Gods Sovereignty Displayed from Job 9:12, Treatise 1 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
THe work which now remains to use 2 be done, is the application of this to the diſtreſſed Citizens of London in ſpecial, many of whom have had their goods and houſes taken away and conſumed to aſhes by that late ſad and raging fire that hapned among them.
1. I beſeech you enquire into the procuring cauſe, and that you will find to be ſin: if ſin be in the City, and in the houſe, vengeance may quickly be ſeen at the door, and at the gate; ſooner or later God will viſit iniquities, ſin ſhall never go unpuniſhed. This was Davids reſolution when God took away his ſubjects, Behold it is I that have done wickedly, but thoſe ſheep what have they done? 2 Sam. 24.17. This was Hezekiah's confeſſion for his own life. I have cut off like a Weaver my life, Iſai. 38.12. Thus did that godly Widow of Zareptha acknowledge at the death of her Son. What have I to do with thee O man of God, art thou come unto me to call my ſin to remembrance, and to ſlay my ſon? 1 Kings 17.18. She verily thought that either ſome of her former ſins, or elſe the not uſing of ſo holy a man according to his place, was the cauſe of this preſent puniſhment: A harſh ſtring to be touched, but will be tuneable enough in the ears of the Childe of God, that is already touched with the feeling of ſin, whoſe heart is ſtill rather in the houſe of mourning, than in the houſe of mirth: it is the Uniſon of Gods people, We have ſinned, and dealt wickedly. Our Saviour propheſied, Mat. 24.12. that iniquity ſhall abound, &c. and do not the times wherein we live tell us, that iniquity doth abound? It hath abounded, and doth abound exceedingly among us in all our Country Towns and Villages; but I had almoſt ſaid, it cannot abound more than it hath among you in London. I wiſh I could draw a veil over the ſins of theſe times, and cover the iniquities of the City and Country, as Conſtantine did over the errours of learned men in his daies. But the ſins of our times, and the iniquities of your City cannot be hid, they are too publick, too common among us: See whether all manner of ſins do not abound among you? the iniquities of the head, the iniquities of the heart, iniquities of the tongue, iniquities of the life, do abound in the midſt of you: have not the ſtreams of all iniquities fallen into your City, as all waters and rivers run into the Sea? There are ſome particular ſins for which God threatens to poure down fiery ſhowres of wrath and indignation upon a people.
1. The firſt I ſhall ſet before you is Sabbath-breaking, the profanation of the Lords day, Jer. 17.27. See how God threatens the City of Jeruſalem for this ſin. But if you will not hearken to me, to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jeruſalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it ſhall devoure the Palaces of Jeruſalem, and it ſhall not be quenched. Examine now whether there were not many among you that neglected and deſpiſed the publick worſhip of God; and others, that as ſoon as they came out of the Houſe of God, laid aſide all thought of the Word preached to them, either ſpending the reſt of the day in the Alehouſe, or in ſome idle recreations; yea, many ſuffering their children and ſervants in the cloſe of the Publick Worſhip, to turn Gods Ordinances, ſc. prayer, ſinging of Pſalmes, hearing the Word, into ſhouting and clamors, idle ſports, and fooliſh loud laughter, and that in ſuch a rude manner, as if they would profeſs themſelves open deſpiſers of God and of his Ordinances: Is this to bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Is this to do like Abraham, to command your children & ſervants to keep the way of the Lord? Is it a wonder to ſee Gods Judgments upon your City, to ſee the Plague raging among you, & deſtruction waſting at noon-day, poverty encreaſing, and a fire kindled in your Gates, and devouring the ſtately houſes and Palaces thereof?
SECT. II.
