Rebellion Extinguished:
A Thanksgiving-Sermon, PREACHED AT BARTON UNDER-NEEWOOD, in the COUNTY of
Stafford, October
the 9th, 1746.
On Account of the Deliverance of these KINGDOMS from the Calamities of an INTESTINE WAR.
By
THOMAS VAUGHAN,
A. M. Vicar of ECCLES in
Lancashire.
The King shall rejoice in thy Strength, O Lord; exceeding glad shall he be, of thy Salvation,
Psal. xxi. 1.
LONDON:
Printed for the AUTHOR; and are to be Sold by WILLIAM SANDBY, at the
Ship,
opposite to
St. Dunstan's Church,
in
Fleetstreet.
1746.
[Price Six-pence.]
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL
GOWER,
Viscount TRENTHAM, AND LORD PRIVY-SEAL,
&c.
THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE, Is most humbly dedicated, By His LORDSHIP'S
Most dutiful, Most obedient, And much obliged Humble Servant,
THOMAS VAUGHAN.
1 SAMUEL XII. 24.
Only fear the Lord, and serve him in Truth, with all your Heart; for consider how great Things he hath done for you.
IF all the Affairs of this lower World were either whirled about, by the Giddiness of Chance, or entirely governed by the Sullenness of Fate, it would strike a Damp upon all our Spirits; and this World, to all rational Beings that can fear and estimate, all future Contingencies, would be, a most gloomy, and melancholy Place.
And if all the wonderful, and surprising Revolutions, in this Life, depended upon the Policy, and Wisdom of those that are the Agents, in bringing mighty Things to pass, (since the greatest Weights, many times, are supported by the most slender Wires, and Success in all extraordinary Undertakings, depends upon the happy Concurrences of innumerable Acdidents, upon favourable Seasons, and a thousand Circumstances, as various and uncertain as the Weather;) the nicest Politicians would be lost, and disappointed; and they, in the Psalmist's Phrase, would
reel to and fro,
and be
at their Wits end.
But, how wise soever vain Men would be, this World is no more governed, than it was created by Chance; and he that made it, is only able to govern it. We are neither under the Power of Chance, nor determined by positive, and inexorable Fate; we do not depend upon politick Institutions; but are now assembled to give Glory unto the Great God, who rules the Armies of Heaven, and the Inhabitants of the lower Regions; whose Power is infinite, and whose Mercy is over all his Works; who
is the Hope of all that dwell on the Earth, and of them that remain in the broad Sea,
Ps. lxv. 5.
The Lord is King, the Earth may be glad thereof; yea, the Multitude of the Isles may be glad thereof,
Ps. xcvii. 1.
We will rejoice in thy Salvation, and triumph in the Name of the Lord our God. We will offer unto him the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, and tell out his Works with Gladness,
Ps. cvii. 22. And no Nation under Heaven had ever more Reason to do so, than we have upon this present Solemnity.
And the signal Instances of God's Providence, are so illustriously visible, that we cannot, but with the deepest Gratitude, adore him
that sitteth above the Water Floods, and remaineth a King for ever,
Ps. xxix. 9.
Oh! that Men would praise the Lord for his Goodness, and declare the Wonders that he doth for the Children of Men,
Ps. cvii. 21.
In order to this, I would earnestly recommend, the Advice of
Samuel,
a wise, an experienced, a faithful Governor, who scorned to be bribed, or to raise his Fortunes upon the Ruins of the People; who abhorred all Artifices to enrich himself, and solemnly appeals to all the People, as Witnesses of his Integrity:
Here I am,
produce your Evidences, I offer myself to a publick Trial,
before the Lord, and before his Anointed.
Ver. 3.
Whose Ox have I taken? or whose Ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or at whose Hand have I received any Bribe, to blind mine Eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
And he received this publick Testimony,
Thou hast not defrauded us, neither hast thou taken ought of any Man's Hand.
And they ratify the Sentence,
the Lord is Witness.
