of the tongue Now if these last have hit the mark how highly doth at concern us all to set a watch before the door of our lips at all times but especially on the Lords day Now considering how wonderful apt and prone Christians are to be speaking their own words Yea foolish vain worldly and unprofitable words on the Lords day Give me leave â—o offer to your serious consideration these four things First Where the Lord hath commanded the whole man to rest from servile works there he commands the hand to rest from working the foot from walking and the tongue from talking But in the fourth Commandment Thou shalt do no manner of work the Lord hath commanded the whole Exod. 4. 10. man to rest from servile works And therefore the tongue from talking of this or that worldly business But Secondly Those things which as lets hinder the duties of the Lords day are forbidden But worldly words as lets hinder the duties of the Lords day therefore worldly words are forbidden But Thirdly Where bodily works are forbidden there those things are forbidden which hinder the sanctifying of the Sabbath as much or more than bodily works do but bodily works are forbidden in the fourth Commandment therefore worldly words which hinder more the sanctifying of the Sabbath than bodily works do are forbidden in the same Commandment That worldly words do hinder the sanctifying of the Sabbath as much or more than bodily works is evident by this among other arguments that might be produced that a man may work alone but he cannot talk alone But Fourthly That Commandment which tyes the outward man from the deed done that Commandment ties the tongue from talking of the same But the fourth Commandment ties the outward man from worldly works and therefore that Command ties the tongue from worldly words Certainly all those persons that make the Lords day a reckoning-day with workmen as some do or a directing-day what shall be done the next week as others do or a day of idle talk about this worldly business or that or about this person or that or about this fashion or that or about this mans matters or that or about this pleasure or that or about this profit or that or about this mans calling or that or about this Gossips Tale or that c. All such persons are prophaners and no sanctifiers of the Lords Day I have been the longer upon this particular to confute and recover those Christians who give their tongues too great a liberty on the Lords Day Now in these fourteen particulars I have shewed you how the Sabbath is to be sanctified O Sirs as you desire to see London rebuilt as you desire to see London in as great or greater prosperity and glory as she hath been in as you desire to see her once more the Bulwark of the Nation As Psaâ— 48. 12 13. Cant. 6. 4. Isa 60. 15. you desire to see her a shield and shelter to her faithful friends at home and a terror and dread to her proudest enemies abroad As you desire that she may be an eternal excellency Zech. 2. 5. a joy of many Generations As you desire the Lord to be for ever a wall of fire about her and a glory in the midst of her Mâ—ke conscience of sanctifying the Sabbath in a right manner Make it your great business and work to sanctifie the Sabbath according to those fourteen Rules which I have now laid down I know there is a desperate opposition and contrariety in the hearts of carnal men to the strict observation of the Sabbath When Moses had first received a Commandment Exod. 16. 25. 31. concerning the observation of the Sâ—bbath his Authority could not so prevail with the Jews but that some of them would be gâ—dding abroad to seek Manna on the Sabbath day contrary to an express prohibition yea when it was death Chap. 31 13 14 15 16. to gather sticks on that day yet in contempt of Heaven it self one ventures upon the breach of the Law How sadly and frequently the Prophets have lamented and complained of the breach of the Sabbath I have in this Treatise already discovered and therefore need say no more of it in this place The horrid prophanation of this day in France Holland Germany Sweden and in thâ—se three Nations England Scâ—tland and Ireland and among all Protestants every where else is and must be for a sore lamentation The Sabbath in all Ages hath been more or less crucified between prophaneness and superstition as Christ the Lord of the Sabbath was crucified between two Thieves When the observation of the Sabbath came to be more sacred and solemn in publick performances which was about Nehemiahs time as is conceived presently after Satan stirred up some Hypocrites who â—un into such an extream of superstition that they held that they might not stir out of their places nor kill a flea and a thousand such like fooleries Yea some dangerous fooleries they laboured to distill into the people as that they might not draw a Sword to defend themselves in a common Invasion c. For a close remember this that there are no Christians in all the world comparable to those for the power of godliness and heighths of grace holiness and communion with God who are most strict serious studious and conscientious in sanctifying of the Lords day Such as are careless remiss light slight formal and carnal upon the Sabbath day they will be as bad if not worse on every other day in the Week The true reason why the power of godliness is fallen to so low an ebb both in this and in other Countreys also is because the Sabbath is no more strictly and conscientiously observed in this Land and in those other Countreys where the name of the Lord is made known The Jews were never serious in the observation of their Sabbaths till they smarted seventy years in Babylon for their former prophanation of it And who can look upon the ashes of London and not see how dearly the Citizens have paid for their prophaning of the Lords day And Oh that all these short hints might be so blest from Heaven as to work us all to a more strict serious and conscientious sanctifying of the Lords day according to those Directions or Rules that I have in this Treatise laid before you And thus I have done with those Duties that are incumbent upon those who have been burnt up by that late dreadful fire that hath turned London into a ruinous heap I come now to those Duties that are incumbent upon those whose habitations are yet standing as monuments of divine Wisdom Power and Grace O Sirs the flames have been near you a devouring fire hath consumed many thousand habitations round about you and you and your habitations have bâ—en as so many brands pluckt out of the fire O how highly doth it concern you seriously and freqâ—ently to lay to heart the singular goodness
the seventy thousand that died of the Plague though Davids sin were the occasion yet the meritorious cause was in them Certainly there is no man that hath been a sufferer by this late dreadful Fire but upon an easie search into his own heart and life he may find matter enough to silence himself and to satisfie himself that though God has turn'd him out of his habitation and burnt up all his comforts round about him yet he has done him no wrong Surely in the burning of the City of London there was more of the extraordinary hand of God than there was of the hand of Papist or Atheist God if he had pleased could have prevented brutish and skilful men to destroy Ezek. 21. 31. and burn by discovering of their hellish plots before they had taken effect as he did Ahitophels 2 Sam. 17. 10. to the 24. and as he did Tobiahs and Sanballats Neh. 4. 7. to v. 16. And as he did the Jews who took counsel to kill Paul Acts 9. 23 24 25. Acts 23. 12. to 25. And as he did that of the Gun-Powder-Treason And God could have directed and spirited men to the use of the means and then have given such a blessing to the means as should have been effectual to the quenching of it when it was first kindled but he would not which is a clear evidence that he had given from Heaven a commission to the Fire to burn with that force and violence as it did till all was laid in ashes Now that you may the better see and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in the late dreadful Fire that has been amongst us Consider seriously with me these ten following particulars First Consider the intemperate heat the drought of the season such a hot and dry Summer as that was has not been known for many years How by this means every mans habitation Nah. 1. 10. Joâ—l 2. 5. By this parching season every mans house was prepared for fuel was as stubble fully dry prepared and fitted for the burning flames Before God would strike fire he made our houses like tinder When fuell is wet and green what puffing and blowing must there be to kindle a fire and to make it burn but when fuell is light and dry it is so conceptive of fire that even the very smell of fire puts it into a flame And this was poor London's case for every mans house had lain long a Sunning under the scorching beams of the Sun and much brightness of weather which made every thing so dry and combustible that sparks and flakes of fire were sufficient to set mens houses all in a flame about their ears Now this finger of God we are neither to overlook nor yet deny 't is our wisdom as well as our work Exod. 8. 19. to see not only the finger but the hand of the Lord in every circumstance that relates to that fore Judgement of fire that we are still sighing under 'T is God that withholds seasonable showers and that causeth it to rain upon one City Amos 4. 7. and not upon another The Earth cannot open her bowels and yield seed to the Sower and bread to the Eater if not 1 King 17. 1 2. Job 38. 31. Doubtless there was much wrath in his that the Water-house which served much of the City with water should be burnt down in a few hours after the fire first began To want a proper â—emedy when we are under a growing misery is no small calamity 'T is sad with the people that have nothing to quench the furious flames but their own tears and blood To be stript of water when God strikes a people with that tremendous Judgement of Fire is wrath to the utmost watered from above nor the Heaven cannot drop down fatness upon the Earth if God close it up and withhold the seasonable showers This the very Heathens acknowledged in their fictions of Jupiter and Juno God only can make the Heavens as Brass and the Earth as Iron and restraiâ—â—â—he Celestial influences Can man bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bonds of Orion Can any but God forbid the Clouds to drop fatness Surely no. Beloved drought and scantness of water upon a Land a City c. is a Judgement of God 'T is no small misery to have the streams dried up when the fire is at our doors Jer. 50. 38. A drought is upon her waters and they shall be dried up for it is the Land of Graven Images and they are mad upon their Idols Jer. 51. 35 36. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon shall the inhabitant of Zion say and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea shall Jerusalem say Therefore thus saith the Lord Behold I will plead thy cause and take vengeance for thee and I will dry up her Sea and make her Springs dry Now mark what follows ver 37. And Babylon shall become heaps a dwelling place for Dragons an astonishment and an hissing without an inhabitant When God comes to plead the cause of Zion against Babylon not by words but by deeds by blowes by terrible Judgements When he comes to burn up the inhabitants of Babylon and to turn them out of house and home he first dryes up her Sea and makes her Springs dry Haggai 1 11. And I called for a drought upon the Land and upon the Mountains and upon the Corn and upon the new Wine and upon the Oyl and upon that which the ground bringeth forth and upon Men and upon Cattel and upon all the labour of the hands 'T is God that brings droughts and rain and that opens and stops the Clouds the bottles of Heaven at his pleasure Jer. 14. 2 3 4. Judah mourneth and the gates thereof languish they are black unto the ground and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up And their Nobles have sent their little ones to the waters they came to the pits and found no water they returned with their vessels empty they were ashamed and confounded they covered their heads They muffled up their heads and faces as a token of great grief and sorrow as close mourners do with us Because the ground is chapt for there was no rain in the earth the Plowmen were ashamed they covered their heads There are many calamities that are brought upon us by humane means that are also avoidable by humane helps but drought and want of water â—specially when a devouring fire is kindled in the midst of a people is no small judgement of Heaven upon that people to want water when the house is all in flames is a high evidence of Divine displeasure We had no rain a long time before the fire and the Springs were low and the Water-works at the Bridge-foot which carried water into that part of the City that was first in flames were burnt dowâ— the first day of the fire And was there not wrath from Heaven in this Surely yes Look as 't
had set both their City and Temple in a flame before their eyes Now mark sudden and unexpected Judgements do alwayes carry a great deal of the anger and severity of God in them Deut. 7. 4. So will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy thee suddenly God being greatly angry with Jerusalem Isa 29. 1 2 3 4. He tells her that her Judgement should be at an instant suddenly ver 5. Psal 64. 7. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded Hab. 2. 7. Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee and awake that shall vex thee and thou shalt be for booties unto them Prov. 6. 14 15. Frowardness is in his heart be deviseth mischief continually he soweth discord Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly suddenly shall he be broken without remedy Here is a dismal doom not bruised but broken yea suddenly broken when they least dream or dread the danger And this without remedy there shall be no possibility of piecing them up again or putting them into a better condition Chap. 24. 22. Their calamity shall rise suddenly when they think that they have made all cock-sure then ruine and desolation lyes at their door Certainly there are no judgements so dreadful and amazing as those which come most suddenly and unexpectedly upon the sons of men for these cut off all hope they hinder the exercise of reason they cloud mens minds they distress mens spirits they marr mens councils and they weaken mens courage and they daunt mens hearts so that they can neither be serviceable to themselves nor their friends not the publick all this was evidently seen upon the body of the Citizens when London was in flames The more eminent cause have we to take notice of the hand of the Lord in that late fiery dispensation that has past upon us The year 1666. according to the computation of several sober wise learned men should have been the Christians Jubilee many mens expectations were high that Rome that year should be laid in ashes but it never entered into any of our hearts or thoughts that this very year London should be laid in ashes O unexpected blow Berlin in Germany who in the Pulpit Scultet Aâ—â—aâ— charged the Apostle Paul with a lie was suddenly smitten with an Apoplexy while the words were yet in his mouth and fâ—ll down dead in the place The Parson of Chrondal in Kent having got a Pardon from Cardinal Pool as the Popes Substitute in that work the next Lords Day in his own Parish presses all his people to do the lâ—ke with this Argument that he was now so free from all his sins that he could die presently and God presently so struck him in the Pulpit that he died and never spoke more As Bibulus a Roman General was riding in triumph in all his glory a Tyle fell from the house in the Street and knockt out his brains Otho the Emperour slew himself with his own hands but slept so soundly the night before that the Grooms of his Chamber heard him snort And Plutarch reporteth the like of Cato Lepidus and Aufidius stumbled at the very threshold of the Senate and died the blow came in a cloud from Heaven Sophocles died suddenly by excessive joy and Homer by immoderate grief Mr. Perkins speaks of one who when it thundered scoffingly said it was nothing but Tom Tumbril a hooping his Tubs and presently he was struck dead with a Thunderbolt Olympus the Arrian Heretick bathing himself Theatre of Gods Judgements lib. 1. ap 9. p. 64. uttered sad words against the blessed Trinity but suddenly a threefold Thunderbolt struck him dead in the same place Attilus King of the Huns proudly gave out that the Stars fell before him and the earth trembled at his presence and how he would be the scourge of all Nations but soon after he died by a flux of blood breaking out of his mouth which choaked him on his wedding-day King Henry the Second of France upon the Marriage of his Sister with the King of Spain was so puffed up that he called him self by a new Title Tres-heurâ—use Roy The thrice happy King But to confute him in solemnizing that Marriage he was slain at Tilt by the Captain of his Guard though against his will but not without Gods determinate counsel in the very beginning of his supposed happiness Now every one that is a man either of reason or Religion will certainly say that in these sudden Judgements that befell these persons there was the angry and displeased hand of God to be seen O how much more then should we see the angry and displeased hand of the Lord in that sudden dreadful fire that has turned our once renowned City into a ruinous heap Jer. 8. 15. In this year 1666. many thought that there had been many great and glorious things in the womb of Providence that would have been now brought forth but they were mistaken for unexpectedly London is laid in ashes But Thirdly Consider the force violence vehemency and irresistibleness of it despising and triumphing over all those Many Authors speak much of the Greek Fire some of which burnt the Saracens Fleet to be of such force that the Ancients accounted no other means would extinguish it but Vinegar And certainly several firâ—s that have been enkindled by Romish Jesuits have not been less turious weak endeavours that were used This Fire broke forth with that violence and raged with that fury and appeared in that dreadfulness and spread it self with that dismalness and continued for so long a time with that irresistibleness that discouraged hearts and weak hands with their Buckets Engines Ladders Hooks opening of Pipes and sweeping of Channels could give no check to it This fire broke in upon the Inhabitants like an Arm of the Sea and roared and raged like a Bear robbed of her Whelps until it had laid our glory in ashes When the fire was here and there a little allayed or beaten down or put to a stand how soon did it recover its force and violence and make the more furious onsets burning down Water-houses Engines Churches and the most strong pleasant and stately houses nothing being able to stand before its rage How soon did the flames mount up to the tops of the highest houses and as soon descend down to the bottom of the lowest Vaults and Cellars Stone walls and Brick-walls and those noble and strong Pieces of Architecture were all but fuel to those furious flames How did they march along Jehu-like on both sides of the Streets with such a roaring dreadful and astonishing noise as never was heard in the City of London before Londons sins were now so great and Gods wrath was now so hot that there was no quenching of the furious flames The Decree for the burning of London was now gone forth and none could reverse it The time of Londons fall was now come The fire had
Son nor thy Daughter thy man-servant nor thy maid-servant nor thy cattel nor thy stranger that is within thy gates Jer. 17. 22. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath Day neither do ye any work but hallow ye the Sabbath Day as I commanded your fathers Isa 58. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own wayes nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking of thine own words Here are three things distinctly observable in the words 1. Words 2. Works 3. Pleasure Not doing thine own wayes that is works not speaking thine own words not finding thine own pleasure Now mark we have stronger reasons to engage us to a stricter observation and sanctification of the Lords Day than they had for their Sabbath which may be thus evinced Not to speak of their double Sacrifices upon their Sâ—bbath Numb 28. 9 10. which as some think might typifie our double devotion on the Lords Day nor yet to speak of those six Lambs whereby others conjecture was fore-prophesied the abundant services in the time of the Gospel Ezek. 46. 1 -5 First Our Motives are far greater and more efficacious For First Our day hath many priviledges above theirs witness the honourable Tâ—tles given to it by holy and learned men As the Queen of dayes Princess Principal Primate a Royal day higher than the highest the first fruits of the days yea saith Hierom The Lords Day is better than any other common day than all Festivals New-moons and Sabbaths of Moses By these Titles 't is evident that the Ancients had the Lords Day in very hâ—gh esteem and veneration Sirs look what Gold is among inferiour Mettals and what among other Grain c. the same is the Lords Day above all other dayes of the week Secondly Their Sabbath was celebrated for the memorial of the Creation ours for the great work of Redemption But Thirdly Theirs was celebrated for their deliverance out of Aegypt ours for our deliverance from Hell Now if the Jews were bound and that for a whole day not to do their own works nor speak their own words nor find their own pleasure how much more solemnity belongs to our Lords Day O what a day is the Lords Day and how solemnly and devoutly ought it to be observed and sanctified But Sâ—condly We have greater means and helps for the sanctification of the Sabbath than the Jews had for a long time or than the Primitive Christians had for three hundred years Mark the holy observation of the Sabbath among them came in by degrees long after the day was settled and the reason was this because for a good while they had no word written to be read nor no Synagogues built to read it in It was well nigh a thousand years or above a thousand years after the giving of the Law before the reading of the Law in Synagogues came up For a long time they had no Books among them but the five Books of Moses and those Books neither were not well understood by the common people And it is further observable that the children of Israel being in Aegypt under sore pressures afflictions and cruel bondage c. neither did nor could keep the Sabbath in any solemn manner not being permitted either to rest or enjoy any solemn assemblies And when they were in their wilderness condition they had many stations diversions and incursions of enemies so that they could not keep the Sabbath in any solemn publick manner as afterwards they did when they were setled in peace and safety in the Land of Canaan And so the Primitive Christians for three hundred years liveing undâ—r very great and violent Persecutions they neither did nor could keep the Lords Day with that solemnity that they should or would but as for place they met not openly but secretly in Woods and Desarts and Holes and Caves and Dens of the earth and so for time sometimes they met in the day and often they met in the night But as for us who have lived and do live in these dayes of the Son of man what rare means and helps what abundance of means and helps what choice and precious means and helps have we had and still have in spite of all oppositions from high or low to enable us to sanctifie the Sabbath And O that all the means and helps that we yet enjoy may be signally blest to that purpose But Thirdly The Heathens by the very light of nature held it but reasonable that the dayes consecrated to their Gods should totally be observed with rest and sanctity the Flamins which were their Priests affirmed that the Holy-dayes were polluted if any work were done upon the solemn dayes besides it was not lawful for the King of the Sacrifices Macrobâ—us l. 1. c. 16. and the Flamins their Priests to see a work done on the holy dayes and therefore by a Cryer it was proclaimed that no such things should be done and he that neglected the Precept was fined and besides the fine he which did ought unawares on such dayes was to offer Sacrifices for expiation And Scaevòla the High Priest affirmed that the wilful offendor could have no expiation Now shall Heathens be so strict in the observation of their holy dayes and shall not Christians be as strict in their observation of the Lords Day These Heathens will one day rise in judgement against the slight observers and the gross prophaners of the Lords Day But Secondly We must sanctifie the Sabbath by preparing ouâ— selves before hand for that day and all the duties of that day Eccles 5. 1 2. Hence it is that God hath fixt a Memorandum upon this Command more than he hath upon any other Command Exod. 20. 8. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Sabbath dayes are our Market-dayes Now men that are worldly wise they consider before hand what to buy and what to sell The Husband-man dungs dresses plowes harrows and all to prepare it for seed I will saith holy David Psalm 26. 6. wash my hands in innocency so will I compass thine Altar O Lord. Signifying that to holy performances there ought to be holy preparations When the Temple was to be built the Stones were hewen and the Timber squared and fitted before they were brought to the place where the Temple stood The Application is easie First The Jews had their preparations Mark 15. 42. And now when the Even was come because it was the preparation that is the day before the Sabbath c. Their preparation began at three a clock in the after-noon which the Hebrews called the Sabbath Eve The Jews as I have read were so careful in their preparation for the Sabbath that to further it the best and wealthiest of them even those that had many servants and were Masters of Families would chop
