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<DATE>2008-09-11</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<VID>154184</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="manuscript notes">
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<P><ADD>Written by W^m London a bookseller in Newcastle upon Tyne.</ADD></P>
<P><ADD><LIST>
<HEAD>Local Cases.</HEAD>
<ITEM>Houghton le Spring <LABEL>p 42</LABEL></ITEM>
<ITEM>Carlisle <LABEL>pp 44, 45, 77</LABEL></ITEM>
<ITEM>Stanhope<LABEL>p 76</LABEL></ITEM>
<ITEM>Dalston &amp;c. <LABEL>p 44, 78</LABEL></ITEM>
<ITEM>Cockermouth <LABEL>p 44</LABEL></ITEM>
<ITEM>Callerton <LABEL>p 85</LABEL></ITEM>
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</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="3">
<P>GODS JUDGEMENTS Upon DRUNKARDS, SWEARERS, And SABBATH-BREAKERS. In a collection of the mo&s;t remark|able Examples of Gods revealed wrath upon the&s;e &s;ins: with their Aggravations, as well from Scripture, as Rea&s;on. And a Caution to Authority, le&s;t the Impu|nity of the&s;e evils bring a &s;courge upon the whole Nation.</P>
<P>By W. L.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>1 Cor. 10.11.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Now all the&s;e things happened unto them for Examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.</P></Q>
<Q> <BIBL><HI>Luke 13.3.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Je&s;us &s;aid, Suppo&s;e ye that the&s;e Galileans were &s;inners above all Galileans, becau&s;e they &s;uffered &s;uch things? I tell you, Nay, &amp;c.</P></Q>
<P>Printed for <HI>William London,</HI> 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="4">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>TO THE <HI>Right Wor&s;hipfull,</HI> The Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, Sheriffe, and Common-Councell; TOGETHER With the mo&s;t Ingenuous Inhabitants of the Famous and Flouri&s;hing Town of <HI>New-Ca&s;tle</HI> upon <HI>TINE:</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe Authour in Te&s;timo|ny of his &s;incere de&s;ires for the Peace and Pro|&s;perity of the Town in gene|ral, and every per&s;on in par|ticular, Dedicates this his la|bour to their kind acceptance.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the Christian reader">
<PB REF="5">
<OPENER><SALUTE>Chri&s;tian Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WHen I con&s;ider how the great Moderator of the World, the ho|ly and ju&s;t God is concerned in the Regular or Irregular conver&s;ations of men, and how much he hath intere&s;ted him&s;elf in the pro|vidential notice he hath ta|ken of them, I cannot but judge that the brandi&s;hing of his &s;word, the recording of
<PB REF="5" MS="y">
the &s;ignal Judgments of God; may be both acceptable to the Lord, and u&s;eful to many an habituated rebellious &s;inner, for the allaruming his drow|&s;ie con&s;cience.</P>
<P><HI>Shall a Trumpet be blowne in the City, and the people not be afraid?</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amos 3.6.</NOTE> <HI>the Lord is known by his judgment which he executeth.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 9.16.</NOTE> God will not &s;uffer the wor&s;t part of the world to &s;ink into Athei&s;me: the wretched Emperour &s;hall have claps of Thunder to fright him into &s;u&s;pitions of a deity. <HI>Julian</HI> the Apo|&s;tate &s;hall be made to throw his blood into the ayre with a <GAP DESC="foreign">. Judgments have
<PB REF="6">
been one of the u&s;uall wayes of Gods a&s;&s;erting his Autho|rity in the world: and that the u&s;efulne&s;&s;e of the following Treati&s;e may be the more di&s;covered, I have a few things to intimate about the number of the judgements of God.</P>
<P N="1">1. That Gods judgments are not not like arrows &s;hot into the Aire at randome, he does not <GAP DESC="foreign">, God hath ble&s;&s;ed ends, either to reclaim the party &s;mitten, i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> judgements &s;hort of death &s;eize on them, or to be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Pillar of &s;alt to others, that <HI>they may hear, fear, and do n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> more &s;o:</HI> tho&s;e Jews that ex+emplarily
<PB REF="6" MS="y">
fell in the wilder|ne&s;&s;e; they are &s;aid 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.6. to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, types to future generations; they are engraven characters of di|vine vengeance, that we &s;hould read their puni&s;h|ment, and avoid their &s;in.</P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider the princi|ples that judgements have to work upon. Bondage, Fear, and Self-love; the one like the Spaniel, forbearing to of|fend for the Cudgel over it, the other from a principle of &s;elf-pre&s;ervation, had rather want the bait, then &s;wallow the hook; God having left &s;ome reliques of the&s;e in the mo&s;t debaucht con&s;ciences,
<PB REF="7">
that he might have &s;omewhat to treat with in the vile&s;t &s;in|ners, when his judgements were abroad.</P>
<P N="3">3. Weigh the convictions they leave of an over-ruling Deity; Athei&s;m is one of the natural fruits of the fir&s;t A|po&s;ta&s;y, and as it is heightned by impenitency, &s;o it is &s;trengthned by impunity; now God by his judgements gives &s;ome evidences of his Being and Soveraignty; he hath, his <HI>coecum in mente fla|gellum,</HI> he hath his <HI>fulmen in orbe,</HI> and <HI>fulgur in animo Pharaohs</HI> bold challenge of Who is the Lord, &s;hall &s;hrink into a, <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> pray for me
<PB REF="7" MS="y">
when the Lord is in the way of his judgements.</P>
<P N="4">4. He will convince the world that Scripture-threat|nings are not only a voyce of words, but when and where the Lord plea&s;es, they are <GAP DESC="foreign">, they are fiery darts, the breakings forth of fiery indignation again&s;t im|penitent &s;inners, e&s;pecially when they meet with &s;innes that do deva&s;tate con&s;cience, &s;uch as the &s;ins here witne&s;|&s;ed again&s;t; Sins that pro|voke the eyes of Gods glory, which in no Nation, if raign|ing, he will &s;uffer to go unpu|ni&s;hed: he is a jealous God, &amp; where his honour is &s;o emi|nently
<PB REF="8">
concerned, he will un|&s;heath his wrath, the fir&s;t of the&s;e in a be&s;tial Metamor|pho&s;is, &s;trives to raze out his Image, the &s;econd to tear his Name, the third to deprive him of his Wor&s;hip; and I cannot but approve and en|courage the de&s;ign of the in|genuous Author; who, whil&s;t the&s;e crying &s;ins dare with an open and brazen face, &s;o fre|quently &s;hew them&s;elves, will &s;et a brand upon their fore|heads, of the notable Judge|ments of God again&s;t them&punc; and for my own part, I would not be wanting to counte|nance &s;uch publick de&s;ignes for God, for the di&s;covering
<PB REF="8">
of the eminent judgments of God again&s;t the&s;e &s;ins, may like the Angell to <HI>Balaam,</HI> &s;top the Career of &s;ome &s;in|ner, provoke the zeale of tho&s;e Magi&s;trates, and under officers, upon whom God and man, &s;o loudly call for a &s;evere proceeding again&s;t the&s;e &s;ins, and draw forth from the people of God that glorious confe&s;&s;ion, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 58.11. Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. Books of this nature may do much good, where Sermons cannot reach through the prophane ab&s;ence of many of tho&s;e that are mo&s;t guilty of the&s;e &s;ins.</P>
<P>I &s;hall &s;ay no more, but re|commend
<PB REF="9">
the en&s;uing Trea|ti&s;e to thy &s;erious peru&s;all, and &s;ub&s;cribe my &s;elf one willing to be</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>A Servant to any de&s;ign for God,</HI> J. HAMMOND.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="9" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO THE <HI>J&V;STICES</HI> of <HI>PEACE</HI> In the NATION; <HI>E&s;pecially the&s;e Northerne Parts.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Gentlemen,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THe chief Pillars of a Nation, are the <HI>Ma|gi&s;tracy</HI> and <HI>Mini|&s;tery;</HI> the one for puni&s;hing Sin, the other for advancement of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. The&s;e are the Officers of State, which,
<PB REF="10">
like the two great Lumina|ries of Heaven, give Law to all the re&s;t; and among&s;t the Wi&s;e&s;t, and Be&s;t of men, are accounted as u&s;eful to a Com|mon-wealth, as <HI>Ca&s;tor</HI> and <HI>Polux,</HI> to the Mariners in a tempe&s;tuous night: So that as the flux and reflux of <HI>Nile,</HI> portends plenty, or dearth; &s;o the&s;e Sword-bearers of God, are pledges of his favour, to that Nation, or Place, where they are Honoured and Re&s;pe|cted; and great care ought to be had in the due election of &s;uch as may be for the promo|tion of the great end of &s;uch Places: for, as one lately &s;aid well, They &s;hould not be
<PB REF="10" MS="y">
like brambles, which teare the wool off the poor &s;heeps backs that come to &s;helter, for prote|ction, under them. The <HI>Lace|demonians</HI> cho&s;e none into the Senate as Magi&s;trates, but one|ly upon account of <HI>Hone&s;ty</HI> and <HI>Vertue;</HI> forgeting the bare con|&s;ideration of <HI>Riches, Friends,</HI> &amp;c. where piety was a &s;tran|ger. And <HI>Cicero</HI> tells us, <HI>A good Magi&s;trate is the Common-wealths Phy&s;itian, Badge of Vertue, Staff of Peace, and Pillar of Honour.</HI> I would onely beg leave to break my thoughts to the fir&s;t of the&s;e: and though to &s;ome this may &s;eem boldne&s;&s;e to be free; yet con&s;idering that A
<PB REF="11">
good cau&s;e teacheth confidence. I think in this ca&s;e I &s;hould offend if I pre&s;umed not; and I have taken care &s;o to order my flight, as not to &s;oare a|bove the Region of Duty and Civility.</P>
<P>Gentlemen, I &s;et before you three Grand Impieties, <HI>viz Drunkenne&s;s, Swearing,</HI> and <HI>Sabbath-breaking,</HI> &s;ins that are <HI>opera tenebrarum;</HI> It's your work to look to them, they are <HI>Rageing, Reigning, Pollu|ting &s;ins;</HI> &s;ins for which a Land mourns, and the Nation puts on the Sable garments of &s;or|row and heavine&s;&s;e: the&s;e &s;ins beget a controver&s;ie betwixt a people, a place, a per&s;on, and
<PB REF="11" MS="y">
God, and who is able to abide his indignation? <HI>for if once his wrath be but a little kind|led, ble&s;&s;ed are all they that put their tru&s;t in him.</HI> The&s;e therefore are &s;ins that ought not to go unpuni&s;hed, and that without the &s;tricte&s;t &s;eve|rity in a Chri&s;tian common|wealth.</P>
<P>Magi&s;trates are not to beare the Sword in vain; if you do not quarrel with &s;in, God will with you; you are, or &s;hould <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e, the Banks of the Common|wealth, to keep us from a Land-flood, and Torrent of confu&s;ion; you are the Hed|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">es to prophane&s;&s;e: The life of the Law is executions; Its
<PB REF="12">
a principle in Moral Policy, <HI>That not to execute the Lawes, is wor&s;e than to break them, Acts</HI> and <HI>Or|dinances</HI> will not beat down prophane&s;&s;e, unle&s;&s;e the fir&s;t be throughly <HI>acted,</HI> and the la&s;t &s;et on fire by authority: many take encouragement by the &s;lack execution of Ju&s;tice, which otherwi&s;e might with care prove a hinderance, not onely from &s;in, but puni&s;h|ment, nay, it may be, from Eternal flames. I am much afraid that many are guilty of others &s;ins, more than they dream of, by &s;uffering their under&s;tandings to be darkened in the &s;en&s;e of their duties, tho|rough
<PB REF="12" MS="y">
the &s;ight of their Ho|nours; not &s;eriou&s;ly weighing what tru&s;t God hath commit|ted to them: They cannot de|ny pre&s;entments, but think it a work below them to &s;earch and find out debaucht hou&s;es, or per&s;ons, or examine who idlely &s;tayes from the Word; or take care in publick re&s;orts, to find out <HI>Bla&s;phemers, Cur|&s;ers,</HI> and <HI>Swearers,</HI> and pu|ni&s;h them in the Act. How &s;ad would it be to us, if we heard the &s;ad cryes in Tor|ment? it may be &s;ome &s;aying, <HI>O that the Magi&s;trate had hedged up my way with thorns! had he &s;et bounds to my drunken meetings, cur&s;ed
<PB REF="13">
oathes, and prophane Sab|bath-breaking; then had I not been now roaring in an|gui&s;h, under the fury of a Re|vengful God!</HI> The mild pu|ni&s;hment of ob&s;tinate tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ors, makes &s;in grown to an excre&s;cency: It fe&s;ters a body <HI>Politick,</HI> as well as <HI>Natural,</HI> to have the wounds not tho|roughly dre&s;&s;ed; it forces to a relap&s;e, where the cau&s;es are not diverted or rooted out.</P>
<P>Seeing Drunkenne&s;&s;e hath &s;o great confidence, as if Au|thority led it by the hand, let me &s;trike at the bowels of it, that hath &s;o many thou&s;ands crawling out of it; Oh that we might &s;ee this &s;in reel with
<PB REF="13" MS="y">
the Drunkard! that there were a frequent vi&s;iting of Ale-hou|&s;es, and none &s;uffered, under the greate&s;t engagements, Not to &s;uffer any to be drunk, or drink to exce&s;&s;e! and methinks, as I travel the&s;e Northern parts, e&s;pecially about (I had almo&s;t &s;aid in) the <HI>Metropolis</HI> of the&s;e Counties, its &s;carce po&s;|&s;ible to pa&s;&s;e without infection, the &s;treets are lined with the&s;e Pe&s;t-hou&s;es; the greate&s;t won|der is, that they are under the roof of Authority, and yet &s;uf|fered to breath. Oh down with di&s;ordered Ale-hou&s;es, that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rove the Hell and Damnation <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">f many a poor &s;oul! where many poor wretches &s;it &s;ecure|ly,
<PB REF="14">
and there drown their fa|milies bread in Drunkenne&s;&s;e! where many a per&s;on of re&s;pect, buyes the ruin of his families honour, together with his own&punc; at a va&s;t expen&s;e! One &s;aid, If it were not for &s;ecret Drun|kenne&s;&s;e, they might bar up their doors; Oh, &s;et a Barica<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> do to the entrance of &s;uch im|pieties and villanies, which flow hither as the humours to the &s;tomack! Bani&s;h the&s;e fire &s;hips from the Coa&s;ts of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;tian Common-wealth, o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> we &s;hall be &s;et on fire from hell<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> then your <HI>Towns, Counties Cities,</HI> and the whole Nation will move in a Regular Orbe, &amp; Congregations be well filled
<PB REF="14" MS="y">
We may &s;ay, it would be a wonder in <HI>England</HI> if it were in any great Town, as it was in <HI>Rome,</HI> where there was a &s;treet called <HI>Vicus Sobrius,</HI> becau&s;e there was not an Ale-hou&s;e in it. What if &s;ome have no other living? the que&s;tion is, can they live no otherwi&s;e, than by making men drunk? I admire the neglect of this foundation of Reformation in this place, which &s;o oft by the faithfull Servants of God hath been rei|terated in our Congregations! If the&s;e corners of Hell were blown down with the breath of Authority, all the traine of At|tendants, like a great Cour|tiers, would fall with him&s;elf;
<PB REF="15">
as <HI>Cur&s;ing, Swearing, Bla&s;|pheming,</HI> the <HI>Holy</HI> Name of <HI>God, Murthers, Adulteries,</HI> and all other &s;uch wickedne&s;|&s;es, for which the hand of the Lord is ready with his judge|ments to reach us: till this be done, till we &s;ee the Sword of Ju&s;tice make &s;in &s;tagger, and like that mighty wind that came from the Wilderne&s;&s;e up|on <HI>Jobs</HI> children, blow down the four corners of the&s;e pla|ces of iniquity; I &s;ay, till this come to pa&s;&s;e, every moment will thrive towards a di&s;mal no one, the minutes of time will &s;well into ages, and tho&s;e into eternity of puni&s;hments, if not prevented.</P>
<P><PB REF="15" MS="y">If Gods wrath and anger be the evils that compa&s;&s;e the&s;e &s;ins about, like &s;parks of our own kindling, and if the refor|mation of &s;in, be the removing of Judgement? what need then to &s;trike at the root of iniqui|ty? If <HI>Ahabs</HI> Humiliation, and the <HI>Ninevites</HI> Sackcloth and A&s;hes, cau&s;ed God to let the re&s;olution of his Judge|ments run backwards; If <HI>Phi|neas</HI> Zeal &s;tayed the plague, and &s;aved many thou&s;ands; I &s;ay, if outward reformation tyes Gods hands from outward plagues, what need then to look about and reform? le&s;t we that are left of &s;o many thou&s;ands lately &s;wept away
<PB REF="16">
by &s;ickne&s;&s;e, di&s;eas&s;es <HI>&amp;c.</HI> be made examples becau&s;e we learn not to beware.</P>
<P>I could in&s;tance many Ex|amples of Gods &s;everity, to &s;uch as were &s;lack in their Du|ties; as <HI>Eli,</HI> who&s;e impunity to his &s;ons impiety, &s;hrunk him under the heavy &s;troke of Ju&s;tice; but I had rather lead you by examples of <HI>Piety</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> than drive you by tho&s;e of <HI>Judgements.</HI> Look to <HI>Ne|hemiah,</HI> he &s;ets &s;ervants at the Gates of the City, and laid hands on &s;uch as prophaned the Lords Day. Its worthy Ob&s;ervation, what <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> &s;ayes to <HI>Theodo&s;ius; That he was more earne&s;t and care|ful,
<PB REF="16" MS="y">
to ob&s;erve the things of God as a Magi&s;trate, than him&s;elf as a man.</HI> The <HI>La|cedemonians</HI> had their <HI>E|phori;</HI> Magi&s;trates that took care to all manner of intempe|rance and exce&s;&s;e in the City, and if any were found, they were beaten publickly. The <HI>Carthaginians</HI> made a Law, That no Magi&s;trate &s;hould drink wine; &s;uch was their care to avoid this bea&s;tly &s;in of Drunkenne&s;&s;e: <HI>Solons</HI> Law was death to a Prince that was drunk. In <HI>Carthage, Lace|demon,</HI> and <HI>Creet,</HI> this &s;in was &s;o abominable, that all which were found guilty of it, were thru&s;t out of the <HI>Senate,</HI> and
<PB REF="17">
di&s;mantled of all manner of li|berty to bear any office in their Cities. What zeal was here in Heathens again&s;t this odi|ous &s;in? And this may not unfitly be accounted as the rea|&s;on why a woman reflected up|on King <HI>Philips</HI> unrighteous &s;entence of Judgement, by de&s;iring to have her cau&s;e re|moved from <HI>Drunken Philip,</HI> to <HI>King Philip Sober:</HI> and it may be, this &s;in of his, was the cau&s;e of his death, which by a <HI>Lacedemonian</HI> Gentle|man was executed by a thru&s;t in his body, becau&s;e he refu|&s;ed to do Ju&s;tice. We read of <HI>Lewis</HI> King of <HI>France,</HI> up|on reading <HI>P&s;al. 106.3. Ble&s;|&s;ed
<PB REF="17" MS="y">
are they that keep judge|ment, and he that doth righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e at all times;</HI> was &s;o wrought upon, that he pre|&s;ently &s;aid; <HI>He that doth not puni&s;h &s;in, is the patron of it.</HI> The&s;e &s;ins I &s;peak of, are grown now &s;o bold by impuni|ty, as if Ju&s;tice were afraid to look them in the face; like the Snake in the Fable, ri&s;e up again&s;t the greate&s;t and mo&s;t noble Ingenuity po&s;&s;ible; Its &s;everity mu&s;t &s;ubdue them. When true zeal bends the bow, and draws the arrow of Ju|&s;tice to the head, then it &s;trikes &s;in to the heart; it flyes home to the life of the Law, and death of the offence. A
<PB REF="18">
Modern example we have of an <HI>Iri&s;h Lord,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Epi&s;tle to Mr. <HI>Murcots</HI> Wo.</NOTE> who lodged at <HI>We&s;t-Kirby</HI> waiting for his pa&s;&s;age, and being a prodigi|ous Swearer, the Officers &s;erve a warrant upon him, at which he rages with <HI>Cur&s;es</HI> and <HI>Oathes;</HI> but they &s;eize upon his hor&s;es, and forced him to pay <HI>20</HI> pound to the u&s;e of the poor of the Pari&s;h; and all the while he &s;tayed there, his tongue was held as with a bit and bridle. This is the true effect of Ju&s;tice, which looks not a&s;quint upon any man; like <HI>Ari&s;tides,</HI> who without an eye of favour to father, or friend, or malice to his ene|mies, di&s;tributed alike to all,
<PB REF="18" MS="y">
&s;o that he purcha&s;ed the de|&s;erved name of <HI>Ari&s;tides the Ju&s;t.</HI> In the <HI>Areopagite</HI> Ju|dicature, they onely heard the Cau&s;e, and never &s;aw the per|&s;ons, giving judgement in the night, that all might have e|quall Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>I cannot omit the example of one <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mayor of <HI>Ex|ceter.</HI></NOTE> Mr. <HI>Jourdain,</HI> of whom it might be &s;aid as of David, <HI>That the zeal of Gods hou&s;e had eaten him up!</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Man|tons</HI> E|pi&s;t. to his life &amp; death.</NOTE> for when the Book of Sports came forth, he &s;ent an expo&s;tulatory Letter to the <HI>King,</HI> inclo&s;ed to the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Exceter,</HI> who carefully con|veyed it to his <HI>Maje&s;ty,</HI> who reading, &s;aid in a rage, <HI>He
<PB REF="19">
&s;hould be hanged that wrote it:</HI> The Bi&s;hop fell on his knees, and begged pardon, &s;ay|ing, <HI>That God had not a bet|ter &s;ervant, nor his Maje&s;ty a better &s;ubject.</HI> The Bi&s;hop after being vi&s;ited by Mr. <HI>Jourdain,</HI> &s;aid; <HI>Ah! Mr.</HI> Jourdain, <HI>would you put me upon &s;o hot &s;ervice, knowing how many eyes</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Su&s;|pected to fa|vour Puri|tans.</NOTE> <HI>are upon me!</HI> who replied, <HI>Yea my Lord, the eyes of God, and his holy Angels, are upon you, to &s;ee how you di&s;|charge your office and duty.</HI> By his ju&s;tice upon Swearers, he brought &s;uch an awe and dread upon men adicted to that &s;in, that many Citizens ob&s;er|ved,
<PB REF="19">
that in places of Publick re&s;ort, they heard not an oath &s;worn for many years toge|ther. Ile end with one pretty pa&s;&s;age recorded of <HI>King James,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">VVil|&s;ons. <HI>K.</HI> James.</NOTE> who being upon Re|moval to <HI>Theobalds,</HI> his Ma|je&s;ties Carriages went out of the City upon the Lords Day, which the Lord Mayor hear|ing of, commanded them to be &s;topt; which affront, was re|pre&s;ented to the King, with as great a&s;perity, as men in Au|thority cro&s;&s;ed in their hu|mours, could expre&s;&s;e. The King &s;wears, <HI>He thought there had been no more Kings in England but him|&s;elf;</HI> but when it may be he
<PB REF="20" MS="y">
thought there was a King in Heaven; he &s;ent a warrant to the Lord Mayor, whom with the&s;e words he obeyed. <HI>While it was in my power, I did my duty; but being taken away by a higher power, it is my duty to obey;</HI> which after|ward it's &s;aid, the King took well, and thanked him for.</P>
<P>But lea&s;t I be taken for one&punc; tran&s;ported with an over-hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of <HI>Zeal,</HI> without a regular and proportioned mixture of <HI>Knowledge,</HI> give me liberty to clear my &s;elf, and leav<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> my thoughts behind me, th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> I may not be found guil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of that a&s;per&s;e, (which
<PB REF="20" MS="y">
&s;ome men pre&s;&s;ed with a fiery zeal, vented more in pa&s;&s;ion than di&s;cretion) which fixes a &s;candal to Ju&s;tice, more than it promotes Gods Honour or Reformation of men: were to con&s;ult with the prudent part of our duties, mannaging puni&s;hment to &s;uch as are drawn a&s;ide by temptation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> with reproof, and that &s;ecretly: But to incorrigible tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, &s;uch as are &s;o accu&s;tomed to do evil, as if they profe&s;&s;ed debauched cour|&s;es, let the &s;everity of the Law proceed; for to &s;uch onely, the Law &s;trikes, to &s;uch as will not be warned: who can they blame but them&s;elves,
<PB REF="21" MS="y">
if they &s;mart? And if I &s;hould here plead for re&s;pect to be had to per&s;ons, it may by &s;ome be thought, to be out of the way; but however, I am much for it, and do ac|count it no le&s;&s;e than a Grand Ma&s;ter-piece of Prudence; for if &s;uch as &s;eem to lead others by their example, be won from prophane&s;&s;e, the fruits cannot be bad.</P>
<P>If therefore there be any of the better ranke which di|gre&s;&s;e from the good orders of Government, either of the Na|tion, or them&s;elves, we are to u&s;e &s;uch with all the winning re&s;pect imaginable; and if the Law be &s;atisfied, not to
<PB REF="21" MS="y">
provoke their di&s;plea&s;ure: the Law aimes more at Refor|mation than puni&s;hment; and to per&s;ons of Quality, who&s;e reputations in the beame of Honour weighs down the rate of their puni&s;hment: we ought to deal with candid behavi|our, and to extend meekne&s;&s;e and re&s;pect, as far as the greate&s;t Civility, and favour of Law will reach. &V;pon this ground, no Que&s;tion, was that prudent Piece of Admi|ni&s;tration of Ju&s;tice; perform|ed by a chief Magi&s;trate, upon a Per&s;on of Quality, not long ago; by &s;ending a Letter, beg|ging his excu&s;e, and hoping as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e was a Gentleman, he would
<PB REF="22" MS="y">
not be angry at the Admini|&s;tration of Ju&s;tice, which was his honour; demanding &s;atis|faction which was due by Law for &s;o many oathes, which in &s;uch a place he had &s;worn; The Gentleman with a High ac|knowledgment of civility, free|ly &s;ubmitted. I would not be thought a favourer of debauch|edne&s;s in any, much le&s;s in the Gentry, in whom, if &s;uch vice<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> be &s;et, they have a bad foil; Ye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, they ough<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to have more allowance that common per&s;ons; e&s;pecially if they be ingenious (as alas many that are mo&s;t ingenious mo&s;t often fall into the &s;nar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of temptations!) A little li+berty
