Well then , by this time I hope you do not think the King did abdicate us , — we do not truly understand the word ; it signifies a free and voluntary resignation of our Right ; Now pray consider , did K. James freely and voluntarily resign his Crowns ? or was he not forced to make his escape out of the hands of his Enemies to save his Life ? For they had put a Dutch Guard upon him , by which he was made a Prisoner , and Death usually is the next step to Monarchs .

They must go whom the Devil drives ; I never heard a word of this before .

No , nor thousands more , but the quite contrary ; for they are true Children of their Father , they delight in , and carry on their designs by Lies : But what have we gain'd by this Revolution and Rebellion ? Let us cast up our Accompts . Imprimis — We have Dethron'd , Depos'd , Banish'd , and for ever as much as in us lies , extirpated our Lawful King , and his true Heir , under whom we enjoy'd Peace , Plenty , and Prosperity : We paid nothing for these Blessings Billy ; no! not so much as our Prayers and Praises to Heaven for them as we ought ! if we had , God would not have permitted these judgments to fall upon us : Our Sins are the cause , let us therefore repent and make restitution to our so much injur'd Soveraign : Repentance cannot be true without Restitution ; to repent and yet continue in the same Sin is nonsense ; 'T is like the Swearing Clergy-men , who in the Letany , pray From all Sedition , privy Conspiracy and Rebellion , good Lord deliver us ; and yet they continue in Actual Rebellion , Preaching against their Lawful King , and praying for an Usurper : Call ye these Prayers and Praises to God ? No , no , be not deceiv'd ; 'T is the sacrifice of Fools and Knaves ; and God will esteem it no other . I fear , and tremble at it . There were few or no Taxes in K. James's Reign ; but since this Revolution , Rebellion and Usurpation , in four years time only , more Money hath been drain'd from poor mistaken-abused - England than in the two former Reigns ; from the miraculous Restoration of K. Charles II. [ more than 28 Years which great Blessing We have quite forgotten too ] until the Diabolical Abdication of K. James : Nay , I may safely take in the Reigns of Qu. Elizabeth , K. James I. and K. Charles I. [ In all 129 years ] in whose Reign what noise did a little Ship-money make , which built the Royal Soveraign ? [ a Ship which hath done so much Honour and Service to the English Nation , and remains capable to do a great deal more : ] The heat was , because the King rais'd it without a Parliament . But now a Convention and a Foreign Prince can Dethrone the Lawful King , and make a Parliament , which gives away almost all the Wealth of the Nation to enrich the Dutch ; and it goes down glib with us ! Neither do they so much as enquire how K. William hath perform'd the Prince of Orange's Declarations .

'T is true indeed ; we cannot boast of his Integrity in that : But we are freed from Popery , that is totally crush'd .

And the Church of England too , in a great measure , which is the only Bulwark against Popery ; when that Rampart is demolish'd , Popery will flow upon us impetuously : But we do not see so much Religion to brag of in K. W. Before he came over 't was confidently averr'd , that he used to go to Mass ; and promised the Confederate Popish Princes , that he would be kind to the Papists ; of whom he brought over , and continues , many thousands in his Army , ( and pays them tho he goes on tick with the English . ) In Scotland he is a Kirksman , the Church of England is almost destroyed there : In Ireland he would allow of Popery , or any thing what the People please , to gain that Government : In England he is a lukewarm Christian , favouring all , and truly of no Religion ; unless Predestination can be call'd Religion . Empire is his sole aim and design , which he will compass directly or indirectly ; by Policy , Stratagems , Dissimulation , breach of Promises , Protestations and Declarations ; or by the death of thousands of Soldiers . He was earnestly entreated and advised [ since we Created him King , for he was made so out of nothing ] to decline his precipitate intention of attacking the Enemy ; because in all probability , he would loose 10000 Men before his Army could have equal fighting , they being so advantageously Posted : What then , replyed he , so we gain our Point : For if we are predestinated to conquer , we shall overcome ; if not we must be beaten ; O pius Pater Patriae ! who values not his Subjects Lives and Treasure , so he climbs to the top of the Pinacle . And to strengthen this Assersion , What Popular Acts hath he pass'd since we dub'd him King , to recompence , all our Bloud and Treasure ? King James had other Bowels ; For when his Subjects , those whom he had most endear'd , had deserted him ; O English Ingratitude to their Kings ! he would not venture the remaining Loyalists ; because they were but an handful to a multitude : Oh! call not his Piety cowardise I beseech you Friends and Fellow Subjects , 't was true Religion ; he was truly Religious ( in his way ) and only design'd that the Roman Catholicks might have a limited Liberty for their Religion , of which His Majesty is a member , to be adjusted by Act of Parliament , as likewise our Grievances : Certainly it had been our Interest to have kept our Old Religion , and our Lawful King : in his time our Coffers were full and ran over , but now they must squeeze to get any thing out of them .

