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 ...

SECT. VI.

[ VI] A sixth sin is the sin of drunken∣ness and intemperance. How many might have been seen in every corner of the great City, who drank daily till they could drink no more? who rose up early in the morning to follow

strong drink, and continued until night, till the Wine enflamed them, whose frequent walks were from their own Beds and Houses to the Alehouse, and from the Alehouse to the Tavern, whence (being not able to stand by themselves) they were led or carried to their Beds again, reelling to and fro, staggering, and being at their wits end; and so they who had something of men in them when they arose in the morn∣ing, were (when they came to lie down at night) turn'd into Beasts, their un∣derstandings being departed from them, and themselves at their wits end? As the old world was swallowed up with the flood, so are many mens bo∣dies and souls with liquor: as those waters prevailed exceedingly, so that all the high hills and mountains were covered, and every man (as well as Beast) that was not in the Ark, died; so doth the deluge and flood of drink prevail upon drunkards, not only their bellies, but their brains are covered, not only the valleys of their sensitive powers, but also the mountains and high hills of their rational faculties are over-topt; their reason and under∣standings are drowned, and all their

wisdome is swallowed up: Every thing of a Drunkard dies in him (every thing of a man) and for the present he gives up the Ghost; nor is there any Resurrection or reviving till the next morning, when these strong waters are asswaged, and these floods decayed and dried up: Sad it is to think how this deluge of excess in drink hath drowned the face of City and Country, and ri∣sen many Cubits above the highest mountains of Religion and wholesome Laws. Oh what swarms of drunkards might be seen in some great Town or City in one day? Go but to some great Fair or Market, and you may see drunkards lye in ditches, or upon the high-way at the Towns end where a Fair is kept, as if some field had been fought; here lies one, there lies another, even like unto men that are slain in the field, and are stark dead. I have read, that there was a street in Rome, called vicus sobrius, because there was never a Drinking house in it: but where should a man have found such a street in the great City, or in any other populous Town or City in England? Multi∣tudes there are who take a pleasure in drinking, till their bellies and throats

can hold no more, yea, many there are, who by accustoming themselves to fre∣quent acts of immoderate drinking, have gotten an habit of being able to drink excessively, without being distem∣pered by it, notwithstanding that woe that is denounced against them that are mighty to drink wine, and strong to pour in strong drink; that is, woe unto them that by repeated Acts of drunk∣enness, have made themselves like brewers horses, able to bear away a greater quantity of drink than other so∣ber healthy persons are, or themselves at first were. It is a sign of destructi∣on and desolation approaching upon a people, when they are not ashamed of such a swinish sin, but drink and stag∣ger, and reel to and fro in the face of the Sun: O fearful condition of those that are not ashamed to go on in drunk∣enness, which is one of the most shame∣ful sins, and most contrary to the light of reason. Certainly God hath his times of visitation for this, as well as for other sins, and then the drunkard shall be cast down, and shall bee able to stand no longer.