<PB REF="22" MS="y">
they expect more than o|thers, and as much as is not an affront to the Law, let them have; becau&s;e, its fit to win &s;uch by civility, which the Law cannot by force do, without a Rape upon their ho|nours and reputations; and one great rea&s;on is, becau&s;e many times inferiour per&s;ons are the inflictors of puni&s;h|ment, which cannot have over good a reli&s;h, unle&s;&s;e &s;weetned with a kinde of &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion; and therefore when drink or pa&s;&s;ion is de|parted, then to write or &s;end to them: Yet where civil|lity and meekne&s;&s;e will not allure, to that ju&s;t decency
<PB REF="23">
and order, which holds con|formity to the whole&s;ome Lawes of the Nation, then <HI>Currat lex.</HI> All which I could wi&s;h were done with|out <HI>Malice, Prejudice, Re|venge,</HI> a &s;pirit of domineer|ing, or to be accounted &s;ome petty &s;ome body; but with a principle, that may not onely approve the integrity of a mans &s;oul to act for the glory of God, but al&s;o a not expecting your reward from popularity, or any other &s;ecret advan|tage below the truth and in|tent of the action; guided by the be&s;t principles both Divine and Moral.</P>
<P><PB REF="23" MS="y">Now, Gentlemen, to you that are guilty, or may be found in the&s;e di&s;orders; If Lawes were not, we had as good live among&s;t Salva|ges; you could not &s;ay your lives were your own, if an|other through fear of the Lawes, were not kept from murdering you; if we had none to puni&s;h tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors, we had as good be without Lawes: for your own ho|nours therefore, beware you involve not your reputations to the puni&s;hment of every mean officer; be not angry at Ju&s;tice which is more the Honour of the Gentry, then any; becau&s;e they are looked
<PB REF="24">
upon as patrons of it: be ra|ther like King <HI>Henry</HI> the fourth, who thanked God, that Ju&s;tice was executed, though it lighted upon one of his own loyns. To conclude, Are not the&s;e &s;ins fitter (if for any in any &s;en&s;e) for <HI>Brutes, Bea&s;ts, Beggars,</HI> and the &s;cum of a Nation, than for <HI>Gentlemen</HI> or <HI>Chri&s;tians?</HI> for &s;hame then, you that are in any de|gree guilty of &s;uch foul &s;pots of di&s;honour, to the <HI>Nation,</HI> to <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> to your <HI>Fa|milies,</HI> good <HI>Names,</HI> and your own <HI>Souls,</HI> let the&s;e <HI>wicked, debauched, bea&s;tly, pro|phane</HI> &s;ins, be abandoned from your thoughts and actions,
<PB REF="24" MS="y">
and hate it in others, that the Nation (the Gentry fir&s;t lead|ing the van) may make ini|quity and &s;in blu&s;h, and even &s;hame the&s;e vild cour&s;es to the eternal Honour of <HI>Eng|land.</HI></P>
<P>And now Gentlemen, to whom I have been bold to Dedicate my paines, I beg you to look upon the Work, in that which you &s;ee it doth drive at, and not at the unworthine&s;&s;e of the Authour, who&s;e de&s;ire in it is nothing le&s;&s;e, than may be concluded in this wi&s;h: That by your Good Government, they that are to come, may ble&s;&s;e your re|membrance, and we pre&s;ent,
<PB REF="25">
may together with your &s;elves, live a comfortable, peaceable, and quiet life, and that in all godline&s;&s;e and hone&s;ty.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>So prayes Your humble &s;ervant</HI> W. L.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="25" MS="y">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>WHen I weigh my owne unworthine&s;&s;e in the ballance with any thing that may be cal|led a work for God, I am ex|tremely di&s;couraged to ad|venture; wondring more that the Lord &s;hould not rather make me a warning to others,
<PB REF="26">
by his Judgements upon me for my own &s;in, then to write examples of others; In the deep &s;ence whereof, I cannot &s;ay that I was con&s;trained to this work, purely from tho&s;e noble and divine princi+ples, which &s;hould move in the wheeles of all under+takings for the glory of God&punc; and good of others, le&s;t I de|ceive my own &s;pirit; though <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> de&s;ire a heart for both; Fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> upon a &s;trict &s;crutiny, it will be found a difficult, and more then common attainment<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> though mo&s;t men are loath&punc; but in all their de&s;ignes to plume them&s;elves with the&s;e fair feathers; &s;o that in mo|de&s;ty
<PB REF="26" MS="y">
I choo&s;e to be rather jealous it is not &s;o, then boa&s;t it as a rea&s;on that it is, I can indeed &s;ay and that tru|ly, that I am an honourer, and lover of <HI>Order, Decency,</HI> and good Government in a <HI>Na|tion, City,</HI> or <HI>Town;</HI> and from a naturall and moral principle, do dete&s;t the&s;e three &s;ins of <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e, Swearing,</HI> and <HI>Sabbath-break|ing,</HI> as they &s;trike at the Ho|nour of <HI>Order, Government:</HI> and the <HI>Reputation</HI> of a <HI>Na|tion, place</HI> or <HI>per&s;on:</HI> and I wi&s;h this principle were wrought in &s;uch ingenuous per&s;ons, as otherwi&s;e are not per&s;waded of a greater
<PB REF="27">
evill in the&s;e &s;ins; they are evills that wound the glory of God, honour of a Chri&s;ti|an &s;tate, and the good of a civill Government; yet have I been wound up to more then a common hatred of the&s;e notorious &s;innes, &s;ince I have &s;een the face of them in the gla&s;&s;e of Gods Judge|ments.</P>
<P>I have ob&s;erved <HI>Drunken|ne&s;&s;e, Swearing,</HI> and the <HI>&s;light ob&s;ervance</HI> of the <HI>Lords day,</HI> with the <HI>profanation</HI> of it, to grow the more by op|po&s;ition, which I think is, becau&s;e but &s;lenderly punni&s;hed, like the Seas, where but bounded with
<PB REF="27" MS="y">
weak banks, rages and roares the more, when they are bro|ken down; I have likewi&s;e ob|&s;erved, that that which &s;hould be our greate&s;t honor, is turn|ed into &s;in, in that they which are under the &s;tricte&s;t tye to Chri&s;tianity by profe&s;&s;ion, &s;hould &s;o profane the Lords day, and keep it with le&s;&s;e ex|actne&s;&s;e, then the Heathens do their dayes of wor&s;hiping the Devil, whil&s;t we in troops runne to the profanation of God and his holy Ordinan|ces, by more then the one halfe of mo&s;t Pari&s;hes ab|&s;enting them&s;elves from the Congregation, and either prophane the day by drink|ing,
<PB REF="28">
or, which is as &s;ad, by a more then Heatheni&s;h idle|ne&s;&s;e and &s;loathfull con|tempt of their own &s;alva|tion; nay, and this is &s;o common, that it &s;eems not otherwi&s;e, then if it were turned into a Law to con|temne the meanes of &s;alvati|en, and &s;light, and abu&s;e &s;uch as would turn them a&s;ide from hell and eternal dam|nation; and by this meanes they &s;light the faithful Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, that labour night and day for the good of our &s;oules, which I account the fir&s;t &s;tep to Apo|&s;ta&s;y from the ways of God.</P>
<P>I have likewi&s;e ob&s;erved the
<PB REF="28">
&s;lack execution of lawes, by Ju&s;tices not performeing their duties, di&s;courageing under Officers, and leaving them a &s;corn and a reproach to wicked and ungodly men; and if it plea&s;e not the Lord to &s;tir up the hearts of Ju|&s;tices of the Peace them|&s;elves, to &s;earch diligently, to go about and find out di&s;|ordered hou&s;es, (the plagues of the Nation) and hunt men out of their hou&s;es to the congregation, &s;in will grow impudent, and bold; If I &s;ay they do not &s;hew their faces, to encourage and &s;et a rate upon others under them; men will be hardened in
<PB REF="29">
their wayes, and be taught to grow wor&s;e by the faint|ne&s;&s;e of ju&s;tice; and this I account a duty, which a good con&s;cience rightly principled cannot &s;hift, nor excu&s;e before God or their own con&s;ciences.</P>
<P>The con&s;ideration of the&s;e things, with the tendency of all to ruine, where the&s;e evills are not redre&s;&s;ed, put me upon this, (I hope u&s;eful, and may I not &s;ay nece&s;&s;ary?) work; e&s;pecially con&s;idering the u&s;e of Judgements; their Energy if pondered in a &s;o|ber and deliberate mind; they walk not alone, the cau&s;es and ends are to be ex|amined;
<PB REF="29">
nor are they only limited to the per&s;ons or &s;ins they puni&s;h, but for warning others from the like &s;ins, or any other &s;innes what&s;oever. And we &s;ee how God loves to warne before he &s;trike, &s;o he did to <HI>Nineve</HI> and <HI>Bel&s;ha|zar,</HI> and u&s;ed very much of long-&s;uffering and patience to <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> who&s;e heart at la&s;t not taking warning, he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ardened; what are exam|ples of Gods Judgements upon others for, if not to keep us from being the ex|amples our &s;elves?</P>
<P>And though Precepts in|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eed are very binding, yet they never &s;hine &s;o much, as
<PB REF="30" MS="y">
when &s;et in examples. We are all acquainted how little hold reproofs, admonitions, and exhortations from the Pulpit take of men: there|fore it is, that I have great hopes, that the&s;e examples may do good; for as one in another ca&s;e &s;ayes,
<Q><L>A Ver&s;e may find him whom a Sermon flyes,</L>
<L>And turn delight into a Sa+crifice.</L></Q>
So &s;uch as come not to hea<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their &s;ins ript open in a Soul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;earching Sermon, may by reading, or hearing the&s;e examples, be frightened at
<PB REF="30" MS="y">
the voyce of Gods Judge|ments. To con&s;ider the &s;eve|rity of God to tho&s;e that fell, may well make us think with our &s;elves, &s;hall I that am guilty as much as others, be yet in the land of the living? will not the Patience, Good|ne&s;&s;e, and Long-&s;uffering of God, lead us to repentance? I &s;ay examples are of more force to move, nay to in|&s;truct, then the Arguments and proofs of Rea&s;on, or their preci&s;e Precepts; for they &s;hew things not onely <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n the <HI>Theory,</HI> but in the pra|ctice and execution. It's re|ported of one <HI>Waldus</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> that at the &s;ight of
<PB REF="31">
Gods Judgement upon on<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> that was &s;uddenly &s;truck dead; went home, and admoni&s;hed his friends to repent, and turne from their evill wayes, and wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> him&s;elf a famous Chri&s;tian<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> from whom al&s;o &s;prang the name of the <HI>Walden&s;es.</HI> Ex+amples mix &s;o with the Ap+prehen&s;ions, as they force the mind to a deeper under+&s;tanding, and &s;earch, of the ends and cau&s;es of them.</P>
<P>What I have collected are not of common exam+ples, which daily pre&s;ent them&s;elves before our eye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> but &s;uch as are the mo&s;t no+torious and remarkable, and
<PB REF="31" MS="y">
I que&s;tion not but authen|tick; tho&s;e of modern and more late experience, I have taken from &s;uch Authours as are living, and who from their own knowledge have given te&s;timony to the truth of them.</P>
<P>Now what am I, that &s;hould undertake to direct others in that, wherein I am to &s;eek my &s;elf by walking below the &s;trictne&s;&s;e of what I pre&s;cribe to others, and &s;hort of my own duty, having, it may be, that found upon my trencher, which I di&s;&s;wade others from as pernicious? yet I con&s;ider the advantages of the undertaking, and, it
<PB REF="32">
may be, this may be one to my &s;elf, that the&s;e &s;trict li|mits to others, will girt me more &s;traitly within the com|pa&s;&s;e of my own duty; and though this hath been &s;trug|ling for a Birth a long time yet now the truth and inte|grity of my intentions have prevailed to launch into a Sea of cen&s;ures, and if I aim at the good of others in the reformation of their minds and manners; I am &s;ure it cannot be any hurt to them or my &s;elf: and this is the Rock on which I hope to &s;tand again&s;t the proud a&s;|&s;aults of envy or detraction; for if any thing in the ayme
<PB REF="32">
or intention be good, it's made of more value by the diffu&s;ive Quality of it, in di&s;affecting that humour of <HI>A&s;pendius,</HI> who delighted to play on his Harp, &s;o that none &s;hould heare but him|&s;elfe.</P>
<P>I &s;hall conclude in the words of the Apo&s;tle, and pray:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.11, <HI>a</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>That the love of God which hath appeared unto all men, may teach us to deny all ungodline&s;&s;e, and worldly lu&s;ts; and to live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly, and godly in this pre&s;ent world.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>W. L.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="33">
<PB REF="33" MS="y">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS of the whole.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM>THe Character of Drunkards. <HI>Page 1.2.3.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Drunkenne&s;&s;e a &s;in again&s;t the lawes of Temperance and Sobriety, and the practice of Heathens again&s;t it. <HI>4.5.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;trict lawes of Heathens again&s;t Drunnkenne&s;&s;e. <HI>6.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;piritual evils of Drunkenne&s;&s;e. <HI>7.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Drunkenne&s;&s;e the fountain of other &s;ins. <HI>8.9.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The outward evils which accompany this &s;in of Drunkenne&s;&s;e, con&s;umption of
<PB REF="34">
e&s;tate, ruine of relations, lo&s;&s;e of health, a &s;hame to friends, &s;corn to &s;ervants, deri&s;ion to boyes, lo&s;&s;e of &s;ences, <HI>&amp;c. 10.11.12.</HI> &amp;c.</ITEM>
<ITEM>A friendly exhortation to &s;uch Gentle|men as are tempted to this &s;in; e&s;peci|ally to the mo&s;t learned, and ingenu|ous per&s;ons. <HI>16.17.</HI> &amp;c.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods threatnings agin&s;t Drunkenne&s;&s;e. <HI>21.22.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods righteous and terrible Judgements upon &s;uch as take not warning; in a collection of the mo&s;t choyce examples, &s;uch only as bear the &s;tronge&s;t remark of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure. <HI>23.24. to 45.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Some few di&s;&s;wa&s;ives from this &s;in of drunkenne&s;&s;e. <HI>46.47.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Of profane taking the Lords name in vain by cur&s;ed oathes, &amp;c. <HI>51.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;everal aggravations of this &s;in of cur&s;ing and &s;wearing. <HI>52.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Swearing a &s;inne directly again&s;t God him&s;elf. <HI>ibid.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>It's a &s;in of high ingratitude. <HI>53</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;in of the Devils in Hell. <HI>54</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>No profit by it. <HI>ibid</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Heathens dete&s;t it. <HI>55</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Di&s;&s;ua&s;ives from it. <HI>56.57</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;everity of former lawes, and time
<PB REF="34" MS="y">
again&s;t wicked &s;wearing. <HI>57.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods threatnings again&s;t it. <HI>58.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods &s;everity in his ju&s;t Judgements up|on &s;uch as practi&s;ed it, in a few &s;ad and doleful examples. <HI>59, 60. to 59.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;in of profaningg the Sabbath day, a great &s;in. <HI>83.84.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The &s;trict command of God him&s;elfe to ob&s;erve it. <HI>85.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods own practice for our example, to keep one day in &s;even from labour, &amp;c. <HI>84.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods end in commanding us to ob&s;erve it, is for our own good. <HI>88.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The rea&s;onablene&s;&s;e of Gods command, for one in &s;even. <HI>89.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>The breach of this day a great &s;in by ma|ny high aggravations of it, &amp;c. <HI>90.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A &s;in again&s;t Gods daily ble&s;&s;ings and mercy to us. <HI>91.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A word to &s;uch as &s;it idly at home on the Lords day. <HI>92.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>A word to &s;uch as profane it, by playing, drinking, &amp;c. <HI>91.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Per&s;wa&s;ions to hear the Word, and attend Ordinances, as the greate&s;t advanta|ges to our &s;oules. <HI>93.94.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Objections an&s;wered. <HI>95.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><PB REF="35">Gods threatenings again&s;t Sabbath-breakers. <HI>96.97.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Gods &s;evere examples of Judgement and Ju&s;tice upon the profaners of the Sabbath day. <HI>98.99. to 125.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>Conclu&s;ion. <HI>125.126.127.128.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="35">
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>OF DRUNKENNESSE, AND GODS JUDGEMENTS UPON DRUNKARDS:</HEAD>
<P>_THe &s;in of <HI>Drunkene&s;&s;e</HI> being the womb of all others, I chu&s;e fir&s;t to &s;peak of; by &s;hewing, <HI>What a loath&s;ome creature a Drunkard is; how it's condemned by the lawes of Nature, as well as Nations; the &s;ad con&s;equences of it, to &s;oul, to body; by &s;etting a full point to his life, when nature hath not yet made a Comma: Ruining his family and relations, leaving him&s;elf at la&s;t a prey to nece&s;&s;ity, and &s;corne to fooles. The Aggravation of this &s;in to the Gen|try,
<PB N="2" REF="36">
who by their Birth, E&s;tates, Parts, &amp;c. are &s;eated above the reach of &s;uch vulgar rudene&s;&s;e; and therefore &s;hould &s;oare &s;o high with a Noble mind, as to &s;corne to prey upon &s;uch garbage, as is on|ly fit to feed &s;wine with. The threatnings of God again&s;t this &s;in, with his Judge|ments for it.</HI> Fir&s;t then,</P>
<P>A Drunkard may be called a Mon|&s;ter; &s;uch as entred not into the Ark; unle&s;&s;e you account <HI>Noah</HI> one, who fell through temptation; he made no practice of it, yet &s;marted for his pregnant curio&s;ity, to make an a&s;&s;ay upon the unruly &s;pirit of wine; but let's more &s;trictly vi&s;it him, it's charity to vi&s;it the &s;ick. I take him to be no man; God indeed made him one, but that &s;tamp and &s;uper&s;cription of God &s;et upon him to di&s;tingui&s;h him from other creatures is &s;o defaced, that if all other of Gods creatures had done the like, who could have traced in the &s;earch of the knowledge o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> God in his creatures? If then he be n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> man, he is no bea&s;t; for in this &s;ence they are &s;ober, content with the li+berty of Natures choyce; if neither Man, nor Bea&s;t, then &s;ure God never made him; his &s;oul is drowned, &s;o n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="3" REF="36">
man; his &s;ence is lo&s;t, &s;o no bea&s;t; If we grant he have a rational being, it is like tho&s;e Idols mentioned, that have eyes and &s;ee not, eares and hear not, neither do they perceive any thing&punc; the man is turned out of po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion; here lies the Cabinet, the jewel's lo&s;t. He is Antipode to all other crea|tures, nay to God him&s;elf; if you will have him a Bea&s;t, he mu&s;t be a bea&s;t of Prey, who&s;e belly is the very Sepulcher of Gods Creatures, as if his life were but <HI>pote&s;tas vivendi ut velis;</HI> Like him that mourned, becau&s;e his &s;ences were not incorporated into that one of ta&s;t|ing; which plea&s;ure he wi&s;hed had been &s;pread over all his body, whereby he might have ranged over all the &s;weets of nature, with a prolonged delight. <HI>Hannah</HI> gives the fitte&s;t name to him, in her An&s;wer to <HI>Eli, Count not thine handmaid a daughter of BELIAL.</HI> In a word, he is a poor dead creature, a <HI>Lazarus,</HI> whom God in mercy rai&s;e to life again; that out of this Chaos of in&s;en&s;ible be&s;tiality, God would plea&s;e to &s;peak a word of power, ano|ther <HI>Fiat,</HI> even a voyce &s;aying; <HI>Awake thou that &s;leepe&s;t, and ari&s;e from the dead, and Chri&s;t will give thee light.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="4" REF="37">Let's now &s;ee how much this &s;inne contributes to the breach of Natures Lawes, and how much condemned and rooted out by Heathens. <HI>Tempe|rance</HI> and <HI>Sobriety,</HI> tho&s;e ju&s;t Stew|ards are di&s;mantled of their Authori|ty, whil&s;t this &s;in with Schollars, &s;hut the door again&s;t their Ma&s;ter when they rebell; it forces Nature to run the Gant-lope, which without violence would be&s;t provide for her &s;elf, if &s;he could but &s;pread her own table; Go to the Crib you that are given up to Ebriety, who cares for no more than what ju&s;tly relieves the urgency of Nature: I am too much afraid that it may ju&s;tly be &s;aid of us, as it was once of Philo&s;ophy; <HI>That it was taught at Athens, but practi&s;ed in Spar|ta.</HI> Temperance and &s;obriety is taught in <HI>England,</HI> but practi&s;ed in <HI>Turkie; Alphon&s;us</HI> King of <HI>Aragon,</HI> al|wayes tempered his wine with water, lea&s;t it &s;hould flie above his under|&s;tanding, and betray his rea&s;on. It was a Chri&s;tian reply of <HI>Alcamen</HI> to his frugal reprovers; &s;aying, <HI>That Gods ble&s;&s;ings &s;hould prompt us to live up unto rea&s;on, and moderation,</HI> not of <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;t, by turning Gods mercies to a wan|ton
<PB N="5" REF="37">
liberty of exce&s;&s;e:</HI> The <HI>wicked man,</HI> &s;ayes <HI>Plutarch, liveth to eat and drink, but the good man, eateth and drinketh to live:</HI> And <HI>Salu&s;t</HI> &s;aid, <HI>Nothing can be more abject and hurtful than to be a &s;lave to thy mouth and belly: Gorgius</HI> being demanded how he came to live in health, to &s;o great an Age; An|&s;wered, <HI>By forbearing to eat or drink through plea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P>There is a breach of this tempe|rance, A power to drink to a greater exce&s;&s;e in mea&s;ure, and abu&s;e of Gods creatures, than many a weaker con&s;titution can endure, without be|ing drunk with the fourth part of o|ther's riot: to drown and force Na|ture beyond her due proportion, is a drunkenne&s;&s;e before God, though thou bee&s;t never overtaken with the power of it to the &s;ight of the Law. If a Heathen could &s;ay, <HI>It becomes not a King to extingui&s;h that by exce&s;&s;e of drink, which &s;uports the name of an Em|perour:</HI> How much ought a Chri&s;tian to value his profe&s;&s;ion at a higher rate? How &s;weet and comely a thing is it for men to live <HI>&s;oberly, wi&s;ely,</HI> and <HI>temperately,</HI> by mixing our enjoy|ments with an equal proportion and
<PB N="6" REF="38">
mea&s;ure of &s;obriety? The oppo&s;ite was that which &s;tained the glory of Great <HI>Alexander.</HI></P>
<P>The Lawes of Heathens and for|mer Nations, condemn our impunity and cheapne&s;&s;e of this &s;in: we do as it were &s;ell drunkenne&s;&s;e; for where forfeitures bite not above the plea&s;ure of it, men will be content to pay for it.</P>
<P>The Ancient <HI>Romans</HI> bani&s;hed all Epicures out of their Cities, account|ing them the plagues of youth. <HI>Ro|mulus</HI> made a Law to puni&s;h drunken|ne&s;&s;e in women with death. <HI>Minos</HI> King of <HI>Creet,</HI> &s;uffered none to drink one to another unto drunkenne&s;&s;e, without the cen&s;ure of the Law. Se|verer Lawes are not in the World a|gain&s;t this &s;in, than in <HI>Turkie;</HI> A &s;tory whereof I remember of one, that at a Fe&s;tival time, had been too liberal with his cups,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Turki&s;h Hi&s;t.</NOTE> and being carried before the <HI>Grand Vizier,</HI> had lead poured into his mouth and eares, and &s;o died: not that one act needed &s;uch &s;everity, &s;o much as to &s;uppre&s;&s;e the growth and progre&s;&s;e of &s;in: The Law rather in|tends Reformation than Puni&s;hment, if the one might be without the o|ther; for <HI>Lex non Ira&s;citur.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="7" REF="38">Let's &s;ee the &s;piritual evils of this &s;in; A Drunkard wounds his own &s;oul, his heart is like <HI>mare mortuum,</HI> where no grace can live, he drowns the voice of Nature, and Con&s;cience, the two great lights which God &s;ets up in every man; He &s;ells him&s;elf with <HI>Ahab,</HI> to work wickedne&s;&s;e: Tell him of God, he replies as the Cyclops in the Tragedy to <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es; I know no other God but my belly:</HI> Or like that Monk mentioned, who upon the news that all Abbies were voted down, and yet his maintenance continued for life, &s;troaked his belly with the&s;e words, <HI>Modo hic, &s;it bene;</HI> his care was pa&s;t, &s;o long as his camp was vi|ctualled: with <HI>Solomons</HI> fool, <HI>Come let</HI>'s <HI>drinks, for to morrow we &s;hall die;</HI> but <HI>Remember, Po&s;t mortem nulla vo|luptas.</HI></P>
<P>Is it not a &s;ad thing, to &s;ee men drown body and &s;oul together? men may play with their eternal e&s;tates, and dance about the flames, and never &s;ee their danger till irrecoverable. How many like <HI>Amnon,</HI> die drunk, carry their own condemnation with them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wil&s;on. <HI>K. Ja.</HI></NOTE> That as Sir <HI>Gervi&s;e Elloway</HI> &s;aid; His own hand which he took
