<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2012-07-03</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A93340">
<STC T="W">S4023</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99895976</BIBNO>
<VID>153597</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>A SERMON Preached before the RIGHT WORSHIPFUL THE <HI>Deputy-Governour,</HI> AND THE Company of MERCHANTS Trading to the Levant-Seas, AT S^t <HI>Bartholemew-Exchange,</HI> May 1. 1689. By <HI>EDWARD SMYTH,</HI> A. M. Fellow of <HI>Trinity</HI>-Colledge near <HI>Dublin;</HI> And Preacher to the Factory at <HI>SMYRNA.</HI></P>
<P><FLOATEXT LANG="eng" TYPE="license">
<OPENER><DATE><HI>May</HI> 28. 1689.</DATE></OPENER>
<P>IMPRIMATUR, </P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Hen. Wharton,</HI> R.R. in Chri&s;to P. ac D.D. <HI>Wilhelmo</HI> Archiep. <HI>Cant.</HI> &agrave; Sacris Dome&s;t.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</FLOATEXT></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>Sam. Crouch,</HI> at the corner of <HI>Pope's-Head-Ally,</HI> over-again&s;t the <HI>Royal Exchange</HI> in <HI>Cornhil.</HI> 1689.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE EARL of <HI>BERKELY,</HI> GOVERNOUR, AND THE Company of <HI>Turky</HI> Merchants.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE><HI>Right Honourable,</HI> &amp;c.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>THE following Di&s;cour&s;e has no other pre|tence to &s;o Honourable a Dedication, but that your Command is the only rea&s;on it appears now in Print. Nor could any thing ju&s;tifie the Publication of &s;uch a Trifle, but that I re&s;olved to be wanting in no in&s;tance of an entire Obe|dience; and that I would refu&s;e no opportu|nity of acknowledging to the World my Obligati|ons, for the Honour of being elected into the Ser|vice of &s;o worthy a Society. to who&s;e Indu&s;try and Ingenuity, the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation in a great mea&s;ure owes tho&s;e extraordinary Advancements
<PB REF="3">of Wealth and Reputation abroad, this last Century has made. Who&s;e most eminent Vertues, exemplary Charity, and &s;ignal Services to your Country, have rais'd you up to be the Ornament of your own, as the Envy of all neighbouring Nations. I could here offer a very just Apology for the un|correctne&s;s of this Paper, that it was conceived and brought forth in ha&s;te, that the Concern I had for my afflicted Brethren of <HI>Ireland,</HI> had &s;o far the A&s;cendant of my thoughts, as not to give way to that &s;erenity and calmne&s;s of mind, which &s;uch a performance did require. But &s;ince I addre&s;s my &s;elf to Per&s;ons of your Candour, I am not to doubt of all favourable allowances. I hope here|after to glean &s;omething in your own Harve&s;t, to which with le&s;s blu&s;hing I may prefix your Names. And as 'tis now my Duty, &s;o &s;hall it ever be my Study to promote your Pro&s;perity and Happine&s;s, for obtaining which Ble&s;&s;ings, &s;hall be daily offer'd the Prayers of,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Right Honourable, and Gentlemen, Your ever obliged, and mo&s;t obedient Servant,</HI> EDWARD SMYTH.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>A SERMON Preached before the <HI>Levant-Company.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>ISAIAH <HI>XXVI. latter part of</HI> Ver. <HI>ix.</HI></BIBL>
<P>&mdash;For when thy Judgments are in the Earth, the Inhabitants of the World will learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>SO wonderful are the Methods by which the Divine Wi&s;dom has contrived our Salvation; that the bare conceiving them is no le&s;s above our Capacity, than that Infinite Reward &s;urpa&s;&s;es all our Preten&s;ions to Merit. There is not one At|tribute in the Divinity, which bears not a part in the miraculous Work of our Redem|ption;
<PB N="2" REF="4">the Un&s;peakable Wi&s;dom invented it, and the Almighty Power accompli&s;hed it; his Mercy has provided for our Infirmities, and his Ju&s;tice has in&s;ured our Salvation, that our hope is not in vain in the Lord.</P>
<P>And if ever Religion provided effectually for the &s;alvation and happine&s;s of Mankind, this is peculiar to Chri&s;tianity. For if we have the lea&s;t &s;park of Ingenuity or Good Nature in our Temper, the Evangelical Pro|mi&s;es &s;uited to the mo&s;t prevailing Pa&s;&s;ions of our Soul, the Cords of Love, the Wings of Mercy, the Charms of Heaven, its De|lights drawn to the Life, the Voice of the Charmer, who &s;urely Charms mo&s;t wi&s;ely; the Plea&s;ure of Religion, and the Sweets of Vertue mu&s;t make us Pro&s;elytes to Heaven, and force us to be Happy.</P>
<P>But then, &s;hould we de&s;pi&s;e even all the&s;e powerful Inducements to Happine&s;s, th&ocirc; we are deaf to the Voice of the Charmer; the Long-&s;uffering of God does not yet fail us. There are his terrible Judgments &s;et out with all the Aggravations of Horrour and Amaze|ment, to reclaim us; to awaken us from that &s;leep, which is &s;urely unto Death, the Ter|rours of the Lord, the Flaming Sword, an
<PB N="3" REF="4">Angry God armed with Power, and Venge|ance mu&s;t &s;trike us into a religious reverence. <HI>When the Lion roareth who will not hear?</HI> Ho&s;. 11.10. When the Almighty appears clad with his Robes of Vengeance, as the Prophet &s;peaketh, and &s;urrounded with the Terrour of his Judgments making Inqui&s;i|tion for Sin, how &s;hall the amazed &s;inner ap|pear? with what confu&s;ion of face mu&s;t he loath his polluted Soul! If the &s;till Voice could not, the Eloquence of God &s;peaking in his Judgments mu&s;t deeply affect him with the profounde&s;t Dread and Reverence. Even the &s;tupid <HI>Romans</HI> could then think of God, when Calamities were their &s;evere Remem|brancers: <HI>For when thy Judgments</HI> (O Lord) <HI>are in the Land, the Inhabitants of the World will learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI></P>
