regard his Lumber and not at all his Jewels Mat. 16 26. That person must needs come home by weeping Cross that hath seemingly it may be secured his Estate in houses but not his Estate in God the Soul of his Estate but not the Estate of his Soul I pray let it not be said of you Christians that you should be Penny-wise and Pound-foolish Be wise unto sobriety is the Apostles expression and it s the greatest sobriety yea policy to be wise to our Souls safety Thirdly God with the voyce of judgement calls upon you as to this God is more then ordinary in his judicial proceedings and so the result of them should be your spiritual ensurings God alarums persons by this Fire on earth that so they may keep their Souls from that Fire in hell All will and alas they must say we live in miserable times but what saith God Have a care you be not miserable with and after those times Luke 21. 35 36. Psal 57. 1. In the shadow of thy wings will I take my refuge Are your houses destroyed see your souls be not destroyed are your riches lost See you don't lose your treasure in heaven are you turned out of all See you be not turned out by the God of all is there so much misery here See there be nothing of misery hereafter Times of prosperity Sirs though too too often they influence us with security yet the voyce of God in times of Calamity is see that your work be done least otherwise you be undone Oh it 's high time Christians to look to the childe in the cradle and the jewels in the Cabinet when the house is on Fire Oh make sure of your God and never more then when his judgments have been and are so sore Fourthly This is that which will secure you in the midst of judgements It 's not so much the money in your bags as grace in your hearts that will indemnifie you in the sorest troubles How often makes God a manifest difference between those that fear him and those that fear him not between sinners in their rufflings of profaneness and the Saints in their Garbe of holiness I confess both the one and the other have and doe often drink out of the same bitter cup but then the Saint kisses onely the cup in comparison of the sinner who must drink the very dregs Zeph. 2. 3. It may be ye shall be hid Ezek. 9. 4 5. Job 5. 19 20. Gracious Souls are marked by God for preservation when loose and debauched sinners for wrath and indignation Oh how poor preservatives are all things to this a Covenant Relation to God! I don't know any thing that will or can secure you from an arrest of Evil but only as you have Heavens protection If safety is to be had any where on earth I may rather hope for it in the place of Gods worship then in an house of Goodfellowship When there was nothing but darkness in Egypt there was brightness in Goshen Fifthly This is that which will comfort you in the midst of judgments You may drink out of the same bitter cup with others but this will sweeten it to you The clouds of a sad providence may empty themselves into showers but this will be a Soul comforting Sunshine to you The Fire may and hath destroyed your houses with others but this will be a support to you 1. Sam. 30. 6. David encouraged himself in the Lord his God David with a God as his could not but encourage himself whereas without a God he could not but be discouraged I have lost my friends but I have God to be my friend I have lost my houses but I have a God to be my house I have lost my riches and all that ever I had but I have God to be my riches and all that ever I can want 2 Sam. 23. 5. Psal 23. 1. The Lord is my shepheard I shall not want Oh how chearfull may the Soul be in the loss of all that is not at a loss as to God! Go and be miserable with a God if thou canst and let others be comfortable without a God if they can I had rather choose a Saint in his meanest rags then a sinner in his stateliest robes If a God can't comfort thee alas what will or can comfort thee A God as thine cannot but be a Cordial to thee in all thy swoonings Sixthly Your Souls shall be saved notwithstanding the greatest and sorest judgements When judgements break the Cabinet of your bodies they shall not be prejudicial to the jewel your Souls Those judgments that make way for others to be damned they make way for you to be saved Those judgments that are so many Serjeants haling others away to a prison are but so many servitours convaying you to a Pallace Malach. 3. 16 17. They shall be mine saith the Lord. What was a fiery Chariot to Eâ—â—ah when therein he was had away for heaven Ps 73. 