A Practical Discourse ON THE Late Earthquakes: WITH An Historical Account OF PRODIGIES And their Various Effects.  
By a Reverend Divine.  Amos 3.8. 
The Lord hath spoken, who can but prophesy?  
LONDON, Printed for J. Dunton at the Raven in the Poultry. 1692.   

THE PREFACE TO THE READERS.  
I Wish I could say with the Apostle, 1 Thes. 5.1. Of the Times and the Seasons ye have no need that I writ unto you: But alas it is too evident that there is a great and unavoidable necessity of reminding you seriously of the fatal circumstances of the Times wherein you live. Is it not evident that God is angry with us? Is it not easy to red the Hand-writing on the Wall against us? Are not the Vials of Gods wrath discharging themselves upon us? Have we not had of late a Terrible Intimation of Gods Displeasure, as well as of his Power and sovereignty, in shaking the Earth? I have expected that some pious Monitor would put you in mind of this Important matter, and treat you with a subject of so Weighty and Universal a Concern. But now fearing that Warnings and Admonitions of this nature might come too late, I have here adventured publicly to admonish you both of your Danger and your Duty in this sad Scene of Providence wherein you are now placed. I remember that Reverend and Good Man Dr. Jackson) whom I shall have occasion to mention in the following Discourse) hath presented the World with a small 
* 2 vol. of his Works.  Treatise, somewhat of the like Nature with this which I here offer. Indeed he was a Workman that needed not to be ashamed, he was a diligent observer of Gods administrations in the World, both of Old and in Latter Times, as all his Writings testify; he was a severe Reprover of public Vices, a strict Enquirer into these National Exorbitances which so much provoke Heaven, he was a Faithful Fore-warner, and Bold Denouncer of such Judgments which he saw were like to overtake an incorrigible people. And therefore I hope it will not give offence if I follow the steps of this worthy Person, and with a resembling zeal and courage, present to your view the Dreadful Signs and Tokens of Gods Anger against this Nation, and impartially show you what are the Direful Harbingers and Presages of its final ruin. I do not undertake with a peremptory balance to pronounce a mean Tekel on the Land of our Nativity. I have no Commission to intermeddle with the Fatal Periods of Kingdoms and Empires. The Date of them is not legible to us, but is known only to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Neither is it my design at present to represent the Times worse( I mean as to Morality) than they are, nor to render the present Face of Affairs Black and Melancholy, and thereby to fright and discourage People, and to take them off from their business, nor to administer any thing which may be pleasing to the Minds of malcontents, whose number is too great already. This is none of my purpose, but I will tell you sincerely what is, viz. to set before you( as far as I am able) the Critical Times of Gods dispensing Judgments to a Nation, that being Fore-warned you may prepare yourselves to receive them, or( if the Divine Decree be not Absolute and Irreversible) you may prevent them. This is the unfeigned intention and design of the present undertaking: and I hearty implore the Divine Assistance, that it may prove successful, that we of this Nation may see the Hand of God stretched out against us, and tremble at it, and before the Sentence be gone forth, turn from our sins, and hinder the actual pouring out of his Vials upon us. In short, whatever shall be tendered to you in the ensuing Papers is wholly in discharge of the Office of a 
Ezek. 3.17.  Watchman, who is obliged to give notice of aproaching danger. And therefore I hope none will take exceptions either at me or what I writ, since I act within the compass of my Calling, and do nothing but what my Function as well as my Conscience warrants me to do. Let it then be your Prayer, as it is mine, that God would vouchsafe to Crown with his Blessing this honest and well meant design.   

THE SIGNS and FORE-RUNNERS OF A Nation's, &c.  Jeremiah 18.7, 8. 
At what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation, and concerning a Kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it:  
If that Nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, then I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.  
WHEN the Apostles had put That Question to our Saviour, Act. 1.6. Wilt thou at this time again restore the Kingdom to Israel? We red that He returned This answer, v. 7. It is not for you to know the Times or the Seasons which the Father hath put in his own Power. From which Reply of our Lord we are instructed that an Unseasonable and an Unlawful Curiosity is to be checked, and that an Inquisitive Searching and Diving into those future things which belong not to us, and which are wholly placed out of our reach, and on purpose put in God's own power, are altogether unbecoming a Christian. But, notwithstanding this, it is Folly and Sottishness to take no notice of those Signs and Symptoms of Calamity, which, although they are in God's own power, he is pleased to set before our Eyes, and with this very design, that we may be Warned by them, and learn to escape the Divine Vengeance by abandoning our sins. God upbraideth his People Israel for not observing his Providence in this kind, Jer. 8.7. The Stork in the Heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow, observe the time of their coming: But my People know not the judgement of the Lord. And the Pharisees were taxed by Christ on the like account, namely, for their gross dullness in over-looking the visible and manifest Tokens of the Divine Displeasure against them. He corrects their fond Inquisitiveness about the Weather,( as 
* Dr. Lightfoot on the place.  one observes out of the Jewish Writers, that these men were very Curious in minding the face of the Heavens when they took a Journey) whereas at the same time they took no notice of That which was more observable; they did not discern those plain and undoubted Signs of ruin which were so visible amongst them; Matth. 16.2, 3. You( saith our Saviour to them) say, when it is Evening, it will be fair Weather, for the Sky is red: and in the Morning it will be foul Weather, for the Sky is read and lowering. O ye Hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the Sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the Times? You are Weatherwise, it seems, and can make Prognostications of the Seasons which shall happen, from your observing the Sky and the Clouds. But why do you not make Remarks likewise of another nature? Why do you not lift up your Eyes, and behold those Black and Thick Clouds which hang over your heads, and will in a short time disburden themselves upon you in Storms and Tempests, in amazing Thunder and Lightning, which will prove destructive to you? Are you not sensible of the Turbulent Weather which hovers over you? Do you not perceive the Tempestuous Season which is near? Is not your Disease come to a Crisis? Are not the Symptoms of Death upon you? Is not your Fatal Harvest drawing nigh? Is not your Corn ripe for the Sickle? May not he that ru●neth red the Terrible Sentence which is passing against you, and guess at the Time of its Execution? Do you not perceive the Destruction of your City and Temple approaching? If you do not, it is high time that you did: It is fit that you be alarmed, and look about you, that you take notice of the Imminent Danger you lye under, and that you be apprehensive of the Remarkable Discoveries of God's Wrath and Indignation against you. For, be it known to you, that your General Corruption and Depravity, your Universal Defiance against God and his Laws, will find no other recompense than Utter ruin and Desolation: And let me tell you, it is your own fault if you do not spy at this time the manifest Tokens and Forerunners of it amongst you. It is no hard matter to Discover God's Purpose and Intention concerning the Overthrow of a Rebellious and Impenitent People. He speaks to the Inhabitants of a Nation, and they may, if they wil●, understand his Voice: Yea, they may by hearty Repentance and Turning to God avert his Judgments.  
These two things then we have here before us.  
1. That God signally Speaketh and Pronounceth concerning the plucking up and pulling down of a Nation.  
2. That when he doth so, if that Nation turn from their evil ways, God will turn away his Wrath, and repent of the evil that he thought to do unto them.  
First; God himself here informs us that there is an Instant wherein he will speak concerning a Nation, and concerning a Kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it. This Great and Important thing he Speaks divers ways. I will not undertake to enumerate all of them, but will only choose out These four to insist upon.  
1. God speaks concerning the Destruction of a Nation by his Prophets and Messengers.  
2. By his Severe Dealings with other Nations.  
3. By Lesser Judgments as the forerunners of Greater and Heavier ones.  
4. By Strange Signs and Prodigies.  
1. God is wont to Speak concerning the ruin and Downfall of a Nation by the mouths of his Prophets and Ministers, whom he stirreth up to denounce his Wrath, and to proclaim his Purposes of Vengeance against a Sinful Land. Thus God set Jeremiah over the Nations and over the Kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, Jer. 1.10. The Prophet is said to do this by reason of his Commission given him by God to denounce destruction to impenitent Nations. Accordingly God saith, Hos. 6.5. I have hewed them by the Prophets, I have slain them by the words of my Mouth: which may be meant of Gods fore-telling and declaring his Judgments by the Prophets. And thus the two Witnesses that Prophesied had power to shut Heaven, and had power over Waters, to turn them to Blood, and to smite the Earth with all Plagues, as often as they would, Rev. 11.6. I conceive the meaning is this, that they were authorised to Denounce and Proclaim the dreadful Judgments which were due to obstinate sinners. And this hath been the constant usage and dispensation of Heaven in the former ages of the World. Noah was constituted Gods Harbinger to the first Generations of Men, before the final destruction of them by the Deluge. He was that 
* 〈◇〉. 2 Pet. 2.5.  Righteous Crier( so I crave leave to render the Greek,) that Just and Godly herald, who was sent to proclaim the Divine Vengeance to the Unrighteous and Ungodly World. Moses and Aaron denounced Judgments( as well as shew'd Miracles) before the overthrow of Pharaoh and the Egyptian Armies. There was a Samuel to thunder out Saul's Fate, and to warn Eli of the Destruction of his House. There was an Elias to foretell Ahabs bloody end, and a Daniel to let Belshazzar know that the Medes and Persians should deprive him of his Crown. And so was it with Nations as well as Persons: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other inspired Prophets gave warning of the ensuing ruin of the Jews: they freely and plainly acquainted Israel and Judah that they should be dispersed into a Foreign Nation, and be miserable captives in a strange country. The Prophet Jonah, though backward and unwilling, was dispatched by the Almighty to that great City Nineveh, to let them know the Date of their ruin, if they prevented it not by speedy Repentance. But besides these more Sacred and Solemn warnings which we find registered in the Infallible Volume of Truth, there have been Other Notable Denunciations of God's Displeasure to a Nation, from the Mouths of such Persons whom he hath been pleased to raise up for that purpose. A very Observable and Singular Instance of this kind is that which is related by a 
* Josephus de bello Judaic. l. 7. c. 12.  Credible Person, who, in his History of the Jewish Wars, tells us, That one Jesus, or Josuah, a poor silly Country man, four years before the defection of the Jews from the Romans, and before the War was so much as Begun, in the time of Jerusalems greatest Peace and Plenty, at the Feast of Tabernacles, was first heard to Cry out against the City, with a most hideous and doleful voice, and after that he traveled day and night through all the Streets, Crying aloud, Woe, Woe to Jerusalem. And so Eager and Concerned was this prophetic Peasant in this his employment, that no Threats or Stripes which he suffered, could divert him from it, but for Seven years together, and upward, even until the Siege, he perpetually repeated, with a Dismal Note, his denunciations of Woe to the City, Temple and People.  
This Relation is from the Pen of one who was a Jew by Birth and Nation, and therefore it is probable he would give the Truest Account he could of the Affairs of those People; besides that, he had more than ordinary opportunities of acquainting himself with all the passages both preceding and accompanying the War between the Jews and Romans. And this is he who makes this Solemn Protestation at the beginning and end of his Book, that the Writing of Truth was the onely scope he had in that and all other his Writings. I might leave this Remark by the by on the foregoing Narrative, That they who Scoffed at JESUS, the Son of God, and at last Crucified him, were warned by a Poor ordinary Man of that Name, concerning their Final Destruction, but it was in vain, and to no purpose.  
