world comparable to those, for the power of godliness and heights of grace, holiness, and communion with God, who are most strict, serious, studious, and conscientious in sanctifying of the Lord's day. Such as are careless, remiss, light, slight, formal, and carnal upon the Sabbath- day, they will be as bad, if not worse, on every other day in the week. The true reason why the power of godliness is fallen to so low an ebb, both in this and in other countries also, is because the Sabbath is no more strictly and conscientiously observed in this land, and in those other countries where the name of the Loid is made known. The Jews were never serious in the observation of their Sabbaths, till they smarted seventy years in Babylon for their former profanation of it. And who can look upon the ashes of London, and not see how dearly the citizens have paid for their profaning of the Lord's day ? And oh that all these short hints miglit be so blessed from heaven, as to work us all to a more strict, serious, and conscientious sanctifying of the Lord's day, according to those directions or rules that I have in this treatise laid before you.
And thus I have done with those duties that are incumbent upon those who have been burnt up by that late dreadful fire that hath turned London into a ruinous heap.
I come now to those duties that are incumbent upon those whose habitations are yet standing, as monuments of divine wisdom, power, and grace. 0 sirs, the flames have been near you, a devouring fire hath consumed many thousand habitations round about you, and you and your habitations have been as so many brands plucked out of the fire ! Oh how highly doth it concern you seriously and frequently to lay to heart the singular goodness and kindness of God towards you, manifested in the mighty preservations, protections, and salvations that he has vouchsafed to you when you were surrounded with all manner of hazards and dangers ! Oh that you would strive, as for life, to come up to duties which are certainly incimibent upon all those who have escaped the burning flames !
Quest. But you will say. What are they ?
Ans. These that follow : —
[1.] First, It highly concerns you who have escaped the fiery dis- pensation, to take heed of those shis lohich bring the Jiery rod, and ivhich have timied many of your neighbours out of house and home, 2 Pet. ii. 6 ; Luke xvii. 32 ; Jer. vii. 12 ; 1 Sam. iv. 11 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 60. What they are, I have already declared at large. If those sins that have brought the fiery judgment upon your neighbours are to be found among you, you have cause to fear the fiery rod, or else some other judgment that shall be equivalent to it. If you sin with others, you shall suffer with others, except there be found repentance on your side, and pardoning grace on God's. The Lord hath i)unished your neighbours with that judgment of judgments, — the fire ; and he ex- pects that you should take notice thereof, and be instructed thereby, to take heed of those sins that they have been judged for, else the same or worser judgments will certainly befall you. Because Edom made no good use of Jerusalem's sufterings, therefore the Lord threatens her that shame should cover her, and that she should be cut oQ for ever, Jer. iii. 8; Obad. 11-14. God expects that the judg-
ISA. XLII. 24, 25.] THE LATE FIERY DISPENSATION. 307
merits that he hath executed upon all round about you should awaken you out of security, and work in you a holy dread of his name, and provoke you to repentance for what is past, and engage you to a more exact walking with him for the time to come. But,
[2.] Secondly, It highly concerns you not to think those luho are burnt up to he greater sinners than yourselves who have escaped the consuming flames, Isa. v. 22-24, and li. 17, 22, 23 ; Jer. xxv. 15, 30. Some there were that told Christ of certain Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices — an argument of God's sore displeasure in the eye of man, to be surprised with a bloody death even in the act of God's service — ' But Jesus answered. Suppose ye that these Galileans w^ere sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things ? I tell you, Nay ; but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,' Luke xiii. 1-3. And Christ confirmeth it by another parallel to it, of the men upon whom the tower in Siloam fell : Luke xiii. 4, 5, 'Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, think ye that they were sinners al)0ve all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you. Nay ; but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' Doubtless there are many fifties in London whose habitations are laid desolate, who were more righteous than many of those whose houses have escaped the consuming flames. Judgments many times begin at the house of God : the hand of God is many times heaviest upon the holiest of people, 1 Pet. iv. 17; Ezek. ix. 6. Job was stripped of all his earthly comforts, and set upon a dunghill to scrape his sores with potsherds, Job i. ; and yet Job had not at that time his fellow in all the east country for a man fearing God and eschewing evil. Job was a perfect, peerless man, and yet had his habitation laid in ashes, and his substance destroyed, when his neighbours round about him enjoyed their all without disturbance. Doubtless many of them whose houses are turned into a ruinous heap were good people — people of unblamable lives, people of exemplary lives, yea, earthly angels, if compared with many of those who have escaped the fiery rod. Many have drunk deep of this cup of wrath, who are a people of his choicest love ; and therefore do not judge all them to be greater sinners than yourselves that have not escaped the fiery rod as well as yourselves. You who have escaped the consuming flames should make other men's lashes your lessons, and their burnings your warnings. You should not so much eye what others have suffered, as what yourselves have deserved. But,
[3.] Thirdly, It concerns you to he much in blessing of God that your habitations are standing, tohen others' habitations are laid desolate round about you. But here look that your thankfulness is, (1.) Keal ; (2.) Great; (3.) Cordial; (4.) Practical; and, (5.) Constant. No thanldulness below such a thankfulness will become such whose habi- tations are standing monmnents of God's free mercy. I have largely pressed this duty before, and therefore a touch here must suffice. But,
[4.] Fourthly, Be not secure: do not say, ' The bitterness of death is past,' as Agag did when he came before Samuel, stately and haughtily, with the garb and gait of a king, 1 Sam. xv. 32. Many times, when wicked men are in the greatest security, they are then
308 LONDON 'a LAMENTATIONS ON [IbA. XLII. 24, 25.