we meet together and all the good thoughts which we think All the tears we shed for our sins and all the sighs and groans which we send up to God by reason of our sins are treasure laid up in heaven for God puts such tears into his bottle and all sighs and groans that come from a penitent heart ascend up to heaven Psal 38.9 Lord all my desire is before thee and my groaning is not hid from thee All the prayers that we put up to God in the Name of Jesus Christ are treasure laid up in heaven Psal 18.6 In my distress I called upon the Lord and cryed unto my God he heard my voice out of his Temple and my cry came before him even into his ears This is plain from the forementioned Scripture All my desire is before thee All the alms we give to the poor in a right spirit are treasure laid up in heaven Luke 12.33 Give alms provide your selves bags which wax not old a treasure in the heavens that faileth not Matth. 19.21 Sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven Acts 10.4 Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God All the prayers that we make and all the alms that we give to the poor are recorded in heaven as precious treasure All the good works that we do are treasure laid up in heaven Ephes 6.8 Whatsoever good thing any man doth the same he shall receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free All the sins that wicked men commit are treasure laid up in Hell to augment their torments Rom. 2.5 After thy hardness and impenitent heart thou treasurest up unto thy self wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God If all the sins of wicked men are treasure laid up against the day of wrath then surely all the good actions of good men are treasure laid up in heaven SECT 9. 9. Let the losses which you have sustained by the late Fire put you in minde of and make you careful to avoid four other Fires which are more dreadful than this great Fire which consumed many thousand houses in a few dayes 1. Take heed of the fire of Sin Sin is oft compared unto fire Isa 9.18 Wickedness burneth as the fire it shall devour the briars and thorns Prov. 16.27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil and in his lips there is as a burning fire Hos 7.6 They have made ready their heart like an oven whilst they lie in wait their baker sleepeth all the night in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire James 3.6 The tongue is as a fire a world of iniquity so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire of Hell Now this fire of sin is far more mischievous than the late Fire which burnt so great a part of the City for though that destroyed many stately buildings and much Goods this destroyes mens souls and the soul of one man though the poorest man upon the face of the earth is more worth than the whole world Mark 8.36 The late Fire hath burnt up a great part of the City but sin hath set on fire the whole course of nature it hath fired more or less all persons in all parts and places of the world For there is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Eccles 7.20 It hath been burning many thousand years together even ever since the fall of Adam 2. Take heed of the Fire of Gods wrath that burns like fire Nahum 1.6 Who can stand before his indignation and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire Psal 89.46 Shall thy wrath burn like fire The Apostle saith of God Heb. 12.29 Our God is a consuming fire To whom is God a consuming fire To all impenitent persons that refuse to humble their souls and to break off their sins Isa 27.4 Who would set the briars and thorns against me in Battle I would go through them I would burn them together He is a consuming Fire to all that fall off from the wayes of God after they have been enlightned with the knowledge of the truth Heb. 10.26,27 If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries 3. Let this fire put you in minde of that fire which shall consume and burn up the whole world It was a dreadful sight to see London on fire but it will be more dreadful to see the whole world on sire yet such a time will come and it is hastening apace upon us wherein the heavens and the earth shall be set on fire and all persons and things burnt in that fire 2 Pet. 3.10,11,12 The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heav ns shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat This fire that shall burn up the whole world shall be to all the servants of God like Elijah's fiery Chariot a means of conveying them into the Kingdom of Heaven but it shall be a day of destruction and perdition to all ungodly men 2 Thess 1.7,8,9 The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. 2 Pet. 3.7 The Heavens and the Earth which are now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men Mal. 4.1 Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an Oven and all the proud yea and all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch 4. Let this fire put you in mind and make you careful to avoid Hell fire If this fire were dreadful think with your selves how dreadful it will be to be placed at Christs left hand and hear him pronounce that terrible sentence Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Matth. 25.41 and yet this will be the portion of all the workers of iniquity Matth. 13.41,42 The Son of Man shall send forth his Angels