LONDON'S LAMENTATIONS OR A serious Discourse concerning that late fiery Dispensation that turned our once renowned City into a ruinous Heap Also the several Lessons that are incumbent upon those whose Houses have escaped the consuming Flames By THOMAS BROOKS late Preacher of the Word at S. Margarets New-Fish-street where that Fatal Fire first began that turned London into a ruinous Heap Una dies interest inter magnam Civitatem nullam There is but the distance of one day between a great City and none said Seneca when a great City was burnt to Ashes Come behold the Works of the Lord what Desolations he hath made in the Earth Psal 46. 8. LONDON Printed for John Hancock and Nathaniel Ponder and are to be sold at the first Shop in Popes-Head-Alley in Cornhil at the Sign of the Three Bibles or at his Shop in Bishopsgate-street and at the Sign of the Peacock in Chancery lane 1670. TO THE Right Honourable Sir WILLIAM TVRNER Knight Lord Mayor of the City of London Right Honourable IT is not my design to blazon your Worth or write a Panegyrick of your Praises your brighter Name stands not in need of such a shadow as mens Applause to make it more renowned in the World native Worth is more respected than adventitious Glory your own works Prov. 31. 31. praise you in the gates It is London's Honour and Happiness Tranquility and Prosperity to have such a Magistrate that bears not the Sword of Justice in vain and that hath not Rom. 13. 4. brandished the Sword of Justice in the defence of the friends of Baal Balaam or Bacchus My Lord had your Sword of Justice been a Sword of Protection to desperate Swearers or to cruel Oppressors or to deceitful Dealers or to roaring Drunkards or to cursing Monsters or to Gospel-despisers or to Christ-contemners c. might not London have laid in her Ashes to this very day yea might not God have rained Hell out of Heaven upon those Parts of the City that were standing Monuments of Gods mercy as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah Wo to that sword Gen. 19. that is a devouring sword to the righteous to the meek to the upright and to the peaccable in the land O happy Sword Psal 35. 19 20. under which all sorts and ranks of men have worshipped God in peace and lived in peace and rested in peace and traded in peace and built their habitations in peace and have grown up in peace Sir every man hath sit under your Sword as under his own Vine and Fig-tree in peace Words are too weak to express how great a mercy this hath been to London yea I may say to England The Ancients set forth all their gods with Harps in their hands the Hieroglyphick of Peace The Grecians had the Statue of Peace with Pluto the God of Riches in her arms Some of the Ancients were wont to paint Peace in the form of a Woman with a horn of plenty in her hands viz. all blessings The Orator hit it when he said Dulce nomen pacis the very name of Peace is sweet No City so happy as that wherein the chief Magistrate has been as eyes to the blind legs to the lame ears to the deaf a father to the fatherless a husband Job 31. to the widow a Tower to the righteous and a Terrour to the wicked Certainly Rulers have no better friends than such as make The three things which God minds most loves best below Heaven are his Truth his Worship and his People conscience of their ways for none can be truly loyal but such as are truly religious witness Moses Joseph Daniel and the three Children Sincere Christians are as Lambs amongst Lyons as Sheep amongst Wolves as Lillies amongst Thorns they are exposed more to the rage wrath and malice of wicked men by reason of their holy Profâ—ssion their gracious Principles and Practices than any other men in all the world Now did not God raise up Magistrates and spirit Magistrates to owne them to stand by them and to defend them in all honest and just ways how soon would they be devoured and destroyed Certainly the Sword of the Magistrate is to be drawn forth for the natural good and civil good and moral good and spiritual good of all that live soberly and quietly under iâ— Stobaeus tells us of a Persian Law Stobaeus serm 42. p. 294. that after the death of their King every man had five days liberty to do what he pleased that by beholding the wickedness and disorder of those few days they might prize Government the better all their days after Certainly had some hot-headed and little-witted and fierce-spirited men had but two or three days liberty to have done what they pleased in this great City during your Lordships Mayoralty they would have made sad work in the midst of us When a righteous Government fails then 1. Order fails 2. Religion fails 3. Trade fails 4. Justice fails 5. Prosperity fails 6. Strength and Power fails 7. Fame and Honour fails 8. Wealth and Riches fails 9. Peace and Quiet fails 10. All humane Converse and Society fails To take a righteous Government out of the world is to take the Sun out of the Firmament and leave it no more a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a beautiful Structure but a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a confused Heap In such Towns Cities and Kingdoms where righteous Government fails there every mans hand will be quickly engaged Gen. 26. 12. against his brother O the sins the sorrows the desolations and destructions that will unavoidably break in like a Flood upon such a People Publick Pâ—rsons should have publick Spirits their gifts and There is a great truth in that old Maxim Magistratus virum indicat In my Epistle to my Treatise call'd A Cabinet of Choice Jewels the ingenious Reader may find six Arguments to encourage Magistrates to be men of publick Spirits goodness should diffuse themselves for the good of the whole It is a base and ignoble Spirit to pity Cataline more than to pity Rome to pity any particular sort of men more than to pity the whole it is cruelty to the good to justifie the bad it is wrong to the Sheep to animate the Wolves it is danger if not death to the Lambs not to restrain or chain up the Lyons but Sir from this ignoble Spirit God has delivered you The Ancients were wont to place the Statues of their Princes by their Fountains intimating that they were or at least should be Fountains of the publick Good Sir had not you been such a Fountain men would never have beâ—n so warm for your continuance My Lord the great God hath made you a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a publick Good a publick Blessing and this hath made your Name precious and your Government desirable and your Person honourable in the thoughts hearts and eyes of all people Many may I not say most of the
13. know that have but read any thing of Scripture or History S. Austin plainly denies that ever the Româ—n Politie could be called properly a Common-wealâ—h upon this ground that Ubi nâ—n est Justitiâ— non est Râ—spublica he calls Common wealths without justice but magna Lâ—tâ—ociniâ— or in Lipsius his language Congeries Confusio Turba 't is but an abuse of the word Respublica Common-wealth where the publick Good is not consulted by an impartial justice and equity 't is but a confused heap a rout of men or if we will call it so at present it will not be so long without impartial justice partly because injustice 1 Kings 12. 1 Sam. 8. 3. and oppression makes the multitude tumultuous and fills the peoples heads with dangerous designs as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margine together and partly because it lays a Nation open and obuoxious to the wrath and vengeance of God as might easily be made good by scores of Scriptures Impartial justice is the best establâ—shment of Kingdoms and Common-wealths The King by judgment establisheth the See Numb 25. 11. 2 Sam. 21 14. land Prov. 29. 4. It is the best security against desolating judgments Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem and seek in the broad places thereof if ye can find a man iâ— there be any that executeth judgment and I will pardon it Jer. 5 1. My Lord 〈◊〉 the Honour of a Magistrate to do justice impartially so iâ—â—s the Honour and Glory of a Magistrate to do justice speedily Jer. 28 12. O house of David thâ—s sâ—iâ—h the Lord execute judgment in the morning and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hâ—nd of the opprâ—ssâ—r lest my God is very speedy and swift in the execution of Justice Joel 3. 4. Gen. 19. Numb 16. Ezra 7. 20. In this as in other things it becomes Magistrates to be like to God sury go out like fiâ—e â—nd burn that none can quench it because of the evil of your doings After examination execution is to be done with expedition When men cry out for justice justice Magistrates must not cry out crâ—s craâ— to morrow to morrow Magistrates must do justice in the morning neiâ—her noon-justice nor afternoon justice nor evening-justice nor night-justice is so acâ—eptable to God or so honourable to Magistrates or so advantagious to the people as morning-justice is to delay justice is worse sometimes than to deny justice 't is a very dangerous thing for Magistrates to be as long a bringing forth their Verdicts as the Elephant her young Delay of justice makes many more irreconcileable it makes many men go up and down this world with heavy hearts empty purses and thred bare coats I have read of a famous passage of Theodorick King of the Romans who when a Widow came to him with a sad complaint that she had a suit depending in the Court three years which might have been ended in a few days the King demands of her the Judges names she tells him he sends a special Command to them to give all the speedy dispatch that was possible to the Widows Cause which they did and in two days determined it to the Widows liking this being done the King calls for the Judges and they supposing that they should have both applause and reward for their expedition hastned to him full of joy but after the King had propounded several things to them about their former delayâ— he commanded both their heads to be struck off because they had spun out that Cause to a three years length which two days would have ended Here was Royal justice and speedy justice indeed Psal 101. 8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land Summomane I will do morning-justice Festinanter so Genebrad I will hastily do it Justice should be on the wing delays are very dangerous and injurious Prov. 13. 12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick the Hebrew word Memushshacah that is here rendred deferred is from Mashâ—ch that signifies to draw out at length Men are short-breathed and short-spirited and Hopes hours are full of Eternity and when their hopes are drawn ouâ— at length this makes their hearts sick and Ah what a world of such sick souls lyes lâ—nguishing at Hopes Hospital all the world over Hope in the Text is put for the good things hoped for Now when the good things men hope for be it justice or a quick dispatch c. are deferred and delayed this makes the poor Client sick at heart A lingring hope always breeds in the heart a lingring Consumption Julius Caesars quick dispatch is noted in three words Veni vidi vici I came I saw I overcame the harder travel hope hath and the more strongly it labours to bring forth and yet is deferred and delayed the more deadly sick the Client grows The speedy execution of justice is the very life and soul of justice Amos 5. 24. Buâ— let judgment run down as waters and righteousâ—eâ—s as a mighty stream The Hebrew word Veiiggal that is here rendred run down is from Galal that signifies to rowl down freely plentifully vigorously constantly speedily as the greaâ— Billows of the Sea or as waves rowl speedily over the Rocks Judgment and Righteousness like a mighty stream should bear down all before it Fiat justitia tuat orbâ—s let justice be done whatever come of it Deut. 16. 20. That which is altogeâ—her just shalt thou follow or rather as the Hebrew hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tsedek Tsedek justice justice shalt thou follow that is all manner of justice thou shalt follow and nothing but â—ustice shalt thou follow and thou shalt follow justice sincerely out of love to justice and thou shalt follow justice exactly without turning to the right hand or the left and thou shalt follow justice resolutely in spite of the world the flesh and the Devil and thou shalt follow justice speedily without delays or excuses A Magistrate that has the sword of justice in his hand must never plead there is a Lyon in the way My Lord this will be your Honour while you live and your Comfort when you come to dye that whilst the Sword was in your hand you did justice speedily as well as impartially You did justice in the morning and justice at noon and justice in the afternoon and justice at night what has been your whole Mayoralty but one continued day of justice Who can sum up the many thousand Causes that you have heard and determined and the many thousand differences that you have sweetly and friendly composed and ended If the Lawyers please but to speak out they must ingenuously confess that your Lordship has eased them of a great deal of work My Lord as it is the Honour and Glory of a Magistrate to do justice speedily so it is the Honour and Glory of a Magistrate to do justice resolutely couragiously valiantly It is observable that as soon as ever Joshua came into the
of its Ruines and to see the Top-stone laid your great readiness and willingness to spend and be spent for the publick Good these are the things that have made your Name as a precious Oyntment and that have erected for you a noble living Monument in the breasts and hearts of all sober serious Christians these are the things that have made you the Darling of the people Let all succeeding Lord Mayors but manage their own Persons Families and Government as you have done by divine assistance and without a peradventure they will have a proportionable interest in the hearts and affections of the people For my Lord 't is not barely the having of a Sword of Justice a Sword of Power but the well management of that Sword that makes most for the interest both of Prince and People and that gives the Magistrate a standing interest in the hearts and affections of the people My Lord the generality of people never concern themselves about the particular perswasions of this or that Magistrate in the matters of Religion their eyes are upon their Examples and upon the management of their Trust and Power for publick Good and they that do them most good shall be sure to have most of â—heir hearts and voices lâ—â— their private opinions in the matters of Religion be what they will My Lord I have not so learned Christ as to give flattering Titles to men the little that I have written I have written in Job 32. 22. the plainness and singleness of my heart and for your Lordships comfort and encouragement in all well doing and to provoke all â—thers that shall succeed in your Chair to write after that fair Copy that you have set them which will be their Honour London's Happiness and Englands Interest Plutarch said of Demosthenes that he was excellent at praising the worthy Acts of his Ancestors but not so at imitating them The Lord grant that this may never be made good of any that shall succeed your Lordship Carus the Emperours Motto was Bonus Dux bonus Comes A good Leader makes a good Follower The complaint is ancient in Seneca that commonly men live not ad rationem but Seneca de vita beata cap. 1. ad similitudinem Praecepta docent exempla movent Precepts may instruct but Examples do perswade Stories speak of some that could not sleep when they thought of the Trophies of other Worthies that went before them the highest Examples are very quickning and provoking O that by all that shall succeed your Lordship in the Chair we may yet behold our City rising more and more out of its Ashes in greater splendour and glory then ever yet our eyes have seen it that all sober Citizens may have eminent cause to call them the Repairers of the Breaches Isa 58. 12. Chap. 61. 4. Amos 9. 14. Ezek. 36. 33 34 35 36 38. Dan. 9. 25. and Restorers of our City to dwell in Concerning Jerusalem burned and laid waste by the Assyrians Daniel foretold that the streets and the walls thereof should be rebuilded even in troublesom times Though the Assyrians have laid our Jerusalem waste yet even to a wonder how have the Buildings been carried on this last year My Lord the following Treatise which I humbly dedicate to your Lordship has been drawn up some years the Reasons why it has been buried so long in oblivion are not here to be inserted the Discourse is sober and of great importance to all that have been burnt up and to all whose Houses have escaped the furious Flames Whilst the remembrance of London's Flames are kept alive in the thoughts and hearts of men this Treatise will be of use in the world My Lord I do not dedicate this Tractate to your Lordship as if it stood in need of your Honours Patronage I judge it to be of Age both to plead for it self and to defend it self against all Gain-sayers Veritas vincit veritas stat in aperto campo Zeno Socrates Anaxarchus My Lord some sacrifice their labours to great Maecenas's that they may be aton'd to shield them from potent Antagonists but these Sermons which here I present to your Honours perusal being only the blessed Truths of God I hope they need no arm but his to defend them c. sealed the lean and barren truths of Philosophy with the expence of their dearest blood as you may see in the Heathen Martyrologie O how much more should we be ready to seal all divine Truths with our dearest blood when God shall call us forth to such a Service My Lord I humbly lay this Treatise at your Lordships foot to testifie that Love and Honour that I have in my heart for you both upon the account of that intrinsecal Worth that is in you and upon the account of the many good things and great things that have been done by you and publickly to testifie my acknowledgment of your Lordships undeserved Favours towards me My Lord of right this Treatise should have been in your hands several months since and in that it was not it is wholly from others and not from me If your Lordship please but to favour the Author so far as to read it once over for his sake he doubts not but that your Lordship will oftner read it over for your own Souls sake and for Eternities sake and for London's sake also My Lord by reason of my being remote from the City several weeks I have had the advantage but of reading and correcting two or three sheets and therefore must beg your Lordships pardon as to all the neglects and escapes of the Press A second Impression may set all right and straight My Lord that to your dying day you may be famous in your Generation and that your precious and immortal Soul may be richly adorned with all saving Gifts and Graces and that you may daily enjoy a clear close high and standing Communion with God and that you may be filled with all the fruits of Righteousness and Holiness and that your Soul may be bound up in the bundle of Life and crowned with the highest Glory in that other World in the free full constant and uninterrupted Enjoyment of that God who is the Heaven of Heaven and the Glory of Glory is and by divine Assistance shall be the earnest prayers of him who is Your Honours in all humble and due Observance Thomas Brooks The Fiery Jesuits Temper and Behaviour I Fain would be informed by you what ails These Foxes to wear Fire-brands in their tails What did you teach these Cubs the World to burn Or to embottle London in its Vrn Are Hugonots as rank Philistins grown With you as dwelt in Gath or Askelon Bold Wretches must your Fire thus antedate The General Doom and give the World its Fate Must Hells Edict to blend this Globe with Fire Be done at your grave Nods when you require THE TABLE A. Of strange Apparel OF the Vanity of strange Apparel Page 56
then they will bow and tremble under a sense of the Soveraignty of God The Soveraignty of God is that golden Scepter in his hand which he will make all bow to either by his Word or by his Works by his Mercies or by his Judgments This Scepter must be kist and submitted to or else fire and sword desolation and destruction will certainly follow Jer. 18. 2 3 4. 6. Arise and go down to the potters house and there will I cause thee to hear my word Then I went down to the potters house and behold he wrought a work on the wheels And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter so he made it again another vessel that seemed good to the potter to make it O house of Israel cannot I do with you as the potter saith the Lord. Behold as the clay is in the potters hand so are ye in my hand O house of Israel The Jews were so stupid and sottish that verbal teaching without signs would not work upon them and therefore the Lord sent Jeremiah to the potters house that he might see by what the potter did that though he had made them a People a Nation a Church a State yet he could as easily unmake them and mar them as the potter marred the vessel that he had made God would have this people to know that he had as much power over them and all they had as the potter had power over the clay that he works upon and that he had as much both might and right also to dispose of them at his pleasure as the potter had over his clay to dispose of it as he judged meet Nay Beloved the potter has not such an God hath jus ad omnia jus in omnibus a right to all things a right in all things absolute power over his pots and clay as the Lord has over the Sons of men to make them and break them at his pleasure and that partly because that the clay is none of his creature and partly because without God give him strength he has no power to make or break one vessel God by the Prophet would have the Jews to know that 't was meerly by his good pleasure and grace that they came to be so glorious and flourishing a Nation as they were at this time yea and further to know that they were not so great and rich and flourishing and setled and built but that he could as easily break them and mar them as the potter could the Isa 64. 8. vessel that was under his hand Ah Sirs God by that dreadful fire that has destroyed our houses and burnt up our substance and banished us from our habitations and levelled our stately Monuments of Antiquity and Glory even with the ground has given us a very high evidence of his Soveraignty both over our persons and all our concernments in this world Ah London London were there none within nor without thy Walls that did deny the Soveraignty of God that did belye the Soveraignty of God that did slight the Soveraignty of God that did make head against the Soveraignty of God Were there none within nor without thy Walls that did say We are Lords and we will come no more unto thee That did say Is not this great Babylon is Jer. 2. 31. Dan. 4. 30. Lam. 4. 12. not this great London that we have built That did say the Kings of the Earth and all the Inhabitants of the World would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy the flaming and consuming fire should have entred into the gates of Jerusalem into the Gates of London That Exod. 5. 2. did say Who is the Lord that we should obey his voice That did advance a worldly Soveraignty above and against the Soveraignty of God and Christ Ah London London if there were any such within or without thy Walls then never wonder that God has in a flaming and consuming fire proclaimed his Soveraignty over thee and that he hath given such Atheists to know from woful experience that both themselves and all their concernments are in the hands of the Lord as the clay is in the hands of the potter and that the sorest Judgments that any City can fall under are but the Isa 5. 16. demonstrations of his Soveraign Prerogative Psal 9. 16. The Lord is known by the Judgments which he executeth the Power Justice and Soveraignty of God shines most gloriously in the execution of his Judgments upon the world Secondly God inflicts great and sore Judgments upon the Sons of men that the world may stand in awe of him and that they may learn to fear and tremble before him when he Consult these Scriptures Exod. 15. 14 15 16. Josh 2. 10 11. Rev. 15. 4. appears as a consuming fire he expects that the Nation should tremble and that the Inhabitants should fear before him 1 Sam. 16. 4. And Samuel did that which the Lord spake and came to Bethlehem and the Elders of the Town trembled at his coming and said comest thou peaceable Shall the Elders of Bethlehem tremble for fear that Samuel came to denounce some grievous Judgment against them and shall not we tremble when God has executed his terrible Judgments 1 Kings 21. 20 21 22 23 24 27 28 29. upon us Shall Ahab tremble and humble himself and fast and lye in sackcloth when Judgments are but threatned and shall not we tremble and fear before the great God who has actually inflicted upon us his three great Judgments Pestilence Sword and Fire Shall the Ninevites both Princes Jonah 3. 3 4. 5 6 7 8 9 10. Nobles and people tremble and humble themselves in sackcloth and ashes when God doth but threaten to over-throw their great their rich their populous City and shall not we tremble and lye low before the Lord when we see great London rich and populous London laid in ashes before our eyes When the hand of the Lord was stretched out Exod. 15. 15 16. See 2 Kings 6. 30. and Chap. 7. 6 7. 15. Jer. 4. 7 8 9. against the Egyptians the Dukes of Edom were amazed and the mighty men of Moab trembled Ah how severely has the hand of the Lord been stretched out against London and all her Inhabitants and therefore what cause have we to be amazed and to tremble before that God who has appeared in flames of fire against us Lam. 2. 3 4. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel he hath drawn back his right hand before the enemy and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about He bent his bow like an enemy and poured out his fury like fire God burnt down their City their Temple their Gates their Princely Habitations their glorious Structures in the fierceness of his anger and in the greatness of his wrath O Sirs when God falls upon burning work when he pours out