But, to come down to ourselves, and our Late and Present State, We have not been destitute of prophetic Warnings. England cannot say, She hath been without her Prophets. Latimer, that Man of God, and Other Martyrs in the Marian days( as you may red in Mr. Fox's Martyrology) threatened the Ruin of this iceland, considering its shameful Ingratitude, after the Receiving so many Favours from Heaven, and foreseing or fearing its apostasy to Superstition and Idolatry. Did not those Famous Lights of our Country, Bishop Andrews, Archbishop Abbot, Bishop King, Mr. meed, and Dr. Hacket fore-tell the downfall of the Church of England? which some of us saw verified, though it pleased God to restore it again. Did not the Judicious Mr. Hooker, in the Preface to his Ecclesiastical Polity, soretel our Late Troubles Forty years before they came to pass? Did not Dr. Jackson, Mr. Ferrar, Mr. Edwards, and others, speak Prophetically of the Events and Transactions which we have since seen, insomuch that we may rightly think, they beholded those things at a distance? Did not that Excellent Servant of God Archbishop Usher Predict those Changes and Miseries which have since befallen England and Ireland? It is acknowledged by all Men that have their eyes open, that there hath been, and still is, a Design to bring us under the Roman-Yoke and Tyranny, which heretofore prevailed in these Kingdoms; the effect of which can be no other than the Slavery both of our Souls and Bodies.  
Now as to our Great and Unexpressible Danger, in relation to This, we have not wanted some prophetic hints. To pass by that ancient prophesy which hath been found amongst Mr. Selden's Manuscripts, in which it is foretold, That Popery should decay in England about the year of our Lord 1500.( which we know was accomplished,) and that it should be Restored about the year 1700( which is not far distant from us:) To pass by This, I say, as not knowing what Authority it is built upon, I will produce the prophetic Suggestions of two Eminent Worthies of our Church, and so put a period to this First Head of our Discourse. I have name one of these persons already, I mean, the Learned, Pious, and every ways Accomplished Primate of Armagh. Who hath not heard of the Extraordinary Motions and Impulses of his Spirit, in reference to our Late Times? Have not 
* Dr. Bernard, and others.  Those who have given the World a faithful Account of that Holy Man's Life; assured us, That he had frequent and constant Impressions on his Mind( and such as could not be removed all his days) that the time was near at hand which should involve the Protestant Churches in unspeakable Calamities, and that this Land, in a special manner, should feel the Cruelty of the Papists. And This, and much more to this effect, he was wont to repeat to his Friends, with a wonderfully concerned Passion, and his words were usually accompanied with abundant Tears. There is another Admirable Person, viz. Mr. George Herbert, that Divine Poet, and I wish there be no reason to add, that Inspired Prophet, whose Lofty Raptures in the Last of his Poems, entitled, The Church Militant; sadly intimate to us( what we justly have deserved) That Popery shall make its Return to us again, and that the Gospel shall leave England, and go visit the Americans.  
Religion stands on Tip-toe in our Land,  
Ready to pass to the American Strand.  
When height of Malice, and prodigious Lusts,  
Impudent Sinning, &c.—  
Who sees not, that many Passages in this Poem nearly concern us at present? Is it not evident, that we have been filling up the measure of our sins? Who can deny, that the most Prodigious and Impudent Lusts are tolerated amongst us? Who knows not, that Seine and Tiber have been mixed with our Thames? Is it not manifest, that we greedily take in and embrace the Vices of foreigners, and therefore may justly expect( as a most Fitting Reward for us) to be brought under the Dominion of Strangers, to live in the condition of Slaves, and to have the Kingdom of God wholly taken from us, and given to a Nation which will bring forth the fruits thereof?  
If any shall say, That the Suggestions of these Persons whom I have produced were not immediately from God, and cannot be styled Prophesies, for this way of Revelation is ceased long ago: I Answer, That they who suggest this, say more than they can prove; For, as it was Abraham, the Friend of God, that was acquainted with God's purpose of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah; and it was the Beloved Disciple John that had the Revelation of the Greatest Mysteries concerning the Future State of Christ's Church in all Ages: So it may be believed that there are still some Beloved Servants of God who have Discoveries of Secrets from him, upon some Great Occasions especially. In this number I may reckon the Worthy Persons before mentioned, besides several others in foreign Countreys, as John Hus of Bohemia, abbess Joachim in the Isle of Sicily, Savanarolo in Italy, Luther and Melanchthon in Germany, John Knox, and George Wischard in Scotland. The respective Histories which speak of these Persons, assure us, that they had a prophetic Spirit, and that they were informed by God concerning several future events by Secret Inspiration. And there are others whom I could name, and whom I have known, who have had such a Divining Spirit as to foretell what afterwards came to pass. And although the People of England are said to be very much inclined to harken to Prophesies; and particularly it is observed by Comines, as a Fault in the English, that they depend much upon Prophesies and Presages, and are wont to Interpret them according to their own conceits,( which folly, it seems, they inherit from their ancestors, the ancient Britains, who, as 
* Cambd. britain.  One assures us, were People of great Credulity, and gave ear to every Idle prophesy, and presently from a Superstitious Hope believed them) yet this ought to be no impediment to our belief, that there are some r●al Prophesies at this day, That the Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and that he sometimes Reveals to his Servants what he will do in the World. Or, if you are loth to call this a prophetic Spirit, yet if you will grant that of Philo to be true, 
* 〈◇〉. Phil. in Flac  The Mind of Man is given to Presage, especially in a time of Trouble and Calamity; or if that be authentic which Clemens Alexandrinus avers, 
† 〈◇〉. storm. 6.  A Disciple of wisdom hath a fore knowledge of Signs and Prodigies, and of the Events of Seasons and Times, which he borrowed from Wisd. 8. 8. Then it is most certainly true, that the Masters of Wisdom, those who are set apart by God for the Instructing of the World, and for the Fore-warning of Men concerning their future danger, are sometimes endued with an extraordinary Foresight: Those whom Providence hath placed on the Watch-towers, are blessed with a Clearer Prospect than Private Christians, who are seated below. These are the Persons whom he stirs up to denounce future Judgments to an Impenitent People. And these are all to be esteemed as True Prophets, although we have not actually felt some of those things which they threatened the Inhabitants of this Nation with. What though Popery be not returned into these Realms? Yet we may remember( with Trembling and Rejoicing together) how near it was to us; and it must be ascribed wholly to the Singular and Unexpected Providence of God that it approached no nearer: It is owing to the almighty and Allwise Conduct of Heaven, that it was Prevented and Averted. But if we look upon human Causes, and the Natural Tendency of Things, we must aclowledge that they were in readiness for the readmission of the Roman Religion among us; and consequently our Ruin and Destruction were approac●ing. Those Persons therefore might, even as Considering and Understanding Men, foresee what they so often denounced. And the impartial view of those sins, and the nature of them, which the People of this Land were daily indulging themselves in, could not but yield them matter of Loud Complaint, and of severe threatenings against such Offenders.  
Hence how many in This Age have Cried aloud, and spared n●t, and have lift up their Voice like a Trumpet, and have shewed this People their Transgression, and the House of England their Sins; Though such a Sight hath been very Unacceptable to them? Have not all those Faithful Ministers in the Land, who have been entrusted with the Flock of Christ, freely and impartially, for a long time, set before emboldened Sinners the Folly of their ways, and warned them of the Exceeding Danger they were in, not onely as to themselves, but as to the whole Community, on which they were bringing a Sudden and General Destruction? Thus God speaks concerning a Nation, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy, viz. By the ministry of his Word, by his Prophets and ambassadors; and particularly he speaks to you at this time, by one of the meanest and unworthiest of his Messengers, who is authorised to utter such Words as these, our Sins are great and Crying, our dissensions and Divisions are many, and every day increasing. Both of them make us obnoxious to the Divine Displeasure: and if we Repent not of the former, and take care to heal the latter, we shall certainly bring down ruin upon ourselves and our Posterity.  
II. God speaks concerning the final Desolation of a People, by his Judgments and severe Dealings with other Nations, or with the same Nation informer times. It is an undeniable Truth, and may be made clear to Inquisitive and Judicious Minds, that many of the Divine threatenings and Transactions of Providence of Old, look and reach even unto Us upon whom the ends of the World are come. We have our Destruction plainly Intimated, and set forth before us, by the Increpations and Reproofs, the Menaces and threatenings of the Prophets of the Old Testament. If we look into those Sacred Scriptures, and view the several Denunciations of Judgments there, we must needs think ourselves concerned. For the Holy Writings are Large and Comprehensive, and like the Divine Commandments exceeding Broad. I might show, that the Sacred Prophesies recorded in the Infallible Canon of the Bible, have an aspect not only to things which were at that time transacted, but to those Affairs also, which are of the like Nature in other Ages. I could make it appear that many of those Prophesies which did primarily relate to things which are long since past, do likewise refer to matters now in being, and to other things which are not yet accomplished. It is the Nature of those ancient Prophesies to look directly at one thing, but obliquely at some other. There is a Complication of Predictions in the same place of Scripture: one great Revelation is pregnant with others. The Scripture is so full, that it sometimes comprehends several Persons, if not Nations, under one Name. The Jews overthrow not only by Antiochus, but by Titus Vespasian( which was three hundred years after) was foretold at once by Daniel. The same prophesy and the very same Words Predict the one and the other, as is plain from Christs Words in Mat. 24.15. When ye shall see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the Holy place. It signifies therefore first Antiochus his setting up the Image of Jupiter in the Temple at Jerusalem, or his Armies entering into that Temple, and defiling it( of which Josephus gives us an account:) and then likewise it signifies Titus Vespasians profaning that Holy Place, and afterwards destroying it, for all agree, that our Saviour speaks in that place of the final Destruction of Jerusalem: And He tells us, that the Prophet Daniel spoken of it in those words, and therefore he adjoineth in that forementioned verse, Whoso readeth, let him understand, intimating thereby that there is a secret meaning in the Prophets Words, and that there is a more than Ordinary Understanding required to comprehend the sense of what he saith. These prophetic sayings are wonderfully Large and Extensive, and wrap up different meanings in few words.  
