humble thy self under the mighty hand of God God has abâ—sed theâ— and therefore make it thy work to bâ— base in thine own eyes Wâ—en Nâ—hemiah understood that the Chaldâ—ans There is nothing more more evident â—n History than this viz. That those dâ—eadful fires that have bâ—en kiâ—dâ—ed amongst the Christian have been still kindâ—ed by Idolatrous hands who were a generation of Idolaters had made Jerusalem desolâ—te by Fire he greatly humblâ—d himself under the mighty hand of God He lookt through all actâ—ve causes to the efficient cause and accordingly he abased himself before the Lâ—rd as you may see Neh. 1. 3 4. And they said unto me the remnant that are left of the Captivity there in the Province are in great â—â—flâ—ction and reproach the Wall of Jerusâ—lem also is broken down and the Gates thereof are burnt with fire And it came to pass when I heard these words that I sate down and wept and mourned certain dayes and fasted and prayed before the God of Heaven When Nehemiah â—eard that thâ— Wall of Jerusalem was broken down and that the gates thereof were bâ—rnt with fire his grief was so great that he could not stand under it and therefore he sits down and weeps Who is there that is a man that is an Englishman that is a Câ—riâ—â—â—an that is a Protestant that can beholâ— the Ruâ—nes of Londâ—n and not at least the frame of his Spirit sit down and weeâ— ovâ—r those Râ—inâ—s The way of wayes â—o be truly yea â—ighly â—xâ—lted is to be thoroughly humbled The hâ—gâ—est Heavens and the lowest hearts do both alike please Isaiah 57. 15. the most high God God will certainly make it his work to exâ—lt them who make it their great work to abase themselves Such who are low in their owâ— eyes and can be be content to be low in the eyes of others such are most high and â—onoâ—rable in the eye of God in the esteem and account â—f God The lowly Christian is alwayes the moâ—â— lovely Câ—ristian Now God hath laid your City low youâ— all low he exâ—ects that your hearts should lye low undeâ— his mighty haâ—d All the world cannot long keep up thosâ— men who do'nt labour to keep down their hearts under Judgements inflicted or Judgements feared Remember the sad Catastrophe of Herod the great of Agrippa the great of Pompey the great and of Alexander the great If your spirits remain great under great Judgements 't is an evident sign that more raigning Judgements lye at your doors But Tâ—e seventh Dâ—ty that lyes upon those who have been burnt up is to bless a taking God as well as a giving God 't is to encourage themselves in the Lord their God though he has stript them of all their worldly goods Thus did Job when he had lost his all The Lord gave and the Loâ—d hath Job 1. 21. taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. One brings in holy Job standing by the ruined house under whose Walls his ten Children lay dead and buried and lifting up his Dâ—eâ—ellius in his Gynnasiun Patientâ—ae heart and hands towards Heaven saying Naked came I out of my Mothers womb and naked shall I return thither the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord. Ecce spectaculum sayes he dignum ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo Deus Behold a spectacle a spectacle worthy of God himself were he never so intent upon his work in Heaven yet worthy of his cognizance When Ziklag was burnt with fire and David plundered by the Amalekites and his Wives carried captive yet then he encouraged 1 Sam. 30. 1 2 3 6. himself in the Lord his God His God notes 1. His nearness and dearness to God Saints are very near and dear to God Psal 148. 14. Ephes 2. 13. 2. His God notes his Relation to God God is the Saints Father 3. His God notes his right to God Whole God 2 Cor. 6. 18. is the believers All he has and all he can do is the believers From these and such other like considerations David encouraged himself in the Lord his God when all was gone and so should we So the believing Hebrews took joyfully the Heb. 10. 34. spoiling of their goods whether by fire or plundering or otherwise is not said knowing in themselves that they had in Heaven a better and more enduring substance And to this duty James exhorts James 1. 