UPON the reading of these words your Thoughts will doubtless have immediate recourse to the awful Providences of GOD to this People in the last Summer, and especially on the last Lord's-Day Evening in the often repeated Shocks of an Earthquake.

GOD that is mighty has done terrible things in Righteousness; and when He thus displays [Page 2]His Greatness, it becomes us to take a very serious notice of it our selves, and to speak to one another with a holy Fear and Reverence of His mighty Acts, that can't be parallel'd by the united force of all Creatures.

TO let such Providences pass off carelesly and in Silence, is in a very high degree to of­fend God, and thereby we become exposed to the destructive Judgments which the Psalmist prophetically denounces against them that re­gard not the works of the Lord, nor the opera­tion of his hands, Psal. 28.5. I hope there is not a Soul here present to whom this Charge and Threatning belong, but that we are all sensible of and deeply affected with this His Strange work wherein he has been loudly speak­ing to us; and I pray God so to keep this for ever in the Imagination of the thoughts of our Hearts as to prepare our Hearts unto Him, and that the Impression which that Night of terror made upon us, wherein we looked upon our selves as dead men, as Per­sons appointed to an immediate Destruction, may never so wear off as that we shall return to our former sinful Courses, and become the same People, or worse than we were before.

THE terrible Judgments which the Prophet Isaiah foretold were coming against Ariel, have lately befallen this Land without a Me­tapher, and the design of all is to awaken us to Repentance and Reformation; to humble [Page 3]us for past Sins, and to prevent future Miscar­riages; to bring us down from that height of wickedness to which we are grown, that we may lie low before him, and speak to Him out of the Dust: And it will be well for us if this may be the Consequence.

BUT if we are resolved to persist in Sin in defiance of the Almighty, and will not take the repeated Warnings He has given us, instead of Distress, Heaviness and Sorrow, he will make us small as Dust — and as Chaff that passeth away, and it shall be at an instant sudden­ly, ver. 2, — 5. Wo to Ariel — Thou shalt be visited &c. Ariel is Jerusalem, the chief City of God's own People. Yet she must be told that God was coming forth against her in his hot dis­pleasure: From whence we may learn that God will not bear with Sin in his professing People; but that they as well as others shall suffer for it, and more than others, as their Sins have been peculiarly aggravated. Ariel's Fidelity to her God was her glory and safety, and they that invaded her were like a Wheel, and as stubble before the Wind; but her Sin prov'd her ruin, as it deprived her of his Favour and Protection, and opened a door for Calamities of all sorts. His Heart was turned against Ariel when she was irreclaimable by all the wise and gracious Methods he had used with her, and therefore He resolves to punish her; Thou shalt be visited — The word is used both in a good and bad sense, carrying in it the intention of God, either to display his [Page 4] Justice or his Mercy to a People, according as they behave towards Him. In the latter sense David and others implored a Visit from Him, and having obtained it, they bowed their heads and worshipped in token of Gratitude. But it is a Judicial Visitation the Text speaks of, Thou shalt be visited with Thunder and Earthquake. This Threatning has had a lite­ral Accomplishment among us the last Summer. GOD in his just Displeasure has spread over us his thick and black Cloud, deeply charged with most awful Thunders, the effects whereof were sorrowful. The Earth under us has been horribly convulsed. And the Stormy Wind ful­filling his Word, has shaken our Houses &c.

IN discoursing on this Text I shall say

• I. THAT Thunder and Earthquake are the dreadful Visitations of GOD to a People.
• II. THEY are very evident Testimonies of His Displeasure against a People.
• III. THAT a People by persisting in their Sins expose themselves to such awful Visita­tions from GOD.
• IV. THEY are loud Calls to Repentance; and the Reformation of this People is the only Method of Safety to be taken by us, when we are thus visited.

I. THUNDER and Earthquake are the dreadful Visitations of GOD to a People.

[Page 5] THAT they are the Visitations of GOD none will deny, but the Atheist, who says There is no God, and attributes all to Chance; or the wild herd of Epicurus who won't al­low Him to have any concern at all in the Government of this lower World. I perswade my self that there are none in this Assembly under any manner of doubt but that the late terrible Earthquake was the Work of GOD; and it is upon that Principle of Faith, that we are now acting in our Joint Praises to Him for our wonderful Preservation in that danger­ous Hour, and in our united Prayers for his continued Protection as the day and occasion shall require; so that it might seem a needless expence of Time and Words, to prove that Thunder and Earthquakes are the Operations of GOD which you believe already. What I shall endeavour therefore from this particular shall be chiefly to impress your Minds with a more warm and affecting sense of this Truth; or to assist your Faith in the more vigorous exercise of it, which you are now called unto by the late Occurrence of the Earthquake.

IN Order to this I shall say

1. THUNDER is the Work of GOD. And very much of his Majesty and Power is to be seen in it; accordingly it is sometimes called, The Thunder of his Power, and His Powerful Voice, from its mighty noise and terrible effects.

[Page 6] THE Heathen ascribed the Thunder to their great Idol Jupiter, and as a distinguish­ing character of honour called him the Thun­derer; but we have learned from the infalli­ble Oracles in our Bibles to say it is God that speaks to us in the Thunder, and to invocate Him in our Dangers by it, and to praise Him as our great Deliverer. Give unto the Lord O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due un­to his Name: worship the Lord is the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the GOD of glory thundereth, Psal. 29. begin. Elihu attributes the first Production, and the subsequent Motion and Effects of Thunder and Lightning to GOD, all which are above the reach and influence of the most potent Creatures, Job. 37. Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth: he thundreth with the voice of his excellency — GOD thun­dreth marvellously.

THERE are very probably natural Causes of Thunder and Lightning which Philosophers undertake to account for, which brings to Mind the bold Saying of an obdurate Sinner, viz. That to have the Awe and Impression of a Deity upon our Minds when we see the Light­ning and hear the Thunder is vain and childish, because we can assign the natural Causes of them. But this is to pervert the great Design of their [Page 7]glorious Author, which is to make us Fear Him, to rouze up an unthinking World to the consideration of a GOD above us, that can in a Moment destroy our lives. This was the happy influence of it upon a celebrated Man who was reclaimed from Atheism by the terrors of Thunder and Lightning.

THE Lightning is very evidently a mix­ture of Sulphurous and Nitrous Particles ex­tracted from the Earth by the Sun, which meeting in the middle Region of the Air, are put into a quick motion, or by an Antiperista­sis are set on Fire; which is also the true no­tion of the Stella cadens; the odds between them being only this the Meteor which causes the Lightning being shut up in a thick Cloud, and taking Fire there, and so bursting the Cloud, throws it self out with the mighty and irresis­table force we sometimes see: Whereas the other being under no Confinement is more gradual in its motion, and usually spends its strength in the Air. The perpendicular motion in the Lightning is from the Nitre, the pecu­liar Quality of which is to burn downwards, and 'tis this renders it so quick and penetrat­ing.