Odsooks and squeeze very hard let me tell you that ; they Poll , and Poll , and Poll every quarter , so that I cannot pay my Rent I 'm sure .

We are well enough serv'd , we brought it on our selves by Abdicating our good Old King , and caressing a Petty Prince ; for whom , and our deprav'd fansie , we paid the first penny , a-lumping-all-to-make-a-penny-worth , the sum of 600000 l. Sterling .

In Taxes , most part of which is carryed out of the Land , never to return again , except some Half Crowns which are so Clip'd they hardly weigh 22 d. and yet they do it in Holland openly in their Shops : a Crime with all Capital , but there a Trade : the Taxes are computed at about 20000000 l. Sterling ; but I do not pretend to be exact , because a true account thereof will be published by way of Debtor and Creditor , to present to the Houses of Commons next Sessions : I shall only advise my Country men to consider , that when the Bloud ceases to circulate , the Body cannot live : Money is the Bloud of the Body-politick ; that being exhausted no Gold or Silver Mines are in England to repair or replenish it ; and our Trade is so much impaired , that but little Bullion is imported to answer he vast exportation of our Coin .

3. When Ships arrive richly laden , which is but seldom , we have not Money to buy those Commodities ; if we can cover our Nakedness decently and cheap , and put food into our Bellies to sustain nature , it is all we can reach to now : And when our Merchants have cast up their Accounts of double or treble wages to the Seamen , double time in waiting for Convoys , &c. Treble Insurance Money , &c. and their Goods laying dead upon their hands , with the mighty Losses they have sustained at Sea ; I hope , at last , they will be of my opinion , that Honesty is the best Policy , and Godliness the truest gain , and ●hew it too by petitioning the Council now , and the Parliament the next Session , to bring home our Lawful King .

4. The number of Ships taken and lost is computed at 2500 Sail ; the value of which at 500 l. each Ship ( a modest computation the cargo included ) amounts to 4000000 l. not reckoning the Men of War lost .

Lastly , The number of brave Men killed , by this dismal change is not easily computed ; 't is guessed at 100000 , but if they could be exactly numbred , 't is impossible they should be valued ; especially their precious Souls .

Well ; in the main I am of your mind , that we have done a hair-brain-hasty-unadvised-action : But now we are in , we are obliged to go through ; for if K. James returns by the Force of France , then we shall inevitably be overwhelmed with French-Arbitrary-Power and Slavery ; be servile to Strangers , and Dragoon'd into Popery ; and we were better continue as we are , then we part with a great deal of our Riches , then totally to loose our Religion , which is dearer to us than our Lives .

The ills which I have done cannot be safe , but by committing greater said wicked Cataline ; but Christians have another method , Repentance ; turn ye , turn ye from your wicked ways ; for why will ye dye , O house of Israel , saith the Lord : You say we have done a hair-brain-hasty-action ; but you mince the matter , for we have perpetrated a very wicked and sinful deed : Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft saith God .

