baggage of ransome or tribute hoped for but when they saw the heauens open aboue their heads and sending downe fire and brimstone vpon them whē they saw their houses on fire about their eares no place of refuge or safegard to flye vnto no meanes to escape when they felt the fire fall vpon their soft and tender bodyes as thick as rayne when they felt it scorche their flesh when they saw one another lye sprawling vpon the ground drawne to like a scrowle of parchment with y e scalding heat of the fire none able to help another none able to cōfort another what a miserable face of a citie was there thinke you quis talia fando temperet a lachrymis For the Lord rayned vpō these cities brimstone fire from the Lord out of heauen Now the reasons which moued the Lord to send this strange and terrible iudgement vpon these cities and people were especially 3. This God so wonderfull in power might and so feareful in his punishment had before this time drownd the world for sin but the people of Sodō Gomorrha were nothing terrified with that iudgemēt but were as wreched wicked in their courses as if they had heard of no exāple of Gods wrath against sin therefore now God sends fire to destroy them to let all the vngodly of the earth know that all the Elements and all creatures in heauen earth and hell are readie and prest to take vengeance vpon man for his sin when it pleaseth God to command enioyne them the Lord is not so bare of iudgements that he hath but one kinde to reuenge himselfe vpon y e vngodly he hath more thē one arrow of vengeance to the bow of his wrath he hath water to drawn thée fire to consume thée plague pestilence to destroy thée dearth famine to pine thée a thousand grieuous diseases to bring thée to thine end The earth is at his beck to open and swallow thée vp quick the Angels are at his commandment to strike 〈…〉 sudden death The deuils wayt vpon his will and if he bid them goe they haue power to tempt thée to bee thine owne butcher and executioner as to hang thy selfe to throw thy selfe downe headlong and break thy neck to cut thine own throat This God would haue y e sinner know And therefore let all the vngodly of the world feare this God trēble at his iudgmēts be careful cōscionable to serue please him take héed how they offend him for if they prouoke him he wil not spare them They haue not so many wayes to anger him withall as hée hath plagues punishments to destroy them withall And from hence an impenitent sinner may gather that there is no place of safety nor security for him a walled citie is no place of defence for a sinner his house is no castle vnto him his bed is no place of safegard for him for in al these places God hath messengers of death and destruction to attach him The second 〈◊〉 why the Lord brought this kind of iudgement vpon these cities people was y t the maner of their punishmēt might be suteable correspondēt to the maner of their sin for wheras they burned in the filthy lust of concupiscence one towards another against the order course of nature the Lord to punish this vnnatural heat of lust in thē brought a supernatural fire vpon them as they delighted in the filthy odious pleasure of sin defiled themselues with the hellish contagion of impietie so the Lord punished them with brimstone mingled with fire that as their sins made them stinke in the nosethrills of Almighty God so they might be choked stifled with the detestable stinking smell of brimstone as the Lord made the punishment of this people suteable to their sinne so he would haue al sinners know y t wherewith a mā sinneth by the same also shal he be punished for it was not vnpossible to the Almighty hand of God which made all the world of nought to haue drowned this people their land with the ouerflowing streames of Iordan or to haue deliuered them into the hands of y e foure kings as once before or to haue sent the infectious noysom pestilence among them but God chose rather to destroy thē with fire brimstone from heauen to giue notice to all posterities y t as they sin so shal they be punished Aarōs sonnes offred strange fire vpon the Altar therfore a strange fire from heauen destroyed them Samson suffering the eyes of his mind and the light of his reason to be extinguished was for his punishment depriued of his bodily eyes and lost the comfortable sight of this world And as he suffered himselfe to be captiuated and inthralled to the wil of a woman so was he made a slaue to the will of his vncircumcised enemies compelled by them to grinde in a mill like an horse then which there could not be a more seruile seruitude And it séemeth by the example of Diues that in hel there shal be some thing in the torments of the damned which shall haue some correspondency with their sinnes for Diues being vnmerciful in the world while he liued can finde no mercy nor compassion when he is dead either in hell or heauen he