<PB N="8" REF="39">
&s;uch a pride in, appeared to his con|demnation, when nothing el&s;e could have wrought it: and &s;uch judge|ments are heavy, &s;eeming as if the execution were alike intended again&s;t the &s;oul, as well as the body; <HI>They &s;pend their dayes in Mirth, and &s;uddenly they go down to Hell,</HI> Job 31.13.</P>
<P>What art thou guilty of that occa|&s;ions this &s;in? which is accompanied with &s;o great tokens of Gods &s;ore di&s;|plea&s;ure? thou that in company force&s;t down drink, or take&s;t plea&s;ure in thy &s;ad profit, by &s;uffering them in thy hou&s;e: read the Prophet, <HI>Wo to him that giveth his neighbour drink, that putteth the bottle to him, and maketh him drunken al&s;o.</HI></P>
<P>It &s;wells greater yet, as its the foun|tain of other &s;ins; As <HI>Nero</HI> wi&s;hed the people of <HI>Rome</HI> had but one neck, that with one &s;troke, he might cut it off: &s;o the Devil, makes up all his com|pounds of this one &s;in; this he makes the onely rode to the breach of all Gods Commandments at once: as one well &s;aid; <HI>Prove a man ungrateful, and he is every thing that is evil:</HI> So let a man be a Drunkard, and Ile &s;e|cure, he &s;hall not &s;tick at the vile&s;t
<PB N="9" REF="39">
Murther, Rape, or whatever mi&s;chief come in his way. This &s;in is without a guard, and though it be the King of other &s;ins, yet it hath not &s;o much as a life-guard: for &s;ome kill their dear|e&s;t friend, who when &s;ober, account him according to that wi&s;e &s;tandard of <HI>Solomons,</HI> friend&s;hip; <HI>better than a Brother:</HI> others their <HI>Father, Si&s;ter,</HI> and the <HI>Wife</HI> of their bo&s;om. <HI>Cyrillus</HI> was &s;laine by his drunken &s;on, who not content with his Fathers blood, &s;ends his Mother with child to ano|ther world, in a bloody winding-&s;heet; wounds one of his Si&s;ters, and deflowers another. Uncleanne&s;&s;e e|&s;capes not this bea&s;tly &s;in, any more than Murder, an example whereof is recorded of one, that tempted to A|dultery, Murder, or Drunkenne&s;&s;e, cho&s;e the la&s;t, as the lea&s;t, but proved the greate&s;t; it was all of them: for now drunk, he commits Adultery with one, who&s;e Husband at the &s;ame time coming in, he murders: the &s;in of uncleanne&s;&s;e is the channel wherein Drunkenne&s;&s;e runneth: <HI>Nunquam ego ebrium ca&s;tum putabo,</HI> &s;ayes one: I will never believe that cha&s;tity lodgeth in the Drunkards bed: As its &s;aid of
<PB N="10" REF="40">
Pumming-&s;tones among&s;t the <HI>Mediter|ranean I&s;lands,</HI> that they are produ|ced of the &s;cum of tho&s;e Seas; &s;o I may &s;ay of uncleanne&s;&s;e, that it is the froth of drunkenne&s;&s;e. Wine is to mo&s;t men the milk of <HI>Venus;</HI> he can never have a pure &s;oul in a cha&s;t body, that &s;ucks at the&s;e brea&s;ts, that fre|quents the &s;ociety of this Baude of lu&s;t. It is the furnace of lu&s;t, the forge on which the devil frames all other &s;ins upon.</P>
<P>As in Nature all things &s;pring from the Root, &s;o all &s;ins are incorporated into this one of drunkenne&s;&s;e; As our natures contain the &s;eeds of all impiety, and there lie for mintage: &s;o when once a man is drunk, he is ready to coine any mi&s;chief, and &s;et the devils &s;tampe on every action. I pray God keep every man from this &s;in.</P>
<P>The outward evils are not few&punc; thy <HI>E&s;tate, Family, Relations,</HI> &s;mart for thy drunken exce&s;&s;e; and when thou art under the extremity, what think|e&s;t thou is the greate&s;t &s;mart, but to con&s;ider, that thy di&s;traction is of thy &s;elf? If a &s;everer judgement pre|vent not, this mi&s;ery of want and <HI>need</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="40">
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n old age, will be the in&s;eparable gho&s;t of this &s;in.</P>
<P>A Drunkard makes him&s;elf the li|ving tomb of his Ance&s;tors, travelling from <HI>luxury</HI> to <HI>nece&s;&s;ity,</HI> never till now writes an <HI>omnia vanit as</HI> upon his ex|travagancies. This &s;in, &s;ayes one, is like gun-powder, which blowes up many a faire fortune. And, no doubt, that which cuts &s;ore, is, To con&s;ider, not onely my own mi&s;ery and pover|ty, but that my poor and innocent relations, &s;hould come to mi&s;ery, tho|rough the road of my &s;in; that tho|rough want, they &s;hould be put upon &s;uch rocks of &s;in and temptation, as po&s;t them out of the World with la|mentation and woes, again&s;t &s;uch cour&s;es, the guilt whereof lyeth at my door. This is the vinegar, and gall.</P>
<P>The next evil is, the mi&s;erable e|&s;tate of their bodies; &s;ome mens &s;ins run before to judgement, and &s;ome come after: This &s;in, I think, is fore|mo&s;t in every thing; for whereas God &s;ayes, I will de&s;troy both the meat, and the belly; he cries, No, no, I will not &s;tay &s;o long, Ile de&s;troy my &s;elf by <HI>Rhumes, Drop&s;ies, Gouts, In|flammations,
<PB N="12" REF="41">
Apoplexies;</HI> who &s;ees no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> complexions altered, countenanc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> changed? how many de&s;troyed by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> violent death? infinite numbers drow+ned, &s;ome broken in pieces by fal+ling into pits, fall off hor&s;e-back dead<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> fareing with them as it is &s;aid of tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Pope</HI> whom the Devill carried away with him in the very act of Adultery <HI>Intemperance is a root proper to every di+&s;ea&s;e;</HI> &s;ayes <HI>Plato: and &s;ickne&s;&s;e is the cha&s;ti&s;ement of Intemperance.</HI> Seneca <HI>Who hath woe?</HI> Who hath &s;orrow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> who hath contention? who wound without cure?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 23.29.</NOTE> tho&s;e that &s;tay long a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the wine, &s;aith the Royall Phylo&s;o+pher. He is next a &s;hame to his relati+ons, his &s;ervants &s;corn and &s;light him &s;o cheaply doth he part with his ho+nour, and authority, that his groom i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> his Ma&s;ter; Is any thing in the world &s;o much the &s;ubject of folly and laugh|ter, to the meane&s;t per&s;ons, even to the boyes in the &s;treet? As once at a meet|ing,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>R.</HI> Junius.</NOTE> a company of per&s;ons having a tem|pe&s;t in their heads, by rea&s;on of a Sea o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> drink, verily thought the hou&s;e a Pin|nace at Sea, and the &s;torm &s;o vehement, that they unladed the ve&s;&s;el, throwing all they could get hold of, out of the
<PB N="13" REF="41">
windowes, in&s;tead of over-board, cal|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ng the Con&s;table <HI>Neptune;</HI> &s;ome got under the Tables, as under the Hatches, Another holds a great pot for the Ma&s;t, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hinking that that which once threw him down, might now hold him up; all of them crying out, what pitty it was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o many brave Gentleman &s;hould be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;t, and founderd at Sea! that could not find the way home by land; not <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">uch unlike a Gentleman of no mean <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rts, attending a funerall in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hurch, pulled out his keyes, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hockt at the pue door, calling of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">awer for a reckoning: or him that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ught his hor&s;e in every Inne, when he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">me on foot to the Town. The mo&s;t re|markable &s;tory I find recorded, is of one <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hom the <HI>Duke</HI> of <HI>Burgundy</HI> found dead <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">unk, and carried to the Pallace; di&s;|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">bed of his own apparell, and equiped <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Court mode; as &s;oon as he a|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">aked, the Dukes attendants wait upon <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">m, per&s;wade him he is &s;ome great <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ince: They &s;erve up dinner with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;ame &s;tate as to the Duke him&s;elf, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t a word &s;poke, all in &s;ilence, to the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eat a&s;toni&s;hment of the poor man, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;mall recreation of the Duke and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">dies: after &s;upper they began to re|vell
<PB N="14" REF="42">
it in his pre&s;ence, the mu&s;ick play and dances begin, with a great &s;hew <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> much &s;plendor, according to the cu&s;to<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of the Court; which done, they fill b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> belly as full of drink, as his head w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> empty of wit and rea&s;on, &s;o convey<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> him to the place where he was foun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> putting on his own apparell; The m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> when recovered, when inve&s;ted wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> rea&s;on, made better &s;port with his ow<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> imagination; the je&s;t being all the ear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+e&s;t of his confu&s;ed conceptions, w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> now had his under&s;tanding as farre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;eek in pur&s;uit of his own information as when he was drunk; hardly believin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> but that now he was drunk, if <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> thought it any thing above a plea&s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> and delightful dream; this he re&s;olve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> that a vi&s;ion he had &s;een, and could n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> by any means be di&s;&s;waded from i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Thus are the &s;ences be&s;otted, the m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+mory that Noble Recorder lo&s;t, an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> rea&s;on it &s;elfe more &s;tupified, then <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> any capacity to u&s;e it. This is the evi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> of it, that let him do the greate&s;t evil<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> he remembers it not.</P>
<P>He knowes not what a &s;ecret i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> though it concern his own life or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tate; and this is the rea&s;on that i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ome Courts they tempt Emba&s;&s;ado<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="15" REF="42">
to ebriety, knowing that he will then be as leaky at the mouth, as an old &s;hip at Sea; all he knowes, comes up with as much ea&s;e, as his drink went down; It is ju&s;t with a Drunkard, as it is &s;aid of a <HI>Spaniard, and a French|man;</HI> That all the drugges in <HI>Egypt,</HI> is not able to purge a &s;ecret out of the former, which is a &s;ickne&s;&s;e and puni&s;h|ment for the latter to retain.</P>
<P>I could have &s;aid much more of the evill effects of this &s;in, but I affect brevity, though I fear to be tedious. We &s;ee it is a wofull, doleful &s;inne; damnes the &s;oul without repentance, de&s;troyes <HI>Body, E&s;tate, Reputation of a good name;</HI> In a word, undoes in this life, and that which is eternall. Me thinks I &s;ee the whole Nation reel un|der the depre&s;&s;ion of this &s;in, as in that though often cut, yet like quick hedges grow again; <HI>Hydra</HI>-like, increa&s;es by his wounds; but if once cut at the Root the <HI>Cedars</HI> as well as the <HI>Shrubs</HI> would fall to the ground; So long as the <HI>tall Okes</HI> &s;tand to &s;helter the &s;torms of Authority from the <HI>Brambles;</HI> lets never expect a hopefull Reformation of this Abu&s;e. For as <HI>Gondamar</HI> &s;aid at a Councel at <HI>Madrid,</HI> Never let's ex|pect
<PB N="16" REF="43">
good from the <HI>Netherlands,</HI> &s;o long as <HI>England</HI> feeds the Humours; let's be|gin at the cau&s;e, and the effects will follow; &s;o I &s;ay if exhortations, threa|tenings, nor civility, will &s;erve to find out common ingenuity from the great ones, let a handle be cut out of the Bowels of greatne&s;&s;e it &s;elf, to lop of the&s;e exuberant branches of wicked|ne&s;&s;e, which hinder the buddings o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> vertue, and promote the wor&s;t of vi|ces; but becau&s;e I account my &s;elf &s;trict+ly related to wi&s;h them well, give m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> leave to treat civilly with the Gen+try.</P>
<P>And oh that I could per&s;wade &s;om<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> Gentlemen from this fooli&s;h &s;ordid and unmanly trade of Drinking! &s;ome few there are, and I hope but few, tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> think it an honour to be drunk, &s;wear and roar with debaucht company; Ma|ny there are in the&s;e Counties as wel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> as other, which bear the remarks of ex|emplary piety; per&s;ons, who for their vertues, are the Honour of their coun|try, who&s;e conver&s;ations alone &s;et a brand upon debauchedne&s;s; of &s;uch I be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the honour to honour them: but &s;uch as are addicted to this &s;in, I would di|&s;till better per&s;wa&s;ions into their minds&punc;
<PB N="17" REF="43">
e&s;pecially to &s;uch as in all points &s;ave this, are extreamely ingenuous; and &s;uch as through their too much inge|nuity cannot re&s;i&s;t temptations, I pity their ea&s;ie natures, and wi&s;h their temperatures had been more &s;teril and moro&s;e! Oh that I could reach the mo&s;t inward part, and there plant the force of per&s;wa&s;ion if it were but to a Moral and Philo&s;ophical kind of life! that in the &s;ight of this debau|ched and bea&s;tly cu&s;tom of exce&s;&s;e, and riot, they might live like &s;ober and di&s;creet men, rather glorying in their &s;obriety like Chri&s;tians, than <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">mpiety like bea&s;ts. <HI>Mirth, chearful|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>&s;obriety,</HI> may be nouri&s;hed without the fooli&s;h cu&s;tom of Drink|ing healths, on purpo&s;e to be drunk. As Lord <HI>Bacon</HI> in his Speech in Star-Chamber, upon the con&s;ideration of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hat cruelty acted again&s;t <HI>Sir Tho. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">verbury,</HI> by impri&s;onment &s;aid; <HI>Its <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">are in the I&s;land of Brittain, its nei|ther of our Country, nor Church;</HI> In <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ome</HI> and <HI>Italy there is a Religion for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">; if it &s;hould come among&s;t us, it were <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">tter living in a VVilderne&s;&s;e, than a court.</HI> May I not wi&s;h, that Drunken|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;&s;e were a &s;in rare in the I&s;land of
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<HI>Britain?</HI> This, I &s;ay, Let other Na|tions have a Religion to be debau|ched and drunk, let it be to other Nations as their natures; but let <HI>Eng+land</HI> account it &s;elf a Wilderne&s;&s;e o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> wild bea&s;ts, when this &s;in reigns: le<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> us &s;ay, Its better to live among&s;t Sal+vages, than &s;uch bea&s;ts as <HI>Adam</HI> never found, nor God never created.</P>
<P>This &s;in formerly was practi&s;e onely by <HI>Tinkers, Beggars,</HI> &amp;c. it wa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> a &s;hame to a Gentleman to be drunk but alas! how many now glory i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their &s;hame, in&s;tead of being (b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their moderation, knowledge, and &s;o+briety) a glory to their Country&punc; Would but &s;hame attend this &s;in, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> would &s;oon be left, but this boa&s;tin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of &s;uch a dayes meeting, wipes off <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hame; &s;o that men grow hardned <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> their iniquity. He that tempts me <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> pa&s;&s;e the bounds of moderation, a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;obriety, does but civilly invite <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to a fever, or &s;ome ruinous di&s;temp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Ile Drink my own health,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> Bacon.</NOTE> &s;ayes a w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> man,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>D.</HI> Taylor.</NOTE> <HI>and pray for the Kings.</HI> Wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>intollerable madne&s;&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> &s;ayes a Learn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> Divine, <HI>hath &s;eized upon great porti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> of mankind, that this folly &s;hould po&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> the greate&s;t &s;pirits, the wittie&s;t men! <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
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be&s;t company! the mo&s;t &s;en&s;ible of the word Honour! the mo&s;t jealous of loo&s;ing the &s;hadow, but throw away the thing! Thou had&s;t better give away thy e&s;tate, than &s;ay thy belly was the grave of thy Patrimony. Is it not a horrid thing, that a</HI> Wi&s;e, <HI>Learned, or</HI> Noble Per|&s;on, <HI>&s;hould lo&s;e his honours, become an Apellative of &s;corn, a Scene of abu&s;es, a di&s;honour to that party for which he with <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">thers have &s;uffered? That which I <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eplore,</HI> &s;ayes he, <HI>is, that mo&s;t men pre|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">er a cau&s;e before their life, and by one Drunken meeting, &s;et it further back|ward in its hopes, and ble&s;&s;ings, than a whole year of coun&s;ells and arms can <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">epair.</HI></P>
<P>Indeed the Nation would hardly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">lu&s;h, if onely the &s;cum and froth of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">t were tainted; but for this di&s;ea&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o fall upon the vitals, its a dye in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">rain, a ruine to honour without a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">emedy. I hope there are &s;parkes of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ngenuity yet remaining in &s;ome, as well as this &s;in, which if once they take <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">re, from the con&s;ideration, either of <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hreatnings, judgements, rea&s;on, honour, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">eputation,</HI> or <HI>a good name,</HI> this de|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">auchedne&s;&s;e would &s;oon be blown <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nto the aire; and if once the Gentry
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left it, then it would become a &s;hame indeed in the very Nation: But I fear the habit and cu&s;tom of this &s;in, will force us at la&s;t to the &s;ordid pra|cti&s;e of &s;ome Nations, where its not accounted friendly entertainment, if men be not drunk before they part; I wi&s;h it may not be found a practi&s;e in &s;ome Gentlemens hou&s;es in this Nation!</P>
<P>Let me conclude with lamenting, and per&s;wading; Is it not a great pity, that men of the <HI>greate&s;t Honour,</HI> and <HI>expectations</HI> of the Nation for <HI>Gen|tility, Breeding, Learning,</HI> &amp;c. &s;hould &s;uffer the &s;hipwrack of every thing that can be called good! That &s;uch &s;hould be &s;o &s;adly ruined in this &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of drunkenne&s;&s;e! which like a Heri+cane, &s;pareth none, but &s;uch as feel a le&s;&s;e puni&s;hment than ruine it &s;elf. A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> one &s;aid, <HI>he could willingly lo&s;e half his learning, to redeem his health;</HI> &s;o ma+ny may lament and wi&s;h half their knowledge and learning which once they had! May I per&s;wade you, let me tell you, its as much below Gen|tility, as a Gentleman is above other by birth, and that which &s;hould di+&s;tingui&s;h him from other more pea+&s;antly
<PB N="21" REF="45">
deportments. Can there be no <HI>medium</HI> in your mirth and chear|full repa&s;ts, below this &s;inne of <HI>Di&s;ho|nour, Bea&s;tly,</HI> and <HI>Debaucht beha|viour?</HI> Let me beg you to hate it, and remember that nothing more en|nobles a Gentlemans name, or bla|zons forth his Honour and Reputa|tion, but &s;tudying an Aptitude for his Countries &s;ervice, purcha&s;ed not by drunkenne&s;&s;e, and bea&s;tline&s;&s;e; but by <HI>Learning, Parts, Knowledge, Wi&s;|dom, Sobriety, Temperance, &V;rbanity,</HI> and all which, this &s;in de&s;troyes, if you e&s;cape with the &s;hipwrack of a good con&s;cience: Let <HI>Solomons</HI> in&s;truction be remembred; <HI>My &s;on, be not among the wine bibbers, for the</HI> Drunkard <HI>and the</HI> Glutton <HI>&s;hall come to poverty.</HI></P>
<P>If per&s;wa&s;ions built upon the prin|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">iples of Rea&s;on, the &s;ad fruits of it, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ame, di&s;honour, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Gods threat|ning mu&s;t nextly have place, which in|deed are not &s;mall, and yet will but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ake way for his more &s;evere di&s;|pen&s;ations in his Judgements.</P>
<P><HI>Wo to the Drunkards of Ephraim;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 28.1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 19.</NOTE> <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he Lord as a mighty and &s;trong one, which as a tempe&s;t of haile, and a de|troying &s;torme, as a flood of mighty wa|ters
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and overflowing, &s;hall pull down the pride of the Drunkard; for with wine they have erred, and with &s;trong drink have gone out of the way: thy are &s;wal|lowed up of wine; for all Tables are full of vomit, and filthine&s;&s;e:</HI> for which the overflowing &s;courge is threatned, as a ju&s;t reward for &s;o great a &s;in; to|gether with famine, which &s;aith the Prophet in the la&s;t ver&s;e, <HI>cometh forth from the Lord of Ho&s;ts.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 22.12, 13, 14.</NOTE> And again, <HI>the Lord calleth for weeping, howling, and lamentation,</HI> which &s;hall come upon <HI>Gluttony</HI> and <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e; and the Lord of Ho&s;ts,</HI> &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>hath revealed it in mine eare, that this ini|quity &s;hall not be purged from you,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 5.22.</NOTE> <HI>till y<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> die.</HI></P>
<P>In another place. <HI>VVo to them tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> are mighty to drink wine, and men o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;trength to mingle &s;trong drink; for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the fire devoureth the &s;tubble, and th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> flame con&s;umeth the chaff, &s;o their root &s;hall be rottenne&s;&s;e, and the blo&s;&s;om &s;hall go <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> as du&s;t; therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled, and hath &s;mitten them and the Hills did tremble, and their carca&s;es torn in the mid&s;t of the &s;treets</HI> If the&s;e denunciations were delibe+rately weighed, how would the ver<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
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joynts of &s;inners tremble, and &s;mite one again&s;t another, as <HI>Belt&s;hazars,</HI> when he &s;aw the hand-writing upon the wall. Hear the Prophet <HI>Joel.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Joel 1.5.</NOTE> <HI>Awake ye Drunkards, and weep and howle all ye Drinkers of wine.</HI> God oft comes when we are a&s;leep, and many poor &s;ouls have never awaken|ed from their Drunkenne&s;&s;e, till in Hell with <HI>Dives;</HI> this is a &s;ad awaken|ing. <HI>Go to, weep and howl,</HI> &s;ayes St. James, <HI>ye have lived in plea&s;ure and wantonne&s;&s;e, and nouri&s;hed your hearts as in a day of &s;laughter.</HI></P>
