ven, nor fuffer any of her Family to do fo; but on the contrary, making no Difference between the Lord's Day and any other, ufed conftantly to spend it in fome worldly Business, and would not be diffwaded therefrom by any friendly Admonitions or Remonftrances of her Neighbours. As fhe was thus employed therefore, according to Cuftom, one Lord's Day above the reft, fome Flax which The was drying and preparing for Use, seemed to take Fire, and to flame, but it went out again, without doing any Hurt.

This merciful Warning, however, was loft upon this profligate Wretch, for that very Day Sonnight The his recourse again to the fame wicked Practice; whereupon the Flax actually took Fire indeed, but was extinguished without much Difficulty. Here again was a fecond and meci ul Warning; and happy it had been for this impious and obftinate Wretch, had he been wife enough to have taken it, and defifted for the future, from her abominable Courfes! But, being quite hardened in Sin, and fully bent on filling up the Measure of her Iniquities, the returned again audacioufly to the fame fhameful Trade, as if in defiance of the Almighty, on the third Lord's Day; and foon is fhe made dear ly to repent it. For, behold! the Flax again takes Fire, and flames out with fuch Violence, that it could not be extinguished by any Endeavours, till it had burnt her and two of her Children fo terribly that all three died the next Day.

And one Thing was above measure aftonishing in this Judgment; namely, that a young Infant, which was in a Cradle, in the midft of the Flames, was taken out unhurt; from whence it may be prefumed the two Children who perifhed with their Mother, were of fufficient Age to have known bet ter, and had joined without Reluctance in this Sin. But however that be, tho' they had not complied

without

without the utmoft Regret, and even upon the most pofitive Command of their Parent, that would not have hindered their Compliance from being fintul, though it might greatly extenuate their Guilt, fince we are only to pay Obedience to the Will of our earthly Parents, as their Injunctions do not clash with, and run counter to thofe of our heavenly Father.

The next Inftance we fhall give of the dreadful Confequence of being addicted to this Sin, is of a fimilar Nature, though, in fome refpects, we rather think it more terrible; and this is of a profligate Vintner, who was not content with being himself guilty of blafpheming, fwearing, drinking, and prophaning the Lord's Day,unlefs he inticed or provoked others to partake likewife with him in the fame wicked Exceffes. Accordingly, his Practice on Sundays used to be to ftand at his Door with a Pot in his Hand, to invite and call in Cuftomers; But he followed this Trade once too often; for, as he was thus employed one Lord's Day, a violent Whirlwind arifing on a fudden, carried hin up into the Air, in the Sight of many People, and he was never seen or heard of more. Let all thofe of the fame Trade, who are guilty of the like wicked Courses, if any fuch there be, take Warning by his fad Fate, left they come to the fame miferable and untimely End.

The laft Example we fhall produce of the fatal Effects of this Crime, is of the like Nature, but yet more dreadful and fhocking than either of the foregoing; and this is, of three prophane Wretches in Switze land, who could find no better Way of Employment, than to play at Dice on the Lord's Day. It is no great Wonder, whilft Perfons are thus employed, and especially on fuch a Day, that the Devil fhould find the Means to intice them on from one Sin to another; accordingly, fo it happened in

this Inftance, one of these unhappy Wretches, ha ving loft great Part of his Money, and having ftaked the Remainder upon one peremptory Caft, accompanied it with this blafphemous Declaration: If Fortune deceives me now, I will thrust my Dagger into the very Body of Gad, as far as I can; an Expreffion fo monftrous and dreadful, it would make the most hardened Infidel tremble.

It was no Wonder after this, that he should lofe that Caft, fince both Heaven and Hell were then jointly concerned to render it unfuccefsful; the for> mer, that the Proof of his diabolical Threats might be feen, and the latter, that it might thereby become affured of the Soul of this incarnate Fiend. The Dice then continued to run counter to this Blafphemer, and he loft his laft Stake; whereupon with more than diabolical Rage, Spite, Malice, Obftinacy, and Audacioufnels, he drew his Dagger, and hurled it up againft Heaven with all his Force. Would one believe it poffible for any one, whilft cafed in a Body of Flesh and Blood, to proceed to fuch an unheard-of Excefs of Wickednefs!