A ſecond ſin, is a general contempt and rejection of the Goſpel, and a deſpiſing of his faithful Meſſengers. We read, Mat. 23.37, 38. that our Saviour prophecieth of the deſtruction of the Temple of Jeruſalem, for killing, and crucifying, and ſtoning ſome of Gods Prophets, for ſcourging others in their Synagogues, and perſecuting them from City to City; therefore, ſaith he, Behold your houſe is left unto you deſolate. His Diſciples were troubled to hear that ſo goodly a Structure ſhould be made a ruinous heap: wherefore they ſhewed him the goodly buildings of the Temple, wiſhing him but to look on them, vainly imagining, that he could not but admire the ſtatelineſs of the houſe, and ſumptuouſneſs of the buildings, and would call in his threatning, and prevent the deſolation of it: but Chriſt, who regardeth not the magnificence of buildings, or perſons, but will ſtain the pride and glory of man; was ſo far from revoking his threatning, as he doth aſſure them by an oath, that the ſtately Temple ſo much admired for its curiouſneſs, ſo ſtrongly ſeated and enriched, ſhould not only be left deſolate, but ſhould be totally demoliſhed: Verily I ſay unto you, there ſhall not be left here one ſtone upon another, that ſhall not be thrown down, Mat. 24.2. This was for their contempt of the Word, and their cruelty toward the Prophets. This ſin God hath alwayes avenged, and will avenge with the foreſt deſtruction; the Temple in Jeruſalem was afterward burnt and utterly overthrown by the Romans: no flame is more fierce than when oyl, wine, or ſugar are fired: if you will know when the ſins of a people are at the full, and ripe for the ſickle of deſtruction, it is when the Goſpel is rejected, and his Meſſengers deſpiſed, and miſuſed. They mocked the meſſengers of God, and deſpiſed his words, and miſuſed his Prophets, until the wrath of the Lord aroſe againſt his people, till there was no remedy: Therefore he brought upon them the King of the Caldees, who ſlew their young men with the ſword in the houſe of their Sanctuary, and had no compaſſion upon young man or maiden, old men, or him that stooped for age, he gave them all into his hand: and all the veſſels of the Houſe of God, great and ſmall, and the treaſures of the houſe of the Lord, and the treaſures of the King and of his Princes, all theſe brought he to Babylon: and they burnt the houſe of God, and brake down the wall of Jeruſalem, and burnt all the Palaces thereof with fire, and deſtroyed all the goodly veſſels thereof, 2 Chron, 36.16, 17, 19. Whether you are guilty of this ſin, you beſt know.
SECT. III.
A third ſin is the ſin of oppreſſion: when men grinde the faces of their needy Brethren, and make the neceſſities of others their advantages to oppreſs them the more: how can the love of God dwell in ſuch hearts? I may ſay to ſuch, you rob the poor becauſe they are poor, and grieve their ſad hearts rather than relieve them▪ dealing with them (as the Jews did with our Saviour) in their extreme ſufferings, give them gall and wormwood to drink, inſtead of waters of comfort: their own poverty (like Solomon) chaſtiſeth them with whips, and your oppreſſion (like Rehoboam) whips them with Scorpions; and as he told the oppreſſed people, that his finger ſhould be heavier than his Fathers loins; it is moſt true of your oppreſſion, it is far more tyranny than their wants: whereas you ſhould pour oyl into their hearts, you pour in vinegar to aggravate their calamities; whereas you ſhould ſhew mercy to them in miſery, you ſhew all cruelty to the miſerable; your bounty ſhould relieve them, your cruelty draws more from them. Oppreſſion is like unto a Grindſtone, yea, it is as a Milſtone hung about the necks of the needy, and ſinks them deeper and deeper into want and miſery: the poor are the grapes, and you are the Wine-preſſers ſqueezing out the blood of the poor: It is a notable phraſe of Solomon, Prov. 12.10. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel: it is in the Hebrew, the bowels of the wicked are cruel: The tender mercies] that is, when men ſeem to ſhew mercy to their needy brother, their words and actions carry fair ſhews of compaſſion, as lending money to them in their neceſſity, yet there is much cruelty in thoſe mercies in the event enſuing thereupon: How often do Oppreſſors fetch home their money lent to needy brothers with a vengeance, and unconſcionable exactions? How often do they take the garments which ſhould cover the nakedneſs of their needy brethren for a pledge? aad inſtead of cloathing the naked, they expoſe them to nakedneſs, Exod. 22.22, 23. God threatens, if thou afflict any ſtranger, widow, or fatherleſs childe, and they cry at all unto me, I will ſurely hear their cry: Oppreſſion is a crying ſin, it cries for vengeance; yea, Gods anger will burn againſt ſuch mercileſs men; And my wrath, ſaith he, ſhall wax hot] and I will kill you with the ſword.] God threatens to meet with the Oppreſſor by one judgement or other: and God will make your Wives and Children to be in the ſame extremity, that your needy Brethren are. The ſtone ſhall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber ſhall anſwer it, Habak. 2.11. Suppoſe the poor and needy whom you oppreſs, do not cry againſt you, yet theſe dumb inanimate creatures will cry out againſt your oppreſſions for vengeance upon you. Amos 5.11. Foraſmuch as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat; ye have built houſes of hewn ſtone, but ye ſhall not dwell in them: God threatens to take away the habitations of ſuch as oppreſs the poor and needy.