<P>Where, by Righteou&s;ne&s;s, as is obvious in Scripture-Phra&s;e, we are to under&s;tand Ver|tue and Religion in general: &s;o that the &s;ence of the words will be this, That the Di|vine Judgments are mo&s;t in&s;tructive of Duty and Religion; that this is their Drift, and that we ought to learn this Le&s;&s;on from them. From which words I will take occa&s;ion to di&s;cour&s;e to the following Particulars.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="5">
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>First,</HI> I will endeavour to A&s;&s;ign &s;ome Proper Marks, and Characters which may enable us to di&s;cern the Divine Judgments; as when di&s;pen&s;ed by a Special Providence, and proceeding from the more immediate Hand of God.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Secondly,</HI> I will enquire into the more Notorious Ends, to which the Di|vine Wi&s;dom has directed his Judg|ments.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Thirdly</HI> and <HI>La&s;tly,</HI> I will enquire, what is the Proper Behaviour of a Chri&s;tian under the Judgments of God, and what Influence they ought to have on our Lives.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><HI>First</HI> then, I will endeavour to A&s;&s;ign &s;ome Proper Marks and Characters, which may enable us to di&s;cern the Divine Judgments; as when di&s;pen&s;ed by a Special Providence, and proceeding from the Hand of God.</P>
<P>To a&s;cribe every Petty Chance, that hap|pens, to a Special Providence, may &s;ignifie Lightne&s;s; to father on God the Mi&s;chiefs ari&s;ing from our Sin and Folly, may &s;avour
<PB N="5" REF="5">of Prophanene&s;s. By the Judgments of God therefore, I de&s;ire you will under&s;tand &s;uch extraordinary Occurrences, as carry in them &s;ome peculiar Marks of the Divine Anger; and are &s;ignal In&s;tances of his Vindictive Ju|&s;tice.</P>
<P>And here &s;ometimes the Hand of God is made bare, rais'd up, and &s;tretch'd out in the Performance of mo&s;t &s;urprizing Works: Thus the Earth &s;wallow'd up <HI>Corah</HI> with his Ac|complices; and a Fire from Heaven &s;natched away the prophane hands, which offer'd In|cen&s;e; and many &s;uch &s;ignal Examples whol|ly unaccountable from the Power or Efficacy of Natural Cau&s;es as to all their circum&s;tan|ces, do the Holy Scriptures afford us.</P>
<P>But then again, that &s;ame Almighty Hand is wrapped up &s;ometimes in a complication with Inferiour Cau&s;es when 'tis not lifted up &s;o high, or &s;o far extended in miraculous Works. And here the &s;pecial Vindictive Providence may not be impre&s;&s;ed on Events, in Characters &s;o big and clear, as to be legi|ble to the mo&s;t prejudiced eye. The Tracts thereof may be &s;ometimes too fine and &s;ubtil, to be de&s;cried by a dimn &s;ight, with a tran|&s;ient glance, or upon a gro&s;s view it may
<PB N="6" REF="6">not affect the unrea&s;onable &s;ceptick, or &s;uch as are wholly indi&s;po&s;ed to receive it.</P>
<P>But &s;hall not we adore his Almighty Power, and acknowledge his Judgments in inferiour Events, in a Plague or Famine unle&s;s a fla|ming Comet &s;ets the World on fire, and a|maze us into a fit of Religion? mu&s;t we wantonly pre&s;cribe to the Divine Wi&s;dom? deny him the Mini&s;try of Second Cau&s;es, and refu&s;e all Nouri&s;hment, unle&s;s we are fed with palpable Miracles? For th&ocirc; Special Pro|vidence in the &s;everer di&s;pen&s;ation of Judg|ments is &s;ometimes clouded by the concur|rence of Natural Agents, yet if we attend and con&s;ider them, we &s;hall ea&s;ily di&s;cover &s;ome Marks of Vengeance imprinted on them. And &s;urely 'tis the practice of good men, to contemplate and &s;tudy Providence; the Prophet ranketh him only among the wi&s;e, who under&s;tandeth the Judgments of the Lord: 'tis a Matter for pious meditation, warranted by the practice of good men, to implore the manife&s;tation of God's Power and Ju&s;tice. If we therefore approach with this preparation of mind, ready to attend the lea&s;t intimations of his di&s;plea&s;ure, and to ap|ply them to the amendment of our Lives, to
<PB N="7" REF="6">learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s from them, the follow|ing Marks and Characters may be of good u&s;e to us, to di&s;cern and reverence the Judg|ments of God: And the&s;e Characters I &s;hall draw either from the Nature, or &s;ome Cir|cum&s;tance of &s;uch Events.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Character then of a Special Pro|vidence, and the vi&s;ible Hand of God, is the wonderful &s;trangene&s;s of Events; as when great Effects are accompli&s;h'd, either by no apparent means, or by means wholly di&s;|proportionate, and often repugnant to the effect. Thus have we &s;een the mightie&s;t Forces di&s;comfited; the firme&s;t Structures demoli&s;h|ed; De&s;igns enforced, with all the advanta|ges of Strength and Cunning confounded and how unaccountable the way? no vi&s;ible means appear'd, Nature &s;eeming to have ma|naged the War, and the Elements to have fought again&s;t them: Panick Fears, or &s;udden Deaths, having &s;eized the principal In|&s;truments. How ready is any part of the Creation to mini&s;ter to the Divine Venge|ance? the Stars in their cour&s;es fought a|gain&s;t <HI>Si&s;era, Judges</HI> 5.20. the Winds and Skys became Auxiliaries to <HI>Theodo&s;ius;</HI> the Lord thundred upon the <HI>Phili&s;tines;</HI> and
<PB N="8" REF="7">how &s;hould they &s;tand again&s;t the Ho&s;t of Heaven? the Angel of the Lord went out, and &s;mote in the Camp of the <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> 185000 Men. Thus the mighty Power of <HI>Antiochus</HI> was to be broken without hands.</P>
<P>How often has Impotency, and the weak things of the Lord, triumphed over Might? Thus a Stripling, furni&s;hed only with the Brea&s;t-plate of Faith and a Pebble, &s;hall fell down a mon&s;trous Gyant. th&ocirc; armed with an Helmet of Bra&s;s, a huge Target, Sword and Spear. How often have we &s;een the deep|e&s;t Intrigue and Policy, who&s;e Foundation was laid in Hell, either bla&s;ted of it &s;elf, or bafled by &s;implicity? the mo&s;t per&s;picacious Coun&s;ellours blinded and infatuated? the &s;ubtil, treacherous, de&s;igning Politician not only &s;upplanted in his wicked enterprize, but di&s;mally cha&s;ti&s;ed by it, and falling into his own &s;nare? Surely then &s;uch Occurrences do more than in&s;inuate the Divine Vengeance concerned to countermine and confound &s;uch devices. 'Tis he certainly that <HI>maketh the Diviners mad, turneth wi&s;e Men backward, and maketh their knowledge fooli&s;h,</HI> I&s;aiah 44.25. When Plots contrived in darkne&s;s are by unaccountable accidents di&s;clo&s;ed and