<P>If yet all will not warne, what mu&s;t Gods appearances then be when he comes in terrour and wrath, by his vi&s;ible examples of judgement, which I have collected from <HI>Scripture, Hi|&s;tory,</HI> and <HI>Modern experience.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Elah,</HI> King of I&s;rael, was murdered by <HI>Zimri,</HI> in the mid&s;t of his cups,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King. 16.9, 10.</NOTE> as a judgement of God upon his ex|ce&s;&s;e. <HI>Ammon,</HI> when his heart was merry with wine, was murdered by <HI>Ab&s;oloms</HI> &s;ervants. Righteous <HI>Lot,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam 13.28.</NOTE> by this &s;in commits ince&s;t with his own daughters; and as one well ob&s;erves,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 9.21.</NOTE> made a <HI>Sodom</HI> of his own Family.</P>
<P>The heavy cur&s;e, that to this day
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lieth upon <HI>Noah</HI>'s &s;on, <HI>Cham</HI>'s Po&s;te|rity, was through this &s;in, whereby he di&s;covered his own &s;hame. <HI>Holo|fernes,</HI> having too much exceeded in wine, lo&s;t both wit and head at once.</P>
<P><HI>Alexanders</HI> &s;orrow after his &s;in, will tell us the &s;ad fruits of it; for &s;el|dom &s;ome or other of his dear friends e&s;caped his fury when he was drunk.</P>
<P><HI>Cleomena,</HI> King of <HI>Lacedemonia,</HI> at a time being drunk, was never &s;ober after;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Peards.</HI> Theatre.</NOTE> but as a judgement of the Lord, he lo&s;t his &s;en&s;es for not having judgement to keep them. Another is as ju&s;tly rewarded with the fruit of the vine, <HI>Anacreon,</HI> that grand en|gulpher of wine, was choaked with an empty grape.</P>
<P>The Earl of <HI>A&s;permont</HI> drained his e&s;tate &s;o dry by his exce&s;&s;e in this &s;in, as he ju&s;tly died in mi&s;ery; for at a meeting, he drunk &s;o deep, as he could never ri&s;e again; for he died with it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Non ut vi|vat fed ut bibat.</NOTE>The Emperour <HI>Bono&s;ius,</HI> through his cu&s;tom in this &s;in, was &s;aid, <HI>not to be born &s;o much to live, as to drink.</HI> This was he that would force drink into Amba&s;&s;adours, the better to pump up their &s;ecrets: He was &s;hame|fully
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hanged with this Epitaph. <HI>This is a Tun, and no man.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Zeno,</HI> Emperour of the Ea&s;t, be|came &s;o hateful by his intemperance, that none could endure to &s;ee him; his wife <HI>Ariadne</HI> one day when he lay &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e (as he oft did) ca&s;t him in|to a Tomb, and buried him alive, as a ju&s;t reward of his drunken|ne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Augu&s;t</HI> 18. 1629.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Neal|&s;on,</HI> Mini|&s;ter, his Letter to Mr. <HI>Taylor</HI> in Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE> <HI>Tho. VVil&s;on</HI> la|bourer, a known Bla&s;phemer, and Cur&s;er, by oathes, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> was al&s;o given up to this bea&s;tly &s;in of Drunkenne&s;&s;e; who through the ju&s;tice of God, a|gain&s;t both &s;ins, in an angry pa&s;&s;ion &s;tab'd him&s;elf with his own knife, and &s;o died in the mid&s;t of many neigh|bours.</P>
<P><HI>May</HI> 10. 1629. <HI>John Bone</HI> of <HI>Ely,</HI> Coachman to Mr. <HI>Balnum</HI> of <HI>Beenham,</HI> was a very vild Swearer, and Drun|kard; who on a Sabbath day, in Sermon-time, being drunk, and not able to &s;it in the Coach-box, fell un|der the hor&s;es feet, and was troden to death. You Sabbath-breakers, and Swearers, hearken to this doleful ex|ample of Gods immediate hand.</P>
<P><HI>Nov.</HI> 16. 1618. one <HI>Tho. Alred</HI> of
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<HI>Godmanche&s;ter</HI> Butcher, being very prophane, and given to this &s;in, was de&s;ired by a neighbour to unpitch a load of hay, and being drunk, let his pitchfork fall, and &s;tooping to reach it, &s;tanding with the forks upwards, fell upon it, that it run into his body, and &s;o fell down dead, as a warning to others.</P>
<P><HI>July</HI> 16. 1628. One <HI>John Vintner</HI> of <HI>Godmanche&s;ter,</HI> being a known drun|kard, and given (e&s;pecially in his drink) to &s;coff at Religion and godly people, fell from the top of a Peare-tree, and broke his neck, and &s;o died under the hand of ju&s;tice: an ex|ample for all prophane drunkards, and &s;coffers of God and his people.</P>
<P>A Gentleman of good reputation, and demeanour, being not addicted to this &s;in, was through temptation overtaken with this &s;nare;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Ward,</HI> his Wo to Drun|kards.</NOTE> but lo, ju&s;tice will be &s;atisfied on &s;ome, to be an example and terrour to others; for riding home, his hor&s;e threw him, and beat out his brains: He being void of rea&s;on, and &s;o not capable of advice, would follow no way but his own, which led to de&s;truction; for without fear or &s;en&s;e, he &s;purred his hor&s;e
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over all &s;orts of cro&s;&s;e and de&s;perate wayes, till he thus fell under the &s;troak of Divine wrath.</P>
<P>About the year 1630. nigh <HI>Maldon,</HI> five or &s;ix notorious Drunkards had plotted a meeting, and laid in beer for their prophane drinking healths: But (Divine Ju&s;tice that can with his breath bla&s;t all our undertakings) did &s;o ju&s;tly give them up to exce&s;&s;e in this &s;in and meeting, as they never met more, but all yielded up their &s;pirits to the Ju&s;tice of that God, whom they abu&s;ed by his creatures.</P>
<P>A man coming home drunk, would needs &s;wim in a Mill dam, which his &s;ervants and wife di&s;&s;waded him from, becau&s;e he could not &s;wim, and once got him out after he was in, but he gets in again, and by the ju&s;t hand of God there peri&s;hed. I was, &s;ays my Au|thour, at the hou&s;e to enquire of the truth thereof, and found it too &s;adly true. And one of <HI>Ali&s;ham</HI> in <HI>Norfolk,</HI> a notorious drunkard, was drowned in a &s;hallow brook, with his hor&s;e &s;tanding by him.</P>
<P>A Butcher in <HI>Ha&s;lingfield,</HI> &s;coffing at the Preacher for his reproving of this &s;in, was in the in&s;tant of his rail|ing,
<PB N="28" REF="49">
choaked by &s;omewhat that &s;tuck in his throat, which could by no means be got up or down; but &s;trang|led him. Oh the Divine Ju&s;tice! how Righteous and Ju&s;t is the Lord in all his wayes! how are his judgements pa&s;t finding out!</P>
<P>At <HI>Tillingham</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> 3 young men meeting to drink, one fell down dead, and never ro&s;e again; the other two e&s;caped through mercy (by the gates of much &s;ickne&s;&s;e) that they might re|pent, and if not, to be the le&s;&s;e excu|&s;able, if God followed them by the like &s;everity.</P>
<P>At <HI>Bungey</HI> in <HI>Norforlk,</HI> three drunken companions coming out of an Ale-hou&s; in a dark evening, &s;wore they thought hell was not darker; but ob&s;erve the end of Ju&s;tice; one fell over a Bridge, and was drowned; the &s;econd &s;lain with a fall from his hor&s;e: a third &s;leeping by the River &s;ide, was found frozen to death.</P>
<P>At <HI>Hedly,</HI> a Bayliffe being drunk, got upon his Mare, &s;aying, &s;he would carry him to the Devill; &s;he indeed ca&s;ts him off, and broke his neck. This Ju&s;tice was the more remarkable, being upon the Lords day.</P>
<P><PB N="29" REF="49">A company meeting in an Ale-hou&s;e in <HI>Harwich</HI> at night, over again&s;t Mr. <HI>Ru&s;&s;els</HI> hou&s;e, was once or twice de&s;ired to depart and avoyd &s;uch wickedne&s;&s;e; but they would not: he comes to the place him&s;elf, and ap|prehends one of them, and offering to carry him to pri&s;on, he drawes his knife, and made his e&s;cape; But oh the Ju&s;tice of the Lord! the &s;trange and wonderfull wayes of his Providence! this man was not heard of for three dayes, and at la&s;t was taken out of the Sea with his knife in his hand, ju|&s;tified by Mr. <HI>Ru&s;&s;ell</HI> him&s;elf, who was the Mayor of the place.</P>
<P>At <HI>Tenby</HI> in <HI>Pembroke&s;hire,</HI> A com|mon and frequent Drunkard, in the mid&s;t of this &s;in, fell from a high Rock, and was broke in pieces; and four other in&s;tances, my Authour &s;ayes he could relate wallowing and tumbling in their drink, &s;lain by Carts, &amp;c. But being the common wayes of Gods Ju&s;tice, he forbeares them in the mid&s;t of &s;o many extraor|dinary and remarkable pa&s;&s;ages of Gods Ju&s;tice and power, and indeed innumerable might be &s;uch in&s;tances, which the experience of every place
<PB N="30" REF="50">
prevents in this. A Gla&s;ier in Chan|cery Lane <HI>London,</HI> having &s;ome &s;parks of profe&s;&s;ion, but falling from them, fell into this &s;in; who being often re|proved by his Chri&s;tian friends, and no better: God hardened his heart again&s;t them, and once being drunk, by the violence of vomiting, broke a vein, continued two dayes in extre|mity of Angui&s;h and torment, not without great conflicts and di&s;tre&s;&s;e of mind, his con&s;cience being awa|kened, and God in much mercy breathing &s;ome comfort to his di&s;tre&s;|&s;ed &s;oul, he yielded up his &s;oul to God, as he had done his body to Sathan, atte&s;ted by a kin&s;man of his own to my Authour. O that, if it had been Gods will, all examples of ju&s;tice were ac|companied with &s;uch &s;weetne&s;&s;e and mercy, as to give any hope of the &s;afe|ty of the &s;oule, when the body in the act of &s;in is de&s;troyed.</P>
<P>A Knight given to this wicked &s;in of Drunkenne&s;&s;e, did &s;ometimes or|der pailes of drink into the fields to make people drunk. On a time drink|ing with company, a certain woman comes in, and giveth him a Ring with this po&s;ie; <HI>Drink and die;</HI> which he ac|cepted
<PB N="31" REF="50">
of and wore; and in &s;ix dayes died through exce&s;&s;e of drink, ju&s;ti|fied by a Mini&s;ter dwelling within a mile of the place.</P>
<P>Two children my Authour &s;ayes, he hath known to murther their Mo|ther in drink; and another that at|tempted to kill his Father, of which being fru&s;trated, he &s;et fire of his barn, and afterward came to the Gal|lowes.</P>
<P>In Broad-&s;treet <HI>London,</HI> Many Gen|tlemen drinking healths to their &s;ole Lords on whom they depended, one wicked wretch takes up a Pottle pot of Sack, &s;weares a deep oath, &s;aying, will none drink a health to my Noble Lord and Ma&s;ter? and without any more words he begunne him&s;elfe, and drank up the pot full to the bottome, and &s;uddenly fell as if dead, &s;nor|ting, but not &s;peaking; he is layd by as one overcome, and covered with cloathes, till they drink as large a proportion, as their in&s;atiate appe|tites would take in; when done, ex|pecting their friend &s;hould ri&s;e, they found him dead indeed. Oh &s;ad to go to Eternity &s;wearing and drunk! who would not dread the I&s;&s;ue?</P>
<P><PB N="32" REF="51">At <HI>Barnwell</HI> nigh <HI>Cambridge,</HI> a young man and a woman, with a hun|dred more in company, met at the &s;ign of the Plough, agreeing to drink off a Barrell of Beer, which they did; but will not examples of others warn us? then let's expect to be monu|ments to others; three of them died in twenty four houres, the fourth e&s;ca|ped with great &s;ickne&s;&s;e, and by the gates of death had life given him, wit|ne&s;&s;ed by a Ju&s;tice of Peace of the County near by.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">D.T. Tay|lor.</NOTE>Two &s;ervants of a Brewers in <HI>Ip&s;|wich,</HI> whil&s;t I was Mini&s;ter there, &s;aid my Authour, drinking for a Rump of a Turky, in their drink they &s;trugled for it, and both fell into a &s;calding Cal|dron, the one died pre&s;ently, the o|ther in Torment and Angui&s;h pined away.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Bea|dles</HI> Dia|ry.</NOTE>At a Tavern in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI> a Con&s;table was threatned by a drunken Serving-man, to be forced out of the hou&s;e by his oathes and cur&s;es, if he would not be gone, and in his drink pur&s;uing one of his company to force him to drink off a pint of Sack, he fell down &s;tairs, and immediately fell under the &s;troke of divine vengeance; oh! you &s;wea|rers
<PB N="33" REF="51">
and cur&s;ers, remember the&s;e ex|amples of God! let them be examples to you; will not the wrath of God re|vealed &s;tand in our way, and encom|pa&s;&s;e us about with terrour and fear? Oh be not proud of your &s;trength, to devour and engro&s;&s;e the creatures of God to &s;atisfy your lu&s;ts! It is recorded of a Noble-man coming to <HI>Ip&s;wich</HI> to vi&s;it his Kin&s;man in that Univer&s;ity, that demanded how he profited in his &s;tudies, to whom they reply very well, and that among&s;t one thou&s;and five hundred, he had the garland given him for the able&s;t drinker. Gods Judge|ments will find us &s;ooner or later.</P>
<P>In <HI>Salisbury,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Clerks</HI> Examples</NOTE> one in the mid&s;t of his drink began a health to the devill, &s;aying, if he would not pledge him, he would not believe there was either God or devill, his a&s;&s;ociates being ter|rified at his words, with fear runne away; the Vintner hearing a hideous noy&s;e, and &s;melling, and unu&s;ual and noy&s;om &s;avour, ran up to the chamber, but his gue&s;t was gone, &amp; the windows broken, the Iron barres of the win|dows bended and bloody; and the poor wretch never more heard of. The&s;e are &s;ad in&s;tances of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure,
<PB N="34" REF="52">
if he would plea&s;e in mercy to &s;et them home upon &s;ome poor &s;inners.</P>
<P>In the year 1551. in <HI>Bohemia,</HI> five drunkards were met together to drink, who &s;eeing a picture painted upon the wall, for the devill, drank healths to him; the next night they were all found dead with their necks broken, and their bodies cru&s;ht in pie|ces, blood running out of their mouthes, no&s;trils, ears, &amp;c.</P>
<P>In the County of <HI>Cavan</HI> in <HI>Ireland,</HI> a Gentleman of <HI>Ca&s;tle-terra,</HI> was much given to delight in drunken company, wherein healths went down &s;wiftly, and gla&s;&s;es broke again&s;t the walls at every health; by this &s;in he was &s;o much addicted to wickedne&s;&s;e and im|penitency, as his &s;port was to repeat the Mini&s;ters Sermons in &s;corn, and deri&s;ion, e&s;pecially at one time ha|ving heard a Sermon upon faith, de|manded of the Mini&s;ter if he could remove mountaines, el&s;e he would not believe he had faith. This Gentle|man is by Gods hand &s;truck with the &s;mall pox, which gets into his throat, in &s;uch extremity, that he could not &s;wallow any meat or drink to cool and refre&s;h the violence of his internall
<PB N="35" REF="52">
heat; that throat that had been the gutter and channel of many a pounds worth of drink, could not now, in tor|ment like <HI>Dives,</HI> &s;uffer one drop to re|fre&s;h him. In this &s;ad and bitter con|flict, he breaks out into the&s;e expre&s;&s;i|ons to an hone&s;t man &s;tanding by. <HI>Oh Thomas,</HI> would <HI>I</HI> could now receive one of tho&s;e gla&s;&s;es of drink, which formerly I profu&s;ely and profanely have thrown again&s;t the walls! And growing wor&s;e and wor&s;e, without hopes of life, perceiving no remedy but death for all his &s;oares, he breaks out again in his agony and torment; oh that now I had but as much faith as a grain of Mu&s;tard-&s;eed, and &s;o ex|pired the 57. year of his Age. I pray, and cordially de&s;ire, that &s;uch &s;inners as parallel this example, may not be reacht with the like Ju&s;tice! Many there are in this Nation grown up to a height of <HI>Malice,</HI> and Rage again&s;t Gods Mini&s;ters, and &s;ome in this place boyled up to a proportion of envy, ready to break; The Lord break their hearts, and humble their &s;oules, under that two-edged &s;word of his word, that they may be &s;aved in the day of the Lord.</P>
<P><PB N="36" REF="53"><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Young.</NOTE>A Gentleman of Quality being drunk, and ri&s;ing to urine, evacuating that into the fire, that prepared fuell for him&s;elf, he fell into the fire, and not being able to ri&s;e again, his belly was gathered together like a piece of Lether, the chamberlain coming in, helped in, that could not pity or help him&s;elf, and though in great torture and pain, through the piercing angui&s;h of Gods Judgement, yet he called for, and drank off two and twenty double Jugs of Beer, and &s;o in this &s;ad and lamentable e&s;tate, died; Roaring, and Crying, that he was damned for breaking his vow of Reformation, Oh that the Lord would work a Refor|mation indeed! that poor creatures may not thus fall under divine Ju|&s;tice, too much to be feared, as well to &s;oul as body.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Stubs</HI> Anatomy of abu&s;es</NOTE>Remarkable is the example of that tragical &s;tory of two Drunkards, who the fourth of <HI>July,</HI> 1580. at <HI>Neker|&s;hofew</HI> in <HI>Almain,</HI> came into an Inne, called for bread and wine, and drink|ing to an infinite exce&s;&s;e; at la&s;t, one of them drinks a health to God, demand|ing what wine God would pledg him in? and reaching forth his arm with
<PB N="37" REF="53">
a cup full &s;ayes, <HI>God I know not what wine thou like&s;t be&s;t, but this I think is too good for thee, unle&s;&s;e thou had&s;t &s;ent better; but &s;uch as it is I give thee, take it, pledge me pre&s;ently, and carou&s;e it off every drop, as I have done to thee, or thou do&s;t me wrong.</HI></P>
<P>Here's a piece of bla&s;phemy, which I am confident the mo&s;t wretched crea|ture in the world, dur&s;t not &s;peak &s;o|ber; Oh this &s;ad &s;in! we little know what the fruits of one drunken hour may produce. This vile wretch, no &s;ooner ended his helli&s;h courte&s;ie, but that ju&s;t and wi&s;e God (who mu&s;t be provoked before he will execute his &s;evere Judgements) whom he had bla&s;phemed, pledged him with a witne&s;&s;e, for he left him as a pledge to the world of his wrath, and di&s;|plea&s;ure again&s;t this &s;in. His arme which he &s;tretched out, was never able to be pulled in again; his body &s;tupi|fied as well as his &s;en&s;es, not able to &s;tirre from the place, continuing a long time, in this &s;ad condition, his eyes rolling to and fro in a terrible manner, his breath and &s;peech lo&s;t, yet &s;eemed to all alive; The people flock in droves to &s;ee this &s;ad &s;pectacle of
<PB N="38" REF="54">
fury and vengeance, &s;ome offer to re|move him, but could not; hor&s;es are tied to him, but could not &s;tir him: they put fire to him, which would not take hold: &s;o per&s;waded God had &s;et him there as a warning to Drunkards, they left him &s;o, and to this day, &s;ayes my Author, he &s;tands as a Pillar and Mark, to bid others avoid the like wickedne&s;&s;e, lea&s;t they participate of Gods wrath, which though it moves a &s;low pace, will in the end light hea|vier, in as much as Gods patience pro|voked, turns to the mo&s;t irre&s;i&s;table puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>His companion who had e&s;caped the imediate hand of God, fell into the hands of Ju&s;tice al&s;o; for as the other died a terrible, &s;o this a &s;hamefull death, being hanged by the common people before the door of the hou&s;e where the &s;in was committed. O that you would con&s;ider this, ye that for|get God, lea&s;t he teare you in pieces, and there be none to help!</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Young.</NOTE>At one of <HI>Alexanders</HI> great meet|ings, appointed for his Officers and Favourits, no le&s;&s;e died with exce&s;&s;e of drink, than 41. and after many a health, <HI>Promachus,</HI> at the bottom of
<PB N="39" REF="54">
four gallons of wine found the prize and jewel appointed for the Con|querour.</P>
<P>Another time he ended his own health and life, by drinking a health out of <HI>Hercules</HI> Cup, which to effect, 35. drunk their la&s;t al&s;o. The&s;e are direful and pregnant te&s;timonies of Gods Judgements upon this impious cu&s;tom of drinking healths. Again&s;t that good law of the <HI>Spartans: &V;t bibat abitrio pocula qui&s;que &s;uo.</HI> Every man to his own liberty: Or that of the <HI>Goths,</HI> where it was death to drink or force a health.</P>
<P>Its placed in the Records of time, that <HI>Popelus,</HI> &s;econd King of <HI>Poland,</HI> doubting the fruits of his male-go|vernment to be the peoples depo&s;ing him; by his Queens coun&s;el, faines him&s;elf &s;ick, &s;ends for twenty of the Elective Princes out of <HI>Pomerania,</HI> intreating their vi&s;it, (who as well now as at other times) came, and for their ju&s;t reward and puni&s;hment of their great exce&s;&s;e in drink, and cu|&s;tom of healths, they now drunk their la&s;t, without being drunk at all. The King makes a Speech, intreates his Son may be elected Heir to the
<PB N="40" REF="55">
Crown, after his departure, which they promi&s;e, if the Nobility con&s;ent|ed to their re&s;olves; The Queen to &s;eal the bargaine, brings a cup of poi&s;oned liquor, intreating to drink his Maje&s;ties recovery: they had been &s;o often u&s;ed to this &s;inful cu&s;tom, as it would have &s;eemed ridiculous to refu&s;e it; but the Kings health co&s;t them all theirs, to the utter ruine of the <HI>Polonian</HI> Race. But this Ju&s;tice of God upon Health-drinkers, cea&s;es not in their deaths; but after al&s;o, for (to admiring of Ju&s;tice) from the&s;e poi&s;oned bodies, &s;uch infinite troopes and &s;warmes of Rats and Mice pro|ceed, as pur&s;ued the <HI>King, Queen,</HI> and Family, from place to place, from land to &s;ea, and from &s;ea to the &s;trong Ca&s;tle of <HI>Cracovia,</HI> where they were forced to flie, and neverthele&s;&s;e al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> arts were u&s;ed, all oppo&s;ition made, by Guards and Garri&s;ons, Water-works and Fire-works, yet were they eaten up, and de&s;troyed by the&s;e Rats and Mice. The Lord I hope will awaken &s;ome to &s;ee the evil of &s;in, by that o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> puni&s;hment.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Doctor <HI>Beards</HI> Theatre.</NOTE>At <HI>Ke&s;grave</HI> nigh <HI>Ip&s;wich,</HI> three Serving-men taking their leave, the
<PB N="41" REF="55">
woman of the hou&s;e would needs per|&s;wade them to drink wit, money, and her Ale out; but oh! that this won|derful example of Gods Judgement upon her, may warn all people, not to &s;uffer, much le&s;&s;e to provoke, any to this &s;in under their roofe; for this woman &s;tands with <HI>Lots</HI> Wife, a Pillar and Statue of Gods wrath: &s;he no &s;ooner approaches with the pot in her hand, but was &s;uddenly deprived of her &s;peech; her tongue (that &s;mooth oratour of the Devil to per&s;wade to &s;in and wickedne&s;&s;e) &s;wells in her mouth, and without a word more died. Sir <HI>Anthony Felton</HI> Ju&s;tice, and others, &s;ayes my Author, related it to me, as a thing they were eye-witne&s;&s;es of:</P>
<P>And within the&s;e few years, &s;ayes he, upon mine own knowledge, three being drunk nigh <HI>Huntington,</HI> were all undone and de&s;troyed by a water, which pa&s;&s;ing, they were forced into the &s;tream and drowned; leaving be|hind them the remarks of Gods Righteous Judgements.</P>
<P>On <HI>November</HI> 14. 1650. &s;aith a Divine of this Nation,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Trapp.</NOTE> a company of odious drunkards met at a hou&s;e, and
<PB N="42" REF="56">
one coming home was drowned in a &s;hallow ditch, his body not yet buri|ed; concluding, oh! tho&s;e Ale-hou&s;es the pe&s;t of the Nation!</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">M. L.</NOTE>Another as &s;ad, from a Reverend Divine al&s;o, of the &s;ame County, who at my reque&s;t, gave it me under his hand, which he could have done ma|ny others of falling off Hor&s;eback; into Rivers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> but I onely aime at &s;uch as are mo&s;t remarkable, knowing that the &s;ad experience of mo&s;t places, gives intelligence &s;ufficient of &s;uch examples, which indeed are &s;ad enough though the commonne&s;&s;e take away the &s;en&s;e of them.</P>
<P>The example thus. About the year 1621. There dwelt in <HI>Houghton</HI> on the Spring, in the County of <HI>Dur|ham,</HI> one <HI>Chri&s;topher Hull,</HI> a <HI>Taylor</HI> who kept an Ale-hou&s;e in the &s;aid Town, and at <HI>We&s;t Herrington</HI> in the &s;ame Pari&s;h, lived one Mr. <HI>Pun&s;hon,</HI> a mo&s;t infamous and notorious Drunkard, and every way mo&s;t wretchedly pro|phane; He being a frequent haunter of <HI>Hulls</HI> hou&s;e, did one day fall out with him, and coming out of the door &s;aid, <HI>If ever I come within the&s;e doors, the Devil &s;hall bring me in:</HI> &s;ome few
<PB N="43" REF="56">
dayes after, <HI>Pun&s;hon,</HI> going up the &s;treet of <HI>Houghton, Hull</HI> &s;tood at the door, and &s;aid to him, <HI>Will you not come in?</HI> No, &s;aid he, for I have &s;worn the <HI>Devil,</HI> &amp;c. Then &s;aid <HI>Hull,</HI> I will be the <HI>Devil</HI> for this time; &s;o taking <HI>Pun&s;hon</HI> on his back, carried him in, where they drank one another drunk, and quareling, <HI>Hull</HI> &s;tab'd <HI>Pun&s;hon</HI> in the throat, who immediately died: <HI>Hull</HI> was cleared at <HI>Durham</HI> A&s;&s;izes by the favour of his Clergy, but &s;oon after died, and, as its reported, very penitent.</P>
<P>In the year 1624. a Black&s;mith in <HI>Oxford,</HI> being a very frequent drun|kard, after he had continued &s;o &s;ome dayes together, did in a de&s;perate manner, cut his own throat, yet lived &s;ome dayes, during which time, &s;ome Schollars and others, came to vi&s;it him; he often thru&s;t his hand into the wound, and pulling out handfuls of blood, did &s;pread it before the company, crying out, <HI>See here Gen|tlemen the fruits of Drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI> This was affirmed by a Gentleman of the County of <HI>Durham,</HI> who &s;aw and heard it.</P>