This admirable Person, who had long governed them with such Courage and Fidelity, that the worst of his Enemies could, in no Case, charge him with Male-administration; yet all his Merits were ungratefully slighted, and the People, (that never want Occasion to pick Quarrels with their Governor) whilst they acquit the Judge, yet murmur at his Age; for that had disabled him to travel his usual Circuits; and they charged his Sons for perverting Judgment, and he must resign the Government to please the People. But these high Provocations had no ill Effect upon him. Oh! the vast Difference betwixt those, that have no Aims but the publick Good, and those that have private Interests of their own to serve! He chearfully resigns it, but with unparalleled, condescending Goodness; after he shewed them that he was still the Favourite of Heaven, how ungratefully soever they used him upon Earth. At his powerful Prayers, God terrified them with Thunder, and softened them with Rain, and prepared them for the most concerning Advice.
Notwithstanding the highest Ingratitude, and Barbarity to his Person and Family, the brave aged Judge thus addresses himself to all the People:
As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you,
Ver. 23.
All the Injuries that they had done him, could not raise the least Thought of Revenge; he would not offend Almighty God, by any thing that looked like Resentment. Let them despise his Council, if they pleased; yet he, who was very well acquainted with what would most contribute to a national Prosperity; after he had excellently reasoned, before the Lord, of the righteous Acts, that he did to them, and to their Fathers, leaves this Advice with them:
Only fear the Lord, and serve him in Truth, with all your Hearts; for consider how great Things he has done for you.
Permit me, therefore, to reflect upon these several Parts which are expressed in the Text.
First,
The great Things God hath done for us.
Secondly,
The Duty of considering how great they are.
Thirdly,
The Obligation that lies upon us, to
fear and serve him, in Truth, with all our Hearts; that hath wrought such wonderful Works.
Should I look back to former Generations, and peruse the Histories of our Church, and Nation; both the one, and the other, have subsisted by Miracles; and the Indications of God Almighty's Goodness, have been writ, in the brightest and the clearest Characters; writ, as it were, with a Sun-beam; with equal Perspicuity and Certainty, that we have not been left to Guesses and Conjectures. But we might, upon sure Grounds, take up the Expressions of the Royal Prophet,
Ps.
xxxi. 23.
Thou hast, O God! shewed us marvellous Kindness in a strong City, in thy holy Church:
And that Church may apply those Words to itself,
The Lord is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my Shield, the Horn of my Salvation; my high Tower, and my Refuge; my Saviour;
every Thing that can imply Security and Protection,
Ps.
xviii. 1.
For, first, if this be a Character of the Divine Aid, that God lets Things come to the utmost Extremity, before he makes
bare his Arm;
and so the Psalmist, in a very pathetical, but unusual Address, seems, instead of petitioning, to dictate and prescribe:
Thou shalt arise, and have Mercy upon Sion, for why? The Time is come, to favour her; yea, the set Time is come; and why? Thy Servants think upon her Stones, and it pities them to see her in the Dust,
Ps. cii. 13, 14.
And if it be a very good Reason why God should then appear, that they may know that this is thy Hand, and thou Lord hast done it; I need not look abroad for foreign Instances, since we have so many flagrant ones at Home.
We cannot forget how miserably we were distressed on every Side; without were Fightings, and within were Fears; we all lay trembling under ambiguous Expectations, impatiently waiting the Event of the Enemies Attack by Sea or Land. And when vast Armies were ready to invade us, and our never enough to be lamented Divisions gave Force, and Spirit, to their Enterprizes; all their sanguine Hopes were wonderfully disappointed, by Him, that hath the secret Springs of Nature in his Hands, and can turn and manage them as he pleases: The Winds kept the formidable Navies in their Harbours; and they could not move, without his Permission, whom the Winds and the Sea obey.
Secondly,
It is another evident Character of God Almighty's appearing for a Nation, when several Events, that are managed by different Persons, and in different Places, do happily conspire, to compleat a national Joy.
When the Illustrious young Hero, (Duke
WILLIAM,
Generalissimo of his Majesty's Forces in
North-Britain
) had spent the Season of the Year so far, that he had been fatigued with long Marches, and the People were faint and weary; that then, he should have the Courage to attempt, and be successful, in so difficult an Enterprize, as to storm strong Garrisons, and take fortified Towns; and slay, and take Prisoners at the Battle of
Straghallen-Moor,
(near
Culloden-House
) above three thousand Rebels, and six hundred Prisoners, and put the rest to Flight, when the Rebels were superior in Number to us, was a grateful Surprize, to all that heard it.