THE Thunder follows the Lightning as the Effect the Cause, and is made either by the Collision of the Clouds from the breaking out of the Lightning, or by the divided Clouds falling together after it's Expulsion. The most lively Emblem in nature of Thunder and [Page 8]Lightning is Gunpowder, both in respect of its Noise from the mouth of a Cannon, and the Effects of it. Hence it is called Artificial Thundring.

THUS according to our best Conception, Thunder and Lightning are made; but then GOD is the Cause of this Cause; He forms the Cloud, prepares the matter for the Light­ning, and gives Fire to it. This Artillery of Heaven is discharged by Him who is the GOD of Heaven; 'tis He that makes way for the Lightning of the Thunder. And it is certain that Second Causes could produce no such Effect without leave from Him; He gives them that Virtue or Power whereby they act, and He can alter their Properties, or withhold their Influences when He will; and this He often­times does when it best serves his own Ho­nour, and the good of his People: He appoints when and where it shall thunder, and what shall be the Effect. He sends forth his Voice from the black Cloud either more low or less terrible, or strong and loud to our greater Amazement. He commissions the fiery Me­teor sometimes to rend and tear in pieces or to dissolve the Objects it strikes on according to their different Natures; sometimes to blast or scorch them, and sometimes to burn them to Ashes, and there's nothing that can resist the force of it; no Creature but is liable to be hurt by it; for it is a ridiculous Fiction of the Poets that the Eagle carries Jupiter's Ar­mour, scil. the Lightning, meaning that it [Page 9]can't strike upon the Eagle. And it is a no­tion no less absurd that Persons or Things co­vered with the Skins of Seals, or Sea-Calves are secure, from whence some have made use of them in Storms of Thunder, as Tiberius did of the Lawrel-tree which he formed into a Crown, and wore upon his head.

THE commanding Providence, as well as the creating Power of GOD extends to every thing. Wisdom and Might are his, He changeth the Times and Seasons, and the Fire and Hail, Snow and Vapour and the stormy Wind fulfil His Word. And His Designs both of Mercy and Judgment to a People are many times served by the Wind. GOD sometimes makes use of it to cleanse and purge the Air from noxious Vapours, which would be of fatal Consequence to us. Sometimes to fan and cool our Bodies in the heat of Summer: and by the Wind we are able to visit far distant Countries, and commerce with all Nations, and to bring from them the rarest and most useful Productions of their Soil, as well as carry to them the best of our own. And then on the other hand by the Wind GOD sometimes blasts our Fruit, brings mortal Dis­tempers upon a People, overturns our Build­ings, throws down vast numbers of Trees of all sorts, and of the largest Size. A sad In­stance of this we had September 16th. which is fresh in your Memories. And then as a yet more awful Instance, by this he shakes terribly [Page 10]the Earth, and sometimes rends it in pieces, and in a moment causes it and it's Inhabitants to sink as Lead in the mighty Waters.

AND so GOD orders every clap of Thun­der and flash of Lightning, when and where they shall be, how far they shall extend, & what Execution they shall do, and no Man may pre­sume to say, a Chance has befallen me, when the Thunder breaks upon his House, or de­stroys his Cattle or any part of his Estate. GOD has often punished the Wickedness of Men with hot Thunderbolts. The Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by Thun­der and Lightning. And it was one of the Plagues of Egypt, Exod. 9.23. The Lord sent Thunder and Hail, and the Fire ran along upon the ground. And so very surprising and terri­ble it was to Pharaoh as to force the obstinate wretch into a Confession of his Sin, and a Pray­er for Mercy. And by awful Thunders GOD fought against the Philistines when they in­vaded Israel: 1 Sam. 7.10. — The Lord thun­dred with a great Thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them —. In a very lively and elegant manner the dismal effects of Thunder are exhibited to us in the 29th Psalm, which some think was composed by David upon the Occasion of some great Thun­der-storm, The voice of the Lord is Powerful — The voice of the Lord breaketh the Cedars: yea, the Lord breaketh the Cedars of Lebanon.

WHICH has been remarkably exemplified with us this last Summer. The destructive [Page 11]Effects of Thunder having been many more than we have ever known in any one, or in many Years. The long continued and exces­sive Heat has been productive of abundance of Thunder, and there has seldom been a Thunder-storm, but that some hurt has been done by it; and sometimes the same Storm has broke in many Places; sometimes Trees have been rent and split to Pieces; sometimes it struck upon our Houses; several Barns have been burnt to the ground, and some of them richly stored with Grain: Sometimes it has killed fome of our Cattle; but in all, GOD who is a Covert from the Storm, has wonder­fully spared his People; and though some of them have been wounded, yet none that I have heard of have been destroyed. GOD might have commission'd his Thunder against our Persons and not our Substance, and laid our fleshly Tabernacles in Ashes in a Moment; but instead of this He said to it, Destroy them not. He turned the point of his arrows ano­ther way, and only display'd his awful Power in our Sight, to let us know how easy it was for him to destroy us.

THUS Thunder is the Work of GOD, his terrible Work, and one great design he has in it is to make us fear Him. We should therefore improve the Thunder to a more just apprehension of GOD, and resolve that we will no more expose our selves to his fiery In­dignation by breaking his Laws, lest he should [Page 12]presently raise a Storm of Thunder and Light­ning to avenge our Transgressions.

Oh the Days and Nights of Terror that have lately passed ever us! The dreadful Thunder­claps we have heard, wherein an angry GOD has proclaimed War against his Enemies, and threatned them with speedy Destruction by Fire from Heaven, if they did not submit themselves and turn unto Him.

HOW very terrible was the Storm in the Month of July; the Thunder almost continual­ly roaring over our Heads for the space of an Hour or more, and the deeply tinctured blue Lightning flashing in our Faces, and actu­ally striking one, and very near to another of our Houses. Who of us thought then of ever living the Storm out, but GOD was better to us than our Fears.

AND the amazing Lightnings in the Night after the 1st Day of August will never be for­gotten by many, wherein there was hardly a Moments intermission for several Hours be­tween the most dismal Flames that ever our Eyes beheld: The Darkness vanish'd as at the light of the Sun before them, and the smallest Objects were visible to us, as at Noon­day.