issue we shall find that God will turn Heb. 12. 11. them to the internal and eternal advantage of our precious Gen. 42. 36. But yet as old as Jacob was he lived to see all those things work for his good which he concluded were against him Judg. 14. 14. Phil. 1. 19. souls We may in a pang of passion say as Jacob Joseph is noâ— and Simeon is not All these are against me children are not honours are not riches are not habitations are not credit is not All these are against us but in the close we shall find that promise made good in power upon us Rom. 8. 28. We know that all things shall work together for good to them that love God to them that are called according to his purpose O Sirs all the power of Heaven stands ingaged to maâ—e good this promise to you And if you would but live in the daily actings of faith upon this blessed promise you would then be able to bear up bravely under all the troubles and tryals crosses and losses that you meet with in this world and you would then experience the truth of Samsons Riddle Out of the eater came meat and out of the strong sweetness What Paul said of his fiery tryals viz. I know that this shall turn to my salvation that may you safely say of all your fiery tryals We know that they shall work for our good we know that they shall turn to our salvation Though wicked instruments might design our destruction yet the wise God that sits at the Helm will turn all into our Salvation Those severe Providences which for the present may seem very prejudicial in the issue shall prove very beneficial Josephs Brethren threw him into a pit after wards they sell him then he is falsely accused and as unjustly cast into prison Psal 105. 17 18. Gen. 50. 20. Chap. 41. 40. and laid in cold Iron Yet all this issued in his good his abasement made way for his advancement for his thirteen years imprisonment he raigned fourscore years like a King David you know had seven years banishment yet it ended in a glorious Raign of forty years continuance Job lost all that ever he had in one day he was a man under great calamity he was a spectacle of the highest misery he abounded only in boils and sores and rags but all this issued in the tryal of his grace in the discovery of his grace and in the improvement of his grace and in the close God did compensate his very great losses by giving him twice as much as ever he Job 42. 10. had before Dear friends that by all severe Providences and fiery Tryals God will turn your spark of grace into a flame your mites into millions and your drops into Seas is and shall be the hearty desire of my Soul O Sirs if Christ be even ravished with one of his Spouses eyes and Gant 4. 9. with one chain of her neck with the least grains and drams of true grace how will he be taken with abundance of grace how will he be ravished with the flourishing estate of your Souls in grace Well remember this the more under all your fiery tryals grace is increased the more God is honoured Religion adorned the mouths of the wicked stopped the hands and hearts of weak Saints strengthned and encouraged the smarting Rod sweetned and threatned Judgments prevented O that those two Prophesies might be made good in power upon all the burnt Citizens of London That 32. Isa 15. Vntil the Spirit be poured upon us from on high and the wilderness be a fruitful field And that 35. Isa 1 2. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them and the desart shall rejoyce and blossom as the rose It shall blossom abundantly and rejoyce even with joy and singing the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it the excellency of Carmel and Sharon they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God Thrice happy will the Pliny speaks of a golden Vine which never withereth but is always flourishing O that this might be the mercy of all those Christians who have been burnt up burnt Citizens of London be if under all their crosses and Iosses they grow into a more deep acquaintance with God the world and their own hearts with God and his holiness with the world and its vanity mutability impotency and uncertainty and with their own hearts and the deceitfulness vileness baseness and wretchedness of them If under fiery Dispensations we grow more holy then ever and more humble then ever and more heavenly then ever and more meek and lowly then ever and more tender and compassionate then ever and more faithful and fruitful then ever and more patient and contented then ever then we may be confident that the grand design of God in bringing all that evil that he has brought upon us was his glory and our own internal eternal good and accordingly we may rejoyce in the Lord though we have nothing else to rejoyce in Hab. 3. 17 18. But 4. Fourthly and lastly By severe Providences and by fiery Tryals God doth design the tryal of his peoples graces and the discovery of their sincerity and integrity to the world Deut. 8. 2. And thou shalt remember all the way which the 1 Pet. 1. 6 7. Rev. 3. 18. Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldst keep his Commandments or no. God knew them well enough before without any experimental tryal of them but that he might the better make a discovery of themselves to themselves and to others he led them up and down in the Wilderness forty years Psal 66. 10 11 12. For thou O God hast proved us thâ—u hast tryed us as silver is tryed thou hast brought us into the net thou hast laid affliction upon our loyns thou hast caused men to ride over our heads we went through fire and through water God proves his people not thereby to better his own knowledge of them but to bring them to a better knowledge both of their own vices and graces It is not known what Corn will yield till it come to the flail nor what Grapes will yield till they come to the press Grace is hid in Nature as sweet water in Rose-leaves but fiery tryals will fetch it out Fire and water are merciless Elements and they note variety of sharpest tryals Now through these â—od led his people that so he might discover to them and others both the strength of their graces and the strength of their sins God many times exercises his dearest Children with fiery tryals that he may discover the sincerity and integrity of his people to the world The prophane Atheistical world are apt very boldly and confidently to conclude that the people of God are a pack of Hypocrites and Dissemblers
men under their losses crosses tryals and sufferings from the people of God When they are under fiery tryals what an evil spirit what a desperate spirit what a sullen spirit what a proud spirit what a Satanical spirit what a hellish spirit do they discover they tell all the world that they are under the power and dominion of the God of this Phil. 2. 2. 2 Tim. 2. 26. World But when the people of God are under fiery tryals they make conscience of carrying of it so as that they may convince the world that God is in them of a truth and that they are sincere and upright before the Lord however they are judged and censured as Hypocrites Deceivers Dissemblers and what not O that all that are sufferers by this fiery Dispensation would make it their business their work their Heaven so to carry it under their present tryals as to convince all gain-sayers of the sincerity integrity and uprightness of their hearts both towards the Lord his people his ways his Ordinances his interest and all his concernments in this world And thus much for the gracious Ends that God aims at in all those severe Providences and fiery Tryals that of late he has exercised his people with The next thing we are to inquire after is those sins for which the Lord inflicts so heavy a Judgment as this of Fire upon the Sons of men Now for the opening of this give me leave to propose this Question Viz. What are those sins that bring the fiery Dispensation that Quest bring the Judgment of Fire upon Cities Nations and Countries Now that I may give a full and fair Answer to this necessary and important Qâ—estion will you please to premise with me these four things First We need not question but that some of all sorts ranks and degrees of men in and about that once great and glorious City did eminently contribute to the bringing down of that dreadful Judgment of Fire that has turned that renowned City into Ashes doubtless Superiors and Inferiors Ministers and People Husbands and Wives Parents and Children Masters and Servants Rich and Poor Honourable and Base Bond and Free have all had a hand in the bringing down that Judgment of Fire that has turned London into a ruinous heap But Secondly Premise this with me viz. That 't is a greater Argument of humility integrity and holy ingenuity to fear our selves and to be jealous of our selves rather then others as the Disciples of Christ did Mat. 26. 21 22. And as they Math. 26. 21 22. did eat he said Verily I say unto you that one of you shall betray me And they were exceeding sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him Lord is it I 'T is better for every man to do his best to ransack and search his own Soul and to find out the Achan the accursed thing in his own bosom Lam. 3. 40. Joshua 7. that has brought that dreadful Judgment of Fire upon us then for men without any Scripture-warrant to fix it upon this party and that this sort of men and that There is no Christian to him that smites upon his own heart his own â—â—east his own thigh saying What have I done The neglect of this duty the Prophet long since has complained of No man repents himself of his wickedness saying Jer. 8. 6. What have I done that is none comparatively So how rare is it to find a burnt Citizen repenting himself of his wickedness and saying What have I done Most men are ready to blame others more then themselves and to judge Math. 7. 1 2 3 4. others rather then themselves to be the persons that have brought down this Judgment of Fire upon us 'T was a good Saying of one of the Ancients Amat Deus seipsos judicantes Augustine non judicare God loves to judge them that judge others rashly but not those that judge themselves religiously But Thirdly Premise this with me in times of common Judgements common Calamities and Miseries other of the Saints and Servants of God have lookt upon their own sins as the procuring-causes of the common Calamity Thus David did in that 2 Sam. 24. 15. So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed and there dyed of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men but mark the 17. verse And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the Angel that smote the people and said Lo I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these sheep what have they done let thy hand I pray thee be against me and against my fathers house And thus did good Nebemiah Nehem. 1. 3 6 7. And they said unto me The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down and the gates thereof burnt with fire Both I and my fathers house have sinned we have dealt very corruptly against thee and have not kept thy commandments nor the statutes nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses Now certainly 't is as much our glory as our duty to write after these blessed Copies that these Worthies have set before us Alexander had somewhat a wry neck and his Souldiers thought it an honour to be like him How much more should we count it an honour to be like to David and Nehemiah in such a practice as is honourable to the Lord and advantagious to our selves But what Plutarch said of Demosthenes That he was excellent at praising the worthy Acts of his Ancestors but not so at imitating them is applicable to the present case and to many who have been burnt up in our day But Fourthly and lastly Premise this with me there were many sins amongst them that did profess to fear God in that great City which may and ought to work them to justifie the Lord and to say that he is righteous in his fiery Dispensations I may well say to the burnt Citizens of London what the Prophet Oded to them in that 2 Chron. 28. 10. But are there not with you even with you sins against the Lord your God But you will say What sins were there among the professing people in London that may and ought to work them to justifie the Lord and to say that he is just and righteous and that he has done them no wrong though he has burnt them up and turned them out of all I answer That there were these seven sins among others Answ to be found amongst many of them I say not amongst all of them all which call aloud upon them to lye low at the foot of God and to subscribe to the Righteousness of God though he has turned them out of house and home and burnt up their substance on every hand First There was among many Professors of the Gospel in London too great a conformity to the fashions of the
world how many professing men in that great City were drest up like fantastical Anticks and women like Bartholomew-babies to the dishonour of God the shame of Religion the hardning of the wicked the grieving of the weak and the provoking of divine Justice When Darius changed the fashion of his Scabbard from the Persian manner into the Mode of the Greeks the Chaldean Astrologers prognosticated that the Persian Monarchy should be translated to them whose fashion he counterfeited Certainly that Nation may fear a scourge from that Nation or Nations whose fashions they follow Zepha 1. 8. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lords Sacrifice that I will punish the Princes and the Kings children and all such as are cloathed with strange apparel This is a stinging and a flaming check against all Fashion-mongers against all such as seem to have consulted with French Italian Persian and all Outlandish Monsters to advise them of all their several modes and fashions of vice and that are so dextrous at following of them that they are more compleat in them then their patternâ— Certainly if ever such Wantons be saved 't will be by fire Strange apparel is part of the Old man that must be put off if ever men or women intend to go to Heaven What dreadful things are thundred out against those proud curious Dames of Jerusalem by the Prophet Isaiah who being himself a Courtier inveighs Isa 38. 16. ult as punctually against the noble vanity of Apparel as if he had even then viewed the Ladies Ward-robes And those vanities of theirs brought desolating and destroying Judgments upon them And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet Isa 38. 24 25 26. smell there shall be a stink and instead of a girdle a rent and instead of well-set hair baldness and instead of a stomacher a girding of sack-cloth and burning of instead beauty Thy men shâ—ll fall by the sword and thy mighty in the war And her gates shall lament and mourn and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground As light and slight as many make of vain Apparel yet Cyrian and Augustine draw up this Conclusion That superfluous Apparel is worse then Whoredom because Whoredom only corrupts Chastity but this corrupts Nature Seneca complained that many in his time were more sollicitous of their attire then of their good behaviour and that they had rather that the Common-wealth should be troubled then their Locks and set looks I have read of the Grecians that when they wished a curse upon their enemies it was this That they should please themselves in bad customs There are many who lift their heads high who seem to be under this curse this day Why doth the Apostle say saith one of the Ancients Above all things swear not Is it worse Austin Jam. 5. 12. to swear then to steal worse to swear then to commit adultery worse to swear then to kill a man No But the Apostle would fortifie us as much as he could against a postilent custom to punish the pestilent customs and fashions that were amongst us God sent the Pestilence in 1665. and the fiery Judgment in 1666. And the Lord grant that the bloody Sword in the hands of cruel Cut-throats that are brutish and skilful to destory be not sent amongst us some Ezek. 21. 31. other year to punish the same iniquity O Sirs what was more common among many Professors in London then to be cloathed in strange Apparel A la mode de France Mark those that affected the Babylonian Habit were sent Captives Ezek. 23. 15. to Babylon They that borrowed the fashions of the Egyptians may get their boils and botches Certainly such as fear the Lord should go in no Apparel but First such as they are willing to dye in Secondly to appear before the Ancient of Isa 26. 8 9 10. days in when his Judgments are abroad in the earth Thirdly to stand before a Judgment-seat But Secondly There was among many Professors of the Gospel in London much luke-warmness and coldness in the things of God the City was full of luke-warm Laodiceans The Rev. 3. 16 17. Math. 24. 12. love of many to God to his people to his ways and to his instituted Worship was cold very cold stark cold God destroyed the old World by water for the heat of their lusts and God has destroyed the City of London by fire for the coldness of their love that dwelt therein I have read of Anastatiâ—s the Emperor how God shot him to death with a Thunder-bolt because of his luke-warmness and formality But Thirdly There was a great deal of worldliness and earthly-mindedness and coyetousness amongst the professing people of London O Sirs the world is all shadow and vanity 't is filia noctis like Jonabs Gourd a man may set Jonah 4. under its shadow for a time but it soon decays and dyes The main reason why many Professors dote upon the world is because they are not acquainted with a greater glory Men ate Acorns till they were acquainted with the use of Wheat The Load-stone cannot draw the Iron when the Diamond is in presence and shall earthly vanities draw the Soul when Christ the Pearl of price is in presence Many of the Prosessors of London were great Worshippers of the golden Calf and therefore God is just in turning their golden Calf into ashes The world may well be resembled to the fruit that undid us all which was fair to the sight smooth in handling sweet in taste but deadly in effect and operation The world in all its bravery is no better then the Cities which Solomon gave to Hiram which he called Cabul 1 Kings 9. 13. that is displeasing or dirty The whole world is circular the heart of man triangular and we know a Circle cannot fill a Triangle If the heart of man be not filled with the three Persons in Trinity it will be filled with the world 1 Joh. 5. 7. the flesh and the Devil Riches like bad servants never stay long with one master what certainty is there in that which one storm at Sea one treacherous friend one false cath one ball of fire yea one spark of fire may strip us of O Sirs if you can gather grapes of thorns and figs of thistles then go on and dote upon the world still All the things of this world are vain things they are vanity of vanities Eccle. 1. 2. all in Heaven count them vain and all in Hell count them vain a Jacobus piece is but as a chip to them Pearls are but as pebbles in their eyes Lazarus was a Preacher as some conceive and Dives a Lawyer sure I am that Lazarus in Heaven is now rich enough and happy enough and Dives in Hell is now poor enough and miserable enough Hâ— who makes his world his God while he is in the world what will he do for a God when he goes out of this world Well Sirs
much sweetness in it that it made him say that hâ— would not live in Paradise if he might without the Word at cum Verbo etiam in inferno facile est vivere but with the Word he could live in Hell it self Dolphins they say love Musick and so do gracious Souls love the Musick of the Gospel The Gospel is like the stone Garamantides that hath drops of gold within it self enriching all that will embrace it and conform to it and this the Saints have found by experience and therefore they cannot but delight in it and draw sweetness from it Aglutuidas never relished any dish better then what was distâ—sted by others So do the Saints relish that Gospel best that others distaste most and therefore I cannot charge this sin fairly upon them But Fourthly There are none that do so highly prize the Gospel and that set so high a value upon the Gospel as those do who have experienced the saving power of the Gospel upon their own Souls such prefer the Gospel before all their nearest and dearest concernments and enjoyments that they Rev. 12. 11. Rev. 2. 12 13. Heb. 11. 33 38. Luther speaking of the Gospel saith that the shortest line and the least letter thereof is more then all Heaven and Earth Tertul. Apol. cap. 5. have in this world As might be made evident from their practice in the primitive times and in the Marian days and in those late years that are now past over our heads The Tabernacle was covered over with red and the purple Feathers tell us they take that habit for the same intent to note that we must defend the truth of the Gospel even to the effusion of blood and this they have made good in all the Ages of the World who have found the saving power of the Gospel upon their own Souls Tertullian concludes that the Gospel must needs be a precious thing because Nero hated it and indeed it was so precious to the Saints in his days that they very willingly and chearfully laid down their lives for the Gospel sake Now the same Spirit rests upon the Saints in our days and therefore upon this ground I cannot charge that horrid sin of slighting scorning and contemning of the Gospel upon them Israel had three Crowns as the Talmud observes 1. of the King 2. of the Priest 3. of the Law but the Crown of the Law that was the chief of the three Fifthly Who were so ready and free to countenance the Gospel and to maintain the Gospel and to encourage the faithful and painful Preachers of the Gospel as those that had found the sweet of the Gospel and the saving power of the Gospel upon their own Souls They like well of Religion without expence in Basil and a Gospel without charge in Nazianzene but if it grow costly 't is no commodity for their money Now this was the very frame and temper of many thousands in London who never experienced the saving work of the Gospel upon their poor Souls but they were of another frame and temper of spirit in London upon whom the Gospel was fallen in power and therefore I may not charge upon them this odious sin of slighting scorning and contemning the Gospel But Sixthly Who were there within or without the Walls of London that were so much in a hearty and serious blessing praising and admiring of the Lord and his goodness for bringing them forth in Gospel-times as those that had a saving work of the Gospel upon their own Souls When Alexander was born his Father Philip blessed such Gods as he had not so much that he had a Son as that he had him in Aristotles days he was thankful for natural and moraldiscoveries The clearest the choicest the fullest and the sweetest visions and discoveries that we have of God on this side Eternity we have in the Gospel and this they frequently experience who have found the Gospel falling in power upon their Souls and therefore they cannot but always have Harps in their hands and Hallelujahs in their mouths Rev. 14. 1 2. 3 4. Chap. 19. 1. to vers 8. upon this very account that they have lived under the warm Sun-shine of the Gospel and therefore I shall not charge this vile sin of slighting scornâ—ng and contemning the Gospel upon them who above all oâ—her men were most exercised in a serious and hearty blessing and praising of God for his glorious Gospel Some there were that blest God for their yearly incomes and others there were that blest God for their prosperous relations and friends and many there were that blest God for their deliverance from various perils and dangers But those that had the Gospel working in power upon them they made it their business and work above all to bless the Lord for the Gospel and therefore who dare charge upon them the contempt of the Gospel But Seventhly and lastly There were none within nor without the Walls of London that have suffered so many things and such hard things for the enjoyment of the Gospel in its power and purity as they have done who have found the powerful and saving work of the Gospel upon their own Souls such have been as signs and wonders in Israel in London Now what folly and vanity would it be to charge Isa 8. 18. them with slighting scorning and contemning of the Gospel who have been the only sufferers for the Gospel sake And thus much for the twelfth sin that brings the fiery Dispensation upon Cities and People The sin that brings the fiery Dispensation upon a People and that provokes the Lord to lay their Cities desolate is a course a trade of lying Nahum 3. 1. Wo to the bloody City it is all full of lyes Verse 7. And it shall come to pass that alâ— they that look upon thee shall flee from thee and say Nineveh is laid waste who will bemoan her whence shall I seek comforters for thee Verse 13. Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies the fire shall devour thy bars that is thy strong holds for so the word bars is frequently taken as you may see by comparing the â—criptures in the Margine together Nineveh 1 Sam. 23. 7. 1 Kings 4. 13 2 Chron. 8. 5. Chap. 14. 7. Jer. 49. 31. and Chap. 51. 30. Lam. 2. 9. Amos 1. 5. was a great City a rich City a populous city a trading City 't was a City that was wholly made up of fraud and falshood it was all full of lyes or it was full of all sorts of lyes there was no truth to be found either in her private contracts or in her publick transactions and capitulations with other Nations and therefore the Lord resolves to lay her desolate and to consume her with fire So Jâ—r 9. 3. And they bend their tongues like their how for lyes Verse 5. And they will deceive every one his neighbour and
by inflicting the Judgment of Fire when the Sodomites burned in their lusts one towards another Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven The Lord rained brimstone and fire from the Lord that is by an elegant Hebraism from himself it being usual with the Hebrews to put the Noun for the Pronoun as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margine together Gen. 1. 27. 1 Sam. 15. 22. 2 Chron. 7. 2. 1 Kings 8. 1. Now this fiery vengeance came not from any inferior cause but from the supream cause even God himself This brimstone and material fire that was rained by the Lord out of Heaven was not by any ordinary course of Nature but by the immediate almighty power of God Doubtless it was the supernatural and miraculous work of the Lord and not from any natural cause that such showers not of water as when the Old world was drowned but of material fire and brimstone should fall from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah to which add Adama and Zeboim for all these four Cities were burnt together God rained not sprinkled yea he rained not fire only but fire and brimstone for the increase of their torment and that they might have a Hell above ground a Hell on this sâ—de Hell They had hot fire for their burning lusts and stinking brimstone for their stinking brutishness They burned with vile and unnatural lusts and therefore against the course of Nature fire falls down from Heaven and devours them and their stinking abominable â—â—lthiness is punished with the stench of brimstone mingled with fire Thus God delights to suit mens punishments to their sins yea that temporal fire that God rained out of Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah was but a fore-runner of their everlasting punishment in that Lake which burns with Rev. 21. 8. fire and brimstone for evermore The temporal punishment of the impenitent Sodomites did but make way to their Jude 7. eternal punishments as Jude tells us I readily grant that the fire of Hell was typified by that fire which fell from Heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah but I cannot conceive that the Apostle Jude in the place last-cited doth intend or design to prove that the Sodomites were destroyed by Hell-fire for in the History of Genesis to which the Apostle alludes there is no mention at all of Hell-fire or of Eternal fire and doubtless the example that should warn sinners to repent of their sins and to turn to the most High is to be taken from the History in Genesis I cannot at present see how Sodom and Gomorrah can be set forth as an example to sinners by suffering the punishment of Hell-fire when the History is wholly silent as to any such fire Some to mollifie the seeming austerity of that Phrase which Jude uâ—es viz. Eternal fire read the words thus Were made an example of eternal fire suffering vengeance by which construction they gather that the fire which hath irreparably destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah was a type and figure of that fire of Hell of that Eternal fire that is reserved for wicked men and by which sinners ought to be warned Others by eternal fire understand the duration of the effects of the first temporal punishment the soil thereabout wearing the marks of divine displeasure to this very day Several Authors write that the Air there is so infectious that no creature can live there Josephus Tertullian Augustine c. and though the Apples and other fruit that grow there seem pleasant unto the eye yet if you do but touch them they presently turn into cinders and ashes The stinking Lake of Asphaltes near to Sodom is left as a perpetual Monument of Gods Vengeance killing all fish that swimmeth in it and fowls that flye over it Others by eternal fire understand an utter destruction according to that 2 Pet. 2. 6. And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow that is utterly destroyed them making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly God hangs them up in Gibbets as it were that others might hear and fear and not dare to do wickedly as they had done What though it be said that the fire wherewith these Sodomites were destroyed was eternal yet there is no necessity to understand it of Hell-fire for even that very fire which consumed those Cities may be called Eternal because the punishment that was inflicted on Sodom and Gomorrah by fire was a punishment that should last as long as the world lasted God resolved those Cities should never be rebuilt but remain perpetual desolations in all generations Now in this sense the word Eternal is often used in the Scripture Again the fire and brimstone that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah was a type and figure of that eternal fire or those eternal torments that shall be inflicted upon all impenitent sinners for ever and ever The sum of all is this that the Sodomites by giving themselves over to fornication and by going after strange flesh did provoke the Lord to rain Hell out of Heaven upon them they did provoke the Lord to rain material fire and brimstone both upon their persons and their habitations Now give me leave to say that doubtless the body of the inhabitants of that famous City which is now laid in ashaes were as free from giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh as any in any part of the Nation yea more free then many in some parrs of the Nation yea give me leave to say that I cannot see how these sins that are charged upon the Sodomites can be clearly or groundedly charged upon any of the precious Servants of the Lord that did truly fear him in that renowned City And my Reasons are these First Because in all their solemn and secret Addresses to the Lord they have seriously lamented and mourned over these crying abominations Secondly Because mens giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh are such high and horrid sins against the Light and Law of Nature that God commonly preserves his Chosen from them He shall be an Apoâ—lo to me that can produce any one instance in the Old or New Testament of any one person that after real and through Conversion did ever give himself over to fornication and to go after strange flesh Aristotle calls beastiality a furpassing wickedness By the Laws of those two Emperors Theodisius and Arcadius Sodomites were adjudged to the fire In the Councel of Vienna the Templers who were found guilty of this sin were decreed to be burnt And among the Romans it was lawful for him who was attempted to that abuse to kill him who made the assault Tertullian brings in Christianity triumphing over Paganism because this sin was peculiar to Heathens and that Christians never changed the Sex nor accompanied with any but their own wives This and such like as Tertullian speaks