<PB N="9" REF="7">brought to light, a Bird of the Air telling the Matter, or the Stones crying out Trea&s;on, as the Prophet &s;peaketh: and &s;hall not this ar|gue the Finger of God to be engaged? Be|hold that very de&s;ign, which contrived the de|&s;truction of <HI>David,</HI> encrea&s;eth his Honour; the Stratagems to &s;upplant <HI>Daniel,</HI> make him grow in the King's favour. Mu&s;t not this then be the &s;pecial Operation of that God who&s;e peculiar it is to do wondrous things, to be terrible in his Judgments?</P>
<P>A &s;econd Character of a Special Provi|dence, is the &s;ea&s;onablene&s;s and &s;uddenne&s;s of Events.</P>
<P>When pernicious Enterprizes, which aim at nothing le&s;s than the &s;ubver&s;ion of a King|dom are grown to maturity, and are ju&s;t rea|dy for execution, how often, beyond the Power of Humane Under&s;tanding, have we &s;een them either &s;urpri&s;ingly di&s;covered, or &s;ea&s;onably prevented? And &s;hall not this be a pregnant evidence, that an ever-vigilant Eye, and the all-powerful Hand are enga|ged? Thus was <HI>Pharaoh</HI> with his Ho&s;t over|whelmed, when he had ju&s;t overtaken the Children of <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> Thus when <HI>Sennacherib</HI> with an infinite force had inve&s;ted <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="8">when certain death &s;eem'd to threaten the holy City, <HI>God put a Hook into his No&s;e, and turn'd him back into his own Land,</HI> 2 King. 9.28. When the prophane <HI>Caligula</HI> was ju&s;t ready to di&s;charge his bloody rage on the <HI>Jews,</HI> for their refu&s;ing to wor&s;hip the pre&s;umptuous Wretch; a dome&s;tick Sword pre&s;ently gave vent to his revengeful Breath. When <HI>Julian,</HI> by his Authority and Policy, had projected the overthrow of our Religion, his Plot is bafled, and he falls in|gloriou&s;ly by an unknown Hand. Certainly then we mu&s;t here acknowledge the &s;ecret efficacy of God, who pours down &s;uch un|expected Vengeance on the coun&s;els of the wicked. This is the method of his peculiar Providence, he could as ea&s;ily prevent the very beginning of wicked De&s;igns; but he permits the Contrivers to mount to the top of Confidence and Expectation; and then <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;urprizingly, unexpectedly he i&s;&s;ues forth a Judgment, and confounds the Ela|borate Undertaking. Be a&s;toni&s;h'd therefore and tremble all ye workers of Iniquity, and let the Lord be magnified in his Judg|ments.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="8">
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> Another Character of the Divine Judgments, and of a &s;pecial Providence in di&s;pen&s;ing them, is from their kind and coun|tenance, which often bear a &s;ignificant re&s;em|blance to tho&s;e &s;ins, for which they are infli|cted. Puni&s;hments (&s;aith a Father) are the forced Off-&s;pring of wilful Faults, and there|fore carry the Complexions and Features of their Parents: And thus the &s;in becomes of|ten legible in the Judgment, which is de&s;ign'd to puni&s;h it, which provoked and wre&s;ted it from Heaven. How often have we &s;een am|bitious Confidence mourning in Di&s;grace; Avarice cur&s;ed with Decay of E&s;tate; the bla&s;phemous Throat torn out; the bloody Oppre&s;&s;or weltring in his own Blood, who but ju&s;t now glutted in his Brothers; an Ac|cident which almo&s;t continually doth happen; &s;o &s;ignal is the Revenge of Murder: the Treacherous betray'd; Places which prided them&s;elves in Wealth and Greatne&s;s, Power and Magnificence, now buried in Ruins, and more de&s;olate than the Wilderne&s;s. Surely &s;uch Occurrences do point out, and judicate the Finger of God, they &s;peak plainly that they are his doings: by &s;uch Actions he mo&s;t evidently declares him&s;elf the Judge and Go|vernour
<PB N="12" REF="9">of Mankind; <HI>Who directeth the In|&s;truments of Divine Vengeance again&s;t Babylon, to take Vengeance upon her as &s;he hath done,</HI> Jer. 51.49.</P>
<P>Notwith&s;tanding therefore any ob&s;curity or intricacy that may &s;ometimes appear in the cour&s;e of Providence; as whether &s;uch E|vents proceed from the more immediate hand of God: if we con&s;ider wi&s;ely, with pious Attention, and a devout Heart; if with Minds pure from vain Prejudices, and cor|rupt Affections; the Marks, and Characters now a&s;&s;ign'd, will be of good U&s;e and Di|rection to us.</P>
<P>We are too apt indeed to put off the Re|ligious Reflections, and with the <HI>Phili&s;tin</HI> loves to que&s;tion whether this came by the Hand of God or not. But we may an&s;wer our &s;elves by a cheaper Experiment than they did: If the Characters now a&s;&s;ign'd could not direct us; our own Sins will tell us plain|ly, we have de&s;erved the Divine Judgments: and &s;urely it were more u&s;eful for a Chri&s;ti|an to make this Application, then wantonly to di&s;pute about the Nature of them.</P>
<P>There are &s;ome who either through idle|ne&s;s of humour, or an affectation to be repu|ted
<PB N="13" REF="9">wi&s;e, have undertaken to arraign the Judgments of God; and to level them ordi|nary Events, and Natural Effects. With &s;uch pre&s;umption &s;ome have attempted to account for that General Deluge, which &s;wept away all Mankind, except Eight Per&s;ons, from Natural Cau&s;es. But &s;urely the&s;e Men are more acted with a fondne&s;s of their new Con|ceipts, than by any zeal for Truth. For whoever but &s;eriou&s;ly reflects on all the Cir|cum&s;tances of that Event, mu&s;t confe&s;s it be|yond the power of Nature or Chance; and will condemn that Philo&s;ophy as vain, which would advance &s;uch Extravagancies.</P>
