A SERMON Preach'd at the PARISH CHURCH OF St. PETER
's Cornhill
; On the
SUNDAY
after the late Dreadful Fire in that Neighbourhood.
By
THOMAS FRANCKLIN,
M. A.
Fellow of
Trinity
-College,
Cambridge.
Publish'd at the Request of the
VESTRY
of the said Parish.
LONDON: Printed for R. FRANCKLIN, in
Russel-street, Covent-Garden.
1748. [Price Six Pence.]
TO THE Worthy Inhabitants of the Parish of St.
Peter
's
Cornhill.
GENTLEMEN,
IN Compliance with your Request I have publish'd the following Discourse. That it was not design'd for the Press, will perhaps appear but too plainly in the Perusal. I am satisfied your kind Acceptance of it was more owing to the interesting Nature of the Subject, and the Seasonableness of the Application, than to any Merit in the Performance. That it may answer the End proposed, to
bring forth in us all the Fruit of Well-doing,
is the sincere Wish of,
GENTLEMEN,
Your Obliged, and Faithful Servant, THOMAS FRANCKLIN.
ECCLES. VII. 34.
Fail not to be with them that weep: and to mourn with them that mourn.
A S Charity, or universal Benevolence, is the distinguishing Mark of our holy Religion; so amongst all the various Branches of this noble and extensive Duty, there is not perhaps one more truly amiable, or more highly requisite, in every Station and Circumstance of Life, than that which I shall make the Subject of my present Discourse; which, as it is expressive of a sympathetic Tenderness peculiar to our Natures, is most emphatically stiled
Humanity.
COMPASSION, or a friendly Sense of Sorrow for the Misfortunes of our Fellow Creatures, was originally implanted in our Minds by the great Author of them, and design'd as the Alarms of a kind and impartial Father to engage us to relieve a distress'd Brother: And hence it arises, that our Hearts, like musical Strings, feel every Vibration which is made on those of our Friend, or our Neighbour, and do as it were insensibly and involuntarily beat to each others Pleasures and Pains.
AMONGST our modern Pretenders to Reason and Philosophy, there have not indeed been wanting Men of low and contracted Minds, of sullen and unfeeling Dispositions, who by specious Arguments, and artful Refinements, have endeavour'd to degrade the Dignity of our Nature, and rob us of every social Virtue. Good-nature and Beneficence have been term'd Self-interest and Dissimulation; Humanity branded with the Name of Weakness; and Compassion derided as a Folly.
WHETHER it be owing to the false Philosophy of such Writers, who so industriously blend the Colours of Virtue and Vice as to render it almost impossible to separate and distinguish them, or to the natural Depravity of Mankind, heighten'd and inflam'd by the ill Examples of a licentious Age, or both together, is hard to be determined; but certain it is, that we are at present so lost in the idle Amusements, or swallow'd up in the Debaucheries of the World, that almost all the Ties of Nature are broken through or neglected, and social Love and Affection banish'd from the Breasts of Men. Alliances are made, and Friendships contracted without that mutual Love and Sincerity, which alone can render them lasting or agreeable: We are willing enough to
rejoice with them that rejoice,
to partake of the Happiness and good Success of others; but will not
weep with them when they weep, or mourn with them that mourn.
Men in short are but too well acquainted with the Follies, the Vices and the Faults of their Neighbours, and only Strangers to their Misfortunes.
THERE are Ills enough, says the selfish Man, cruel and unavoidable Ills, which fall to my own Share; why then must I increase the Burthen by bearing the Weight of others?
Sufficient for my Day is the Evil thereof.
Thus trifling and insignificant are the Arguments of these Men, who would shelter their Pride and Inhumanity under the Mask of Prudence, and dress up the low and sordid Vice of Selfishness in the Habit of Virtue. Such have little Title to the Benefits of that Nature they partake of; but are to be look'd on as Limbs cut off from the Body of Society, as wither'd and sapless Branches, which yield neither Shade nor Fruit;
fit only to be hewed down and cast into the Fire.
TRUE
Religion and undefiled before
GOD, says our SAVIOUR,
is this; to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Affliction.
A Religion, which, as he taught, he practised also. He was himself a
Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief:
Surely he hath born our Sorrows, and suffer'd for our Iniquities; and shall we not shew that Compassion to our Fellow-creatures, which he so tenderly bestow'd on us; or dare we flatter ourselves that, if we neglect this impartial Duty, the same all-seeing GOD, who condemns our Inhumanity, will not also punish our Ingratitude?
WEEP
with them,
says the wise Man; that is, with all them
that weep.
He does not say with our Parents, our Relations, or our Children; but embraces the whole Range of Nature, and takes in all Mankind. Even our Enemies are to be pitied and relieved. If the Man, who hath injured us, falls into Affliction, we are no longer to consider him as an Adversary, whom we hate, but as a Fellow-creature we must assist. We may remember he is not our Friend, but we must not forget he is our Neighbour.