2. You say we must go through , &c. as above : To which I answer , King James cannot in prudence endeavour to be re-established in his Kingdoms by a Foreign Force [ unless we compell him ] for that way his People would be destroyed ; his Country laid waste , and his Subjects beggar'd ; and 't is next to a King of Clouts to be King of a debilitated and ruined Nation ; at the best he could expect to be but a Vice-Roy during pleasure by your bugbear supposition . No , King James says otherwise in his Declaration ; The Most Christian King hath , according to our desire , declined to send over Troops so numerous , as may raise jealousies in the minds of our good Subjects , See K. James's Declaration . of his intending to take the Work wholly out of their hands , or depriving any true ●nglishman of the part he may hope to have in so Glorious an Action , as is that of restoring his Lawful King ; that but so many Troops should come , as are sufficient to untye the hands of our Subjects ; and make it safe for them to repair to Our Standard ; which Troops shall be sent back , as soon as we shall be fully settled in Possession of our Kingdoms , without the least injury to the Persons or Possessions of Our Subjects , &c. But we may prevent these surmises and fears by addressing to the Parliament , to recall Him , that His Restoration may be as Glorious as his Royal Brothers . Let all unbyassed Englishmen revolve how flourishingly we enjoyed our Religion , Laws , Property , and Trade after that miraculous Restoration ; and God would restore the same Blessings had we the same repenting Hearts .

3. As to our Servility to Strangers , &c. — Your K. W. hath forty Papists in this Army to one that K. James had in his ; and a much greater number of Strangers than our lawful King design'd to bring with him for his and our necessary Assistance . Remember the Danes in the days of yore , now they Lorded it over us , [ and were from thence called Lordanes ] and if we go on [ or go through as you call it ] to have our best Men killed in the Dutch Quarrel , and to support the Ambition of K. William , we shall be so weakned , that Dutch Strangers will be our Masters , and English Freeholders their Slaves . I beg , religiously , that all Free-born English-men would weigh this point truly , like brave old English-men .

4. Our Religion will be guarded by Acts of Parliament , as I told you I heard our gracious K. James promise , and you have seen in his Declaration which he will keep inviolably , tho the P. of Orange broke his in every Particular .

If this be true , as I know a great part of it is , sure we are not wise to be thus led by the nose . I have read in a Book intituled A Discourse written by Sir George Downing the King of Great Britain 's Envoy Extraordinary to the States of the United Provinces , shewing how cruelly , barbarously , and inhumanely , the Dutch treated us at Amboyna .

Ay ; and when 't is in their power they will use Us just so in England . The Lord open our eyes , that we may foresee and prevent our ruine , for we are on the brinck of a Precipice : Yet notwithstanding our loss the other day ( about 14000 ) by Namur , we have sent more Recruits ( 12000 Men ) the Soldiers who were to form a Descent into France this Summer to Crown K. William there , as the Prophecy tells you the Son of Man , meaning Him , must be this notable fourth Year of his Reign . O infatuated English-men ! to believe such Stuff ! Yet , as the Doctrine now in vogue speaks , — If the P. of Orange is predestinated to be King of France , it must be so ; and if the People of England are predestinated to Rebell , and continue in it , they must do so , and be damn'd . So that by this Dutch Doctrine we make God the Author of all our Villanies . O horrible Blasphemy !

Pray what may that pretended Descent cost the Nation ?

About 3 or 400000 l. A Trisle .

Trifle me no Trifles ; I see we must be undone at this rate .