SECT. IV.
A fourth ſin I will ſet before you, is incorrigibleneſs under former judgements: God ſent the Plague to the great City of this Land the laſt year, which ſwept away many thouſands of the Inhabitants, week after week, for a great while together; and even to this day the Plague rageth in many Towns, Cities, and other places in this Land: But my Brethren, who is the better after this ſore Viſitation? Did not ſins of all ſorts and kinds abound in the great City, before God conſumed great part of it with fire? Oh what wicked and profane practiſes hath over-ſpread it ſince the late devouring Plague, like the Sluggards Field that Solomon ſpeaks of, that was all over-ſpread with thorns and thiſtles; and not only ſo, but perſons of all ranks and conditions, and eſtates (it is to be feared) have been Actors, Factors, and Abettors of ſin; moſt men have run into ſin with more greedineſs than before. As Noahs flood covered hills, dales, mountains, vallies, ſo the flood of ungodlineſs hath covered high and low, rich and poor. Though God juſtly puniſhed us,Oppoſita juxta ſe poſita clariùs eluceſcunt. yet in the time of his juſt wrath he remembred to ſhew mercy, Habak. 3.2. The mercies of God are over all his works, even over his penal judiciary works, Pſa 145.9. his mercy is moſt conſpicuous in times of judgement; to command deliverance when we are in the mouth of danger, in the Den of Lions, in the Burning Furnace, is mercy indeed: to ſave a people being in the very jaws of death, is mercy indeed: it is the Lords mercies you were not utterly conſumed, the Sword would have conſumed, the Plague would have devoured all; theſe judgements like fire and water, are mercileſs; had not God interpoſed his own mercy, you had been utterly conſumed; if mercy had not rebuked his judgements, they had ſwallowed you up quick, you can no more reſiſt an overflowing judgement, than a level of Sand can withſtand the inundation of the Sea. The Lord gave you a reſpite after the laſt years waſting plague, he moderated his wrath, and did not make a full end of you; the Lord would make tryal, whether you would act according to your reſolutions, vows and promiſes made in the day of your diſtreſs. When the plague of Frogs was upon Pharaoh; when the Frogs were crawling on his bed, on his table, in his chamber, when he heard Frogs every where croaking, and ſaw all Egypt to be filled with them, then he ſent for Moſes and Aaron, and begs them to pray for him: Entreat ye the Lord to remove the Frogs; and then he promiſed to let Iſrael go, and they ſhould ſerve the Lord: Moſes prayed, and God removed that plague; then he put Pharaoh upon the tryal whether he would be as good as his promiſe, but then he hardened his heart again, and would not let them go: By this God made a diſcovery of the grand hypocriſie of his heart; hath it not been ſo among many of you, in the time of your ſickneſs, in the day of your calamity, when you ſuppoſed your ſelves to be very neer to death, did you not then promiſe to let your ſins go? God was pleaſed to give you a reſpite, to ſet you at liberty, and have not many of you again hardened your hearts, and refuſed to let your ſins go? therefore you may think God hath now ſuffered this late fire that was kindled among you, to devoure your habitations: Certainly, it were better to have no reſpite given at all, than to have it, and abuſe it: it were better to be taken away by the firſt judgement, than to have a reſpite between judgement and judgement, if you repent not; for now ye become greater ſinners, and you treaſure up for yourſelves more wrath; the more reſpites you have given you, and you abuſe them, the greater will your condemnation be: To ſuch the Lord ſaith, Why ſhould ye be ſtricken any more? ye will revolt more and more, Iſai. 1.5. They were never the better for all the ſtroaks of God upon them, but encreaſed their revolts; now ſee what judgement follows hereupon, Ver. 7. Your Country is deſolate, your Cities are burnt with fire, and your Land ſtrangers devoure it in your preſence. Scultetus on this place ſaith,Scultet. in Jeſ. 1.5. it is Theologica Pictura Germaniae, a Divine Picture of Germany; I may ſay it is Theologica Pictura Londini, nec-non totius Angliae; it is a Theological deſcription of London, yea of all England, I mean of the wicked in City and Country, Iſai. 26.10. Let favour he ſhewed to the wicked] i. e. let a reſpite be given him from deſtruction, yet will he not learn righteouſneſs, but return to their former wickedneſs; ſee how God threatens them. Ver. 11. The fire of thine Enemies ſhall devoure them. Though thou bray a fool in a Mortar with a Peſtle among Wheat, yet his folly will not depart from him, Prov. 27.22. Though God doth pound them even to powder, following them with ſtroak upon ſtroak, yet their folly remaineth with them.
