have found it, perhaps, an object of terror beyond all your imagination. But remember, Sirs, the day is approaching, when you must see a burning world: for The day of the Lord will come, and that as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up*. And though, long before that time, the grave will have received you, and you will Have no portion any more in all that is done under the sunt; yet you yourselves must be called forth, and shall arise, to be spectators of that august solemnity: and you shall all behold The day, when the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood; when The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers thereof shall be shaken §; when The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree; when The streams shall be turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone ¶, and all the beauties of nature and art shall be sunk into rubbish and chaos. Happy men, who shall then be able to Lift up their heads with joy, knowing that their complete redemption draweth nigh**; and who According to the promise of that God, who amidst all the convulsions and revolutions of nature is still the same, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness ††. But let it be remembered, that all this pomp is to usher in that Day of judgment, which shall be a day of perdition to ungodly ment: For a fire shall then be kindled in God's anger, which shall burn even to the lowest hell, when it has consumed the earth with its increase, and calcined the very foundations of the mountains §§. And in this view, let The sinners in Zion be afraid, and let fearfulness surprise the hypocrites; for who can dwell with the devouring fire? Who can dwell with everlasting burnings ? Yet this, you well know, is the doom of every impenitent sinner; a doom, to be pronounced by the lips of Christ himself, in words which he has already uttered and recorded, that by weighing their terror, we may be roused from our security, and be alarmed to escape it; Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ¶¶. Nor can you imagine the sentence shall be pronounced in vain, or that all the confederate nations of the condemned shall be able to ward it off. But who can sustain the terror of its execution! What, if, while your habitations were in flames, and you were endeavouring to escape for your lives, a host of armed enemies had cut off your retreat, and forcibly driven you back to the fire! You cannot bear the thought; the horror of it strikes you to the heart, and nature shudders at it. But will it not be infinitely more terrible, when legions of angels with irresistible power urge you on, and the wrath of God like an overflowing torrent sweeps you away into The lake that burns with fire and brimstone *? Wretched creatures, that are yet obnoxious to such a destruction! Weep not, Sirs, if this be the case, for your houses and goods consumed. Weep not for your substance wasted, and your families undone. You have a far juster cause for deep lamentation. Mourn over your perishing souls. Say not, we will recover our affairs as fast as we can, by renewed application to worldly business; and much less presume arrogantly to Say in the pride and stoutness of your hearts, The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedarst. Remember, that Pride goes before destruction ‡; and amidst all the most pressing cares and hurries of life, let it be still considered by you, there is one great concern, that even now demands a more attentive regard; that you may Flee from the wrath to come, to Jesus, who is appointed to deliver from it §. Think not of repairing your losses, and of settling your affairs here; but let me rather say to each of you, as the Angel to Lot, while he lingered in Sodom, perhaps from too great a regard for the goods he was to leave there, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. I must be insensible of the worth of souls, and most regardless of the great end of my office, if I were not willing to digress much farther than I have now done, to give so necessary a caution. May divine grace make it effectual to awaken those, who, if their present stupidity continue a while longer, must feel those flames, which they will not see! But I trust, my brethren, there are those of you, whom God has plucked as brands out of the burning, in the noblest and most important sense of these words, and who have sought, and found your shelter, from this most terrifying prospect, in the grace of the gospel-covenant. Whatever your other circumstances are, be thankful for this most gracious interposition : let your losses and sorrows sit light on your hearts, while God Rev. xxi. 8. † Lsa. ix. 9, 10. Prov. xvi. 18. § 1 Thess. i. 10. || Gen. xix. 17. has appointed salvation itself for walls and bulwarks*. But still be sure that you maintain that active zeal, and continued watchfulness, which suits your obligations to God, and your expectations from him; and Seeing that you look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found of him in peace +. In the mean time, Encourage yourselves in the Lord your Godt, well knowing, that if the