beholding the things which were done smote upon their breasts and returned We read nothing of their returning to God till the Apostle Peter came and preached the word to them and then follows a great conversion unto the Lord 3000. are added unto the Church in one day Acts 2.41 Wherefore we should esteem it a great blessing and singular mercy to be taught and instructed by God when we are under his correcting hand according to what the Psalmist saith Psal 94.12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastnest O Lord and teachest him out of thy law And we should readily open our ears to discipline by what wayes soever God shall be pleased to convey his minde to us God can and sometimes doth teach us immediately by his Spirit but most ordinarily he instructeth both those that are in affliction and others also in the use of means When the Apostle Paul was in great distress and at a loss to know the minde of Christ and cryed Lord What wilt thou have me to do he sent him to Ananias to be instructed what he should do Acts 9.6 God could have taught Cornelius by his Spirit or by the Angel that appeared to him but he chuseth rather to send him for instruction to one of his Ministers even to Peter who should tell him what he ought to do Acts 10.3.4.5,6 Amongst other means reading of the Scriptures and other good Books is one way whereby God seals up instruction to us Daniel was a man of singular wisdom full of the Holy Ghost greatly beloved of God yet he had not all his knowledge by immediate inspiration but much of it was given to him by the study of Books Dan. 9.2 I Daniel understood by Books At the request and for the use of some worthy Friends who were great sufferers by the late Fire I have drawn up an answer to three practical Questions concerning the said Fire the design whereof is to instruct and excite both such as escaped and such as suffered by this dreadful Fire to make an holy use and a Christian improvement of this sad and solemn Providence and also to quiet and comfort such as are troubled and cast down at the loss of their Estates The resolution of which Questions are here presented to thy view Possibly thou mayest have already something of the like nature from more able hands however if the Lord who worketh when and by whom he will shall be pleased by the reading of this small Treatise to convey the least beam of light or breath any quickning influence into thy Soul or to promote in any measure thy holiness or consolation it will be no grief of heart unto thee that thou wert at the cost to buy or at the pains to read it If thou sayest I am not concerned in this Judgment having been no sufferer by it nor any Inhabitant in the City where this Judgment fell and so consequently I am not concerned in the matter that is handled in these questions I answer 1. If thou art not a sufferer by this Fire yet art thou not under other sufferings If so there are several things hinted concerning this Affliction that may be of use to thee under thy Afflictions of what nature soever they be 2. If thou art not a sufferer by this or any other Judgment thou hast the more need to study what thou shalt render to the Lord for his great mercy in sparing thee when his hand lieth so heavy upon so many thousands at this day And then the third Question is of great concernment to thee 3. Though thou hast not suffered hitherto thou knowest not how soon thou mayest suffer by this very Judgment of Fire That passage in Isa 66.15,16 may awaken thee to prepare for fiery tryals Behold the Lord will come with Fire and with his Chariots like a whirlwinde to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many And as it is our duty to hear for the time to come Isa 42.23 So it will be our prudence to read for time to come 4. Not only the places and persons that suffer by Gods Judgments but all that hear of them are concerned to make a good use of them When the Lord brought a sore Judgment upon Jerusalem he calls to all people in all Nations upon the face of the earth to take notice thereof and make a good use of it Jer. 4.18,19 Hear ye Nations and know O Congregation what is among them Hear O Earth behold I will bring evil upon this people If any say this Treatise seemeth to be born out of due time it is now several months since London was burnt the impression of this Judgment begins now to wear off from mens spirits c. I answer 1. I hope better things of the greater part that suffered by this stroke of God then that they should so soon forget the hand that hath been lifted up against them but if it should be so that the impressions of this Judgment should be wearing off from many mens spirits there is the more need of using means to revive them again It is to be feared in regard poverty is coming upon many like an armed man and the sad effects of this Fire are and will be felt more and more by the poorer sort that discontent and trouble of minde will rather grow and encrease then wear off and therefore to such at least it will not be unseasonable to minister something by way of consolation though it be some months since they were brought into a suffering condition 2. Such great Judgments as this was are to be kept in remembrance and to be improved for the promoting of repentance and the fear of God all our dayes and not only as long as we live but the memory of them is to be conveyed to the Ages and Generations that are yet to come that they may learn to fear this God who hath done such great things amongst us When there was a mighty Famine in Judah the Lord gives Commandment that the memory thereof should be perpetuated to all Ages Joel 1.3,4 Tell ye your children of it and let your children tell their children and their children another generation That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten c. We think unworthily of Gods Judgments if we suppose they are to be regarded for a few dayes or for a few years only They are of larger use Judgments upon particular places and persons are admonitions to the whole world that hear of them as long as the world shall stand It is some thousands of years since Lots Wife was turned into a pillar of Salt yet this Judgment of God on a particular person must not be forgotten by us in this generation nor by others to the worlds end Luke 17.32 Remember Lots Wife It is generally computed to be above three thousand years