THIS was attended with some Thunder, and one Clap broke among us; but without harm to Man or Beast. And now, from the whole, we see how very justly we ascribe the Thunder to GOD as the Cause of it. We are [Page 13]taught by Example of wise and good Men to call it His Voice, the Sound that goeth out of His Mouth, the Fire of GOD &c. As if it was the immediate Production of His Hand, and second Causes had nothing to do in it. And in our Text GOD himself asserts his Authori­ty, and claims the Honour of being Lord of this Host. And accordingly we are to apply to Him in all our Dangers by it, to spread o­ver us the wing of His Protection, and com­mand the Thunder not to strike and destroy us, or our Substance.

AND let our many Preservations in the Thunder excite our sincere and affectionate Thanksgivings to him; for it must be entirely resolved into his Mercy that we are not con­sumed.

LET the Children of GOD correct their un­due Fears of the Thunder. Oh act Faith in GOD then as yours. Consider it as the Voice of your best Friend, and heavenly Father, who dearly loves you, is always thoughtful of you, and whose Perfections are ever engaged for your Benefit. This will help to silence your Complaints, allay your Fears, and create a Divine Calm in your Breasts.

AND let the Thunder and Lightning serve to put us all in Mind of that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, in which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up: Yea, let it extend our thoughts farther, to the devouring [Page 14]Fire and everlasting Burnings consequent upon the Judgment, to every impenitent Sinner. Which Consideration has a natural tendency to awaken us out of our dozing Frames, and excite us to flee from this Wrath by a timely and deep Repentance, a thorough and effec­tual Reformation.

EVERY Thunder-clap we hear has this in­structive Voice in it, Agree with your Adversa­ry quickly, by an humble Confession of your many Sins, and by striving no more against your Maker; but by practically acknowledg­ing GOD for your Sovereign, and by a most free and hearty Consent to all his Claims and Demands upon you. Attend then to the Call of GOD. 'Tis at our utmost Peril if we per­sist in Sin any longer in defiance of such aw­ful Admonitions, and we can in reason expect no other but that a provoked GOD in the very next Thunder-storm will rain upon us Fire and Brimstone, and a Tempest of Horrors.

LET not the most stout and resolved Sin­ner among us dare to meet another Thunder-storm in a state of Sin, not knowing what may be the Consequence, and but that the Fire of Heaven may in a moment dispatch you to the Flames of Hell. Your Sins and Lusts are pro­per fuel for the Fire of GOD's Lightning to strike on, and it is impossible you can be safe with these about you. Betake your selves then to CHRIST without delay to unload you of Guilt and the Curse, to take off from you [Page 15]the Garment spotted with the Flesh, and to put on you the Robe of Holiness, the only Amulet in that Evil Day.

ENDEAVOUR to impress upon your Mind the lively and affecting Sense of the Evil of sin, which you have sometimes had in a Thunder-storm, and let your whole Life af­ter be a practical Comment upon the pious Resolutions you have formed then. Always dread the Divine Power as you do then, and let Sin be as far from your Desire and Prac­tice; and don't (with Caligula) tremble at GOD's Voice in a Storm, and bid Defiance to Him in a Calm. He is the same GOD al­ways, and should be so apprehended by us, and have the same Respect and Reverence from us ^‡.

[Page 16] 2. GOD is the Primary Efficient Cause of Earthquakes.

AS Thunder is His Voice, and Lightning a Flame that goeth out of His Mouth; so Earthquakes are caused by His strong Hand: And how much soever it exceeds the Strength of any Creature or all united, to shake the Earth, the Omnipotent Author of it, can do it with greater Ease, than any of us can move a Finger or wave a Feather. Job having as­serted the Power of GOD in general, de­scends to prove it by an Induction of parti­cular Instances, Job 9.5▪6. He is mighty in Strength,—removeth the Mountains, and they know not, overturneth them in his anger, shaketh the Earth out of her place and the Pillars thereof tremble. What is it that infinite Power exert­ed to the height can't effect? As He gave Existence to the whole Globe of Earth by a Word, so He can destroy it in a Moment.

[Page 17] 'TIS absurd and atheistical to assert that Earthquakes are the Effects of a blind Chance; or to resolve them into natural Causes, exclu­sive of the Divine Superimendency and Effici­ency: We may affirm on equal grounds that GOD does nothing in the World in respect to Government, that there is no such thing as Reward and Punishment in any degree admi­ministred here; as deny Him this great and most sensible and awful Instance of His Power and Justice.

OUR Blessed Saviour would have us to ac­knowledge GOD and His Providence in the most minute and common Occurrences of Life; certainly then we must attribute this Prodigi­ous Work to Him, and say when this Evil is in the City or Country, it is the Lord has done it.

SOME Earthquakes are from GOD imme­diately, others by the agency of second Caus­es, and both are ascribed to Him in Holy Scripture without Distinction. And agreeably I shall here say,

1. EARTHQUAKES are sometimes the im­mediate Works of GOD, that is, they are per­formed by Him either beyond the Course and above the Power of Nature, or second Causes are by His immediate influence so disposed, and operate so as to produce such Effects.

THUS the Earthquake at Sinai, when the SON of GOD, our King and Lawgiver came down upon the Mount to publish His Law, [Page 18]was a Supernatural Operation. That was a Day of Miracles, and every thing in it was extraordinary, suitable to the Pomp and So­lemnity of it. 'Tis of this awful Transaction that the Psalmist speaks, Psal. 114. When Israel went out of Egypt — the Sea saw it and fled, Jordan was driven back, the Mountains skipped like Rame, and the little Hills like Lambs. What ailed thee, O thou Sea? By which Question he means to express the Reality of the Mira­cle, and that it was not the Effect of any na­tural Cause. So the Violent Earthquake that shook the Apostles Paul and Silas out of their Chains, and converted the Jaylour was doubt­less extraordinary, and sent of GOD on pur­pose to accomplish these things. And I sup­pose none will deny but that the repeated Earthquakes at our Saviour's Death and Re­surrection were miraculous; as the Ecclipse of the Sun was at that time, which according to Nature was impossible; and design'd for Tokens of GOD's Anger at the horrid Fact, and for the Conviction of that stupid Nation that the Person they had so basely treated was more than a Man.

THE Earthquake in Jerusalem which we read of Amos 1.1. Zech. 14. was an imme­diate Judgment of GOD upon Uzziah for in­vading the Priest's Office. Josephus says that it rent their Temple in the midst at the very time when he was offering Incense, and that a great Light of the Sun broke in at the Chasm, and reflected on the King's Face, and [Page 19]in­stantly overspread his whole Body with a Leprosy; he adds, that half a Mountain was thrown down by it, and rolled upon the Ground for the space of four Stadia or Fur­longs, and then rested upon the King's Gar­dens. And now from these Instances may we not reasonably think, that GOD sometimes immediately and in way of Admonition or Pu­nishment visits a People with Earthquakes.

