Mercurii 9 die Octob. 1695.  
Ordered,  
THat Mr. Delaune and Mr. Weaver, give the Thanks of this House to Mr. Travers, for his Sermon Preached yesterday before this House, and desire him to Print the same.  
Ex. per Tho. Tilson, Cler. Parl. Dom. Com.   

A SERMON PREACHED IN St. ANDREW's-CHURCH, DUBLIN; Before the HONOURABLE The HOUSE of COMMONS The 8th Day of October, 1695.  
The Day appointed by the Lord Deputy and Council for a Solemn Thanksgiving, for the Preservation of our Gracious King WILLIAM, and the good Success of His, and His Allies Forces this last Campagn.  
By John Travers, A. M. Minister of St. Andrew's, and Chaplain to the House.  
DUBLIN, Printed by J. Ray, and are to be Sold by William Norman, Eliphal Dobson, and Patrick Campbel, Booksellers.   

A SERMON PREACHED IN St, ANDREW's-CHURCH, etc.  Psalm 126. Verse iv. Yea, the Lord has done great things for us already, whereof we rejoice. 
THIS Psalm 'tis believed was compiled by Esdras, and 'twas sung by Israel as a Thanksgiving unto God when he turned their Captivity; in which they devoutly acknowledge his Mercy, and joyfully celebrate his Praise. The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we rejoice.  
I shall not confine my Meditations on the Text to this peculiar occasion of it, but give it a larger extent, as considered abstractedly in its self: and in the handling of it, I will do only Two things.  
First, To inquire what matter of rejoicing our God has afforded us. And  
2dly, To deduce some useful Inferences from the solution of this Enquiry,  
Upon the holy Robe of Aaron's Ephod, there were Bells of Gold fixed between the Pomegranates round about, Exod 28. 33. the mystery whereof by interpretation was, that for every single benefit we receive, we should thankfully acknowledge God's goodness in giving it. And we find St. Paul prescribing the duty of Thanksgiving in the same Latitude, Ephes. 5. 20. Give thanks unto God always for all things; and in the 1. Ep. Thes. 5. 18 In every thing give thanks: The common Daily blessings bestowed upon us, transcend the bounds of Numeration, and they justly Command a constant gratitude. But the rare and remarkable occurrences of Providence, do present unto us a more special season for the celebration of this Homage. Such extraordinary benefits do frequently happen to particular Persons, nay, there are I believe few but meet with them some time or other, and as oft as they do, they should sound forth the Divine beneficence, by particular acts of Praise. And the collation of such Favours on a Nation or People, bespeaks and requires a general Thanksgiving, and all that share in the Bounty, are obliged to join in the Sacrifice. Of these public Mercies. We have a great many to commemorate, too many to be crowded into one Sermon, and therefore I shall at present, only Recommend unto you these Four, viz.  

1st The Restauration of our Peace at Home.  
2d The good Success of our Affairs abroad.  
3d The Preservation of our King from the manifold great Dangers whereunto he has been exposed.  
4th The happy Assembling of this August Senate.   
1. Among worldly blessings, Peace has been always esteemed the most valuable, partly because it comprizes many excellencies in its self, and partly because 'tis the Parent that bears, or at least the Breast that gives Suck to all other comforts and enjoyments, and so 'tis a kind of Epitome of good things. I shall not now recount the advantages of it, you know them by the Fruition. But if we recollect the grievous circumstances, wherewith we were lately encompassed; or look back on those boisterous Seas, through which we have made our Port: 'twould justly heighten both our estimate of the Divine vouchsafements to us, and our thankfulness to them.  
