Selected quad for the lemma: city_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
city_n	john_n	sir_n	time_n	5,972	4	4.9055	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42550	Londons remembrancer, or, A sermon preached at the Church of St. Mary Le Bow on September the 3d, 1688 (the second day being the Lord's Day) which was appointed by act of Parliament for the citizens of London and their successors to retain the memorial of the sad desolation of the city by fire in the year of our Lord 1666 / by William Gearing ...	Gearing, William.	1688 (1688)	Wing G435E; ESTC R40472	20,624	36

LONDONS Remembrancer OR A SERMON Preached at the CHURCH of St. MARY LE BOW ON September the 3d 1688. The Second Day being the Lord's Day which was appointed by Act of PARLIAMENT for the CITIZENS of LONDON and their Successors to retain the Memorial of the sad Desolation of that CITY by FIRE in the Year of our LORD 1666. By WILLIAM GEARING Rector of Christ-Church in Surrey LONDON Printed by J. Richardson for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside 1688. Licensed September 10th 1688. To the Right Honourable Sir JOHN EYLES Kt. LORD MAYOR of the CITY of LONDON My Lord GOD hath inflicted many Judgments upon this great City and kindled many Dreadful Fires among us which have at several times overthrown and consumed many Thousand Dwellings and yet most People are regardless of this Judgment There be three Duties to be done in respect of God's Judgments 1. When they fall out there must be special Notice taken of them They must be observed Marked and Commented upon both in our Meditations and Conferences Psalm 9.16 The Lord is known by the Judgments which He executeth or the Lord maketh Himself known by His Judgments what a Just and Powerful God He is God complains of some Isa 5.12 That they regard not the Work of the Lord nor consider the Operation of His Hands And Psalm 64.9 All Men shall fear and declare the Works of God for they shall wisely consider of His doings 2. God's Works of Justice must be magnified and God magnified in them Job 36. Remember that thou magnifie His Work which Men behold Every Man may see it and behold it afar off It is one thing to see God's Work which a Man cannot avoid if his Eyes be open another thing so as to see and agnize God's Greatness in them so as to cry out as Moses and the Children of Israel did when God drowned Pharaoh and his Host in the Red Sea Exod. 15.11 Who is like unto Thee O Lord among the Gods glorious in Holiness fearful in Praises and in doing Wonders We must observe and glorifie the Justice of God especially considering how His Judgments are many times sutable to Mens Sins 3. God's Works of Justice must be remembred Psalm 111.4 He hath made His wonderful Works to be remembred Therefore we ought always to keep them in mind Remember Lot 's Wife c. Obj. But is it not an easie thing to remember any strange Judgment that a Man hath tasted of seen or heard of Who is there that doth not remember such things Resp The Remembrance that God calls for is not a bare Historical Remembrance It is common and easy enough to remember the Story of Lot's Wife or any other on whom God's Judgments have been Executed The Remembrance that is required of us is an Operative and Practical Remembrance so to remember them as to be warned by them and to take heed of the same or such like Sins as such Judgments came for so to remember them as to be quickned to the Fear of God and to Obedience to His Precepts and to glorifie His Name in His fiery Dispensations towards us God hath not wrought such great things in the World whether respecting Persons or Nations nor kindled so many Fires in this City that we should write them upon the Water or in the Sand which the next blast of Wind defaceth and blows out But He hath made such wonderful Works of His to be remembred He will have them written in Brass as it were with the Pen of Iron and the Point of a Diamond And indeed all God's Works are so made that they are worthy to be remembred by us My Lord I humbly dedicate this ensuing Sermon to Your Lordship and present it to the touch and test of Your Judgment My utmost Ambition in this mean Tender is no more than that Persians was who having nothing to present the King Artaxerxes with ran to the River and brought him his handful of Water I hope this poor Present shall find acceptance with You and that my good Intentions stamped upon it may advance the Price of it as the poor Widows Charitable Mind in the Gospel did raise the Value of her Mite The Lord Direct and Assist You in all Your weighty Affairs in the Government of this City And so recommending You to the Rich Grace of God I humbly take my leave and remain September 13. 1688. Your Lordships in all Gospel-Services to be Commanded WILLIAM GEARING LONDONS Remembrancer OR A SERMON Preached at the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow On the 3d of September 1688. Isaiah xxiv 15. Wherefore glorifie ye the Lord in the Fires even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea. IN the former part of this Chapter ye have the Description of a terrible consuming Judgment Behold the Lord maketh the Earth empty and maketh it waste and turneth it upside down and scattereth abroad the Inhabitants thereof The Effects here spoken of are like those that follow a Terrible Fire they make the Earth empty overturn Houses and scatter abroad the Inhabitants driven out of their Habitations The Prophet shews that this Judgment should make no difference in regard of any outward Estate or Condition of Men namely in reference to their outward Conditions The Judgments of God look upon all alike therefore saith the Prophet verse 2. It shall be As with the People so with the Priest as with the Servant so with his Master as with the Maid so with her Mistress as with the Buyer so with the Seller as with the Lender so with the Borrower as with the taker of Vsury so with the giver of Vsury to him They shall be all wrapt up in one bundle of Judgments without discrimination Then the Prophet goes on to describe the Consequents of it verse 3. The Land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled for the Lord hath spoken this word The Earth mourneth and fadeth away the haughty People of the Earth do languish And so on to the end of the Twelfth Verse But now though the Judgments of God go thus forth and consume all sorts alike who be alike in their Sins yet the Lord knows how to make a difference and in the most common Calamities he usually hath a Reserve But the Reserve is made not upon any outward Consideration but the difference is in reference to the Spiritual Estate and Internal Condition of Man. Therefore he saith in the Thirteenth Verse When thus it shall be in the midst of the Land among the People there shall be as the shaking of an Olive Tree and as the gleaning of Grapes when the Vintage is done They shall lift up their Voice they shall sing for the Majesty of the Lord they shall cry aloud from the Sea. That is there are some though possibly they may be much afflicted and in great distress yet their Comforts shall not be quite removed It shall be with them as is expressed verse

