaac is a Dead Man without any more ado. But behold, GOD by an Angel from Heaven, Steps in at the very Moment: The Voice of GOD by an Angel, calls to him, Stop, Stay, Lay not thy hand upon the Sacrifice!— O most Seasonable Interposition! What a De|liverance, in what an Extremity! Abraham could not but settle a Memorial of this Mi|raculous Deliverance, in the Name of, JE|HOVAH-JIREH, on the Place where he received it. GOD will provide; This was the English of it. You know, That the Mountain was also called, Moriah, which is of the like Importance. And you know, what was afterwards done upon that Exalted Mountain of the House of the Lord. And now, Don't wonder, that we now hear of a Proverb, which from this amazing Occur|rence obtained among the People of GOD, in the Succeeding Ages. A Proverb, which has been called, Proverbium Tribulatorum: A Sentence fitted for the People of GOD, in every Extremity of Adversity: A saying with which the People of GOD should ani|mate their Expectation of Help to come from Heaven, when any Adversity comes to an Extremity upon them. The Proverb is, In the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen. O Peo|ple of GOD, When a Perplexity comes upon you to an Extremity like what Abraham and Isaac saw in the Mount Which the Lord led

them to, then it shall be seen, what GOD will do for you; it shall be seen, how GOD will appear for your Deliverance. Sooner shall the Mountain of Moriah depart, and the Hill of GOD be removed, than this Proverb grow into a Desuetude.

Behold, The Entertainment that is now provided for you. A Relation of Seasonable Interpositions from Heave, for the Relies of the Distressed, is what is now to Entertain you.

A Seasonable Interposition of the Divine Pro|vidence to prevent the Destruction of such as are upon the very Point of being De|stroyed; This is a Dispensation, much to be wondred at, and still to be looked for.

'Tis no Rare Thing for the Glorious GOD, Seasonably to Step in, and prevent the Sacri|fice, which we are upon the Point of being brought unto. 'Tis no Rare Thing, for the Glorious GOD Seasonably to Step in, and put by a Deadly Blow, which is upon the very Point of being Struck at our dearest Interests.

The Succour which our GOD has for us in our Distresses, is often deferr'd until we even Despair of a Deliverance. But when Things are come to an Extremity, Then 'tis then He Steps in to Succour us.

We read of our GOD and SAVIOUR, Heb. IV. 16. That from Him, we obtain Mercy and

find Fevour, to Help in a Time of Need. But the Time of Need, wherein the Only Wise GOD chuses to help us, is, when our Necessi|ty comes to an Extremity. And then He takes as we say, the very Nick of Time, to send in His Help unto us.

We may give this LOCTRINE of Seaso|nable Interpositions, in the Terms of an Old saying very common among the People of GOD, Mans Extremity is GODs Opportunity. Is there not such a Promise as That, Zech. XIV. 7. At Evening it shall be light. At E|vening! Who would have Expected a break|ing forth of Light in the Evening? A Morn|ing of Salvations in an Evening of Distresses! But GOD will Perform what He does Pro|mise. And the Upright shall in their Dark|ness have Light arising to them.

We will Declare, first, THAT it has been so.

Let us for a few Minutes walk about the Field of History, and gather here and there a Rose of Sharon; Make a brief Collection of Instances, wherein GOD has with Seaso|nable Interpositions, come in for the Relief of the Faithful, when Extreme Dangers of Ruine have sorely terrified them.

And here, Oh! Let it not be forgotten,— indeed, I cannot go on with my Collection, till I first make this Introduction to it!— It must be Remembred, That Mankind upon

our First Fall, was just upon the very Point, of being made a Sacrifice, unto the Infinite Justice of GOD: The out-stretched Arm of Infinite Justice was ready to give the Stroke. The Powers of Heaven shook; None of them could see how it could be diverted. But GOD then did Provide a Sacrifice. The Son of GOD with a most Seasonable Interposition did then Step in; and say, I will be the Sa|crifice. Christians, Behold your SAVIOUR Sacrificed on Mount Calvary; [Yea, some look on Mount Calvary as an Appendage to Mount Moriah!] and then cry out, The Lord seen in the Mount! The Lord seen in the Mount! The World has never seen any thing equal to this Dispensation. The Son of GOD, Saw, and there was no Man, and wondred that there was no Intercessor. There|fore His Arm did bring Salvation; HE Step'd in, and Saved at this Exremity! It has been indeed for the sake of this Appearance of the Great GOD our SAVIOUR, that we have been made able to go on unto the Instances which we now proceed unto.