I should sin against the design of the Day, should I entertain you with the melancholy Scene of the miseries the War brought upon us. 'Twould be lamentable to tell of the Ruins and Devastations, the Wrongs and Oppressions, the Rapine and Violence, the Poverty and Complaining, the Blood and Slaughter that attended it. It stamped much the same impression upon our Land, that the Army of Locusts and Caterpillars did upon that of the Jews; it found it like a Garden of Eden, but left it a desolate Wilderness. And though its wastes be to a miracle Repaired, yet there are some Footsteps of it still Remaining, and I wish all its sorrows were always so fresh in memory as to influence us to vow and perform perpetual gratitude to our Gracious Benefactor, to the Almighty God of Peace, who has so mightily rescued us from that dismal State of thraldom and distress. O how great has been his mercy towards us! O how Lovingly has He dealt with us! the manifestation of His marvellous loving kindness, exceeded our hopes as well as deserts, it foreran but crowned our expectations. He put down our Enemies under our Feet, and plucked us from the jaws of Destruction; He changed our Grief into Joy, our Slavery into Liberty, our Want into Plenty, our distraction into Quiet, and our Confusion into Settlement. And all this when we thought ourselves Irrecoverably wrapped up in a mass of evil and misery for ever.  
God has had a signal Favour unto these Nations, as at sundry other times, so especially in their late Redemption, from the Oppression of a Popish, the worst of Tyrannies, and us particularly from the worst Branch of that, an ignominious hard bondage under our own Servants. Our deliverance came visibly attested with the divine Power in the Atchieument; the Line of its mighty Progress was chalked out by the Finger of the most high, and the stupendous advances it made against the greatest difficulties and disadvantages speak the whole to be one great Miracle. 'Twas miraculous in our Eyes, and astonishing to our Thoughts, in so much that our joyfulness resembled that of Israel at their unexpected return from Captivity, out of a just Wonderment, We were like unto them that Dream. We know O Lord that this is thy Hand, and that Thou Thyself hast done it. No Hand but that of Omnipotence could have Rolled a Stone of that great Weight up the Hill, against the strong Inclinations and joint Interests of a People, who had so much Power in their Hands, and so great Advantages on their side; and who were prompted to make the best use they could of both, by their Pride and Malice, by ill Nature and prejudicated Education, by the Gild of base Ingratitude and barbarous Cruelties, by strict Commands & Powerful Encouragements from abroad; and indeed so they did with the most inveterate Obstinacy. Their Hands may be said to have been Mighty, if we consider their great Numbers and strong Holds; But alas, they found nothing unless it be an undoubted assurance of the Injustice of their Cause, and their insufficiency for the support of it.  
They have so often attempted our Ruin, and always failed in the Execution of their imagined Mischief, that methinks they should at length be taught, even by Providence to give it over, and to take up the obstinate Egyptians Argument, Exod. 14. 25. Who by the unsuccessfulness of their frequent Attempts against Israel were Discouraged, and said among themselves, Let us flee from the Face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians; Tho' our Egyptians show themselves too unteachable, or too self conceited, or too Malicious, to be convinced by any such Experiments. Many a time have they Fought against, and sore vexed us from our Youth up, may we now say ● and if the next Generation, not excepting the remains of this, does not play the same Game, 'tis not for want of good will, but for want of what I hope they will for ever want, Opportunity and Ability. How uppish are their Hearts? How cheerful their Countenances? Nay, How Seditious their Words, upon the least Rumour of ill T●uings to us?  
If they could have been obliged by Kindnesses, Theirs and Ours had long agone become one common Interest, and we had been united together by the bands of an unshaken Amity and Alliance; but to expect this now adays from Men of their disposition is to hope against hope, and to look for Grapes from Thorns. Where the Seed is very bad, and the Soil much worse, 'tis easy to guests at the harvest. They have been treated heretofore more like a free than a conquered People; they were Indulged beyond the allowance of the Law, and it seems beyond a consistency with our own safety. Ingratitude abuses Indulgence, and Vipers sting those Bosoms in which they are cherished.  
We may truly complain of them as holy David did of his deceitful Friends, they have hated us without a cause and rewarded us evil for good. 'Tis observable that their fairest pretensions of Friendship, and professions of Fidelity, have proved alike perfidious, and consequently most dangerous, their malice has like the Pestilence walked in darkness, and they are very conformable to Cardinal Mazarines' Maxim, (which his Master also does punctually practice) that no honest Man ought to be a slave to his word.  