<P>Having thus vindicated the Divine Judg|ments, and &s;hewn them to you by their pro|per Marks and Characters. I proceed,</P>
<P N="2">2dly, To enquire into the more notorious Ends and Purpo&s;es to which the Divine Wi&s;|dom has directed them.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t end then of the Divine Judgments is to proclaim God's Omnipotence, and a&s;&s;ert the ju&s;t Power of God over the World.</P>
<P>And can we imagine a more pregnant E|vidence of a re&s;i&s;tle&s;s and uncontroulable Power; for behold the Effects of his Indig|nation; the Pillars of Heaven a&s;toni&s;hed,
<PB N="14" REF="10">and the Earth trembling with an awful Reve|rence: Nature aga&s;t, and the Hinges of the World &s;haking. And now &s;urely we are not of &s;o Gygantick &s;toutne&s;s, to &s;tand void of Sen&s;e and Fear, when Nature her&s;elf is in &s;uch Pangs and Convul&s;ions. Are not the&s;e &s;uch Examples as carry Conviction with them? As ravi&s;h a Religious Fear and Reverence from us. Can any thing be more in&s;tructive of the deepe&s;t Humility, and mo&s;t profound Adoration. When we &s;hall &s;ee Fate &s;ubmit to the Command of God, and Nece&s;&s;ity be|come as variable as Chance: For lo he ma|keth the Earth to reel to and fro, he pulleth down and buildeth up as it plea&s;eth him.</P>
<P>The proude&s;t Monarchs, whom he &s;ome|times &s;tileth Gods, how &s;uddenly does he al|lay them with Du&s;t, lea&s;t their Spirits be|come too much exalted. How ea&s;ily does he bafle their mo&s;t Elaborate Contrivances. Did not every thing we wear about us pro|claim our weakne&s;s; the Divine Judgments could not fail to be a &s;ufficient Amulet again&s;t Pride. Are we able to defend our &s;elves a|gain&s;t the lea&s;t Calamity; when the weake&s;t Creature comes armed with a Commi&s;&s;i|on from Heaven, the very Du&s;t of the
<PB N="15" REF="10">Earth, or but a Troop of incon&s;iderable Lo|cu&s;ts can overcome an <HI>Egypt;</HI> though her Wealth and Power were as boundle&s;s, as her Sins were provoking.</P>
<P>Can any Man then reflect on the many Judgments of God, on tho&s;e a&s;toni&s;hing Ef|fects of his Indignation; and not pre&s;ently tremble and &s;tand amazed. With what an awful Regard, with what profound Humili|ty mu&s;t this fill our Minds. Are not the&s;e &s;uch effectual Arguments of Almighty Power, as mu&s;t rai&s;e us in the greate&s;t Security; th&ocirc; all the Dalliances of Vice had enchanted us, th&ocirc; the Lethargy of Sin had locked up our Rea&s;on and Con&s;ideration, yet &s;uch &s;ignal Examples mu&s;t affect us: the mo&s;t harden|ed Hearts, and even &s;ear'd Con&s;ciences can|not e&s;cape &s;ome impre&s;&s;ion: For &s;hall not we attend, when even Heaven and Earth are &s;ummon'd to hear.</P>
<P>Lord, how can we &s;ufficiently Adore thy Power, when we meditate on thy terrible Judgments: for behold any part of the Cre|ation, &s;hall at thy Command become a mo&s;t powerful Executioner of Vengeance. Let but the Sea open her proud Waves, (and 'tis thy word that re&s;trains them) and &s;he
<PB N="16" REF="11">may &s;hut in the World, as &s;he once did the Ho&s;t of <HI>Pharaoh.</HI> Surely then our Minds mu&s;t be &s;tupified; we are a&s;leep even unto Death, if &s;uch in&s;tances cannot awaken us, <HI>For by his Judgments he &s;heweth him&s;elf, and lifteth him&s;elf up,</HI> P&s;al. 94.1, 2. <HI>The Lord is known by the Judgments he executeth,</HI> P&s;al. 9.16.</P>
<P>If the &s;everal parts of the Creation di&s;|play the &s;everal Attributes of God; if we may read his Power in the Firmament, and the Heavens declare it. In his Judgments certainly 'tis writ in the faire&s;t and large&s;t Print; and here we mu&s;t read it, th&ocirc; all o|ther Arguments would pa&s;s without ob&s;er|vation. If the wi&s;er Heathens by Thought and Study, by Speculation and Philo&s;ophy were able from con&s;idering the Works of Nature to conclude an All-powerful Being: How &s;trongly do his wonderful Judgments enforce this Truth, and exact from us the humble&s;t Acknowledgments of Almighty Power.</P>
<P>A &s;econd end of the Divine Judgments is, to vindicate his Ju&s;tice in the Admini&s;tration of the World: for were Men &s;uffered with Impunity to proceed in a cour&s;e of Impiety;
<PB N="17" REF="11">to enjoy the fruits of Rapine, Inju&s;tice, and other Vices, which then might appear gainful; were they &s;uffer'd to defie Heaven with their crying &s;ins; this might &s;eem to arraign the Ju&s;tice of God; it might give the Athei&s;ts and Epicureans Objection &s;ome colour, that in the Admini&s;tration of the World there was no regard had to the good and vertuous. But tho' this, if true, might be abundantly an&s;wer'd; that the Methods of Wi&s;dom, and Rules of Ju&s;tice, by which the Almighty acts, do infinitely &s;urpa&s;s our Capacities; either from the feeblene&s;s of our Rea&s;on, or finitene&s;s of our Nature; and becau&s;e the Divine Admini&s;tration has no compleat deter|mination here, but has regard to a future Judgment. Yet to the everla&s;ting terrour of wickedne&s;s, mo&s;t &s;ignal Vengeance often o|vertakes the wretched &s;inner here; and Na|tional &s;ins &s;eldome e&s;cape &s;ome &s;ignal Judg|ment, or General Calamity. The Examples from Scripture, and &s;uch as I have already a&s;&s;ign'd; yea, the Occurrences of our own Age will &s;ufficiently confirm this.</P>
<P N="3">3dly, Another end of the Divine Judg|ments is, to work in us an entire hatred and dete&s;tation of &s;in.</P>
<PB N="18" REF="12">
<P>'Tis the greate&s;t force and provication to the Deity, when he pours down his wrath up|on us, he does not willingly grieve us, or cau&s;le&s;ly afflict us: 'Tis our &s;ins which makes us &s;mart under that Hand, which otherwi&s;e would &s;howr down nothing but Ble&s;&s;ings up|on us. What ought our demeanour then to be, when Judgments are upon us, and we groan under the pre&s;&s;ure of Afflictions? Why to reflect on our &s;ins, to blu&s;h and be a&s;hamed; to be humbled for our Iniquities, which were the cau&s;e of that and all our &s;ufferings; a&s;&s;uring our &s;elves, that whatever evil In&s;tru|ments are in the Judgments and Afflictions which befal us, our &s;ins have &s;et them all in motion.</P>