sabbaths to be a sign between me and them that they may know that I am the Lord that sanctifie them The singular blessings that the right sanctifying of the Sabbath will bring upon us are 1. Spiritual they that conscientiously sanctifie the Sabbath they shall see and know the work of God the work of Grace upon their own Souls There are many precious Christians that have a work of God a work of Grace upon their own Souls who would give ten thousand worlds were there so many in their hands to give to see that work to know that work Oh but now they that sanctifie the Sabbath they shall both see and know the work of God upon their own Souls And they shall find â—he Lord carrying on the work of Grace and Holiness in their Souls they shall find the Lord destroying their sins and filling their hearts with joy and with a blessed assurance of his favour and love Isa 56. 6 7. Also the sons of the stranger that joyn themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the Name of the Lord to be his servants Every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it and taketh hold on my Covenant Even them will I bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon my Altar for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people So Isa 58. 13 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own ways nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord. Now in the second place the other blessings that the right sanctifying of the Sabbath will invest us with are temporal blessings for so they follow in the Scripture last cited And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth here is honour and esteem and safety and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father Now the Land of Canaan was the Inheritance Gen. 28. 13. And Chap. 48. 4. which God promised to Jacob. Hereby is noted that comfortable provision that God would make for them that sanctified his Sabbaths Such as make the Sabbath their delight they shall never want protection nor provision God will be a Wall of fire about them and a Canaan to them But Fifthly Consider that our Lord Jesus who is the Lord of the Sabbath and whom the Law it self commands us to Math. 12. 8. Deut. 18. 18 19. hear did alter it from the seventh day to the first day of the week which we now keep For the holy Evangelists note that our Lord came into the midst of the Assembly on the two first days of the two weeks immediately following his Resurrection and then blessed the Church breathing on them the Holy Ghost Joh. 20. 19-26 Then the same day at evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them Peace be unto you And after eight days again his disciples were within and Thomas with them then came Jesus the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said Peace â—e unto you Look as Christ was forty days instructing Moses in Sinai what he should teach and how he should govern the Church under the Law so he continued forty days teaching his Disciples what they shoult preach and how they should govern the Church under the Gospel Acts 1. 2 3. Vntil the day in which he was taken up after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom he had chosen To whom also he shewed himself alive after his Passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God And it is not to be doubted but that within those forty days he likewise ordained on what day they should likewise keep the Sabbath and 't is observable that on this first day of the week he sent down from Heaven the Holy Ghost upon his Apostles Acts 2. 1-4 And when the day of the Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance So that on that day they first began and ever after continued the publick exercise of their Ministry Christ who was Lord of the Sabbath Mark 2. 28. had a soveraign right to change and alter it to what day he pleased But Sixthly Consider that according to the Lords mind and Commandment and the direction of the Holy Ghost the Apostles in all the Christian Churches ordained that they should keep the holy Sabbath upon the first day of the week 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. Now concerning the collection for the Saints as I have given order to the Churches â—â— Galatia Even so do ye upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gathering when I come In which words you may observe these five things First That the Apostles ordained this day to be kept holy therefore 't is of a Divine institution Secondly That the day is named the first day of the week therefore not the Jewish seventh or any other Thirdly Every first day of the week which sheweth its perpetuity Fourthly That it was ordained in the Churches of Galatia as well as of Corinth and he setled one uniform in all the Churches of the Saints therefore it was universal 1 Cor. 14. 33. For God is not the Author of confusion but of peace as in all Churches of the Saints Fifthly That there should be collections for the poor on that day after the other Ordinances were ended Now why should the Apostles require collections to be made on the first day of the week but because on that day of the week the Saints assembled themselves together in the Apostles time And in the same Epistle he protesteth that he delivered them no other Ordinance or Doctrine but what he had received from the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 23. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread 1 Cor. 14. 37. If any man think himself to be a Prophet or spiritual let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the Commandments of the Lord. Now mark he wrote to them and ordained among them to keep their Sabbath on the first day of the week therefore to keep the Sabbath on that day is the very Commandment of the Lord. But Seventhly Consider the Apostles on that day ordinarily dispensed the holy Ordinances
Joh. 20. 19-26 Acts 20 7. And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread Paul preached unto them ready to depart on the morrow and continued his speech until midnight 1 Cor. 16. 1 2. 1 Cor. 11. 23. But Eighthly Consider such things as are named the Lords in Scripture are ever of the Lords institution As the Word of the Lord 1 Tim. 6. 3. The Cup of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 27. The Supper of the Lord 1 Cor. 11. 20. And so the Lords Day Rev. 1. 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lords day Now why does John call it the Lords day but because it was a day known to be generally kept holy to the honour of the Lord Jesus who rose from death to life upon that day throughout all the Churches which the Apostles had planted which St. John calls the Lords day that he might the better stir up Christians to a thankful remembrance of their Redemption by Christs Resurrection from the dead But Ninthly Consider that a right sanctifying of the Sabbath is one of the best signs in the Bible that God is our God and that his sanctifying work is past in power upon us Ezek. 20. When the primitive Christians had this question put to them Servasti Dominicum Hast thou kept the Lords day answered Christianus sum omittere non possum I am a Christian I cannot but keep it 20. And hallow my sabbaths and they shall be a sign between me and you that ye may know that I am the Lord your God So Exod. 31. 13. Speak thou also unto the Children of Israel saying Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctifie you Look as Circumcision and the Passeover were signs that the Jews were in Covenanâ— with God so likewise was the Sabbath Ezek. 31. 13. and because it was a sign of the Covenant between God and them Vers 16. Wherefore the Children of Israel shall keep the sabbath to observe the sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual Covenant God tells them that they must observe it for a perpetual Covenant and hence it was that when they violated the Sabbath God accounted it the violation of the Covenant between him and them The sanctifying of the Sabbath in the primitive times was the main Character by which sincere Christians were differenced from others they judged of mens sanctity by their sanctifying of the Sabbath And indeed as there cannot be a greater argument or evidence of a prophane heart then the prophaning the Sabbath so there cannot be a greater argument or evidence of a gracious heart then a right sanctifying of the Sabbath But Tenthly Consider a right sanctifying of the Sabbath will 10. be a most sure and certain pledge pawn and earnest of our keeping of an everlasting Sabbath with God in Heaven Heb. 4. 9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God Gr. a sabbatism an eternal rest a sabbath that hath no evening Now mark if this Sabbath be a sign and pledge of Heaven then we must keep it till we come there For if we lose the pledge of a benefit we lose the evidence of that benefit whereof it is a pledge A man that is in the Spirit on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. he is in Heaven on the Lords day there cannot be a more lively resemblance of Heaven on this side Heaven then the sanctifying of the Sabbath in a heavenly manner What is Heaven but an eternal Sabbath And what is a temporal Sabbath but a short Heaven a little Heaven on this side Heaven Our delighting to sanctifiâ— Gods Sabbath on Earth gives full assurance to our faith grounded upon Gods infallible promise that we shall enter into Gods eternal Rest in Heaven for so runs the promise Isa 58. ult Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it The former part of the verse relates to earthly blessings but these words I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father that is with a heavenly inheritance for what is the heritage of Jacob but Canaan in the Type and Heaven it self in the Antitype But should I thus sanctifie the Sabbath should I be sure of going to Heaven yes for so it roundly follows in the next words The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it But Eleventhly Consider that of all days God hath put the highest honour upon his Sabbaths by appointing his precious Ordinances in a special manner to be used on those days The Sabbath is a gold Ring and the Ordinances are as so many costly sparkling Diamonds in that Ring All the works of the new Creation are commonly wrought on this day this is the joyful day wherein ordinarily God gives spiritual sight to the blind and spiritual ears to the deaf and spiritual tongues to the dumb and spiritual feet to the lame That Exod. 12. 42. is here applicable It is a night to be much observed to the Lord for bringing them out from the Land of Egypt this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the Children of Israel in their generation Those that are new-born are commonly new-born on this day and therefore 't is a day to be much observed to the Lord. Those that are converted are ordinarily converted on this day and therefore 't is that day of the Lord that ought to be observed by all the converted Israel of God Those that are edified are commonly most edified on this day O the sweet communion O the choice converse O the singular discoveries O the blessed manifestations O the excellent enjoyments that Christ vouchsafes to his people on this day O the discoveries of Grace O the exercise of Grace O the increase of Grace the progress in Grace O the comforts of Grace that God vouchsafes to his Chosen on this day Experience shews that the right sanctifying of the Sabbath is a powerful means under Christ to sanctifie us and to increase our faith and raise our hope and inflame our love and to kindle our zeal and to enlarge our desires and to melt our hearts and to weaken our sins But Twelfthly and lastly Consider this that a right sanctifying of the Sabbath will cross Satans grand design it will spoil his plot his master-piece Satan is a deadly enemy to the right sanctifying of the Sabbath witness the many temptations that many Christians are more troubled with on this day then they are on any other day in the whole week and witness the many vain wandring and distracting thoughts that many precious Christians are more afflicted with on this day then they are on all the days of the week beside and witness that high and hot opposition
that he in his instruments Rev. 2. 10. makes against the strictest observers of that day and witness his constant prompting and spurring such on to the prophanation of the Sabbath whose examples are most dangerous and encouraging to wicked men as Magistrates Ministers Parents and Masters c. and witness his strong endeavours constant attempts crafty devices and deep policies that he has made use of in all the Ages of the World to keep people off from a religious observation of the Sabbath yea and to make them more wicked on that day then on any other day of the week May I not say then on all other days of the week I have been the longer upon this ninth Particular partly because of the weightiness of it and partly to encourage the Reader to a more close and strict observation of the Sabbath and partly to justifie those that are conscientious observers of it and partly to justifie the Lord in turning London into ashes for the horrible prophanation of his day The Sabbath-day is the Queen of days say the Jews The The Sabbath-day differs as much from the rest of the days as the wax doth to which a Kings Great Seal is put from ordinary wax Sabbath-day among the other days is as the Virgin Mary among Women saith Austin Look what the Phenix is among the Birds the Lyon among the Beasts the Whale among the Fishes the Fire among the Elements the Lilly among the Thorns the Sun among the Stars that is the Sabbath-day to all other days and therefore no wonder if God burn such out of their habitations who have been prophaners of his day Ah London London were there none within nor without thy Walls that made light of this Institution of God and that did offer violence to the Queen of days by their looseness and prophaneness by their sitting at their doors by their walking in Moor-fields by their sportings and wrestlings there and by their haunting of Ale-houses and Whore-houses their tossing of Pots and Pipes when they should have been setting up God and Christ and Religion in their Families and mourning in their Closets for the sins of times and for the afflictions of poor Joseph How did the wrath and rage of King Ahasuerus smoak against Haman Esth 7. 8 9 10. when he apprehended that he would have put a force upon the Queen And why then should we wonder to see the wrath of the Lord break forth in smoak and flames against such a generation that put a force upon his day that prophaned his day the Queen of days Ah Sirs you have greatly prophaned and abused the day of the Lord and therefore why should any marvel that the Lord has greatly debased you and laid your glory in dust and ashes In these late years how has prophaneness like a flood broke in upon us on the Lords day and therefore it highly concerns all the prophaners of the day of the Lord to lay their hands upon their hearts and to say the Lord is righteous the Lord is righteous though he has laid our habitations desolate Who is so great a stranger in our English Israel as not to know that God was more dishonoured on the Sabbath-day within and without the Walls of London then he was in all the other six days of the week and therefore let us not think it strange that such a fire was kindled on that day as has reduced all to ashes What Antick habits did men and women put on on this day what frothy empty airy discourses and intemperance was to be found at many mens Tables this day How were Ale-houses Stews and Moor-fields filled with debauched sinners this day No wonder then if London be laid desolate Now this abominable sin of open prophaning the Sabbaths of the Lord I cannot with any clear evidence charge upon the people of God that did truly fear him within or without the Walls of London For first they did lament and moâ—rn over the horrid prophanation of that day Secondly I want eyes at present to see how it will stand either with the truth of Grace or state of Grace for such as are real Saints to live in the open prophanation of Gods Sabbaths Thirdly because an ordinary prophaning of the Lords Sabbaths is as great an Argument of a prophane heart as any that can be found in the whole Book of God Fourthly because Sabbath-days are the Saints Market-days Prov. 10. 5. Prov. 17. 16. Isa 25. 6. Math. 5. 47. the Saints harvest-days the Saints summer-days the Saints seed-days and the Saints feasting-days and therefore they will not be such fools as to sleep away those days much less will they presume to prophane those days or to toy and trifle away those days of Grace Fifthly what singular thing do they more then others if they are not strict observers and conscientious sanctifiers of the Lords day â—ixthly and lastly of all the days that pass over a Christians head in this world there are none that God will take such a strict and exact account of as of Sabbath-days and therefore it highly concerns all people to be strict observers and serious sanctifiers of that day Now upon all these accounts I cannot charge such throughout Saints as lived within or without the Walls of London with that horrid prophanation of the Sabbath as brought the late fiery Dispensation upon us and that turned a glorious City into a ruinous heap Whatever there was of the hand of man in that dreadful Conflagration I shall not now attempt to divine but without a peradventure it was Sabbath-guilt which threw the first Ball that turned London into flames and ashes When fire and smoaking was on Mount Sinai God was there but when London was in Exod. 19. 18. flames and smoak Sabbath-guilt was there Doubtless all the power of Rome and Hell should never have put London into flames had not Londons guilt kindled the first coal But We come now to the Use and Application of this important Point Tenthly The prophaneness lewdness blindness and 10. wickedness of the Clergy of them in the Ministry brings the Judgment of Fire and provokes the Lord to lay all waste before him Zeph. 3. 4-6 Her Prophets are light and treacherous persons her Priests have polluted the Sanctuary they have done violence to the law I have cut off the nations their towers are desolate I have made their street wâ—ste that none passeth by their cities are destroyed so that there is no man that there is none inhabitant Their Prophets and Priests were rash heady and unstable persons they were light faithlâ—ss men or men of faithlesness as the Hebrew runs They were neither faithful to God nor faithful to their own Souls nor faithful to others Souls they invented and feigned Prophesies of their own and then boldly maintained them and imposed them upon their Hearers they were prophane and light in their carriages they fitted their Doctrines to all fancies humours parties and times
they betrayed their trust they betrayed the lives of men into the hand of divine Justice and the Souls of men into the hands of Satan they polluted the Sanctuary they polluted the Holy things of God by managing of his Worship and Service in a prophane carnal way and with a light slight perfidious spirit and by perverting the true sense of the Law in their ordinary teaching of the people They did violence to the Law or they contemned removed or cast away the Law as the Oriâ—inal runâ— the Hebrew word here used signifies also to ravish Their Prophets and Psal 50. 17. Priests did ravish the Law of God by corrupting the Law and by putting false glosses upon it and by turnâ—ng of it intâ— such shapes and senses as would best suit the times and please the humours of the people Now for these abominations of their Prophets and Priests God denounces a dreadful Wo against the City of Jerusalem in vers 1. Wo to her that is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city Lam. 4. 11-13 The Lord hath accomplished his fury he hath poured out his fierce â—nger and hath kindled a fire in Zion and it hath devoured â—he foundation thereof For the sins of her Prophets and the iniquity of her Priests that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her God sent a consuming flame into Jerusalem which did not only burn the tops of their houses but also the foundations themselves leaving no mark whereby they might know where their houses stood nor any hopes of building them up again But why did God kindle such a devouring fire in Jerusalem which was one of the World wonders and a City that was not only strong in situation and building and deemed impregnable but a City that was Gods own Seat the Palace of his Royal residence yea a City that the Lord had for many years to the admiration of all the world powâ—rfully and wonderfully protected against all those furious â—ssaults that were made upon her by her most potent and mighty Adversaries Answ For the sins of her Prophets â—nd the iniquities of her Priests as God himself testifies who can neither dye nor lye You may see this further confirmed if you please but seriously to ponder upon these Scriptures Mich. 2. 11. Isa 30. 10 11. Jer. 5. ult Hos 4. 9. Isa 9. 16. Lam. 2 14. Ezek. 3. 18. Ezek. 22. 25 26. 31. Jer. 23. 11. 14 15. 39 40. Look as the body Natural so the body Politick cannot be long in a good constitution whose more noble and essential parts are in a consumption The enormities of Ministers have the strongest influence upon the souls and lives of men to make them miserable in both worlds Their falls will be the fall and ruine of many for people are more prone to live by Examples then by Precepts and to mind more what the Minister does then what he says Praecépta docent exempla movent Precepts may instruct but Examples do perswade The Complaint is ancient in Seneca That commonly men Seneca de vita beata cap. 1. live not ad rationem but ad similitudinem The people commonly make the Examples of their Ministers the Rules of their Actions and their Examples pass as current among them as their Princes Coyn. The Common-people are like tempered Wax easily receiving impressions from the Seals of their Ministers vices They make no bones of it to sin by prescription and to damn themselves by following the lewd Examples of their Ministers The Vulgar unadvisedly take up crimes on trust and perish by following of bad Examples I will leave the serious Reader to make such Application as in prudence and conscience he judges meet But Eleventhly Sometimes the sins of Princes and Rulers bring the fiery Dispensations of God upon Persons and Places Jer. It is a strange saying in Lipsius viz. That the names of all good Princes may easily be engraven or written in a small Ring Lips de Constantia lib. 2. cap. 25. 38. 17 18 23. Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah Thus saith the Lord the God of Hosts the God of Israel if thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the King of Babylons Princes then thy soul shall live and this city shall not be burnt with fire and thou shalt live and thine house But if thou wilt not go forth to the King of Babylons Princes then shall this city be given into the hands of the Chaldeans and they shall burn it with fire and thou shalt not escape out of their hand but shalt be taken by the hand of the King of Babylon and thou shalt cause this city to be burnt with fire Oâ— as the Hebrew runs Thou shalt burn this city with fire that is thou by thy obstinacy wilt be the means to procure the burning of this City which by a rendition of thy self thou mightest have saved So Jer. 34. 2. 8 9 10 11. compared with Chap. 37. 5. to vers 22. Judges and Magistrates are the Physitians of the State saith B. Lake in his Sermon on Ezra and sins are the diseases of it what skills it whether a Gangrene begins at the head or the heel seeing both ways it will kill except this be the difference that the head being nearer the heart a Gangrene in the head will kill sooner then that which is in the heel Even so will the sins of great Ones overthrow a State sooner then those of the meanest sort 2 Sam. 24. 9. to vers 18. But Twelfthly The abusing mocking and despising of the Messengers of the Lord is a sin that brings the fiery Dispensation Turn to these two pregnant Texts and ponder seriously upon them for they speak close in the case upon a People 2 Chron. 36. 15 16 17 18 19 Math. 23. 34. 37 38. Behold your house is left unto you desolate Here is used the present for the future to note the certainty of the desolation of their City and Temple and their own utter ruines and about forty years after the Romans came and burnt their City and Temple and laid all waste before them They had turned the Prophets of the Lord out of all and therefore the Lord resolves to turn them out of all O Sirs will you please seriously to consider these six things First that all faithful painful conscientious Ministers or Messengers of the Lord are great Instruments in the hand of the Lord for stopping or steming the tide of all prophaneness and wickedness in a Land which bring all desolating Isa 58. 1. and destroying Judgments upon Cities and Countries 2. For converting Souls to God for turning poor sinners from Acts 26. 15 16 17 18. Dan. 12. 3. darkness to light and from the power of Satan to Jesus Christ 3. For promoting of Religion Holiness and Godliness in mens hearts houses and lives which is the only way under Heaven to render Cities Countries and Kingdoms safe happy and prosperous 4. For the weakning of the Kingdom of