that would not giue a crum of bread to Lazarus in his life time cānot now get a drop of water to coole the typ of his tongue Howsoeuer therfore there be generall torments in hell for the damned yet it should séeme that there shall be some particular thing in their torments which shall haue some semblance with their sins the reason is because they might to their greater griefe be put in minde of their sinnes which were the cause of those tormēts The third last reason why the Lord from heauen sent downe this strange feareful iudgement vpon these cities people was because their sinnes cryed vp to heauen therefore God answered the cry of their sins with a punishmēt from heauen And this God doth to let vs sée how sin turneth heauen into hell and maketh the mercifull Sauiour of mākind to be an vnmerciful destroyer of mankind God is by nature a preseruer of men The shepherd of Israel A refuge for men to fly vnto for safegard succour but such is the strong effects of sin and so strangely worketh it with God y t of a preseruer of men it makes him a destroyer of men of a shepheard it makes him a leopard of a lambe a lyon The heauēs by nature giue rayne vnto the earth in due season to make it fruitefull and fertile to bring forth things necessary for the vse of man But sinne makes the heauens to bée brasse vnto vs causeth them to send downe fire brimstone storme tempest to make the earth barren fruitles destroy both man beast from off
exercised in hearing the word of God prayer Vpon which grounds you that are of the Parish of S. Antholins in London you y t are the hearers of the morning Lectures there are worthily to be cōmended the one because you haue founded a Lecture in that place at the fittest time of the day which as hath bin prooued is the morning wherein appeares your godly wisdome The other for repayring to heare the said Lecture wherin appeares your zeale and deuotion Many Cōgregations haue done religiously in this kinde but you surmount them all for howsoeuer the word is to be preached in season and out of season and no time or season is vnfit for the hearing of the same yet they are to bee commended aboue the rest which make choyce of the fittest time for this purpose There bee some which dare deride and slander this morning exercise but this ought not to derogate from the worthines excellency of it for I neuer heard of any action were it neuer so holy and vertuous but it alwayes had aduersaries to impeach it And this is a sure argument vnto me that it is a seruice acceptable vnto God aboue other of the same nature because it is more depraued slandered than any other for the more diuine that any action is the more enuy hath the deuil at it Let none therfore be discouraged or take offēce at this Lecture if they heare it any way euil spoken of but let this be my exhortation both to you that mayntayne it to you that repayre to heare it that you be not weary of well doing for so is the will of God that by continuing in well doing you may put to silence the ignorance and malice of foolish men Yours in the Lord Robert Gray AN Alarum to England Gen. 19.23 24 25. 23. The Sunne did rise vpon the earth when Lot entred into Zoar. 24. Then the Lord rayned vpon Sodom and Gomorra brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heauen 25. And ouerthrew those Cities and all the plaine and all the Inhabitants of those Cities and all that grew vpon the earth MAny and fearefull haue bene the iudgements which Almighty God from time to time hath executed vpon man for sinne But of all the examples of Gods vengeance this which he shewed vpon Sodom and Gomorrha for their impiety is most horrible and dreadfull for whose eares do not tingle whose flesh doth not tremble whose hart doth not melt to heare of such a sudden strange and mercilesse fire as this was which like a showre of raine fell vpon these cities and destroyed them Wée read of the torments of hell that they are vnspeakeable and as the heart of man cannot imagine the ioyes which are prepared for the godly no more can the heart of man imagine the miseries which are reserued in hell for the wicked and vngodly Now of all the iudgements which God hath inflicted vpon man in this world there is none which doth more resemble the paines of hell then this wherewith Sodom and Gomorrha were ouerthrowne Esay 30.33 it is sayd that in Tophet there is burning fire and a riuer of brimstone is there sayd to kindle it and Reuel 20.21 it is sayd that the diuell was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone and Reuel 21.8 all the wicked and vngodly are threatned to haue their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death So that the torments of hel and the iudgement wherewith Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed are fire and brimstone As therfore the torments of hell are vnspeakable and passe all other torments so this vengeance