First. The People of GOD in Associated Bodies; These have all along seen the Sea|sonable Interpositions of His Providence, when Distresses have grown Extream upon them. Let us Consider the Days of old, and the Years of Ancient Generations: The condition of, The Bush all on a Light Fire, but yet net con|sumed.

When was it, that our Compassion|nate GOD Look'd on the Affliction of His Peo|ple in Egypt? Things were come to an Ex|tremity; and it is said unto this day, Cum duplic••ntur Lateres, venit Moses. The Tasks are Doubled, the Pains are Doubled: Then comes the Deliverer! Anon, the People are brought unto a Pi-habireth; A Mouth of Perils; Where they cannot escape, Except they Eat up a vast Army behind them, or Drink up the Reedy Sea before them: Well, Fear not; Stand still; See the Saivation of the Lord! How Seasonably and Remarkably the Blessed GOD appeared on that Memo|rable Day! and Opened a Way in the Sea, and Made a Peth in the Mighty Waters!— In the Difficulties of the Wilderness, When the People were come to the Last Pinch; were on the very Point of Starving: how strangely does the Mighty GOD of Jacob, cause the Angels to drop down Bread from Heaven upon them, and the very Rock to yield Rivers of Waters unto them? And be of a Good Heart, O NEW-ENGLISH Israel; Neither will thy GOD suffer thee to be Star|ved in thy Wilderness! In the Book of Judges, how often does our GOD Raise up a Deliverer for His People, when Israel is sore|ly Distressed, and has no Prospect of any De|liverance? What was the Distress of Asia, and his People, when a Million of Rapacious

Arabians Invade him? What was the Distress of Jehoshaphat, and his People, when united Moabites and Ammonites, and Edomites, In|vade him? There was another time, When the Lord saw the Affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for there was not any shut up, nor any Left, nor any Help for Israel; But, Then! GOD found, I will rather say, GOD made an Hand, by which He saved them. Oh! the Distress of the People, in the Days of Heze|kiah, when the Assyrian Invasion was carry|ing all before it! The Capital City invest|ed, and all on the very Point of Perishing by a Blast of the Terrible Ones! But Now, GOD sends down His Angel from Heaven; Judg|ment was heard from Heaven; GOD shewed Himself Glorious and Excellent on the Moun|tains of Prey: A Thunder-storm is raised, in which the Stout-hearted are spoiled. Oh! The Joy of the Deliverance! When was a De|liverance wrought for the Church under the Babylonian Captivity? It was, when the People found themselves in the very Grave. Their Har••s were hung on the Willows; They were in as disperate Circumstances as the Dry Bones of the Dead; their Cry was, Ezek. XXXVII. 11. Our Hope is gone. After This, what a Design was there formed, for the Utter Extinction of all the People which our GOD then had in the World; When Haman had obtained a Bloody Decree to cut

oft every Mothers Child of 'em; all in one day; and the Lucky Day fixed for the Execu|tion! Was Isanc ever in such a Mount be|fore? But,—Between the Cup and the Lap! O the Wonder-working Providence of our Glotious GOD! And what became of Ha|man, and his Ten Sons? Antichrist and his Ten Sons, have cause to think of That! Un|to what a Low Ebb was Christianity reduced, when such incredible Numbers of Christians had been Martyred by Dioclesian and ima|gining that he had burnt all the bibles as well as kill d all the Christians in the World, he set up his Triumphal Pillars, with that Inscription upon them, Christiana Superstiti|one deleta,—There's an End of Christianity, thought he. No, Sir, You're mistaken! The Next News is, A Christian Emperour on the Throne; and a greater Number of Christians appearing, than had ever been in the World before! In what a forlorn Con|dition was the Church, on the very Point of giving up the Ghost, when the hidden Re|mains of the Taborites, dispatched Four Men to travel into all Parts, upon Discovery, and they returned with sorrowful Tidings, that the Church was Lost in hideous Idolatries; only they were told, that there was a few Remains of the Piemontese, which were Scattered & Conceled; no body knew where they were. But this Darkest Time of the

Night, was just before Break of Day! Pre|sently, a certain Monk, who had until then made none of the greatest Figure, fell out with a Knave about the price of his Indul gences; and this brought on the Reformation, wherein Half Europe embraced the Religion, which had been just on the very Point of be|ing banished out of the World.

