dividing the flames of fire, the voice of the Lord shaking the wilderness of Kadesh, breaking the cedars of Lebanon, and the like, which is the voice of the Lord in the terrible noise of thunder, Psal. xxix. 3—8.

And there is no one work of the Lord (though not with such a noise) which doth not with a loud voice, as it were, in the name of the Lord, proclaim unto the children of men how great and glorious the Lord is, who hath given it its being, and use, and place in the world; especially the work of God in the make of Man, his body, the members and senses; his soul (its powers and faculties) doth without a tongue speak the praise of that God who curiously framed the body in the womb, and immediately infused the living soul, Psal. cxxxix. 14, 15; Zech. xii. 1.

2. God speaketh by his works of providence, and that both merciful and afflictive.

1. God speaketh by his merciful providences; by his patience, and bounty, and goodness, He calleth men unto repentance, Rom. ii. 4. He giveth witness of himself, in giving rain and fruitful seasons, Acts xiv. 17.

God's providing mercies, God's preventing mercies, God's preserving mercies, God's delivering mercies; the number of God's mercies which cannot be reckoned; the order and strange method of God's mercies, which cannot be declared; the greatness of God's mercies in the kinds and strange circumstances which cannot be expressed, do all with open mouth call upon men from the Lord to repent of their sins which

they have committed against him, and to yield all love, thankfulness, and obedience unto him.

2. God speaketh by his afflictive providences: there is a voice of God in his rod, as well as in his word, Mic. vi. 9. "Hear the rod, and who hath appointed it;" when God "chasteneth, he teacheth," Psalm xciv. 12. When God lifteth up his hand, and strikes, he openeth his mouth also, and speaks; and sometimes openeth men's ears too, and sealeth their instruction, Job xxxiii. 16.

Sometimes God speaks by rods more mildly, by lesser afflictions; sometimes God speaks by scorpions more terribly, by greater judgments: which leads to the second particular.

SECT. II.

What are those terrible things by which God doth sometimes speak?

THE word in the original is Noraoth (from Jera which signifieth, he feared;) terrible things are such great judgments of God, as do usually make a general impression of fear upon the hearts of people.

1. The plague is a terrible judgment by which God speaks unto men. It is a speaking judg ment; where God sends the plague, he speaks, and he speaks terribly; the plague is very terrible, as it effecteth terror: the pestilence which

walketh in darkness, is called the "terror by night," Psalm xci. 5, 6.

The plague is very terrible, in that,

1. It is so poisonous a disease; it poisons the blood and spirits, breeds a strange kind of venom in the body, which breaketh forth sometimes in boils, and blains, and great carbuncles; or else works more dangerously, when it preyeth upon the vitals more inwardly.

2. It is so noisome a disease; it turns the good humours into putrefaction, which putting forth itself in the issues of running sores, doth give a most noisome smell: such a disease for loathsomeness we read of, Psalm xxxviii. 5. 7. 11. "My wounds stink and are corrupt, my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, and there is no soundness in my flesh: my lovers and my friends stand aloof off from my sore, and my kinsmen stand afar off."

3. It is so infectious a disease: it spreadeth' itself worse than the leprosy amongst the Jews; it infecteth not only those which are weak, and infirm in body, and full of ill humours, but also those that are young, strong, healthful, and of the best temperature: and that sometimes sooner than others. The plague is infectious, and greatly infectious, whole cities have been depopulated through its spreading, many whole families have received infection, and death one from another thereby: which is the third thing that rendereth the plague so terrible.

4. It is so deadly; it kills where it comes without, mercy; it kills (I had almost said cer

tainly ;) very few do escape, especially upon its first entrance, and before its malignity be spent ; few are touched by it, but they are killed by it: and it kills suddenly; as it gives no warning before it comes; suddenly the arrow is shot which woundeth unto the heart; so it gives little time of preparation before it brings to the grave: under other diseases men may linger out many weeks and months; under some divers years; but the plague usually killeth within a few days; some times within a few hours after its first approach, though the body were never so strong and free from disease before.

་

The plague is very terrible; it is terible to them that have it; insomuch as it usually comes with grim Death, the king of terrors, in its hand; and it is terrible to them which have it not, because of their danger of being infected by its; the fear of which have made such an impression upon some, that it hath razed out of their hearts, for the while, all affections of love and pity to their nearest relations and dearest friends; so that when the disease hath first seized upon them, and they have had the greatest need of succour, they have left their friends in distress, and flown away from them, as if they had been their enemies.

2. A deluge by water is a terrible judgment There have been several floods which we read of in histories, that have suddenly broken in upon some places, and overwhelmed habitations and inhabitants together.

But God never did, and never will speak so terribly by a deluge of water, as by the great

deluge in the days of Noah, when the whole world was drowned thereby, excepting Noah, and those which were with him in the ark.

And because the judgment was so dreadful, and the history so affecting, I shall set it before your eyes out of Gen. vii. from the 11th verse to the end of the chapter. "In the sixth hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, and the seventeenth day of the month, in the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." God withdrew the bounds which he had set to the great sea, so that the waters covered the earth as they did at the beginning, "and the windows of heaven were opened," out of which God looked forth in anger upon the earth, and poured forth a "vial of his wrath," causing it to rain forty days and forty nights in dreadful showers, accompanied, as is probable, with stormy winds, and hideous tempests, which put the world into a fright and amazement; when the element of air seemed to be changed into water, and such a torrent flowed in upon them on every side, we may guess what fear they were overwhelmed withal: but Noah and his family were got into the ark, and the Lord "shut them in; when the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth, and the waters increased, and prevailed greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters, so that all the high hills and mountains were covered fifteen cubits: then all flesh died, fowl, and cattle, and beast, and every thing that creeped or moved on the earth, and every man; and Noah only remained alive, and they that

C