And if the Prophecies and Menaces, which primarily belong to the Jews or other Nations, do in a secondary way relate to the People of future Ages, and consequently do concern Us of this present Generation, then certainly the Actual Inflicting of Punishments and judgement recorded in Sacred Writ appertain to the present Times. All these things, saith the Apostle, speaking of Gods Judgments on the Jewish Nation, Happened unto them for 
* 〈◇〉.  Ensamples, 1 Cor. 10.11. The Evils and Punishments which were inflicted on that People, were Types( as the Greek word is properly to be rendered,) they were fit Representations of what we shall suffer, if we be guilty in the same manner that they were. It was intended, that we should be Copies of those Originals. What befell the Fathers, was to be a Sign to their Sons, as the Jews Proverbially speak. When we see our Sins parallel with theirs, we may know what is coming on us by the Judgments which overtook them. When we are Conscious to ourselves, that we are guilty of those very Sins, which the Scripture acquaints us brought down Evils and Plagues upon other Nations; we cannot but conclude that our ruin is described in the Book of God, and that our Destruction is foretold by the ancient Prophets, Ezek. 23.31. Thou hast walked in the way of thy Sister, saith God to Jerusalem, therefore will I give her Cup into thy hand: If thou imitatest another People in thy Sins, thou mayst expect to do so in their Plagues. Samaria had felt the Divine Wrath and Vengeance: And Jerusalem must take warning by her: The Calamities which the one had experienced, were too plain a Presage of the dismal fate of the other. The Word of the Lord by the Prophet Ezekiel, speaking of the fearful Fall and Destruction of Egypt, is very Remarkable, Chap. 32.9, 10. I will vex the Hearts of many People, when I shall bring thy Destruction among the Nations into the Countries, which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many People amazed at thee, and their Kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them, and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own Life, in the day of thy Fall. When we see Gods scourge on others, we have good reason to think that the L●shes will even reach us at last.  
To this purpose, observe, how God speaks to Jerusalem by the Prophet Zephaniah, I have Cut off the Nations: Their Towers are Desolate, I made their Streets waste. I said, Surely thou wilt fear, thou wilt receive Instruction, Chap. 3.6, 7. God speaks to one Nation by the Calamities he sends on another. Is not this Our Case? Are there not many Examples of Gods Severity before our Eyes? Have not Kingdoms and Churches, Nations and Cities been brought to utter Desolation for their Contempt of Gods Laws, and the profaneness of their Lives and manners? Do not the Annals of all Ages serve to assist our belief of this Truth? Jerusalem grievously sinned, and therefore she was removed. The Greatest and most Celebrated Monarchies( as the Assyrian, and others,) and the most flourishing Churches( as those noted ones of Asia) lye butted in their own Ash●s because of their crying Sins. Those Eastern Churches, which were planted by the Doctrine of the Holy Apostles, and watered with their Blood are now the Habitation of the Disciples of that vile Impostor Mahomet. I might( if I would enlarge on this Head) direct your Eyes to the Calamities and Miseries, which other Countries nearer to us have laboured under: But both the Examples which are remote, and those that are near at hand ought to be made use of to this one design, namely to imprint it effectually on our Minds, that Punishments on others speak ruin to ourselves. I will close this part of my Discourse with a short Reflection on the Ancien Brittains, who first inhabited this Nation. We may be warned of Gods Vengeance by the Example of those our Ancestors, who deservedly were harassed and Plagued for their Heinous Miscarriages. 
* De excid. & Conquest. britain. He flourished about A. D. 530.  Gildas, a British Monk, who purchased the Names of the Wise, for his Grave and Sober way of Writing, and flourished a little after the Saxons first coming hither, hath left a brief, but full Account of the Sins and Calamities of his countrymen. This British Jeremy( for so I may style him) with Tears recounts and laments their outrageous Vices, as the cause of all their Distresses and Miseries, of all their Unhappy Changes and Revolutions. This Instance, as more nearly concerning us, ought to be considered and laid to Heart by us in a signal manner, yet so as we forget not to cast our Eyes on other Examples, which we meet with in History of those Kingdoms and Common-wealths, which have thrown off Justice and Probity, Faith and Honesty, and have indulged themselves in the greatest Enormities, and have soon after come to ruin. So that from what hath befallen other Nations, we may rationally judge of the future Revolution and Fate of our own.  
III. God speaks, and that very plainly, concerning the overthrow of a Land by the several lesser Judgments, which he first sends among them. When God is angry with a People, he discovers it by his threatenings( of which I said something under the first Head,) but after he hath threatened, he begins to strike: After he hath done chiding, and that proves not effectual, he proceeds to Blows. And these, though they be not of the greatest size, are certain Signs and Evidences of Gods anger, and they let us understand that unless we Repent, we shall feel the utmost of his Fury, and Indignation. Though the Syrians be before, and the philistines behind, and they both devour Israel with open Mouth, yet for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still, Isa. 9.12. And after the rehearsal of divers Judgments this is again repeated in the same place, His anger is not turned away, but his Hand is stretched out still: As much as to say, lesser Evils do but make way for greater and more astonishing ones. This is Gods known Method in the World, of Punishing Sinners. This is evidenced in those Plagues which were inflicted on Pharaoh, and the People of Egypt: The Judgments which God sent upon them rose higher, and higher till the last was the severest of all. So the Author of the Book of Wisdom observes concerning the Canaanites, Wisd. 12.8, 10. That God did not destroy them all at once, but executed his Judgments on them by little and little. Whereupon he adds, v. 26. They that would not be reformed by that Correction wherein he as it were dallied with them, shall feel a judgement worthy of God. And this is clear in Gods proceedings against the Jewish Nation, who you will find were gradually punished. When they continued a stiff-necked and incorrigible People, and continually did that which provoked the Divine Majesty, the Chaldeans came, and sacked and burnt Jerusalem, and carried the inhabitants away Captive into a strange country. And though the Slavery in Egypt was hard, yet this Captivity in Babylon, was( as 
* Quemadmodum lapis durior est later, sic Babylonica servitus durior fuit egypt. Prov. Jud.  the Jews observe) more hard and intolerable. And afterwards, when by Gods Infinite Goodness they were restored to their own country, and the Hearts of Pagan Princes were inclined to show favour to them, yet( notwithstanding this miraculous Mercy) they sinned against their Deliverer, and fell into their former Idolatries, and in sundry manners perverted and corrupted their ways; and adding at last to all their wickednesses the crucifying of the Lord of Life and Glory, their Sins being now come to the height, the extremity of Gods Wrath was declared against them, and the Roman Armies came and besieged them, and after they had broken in upon them, miserable treated those wicked Caitiffs, exposing all either to Fire or Sword, except those who were made Captives, to be the Living Remains and Lasting Trophies of their Cruelty, the race of whom are Fugitives and Vagabonds on the Earth to this day, and their Name as well as Nation is almost extinct in the World. Thus one judgement, and that a greater, succeeded another: The Jews suffered under the Egyptians, and among the Chaldeans, and I might have added that they were plagued by the Syrian Armies: but at last came Titus, who out-did Pharaoh, nabuchadnezzar, and Antiochus. And this was but what the great Jehovah had  told them they might expect at his hands; viz. That if they would not harken to him, and be reformed, but would walk contrary to him, he would punish them yet seven times more for th●ir Sins, Lev. 26.18, &c. Which is repeated no less than four times, to intimate the certainty of it. This is the Process of the great Judge of Heaven and Earth, this is the usual course of the D●vine Justice. The Throne of Judicature is ascended by several Steps and Degrees: There is a certain Climax in Gods Judgments. God hath his Milder, and he hath also his Severer Punishments, his Gentler and Ha●sher Inflictions; but the former are wont to prepare the way for the latter. The Heavenly Judge is not rigorous with Malefactors for the first Crime: But if they go on in their evil Practices, the extremity of the Law is executed upon them, and they feel the utmost severity of the incensed Majesty. May not We of this Nation think ourselves, even on this account, fitted to Destruction, and ready for the Extremity of Gods Wrath? We have experienced many and various Calamities: And may not we fear that they are the Harbingers of utter Destruction? The Divine Revenge begins low, and strikes more sparing and gently, till at last it fetches a greater compass, and takes its stroke with more force, and lays on heavier blows. We have in many Instances felt the anger of Heaven; but we are to remember that as we have sinned variously, so it is just that we be Punished after that sort. As the measure of our Iniquities fills, so doth that of Gods Wrath in a proportionable manner. Reflecting upon our former and present Calamities, we may say as our Saviour in the like Case, Matth. 24.6. All these things are come to pass, but the end is not yet. It may be, ver. 8. All these things are the Beginning of Sorrows.  
The Distresses and Evils which have already happened to us, have not produced any Amendment in us, and therefore we may justly fear that they will be backed with more Direful Consequences. God hath been to England as a Moth, as the Prophet 
* Hos. 5.12.  Hosea expresseth it: He hath been wasting us with lingering Afflictions. Doth it not remain that he be unto us as a Lion( as it follows in the 
† V. 14.  same place) that he tear us in pieces, and make a full end of us? The Moth makes way for the Lion, that is, some Lesser and Meaner Judgments, which silently and gradually eat out the heart and strength of a People, prepare them for a more Fatal and Devouring judgement. The Moth, which consumeth one Thread now. and anon another, fits the Garment to be rent in pieces the easier. God, before he Utterly ruins a Land, wasts them by piece-meals, weakens and enfeebles them by degrees. By Precursory Judgments he makes them unable to withstand a Final Devastation, to frustrate some Devilish Conspiracy, to resist some Potent Enemy, or the like. It may be observed that 
* Isa. 3.1.  the Lord takes away from a People whom he destines to Destruction ( as he did from Jerusalem, and from Judah) the stay and the staff, the whole stay of Bread, and the whole stay of Water; i. e. the Necessary Provisions of Man's Life. Though, blessed be God, these Supports are not yet taken from us, yet we have reason to be afraid that they will be removed, and that God will blast the Fruits of the Earth, and bring a Famine upon us in the Rear of all those Notable Judgments, that Terrible Army which hath quartered amongst us. Other Stays of a Land( as you 
† V. 2, 3.  red) are the Prudent, and ancient, the Judges, and Experienced Councillors, men of sincerity and faithfulness, of skill and ability to manage public Affairs for the best; as also the Mighty Man, and the Man of War, Valiant Leaders and Souldiers: These are the Stay and Staff of a Kingdom, and when God designs the ruin of a People, he suffers these to fail. The Mighty Man, and Man of War, and the Captain of Fifty become Deserters: The Prudent and ancient withdraw, and hid those Heads which would be useful in a perilous Time: The Honourable Man is vilified, and discharged from his High Station, the Judge hath his Quietus, the councillor is dismissed, the Eloquent orator is struck dumb, and all his Excellent topics of Discourse dwindle into a faint Aposiopesis. Lastly, The Cunning Artificers and Industrious tradesman, the great Stay and Staff of a City or Nation, are shattered and broken. This was the True portraiture of Jerusalem, as the Prophet represented it. When These things were Visible, the Final Destruction of That People was so too, which makes the Prophet expressly and peremptorily add, 
* Verse 8.  Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen. This is the Short, but Sad Epitaph which the Man of God prepares to writ over those two formerly Glorious, but now Sinking and Expiring Kingdoms. They had lain a long time in a Sick and Weak condition, and now the Fatal Four is come, and the Prophet loudly proclaims their Utter ruin. The Moth had weakened and worn them a considerable time; and now at last the Lion seizeth upon them, and they are unavoidably torn asunder, and destroyed. If we had that spiritual fagacity which some of God's Servants are endowed with, we might soon red our Future Miseries in those Evils which have been our Allotment already. For 'tis certain,( though not observed by vulgar Eyes) that there are some Accidents that befall us, which point to Greater Mischiefs that are to ensue. This Truth which is so much hidden from common apprehensions, was plainly Preached by our Lord upon the occasion of the Unusual Massacre of the Galileans, and the Disaster of those Inhabitants of Jerusalem, on whom the Tower in Siloam fell and slay them. 