Secondly; The People of GOD in Particu|lar Persons; These also have all along seen the Seasonable Interpositions of His Provi|dence, when Distresses have grown Extreme upon them. Call now, if there be any that will not answer thee, and will not say, I was brought Low, and then my GOD helped me! Unto which of the Saints wilt thou turn, and not find them still saying, When I was brought very Low, then the Tender Mercies of my GOD speedily prevented me! All the Cases of the Hundred and Seventh PSALM, are still renewed with Believers; in every Ge|neration. Who is there to be found among the People of GOD, but what may have the Report of the Hundred and Seventh PSALM given of them; Their Soul sainted in them; They fell down and there was none to help; They drew near to the Gates of Death; Their Soul was melted be ause of Trouble, and they were at their Wits End. But THEN! They Cry unto the Lord in their Trouble; and He brings them out of their Distresses. How fre|quent

a Spectacle This! A Tragedy carried on to an Extremity; And then, GOD on a sudden, makes a Descent from the Machin of Heaven, and all goes off more comforta|bly than any one could have dreamed of! Our Father Noah, in the Darkness, & the vast Labour and Fatigue of the Ark; Doubtless he was even spent, with waiting for on Out|gate. Anon, GOD Remembers him, and fet|ches him out of his Melancholy Coffin. Was not Sarah, thrown into the Jaws of a Wild-beast, who was just ready to bring an Endless confusion upon her? GOD then steps in and says to the Raptor, Thou art a Dead Man, if thy prey be not presently deli|vered up! Jacob, can see nothing else, but his Brother Esau just upon the very Point of doing upon him, all that the Hound can do; to the Deer that he comes up withal. But THEN,—Lo, GOD steps in, to change the Heart of the Beast, and bring him to Fawn|ing on him, instead of Biting of him. No doubt Joseph reckoned himself shut up in a Perpetual Prison, when an Ungrateful and Forgetful Butler, left him there, and his Feet were hurt with Festers. But NOW is the Time, that the Word of the Lord Purges him; The Revelation which GOD made unto him, Vindicates him, Advances him, and he be|comes the Ruler of a Mighty Nation. The Rescues of David, how often were these,

When the poor Partridge on the Mountains, was just upon the very Point of being Siezed by the Talons of the Vulture! But GOD was ever seen in those Mountains! At last, he crys out, I shall one day perish. Ziklag is burn't, and all he had is carried away, and his very Friends talk of Stoning him. Here is what we may with Good Sense call, The Last Extremity! Well, O David, Now Encourage thy self in the Lord thy GOD: Thou shalt be upon the Throne immediately! When has the Poor Widow, her Supplies brought in unto her? Truly, When She is come to the Last Handful of Meal in the Barrel, the Last Spoonful of Oyl in the Cruse. The Three Worthies are thrown into the tremendous Furnace. How Seasonably does the SON of GOD step down to cover them? Daniel is thrown down to the hungry Lions. How Seasonably does the Messenger of GOD step down to Muzzle them? Is it possible for peter to be delivered! Why He is to Dy the Next Day; Heavy Fetters are upon him; cruel Keepers are about him; A strong Pri|son holds him in the straitest Custody. But GOD sends down from Heaven; and Peter is on the Next Day Preaching to the People of GOD. Who would have imagined it? How often is Paul just upon the very Point of being offered up? Once he says, Act. XXVII. 20. All hope that we should be saved, was then

taken away. But still, Paul when thus Dy|ing Daily, yet, Behold, He Lives! Doubt|less, Many of those who felt the Healing Miracles of our SAVIOUR, were Healed, with very Unexpected Cures. A Learned Physician, has written an Essay of much Eru|dition, to prove, That they were all Incurable by any other Hand, but our SAVIOURS, Ask among the People of GOD: How many will you find, who have had the Mercy of GOD coming unto them, when like Epaphro|ditus, they have been just Nigh unto Death? How many have been brought into the com|fort of a Calm, when the Tempest caused 'em to cry, with the Disciples in theirs, Lord, Save us; or we perish in a Moment! How many brought out of Perplexity, when the Extremity has been such as to throw them into an uncommon Agony? Of our GOD and SAVIOUR we may say, These are part of His ways; But how little a portion is heard of them!

We will Enquire, Secondly; WHY it must be so?