BUT if the Motives of Reason and Religion are not sufficient to persuade us, Self-Interest, which reigns in every Breast, will exert her Powers to excite us to it. The Tear we refuse to shed over the miseries of others, GOD, and GOD only knows, how soon we may stand in need of.
Great Travail is created for every Man, and an heavy Yoke is upon the Sons of Adam; from him that sitteth upon a Throne of Glory to him that is humbled in Earth and Ashes.
How often does an unexpected Stroke of Fortune put an End to the most extensive Views of Happiness, and change the chearful Scene of Joy and Comfort into a melancholy State of Misery and Despair! If therefore we do not pity those, who are in Affliction, when we fall into it ourselves, who will pity and relieve us? Then shall we remember the Afflictions of
Joseph,
and say as his Brethren did, when they came into Trouble;
We are very guilty concerning our Brother, in that we saw the Anguish of his Soul, when he besought us, and would not hear; therefore is this Distress come upon us.
What black and obdurate Hearts must those Men have, who can look with Indifference and Unconcern on the Misfortunes of others? Can such Men be honour'd, esteem'd, or trusted in any of the Affairs of Life? Shall we not be always apprehensive, that Villany and Perfidiousness must be the Companions of Pride and Inhumanity? Surely, to be insensible of the Miseries of others is the next Step to rejoicing in them; and the Man, who neglects us when unhappy, would not scruple to make us so.
THAT the Duty I am recommending is an important and a necessary one, every impartial Man is, I believe, sufficiently convinced. That it is also easy and delightful, is a Truth scarce less self-evident. It is equally attainable by every Man, in every Station and Profession. A Science, which requires no Superiority of Wealth, Parts, or Knowledge, to make us Masters of. We have not all of us Riches to bestow on the Indigent; we cannot impart Health to the Sick, or restore Youth to the Aged; but we have all of us Eyes to look upon, Hearts to feel for and sympathize with, Tongues to speak to and comfort the Afflicted.
HOW great an Aversion soever the gay and unthinking Part of Mankind may have to all that is grave and melancholy, it may with the greatest Truth be asserted, that he, who is a Stranger to Sorrow, is a Stranger to the best Emotions, the noblest Feelings the human Heart is capable of receiving. In the Cup of Affliction there is always a Cordial thrown in by Providence to make the Draught less bitter, and the very Tears of Virtue administer a more solid Satisfaction to a right Mind than Vice and Folly have Power to bestow. There is in some Men a remarkable Tenderness of Disposition, and a Delicacy of Sensation; which those, whom we falsely term the Brave and Resolute, are too often Strangers to; a Disposition which, however we may sometimes ridicule and despise, is what will in the End most intimately unite and endear them to us: Those Things, which in Health and Prosperity may raise our Laughter and Contempt, in Sickness and Adversity meet with our Esteem and Approbation; and we seldom know the true Merit of Compassion, till we feel the Want of it.
AS big with Ills as human Life is, yet by the Observance of this short and important Precept of my Text, half the Miseries of Mankind might be softened or removed; for there is scarce a Misfortune we are liable to here, to which the Society, the Sympathy and Condolement of a sincere Friend cannot administer some Relief:
IN Poverty: In Affliction, in Sickness, and in old Age.
IN regard to Poverty, it must indeed be confess'd that the best Method of shewing our Compassion to those, who labour under it, is to supply their Necessities; the happy Lot of the Fortunate, whom GOD hath blessed with Abundance. But this is not the only Means, by which the Poor may be relieved. We may
weep with them when they weep, and mourn when they mourn
; and the tender Tear, shed by the good Man over the destitute and unhappy, may perhaps give him as much Consolation as that Alms, which the Proud and Unfeeling bestows on him from Ostentation.
IN Regard to Afflictions, it may be observ'd; that amongst those, which daily surrounds us, there are some of so oppressive and violent a Nature as to sink the Soul into a State of the deepest Melancholy and Despair. This is, for the most Part, the Time, when the Mind, too sore to admit of Consolation, will yet find some Relief in the Condolement of a Friend. Tho' we cannot heal the Wound, we may yet pour a Balm into it to mitigate the Pain; and here the Text points out the exact Method and Measure of our Duty. We must
not fail to weep with them, that weep.
At such a Time, Wit would be odious and Mirth unseasonable. We are to behave in a Manner suitable to the Situation of those we visit; to make use of all the Arts, which Friendship can suggest; to soften their Sorrows; to calm the Tempest of their Grief, and sooth them if possible into Rest, Resignation and Forgetfulness.