a great miracle and that he should prevail against all that Power was a greater and that after all he should dye in his bed was the greatest of all There are many thousand Instances more of the like nature but enough is as good as a Feast Eighthly The spiritual Judgments that God hath given such up to who have shed the blood of the Just speaks out their blood to be precious blood Oh the dreadful horrors and amazing terrors of conscience that such have been given up to Take a few Instances among the many that might be given The Vaivod that had betrayed Zegeden a godly man professed to Zegedine that he was so haunted with Apparitions Cicero and the Furies of his own Conscience that he could not rest day nor night Dionysius a cruel Tyrant a bitter Enemy Conscience is Gods Preacher in the bosom Conscience is mille testes a thousand witnesses for or against a man Conscience hath a good memory to all good men and good things was so troubled with fear and horror of conscience that not daring to trust his best friends with a Rasor he used to sindge his beard with burning coals A sleepy conscience when awakned is like a sleepy Lyon when he awakes he roars and tears his prey It is like Prometheus Vultur it lyes ever gnawing Sin brings a stain and a sting Horror of conscience meets a man in the dark and makes him leap in the night and makes him quake in his sleep and makes him start in every corner and makes him think every bush is a man every man a Devil and every Devil a Messenger to fetch him quick to Hell By this Theodorick saw the face of a man in the mouth of a fish Nâ—ssus heard the noise of murther in the voice of birds Saundes ran distracted over the Irish Mountains This made Cain wander Saul stab himself Judas hang himself Arius empty his bowels at the stool Latomus cry desperately he was damned he was damned and Julian confess that he was conquered It makes man the Lord of all to be Slave to all Lord what is man Certainly 't is better with Evagrius to lye secure on a bed of straw then to have a turbulent conscience on a bed of Doune having Curtains embossed with Gold and Pearl But Ninthly and lastly The shedding of the blood of the Just is a sin of so high a cry and so deep a dye that for it God is resolved except men repent that he will shut them out Gal. 5. 21. Rev. 21. 8. Rev. 22. 15. 1 Joh. 3. 15. Math. 22. 7. of the highest Heaven and cast them down to the lowest Hell as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margine together and therefore certainly the blood of the Just is most precious blood Now seeing that the blood of the Just is such precious blood who will wonder if God sets such Cities and Towns and Countries into a flame about their ears upon whose skirts the blood of the Just is to be found Josephus speaking of the desolation of Jerusalem saith Because they have sinned against the Lord God of their Fathers in shedding the blood of just men and innocents that were within thee even in the Temple of the Lord therefore are our sorrowful sighings multiplied and our weepinâ—s daily increased 'T was the blood of the just the blood of the innocents that turned Jerusalem into ashes I have read of one Rabbi Samuel who six hundred years since writ a Tract in form of an Epistle to Rabbi Isaac Master of the Synagogue of the Jews wherein he doth excellently discuss the cause of their long Captivity and extream misery and after that he had proved that it was inflicted for some grievous sin he sheweth that sin to be the same which Amos speaks of For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes The selling of Joseph he makes the first sin the worshipping of the Calf in Horeb the second sin the abusing of Gods Prophets the third sin and the selling of Jesus Christ the fourth sin For the first they served four hundred years in Egypt for the second they wandred forty years in the Wilderness for the third they were Captives seventy years in Babylon and for the fourth they are held in pitiful Captivity even till this day When Phocas that bloody Cut-throat sought to secure himself by building high Walls he heard a voice from Heaven telling him That though he built his Bulwarks never so high yet sin within blood within would soon undermine all Shedding the blood of the Just is a sin that hath undermined the strongest Bulwarks and that hath blown up and burnt up the most glorious Cities that have been in the World And who can tell but that the blood of the Just that was shed in the Marian days might now come up into Speeds Chronicle in Queen Mary remembrance before the Lord For in four years of her Reign there were consumed in the heat of those flames two hundred seventy seven persons viz. Five Bishops one and twenty Ministers eight Gentlemen eighty four Artificers one hundred Husbandmen Servants and Labourers six and twenty Wives twenty Widows nine Virgins two Boys and two Infants I say who can tell but that the blood of these precious Servants of the Lord hath cryed aloud in the ears of the Lord for vengeance against that once glorious but now desolate City Men of brutish spirits and that are skilful to destroy make no more of shedding the blood of the Just then they do of shedding the blood of a Swine but yet this hideous sin makes so great a noise in the ears of the Lord of Hosts that many times he tells the World by his fiery Dispensations that it cannot be purged away but by fire And thus much for the sins that bring the fiery Judgment our way now to the Application is plain THE FIRST PART OF THE Application 1. To see the Hand of the Lord in it Ten Considerations to work to this 2. To mourn under the sense of so great a Judgement WE come now to the Use and Application of this important Point The Explication of a Doctrine is but the drawing of the Bow the Application is the hitting of the Mark the white c. Is it so that God is the Author or Efficient cause of all the great calamities and dreadful Judgements that are inflicted upon Cities and Countreys and in particular of that of Fire then First Let us see the hand of the Lord in this late dreadful Vse Fire that hath been upon us for certainly God is the Author permissively at least he is the great Agent in all those terrible Judgements that befall Persons Cities and Kingdoms Ruth 1. 13. 21. Psalm 39. 9. 1 Sam. 3. 18. Whosoever or whatsoever be the Rod it s his hand that gives the
stroke The power of bringing Judgements upon Cities God challengeth to himself Amos 3. 6. Shaâ—â— there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it Whatever the Judgement be that falls upon a City God is the Author of it he acts in it and orders it according to his own good pleasure There is no Judgement that casually falls upon any person City or Countrey Every Judgement is inflicted by a Divine Power and Providence The Chaldeâ—ns could never have burnt Jerusalem if the Lord had not granted The Souldiers Fire-brand by which was fired the famous Temple of Jerusalem was commissionated by a Divine Command them a commission Hence saith the Prophet Evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem Mich. 1. 12. 'T was a sore evil that Jerusalem which was one of the worlds wonders should be destroyed by fire but this evil was determined at the Counsel-board in Heaven Jerusalem was burnt by a Commission signed in Heaven both when the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar and when the Romans under Titus Vespasian laid it in Ashes All sorts of Judgements are more at the beck of God and under the command Matth. 8. 5. 11. Whatever Miscreants made the Fire-Balls yet God did blow the fire and so turned London into a Ruinous heap Certainly there was much of Gods hand whatever there was of mens heads in this fatal Fire of God than Servants are under the commands of their Masters or Souldiers under the commands of their General or Children under the command of their Parents Whatever Judgement God commands to destroy a Person a City or Countrey that Judgement shall certainly and effectually accomplish the command of God in spite of all that creatures can do God as he is our Creator Preserver and Soveraign Lord has an absolute power both over our persons lives estates and habitations and when we have transgressed his righteous Laws he may do with us and all we have as he pleases he may turn us out of house and home and burn up all our comforts round about us and yet do us no wrong Those things which seem accidental and casual unto us are ordered by the wise Councel Power and Providence of God Instruments can no more stir till God gives them a commission than the Axe or the Knife can cut of it self without an hand Job eyed God in the fire that fell from Heaven and in all the fiery tryals that befell him And therefore as one observes he doth not say the Lord gave Austiâ—e and the Devil took away nor the Lord gave and the Chaldeans and Sabeans took away but the Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken and blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1. 20 21. Certainly without the cognizance and concurrence of a Wise Omniscient and Omnipotent God no creatures can move nor without his fore-sight and permission no event can befall any Person City or Countrey Acts 17. 28. For in him we live move and have our being No man can put forth a natural action without him Whatever the means or instruments of our misery be the hand is Gods and this the Saints in all the Ages of the world have confest It becomes us Levit. 10. 1 2 3 4. Heb. 11. 25 26. in every Judgement to see the hand of the Lord and to look through visible means to an invisible God for though the Lord may and many times do's make use of Satan and his instruments to scourge his dearest children yet it is but one hand and many instruments that he smites us with God makes use of what second causes he pleases for the execution of his pleasure And many times he makes the worst Isa 10. 5. to 20. of men the Rod of his indignation to chastise his people with Witneâ—s Pharaoh Ahab Haman Herod and the Assyrian Kings with scores of other instances that the Scripture affords And all Histories abound in nothing more than in Instances of this nature as all know that have read any thing of History The Conclave of Rome and the Conclave of Hell can do nothing without a commission from Heaven They can't make a Louse nor burn a House nor drown Exod. 8. 18. Jer. 21. 10. Matth. 8. 32. Chap. 10. 30. Luke 21. 18. a Pigg without a commission under the Broad Seal of Heaven A Sparrow lights not upon the ground nor a hair falls not from our heads no nor a bristle from a Sow's back saith Tertullian but by a Divine Providence All created creatures both in that upper and in this lower world depend upon God for their being motion and several activities Now in that God did not exert his Power neither to prevent nor check those furious flames which he knew without his interposure would lay all in ashes 't is evident that it was his Divine pleasure that London should be turned into a ruinous heap Gods not hindering the desolation of London was a tacit commissioning of the flames to burn down all that stood in their way That such are under a high mistake that ascribe the burning of London so to second causes as that they will allow no more Judgement of God in it than that which accompanies common casualty I shall sufficiently evidence before I have finished this first Use But I hope the prudent Reader will make it his business to see the signal hand of God in this late fiery dispensation and to remember that the Scribe is more properly said to write than the Pen and he that maketh and keepeth the Clock is more properly said to make it go and strike than the Wheels and Poizes that hang upon it and every Workman to effect his work rather than the tools which he useth as instruments So the Lord of Hosts who is the Chief Agent and Mover in all things and in all actions may more fitly and properly be said to effect and bring to pass all Judgements yea all things that are done in the earth than any inferiour or subordinate causes seeing they are but his tools and instruments which he rules and guides according to his own Will Power and Providence At this some of the more civilized Heathen hath long since hammered viz. That the same power dispenseth both comforts and crosses when they painted Fortune in two forms with two faces of contrary colours the foremost white the hindermost black to signifie that both good and evil came from the Goddess Fortune When 't was told Prince Henry that delitiae generis humani that darling of mankind That the sins of the people caused that affliction that was upon him O no said he I have sins enough of mine own to cause that So should we all confess that though God take occasion by another mans sin or by another mans hand to fire my house Yet the cause is just that it should be so and that I my self have deserved it whatsoever the occasion or the instrument be God had matter enough against
now received its commission under the Broad Seal of Heaven to burn down the City and to turn it into a ruinous heap and therefore it defied and contemned all remedies and scorned to be supprest by humanâ— attempts Who ever kindled this fire God blew the coal and therefore no arts counsels or endeavours of men were able to quench it If God commission the Sword to walk abroad and to glut it self with blood who can command it into the Scabbard again No art power or policy can cause that Sword to lie still that God has drawn in the Nations round us untill it hath accomplished the ends for which he has drawn it As to our present case when I weigh things in the ballance of right reason I can't but be of opinion that had Magistrates and People vigorously and conscienciously discharged their duties much of London by the blessing of God upon their endeavours that is now ruined might happily have been preserved When in a storm the Ship and all the vast treasure that is in it is in danger to be lost 't is sad to see every Officer and Marriner to mind more and endeavour more the preservation of their Chests Cabins and particular interests than the preservation of the Ship and the vast treasure that is in it Now this was just our case Cicero Lib. 1. Ep. 15. ad Atticum in his time laughed at the folly of those men who conceited that their Fish-ponds and places of pleasure should be safe when the Common-wealth was lost And we may well mourn over the folly and vanity of those men who were so amazed confounded distracted besotted and infatuated if not worse as not to improve all heads hands hearts councils and offers that were made for the preservation of the City This is and this must be for a lamentation that in the midst of publick dangers all ranks and sorts of men should take more care for the preservation of their trifling Fardels for so is any particular mans estate though never so great when compared with the riches of a Rich Trading Populous City than they do for the preservation of the publick good That there might have been rational and probable anticipations of those dreadful conflagrating progresses I suppose all sober men will grant that these were either hid from some mens eyes and seen by others and not improved was Londons wo. When London was almost destroyed then some began to blow up some houses for the preservation of that little that was left and God blest their endeavours but had some had encouragement who long before were ready for that work and who offered themselves in the case ' â—is vâ—ry probâ—ble that a great part of London might have been preserved But what shall I say Divine Justice dos as eminently sparkle and shine in the shutting of mens eyes and in the stopping of mens ears and in the hardning mens hearts against the visible and probable means of their outward preservation as in any one thing This we must seriously consider and then lay our hands upon our mouths and be silent before the Lord. The force and violence of this fire was so great that many that removed their goods once twice thrice yea and some oftner yet lost all at last The fire followed them so close from place to place that some saved but little and others lost all Now how well dos it become us in the rage and fury of the flames to see the hand of the Lord and to bow before him as this fire being like Time which devours all before it Jerusalem was the glory and beauty of the whole Earth and the Temple was one of the worlds wonders but when Titus Vespasian's Souldiers had set it on Josâ—phus fire it burnt with that rage and fury that all the industry and skill that ever could be used imagined or thought on could not quench it though Titus would gladly havâ— preserved it as a matchless monument They threw both water and the blood of the slain into it but it burnt with that violence that nothing could extinguish it King Herod for eight years together before the ruine of it had imployed ten thousand men at work to beautifie it but when once 't was on fire it burnt with that fierceness that there was no preserving of it the Dâ—cree of Heaven been gone out against it c. But Fourthly Consider the swiftness of it It flew upon the wings of the wind that it might the sooner come to its journies end It ran along like the fire and hail in Aegypt destroying and consuming all before it The Apostle James Psalm 18. 10. Exod. 9. 23 24. James 3. 6. 2. The winds are the Fan of Nature to cool and purge the Aâ—r. But at this time God brought the winds out of his Treasury to scatter the flames of his indignation that so London might become a desolation speaks of fierce winds The wind was so boistrous that it scattered and carried the fire the flames sometimes one way sometimes another in despite of all the restraints resistances and limits that the amazed Citizens could have set to it I shall not trouble you with the various notions of Philosophers concerning the wind partly because they will do no service in the present case and partly because our work is to look higher than all natural causes All that either is or can be said of the Wind I suppose may be thus summed up that it is a creature that may be 1. Felt 2. Heard and Little understood Very wonderful is the rice of the Winds when it is so calm and still upon the Seas that scarce a breath of air is perceivable upon a sudden the wind is here and there and every where Eccles 1. 6. The wind goeth toward the South and turneth about unto the North it whirleth about continually and the wind returneth again according to his circuits Psal 135. 7. He bringeth the wind out of his treasuries But what those treasuries are and where they are no man on earth can certainly tell us The Wind is one of the great wonders of the Lord in which and by which the Lords Name is wonderfully magnified Psal 107. 24 25. They that go down to the Sea see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep What wonders He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind although some thing may bek nown of this creature in the natural causes of it yet it is a wonder John 3. 8. above all that we can know of it What the Wind is and from whence it comes and whither it goes none can tell God is the great Generalissimo and Soveraign Commander Mat. 8. 27. Num. 11. 31. Isa 27. 8. Num. 11. 13. Gen. 8. Exod. 1. 10. Chap. 13. of the Winds so that a blast of wind cannot pass without his leave licence and cognizance Jonah 1. 4. But the Lord sent a great wind into the Sea and there was a mighty Tempest in
nor ears never heard of before nor tongues never discoursed of before nor Pens never writ of before Beloved you know that 't is our duty to take serious notice of the hand of the Lord in the least Judgement and in every particular Judgement Oh how much more then dos it highly concern us to take serious notice of the hand of the Lord that has been lifted up against us in that late dreadful impartial universal fire that has burnt us all out of our habitations and laid our City desolate But Seventhly Consider the greatness of it the destructiveness of it Oh the many thousand families that were destroyed and impoverished in four dayes time Of many it might have been said the day before the fire who so rich as London was the Lady-City where the Riches of many Nations were laid up I would rather be bound to weep over London than be bound to summ up the losses of London by this dreadful fire these and the very next day it might have been said of the same persons who so poor as these as poor as Job yea poor to a Proverb Jer. 21. 13 14. Behold I am against thee O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain saith the Lord which say who shall come down against us or who shall enter into our habitations But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings saith the Lord. And I will kindle a fire in the forrest thereof and it shall devour all things round about it Some by the Forrest understand the fair and sumptuous buildings in Jerusalem that were built with wood that was hewen out of the Forrest of Libanon and stood as thick as Trees in the Forrest Others by the Forrest understand the whole City of Jerusalem with the Countrey round about it that was as full of people as a Forrest is full of Trees Others by Forrest understand the house of the Lord and the Kings house and the houses of the great Princes which were built with excellent matter from the Wood of Lebanon Jerusalem was 2 Sam. 5. 6. so strongly dâ—fended by nature that they thought themselves invincible as once the Jebusites did they were so confident of the strength of their City that they scorned the proudest and the strongest enemies about them But sin had brought them low in the eye of God so that he could see nothing eminent or excellent among them and therefore the Lord resolves by the Chaldees to fire their magnificent buildings in which they gloried and to turn their strong and stately City into a ruinous heap Though Jerusalem Psalm 125. 2. stood in a Vale and was environed with Mountains yet the upper part of it stood high as it were upon a rocky rising hill Now the Citizens of Jerusalem trusted very much in the scituation of their City they did not fear their being besieged straitned conquered or fired and therefore they say Who shall come down against us Who shall enter into our habitation Where is the enemy that has courage or confidence enough to assault our City or to enter into our habitations but God tells them that they were as barren of good fruit as the Trees of the Forrest were barren of good fruit and therefore he was resolved by the hand of the Chaldeans to hew them down and to fire their most stately Structures and to turn their glorious City in which they greatly trusted and gloried into a ruinous heap All which accordingly was done not long after by Nebuzaradan and his Army as you may see in Jer. 52. 12 13 14 15. How often hath the Citizens of London been alarm'd with the cry of fire which hath been as often extinguished before they could well know where it was and how it began but all former fires were but small fires but Bon-fires to this dreadful fire that has been lately amongst us In the twentieth year of the Reign of William the first so Sir Richard Bakers Chronicle p. 31. 47. great a fire happened in London that from the West-gate to the East-gate it consumed houses and Churches all the way This was the most grievous fire that ever happened in that City saith my Author And in the Reign of King Henry the first a long tract of buildings from West-cheap in London to Aldgate was consumed with fire And in King Stephens Reign there was a fire that began at London Stone and consumed all unto Aldgate These have been the most remarkable fires in London But what were any of these or all these to that late dreadful fire that has been amongst us London in those former times was but a little City and had Eccles 9. 14. but a few men in it in comparison of what it was now London was then but as a great Banqueting-house to what it was now Nor the consumption of London by fire then was Can. 2. 4. nothing proportionable to the consumption of it by fire now For this late lamentable devouring fire hath laid waste the greatest part of the City of London within the walls by far and some part of the Suburbs also More than fourscore Parishes and all the Houses Churches Chappels Hospitals and other the great and magnificent buildings of Pious or Publick use which were within that circuit are now brought into ashes and become one ruinous heap This furious raging fire burnt many stately Monuments to powder it melted the Bells in the Steeples it much weakned and shattered the strongest Vaults under ground O what Age or Nation hath ever seen or felt such a dreadful visitation as this hath been Nebuzaradan General to the King of Babylon first sets the Temple of Jerusalem on fire and then the Jos Aâ—t p. 255. A. M. 3356. Kings Royal Palace on fire and then by fire he levells all the houses of the great men yea and all the houses of Jerusalem are by fire turned into a ruinous heap according to Jer. 52. 12 13 14. what the Lord had before foretold by his Prophet Jeremiah Now this was a lamentable fire Some hundred years after the Roman Souldiers sackt the City and set it on fire and Jos Aâ—t p. 741. A. M. 4034. laid it desolate with their Temple and all their stately buildings and glorious monuments Three or four Towers and the Wall that was on the West side they left standing as monuments of the Romans valour who had surpized a City so Jos Aâ—t p. 745. strongly fortified All the rest of the City they so plained that they who had not seen it before would not believe that it had ever been inhabited Thus was Jerusalem one of the worlds wonders and a City famous amongst all Nations Luke 19. 41 42 43 44. Tacit. Aâ— 15. made desolate by fire according to the prediction of Christ some years before There was a great fire in Rome in Nero's time it spread it self with that speed and burnt with that violence till of fourteen