'Tis with Scosonable Interpositions, that out GOD will Step in to Relieve the Faithful, when things are gone so far that they can see none but Extreme Dangers of Ruine be|fore them.

It must be so; Because a Glorious GOD will give a Manifestation of His Perfections,

and will be greatly Glorified in such Dis|pensations. An Extremity of Distress, brings Men to that strain; 2 Chron. XX. 12. O our GOD, we know not what to, but our Eyes are upon Thee. Our GOD will have All other Help to fail us; Then will He step in for our Help: 'Tis to manifest the Greatness of His Excellencies. NOW, Help me, O Lord my GOD, That it may be known that this is thy Hand, and that thou, Lord, art the Doer of it! It compels us to say, The Finger of GOD is here. We are compell'd now to say, If it had not been the Lord that was on our side, our Souls must have gone to dwell in the Place of Silence! Why will GOD our SAVIOUR do such Things? 'Tis, That Men may see, and know, and consider, and understand, that the Hand of the Lord has done these things. We are told, In the Mount it shall be seen. What shall be seen? It shall be seen, that our GOD is a Powerful, Merciful, Faithful GOD. Yea, It shall be seen, That our GOD has An|gels at His Command. For 'tis usually in their Instrumentality that He Commands these Deliverances. NOW the Saved of the Lord, will cry out, O Lord, I know, that thou canst do every thing! Now they cannot but cry out, O give Thanks unto the Lord, who Re|members us in our Low Estate, because His Mercy endureth for ever! They will go to Mahanaim, and add, There is no Number of His Armies.

But then, It must be so, Because the Pray|ers, and the Frames, and the Steps, of the Distressed Ones in their Extremities, are of|ten such as prepare them to See the Salvation of GOD. Our GOD brings us into Extreme Dangers; 'Tis to bring us down upon our Knees. In such Exegencies our Prayers will be Cries: The Voice of the Prayers will pierce the Clouds, will reach the Heavens. It may be said, as in Psal. XXXIV. 6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard! GOD will be so Acknowledged, and all Depen|dencies on Creatures will be so renounced in these Cries, that now our SAVIOUR says, 'Tis now Seasonable for me to step in, & save them! Oh! Nothing like the Prayer of the Afflicted, when he is overwhelmed!—The Im|portunity of it, gives those Knocks at the Gates of Mercy, which they cannot continue any longer shut upon.

And why may it not be said, It must be so, Because our SAVIOUR will in this way keep Alive, our Faith for the Resurrection of the Dead. Seldom is a Good Thing bestowed upon us, till we first have had a Sentence of Death written upon it. Extreme Dangers must bring us to That, 2 Cor. XII. 9. We have the Sentence of Death in our selves, that we may Trust in GOD who Raises the Dead. The Faith of a Resurrection for the Dead, is the Life of our Souls. Our GOD keeps

Killing of us, and causing us to have nothing but a black Death in our view; but then He gives us to see, all Alive again. We Live, and say, The Lord has done things for us, which we looked not for! 'Tis to Illustrate, yea, to Demonstrate this thing unto us. The SA|VIOUR who does these things, will one day Shew Wonders to the Dead.

In the mean time, Oh! How Happy, How Happy, they that are in Good Terms with the Glorious GOD! What an Happiness to have such a Friend always ready to step in, with Seasonable Interpositions, when we have any Extreme Distress upon us! My Friend, Embrace and Obey thy SAVIOUR, and make sure of such an Happiness.

And now, What shall we say to these things?

There will e're long arrive a Day, where|in that word will be fulfilled; Rev. XX. 12. The Books were opened. No doubt, some of the Things to be found in those Glorious Books, will be the Scasonable Appearances of our Good GOD, for the Help of His Peo|ple, when Distresses have been growing into an Extemity upon them. And among the rest, no doubt, the Divine Appearances, which have now been given you, will be found in those Books of Remembrance, with a much more ample Record of them, in all their Beautiful and Engaging Circumstances.

But I am oblig'd at this time to proceed no further in the Mention of those Things, whereof I must use the Expression of the A|postle, upon the Things that occur'd in the Lives of the Ancient Hero's, The Time would fail me to mention them.

Hitherto the Things wherewith I have Entertained you, must have this Title upon them, These are Ancient Things. But what remains for me, is, to make some Remarks, upon more Modern Occurrenoes, wherein the Divine Appearances, for our Nation in ge|neral, and for this Province in Particular, have been such Seasonable Interposition. to Relieve in an Extremity, as we have hither to observed in the more 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Operations of GOD.

