God's soveraignty displayed from Job 9. 12. : Behold he taketh away, who can hinder him? &c., or, A discourse shewing, that God doth, and may take away from his creatures what hee pleaseth, as to the matter what, the place where, the time when, the means and manner how, and the reasons thereof : with an application of the whole, to the distressed citizens of London, whose houses and goods were lately consumed by the fire : an excitation of them to look to the procuring causes of this fiery tryal, the ends that God aims at in it, with directions how to behave themselves under their losses / by William Gearing ...

TO THE Right VVorshipfull Sr. John Pelham of Laughton, Sr. John Fagge of Wiston, in the County of Sussex, Ba∣ronets:

TO Herbert Morley of Glyne, in the same County: to John Gell of Hopton, in the County of Darby, and to Ger∣vaise Pigot of Thrumpton in the County of Nottingham, Esquires.

FRom that dreadful fire that consumed a great part of the City of London, about the beginning of Sep∣tember last, I may take occa∣sion

to shew, that the great∣est chances, alterations, and most notable changes have commonly hapned in the month of September; Bodi∣nus hath collected many re∣markable instances to this purpose. Great earth-quakes wherewith oftentimes great Cities and whole Countries have been destroyed, have happened in the month of September: Such was that Earth-quake at Constanti∣nople, wherein thirteen thousand men were lost in the year 1509 in the month of September: In the same month of September, where∣in the battel was fought at

Actium, ten thousand men perished in the Land of Pa∣lestine, with an Earthquake. The Victory of Augustus also, against Antonius in the bat∣tel of Actium, was by him ob∣tained on the second of Sep∣tember, by which victory the Empire both of the East and West, fell into the power of Augustus, himself alone. The third day of the same month the Macedonian Empire which had so long flourished, was by Paulus Aemilius changed from a great King∣dom into divers popular E∣states: the King Persius be∣ing by him overcome and ta∣ken prisoner: Sultan Soliman

on the like day took Buda the chief City of Hungaria, with the greatest part of that Kingdome. The same day and month Rhoderick King of Spain, was by the Moors overcome, and driven out of his Kingdom, which wrought a strange alteration in the state of that Monarchy. On the same day of the month revolving, Lewis the twelfth the French King took the City of Milan, with Lewis Sphortia Duke thereof, whom he deprived of his E∣state. On the like day the Emperour Charles the fifth passed over into Affrica, and invaded the Kingdome of

Algiers. On the same third day of September, in the year 1658. dyed O. Crom∣wel: on that very day of the month, wherein hee had gotten two notable Victories, the one at Dunbar in Scot∣land, 1650. the other at Worcester, Anno 1651. On the fourth day of September dyed Sultan Solyman before Sigeth, which being one of the strongest holds of Chri∣stendome, was by the Turks taken the seventh day after, the City of Jerusalem was taken about this time of the month of September by the Romans, as Xiphilinus de∣clareth. On the ninth day of

September, Alexander the Great at Arbela overthrew Darius King of Persia, with his Army of four hundred thousand men, and so joyned the Kingdome of Persia unto his own. On the same day in the year 1544. James King of Scots, was by the English∣men slain, and his Army o∣verthrown. On the tenth of September, John Duke of Burgundy was slain by the commandment of Charles the seventh, whence arose great Wars throughout all France. On the like day and month was Peter Louys the Tyrant of Placenzza slain by the Conspiratours. On the ele∣venth

of September the Pa∣leology the Greek Emperors tooke the Imperial City of Constantinople, and drave out thence the Earls of Flan∣ders, who had there possessed the Empire 560 years. On the fourteenth day of Sep∣tember, the Switzers were with a great slaughter over∣thrown by the French in the Expedition of Merignan; which self-same day also the Turk's great Army besieged Vienna the Metropolitical City of Austria. On the se∣venteenth day, the French Army was overthrown at Poictiers, and King John himself taken Prisoner by the