* Luke 13, 5.  Except ye repent, saith he, ye shall All likewise perish: As if he had said, these Particular and Single Accidents are Presages of a General Destruction. The Galileans Blood which Pilate  shed, doth portend an Universal Sacrifice of the whole Nation of the Jews: The Fall of the Tower of Siloam, fore-signifies the Demolishing of the Temple, and of all the stately Structures in Jerusalem. These( saith a 
* Dr. Jackson.  Pious and Pathetical Writer) were the first Drops of Gods Displeasure against that Nation, but these Drops without Repentance will grow into a Current, and that Current into a River, and the River will swell into a flood, and that flood into an Ocean of public Woe and tragic Miseries. We of this Nation have felt many Judgments, but these are nothing to what we may expect; for lesser evils are fore-warnings of Greater to follow: past calamities are signs of more dreadful ones to come. Gods Judgments on a Nation are least at first, but successively worse and worse: they are not unlike that Cloud which Elijah saw, no bigger than a Mans Hand at the first view, but they spread themselves by degrees, and cover the whole Heaven. Say that we are freed from some great Dangers which we lay under( and blessed be God that by the late Happy Revolution we are freed from them:) we are not thereupon to think ourselves secure, and as it were privileged from those Great Plagues which remain for the ungodly. God hath a whole Magazine, an Inexhaustible Store-house of Weapons of Vengeance: and when we think they are all spent, he is whetting them and making them ready, or perhaps he is preparing more Destructive ones. The late harmless motion of the Earth may be succeeded by a furious and violent concussion, such as may prove fatal to the whole Nation. Divine Justice, it may be, is setting out in some New and Unheard of ways of severity, in some untrodden Paths of Vengeance. Or perhaps the Judgments which we experienced heretofore, the Intestine Wars, the Civil Distractions and Commotions, the Pestilence, the Fire, the Bloody Conspiracies and Attempts of our Implacable Enemies, and all their Cursed Outrages and Execrable villainies may be repeated. And though the same Cup may be put into our Hands, yet we may be forced to Drink Deeper of it, and the very dregs of Gods Wrath may be poured into it.  
IV. God sometimes speaks, and that aloud, concerning a Nation, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it, by Strange Signs and Prodigies which he causeth to appear. These the Hebrews call Othoth and Mophethim; the Greeks 〈◇〉; the Latins Portenta, Ostenta, Prodigia, These exceed the ordinary course of things, and are above the usual Laws and Power of Nature. And being such, that is, extraordinary as to their production, they are so likewise as to their Ends: they were designed to terrify and Admonish Mankind, to be prognostics of approaching evil, to be Messengers and Fore-runners of heavy Plagues and Miseries; whereas things that are ordinary and natural, i.e. e. which are produced by the constant and settled Laws of Nature are not Ominous, because there is no evil lurking in Nature. I reckon in the number of Prodigies, the sudden and unaccountable changes which are sometimes observed in the Air and other Elements, the strange and amazing Tempests, Storms, and Thunders, with the affrighting circumstances that accompany them: Earthquakes, whether they be the lesser and gentler Tremblings of the Earth, or whether they be the more fierce and vehement Shocks of it, whereby Houses and Inhabitants and all things on the place are violently removed and destroyed: Great and Horrible Eruptions of Fire: Excessive Inundations of Water( the outrageous Sallies of either of those Masterless Elements being very boding and Portentous:) Alterations in the Heavens, strange Appearances of the Sun and Moon: Comets, or, as they vulgarly are called, Blazing Stars.  
These happening besides the common and wonted order of Nature are not only Calamities themselves, but are the undoubted Emblems and Ensigns of other approaching Calamities to a Nation: and they are set in the fair and spacious Theatre of Heaven as the fittest place to represent those Divine shows to the view of all. The Apparitions likewise in the Inferior Regions of the Heavens are justly reckoned as Prodigious and Portentous: the Delineations and Effigies of Persons and Things in the Clouds were ever presumed to presage some strange events. Especially the Images of Armed Men joined in Battle, and Fighting in the Skies have been by the wisest observers of things that happen accounted to be Significative and Ominous. And indeed the whole Doctrine of Prodigies hath been vouchsafe and maintained by the long and uninterrupted approbation of the wisest Historians, and all other prudent inquirers into the Works of Providence. The Annals of all Times testify that when God p●rposeth to punish a Kingdom or City, he usually fore-signifieth it by Prodigies of one quality or other. I doubt not but this hath been Gods method from the Beginning of the World. I question not but the General flood which washed away the first great and incorrigible sinners, was foretold to the people of that Age by some remarkable signs, though Moses, who omits many other things for brevity sake, hath not recorded them Some of these Portentous accidents shall presage the End of the World, as is implied in the four and twentieth chapter of St. Matthew, for those things which are said there to be fore-runners of the Destruction of Jerusalem are to be understood likewise, as Indications of the approaching Consummation of all things. But there are express instances in Sacred Writ: we red that the Egyptian Plagues, which were no other than Prodigies, were the fore-runners of the fatal end of Pharaoh and his mighty Host.  
The same Sacred History assures us that the dispensation of the Jews was renowned for many Terrible Instances of Prodigious Appearances. That Grave author who Writ the Books of the Maccabees relates the wonderful Signs which were seen in Jerusalem, before the Sacking of it by Antiochus's Army: Then( saith he) it happened that through all the City for the space almost of forty days, 
2 Mac. 5.2, 3.  there were seen Horsemen running in the Air in Cloth of Gold, and Armed with launces like a Band of Soldiers: and Troops of Horsemen in Array, encountering and Running one against an other, with Shaking of Shields, and Multitude of Pikes, and drawing of Swords, and casting of Darts, and glittering of Golden Ornaments, and Harness of all sorts. These were the Visible Signs from Heaven which presaged the coming of that Execrable and Bloody Tyrant to Jerusalem. This Dreadful and Astonishing Apparition was Remarkable for its continuance, for it lasted above a month together; besides it was a Spectacle to entertain all Beholders that would look up and see it. But it was most Notable and Significant in regard of the Effects and Events which followed it, viz. the horrible Persecutions which the Inhabitants of that place suffered, and the bloody Slaughters which they underwent under Antiochus: There was( as that Writer tells us) killing of Young and Old, 
13, 14 v.  making away of Men, Women and Children, slaying of Virgins and Infants. And there were destroyed within the space of three whole Days fourscore thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the Conflict, and no fewer sold than slain. And to all this was added the spoiling of the Temple, 
15. v.  and the profaning of it no less than three years and a half. But the most remarkable Prodigies were those which Christ himself foretold should be the direful presages of Jerusalem's overthrow, its last and final overthrow by Titus, in the second year of his Father Vespasians Reign, and in the thirty eighth year after Christs Passion. Great Earth quakes, saith he, shall be in divers places, 
Luk. 21.11.  and Famines, and Pestilences, and fearful Sights and great Signs shall there be from Heaven.  
He that will give himself time to consult that Famous History of Josephus, which treats on purpose of the Jewish War, may be soon convinced of the Truth and Reality of what our Saviour here saith, and abundantly satisfy himself that it was fully accomplished. There never were such Famines and Pestilences as happened at that Time, viz. at the Siege of Jerusalem. Armies and Chariots, and Glistering Troops were observed in the Clouds, and other Strange and Ominous Apparitions were beholded in the sky before the Taking and Burning of that Renowned City. A Fiery Sword, or a Blazing Star in the shape of a Sword, hung over that Place, and was gazed on by all its Inhabitants. This Comet appeared no less than a Year together, Hovering over the temple and other Parts of Jerusalem, as a Certain hieroglyphic and Symbol of the Desolation which was near at hand. They who would not attend to the Star over Bethlehem, had now a more Affrighting one, which denounced the Fate of Jerusalem. That is a Wonderful Passage which we find related by that Historian, that the heavy Gates of the Temple were s●en to fly open when there was no body near to forward their Motion. And this Opening of the Temple Gates of their own accord, is taken notice of in the Talmud as a Prodigious thing that happened to the Jews in those days, and as a Mark( among other things) of the Divine Anger. But the Terrible Noises and Voices, and the Fearful Sights which appeared were the most notable of all. A little before the approach of Jerusalems Final Ruin, one day at the Feast of Pentecost, as the High Priest entred into the Temple to offer the usual Sacrifices, there was heard a Sudden Noise, and This Voice following it, Let us Depart Hence. which was a Warning, and an alarm from Heaven of the Misery which that City underwent as soon as God's Servants had quit the place. On the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at Nine a Clock at Night, the Temple was seen of a sudden to be all encompassed with a Clear Light, as if it were Broadday. If you would Farther satisfy yourselves, you may peruse the Twelfth Chapter of the Seventh Book of the forementioned History, which particularly and purposely treats of the Dismal Signs which then appeared; and there also you will see what that Learned Man's judgement is concerning Prodigies. He cannot but be looked upon as a Credible author, not onely for the Reasons before suggested, but because this Person Accompanied Titus to the Siege of Jerusalem, and consequently was able to Behold the things which then happened, and to acquaint himself also with the Passages which had gone before.  
But this withal is very considerable, that what this Jewish Historian relates concerning this matter, is seconded and confirmed by that Sober Roman Writer Cornelius Tacitus, who lived also in the time of Jerusalems Destruction. He relates the same prodigies which Josephus doth, but being ignorant of the true God, and an Enemy both to Jews and Christians, he represents them in a rude manner. He expressly tells us, That 
* Regi●nibus adversae visae per caelum concunere acies, rutilantia aram; & subito nubium igne collucere templum. Expessae repent delubri sores; 〈◇〉 audita mayor humana vo●, excedere Deos; simul motus ingens excedentium. Hist. lib. 5.  Troops of Men appeared in the sky, all in bright armor, and with the sudden light which fl●shed from the Clouds, the Temple shone: The great and massy Gates of this Holy place slay open of their own accord: And unto Sights were added unusual Noises; a Voice spoken to this purpose, That the Gods were departing: And this loud Voice, far greater than that of Man, was accompanied with a Noise as it were of a great many persons rushing out, and leaving the place. Would you have a particular of the strange Events, and deplorable Calamities which were presaged by these Signs and Apparitions? Take it in short thus,( and if you have a desire to see the tragical account at large, consult Josephus, especially his four last Books, which cannot be red without a mixture of Pity and horror) during the Siege that Year, and at the taking of Jerusalem even Eleven hundred thousand perished by Fire, Sword, Famine, Pestilence, and Civil Discord. Ninety seven thousand were reserved for Captives, for so many were taken prisoners at that time by the Roman Armys, on the occasion of extraordinary Multitudes of Jews meeting together to del●brate the Passover, which was the very time at which they put our Saviour to Death. An innumerable Company of that misc●eant Nation, which sold Christ for Thirty pieces of Silver, were exposed to sale at a far Cheaper rate: For( as this Author affirms) the Market ran so low, that twenty Jews were sold for a Penny. The whole City and Temple were utterly demolished to the Ground. And this was done by him who was styled the D●●ling and Delight of Mankind, as if the Jews were not of human race; Tho'( as the same Author saith) the sight of Jerusalems ruins, were so Lamentable and Dismal, that it extorted Years from that Warlike Person who was the cause of them. But to proceed in the things which I undertook, viz. that all Sober and Intelligent Writers aclowledge there are certain Prodigies which are sore runners of the Evils and Calamities which are to ensue. An Antie t 
* S. ●●gustin. de Civ. dei l. 3. c. 23.  Father tells us, That before the Civil Wars of the Romans, their Beasts and Cattle generally ran Wild, even those that were exceeding Tame before: A Presage( ●aith he) of their 〈…〉 ness and Inhumanity. A known Ecclesiastical Historian, speaking of the Earthquake which happened in Bithynia, and the neighbouring Countrys, in the Days of Valentinian and Valens, makes this Remark, That 
* 〈◇〉. Socrat. Eccles. Hist. l. 2. c. 20.  this unusual Concussion of the Earth seemed to be a certain Sign of the Shakings and Convulsions, the Tumults and Disorders which afterwards were in the Christian Churches. The Author of the Byzantine Annals giving an account of the Earthquakes and Comets, and other Terrible Accidents in the Reign of Constantinus Dux, utters these remarkable words, 
* 〈◇〉, &c. Mich. Glyc. Annal. Pars 4.  These Occurrences which then happened were Punishments for sin, and marks of the Divine Anger, by which, Invasion and Slaughter were portended to the Nation: For by Prodigies set up by God, not only things present, but future are declared and foretold.  