I am to put you in Mind, of some Things done in Later Times, wherein, Thou hast A|woke, O Arm of the Lord, Awoke as in the 'An|cient Days, as in the Generations of Old! Strange Things done for our Nation, in the Critical Moments wherein we had been all Undone, if They had not been Done just when they were, and if the Mercies of our GOD had not Speedily flown down unto us. Christians, Whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the Loving-kindness of the Lord.

You are all sensible, That our Nation does on THIS DAY, make an Anniversary

Commemoration of a National Deliverance from a PLOT, jast Ripe for Execution, which cannot be Realized, and Considered, without a Shuddering Horror at the Thought,—That ever any Thing in Humane Shape could become guilty of so Matchless a Villany! The wish of the Infamous Em|perour, to see the Romans United all so to|gether, that One Blow at the Neck, might behead them all at Once, was now very mear obtained by a crue of horrid Romans. In|credible! Impossible! One of the most fa|mous among our New-English Divines, who was born on that very Signalized Fifth of November, his Father call'd him Thomas; For, said he, It will hardly be believed, and this Child will have much ado to Believe it, that ever such a Thing should be found among the Children of Men. But what is it, that Popery cannot be guilty of? How Abomi|nable, How Execrable, must Popery become unto all that will not utterly divest them|selves of all Humanity? Certainly, When the Days of Intoxication, continuing to this Day upon, as it is judged, about Fourscore Millions of People, abandoned by the Un|searcheable Judgments of GOD unto it, are over, it will be so!

There having been, by a Probable & Mo|derate Computation, at least a Million of Sermons Preached on this Day, since the First

Act of Parliament for the Anniversary Com|memoration, I may be Excused, from any Amplifications upon it. But, tho' we come not into a Religious Observation of Stated Days, not appointed of GOD, yet I am not willing to let THIS DAY pass, without making at least this One Remark upon it; That the Bloody Destruction intended by the more Immediate Plotters to be brought at once upon the King, Lords and Commons of our Nation, was all to bring in a Popish Pretender. And how any can think to Set a Popish Pretender on the British Throne, without Shedding of more Blood, yea, and this with the more open Explosions of Gunpowder too, than the Fifth of Novem|ber would have shed, if it had gone on, an hundred and fourteen Years ago,—it ap|pears an Unintelligible Mystery!

How the Old Plotters came to think of Gunpowder, as the most agreeable Tool for them to work withal, Some have wondred, who forgot the Fate of him who had been a Father to the King then designed for a Sa|crifice. This however may be said upon it: It is very Surprising, that a Spanish Writer, whose Name was Del Rio, Publishing a Book of Magical Disquisitions, and the Powers of Evil Spirits, Two or Three Years before our Celebrated Fifth of November, puts there the very Case of the Gun-Powder-Plot, and

his Decision of the Case, is That a Father-Confessor made Privy to such a Plot in a Con|fession, ought by no means to discover it. And now, whatever Hidden works of Dark|ness relating to that Hellish Plot may remain Undiscovered, until the Day of our SAVI|OURS Revelation, we may without any Scruple say, The Evil Spirits which Del Rio treated of, used their Instigation to push on the Conspirators to their infandous Enter|prize. Could my Sermon reach to any of those, who are at this Day hoping to Blow up, whole Kingdoms, and more than Three Nations, that so they may see what their Fa|thers, Garnet and Company, miss'd of, I would Entreat these New Plotters, to Exa|mine seriously, Whose Instigation it is, that they are Moved withal, when they have so little Fear of GOD before their Eyes; And they should hear me saying, Surely, Thou wilt slay the wicked, O GOD; and therefore, ye Bloody men, Depart from me! I would Expostulate with such Unhappy People.