2. EARTHQUAKES are produced by the agency of second Causes.

THE great former of the Earth has un­doubtedly so made it as to serve His eternal Design in this awful Dispensation; and then he has endowed the Celestial and Elementary World with such Virtues and Powers as to produce such an Effect; and though He has not obliged himself always to act by the es­tablish'd Laws of Nature, yet He ordinarily does. Thus He produces the Fruits of the Earth by the Influences of the Sun and Moon; and thus He brings on the successive Revolu­tions of Day and Night in a natural Way, and the quaternial Seasons of the Year, by the Suns passing thro' such and such Signs of the Zodiack.

BUT now what are the natural Causes of Earthquakes, Men of the greatest Sagacity and deepest Penetration, can but guess. And hence arises the great Diversity of Thought about them, one fixing upon this thing, ano­ther [Page 20]upon that, which seems to them most probable.

THE Ancient Heathen supposed them to proceed from the Fluctuations of Waters in the Subterraneous Caverns, and celebrated Neptune as the Cause of them; but this hath no Solid Foundation.

OTHERS tell us that a strong Windy Exha­lation imprisoned in the Bowels of the Earth and wanting Vent, makes an Earthquake; this also is liable to Exception, it being altogether impossible in Nature that the Wind can have so swift a Currency thro' the Earth as to shake it for five hundred Miles in length within a few Minutes of time; for if we suppose a Can­non shot, which glides much swifter thro' the Air then the strongest blast of Wind, flies after the rate of a League in a minute; according to that Computation it must be near three Hours and half in going 500 Miles, or if we double the Motion it must be one Hour and half, which is above a full Hour more than the distance of time betwixt the late Earth­quake's being felt at Philadelphia, and at Arowsick.

THAT Opinion which to me carries in it the greatest Probability of Truth is this; That Subterraneous Fires occasion'd by the Fer­mentation of combustible Minerals in the Earth, such as Sulpher, Salt-Petre, Vitriol &c. are the cause of this Prodigy. These Fires being made of the same Matter with Lightning, fly as the Lightning does with an incredible [Page 21]Swiftness, and carry in them an irresistable Force, and give the Earth those violent Shocks we have lately felt; but whether this solves the Matter, I don't pretend to say, I shall leave it to them whose Business it is more properly to search into it.

BUT let the natural Causes be what they will, this is most certain, that they are all in the Hand, and entirely subject to the Will of GOD. We may not think that He has thrown off the Government of them, and left them to effect what is in their own Power! What wild Disorder and Confusion would this create in the World? No verily! He guides and directs, restrains and limits them, or gives them a Liberty according to the Design He is to accomplish by them; and from hence it is that we are to attribute all to Him; both the good we enjoy, and the Evils we suffer. What Foundation for Prayer to him would there be, either to prevent Judgments or to confer Bles­sings: What Dependance could we have up­on him, to protect us in our Dangers, or do any thing at all for us, if he had not the ac­tual Command of all the springs of Nature? So that to resolve all Events into natural Causes is derogatory to the Honour of GOD, and the direct Course to banish all Religion out of the World, and will prove of fatal Consequence to all who adhere to it. All his Promises are but meer Cheat and Delusion, and his Threatnings ridiculous Terrors, and worthy of no Regard, if such a Perswasion [Page 22]is true; and for Men under the influence of this Principle to apply to him to make good his Promises, or not to execute his Threat­nings, is the most provoking Mockery, since according to them, He can accomplish neither.

GOD every where in His Word challenges the Honour of being the immediate absolute Governour of the World, and this we must firmly believe He is; and as his Perfections take their turns to act and display themselves, so we must observe the Order of them, and give them the Honours which are respectively due to them. I will sing of Mercy and Judg­ment, unto thee O Lord will I sing. And thus in particular we must acknowledge that GOD is the Cause of Earthquakes. He that supports and guides the Orbs of Light and Fire over our Heads, holds in his Hand the rolling World under our Feet, and makes it tremble and shake when he pleases; and without any strain of Power can disjoin the infinite Parti­cles whereof it consists, and cause them to dis­perse and wander in the Air, at a wide dis­tance from one another.

HE that in Strength has set fast the Moun­tains, can take them off from their ancient Ba­sis, and transplant them remote from where they stood. Or he can so convulse the Earth as that it shall throw Mountains out of her Bowels upon the level Ground, or in the Sea. He can cause the dry and solid Earth to swell and rise like the Waves of the Sea under our [Page 23]Feet, and then to sink down again to the Destruction of its Inhabitants.

AS to the distinct kinds of Earthquakes, and their Antecendentia or Prognosticks which Phi­losophers speak of, I shall say ^* nothing, but proceed from the Cause to the Effects of this wonderful Dispensation: And here I am en­tring upon a large Field, and might expatiate almost endlesly; but it is not my present De­sign to write a History of Earthquakes, but to exhibit to you something of the Terrors of the Lord in this sort, that I may perswade Men.

THE World has been alarm'd by Earth­quakes, and the tragical Effects of them have rendred them formidable to all Nations; espe­cially of late they have been numerous. A [Page 24]learned Writer has reckon'd up near Forty, that have happen'd in about Thirty Years; which as he says are more than the World has known for several Centuries before; and since 1713, which is the date of his Account, there have been several, as in Sicily, China, Jamaica, England, Paris, and now in New-England.

THE Design of GOD in Earthquakes is not always the same; and from hence it follows that the Effects of them are different; some­times they come in Mercy; but for the most part in Judgment; sometimes they are sent to admonish a sinful People, and often to destroy.

SOMETIMES the Terror of them has been comparatively little, the Roar and Shake being both small, and they pass off without Harm; and then sometimes they are terrible beyond Expression.

SOMETIMES they have rais'd up Islands in the Sea, and thrown out Fire, Sand and Rocks almost as high as to the very Clouds, to the Astonishment of poor Sailors.

SOMETIMES they have turned the Course of Rivers, and caused Rivers to break out in new Places.

SOMETIMES they have divided Kingdoms and Countries, as Britain from France, Africa from Spain, and Sicily from Italy.

SOMETIMES they have caused violent Eruptions of Fire out of the Earth, and disco­vered new burning Mountains.

[Page 25] SOMETIMES they have shaken down many Thousands of Houses, Churches and Castles &c. and made very flourishing Cities almost ruin'd Heaps.