But besides these Instances in the Sacred History, and in the Writings of the Jews, and in Ecclesiastical Authors, I will also mention what profane and gentle Writers have said of this matter. It is the Observation of the ancient Father of History, Herodotus, That 
* 〈◇〉. Lib. 6.  as often as Extraordinary Evils and Calamities befall a City or Nation, they are wont to be foreshown, viz. by some unusual Sign. And again, he saith in another place, 
* 〈◇〉. Lib. 9. c. 99.  The things which happen by Divine Appointment, are declared, and foresignified by many Signs.  

* De bell. Pelop. lib. 1.  thucydides, a very Grave Author, takes notice, that immediately before the Peloponesian War, which proved so fatal, there were Earthquakes, Eclipses of the Sun, Drought, Famine, Pestilence, that were the fore-runners of it. Lucan recounts the prodigies which happened before the Civil Eruptions between Caesar and Pompey, and acquaints us, That the whole theatre of the World was filled with them: 
— Superique minaces  
Prodigus terras implerunt, aethera, pontum. Pharsal. 1.  The Earth, the Skies, the Seas did all abound with those Strange Appearances. Dis Cassius speaking of the Fight between Caesar and Anthony, asserts, That there were Great and Wonderful Signs appeared before it; and he adds withal, That 
* 〈◇〉. Histor. Rom. lib. 47.  God always foretells extraordinary Events by this sort of Occurrences: And afterwards he calls these 
* 〈◇〉. Lib. 54.  such Signs as are wont to happen before very great Calamiiies. Virgil concludes the first Book of his Georgicks, with the enumeration of several Prodigies, which presignified the Death of J. Caesar, and were fore-runners of the Civil-Wars which succeeded. He particularly mentions 
Armorum sonitum toto Germania coelo  
Audut.—  What Strange Armies were seen and heard in the Air. And others have taken notice in a more special manner of this kind of Prodigies.  
Arma ferunt inter nigras, crepitantia nubes,  
Terribilisque tubas, auditaque cornua coelo  
Praemonuisse nefas. Metamorph. l. 15.  
Ovid remarks that strange Sights and Noises in the Clouds, presaged the Death of that Great Man, who fell by the Senate. And sometimes the loud Voices and Shoutings of Men, Clattering of armor, and Prancing of Horses were heard, but nothing was seen, as a 
* 〈◇〉. Appian. Civil. lib. 4.  Greek Historian observes, and reckons them as fore-runners of Civil Wars.  
Moreover, not only ancient but Modren Writers give their suffrage here, and furnish us with instances to prove what we have asserted. 
† Scheretzius & Lavater de Spectris.  Two sufficient Authors assure us that Armies in the Air, and other strange Sights and Noises were seen and heard at Vienna before the first coming of the Turks thither, 
† Metor. lib. 2. Melanchton.  and laying Siege to it. * Melanchton, a person of known truth and integrity, ascertations us that Armies in the Clouds were frequently seen in Germany, from the year 1524. to the year 1548. There are some who imagine the Clouds may by chance fall into the shape of Horses and Men, and the Winds ruffling the Clouds and beating them backward and forward may make them seem to encounter one another: And upon Thunder and Lightning there may be a resemblance of great Guns going off: Thus they impute all to the Natural position and structure of the Clouds. But to think that this is the true solving of this Phoenomenon is so fond and idle that I cannot believe it will be the sentiment of any Sober and Considerable person. Spectacles of so Composed a frame are not that works of more Chance. Besides, the experience both of the wise and the vulgar attests these to be presages of approaching Evils and Calamities, which shows that they are not Casual and Fortuitous. ( Cardan. De rev. vanitate.) That great Philosopher and noted physician of milan acknowledgeth and testifieth that these Armies in the Skies have been seen and heard before great Wars and Commotions in Kingdoms. And even his Country man Machiavel, who had no great kindness for Religion or Providence,( and therefore his words are the more remarkable) avets, and proves in several Examples and Instances that the strange and unusual disasters that happen to Kingdoms and Common-wealths are foretold by Signs and Prodigies. 
† Disput. de Repub. l. 1. c. 56. p. 229.  I cannot( saith he) but aclowledge myself ignorant of the cause, but the thing itself I cannot but own to be true both from ancient and latter instances, that all the great Commotions and Changes which have at any time happened to Cities or whole Countries, have been constantly foretold either by some Diviner, or by discoveries made by Prodigies and Signs in the Heavens. And he pertinently takes notice of what appeared in Italy of this nature, and shows the strange events thereby portended. Joachim 
* De Ostentis.  Camerarius, a man of great Learning, and vast Experience, hath writ of the several Prodigies seen in his time, and he declares that they were fore-runners of dismal event. Caper Pruceus, another excellent person, and an eminent Chronoliger, freely gives his judgement in this point, and tells us 
† Caldes publicas quandoque praeviis in natur signis portendit ac paenuntiat, ut sint concion●s de ira Dei & aliquos revocent ad paenitentiam. Epist. Ded. ante Chronic. carrion.  that public Slaughters and Miseries are before hand declared by certain Previous signs in nature, that they may be Sermons and Warnings to us of the wrath of God, and call us to Repentance. Sir Walter Raleigh hath these memorable words, 
† The Acts of the Empire.  Some wise men not superstitiously but discreetly do think prodigious signs from Heaven or on Earth are not to be neglected. red what the Learned Grotius( a man of that Composedness and Sobriety, that he would not be lead by vulgar Opinions, a person indeed who had nothing common and vulgar in him) red, I say, what that Great Histiorian and Observer hath delivered in his Annotations in these few words, 
† Multa constat ex prophanis sacrisque literis antequam extarent, extraordinariis iis indiciis prodita fuisse, non naturali causarum nexu & ordine, said Dei nulu varbio trio. Theol. Doum. Tom. 3. l. 1. c. 10.  Comets and Flaming Swords and other signs of a resembling nature, are wont to preceded and betoken great alterations and revolutions of Affairs. I will and the words of Dionysius Petavius, a noted scholar and Divine, who treating of universal and prodigious sights in the Heavens, speaks thus, 
* Soldent magnas rerum conversiones praecedere Cometae, Gladu Ardentes aliaque Signa ejusmodi. In Joel. cap. 2. v. 30.  It plainly appears both out of Sacred and profane Writers, that many things were discovered and foresignified by these extraordinary Signs and Tokens long before they came to pass, though this hath happened, I cannot say by any Natural Connections and Order of Causes, but wholly by the Will and Pleasure of God.  
I will conclude with that Notable Remark of a Modern Historian, who taking notice of the prodigies which preceded the Wars of Germany, speaks thus, 
* The Hist. of the Iron Age, 1st. part, 3d. Book 1. Chap.  That fatal Torch which appeared toward the end of the Year 1618, with a long and formidable Tail, seemed to denounce to us the Wrath of God, thereby to prepare us to repentance, or else patiently to suffer the Evils that we could not avoid. Those Sights which were seen in the Air in many places, those Tempests, those Exundations of Rivers, those Disruptions or Shiverings of Bars by the merciless Ocean, those Earthquakes and Inundations, those Monstrous productions, those Waters turned into Blood, those Impetuous Winds which have overthrown so many Towers, and rooted up so many Trees: those bloody reins, and so many other Supernatural Accidents are the Mess●ngers of Divine Indignation to such as are obst●nate in their wickedness. Thus that Author, who is went to mingle Devout and Pious Ejaculations with his History.  
Thus you see what is the Sense of all Ranks of Men, Fathers, Philosophers, Poets, Physitians, Statesmen, Lawyer, Divines, Historians; yea; Men of the most different Religions, Jews, Pagans, Christians, Protestants, Papists agree in this, that the things above name portend great Changes to the public. Therefore it is to be wondered at that the Observation of Prodigies is reckoned by a 
* Dr. Goodman.  late Writer as one instance of some Mens Judaizing. I do not see how these two are a Kin, for I have proved, that God hath given notice of his approaching Judgments by unusual Signs and Appearances, not only among the Jews, but likewise under the Christian and Gospel-Dispensation. This I have made good by an Induction of several Instances. And if God doth still speak to the inhabitant of the Earth by Prodigious Signs, certainly they ought to attend to them, and it can be no Superstition( whatever that Author suggests) to do so. The Gravest and soberest Heads have not disdained this Contemplation: The most evangelic Minds have been exercised herein, and therefore it cannot justly be thought to be any tendency to judaisme. What the Apocryphal Writer delivered long ago holds true under the economy of the Gospel, 
* 2 Esdr. 9.6.  The times of the Highest have plain beginnings in Wonders and powerful Works, and ending in Effects and Signs. These Times are still in being and these Signs are yet to be seen. Signs which foretell future Calamities to a Nation.  