<P>In the year 1649. <HI>James Fairburne,</HI>
<PB N="44" REF="57">
in the Town of <HI>Meller&s;ton,</HI> nigh the River <HI>Tweed,</HI> died in a mo&s;t mi&s;erable, and roaring condition, through ex|ce&s;&s;e of drink.</P>
<P>On Ea&s;ter Monday, 1656. One <HI>Tho. Fo&s;ter,</HI> Carrier of <HI>Carli&s;le,</HI> being drunk, rode out of Town, and had not rode above a quarter of a mile from the Town, but in the very High road, fell off his hor&s;e, and in a water, not a|bove a quarter of a yard deep, he mi&s;erably peri&s;hed.</P>
<P>In the year 1651. <HI>James Bouch</HI> of <HI>Cockermouth,</HI> being a mo&s;t notorious Drunkard and Swearer, being drunk at <HI>Ro&s;ley</HI> Faire, did quarrel with two Troopers, who there killed him, as a judgement of God upon his former and pre&s;ent drunkenne&s;&s;e and &s;wear|ing.</P>
<P><HI>Robert Copeland,</HI> a Butcher in <HI>Car|li&s;le,</HI> being a common Drunkard, and prophaner of Gods Name, by cur&s;ed oathes, being drunk, did in the year 1651. break his neck in a &s;table hard by the Ca&s;tle.</P>
<P>1632. <HI>John Emer&s;ton</HI> of <HI>Dal&s;ton,</HI> in <HI>Cumberland,</HI> was a very notorious Drunkard for many years, and one time in an Ale-hou&s;e, died &s;uddenly
<PB N="45" REF="57">
with a cup of drink in his hand.</P>
<P>In the year 1656. One Mr. <HI>Her|ridge,</HI> who formerly was a Linnen-Draper in <HI>Colche&s;ter,</HI> now living in this place, being too often found in the &s;in of drunkenne&s;&s;e, was at la&s;t over|taken with Ju&s;tice; for coming on hor&s;eback from <HI>Sunderland,</HI> full of drink, he fell off his hor&s;e; and there died, without &s;peaking one word. God will be glorified in his Judge|ments, where mercy and patience will not per&s;wade and allure.</P>
<P><HI>Anno</HI> 1654. One <HI>John Coultred</HI> of <HI>Orton</HI> Pari&s;h nigh <HI>Carli&s;le,</HI> coming drunk out of an Ale-hou&s;e from <HI>Thursby,</HI> fell from his hor&s;e, not far from the Ale-hou&s;e, and died im|mediately.</P>
<P>1650. <HI>VVilliam Howe,</HI> who kept an Ale-hou&s;e in <HI>Carli&s;le,</HI> one time was drunk with two of his gue&s;ts that were borderers, and going to convey them over the bridge, did all three fall into the River <HI>Caud;</HI> the two gue&s;ts were drowned, <HI>Howe</HI> e&s;caped by means of &s;ome bu&s;hes, and was ta|ken up alive: which may be as a warning to &s;uch as keep drink, to beware of other mens blood; I would
<PB N="46" REF="58">
be loath to be &s;o guilty, though I might e&s;cape with my life: its a &s;ad thing to be a means of any mans out|ward ruine, but to have a hand in mens dying in their &s;ins, its much more to be accounted for.</P>
<P>The&s;e are &s;ad examples of Gods Severity and Ju&s;tice, Who can &s;tand before a con&s;uming fire? <HI>when once his anger is but a little kindled, ble&s;&s;ed are all they that tru&s;t in him.</HI> Our Judges find in their Circuit, few that are arraigned, which are not brought to it by this &s;in, like &s;laves to the Judge|ment-&s;eat; and are &s;ent quick, from their &s;ins to judgement, forcing cha|rity it &s;elf to cen&s;ure their eternal e|&s;tates; the eccho of who&s;e &s;ins, re|&s;ounds in their puni&s;hments with ven|geance from heaven.</P>
<P>Were I to pre&s;cribe prophilacticks, I would intreat thee to ble&s;&s;e thy &s;elf from this &s;in: none knows whither the wind of a di&s;tempered brain will hurry thee, or whither this &s;pirit of <HI>Bacchus</HI> will drive thee: if once thou put thy foot into the &s;tirrup to mount his &s;addle, when thou art up, thou mu&s;t needs run when the Devil drives
<PB N="47" REF="58">
thee. Play not with healths; if thou love&s;t thy own, drink not other mens: flie evil &s;ociety; they are the Devils Trapanners: be afraid with the Ful|ler in the Fable, who for fear of infe|ction, dur&s;t not entertain the Collier, le&s;t he &s;hould make that black, which he made white. Be in this like the Ri|ver <HI>Danube,</HI> that will not mixe it &s;elf with the muddy &s;treams of <HI>Sava.</HI> Evil fruit grows in bad company; they have no <HI>Autumn:</HI> wickedne&s;&s;e wi|thers not; the mi&s;chiefs attending them are like the <HI>Spani&s;h Indies,</HI> which the Amba&s;&s;adour told the <HI>Venetian,</HI> had no bottom.</P>
<P><HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 5.16. <HI>Be not drunk with wine wherein is exce&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="59">
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<P>OF BLASPHEMING THE <HI>NAME</HI> of <HI>GOD,</HI> By Cur&s;ed OATHES. With the Judgements of God upon <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&V;RSERS</HI> &amp; <HI>SWEARERS.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
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<HEAD>OF BLASPHEMING THE <HI>NAME</HI> of <HI>GOD,</HI> By Cur&s;ed OATHES: With the Judgements of God upon <HI>C&V;RSERS</HI> &amp; <HI>SWEARERS.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THis cur&s;ed and crying &s;in of taking the Lords Name in vain by wicked Oathes, hath like the River <HI>Nile,</HI> &s;o overflowed the banks of Authori|ty, that many who &s;hould re&s;train the fury and rage of &s;o horrid an Impiety, are too &s;adly guilty of it. This &s;in, to the &s;ad experience of this Nation, doth &s;warm in all corners of it; A man can hardly negotiate in the
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World, unle&s;&s;e he re&s;olve it no &s;in to hear the holy Name of God, that God that made us, bla&s;phemed by all &s;orts of people; Among&s;t poor people its common, and for Gentlemen its &s;adly accounted Generous and Valorous.</P>
<P>That it is a &s;in again&s;t God, I hope &s;o few doubt it, as I may be &s;pared to prove it; the mo&s;t forcible argu|ment again&s;t it, lieth open in the po&s;|&s;itive Command of God Almighty, which made Heaven and Earth.</P>
<P><HI>Thou &s;halt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain;</HI> and the rea&s;on is a terrible one, by way of threat|ning; <HI>For the Lord will not hold him guiltle&s;&s;e:</HI> Which Commandment is &s;econded by Chri&s;t in his Sermon up|on the Mount; <HI>Swear not at all, nei|ther by heaven nor earth,</HI><NOTE N="marg">Math. 5.34.</NOTE> <HI>but let your yea be yea, and your nay nay.</HI></P>
<P>The aggravations of this &s;in are great, if parallel'd with the little rea|&s;on for it, or profit by it: It mu&s;t needs be a horrid &s;in that can pro|pound nothing as the object, but God him&s;elf: we may in this &s;in confe&s;&s;e with <HI>David, Again&s;t thee onely have I &s;inned, and done wickedly.</HI> All the creatures he hath made bow to him,
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and to the remembrance of him: Shall that mouth that &s;ucks breath from God that made and daily pre|&s;erveth thee, breath out oathes and cur&s;es again&s;t him? Oh impiety in the greate&s;t dimen&s;ions! wickedne&s;&s;e with an Empha&s;is! Would not &s;uch ingratitude look odious in vulgar friend&s;hip? to &s;it at thy friends Table, and there receive daily food at his care and co&s;t for thee, and for thee to make him the &s;ubject of thy malice and rage, and that to manife&s;t it again&s;t his good name; Is not this <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ay, mon&s;trous ingratitude? would not this &s;well provocation to the greate&s;t latitude of revenge? Is not the Lords Name as the Apple of his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e? A thing he is jealous of:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 6.34.</NOTE> If <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">alou&s;ie be the rage of a man, which he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ill not &s;pare in the day of venge|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ce, nor wil regard any ran&s;om; What <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">n&s;t thou expect from the Eternal <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">od, with whom is terrible Maje&s;ty?</P>
<P>It mu&s;t be pre&s;umed, thou knowe&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to be a &s;in; How inexcu&s;able then <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t it be unto thee, who&s;e con&s;ci|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ce is convinced thereof? It is a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> therefore with the full con&s;ent of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> will, and for want of due care
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over thy heart and lips. Oh man, what is it can provoke thee, unle&s;&s;e the height of a Reprobate mind by bla&s;pheming the ble&s;&s;ed Name of God! How can&s;t thou expect that blood to expiate thy &s;ins, and to wa&s;h away thy iniquities, that hath &s;o often &s;pit his blood and wounds out of thy mouth? I think I &s;hould not be guilty of over-ra&s;h cen&s;ure, if I &s;ay to &s;uch as are given up to this horrid im|piety; that its but as an earne&s;t of that cur&s;ed condition in torment, and that the Devil teaches thee in this world, that thou maye&s;t be the more ready to bla&s;pheme God in the world to come; el&s;e what can be the mean|ing of mens giving up them&s;elves to this wickedne&s;&s;e? Con&s;idering</P>
<P>The little profit got by it, A fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> advantage God knowes! no more than to rob out of &s;port, not need<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> and be puni&s;hed for it. What profit have you of tho&s;e things wherein one day you &s;hall be a&s;hamed? Is it be+cau&s;e God forbids, that we will &s;wear like that man of <HI>Venice,</HI> who for nine years, never &s;tept out of the City, b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> when on occa&s;ion he was commanded upon forfeiture of his life not to &s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
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then he was &s;een abroad: Much like that of the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Sin took occa&s;ion by the Commandment.</HI> How can&s;t thou call on the Name of that God in the time of calamity and di&s;tre&s;&s;e, which thou ha&s;t &s;o often cur&s;ed and bla&s;|phemed? He that will mention the Name of God, mu&s;t depart from ini|quity. <HI>Shall I,</HI> &s;aith Polycarpus, <HI>that have &s;erved God to &s;uch an old age, prophane his &s;acred and ble&s;&s;ed name, that &s;o lovingly hath pre&s;erved my life unto this day?</HI> And being urged by the Procon&s;ul to &s;ave his life, onely replyed, <HI>Know I am a Chri&s;tian.</HI> It is indeed a &s;in that makes men le&s;&s;e be|lieved. A Heathen could &s;ay, <HI>He was unwi&s;e that put tru&s;t in the words of a common &s;wearer.</HI> And another Philo|&s;opher &s;ayes, <HI>Virtue is never in that heart, which breaths out cur&s;es and oathes.</HI> He is accounted by all &s;ober men, to be a prophane, wicked, and ungodly man, and its the greate&s;t height of prophanne&s;&s;e that can be; Its the onely &s;in and practi&s;e of devils in hell, to <HI>cur&s;e, &s;wear,</HI> and <HI>bla&s;pheme</HI> God. The godly have this Character given them, That they fear an oath; but the wicked are not afraid of a
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world of oathes. The common ex|cu&s;e of this &s;in is the cu&s;tom of it, which is &s;o &s;lender, that it &s;trengthens it, and indeed aggravates it; for cu|&s;tom in &s;in by degrees hardens the heart from the fear of God.</P>
<P>This &s;in indeed is hatcht in the bowels of pa&s;&s;ion, which boiling to a height, vomiteth up all the corrupt filth and &s;cum of the &s;oul, ca&s;ting it in the face of God. Beware therefore of pa&s;&s;ion, which through the depra|vedne&s;&s;e of our natures make us like mad dogs, that run at every thing in their way, they bark at the Moon: To &s;ee a man rage again&s;t God be|cau&s;e his neighbour hurteth him, is a perfect madne&s;&s;e in rea&s;on. Strive a|gain&s;t the cu&s;tom of this &s;in, thou wilt lo&s;e thy &s;en&s;es el&s;e, and the &s;en&s;e of it, which is the height of &s;in; Its Gods giving up a &s;oul to &s;in, when it lo&s;es the &s;en&s;e that it is a &s;in. Be|ware of little ones, they are the &s;pawn of greater, <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Troth,</HI> are the livery of <HI>Gods Wounds</HI> and <HI>Blood,</HI> and <HI>God damn thee.</HI> We damn our &s;ouls by this &s;in at a low rate, if we con&s;i|der the little, either plea&s;ure or profit of it.</P>
<P><PB N="57" REF="63">Avoid evil &s;ociety, <HI>cur&s;ers,</HI> and <HI>&s;wearers,</HI> are not to be a&s;&s;ociated with, le&s;t partaking of their &s;in, thou ta&s;te of their puni&s;hment. If a Ma&s;ter of a Family; or School-Ma&s;ter; de|&s;troy it there, nip it in the bud, and re&s;olve with <HI>David,</HI> that none &s;uch &s;hall be under thy roof. I conclude with <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 25. <HI>Let them be confounded that &s;in without a cau&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>If rea&s;on prevail not, remember the penalties of the Lawes, which though &s;evere at this day, yet &s;hort both in the greatne&s;&s;e and execution of former times. <HI>Philip</HI> King of <HI>France,</HI> made a Law; <HI>That who&s;oever bla&s;phemou&s;ly &s;wore &s;hould be drowned:</HI> And <HI>Max.</HI> the <HI>Emperour; That every vain &s;wearer &s;hould pay</HI> 13 &s;hillings 4 pence, <HI>or if he refu&s;ed, to be executed.</HI> In <HI>Hen.</HI> the fifth's time, A Law was made again&s;t prophane and vaine &s;wearing; The forfeiture for a <HI>Duke</HI> 40 &s;hillings, a <HI>Barron</HI> 20 &s;hillings, a <HI>Knight</HI> or <HI>E&s;quire</HI> 10 &s;hilling, a <HI>Yeoman</HI> 3 &s;hillings 4 pence, and a <HI>&s;ervant, to be whipt;</HI> and this Law was &s;o well executed, that all the Nation over, very few were heard to &s;wear an oath. The&s;e were times of le&s;&s;e light, than we pretend unto,
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yet a &s;pirit of Reformation for God, was much more above our Age we live in.</P>
<P>If &s;till we will not forbear, &s;ee Gods threatnings again&s;t this &s;in. In the Law &s;toning to death was the lowe&s;t puni&s;hment:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Levit. 24.14.</NOTE> <HI>Bring him forth, that all the people may &s;tone him.</HI></P>
<P>In that black and forlorne band of &s;inners,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 2.4.</NOTE> the Swearer leads the Van, which together with other &s;ins, <HI>ma|keth blood to touch blood, and the land to mourn.</HI> In <HI>Zachariah</HI> 5.3. <HI>The thief and the &s;wearer are linked together, again&s;t whom the flying Roll, with the cur&s;e of God is threatned to the con&s;ume|ing of their Hou&s;e, Timber, Po&s;ts, and Stones. As he clothed him&s;elf with cur|&s;ing,</HI><NOTE N="marg">P&s;al. 109.13.</NOTE> &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t; <HI>So let it come into his bowels like water, and like oyle into his bones.</HI> There is nothing more u&s;ual and certain, then for the arrows of this cur&s;ed Quiver, to reverberate and fly back upon a mans own face. God will be a &s;wift witne&s;&s;e again&s;t &s;uch as di&s;honour his holy name by profane &s;wearing.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 13, 2. Mal 3 4.</NOTE></P>
<P>Now tho&s;e that will not be warn|ed by the nature of this &s;in, nor danger to &s;oule and body, nor be di|verted from it by Gods threatnings;
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let &s;uch harken to his ju&s;t Judgements in the&s;e following examples, which are not only as a cloud of witne&s;&s;es again&s;t profanene&s;&s;e, hut al&s;o &s;tand as a Pillar of Salt to warn thee from di&s;obedi|ence, and wilfull running in a carreer, of &s;in to thy eternal ruine.</P>
<P>Earl <HI>Goodwin</HI> having &s;lain <HI>Alfred,</HI> wi&s;hed at the Kings Table, if it were &s;o, that the bread he was eating might choak him, which God in Ju&s;tice &s;uf|fered, ere he &s;tirred.</P>
<P>A Fi&s;herman (known to the Au|thour) coming with a Boat of Macka|rell to a Town in <HI>Suffolke,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Bea|dles</HI> Diary</NOTE> and being the fir&s;t that came that year, the people pre&s;&s;ed hard to be fir&s;t &s;erved; one &s;teps into his Boat, he pre&s;ently ta|keth up a &s;tone, &s;wearing by God he would make them &s;tand farther off; which was no &s;ooner &s;aid, but he fell down and died pre&s;ently: How ma|ny have I heard &s;wear by God as com|monly as &s;peak? Oh take heed of Gods judgement! con&s;ider what a mercy it is to thy &s;oul, that thou art not thus judged.</P>
<P>A Gentleman in <HI>Edward</HI> the &s;ixths time riding with other Gentlemen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Rid&s;ley</HI> Serm.</NOTE> be|ing reproved for &s;wearing, opened his
<PB REF="65">
mouth wider, and raged wor&s;e and wor&s;e; Mr, <HI>Haines</HI> Mini&s;ter, tells him mildly the danger of it, and that at the great day an account mu&s;t be ren|dred; he with <HI>Solomons</HI> fool refu&s;es in|&s;truction, bids him prepare, and take care for his own e&s;tate. Mr. <HI>H.</HI> re|plies, repent and amend, for death is as &s;ure as uncertain. But raging and roaring with cur&s;ed oathes, he &s;ayes; <HI>Gods wounds, take no care for me;</HI> and and coming to a Bridge, his hor&s;e leapt over with him; who like an im|penitent wretch ended his dayes. As he had lived, crying, <HI>Hor&s;e, and man, and all to the Devill.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>R.</HI> Junius.</NOTE>In <HI>Lincoln&s;hire,</HI> there lived a Ser|vingman, who was &s;o accu&s;tomed to &s;weare, as at every &s;mall occa&s;ion he u&s;ed Gods blood in his mouth, his friends mildly warne him from the evill of tho&s;e wayes, le&s;t vengeance follow at the heels of his impiety; but he takes no notice of friendly ad|monition, being vi&s;ited by the hand of God, his friends again advi&s;e him to repent of his wickedne&s;&s;e, but God intended not that affliction to have &s;o &s;anctifying a vertue in it, as to &s;often his obdurate heart; who by his accu|&s;tomed
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oathes had forfeited the pati|ence and long-&s;uffering of God, and turned his mercy into fury; He grows wor&s;e, and nigher to the chambers of death; and hearing the Bell toll for him, &s;tarts up; and under the pains and violence of death, cryes, <HI>Gods wounds the Bell tolls for me,</HI> but <HI>he &s;hall not have me yet.</HI> Suddenly the blood from his No&s;e, Mouth, Wri&s;ts, Knees, and all the joynts of his body flowes out in abundance, that he became a &s;pectacle of Gods wrath, and di|ed. O the dreadfulne&s;&s;e of Gods Judgements.</P>
<P>There was a man in <HI>Germany</HI> &s;o much accu&s;tomed to u&s;e the Devill in his mouth; that if he did but &s;tumble,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE> the devill was uppermo&s;t; he was often reprehended for it, to no purpo&s;e, ex|cept to make his &s;in the le&s;&s;e excu&s;a|ble; which he continuing in, coming to a Bridge, &s;tumbled and fell down; &s;ay|ing, Hoy&s;t up with a hundred Devils, in&s;tantly the Devill appears, and car|ried him quite away, that he was ne|ver heard of after.</P>
<P>One who was given much to cur&s;ing &amp; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">wearing, being on his death-bed,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Bolton.</NOTE> mo&s;t wickedly de&s;ired tho&s;e that &s;tood by,
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to help him with oathes: and to &s;wear for him and him&s;elf, &s;wearing &s;o fa&s;t, as one would think there was little need of any other then him&s;elf in the world, that could &s;o quickly find out a way for to bla&s;pheme God, and damn his own &s;oul.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE>In the City of <HI>Savoy,</HI> There lived one, who after much exhortation and reproof, hardened his neek again&s;t all admonition; the plague breaking out light upon him, he with his family re|tires to a garden, the words of re|proof by the mouth of Gods Mini|&s;ters follow him, that if po&s;&s;ible the plague of his heart might not at the &s;ame in&s;tance, together with Gods outward hand, contribute to the eter|nal ruine of his &s;oul, with that of his body, but all in vain; as good turn the cour&s;e of the Sun, as his &s;oul accu&s;tomed to &s;in, at la&s;t &s;wear|ing and cur&s;ing, with the Devill in his mouth, the Devill &s;uddenly hur|ries him away into the ayre, in &s;ight of his wife and Kin&s;woman, who &s;aw the Devil flying with him over their heads; his cap fell off his head, and was found at <HI>Ko&s;ne,</HI> but him&s;elfe was never heard of to this day. The
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Magi&s;trate at the noy&s;e of this exem|plary piece of Gods ju&s;t Judgement, repaires to the witne&s;&s;es of it, who te|&s;tify, with a &s;ad relation; their woful experience, no le&s;&s;e horrid then true.</P>
<P>Three &s;ouldiers travelling through a wood in the Coutrey of <HI>Samurtia,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Clerks</HI> examples.</NOTE> A tempe&s;t of thunder and lightening aro&s;e, one of them breaks into his u|&s;ual oathes, and in the in&s;tant of &s;wearing, the violence of the wind (no doubt directed by God) throwes a tree upon him, whereof he pre|&s;ently was cru&s;hed to pieces.</P>
<P>Another that was very much habi|tuated to &s;wear by <HI>Gods Armes,</HI> had his own arm hurt with a knife, and could find no remedy, but it fe&s;tered daily, till it rotted and mouldred a|way gradually, and he through An|gui&s;h and Torment died,</P>
<P>And one <HI>Michael</HI> a <HI>Jewi&s;h Rabbin,</HI> as he was &s;wearing by the <HI>Name</HI> of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> fell down and broke his neck.</P>
<P>A boy at <HI>Tubing</HI> in <HI>Germany,</HI> inven|ted &s;trange and unu&s;ual oathes, but God &s;ent a Canker, that eat out his tongue; the&s;e are &s;ignal tokens of Gods
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anger; they are &s;o immediate from him&s;elf, that none can &s;ee le&s;&s;e then a wonderful hatred in God of them.</P>
<P>At <HI>Benevides,</HI> a village in <HI>Spain,</HI> a whirlwind aro&s;e; two young men be|ing in a field, apprehending the ap|proaching danger, fall down upon the ground, le&s;t the violence of it might carry them into the ayre; when it was pa&s;t, the one ari&s;es in great amaze|ment; the other being a very notori|ous cur&s;er, and &s;wearer, lyes dead; his bones &s;o cru&s;ht, that his joynts turned every way, his tongue rooted out, and could not be found.</P>
<P>In <HI>June</HI> 1649. A &s;ouldier at <HI>Warre,</HI> goeth with others to wa&s;h in a &s;hallow river, asked whether there was a deeper to &s;wim in, and they an&s;wered there was one nigh hand, but dange|rous, by rea&s;on it was a deep pit, who replies, <HI>God damne me, if it be as deep as hell I will in;</HI> he was no &s;ooner in, but &s;unk to the bottom, and never ro&s;e again; which, &s;ayes Mr. <HI>Clark,</HI> was at|te&s;ted by good witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>And God met with that &s;wearer and cur&s;er in <HI>France,</HI> a Citizen of <HI>Paris,</HI> whom <HI>Lewis</HI> 9. ordered to have his lips &s;eared together with a hot Iron,
<PB N="65" REF="67">
&s;aying; <HI>I would to God that with &s;ear|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ng my own lips, with a hot Iron,</HI> I could <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ani&s;h out of my Realm all abu&s;e of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">athes!</P>
<P>A &s;ouldier falling &s;ick in his jour|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ey through <HI>Marchia,</HI> in <HI>Almain,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE> &s;tay|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d in his Inne; and when recovered, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">emanded of his Landlady the mony <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e gave her to &s;ecure for him, but con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ulting with her husband; re&s;olved <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ot to confe&s;&s;e any; &s;o denied it: the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ontrover&s;ie aro&s;e to a contention, till <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">he Landlord interpo&s;ed, and ju&s;tifi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">d his wife, and thru&s;t him out of his <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ou&s;e; the &s;ouldier drawes, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ru&s;ting at the door, the Landlord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ries, theeves! the &s;ouldier is impri|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">oned, and ready for Judgement: The <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ay of pronunciation of death, the devil <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ters into pri&s;on, tells him, <HI>he is con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">emned, but if he will re&s;ign up &s;oul and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">dy to him, he would free him;</HI> he like a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">hri&s;tian, repells tho&s;e fiery darts <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ith a &s;trong denial; which the de|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ll &s;eeing, per&s;wades him when called <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Bar, to intreat the Judge to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ant him the man in a blew cap to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ead his cau&s;e, for he was, (and that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> was) innocent of the crime brought <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters">ain&s;t him. The poor &s;ouldier being
<PB N="66" REF="68">