SOMETIMES they have swallowed up ma­ny Cities and Towns without leaving any Mark at all of them; they have sunk as Lead in the mighty Waters.

THUS it was in Sicily in the Year 1693, of which Prodigy my Author writes that on Fri­day January 9. after a warm serene and calm Day, the Earth began to tremble suddenly; the first shake was attended as is common, with a hollow thundring noise, and succeeded by another early the next Morning; but on the Day following viz. 11, happen'd a third which was stupendous beyond human Imagination which almost totally destroyed 20 or more Ci­ties and Towns, and above one hundred Thousand Inhabitants, after which vast De­struction, the Earth continued trembling at times for several Months.

THIS Earthquake was preceeded like ours with Southerly Winds, extreme heat and terri­ble Storms of Thunder and Lightning, and after this, profuse Rains.

THE Earthquake at Port-Royal in Jamaica the Year before this June 7. at noon was ve­ry terrible, Rocks and Mountains were over­turned, and all the Buildings in the Town fell, whole Streets were swallowed up; both Houses and Inhabitants went down together. [Page 26]Some were killed by the fall of Houses, some were wounded, some were floted off to Sea upon pieces of Timber &c. and so perished. Others that were falling to the Earth, by its closing together again on a sudden were catch­ed, some by the Legs, others by the Neck, &c. and some that were actually fallen into it's Caverns were thrown out again by the vio­lent Eruption of Waters.

AND then, the late China Earthquake, was very awful: this fell out June 19. 1719. and was so violent as to remove Mountains two full Leagues over a Plain, and to swallow up the Plain without leaving any Mark of Men, Houses or Animals. In another Place the Earth opened, and a Mountain was rolled down upon the Town, and in the twinkling of an Eye the Town was swallowed up, and the Plain rose in Waves six fathom.

BUT above all that the World has known, was that at Antioch in the second Century after CHRIST, and tho' of long standing yet it de­serves to be recognised, and spoken of to the Honour of GOD, and the terror of Men as long as the Sun and Moon shall endure. The whole City was destroy'd by this Earthquake, not an House left; almost incredible Num­bers were killed and wounded; for it hap­pen'd at such a time when they were met to­gether from all Parts of the Empire at the Command of Trajan their Emperor. All the [Page 27]Elements conspired in their ruin. The Thun­ders roared from above, the Earth shaking be­low, and an horrible Tempest of Wind, and as the Effect of these the Sea raging, the Houses and City Walls falling; and all toge­ther made such a Noise and thick Dust that they were not able to see the Faces, or hear the Voices of one another. And when all was over, and the Survivors saw the Destruc­tion of their City, and the heaps of dead Bodies in all places, they were ready to wish to have undergone the fate of their Brethren, rather than live to behold such deplorable Ruins.

NEW-ENGLAND has never felt any Con­cussions to be compared with these; not an Hair of our Heads has ever perished by an Earthquake. And this last which has in seve­ral respects exceeded any that have gone be­fore it, and was indeed very violent, yet has been so far restrained as that but little hurt has been done by it.

I shall here insert a short Narrative of this awful Dispensation, and so conclude this Pro­position.

IT begun as I conceive in the South-East, about half an Hour after Ten in the Lord's-Day Evening after the 29th of October, 1727. All on a sudden our Houses shook as if they were falling to pieces, and this was attended with a great Noise, which lasted about one Minute, and then took it's Course Northward. In a [Page 28]very short time it return'd upon us, tho' with far less Strength, and the Shocks were repeated seven Times in my hearing that Night; but they were many more at Salem, Ipswich &c. Distant Rumbles were heard by us many times until the next Friday-Evening: Since that we don't know that we have heard it; but it has been heard at Newbury every Day since, and now for more than three Weeks.

THE Surprise and Terror of it were very great: some thought their Houses were all on Fire about them, and made all possible haste to escape the Burning; others who were free from this Fear, were seized with the Terrors of the Last Day, and could think of nothing but the dissolving World, the sound of the last Trumpet, and the sudden Appearance of CHRIST their Judge; others expected to die by the falling of their Houses, or that the Earth under them would open, and they should go down alive into the Pit. Words can't express the Agonies that our Souls were in; our Faces were pale as Ashes, our Lips quivered, our Speech faultred, and our Knees smote together, and there was no strength left in us; Our Flesh then trembled for fear of GOD, and we were afraid of his Judgments. And we were ready, like the Men of Judah, to have fled, if we had known where, because of the Earthquake. And thus I have consi­dered the first Particular that I propounded to speak to; viz. That Thunder and Earthquake [Page 29]are the awful Visitations of GOD to a People And now proceed to the Second, namely this

II. GOD's terrible Visits to a People by Thun­der and Earthquake are evident Testimo­nies of his Anger.

THE efficient Cause of Earthquakes is the Power of GOD, the final is the Signification of his Anger moved by the execrable Crimes of a wicked People, according to that of the Psalmist, Psal. 18.7. Then the Earth shock and trembled, the Foundations of the Hills mo­ved and were shaken, because he was Wroth. The very Heathen have accounted Earth­quakes Tokens of GOD's Displeasure, and ac­cordingly they prayed and offered Sacrifice to avert his Wrath. The Romans passed it into a Law that Prayers should be made to GOD in time of an Earthquake: And verily so great Occasion there is for this, that it is strange any one that has a Mouth to speak to Him, should be silent at such a Time.

WE read of some Earthquakes that have been sent in Mercy; but for the most part they come in Wrath, and are the Threatnings or Executions of Divine Justice. 'Tis no Hy­perbole to say that Sin sets the Heavens on Fire over us, and the Earth under our Feet. That Earthquakes are Evidences of GOD's Anger appears from his Threatnings to visit a sinful People with them, and from the fear­ful [Page 30]Desolations he has brought upon the World by them; for it is an offended GOD that is a consuming Fire. Yea, they are not Marks of common Anger, but of Wrath en­flamed; for GOD observes a Proportion and Gradation in his Judgments, as the Sins of a People rise and multiply; and Earthquakes are justly reckoned among his most terrible Judgments, Matth. 24. —

'TIS certain that GOD can be angry at nothing but Sin, and there had never been the least spark of Indignation in Him towards Mankind, if Sin had not occasion'd it. 'Tis Sin that turns the Heart of GOD against us, converts his Care into Neglect, his Blessings into Curses, and makes the Arrows of his Vengeance go forth as Lightning, fly swift and far; scatter and destroy his People.