or else a waiting upon the Lord in his publick Ordinances Fire in thâ— night is terrible to all but mostly to such whose spirits and bodies were tired out in the preceding day Wasting and destroying Judgements are sad any day but saddest when they fall on the Lords Day For how do they disturb distress and distract the thoughts the minds the hearts and the spirits of men So that they can neither wait on God nor wrestle with God nor act for God nor receive from God in any of the duties or services of his day And this the poor Citizens found by sad experience when London was in flames about their ears Certainly the anger and wrath of God was very high and very hot when he made his day of rest to be a day of labour and disquiet When his people should have been a meeting hearing reading praising praying For the Lord now to scatter them and to deliver them their substance and habitations as a prey to the devouring fire what dos this speak our but high displeasure That the fire of Gods wrath should begin on the day of his rest and solemn Worship is and must be for a lamentation In several of those Churches where some might not preach there God himself preacht to the Parishioners in flames of fire And such who loved darkness rather than light John 3. 19. Exod. 19. 16 17 18. because their deeds were evil might now see their Churches all in a flaming fire What a terrifying and an amazing Sermon did God preach to his people of old in Mount Sinai when the Mount burned with fire And so what terrifying and amazing Sermons did God preach to the Citizens on his own day when their Temples and their habitations were all in flames Instead of holy rest what hurries were there in every street yea in the spirits of men Now instead of takeing up of Buckets men in every Street take up arms fearing a worse thing than fire The Jealousies and Rumors that fire balls were thrown into several houses and Churches by such that had no English tongues but out-landish hands to make the furious flames flame more furiously were so great that many were at a stand and others even at their wits end Now relations friends and neighbours hastened one another out of their houses as the Angels hastened Lot out of Sodom Gen. 19. 15 16 17. Such were the fears and frights and sad apprehensions that had generally seized upon the Citizens Not many Sabbaths before when men should have been instructing of their families what bonfires what ringing of Bells and what joy and rejoycing was there in our Streets for burning the Dutch Ships in their Harbour where many English and others were highly concerned as well as the Dutch little did they think who were pleasing and warming themselves at those lesser fires that the great God would in so short a time after kindle so great a fire in the midst of their Streets as should melt their Bells lay their habitations in ashes and make their Streets desolate So that those that were so jolly before might well take up that sad lamentation of weeping Jeremiah The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob and hath not pittied he hath thrown down in his Lam. 2. 2 3. wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Jâ—dah he hath brought them down to the ground He burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about May we not soberly guess that there were as many strict observers and sanctifiers of the Lords Day who did turn away their feet from doing their Isa 58. 13. pleasure on Gods holy day and that did call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord and honourable within the Walls of London as in a great part of the Nation besides Now for the Lord of the Saâ—bath to kindle such a devouring fire in such a City and that on his own day O what extraordinary wrath and displeasure dos this speak out When God by his Royal Law had bound the hands of his people from doing their own works for him now to fall upon his strange work and by a flaming consuming fire to turn a populous City a pious City an honourable City and an Ancient City into a ruinous heap what indignation to this indignation O Sirs it highly concerns us to take notice of the Judgements of the Lord that fall upon us on any day but especially those that fall upon us on his own day because they carry with them more than a tincture of Gods deep dâ—splâ—asure In the Council of Paris every one labouring to perswadâ— unto a more religious keeping of the Sabbath Day When Concil Paris lio 1. cap. 50. they had justly complained that as many other things so also the obsâ—rvation of the Sabbath was greatly decayed through the abuse of Chrâ—stian lâ—bâ—rty in that men too much followed the deligâ—â—s of the world and their own worldly pleasures both wicked and dangerous They further add For many of us have been eye witnesses many have intelligence of it bâ— the relation of others that some men upon this day being about their husbandry have been strucken with Thunder some have been maimed and made lame somâ— have had their bodies even bones and all burnt in a moment with visible fire and have consumed to ashes and many other Judgements of God have been and are daily inflicted upon Sabbath Breakers Stratford upon Sluon was twice on the same day twelve moneth being the Lords Day almost consumed with fire The Theatre of Gods Judgements pag. 419 420. chiefly for prophaning the Lords Day and contemning his word in the mouth of his faithful Minister Feverton in Devonsâ—ire whose remembrance makes my heart bleed saith my Author was oftentimes admonished by her godly Preachers that God would bring some heavy Judgement on the Town for their horrible prophanation of the Lords Day occasioned châ—efly by their Market on the day following Not long after his death on the third of April 1598. God in less than half an hour consumed with a sudden and fearful fire the whole Town except only the Church the Court-house and the Alms-houses or a few poor peoples dwellings where a man might have seen four hundred dwelling houses all at oâ—â—e on â—ire and above fifty persons consumed with the flames And on the fifth of August 1612. fourtâ—en years since the former fire the whole Town was again fired and consumed except some thirty houses of poor people with the School-house and Alms-houses Now certainly they must be much left of God hardned in sin and blinded by Satan who do not nor will not see the dreadful hand of God that is lifted up in his fiery dispensations upon his own day But Tenthly and lastly Consider That the burning of London 10. is a National Judgement God in smiting of London has smitten England round the stroke of God upon London was When one member in the natural
saith Plato is not to encrease our heaps but to diminish the covetousness of our hearts And saith Seneca Cui cum paupertate bene convenit pauper non est A contented man cannot be a poor man I have read of another Philosopher who seeing a Prince going by with the greatest pomp and state imaginable he said to some about him See how many things I have no need of And saith another It were well for the world if there were no Gold in it But since its the fountain whence all things flow it s to be desired but only as a pass to travel to our journeys end without begging When Croesus King of Lydia asked Solon one of the seven wise men of Greece who in the whole world was more happy than he Solon answered Tellus who though he was a poor man yet he was a good man and content with that which he had So Cato could say as Aulus Gelâ—ius reports of him I have neither House nor Plate nor Garments of price in my hands what I have I can use if not I can want it Sâ—me blame me because I want many things and I blame them because they cannot want Now shall Nature do more than Grace Shall the poor blinded Heathen outstrip the knowing Christian O Sirs he that can lose his will in the will of God as to the things of this world he that is willing to be at Gods allowance he that has had much but can now be satisfied with a little he that can be contented to be at Gods finding he is of all men the most likely man to have all his losses made up to him But Eighthly and lastly Are your hearts more drawn out to have this fiery dispensation sanctified to you than to have your losses made up to you Do you strive more with God to get good by this dreadful Judgement than to recover your lost goods and your lost estates Is this the daily language of your souls Lord let this fiery calamity be so sanctified as that it may eminently issue in the mortifying of our sins in the encrease of our Graces in the mending of our hearts in the reforming of our lives and in the weaning of our souls from every thing below thee and in the fixing of them upon the greathings of Eternity If it be thus with you 't is ten to one but God even this world will make up your losses to you But The sixth Support to bear up the hearts of the people of God under the late fiery diâ—pensation is this viz. That by fiery dispensations the Lord will make way for the new Heavens and the new Earth he will make way for the glorious deliverance of his people Isa 66. 15. 16. 22. For behold the Lord will come with fire and with his Chariots like Isa 9. 5 6. Psalm 66. 12. â— whirle-wind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire For by fire and by his sword or by his sword of fire will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me saith the Lord so shall your seed and your name remain The great and the glorious things that God will do for his people in the last dayes are set forâ—h by new heâ—vens and new earth and Isa 65. 17. Joâ—l 2. 1 2 3 4 5 30 31 32. Zeph. 3. 8 9. these God will bring in by fiâ—ry diâ—pensations The glorious dstatâ— of the universal Church of Jâ—ws and Gentiles on earth is no lower an estate than that oâ— a new heâ—vâ—n and a new earth Now thâ—s blessed Church-State is usheâ—â—d into the world by fiâ—ry Judgements By fiâ—ry dispensations God 2 Pet. 3. 10 11 12 13. will put an end to the glory of tâ—â—s old wâ—rld and bring in the new Look as Gâ—d by a waâ—â—ry Dâ—luge made way for one new world so by a fiery Dâ—luge in the last of the last Gen. 9. â—ee our new Anotationists oâ— Isa 65. Isa 17. oâ— Chap. 66. 15 16 22. and on Rev. 21. 1. dayes he will make way for another new world wherein shall dwell righteousness as Peter speaks All men â—n common speech call a new great change a new world By fiery dispensations God will bring great changes upon the world and make way for his Sons reign in a more glorious manner than ever he has yet reigned in the world Rev. 18 Chap. 19. Chap. 20. and Chap. 21. The summ of that I havâ— in short â—o offer to your consideration out of these Chapters is this Babylon the great is fallen is fallen How much she hath glorified her self so much sorrow and torment shall be given her Her plagues come in one day death and mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire Rejoyce over her thou heaven and ye holy Apostles and Prophets for God hath avenged you on her And after these things I heard a great voice of much people c. Saying Alleluiah salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God for truâ— and rightâ—ous are thy judgements for he hath judged the great Whore that hath corrupted the earth and hath avenged the blood of his Saints And again they said Alleluiah And the four and twenty Elders said Amen Alleluiah And I heard as it were the voyce of a great multitude and as the voyce of many waters and as the voyce of mighty thunderings saying Alleluiah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth And the Beast and the false Prophet were cast into the lake of fire And the rest were slain with the sword But the Saints reigned with Christ a thousand years in the new Heavens and new Earth to whom the Kings of the earth and Nations of the world bring their honour God by his fiery dispensation upon Babylon makes way for Christs Reign and the Saints Reign in the New Heavens and new Earth But The seventh Support to bear up the hearts of the people of God under the late fiery dispensation is this viz. That by fiery dispensations God will bring about the ruine and destruction Psalm 50. 3 of his and his peoples enemies Psal 97. 3. A fire goeth before him and burneth up his enemies round about Heb. 3. 5. Before him went the Pestilence and burning coals went forth at his feet Ver. 7. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction and the curtains of the Land of Midian did tremble Ver. 12. Thou didst march through the Land in indignation thou didst thresh the Heathen in anger Ver. 13. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people even for salvation with thine anointed thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundation even to the neck Sâ—lah Jer. 50. 31 32. Behold I am against thee O thou most proud saith the Lord God of Hosts for thy day is come the time that I will
Faâ—illime incenditur pertinacissime fervet c. Dâ—ffiâ—â—lâ—ime extinguitur It is easily kindled violently fuellâ—d and hardly exâ—inguished Brimstone and all that vast qâ—antity of sulphureous fiery matter by which those rich and popâ—lous Ciâ—ies were â—urned into ruinous heaps were never produced by naturâ—l causes nor after a natural manner no culinaâ—y fire being so speedy in its consumptions but immedâ—ately by Gods own miraculous power and allmighty aim But thâ— fire that has laid London in ashes was no such miraculous or extraordinary fire but such a fire which Divine Providence permitted and suffered to be kindlâ—d and carrâ—ed on by such means instruments and concurring circumstances as hath buried our glory under heaps of ashes But Secondly The fire that fell upon Sodom â—â—d Gomâ—rrah consumed not only the greater part of thosâ— Cities but the whole Cities yea and not only Sodom and Gomorrah but all the Cities of the Plain except Zoar which was to be a Sâ—nctuary to Lot but the fire of London has not destroyâ—d the whole City of London Many hundred may I noâ— say thousands houses are yet standing as monuments of Divine Power Wisdom and goodness and the greatest part of the Suburbs are yet preserved and all the rest of the Cities of England are yet compassed about with loving kindnâ—ss and mercy and I hope will be reserved by a gracious Pâ—ovidence as shelters as Sanctuaries and as hiding places to poor Englands distressed inhabitants But Thirdly The fire that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah did consume sume not only places but persons not only houses but inhabitants but in the midst of Londons flames God was a Zech. 2. 5. wall of fire about the Citizens in that day of his fiery indignation he was very tender of the lives of his people Though the Lumber was burnt yet God took care of his Treasure of his Jewels to wit the lives of his people But having spoken before more largely of this particular let this touch now suffice Fourthly Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire suddenly and unexpectedly they were destroyed by fire in a moment Lam. 4. 6. For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my peâ—ple is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment and no hands The Judgemenâ—s of God upon the Jews were so great that they exceeded all credit amongst their neighbour Nations stayed on her Sodom and Gomorrah sustâ—ined no long siege from forreign forces neither were they kept long in sorrows and sufferings in pains and misery but thâ—y were quickly and suddenly and instantly dispatched out of this world into another world Men had no hand in the destroying of Sodom no mortal instrument did co-operate in that work God by his own immediate power overthrew them in a moment Sodom was very strangely suddenly and unexpectedly turned upside down as in a moment by Gods own hand without the help of armed Souldiers Whereas the Chaldeans Armies continued for a long time in the Land of Judah and in Jerusalem vexing and â—laguing the poor people of God Now in this respect the punishment of the Jews was a greater punishment than the punishment of Sodom that was overthrown as in a moment But that fire that has turned London into a heap of ashes was such a fire that was carried on gradually and that lastâ—d four dayes God giving the Citizens time to mourn over their sins to repent to lay hold on everlasting strength and to mâ—ke peace with God But Fifthly and lastly Sodoms and Gomorrahs Judgement is termed Eternal fire which expression as it refers to thâ— Jude 7. places themselves do import that they were irrecoverablâ— destroyed by fire so as that they shall lye eternally waste Those monstrous sinners of Sodom had turned the glory of God into shame and therefore God will turn them both into a Hell here and a Hell hereafter God will punish unusual sinners with unusual Judgements The punishment by this fire is lasting yea everlasting 't is a standing monument Deut. 29. 23 of Gods high displeasure We never read that ever God repented himself of the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah those Cities are under a perpetual destruction and so shall continue to the end of the world if we will give credit to Authors of great credit and reputation It well Strabo Solinus Tacitus Plinius Josâ—phus c. becomes the wisest and best of Christians seriously to consider how God setteth forth the destruction of his Churches enemies Isa 34. 8 9 10 11. For it is the day of the Lords Vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversie of Zion And the streams thereof shall be turned into Pitch and the dust thereof into Brimstone and the Land thereof shall become burning Pitch It shall not be quenched night nor day the smoke thereof shall go up for ever from generation to generation it shall lye waste none shall pass through it for ever and ever But the Cormorant and the Bittern shall pâ—ssâ—ss it the Owle also and the Raven shall dwell in it and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion and the stones of emptinâ—ss In these words you have a rhetorical description of that extream devastation that God will bring upon the enemies of the Church in way of allusion to the destruction of Sodom and Gomoâ—rah But I hope Lâ—ndons doom is not such for God has given to thousands of her inhabitants a Spirit of Grace and Supplication Zech. 12. 10. which is a clear evidence that at the long run they shall certainly carry the day with God I have faith enough to believe that God will give Londons mourners beauty for ashes the oyle of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness And that London may yet be called Isa 61. 3. a City of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified I hope that God will one day say to London Arise shine for the light is come and the glory of the Lord is Isa 60. 1 2. risen upon thee the Lord shall arise upon thee and his glory shall be seen upon thee By what has been said 't is evident enough that there has been a great mixture of mercy in that fiery dispensation that has past upon London And therefore why should not this consideration bear up the hearts of the people of God from fainting and sinking under their present calamity and misery But The tenth Support to bear up the hearts of the people of 10. God under the late fiery dispensation is this viz That there are worse Judgements than the Judgement of fire which God might but has not inflâ—cted upon you Let me evidence the truth of this in these five particulars First The bloody Sword is a more dreadful Judgement than that of fire Fire may consume a mans house and his estate but the Sword cuts off a mans life Now at what a poor
light matter that I may escape eternal torments â— can endure the stinging of Gnats that I might not endure the stinging of conscience and the gnawing of that Worm that never dies this heat thou thinkâ—st griâ—vous I can easily endure when I think of the eternal fire of Hell these sufferings are but short but the sufferings of hâ—ll are eternal Certainly infernal fire is neither tolerable nor terminable The extremity and eternity of hellish torments is set forth by the Worm that never dieth Christ at the close of his Sermon makes a threefold repetition of this Worm Mark 9. 44. Where their Worm dieth not And again ver 46. Where their Worm dieth not And again ver 40. Where their Worm dieth not and their fire goeth not out Certainly those punishments are beyond all conception and expression which our Lord Jesus doth so often inculcate within so small a pace In Hell there 's nothing heard but yells and cryes A Pentelogia dolor inferni In Hell the Fire never slacks nor Worm never dyes But where this Hell is plac'd my Muse stop there Lord shew me what it is but never where To Worm and Fire to torments there No term he gave they cannot wear Prudentius the Poet. If after so many millions of years as there be drops in the Ocean there might be a deliverance out of hell This would yield a little case a little comfort to the damned O but this word Eternity Eternity Eternity this word Everlasting Everlasting Everlasting will even break the hearts of the damned in ten thousand pieces There is scarce any pain or torment here on earth but there is ever some hope of ease mitigation or intermission there is some hope of relief or delivery but in hell the torments there are all easeless remediless and endless Here if one fall into the fire he may like a brand be pulled out of it and saved but out of that fiery Lake there is no redemption That Majesty that the sinner hath offended and provoked is an infinite Majesty Now there must be some proportion betwixt the sinners sin and his punishment and torment Now the sinner being a finite creature he is not capable of bearing the weight of that punishment or torment that is intensively infinite because it would be his abolishing or annihilating and therefore he must bear the weight of that punishment or torment that is extensively infinite namely duratione infinita infinite in the continuance and endurance What is wanting in torment must be made up in time Everlasting Fire and everlasting punishment in the New Testament Matth. 25. 2 Thess 1. 7 8 9 10 c. Vide August l. 21. c. 23. c. 24. de civitate Dei is directly opposed to eternal life to that blessed state of the righteous which will never have an end And therefore according to the Rules and Maximes of right reason doth necessarily import a punishment of the same duration that the reward is Now the Reward of the Saints in that other world is granted on all hands to be everlasting to be eternal and therefore the punishment of the damned can't be but everlasting and eternal too The Rewards of the Elect shall never be ended therefore the punishment of the damned shall never be ended because as the mercy of God is infinite towards the elect so the Justice of God is infinite towards the Reprobate in hell The Reprobate shall have punishment Drexel without pity misery without mercy sorrow without succour crying without compassion mischief without measure and torment without end All men in misery comfort themselves with hope of an end The Prisoner with hope of a Gaol-delivery the Marriner with the hope of his arrival in a safe harbour the Souldier with hope of victory the Prentice with hope of liberty the Gally-slave with the hope of ransome only the impenitent sinner hath no hope in hell He shall have end without end death without death night without day mourning without mirth sorrow without solace and bondage without liberty The damned shall live as long in hell as God himself There is not a Christian which doth not believe the fire of heâ—l to be everlasting Dr. Jackson on the Creed l. 11. c. 23. shall live in heaven their imprisonment in that Land of darkness in that bottomless pit is not an imprisonment during the Kings pleasure but an imprisonment during the everlasting displeasure of the King of Kings Suppose say some that the whole world were turned to a Mountain of Sand and that a little Wren should come every thousandth year and carry away from that heap one grain of sand what an infinite number of years not to be numbred by all finite beings would be spent and expired before this supposed Mountain could be fetcht away Now if a man should lye in everlasting burnings so long a time and then have an end of his wo it would administer some ease refreshment and comfort to him But when that immortal Bird shall have carried away this supposed Mountain a thousand If the fire of Hell were terminable it might then be tolerable but being endless it must needs be easeless and â—emediless We may well say of it as one doth O killing life Oh immortal death Bellar. de arte moriendi l. 2. c. 3. times over and over alas alas man shall be as far from the end of his anguish and torment as ever he was He shall be no nearer coming out of hell than he was the very first moment that he entered into hell Suppose say others that a man were to endure the torments of hell as many years and no more as there be sands on the Sea-shore drops of water in the Sea Stars in heaven leaves on the trees piles of grass on the ground hairs on his head yea upon the heads of all the sons of Adam that ever were or are or shall be in the world from the beginning of it to the end of it yet he would comfort himself with this poor thought Well there will come a day when my misery and torment shall certainly have an end But wo and alas this word Never Never Never will fill the hearts of the damned with the greatest horror and terror wrath and rage amazement and astonishment Suppose say others that the torments of hell were to end after a little Bird should have emptied the Sea and only carry out her Bill full once in a thousand years Suppose say others that the whole world from the lowest earth to the highest heavens were filled with grains of sand and once in a thousand years an Angel should come and fetch away one grain and so continue till the whole heap were spent Suppose say others if one of the damned in hell should weep after this manner viz That he should only let fall one tear in a hundred years and thesâ— should be kept together till such time as they should equâ—l the drops of water in the