arraigned, had this blew-cap't Attour|ney allowed him for his Advocate, who affirmed this poor man to be much abu&s;ed, relating all the circum|&s;tances of the money, with the place where it was laid, the Landlord deni|ed all with an imprecation, wi&s;hing the devill might take him, if it were true! The devill looking for this ad|vantage, took this poor man, and car|ried him up into the ayre; who was never more heard of: Oh that the Lord would open &s;ome mens eyes to &s;ee Gods mercy to them, that though they have often been guilty, yet God in mercy &s;pared them! tremble at the ju&s;tice of God, and let the&s;e warning<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> be &s;o to us.</P>
<P>A certain Prie&s;t in <HI>Ruthnerwall</HI> wi&s;hed if <HI>Luthers</HI> doctrine were true a thunderbolt might de&s;troy him! a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+ter three dayes a Tempe&s;t, with light+ning and thunder, &s;o terrified him that he run to Church, and at his de+votion was &s;truck down; who recove+ring, and led homewards, a fla&s;h o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> lightening burnt him to death, a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> black as hell it &s;elf.</P>
<P>One in <HI>France,</HI> of &s;ome knowledge and profe&s;&s;ion in Religion, in pa&s;&s;ion
<PB N="67" REF="68">
<HI>wi&s;ht the Devill to take one of his chil|dren!</HI> the child immediately was po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and, though the prayers of the Church prevailed with God for the relea&s;e from this evill &s;pirit, yet, dyed of it.</P>
<P>A man in anger, wi&s;hing his wife to the Devil! &s;he was forthwith po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, and never recovered it.</P>
<P>A young Courtier at <HI>Mansfield,</HI> who&s;e cu&s;tomary a&s;&s;everation was, <HI>the Devill take me.</HI> The Devill when he was a&s;leep, took him indeed, and threw him out of a window, where though he was not &s;lain,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Luthers</HI> Colloquia.</NOTE> yet he learnt to curb that unruly member of the tongue, by e&s;caping the danger of a &s;everer puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>At a Hor&s;e-race, where divers No|ble-men were pre&s;ent, &s;ome cries, <HI>the Devill take the la&s;t,</HI> which happened <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">o be a Hor&s;e that broke loo&s;e, which the Devill carriad away, and was ne|ver &s;een more. The&s;e examples may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">artle us, and not only to warn us, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ut al&s;o as a Lanthorn of the Lord to direct our feet from the&s;e paths of &s;in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">nd Ruine.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE></P>
<P>At S. <HI>Gallus</HI> in <HI>Helvetia</HI> 1556. A man that made foul linnen clean, and
<PB N="68" REF="69">
coming out of a Tavern drunk, wi&s;h|ed the Devill to take him if ever he followed his Trade more! next day being &s;ober, he regards not his oaths, the devill appears to him in the like|ne&s;&s;e of a tall man, and told him of his promi&s;e, pre&s;ently &s;miting him upon the &s;houlders, &s;o that his feet and hands pre&s;ently were dryed up, and he trembling with horror; yet God gave the devill no farther power, that it might be an example both to him|&s;elf and others.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Terry</HI>'s Ea&s;t-India voy|age.</NOTE>Relates of a Taylor, that whil&s;t the Fleet was engaged in fight with a <HI>Portugal Gallea&s;s,</HI> he cometh running out of the Cabbin with his Goo&s;e in his hand, &s;wearing, <HI>he would never follow his Trade more,</HI> throwing the Goo&s;e into the Canon mouth; &s;udden|ly came a Bullet from the enemy, and &s;hot him to pieces.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE><HI>Henry Earl of Schwartburg,</HI> by fre|quent and wicked wi&s;hes, was at la&s;t an&s;wered in his own coyn, for at eve|ry common occa&s;ion, <HI>he de&s;ired he might be drowned in a Privy, if &s;uch a thing were not &s;o or &s;o!</HI> which God in Ju&s;tice an&s;wered; for he died that fil|thy death.</P>
<P><PB N="69" REF="69">A very remarkable &s;tory is recorded of a woman in the Dutchy <HI>Megalopole,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of hi&s;tor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> at a village called <HI>O&s;ter,</HI> who gave her &s;elfe to the devill by her frequent cur|&s;ings, and wicked oathes; and at a wedding &s;he was publickly reproved, and dehorted from her &s;ins; but ta|king no warning, the Devill, when they were all merry, came in per&s;on, and with horrid cries and roarings, mounted her into the ayre, before the face of all the company, and hovering over the Town, the people that &s;aw it were extremely perplexed with fear; &s;he is torn into four parts, which are let fall into as many high wayes; as directions to avoyd the road to hell. The Devill returns to the Fea&s;t, and before the <HI>Mayor,</HI> and all the compa|ny, threw her intralls upon the Ta|ble, &s;aying. <HI>Behold the&s;e di&s;hes of meat belong to thee, whom the like de&s;truction <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">wayteth, if thou do&s;t not amend thy wicked life.</HI> This is te&s;tified by Mr. <HI>Herman</HI> Mini&s;ter of <HI>O&s;ter;</HI> the <HI>Mayor</HI> and all the Town; who de&s;ired it to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">e communicated to po&s;terity for an example, and land-mark to avoyd eternall de&s;truction.</P>
<P><PB N="70" REF="70"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatr. Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE>A Gentleman of <HI>Gorlitz,</HI> having in|vited many friends to &s;upper, who failed him; in a rage, wi&s;hed, <HI>That all the Devils in Hell would come:</HI> pre&s;ent|ly his Table is furni&s;hed as well with gue&s;ts as meat, whom he welcomed, but perceiving clawes in&s;tead of hands, it was not time to bid him be gone; his Wife follows him, leaving in the hou&s;e onely a child and a fool, by the fire &s;ide, who through mercy were not hurt. We are by the&s;e, bid to be|ware of ra&s;h imprecations to our &s;elves or others.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Stow.</HI> Cron.</NOTE>Its fre&s;h, the &s;tory of <HI>Hacket</HI> o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Oundle</HI> in <HI>Northampton&s;hire,</HI> who (159<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the Raign of <HI>Queen Eliz.</HI> the 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> year) in his common di&s;cour&s;e u&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to &s;ay: <HI>If it be not true, then let a v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+&s;ible confu&s;ion come upon me:</HI> and h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> had his de&s;ire; for being delivered u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of God to Sathan, he fell foul off <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> many errours, that at la&s;t he arrive<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> to the height, and called him&s;elf Chri&s;t: with him&s;elf he &s;educed to Gent. <HI>Coppinger,</HI> and <HI>Arthington,</HI> w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> believed all <HI>Hacket</HI> &s;aid; and wh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> he bid them proclaim, <HI>That Chri&s;t u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> come with his fan in his hand, to Ju<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="2 letters"> the Earth;</HI> they did, through <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word">
<PB N="71" REF="70">
City; and in Cheap&s;ide, got upon two Carts, Crying <HI>Repent, repent! for Chri&s;t Je&s;us is come to judge the VVorld;</HI> they affirmed al&s;o, that <HI>Hac|ket</HI> pre&s;ented Chri&s;t, by taking his Glorified body, <HI>&amp;c. Hacket</HI> here|upon is apprehended, brought before the Lord <HI>Mayor</HI> of <HI>London,</HI> and at la&s;t, hanged on a Gibbet in <HI>Cheap&s;ide,</HI> ut|tering to the la&s;t horrid bla&s;phemies again&s;t God. This was a vi&s;ible con|fu&s;ion indeed.</P>
<P>Before Mr. <HI>Luther</HI> and others:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of God, Judge|ments.</NOTE> A woman at <HI>VVeteburg,</HI> who&s;e Daughter was po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, did confe&s;&s;e; that &s;he in fury wi&s;hed the Devil to take her! who in&s;tantly po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed her, with an evil &s;pirit, to their great terrour and fear.</P>
<P><HI>John Peter,</HI> &s;on to the cruel Keeper of New-gate <HI>London,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Fox</HI> Acts.</NOTE> was a horrid &s;wearer and cur&s;er, u&s;ually &s;aying, <HI>If it be not &s;o, I pray God I may rot ere I die?</HI> and &s;o he did with great mi|&s;ery.</P>
<P>In <HI>Mi&s;ina,</HI> Sep. 11. 1552.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre Hi&s;to.</NOTE> A child not quick enough to di&s;patch his fa|thers will as he ought, provoked the fathers rage into this imprecation; <HI>That he might never &s;tir from that place!</HI>
<PB N="72" REF="71">
its pre&s;ently granted, his &s;on &s;ticks im|moveable, for his body could not be moved or bent: Some godly people meet and pray for him, whereby his angui&s;h is a&s;&s;waged: yet he continued three years &s;tanding with a po&s;t at his back; and four years he continued &s;itting, and then ended his life; yet this was a mercy to him, For that he doubted not of the mercy of Je&s;us Chri&s;t to &s;ave him: and being de|manded how he did? frequently re|plyed: <HI>That he was there fa&s;tened of God,</HI> and his mercy onely could re|lea&s;e him. Here was a living example of ra&s;h oathes.</P>
<P>At <HI>Neoburg</HI> in <HI>Germany,</HI> a cur&s;ed mother, wi&s;hing &s;he might never &s;ee her &s;on alive again, was an&s;wered; for the child was drowned the &s;ame day.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatr. of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE>In <HI>A&s;torga,</HI> A woman cur&s;ed her &s;on, wi&s;hing the Devils of Hell to take him from her pre&s;ence! with many horrible execrations: it being late at night, the child was afraid of her anger, re|tiring to a little court behind the hou&s;e, to whom appeared men of grim a&s;pects, and large compo&s;ures, who carried him into the aire with
<PB N="73" REF="71">
&s;uch &s;wiftne&s;&s;e, as was not po&s;&s;ible to believe, and alighting amonge&s;t &s;ome bu&s;hes, trailed him, to the great tor|turing of his body, and tearing of &s;undry parts thereof. The boyes thoughts being better fixt than his mo|thers, craved aid of God, and &s;o was delivered. The devils bringing him back through the aire, put him in at a little window in a chamber, and there he was found almo&s;t out of his wits, and &s;adly tortured and mangled, in his face, hands, legs, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>That penitent Gentleman,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wil&s;on <HI>K.</HI> James.</NOTE> Sir <HI>Ger|vi&s;e Ellowis,</HI> being drawn in to be a partaker in the &s;ad death of that poor Gent. Sir <HI>Tho. Overbury,</HI> in the Tower; was at la&s;t brought as a &s;ufferer to Tower-Hill, acknowledging the ju&s;t hand of God again&s;t his ra&s;h and un|pre&s;erved vow, which a great lo&s;&s;e at Cards one time occa&s;ioned; in the &s;en&s;e whereof, clapping his hands up|on his brea&s;t, he vowed &s;eriou&s;ly be|twixt God and his own &s;oul; <HI>That if ever he played again, he wi&s;hed he were hanged!</HI> and being upon the ladder, <HI>Now,</HI> &s;ayes he, <HI>God in Ju&s;tice hath made me keep my imprecation, and paid my vow, by this ju&s;t, though violent, death;</HI>
<PB N="74" REF="72">
and &s;o wi&s;hed all to take warning by his &s;ad example!</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sin &s;tig|mati&s;ed.</NOTE>Mr. <HI>Young</HI> reports of <HI>Nichanor,</HI> who for his bla&s;phemous cur&s;ing and &s;wearing, had his tongue cut out, and in &s;mall pieces thrown to the fowls.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sword a|gain&s;t Swearers.</NOTE>A young Couple in love together, &s;olemnize their private promi&s;es a|lone, the maid being rich, and the young man poor, &s;he to a&s;&s;ure him of her love, promi&s;es that unlikene&s;&s;e of fortunes &s;hall not di&s;oblige her en|gagements, nor di&s;inherit her of that loyalty which &s;he hoped grace as well as good nature, had planted in her; which he, though before earne&s;tly fear|ful, that &s;he might be as changeable as others; did now neverthele&s;&s;e con|tent him&s;elf in the &s;trength of this a&s;&s;urance, and &s;o at the giving their faith one to another, &s;he with many more imprecations tied her &s;elf mo&s;t &s;trongly with this, <HI>That the Devil would take her away that day &s;he mar|ried to another.</HI> She marries another, and on the Wedding-day two gue&s;ts uninvited, come well mounted to the door, and dine with them, and were made welcome; after dinner, one of
<PB N="75" REF="72">
them complements the Bride, and bor|rows her hand to lead the Dance, and after a turn or two, lead a Dance which none could follow; for in pre|&s;ence of all her friends, he carries her out of doors, and notwith&s;tanding her crying for help, &s;he is mounted into the aire, and with his companion and hor&s;es, was never &s;een more. See the fruits of ra&s;h vows, oathes, and impre|cations, they are not to be &s;lightly dealt withal; for God takes notice of our own de&s;ires, when we never think of our words, how we mu&s;t give an account of them.</P>
<P>Two prophane young men &s;triving who &s;hould be mo&s;t exqui&s;ite in oathes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr. <HI>Wil|liams</HI> true Church.</NOTE> were met with by Gods Judge|ment in Ju&s;tice; for he that out-vied the other in &s;wearing was immediately di&s;tracted.</P>
<P>Al&s;o he relateth of two young men, delighting them&s;elves in &s;wearing; &s;porting with oathes, as the flie with the flame, are overtaken with Gods Judgement, the one is &s;truck dumb, and never &s;pake word more, the other was di&s;tracted: both of them &s;tand|ing to the example of all young men, that do not remember their Creator
<PB N="76" REF="73">
in the dayes of their youth, unle&s;&s;e by bla&s;pheming and cur&s;ing it.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Nowel.</NOTE>A Noble per&s;on of the City of <HI>Eflinghen,</HI> at a lo&s;&s;e by gaming, be|gan to &s;wear and cur&s;e bitterly, in which rage and madne&s;&s;e, he mounts his hor&s;e for home, the Devil meets him, pulls him off, who with his &s;er|vants was mi&s;guided all the night by evil &s;pirits; and in the morning find|ing them&s;elves not lo&s;t, they get their Ma&s;ter &s;afe to <HI>Bethen-Han&s;en,</HI> where in great torment for three dayes, he yeilded Ju&s;tice victor.</P>
<P>A woman in <HI>Marchia,</HI> being a pro|phane cur&s;er and &s;wearer, was ju&s;tly left by God to Sathan; for in &s;ight of many people &s;he is &s;natched into the air, and thrown down again, which brake her neck. God we &s;ee can break us from our &s;ins and lives to|gether, if we do not from the fir&s;t, break off by repentance.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">The&s;e two I have from a re|verend Di|vine of this Coun|ty.</NOTE>One <HI>Margret VVood,</HI> of <HI>Allercleugh,</HI> in the Pari&s;h of <HI>Stanhop,</HI> in the Coun|ty of <HI>Durham,</HI> was notoriou&s;ly known for many years, upon every &s;light oc|ca&s;ion, to u&s;e this imprecation, <HI>I wi&s;h I may &s;ink into the earth.</HI> Upon the la&s;t day of <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> 1655. &s;he with
<PB N="77" REF="73">
one <HI>Elinor Ma&s;on</HI> of the &s;ame Pari&s;h, being both wa&s;hing of lead oare, to fit it for the Lead-mill, and &s;tanding up|on the &s;ame &s;pot of ground, where many hor&s;es laden with Lead had pa&s;|&s;ed the immediate day before; the earth &s;uddenly failed under them, and &s;wallowed them both up; next day, when their dead bodies were digged out, <HI>Elinor Ma&s;on</HI> was found with her body erect, but <HI>Margeret VVood</HI> was many yards deeper within ground, and her head direct downwards.</P>
<P>One <HI>Elinor Short,</HI> of the &s;ame Pa|ri&s;h, did frequently u&s;e this impreca|tion; <HI>I wi&s;h my feet may rot off, if this or that be not &s;o or &s;o:</HI> It plea&s;ed the Ju&s;t God about 20 years ago, to vi&s;it her with a pain in her feet, which by degrees did rot quite off, as afterwards did her legs al&s;o; and &s;he is yet alive at this day, as a Monument of Gods &s;ignal Judgement: &s;he creepes upon her hands and thighs, and doth often acknowledge Gods ju&s;t dealing with her.<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Re|lation from his Brothers own mouth now alive.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>Robert Durance,</HI> Butcher in <HI>Carli&s;le,</HI> was a known Swearer and Drunkard, who about 30 years ago, being play|ing at Cards with &s;ome of his compa|nions,
<PB N="76" REF="74">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="77" REF="74">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="78" REF="75">
and having lo&s;t all his money, except 30 <ABBR>s</ABBR> began fearfully to &s;wear he would be revenged upon him&s;elfe, whereupon he run out at the gates of the City towards the River <HI>Eden,</HI> and though he was followed by divers, &s;ome on Hor&s;e-back, yet did he de|&s;troy him&s;elf by leaping into the Ri|ver; in which River, hard by the place where he leapt in, he lay for the &s;pace of four years; at the end of which, a Fi&s;herman found the lower parts of his body, only the other parts being con&s;umed.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1645.</NOTE> <HI>William Knot</HI> of <HI>Dal|&s;ton</HI> in <HI>Cumberland</HI> being a common &s;wearer, when he was a &s;ervant to Al|derman <HI>Grey</HI> of <HI>York,</HI> he fell into a lead full of boyling liquor, by which means in ten days he dyed.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1627.</NOTE><HI>John Pre&s;tman</HI> of <HI>Weighton</HI> in <HI>Cum|berland,</HI> A Sheriffes Bayliffe, being ac|counted a common &s;wearer, one night when he was drunk at <HI>Carli&s;le,</HI> went out in the night; and notwith&s;tanding the per&s;wa&s;ion of his Landlord, leapt over the Bridge with his hor&s;e, and was drowned in the River <HI>Caude.</HI></P>
<P>One <HI>Hud&s;on</HI> of <HI>Dal&s;ton</HI> in <HI>Cumberland,</HI> did wager with another man, who &s;hould &s;wear more oathes by God; the
<PB N="79" REF="75">
other man was by the ju&s;t judgment of God &s;truck dead ere he parted, &amp; <HI>Hud|&s;ton</HI> was &s;truck dumb to his dying day; and though he lived many years af|ter, yet could &s;peak nothing, but <HI>&s;wear by God,</HI> which he did upon eve|ry occa&s;ion. Oh the ju&s;tice of God to &s;ome, and the patience and forbea|rance to others, waiting to be graci|ous: let &s;uch as &s;wear by the name of God, look upon this example, this &s;ad example.</P>
<P>On <HI>May Eve,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Bur|tons</HI> Tra|gedy, &amp;c.</NOTE> 1634. one <HI>Troe</HI> of <HI>Gloce<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ter</HI> a Carpenter, in the Pari&s;h of St. <HI>Michael,</HI> being demanded by &s;ome, whether he would go with them and fetch the <HI>May-pole,</HI> &s;wore <HI>by the Lords wounds he would go, though he ne|ver went more.</HI> But mark the ju&s;tice of God; on <HI>May</HI> day morning, as he was working on the <HI>May-pole,</HI> before it was fini&s;hed, he was by a Divine &s;troke of Ju&s;tice &s;mote with &s;uch a lamene&s;&s;e, and &s;welling in all his limbs, that he could neither goe, nor lift his hand to his mouth, to feed him&s;elfe, but was forced to keep his bed for half a year together, and to this day goeth lame, <HI>May</HI> 4. 1636.</P>
</DIV2>
<PB REF="76">
<DIV2 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="76">
<P>OF THE SABBATH DAY, WITH GODS JUDGEMENTS UPON THE PROFANERS thereof.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="77">
<PB N="83" REF="77">
<HEAD>OF THE SABBATH DAY, With GODS JUDGEMENTS upon the profaners thereof.</HEAD>
<P>I Am now to treat with the <HI>Sab|bath-breaker,</HI> who for many rea|&s;ons will appear to be le&s;&s;e excu|&s;able before God for this &s;in, then either the Drunkard or Swearer. Here is a double &s;in, profaneing it and neglecting that which is ordained by God for the eternall good of our &s;oul; be&s;ides, it is a premeditated act, and goes along with a great aggravation, as we &s;hall &s;ee in a word pre&s;ently. It is now become &s;o great a cu&s;tome to
<PB N="84" REF="78">
prophane the Lords day, that he al|mo&s;t becomes a &s;coffe to others, that offers to reform or puni&s;h it; and that men may not &s;o much &s;light it, I have collected a few rea&s;ons to per&s;wade men to ob&s;erve it, and di&s;&s;wade from the profanation of it, for God will not be mocked.</P>
<P>That we may know this day is no mock-day, The <HI>Lord that made hea|ven and earth,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.8.</NOTE> <HI>That great Jehovah</HI> &s;tiles him&s;elf <HI>Lord of the Sabbath;</HI> and the Lord hath in a more &s;peciall man|ner &s;ingled out this Commandement with a <HI>memento.</HI> Remember, by no meanes forget the Sabbath, <HI>for the Lord re&s;ted that day,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 20.</NOTE> <HI>and he ble&s;&s;ed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.</HI> It's a great con&s;ideration to make us weigh the duty of keeping it, for &s;ix dayes the Lord made heaven and earth, and when the &s;eventh day came, he re&s;ted on it. The Lord, as it were, ha&s;ted to fini&s;h the world in &s;ix dayes, that he might him&s;elf be an example to lead us to the under&s;tanding of the great weight which God him&s;elf put upon this day,</P>
<P>And that we may &s;ee it is no ordi|nary nor common thing to break this
<PB N="85" REF="78">
day, &s;ee how &s;trictly God in his holy Word commands it. This is that which the Lord hath &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 16.23. &amp; 31.15. &amp; 35.3.</NOTE> <HI>To morrow is the re&s;t of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord, &s;ix dayes may work be done, but the &s;eventh is the Sabbath of re&s;t, Holy to the Lord; he that works &s;hall be put to death; that &s;oul &s;hall be cut off from a|mong&s;t the people,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech. 22.26.</NOTE> <HI>it &s;hall be ob&s;erved throughout their Generations for a perpe|tual Covenant.</HI> The Lord threatens &s;ore Judgements, and why. <HI>Becau&s;e they have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ay 56.2. &amp; 58.13.</NOTE> <HI>and I am prophaned among&s;t them! Ble&s;&s;ed is the man that keepeth the Sab|bath from polluting it; It's called by the Prophet the Holy of the Lord, Ho|nourable;</HI> there might be many more places quoted, but the&s;e few are e|nough to let people &s;ee that it is not a trifling matter to profane the day, and that we ought to give all dili|gence and re&s;pect to this day, as a day greatly valued, pri&s;ed, and e&s;teemed of by God him&s;elf.</P>
<P><HI>Anno</HI> 1647. there was a deplorable accident, a tremendous in&s;tance of the ju&s;tice of God upon a per&s;on, a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">armer in a Village called <HI>Little-<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">allerton</HI> in the County of <HI>Northum|berland,</HI>
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about &s;ix miles di&s;tant from <HI>New-Ca&s;tle.</HI> The Relation is thus.</P>
<P>The Mini&s;ter teaching upon that Scripture, 1 <HI>Epi&s;t. Pet.</HI> 2. <HI>cap.</HI> 2. lat|ter part; <HI>Who hath called you out of darkne&s;&s;e, into his marvellous light,</HI> and in the fore-noon Sermon in&s;i&s;ting up|on the &s;piritual darkne&s;&s;e and blind|ne&s;&s;e of unregenerate men, and ag|gravating the many evills attending upon that condition in this life, and a&s;&s;erting the wofull condition, period &s;tate, and conditon of &s;uch as &s;hould die in that e&s;tate of &s;piritual dark+ne&s;&s;e; how that to &s;uch is re&s;reve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the blackne&s;&s;e of darkne&s;&s;e, which was occa&s;ionally improved to di&s;cove<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> the mi&s;erable condition of the dam+ned in hell, by rea&s;on of their &s;epara+tion from God, called utter dark+ne&s;&s;e. <HI>Mat.</HI> 22.13. and 8.42 &amp; 25.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"></P>
<P>At the ending of the fir&s;t Sermon this mi&s;erable man accompanied o+thers of his neighbours to the Al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> hou&s;e for refre&s;hment: the time of r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">+paire to the &s;econd Sermon bein<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> come, &s;ome of them moved him to re+turn with them, to whom he replye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> that the Mini&s;ter was preaching upo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> darkne&s;&s;e, and he would not hear hi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">
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till he &s;hould treat upon the light; and &s;o continued drinking in the Alehou&s;e with &s;ome other profane &s;ouldiers, and by having immoderately taken Ale and Hot Waters, was in the height of his drunkenne&s;&s;e, carried to bed in the Ale-hou&s;e, where after a &s;hort time, he ended his mi&s;erable life, dy|ing in the very act of &s;in, without any vi&s;ible act of Repentance.</P>