WHEREVER we read in the History of the Jews, of their suffering State we are told, That Sin was the Cause. GOD never would have drawn his Sword against them, but to avenge the Quarrel of his Covenant. It is for the unrighteousness of Men that the Wrath of GOD is revealed from Heaven. So that when He visits a People with Earthquake, they must charge the Fault upon themselves, and set His Throne guiltless, saying, Righte­ous art thou, O LORD, because thou hast judg­ed thus.

THE Series of awful Providences the Lord of Hosts has visited this People with of late [Page 31]are evident Tokens that His Anger is out against us. It has been an extraordinary Year, not any that we have known like it in some respects; early in the Spring we were sur­prised with several very sudden Deaths, Per­sons falling down Dead as they walked the Streets, as Mr. Hirst, &c.

THE Summer was remarkable for extream Heat, by which some also died suddenly; and for most awful Thunder and Lightning. After this we had the violent Storm of Wind which threatned us with the Destruction of our Houses, and made us think our selves in the greatest Danger from those Places of common Safety. And now the terrible Earthquake: Thus a provoked GOD has been repeating his awful Visits, one in a short time after another. And what do all these speak, but his hot An­ger against us; and that Man is certainly under a judicial Blindness, and his Heart like Pharaoh's is hardned under Judgments, who makes light of such Dispensations.

THUS GOD's late visit to this People by Earthquake is a Testimony of his Anger, and this I doubt not but we shall all readily ac­knowledge; but then the difficulty lies in rightly stating the Matter, and saying who are the faulty Causes; for some who have as deep a share it may be in the Of­fence as any, will be very loth to own they have any Hand at all in it, and shift off the [Page 32]Blame to others. They see as they imagine a Beam in their Neighbours Eye, but a Mote in their own; when in reality the Beam is theirs, and the Mote their Neighbours: But thus partial are Men in their own Case, and by thus misapplying the Plaster, the Wound remains, corrupts and putrifies, and affords many a threatning Symptom to the Body.

IN such an Evil Day as this we must every one look at home, examine his own Heart, se­riously propose the Question to himself, What have I done? And charge himself in the Name of GOD to give a just and full Answer to it. And upon a strict Review of his Ac­tions, every one will find enough amiss in himself to bring down the awful Judgments of Heaven upon his own Head. We are certainly all faulty; there are none among us but have dealt wickedly; yea among the faithful there is none that has not done amiss, and highly offended.

THERE is no Rank or Degree of Men to be acquitted.

IS there not too much of a selfish and con­tracted Spirit in too many that are intrusted with the publick Interests of this People? And is it not most evident that there is too little Regard had to the Execution of the Laws of the Province upon bold Offenders; and though Iniquity appears bare-faced, yet it goes unpunished. Some in Authority want [Page 33]Courage, others ('tis to be feared) Consci­ence to prosecute the Actors of it; and by this Neglect a private personal Offence be­comes publick, and the whole must suffer for it.

AND may not the Ministers of Religion charge themselves with too much Sloth and Negligence in their great Work? Oh! Have they been enough concerned about the Wel­fare and Happiness of the precious Souls of their People. I do most freely own my self chargeable with many Defects, and fly to the great and common Saviour for Pardon and Mercy. Has not a worldly Spirit too much the Ascendant over many of us? The hot and fierce Debates about Sallaries, may not, I fear, be every where imputed to real Necessity.

BUT then this People would do well to in­quire, Whether they are chargeable with no Omissions as to their Ministers; but that they have in all Respects a proper Notice taken of them.

HOW little Regard is paid to the Law of the Fourth Commandment. Worldly Concerns too often croud out the Business of Preparati­on for the Sabbath. Many are late from Home on Saturday-Evenings, who should be with their Families, Reading, Catechising and Instructing their Children and Servants. And is there not a scandalous Neglect of the [Page 34]publick Worship upon the Lord's-Day and Lecture-Days, generally through the Land. And then Sabbath-Day Evenings are spent by very many in unnecessary Visits, vain Company &c. And has not the jealous GOD, jealous of His Sabbath been dreadfully testi­fying His Abhorrence of such Practices by the Storm and by the Earthquake on the Saturday and Sabbath Evening?

LET Sabbath-breakers then take these aw­ful Admonitions, let them hear and fear and do no more so wickedly—

IS not the Table of CHRIST neglected, and thereby His plain Law violated by very many; and is there a due Care taken by Church-Members that they may worthily re­ceive the consecrated Elements?

AND then, are not Pride, Oppression, Pro­phane Swearing, Drunkenness, Adultery &c. crying Sins of this People?

AND now, seeing there are all these (and many more) evil Deeds and great Trespasses to be found amongst all Orders of Men, we can be at no Loss for the deserving Causes of GOD's Controversy with us. This People need not make that Inquiry, Shew me where­fore thou contendest with me? As if we were wholly in the dark about the Matter, and the Sin like Achan's, was some great Secret; when the Reasons of His Anger are as evi­dent [Page 35]as the Sun at Noon-Day. And his Anger won't be turned away, but His Hand will be stretched out still, unless these Evils are reformed. Which brings me to the third Particular,

Namely this,

III. THE professing People of GOD may very justly expect His awful Visits by Thunder and Earthquake, so long as they persist in Sin.

SEEING Sin is the Cause of GOD's Anger, we can't rationally think that He will be re­conciled to us so long as that is unrepented of and persisted in, and then what can be ex­pected from an angry GOD but Thunder and Earthquake &c. His Wrath can't burn against a People, but they will be made sensi­ble of it by some terrible Judgment or other. Not to punish them, but to own and protect a People that practically disown Him, would be to patronize their Sin, and take part with His Enemies against Himself, which surely no Man in his Wits would do; much less may we suppose it of GOD only wise, and His Throne holy.

'TIS a mighty Aggravation of Sin to con­tinue in it after a great Variety of Methods used by GOD to reclaim us, and what can we expect but that He will say of us as He said [Page 36]of Ephraim, he is joined to Idols, let him alone. Since he is irreclaimable both by Mercies and Judgments, I will leave him to sin himself into final Ruin.

IT extremely provokes GOD when a Peo­ple harden themselves in Sin after Judgments, as it directly contradicts his Design in punish­ing them, and bids an open Defiance to his Power and Justice, and is an implicit chal­lenging the Almighty to do his worst. The plain Language of such Obstinacy is that, I know not the Lord, neither will I let my Sins go. There is not a more sad and certain Presage of Ruin to a People than this, it looks as if GOD had utterly rejected such a People, and had no further use to make of them but only to punish them, this is plainly intimated by the Prophet Ezra's Confession and Prayer, Ezra 9. After all that is come up­on us for our evil Deeds, and great Trespass, after all the Judgments that are come upon us to reform us, and after all the Mercies that are bestowed upon us to engage us to thee and Duty, should we again break thy Com­mandments, — wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping. And the Prophet Jeremiah threatned Judah with a to­tal Overthrow, for their Contempt of the Tokens of GOD's Anger, Jer. 44.10. There­fore thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I will set my Face against you for Evil, and out off all Judah. [Page 37]Which Prediction was answered, and they are groaning under the Accomplishment of it to this very Day.