Let us then reflect on those Divine Tokens, which we of this Nation are not strangers to. Many Wonderful Appearances have been in our days: The Earth, the Air, the Waters have afforded several Portentous Accidents. The face of the Skies hath been disguised, and the Cloods have not been voided of Terrible Images and Representations. As for the Heavenly Bodies, they have put on strange and ominous looks, and have appeared with affrigh●ing and amazing countenounces. The Glorious Luminaries, have been changed and disfigured, as boding some remarkable shiftings and alterations here below. If any Man shall step forth, and say he hath seen none of these things, or if he had, he will not believe that they are Heralds of the Divine Displeasure, I can point him to that which he cannot deny to have been often seen with his own eyes, and to have been observed by all the Inhabitants of the Land, I mean those Prodigious Comets, which shaked their flaming Tails over our heads, and shot their fiery rays at us, with much anger and fierceness. I will not in this place, undertake to make it appear, that the Apparitions of Comets, are Signs of ensuing evil to a Nation, and that there is a manifest connection between the things signified, and the Signs( which some are very unwilling to grant) I will not, I say, undertake this now, because I find it done already in a * Particular Discourse,( * Cometomantia; or, a Discourse of Comets.) wherein the Author hath endeavoured even to gratify the most Inquisitive, and to entertain the Philosophical and Curious. I will only at present make my Appeal to those who are Sober and Impartial Judges, whether We of this Nation have not had some proof already of the power and influence of those Celestial Signs. Did not those flaming Torches, which appeared in Sixty Four, and Sixty Five, usher in, and presage, a Raging Pe●tilence, and a Devouring Fire, two of the most Tremendous Judgments that can happen to a place, or People? We then gazed on those Glaring Lights of Heaven, but how few of us were moved at their strange appearance? But if we neglect the remembrance of them now( especially seeing other Messengers of the like nature have appeared in the Heavens) we are inexcusable. Can the Dire Effects of Comets be demonstrated by more pregnant Instances and Consequences, than so general and spreading a Mortality, and the consuming of so great and samed a City to Ashes? And surely those last Comets which appeared, especially that in Eighty, which was of so vast and unusual a Magnitude, were not placed in the Heavens for nothing. No, no: We have experienced the Stupendious Events which were signified by the arrival and appearance of those wonderful Messengers. It is evident that those Heavenly Flames were set up to be an intimation of those mighty things which have since come to pass, and to forewarn us of those infinite Dangers we were liable to. They will for the future be believed to be Forerunners and Monitors, Heralds and prognostics of impendent Judgments, maugre all the Objections and Cavils of some daring Pens to the contrary.  
And now of late we have been alarmed with a Prodigy of another nature, the Trembling and Shaking of the Earth. We would not be affencted with what appeared over our heads: And now behold! We are called to take notice of what is felt under our feet. This is a very remarkable and astonishing act of Providence, and it will concern us to inquire into the meaning of it. For it is certain, that there is some great thing portended by an Occurrence of this extraordinary nature, as all wife and considerate persons have ever confessed. That thereof is the thing which I will undertake: I will briefly and plainly suggest what I conceive is the signification of this Prodigious Accident. So far as I can apprehended this Shaking of the Earth, signifies and foretells, at least intimates to us and warns us of  
I. A Greater judgement of the same kind, another Earthquake more terrible. For if the Windy and Turbulent Matter within the Bowels of the Earth, which was the cause of this surprising event, be not spent and exhausted, which it is likely must be done by a violent and sudden Eruption of it, which will necessary break and scatter those parts of the Earth where it both vent, then we may expect an Earthquake of a more violent nature, and such as will prove very fatal and destructive. Let us not therefore think ourselves secure, but let us be daily preparing ourselves for it: But withal let us incessantly pray that God would be pleased to prevent and avert it. For I do not here pronounce any thing positively and peremptorily, but only suggest to you what we may justly fear; and look for, and that even in the nature of the thing itself. But God can over-rule all Natural Causes, and can by ways and means, which we know nothing of, prevent all future danger of this kind. And I question not but he will, if we turn from our former sins, and be hearty sorry for our past transgressions. Otherwise we may expect to be visited with a greater Calamity, and to be cut off in our sins, unless God for his own Names sake, and out of mere Grace and Pity shall think good to spare us. We have heard what hath been the lamentable fate of some others, where Earthquakes have happened: Great numbers have been swallowed up alive by the gaping Earth, and have been butted in its Bowels: And the Circumstances of those that survived, were unspeakably miserable and forlorn. On which occasion let us remember our Saviour's words, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. We shall all experience the like Severity of God, unless we resolve for the future to renounce our evil ways to amend our Lives, to devote ourselves to God's Service, and live to his Glory.  
II. God's Shaking of the Earth, is a Token of God's Power and sovereignty, and of his Universal Dominion over the Inhabitants of the World. Therefore you will frequently find in the Scripture, that these Attributes of God are set forth and expressed by his moving of the Earth, and his shaking the Foundations of it. And his actual doing of it is recorded in the same Holy Writings, as an exertment of his sovereign Power, and it is intended to strike terror into the hearts of Men, and to beget in them an aweful sense of the Divine Majesty. Thus we red that when God designed to give proof to the Israelites, that he was their absolute sovereign, Lord and Law-giver, he caused Mount Sinai( the place where he appeared to them) to quake greatly, 19. Ex. 18. The Son of God, when he hung upon the across, and 'twas necessary to give some undeniable evidence that he was God indeed, did it by exerting this signal act of his Power and Might, as the Evangelical History testifies, 27. Mat. 51. The Earth did quake, and the Rocks rent. And observe the event of it, Vers. 54. When the Centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the Earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God. The moving of the Earth is such a proof of the Divine Power, that it even forced an acknowledgement from the most hardened Pagans. So when Christ at his Resurrection designed to express his Irresistible Power and sovereignty there was a great Earthquake, 28. Mat. 2. and it is not to be questioned, but that this was as effectual to convince Men of Christ's Almighty Power, as that at his Passion. Such another Instance we have in 16. Acts 26. There was a great Earthquake, so that the Foundations of the Prison were shaken: and see the e●ect of it, Vers. 29. The Jailor came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved? We see then what is the Significancy of this late Trembling of the Earth, it is to put us into the same posture, it is to make us tremble, and stand in awe of the Divine Majesty, and to aclowledge his transcendent Excellency, his Greatness and Supremacy. It is to rouse the Atheists of our days, and to remind them of that Being which is endowed with Infinite power, and can do what he pleaseth in Heaven and Earth.  
III. It is a Sign of God's great Displeasure and Anger. Accordingly we find it threa●ned as a token of his anger against Jerusalem, 29. Isa. 6. Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with Earthquake, and great noise, &c. This and the like Prodigies are Divine Menaces, they are certain Marks of the Wrath of the A●m●gh●y, because of our sins. Wherefore on this account especially let us take notice of the late Hand of God towards us in that sudden Trepidation of the Earth, and let it put us in mind of our Sins, which are the only cause of God's Displeasure. The main Lesson we are taught by it is that in 4. Psal. 4. Stand in awe, and sin not. Whilst so many remain stupid and senseless, let us be apprehensive of the Almighty's Hand stretched out against us: Let us be deeply affencted with this extraordinary Dispensation: Let us with the Psalmist, be afraid of God's Judgments. Now God speaks with a loud Voice to this Nation to turn from their evil ways, now he commands all Men every where to repent, and to abandon their sins. This is that which this Remarkable Providence of God calls for. And the Lord enable us to do this speedily, lest our continuing in our Impenitence provoke him to cut us off speedily.  
IV. Great Changes and Commotions are fore signified by this extraordinary agitation of the Earth. That such unusual and amazing acts of Providence are the forerunners of great Revolutions, hath been the universal knowledgement of the wisest Heads. Earthquakes particularly are signs of the perturbations and troubled state of the Church, said the Ecclesiastical Historian, as we observed before. It was foretold in 24. Mat. 7. that there should be great Earthquakes in divers places, before the final change and extirpation of Jerusalem. Those commotions in the natural world portended greater and more horrible ones in the Civil and Ecclesiastical Polity of the Jews. I observe this likewise that in the holy Scriptures great alterations are expressed to us by E●rthquakes, by moving and shaking the earth, and such like terms. This is the style and idiom not only of the Old Test. but of the New, as is evident from several passages in the book of the Revelation: and therefore there is some foundat●on for what I here suggest, viz. that this particular sort of Prodigies is a signification of some notable Changes and Revolutions in the world, and particularly in this British Isle.  
V. It is probable that the day of judgement and end of the World are foretold and represented by this late wonderful Occurrence. Those great E●rthquakes in divers places, mentioned in 24. Mat. may be understood to be forerunners of the Last Day, as well as the destruction of Jerusalem: For this was designed without doubt by the Holy Ghost to be a type and representation of that. Therefore 'tis worth our observing, that there have been of late, that is, within these nine or ten years, more Earthquakes than there had been two hundred years before. Which should remind us of our Saviours prophesy, and induce us to believe that the great and Terrible Day of the Lord is approaching, when he will judge the world in righteousness, and these numerous Earthquakes in divers places are the harbingers and presagers of it. Let us then be effectually reminded by this late shaking of the Earth, of that last Terrible Revolution, when the Earth and the Heavens shall be dissolved, and when our Lord shall come in flaming fire to take Vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of his Son Jesus. Let us watch and pray, and with faith and patience expect our Lords coming. Let us be in readiness to meet the Bridegroom who cometh at midnight, at the time when the jovial world thinks not of it. Thus I have freely given you my sentiments concerning this late Prodigy, and others which we have had before; and I leave the considerate reader to judge of what I have said.  
To shut up this part of my Discourse, I might remind you that there are two persons who have writ of this subject, the one dispersedly, in his several writings( especially in his Sermons on 13. Luke 5. and 21. Luke 25.) the other professedly, in a particular Treatise: But they have done it in a very different way. The one hath a huge veneration for Prodigies and Divine Signs, and makes frequent discoveries of them in Gods administrations in the whole world: the other is as warm against them, and will not be persuaded that such things ever happen. The one thinks he sees a Prodigy in most of the great and extraordinary accidents on the stage of the World; the other shuts his eyes, and refuses to see such things any where. That which I shall suggest concerning those Dissenters is this, that if the Doctrine of the former be thought by some to betray too much Fear and Indignation, the latter is guilty of too much Boldness and Insensibleness: If the former Approaches to Superstition, the latter may be suspected to led us to Atheism. Both these extremes are hugely dangerous, and are with great care to be avoided. As we must not be misled by Fancy and Credulity, so on the other side, we must not shut our Eyes at the plain Discoveries which God is pleased to make in the World, I mean of his designs of Vengeance and Punishment to a Nation, among which I reckon, and not without cause, those Unusual Accidents above name. I have the longer insisted, on this Subject because some are prejudiced against it, and will by no means believe that there are any such things as Prodigies and Portentous Indications. Therefore I was desirous to satisfy you from the serious consideration of foregoing Instances, and from the Suffrage of the most Wise and Intelligent, that Prodigies are nor the effect of Imagination and Fancy, but that they are really existing in the World, and that God is pleased sometimes to give notice of his Displeasure against a People by these Strange Signs and Wonders in the Heavens and on the Earth.  