<P>This Relation is in&s;erted <HI>verbatim,</HI> as I have it from a godly Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, in the &s;ame County, and not farre from the &s;ame place, and is indeed a &s;ad example of Gods Judge|ment; not only again&s;t the &s;in of profa|ning the Lords day, but al&s;o of drun|kenne&s;&s;e, and contempt of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>Now becau&s;e I ob&s;erve this day &s;o greatly neglected by the generality of the Nation, not onely neglecting to hear the Word preached, which is a|ble to &s;ave their &s;oules, but al&s;o vio|lating of it by profanation; give me a word, and that only to &s;uch as pro|fe&s;&s;e the ob&s;ervance of it as lawfull; for if &s;uch a &s;lighting of this day grow, we &s;hall from it, run to Athei&s;me, by contempt of Gods holy Ordinances, and Commandments.</P>
<P><PB N="88" REF="80">Let us fir&s;t con&s;ider the end of God in the Sabbath, which is chiefly for &s;anctification of his name; and what creature dare &s;ay he is not &s;trictly ty|ed by all the obligations expre&s;&s;able; It is a day of liberty, not of bondage, God can be &s;anctified without us; he &s;hineth not with borrowed lights, the&s;e tapers that burne from mortall breach, can adde no glory to God, but as in his great mercy and conde&s;cen|tion, he is plea&s;ed to accept of us.</P>
<P>Then the intent of this day as to our advantages, it's for the eternall good of our &s;oules, that the Lord may by this occa&s;ion reach our &s;low under|&s;tanding, and with his Word preached, that he may dwell with the humble &amp; and contrite &s;pirit. We are not only to avoyd profaning it, by not <HI>Working, Drinking, Playing,</HI> Idlene&s;&s;e, Travelling, &amp;c but we ought to frequent the pub|lick wor&s;hip of God in the A&s;&s;emblies of his people, and there to hear his word with Godly reverence and fear.</P>
<P>The rea&s;onablene&s;&s;e of one day in &s;even for God and our own &s;ouls, may convince us in a great mea&s;ure of this day, &amp; that is a &s;in le&s;s excu&s;able that's &s;o rea&s;onable, &amp; that we may have the
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le&s;&s;e to &s;ay for our excu&s;e, he gives us 6 for our outward affairs, oh then who can grudge the 7^t^h! e&s;pecially when God links in our immortal happine&s;&s;e together with his own glory. It was the cu&s;tom of Chri&s;tians in <HI>Trajan</HI> the Emperours time, to meet on the Lords Day morning, &s;ing a P&s;alm, receive the Sacrament, and covenant to flie &s;in on that day: and when Chri&s;tians were &s;ummoned before the Heathen Go|vernours, and demanded; <HI>Do&s;t thou believe the Lords Day?</HI> the an&s;wer was, <HI>I am a Chri&s;tian. Take away the Sab|bath,</HI> &s;ayes a Reverend Divine, <HI>and Re|ligion will &s;oon wither and decay.</HI> The <HI>Indians</HI> might as well have been cho&s;en the &s;ubjects of this profitable Obedi|ence, and we in their conditions, keep|ing, in&s;tead of a Sabbath to God, every day to the Devil. It will be more tol|lerable, I am afraid, for them at that Great day, than for us.</P>
<P>If we had been left to our own choice, What &s;quarer divi&s;ion of time could have been thought upon, than one day for our &s;ouls, and another for our bodies, one for the World, ano|ther for Heaven? This had been the rea&s;onable rule of proportion; its
<PB N="90" REF="81">
more grace than rea&s;on, that God &s;hould de&s;ire but one day in &s;even, and that day al&s;o to be for our eter|nal good. Oh how inexcu&s;able will it be for us that prophane it, or neg|lect the advantages of it! Is refrain|ing from labour a toil to us? Is to be ea&s;ed of &s;in a burden? Lord then let me be burdened? for Lord, <HI>thy yoke is ea&s;ie, and thy burden is light.</HI> What is a more un&s;peakable mercy, than for &s;ouls to have communion with God, as well as our own hearts? And, as Divines &s;ay, glory is but grace per|fected: So that eternal Sabbath of re&s;t, is but, as I may &s;ay, this per|fected.</P>
<P>This &s;in is accompanied with many aggravations, and this is none of the lea&s;t, that we have a will given us to refu&s;e to prophane it; Be&s;ides its a deliberate act of the mind, its not &s;udden, as an oath, or murder; but in the very act it &s;elf, thou can&s;t not but know thou art &s;inning again&s;t the light of thy con&s;cience: its the great|e&s;t &s;in, that is accompanied with time to con&s;ider, an enlightened mind to under&s;tand the evil: to purpo&s;e to evil, is an aggravation as high as the &s;in.</P>
<P><PB N="91" REF="81">If aggravations face not this &s;in with a dreadful countenance, con&s;i|der, and in rea&s;on think; Is it not ju&s;t with God to &s;uffer thy frail com|po&s;ure of corruption to &s;hrink under his heavy judgements? that at night Gods protection &s;hould leave us, as in our graves, when we are in our beds? Or can&s;t thou expect any ble&s;|&s;ing upon thy outward e&s;tate, when it is in the power of God to di&s;po&s;e of <HI>life, being, health, e&s;tate,</HI> and all? Is it not ju&s;t; if we travel on this day, that God &s;hould judge us with &s;udden death in the like &s;everity, as he hath made others examples of to all Ages? Yet if God do &s;uffer thy corn, wine, and oil, to encrea&s;e, fear a cur&s;e un|der the Strawberry leaves of thy en|joyments; for a ble&s;&s;ing is not the &s;hadow of &s;in, it will not follow thee in the wayes of wickedne&s;&s;e; rather fear &s;ome judgement will overtake thy &s;wift motion to impiety.</P>
<P>A word to two &s;orts.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t tho&s;e that prophane it, con|temning not onely Gods Lawes, but the Lawes of the Nation; know that what is lawful on other dayes, are &s;ins on this day; and &s;uch of you as need
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not (by Gods ble&s;&s;ings in a full e&s;tate) toil all the week, whereby you can|not plead a wearine&s;&s;e to waite on God upon his own day, you turn his ble&s;&s;ings into a cur&s;e, if you prophane it: you play all the &s;ix dayes, its a &s;in with a witne&s;&s;e if you play away the &s;eventh al&s;o. You that cannot clo&s;e this Holy Day without an even|ing &s;acrifice to <HI>Bacchus,</HI> in&s;tead of pray|ers to the Lord that made Heaven and Earth, Gods Judgements &s;leep not, you are preparing your &s;elves as fuell for the fire of Gods vengeance and di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>Nextly, to you that &s;it idly at home, never dreaming how to e&s;cape that wrath to come; methinks I read your &s;ad conditions in your conver|&s;ations; That never think of God all the week; you cannot for your cal|lings, you will not for your plea&s;ures on the Lords Day: if there be any difference betwixt you and Heathens, it is, that you know your condemna|tion before it come: you will be at the Great Day, witne&s;&s;es for God a|gain&s;t your &s;elves.</P>
<P>To &s;ee &s;o many idly &s;it at home, and never mind to hear the Word, me|thinks
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I am among&s;t the <HI>Indians;</HI> Its a very heavy thing to con&s;ider in &s;ome places, half the Pari&s;h at home in idle|ne&s;&s;e, or walking abroad in Sermon-time; nay, I have heard it credibly af|firmed from the mouth of a Mini&s;ter in this County, that of &s;ome thou&s;ands in a Pari&s;h, there hath not been, &s;ome|times, a hundred at a Sermon, nay, not fifty, nay not twenty, &s;hall I &s;ay not ten? Is not this a &s;ad ca&s;e to be in a Chri&s;tian Common-wealth? Nay its the &s;ad experience of this place where I live, and I may &s;peak it to my own knowledge, that three quarters of the people able to come, of this populous place, do idly &s;tay at home, or walk abroad, not a family of ten, but the mo&s;t of them are at home in idlene&s;&s;e, if not at play or drinking.</P>
<P>Upon this account I would con|clude with one word; Good people, let me per&s;wade you to &s;erve God, rather than gratifie the Devil with your own damnation: Is your labour le&s;&s;e to &s;it at home, than in the Con|gregation? Do you think you have no &s;ouls to &s;ave, nor to lo&s;e? you had better be working than idle, for that is a &s;in in it &s;elf, and is made greater
<PB N="94" REF="83">
on this day. You live more like the brute bea&s;ts that are fed by the &s;en&s;es onely. How can you be &s;aved if you will not come unto him that you may have life? Are you Chri&s;tians or In|fidels? Do you profe&s;&s;e to wor&s;hip God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10, 14, 17.</NOTE> or Mahomet? <HI>How &s;hall you be|lieve on him of whom you have not heard? how can you hear without a Preacher?</HI> not to hear that Ble&s;&s;ed Go&s;pel which Chri&s;t hath &s;ent into our Coa&s;ts, our Hou&s;es, is to do as the <HI>Gadereans</HI> did, drive Chri&s;t from our Habitations. Such as followed Chri&s;t and his A|po&s;tles, were converted, I read of few el&s;e; and &s;uch onely as lay at the Pool, were healed: To &s;ee people flocking to hear the Word, like Doves to the windows, it is a ble&s;&s;ed &s;ight; But in&s;tead hereof, we have &s;ome that entertain Quakers meetings in their hou&s;es on the Lords Day; They have a &s;ad account to give.</P>
<P>I hear &s;ome excu&s;ing <HI>their &s;taying at home &s;ometimes, by their going other times;</HI> the&s;e are common excu&s;es: But thou knowe&s;t not but that day thou &s;taye&s;t from the Mini&s;tery of the Word, God may have intended thy eternal &s;alvation, and that with <HI>Za|cheus,</HI>
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God might have &s;aid, <HI>This day &s;alvation is come into thy hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><HI>But I read good books;</HI> That thou maye&s;t do when thou can&s;t not hear good Sermons: and though it be good to read, yet here its a &s;in, and a temp|tation, becau&s;e thou neglect'&s;ta greater good. The Word &s;tirs the &s;oul under it, and commonly cometh with power and demon&s;tration of the Spirit; and I know ther's great difference be|tween hearing and reading; and the later is no le&s;&s;e an evil thus u&s;ed, than the ejection of different thoughts in prayer from the &s;ubject and nature of the duty, is an evil by con&s;e|quence.</P>
<P><HI>But I do no body hurt, I am not play|ing, nor drinking, nor &s;wearing, &s;o that I need not fear Gods judgements:</HI> What judgement do&s;t thou think a hard heart is, which commonly is the fruit of the neglect of Gods Ordinances? is it not the wor&s;t of judgements? for thou may&s;t be de&s;troyed with bodily puni&s;hment, as <HI>Eli</HI> and others were, and yet thy &s;oul be &s;aved: but thou can&s;t not have a judicial hardne&s;&s;e of heart upon thee, and be &s;aved: there|fore take heed of this &s;in, and fear
<PB N="96" REF="84">
le&s;t a wor&s;e judgement befal thee than an outward de&s;truction; <HI>for how can&s;t thou e&s;cape, if thou neglect &s;o great &s;al|vation?</HI></P>
<P>My de&s;ign is not to direct others to the keeping this day, &s;o much as to keep from prophaning it; yet if any be per&s;waded to look to the keeping of it,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Good|win. <HI>Mr.</HI> Caw|dry.</NOTE> by way of &s;anctifying it, I refer them to &s;uch Learned Divines as have &s;pent their labour in it.</P>
<P>To tho&s;e that are not moved by rea&s;on, nor per&s;waded by their own advantages, from polluting this Holy day by their wickedne&s;&s;e, debauched|ne&s;&s;e, idlene&s;&s;e, or playing at Cards, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Read Gods threatnings, that his judgements may appear to be more ju&s;t, by his forewarning us from the &s;in,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 17, 27.</NOTE> as well as the puni&s;hment. <HI>If you will not hearken to me, to hallow the Sabbath, then will I kindle a fire in the gates of Jeru&s;alem, and it &s;hall devour the Palaces thereof, and &s;hall not be quenched.</HI> Fire in the Palace, &s;ayes a Divine, is ment, fire in the &s;eats of Ju|&s;tice, and the ornaments of a City: fire in the Palace, no going in, fire in the Gates, no going out; becau&s;e Ju&s;tice was not executed upon Sab|bath-breakes,
<PB N="97" REF="84">
therefore the place of Ju&s;tice &s;hall be de&s;troyed; tho&s;e gates that &s;uffered any co come in to pro|fane the Lords day, mu&s;t be now on fire, that none &s;hall e&s;cape his Judge|ments: If we &s;hould &s;ee our Towns flaming with the wrath of God, and the fire of his indignation taking hold of our habitations, it is then in vain to offer to quench it; it hath been thus in our Nation, as in the examples fol|lowing. If &s;uch a judgment be threat|ned again&s;t &s;uch as keep not this day; what mu&s;t be the <HI>fearful looking for of Judgment</HI> by the profaners of it?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 13.18.</NOTE> <HI>Did not God bring all this upon us in this City, yet bring you more wrath upon</HI> Judah <HI>by profaning the Sabbath, &s;ayes the Prophet.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 22.26. &amp; 31.</NOTE> <HI>Ezekiel</HI> mentions the &s;in of the Sab|bath, and <HI>therefore have I powred my indignation upon them, I have con&s;umed them with the fire of my wrath, and in</HI> the 23. Chapter is threatned Plagues and Judgements, and v. 18. the Rea&s;on; <HI>for they have profaned my Sabbaths.</HI></P>
<P>If the&s;e &s;erve not the end intended, take a pro&s;pect of Gods terrible ex|amples, which &s;tand as Beacons to warn us from the like &s;ins.</P>
<P>The poor man that did but gather
<PB N="98" REF="85">
&s;ticks on the Sabbath day, may &s;tand as a monument of Gods &s;everity.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> of Hi&s;tory.</NOTE>A Noble-man that u&s;ed to hunt on the Lords day, had a child born unto him with a head like a Dog, with eares and mouth crying like a Hound, which was a very remarkable judgement of God,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE>Reports of an Husband-man, that went to plough on the Lords day, and clean&s;ing his plough with an Iron, it &s;tuck &s;o fa&s;t in his hand for two years, that he carried it about with him as a &s;ignal to&s;timony of the Lords ju&s;t di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t him.</P>
<P>Another that gathered corn into his barn upon the Lords day, had it all with fire from heaven con&s;umed, together with the hou&s;e.</P>
<P>At <HI>Kim&s;tat</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> 1559. there lived a woman that neither would go nor &s;uffer others of her family to go to Church on the Lords day; as &s;he was drying flax, fire i&s;&s;ued out of it<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> but burnt it not: &s;he taking no no+tice, next Sabbath day as &s;he was bu+&s;ie with it, miraculou&s;ly again fire pro+ceeds out of it, and burnt it; but was put out, this poor creature was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> blind, as not to &s;ee or take warning
<PB N="99" REF="85">
by the&s;e foot-&s;teps of Gods mercifull providences, but the third Sabbath day, when &s;he was bu&s;ied about her flax, as before, it fires of it &s;elf, and could not be quenched, till &s;he, and two of her children were burnt to death.</P>
<P>And in the year 1126. One grind|ing corn upon the Lords days it took fire, and gave him timely warning not to break the Sabbath day, by the works of his calling.</P>
<P>In <HI>Helvetia,</HI> nigh <HI>Bele&s;&s;ina,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Clarks</HI> examples.</NOTE> three men were playing at Dice on the Lords day, one called <HI>&V;lrick Schrae|terus,</HI> having hopes of a good ca&s;t, be|cau&s;e being cro&s;t to the lo&s;&s;e of much money before; he now expected for|tune, or rather the Devill to favour his de&s;ire; and therefore he uttered the&s;e horrid words. <HI>If fortune do de|ceceive me now, I will thru&s;t my dagger into the Body of God as farre as I can;</HI> O the cur&s;ed frames of our naturall tem|pers, if once God ca&s;t the reins into our own wills, the Dice favours him not, and pre&s;ently he drawes his dag|ger, and with a powerful force throws it up towards heaven, which never was &s;een more; and immediately five
<PB N="100" REF="86">
drops of blood falls before them all upon the Table, and as &s;uddenly comes the Devill among&s;t them, car|ries away this vile wretch, with &s;uch a terrible and hideous noy&s;e, as the whole City was a&s;toni&s;hed at it. Tho&s;e two remaining alive, endevoured to wipe off the blood, but to &s;o little pur|po&s;e, that the more they rub'd, the more the drops of blood were per&s;pi|cuous. Report carries it all over the City, multitudes flock to &s;ee this won|der, who found only the Sabbath pro|faners rubbing the blood to get it out; the&s;e two by decree of the Senate of the City, were bound in Chains, and as they were led to the pri&s;on; one of them was &s;uddenly &s;truck dead; from out of who&s;e body, a wonderful num|ber of wormes and vermin was &s;een to crawle. The City thus terrified with Gods judgements, and to the in|tent that God might be glorified, and a future vengeance averted from the place; cau&s;ed the third to be forth|with put to death: And the Table with the drops of blood on it, pre&s;er|ved as a monument of Gods wrath up|on this &s;in, not only of Sabbath-break|ing, but &s;wearing, and wicked game|ing:
<PB N="101" REF="86">
O the depth of the knowledge of God, <HI>How un&s;earchable are his judg|ments, and his wayes pa&s;t finding out,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.33.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>January</HI> 13. 1583. At the Bear-garden in <HI>Southwark</HI> on a Sabbath day afternoon, many people pre&s;&s;ing on the Scaffolds to &s;ee the &s;port, forced it &s;uddenly down, with which fall eight were killed, and many &s;poyled in their bodies, who lived not long after.</P>
<P>Much like to it was that at <HI>Ri&s;ley</HI> in <HI>Bedford&s;hire,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Theatre of Gods Judge|ments.</NOTE> 1607. where many peo|ple, rather then re&s;ort to hear the the word of the Lord by the mouth of his Mini&s;ter, came in great num|bers to &s;ee a Stage-play on the Lords day; the Chamber floor fell down, and as a judgment of God upon this &s;ad &amp; wilful &s;in, many were killed and woun|ded, thus we &s;ee, when the works of piety and mercy are neglected, to pro|&s;ecute &s;inne and wickedne&s;&s;e, Gods judgements are &s;wift to overtake us; thereby endeavouring to hedg up our way with thornes, which examples may pu&s;h us back from the like impi|ety and vengeance of an angry God.</P>
<P>A &s;ad example of Gods &s;everity, in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">is hot and &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">abbath-breakers, is recorded of <HI>Fe|verton</HI>
<PB N="102" REF="87">
in <HI>Devon&s;hire;</HI> which place, <HI>&s;aith he,,</HI> was frequently admoni&s;hed of the profanation of the Lords day, by a Market kept the day following; which without reformation, would inevitably pluck down divine vengeance: A lit|tle after the Mini&s;ters death, upon the third of <HI>April</HI> 1598. A &s;udden fire from heaven con&s;umeth the whole Town in le&s;&s;e than half an hour; excepting only the Church, Court-hou&s;e, and Almes-hou&s;e, where was con&s;umed in this fire of Gods wrath, four hundred dwelling hou&s;es, and fifty &s;oules de|&s;troyed. Who will not &s;ay this was a &s;ad and immediate hand of the Lord? but alas; what will not poor creatures do, that follow &s;in with greedine&s;&s;e! The &s;ame Town fourteen years after, on the fifth of <HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> 1612. for the &s;ame &s;in, was wholly con&s;umed, except &s;ome thirty poor peoples hou&s;es, School-hou&s;e, Almes-hou&s;es: the&s;e Judgements are not recorded for Hi|&s;torical Peru&s;all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 13.4</NOTE> but to con&s;ider of, and remember tho&s;e on whom the Tower of <HI>Shilo</HI> fell.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Clarks</HI> Examples</NOTE>At <HI>Alce&s;ter</HI> in <HI>Warwick-&s;hire</HI> where the Authour lived, there were of his own knowledge, four remarkable
<PB N="103" REF="87">
Judgements of God. One that upon the publi&s;hing of the Declaration for &s;ports and pa&s;times upon the Lords day; A young woman on this day comes to the Green, and &s;ayes, <HI>She would dance as long as &s;he could &s;tand,</HI> and dancing, in the mid&s;t of her &s;in, God &s;truck her with &s;uch a violent di|&s;ea&s;e, that in two or three dayes &s;he died in mi&s;ery; as an example to all that delight more in &s;erving their own plea&s;ures, and &s;infull de&s;ires, then to wait upon God, and delight in his wayes.</P>
<P>The other of a young man of the &s;ame place, and not long after the other; who on the Lords day, imme|diately after the evening exerci&s;e was fini&s;hed, brings into the &s;treet a pair of Cudgells, layes them down nigh un|to the Mini&s;ters hou&s;e, and invited divers to play with him; who refu&s;ing, at length comes one, and taking up the Cudgels &s;ayes, <HI>Though I never play|ed in my life, yet I will play one bout now.</HI> A little after, &s;porting with a young woman, he takes up a Bird|ing-piece charged, &s;aying, <HI>Have at thee;</HI> the piece goes off, and murders her immdiately; for which, as a de|&s;erved
<PB N="104" REF="88">
judgement, he &s;uffered the Law.</P>
<P>Another of a Miller at <HI>Wootton</HI> in the &s;ame County, who going forth to a Wake, and coming home at night, found his Hou&s;e, Mill, and all that he had, burnt down to the ground.</P>
<P>A fourth upon Mr. <HI>Clarks</HI> own knowledge, is of many wicked and prophane per&s;ons, at <HI>Wool&s;ton</HI> in the &s;ame County; who on the Lords day met at a Whit&s;un-Ale, in a Smiths Barn, and though it grieved the holy man of God, who was Mini&s;ter of the place, as the <HI>Sodomites</HI> did <HI>Lot,</HI> yet he could not help it; but in their pro|fanene&s;&s;e they proceeded; not long after, a fire kindles in the place of this impiety, and burnes down not onely his Hou&s;e, Shop, and Barn, but rages &s;o vehemently, as it reaches many o|ther hou&s;es with ruin, all being chief actors in this horrid profanene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>In the year 1634. upon a Lords day, when the <HI>River Trent</HI> was frozen o|ver, fourteen young men were at foot|ball upon the Ice near <HI>Gainsborough,</HI> and meeting all in a clu&s;ter together, the wrath of God met with them, and &s;uddenly the Ice broke, and they were
<PB N="105" REF="88">
immediately drowned. Oh the ju|&s;tice of the Lord, upon the propha|ners of his Holy day.</P>
<P>The &s;ame painful and u&s;eful Au|thor of Gods examples, relates a &s;ad one, of Gods Judgements upon two fellows in <HI>E&s;&s;ex</HI> near <HI>Brinkely,</HI> that were working in a Chalk-pit; one of them boa&s;ting that he had vext his Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e, by coming &s;o late in from his Sabbath-dayes Sports and Recrea|tions <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> but &s;ayes he, <HI>I will anger her wor&s;e next Sabbath day:</HI> which words were no &s;ooner out, but Ju&s;tice &s;eizes upon him; for the Earth falls upon him, and he never &s;tirred more to his Sabbath prophane&s;&s;e; his fellowes limbs were broken; both being &s;ha|rers in the &s;in of the Sabbath, are made al&s;o to be &s;o in their &s;ufferings and puni&s;hments. The Lord will be known in the paths and wayes of his Judgements, to &s;uch as will not be led and allured by his tender mer|cies.</P>
<P>And of one Mr. <HI>Ameredith,</HI> a Gen|tleman of <HI>Devon&s;hire,</HI> being recovered from a pain which he had &s;uffered in his feet, one of his friends &s;aying he was glad to &s;ee him &s;o nimble: the
<PB N="106" REF="89">
Gentleman replies; <HI>He hoped his hopes &s;hould not be fru&s;trated of the great ex|pectations he had to dance about the May-Pole the next Sunday:</HI> But be|hold the Lord in a ju&s;t puni&s;hment (for &s;uch impious and wicked re&s;o|lutions, and no doubt al&s;o for his for|mer prophane&s;&s;e on that day) &s;mites him &s;uddenly with feeblene&s;&s;e and faintne&s;&s;e of heart ere he &s;tirred from the place, and with &s;uch a &s;trange dizzine&s;&s;e in the head, that he was forc't to be led home, and from thence to his la&s;t home, before the Lords Day &s;hined upon him. Now tell me, any that can, what little hopes the poor &s;ouls thus u&s;hered to the cham|bers of death, have to keep an eternal Sabbath with God, that will not keep his Sabbath from prophaning on earth? Truly, the&s;e are &s;ad &s;ymp|toms of Gods heavy di&s;plea&s;ure a|gain&s;t &s;oul as well as body: his mercy (if any be in &s;uch di&s;mal di&s;pen&s;a|tions) are occult and hidden; the Lord in mercy warn poor &s;inners to avoid the wrath of &s;uch an Infinite God, that &s;uch as will not be intreated to keep the Lords day, as they ought,
<PB N="107" REF="89">
may be terrified from prophaning of it.</P>
<P>Another as &s;evere he relates, which together with the three former, are atte&s;ted by &s;ufficient witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>At <HI>Walton</HI> upon <HI>Thames,</HI> in <HI>Survey,</HI> upon a great fro&s;t, in the year 1634. three young men having in the fore|noon heard a Sermon, from 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.10. <HI>We mu&s;t all appear before the Judgement-&s;eat of Chri&s;t,</HI> &amp;c. they went over the Ice into an hou&s;e of di&s;order, and gaming, where they prophanely &s;pent away the re&s;t of the Lords day, and night al&s;o, in revelling, and drinking; the one of them next day boa&s;ting merrily of his plea&s;ure upon the Sabbath day, and his adven|ture over the Ice. All three on <HI>Tue&s;|day</HI> return the way they went, and upon the Ice &s;uddenly &s;unk to the bottom like &s;tones, one of them onely miraculou&s;ly pre&s;erved. The&s;e judge|ments may be mercies to &s;ome that are yet prophaners of the Lords day, if God plea&s;e.</P>
<P>At <HI>Burton</HI> upon <HI>Trent,</HI> Mr. <HI>Abberly</HI> a godly Mini&s;ter, often took occa&s;ion to reprove and threaten &s;uch as make no con&s;cience of the Lords day, by
<PB N="108" REF="90">