is a devouring Creature In this respect the Judgments of God are compared to Fire they are of a devouring Nature The Sword and the Fire are devouring things Fire is a great Eater it hath a strong Stomach What will not Fire digest Even the whole Sublunary World at last shall be devoured with Fire The Elements shall molt with fervent heat Fire will digest Stones Iron and Adamant such is the Anger of God there is no standing before it nor before the least of God's Judgments when He commands them Execution it shall be done The Judgments of God have a consuming Power in them to eat out and lay waste the Wicked of the World. Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an Oven and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be like straw and stubble before the Fire of God's Wrath. And the day that cometh shall burn them up and shall leave them neither Root nor Branch Mal. 4.1 Fourthly Fire is a merciless Element we say Fire and Water have no Mercy They are inexorable there is no entreating them Such is the Judgment of God upon a wicked Man if God will strike none shall stay his Hand Though Moses and Samuel stood before Him yet the Sentence is irrevocable the Fire of His Wrath must burn Though Prayer hath often quenched the fire of God's Wrath yet sometimes the Anger of God cannot be quenched by Prayer there 's no intreaty to be heard and that the fire of His Wrath may the more quietly burn the Lord hath said Pray not for this People Fifthly The Judgments of God in reference to His own People are a fire as they have a purging and purifying quality in them Fire cleanseth purgeth and getteth out the dross This is the Nature of God's sore Dispensations towards His People they get out their Dross and Corruption By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged Isa 27. The Vine turneth wild and degenerateth unless it be pruned Clem. Alexand. Paedag. and Man proveth exorbitant unless he be purged and cleansed in the fire of Affliction He is apt to run out into evil ways and is hardly reduced to a due conformity to the Will of God. From hence this point of Instruction ariseth That it is our Duty to give Glory to God in all his saddest Dispensations towards us We must not only glorifie God in our green Pastures but also glorifie God in the Fires The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 10.30 Whatsoever ye do whether you eat or drink do all to the Glory of God. Now I say also whatsoever ye suffer whether by Fire or Water suffer all to the Glory of God. That is to glorifie God in these Fires The Life of Christ was an Active Life and a Passive Life and in all he glorified God. He gives that account of it when he was ready to go out of the World John 17.4 Father I have glorified Thee on Earth and done the work Thou gavest me to do So whatsoever our work be in the World whether it lye in Active or Passive Obedience we should be able to give this account of it that we have glorified God in it Let us consider our answerableness to this intendment Ye are not only to glorifie God in the Fire whilst the Fire is burning but glorifie Him though the Fires be put out from among you Consider then whether ye have done that which amounteth to your glorifying God in the Fires What that is you may take in these particulars 1. To glorifie God in the Fires is to acknowledge that God was just in kindling the great Fire that consumed a great part of your City in the Year 1666 and many other Fires among you since that time And unless the Lord hath this acknowledgment from us we do much dishonour Him. When Nebemiah had related a story of God's sad Dispensations Nehem. 9. he concludes verse 13. Howbeit Thou art just in all that is brought upon us for Thou hast done right but we have done wickedly Therefore if God kindle Fires among us and consume us yet God is just in so doing God often makes the Punishment sutable to the Sin And when it is so it reneweth the memory of the Sin and strikes the Heart with the horror of its own guiltiness Such a Punishment is like a Cross with a Superscription upon it as it seemeth by the Practice of Pilate the manner of the Romans was to express the fact of which the Party executed was accused over his Head at his Execution So these Punishments are like a Cross with such a Superscription upon it the Punishment it self doth as good as upbraid the Conscience Thus and thus hast thou done the Punishment puts the Party in mind of his Sin as Samuel did Agag As thy Sword hath made other Women childless so shall thy Mother be childless among Women 1 Sam. 15.33 2. To acknowledge that God is merciful that as by our Sins we have deserved whatever the Fire hath kindled so that we have not suffered so much as we have deserved Ezra 9.13 Thou hast punished us less than our Iniquities have deserved It is just that we are punished but Thou hast punished us less than we have deserved We are not to understand that as if God had punished them but a little for under the whole Heaven God had not kindled such a Fire as in Jerusalem yet saith he Thou hast punished us less than we have deserved 3. We glorifie God in the Fires when we quietly and silently submit to the Fires Some submit to the Judgments of God out of sullenness of Spirit This is a despising of the Judgment of God. David did never more glorifie God nor speak His Glory louder than when he was dumb and silent under God's Dispensation There was no noise in his Spirit If it came from any one else I could not have held my Tongue But I was dumb and opened not my mouth because it was Thy doing Christianity teacheth us to bear Losses and endure Afflictions out of Love to God and in Obedience to God's Command and with Submission to His Holy Will. There are some who are of an obstinate Spirit disdaining to bow under the Yoke and though the Rod smart never so much to testifie any submission to the Will of God or any remorse at all Pharaoh was such a one how terribly did God lash him with a ten-stringed Whip yet-still he hardens his Heart against Him and relenteth no more than if he had struck upon the side of a Rock And Ahaz was such a one he was branded and stigmatized for it God for his Wickedness had delivered him up into the Hands of his Enemies 2 Chron. 28.22 and they held him in Captivity and Thraldom yet in the time of his distress he did more trespass against the Lord. This is that King Ahaz I have read of a certain Lord Chancellor of England being far from his own House with the King that at that time in the