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A36314 A sermon occasioned by the late earthquake which happen'd in London and other places on the eighth of September, 1692 / Preached to a congregation in Reading by Samuel Doolittle. Doolittle, Samuel. 1692 (1692) Wing D1880; ESTC R32821 22,758 36

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their Parents one Friend with their last breath crying to another help help for the Lords sake help and all at last after many fruitless attempts and vain wishes tumbling alive into the common Grave If you had heard their miserable Cries their doleful groans and piercing Shrieks being half buried and half unburied would you not have thought Englands Mercy a very great Mercy I am perswaded you would have returned with your Mouths filled with Songs of Praise Let a Melancholy Phansie represent some of the Terrours of that Visitation and let a thought of this fill you with thankfulness and give a sprightful accent to all your Hallelujahs Oh how should a sober thought of this cause your Sacrifices of Praise to ascend to Heaven in a purer and brighter Flame 2. Consider our sins have deserved as great an overthrow as theirs When I consider those words of my Saviour being told by some of the Galileans whose Blood Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices Luke 13. 2. Suppose ye that those Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things I can hardly perswade my self they of Jamaica were greater Sinners than we in England because they drank deeper of the Cup of trembling than we did If our Sins are not of the same kind I am sure they admit of more aggravating Circumstances than theirs Londons Englands Sins are of a more Crimson Colour and Scarlet Die than Jamaica's If ours should be laid in the ballance of the Sanctuary with theirs I am afraid the former would weigh down the latter Oh what a Mercy was it God should shake such a People and not destroy them Oh what an instance of Divine goodness was it that the Earth should tremble under a Company of Atheists and Scoffers at Religion Men that question the very being and deny the Providence of God Under a Company of Drunkards and Swearers Adulterers and filthy Harlots Sabbath-breakers and Hypocritical Worshippers and not swallow them up Mercy that is so constant a Friend to the miserable Creature And so powerful an Advocate in Gods bosom mitigated the stroke and therefore Mercy ought to have the praise 3. Consider the easiness of a total destruction All things are alike easie to Almighty Power What is it omnipotence cannot effect This God can amaze the whole Creation unhinge the World shake the Heavens and rend the Rocks put universal Nature into a fright with one turn of his hand one word of his mouth one frown of his brow one glance of his angry Eye yea with the smallest breath of his Nostrils that angry that mighty God that shook could with the same touch have overturned the City By what was done God gave an evident proof of what he could further have done There is no Mountain stands so strong but God can shake it No Foundation fo firmly laid but God can tare it up no City so well built but God can even with the breath of his Nostrils overturn it It is not Brick and Lime Walls of Stone no nor of Brass neither can either blunt or turn back those sharp-pointed Arrows God shooteth against a sinful people With one shake God could have levelled all with the Dust Could God easily and suddenly have destroyed us and did he not Could he have inlarged the Commission granted to the Earthquake and did he not Were we on the very brink of destruction and are we not destroyed Were we intangled in the Snare and are we yet escaped and should not a warm thought of this should not such a deliverance as this increase our thankfulness Let all who have survived this Visitation bless the Lord and may all praise this good God not only with their Lips but in their Lives Inf. VII Doth the Lord of hosts sometimes visit with an Earthquake and hath he of late done so Then how loudly doth this visit call upon men upon the citizens of London upon you and all the inhabitants of England to be more frequent in visiting God! When God is visiting us it is time time alas It is high time for us to visit him Had the Inhabitants of England the Citizens of London been more frequent in visiting God They might not have had such a day of Visitation as this was my meaning is had they prayed more they might have been punisht less But oh what a shame and reproach are we to the Christian Name Prayer hath been cast out of many of our Families and would to God there were not reason to say out of many of our Closets too And this among other things called upon God to visit in that terrible and unthought of manner he hath lately done And now when God visits us with afflictions We should visit him with Prayer Isa 26. 