Blessed be the Lord, who did not give us as a Prey unto their Teeth. This is the Lord's Doings, and it is marvellous in our Eyes, for which we will rejoice and give Thanks.
And we cannot but break out in the famous Epinikion of the celebrated
Deborah,
Judges v. 31.
So let all thy Enemies perish, O Lord! But let them that love him, be as the Sun, when he goeth forth in his Might.
What an amazing, tho' joyful Sight, must it be to the King's Army? to see the robust Highland Rebels (those Gygantick Sons of
Anach
) fall before the
British
Fire, like sturdy Oaks reft before a Sheet of irresistable Lightening. Thanks be to God, who hath given us the Victory over the Enemies of his true Religion, established amongst us; Enemies, whose wicked Designs were, to set up Superstition and Popery, Idolatry, and arbitrary Power, in its stead:
For they intended Mischief against thee, and imagined such a Device, as they were not able to perform: Therefore didst thou put them to Flight, and the Strings of thy Bow hast thou made ready against them: Be thou exalted, Lord, in thy own Strength, so will we sing, and praise thy Power.
Ps. xxi. 11, 12, 13. But, as if
Europe
was not a Theatre wide enough for the
English
Triumphs, they are extended to the remotest Regions,
Cape-Breton,
in
North-America,
has seen, and felt, the the
English
Courage; and those Vessels of the
French,
which were looked on as invincible, have been taken.
Thirdly,
Another Character of God Almighty's appearing for a People, is, when some of the
Nimrods,
some of the successful Troublers of the World, that come up to the Prophet
Isaiah
's elegant Description, Chap. xiv. 13.
Thou saidst, in thy Heart, I will ascend into Heaven, and I will exalt my Throne above the Stars of God; I will ascend above the Heights of the Clouds; I will be like the Most High:
That resolve to extend their Empires, and aim at Universal Monarchy, by Fraud and Violence, by Blood and Rapine; that are swelled with Panegyricks, and flattered by Devices; whilst they are compared to the vast Luminaries of Heaven; and are told, that they can no more be interrupted, in their Victories and Triumphs, than the Course of the Sun can be arrested. When such a Prince as this, feels the Weight of that Omnipotence which he has defy'd; when his powerful Navies are disabled, and his Treasures exhausted, and he restrained from his bloody Persecutions, it is natural to apply, in the Prophet's Words,
How art thou fallen from Heaven, O! Lucifer, Sun of the Morning. Is this the Man that made the Earth to tremble? that did shake Kingdoms? that made the World as a Wilderness? and destroyed the Cities thereof? For if the Lord of Hosts do purpose, who shall disannul it? and if his Hand be stretched out, who shall turn it back?
Isa. xiv. 12, 17.
So that if the Seasonableness of Events, when Things are almost at a Crisis; if the Concurrence of various prosperous Events, in distant Places, and Countries, and Nations; and the Preservation of Persons of that Figure, and Eminency, that the Success does depend very much upon them, as the proper Instruments to procure it: If the stemming the impetuous Torrent, and putting a Check to the Overflowing of Ungodliness, Rebellion, and Oppression; and reducing these extravagant, and exorbitant Plunderers and Rebels: If these be Employments worthy of Providence,
Not unto us, O Lord! not unto us, but to thy great Name, be ascribed the Glory and Praise,
Psal. cxv. 1. We have Reason to conclude, that God has done great Things for us: Which was the first Part I proposed to speak to.
I now proceed to the second.
The Duty of considering how great they are.
How great are the Calamities we are freed from? How great is the Happiness that we enjoy? Both the one and the other require our calm, and serious Reflections; as we would escape the Prophet
Isaiah
's severe, but just Reproof,
Isa.
v. 12.
The Harp and the Viol, the Tabret and the Pipe, and Wine, are in their Feasts; but they regard not the Work of the Lord, neither consider the Operations of his Hands.