English. On the same day of the month A. D. 1575 the Christian Fleet with a great slaughter overthrew the Turk's great Fleet in the battel of Lepanto. On the same day of the same month Charles the ninth, King of France, was by his Subjects assailed near unto Meaux, where by speedy flight, and the help of the Switzers, hee hardly with life escaped the hands of the Conspiratours. A. D. 1567. On the which self-same day, month and year, Henry King of Sweden was by his rebellious Subjects dispoiled of his Estate, and cast into Prison. On the

eighteenth day of September Bulloign was surrendred to the English. Ʋpon the like day of the month, Bajazet at Nicopolis overthrew a great Army of the Christians, of three hundred thousand men. And on the same day Saladine took the City of Je∣rusalem, on which Pompey had before taken it. On the twentieth day of September, was that sharpe sight at Newbury, in that late un∣happy War in England. A. D. 1643. On the four and twentieth day of September, Constantine the great in a bloody battel, overcame Maxentius the Emperour.

A. D. 333. and so became a great Monarch, which wrought a notable change, almost throughout the whole World; from thenceforth he commanded the year to bee begun in September, and to the Greek Feasts unto that day is added, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. In this month Pope Boniface 8th. A. D. 1303. was taken Pri∣soner, and deprived of his Papal dignity. On the third day of the same month, A. D. 1556. such a Tempest of rain and Thunder hapned at Lu∣cern, as that a greater (as was reported) was never seen; On which self-same month &

day, the Town-Hall of Mai∣denburg in Germany, with the Citizens dancing there∣in, were altogether with lightning consumed. About the beginning of this month A. D. 465. such an horri∣ble fire brake forth in Con∣stantinople by the water-side, which raged with that fury for four daies together, that it consumed the greatest part of the City, and such was the force thereof, that as Eva∣grius saith, the strongest Houses were but like so much dried stubble before it. And how hath the Lord sent a dreadful Fire upon London, and it hath consumed the lof∣ty

buildings and Palaces there∣of in September last?

We read also, that many of the greatest Princes and Monarchs of the world, to have dyed in this ve∣ry month of September; Viz. Augustus, Tiberius▪ Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Aurelianus, Theodosius the great, Valenti∣nian, Gratian, Basilius, Constan∣tine the fifth, Leo the 4th. Ro∣dolph, Frederick the 4th. Charles the 5th. all Roman or Greek Em∣perors. And of the French Kings, Pepin, Lewis the younger, Philip the 3d. Charles the 5th. sirnamed the Wife, and Lewis his Kinsman, King of Hungary, and Polland, with many other most noble and fa∣mous Monarchs. And it is remark∣able, that Lothair and Charles the Bald, the one the K. of France, and the other the German Empe∣ror, (and both of them the Sons of Lewis the devout Emperor) both died the 29th. of September,

the first of them in the year, 855. and the other A. D. 877. So Charles 5. and Sultan Solyman, two of the greatest Emperours that were these many Ages, were both born in one year, and so both also dyed in one month, viz. in Sep∣tember. Now though some have thought all these great and mar∣vellous effects, to have been wrought by the Conjunction of the superiour Planets, or look below God to secondary causes; yet let us look above all these, to God himself, who worketh all things after the Counsel of his own will, Eph. 1.11.

Right Worshipful, to you I De∣dicate these ensuing Meditations, as a publick testimonial of those re∣spects you have manifested to me, let me beseech you to look diligently to your selves, because the Lord hath set you on higher ground than ma∣ny others; it is more for persons in your places and stations to win the

City of God, being ships of greater burden, and in the main Ocean, than for small Vessels that are not so much at the mercy of the stormes, because by sailing along the Coast, they may come quietly to the Haven. In the midst of your worldly affairs; labour ye to be like the fresh Rivers, that preserve their own sweetness in the salt-Sea. Thus recommend∣ing you to the rich Grace of God, I humbly take my leave, and re∣main,

Yours in all Gospel-Services to bee commanded, W. GEARING.

Cransden in Sussex. March. 27. 1667.

Notes

• Bodin. de Rep•••••• lib. 4
• Evangr. lib. 2. ca. 13.