which the Lord inflicted vpon Sodom and Gomorrha resembling hell torments is the most grieuous and fearefull vengeance which euer was executed vpon any people in this world for this cause ought we more duly and seriously to consider it to the end that the horrour and dread thereof might strike and imprint a feare and trembling in our hearts to offend so great and mighty a God which is able to punish and destroy the vngodly euen in this world with such horrible and fearefull punishments And surely if euer we stood in néed of precepts to admonish vs of counsell to forewarne vs or of examples to terrify vs we now stand in néede of them in this hard and flinty-hearted age of the world wherein neyther precepts nor counsell nor examples of other folkes harmes can any thing preuayle with vs to make vs beware what things soeuer were written before were all written for our learning all people before vs haue bene made examples for vs yet nothing can moue vs or make vs wise but wée are as inrespectiue of Gods iudgements and as carelesse of his displeasure as though we had neuer read or heard any thing and so resolute are we in our impenitency that if we should see Sodom and Gomorrah burning before our faces the fearefull beholding of so strange an obiect might happely breede admiration and wonderment in vs but repentance and amendement of life it would not But Sodom lyes in the ashes of her destruction and wée haue raked by the remembrance of her in the ashes of obliuion Sodom is not so much as heard of by report in the day of our pride her destruction was a wonder indéed but we confirme the old prouerb The greatest wōder lasts but nine dayes And as the smoke of her and of her land sometimes ascended into the clouds and so vanished in like maner the remembrance of her and of her destruction is perished like smoke and forgotten as though it had neuer bene yet wée practise her sinnes and are corrupted more then shée in all her abominations shée is a younger sister to vs in iniquity and we iustify her in all our transgressions What a madnes is this to forget the iudgement wherewith she was destroyed and to practise her sinnes which was the cause shée was destroyed This is to be penny wise pound foolish for we may be well assured that if we practise her sinnes we shall taste of her iudgements Therefore in her name I haue vndertaken to giue an Alarum to this City and this land to eschew the sinns of Sodom lest they burne in the iudgements of Sodom and for the same purpose I haue made choise of this parcel of Scripture contayning a true plaine and perfit relation of that feareful ouerthrow which Almighty God brought vpon Sodom and her Cities for their abominations In which ouerthrow we haue foure things especially to consider 1. The suddennes of it it was by Sun-rise 2. The author of it which was the Lord from the Lord out of heauen 3. The maner of it which was with fire brimstone 4. The generality of it all the plaine and all the Inhabitants of the Cities all that grew vpon the earth were destroyed in this ouerthrow Lastly the cause of this sudden fearefull generall ouerthrow which was sinne
King Iosias so much lamented by Ieremy and commended by the testimony of Gods spirit in the Scriptures What say you to many good men some drownd at sea some kild in fight some going well to bed and found dead in their beds do you affirme that sudden death to all these is a spiritual iudgement Surely concerning Iosias I answere that he dyed not a sudden death for he was wounded at Megiddo and after he was wounded he complayned to his seruants that he was very sicke wherevpon his seruants remoued him out of his owne charret into an other and afterward carryed him to Ierusalem and there he dyed Can Iosias be sayd to dye of a sudden death They doe but fâ—atter the world which countenance the sudden death of their friends with the example of Iosias for where it is sayd that he was taken in there nets the Prophet doth not meane by Nets the suddennes of his destruction but rather the cunning deuices and stratagems which his enemies vsed to worke his ouerthrow and so is Net taken Iob. 18.8 and in diuers other places besides And as for such as perish at sea they cannot be sayd to dye suddenly for when a man sets his foote into a ship he well knows that there is but halfe a foots breadth at the most betwéene him death so that a mans entrance into a ship to goe to sea is as it were an entrance into some dangerous sickenes and commonly there is some storme before a shipwracke which is a good premonition of ensuing danger when a man is vnder water he is not presently depriued of life but there is some reluctation of Nature in which time of reluctation there may be many a déep sigh sent vnto God for mercy and forgiuenes and as it is with those that goe to sea so it is with those that goe to fight who knoweth not that the chance of