Lord spake And Aaron held his peace Aaron's tryal was exceeding great His two eldest sons were consumed by fire from the Lord when they were in the act of sin this judgment was so great that all Israel are commanded to bewail the burning ver 6. yet Aaron who was most nearly concerned in the affliction held his peace and what caused him to do so Moses put him in remembrance of the Word of God This is that the Lord spake see also Job 6.25 How forcible are right words Now all Gods words are right Psal 33.4 The Word of the Lord is right Prov. 8.8,9 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness They are all right to them that find knowledg And therefore they are of great force to quiet and comfort such as are in affliction Psal 107.20 He sent his Word and healed them Though a man be ready to die with sorrow and grief under his troubles the Word of God will revive him for they of whom the Psalmist speaks when he saith He sent his Word and healed them were such as were ready to die with their troubles as you may see Vers 18. Gods Word will make the stoutest heart yield bow to Gods will Jer. 23.28,29 He that hath my Word let him speak my Word faithfully What is the chaffe to the wheat saith the Lord Is not my Word like as a fire saith the Lord and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces 1 Thess 4.18 Comfort one another with these words No words have such force to comfort the afflicted as what are drawn out of the Scriptures Wherefore I have endeavoured to confirm what I have proposed in answer to these questions with suitable and pertinent Texts of Scripture These Propositions being premised I shall now answer the first question and shall divide my Answer into three branches 1. I shall propose some considerations that may tend to the quieting of their minds who have sustained great loss by this fire 2. I shall propose some things by way of practice to help the afflicted to bear their afflictions contentedly 3. I shall endeavour to remove those pleas and reasonings that hinder those that have been sufferers by this fire from setting down contented under their affliction Considerations to quiet the minds of those that have been great sufferers by the late fire SECT 1. 1. Consider who it is that hath consumed your Houses and taken away your Estates It is God hath done this thing Whoever were the instruments of beginning or promoting and carrying on this dreadful fire that hath destroyed so many goodly buildings and so much treasure you must look beyond all instruments at the hand of the Lord. There is no evil befalleth any City or any family or any particular person but it is the Lord which sends that judgment of what nature soever it be Amos 3.6 Shall there be evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it There is nothing comes to pass at any time in any part of the world but it is brought about by the Providence of God Rom. 11.36 Of him and through him and to him are all things A Sparrow is a bird of small value yet not one Sparrow falls to the ground without the concurrence of Gods Providence Matth. 10.29 Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father If not one Sparrow suffereth any thing but by the Providence of God then surely there is a Providence that ordereth all the sufferings of every man who is of more value than many Sparrows There is no loss more inconsiderable than to lose an hair of our heads hundreds of our hairs may be taken away and we regard it not but God is so careful of our persons and of all our concernments that he numbreth every hair of our heads and there doth not fall off one hairat any time but by his appointment Matth. 10.30 The very hairs of your head are all numbred And as to this judgment of Fire we finde it oft asserted in the Scriptures that when Cities or other places are set on fire it is the Lord which kindleth those fires and ordereth all circumstances belonging to them It is the Lord that appointeth the place where the fire shall begin and how far it shall proceed and what houses shall be burnt down by it Amos 2.5 I will send a fire upon Judah and it shall devour the Palaces of Jerusalem Jer. 50.32 I will kindle a fire in his Cities and it shall devour all round about him When a fire rageth with that vehemence that none can quench it it is God which rendereth it unquenchable Jer. 17.27 If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-Day and not to bear a burden even entring in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-Day then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof and it shall devour the Palaces of Jerusalem and it shall not be quenched When any men do set a City on fire it is God giveth up that City into their hands and causeth their enterprizes to take effect Jer. 32.28,29 I will give this City into the hands of the Caldeans And the Caldeans shall come and set fire on this City Now the considering and believing that it is God which hath taken away your Houses and Estates by this Fire will silence all murmurings and repinings and cause you to bear your losses and crosses with a contented minde Psal 39.9 I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it VVhen Job had lost all that he had in one day by looking at Gods hand in his losses he bore them very cheerfully Job 1.21 The Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord And yet Job lost a very great Estate for he was the richest man in the East Job 1.3 He did not only lose his Estate but all his Children were cut off also ver 19. and that whilst they were eating and drinking wine in their Elder Brothers house ver 18. at which meetings Job was afraid lest his Sons should sin and curse God in their hearts v. 5. which made the affliction the more heavy Now to make this Argument the more effectual towards the producing of contentment consider who this God is that hath taken away your Estates from you by this Fire 1. It is that God that gave you all the good things that ever you did enjoy 1 Chron. 29.12,14 Both riches and honor come of thee All things come of thee James 1.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights Deut. 8.17,18 Moses biddeth Israel beware of saying in their hearts My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth This quieted Jobs minde when he considered that the same God who took away his Estate and his