SECT. V.
Whoredome is a ſin alſo which God threatens to puniſh with fire. Sodom and Gomorrha burned with luſt, and God overthrew and conſumed them with fire and brimſtone from heaven. O how many have been guilty of this ſin in City and Country? how many are there who have eyes full of adultery? 1 Pet. 2.14. How do multitudes of men make luſting after a woman the end of their looking upon them? they look in order to their luſts, making no other uſe of their eyes than a man doth of a Burning Glaſs, meerly to ſet their own hearts on fire of unclean luſting: yea many continue looking, till their hearts be enflamed with luſt after women; pulchris vultibus oculos Affigunt, they nail their eyes,Chryſost. in Mat. 5.28. and faſten them to beautiful faces, as Chryſoſtome ſpeaks, delighting to feed their eyes with the ſight of women, and ſeeking after beautiful faces to feed their eyes with them, and as the ſame Father ſaith, not ſo much that they would commit corporal uncleanneſs with them, but only that they may luſt after them. As often as a man looketh on a woman with a fixed eye, or a glancing eye, it mattereth not much; if it be accompanied with a luſtful motion, this is adultery before God; how many ſuch adulterers are there every where?
And as with the eye, ſo there are many that commit adultery in the heart, as by unchaſte imaginations, and unclean fancies, and by lodging unchaſte thoughts in their hearts, and giving entertainment to them: how many are there, whoſe hearts do long, lodge, dwell, and inſiſt upon unclean things? which is abominable heart-adultery in the ſight of God, inwardly wiſhing to have their luſts and deſires ſatisfied, with an actual Commiſſion of carnal uncleanneſs with thoſe perſons they luſt after? yea, many take great delight in ſuch wanton and unchaſte fancies and contemplations; this is an high degree of adultery in the heart.
I know it is a queſtion whether every ſuch thought and motion of the heart be a ſin, as long as a man doth not conſent unto them. Papiſts will not acknowledge them to be ſins till they are accompanied with delight and conſent; but Paul determineth the queſtion, Rom. 7. who there tells us, tha… ſuch motions are ſins, whether conſented to, or not, delighted in, or hated Paul did not conſent to them, yea Pau… hated them, yet he acknowledged then to bee ſins; whatſoever is a tranſgreſſion of the Law, is a ſin; now to covet, or luſt, is forbidden by the Law, whether a man conſents to it, or not conſents to it, hateth or delighteth in it, yet becauſe he coveteth, he ſinneth; to conſent to them is a higher degree of ſinfulneſs; the fuller conſent men give, the more hainous ſins are; the more men delight in ſuch luſtings, it is an higher degree of ſinning againſt God. Hence you ſee the reaſon why our Saviour doth ſo much condemn the filthineſs and uncleanneſs of the heart, Mat. 5 27, 28. Heart-adultery is minoris infamiae, of leſs infamy, becauſe it is ſecret, and unknown to any man; but it is majoris culpae, a greater fault; the reaſons are theſe. 1. Becauſe heart-adultery argues Atheiſm and contempt of Gods preſence more than the outward act; thou acteſt that in the ſight of God, which thou wouldeſt not act before a poor ſinful man. Moreover, 2. Heart-adultery is more directly againſt a mans own ſoul than other ſins: here a man makes his own ſoul the adulterer, and the adultereſs, the Bed, and the Brothel-houſe, the Incubus and Succuba, the Agent and Patient, the Whore and the Whoremonger. 3. Adultery in the heart is far more frequently committed in the heart, than the outward act is or can be; opportunity can never fail the Adulterer in his heart, he can have an opportunity when he will: The heart-adulterer can never want an adulterous ſubject, he can frame one in his mind, and can with delight commit folly with his own imaginary Strumpet; he can do it in every place and company, yea, though a thouſand eyes be upon him; and when he wanteth ſtrength and ability of body, yet then his will and fancy is ſtrong to act this wickedneſs; ſick men, old men, can then commit mental uncleanneſs with greedineſs; yea, many there are that come into our publick Congregations, chiefly to look after and look upon beautiful faces, and when they are outwardly converſant in the Worſhip of God, when they are hearing the Word, their eyes and heart may then be full of adultery. What cauſe have we all to bewail the woful pollutions of our hearts? Who can ſay my heart is clean?
