and Prophane hiftory, you will find that there are none of any fort so numerous and remarkable, as the dire and infamous Tragedies of Rebels. And though from these no certain conclufion can be made of the fate and iffue of all particular Rebellions, because there are inftances of fome that have profpered and fucceeded; and particularly of one among our felves, and in our memory, which next to the Rebellion of the fall'n Angels, was perhaps the most Barbarous and Infamous that was ever acted on the ftage of nature. Yet this I am certain of, that were it my design to draw down fome exemplary judgment on my own head, and even to entail the vengeance of heaven, upon my self and my pofterity, I could not propose to my self a more probable and effectual way, than Rebellion: Which of all the crimes and villanies that have ever been perpetrated, either by Devils or men, hath ever proved most fatal to the Actors of it. Wherefore as we would not make our felves the marks of divine vengeance, and expose our guilty heads to its Almighty Thunderbolts, it concerns us to be very careful that we do not fwerve from our

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due Allegiance to our Prince, that we do not fuffer our Pride or difcontent to prey upon our Loyalty, nor imbibe Seditious Principles, nor intriegue our felves with factious Combinations, which are the Seminaries of Rebellion: but that out of an awful fear and dread of God, we honour and obey the King; and avoid, as we would the Air of a Plague-fore, medling with those that are given to change..

I now proceed to the fecond obfervable in the Text, viz. That God's delivering up of Rebels, is a juft ground of praise and thansgiving to him; for the proof of which I fhall not need to urge any other argument, than the fignal defeat and overthrow of this late Rebellion, for which we are now rendering our thankful acknowledgments to God. For confidering the temper and quality of the Perfons, of which this unnatural Rebellion was composed, a very fmall Prophet may cafily prognofticate, to what a deplorable condition this Nation must have been reduc'd, if it had profper'd and fucceeded; for it was nothing but a common fhore, into which all the kennels

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of the Nation ran, being partly made up of the most debauch'd and profligate Atheists, that had broke through all the Laws of humanity, and ftript themselves fo naked of all the fhew of Piety and Vertue, that they had not hypocrifie enough remaining to disguise their lewd and villanous intentions; partly of beggarly Male-contents, who had no other way to repair their broken fortunes, but by running in to the shipwrack of the Nation; but chiefly of hot-brain'd furious Sectaries, whofe blind zeal, like the Devil in the poffefs'd Man, threw 'em into Fire and Water, tranfported and hurried 'em into any villany, into Perjury and Murder, Treason and Sacrilege, and would not permit 'em to stop at any thing, that made for the Intereft of their cause: fuch were the Ingredients of this poisonous mixture. So that had God for our fins permitted it to prevail, we had quickly feen a flourishing Kingdom, like Herod in all his glory and fplendor, feized on, eaten up by Lice, by a fwarm of the bafeft and most infamous Vermin that ever bred out of the filth of a Nation: We had feen the Atheist glutting his luft with the rapes of our Wives and

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Daughters, and quaffing the tears of Widows and Orphans: we had feen the beggar on Horfe-back flaunting in the spoils of our fortunes, and triumphing on the heads of our Nobles and Gentry; and the bloudy Enthusiast imbrewing his hands in Loyal bloud, appeafing his furious zeal again with Royal Sacrifice, and throwing down all that. is Sacred in our Jerufalem, to make way for the erecting his Phanatick Babel, his Tumult and confusion of Religions: in a word, we had feen our Laws trampled on, our Liberties inflaved, and our yet Sacred and Virgin Throne, to our everlasting infamy, deflowred and prophaned by a fpurious illegitimate Iffue. With this dire spectacle our eyes had moft certainly been entertained, had this black Rebellion fucceeded: wherefore our Gracious God being moved to commiferation, by this woful profpect of our approaching Calamity, roufed up himfelf like a mighty Man of War, and with an avengeful eye looked down upon this Hoft of Affyrians, and with the breath of his Noftrils, fcattered the Rebellious. Rout before him. Wherefore not unto us, O Lord, not to our conduct or puiffance, but to thy Name

Name be all the Glory and Honour. And fince we are all of us fharers in this Great Deliverance, it's juft we fhould all return the Tribute of our Praise to our Great Deliverer. O give thanks unto the Lord therefore for he is good, because his Mercy endureth for ever. Let Ifrael now fay that his Mercy endureth for ever. Let the Houfe of Aaron now fay that his Mercy endureth for ever. Let all them that fear the Lord fay that his Mercy endureth for ever.

And as the beft Return of Gratitude we can make to God, let us by our future Loyalty to his Illuftrious Vice-gerent, by our firm relyance on his Royal Pro mifes, which hitherto have been ever facred and inviolate, by our chearful fubmiffion to his Laws, and conftant forwardness to oppofe and detect all treasonous defigns against his Perfon and Government, endeavour as much as in us lies to render his Reign fafe and eafie, and profperous. And by our immovable conftancy in the profeffion and practice of our holy Religion, the moft pure and unfophifticated,the most Primitive and Loyal Religion of the Church of England: let us endeavour to indear our felves to God, that fo by our faithful fupplications we may prevail with God to fix the Crown upon his Royal Head, to guard and protect his Sacred Perfon, to blefs and fecure his Government, to abate the Pride, affwage the Malice, and confound the devices of his Enemies; and after he hath injoyed a long, a pious and profperous Reign upon Earth, to Crown him with everlafting Glory in Heaven. To which Prayer I am fure all that are the genuine Sons of the Church of England will with a true Heart and Zealous affection fay, Amen.

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