AND indeed there seems to be a Necessity of such a Proceedure with a stubborn People, for what else can be done with them. To let them alone in their Sins after all, looks dishonourable to GOD, as if He wanted Wis­dom or Power to controul their Exorbitan­ces; or to bring them to a suitable Punish­ment, His Mercy is the only Attribute he can think to glorify by such a Delay, and this al­ready suffers, His Pity and Patience are a­bused, and they are ready to resolve the Sus­pension of his destructive Threats into some­thing else than meer Lenity and Goodness, and thus His Power is slighted, and the bright Character of his Holiness is slurr'd, as if they were beyond the reach of His Arm, and He could not punish them, or He was too much like what they are to have any Disposition to it, so that it seems to be high time for GOD to pour His Wrath to the uttermost upon such a People, and thereby manifest that He is a GOD hating Iniquity, and both able and faithful to execute His Threatnings. We are plainly told Lev. 26. from ver. 14. to ver. 40. what an incorrigible People may expect from GOD.

LET not this People then, because they have outliv'd the Earthquake, think their [Page 38]Danger is over; that Justice has no further Work and so return to their Sins again. If we are not reformed by the Threatning, we have Reason to fear being ruin'd by the Execution.

THE Fourth and last Particular is this

IV. THUNDER and Earthquake are loud Calls to Repentance; and the Re­formation of this People is the only Me­thod of Safety to be taken by us under these awful Tokens of GOD's Anger.

THE Lord of Hosts thus bespeaks the Bo­dy of this People by these Providences; Re­turn and seek thy GOD O Israel; both great and small are comprehended in it, Rulers and ruled, Ministers and their People, Old and Young, Rich and Poor, Bond and Free. O that he would speak it to all our Hearts, and give us the Grace of Repentance, as well as the Command to repent, and then it shall be well with us, both we and our Seed shall live.

HERE are two Articles I shall briefly speak to,

1. THUNDER and Earthquake are loud Calls to Repentance.

[Page 39] THE Design of GOD in the Earthquake was evidently not to destroy, but reclaim us. So that how much so ever it carries in it the Face of Wrath, it may eventually prove a great Mercy, if it is not our own Fault. The Fire of Affliction is to consume our Lusts; By this shall the Iniquity of Jacob be purged. We are chastned of the Lord for our Amend­ment. GOD who is rich in Mercy, and does not afflict willingly, would not thus ter­rify and distress us, if there was no need of it; if our Forgetfulness of Him, and Duty did not call for it. It is to shake Sin out of it's Inhabitants, that the Lord shaketh thus terribly the Earth.

HE calls us to think sericusly of what we have done against Him, to own our Injustice in it, and express our Penitence for it. And He expects that we come before him this Day in the most humble and self-abasing Manner, mourning every one for His own Sins, and for the Sins of this People.

OUR Consciences are called upon by the Earthquake to do their Office, to charge Sin upon us wherein we have been guilty. That we may humble our selves under the mighty Hand of GOD; that we may abhor our selves, and repent in Dust and Ashes. The Ex­hortation from GOD is that, soel 2.13. Blow the Trumpet in Zion, sanctify a Post, call a solemn Assembly, gather the Children [Page 40]and those that suck the Breasts: let the Bride­groom go forth of his Chamber, and the Bride out of her Closet. Let the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord weep between the Porch and the Altar, and let them say, Spare thy People. Turn ye unto me with all your Heart, and with fasting add with weeping, and with mourning, and rent your Heart, and not your Garments, and turn unto the Lord. Let it not be said of us as of them, Isai. 22.12, 13. In that Day did the LORD GOD of Hosts call to Weeping, and to Mourning, and to Baldness, and to girding with Sackcloth. And behold Joy and Gladness, slaying Oxen, and killing Sheep, eating Flesh, and drinking Wine; let us eat and drink, for to morrow we die. This is to pervert the Intention of the Threat­ning, for it is sent for this End, that we may see the Evil and taste the Bitterness of Sin; that our Hearts may be rent both for Sin; and from it; that we may mortify our Lusts, purify our selves from all our carnal and spiritual Pollutions.

GOD says to us in the Earthquake, Sin must be parted with, our Pride, Covetous­ness, Worldlymindedness, Uncharitableness, Injustice, Intemperance, Sensuality, &c. all Ungodliness.

AND then He calls us to devote our selves entirely to Him, to avouch Him for [Page 41]our GOD, and firmly resolve that for the time to come, if He shall please in His great Mercy to spare us, we will be obedient to Him in all Things, renouncing all others who claim our Service.

AND then, He calls us thus to return to Him without Delay, NOW, this present Time, and for ought we know, it may be His last Call. The Earthquake came upon us suddenly and without a Minutes Warning, and it may return upon us as suddenly, and with much greater Violence, so as to destroy us in a Moment.

IT highly concerns us then to hear the Rod, and who hath appointed it, and learn to sub­mit our selves to His preceptive Will in all Things.

LET the wicked forsake his Way, and the unrighteous Man his Thoughts, and turn unto the Lord. Let the Drunkard leave his Cups, the prophane Swearer his Oaths, the Wan­ton and Unclean his Adulteries, and every sort of Sinner bid an everlasting Farewell and Defiance to his Sin whatever it is. If we do thus, we have Reason to hope that GOD will stay the Progress of His Judgment, and turn from His Anger that we perish not.

[Page 42] WHICH brings me to the other Article, viz.

2. THAT the Reformation of this People is the only Method to avert these awful Tokens of GOD's Anger.

AS He has called us to repent by his Earth­quake, so he has promised Mercy to us by his Word upon this Condition, Ezek. 18.30. Repent, and turn your selves from all your Trans­gressions, so Iniquity shall not be your Ruin. Our Repentance has a powerful Influence upon GOD, so as that he has obliged him­self to forgive the Sins of a penitent People. Isai. 1.16 —. Hos. 14.1, 4. O Israel re­turn unto the Lord thy GOD, &c. I will heal their Backsliding —. But if ye refuse and rebel ye shall be devour'd, the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Which Promises are not to be looked upon as limited to the Jew­ish Nation, but extend to all Nations under Heaven, that take Care to fulfil the Conditions that support them. But yet, if any should object against these Promises, I shall offer one that is liable to no Exception, Jerem. 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, I will repent of the Evil that I thought to do unto them. And then it [Page 43]follow, At what instant I shall speak concern­ing a Nation and concerning a Kingdom, to build, and to plant it. If it do Evil in my sight, that it obey not my Voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.

