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7, and at this Time of the groffeft Scepticism and Infidelity, as to divine Predictions of Judgments, cannot but deferve our most attentive Confideration. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the laft Days Scoffers, walking after their own Lufts, and faying, Where is the Promife of his coming? For fince the Fathers fell asleep, all Things continue as they were from the Beginning of the Creation. For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the Word of God the Heavens were of old, and the Earth Standing out of the Water, and in the Water: Whereby the World that then was, being overflowed with WATER, perished. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the fame Word are kept in ftore, referved unto FIRE, against the Day of Judgment, and Perdition of ungodly Men. Now these two Judgments of the Deluge, and Conflagration, naturally put me in mind of those frequent and terrible Inundations of Water and Fires, which have of late been fo very remarkable in our Magazines and News Papers. And to what farther Degrees of Frequency and Defolation they may proceed, unless a general Reformation prevent them, we none of us know, but all of us have juft Caufe to fear. [See Mr. Warner's most serious and excellent Sermon before the Lord-Mayor, upon the Fire of London, 1666, preached 1749; which I heartily recommend to every fober Perfon's Confideration.]

N. B. July 19, 1750, I began at Tunbridge. Wells, my VI Lectures on the Restoration of the R 2

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Jews & which I had there two Years before: With the III additional Lectures, occafion'd by the late Meteors and Earthquakes, which I had at London, at the Time of thofe Earthquakes. And although at London I had 27 and 43 Auditors, on the 6th and 10th of March, and no fewer than 65 on the 8th, which was the Evening after the Second, or Great Earthquake; and I proposed to have the fame III Lectures in that Courfe at the Wells, yet did I find Matters quite otherwife there. For after my first Lecture, when I had 18 Auditors, and they perceived I intended to difcourage the Gameing, and other Fooleries of that Place; and to call them to attend to the Warnings of Providence, by the late Meteors and Earthquakes, and to a Reformation of their Manners, not a fingle Perfon came to my fecond Lecture. So I came away, and was forced to leave the unthinking and pleasurable Part to their own Folly; and I fear, in no long Time, to their own Destruction alfo. I cannot better conclude this Paper than with Dr. Stukeley's own moft proper and ferious Conclufion, Page 46, 47.

"In the mean Time, let us not think on running away from the Danger, fo much as on mending our Ways; perfecting the Chriftian Life; reforming the abominable Crimes, fo juftly chargeable on great and Maritime Cities, overflowing with Riches, Pride, and Luxury, with Vanity, Pleasure, and Profanenefs, with Gaming, Immorality, Infidelity, and efpecially, with the notorious Crime of Sabbathbreaking, [Profanation of the Lord's Day,] which is

the

If

the Foundation of all, and comprehends all others; for it prevents People from amending of any. they fail of their Duty towards God, in making their regular Approaches to his Temple, no Wonder they are guilty of all Crimes; regard neither God nor Man. If they fail of coming, where they may hope for the kindly Influences of God's Holy Spirit, we need not wonder at their egregious Wickedness: They become abfolutely irreclaimable.

But of you, my beloved Brethren, here affembled, I hope better Things, You fhun the degenerate Corruptions of this evil Age; you are not of the Number of thofe that frequent our publick Meetings of Folly, from the Morning Ren dezvouses, to the Midnight Affemblies; and that protracted to the Morning Light again. As if we ought to banish all ferious Thoughts of our immortal Interests; and that in the facred Seafon of Lent; deftin'd by the Church, for this very serious Purpose.

Let us think how this Warning happen'd to us in the Time of Lent, when they were revelling in their Places of Entertainment, both Morning and Evening, as if no fuch Thing had been; and this on the very Days; as if they confronted and dar'd Almighty Vengeance. Much of a parallel Cafe with that of the famous City of Herculanum, which is now the Entertainment of the Curious. First, it was miferably shatter'd by an Earthquake, whilft the People were at their Diverfions in the Theatre; where all affembled perished. This was in the first Year of Titus the Emperor:

But

But fuch a partial Judgment not mending their Manners, 9 Years after the whole City was deftroy'd by a Lake of liquid Fire and Brimftone, from Mount Vesuvius, juft in the Manner we now find it, 50 Foot deep in Cinders, and Afhes."

N. B. Mr. Feuguelin, a Clergyman of Bern and Zurich, and a Man of Letters, came to fée me in London, May 31, 1750, and went in the Coach with me as far as Rochester, June 7, in his Way to Paris. He had been Chaplain to a Regiment of Switz, in the Service of the King of Sardinia, under whom the Remains of the two oldeft Witneffes to genuine Christianity, the Waldenfes and Albigenfes, now live, and whom that Prince has never perfecuted. He informed me, that the Vaudois, about 10,000 in Number, have 13 Ministers (of old they were called Barbs) whom he knew, and they told him, that out of those 10,000 they have not had one Bastard among them in 30 Years Time. Now this is to me a most remarkable Character of true Religion, and agrees well with my Expectation, that they will foon be farther advanced, or in Prophetick Language, afcend up to Heaven in a Cloud. At which Moment of Time, or Hour, I expect that great Earthquake which is to overthrow the tenth Part of London, and to flay 7000 Men of Note therein, when the Remnant will be affrighted, and give Glory to the God of Heaven. Of which fee Pag. 42, 135,-138, priùs, and the additional Sheet of the 2d. Edition of my Effay on the Revelation, Pag. 329-332.

N. B.

N. B. Page 14, Line laft but three, add, Which Brother of mine has been no more than a Curate these 43 Years at Somerfham near Huntingdon, becaufe. he would neither fign Articles nor read the Athanafian Creed against his own Judgment and Confcience: Which puts me in Mind of what I formerly faid to him, and repeated it to him the other Day:

"Brother, this World was made for the Rectors, the next for the Curates. You and I must stay for the next World.' Which we were both willing

to do.

Page 280, Line 11, add, Thus the famous modern Pamphlet, intitled Chriflianity not founded on Argument, urges a very ftrong Objection against that Religion, from the Admiffion by almost all Parties of fuch Infants into it as are uncapable of all Religion. This grand Objection has been endeavoured to be answered by a Cambridge, as well as an Oxford Scholar; by Mr. Mole, by Dr. Doddridge; by Dr. Leland; and by Dr. Benson; but this only by giving up in effect, that Baptism as unfcriptural. Nor is it poffible to answer this Objection on any other Foundation, as my fagacious Friend Mr. Killingworth has unanfwerably demonftrated, in his acute Remarks on those several Pamphlets. So that this Author, instead of hurting the Evidence for the Truth of the real Chriftian Religion, as he thought, has done great Service to it, by almost forcing our modern Parties to correct one of the moft unhappy Corruptions that have long been a Reproach to them, and to our common Christianity.

N. B.

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