24. When judgments have done their work upon you you shall not be undone by those Judgments I the Fire hath destroyed your houses and a next may destroy your lives God this time hath put Fire to your houses and men through their cruelty the next may put a bloody knife to your throats but when your houses goods and lives themselves are gone your souls for all that shall not be gone but bound up in the bundle of life A believer may say to Judgments the Plague the Sword Famine and Fire do your work and spare not my body can but be resolved into dust but my soul shall not be sentenced into hell I believe that many good men may be removed in a common calamity but I dont believe that any good man shall be sentenced into eternal misery To draw therefore to an end It 's salvation work Christians and dear Friends that I have put you upon and if any thing would do it without securing your souls with and in God I would not trouble you with one word of what hath been delivered You don't know what evil there will be in the earth we have lost our goods and houses and we may next lose our lives and the lives of our poor babes All that I am earnest for is only and I hope you wont blame me for it that it may not go ill with you hereafter how ill soever it hath may still go with you here Oh who would not be safe as to heaven when heaven alone it is that will be his safety And now I have done the whole and may the blessing of God attend the whole that hath been done in setting it so upon our hearts and our hearts upon it as that the Judgments that have been may be removed this sore fiery Judgment sanctified and those that may be and are still threatned through mercy prevented that so England may once more be a quiet habitation and Londons ruined Foundations again laid yea the Topstone thereof crying Grace Grace Even so Blessed Lord God and let all thy people heartly and reformedly say Amen and Amen FINIS P. 20. l. 14. r. Justifie God P. 24. l. 24. r. wherein you can be undone
LONDON's CALAMITY BY FIRE Bewailed and Improved In a Sermon Preached at St. James Dukes-Place wherein the Judgements of God are Asserted the times of those Judgments specified the Reasons for those Judgments assigned and all in some measure suitably applied By Robert Elborough Minister of the Parish that was lately St. Laurence Pountney London Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger Lament 1. 12. Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy though I am fallen I shall arise though I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me Micah 7. 8. Licensed according to Order LONDON Printed by M. S. for Dorman Newman and are to be sold at his Shop at the Chirurgeons Arms near the Hospital-gate in Little Britain 1666. TO THE Lately most Renowned but now sadly Ruined CITY And all concerned and Sufferers in her sore Affliction Oh thou afflicted and not comforted THe Lion hath roared who will not fear the Lord God hath spoken who can but prophesie Amos 3. 8. I God hath spoken in the voyce of Mercy and thou hast not heard in the voyce of his Ministers and thou hast not heard in the voyce of Threatnings and thou hast not heard in the voyce of sad Presages and thou hast not heard in the voyce of the Plague and the Sword and thou hast not heard and now in this dreadful Judgement of Fire and thou dost not hear no though the Fire hath burnt round about and in the midst of thee and there be such sad and dismal effects of it yet thou dost not hear What therefore shall be done unto thee or wherewith shall I bewaile thee Is this the joyous City whose Antiquity was of Ancient dayes whose Merchants were Princes and whose Traffiquers the Honourable of the Earth Isa 27. 7 8. How art thou fallen Oh thou Darling of England How art thou levelled with the ground Oh thou Wonder of Europe How art thou brought to Ruine Confusion and Desolation Oh thou Queen of Cities whose Fame was spread in all Nations far and near by reason of that Comeliness which the Lord did put upon thee Was there none of all thy Sons whom thou hast brought forth to deliver thee Was there none of all thy Sons whom thou hast brought up to quench the Flames for thee The Lord had and hath purposed to stain the pride of all Glory and to bring into contempt all the Honourable of the Earth Isa 23. 9. These things will be told in Gath and declared in the streets of Askelon I the Philistines will rejoyce and the Daughters of the Uncircumcised will triumph over thee But laugh not too soon lest you cry and repent at leisure If Judgement begin thus at the City of God what shall and will be done to those that are none of Gods Cities If God cause his people to see and feel such terrible things what terrible things shall those see and feel that are none of Gods people If God kindle such Fire in Sion what Fire shall be kindled in Babylon I the Lord is risen out of Sion and he will not sit down till he be come to the Gates of Babylon For thus saith the Lord to His afflicted One I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the cup of my fury thou shalt no more drink it again But I will put it into the hands of them that afflict thee which have said to thy soul Bow down that we may go over and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the streets to them that went over Isa 51. 