<P>And when the Avenger is at the Gate, O how la&s;hing the folly, how confounding mu&s;t the guilt of &s;in appear? When <HI>I&s;rael</HI> the Favourite of Heaven is led into Captivity for her crying Idolatry, how pungent mu&s;t her Re&s;entments be? How afflicting the remem|brance of her Spiritual Fornications. Ex|tremely blind and &s;tupid therefore mu&s;t we be, or mon&s;trou&s;ly profane, if &s;uch Experi|ments of Divine Power and Vengeance do not awe us, and frighten us from &s;in. 'Tis
<PB N="19" REF="12">our incurable folly that Afflictions are the on|ly effectual Phy&s;ick of our Souls; that the bitter is the only Soveraign Potion.</P>
<P>How mu&s;t the wretched &s;inner appear confounded; when he &s;ees Almighty God, whom but even now he openly affronted, who&s;e Religion he ridicul'd, who&s;e Honour he abu&s;ed, coming on the Wings of Power, and making inqui&s;ition for &s;in; when there is an Earthquake ready to &s;wallow him up, or a Fire from Heaven to con&s;ume him. O mi|&s;erable Mi&s;creant! Whither wilt thou fly from the All-&s;eeing, or &s;helter thy &s;elf from his pre&s;ence? Can Darkne&s;s &s;creen thee, or the Night cover thee? Abominate then thy &s;ins, loath thy polluted &s;elf; Cut off the In|&s;truments of thy De&s;truction, which have rendered thee &s;o obnoxious.</P>
<P N="4">4thly, Another end of the Divine Judg|ments is to beget in us a thorough Contempt of the World and its fatal Dalliances: to en|force the Divine Precept of &s;etting our Hearts on things above.</P>
<P>For do not the Divine Judgments teach us; either how fugitive and uncertain, or how un|&s;atisfying and empty all &s;ublunary Beings are. How &s;uddenly have we &s;een the adamantine
<PB N="20" REF="13">works of Art and Contrivance &s;ubverted. E|ven the Foundations of the World trembling, when the God of Nature was angry. Mo|numents the vain E&s;&s;ays to Eternity, rais'd to perpetuate the Memory of &s;ome remarkable Accident, or to carry the Name of &s;ome Great Per&s;on to late Po&s;terity, how often have we &s;een them buried in tho&s;e very Ru|ines, which 'twas hoped they &s;hould re&s;cue from Oblivion. The be&s;t e&s;tabli&s;hed King|doms have been overturned in a moment. Tho&s;e places which prided them&s;elves in their imaginary Security; and boa&s;ted of the mul|titude of their Inhabitants, and who&s;e Mer|chants were fit to be Companions to Princes; how has a Fire from Heaven, or any other Creature able to do it, when commi&s;&s;ioned from Heaven to de&s;troy, &s;wept them away? So that &s;carce their Names remain to reproach their Pride.</P>
<P>Common Prudence does &s;trongly pre&s;s up|on us this ob&s;ervation, when every day in|forms us of the great emptine&s;s and uncertain|ty of all worldly enjoyments. And did not the wi&s;e Heathens of old, from this very To|pick rai&s;e them&s;elves to a brave and generous contempt of the World; what el&s;e was the
<PB N="21" REF="13">Moral of that Chance, by which they belie|ved all things here below to be governed: but that all things are &s;ubject to the &s;ame fleeting and uncertain condition. And tho' no In&s;trument of Vengeance were &s;ent to de|&s;troy, no earthly thing is in it&s;elf durable; but &s;hall return to its original corruption. And do not the Divine Judgments enforce this Duty from higher Con&s;iderations; when De&s;truction falls in like a mighty torrent. The rich Man but begins to enjoy, and be|hold that very Night his Soul is required from him. And this &s;urely mu&s;t correct our Do|tage, it mu&s;t &s;ecure us from the Syren Enchantments of but momentary Evils. For as &s;in is the la&s;ting evil which has infected our Nature, &s;o Judgment and Vengeance will always hang over us to frighten us from the gilded Poy&s;on, and wean us by frequent di&s;appointments from any fondne&s;s we may have for earthly things.</P>
<P>Thus have I laid before you the more no|torious Ends of the Divine Judgments, which are intended either to proclame the Power, or vindicate the Ju&s;tice of God; to work in us a thorough hatred of &s;in, and a generous contempt of all worldly things.</P>
<PB N="22" REF="14">
<P>I proceed therefore in the third and la&s;t place, to enquire what is the proper behavi|our of a Chri&s;tian under the Judgments of God, and what influence they ought to have on our Lives.</P>
<P>Almighty God takes no delight in hurling the World into Confu&s;ion, and turning Ci|ties into Ruines, making whole Countries a a de&s;olation. Our provocations mu&s;t cry aloud when he executes the &s;everity of his Judgments. 'Tis therefore for the puni&s;h|ment of &s;in, and frightning us from it by &s;uch dreadful Examples, by all the Rhetorick of the mo&s;t amazing In&s;tances, and all the Eloquence of the acute&s;t Pain.</P>
<P>To learn our Duty therefore in this parti|cular, we are to reflect on all the Ends of the Divine Judgments already a&s;&s;ign'd.</P>
<P>Are the Divine Judgments then evidently declarative of an Almighty Power? This &s;urely mu&s;t imprint on us the profounde&s;t Humility and mo&s;t awful Reverence, it mu&s;t affect us with all &s;orts of Religious Fear: it mu&s;t &s;trike into our Hearts the mo&s;t &s;incere dread of his ever glorious Maje&s;ty; it mu&s;t inflame us with the greate&s;t Acknowledgments, with the loude&s;t Acclamations of the Infinite Pow|er
<PB N="23" REF="14">of God, and his adorable Perfections; for &s;hall not we fear, when the Heavens do &s;hake and tremble. And in this Duty we have the devout <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI>'s Zeal &s;o ardent, that it mu&s;t excite ours, and we &s;hall cry out with one mouth: <HI>Men &s;hall &s;peak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatne&s;s. They &s;hall &s;peak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power.</HI> We mu&s;t celebrate the adorable Perfections di&s;played in &s;uch wonderful Events. Do not the Divine Judgments glorifie his Ju&s;tice; and &s;hall they not in&s;pire us to magnifie this glorious Attri|bute, when his Judgments repre&s;ent to us his &s;ignal Triumphs over Sin; all the Strength and Beauty of the World being made Pri&s;o|ners to the Grave, and Captives to De&s;tru|ction, which but ju&s;t now bid him &s;o proud a defiance. We who ju&s;t now finned with as much Security and Confidence, as tho' we had blinded the Eyes, bugbear'd the Ju&s;tice, or commands the Power of God; cannot, however, but applaud his Ju&s;tice: when of a &s;udden like one highly provoked he draws forth the Sword of his de&s;troying Angel, com|mands the Wretch who looked &s;o big into the Du&s;t, and hurls him into De&s;truction.</P>