FROM all which appears the absolute Necessity of our Repentance and Reformati­on, in order to prevent our Ruin, and the infallible Certainty of our Prosperity and Happiness on this Condition. But without this we shall not escape his righteous Judg­ments.

WE see then what our Business is with GOD this Day, and upon what Terms he will hear our Prayers, and save this People. The Reply he makes to us now we are spreading forth our Hands, and offering up fervent Prayers and strong Cries for Mercy and Salvation, is this, Repent, Repent, Put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes, cease to do Evil, and learn to do well, &c. Which if we do, we may humbly hope that he will hear us, but otherwise we pray in Vain, and our Returns will be in Wrath, and not in Mercy.

AND thus I have finished the Conside­ration of the Particulars laid down in the beginning of this Discourse and shall endea­vour [Page 44]a brief and sutable Improvement of them.

LET us all learn then to Reverence the Great GOD.

THIS is the Design of the late display of his Power in the Earthquake, and we are stu­pid indeed if so bright an Evidence of a boundless Strength, does not produce this Effect. The Prophet Isaiah observes that when His Judgments are in the Earth, the In­habitants of the World will learn righteousness, Isai. 26.9. He has been uttering his mighty Voice not only by Thunder, but from the Earth also to excite our Fears and reform our Lives, that we may renounce Sin as our Plague and Misery; and chuse him for our highest Lord and our only Happiness, and make an intire and hearty surrender and De­dication of our selves to Him and his Ser­vice, and if we do thus the Consequence will be happy, the thick and black Cloud of his Anger will blow over, and he will ordain Peace for us.

THE contemplative and admiring Psalmist says, Psalm 92. O Lord how great are thy Works, and thy Thoughts are very deep. A bruitish Man knoweth not: neither doth a Fool understand this. They are Fools and bruitish indeed, who don't take notice of GOD's [Page 45]Hand in the Earthquake, but bid Defiance to this Threatning of the ALMIGHTY. Some such hardned Wretches there are, as can let this tremendous Dispensation of an angry GOD pass off, and not be affected with it, when the very Brutes fear and tremble. Surely this is the Temper we should be in, and the Language we should express at such a Time as this, My Flesh trembleth for Fear of Thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments. Oh! Who is able to stand before this GOD? With Him is terrible Majesty. There is no Creature that has an Arm like Him, neither is there any that hath ever hardned himself against Him, and prospered. Fear the Lord all ye his Saints. Let all the Earth fear Him. Let all the Inhabitants of the World stand in awe of Him, Psalm 33.8. and 34.9.

LET us all bless GOD for His great Mer­cy in sparing our Lives in the Earthquake.

THIS is certainly a very important Article in the Matter of our Praises, and the Grace of GOD to us herein we can't sufficiently admire and celebrate. Let us then deeply impress upon our Hearts this great Deliver­ance, often reflect upon it our selves, and speak of it to others with Hearts full of af­fectionate Gratitude. Let us with holy David, Call upon our Souls, and all that is within us, to bless the Name of the Lord, who [Page 46]has redeemed our Lives from Destruction, Psalm 103. begin.

LET us sing with Moses and Israel after their great Deliverance, Exod. 15.2. The Lord is my Strength and Song, and He is be­come my Salvation. He is my GOD, and I will praise Him.

WHAT Cause have the Unregenerate to bless GOD that they are alive, and have a little longer Time given them for Repentance? What a miserable State did the Earthquake find you in, and if you had died that Moment, what had become of your Souls to all Eternity? Better had it been for you that you had never been born. The immediate Consequence of Death had been Hell and Damnation to you.

LET us pray earnestly to GOD to sanc­tify the Earthquake to us, and accomplish all the merciful Designs of it upon us.

GOD sent it doubtless for the Prevention and Cure of Sin. Let us pray that this may be the Effect, and this being obtained, let us pray for the Removal of it. 'Tis GOD only can give us help from this Trouble, and quiet the disturbed Earth. He can say Peace, be still, to the natural Cause of the Earthquake, and not a single Atom of Dust [Page 47]shall any more be disturbed by it. We hope in the Mercy of GOD, together with his Power to do this for us.

WE learn by this Earthquake the great Uncertainty of all worldly Things, and the great Folly of Men in placing their Happiness in them.

SINCE the Earth may sink, and fail us in a Moment which has the greatest Stability of any Thing here, what Dependance can there be upon other Things more liable to perish?

HOW happy are all those who in such a Time as this have Peace with GOD.

SUCH Persons are above all just Fears and Dangers from an Earthquake, and may triumph with the Psalmist, Psalm 46.1, 2, 3. GOD is our Refuge and Strength: a very pre­sent help in Trouble. Therefore will not we Fear, though the Earth be removed: and though the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea. Though the Waters thereof roar, and be troubled, though the Mountains shake with the swelling thereof. No Calamity can hurt a good Man; his Faith and his Hope are as an Anchor within the Vail, and he is secure in the midst of all Storms.

[Page 48] BUT what have Sinners to support them when GOD above them is in this terrible Manner testifying his Anger against them, and the Earth under them is sinking and leaving them? O deplorable State! A CHRIST in such an Hour is worth infi­nite Worlds.

THIS Earthquake may serve to strengthen our Faith in the great and important Doctrine of the Resurrection, so far as Concerns the Power of GOD.

FOR certainly it requires a much greater Degree of Power thus to shake the Earth, than to call up a dead Body from the Grave. A Specimen of the general Resur­rection we have had by an Earthquake: Matth. 27.51, 52. And behold, the Vail of the Temple was rent in twain, from the Top to the Bottom, and the Earth did quake, and the Rocks rent, And the Graves were opened, and many Bodies of Saints which slept, arose.

LET the shaking Earth remind us of the Things that cannot be shaken. The World a­bove is a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. The Inhabitants there are unchangeably happy.

THIS World's glory passeth away. The Earth is nigh unto burning, and all the ad­mirable [Page 49]Works both of Nature and Art shall be destroyed, but the third Heaven is an enduring Substance; a Treasure there we are in no danger of losing.

'TIS the Song of the Blessed, This GOD is our GOD for ever and ever; And that it may be our Song, GOD of his infinite Mer­cy grant unto us for the sake of JESUS CHRIST. Amen.