He can't look upon iniquity and not loath it he can't behold iniquity and approve of it or delight in it God has a Soverainty over all your persons and concernments in this world and therefore he may do with you and all that is yours as he pleaseth upon this account you ought to say The Lord is righteous though he hath laid your habitations desolate and burnt up your houses before your eyes It s true God has dealt severely with London but he might have dealt more severely with it he might have burnt up Lam. 3. 22. every house and he might have consumed every inhabitant in Londons flames He might have made good that sad word upon them They shall go from one fire and another fire shall Ezek. 15. 7. devour them The Citâ—zens of London may say with good Ezra God hath punished us less than our iniquities deserve and therefore it highly concerns them to say The Lord is righteous All that God doth is good you know what Hâ—zekiah said 2 Kings 20. 19. Good is the word of the Lord. This was a hard word a sad word that all his treasure should be carried unto Babylon and his Sons also and made Servants there and yet he saith Good is the word of the Lord. What ever God doth is good God in that he is good saith One Luâ—her in Psalm 120. can give nothing do nothing but that which is good others do frequently he cannot possibly Upon this account also it concerns us to say The Lord is righteous though our See more of this in my Mute Chrâ—stiaâ— City be laid desolate 'T is better to be under a fiery Rod than to be wallowing in the mire of sin 'T is better that London should be laid desolate than that God should say England farwell That 's a Christian worth Gold who can seriously heartily and habitually say The Lord is righteous though all our pleasant things are laid desolate I would say the Lord is righteous but by this fiery dispensation Object I am turned out of house and home Now in answer to this Objection give me leave to enquire Answ First Whether your house was dedicated to the Lord by fasting and prayer or not If it were only dedicated to the Deut. 20. 5. service of sin Satan or the world no wonder if the Lord has turned it into a heap But Secondly Give me leave to enquire Whether you had set up Christ and holiness and holy orders in your house or no See Psal 101. Did you in good earnest resolve with Joshua That you and your house would serve the Lord Josh 24. 15. If not no wonder if the Lord has laid your habitations desolate But Thirdly Give me leave to enquire Whether you did labour and endeavour to the utmost of what you were able that Christ might have a Church in your house or no Col. 4. 15. Salute the Brethren which are in Lâ—odicea and Nymphas and the Church which is in his house that is saith Dr. Hammond which meets together in his house 1 Cor. 16. 19. The Churches of Asia salute you Aquila and Priscilla See Dr. Hammoâ—d on this Scripture Vâ—d Bâ—sh Dav Cottoâ— Beza Scultâ—â—us Ambros c. salute you much in the Lord with the Church that is in their house Philemon v. 2. And to our beloved Apphia and Archippus our fellow Souldier and to the Church in thy house Philemons house was a publick meeting-house where the faithful had their Assemblies and so continued for many years after as Theodoret and others witnesseth Some understand this last Scripture of the Church which kept their Assemblies in Philemons house Others understand it of his household which was as a little Church in his house Rom. 16. 5. Likewise greet the Church that is in their house Chrysostome by the Church in their house understands their Christian Family who saith he were so godly as to make their whole house the Church Origen interpreteth it of the faithful and ready Ministry of these servants of the Lord in entertaining of the Saints in their house 3. Theophylact thinketh it to be called the Church in their house because the faithfull were entertained there 4. But beside this it seemeth that their house was a place for the Saints to Assemble in there the Congregation used to come together Martyr 5. The last thing in their praise was that they had a Church in their house either for that their family for their godly order observed in it seemed to be a Church or else for the faithful gathered together in their house to celebrate their Assemblies for they might not have in most places the free use of their Christian Religion through the malice of the Jewes on the one hand and the rage of the Gentiles on the other hand Consult Acts 13. and 14. Wilson In this great City of Rome there were divers Assemblies of Believers which were held in some private mens houses where they might meet safest the state then and some hundred years after not permitting them any publick Temples or Auditories to meet in as our English Annotators observe upon the place In each particular family last cited there was a Church of Christ Now have you burnt Citizens made it your business to erect a Church of Christ in your particular families if so well it is with you though you have lost all If not do'nt wonder that God has laid your houses desolate Adam had a Church in his house so had Abraham and Jacob and Joshuah and David and Cornelius well governed Families may in some sense be well reputed Churches The house of George Prince of Anhalt for the good orders therein observed is said to have been Ecclâ—sia Academia Curia Ah London London it may be there might have been more houses standing within thy Walls than now there is if every particular house had been as a particular Church to Christ As for such houses where there were no exercises of Religion as for such houses where idleness cheating lying cursing swearing slandering gameing drunkenness uncleanness and riotousness were rampant They were rather the Devils Chappel than Christs Church and therefore it was just with God to lay such habitations desolate But Fourthly Give me leave to enquire whether you were friends or enemies to Gods house Now Gods house is his 2 Tim. 2. 20. Num. 12. 7. Josh 1. 2. Church and his Church is his house Heb. 3. 5 6. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant But Christ as a Son over his own house whose house are we 1 Pet. 2. 5. Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ So 1 Tim. 3. 15. That thou maist know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the house of God which is the Church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth Prov. 9. 1. Wisdom hath builded her house she
the more he laboured to block up the way of Christ the more passible As they said once of the Graeciaâ—s in the Epigramm whom they thought invuâ—nerable We shâ—ot at them but they fail not down we wound them but do'nt kill them See Exod. 1. 10 11 12 13. Acts 8. Acts 14. it became And what ever of Christ he thought to root out it rooted the deeper and rose the higher thereupon he resolved to engage no further but retired to a private life All the oppositions that the Dâ—vil and his instruments had raised against the Saints in all the ages of the world hath not diminished but encreased their number For the first three hundred years after Christ there was a most terible perfecution Historians tell us that by seven and twenty several sorts of deaths they tormented the poor people of God In these hot times of persecution many millions of Christians were destroyed And yet this was so far from diminishing of their number that it encreased their number for the more they were oppressed and perfecuted the more they were encreased And therefore some have well observed that though Julian used all means imaginable to suppress them yet he could never do it He shut up all their Schools that they might not have learning and yet never did learning more flourish than then He devised all manner of cruel torments to terrifie the Christians and to draw them from their holy faith and yet he saw that they encreased and multiplied so fast that he thought it his bâ—st course at last to give over his persecuting of the Saints not out of love but out of envy because that through his persecution they encreased This was represented unto Daniel Dan. 2. 34 35. in a vision Dan. 2. The Kingdom of Christ is set forth there by a little stone cut out of the Mountain without hands without art or industry without Engines and humane helps The stone was a growing stone and although in all the ages of the world there have been many hammers at work to break this stone in pieces yet they have not nor shall not prevail but the little stone shall grow more and more till it becomes a great Mountain and fills the whole earth And let this suffice for Answer to the first Objection I would justifie the Lord I would say he is righteous though Object 2 my house â—e burnt up but I have lost my goods I have lost my estate yea I have lost my all as to this world and how then can I sâ—y the Lord is righteous how can I justifie that God which has even stript me as naked as the day wherein I was born c. To this I answer Answ First Dâ—dst thou gain thy estate by just or unjust wayes and means If by unjust wayâ—s and means then be silent before the Lord. If â—y just wayes and means then know that the Lord will lay in that of himself and of his Son and of his Spirit and of his Grace and of Heavens glory that shall make up all thy losses to thee But Secondly Did you improve your estates for the glory of God and the good of others or did you not If not why do you complain If you did the reward that shall attend you at the long run may very well bear up your spirits under all your losses Consult these Scriptures 1 Cor. 1. 15. 2 Cor. 9. 6. Eccles 11. 1. Gal. 6. 7 8. Isa 32. 20. Isa 55. 10. Prov. 11. 18. Rev. 22. 12. But Thirdly What Trade did you drive Christ-wards and Heaven-wards and Holiness-wards If you did drive either The Stars which have least circuit are nearest the Pole and men that are least perplexed with business are commonly nearest to God no Trade heaven-wards or but a slender or inconstant Trade heaven-wards and holiness-wards never wonder that God by a fiery dispensation has spoiled your Civil Trade Doubtless there were many Citizens who did drive a close secret sinful Trade who had their by wayes and back-doors some to uncleanness others to merry meetings and others to secret Gaming Now if thou wert one of them that didst drive a secret Trade of sin never murmur because thy house is burnt and thy Trade destroyed but rather repent of thy secret Trade of sin and wonder that thy body is not in the grave and that thy soul is not a burning in everlasting flames Many there were in London who had so great a Trade so full a Trade so constant a Trade that they had no time to mind the everlasting concernments of their precious souls and the great things of Eternity They had so much to There were many who sacrificed their prâ—ciâ—us â—â—me â—â—ther to 〈◊〉 the Mâ—niâ—tâ—r of sleep or to Baccâ—us the Gâ—d of Wine or to 〈◊〉 â—he Goddes◠〈◊〉 Bâ—auty 〈◊〉 iâ— all â—ere due to the Bâ—d the Tavern and the â—rothel-house Numb 22. 32. 2 Pet 1. 10. do on Earth that they had no time to look up to Heaven as once the Dake of Alva told the King of Fraâ—ce Sr. Thomas More saith there is a Devil called negâ—tiuâ— business thâ—â— carrieth more souls to Hell then all the Dâ—vâ—â—s in Hell beside Many Citizens had so many Irons in the fire and were cumbred about with so many things that theâ— wholly neglected the one thing necessary and therefore it was but just with God to visit them with a fiery Rod. Look as much earth puts out the fire so much worldly bâ—siness puts out the fire of heavenly affections Look as the earth swallowed up Korah Dathan and Abiram so much worldly business swallows up so much precious time that many men have no leisure to secure their interest in Christ to make their calling and election sure to lay up treasure in Heaven to provide for eternity and if this have been any of your cases who are now burnt up it highly concerns you to justifie the Lord and to say he is righteous though he has burnt up your habitatâ—ons and destroyâ—d your Trade 'T is sad when a crowd of worldly business shall crowd God and Christ and Duty out of dooâ—s Many Citizens did drive so great a Publick Trade in their Shops that their private Trade to Heaven was quite laid by Such who were so busie about their Farm and their Merchandise that they had See Luke 14. 16. 22. no leisure to attend their souls concernments had their City set on fire about their ears Matth. 22. 5. But they made light of it that is of all the free rich and noble offâ—rs of Grace and mercy that God had made to them and went their wayes one to his farm another to his Merchandise Ver. 7. But when the King heard thereof he was wroth and he sent forth his Armies that is the Romans and destroyed those murderers and burnt up their City It is observable that the Exod. 20. 9. Vidâ— Exod. 29. 38 39. Numb 28. 3. Deut. 6. 6 7 8. Jews who were
commanded six dayes to labour were also commanded to offer Morning and Evening Sacrifice daily They had their Morning Sacrifice when they entred upon their work and they had their Evening Sacrifice when they ended their work Their particular callings did not steal away their hearts from their general callings The Jews divided the day into three parts the first ad Tephilla orationem Wâ—emse Mor. Law p. 223. to prayer the second ad Torah legem for the reading of the Law the third ad Malacha opus for the works of their lawful callings Although they were dayes appointed for work yet they gave God his part they gave God a share of them every day God who is the Lord of all time hath reserved to himself a part of our time every day And therefore mens particular callings ought to give way to their general calling But alas before London was in flames many mens Oh that I could not say most mens particular callings swallowed up their general calling The noise is such in a Mill as hinders all intercourse betwen man and man So many of the burnt Citizens had such a multitude of worldly businesses lying upon their hands and that made such a noise as that all intercourse between God and them was hindered Seneca one of the most refined Heathens could say I do not give but only lend my self to my business I am afraid this Heathen will one day rise in Judgement against those burnt Citizens who have not lended themselves to their business but wholly given up themselves to their business as if they had no God to honour no souls to save no Hell to escape nor no Heaven to make sure But Fourthly Job lost all and recovered all again he lost a fair estate and God doubles his estate to him So David Compare the first and last Chapters of Job together lâ—st all and recovered all again 1 Sam. 30. 18. And David recovered all that the Amalakites had carried away and David rescued his two wives Ver. 19. And there was nothing lacking to them neither small nor great neither Sons nor Daughters neither spoil nor any thing that they had taken to them David recovered all Here the end was better than the beginning but the contrary befell the Amalekites who a little before had framed Comoedies out of poor Ziklags Tragoedies In the beginning of the Chapter you may see that David had lost all that ever he had in the world All the spoil that he Verse 1 2 3 4 5. had taken from others were gone his Corn gone his Cattel gone his Wives gone and his City burnt with fire and turned into a ruinous heap so that he had not a house a habitation in all the world to put his head in he had nothing left him but a poor grieved madded and enraged Army The people spâ—ke of stoning of him but what Verse 6. was the event now why David recovers all again O Sirs when a Christian is in greatest distress when he hath Remember that of Zeno who said he never sailed better than when he suffered shipwrack lost all when he is not worth one penny in all the world yet then he hath a God to go to at last David encouraged himself in the Lord his God A Christians case is never so desperate but he hat still a God to go to When a Christian has lost all the best way to recover all again is to encourage himself in the Lord his God God sometimes stripâ— his people of outward mercies and then restores to them again those very mercies that he had stript them off I have read a story of a poor man that God served fâ—ithfully and yet was oppressed cruelly having all his goods taken from him by an exacting Knight whereupon in a melancholy humour he perswaded himself that God was dead who had formerly been so faithful to him and now as he thought had left him It so fell out that an old man met him and desired him to deliver a Letter into the hands of his oppressor upon the receipt and perusal of which the Knight was so convinced that immediately he confessed his fault and restored the poor man his goods which made the poor man say Now I see that God may seem to sleep but can never dye If God has taken away all yet remember that God has a thousand thousand wayes to make up all thy losses to thee which thou knowest not of therefore do'nt murmur don't fret do'nt faint nor do'nt limit the Holy One of Israel If thou madest no improvement of thy house thy estate thy Trade then 't is thy wisdom and thy work rather to be displeased with thy self for thy non improvement of mercies than to be discontented at that hand of Heaven that hath deprived thee of thy mercies Remember Oh ye burnt Citizens of London that you are not the first that have lost your all Besides the instances already cited you must remember what they suffered in the tenth and eleventh Chapters of the Hebrews and you must remember that in the Ten Persecutions many thousands of the people of God were stript of their all and so were very many also in the Marian dayes who shrugs or complains of a common Lot It was grace upon the Throne that thou enjoyedst thy house thy estate thy Trade so long and therefore it concerns thee to be rather thankful that thy mercies were continued so long unto thee than to murmur because thou art now stript of all But Fifthly When all is gone yet mercy may be near and thou not see it When Hagars Bottle was empty the Well Gen. 21. 19. of Water was near though she saw it not Mercies many times are never nearer to us than when with Hagar we sit down and weep because our bottle is empty because our streams of mercy are dried up The Well was there before but she saw it not till her eyes were â—pened Though mercy be near though it be even at the door yet till the great God shall irradiate both the Organ and the object we can neither see our mercies nor suck the breasts of mercy Christ the spring of mercy the fountain of mercy was near the Disciples yea he talked with the Disciples and yet they Luke 24. 15. knew him not Look as dangers are nearest to wicked men when they see them not when they fear them not As Haman Esther 6. was nearest the Gallows when he thought himself the only man that the King would honour And so when Sisâ—ra dreamed of a Kingdom Jael was near with her Hammer Judges 4. and her Nail ready to fasten him to the ground And so when Agag said Surely the bitterness of death is past Samuel 1 Sam. 15 32 33. stood ready with his drawn Sword to cut him in pieces in Gilgal before the Lord. So when Pharaoh said They are entangled Exod. 14. 3 Cha. 15. 9. 10. in the Land the Wilderness hath shut
times so dark intricate and mysterious that it will pose men of the most raised parts and of the choicest experiences and of the greatest Graces to be able to discern the wayes of God in them There are many mysteries in the works of God as well as in the word of God But Thirdly Sometimes Gods own people sin with others and therefore they smart with others Thus Moses and Aaron sinned with others and therefore they were shut out of Canaan and their Carkasses fell in the Wilderness as well as Numb 20. others Psal 106. 35. They were mingled among the Heathen and learned their works Verse 40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people insomuch that he abhorred his inheritance Jer. 9. 25 26. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised Egypt and Judah and Edom and the children of Ammon and Moab and all that are in the utmost corners that dwell in the Wilderness for all these Nations are uncircumcised Vid. Rom. 2. 28 29. and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart Such as were outwardly but not inwardly circumcised should be sure to be punished in the day of Gods wrath with those who were neither inwardly nor outwardly circumâ—ised When the good and the bad joyn in common provocations Ezek. 9. 6. Rev. 18. 4. 1 Pet. 4 17. no wonder if they suffer in common desolations Though gross impieties like Pitch or Gunpowder enrages â—he fire yet the sins the infiâ—mities of Gods people add to the flame Not only Manâ—ssâ—s his blood-shed but also good Hâ—zâ—kiahs pride and vanity of spirit boasting and glorying in his wâ—rldly riches brought on the Babylonish Captivity 2 Chron 32. upon the Jâ—ws But Fourâ—hly The people of God many times suffer in common calamities as they are parts and members of that Politick 2. Sam. 24. 10. 10 18. body that is punished The sins of a City a Society a Company oâ— a Nation may involve all the membâ—rs in the same Judgement Though Lot was not guilty of the sins of Gen. 14. 12 16. Common caâ—amities make no discrimination between persons and persons or houses and houses All comâ—on Judgements work according to their commission and according to their nature without distâ—nguishing the righteous from the wicked Sodom yet Lot was carried away in the Captivity of Sodom as co-habiting with them And so though many of the precious Servants of the Lord in London were not guilty of those gross impieties that their neighbours were guilty of yet co-habiting either with them or near them they were burnt up and destroyed with them Achans Family were not guilty of Achans Sacriledge and yet Achans Family were destroyed for Achans Sacriledge The burning of London was a National Judgement and this National Judgement was the product of National sins as I have formerly proved Now mark though the people of God may be personally innocent yet because they are members of a nocent body they are liable to undergo the temporal smart of National Judgements Doubtless a whole City may be laid desolate for the wickedness of one man or of a few men that dwelleth in it Eccles 9. 18. One sinner destroyeth much good But Fifthly When good men who can't be justly charged with publick sins do yet fall with wicked men by publick judgements you must remember that God has several different ends in inflicting one and the same Judgements both upon the good and upon the bad The mettal and the dross go Zech. 13. 9. Eccl. 8. 12 13. both into the fire together but the dross is consumed and the mettal refined The stalk and the ear of corn fall upon the threshing floor under one and the same Flayl but the one is shattered in pieces the other is preserved From one and the same Olive and from under one and the same Press is crushed out both Oyl and dâ—egs but the one is tunn'd up for use the other thrown out as unserviceable The samâ— Judgements that befall the wicked may befall the righteous but not upon the same accompt The righteous are cast into the Furnance for tryal but the wicked for their ruine The righteous are signally sanctified by fiery dispensations Jer. 24. 1 2 3 5. but the wicked are signally worsened by the same dispensations The very self same Judgement that is as a Load-stone to draw the righteous towards Heaven will be as a Mill-stone to sink the wicked down to Hell The Pillar of fire that went before Israel had a light side and a dark side Exod. 14. 20. the light side was towards Gods people and the dark side was towards the Egyptians Thâ— flames of London will prove such a Pillar both to the righteous and the wicked That will certainly be made good upon the righteous and the wicked whose habitations have been destroyed by Londons flames that the Greek Epigramm speaks of the Silver Ax the Ensign of Justice That Sword that cuts the bad in Twain The good doth wound and heal again Those dreadful Judgements that have been the Ax of Gods revenging Justice to wound and break the wicked in pieces shall be righteous mens cures and their Golden restoratives But Sixthly and lastly God sometimes wraps up his own people with the wicked in desolating Judgements that he may before all the world wipe off that reproach which Atheists and wicked men are apt to cast upon him as if he were partial as if he were a respecter of persons and as if his wayes Ezek. 18. 25. 29. Chap. 33. 20. were not just and equall God to stop the mouth of iniquity the mouth of blasphemy hath made his own people as desolate as others by that fiery calamity that has past upon them Such men that have been eye witnesses of Gods impartial dealing with his own people in those dayes when London was in flames must say that God is neither partial nor fond And let thus much suffice by way of Answer to this Objection The third Duty that lyes upon those that have been burnt up is for them in patience to possess their own souls and Luke 21. 19. quietly to acquiesce in what the Lord has done O Sirs hold your peace and bridle your passions and quietly submit to the stroke of Divine Justice When Aarons Sons were devoured by fire Aaron held his peace And will not Lev. 10. 2 3. The Hebrew word Damam â—ignifies sience or stilâ—ess it signifies a staying of the heart a quieting of the mind Aarons mind was quiet and still all his unruly affections and passions were stilled and allayed Oleaste observes that Joshuah in speaking to the Sun Staâ—d still in Gibeon useth the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is here used Joshua 12. 10. So that this Phrase Aaâ—on hâ—ld his peace imports thus much That Aaâ—oâ— stood still or stayed from further vexing or troubling or disquieting of
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
call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble Oh the precious presence of God with a mans spirit will sweeten every fiery dispensation and take off much of the bitterness and terribleness of it In the gracious presence of God with our spirits lyes 1. Our greatest Happiness 2. Our greatest Honor. 3. Our greatest profit and advantage 4. Our greatest joy and delight 5. Our greatest safety and security The Bush which was a Type of the Church consumed not all the while it burned with fire because God was in the midst of it The gracious presence of God with a mans spirit 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. will make heavy afflâ—ctions light and long afflictions short and bitter afflictions sweet Gods gracious presence makes every burden light He that has the presence of God with Psal 55. 22. his spirit can bear a burden without a burden What burden Deut. 33. 27 29. can sink that man that hath everlasting Armes under him and over him and round about him But Secondly There is wisdom in God to encourage them under all their tryals There is wisdom in God so to temper Jer. 24. 5. Rom. 8. 28. and order all judgements afflictions crosses and losses as to make them work kindly and sweetly for their good Whilst God is near us wisdom and counsel is at hand God is that wise and skilful Physitian that can turn Poyson into Cordials Diseases into Remedies Crosses into Crowns and the greatest losses into the greatest gains What can hurt us whilst an infinite wise God stands by us But Thirdly There is strength power and omnipotency in God to encourage them There is nothing too high for Prov. 18. 10. Psal 46. 1 2. Isa 26. 4. Psal 3. 17. him nor nothing too hard for him he is able easily and speedily to bring to pass all contrivances You read of many who have been mighty but you read but of one Almighty Rev. 4. 8. Holy holy holy Lord God Almighty Chap. 11. 17. We give thee thanks Lord God Almighty Chap. 15. 3. Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty Chap. 16. 7. And I heard another out of the Altar say c. Even so Lord God Almighty true and righteous are thy judgements Under all your fiery tryals an Almighty God can do mighty things for you And therefore it concerns you to encourage your selves in him even when you are stript of all O Christians it highly concerns you to beâ—r all your losses chearfully and thankfully In every thing give thanks saith the 1 Thes 5. 18. Apostle for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you Chrysostom speaks excellently This saith he is the very Châ—ysost Toâ— 5. Hoâ—â—l 68. will of God to give thanks alwayes this argues a soul rightly instructed Hast thou suffered any evil if thou wilt it is no evil Give thanks to God and then thou hast turned the evil into good Say thou as Job said when he had lost all The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. What evil hast thou suffered What is it a disease This is no strange thing to us seeing our bodies are mortal and naturally born to suffer What dost thou want money this may be gotten here and lost here Whatsoever evils or losses therefore do oppress thee give thou thanks and thou haâ—â— changed the nature of them Job then did more deeply wound the Devil when being stript out of all he gave thanks to God than if he had distributed all to the poor and needy For it is much more to be stript of all and yet to bear it patiently generously and thankfully than for a rich man to give Alms as it here happened to righteous Job But hath fire suddenly taken hold upon thy house destroyed thy house and consumed thy whole substance Remember the sufferings of Job Give thanks to God who could though he did not have hindered that mischance and thou shalt be sure to receive as equal a reward as if thou hadst put all into the bosome of the indigent This he repeateth over again and saith thy reward being thankful is equal to his who gave all he had to the poor To wind up your hearts to thankfulness and chearfulness under this late desolating Judgement Consider 1. God might have taken away all 'T is good to bless When a Gentleman in Atheis had his Plate taken away by Ahashueâ—us as he was at dinner he smiled upon his friends saying I thank God that his Highness hath left me any thing him for what he has left 2. He has taken away more from others than he has taken away from you ergo be thankful 3. You are unworthy of the least mercy you deserve to be stript of every mercy and therefore be thankful for any thing that is left God has a Soveraign right over all you have and might have stript you as naked as the day wherein you were born 4. God has left you better and greater merciâ—s than any those were that he has stript you off viz. your lives your limbs your friends your Relations yea and the means of Grace which is better than all and more than all other mercies ergo be thankful 5. The Lord has given those choice things to you as shall never be taken from you viz. himself his Son his Spirit which shall abide with you for ever his Grace which is an abiding seed and his peace which none can give to you nor take from you John 16. 1 John 3. 9. ergo be thankful though God has laid all your pleasant things desolate 6. Thankfulness under crosses and losses speak out much integrity and ingenuity of Spirit Hypocrites and prophane persons are more apt to blaspheme than to bless a taking God ergo be thankful The Ancients say Ingratum dixeris omnia dixeris say a man is unthankful and say he is any thing Ingratitude is a Monster in nature say some a Solecism in Manners a Paradox in Grace damming up the course of donations divine and humane If there be any sin in the world against the Holy Ghost said Queen Elizabeth in a Letter to Henry the fourth of France it is ingratitude The Laws of Persia Macedonia and Athens condemned the ungrateful to death and unthankfulness may well be styled the Epitome of Vices Ingratitude was so hateful to the Egyptians that they used to make Eunuchs of ungrateful persons that no posterity of theirs might remain Well Sirs remember this the best way to get much is to be thankful for a little God loves to sow much where he reaps much Thankfulness for one mercy makes way for another mercy as many thousand Christians have experienced The Lords Impost for all his blessings is our thankfulness if we neglect to pay this Impost the commodity is forfeit and so will take it back Our returnes must be according to our receipts Good men should be