22 23. Now that all this may be made good to thee I would and Oh that I might perswade thee and all those sufferers with thee to see thy Abomination by reason whereof thou art under this Desolation lay thy self low before that God who hath laid thee low accept of thy Calamity as the punishment for thy Iniquity cry mightily unto the Lord for the pardon of thy transgressions and he will delight in thee notwithstanding thy affliction and then mayest thou say indeed Rejoyce not against me O mine Enemy though I am fallen I shall arise though I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a light unto me Micah 7. 8. I assemble your selves and ye shall be broken in pieces take counsel together and it shall come to nought speak the word and it shall not stand for God is with me Isa 8. 9 10. Thou canst not be so sinful but God is as merciful and where Gods mercy thy misery and thy Favourites spiritual fervency meet at the Throne of Grace the result thereof will be thy Restauration and Re-edification to thy Enemies Confusion and to thy Sons and Daughters Consolation For it's Gods own promise In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the Cities and the wastes shall be builded Ezek. 36. 33. Accept of my desires earnestness for thy good which hath prevailed with me not so directly to apply my self to those towards whom under a Ministerial consideration I more peculiarly stood and still stand related yet in remembring thee I don't neither shall I forget them and accordingly I hope the same will be acknowledged by them I have seen the Plague adored be Divine Goodness for preserving me not leaving any Persons in Houses and now this dreadful Judgement of Fire not leaving Houses for Persons the sense therefore of my duty as sympathizing with thy misery and I say the desire for thy Prosperity hath drawn forth these Lines and the subsequent Subject with bleedings of heart and distillings of tears and may the same be so seriously considered and improved by thee as that no more Judgements be inflicted on thee For whatsoever is said as to thy Restauration remember and so I must be understood that it depends upon thy Reformation The Lord grant therefore that thy Magistrates that are and shall be may be Vigorous thy Ministers Zealous thy People Conscientious and All every way pious The Lord grant that thy dispersed Ones may be gathered thy suffering Ones succoured thy succouring Ones solaced thy dismayed Ones encouraged and thy poor Ones enriched The Lord grant that thy Windows may be of Agates thy Gates of Carbuncles and all thy Borders of pleasant Stones I and above all that thy Foundation be Holiness thy Superstructure Righteousness and the Top-stone thereof crying Grace Grace This is and shall be the desire of him who is and desires to be Thy fellow-sufferer and unfeigned well-wisher in the Gospel Rob. Elborough LONDONS CALAMITY by Fire BEWAILED and IMPROVED EZEK 20. 47. Behold I will kindle a Fire in thee and it shall devour every green Tree in thee and every dry Tree The flaming Flame shall not be quenched and all faces from the South
therefore 1 Sam. 3. 18. Ely hears such news as should make the ears of such as heard it to tingle their hearts to tremble and yet quietly and calmly he submits unto it Remember Christians That Obedience is due to Gods severest precepts and patience is your duty under the sharpest Providence I confess we never underwent a sorer Judgment than this of Fire Oh but for all that there must be a submissiveness unto God I God hath laid a Fiery rod on our backs Oh but don't let us fly in Heavens face but rather lay our selves at Heavens feet Fourthly Don't act any thing to encrease Gods Judgments Do what you can to quench but not to kindle the Fire to allay but not to raise the storme to recover this place out of its rubbish but not that it may be ruined In a common Calamity all ought to put to their helping hand what then should be done with those that help forward the Calamity Oh take away the fewel but don't add to the fewel I don't see how in the judgment of sobriety they really wish Englands and Londons welfare that encrease the Fewel to encrease the Fire Oh that God would do us good that God would take away his Plagues that God would make us succesful that God would build again the desolate streets in the midst of us My Beloved I say so likewise and God forbid that any should not cry Grace Grace to such undertakings and undertakers and yet those I those very persons will not leave their Ranting and Drinking and Healthing and Damming and Chambering and Stage-playing Oh Sirs Sirs the earnestness of our lips must be attended with the religiousness of our lives Amos 4. 