When the Just and Necessary Oathes, are by the Best of Governours, from a Tender Concern for the Publick Safety proposed unto you, with what loud Vociferations do you Complain & Exclaim, That your Con|science is imposed upon? May Conscience then be hearken'd to. To Swallow Oathes, against a Dissatisfyed Conscience is what no

Good Man would advise you to. But, That you impartially Labour for a Better Conscience, a Wiser Conscience, One more Ealightened; This is the Best Advice that we can give you. 'Tis nothing but a due Regard unto the Publick Safety, that makes these Oathes to be required of you: the Publick Safety, for the Disturbance where|of, no Plea of a pretended Conscience is to be admitted of. And, Sirs, Can your Con|science tell you, That Three Nations ly|ing in Blood, and the British Islands in De|solations which would require the Pen of another Gildas to describe them, would be a Desireable Spectacle? Can your Conscience tell you, That every Protestant in the World, ought to have his Throat Cut, or be Condemned unto Louisian Dungeons and Galleys? Can your Conscience tell you, That the Religion which your Bible has taught you, should be Extirpated by Fire and Sword, and the Romish Idolatries established with the most Barbarous and Inhumane Cruelties? Are you Aware, that you Really are in a Plot, for the Ac|complishment of such Horrible Things, while you abet the cause of a Popish Pre|tender, who must needs go to do them all: Certainly, 'Tis a fearful Judgment of GOD, for any Man to be abandoned unto such a Conscience. Or, Can your Conscience tell

you, That if a Man be an Idoot or Lunatick, the People are not worse than so, who do not provide (as not long ago, they did in Fortugal,) that such an one shall not Sit & Act on the Throne of the Kingdom? Whereas, a Roman Catholick, bound by Principle to Betray and Ruine his King|dom, is a thousand times more Disqualified, (as being more Unrestrainable) than such an One! Does your Conscience tell you a Story of Hereditary Right? But, you cannot but know, That Hereditary Right, has been many times disclamed, many times diverted, often Superseded in the Succession of the British Monarchy. If an Act of Parliament may not Limit and Alter, the Succession of the Crown, Those from and thro' whom you derive the Right of your Pretender, had no Right at all; and so by consequence He has no Right at all. The Hereditary Right which you insist up|on, (the Line whereof has been so often Interrupted!) vanishes into Nothing. You cannot in any Conscience insist upon it.

Thus may they be argued with! But these are a sort of People, that NEW-ENGLAND is very much a Stranger to! Our Soyl don't agree with People that have that Venome in them.

And now, was what our Nation saw in the Seasonable Deliverance, which causes

our Ancestors to make this Day like the Days of Purim, the only Instance wherein GOD our SAVIOUR, has after an astonishing manner Step'd in, to rescue us, when we were on the very Precipice of a Perdition to be trembled at? No; There was a Mar|vellous Deliverance wrought for the Nati|on, Forty Seven Years before, by a swift change upon the Publick Affairs; A CHANGE which if it had been delay'd a few Months longer, England might have been a Province to Spain; And something like the Spanish Inquisition had been Esta|blished in it; But the PROTESTANT RELIGION,—Whither must thou have made thy Flight, O thou Daughter of GOD!

But I will not insist on a Fifth of November, that shone Fifteen Years before this Country was born. I will rather Stir up your Minds to the Remembrance, of what has been done in Our Days, yea, in the very Year that is now passing over us.

And I pray, How much does the Fifth of November, in the Days of King James the first, outshine the Fifth of November, in the Days of King James the second; on which Twice-memorable Day, there Landed on the English Shore, that Illustrious PRINCE, whom GOD rais'd and sent for the Deli|verance of our Nation, from a Return of

Popery and Slavery, the Two Grand Plagues of a woful World, and of Europe from the Chains that France was laying upon it. How Near, how very Near!—was the whole PROTESTANT Interest in the World, unto an Apparent Ruine?—Verily, It lay bound on the Altar, and the Knife was just Ready to Strike, when a Great King was for that purpose United with France, and had a Standing Army at his command, and there only remained the Experiment of some New Creations in the House of Lords, and bold Re|turns for an House of Commons; to intro|duce at Once the Horrible Stroke!

But the Rebuilder of the Romish Jericho, found the Curse of our Glorious JESUS, to Blast the Enterprize. That unhappy King, had no sooner boasted in a Proclama|tion, That there was nothing left now to disturb the future Tranquillity of his Reign, but a sudden REVOLUTION chased him from his Throne; An Eighty Eight brought unto the Nation a Deliverance not inferiour to that of the Eighty Eight in the Century that went before it; and a Change came on, whereof he must be very Insensible, who does not make that Acclamation, The Lords doing, and Marvellous in our Eyes!

That Fifth of November, is the more to be kept in thy Remembrance, O NEW-ENG|LAND,

Because among the Things after|wards brought into the Light, it was found, That the Establishment of Popery in these Colonies, was an Article that had been very particularly provided for.