The Attempt of the Devil himself, whilft yet an Angel in Heaven, to rebel against GoD, hardly feems a Sin of fo deep a Dye; at leaft it feems lefs audacious, and more eafily to be accounted for. He knew his own great Strength, and uncommon Beauty, with Abundance of other valuable Qualifications, wherein he exceeded all the rest of the heavenly Choir, and was only furpaffed by God himself; but he knew not the Extent of his great Creator's Power, having till then never feen any Inftances thereof, but in the Exertion of it in Acts of Mercy, Magnificence, and Wifdom Mitery was a State, whereof he could not poffibly have any Notion, having never feen any Precedent thereof, and being himself, with his Accomplices, the first

Perfons

er fons to experience it; thus far, therefore, tho' he was undoubtedly more ungrateful, he was more excufable, than the Giant-like Sinner before us, who, though a meer Worm, prefumed thus to defy and attack his Maker.

He did not, however, escape an adequate Punishment, and that immediately; and indeed how fhould he? The Honour of the Almighty being concerned in taking exemplary Vengeance of fuch an Offender. Accordingly he did fo, and that in fuch a Manner, as might be fufficient to deter every one, not altogether paft Grace, from ever becoming guilty of the like. In fhort, the Dagger thus darted againft Heaven, vanished out of Sight, and fome Drops of Blood fell upon the Table before him and his Brother-Gamefters; immediately after which, the Devil himself came, and carried away this Gi ant in Iniquity, with fuch a Noife, as ftruck a Terror and Aftonishment into the whole Country around,

His two wicked Companions, distracted with Fear, as well they might, at fuch a dreadful Judg. ment, ufed their utmoft Endeavours to wipe off the Drops of Blood, that had fallen upon the Table, but all in vain, for the more they rubbed, the more vifibly it appeared. In the mean while, the News of this terrible Tranfaction being spread abroad, Multitudes flocked to the Place, where finding the two remaining Gamefters employed, as was betore observed, in washing out the Blood, they imme. diately bound them in Chains, and conducted them towards the Prison. In their Way thither, however, one of them was ftruck dead, and Lice, Worms, and other Vermin crawled out of him; whereupon, the People being terrified to the laft Degree at this farther Inftauce of the Divine Indig. nation, and being willing to avert the fame from

them

themselves, put the third to Death, without any farther Tryal.

Thus were these three impious Wretches made remarkable and exemplary Monuments of the Di vine Vengeance; the firft, for his more than hellifh Audacioufnefs and Blafphemy, and the two others, for daring to continue one Moment in the Company of fuch a Monfter, after his having utterred fuch a Speech, as ought to have made them avoid the Place, as they would have done the Plague. In effect it is obfervable, so far were they hardened in Iniquity, that all they were anxious about, was to wash out the Blood, left it fhould remain as a Teftimonial of their Wickedness; as, therefore, they were more careful of their own Credit, than of attoning for their heinous Offence, and appeafing the Divine Anger by a hearty Contrition, and taking Shame to themfelves, the Juftice of Hea ven, which had mercifully fpared them at firft, leaving them room for Repentance, overtook them afterwards, and made them likewife memorable Examples of its Vengeance, not suffering them fo much as to ftir from the Place (from which they ought otherwife to have fled with the utmoft Precipitation) till they were apprehended, and put to that open Shame they fo greatly dreaded, and had ftrove fo follicitoufly to avoid, by their vain Endeavours to wash out the Blood. Thus we have fet, in a ftrong Light, the fatal Confequences of breaking the Fourth Commandment, pass we on now to the Fifth, which is alfo called the First Commandment of the Second Table, whofe Tenor is as followeth :

CHAP.