If we do not repent it is very visible we shall perish : And truly I see but little hopes of true Repentance and thorow Reformation ; for about three Weeks since I discours'd with one , who is a zealous Williamite , concerning the Premises , hoping to convince him , as God be thanked thou art ; but his Heart was unmalleable : His chief Argument for their being in the right , was Success . He began with the Prince of Orange's Arrival in the Winter ; how the Winds and Seas favoured him ; how he missed our Fleet ; how the Hearts of the People were open to receive him ; his Conquest in Ireland ; the beating the French Fleet , &c. I urged David's Complaint , how the Wicked flourished in his time , Then , said he , I have cleansed my self in vain , and washed my hands in innocency . The Success of the Wicked amused holy David ; it was too hard for him to understand until he went into the House of the Lord , then he knew the end of these Men ; namely , That they stand in slippery places , and shall be cast down and come to a fearful end . That Success is not the Christian's Rule , the Word of God , the Scriptures , are our guide : If an Angel from Heaven should preach any other Doctrine to you than what you have received from us let him be anathema , saith the Apostle . Now the Scriptures say , Honour thy Father and Mother ; Thou shalt not Steal ; Thou shalt not Covet ; Fear God and honour the King ; Touch not mine Anointed , and do my Prophets no harm ; Mine Anointed , not the Peoples , and much more . Then to weaken his Argument founded on Success and Prosperity , I conjur'd him to consider religiously the terrible Earthquake at Jamaica in July last in which so many Thousands were swallowed quick ; they went down into the Pit , not having time to say Lord be merciful to us Sinners ; about four Milli●●s of Trcasure was buried and destroyed . And this Island is the best Plantation the English have in the West-Iudies , and is now as much subject to K. William as his other Dominions : Surely then this Earthquake must be esteem'd a great Judgment , and must put a Remora to the celebrated Success and Prosperity so much boasted of , &c. He returned , That Earthquakes proceed from natural Causes ; that they were a wicked People , Sodom and Gomorrha were not more sinful , and their Destruction was but the effects of God's Justice ; That We in England were true Protestants , and lived up to the Religion We profess , and therefore he feared no Earthquakes here : 't is Terra firma in Old England . I told him , That God could shake the Foundations of the whole Earth , and would his Terra firma if We continued in our Sins : That the Pharisee thanked God he was not so wicked as the penitent Publican , but that Publican was justified rather than he : That our Saviour said they were not greater Sinners on whom the Tower fell than those who escap'd ; but if they did not repent they should all likewise perish : That this Judgment was sent on Them to warn Us : That Jamaica could not be guilty of greater Sins than we have perpetrated : We did Behead our lawful pious King , and do yet continue in a Wicked Rebellion : at which Word he pish'd , and so we parted . O Billy , what hope is there of Repentance in them who are so far from owning their Sins , that they applaud their own Righteousness , and bring God himself to justifie them by his forbearance .

Truly we are a very wicked and obdurate People ; yet God is pleased still to Warn us : What a terrible Trepidation had we this 8th day of Seprember , at Two of the Clock in the Afternoon ? Which shews God can shake this Terra firma so much relied on by insensible Wretches .

Yea , and shake it to pieces ; worse than at Jamaica , if we do not Repent , and make Restitution . There is a memorable Passage in the sixteen Chapter of the Acts almost synonymous , but very pertinent , to our Transactions here in England , and the Earthquake this day : I will insert it , and enlarge upon it . Paul and Silas the Apostle and Disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ , were , for Preaching the Gospel and working a Miracle , Acts xvi . beaten with many Stripes , and cast into Prison : And that they might be kept more secure , they were thrust into the Stocks . [ Our Archbishop , and several Bishops and Ministers , Ver. 23 , 24. are violently thrust from their lawful Habitations and just Rights and Possessions , and confined with the Fetters of Poverty and Penury ; and , were it not for the Charity of well-disposed Christians , they and their innocent Families would starve ; because they refuse to act against their Consciences . ] But Paul and Silas Prayed and sung Praises unto God , and suddenly there was an Earthquake , and the Foundation of the Prison was shaken , and the Doors were opened , and their Bonds loosed ; and the Keeper fearing the Prisoners were fled , would have killed himself : But Paul cried with a loud Voice , Do thy self no harm , for we are all here . Then when he had called for a Light , and saw the wonderful effects of the Earthquake , he trembled , [ As many of us , God be thanked , did at this days Earthquake ] and brought Paul and Silas out , and said , Sirs , What must I do to be saved ? And they said , Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ , and thou shalt be saved and thy house : Ver. 25. to 34. And he took them the same hour and washed their Stripes and and was baptized he and all his . And when he had brought them into his house he set meat before them and rejoyced , believing in God , and all his house . Three things are very remarkable in this Man's Conversion , Faith , Repentance , and Restitution .