In short, the Experience of their constant behaviour ever since England first subdued them, gives us plainly to understand, that there is no safe relying on their candour and integrity, nor any great matters to be expected from their generosity, and it should give us warning to walk more circumspectly among them for the future, and to cast about for effectual means to suppress the factious spirits below a capacity of putting us to the Expense of another Conquest. Where People are sent forth as Sheep in the midst of Wolves, they are to be as wise as Serpents. And indeed 'twould argue a stupidity equally Fatal and Unpittiable, if neither the word of Exhortation should instill, nor the smart of the Scourge inculcate wisdom.  
If we be not wanting to ourselves, we have good grounds of hope that our God will establish the Work he has wrought among us; and that as he has already delivered, so he will yet deliver us. That his Hand is not shortened, nor his compassion towards us exhausted: We have a farther evidence in the Prosperity of our Arms abroad. The Lord of Hosts has taught our hands to War, and fingers victoriously to fight: He has enabled us to reduce the strongest Fastnesses of the Enemy, even those they declared invincible; one whose Fortifications were hardly Demolishable, and another defended with an Army rather than a Garrison, and commanded by a mighty Marashal as well as a skilful Governor; to baffle their greatest Armies, to Lord it over their Fleets & their Coasts, and not only to assert, but extend our Sea dominion, even from Sea to Sea. And this is  
2dly, A Second great Occasion of our general Rejoicing, because we are assured the Battle is not ours but Gods, and that Victory is his gift. I dare not so much as mention, express I can't, the unparalleled Courage and Resolution of our Men, lest it might tempt us with the Assyrian Conquerors to arrogate Praise to ourselves, or with the Scythian to sacrifice to our swords; 'tis certain we exceed the magnanimity of both.  
Tho the War be removed far from us, yet we are all concerned and interested in the success of it; the cause is the same still, and the same terrible Evils which we felt, or feared, would ensue upon its miscarriage. Alas the distance would be no manner of security to us, the common ruin would soon cross the Seas, and invade our Islands; 'tis principally levelled against us, and 'tis as miserable as the most ingenuous Cruelty can contrive it. The disguised Christian, and the Professed Infidel are friendly confederate against us, and would agree as well in the overthrow of our Religion and Government; as Herod and Pilate did in the Crucifixion of Christ. We lately set ourselves to seek the Lord and his help in a general humiliation, and seeing he was Graciously pleased to accept of that Sacrifice, and to grant our requests, the return of thankful acknowledgements is but the payment of a just Debt. We read in the 20th Chap. of the 2d book of Chron. that the House of Judah proclaimed a solemn Fast, and humbly Implored the Protection and Assistance of their God, when the Children of Moab and Ammon came against them to Battle, and that as soon as they prevailed over them, their next and immediate care was to Praise and Magnify the divine Author of their Victory. To which purpose, they assembled themselves in the Valley of Berachah near the place of Battle, and thence returned to Jerusalem with Joy, and completed their gratulations in the House of the Lord. And as we imitated their good Example in the observation of the Fast, so let us in that of the Festival, offering up as they did a Religious thankfulness, in regard that he has made us also to rejoice over our Enemies.  
There is no custom more ancient and common than this; for as all Nations have been wont to make their Addresses to Heaven for aid in time of War, so have they made their Oblations for their Triumphs and Conquests; not only Jews and Christians, but even barbarous ignorant Heathens, who so far ascribed victory to the favour of the Gods, that they erected stately Temples, sung gratulatory Hymns, and offered costly Sacrifices to such of them, as they fancied gave them the upper hand. They were indeed out as to the object of their Praise, but were right as to the Substance of the Duty; they rendered a due Tribute though to wrong owners, and their Piety was commendable notwithstanding their error, because it corresponded with the nature of their Religion; Let our Devotion be as well proportioned to our clear Knowledge, as theirs was to their blind Ignorance. Let us disclaim the Idolatry, but retain the pious Practice of giving Thanks. And as this is our bounden Duty, so is it our Advantage too, because God has promised to recompense it with the Continuance and Increase of His Blessings, whereas Ingratitude provokes him to suspend or withdraw them; and therefore if we would be Favoured with future success, let us not fail to be truly grateful for what we have already had.  