Is it nothing in our Eyes? that God hath shewed a more distinguishing Care of us, than of any Nation in the whole World besides? that he hath so frequently interposed, and snatched us from between the very Teeth, and Jaws of the Destroyer?
I need not lead you into antient History; I must prescribe some Limits, for I would not launch into a Sea of Matter.
Be pleased to consider, how lamentable our Case had been, if the united Powers of
France
and
Spain
had as much disabled our naval Forces, as we have done theirs, since the War first broke out: Had their Success been equal to ours, how miserable, beyond Expression, had our Condition been? A powerful Navy are the best Walls, that can encompass an Island. It is an illustrious, and a terrible Defence. It is our Glory at Home; it is our Honour and Security Abroad: It looks in our Channel like a lovely Valley of tall Cedars: It hath a sweet, and awful, and majestick Presence.
And if this (which God of his infinite Mercy forbid) should ever be destroyed, how wretched, how contemptible, how weak, how poor, and inconsiderable a Nation should we be? How would our neighbouring Kingdoms clap their Hands, and hiss at us? How should we become a By-word, and a Proverb of Reproach, to all that are round about us?
Is it nothing to us, that our restless, our powerful, our implacable Enemies, have not yet been able to extirpate the Northern Heresy, (as they stile it) that is, the Protestant Religion? Neither by open Violence, nor insidious and treacherous Attempts? That with all their Art, they have not been able to root up our Foundations, and introduce Superstition and Idolatry, and destroy the Products of the blessed Reformation; which consists in rejecting, what for many Years had been superadded, to the Christian Religion, and received its glorious Finishing from
an
IMMORTAL QUEEN, whose Memory grows every Year more illustrious; and whose Name (at so great a Distance) is poured out, like precious Ointment, and sheds a refreshing Fragrancy upon all the People.
Is it nothing, that our civil Rights, are inviolably secured? That we enjoy the Fruit of our Ancestors Labours, and the Effects of our own Industry? That our admirable Constitution, and our excellent Laws, render us happy, to the Envy of our Neighbours; as happy as good Men could desire to be, and as secure from bad, as the Justice, and the Wisdom of the Laws can make us?
Is it nothing? that the Seasons of the Year, which were lately so strangely altered, that the heavenly Bodies seemed angry, and displeased, and refused their favourable Aspects? Ill News and bad Weather, made Men restless, and uneasy; and the great Reviver of Mankind, the Sun, looked sullenly, and was generally wrapt up in dismal Clouds. Is it nothing? that our Scarcity (fresh in all your Memories) is turned into Plenty? That some Men begin to repine at it, as their Burden; and complain as vehemently, for the Cheapness of the Fruits of the Earth, as they did, not long since, for the Scarcity, and Dearness of them. O! consider this, and lay it close to your Hearts; and improve it, in your most devout and grateful Acknowledgments.
And let it always be remembered, for the Honour of this Day,
When Characters engraved in Brass shall disappear, as if they were written in Dust; when Elogies committed to the Trust of Marbles, shall be illegible, as whispered Accents; when Pyramids dissolved, shall want themselves a Monument to evidence, they were once so much as Ruin.
I say, let it be recorded, for the Honour of this Day;
let it be wrote with an Iron Pen, and Lead, in the Rock for ever,
Job xix. 24. that the Battle (near
Culloden-House, April
16. 1746) was terrible and decisive; that the Highland Rebels were conquered; that the
French,
who joined them, were taken Prisoners; that those to whom Quarter was given, were ungrateful; and that his ROYAL HIGHNESS,
WILLIAM,
Duke of
Cumberland,
Generalissimo of the
British
Forces, at that Battle, behaved with the Conduct and Bravery of an Hero
Vid.
Life of
Scipio Africanus,
by
Photius,
p.
763.
.
It is observable, that our Church, in her
Benedicete,
calls upon Darkness itself to praise the Lord. The Recollection therefore, of our former Disasters, is not inconsistent with a Thanksgiving. God grant it may fix and settle, the strong and lasting Obligations, that lie upon us, devoutly to fear him, who has wrought such wonderful Works for us. Which is the last Part of this present Undertaking.
Altho' the omnipotent Power, and the infinite Justice of God, seem to be the only Objects of our Fear, yet there is an Expression in
Hosea
iii. 5.