But if after all that hath been suggested, some will stand up, and confidently maintain that this and the forementioned particulars have nothing of Presage in them, that God speaks not by these concerning the plucking up and pulling down of a Kingdom: They see no boding tokens and signs: The timorous and faint-harted are the only people that make discoveries of such things: This is the attaimment of the melancholy and discontented. It is black and sooty Choler which makes things look so dark and dismal. Apparitions and strange sights are the delusions of some poor Travellers, who are jogging on the Road before their Eyes are quiter open, or who stay abroad so late that they are almost shut. Or, say that there are such affrighting things that are talked of, yet this is to be said, that they have been laughed at, and written against by very worthy and reverend men. As for Prophesies, and the Denunciations of Gods messengers, they are out of date now adays: there are no Seers to be expected in this blind Age of the World. If any have pretended to a greater foresight than others, we are not bound to credit what they say, for all things continue as they were from the beginning( as some of their persuasion and principles long since observed.) As for what other Nations have suffered, that concerns not us. We are hale and prosperous, and surely there is no infection in Bodies politic. What then have the judgments which have lighted on others to do with us? And whereas 'tis said that the lesser Judgments which we have felt are forerunners of Greater, we are rather willing to believe that the worst is past, and that what we have felt already is the greatest evil we shall undergo. If you hear any persons talk after this rate, you may conclude it to be the language of Atheists, and no others: and it deserves nothing but contempt and scorn. Such men are unwilling to aclowledge a supreme Ruler and governor of the world, and therefore it is no wonder that they deny all proofs of his ruling and governing, and will not take notice of the tokens and demonstrations of his anger towards sinners. But I thought it my duty to put you in mind of them, and accordingly I have briefly presented to your view the divers intimations of a Kingdoms ruin, the sundry presages of Gods pulling down, and plucking up, and destroying a sinful Land.  
The practical result of all that you have heard is this: 1. That you be sensible of these symptoms of Destruction. 2. That you be exhorted to make a right use of them. 3. That you take care to prevent the impendent judgments, by speedy repentance. For as I have made an impartial Inquiry into the dreadful presages of a general judgement on this Nation, so now I am desirous to direct you to the proper and only means of avoiding the Divine Vengeance, which is the next thing contained in the words.  
I. Be sensible of these things which I have suggested to you. Since God hath been pleased to speak to you in divers manners, it is your duty and interest to attend to his voice. Let me use our Saviours words, Mat. 24.32. Learn a parable of the fig-tree: when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh, so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things( or most of them which I have been treating of) know that it is near even at the doors. I will not add what follows in the next Verse, This Generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled; For it is my Business at present to put you into a way whereby you may prevent all these Evils and Calamities that are threatened. But this cannot be done unless you first of all be Apprehensive of these sundry manifestations of Gods wrath, and be thoroughly sensible of the Tokens of his Indignation. That none of these things which I have spoken come upon you, you must be careful to take notice of these Marks of God's Displeasure, to Observe and Discern the Signs of the Times, to harken to the Voice of Gods displeasure. And to imprint this the deeper on your minds, you ought to remember that there cannot be a more in●a ble Sign of a Nations Ruin than their being senseless and stupid, and no ways Regardful of the Sins and Judgments they labour under. When Men will not be made Apprehensive of either of these, but bless themselves in their hearts, saying they shall have Peace, then there cannot be a more certain prognostic of Peoples Destruction. When all the Plagues and Judgments which were sent upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians did rather harden their Hearts, than melt then into Sorrow and Repentance, it was easy to guess that their Final Ruin was not far off. When God threatened to smite the Jews with Blindness, he added likewise what should be the effect of it, viz. They should not prosper in their ways, and they should be oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man should save them, Deut. 28 28, 29. This may be the meaning of the 5th. of Isaiah 13. Therefore my People are gone into Captivity, because they have no knowledge, therefore they are destroyed, because they are Senseless, and will not know and perceive their danger. They refuse to understand and consider what their Condition is, and 'tis no wo●der that they fall into miseries, and that without remedy. Of such Persons as these the same Prophet speaks, Chap. 28. v. 14.15. Hear the Word of the Lord, ye scornful Men( you that think yourselves secure, and therefore scorn and deride all the threatenings and Judgments of God:) Ye have said, we have made a Covenant with Death, and with Hell are we at Agreement, when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. This is the Language of Stupidity and Sottishness, of Insensibility and gross Security. And this is the usual practise of Sinners, viz. to persuade themselves that Punishments and Judgments and deadly Plagues shall not overtake them, notwithstanding their persisting in their Sins and Provocations. But certainly there cannot be a more evident Token that Judgments and Plagues are near at hand. When you red that God speaks after this manner to his Prophet, go tell this People, hear ye indeed, but understand not: See ye indeed, but perceive not: Make the Heart of these People fat, and make their Ears heavy, and shut their Eyes, &c. Expect to hear in the next words, of their Cities being wasted without Inhabitant, and their Houses without Man and their Land utterly desolate. Isai. 6.9, 10. That Spiritual judgement was a fo●erunner of this Temporal one: When they were made insensible, they were ripe for Destruction. This is implyed in the Prophet Jeremy's words in the 12th. Chapter and 4th. Verse. How long shall the Land mourn, and the Herbs of every Field whither; for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? The Beasts are consumed, and the Birds,( all things for the use and service of Man's Life are blasted and cursed) because they said, He shall not see our last end; which words refer to the 5th. Chapter and 12th. Verse. They have belied the Lord. and said, It is not he, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see Sword nor Famine; that is, they flattered and soothed themselves, and shut their Eyes against the plain Discoveries of God's Wrath against them: They would by no means believe the Prophesies and denunciations which were uttered concerning their Destruction. This insensibleness did certainly betoken the Vengeance which was to ensue. This is briefly summed up in those few words in the eleventh Verse of that 12th Chapter, The whole Land is made dtsolate because no man layeth it to heart. The Condition the Land is very sad and deplorable, but there is none that takes notice of it: Men generally are grown hard and stupid, and the Judgments which are abroad in the Earth make no impression upon them; but be it known to them that as this shall be the Cause of their Desolation, so it is a sure Sign that it shall come to pass.  
The Prophet Hosea's words concerning Israel are observable, Hos. 7.9. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not, yea Gray Hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not. Gray Hairs are signs of declining Age, and Weakness of Nature, and so set forth here the weak and languishing state of this People: Now, when they either See not, or despise this Danger which they are in, it is a manifest Argument of their ruin. To pass to the New Testament, you red there, that Christ came and wept over Jerusalem, wishing that Luke 9.42. they had known in that their day the things which belonged to their Peace, and then proceeds to foretell the ruin and Devastation of their City, and to give the reason of it, viz. because, v. 44. They knew not the time of their Visitation. Their senselessness and Obduracy are assigned by our Saviour, as the cause of their Overthrow. Josephus observes, that before the Final Destruction of Jerusalem, they were not moved and wrought upon by those many Prodigies which happened: Those extraordinary Voices and Sights left them as they found them, Deaf and Blind. They neither attended to them, nor believed them to be what they were, that is, Tokens of God's Anger. 〈◇〉, &c. De Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 12. They interpnted some of these Signs according to their own Fancy and Pleasure, and others of them they despised, until their Folly was confuted by the utter ruin of their Country, and by their own overthrow. Nay, Tacitus tells us, that this besotted people, Sibi tantam fatorum magnitudinem interpretati, interpnted all those Ominous Occurrences in favour of themselves, and looked on them as Signs of their good Fortune. Some of them thinking that That was the time foretold when some Eminent Person out of the East, and particularly out of Judea should be famous for his Conquests, concluded those Prodigies to be no other than the Ensigns of so great a Victor. Thus, as God gives to Princes and People a true understanding and sense of their Condition, when he designs their welfare; so on the contrary, he makes Blindness and Insensibleness to be previous to a Nations ruin; according to the Observation of that worthy Servant of God, Martin Luther, when God intendeth to destroy a Kingdom, a Country, or a Principality, he takes from them Wisdom, that is, he blinds them, and then bereaves them of their Power and Ability. So he in his Colloq. Mensal. If you see a people deprived of their Senses, and infatuated, you may conclude their condition desperate, and that they are destined to Misery, without any Remedy. This was the temper of the Carthaginian Christians, when the Barbarians came in upon them, as Salvian de Prov. l. 6. a pious observer of God's Dispensations hath recorded. When some of their Brethren were cruelly tormented by those Invaders, they laughed at their sufferings, and would not be persuaded, that themselves were nearly concerned in the Calamities which their fellow Christians underwent. When their Savage Enemies laid Siege to them, they would not deny themselves the liberty of their Feasts and Merriment. It was hard to tell, whether the Noise of the Wars or of their Sportings and Revellings was loudest. Thus it happened to other Cities and Countries long before: Security was the forerunner and cause of their Destruction. We red in the Sacred Story, judge. 18.7, 27. the people of Laish dwelled careless and secure, which gave occasion to the Men of Dan to come upon them, and smite them with the Edge of the Sword, and to burn their City with Fire. Pagan Records acquaint us, That the Ancient and Famous City of Sparta, was never conquered, till it was walled about. This created Security, and Security wrought their Fall. That perhaps was a feigned Relation of the Poets concerning the Trojans( however, it may convey to us a real and useful Remark) that when the Fatal Horse was brought before their Gates, they were almost as earnest as their Enemies to have it taken in. So blind and besotted were those people, that though Apollo's Priest cried out against it, and passionately dissuaded them from receiving it within their Walls, and run his Spear into it, and made the armor clatter which was within, yet they were not apprehensive of the mischievous Present. The crafty Sinon, a Fugitive graecian, prevailed more with his Wily Tale and Counterfeat Tears than the wary and honest-hearted Laocoon with his repeated Warnings and Dissuaswes. And so they haled in their ruin with their own hands, and took pains to draw the fatal Pile into their City, which proved their Overthrow. The Application is easy, and I wish this Age would lay it to heart. The generality of men are grown so sottish and senseless, as to court their own Destruction, and wilfully to make way for that which will ruin them: They greedily embrace their mischief, and delight to pull down Destruction on their own Heads. They are warned of their danger, they are freely  told of the extreme Peril they are in, but they will not give ear to it. This is the infatuation which so great numbers lie under at this day; and if the God of Heaven be not pleased very speedily to convince them of their Folly, it will prove their inevitable Destruction: For where a people are thus senseless and incorrigible, and take the course to destroy themselves, there is no hope of Help and Recovery. Every where you may behold men( like the ancient insensate Wretches before spoken of,)— S●●no vinoque Sepultos; sunk into a dead Sleep, and overcome with Sottishness, and Debaucheries. God's faithful Ministers have the Fate of Cassa●dra, who foretold the fatal event of things, but found no Belief. They have cause to complain and cry out with the Prophet, Who hath believed our Report? It fares with them as with Lot, who when he  told his Sons, that God would destroy Sodom, seemed to them as one that mocked. So foolish are most men, and slow of heart to believe, what God's Messengers have spoken, what his good Providence hath discovered, what the Divine Mercy hath set before their Eyes, and called upon them to observe. The Voice of God, though very shrill and piercing, hath not awakened these Sleepers. They remain obdurate and unconcerned, notwithstanding the fearful Appearances of Wrath that are before their Eyes. Nothing will make Impression on this hardened, this Iron Age. Their Calamities are so far from humbling them, that they seem to make them more Loose and frolic. The banished Hebrews hung their Harps on the Willows; and that mournful Sense of God's Hand upon them, was a happy Presage of their Return from their Captivity. But our light and wanton Behaviour, portends the continuance and increase of our Distresses. Our unseasonable and lavish Mirth, our intemperate Jollity and Luxury, signify some great and lasting Evil to us. It is very ominous when God's Judgments make us rejoice. So it is, we are most cheerful and brisk, when we have the greatest reason for the contrary. When Domitian had brought the Roman Empire so low, that they were forced in a most shameful manner to buy their Peace with the barbarous Nations with very large Sums of money; there were yet daily Triumphs at Rome, as if all were well. We have acted after the same manner; we have seemed to be pleased with our Dangers; we have made Addresses to our ruin; we have even triumphed in our Misery. Such hath been our carelessness and Stupidity! This is after the rate of the Old World, Luke 17.27. who eat and drank and married, and were given in marriage, and took no notice of the preparing of the Ark, which signified that a Fatal Deluge was at hand. And, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be, even his last coming to judgement, 1 Thess. 5.3. when they shall say, Peace and Safety, then sudden Destruction cometh upon them, as Travail upon a woman with Child, and they shall not escape. Of all the Signs of the approaching of the Day of judgement, this seems to concern us most at this time. The generality of men indulge themselves in their Pleasures, and forget God and their Duty, and take no notice of the Judgments which hang over their heads, or of their Crying Sins, which are calling down those Judgments. I have met with Petrus Licetius, J. C. an Author who hath published a Book, with this Title, De hujusce seculi Caecitate. I appeal to you, whether it may not justly admit of another Edition in our Age. The Title fits these Times exactly, for we are blind and senseless; we go on in our Sins, and perceive not the Wrath of the Almighty; we provoke God daily, and yet are not apprehensive that he will punish us. This, this is an undeniable mark of ruin. But the design of this Discourse, is to persuade you to open your eyes, and to see your Danger. O that ye were so wise as to consider your latter end, I mean the Close and Issue of a Nations great and manifold Provocations. The end of these things is deadly and destructive. Flatter not yourselves then, and suffer not others to do it, but remember there was, Ezek 13.18. a Woe pronounced to them, that sowed Pillows to all Arm holes;( so the false and fawning Prophetesses did, by these Types, assuring the People of the lasting Peace and Ease which the Land should enjoy) and made Kerchiefs( or any thing which binds and ties fast, as the Original Word denotes) upon the head of every Stature,( for all Persons of what age or growth soever) to hunt Souls, to destroy the people by this means, to persuade them, that they were as it were tied and fastened to the Land, and should not be removed, and that no evil should happen to them, though they had so grievously Incensed God's Anger. But let none of Us be abused and deceived after this manner, and let us not be of the number of those who continue stupid and unconcerned in the midst of Danger, 1 Thess. 5.6. Let us not Sleep, as do others, but let us watch, and be sober, lest the day of Vengeance overtake us as a Thief. Let us know in this our day, the things which belong to our Peace, and understand what are the true Remedies of our Calamities. Arise, and rouse yourselves, shake off your Poppy, disgorge your Opium, look about you, and know what you do. You are already in some measure, I question not, made sensible of your condition, but not enough. My hearty desire is, that you may be fully awakened, and that your eyes may be broad open. I hope, after all the means that have been used to rouse the people of this Land, after all the Loud Alarms which have been amongst them, they will fall asleep no more, and never be guilty of their former drowsiness and dullness, their inexcusable Blockishness and Stupidity. This is the first thing I commend to you, and without this, there is no good to be done. That is the reason why I have been so large in this particular. And because I have been so, I will be the more concise in the following ones. Only I beg of you, that you would seriously consider, and lay it to heart, what hath been now suggested to you.  
