A Commendatory SERMON Preach'd November the 4th, 1709.

NOW, Gentlemen, you will pardon me a Digreſſion, when I ſhall remind you that this is the 4th Day of November, the initial Day of Euroupe's Liberty, the great Dawning of this Age's Glory; the Day that God has hallow'd or ſet apart to be praiſed in, for that unvalued Bleſ⯑ſing of King William's Life. On this Day it be⯑gan. The Thankfulneſs of honeſt Men for the in⯑eſtimable Gift, ſhall never fail to be revived this Day, while they have Hearts to own it, or Britain has honeſt Men left to know the Hand that ſaved them, or to remember whoſe glorius Inſtrument he was, to aſſault Tyranny, and the moſt trium⯑phant Enemies of God's Church, and his People's Liberty.

May this Day be Sacred to his Memory, and it [3] will be ſo, while there are any ſuch thing as honeſt Men in this Part of the World— The Reflection upon the leaſt temporal Mercy ye enjoy, ay and ſome ſpiritual ones too, muſt bring back your Me⯑mory to this Day, and by this Day to the Perſon by whoſe Name 'tis call'd I know 'tis hard, as a Reverend Prelate of this Church once took notice, for Engliſh Men to remember Twenty long Years be⯑hind them, eſpecially ſo diſpiſed a thing as a Bene⯑fector But an Engliſh Man cannot look round him a Day in his Life, but he is as neceſſarily brought to a Remembrance of King William. I had almoſt ſaid, as he is [...]of a Governing Providence in the World. Nor is [...] any thing prophane to joyn them; For by Him, as Inſtrument, has Providence brought to paſs for us all the Wonders of the laſt Age—An Age big with mighty Events, ſwell'd with the glo⯑rious Revolutions of Kingdoms, and the mighty Downfall of Hell's monſtrous Schemes, laid deep, and politickly derected at the Intereſt and King⯑dom of Chriſt Jeſus in the World.

William was the Thunderbolt that ſplit all the mighty Work, that blow up the Foundation of the Devil's Kingdom in Europe; that ſhook the vaſt Fabrick, and left it ſo weak, that even a Wo⯑man is thought on, Can an Engliſh Man go to Bed, or riſe up, without bleſſing the very Name of King William? His Perils have been our Safety, his Labours our Eaſe, his Cares our Comfort, his continued Haraſſing and Fatigue, our continued Calm and Tranquility.

When you ſit down to eat why have you not Soldiers quarter'd in your Houſes to command your Servants and inſult your Tables? 'Tis becauſe [4] King William ſubjected the Military to the Civil Authority, and made the Sword of Juſtice triumph over the Sword of War, When you lye down at Night why do you not bolt and bar your Chamber, to defend the Chaſtity of your Wives and Daugh⯑ters from the ungovern'd Luſt of raging Mercen⯑aries? 'Tis becauſe King William reſtored the Sove⯑reignty and Dominion of the Laws, and made the Red-Coat World Servants to thoſe that paid them. When you receive your Rents, why are not arbitary Defalcations made upon your Tennants, arbitary Impoſts laid upon your Commerce, and oppreſſive Taxes levied upon your Eſtates, to ſupport the Tyranny that demands them, and your Bondage made ſtrong at your Expence? 'Tis becauſe King William re-eſtabliſh'd the eſſential Security of your Properties, and put you into that happy Condition which few Nations enjoy, of calling your Souls your own. How came you by a Parliament to bal⯑lence between the Governed and the Governing, but upon King William's exalting Liberty upon the ruin of the Oppreſſion? How came you to have Power to abuſe your Deliverer, but by the very Deliverance he wrought for you? He gave you that Liberty you afterwards took to inſult him, and ſup⯑ported you in thoſe very Priviledges you ungrate⯑fully bullied him with. You could not with all your brutiſh skill provoke him to be a Tyrant, He abhorr'd Oppreſſion, and ſcorn'd to practiſe it, and he that had Fire enough to aſſault all your Oppreſſors, and a Hand ſtrong enough to wreſtle with an eſtabliſh'd and confirm'd Tyrant, had yet Meekneſs enough to let you oppreſs him, becauſe he would not oppreſs you, and ſaw you ungrateful [5] enough to oppoſe not your Benefactor only, but your own Felicity for his ſake.

Yet to the laſt he fought for you againſt foreign Tyranny, and kept his Foot upon the Neck of your ſecret Uſurpers; He trod upon them. And thoſe than courted him at Home to reſent your In⯑gratitude, received his conſtant Frown; This was the Man that liv'd for you, and yet died by you, and hearken to it with Regret, and reproach your ſelves with it whilſt you live, He died murther'd by your Unkindneſs.

Heaven, that honour'd him here, and receiv'd him from hence, has ſhown ſome dreadful Inſtances of his Abhorrence of the Manner he was treated here, and has reſented the particular Inſults done to his Name, as if done to himſelf; And I wiſh I could not ſay, Heaven ſeems to puniſh us Nati⯑onally for our National Uſage of this Prince, who was his eminent Inſtrument to us for Good.