2. Count it all joy my brethren when you fall into divers temptations or tribulations or afflictions A Christian in his choicest deliberation ought to count it all joy when he falls into divers tribulations The words are emphatical the Apostle doth not say be patient or quiet when you fall into divers temptations or afflictions but be joyful Nor the Apostle doth not say be joyful with a little joy but be joyful with exceeding great joy All joy The words are an Hebraism is full joy all joy is perfect joy And this becomes the Saints when they fall or are begirt round not with some but with divers that is with any kind of affliction or tribulation An omnipotent God will certainly turn his peoples misery into felicity And therefore it concerns them to be divinely merry in the midst of their greatest misery Oh that all burnt Citizens would seriously consider of these three things 1. That this fiery Rod has been a Rod in a Fathers hand 2. That this fiery Rod shall sooner or later be like Aarons Rod a blooming Rod. Choice fruit will one day grow upon this burnt Tree London No man can tell what good God may do England by that fiery Rod that he has laid upon London 3. That this fiery Rod that has been laid upon London has not been laid on 1. According to the greatness of Gods anger Nor 2. According to the greatness of his power Nor. 3. According to the strictness of his justice Nor 4. According to the dâ—merits of our sins Nor 5. According to the expectations of men of a Romish faith who 't is to be feared Acts 1. 19. did hope to see every house laid desolate and London made an Aceldama a Field of Blood Nor 6. Accordingly to the extensiveness of many of your fears for many of you have feared worse things than yet you feel Now upon all these considerations how highly dos it concern the people of God to be thankful and cheerful yea and to encourage themselves in the Lord under that fiery dispensation that has lately past upon them But what is there considerable in God to encourage the soul under Quest heavy crosses and great lâ—sses and fiery tryals First There is his gracious his special and pecular presence Answ Psalm 23. 4. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow Dan. 3. 24 25. of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me Psal 91. 15. He shall
was he seen to speak to any one but still as it were studying of some speech he cryed Wo wo unto Jerusalem Thus for four years space say some for seven years and five moneths saith Josephus his voice never waxed hoarse nor weary till in the time of the Siege beholding what he fore-told them as he was walking upon the Walls crying Wo to Jerusalem wo to the Temple wo to all the People he added and wo to my self and as soon as the words were out of his mouth a stone came out of an Engine from the Camp that dashed out his brains These Prodigies were fore runners of Jerusalems desolation What Comets what Blazing Starrs what sheets of fire have been seen flye over London and what flames of fire have been seen over the City a little before it was laid in ashes I shall not now insist upon Certainly when a consuming fire shall be ushered in by other dreadful Judgements and amazing Prodigies it highly concerns us to set down and mourn But Secondly Who can look upon London as an Ancient City as a City of great Antiquity and not mourn over the ruines of it Our Chronologers affirm that the City hath stood Isa 23. 7. Jer. 5. 15. two thousand seven hundred and seventy odd years 'T is recorded by some that the foundation of London was laid in the year of the world 2862. London by some Antiquaries is called Troynovant as having been first founded by the Trojans London is thought by some to be Antienter than Rome That London was a very ancient City might several wayes be made good but what should I spend time to prove that which every one is ready to grant Josephus Josâ—ph p. 745. speaking of Jerusalem saith That David the King of the Jews having driven out the Caneans gave it unto his people to be inhabited and after four hundred threescore and four years and three moneths it was destroyed by the Babylonians And from King David who was the first Jew that reigned there untill the time that Titus destroyed it were a thousand one hundred seventy and nine years and from the time that it was first erected until it was by him destroyed were two thousand one hundred and seventy seven years yet neither the Antiquity nor riches nor the fame thereof now spread all over the world nor the glory of Religion did any thing profit or hinder it from being destroyed So it was neither the Antiquity nor the Riches nor the Fame nor the Greatness nor the Beauty nor the Glory nor the Religion that was there profest that could prevent Londons being turned into a Chaos in four dayes tim London that had been climbing up to its Meridian of worldly greatness and glory above two thousand years how is she made desolate in a few dayes and of a glorious City become a ruinous heap Physitians make the threescore and third year of a mans life a dangerous climacterical year to the Body Natural and Statists make the five hundreth year of a City or Kingdom as dangerous to the Body Politick beyond which say they Cities and Kingdoms cannot stand But Jerusalem and London and many other Cities have stood much longer and yet in the end have been laid desolate Now what true English-man can look upon Londons Antiquity and not mourn to see so antient a City turned into a ruinous heap But Thirdly What true English-man did ever look upon London as an honourable City as a renowned City as a glorious City that will not now mourn to see London laid in ashes London was one of the wonders of the world London was the Queen City the crowning City of the Land a City as Isa 23. 