2. Having then arrived to a Sense and Discerning of the state you are in, and being made Apprehensive of the Divine Admonitions and Warnings, in the next place be exhorted to make a right use of them. If you have attained to an understanding of the Times( as it is said in 1 Chron. 12.32.) let it be to the end there mentioned, viz. to know what you ought to do. To direct you particularly, in reference to the forenamed Heads; First, Be persuaded to attend unto the Voice of God's Prophets, whether they were those of Old, whose threatenings and Denunciations reach even Us, and relate to our present Condition, or whether they are such of God's Servants and Messengers as he hath raised up of late. You cannot say, [ You see not your Signs, or there is no more any Prophet]. Blessed be God there have been some personss extraordinarily moved and stirred up to give Warning to this stupid and lethargic Age, of the Judgments which hang over their Heads. And shall a Trumpet be blown in the City( by the Spiritual Watchmen) and the People not be afraid? Shall enlightened and prophetic Souls be sent amongst us, and we not l●sten to their Summons and Warnings? Secondly, Let us mind Gods dealings with other Nations, and see our own Extirpation in their Ruin. Let us be admonished by them, to learn Righteousness, and not to despise the Voice of God, and to violate his Laws. Let us not be found guilty of their sins, lest we partake of their Plagues.  
Thirdly, View the lesser Judgments already i●flicted on you, that they may not be a Prologue to greater and more Grievous Punishments: Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you. Fourthly, Shut not your Eyes at those Remarkable Signs and Prodigies which have appeared amongst you, especially, Those Blazing Lights which God set up in your view not many years since. Tremble at the Hand writing which you saw in the Heavens: red the Mind of God in those read and Fiery Characters. Esteem them to be certain Tokens of Gods D spleasure: And whenever again such Wonderful Spectacles appear in our Horizon, be not so daring as to deride their Flaming Train, but look on them with Reverence and Dread, and conclude them to be God's Harbi●gers and Heralds. Let these Divine Monitors direct you to your Duty: And as the Magi were guided to Christ by an unusual Star, so show yourselves truly Wise, by being lead to him by these Extraordinary Signs from Heaven. And will you not remember, or rather can you forget the Hand of God, which hath been lately felt amongst us? Shall not the Earth as well as the Heavens, instruct us in our Duty? Shall we not be moved and affencted with the Trembling of that Vast Element under us? Shall we not betake ourselves to Prayer and Humiliation? Shall we not Abandon our sins, as the means to avert those Evils which were threatened by such Prodigious Occurrences? Which brings me to the Third and last Deduction from the Premises, which is This, let it be your main care and study to Prevent God's Terrible Sentence of Destruction against you; Let it be your concern to divert it by speedy Repentance. For I need not here stand t● prove that g●nerally Gods Denuncia●ions of judgement to a Nation( whether by prophetic Intimations, or by Dreadful Prodigi , or by those other ways, before mentioned) are not Absolute and Irrevocable. It is most clear from many places of the Old Testament, and particularly from my Text, that there is place left for repentance. Let me prevail with you then to call your sins to remembrance, and so effectually represent them to your Consciences, as to work in your Amendment of Life. show that this great Change is wrought in you by Discountenancing and Reproving the Crying Vices and Enormities of the Age, by opposing the general profaneness which Reigns amongst Men; and if you be Reviled for so good a Cause, bear it with a Contented and courageous Mind. Purge your own Hearts and Lives from Corruption and Defilement, that you may the more confidently call upon Others to mind a Religious Life, and that you may by your Holy Example and practise wi● upon them. Assure yourselves that it is dangerous not to Repent at any time, but that new it is much more so, now when the Signs of Gods Anger have been so Visible amongst you. Resolve then now to relinquish the Evil Courses, and to betake yourselves to your Duty with great seriousness and concern, That turning from your wicked ways, and bringing forth Fruit meet for Repentance, you may remove those dreadful Judgments which are impendent over you, and God may continue ●o shower down his Blessings and Mercies on this Nation. Who can tell if God will turn and Repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? Jonah 3.9. Yes, we can tell that he will turn away from his anger, if we do so from our sins. For we have it from the mouth of God himself, that if that Nation against whom he hath pronounced, turn from their Evil, then he will repent of the Evil that he thought to do unto them.  
You see what encouragement you have to discharge this Duty which I am now pressing upon ●ou. If you Repent, God will Repent likewise: So he is pleased here and in other places to speak, that he may condescend to our shallow Conceptions, and signify his real Intentions of Mercy to us. God hath wrought Great and wonderful things for England: And we might expect far greater if we were truly Thankful for what we have experienced already. The secret Plots and Contrivances of Blood-thirsty Men against us, have been marvelously brought to light; and their open Endeavours and Attempts have been defeated almost by a Miracle. We might hence take Comfort, if our Crying Sins were not an impediment in the way, we might have ground of hope that God hath yet a kindness for this Land. judge. 13.23. If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have done such things as these. These Blessings surely are the Earnest of others. He bestow, these favours on us to fit us for the reception of some thing which is yet to come. At least we may hope that the final and Irreversible Sentence is not yet gone out against us. Well, this is a Truth we may be certain of, and which we may all tr●st to, that as nothing but our Impenitence and Incorrigibleness can hinder us from being Partakers of the Divine Mercy, so nothing but our Repentance and Amendment can make us sharers in it. Our great Physician is willing to heal our Maladies, and cure all our public Distempers, and to restore unto us those Blessings which are so necessary for the happiness of this Land. But then we must follow his Advice and Prescriptions, which are no other than this, that we Repent and Reform our Lives. This we must do, and that speedily, before the Decree come forth against us. Let every one of us lay to heart his Sins which have contributed towards those Judgments that have been abroad in the Land: Let every Soul resolve henceforth to quit those practices which have procured such variety of Plagues to this Nation. Let all ranks and Degrees, all Conditions and Orders of Men in good earnest amend their ways. Let Ministers and People, Parents and Children, Masters and Servants do it effectually. Let there be this universal strife, and this only, throughout the whole Kingdom, who shall be most forward and zealous in the prosecution of this Duty.  
I could press this upon you by many Motives and Arguments, but I will make use of these three only, and so put a period to the whole. First, what I have exhorted you to, I beseech you think of performing, for your own sakes. If you love your own safety, if you regard your Personal and particular welfare, I entreat you to be faithful and diligent in the discharge of what I now tender to you. If you have a kindness for yourselves, you must needs do it. Again for the good of your Families and of the whole Community( to join both these in one) be persuaded to set about this Task. You may red in History that the Commanders of Armies generally in their Speeches to their Souldiers put them in mind of their dear Wives and Children at home, and of their Beloved country which they fight for: And this is thought effectual to raise their Spirits and Courage to the highest pitch. Let me use the same Argument with you: Act as you ought to do, behave yourselves according to what I have suggested to you, and that for the sake of your near Relatives, your Families, and the public Interest. You are all embarked in the same bottom. If you be Persons of generous Spirits you will have a respect to the Community, whereof you are Members: You will be desirous to advance the Common good and prosperity of the Nation; which can never be effected but by your particular and personal Reformation; for the common welfare depends upon your single Amendment, the public being made up of Individuals. Let this Consideration prevail with you. Lastly, do it for the sake of Posterity. Let the Generations yet to come be beholding to you: Lay an Obligation on the future Age, by being mindful of the true Concern of the Present one. Why should you be unkind to them that shall be hereafter, and some of them nearly Related to you? Why should you entail a lasting Series of Calamities and Curses on the People that are not yet Born? Thus you are beset and environed with Arguments: You are concerned on your own account, and on that of the whole Kingdom, and for succeeding Generations. As you regard your own Happiness both here and hereafter, as you love your Country, and value the Prosperity of the Land of your Nativity, as you desire to transmit the Gospel, and to convey all other Blessings to those that come after you, and in concurrence with all these to advance the Honour and Glory of the Eternal God, harken unto what I have said, and be persuaded to turn from your Evil ways, and to break off your Sins by unfeigned Repentance.  
FINIS.