How are we, notwithſtanding our Victories, yet embarraſs'd in that cruel and bloody War, which we reproach'd him for not ending ſooner? We have not yet arriv'd to that Partition-Treaty, that we threw in his Face, And if greater Conditions have been ſeemingly offer'd us, they have been but ſeemingly ſo, without any Security for their being made effectual. We have had Reaſon now to ſee our Reproaches of King William unjuſt, who we redicul'd for not beating the French, while he has rather harden'd himſelf this Year, than ſubmitted, after he has been five Times overthrown.

Let us look back to King William's Part in this War, and imagine Lewis XIV. in the ſtate he was in when that War began. Not all the Princes and States of Eu⯑rope [6] united, would have begun a War againſt him. His Armies numerous in Men, and all thoſe Men veterans in War, and fluſh'd with Conqueſt; his Treaſures in a Kind infinite, his Generals experienc'd and enterpri⯑zing; himſelf 20 years younger and vigorous. I tell ye none of ye all would have ventur'd to begin the War, nor would you have been in your Wits, if you had. It was a Work only fit for a William, a King that could conquer by being overthrown, that could ſtrug⯑gle with Impoſſibilities, and could penetrate into the remoteſt Events.

Let any Man look into the Temper of our Nation at this time, and they will find we are not now fit for a Diſaſter, as we were then; we have fought the French, and beaten them, thank God for it; for Woe to us if we had loſt the Day! How would our Credit have been run down, our Bank being puſh'd at, our General in⯑ſulted, our Miniſtry abus'd, as if really Men were now in God's ſtead.

And that the Duke of Marlborough could not only fight for Victory, but command it, But King William ſaw Victory even in the want of Succeſs; He loſt the Bat⯑tles, and won the Day, and in this I am not too for⯑ward, if I ſay, he fought as never Man fought and con⯑quer'd▪ He fought with a fierce victorious Enemy abroad, with cruel and intolerable Deficiences at Home, and yet he fought! Any body but King William would have yielded to inſuperable Difficulties, but he fought on, and reduc'd the King of France at laſt, to ſeek Peace, acknowledge him King, and affront the Refugee that he fought to reſtore.

Thus he broke the firſt Power of the invincible French Empire; He broke their old Veterans, and ex⯑hauſted their immenſe Treaſures; He took the haugh⯑ty Lewis by the Throat in the flower of his Strength, and ſet his Foot againſt him, when he was another kind of Ltwis than he is now. And tho' I would not leſſen the Glory of the preſent Conquerors in the Field, yet as [7] a Mine under a great Rock, tho' it cannot entirely blow it away, yet ſhakes it, and diſlocates it, ſo as to make it eaſier for Workmen to remove; So King Wil⯑liam ſhook the Foundations of French Power in ſuch a manner, as has made it much eaſier for others to cruſh it entirely, than it would otherwiſe have been.

At laſt Heaven, provok'd at your Treatment of this Prince, removed him from us, and were it not a Debt due to his Memory, I ſhould bury in ſilence the barba⯑rous Abuſes of him after his Deceaſe; but particularly the Article of the Horſe. The King was thrown by his Horſe, or rather his Horſe fell with him, by which his Majeſty received ſome hurt in his Collar-Bone, which as it was thought haſtned his Death, tho, it is evident he did not die of that Hurt.

Now let them not only bluſh, but tremble at the E⯑vent, who have inſulted his Memory, by cannonizing in their Cups the Horſe that threw down the King, drinking a Health to the Beaſt, leſs ſo by far than the Bruits that drink it, and rejoycing in the Diſaſter. Let ſuch no more talk of Calves Head Clubs and Feaſts of Triumph, tho' vile enough too, inſulting the Dead; but nothing can match the Infamy of this Practice, odious both to God and Man. How odious it is to Man, I think I need not inſiſt upon; no honeſt Man can think of it without Horror; But how odious to God it is, you ſhall all be judge.

Now, Gentlemen, pray remark it, to the Honour of Divine Vengeance, and to the extraordinary Convicti⯑on of all that can open their Eyes to the Methods of the Almighty, in his examplar Dealings with impious Men; That of the ſcandalous Wretches, who have thus inſult⯑ed the Memory of King William in this Nation, by drinking the Horſe's Health that hurt him. I can give you Account of at leaſt Eleven, that have had their [8] Brains daſh'd out, or their Necks broke, by falls from their Horſes; Beſides ſome that have been very much hurt, but have had Time ſpar'd to them for Repentance, And if ye think it for your Inſtruction, I may hereafter give you their ſeveral Hiſtories. Pray mark the Retali⯑ation, I ſay it again, All by falls from their Horſes.

Can we have have a greater Teſtimomy of the abhord Wickedneſs of the Thing? Has Heaven, in any Age, given a greater Witneſs to the Honour or Memory of any Man in the World? You may read plainly, how dear his Name is to the Divine Power, who concerns his Juſtice ſo remarkably to retaliate the Injuries done it. That the Party, who eſpouſe theſe People, may read their Crime in their Puniſhment. Let the Rem⯑nant take heed,

Now Joy and Pleaſant Hearts be your Portion, who commemorate this Day, that Drink a Temporate Glaſs to the Proſperity of all that love King William: that bleſs his Memory, and hand on a grateful Sence of his A⯑ctions to the Ages to come. And may all that envy and repine at his Glory, or at the great Things we enjoy from his Conduct, be diſragarded and diſappointed, till they repent, or do worſe.