12. Jer. 8. 6 13. If we pray that God would do London we must live that God may do it good Oh don't walk in any wayes wherein God will meet with us and lay more Calamity upon us Piety is the only way for our Prosperity whereas iniquity will be the only way for our ruine and calamity Ezek. 36. 33. A little more loosness a little more remisness and a little more profaneness will make us cry out when God will say Why cryest thou for thine afflictions thy breaches sores and wounds are incurable for the multitude of thine iniquities Fifthly Be much with God for removing his sore Judgments How canst thou Christian see trouble upon trouble and misery upon misery and calamity upon calamity such dreadful Judgments one after another and not so much as speak a word to God in reference unto them Times of more than ordinary indignation and desolation should be times of more than ordinary supplication It 's not some few formal expressions or other that will serve turn upon Gods turning upon us in eminent wayes of Judgement When should we poure out a Spirit of supplication but when God poures out the Vials of his Indignation How sad is it to hear persons ranting in Taverns when they should be upon their knees to God in their closets Lam. 2. 18. Let teares run down like a river day and night Chap. 8. 48 49 50. Ezek. 22. 30 31. I don't see how they can be Londons real Favourers that are not so much as it 's faithful remembrancers I could wish and the Lord grant while we endeavour to make a prey one of another there may be more of praying with and for one another For Englands sake don 't you hold your peace and for Londons sake don 't you rest till the righteousness thereof goe forth as brightness and the Salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth Isa 62. 1. Sixthly Secure the interest of your Soul with and in God get God to be yours in the midst of those Judgements wherein you can't say that any thing is yours Hath God by Fire destroyed thy house and taken away thy Estate and hast thou not yet God to be thine what wilt thou doe Oh hath God poured out the Vials of his Indignation and hast thou not got God to be thine what wilt thou doe Is God risen out of his Sanctuary to punish the inhabitants of the earth and hath he severely punished us and hast thou not got God to be thine what wilt thou doe For my part I must say it and I can't but say it again I don't know what thou wilt doe unless thou hast got God to be thine and that thou art his Isa 10. 3 27 5. Psal 5. 7. 1. Labour oh labour and make it your work that though your houses be destroyed by Fire on earth yet that your Souls be not destroyed by Fire in hell If God be none of yours I don't know what can be done but if he be yours I don't know what can be done undone This this is your maine work and more to stir you up to this as the close of all give me leave to recommend these following considerations First I don't know any thing that is more your duty then this you will tell me it 's the world cap and knee I tell you no It 's God you will tell me it 's your shop and warehouses and merchandising I tell you no it 's God you will tell me it's getting something or other these hard times to keep soul and body together I tell you no it 's God and keeping God and your soul together Amos 5. 6. Luke 21. 36. The greatest security in the world without a God as yours will be found not to be your security So far as I know my own heart I would be faithful to your eternal interest and if any thing ought to be your work more then this God forbid that the same should not be discovered to and pressed upon you It 's a fond thing for Ministers to make so much adoe in the Pulpit concerning a God in Covenant Relation as yours if not your duty and the maine of your duty Wâ— secure now adays what not to our selves and what doe we secure but what cannot be secure Methinks I hear poor wretches crying out Oh that in Londons Conflagration when houses lost and goods lost and estate lost and all lost I had secured a Covenant Relation Secondly It 's the Concernment of your Souls that you are to secure It 's the jewel in the Cabinet the treasure in the field the child in the cradle and the eternal well-being of your precious Souls God allowes us time enough to live comfortably in this world but no time at all to live wretchedly in another world God would have the sum and substance of a Christians Spiritual circumspection to be his Souls salvation not his Souls destruction Oh that we should be so serious as to trifles and trifle as to that which is so serious Luke 12. 21. Thou fool this night c. Shall I be so serious as to houses and riches which have been destroyed by Fire and not as to a soul which may be burnt with Fire in hell What folly would it have been for any in the late fiery calamity to