3dly, A Third great thing done for us, whereof we rejoice is the preservation of our King, on whose safety under Gods own Providence depends ours. There are sundry considerations, which render his Life a special blessing: He is a Religious Worshipper of the true God, and a zealous Defender of the true Faith; He is a nursing Father of our Church and Countries, laying out all his care and pains, his time and strength, and exposing himself to all the dangers and chances of Seas and Wars, for the security and honour of both. He has been the happy Instrument of a most joyful Revolution to us, and in all probability, as the posture of our Affairs now stands, his fall (which God avert) would shake, if not subvert the Foundations of our Settlement. How sorely has the Church of God been perplexed by the fury of the Heathen Persecutors of old, and of more barbarous Romanists in later times? How near the brink of Ruin was the Established pure Religion of the English Church, when our great Monarch undertook its Redemption? How greedy are the Beasts of Prey after the same Game still? And if Moses were removed out of the Gap, there is no appearance of any great Opposition to their pursuit: If the sense of our Vineyard were broken down, the wild Boar out of the Wood and the wild Beasts of the Field would hasten to Root up and Devour it. He is the Soul and Union of the Alliance against the common Enemy, and the very life of the War; the generous asserter of Europe's Liberty, and the glorious Restorer of the English valour; the Terror of his Enemies, and the Joy of his own People; the glory of Crowned heads, and the wonder of the Age. The Eyes of all are upon him, some out of Love, others out of Envy, and the rest out of Fear. How eminently conspicuous are the seriousness of his Counsels, the wisdom of his Conduct, the unmatchableness of his Bravery, the intrepidity of his Mind, and the indefatigableness of his Diligence? These are most Eminent, even his Enemies being Judges.  
But why should a mean Orator attempt the Character of a Prince, whose Merits surmount the reach of Panegyric? And a short dificient Praise is reckoned a dispraise. His Royal virtues are not hid under a Bushel, that they need hear be displayed; they shine brightly from a visible Hill, and give light unto the World. He is much more richly Adorned with this Apparel, than with that of his Imperial Purple, and he adds Greatness and Majesty to the Throne, rather than Receives from it. 'Tis indeed as needless to enlarge in his Commendation, as to speak well of the Sun, whose influence all Know, and all Admire.  
4thly, the Fourth great Occasion of our general Rejoicing is the happy Assembling of this August Senate, whose Wise Counsels, and hearty endeavours for the Service of the King and Country, promise a much fairer prospect, than we ever yet had, of an Establishment of our Safety and Happiness. 'Tis a mighty Privilege in the constitution of our Government, that the Laws whereby we are Governed▪ can't be made or repealed but with our own advice and consent, and that we have freedom of Electing our Representatives, and they of consulting the Common good. But the infrequency of Parliaments here, or the want of such a one as this, has in great part deprived us of this benefit. This You, great Patriots, are thoroughly sensible of, and thereupon Wisely strive to Redeem the time, in providing with great dispatch for the Redress of past Grievances and Inconveniencies, and for the prevention of future Ones; in passing and preparing such Sanctions, as if duly executed, will tie upon the hands of our Native Enemies, and break all their Power of hurting us. And 'tis your great Felicity, that the Administration of the Government is in the hands of a Viceroy, who befriends Your weighty Proceed, and delights to do Your Country good.  
I will not presume to give any instruction to this Conflux of wise Counsellors; You well know and pursue the Tenor of your Summons, to advise de ardius Regni negotiis, and you are admonished every Morning before you enter upon business, to what ends You are to direct Your Consultations, viz. the advancement of God's Glory, the good of his Church, the safety, honour, and welfare of our Sovereign and his Kingdom. The promoting Piety and suppressing Profaneness, the preserving the Worship and the House of God, and the advancing the Dignity and Advantage of King and People, their Interest is one; these are the Mark of your aim, and the Lord guide your Endeavours thither, and Prosper you in the Progress.  