They shall fear the Lord, and his Goodness.
Tremble at the undeserved, and stupendous Emanations of it; and dread the Abuse of it in any kind: For the Transports of Success, have sometimes more terrible Effects, than the Desolations of War. And may that never be said of us, which the Prophet
Jeremy
upbraids the
Jews
with,
Chap.
vii.
Ver.
10.
We are delivered to do all these Abominations.
Good God! delivered to steal? to murder? to commit Adultery? to swear falsely? to burn Incense to
Baal?
and walk after other Gods? For these are the flaming Guilts that the Prophet charges home upon them. Why, the Saws and Harrows, the Engines of Slavery and Captivity, had been much more eligible, than a Deliverance thus employed. God Almighty planted Fear in all our Natures, with a gracious Design to make us wise. He has placed that Passion, as a wakeful Centinel, to discern, at a Distance, the Approaches of our Enemies; to see when, and which Way they come; and give us Cautions to avoid them, or to prepare for their Attacks.
Only fear the Lord,
therefore, (as the Text directs)
and serve him in Truth, with all your Hearts; for consider how great Things he has done for you.
Let it never be said of us, that we blemish our Festival, by Intemperance and Excess, by Lewdness and Prophaness. Let us observe it with all imaginable Decency; as those that fear their God, and honour their Prince. Let not our extravagant Behaviour at our Feasting, kindle God's Wrath against us. These joyful Days, should engage us in all charitable Offices. Let us open both our Hands, and our Hearts, and send Portions to the Poor; that there may be no Heart sad, when God has given us such a triumphant Occasion for our publick Joy. And the sincerest Expressions of it, are discovered, in
serving him in Truth, with all our Hearts.
To him, our most gracious, and merciful God, our Shield, and our Rock, and our mighty Deliverer, who hath set us free from the Northern Rebels, and, we hope and trust, from
French
Tyranny, and Popish Superstition, a Yoke which neither we, nor our Fathers, were able to bear; who hath frustrated the Counsels, and blasted the Designs of wicked and unreasonable Men; and made their mischievous Councils, and Devices, to be of none Effect; who brings to light the hidden Things of Darkness, and hath hitherto preserved our Religion, and civil Interests, in Despight of all the malicious and restless Designs of our Adversaries.
Unto God, who hath saved us, with so great Salvation, let us give Thanks, from the Ground of the Heart: And that he may accept this Sacrifice of Praise, I shall once more entreat you to comply with the Advice in the Text; for fear of the Judgments threatened in the following Verse.
Only fear the Lord, and serve him in Truth, with all your Hearts; for consider how great Things he has done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be destroyed, both ye and your King.
FINIS.
The following Sermons printed for, and sold by
WILLIAM SANDBY,
at the
Ship
over-against
St. Dunstan
's Church in
Fleet-street.
I.
THE Gospel an actual Friend to the Liberties of Mankind:
An Assize Sermon preached at
Lancaster,
before the Honourable Sir
Thomas Dennison,
Knt. one of the Justices of the King's-Bench, and the Honourable
Charles Clarke,
Esq
one of the Barons of the Exchequer, on
Thursday
the 31st of
July,
1746. By
William Smith,
A. M. Rector of the Parish of the
Holy Trinity
in
Chester,
and Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Earl of
Derby.
II.
The Wickedness of a Factious Disposition:
A Sermon preached at the Parish-Church of
St. George the Martyr, Sept.
1, 1745. on Occasion of the Rumour of an Invasion in
Scotland.
By
Strickland Gough,
M. A. Rector of
Swafield,
and Vicar of
Swinstead
in
Lincolnshire.
III.
The Causes of our National Dangers and Distresses assigned:
In a Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of
Worcester, December
18, 1745, being the Day appointed for a General Fast. By
Richard Meadowcourt,
A. M. Canon of
Worcester.
The Second Edition.
IV.
Christianity founded on Argument:
A Sermon preached before the University of
Oxford,
on Palm-Sunday, 1743. By
John Cookesey,
A. M. Rector of the united Parishes of
St. Anthony
and
St. John Baptist, London.