warre is vncertaine therfore when a man goes into the field to fight he should make account that he lies him downe vpon his sick-bed The Drums and Trumpets are to him as so many bells that sound forth his dolefull knell The Arrowes the Pikes the shot of all sort are messengers of death vnto him so that he cannot be said to die suddenly but that man dyes suddenly who being in perfect health and frée from all imminent danger is so depriued of life that there is no reluctation of Nature to bée perceiued And what are we to iudge of such Surely concerning such we are not onely to consider the present condition of their death but also to looke backe to their liues formerly past and if we find them to haue liued in al good conscience before God and men and to haue béene busied in some holy or charitable action at the howre of their death these men doubtlesse dye in the fauor of God sudden death is but a temporall iudgement vnto them it were against the rule of charitie piety to iudge otherwise of them for of what kind of death soeuer a iust man dyes it shal be wel with him his soule shal be at rest but if a man hath all his life time liued wickedly vnconscionably and be also taken by death in some vngodly vncharitable action out of al question suddeÌ„ death is a spiritual iudgment to such a man as it was to the Sodomites here in this place whom the Apostle S. Iude doth definitiuely condemne saying that they suffer the vengeance of eternal fire Let this therefore be the vse of all that hath bin said euen to pray against sudden death yet to liue alwaies so prepared for death that we may be ready at all times with the fiue wise virgins in the Gospel to go in with the bridegrome be partakers with him of al his pleasures which indure for euermore Now we are in the 2. place to consider the Author of this fearefull ouerthrow wherewith SodoÌ„ Gomorra were destroyed that was the Lord for the text saith The Lord rayned vpon Sodom Gomorrha brimstone fire froÌ„ the Lord out of heauen The phrase of spéech here vsed séemeth somwhat strange therefore diuers men haue diuersly interpreted it some haue thought it to be nothing els but a speach proper to the Hebrew tongue others haue thought it a redundancy of speach some againe haue thought that the holy Ghost would by this forme of speach note vnto vs a miraculous and extraordinary action aboue and beyond the course of nature but in reading the ancient fathers we may finde that they did vrge this place against certaine Hereticks of their time to proue the eternity of Christ So Marcus Arethusus in the Sirinian Counsell alledged these words against Photinus expounding them thus The Lord Christ to whom y e Father hath committed all iudgement did rayne from the Lord Iehouah his Father brimstone and fire out of heauen So that Almighty God by his Sonne did execute this fearefull vengeance vpon Sodom and her Cityes There was neuer any thing which hapned in the world eyther so miraculous or extraordinary but there haue bene euer some which haue eyther douted of the truth of it or disputed about the true cause of it Some haue doubted vpon the truth of Noahs floud Others haue attributed the cause thereof to the constellation of the Starrs or to fatall necessity Concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha there be that do attribute it to the nature of the soyle for the country say they being full of pitch slime and other combustible matter the fire that destroyed these cities did burst forth of the earth Which assertion of theirs is cleane contrary to the Scripture here in this place which sayth that it came from heauen And amongst vs at this day if any strange accidents do happen eyther in the Ayre or in the Earth or in the Waters we referre them to some naturall cause or other being vnwilling as it were to acknowledge God to haue a hand in them And why should we be so willing to séeke out causes in nature for such things as fall foorth strangely in the world and so vnwilling to intitle the God of nature in them God made the Starres and the Planets and the rest of the celestial bodies of that kind to be for signes and seasons dayes and yéeres and this is the right and lawfull vse of them by their creation Let them be for signes saith Almighty God but not for causes Astra demonstrant non necessitant The Starrs doe sometimes foreshew such things as happen but they are not the inforcing causes of such things as happen Most impious therefore and blasphemous it is to ascribe these things to the influence and operation of the Stars for it is to rob God of his honour to derogate from his power to ouerthrow his prouidence and to tye God to secondary and subordinate