Now for corporal uncleanneſs, never was this ſin thought to be more frequently committed in the great City of this Land, than it hath been within theſe few years paſt. The Lord might now take up the ſame complaint againſt many wanton Gallants, as he did by the Prophet Jeremiah of old. When I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and aſſembled themſelves by troops in the Harlots houſes. They were as fed horſes in the morning, every one neighed after his Neighbours wife: ſhall I not viſit for theſe things, ſaith the Lord? ſhall not my ſoul be avenged on ſuch a Nation as this? Jer. 5.7, 8, 9. The Lord chargeth the people of Jeruſalem, that they had committed fornication with the Egyptians, and with the Aſſyrians, and multiplied their fornication in the Land of Canaan unto Chaldea, and yet they were not ſatisfied therewith, Ezek. 16.26, 28, 29. Therefore the Lord threatens to give them up into the hands of thoſe that ſhould ſtrip them of their cloaths, and take away their fair jewels, and leave them naked and bare, ver. 39. and ver. 41. ſaith he, They ſhall burn thine houſes with fire, and execute judgements upon thee in the ſight of many women; and I will cauſe thee to ceaſe from playing the Harlot, and thou alſo ſhalt give no hire any more. It had been well if London had not been too true a Comment upon this Text, both in the ſin, and in the puniſhment.
SECT. VI.
A ſixth ſin is the ſin of drunkenneſs and intemperance. How many might have been ſeen in every corner of the great City, who drank daily till they could drink no more? who roſe up early in the morning to follow ſtrong drink, and continued until night, till the Wine enflamed them, whoſe frequent walks were from their own Beds and Houſes to the Alehouſe, and from the Alehouſe to the Tavern, whence (being not able to ſtand by themſelves) they were led or carried to their Beds again, reelling to and fro, ſtaggering, and being at their wits end; and ſo they who had ſomething of men in them when they aroſe in the morning, were (when they came to lie down at night) turn'd into Beaſts, their underſtandings being departed from them, and themſelves at their wits end? As the old world was ſwallowed up with the flood, ſo are many mens bodies and ſouls with liquor: as thoſe waters prevailed exceedingly, ſo that all the high hills and mountains were covered, and every man (as well as Beaſt) that was not in the Ark, died; ſo doth the deluge and flood of drink prevail upon drunkards, not only their bellies, but their brains are covered, not only the valleys of their ſenſitive powers, but alſo the mountains and high hills of their rational faculties are over-topt; their reaſon and underſtandings are drowned, and all their wiſdome is ſwallowed up: Every thing of a Drunkard dies in him (every thing of a man) and for the preſent he gives up the Ghoſt; nor is there any Reſurrection or reviving till the next morning, when theſe ſtrong waters are aſſwaged, and theſe floods decayed and dried up: Sad it is to think how this deluge of exceſs in drink hath drowned the face of City and Country, and riſen many Cubits above the higheſt mountains of Religion and wholeſome Laws. Oh what ſwarms of drunkards might be ſeen in ſome great Town or City in one day? Go but to ſome great Fair or Market, and you may ſee drunkards lye in ditches, or upon the high-way at the Towns end where a Fair is kept, as if ſome field had been fought; here lies one, there lies another, even like unto men that are ſlain in the field, and are ſtark dead. I have read, that there was a ſtreet in Rome, called vicus ſobrius, becauſe there was never a Drinking houſe in it: but where ſhould a man have found ſuch a ſtreet in the great City, or in any other populous Town or City in England? Multitudes there are who take a pleaſure in drinking, till their bellies and throats can hold no more, yea, many there are, who by accuſtoming themſelves to frequent acts of immoderate drinking, have gotten an habit of being able to drink exceſſively, without being diſtempered by it, notwithſtanding that woe that is denounced againſt them that are mighty to drink wine, and ſtrong to pour in ſtrong drink; that is, woe unto them that by repeated Acts of drunkenneſs, have made themſelves like brewers horſes, able to bear away a greater quantity of drink than other ſober healthy perſons are, or themſelves at firſt were. It is a ſign of deſtruction and deſolation approaching upon a people, when they are not aſhamed of ſuch a ſwiniſh ſin, but drink and ſtagger, and reel to and fro in the face of the Sun: O fearful condition of thoſe that are not aſhamed to go on in drunkenneſs, which is one of the moſt ſhameful ſins, and moſt contrary to the light of reaſon. Certainly God hath his times of viſitation for this, as well as for other ſins, and then the drunkard ſhall be caſt down, and ſhall bee able to ſtand no longer.