IF the Sympathy and Society of a Friend can afford Comfort in Poverty and Affliction, no less is its Efficacy in the unavoidable Ills of Sickness and old Age; and I appeal to the Hearts of all who have languish'd under any of those Distempers our weak Frames are subject to, if ever the Sight of their Friends was so pleasing to their Eyes, or the Voice of those, they lov'd, so sweet to their Ear as when they came in that melancholy Hour of Distress to visit and relieve them.
BUT if we even escape those cruel Disorders, that are the common Portion of Humanity (which how few do Experience will testify) there is, after all, the Disease of old Age to be encounter'd with; and in that Train of Ills, which attend, there is not perhaps a greater than that Solitude, which generally accompanies it. The old Man has seldom any Amusements but his own Reflections; any constant Companions but his Infirmities. Even the Bonds of natural Affection and the Ties of Kindred are found too weak to hold the Impatience of Youth by the Side of Age and Imbecillity. Here then, above all, should we exercise the Duties of Humanity and Compassion; to support the Steps of the Feeble; to raise the drooping Head, and chear the afflicted Heart. Such humane and tender Offices we shall all, if we live, expect ourselves. They make the Burthen of Years more tolerarable; smooth the Bed of Death, and teach us to resign Life with Calmness and Tranquillity into the Hands of HIM that gave it.
IF ever there was a Time for the Subject of my present Discourse to demand your most serious Attention; if ever the Virtues of Humanity and Compassion had room to exert all their Power, and shine with distinguish'd Lustre; it is at this remarkable and melancholy Season. The very late dreadful and unforeseen Calamity, which has so alarm'd and terrify'd us, and from which we are ourselves, by the Blessing of GOD, so miraculously deliver'd, call upon me to point out to you but too many most deserving, most unhappy Objects of your Commiseration. The innumerable, the almost irretrievable Miseries, which Scenes of this Kind are productive of, cannot be conceived, much less express'd. I need not, I believe, exhort you to condole with, to relieve and support, by all the Means in your Power, the unfortunate Sufferers. Terror and Affright have hitherto been the only Sensations they were capable of receiving. They have not yet been sufficiently at Leisure to feel themselves unhappy, or found Time to count their Misfortunes. When those Hours come, I trust we shall not want Tears to
weep with,
or unfeigned Sorrow to
mourn with them
; and in the mean Time it highly concerns us to look narrowly into ourselves. That we are now here; that we possess our Lives and Properties in Safety; whilst almost every Thing round us lies buried in Ruin and Desolation, is a signal Instance of the Divine Mercy in our Behalf.
ALL the Parts of this great Metropolis, which have escaped the Fury of this cruel Disaster, ought doubtless, with Hearts full of Gratitude, sincerely to acknowledge the Hand of Providence in their Preservation. But it hath pleased GOD, that the small, the fortunate Number of those, to whom I now address myself, are by a Peculiarity of Circumstances those, who, of all Men, have the most Reason to return Thanks to Almighty GOD for his late Mercies vouchsafed unto them. What Praise and Thanksgiving, what Wonder and Adoration is not due to that gracious Being, which hath thus preserved us; who when the devouring Flame had spread Misery and Destruction on our Right Hand and on our Left; when there was nothing but Tears, and
complaining in our Streets,
and we expected every Moment to be swallowed up in the general Ruin, thus stopt it just at our Doors, and said to the destructive Element,
Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further!
LET us then
sin no more, lest a like, or perhaps a worse, Thing happen unto us.
Let the Storm, which hath blown over us, and the Danger we have escaped, teach us the Things, which belong to our Peace. Let them stir us up to the important Duties of our Religion. Let us apply ourselves more earnestly to Prayer and Thanksgiving. I am sure we shall be, of all Men, the most undeserving and ungrateful, if we do not now frequent this House of GOD, when it is to his gracious Mercy alone we are so visibly indebted for the Preservation of it. A Blessing our unfortunate Neighbours are deprived of; who have not a
St.
Michael
's Church was so much damaged by the Fire as to make it impossible to perform Divine Service there till repaired.
Place of public Worship left, wherein to send up their sad Prayers to GOD for Succour under their Afflictions.
To him therefore, who saved us when we had well nigh perished, let us give, as we are most bounden, continual Thanks; beseeching Him to grant that this his Tenderness towards us, may fill us with the most lively Sense of his Goodness, and the sincerest Acknowledgment of it; that we may lead a new Life, following his Commandments and walking henceforth in his Holy Ways.
THAT as thou, O GOD, hast in the Midst of Judgment remember'd Mercy; as thou hast saved
our Souls from Death, our Eyes from Tears, and our Feet from falling,
we may laud and magnify thy Holy Name, praise, bless and glorify thee, and finally that, as thy Goodness hath interposed to save us in this World, thy Mercy may preserve us in that, which is to come; through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
FINIS.