causes and in respect of our selues it extinguisheth the feare of God in vs it hinders our repentance and conuersion vnto God it drawes vs to Atheisme and to a flat contempt both of God and his Iudgements Pharaoh was not mooued with all the miracles that Moses Aaron could doe so long as hée saw his Sorcerers could doe the same because he attributed whatsoeuer was in those miracles to Art and Nature and not to the power of God The beasts of the field doe not tremble at the braying of an Asse but they are horrible afraid at the roaring of a Lyon So we tremble not we are nothing afraid we are not mooued with any thing be it neuer so strange so long as we are perswaded it comes from naturall causes but when we acknowledge the hand of God in such things as befall vs this bréeds in vs a feare of his Maiestie and we are the sooner mooued to repentance and amendment of life Origen is very bitter against these starre-gazing Naturalists and sayth of them that Dum alias stellas beneficas alias maleficas faciunt os suum in coelum aperiuno Whiles they make some Planets beneuolent and some maleuolent they open their mouth against heauen it selfe And that ancient Counsell of Toledo holden in the foure hundreth yéere after Christ decréed thus against them Si quis Mathesi aut Astrologiae existimat credendum Anathema sit Let him be accursed y t thinks there is any credit to be giuen to Astrology or Mathematisme What comfort I pray you can any man haue to thinke y t the Planets are the causes of such things as happen in the world Admit the Planets could hurt vs can they heale vs when they haue hurt vs can they relieue vs when they haue plagued vs can they helpe vs when they haue crost vs That man therefore must néeds be comfortles in his afflictions that attributes the cause of them to the influence of the Starres or to Fortune or to necessity or to any other secondary cause whatsoeuer But as the Lord Iehouah did execute this terrible iudgement vpon Sodom and Gomorrha by the Lord Christ so we must confesse and acknowledge that it is God and not Nature the Almighty and not the Planets the Lord of heauen and earth and not Lady Fortune that is the cause of all such things as happen here in the world whether they be particular or generall whether they be cursings or blessings safety or destruction losse or gaine iudgements or mercies prosperity or aduersity This doth the Almighty himselfe witnes of himselfe Esay 45.7 I make peace and I make euill And the Prophet Amos affirmeth the same thing of God Is there any euill in the City and the Lord hath not done it sayth the Prophet Both which places do pregnantly proue vnto vs that whether it be good or euill that happeneth vnto vs God is the Author of it and it commeth from him as the true and onely cause thereof Therefore the Prophet Ieremy demaunds this Question of these that do so curiously obserue the rules of Nature Can the heauens giue showres is it not thou O Lord our God saith the Prophet God being the God of nature ouer-rules nature he calleth the starres by their names and therefore disposeth them at his pleasure guides the Planets after his will Let vs not therefore employ our studyes in such vaine Arts which haue no certainty in them Let vs not beléeue nor consent nor consult with the rules therof for as Hierome well saith such Arts and the professours practisers and inquirers after the same doe more harme in a citie then fire And therefore the Councell of Venice holden in the foure hundred and sixtieth yéere after Christ decréed that if any man did study Astrologie or gaue credit to any such as did studie that Art if he were a minister he should be depriued whatsoeuer he were he should be excommunicate For indéede these inferiour though celestiall creatures were made to serue man and not to rule man Let vs not therefore obserue them attribute any thing vnto them feare them nor consult with them for thereby we prooue both iniurious to God to our selues to the creatures But this is our wisdome to follow the counsel of the prophet which is acknowledge the rod who hath appointed it when any crosse affliction iudgement losse or tribulation doth befall vs we must confesse acknowledge that by our sins we haue iustly deserued the same in the second place we must confesse acknowledge that God hath appointed ordeined inflicted laid the same vpon vs not the starres nor Fortune nor Planets nor Destiny nor the diuell nor man nor any other creature in heauen or earth but as the Lord rayned fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heauen vpon these cities this countrey of Sodom Gomorrah so al our crosses losses afflictions and tribulations come from the Lord out of heauen This Iob wel vnderstood acknowledged for although the Chaldeans and Shabeans spoyled him of his Oxen Asses and Camells yet Iob ascribes it all to God The Lord hath taken it away sayth he So likewise Sathan is said to haue smitten Iob with sore biles from the crowne of the head to the sole of his foote yet he lays it vpon God The hand of God hath touched me sayth Iob. When Shemei cursed Dauid threw