Thus was our GOD seen in the Mount! And it shall no more be said, The Lord Li|veth, who Saved the Parliament-House, and all that was in it, from a Desolation in a Mo|ment, and an Utter Consumption with Terrible Things: But it shall be said, The Lord Li|veth, who Step'd in, at the Moment, when all that is dear to us, was on the very Point of going from us, and by an Happy REVO|LUTION Enabled us to sing, Our Soul is Escaped as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fow|lers; The Snare is broken, and we are Escaped.

The Memory of the Never-to-be-forgot|ten King WILLIAM, will be for ever precious to all True Protestants, but none more than the New English ones, on a Thou|sand Accounts; But very particularly for the Influence which he had on that Act of Parliament, by which the Succession of the British Crown has been Settled on the Il|lustrious House of Hanover, and we see there|in, what is most Valuable to a Christian and an English-man secur'd unto us.

Behold, What a New Field of Wonders we are brought unto! And what wonderful Interpositions of GOD our SAVIOUR, to make Things Turn well for us, when we have been upon the very Point of being made a Sacri|fice, we are invited now to take into our contemplation!

Every body now knows, That there was a Design with a Strong Hand carried on, to put by that Succession to the Crown, which all the Good Men in the Nations wish'd well unto. One cannot look back on the Story, without being ever now and then in pain for the Next Event! Without being Surprized & Amazed at the Strange Things which fell out One after another, to disap|point the Design which the Men that be|tray'd the Nations to France, had brought so near, so very near!—to an Execution!

Our Lawful & Rightful King GEORGF, being Peaceably and Wondrously Settled on the Throne of Great BRITAIN, to the Joy of all the Good Men in the World, it was not long before the Popish Pretender made an Invasion upon the British Nations, and an Infaruated Party of Self-destroyers made Violent Efforts to bring him in. A Seasonable Death gave a Mortal Wound unto the Undertaking; very much Dispirited the Undertakers, Disconcerted all their

Measures! The Leviathen at Versailles, being Smitten of GOD, Putrified into a most loth some Carcase, and left off to Make the World a Wilderness, and to destroy the Cities thereof. The Tree that sheltered and che|rished the Birds of Prey was most Scasona|bly hewn down by the Order of GOD. And the GOD of Beltel, in One day, gave a Dou|ble Defeat unto the Insurrections of the work|ers of Iniquity. In One Day did the Lord of Hosts powerfully defeat them, and both Dunblain and Preston saw the Treading down of all their Strength. But He Step'd in, how Opportunely, how much at the very Nick of Time, which Dispensations to be for ever wondred at!

The Last Winter the Men who are Like the troubled Sea, prepared for another Inva|sion. A Seasonable Death again gave a Mor|tal Wound unto the Undertaking; and with|drew the Assistences which the Undertakers mightily relied upon. A Monatch who had caused Terror in the Land of the Living, was most Seasonably taken off; And thereby, as the Oppressed Swedes have had their Go|thick Liberties Miraculously Restor'd unto them, so there was a Thing of Great Con|sequence done towards the Priserving of ours. The Embarcation from Spain indeed went on. But, when there was above an

hundred and thirty Years ago, a Descent from Spain upon our Fore-fathers, within Navy that called it self, Invincible, GOD fought against it, and by the Stormy Wind ful|filling His Word, confounded that Expediti|on. And now another Descent from Spain was making upon us, GOD who holds the Wind in His Hand, by His own Irresistible Hand, brought all the costly Expedition to Nothing. But He Step'd in, how Opportune|ly, how much at the very Nick of Time, with Dispensations to be for ever wondred at!

O the Triumphs of Soveraign Grace, in these Divine Appearances, for our most Un|worthy Nations! I will sing unto our most Gracious GOD. for He has triumphed gloriously!

NEW-ENGLAND is Thankfully sensible of the share which it has in the Seasonable Salvations wherewith our Nation had been thus highly favoured of the Lord.

But then, How many Peculiar Salvations hath NEW-ENGLAND seen, wherein our Glorious LORD has must Seasonably Interpo|sed for us, in our Extremities. Those Mag|nalia CHRISTI. ever the Seasonable in|terpositions of GOD out SAVIOUR, to deliver us, when Extreme Hazards of Ruine look'd very dark upon, us; These are Things which

the History of NEW-ENGLAND is filled withal. Many a Time, let NEW-ENG|LAND now say, Many a Time, in Affliction, from my Youth, had the Destroyers prevailed against me, if my Glorious Lord had not Sea|sonably Step'd in to rescue me. Verily, NEW-ENGLAND continues to this Day, having obtained Help from GOD, in such Seasonable Dispensations!