SECT. VII.
A ſeventh ſin I ſhall ſet before you, is the ſin of Pride; eſpecially pride of apparel; and to what height of pride in this kinde were people grown every where, eſpecially in the great City of this Land, who knoweth not? it is a note of levity and vanity of minde, to be ſtill deviſing and following new fangled faſhions; it makes the world beleeve the Moon to be our Miſtreſs, and predominant Planet, and then it will plainly appear, we are no better than lunaticks: It is a great reproach to the Engliſh Nation, to follow all new deviſed faſhions, and eſpecially to bee the Frenchmens Apes, who are generally haters of our Nation: therefore in Forreign parts they paint an Engliſh man naked, with a piece of cloath under his arm, and with a pair of ſhears in his hand, ſeeking a Taylor to finde him out a new faſhion. The uſe of Apparel is, 1. for neceſſity, to cover our nakedneſſe. 2. for ornament and comlineſſe. 3. for diſtinction of age, of ſexe, of quality; for great perſonages may, and ſhould wear rich apparel, ſo it be grave, ſober, and ſeemly: but now people of all ranks almoſt are grown to an exceſs in this kind, and the ſervant can hardly be diſtinguiſhed by his apparel from his Maſter, nor Gill from a Gentlewoman. Apparel ſheweth what moſt people are that wear it, it uncovers their hearts to the world, you may know whether people are chaſte or wanton, proud or grave, ſober or fantaſtical by the apparel they wear. Is not he condemned for a very fool that takes more care to be comly, proud, and rich in apparel, than to he healthy? Is not he a fool to be laught at, that will brag of a clean Band, and hath a foul dirty face, and will not waſh it? Strange it is to ſee the folly of men, whoſe ſpecial care is to adorn their bodies with coſtly apparel that they might appear comely and glorious in the ſight of men, but regard not how ugly, how deformed, how polluted and abominable their ſouls are in the ſight of God. As God complained of the Jews, Is it time for you to dwell in your ſeiled houſes, and this houſe lye waſte? Hag. 1.4. So God may complain, is it time for the daughtets of England, for the daughters of London to be haughty, and walk with ſtretched out necks, and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go? when the Lord is pouring out his fury, like fire upon them, and marring the pride of England, and the great pride of London, as ſometime he threatned to mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jeruſalem, Jer. 13.9. Ah! how do many people ſpend more precious time in dreſſing their bodies, than in trimming their ſouls; and delight more to ſee their faces in a glaſs, than to view their hearts in the glaſs of the Word! Oh what will become of their ſouls, when God ſhall ſtrip them of their gaudy cloathes, and pampered bodies! What confuſion will fall on them, when their ſouls ſhall appear naked before the Lord! Then they will cry out; the joy of our heart is ceaſed, Lam. 3.15 16our daunce is turned into mourning; the crown is fallen from our head, wo unto us that we have ſinned. Our crown of honour, our crown of pleaſure, our crown of pride is fallen from our heads, wo unto us that we have ſinned, and walked in pride. Pride is the uſher of ruine; Pride goes before deſtruction, Prov. 16. 18. One asked an Heathen Philoſopher, what God was doing? hee anſwered, Totam ejus occupationem eſſe in elevatione humiliū, in dejectione ſuperborum; It is Gods whole buſineſs to exalt the humble, and to abaſe and caſt down the proud. Behold the day cometh, that ſhall burn like an tven, and all the proud, &c. ſhall bee as ſtubble. Mal. 4.1. Though now they are like iron and ſteel, yet then they ſhall bee like ſtubble before the fire of his devouring wrath.