16 Lord in trouble have they visited thee they poured out a prayer when thy chastning was upon them The Rod drove them to a Throne of Grace and affliction made them pray ay and it made them pray errnestly too Afflictions fears and dangers drive many to the Gates of Heaven who would never come thither before they are like some moross and ill-natur'd People who will never visit their friends but when they stand in need of them I make no doubt but during the time of Gods visiting the terrours of the Earthquake forc't from many and perhaps from such as were wont to restrain Prayer that short and usual Petition LORD HAVE MERCY ON US The shaking and trembling Earth caused many to lift up their Eyes to Heaven and implore the Mercy of that God that dwelleth there But now God hath done visiting them I am afraid they have done visiting him Now the Earth hath done trembling they have done praying but my brethren these things ought not so to be Our visits should be frequent and oft repeated Three things are very wonderful 1. It is very wonderful That the great God will visit us God is King of the Universe sways the Scepter in both Worlds and exerciseth an unlimited and uncontroulable Authority not only over the meaner works of his hands below but over all the bright and Coelestial Orders above too He sits upon a Throne that is encircled with myriads of Holy Mighty and Glorious Angels who minister unto him and stand before him in the quality and humility of his Servants ready to receive his Commands and fly upon Wings to execute them And doth he visit Man who is but breathing Dust a lump of Clay moistned and coloured with Blood Astonishing kindness It is to be admired he will vouchsafe a look a short glance of his Eye But that he should make stated visits and so many of them accents the kindness and increaseth the wonder The Royal Psalmist David though a King though he swayed a Scepter managed a Kingdom and wore a Crown could not think of Gods visiting Man without Extasie and Rapture Though he sate among the Gods upon earth yet he is swallowed up with amazement at the
thought of the condescension of the God of Heaven Lord saith he When I consider thy heavens the work of thy fingers the moon and stars which thou hast ordained What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him Holy David having studied the Heavens in which Volumes the Power Wisdom and Majesty of God are written in Capital Letters and Golden Characters Cryes out with admiration Lord what is man that thou visitest him How fit are all Gods visits to be the subject of a devout and silent admiration Doth God visit this mean this contemptible Creature Man Wonderful Grace 2. It is wonderful that Men sinful Men guilty Men may visit God That we are allowed the liberty of making a visit to Heaven God might scorn us and our visits too he might lock up himself in Heaven and deny access into his Presence to such undutiful and disloyal Creatures as we have been This great King this mighty Lord might not suffer such dead dogs as we are to lie at his door But oh condescending goodness He invites us to give him a visit and the oftner we visit him the more welcome are we He blames us for our seldom but he never upbraids us with our often visits Oh who would not visit and often visit such a God as this May Men and Sinners visit the God of Heaven the High and the Holy One Do his Gates continually stand open and may Indigent Creatures come daily for an Alms Invaluable Mercy 3. It is wonderful that Men should be so backward to visit God How necessary and excellent How sweet and comfortable How profitable and advantagious a Duty is this To visit God is equally our Duty and Priviledge while we do so we share with Glorious Angels in that which is the top of their Happiness beholding the face of our Father which is in heaven Now if ever do Holy and Devout Souls anticipate their future happiness in partaking of that fullness of joy which is in Gods Presence and in drinking large draughts of those rivers of pleasure that are at his right hand for evermore How oft have Holy Men come from this Mount with their faces shining How oft have they received support under all their burdens encouragement against their fears an answer to their doubts and a sufficiency of strength to encounter difficulties performe Duties to endure the fiery tryal and quench the fiery darts of the evil one to conflict with their Corruptions and overcome the World How oft even in the time of their visiting hath God wiped Tears from their weeping Eyes refresht their drooping and revived their fainting Spirits cleared up their evidences for Heaven and