<PB N="24" REF="15">
<P>Are not the Divine Judgments &s;ent from Heaven to rai&s;e in us an hatred and aver&s;ion to &s;in; and to wean us from the World. And &s;urely the lea&s;t &s;erious reflection on them cannot fail of this effect. When the In&s;tru|ments of Vengeance are upon us, when Death in the gha&s;tly appearance of a Judg|ment &s;tares us in the face; mu&s;t we not then melt into &s;uch Complaints as the&s;e: O that I had &s;erved God as faithfully, as I have done the World, he would not have for&s;a|ken me, as that now is like to do. Had I laid up my Trea&s;ure in Heaven, it would not have been in the power of any outward accident now to deprive me of him. If the&s;e Flames of Vengeance are &s;o in&s;upporta|ble, who &s;hall be able to dwell with everla|&s;ting Burnings. Is it not the height of mad|ne&s;s, to defie any longer, to provoke an an|gry God, infinitely more dreadful than this can be. Farewel then all ye deceitful Vani|ties; tho' I plac'd my Riches next my Heart, that could not clip their wings, or &s;top their flight. Th&ocirc; I pre&s;erved my Beauty with all the Extravagance of Art; I mu&s;t lo&s;e it this in&s;tant. Now I under&s;tand by dear Experi|ence, thee and my &s;elf better (O bewitching
<PB N="25" REF="15">World) then to fix my Happine&s;s any lon|ger here. I will hereafter lay up my Trea|&s;ure in Heaven, I will be no longer cheated with imaginary good, but will make provi&s;i|on for the true and everla&s;ting happine&s;s. Let the&s;e then be our reflections, and we &s;hall ri&s;e with greater Glory, our inward Beau|ty will out&s;hine whatever we could boa&s;t of outward &s;plendor. We &s;hall come out puri|fied from the Fire of Afflictions; with our Souls po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the only valuable Riches of Grace and Vertue.</P>
<P>Our proper demeanour then, and the u&s;e we are to make of the Divine Judgments, the mo&s;t &s;ignal expre&s;&s;ions of Almighty God's di&s;plea&s;ure is, what the Prophet in my Text draws from them, <HI>To learn Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> to be in&s;tructed in the Ways of Vertue, and in all the Duties of Religion.</P>
<P>And is not this the Moral and Natural Con&s;equence of the Divine Judgments; which repre&s;ent Sin in its proper Colours, attended with horrour and amazement, dread and confu&s;ion of face. And when we &s;ee Vice thus &s;inking into Hell, how much mu&s;t we be enamoured with the Comline&s;s, the Divine Plea&s;ure, the Heaven of Vertue,
<PB N="26" REF="16">which the wretched Sinner only admires to aggravate his mi&s;ery. Can any thing more effectually recommend Humility, than the exemplary downfal of Pride; when a Fire|brand from Heaven levels us with the Du&s;t, and forces the vain Bubble to an humble ac|knowledgment of his true Original, where the Worm is our Si&s;ter, and a much happier Creature. When we &s;ee Luxury and In|temperance cha&s;ti&s;ed by &s;ome &s;ignal Calami|ty, by the De&s;olation of a Plague, by an Earthquake, by a Fire from Heaven: How effectually mu&s;t this pre&s;s upon our Con&s;ide|ration the contrary and proper Vertues of Sobriety and Temperance. All that deceit|ful plea&s;ure and advantage with which &s;in has &s;o long impo&s;ed on us, appears now in its Native Deformity, with its true Off-&s;pring Vengeance and Judgment. With what zeal and ardency mu&s;t we fly to the Brea&s;t-plate of Faith, when all our imaginary Security &s;hall betray us, when neither Palaces nor Bulwarks can defend us; and the Earth finking under the load of our Iniquities cannot afford us footing. Shall not the Hypocrite then un|fold his Soul, when he &s;ees that all his pre|ten&s;ions to Religion make him only the more
<PB N="27" REF="16">obnoxious to Vengeance, and that his Rags and Nakedne&s;s are now mo&s;t apparent. Is there any thing then which makes us more effectually bow to the Precepts of Religion, then the Terrours of the Lord, then his won|derful, his dreadful Judgments.</P>
<P>Whence do we proceed better Proficients then from the School of Calamities. A &s;torm will in&s;pire Devotion even into that thought|le&s;s Wretch, who in his Security and Debau|chery reviled every thing that was &s;erious; who &s;corned to damp his Mirth with the me|lancholy thoughts of Religion, and the &s;ad countenance of Sobriety. Who knew no &s;uch thing as the Plea&s;ures of the Mind, and would not value whether he had any ratio|nal Faculties, unle&s;s it were for the contri|vance of Oaths, and making new Di&s;cove|ries in the ways of wickedne&s;s; who was as great a Mon&s;ter in Morality as ever there was in Nature. How &s;uppliant a Convert has a &s;torm made him, how has an Earth|quake reformed him. When the Angel of Vengeance is at hand, ready to &s;mite the Co|vetous and Oppre&s;&s;or; how does this melt him into love and kindne&s;s, into charity and good works; is he not ready to cloath the
<PB N="28" REF="17">naked, whom he even now &s;poiled, and to relieve that poor man, who&s;e Face he had now been grinding.</P>
<P>Had mo&s;t &s;ins no other puni&s;hment then there nece&s;&s;ary and natural con&s;equents; were there no other &s;courge for Luxury and Intemperance, but decay of E&s;tate, a Cra|&s;ed Body, and that they &s;ow the Seeds of all Di&s;tempers, this would be Amulet again&s;t them to a con&s;idering Man. But when a flaming Sword, a Plague and Famine, and infinite other In&s;truments of a mo&s;t terrible Vengeance do certainly attend them. O &s;tupified Man! O mon&s;trous Security! If this will not awaken you and force you to Repentance. When your Cities lie in Ru|ines, mourning in Du&s;t and A&s;hes, becau&s;e you neglected this Duty; when your Coun|try welters in Blood, and even the Stones cry out again&s;t you, to melt your more har|dened Heart. You cannot behold &s;uch De|&s;olation without making this reflection; 'Tis our &s;ins &s;urely which have made us thus liable to the Divine Vengeance; had we any rea&s;on to expect his Protection, we might &s;it quiet th&ocirc; the World be overturn|ed; this was the Hedge about <HI>Job,</HI> which