And so you have heard the things God has done for us, whereof we Rejoice, and they are Benefactions of so high a Nature, that it becomes us to be thankful for them, not only this Day, but all the Days of our Lives. And farther the Consideration of them ought to have upon us the Four following influences which was  
2dly, The Second particular, and shall with your Patience be dispatched very briefly.  
Frst, Then 'tis proper to engage us in a Godly Conversation. This Samuel Taught the Israelites in the First Book 12. Chap. 24 verse. Fear the Lord and serve Him in Truth, for consider how great things He has done for you. Without this our Hearts can't be right with God, and the most solemn Pompous Thanksgivings are but an odious Hippocrisy. And surely we, who are so infinitely indebted to his Bounty and Goodness, cannot find in our Hearts to dishonour His holy Name, or contemn His reasonable Laws. One would think He has done enough to deserve our utmost Obedience. Moses his Caution to Israel, in the 6th of Deut. 12 verse, is very applicable to us, to be ware of forgetting the Lord their God, when they came to enjoy the Plenty of Canaan after their tedious march through the hungry Wilderness. How strange and irrational is it, that Men should let God then slip out of their Minds most when He is most kind to them? And slight the Divine Indulgence for that very Reason which renders it most Estimable? This is to act like Swine, which trample upon Pearls, and devour all they get, without any acknowledgement of the Hand that feeds them: And besides our great Obligation of Duty, 'tis really our Temporal Interest, as well as Eternal, to give ourselves up to the Service of our God. For Solomon tells us in express Terms, That 'tis righteousness exalteth a Nation, but that Sin is a Reproach to any People. Prov. 14. 34.  
2dly, The same Consideration is proper to enforce an entire unmoveable dependence on our God. 'Tis holy David's Affirmation in the 9 Pasl. 10 verse, That they who know God's Name will put their trust in Him. And by this Rule no People perhaps in the World have greater Reason to confide in Him than ourselves, because none have had more knowledge of His help in all time of Need and Trouble. And the natural consequent of this experience, is the flying to Him for Refuge and Protection and Deliverance in all future Exigencies and Distresses, nay, and for the continuance of our present Blessings, because He is the same Yesterday, to Day, and for Ever, without any Variableness or shadow of Turning.  
3dly, The Consideration of the foregoing Blessings is proper to confirm us in a Dutiful subjection to King William, who Reigns over us by the special Deputation of the Almighty, and by whose Hands these great things are effected for us. I confess I need not press this here, where I find the deepest sense of the Obligations we own him, and all possible forwardness for his Service. He has no Rival in our Affections, we are quite out of Love with Romish Defenders of the Protestant Faith; we are Taught by bought Wisdom, that if Popery were in one scale of the balance a Coronation Oath in the other, would be higher than Vanity itself. We have not those brangles that are hotly managed elsewhere concerning our Alliance, and I am fully persuaded, if some would lay aside their humorous prejudice, and others their groundless doubts and jealousies, Nonjurors to his present Majesty would be as rare to be found among Protestants, as Self-haters. 'Tis a Ridiculous Paradox, that absolute Obedience should be due to a limited Government. It cannot be imagined what they can propose to themselves who wish for a return of the late Lawless Power, unless it be to try what farther Improvements it has made in that most exact Foreign School of Tyranny and Treachery.  
'Tis not my Province, nor am I willing, to undertake the showing how far the Regal Authority reaches; for without more caution than I am Master of, it may be stretched or clipped, there would be as much danger in the one, as ungratefulness in the other; but the great Veracity and Moderation of our Caesar will establish it's just boundaries, these, we may well trust, he will never Try to pass, knowing that to be the only means of making him the most potent Prince, and his Subjects the most happy People. So that we are now in the proper State of our Obedience; we need neither fear that we shall obey to the violation of Conscience, or that we shall have any just occasion to disobey.  
