The peril of the times displayed. Or The danger of mens taking up with…

1•. The inefficaciousness of Gods severe Judgments. The Judgments which God brings upon a professing people, are witnesses of great decays in Godliness, for that is even the controversy which he manageth by them. But when these Judgments come upon a people, and are o•ten repeated, and God followeth them with a long series thereof, and they are bruised, and broken, and brought exceeding low by them, and yet they do not work to the declared end of them, which is to reclaim them from their lifelessness, and to quicken them to express the vigour and power of Grace, but they are stupid and sottish children, and do not lay to heart these Dispensations of his, as he complains, Isa. 42.25. he poured on him the fury of his anger; and it ⟨p. 116⟩hath set him on […] about, yet he knew not, and it […] him, yet he laid it not to heart; yea, when God complains as one that is we••y of correcting them, and upon it threatens to leave off, because it is fruitless, and there is no good cometh of it, as Isa. •.5. Why should you be smitten any more? ye will revolt more and more. Hos. 4.17. Ephraim is joined to his Idols, let him alone. This is a token that the power is not only decayed, but expired; and let us make diligent enquiry upon this account; we have been for a long time harassed with Judgment which h•ve been brought upon us, and wasted us; there have been many of them, and they have been continued▪ God hath manifestly witnessed his Anger and our Apostasy by them; and he hath waited long in the way of his Judgments, for our Repentance; and after all he hath changed the course of his Providence to us ward, and hath again restored us to peace and plenty, and afforded large measures of health among us: but it is still a solemn enquiry to be made by us, viz whether Gods holding back his correcting hand, & opening of his bountiful ⟨p. 117⟩hand to us, be because he is reconciled to us, or because his patience is wearied with our insensibleness of, and stupidity under his judicial dispensations: if it be the former, all is well, and we may abundantly rejoice in it; but if it be the latter, there is then a sad prognostic in it. Well, this may soon be determined. What of the power of Godliness is recovered among us by all this? nay, what outward Reformation is there wrought by it? or are we not more stupid and senseless under all?