8. 'T is an Italiaâ— Proverb He who hath not seen Venice will not believe and he who hath not lived â—ometime there doth not understand what a City it is I shall leave the Application to the prudent Reader famous as most Cities for worldly grandeur and glory yea a City more famous and glorious than any City under Heaven for Gospel light and for the power of Religion and real holiness Psal 76. 1 2. In Judah is God known his name is great in Israel In Salem also is his Tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion In London was God known his name was great in London and in London also was his Tabernacle and his dwelling place And as God was known in Judah not only by his word but also by his glorious works so God was known in London not only by his word but also by his glorious works And as God was known in Judah first by the multitude of his mercies but afterwards by the severity of his Judgements so God was known in London first by the multitude of his mercies but afterwards by the severity of his Judgements witness the sweeping Pestilence and the devouring fire that he sent amongst us And as God was known in Judah first by lesser Judgements and then by greater for he first lasht them with Rods and then with Scourges and at last with Scorpions so God was first known in London by lesser Judgements witness the Violent Agues strange Feavours Small Pox and small fires that broke forth in several places of the City and Suburbs but these having no kind no effectual operation upon us God at last made himself known in the midst of us by such a Pestilence and by such a Fire that the like was never known in that City before We were once the objects of his noble favours but we made our selves at last the subjects of his fury And as the Philosopher tells us corruptio optimi est pâ—ssima or as we find that the sweetest Wines become the tartest Vinegar so Gods heavenly favours and indulgencies being long abused they at last turned into storms of Wrath and Vengeance What English man did look upon Psal 101. 8. Isa 60. 14. Psal 48. 1. 8 c. Neh. 11. 1. Isa 18. 52. Dan. 1. 9. 24 London as the City of the great God as a holy City as that City wherein God was as gloriously made known and wherein Christ was as much exalted and Religion was as highly prized as in any part of the world beside and not mourn over it now 't is laid desolate 'T was long since said of Athens and Sparta that they were the eyes of Greece Was not London the eyes of England And who then can but weep to see those eyes put out Great and populous Cities are Look what the face is to the body that London was to England the beauty and glory of it as it were the eyes of the Earth and when these eyes are lost who can but sit down and sigh and mourn London was the joyous City of our Solemnities it was the Royal Chamber of the King of Kings it was the Mart of Nations it was the lofty City it was the top gallant of all our glory Now who can but shed tears to see this City laid even
a few Fishes yea Lazarus his scraps crusts and raggs and Johns Garment of Camels hair from reconciled love is infinitely better than all the riches and dainties of the wicked which are all mixed and mingled with crosses and curses All the mercies and Prov. 3. 33. Mal. 2. 2. Psal 78. 30 31. abundance that wicked men have is in wrath and from wrath there is wrath in every cup they drink in and in every dish they eat in and in every bed they lye on and in every stool they sit on But the little the righteous man hath flowes from the sweetest springs of divine love so that they may well say as Gideon did The gleanings of the Grapes Judges 8. 2. of Ephraim is it not better than the Vintage of Abiezer The very gleanings of the righteous are better than the greatest Vintages of the wicked The abundance of the wicked still flowes in upon them from the bitter streams of Divine Wrath. A little water flowing from a sweet spring is much better than a great deal that flowes from the salt Sea The loving kindness of God dos raise the least estate above the greatest estate in the world yea it raiseth it above life it self or lives Chajim which is the best of all temporal Psalm 63. 3. blessings Ten pound given by a King out of favour and respect is a better gift than a thousand given in wrath and displeasure But Fourthly The little that the righteous man hath is blest and sanctified to him as you may see by comparing the Deut. 28. 