stones at him and rayled vpon him howsoeuer the sonnes of Zaruiah tooke it to be the cursing of a dead dog yet Dauid ascribed it to God The Lord sayth he hath bidden Shemei to curse Dauid Whereby it is apparant that there is no euill that happens vnto vs I mean the euill of punishment or affliction but God is the Author of it and layes the same vpon vs and to know and acknowledge this is great comfort vnto vs for as God woundeth vs so he is able to heale vs as he afflicteth vs so he can remoue our afflictions from vs and therefore this bréedeth in vs a feruency in prayer according to the counsell of the Apostle Is any man afflicted amongst you let him pray But to whom should he pray in his afflictions to the Starres and Planets to Fortune and Chance to Fate Destiny None of these can relieue vs they cannot heale vs they cannot helpe vs. But heere is our comfort that God afflicting vs he can also comfort vs therefore this prouoketh vs to be instant with God by prayer Againe to acknowledge God to bée the Authour of our afflictions it bréedeth patience in vs Euery one of vs by Nature are wonderfull impatient euen in the least crosses which can befall vs and the reason is because we do not acknowledge from whence our crosses come for it we did we would neuer be found to striue against God Dauid confessing his infirmity in this case teacheth euery man his duety and how to carry
himselfe in his afflictions I should haue bene dumbe and not haue opened my mouth saith he because thou didst it Séeing his troubles came from God he confesseth he should haue indured them patiently Let vs therefore learne what to doe in the same case euen to be patient in our greatest troubles because God inflicts them and layes them vpon vs. The bird being caught in the lime-bush and not knowing the true cause of her calamitie striueth and struggleth to inlarge her selfe but the more she applieth her selfe to procure her fréedome the more she plungeth her selfe into thraldome the more feathers she loseth and the more vnable she makes her selfe to make her escape if she were at libertie Euen so the partie afflicted not knowing or acknowledging from whence his afflictions come the more he laboreth to recouer and rid himselfe out of his troubles the more hee inwrappeth himselfe into troubles the more meanes he vseth of his owne deuising to relieue himselfe the lesse comfort doth he féele and the heauier are his crosses vnto him But as the ship which by the violent course of a spring-tide is driuen vpon the maine doth patiently abide til the next spring-tide come and fetch her off knowing that as she was driuen vpon the ground by the Tide so she must be brought off with a Tide so that person which is crossed or afflicted knowing that his afflictions come from God doth patiently indure them knowing that he which laid his afflictions vpon him can also in his good time remooue them from him Lastly to acknowlege God to be the author of our afflictions stirreth vs vp more duly seriously to serue please him according to his wil. If there could haue bin found but 10. righteous men in Sodom the Lord would haue spared the whole citie for those Tens sake So if the Lord finde any thing in vs that is agréeable to his will or acceptable in his sight he will not punish vs nor afflict vs nor crosse vs further then may be for his glory and our good None can promise to himselfe though he be neuer so righteous that he shal be frée from afflictions but the afflictions of Gods children are gentle chastisments they come from the loue of a Father and not from the rigour of a Iudge We neuer read that euer he rayned downe fire brimstone vpon the godly but if at any time he do correct them his corrections are milde fatherly and tending to amendment and not to their destruction If therefore thou wilt haue God fauourable and kind and good vnto thée serue him feare him please him so if he do chastise thée it shal be for thy good and not for thy destruction Now in the third place according to my first obseruations let vs consider the maner of this destruction which the Lord brought vpon Sodom and Gomorrha and that was fire and brimstone fire which as we say hath no mercy fire from heauen which is more fierce fearefull then other fire fire mingled with brimstone whereby the fire became more furious and terrible and the whole Land made barren and fruitlesse for euer And this mercylesse fierce terrible fire mingled with brimstone came from heauen in a showre of rayne but neuer was there such a showre of rayne fell vpon the earth This was a rayne not to coole and refresh the earth but to burne and consume the earth and the Inhabitants thereof This was a raine not to make the Earth fruitfull but to make it fruitlesse for euermore This was a raine not to moysten the earth nor to make it spring and bring foorth things necessary for mans vse but it was a rayne to skorch