1. Faith . — Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ , vers. 29. And that he did believe is plain , for he was baptized , vers. 33.

2. Repentance . He trembled and fell down before them , vers. 29. He was sorry and grieved for his past Sins , and resolved to turn from them and lead a new life , walking in God's holy Commandments for the future , if he could find the true way ; and therefore he cries out with great earnestness , in a mighty Agony of Spirit , Sirs , What must I do to be saved ?

3. Restitution . He did as much as lay in his power : He could not take off the Indignity , Affront , Smart and Pain , that the Stripes and Stocks gave them , and with which he had so cruelly and with great inveteracy but a little before loaded them ; but he washed their Sores , bath'd their Bruises , bound up their Wounds , and brought them into his House , set Meat before them , and rejoyced , and believed in , and praised God . O happy change ! From a Jaylor he became free-born in Christ Jesus ! O blessed Earthquake ! thus to shake and change the hearts of Sinners from a hardened Adamantine Persecution of Christ's Apostles and Disciples to the tenderness of a divine Repentanee and an invincible Charity ! God grant the Earthquake this day may have the same E●ects with us ; that we may wash the Stripes of those we have scourged , and with this Keeper of the Prison , repent and make Restitution , without which no Repentance can be true . God hath shaken his Rod over us , and if we do not amend our Lives he will let it fall heavy upon us . He warned Jamaica with such Tremblings as we have seen this day several times before his Judgments poured down upon them . O let us heartily reslect on our past wicked Lives , and with unfeigned Sorrow and effectual Repentance turn from our ways with loathing and detestation ; chusing rather to dye than commit , or continue in , any known Sin : And tho Earthquakes are caused by the Air being compressed , or pent , in the Bowels , or Caverns , of the Earth , and proceed from natural Causes as Thunder and Lightning do , are bounded by God's omnipotent Providence , and cannot hurt without his Permission ; yet if the Punishment of our Neighbours and his threatning Rod , which he hath this day held over us in great mercy , will not move us to forsake the crying Sins treated of at large in the Premises of which we are so notoriously guilty ; he will suffer his Anger to break forth into Fury , and consume Us , our Wives , our Houses and our Children , in the twinkling of an eye ; and not only punish us temporally , but hurry us into Perdition with the eternally tormented Souls in Hell-fire .

God forbid we should provoke his Mercies by continuing in our Sins : Verily your Discourse , and this merciful warning from Heaven , hath so touch'd my Soul , that I do now , and will always , pray that God would grant us true Repentance , and loyal Hearts to restore our Deposed King . Amen .

Fellow-Subjects , dear Brethren and Christians , for Jesus Christ's sake consider : If we persist , an intestine War will inevitably follow , [ Pray reflect on the Miseries of Ireland ; ] and 't is but just that we who would not know our own Happiness should be made so miserable . If we continue obstinate , and not restore King James in his life-time ; yet an indisputable Right to the Crown lives as long as the Prince of Wales survives , or other Sons which the Queen may still have : There will be an entail'd War upon the Nation so long as any Interest can be made to foment and support it . Pray reflect on the bloody Contentions of the Houses of York and Lancaster , and tell me if it is morally possible that we can be happy whilst a just Dispute continues amongst us between a Dispossest Right and an Vnjust Possession . God of his infinite Mercy give us true Repentance , loyal Hearts , and discerning Souls , that we may see and pursue the things which make for our Peace here , and our eternal Welfare hereafter . Amen .