8 9. Psalm 3. 8. Gen. 22. 17. Chap. 26. 12. Prov. 10. 22. Deut. 28. 16 17 18 19 20. Prov. 3. 33. Mal. 2. 2. Scriptures in the Margent together A little blest unto a man is better than all the world curst Now all the blessings and mercies that the wicked do enjoy though they are matetially blessings yet they are formally curses as all the crosses that befalls a righteous man though they are materially crosses yet they are formally blessings The habitations relations honors riches c. of the wicked are all crust unto them There is poyson in every cup the wicked man drinks and snares in every dish he puts his fingers in the Plague in all the clothes he wears and a curse upon the house in which he dwells Zech. 5. 3 4. Then he said unto me this is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it I will bring it forth saith the Lord of Hosts and it shall enter into the house of the Thief and into the house of him that sweareth falsly by my Name and it shall remain in the midst of his house and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof So Job 24. 18. Their portion is cursed in the earth A fat purse and a fat heart a whole estate and a whole heart a fat body and a lean soul Psal 106. 15. He sent leanness into their souls All the blessings of the wicked have their but. As the Cup in Benjamins Sack which proved a snare to him rather than a mercy O the curses and vexations that attend all the blessings of the wicked It may be said of the little that a righteous man hath as it was once said of Jacobs Garment It is like a field which the Lord hath blessed He blesseth the habitations of the just Esau had Prov. 3. 33. a fair estate left him and Jacob a less yet Jacobs was a better estate than Esau's because his little was blest to him when Esau's much was curst to him One little draught of clear watâ—r is better than a Sea of brackish salt water The application is easie But Fifthly A little improved and well husbanded is better than a great deal that is either not improved or but ill improved Every estate is as 't is improved a little Farm well improved is much better than a great Farm that is either not improved or ill improved A little money a little stock in a Shop well improved is better than a great deal of money a great stock that is either not improved or ill improved Now here give me leave to shew you briefly how a godly man improves his little Take me thus First A godly man improves his little to the stirring up of his bea rt to thankfulness and to be much in admiring and Psalm 103. 1 2 3. Psalm 116. 12 13. blessing of God for a little Every drop the Dove drinks he lifts up his head to Heaven Every Bird in his kind saith Ambrose doth chirp forth thankfulness to his Maker So the righteous man will bless God much for a little yea he will bless God very much for a very little But Secondly A righteous man improves his little to the humbling and abasing of himself before the Lord as one that is 2 Sam. 7. 18. much below the least of mercies Gen. 32. 10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies which thou hast shewed unto thy servant A righteous man labours to have his heart lye low under the sense of the least sin and under the smart of the least rod and under the sight of the least mercy But Thirdly A righteous man improves his little to the arming and fencing of himself against sinful temptations Little Gen. 39. 7 8 9 10. mercies are many times great arguments to keep a gracious soul from sin But Fourthly A righteous man improves his little to the relief and refreshing of the bowels of others that are in want 2 Cor. 8. 1 2 3 4. Heb. 6. 10. and whose pinching necessities call for supplyes A poor man begging at a Christians door who was very poor he spoke to his Wife to give him something she answered that she had but three-pence in the house saith he give him that for if we never sow we shall never reap There was another Christian who having given a little of his little to a man began to think whether he had injured himself but presently he corrected himself with these thoughts that he had lent â—â— one that would pay all again with advantage with interest upon interest within an hour after he had it restored above seven-fold in a way which he never thought of The Italian form of begging is Do good for your selves But Fifthly A righteous man improves his little to the stirring up and provoking of his own heart to look after better and greater mercies viz. spiritual and eternal favours O saith the righteous man if there be so much sweetness in a few drops and sips and small draughts and crusts and scraps Psal 16. ult Joh. 4. 10 11. 14. Chap. 6. 4. Rev. 19. 8. What is in those everlasting springs of pleasure and delight that be at Gods right