One Time above the rest, cannot but be Remembred by many that remain to this Day. Some who did then Jeopard their Lives in the High Places of the Field, are now in this very Auditory. There was a Time Three and Forty Years ago, when the fierce Indian Salvages, having Spred the Flame of a Dubious War, from One End of the Coun|try to the Other, Every One thought, the Summer then coming on, would be fill'd with Desolations, that would very near have broke Up the Colonics. But Behold, when Things were come to that Extremity, GOD Step'd in, and made bare His Almighty Arm for our Deliverance. The Enemy distracted like Beasts that are Stung with Hornets, fell an easy Prey, to the People In|habiting the Wilderness. Yea, Sword and Sickness in a few Months consumed whole Nations of them!

This has indeed been the way of GOD our SAVIOUR all along Appearing for us.

What a Seasonable Provision did our GOD make for us, by a Friend on the Spot, appear|ing at the Court for us, at the Revolution, that we might be delivered from a Total and Final Deprivation of all the Privileges, which distinguished us, from the rest of the Plantations!

How often have we been upon the very Print, of being made the Prey of the Terrible? Those which are called, The wild-beasts of the Earth, have been just coming upon us! But the Great GOVERNOUR of the World, Seasonably Stepping in, has very Unexpected|ly more than Twice done the Things, which have enabled us to say, Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as a prey to their Teeth!

How often have our Churches been upon the very Point of doing Things which would have been attended with an Unknown Train of Disturbances? But their Glorious HEAD Seasonably Stepping in, has put a Stop unto them, and the feared Storms have all blown over.

But, Who can Utter the mighty Acts of the Lord? Who can shew forth all His Praise? How long a work would it be to Recapitu|late the Seasonable Interpositions, wherewith

He has rescued us from Grievous Things, when we have been upon the very Point. of being overwhelmed with them! Lo, GOD hath sent from above; He hath drawn us out of many Waters.

The Improvement, which we are to make of this Experience, must be to Encourage our Prayers and our Hopes for the continuance of it. Sirs, Let us Improve our Experience, unto that Argument; 2 Cor. 1.10. GOD, who raises the Dead, has Delivered us from so great a Death, and He doth Deliver; and 〈…〉〈…〉 trust in Him, that He will still deliver us. The Syllogism, I confess, is not of any such form as our common Logick allows of; But Faith Legitimates this way of Arguing, and can Remove Mountains with it!

You will allow me to use the Language of the Day; and say, There may be Things which may threaten to Blow up the Coun|try, and Blow up the Churches, which have the Beauty and the Safety of the Country in them. Let thy Watchmen set upon thy Walls, O NEW-ENGLAND, give thee yet more faithful & more solemn Warnings of them, and may their Visions prevent thy Perishing!

But now, Why may we not Hope, That before the Distresses which the Exportation

of our Coin thro' the Extravagancy of our Living has brought upon us, be brought un|to much greater Extremity, the Methods which the Men of Thought have to offer for the Stopping of that Hemorrhage, will be yet more thoroughly Digested, will be hearkened unto, will be complied withal: And all foolish Animosities that may hinder this Felicity, be entirely Extirpated?

Why may we not Hope, That the Intenti|ons of those, who may be willing to see us a Miserable People, yea, of those Treacherous Men from among our selves, who, to re|commend themselves unto preferments, pro|pose and pursue things that would make our Miseries Unsupportable; may by the Hand of our GOD Seasonably Interposing for us, and with them that help us, have their Chariot-Wheels taken off, so that they shall drive heavily, and anon be all Abortive?

Why may be we not Hope, That if any Rash Doings may be likely to Discompose our Churches, our Strong Redeemer Seasonably Interposing, may cause those things to fall out, that will put an End unto Days of Temptation, an give them to Walk on in the Right Ways of the Lord, and in our Good Old Ways, in the Fear of GOD, and in the com|forts of the Holy Spirit, and be Multiplied?

O Thou Hope of NEW-ENGLAND, and thou SAVIOUR thereof in the Times of Trouble, with Encouraged Hopes will we keep Looking up unto thee!

FINIS.