and parch the Earth and to destroy both man and beast from the face of the Earth for it rayned fire and brimstone from heauen In the destruction of the old world we read that it rayned vpon the earth forty dayes and fortynights but it was water simply without any other mixture Amongst the rest of the plagues of Egypt raine was one but it rayned hailesâ—ones fire mingled with the haile and that raine hurt nothing but what was in the field but this raine which fell vpon Sodom was not water but fire nor hayle mingled with fire but fire mingled with brimstone and it did not onely destroy that which was in the field but whatsoeuer was either in field or citie within the house or without at home or abroad was destroyed with this raine man woman and child beast and cattell trées and herbes all perished with this raine And the more strange was y e maner of this iudgemeÌ„t because it is sayd that brimstone came from heauen We often read of brimstone in hell but it is very strange that a thing of so stinking and odious a smell as brimstone is should come from such a swéete and pleasant place as heauen is Lamentable and rufull hath béene the diuastation ouerthrow of diuers cities in the world as of Troy Carthage Ierusalem Thebes and such like insomuch as the very relation of their ruines hath mooued mens hearts to pittie the perplexed estate of all degrées distressed with such desolation But the maner of this destruction wherewith Sodom and Gomorrha were ouerthrowne is without comparison Neuer was there people so distressed If the rude and barbarous souldier had entred these cities by force and had put man woman child to the swoord imbruing their hands in the reuerend bloud of the old men ripping vp the bodies of women great with child taking the Infants sucking babes out of their cradles vpon the points of their speares deflowring wiues rauishing maides spoyling the widdowes and fatherlesse sparing no age sexe or degrée but destroying all before them with fire sword this had bene lamentable but yet such is the condition of warre and no strange thing had happened to these Cityes but such as had bene common to other cityes in their ouerthrow If the Lord had sent a famine vpon the people of these cities of Sodom Gomorrha broken their staffe of bread and diminished the oyle in the cruze and the meale in the barrell and had dryed vp all their springs fountaines so that they had bene inforced to haue eaten and drunke their owne excrements euery man to haue eaten the flesh of his owne arme and euery mother the childe of her owne wombe this had bene very miserable yet such as diuers other people besides haue tasted of But this people were otherwise surprised It was no mortall enimy but the immortall God that fought against this people The heauens sent downe their forces against this people and therefore in vaine was it to lift vp hands head or eyes towards heauen because from thence came their destruction If an enemy of the same mould that this people were of had besieged them there might haue béene some treaty some parley some conditions of peace of departing with bagge and
wife children by vnconscionable courses in his wages for the like was neuer heard of in Sodom Thus are wee vnmercifull in giuing vnmercifull in forgiuing vnmercifull in lending vnmercifull in paying vnmercifull in buying and selling so that it may iustly be said of vs which was said of the Sodomites They strengthen not the hand of the poore néedy Thus haue we found by comparing our sinnes with the sinnes of Sodom that wee are nothing behind them in our sinnes if we excéed them not wee are surely equall with them It is said of the sinnes of Sodom that they cryed in the eares of the Lord and surely our sinnes are as saucy and impudent as euer were theirs and if theirs cryed ours are not tongue-tide I warrant you we reach home to them with our wickednesse The sinnes of Sodom were growne to their full height so are ours For it is impossible that any man or womā in these dayes should adde any thing to the sins which they practise so that as in a general plague it is not such a maruell at those which dye as it is at those which escape so in this generall infection of sinne wherewith the world at this day is defiled wee are not so much to maruell that there be so many bad as that there be any good Now when the sinnes of a people grow to that height that they come to be crying sins then vengeance loyters not destruction comes spéedily When the LORD had taken knowledge of the cry of the sinnes of Sodom and had found their sins to be according to the cry euen the next day he rained fire and brimstone from heauen and destroyed them all So when the Lord shal finde our sinnes at their full height he will spéedily bring his iudgements vpon vs and destroy vs for as the husbandman thrusts the sickle into the Corne when it is perfitly ripe and as the Oxe