This is spoken of the King of Babylon who though he had gathered to him all Nations and people yea and all their vast Treasures also Isa 10. 13. I have robbed their treasures ver 14. And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of his people and as one gathereth Eggs that are left have I gathered all the earth and there was none that moved the wing or opened the mouth or peeped And yet for all this was his desire enlarged as Hell and could not be satisfied The desires of worldlings are boundless and endless and there is no satisfying of them 'T is not all the Gold of Ophir or Peru nor all the Pearls or Mines of India 't is not Josephs Chains nor Davids Crowns nor Hamans Honours nor Daniels Dignities nor Dives his riches that can satisfie an immortal soul Tenthly The little that the righteous man hath is more stable durable and lasting than the riches of the wicked and therefore his little is better than their much his mite Job 5. 20 21 22. is better than their millions Psal 34. 9 10. O fear the Lord ye his Saints for there is no want to them that fear him The young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing Such as are separated from the worlds lusts can live with a little Such as set up God as the object of their fear have no cause to fear the want of any thing When David was a captive amongst the Philistins he wanted nothing Paul had nothing and yet 2 Cor. 6. 10. possessed all things A godly man may want many good things that he thinks to be good for him but he shall never Heb. 13 5 6. Prov. 10. 3 want any good thing that the Lord knows to be good for him We do not esteem of Tenure for life as we do of freehold because life is a most uncertain thâ—ng Ten pound a year for ever is better than a hundred in hand All the promises are Gods Bonds and a Christian may put them in suit when he will and hold God to his word and that not only for his spiritual and eternal life but also for his natural life his temporal life but so can't the wicked The temporal Prov. 10. 3. Psalm 37. 34 35 36. Jer. 17. 11. Job 20. 20. ult estate of the wicked is seldom long-liv'd as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margent together Alexander the Great Conqueror of the world caused to be painted on a Table a Sword in the compass of a Wheel shewing thereby that what he had gotten by the Sword was subject to be turned about the wheel of Providence There is no more hold to be had of riches honours or preferments than Saul had of Samuels lap They do but like the Rainbow shew themselves in all their dainty colours and then vanâ—sh away There are so many sins and so many crosses and so many curses that usually attend the riches of the wicked that 't is very rare to see their estates long-liv'd Hence their great estates are compared to the Chaffe which a puff of wind disperseth to the Grass which the scorching Sun quickly withers to the tops of Corn which are soon Job 24. 24. cut off and to the unripe Grape Job 15. 33. He shall shake off his unripe Grape as the Vine and shall cast off his flower as the Olive Every dayes experience confirms us in this truth But Eleventhly and lastly The little that the righteous man hath is better than the riches of the wicked in respâ—ct of his last reckoning in respâ—ct of his last accounts God will never call his childrâ—n in the great dâ—y either to the book or to thâ— bâ—r for the mercies that he has given them be they few or be they many be they great or be they small Though the Mercer brings his Customer to the book for what he has and for what he wears yet he never brings his Child to the book for what he has and for what he wears Though the Vintner or Inn-keeper brings their guest to the barr for the provisions they have yet they never bring their children to the barr for the provisions they make for them In the great day the Lord will take an exâ—ct account of all the good Matth. 25. that his children have done for others but he will never bring them to an account for what he has done for them Christ in this great day will 1. Remember all the individual offices of love and friendship that hath been shewed to any of his members 2. He will mention many good things which his children did which they themselvâ—s never minded Verse 37. 3 The least and lowest acts of love and pity that have been shewed to Christs suffering servants shall be interpreted Verse 40. as a special kindness shewed to himself 4. The recompence that Christ will give to his people in Verse 44 46. that day shall be exceeding great Here is no calling of them to the book or to the barr for the merciâ—s that they were entrusted with But O the sad the great accounts that the wicked have to give up for all their Lands and Lordships for all their Honors Offices Dignities and Riches To whom Luke 12. 48. much is given much shall be required Christ in the great day will reckon with all the Grandees of the world for every thousand for every hundred for every pound yea for every penny that he has entrusted them with All Princes Rev. 6. 15 16 17. Luke 16. 2. Eccles 12. 14. Nobles and people that are not interested in the Lord Jesus shall be brought to the book to the barr in the great day to give an account of all they have received and done in the flesh But Christs darlings shall then be the only welcome guess Matth. 25. 34. Then shall the King say to them on his right hand come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Before the world was founded the Saints were crowned in Gods eternal counsel Here is no mention made of the book or the Some of the more refined Heathen have had some kind of dread and fear in their spirits upon the consideration of a day of account as the writings of Plato and Tully c. do sufficiently evidence barr but of a Kingdom a Crown a Diadem Now by these eleven Arguments 't is most evident that the little that the righteous man hath is better than the riches of the wicked the righteous mans mite is better than the wicked mans millions But The eighth Maxim that I shall lay down to put a stop to your too eager pursuit after the things of this world is this viz. That the life of man consists not in the enjoyment of these earthly things which he is so apt inordinately to affect Luke 12. 15. And he said unto
Neh. 3. 1. Jer. 35. 11. is a soul out of Gun-shot no Devil shall there tempt no wicked men shall there assault no fire-balls shall be there cast about to disturb the peace of the heavenly inhabitants Secondly A City is compact it is made up of many habitations so in Heaven there are many habitations many Iohn 14. 2. Mansions In our common Cities many times the inhabitants are much shut up and streightned for want of room out in Heaven there is Elbow-room enough not only for God and Christ and the Angels those glistering and shineing Courteours but also for all bâ—lievers for all the elect â—f God Thirdly A City hath sundry degrees of pâ—rsons appertaining unto it as chief Magistrates and other Officers of Heb. 12. 22 23. sundry sorts with a multitude of Commoners So in Heaven there is God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost and an innumerable company of Angels and â—aints Fourthly In a City you have all manner of provisions and useful commodities so in Heaven there is nothing wanting that is needful or useful Fifthly A City hath Laws Statutes and Orders for the better Government thereof 't is so in Heaven and indeed there is no Government to the Government that is in Heaven Certainly there is no Government that is managed with that Love Wisdom Prudence Holiness and Righteousness c. as the Government of Heaven is managed with Sixthly Every City hath its peculiar priviledges and immunities so it is in Heaven Heaven is a place of the greatest Rev. 3. 12. priviledges and immunities Seventhly Cities are commonly very populous and so is Heaven a very populous City Dan. 7. 10. Rev. 5. 11. Rev. 7. 9. Eighthly None but Free-men may Trade and keep open Shop in a City so none shall have any thing to do in Heaven Rev. 21. 27. but such whose name are written in the Lambs Book of Life Believers are the only persons that are inrolled as Freemen in the Records of the heavenly City Ninthly Cities are full of earthly riches and so is Heaven of glorious Riches there are no riches to the riches of Isa 23. 8. Rev. 21. the heavenly Jerusalem All the riches of the most famoâ—s Cities in the world are but Dross Brass Copper Tinn c. to the riches of Heaven O Sirs how should the consideration of these things work us all to look and long and to prepare and fit for this heavenly City this continuing City this City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God The Holy Ghost frequently calling believers Pilgrims sojourners strangers Heb. 11. 13. 1 Pet. 2 11. Psal 119. 54 doth sufficienâ—ly evidence that there is no abiding for them in this world this world is not their Countrey their City their home their habitation and therefore they are not to place their hopes or hearts or affections upon things below Heaven is their chief City their best Countrey their Col. 3. 1 2. most desirable home and their everlasting habitation and Luke 16. 9. Rev. 22. 17. therefore the hopes desires breathings longings and workings of their souls should still be heaven-ward glory-ward Oh when shall grace be swallowed up in glory when shall John 14. 2 3 4 we take possession of our eternal Mansions when shall we be with Christ which for us is best of all The late fire Phil. 1. 23. hath turned all ranks and sorts of men out of the houses where they once dwelt and it will not be long before death will turn the same persons out of their present habitations and carry them to their long homes Death will turn Princes Eccles 12. 5. out of their most stately Palaces and great men out of their most sumptuous Edifices and rich men out of their most pleasant houses and warlike men out of their strongest Castles and poor men out of their meanest Cottages The Princes Palace the great mans Edifice the rich mans house the warlike mans Castle and the poor mans Cottage are of no long continuance O how should this awaken and alarm all sorts and ranks of men to seek after a City which hath foundations to make sure their interest in the New Jerusalem which is above in those heavenly Mansions that no time can wear nor flames consume But Sixteenthly and lastly Was London in flames on the Lords Day and was the prophanation of that day one of those great sins that brought that dreadful judgement of fire upâ—n London that hath turned that glorious City into a ruinous heap then Oh that all that have been sufferers by that â—amâ—ntable fire and all others also would make it their â—usiness their work their Heaven to sanctifie the Sabbath â—nd to keep it holy all their dayes that the Lord may be no more provoked to lay London more desolate than 't is laid this day Let it be enough that this day of the Lord hath been so greatly prophaned by sinful omâ—ssions and by sinful commissions by the Immorality Dâ—bauchery Gluttony Dâ—unkenness Wantoâ—ness Filthiness Uâ—cleanness Rioting Revelling and Chambering that multitudes were given up to before the Lord appeared against them in that flaming fire that hath laid our renowned City in Ashes Let it be enough that the Lord has been more dishonoured and blasphemed that Christ hath been more reproached despised and reâ—used and that the Spirit hath been more grieved vexed provoked and quenched on the Lords Day than on all the other dayes in the week Let it be enough that on this day of the Lord many have been a playing when they should â—ave been a praying and that many have been a sporting when they should have been a mourning for the afflictions of Joseph And that many have been a courting of their Amos 6. 6. Mistrisses when they should have been a waiting on the Ordinances And that many have been fitting at their doors when they should have been instructing of their families and that many have been walking in the Fields when they should have been a sighing and expostulating with God in their Clossâ—ts and that many have made that a day of common labour which God hath made to be a day of special rest from sin from the world and from their particular callings Oh that all men who have paid so dear for prophaning of Sabbaths would now bend all their force strength power and might to sanctifie those Sabbaths that yet they may enjoy on this side eternity c. But you will reply upon me How is the Sabbath to be sanctified Quest I shall endeavour to give a clear full and satisfactory Answer Answ to this necessary and noble Question And therefore take me thus First We are to sanctifie the Sabbath by resting from all servil labour and work on that day Exod. 20. 10. But the Exod. 16. 29 30. Neh. 13 15 16 17 18. seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy
encrease the graces the comforts the communions and the enjoyments of his people But Thirdly There is the eye of fury and indignation Gods looks can speak his anger as well as his blows His fury is visible by his frowns Mine eyes shall be upon them for evil Gods sight can wound as deeply as his sword He sharpneth Job 16. 9. his eyes upon me sâ—ith Job Wild Beasts when they fight whâ—t thâ—ir eyes as well as their teeth He sharpneth his eyes upon me as if he would stab me to the heart with a glance of his eye he that waits on God irreverently or worships him car lesly or that prophaneth his day either by corporalla boâ—r or spiritual Idleness may well expect an eye of fury to be fixt upon him Jer. 17. ult Ezâ—k 22. 26 31. Bâ—t Sâ—venthly You must sanctifie the Sabbath by pressing after immediate communion with God and Christ in all the duties â—sâ—lm 27. 4. â—salâ— 42. 1 2 â—sâ—â—m 43 4 Psaâ—m 63. 1 2 â—saâ—m 84. 1 2. of the day Oh do not take up in duties or Ordinances or priviledges or enlargâ—ments or meltings but press hard after intimate communion wiâ—h God in all you do Let no duty satisfie thy soul without communion with God in it Câ—n. 7. 4. The King is hil'd in the Galleries that is in his Oâ—dinances The Galleries the Ordinances without King Jesus be enjoyed in them will never satisfie the Spouse of Cant. 3. 1 2 3 4. Christ What is a purse without money or a Tâ—ble without meat or a Ship without a Pilot or a fountain without water or the body without the soul or the Sun without light or the Cabinet without the Jewels no more are all Ordinances and duties to a gracious soul without the enjoyment 2 Kings 2. 13 14. The Sea ebbs â—nd flowes the Mâ—on â—ncreaseâ— and decreases so it is with Saints in their communion with God in Ordinances sâ—metimes they rise and sometimes â—hey fall sometimes â—hey have more and sometimes less communion with God of God in them Moses had choice communion with God in the Mount and that satisfied him The Disciples had been with Jâ—sus and this was a spring of joy and life unto them John 20. 20. Then were the Disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Here is the Mantle of Elijah but where is the God of Elijah said Elisha So saith a gracious soul here is thâ—s Ordinance and that Ordinance but where is the God of the Ordinance Psalm 101. 2. O when wilt thou come unto me O Lord I come to one Ordinance and another Ordinance but when wilt thou come to me in the Ordinance when shall I be so happy as to enjoy thy self in the Ordinances that I enjoy The Waggons that Joseph sent to setch his Father were the means of bringing Joseph and his Father together All the Ordinances should be as so many Wagons to bring Christ and our souls nearer together Mans summum bonum stands in his communion with God aâ— Scripture and experience evidences Eâ—ghthly You must sanctifie the Sabbath by labouring after the highest pitches of grace and holiness on this day Every Christian should labour after an Angelical holiness on Isa 58. 13. this day on this day every Saint should walk like an earthly Angel Mark the Sabbath is not only called holy but holiness to the Lord Exod. 31. 15. Six dayes may work be done but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest holy to the Lord or as the Hebrew runs holiness to the Lord which shews that the day is exceeding holy and ought to be kept accordingly The Sacrifices on this day was to be double Numb 28. 9. And on the Sabbath day two Lambs of the first year without spot and two tenth deals of flower for a meat-offering mingled with Oyle and the drink-offering thereof The Sacrifices here appointed for every Sabbath day are full double to those appointed for every day ver 3. and yet the daily sacrifices the continual burnt-offering ver 10. was not omitted on the Sabbath day neither So that every Sabbath in the morning there was offered one Lamb for the daily sacrifice and then two Lambs more for the Sabbath and this was appointed 1. To shew the holiness of that day above other dayes and that God required more service from them on that day than he did on any other day Secondly To testifie their thankfulness for the worlds Exod. 20. 11. creation Thirdly To put them in remembrance of Gods bringing them out of Aegypt by a mighty hand and by a stretched Deut. 5. 15. out arm Fourthly For a sign of their sanctification by the Ezek. 20. 12. Heb. 4. Lord. Fifthly and lastly for to be a figure of grace and a sign of that rest in Heaven that Christ hath purchased for his people with his dearest blood Now mark as this day was a sign of more than ordinary favours from the Lord so he required greater testimonies of their thankfulness and holiness on this day than he did on any other day Every day should be a Sabbath to the Saints in regard of their ceasing to do evil and learning to do well but on the seventh day Sabbath our dutiâ—s and services should be doubled In Psâ—â— 92. which Psalm is titled a Psalm for the Sabbath there is mention made of morning and evening performances the variety of duties that are to be performed on this day may very well take up the whole day with delight and pleasure on this day in a more especial manner we should labour to do the will of God on earth as the Angels and Spirits of just men Heb. 12. 22 23. made perfect do it now in Heaven viz. wisely freely readily cheerfully saithfully seriously universally and unweariedly If we are not wanting to our selves God on this day will give out much of hâ—mself and much of his Christ and much of his Spirit and much of his grace into our souls But Ninthly You must sanctifie the Sabbath by managing all the duties of the day with inward reverence seriousness John 4. 23 24. and spiritualness 'T is the pleasure of God that we reverence his Sanctuary Lev. 19. 30. Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary I am the Lord. Twâ—ce in this Chapter the observation of the Sâ—bbath is commanded that it may be the better remembred and that men may know that it is not enough to rest on that day but that rest must be sanctified by a reverent management of all their soul concernments in all our drawings nigh to God We must look that our hearts lye under a holy awe and dread of his presence To the commandment of sanctifying Gods Sabbath this of reverencing his Sanctuary is joyned Gen. 28. 16 17. because the Sabbaths were the chief times whereon they resorted to the Sanctuary The Jews made a great stir about reverencing the Temple they tell us that they were not to go in with a
ye shall certainly drink ver 29. For lo I begin to bring evil on the City which is called by my name and should ye be utterly unpunished ye shall not be unpunished I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth saith the Lord of Hosts When Jerusalem hath drunk of the cup if God be God the Nations round shall certainly drink of it God hath begun with London poor London hath drunk deeply of the cup of Gods fury and therefore let the Nations round repent or prepare to drink of Londons cup. Most of those sins that bring the fiery Rod if not all are to be found in all the great Cities of the world And therefore let all the great Cities in France Spain Italy Germany Holland England Ireland Scotland c. take warning by Londons desolation and prepare to meet the Lord in the way of his fury let them cease from doing evil and learn to do well let them repent in dust and ashes lest they are laid in dust and ashes Let them break off their sins lest God throws down their walls and habitations by furious and devouring flames Let all those whose habitations are still standing remember that the same sins the same wrath and the same malicious hands that has laid so many thousand habitations desolate can lay theirs also desolate except they reform and turn to the Most High Fifthly It highly concerns you whose houses are standing monuments of Gods mercy to shew much love bowels pity Gen. 18. Psal 102. 13. 2 Cor. 11. 29. and compassion to those who are burnt up and turned out of all who are houseless harbourless and pennyless this day God takes it well at our hands when we pity those whom he thinks meet to punish One of Gods great ends in punishing of some is to stir up pity and compassion in others towards them It should melt your hearts to see other mens substances melted in the flames God hath threatned an Obad. 12. 13. evil an only evil without the least mixture of mercy to such as shew no mercy to those in misery Whoever have James 2. 13. behâ—ld London in its former prosperity and glory that cannot lament to see London laid desolate The ashes of London seems to cry out have pity upon me O my friends They that Jâ—b 6. 14. will not lament upon the burnt Citizens as the greatest objects of their pity may one day be ingulfed under the greatest misery He was a Nâ—bal a sapless fellow who shut up all bowels of pity against David in his misery They were cursed â— Sam. 25. 10 â—â— â—salm 137. 6 7 8. Edomites who did behold the râ—iâ—e of Zion and noâ— mourn over it Let all burnt Citizens remember that usually God pities them most whom men pities least but burnt Citizens are not to be mocked or menaâ—ed but mourned over Sixthly It highly concerns you whose houses are standing monuments of Gods mercy to lift up a prayer for all those as are fallen under this heavy judgement of fire When Numb 11. 1 2 3. 2 Kings 19. 4. you are in the Mount be sure you bear the sad condition of the burnt Citizâ—ns upon your hearts Nehem. 1. 3. And they said unto me the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the Province are in great affliction and reproach the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down and the gates thereof are burnt with fire Well what doth Nehemiab do Answ He lifts up a prayer for them verse 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. O Sirs your prayers must not be penâ— or confined to your own private interests but extended to the benefit of all Gods suffering servants Philo the Jew discoursing of Aarons Ephod which he put on when he went to pray saith it was a representation of the whole world having in it all colours to represent the condition of all states of all people whatsoever 'T is brave when we are in the Mount to bear the conditions of others upon our hearts as well as our own especially theirs whom the hand of the Lord hath severely reacht The best of men Rom. 1. 9. 2 Tim. 1. 3. have been much in prayer for others witness Moses David Job Jeremiah Daniel Paul And it is very observable that our Lord Jesus Christ who is our great pattern was very much in this noble work for you shall find in John 17. that he puts up but one petition for himself in verse 1. which petition is repeated again in verse 5. And all the rest of his time he spent in praying both for the converted and unconverted Now shall our Lord Jesus Christ put up many requests for others and but one for himself and shall we put up all our requests for our selves and not one for others Among the Persians he that offered Sacrifice prayed for all Herodot lib. 1. his Countrey men These Persians will one day rise in Judgement against many who are called Christians and yet make no conscience of lifting up a prayer for those that are under the afflicting hand of God He that prayeth for himself and not for others is fiâ—ly compared by some to an Hedge-hogg who laps himself within his own soft down and turns his Brissels to all the world besides The Jews have a saying That since the destruction of Jerusalem the door of prayer hath been shut up Oh that we had not cause to fear that since the burning of London the door of prayer both for our selves and one another hath bâ—en too much shut amongst us O that all you whose habitations are standing would seriously consider 1. That none need prayer more than the burnt Citizens 2. You do not know how soon their case may be yours the same hand or hands that hath made them desolate may make you desolate also 3. Else what do you more than others Matth. 5. 47. 4. To pity and pray for those that are in misery is honourable and commendable 5. 'T is one of the most compendious wayes in the world to prevent all those calamities and miseries that now you fear and that you think you shall shortly feel 6. To lift up a prayer for those whose sufferings have been sore is no costly nor chargeable duty and therefore buckle to it But Seventhly It highly concerns you whose houses are standing monuments of Gods mercy seriously to consider that some mens escaping of very great Judgements is not properly a preservation but a reservation to some greater destruction witness those Kings who escaped the edge of the Gen. 14. and Chap. 19. compared Exod. 14. 28. 1 Kings 19. Sword and were afterwards destroyed by fire and brimstone from Heaven and witness Pharaoh who escaped all the ten plagues of Egypt in order to his being buried with his Host in the red Sea And witness Sennacherib who escaped the Sword of the destroying Angel in order to his falling by the swords of his own Sons Upon what discontentment