4thly, And Lastly. The consideration of the things whereof we Rejoice is proper to Unite us in an affectionate Brotherhood among ourselves. This would be an acceptable demonstration of our true Love of God, who has been good to us all. He that loves God will love his Brother also, 1 Ep. St. John, 4. 31, Let it therefore work this effect upon us, even to heighten and perpetuat our Friendship; Let it Teach us to join hand in hand in the Maintenance of our Regained Liberty and Property; Let it Teach us to forget our little private Interests, to mind and support this great one; Let it Teach us to bury all uncharitable Animosities in eternal Oblivion, that neither Church nor Government may hear more of them; Let it Teach us to Consider and Relish the Things belonging to this our Peace, and to lead peaceable quiet Lives in all Godliness and Honesty.  
Si collidimur, frangimur, is an experimental Observation. Faction disunites and weakens any Community. When People are divided in their Counsels, or carried different ways of Design and Interest, they are neither able nor willing to Assist one another against the Fraud and Force of an unanimous Enemy. Greece of Old owed its Ruin not so much to the Sword of Philip, as the Dissensions of Athens, Thebes, and Sparta; nor was it so much the Power of Scipio▪ as the Factions of Hanno, and Hannibal that Subdued Carthage; and how near Home have we an Instance of this kind in the Conquest of England by the Romans, which was greatly facilitated by the intestine Broils, and separate Parties of the Inhabitants, and 'twas truly said dum pugnant finguli, vincuntur universi; whereas had they made a joint Defence, they might possibly have stood their ground, or at least lost it at a dearer Rare. And he gave a True character of England, who described it a great Animal that can't be destroyed by any other than its own strength. And therefore it is that the insinuating restless Bigots of the advers Party, have all along from the first Reformation so industrously laboured by all imaginable Artifices and Tricks to sow the seeds of Division, and to kindle Commotions among us, As the most effectual method of weakening our Cause, and ruining ourselves, and yet as if they were too unskilful in the Contrivance of their Stratagem, we have but too much endeavoured by a misguided Zeal to forward the Execution of it upon ourselves. And whilst we like overhot Gamesters madly quarrelled about the trivials of the Game, the designing lookers on had well nigh swept the Stake. But I hope we shall ever hereafter be cautioned by St. Paul. in the 5 Chap. Gal. 15. verse. If ye by't and devour one another, take heed that ye be not Consumed one of another.  
Let it suffice that we have heretofore exposed ourselves both to Reproach and Danger by our domestic Feuds; Let us at length cast out from among us that evil Spirit, which has been a long time exceeding fierce, prompting us, like the possessed Herd, to run ourselves violently into the depth of Destruction; Let it be considered that we have a common Enemy to bend all our Force against and 〈◊〉 Kingdom, or House divided against itself, is 〈…〉; and if we have any Regard to our own 〈…〉 Consideration alone will effectually persuade 〈…〉 Friendship and mutual Assistance. Differen●● 〈…〉 there will be whilst there are Men 〈◊〉 why s●ould that run out into destructive Strife and Quarrel? 'tis very possible that differing Judgements may be Reconciled in Love.  
To Conclude, Seeing we are not Ignorant of Rome's Devices, let us prudently apply ourselves to the disappointment of them and seeing 〈◊〉 places her main Confidence in our Heats and Differences, let us endeavour all we can to heal our Wounds and close up our Breaches, and by an unviolable Union of Brotherly affection and common Interest Oppose her black Designs. 'Tis not doubted but our grand Council will continue of this mind answerably to their unanimous and amicable beginnings, and 'tis highly probable the People will be a like minded in conformity to their Representatives. Your good Agreement in the furtherance of the Public Welfare, as 'twill Defeat the hopes of your Enemies, so it may prove like the Ointment upon Aaron's Beard, which ran down unto the skirts of his Clothing, 'tis likely 'twill descend and influence all the lesser Societies of our Land,  
I might easily have lengthened a Discourse on this copious Theme, but I choose rather to Omit many Things, than be guilty of Tediousness, and therefore without any farther Additions, I shall commend what has been said to Your retired Consideration, and the Lord give You a right understanding therein, and in all Things, Amen.  
FINIS.