is brought to the slaughter when hee is fat so destruction comes vpon men when the measure of sinne is fulfilled Now that our sinnes are at their height and are growne to their perfit ripenesse it is manifest because they are equall with the sinnes of Sodom as hath béen already prooued and also because there can not be any addition made in the seueral humors and dispositions of men to the sinnes which they practise But admit these two reasons shall not bee thought of trueth sufficent to confirme the height and ripenesse of our sins I will adde foure infallible arguments to proue the ripenesse of sinne First when sinne is directly committed against God against nature and against humane society of which sort our sinnes be they are directly against God witnesse our horrible swearing and forswearing and our fearefull blapheming of the most holy and blessed Name of GOD and our prophane vnhallowing of his Sabboth together with the contempt of his word and neglect of his Ministers They are against nature witnesse y e filthy sinne of Sodomy of which this Land of ours can not cleare it self as also the Incest the Parricide the Fratricide the Coosen-germane marriages which are committed amongst vs they are against humane societie witnesse our inclosing our ingrossing our cruelty extortion oppression robberies murders and such like Secondly the generality of sinne doth prooue the ripenes of sinne when not a few but a whole multitude are corrupt and such is our estate a generall infection of sinne hath runne ouer the whole Land so that except the Lord had left vnto vs a small remnant we should haue beene as Sodom and like vnto Gomorrah Thirdly the impudency of the sinner doth prooue the ripenesse of sin as when men are not ashamed to transgresse openly and also to bragge and boast of their sinnes and such haue we amongst vs as might be instanced by men of note if it were expedient to particularize Lastly when the sinner is not humbled nor amended by punishments iudgements inflicted vpon him it is a true marke that his sin is at the height and herein haue we shewed our selues to bee incorrigible The Lord hath threatned vs with warre he hath plagued vs with the pestilence hee hath pinched vs with scarcity dearth and yet wee are not bettered there is no turning vnto God but wee fall away more and more our sinnes therefore being at the height the fierce wrath of God must néeds be euen néere at hand and ready to be executed vpon vs. And will you haue such likely-hoods as may perswade the trueth thereof vnto vs Then wryte my words in tables y t they may bee monuments for later dayes for when your childrens childrē shall heare of them hereafter they will bee astonished at them The moneths of the yéere haue not yet gone about eight times in their courses wherein the Lord hath shewed more tokens of his intended approaching wrath then the agedst man in our Land is able to recount of in so small a time The winds haue beene so outragious violent as though the foure ends of heauen had conspired to turne the foundations of the earth vpside downe The anger of the clouds hath béene powred downe vpon vs in such abundance as hath béene both vnseasonable for the time and vnprofitable for the earth The heauens aboue vs haue beene turned to brasse and the earth beneath vs into iron which hath wrought such effects that the child vnborne shall speake of it The sea with vnwonted inundations hath attempted to bring the Land within the territorie thereof The fire as an Ambassadour of the last vengeance hath most fiercely raged in all parts of our Land Treasons many mighty mōstrous neuer before heard of or imagined haue beene plotted and contriued against our most dread Soueraigne our Quéene and Royall Issue intending the vtter ouerthrow of Kingdome State and Countrey The Commons haue risen pretending themselues wrongd in their commons indangering the common peace and tranquillitie of the Common-wealth The arrowes of a woful pestilence haue beene cast abroad at large in all the quarters of our Land A present dearth without scarcity doth pinch vs bringing pouerty like a way-faring man vpon vs. Our Summer is turned into Winter our cheapenesse of all things into dearth The skies lowre vpon vs because their Creatour is angry at vs. The Sunne hideth from vs his gladsome light as though wee were not worthy to inioy it The clouds night and day do let fal showres of teares bemoaning the miseries which God hath determined to bring vpon vs. And thus all the creatures doe threaten and foreshew our approching destruction yet wee more sencelesse then y e insensible creatures neither feare any thing nor suspect any thing Well there must bee an end of sinning or else God will make an end of vs. There must be a turning vnto God or else God wil not turn vnto vs. If our sins be the sins of Sodom our iudgement must bee the iudgement of Sodom There must