inabled them to see their Names written there spoken comfortably to their hearts assured them of their Covenant Relation to him and their Interest in his special love and favour Oh how oft have they come away with their Pardon Sealed their fears ●cattered their mournful complaints husht and silenced their Consciences pacified and those Clouds that darkned their Souls dispersed with that breath of God Son be of good chear thy sins be forgiven thee How oft and how heartily have they been welcomed by the Holy and Blessed Trinity Father Son and Spirit Yet notwithstanding all this Men will not oh fatal degeneracy of Humane Nature visit God Some are Atheistical and Prophane and hopeless Wretches they fall under that black and hellish Character God is not in all their thoughts Some are ignorant and stupid without any sense and feeling and what is their unspeakable Misery is their voluntary choice too to be without God in the world Some are voluptuous given to pleasure Nay they carry that Death-mark in their foreheads written in such legible Characters That he that runs may Read lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God Pleasures charm and vain delights captivate their Souls they being sensual and having not the Spirit are constant Guests in the house of Feasting but utter strangers in the house of Prayer Among the vast multitudes of Men and Women that croud and throng the World there are some few who from a principle of a good Education the Remains of Natural Light and the urgent calls of an awaken'd Conscience do something of this kind but it is rather out of meer complement than real Friendship Thus it is with most and is it thus indeed Tremble thou Earth be astonished O ye Heavens at this and be ye horribly afraid How justly may God use that sharp and stinging Expostulation he did of old O generation see ye the word of the Lord have I been a wilderness unto England a land of darkness Wherefore say my people we are lords we will come no more unto thee Though Men live altogether upon the Alms of Heaven yet they seldom visit God stupendous folly This late Earthquake should put Men upon visiting God oftner and when you do remember to make these two following requests 1. Pray that God would visit you and all his people in mercy this was one notable Petition Holy David that Man of Prayer put up to God O visit me with thy salvation These visits how welcom and blessed how refreshing and desirable are they Oh beg of God for more of them Go to God and say Lord Thou hast visited thy People O visit them still with thy Salvation Lord Let not these visits of thine which are so much for thy Glory and the Creatures good be rare and seldom but frequent and oft repeated 2. Pray that God would visit no more in anger And methinks when there is so much dread and terrour in the visits of an angry God Men should earnestly deprecate them If God visit with a Plague Death becomes triumphant and Men fall heaps upon heaps into the Grave If God visit with a Famine our beauty faileth our strength consumeth and the Man becomes a walking Ghost before Death turns him into a Corps If God visit with an Earthquake Men are at their Wits-end and this beautiful World is turned into a confused Chaos O beg of God England may have no more of these terrifying and desolating visits If you won't pray the next shake may be your overthrow If you will not for all this visit God the Lord of hosts may visit with an Earthquake a second time and his second visit may carry more dread and terrour with it than the first did Turn the Text into a Prayer and say Oh that England Oh that London may no more be visited of the Lord of hosts with Thunder and Earthquake Lord grant it may not Amen FINIS Rom. 1. 9. Heb 5. 14 Gen. 27. 4 ver 20. Matth. 25 5. Jude ver 3. Jer. 48. 44. Psal 50. 21. Exod. 32. 34. Mic. ● 4. Job 〈◊〉 14. Matth. 22. 12. Job 40. 4. Am. 3. 2. Is 24. 2● Am. 3. 6. Psal. 〈…〉 Isah. 〈…〉 5. Job 〈…〉 Is 45. 7. Psal 18. 7. Am. 4. 1. Mat. 24. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ps 78. 30. Is 28. 21. P● ●4 9. 〈…〉 P● 1● 6. Acts 16. 26. Marth 27. 51. Gen 13. 17. Luke 21. 9 11. Mat. 24. 2 7 8. 2 Pet. 3 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Sam. 15 32. Luke 2. 19. Is 5. 11 12. Prov. 23. 17. 1 Cor. 3. 3. Ps 17. 14. Matth. 6. 19. Ps 22. 2. Prov. 23. 5. Mal. 3. 1. Prov. 28. 1. Psal 46. 1. Ver. 2. Ver. 3. Si fractus illabatur orbis impavidum serient ruinae Hor. Car. lib. 3. od 3. Joel 3. 16. Heb. 12. 28. Colos 1. 5. Ps 62. 11. Mat. 10. 28. Psal 119. 120. Jer. 5. 22. La. 3. 40. Acts 16. 26. ver 30. Ez. 9. 13. Job 15. 4. Ja. 3. 10. Dan. 7. 10 Ps 82. 1. Psal 8. 3. ●er 4. 1 Sam. 24. 14. Mat. 18. 10. Ps 16. ult Mat. 9. 2. 〈…〉 Eph. 2. 12 2 Tim. 3. 4. Jude 1 Jer. 2. 31. Ps 106. 4. Judg 15. 16.