<PB N="29" REF="17">till withdrawn, bafled all the Attempts of Satan: But alas, our &s;ins have put a Bar to this Claim, we have forfeited God's Pro|tection, and our reliance is now but pre&s;um|ption. And can any thing more effectually pre&s;s upon us Vertue and Religion than &s;uch Con&s;iderations.</P>
<P>And truly few Men are &s;o hardned, as not to be &s;truck with an awful Reve|rence, to be forced into &s;ome Fit of Re|ligion; when they labour under &s;ome e|minent Judgment: For Vengeance carries with it &s;uch a convincing force, that few are able to re&s;i&s;t it: Even the Athei&s;t cries to Heaven, when Death in the dreadful &s;hape of a Judgment (to him &s;urely mo&s;t terrible) do &s;eize him. Thunder forces <HI>Caligula</HI> to &s;eek for &s;helter; even the hardned <HI>Pharaoh</HI> relents, when the Almighty i&s;&s;ues forth his In&s;truments of Vengeance; when the Strength of <HI>Egypt</HI> is overpowred by a Locu&s;t; how does it extort from him the ungrateful con|fe&s;&s;ion of his own weakne&s;s, and forces him to fly to the Interce&s;&s;ion of <HI>Mo&s;es.</HI> But then, alas, we are all <HI>Pharaohs</HI> too in our &s;hame|ful Ingratitude; the Religious temper &s;eldom out-lives our Deliverance; tho&s;e convictions
<PB N="30" REF="18">and reflections u&s;ually wear off, as the Judg|ment intermits. When the Scene is &s;hifted, and the &s;ucceeding Light has di&s;pelled the Cloud, we then unbend the Bow, let our &s;e|verer thoughts disband, and return to our former Security. But this &s;urely, as 'tis the greate&s;t Abu&s;e of the Divine Mercy in our Deliverance, &s;o mu&s;t it pull down an heavier Judgment upon us.</P>
<P>'Tis our duty then, to trea&s;ure up the &s;e|rious memory of all our pa&s;t Sufferings, and &s;o to perpetuate the effects of them; that we may come out the purer from the Furnace, and not like the New Moon return with the &s;ame Spots, not to imbibe again tho&s;e &s;tains of &s;in, which have already rendred us &s;o ob|noxious to Divine Vengeance. And was it not for this rea&s;on, that the Chri&s;tian Church in all Ages has thought fit to Con&s;ecrate cer|tain Days of Humiliation, as &s;ure and perpe|tual Remembrancers of the Divine Judgments, and her frequent Deliverances; lea&s;t by a &s;hameful Ingratitude &s;he &s;hould trample on and bury the Mercies of God in Oblivion. But methinks common Prudence &s;hould direct us to this Practice, to beware of that Rod under which we have &s;marted, and to for&s;ake tho&s;e
<PB N="31" REF="18">&s;ins which have &s;o often expo&s;ed us to Death and De&s;truction.</P>
<P>Many therefore are the Duties to which our Deliverance from pa&s;t Calamities, and the con&s;ideration of Judgments we have e&s;ca|ped, do oblige us.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t we mu&s;t ever glorifie Almighty God with the Songs and Triumphs of our Delive|rance, we mu&s;t write our Deliverance not on Tables of Stone, but on the fle&s;hly Tables of our Heart. <HI>The Righteous &s;hall be glad in the Lord.</HI> When he &s;ees his Glory &s;o con&s;picu|ou&s;ly advanced, and his holy Perfections &s;o illu&s;triou&s;ly &s;hining through his Judgments; this &s;ignal conviction of Infidelity, this con|fu&s;ion of Prophanene&s;s how does it confirm his Faith, and cheri&s;h his Hope. The ju&s;t &s;hall rejoyce, and all iniquity &s;hall &s;top her mouth. How exceeding the Comfort? How triumphant is the Joy, when we receive &s;o clear Pledges of God's Love and Favour to us, expre&s;s'd in his mo&s;t tender Care over us, in protecting us from mo&s;t imminent Dangers, and contriving our deliverance from &s;uch ter|rible Judgments; for were we not &s;aved even as by Fire, and as Fire-brands pluckt out of the burning. Let us then ever magnifie (O
<PB N="32" REF="19">Lord) thy infinite Mercy's the only cau&s;e of our deliverance, for this was our Sanctuary and Refuge, it was not our own Skill and Coun&s;el, not our Strength and Indu&s;try that &s;aved us; but thou art our mighty Deliverer.</P>
<P>A Second Duty incumbent on us, is often to meditate on pa&s;t Judgments. We mu&s;t not barely remember them, for this is no Vertue; but we mu&s;t remember them with tho&s;e very pa&s;&s;ions of mind, tho&s;e ardent thoughts, affections, and re&s;entments we had when we &s;uffered under them, and they were &s;o vi&s;ible before us; what indignation, and re&s;olution we then expre&s;&s;ed again&s;t &s;in; what &s;ubmi&s;&s;ions were then wrought in us to his Al|mighty plea&s;ure, and with what mortificati|on and &s;elf-denyal we re&s;igned our &s;elves. And this is remembring in Scripture phra&s;e, by which we may &s;ecure to our &s;elves all the advantages of pa&s;t afflictions, without the &s;ting and mi&s;ery which attends them; by &s;etting them in a clear light before us, and making them pre&s;ent to us by a lively remem|brance, &s;o that they may be a con&s;tant bug|bear to us again&s;t Vice. Let not tho&s;e ar|dors of Devotion expire, tho&s;e &s;truglings of the Spirit cea&s;e, which burnt them &s;o bright;
<PB N="33" REF="19">if our Petitions kept equal pace with our Pain, let them do &s;o with the remembrance of it now.</P>
<P>Our Meditations on pa&s;t Judgments ought al&s;o to beget in us a well grounded hope, and &s;trong confi|dence. The Lord hath delivered me, therefore he will deliver; I have often experimented his Mercy, therefore I will now fly to it. If we have &s;trengthe|ned our Prayers in the day of our Calamity, by any extraordinary Vow, or Sacred Promi&s;es (according to the pious Examples of Holy Men) we are now care|fully to perform them, and to relea&s;e that &s;trict Ob|ligation we have put our Souls under.</P>
