The fiery trial no strange thing delivered in a sermon preached at Charlestown February…The fiery tryal no strange thing delivered in a sermon preached at Charlestown February…

1. How to pray for them, i. e. in Faith; when a thing seems strange to us, it stirs up unbelief: when men cannot tell what to make of these providences which are in their view, they know not how to believe; they know not where to fix their faith: but when a child of God sees the evidence of things, he hath now the reason of his confidence before him.

2. What to pray: it will teach us not to over hasten God in his work, but to leave him to his leisure, who in infinite wisdom knows what he hath to do: when the fiery trial looks strange, all we can think of, is the removal and taking of it away, and we cannot tell how to pray to God for any thing else, because we can see no good in the affliction: but when we are acquainted with the author, nature, and end of all these trials, it will direct us first of all to pray that God would sanctify it for the cleansing of his Churches; that he would purify sons of Levi and reform the Protestant Profession in the World: the Church most of all needs our Prayers at this day, on this account; and then we may wait upon God for their deliverance.

2. What to pray: it will teach us not to over hasten God in his work, but to leave him to his leisure, who in infinite wisdome knows what he hath to do: when the fiery tryal looks strange, all we can think of, is the removal and taking of it away, and we cannot tell how to pray to God for any thing else, because we can see no good in the affliction: but when we are acquainted with the author, nature, and end of all these tryals, it will direct us first of all to pray that God would sanctifie it for the cleansing of his Churches; that he would purifie sons of Levi and reform the Protestant Profession in the World: the Church most of all needs our Prayers at this day, on this account; and then we may wait upon God for their deliverance.

2. It may advise us not to think it a strange or unlikely thing, that we our selves may be brought under the fiery trial, I am sure there are many awful symptoms of it, and more from time to time: yea we are likely enough to pull it down upon our own heads by our foolish divisions, and strange indiscretions: and ready enough we are to censure and charge one another in this kind; but there is an higher hand moving all these lesser wheels: and if we would look aright, the thing which should mostly awe and affect us is this, that we are become degenerate, we have backslidden and gone aside from God, we have lost our first love, we are grown dirty and drossy, obstinate and hard-hearted, and unwilling to be reclaimed: if therefore God should withdraw from us, and leave our public affairs to miscarry in our hands, I would say it is of the Lord, that he might fulfil the words of his Ministers, that told and warned us of days of great calamity approaching;