foundations of the earth were to shake and the arches of heaven to burst asunder, it becomes the soul, that is supported by its God, to stand the shock with intrepid courage; as being assured, that nothing can finally crush and overwhelm him, who is covered by the shield of the Almighty; and That the trial of the good man's faith, which is far more precious than that of gold which perishes, though tried in the fire, will certainly be found to honour and joy at last §. Such may the event of all your trials be! So may divine grace animate every heart that hears me! So may it visit all who have been sufferers by the loss, or shared in the alarm, though they share not with us in the devotions of this day! May the compassionate eye of God regard you, and your habitations! may his providence cement, strengthen, and adorn them; for Except the Lord build the city, they labour in vain that build it! May The candle of the Lord shine on your tabernacle ¶, and his Spirit enlighten and renew your souls! May peace and prosperity, friendship and religion, always flourish in this town and neighbourhood! And in a word, may God so compassionate your calamity, as to give you Joy for mourning, and beauty for ashes**; that those who have lamented over you, may rejoice with you; and that at length you may share the security and joy of The city of God even the heavenly Jerusalem ++, where no flames shall be felt, but those of love, and no sound heard, but the accents of everlasting triumph and praise! Amen. * Isa. xxvi. 1. Psal. cxxvii. 1. +2 Pet. iii. 14. 1 Sam. xxx. 6. ** Isa. Ixi. 3. § 1 Pet.i. 7. tt Heb. xii. 22. POSTSCRIPT. THE following Hymn, though not considerable on any other account, was judged so suitable to the occasion, that many of my friends united in their request, that it might be printed with the sermon, after which it was sung: I was the more willing to comply with it, lest the multiplication of incorrect copies should make it yet more imperfect than it is. But hardly any thing was ever farther from my thoughts, than the publication, either of this, or of the discourse itself. THE HYMN. ETERNAL God! our humbled souls Low in thy presence bow : II. Fann'd by thy breath, huge sheets of flame Do like a deluge pour; And all our confidence of wealth Lies moulder'd in an hour. III. Led on by thee, in horrid pomp, And blacken'd walls, and smoaking heaps, IV. Deep in our dust we lay us down, Oh that the hateful dregs of sin, VI. So might we view with dauntless eyes When earth, and seas, and stars, and skies, In flames shall melt away! DEDICATION TO A SERMON ON A DAY OF PUBLIC HUMILIATION. SIR, To the Honourable Col. James Gardiner, I AM far from thinking, that I pay any part of the debt which I owe to your most engaging friendship, by presenting you with this plain discourse; on the contrary, I am sensible, that by your permitting me to inscribe it to you, that debt is increased: but obligations to so much goodness as I have experienced in you, sit so easily and so pleasantly upon me, that no objection arises from that quarter. And it has this claim to your patronage, that many of the thoughts are as much yours as mine; having been talked over between us with a great deal of freedom. I know, Sir, they are such as make a very deep impression on your heart, and such as you strenuously labour to promote among those who have the happiness of being under your command; and I am confident you will think it no reproach to you to avow them in the most public manner, as your whole life always speaks your steady regard to those principles on which they are built. I heartily congratulate you, Sir, and I congratulate the public, on the visible effects of your resolute and courageous zeal for religion, in the remarkable sobriety and regularity of those to whom your influence most directly extends; and I doubt not, but it has extended much farther than the company, or even the regiment, to which you stand peculiarly related. Were our officers and our soldiers in general such, I am persuaded it would soon appear, how much righteousness exalteth a nation; and that he who is wisdam to the pious counseller, would also be strength to them that turn the battle from our gates to those of the enemy: so that our commanders, like the hero who has furnished me with my motto, might well give it for their word, God our ally and our general. To all the prayers which I have been offering for my country in the progress of that discourse of which I now beg your acceptance, permit me to add this one more, that to whatever services you may be called in its defence, that God, whom you serve, in all may continually watch over you for good, and prolong to many future most honourable and important years, a life so faithfully devoted to him. My heart reveres you too much, to permit me to tell the world, so immediately in your presence, the high sentiments it entertains of you; and I am (with an affection, which is, perhaps, too ready to forget the formalities of a public address, in the tenderness of private friendship,) My dear Colonel, most obliged, and most obedient P. DODDRIDGE. Northampton, Feb. 25, 1739-40. |