<P>And there are many other Religious Duties of the &s;ame nature (for there are &s;carce any which it does not confirm and encrea&s;e) which the remembrance of pa&s;t Judgments &s;trongly recommend to our practi&s;e. Nothing can more effectually &s;ecure to us all the ad|vantages and fruits of the Spirit. But not having time now to enlarge on them, I mu&s;t refer them to your own application.</P>
<P>Only let me beg your attention, whil&s;t in a few words, I remind you of that late &s;ignal Judgment, and deplorable Calamity; in which this Honourable Audience was deeply wounded. The late Judgment which befel <HI>Smyrna,</HI> that complicated Calamity of an Earthquake mo&s;t terrible in all its circum&s;tances, &s;uc|ceeded by a Fire, (too pregnant an in&s;tance of the Di|vine Vengeance) cannot, if barely related, but fill the mo&s;t hardned Heart with pity and a&s;toni&s;hment; but on you &s;urely, who&s;e misfortune it was to be too much concerned in it, who were &s;o great Sufferers in the De|&s;olation it wrought, it ought, it mu&s;t make, a more deep and la&s;ting impre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="20">
<P>The Lord &s;urely was in the Earthquake, and in the Whirlwind; the &s;uddenne&s;s of the De&s;truction even exceeding thought, and all the di&s;mal circum&s;tances at|tending this Accident are too &s;trong an evidence, that the de&s;troying Angel came from Heaven, and that the Almighty put on Vengeance to the overthrow of that mi&s;erable City.</P>
<P>For behold the trembling Earth &s;inking to her Cen|ter, with the &s;troaks of God's Anger legible in her face; behold a great and opulent City, famous in ancient and &s;acred Annals, and even then re&s;tored to her for|mer Grandeur, &s;urpa&s;&s;ing in Trade, and equal in ma|ny other advantages to any of her Si&s;ters in the <HI>East,</HI> reduced to ruin in a moment. The &s;ame in&s;tant &s;aw her a mo&s;t flouri&s;hing City, and an heap of Rubbi&s;h. And that nothing of her Beauty or Greatne&s;s might be legible in her Fall; a con&s;uming Fire devours her very Bowels, what e&s;caped the Earthquake becomes a prey to the Fire. So heavy was the Hand of Heaven that it pur&s;ues her to the very Grave, buries her very Ruins, and razes her Foundation. O the con&s;ternation of her living, and confu&s;ion of her peri&s;hing Inhabi|tants! O the &s;ighs and tears, frights and amazements! O the deaths! (and many were deny'd even this mercy) O the half Deaths (Heads and Hearts mi&s;erably &s;ur|viving the other Members) of Men, Women, and Children lamenting, yet unable to help them&s;elves and one another! The Mother ju&s;t lived to &s;ee her Dau|ghter die, and the &s;ame Ruin involved the whole Fa|mily. Such, had I courage, and were I &s;ufficiently in|formed to proceed in the de&s;cription, you may imagine the lamentable Condition of <HI>Smyrna</HI> was. <HI>And was this done upon the earth, and the Lord hath not done it.</HI></P>
<PB N="35" REF="20">
<P>How &s;wift (O Lord) is de&s;truction, when thou do&s;t give it Commi&s;&s;ion. Even the dull Earth &s;hall become a &s;wift Executioner of Divine Vengeance. One In&s;tant can, and did overturn the Toil, the Im|provement of an Age. Such is the folly and guilt of our &s;ins, that again&s;t a City &s;o advantaged, &s;o culti|vated, &s;o ble&s;&s;ed, they can extort the heavie&s;t Ven|geance, even from that hand whence all her Ble&s;&s;ings derived. It was from their fatal influence that &s;he is now forced to &s;ucceed in the Fate and Ruine, as in the Wealth and Splendour of her Neighbours; that &s;he is now become <HI>like unto Sodom and Gomor|rah.</HI></P>
<P>Were that City able to &s;peak out of its Ruins; how Eloquent would &s;he be on that Subject of her Sufferings; what heavy Complaints would &s;he make again&s;t tho&s;e Sins which have been the certain and fa|tal In&s;truments of her de&s;truction. Let her Brea|ches then, let her Ruins and De&s;olation &s;peak; be|hold the genuine Off-&s;pring of Vice, the fruit of tho&s;e things of which we ought to be a&s;hamed. And &s;ure|ly we cannot look on her Ruins but we mu&s;t repent, we cannot &s;ee her mi&s;eries without bewailing our own &s;ins. And let us not here flatter our &s;elves, or run into that dangerous mi&s;take; that the Infidelity of the <HI>Jew</HI> and <HI>Mahometan,</HI> that the Idolatry and Super|&s;tition of <HI>Popery</HI> are the only provocations which brought down this heavy Judgment. Our &s;ins, alas, are but too much the ingredients, and its wounds and &s;cars yet bleeding afre&s;h, are but too &s;trong an intima|tion that we are &s;till in our &s;ins.</P>
<PB N="36" REF="21">
<P>To conclude all then:</P>
<P>You have heard how Eloquent the Judgments of the Lord are to per&s;wade Repentance, and inforce all the Duties of Religion; how they recommend Vertue from the &s;tronge&s;t Topicks of worldly Intere&s;t and Plea&s;ure, as the &s;ure&s;t means to pre&s;erve both. How they repre&s;ent to us mo&s;t &s;en&s;ibly the de&s;tructive na|ture of Sin, that all the Mi&s;ery and Unhappine&s;s which befals Mankind, flow certainly from this Fountain. This being then our ca&s;e, common prudence, the ob|vious con&s;ideration of our own advantage mu&s;t direct us to that Duty which Chri&s;tianity commands. Sin and Folly will be found but two Names for the &s;ame thing. Let us therefore apply our &s;elves to the &s;tudy of true Wi&s;dom. Let us make the true advances in Grace and Vertue. And now the Judgments of the Lord are upon the Earth. Let us learn, let us practi&s;e Righteou&s;ne&s;s, for Godline&s;s we &s;ee is the true Gain, it has the Ble&s;&s;ings of this World, and that which is to come.</P>
<P>To which place of everla&s;ting Happine&s;s, Almighty God of his infinite Mercy, bring us all. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P>PAge 5. la&s;t line, after view a Full Stop. p. 11. l. 24. judicate r. indicate. p. 12. l. 17. loves r. Lords. p. 16. l. 14. would r. &s;hould. p. 23. l. 23. bug|bear'd r. bribed. l. 22. commands r. commanded. p. 24. l. 13. Trea&s;ure r Trea&s;ures. l. 15. him. r. them. p. 29. l. 17. do r. does.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