prophaning it: in a more peculiar manner, &s;uch as bought and &s;old meat upon this day; which it &s;eems was a &s;in as great, and as commonly pra|cti&s;ed in this place, as it was lately at <HI>Buntingford,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1657.</NOTE> where in my journey, &s;ome Gentlemen of <HI>Newca&s;tle</HI> being my fellow-travellers, we took occa|&s;ion after Sermon to acquaint the Mini&s;ter withal: I pray God it may not be &s;o &s;till, le&s;t &s;uch a judgement befal the place, as did this prophane wretch: which was thus. A Taylor being a nimble and active man, dwel|ling at the upper end of the Town, mu&s;t needs in a bravado go to the fur|ther end to buy &s;ome meat before morning-prayer, but coming home with both his hands full, in the mid&s;t of the &s;treet he fell down &s;tark dead. I was, &s;ayes Doctor <HI>Teate,</HI> an eye-wit|ne&s;&s;e both of his fall, and burial&punc; and that it wrought a reformation in the place, both among the Butchers and others. It was a remarkable Provi|dence, and I wi&s;h, I &s;ay, that other places may be reformed of this bold and impudent &s;in; or truly they may repent of it when its too late.</P>
<P>A Pious Divine: &s;ayes he, <HI>The
<PB N="109" REF="90">
Lord hath &s;poken &s;o loud from heaven a|gain&s;t Sabbath-&s;inners,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> P. Goodwin. Dies do|minicus re|divivus. <HI>117.</HI></NOTE> <HI>that I cannot be &s;ilent; We hereabout, have had in a &s;hort time, terrible tokens of God &s;evere vengeance, upon &s;uch as mind not the &s;er|vice of his Day: among&s;t our &s;elves a &s;ad example;</HI> A Town&s;man going to gather Cherries on the Lords Day, fell from the tree, and in the fall was &s;o battered, and brui&s;ed, that he ne|ver &s;pake more, but lay groaning in his blood, until the next day, and then died.</P>
<P>Another man, not far from this place, in Cherry-time, as he was ga|thering fruit, fell from the tree, and with the fall was &s;o hurt, that he lay in angui&s;h and dreadful dolour, all the week, till Sabbath day, and then ended his mi&s;erable life.</P>
<P>And of a young man, that on the Lords Day, in a place nigh unto Mr. <HI>Goodwins,</HI> &s;crambling with others for Peares, thrown out in the Church|yard, broke his main thigh-bone, and the bone of his leg, on the &s;ame &s;ide, which was &s;o mi&s;erably and &s;trangely broken, as that the Bone-&s;etter (who was a godly man) told Mr. <HI>Goodwin,</HI> though he had &s;een many, yet he ne|ver
<PB N="110" REF="91">
&s;aw the like. God here dealt in mercy, as well as in judgememt, in that he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> him &s;pace to repent, and &s;ee his &s;in. The Lord warn us all by the&s;e examples.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr, <HI>Clarks</HI> Examples.</NOTE>A company of prophane young men in 1635. near <HI>Salisbury,</HI> upon the Lords Day morning, went to <HI>Claring|ton</HI> Park, to cut down a May-Pole, and having loaden the Cart with the tree, and them&s;elves with the bitter fruits of &s;in, they are &s;everely puni&s;ht by the hand of God: For entring into the City of <HI>Salisbury,</HI> through a place called <HI>Milners Bars,</HI> unawares the Cart gives a turn, and the end of the tree, &s;truck one of the Sabbath-breakers &s;uch a mortal blow that his brains flew out, and there on the place, he yeilded him&s;elf a conquered &s;inner by the Ju&s;t hand of the Lord, lying there, as a &s;ad &s;pectacle of Gods in|dignation: and &s;ayes Mr <HI>Clark, I en|quired of the truth of this at my fir&s;t coming to</HI> Sarum, <HI>and very many godly per&s;ons in my hearing, atte&s;ted it to be true, upon their own &s;ight and know|ledge.</HI></P>
<P>And further, Doctor <HI>Teate,</HI> he gives a &s;econd example upon his knowledge thus.</P>
<P><PB N="111" REF="91">To my knowledge, at <HI>Compton-Chamberlin</HI> in <HI>VVilt&s;hire,</HI> at the hou&s;e of Sir <HI>J. Penruddock,</HI> a dancing match was held on the Lords Day, where a &s;tranger u&s;hers in, to act his part, and after a few turns about, and a few capers, he in the mid&s;t of the &s;in, falls dead to the ground, before all the company. Here was a &s;ad di&s;pen&s;a|tion of Providence from Gods im|mediate hand, as many el&s;e be&s;ides are; here was no in&s;trument to take off any of the mo&s;t &s;evere vengeance of God; and &s;uch examples in my mind, &s;hould be taken as pregnant te&s;timonies, to let all men know this day ought to be kept as Holy. Oh take heed of &s;lighting this day, that God &s;o &s;everely puni&s;hes in his &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>And Mr. <HI>Clark</HI> upon his own te&s;ti|mony, brings in a &s;ad relation thus. When I lived in <HI>Che&s;hire,</HI> there was one Sir <HI>T. S.</HI> a Papi&s;t, and at that time a Favorite at Court, who at his ap|pearance in the Country was very much fea&s;ted and entertained by the Gentry: once among&s;t the re&s;t, he was invited to a Knights hou&s;e on the Lords day, where many accompanied
<PB N="112" REF="92">
him: towards evening, the proper time for the deeds of darkne&s;&s;e, they fell to dancing: but look to the fin|ger of God, and &s;ee what fell upon their &s;inful prophane&s;&s;e; In the mid&s;t of their &s;port, there was one Sir <HI>J.D.</HI> had a blow given him on his leg by &s;ome invi&s;ible hand; for none was &s;een to touch him, as was atte&s;ted by all the company: and thus he went lame for a good while after. It may be it &s;et him upright in his practi&s;e and con|ver&s;ation ever after; if it did, it was a good providence that &s;aved him from a more &s;evere Judgement.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr. <HI>Twi&s;s</HI> on Sabb.</NOTE>One Sabbath day in the afternoon, a match at Football was made in <HI>Bed|ford&s;hire:</HI> as two of the company was tolling a Bell to &s;ummon the re&s;t to|gether, &s;ome that &s;at in the Porch of the Church &s;uddenly hear a terrible clap of Thunder, and &s;aw a fla&s;h of Lightning, coming through an ob&s;cure lane; which fla&s;ht in their faces, to their great terrour and fear, &s;o pa&s;|&s;ing on to the&s;e that were tolling, it trips up the heels of the one, and leaves him &s;tark dead: the other &s;o bla&s;ted, that he died al&s;o in few dayes. The&s;e are the &s;wift Me&s;&s;en|gers
<PB N="113" REF="92">
of God, which overtake poor &s;in|ners in the way of their &s;ins, before re&s;olution can be proud of any actions; God will be &s;een in his wrath and ter|rour, to all wilfull and impenitent &s;inners.</P>
<P>At <HI>Tidworth</HI> on the Lords day, ma|ny were met in the Church-yard to play at football, where one of this wicked company had his legge broken, which by a &s;ecret judgment of the Lord &s;o fe&s;ter'd, that it turned to a Gan|grene in de&s;pight of all means; where|of he &s;peedily died.</P>
<P><HI>Stratford</HI> upon <HI>Sluon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr. <HI>Beards</HI> Theatre.</NOTE> was no le&s;&s;e then twice con&s;umed, by the fire of Gods wrath for this &s;in of Sabbath-breaking, and on one and the &s;ame day twelve-moneth: be&s;ides, they were great contemners and &s;lighters of the Word of God by his Mini&s;ter; A &s;in that is commonly followed with hard|ne&s;&s;e of heart, if no vi&s;ible judgement get before it.</P>
<P>It is recorded of <HI>Pompey,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">C. Tacitus,</NOTE> that he &s;hrunk under the depre&s;&s;ion of Gods &s;ore di&s;plea&s;ure, for profaning Gods Sabbath, and Sanctuary. That which God con&s;ecrates, mu&s;t be kept holy, or woe to the profaners of it.</P>
<P><PB N="114" REF="93"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;ephus.</NOTE>And of <HI>Herod</HI> who profaned Gods name by his wickedne&s;&s;e, and that, when for &s;ome trea&s;ure which he &s;up|po&s;ed to be hid, he cau&s;ed the Sepul|cher of Gods Saints to be pluckt up; The Lord in Judgement cau&s;ed a fire to breake forth of the earth, and de&s;troyed tho&s;e that he imployed, which when he &s;aw he de&s;i&s;ted, and dur&s;t go no further.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Nel&s;on</HI> Mini&s;ter, his letter to Mr. <HI>Taylor</HI> in Theatre of Judge|ments.</NOTE><HI>Nov.</HI> 26. 1621. One <HI>Richard Bourn</HI> &s;ervant to <HI>Ga&s;per Burch</HI> of <HI>Ely,</HI> was &s;o accu&s;tomed to travell on the Lords day, that he made no con&s;cience of it, &s;eldom or never coming to the A&s;&s;em|bly to hear the Word of God on that day, but went to St. <HI>Ives</HI> Market, where he &s;tayed and &s;pent the day; wher being drunk, he was overtaken by Gods Ju&s;tice; for coming home fraught with commodities, he fell into the Ri|ver, and was drowned; a ju&s;t reward of other &s;innes in the puni&s;hment of one.</P>
<P>In the year 1635. A Miller at <HI>Church-down</HI> nigh <HI>Glouce&s;ter,</HI> would needs make a Whit&s;un-Ale; notwith|&s;tanding the private and publick ad|monitions of the Mini&s;ters, and of his Chri&s;tian friends, large provi&s;ion was
<PB N="115" REF="93">
made, and mu&s;ick was &s;et out, as the Mini&s;ter and people in the afternoon went to Church; when prayer and Sermon was ended, the Drum beat up, Mu&s;ick played, and the people fell a dancing till evening; at which time, they all re&s;orted to the Mill: but O the Ju&s;tice of God! before they had &s;upped, at 9 of the clock, a &s;udden fire &s;eized on the hou&s;e which was &s;o &s;harp, that it burned down his Hou&s;e and Mill, and the mo&s;t of all his other provi&s;ion, and hou&s;hold-&s;tuffe.</P>
<P>At <HI>Baunton</HI> in <HI>Dorcet&s;hire,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1634.</NOTE> &s;ome be|ing at Bowles on the Lords day, one threw his Bowle at his fellow, and hit him on the ear, whereupon blood i&s;&s;u|ing out at the other ear, he died; he that threw it fled.</P>
<P>At <HI>Simsburg</HI> in <HI>Dor&s;et&s;hire,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1634.</NOTE> one re|joycing at the erection of a Summer-pole on the Lords day, &s;aid, <HI>He would go &s;ee it, though he went through a quick|&s;et hedge;</HI> A Proverb here Going with wood in his arms to ca&s;t into the Bon|fire, profanely uttered the&s;e words; <HI>Heaven and earth are full of thy glory O Lord:</HI> He was immediately &s;mitten by the &s;troak of God, and in two or three days died, and his wife al&s;o.</P>
<P><PB N="116" REF="94"><NOTE PLACE="marg">1635.</NOTE>At <HI>Dover,</HI> the &s;ame day that the Book of &s;ports was read in St. <HI>James</HI> Pari&s;h, one profanely went to play upon a Kit, which drew a rude multi|tude of the younger &s;ort together. But oh the terrour of the Lord! He was &s;truck with a divine hand, and in two dayes died.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>July,</HI> 19. 1635.</NOTE>Two Boyes of St. <HI>Albans,</HI> going into <HI>Verolans</HI> pond to &s;wim upon the Lords day, one of them was drowned, the other narrowly e&s;caped, as a warning to others.</P>
<P>Two young men of St, <HI>Dun&s;tans</HI> in the We&s;t <HI>London,</HI> going to &s;wim on the Lords day, in <HI>September,</HI> 1635, were both drowned.</P>
<P>A fellow in <HI>Sommer&s;et-&s;hire,</HI> being to make a Tent on the Lords day, for a Fair, which was to be on the day following, &s;aid on the Satterday, that he would make it on the morrow; which was the Lords day, and being drunk, he died the &s;ame day roaring.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>July,</HI> 1654.</NOTE>One Mr. <HI>Prince</HI> Chyrurgion of the of the Tower of <HI>London,</HI> did on the Lords day ride upon his hor&s;e to pace him for a Chapman, but &s;ee the ju&s;tice, yet mercy of God, he broke his leg, and lay in great pain and angui&s;h
<PB N="117" REF="94">
eight weeks; His &s;on had di&s;&s;waded him from &s;o great a &s;in, which now he acknowledged as a judgement of God upon him for prophanation of his day: and ever after he became a more fre|quent re&s;orter to the congregation, and hearing Gods word.</P>
<P>At <HI>Thornton</HI> nigh <HI>Worce&s;ter,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1634.</NOTE> upon the publi&s;hing of the book of &s;ports on the Lords day, the people prepared for a &s;olemn prophanation, by order|ing purveyors on purpo&s;e, to provide things fit for it; A proper maid went to the Mill on Satterday, to fetch home the meal on the Lords day, the maid pa&s;&s;ing by a hedge with the meal upon her head, was overtaken with a &s;udden and &s;ad &s;troak of Divine Ju|&s;tice, for &s;he fell down dead into a ditch, there &s;he lay all Sabbath day; on Munday &s;he was carried to her grave, where all their intend|ed mirth was buried with her, &amp;c. &s;uch a terrour it wrought in the peo|ple, and &s;uch Reformation in the place, that no more Summer-Ales were kept; they took down the May-pole, and none dur&s;t &s;et it up again, or have to do with the publick prophanation of that day.</P>
<P><PB N="118" REF="95">One at <HI>Ham</HI> nigh <HI>King&s;tone,</HI> a &s;cof|fer of goodne&s;&s;e, and a common pro|phaner of the Lords day, did on that holy day pre&s;ume to vi&s;it his grounds, where finding &s;ome cattle grazing, which were not his own, &amp; running to drive them out, he fell down, and &s;ud|denly died upon the place.</P>
<P>Upon <HI>May</HI> day, being the Lords day, a maid in <HI>Cripple-gate London,</HI> being married to one that had three children, one of them being at nur&s;e in the Country, they did on the Lords day &s;pend the whole afternoon in fea&s;ting and dancing; but God is ju&s;t, and will be &s;een in his judgements to warn others; for a week after the plague began in the Pari&s;h, &amp; the fir&s;t hou&s;e it entered into, is this new married cou|ples, with which, both him&s;elf, wife, and two children were &s;wept away by death. The&s;e things are not to be &s;coffed at, they are not things of chance or blind fortune; no, no, they are providence; and though they are judgements in them&s;elves, yet in the i&s;&s;ue, I hope they will be mercifull warnings to others.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>July,</HI> 1634.</NOTE>Not far from <HI>Dorche&s;ter,</HI> lived one widow <HI>Jones,</HI> who&s;e Son <HI>Richard</HI> upon
<PB N="119" REF="95">
the Lords day (notwith&s;tanding her admonitions, and per&s;wa&s;ions did with his companions go to <HI>Stoak</HI> to play; where after they had done, and drank &s;omewhat freely, they return home; and by the way fell out, whereupon <HI>John Edwards</HI> one of his con&s;orts &s;tab|bed him under the left &s;ide, vvhereof at &s;even a clock the next night, he died.</P>
<P>One <HI>David Price,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Octoct. <HI>1633.</HI></NOTE> a &s;ervant to <HI>T. Hill,</HI> a Gra&s;ier, offering to drive his cattel from <HI>Banbury,</HI> was di&s;&s;vvaded by his Landlord, and told him he vvould be &s;topped, and forced to &s;atisfie the Lavv, to vvhich he replied, <HI>let me &s;ee who will hinder.</HI> In the morning he &s;et out, and not yet out of the Tovvnes end, one met him, and &s;aid, <HI>What Da|vid, to day, to day?</HI> he an&s;vvered not, but pa&s;&s;ed on; and although he never complained, nor any other &s;aw any &s;ignes of the lea&s;t &s;ickne&s;&s;e, yet in a &s;tones ca&s;t of the Town, he fell down dead &s;uddenly, and was buried in <HI>Banbury</HI> Church-yard, the next day after.</P>
<P>At <HI>Wicks,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1634.</NOTE> betwixt <HI>Colche&s;ter</HI> &amp; <HI>Har|wich,</HI> upon Whit&s;unday la&s;t in the af|ter-noon, two fellowes meeting at
<PB N="120" REF="96">
the Foot-ball, the one killed the other.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1634.</NOTE>At <HI>Oxford,</HI> one Lords day, one <HI>Hawkes</HI> a Butcher would needs mend his ditch, his wife di&s;&s;waded him from it on that day; but he would, and did go, but behold the remarkable ju&s;tice of God! he is &s;truck dead in the ditch: a &s;ad example, among&s;t other of Gods terrible Judgements,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">January <HI>1634.</HI></NOTE>One Mr. <HI>Powel</HI> upon the Lords day did at <HI>Lem&s;ter</HI> &s;erve a Writ of <HI>Sub poena</HI> upon one, Mr. <HI>Shuit</HI> a Gentleman, (which he did on purpo&s;e upon that day, as is credibly reported) as &s;oon as he came out of the Church into the Church-yard; to whom Mr. <HI>Shuit</HI> &s;aid, I <HI>thought you had been an hone&s;ter man, than to do &s;o upon this day;</HI> who replied, <HI>I hope I am never a whit the more di&s;hone&s;t;</HI> which he had no &s;ooner &s;pake, but &s;uddenly he fell down dead, and never &s;pake word more; his wife &s;eeing it, was immediately &s;truck with &s;ickne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>May</HI> 31. 1635. being the Lords day, one <HI>Rich. Clark</HI> Apprentice to <HI>Timothy Donorell</HI> of <HI>Sher&s;ton</HI> in <HI>Wilt&s;hire,</HI> was drunk in company with one <HI>H. Par|rum,</HI> to whom he &s;aid he vvould hang
<PB N="121" REF="96">
or drown him&s;elf; de&s;iring to know which was the be&s;t, who replied, that he hoped he would do neither: But oh the judgements of the Lord upon the prophaners of this day, and upon the &s;in of Drunkenn&s;&s;e! for on Mon|day morning, he was &s;een going tho|rough the Town, as if he were going about his Ma&s;ters bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, and ha|ving got up upon the mid&s;t of a Tree without the Town, he there did hang him&s;elf.</P>
<P>At <HI>Billericay</HI> in <HI>E&s;&s;ex,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">March, 1634.</NOTE> one <HI>Theo. Pea&s;e</HI> the Mini&s;ters &s;on, would needs ring the Bells on the Sabbath day, but was hindred by the Officers; the next Lords day, he had gathered many to|gether, and in de&s;pite of any, would ring, and whil&s;t he was ringing, a gid|dine&s;&s;e &s;urprized him like one drunk, of which he fell &s;ick, and in three dayes died.</P>
<P>The Tap&s;ter and Chamberlain of Queens Head <HI>Southwark,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">June 1635</NOTE> rode upon the Lords day to be merry, and ha|ving been too bold with drink, one of them riding homewards, fell off his hor&s;e, and broke his neck.</P>
<P>Being the Lords day, an Apothe|caries man in Lime-&s;treet <HI>London,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Feb. 9. 1634.</NOTE> rid
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with another to <HI>Barnet,</HI> to be merry, and being drunk, upon their return they met with a man travelling, to whom offering &s;ome abu&s;e, the man &s;trikes one of their hor&s;es, one of them bid the other run him through, which with his Rapier he did through the left brea&s;t, &s;o that he fell down dead; and being both apprehended, they confe&s;&s;ed, and were &s;ent to New-gate.</P>
<P>At <HI>Baildon</HI> in <HI>Yorkshire,</HI> two men &s;itting drinking at a Wake, they quar|relled with one another; but being parted, and one of them &s;itting by the fire &s;ide, the other pre&s;ently falls upon him with a Hatchet and cleaves him down the back, in&s;omuch as his bowels fell forth; the murderer be|ing hotly pur&s;ued leapt into a Ri|ver, and drowned him&s;elf.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">April 18. 1635.</NOTE>Four travelling from <HI>London</HI> to <HI>Maidenhead,</HI> one of them would needs travel on the Lords day, the re&s;t re|fu&s;ed, &s;pending the Sabbath there; this man rode in the morning to <HI>Hen|ly,</HI> and there heard a Sermon, after that travelled again in the afternoon, and on his way, leading his hor&s;e down a &s;mooth de&s;cent, his hor&s;e &s;ud|denly
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fell, and broke both his fore legs; He was &s;uddenly amazed at &s;o &s;trange and unexpected a Providence, and could not but attribute it to the immediate hand of God: whereupon &s;eeing him pa&s;t recovery, he knockt his hor&s;e on the head, and &s;o left him. The next day, being overtaken at <HI>Abington</HI> by his fellow-travellers, they wondering, demanded the rea&s;on how it came to pa&s;&s;e, he was no fur|ther on his way? He &s;mote his brea&s;t, and related the &s;trange Providence of God, towards him, &s;aying, <HI>He had heard many a good Sermon, but none of them ever wrought &s;o much upon his con|&s;cience, as this Providence of God did: and &s;ince it was no wor&s;e, it &s;hould be an example and a warning to him for ever after.</HI> Oh that it might be &s;o to others, that may heare of it or read it.</P>
<P>In the year 1644. was a Beer-Brewer (dwelling in <HI>Giles-Criplegate London,</HI> nigh unto the white Hor&s;e) that u&s;u|ally followed the &s;inful practi&s;e of Brewing upon the Lords Day, for which he was warned, and told of the greatne&s;&s;e of the &s;in, and how &s;evere God was to &s;uch &s;inful practi&s;es, but
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he reformed not: Once upon a Lords day at noon, the Reverend M. <HI>T. VVeld,</HI> Lecturer of the &s;aid place (from whom I had the Relation) went into the hou&s;e, and taking them at work, lovingly, yet &s;harpely, ad|moni&s;hed them, to whom they promi|&s;ed to do &s;o no more: within a Sab|bath or two after, the &s;ame &s;ervant of the hou&s;e, which before was taken in the act, was now again found guilty of the &s;ame &s;in; but mark the Ju|&s;tice of the Lord; for &s;etting fire to the Copper, when it was &s;calding hot, he fell over into it, and was immedi|atly &s;calded to death.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Weld.</NOTE>Another, which I had from the &s;ame hand. A Cook in the &s;ame Pari&s;h, u&s;ing to make it his trade, on the Lords day, to heat Ovens, and bake meat, whereby all the family was im|ployed as on other dayes, without re|gard to the Lords day, unle&s;&s;e to his own profit; never, or &s;eldom, fre|quenting the Word preached; was often admoni&s;hed, yet went on in his &s;in: One Chri&s;tmas day, which fell upon the Lords day, as he was work|ing, and labouring (as if no time were unlawful to gain the world, though he
<PB N="125" REF="98">
neglected his eternal &s;oul) he was con&s;umed to death by fire.</P>
<P>A Vintner, that was a great &s;wearer and drunkard,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mr.</HI> Clark.</NOTE> as he was &s;tanding at his own door upon the Lords day, with a pot in his hand to invite his gue&s;ts, was by the wonderful ju&s;tice and pow|er of God, carried into the aire with a whirlwind, and never &s;een nor heard of more.</P>
<P>Much might be &s;aid; but my Work &s;wells upon the Loome, yet have I left many example, to have the choice. I &s;hall conclude with one word, and that is to pray us to con&s;ider, that God ble&s;&s;ed (that is, &s;ay Divines, with intention of be&s;towing favours and benefits) this day: O let's then labour for Gods ble&s;&s;ing above all things! Read tho&s;e Promi&s;es in <HI>E&s;ay,</HI> 56.4, 5, 6, 7. <HI>Jer.</HI> 17.24, 25. let us labour for hearts to attend with de|light to his Lawes and Ordinances; when once we leave off Ordinances, I dur&s;t almo&s;t &s;ay, we are in a more &s;ure way to ruin, than the mo&s;t out|ward prophane. They are mercies not &s;o much prized as they would, if we wanted them; A confluence
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brings a glut, and that a di&s;gu&s;t of the mo&s;t reli&s;hing mercies. A ten or five mile Sermon formerly, ta&s;ted &s;weeter than now greater opportunities of grace and mercy nigher hand, and within our reach: I &s;ay, let us &s;et a high value upon the favour and means of conveyances: let's love and ho|nour the faithful Mini&s;ters of the Word: to love them, is to love to hear them; Hate thy Mini&s;ter, and then follows contempt of the Word, and &s;o hardne&s;&s;e of heart: this is commonly the &s;ad effect of this &s;in. Scoffers of Religion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 King. 1. 2 King. 2:</NOTE> the Mini&s;ters of his precious Go&s;pel and people, have been made &s;pectacles of Gods anger; Judge|ments are prepared for &s;corners, <HI>Prov.</HI> 19.29. They are ble&s;&s;ed that &s;it not in their &s;eat, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1.1.</P>
<P>One pre&s;ent in this Congregation, (&s;ayes a Reverend Divine) was an eye-witne&s;&s;e of a woman &s;coffing at another for piety,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mr. <HI>Green|hill,</HI> on Ezekiel.</NOTE> immediately &s;he had her rongue &s;trucken with a pal&s;ie, and in two dayes died thereof. Va|lue therefore, I &s;ay, thy Mini&s;ter, for he is &s;et over thee for to watch for the good of thy &s;oul; the love of the Mi|ni&s;ter,
<PB N="127" REF="99">
and the Word, is no &s;mall help to the keeping of the Lords day.</P>
<P>I conclude with the P&s;almi&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 50.22</NOTE> <HI>Con|&s;ider this all ye that forget God, le&s;t he teare you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you.</HI></P>
<P>Reader, <HI>The&s;e following &s;ad Exam|ples came to my hand, &s;ince the Printing of the former part of the</HI> Treati&s;e; <HI>which I thought good to in&s;ert here.</HI></P>
<P>On Thur&s;day, in the la&s;t week &s;ave one, of <HI>June</HI> 1620. A hou&s;e was burnt down at <HI>Hether &s;et</HI> in <HI>Norfolk:</HI> there being a jar in the morning between the man and his wife (as is &s;aid&punc;) The woman wi&s;hed that her husband go|ing out, might never return to his hou&s;e; which was burnt down e're he came home.</P>
<P>On the 22 th of <HI>July</HI> 1627. at <HI>Barn|ham-broom,</HI> &s;ome would needs draw up a Bell (it being the Lords day) into his place, that it might be ready again&s;t the Bell-founder came on Fri|day, that &s;o they might not hinder their bu&s;ine&s;&s;e. Some went unwil|lingly to it, but others went fore|warned, and did it: when it was up,
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he that was one of the readie&s;t <HI>W. Baynes,</HI> &s;etting his foot on a board that brake or &s;lipped, fell and beat out his braines, and mi&s;erably ended his dayes.</P>
<P><HI>Aug.</HI> 6. 1627. At <HI>Scolebridge,</HI> a man drunken being fa&s;tned on a Cart, the hor&s;e turning &s;uddenly, overthrew the Cart into the River, loaden with lime upon the drunken man, where he was drowned, and fearfully burnt with lime.</P>
<P>In the former part of Summer, a man being drunk at <HI>VVimondham,</HI> fell into a watery, miry place, and was drowned.</P>
<P>Another Drunkard vomiting, a Sow followed him, and eat up his vo|mit, at la&s;t falling from his hor&s;e, the Sow pulled out his throat, and &s;o he mi&s;erably died: reported by the Judge at the A&s;&s;izes.</P>
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