Page:The Philosophy of Earthquakes, Natural and Religious.djvu/61

 but of those immense collections of people. God does not give his warnings to birds, and beasts of the forest; to flocks of sheep; that punctually execute the respective offices he has enjoined them: but to us. the lords of the creation; to whom he has given reason, sense, and faculties, to reflect, and judge of things, of our own actions, as well as his; of his doings, toward the children of men.

We observed before, a plain and notorious proof of God's hand in these judgments; that he cou'd move a whole city without throwing down a house. And this is most assuredly a second proof; that he visits only great cities, with these judgments. And we must conclude this to be as strong an argument of a divine interposition in these affairs, as any mathematical demonstration.

Some free-thinkers, or free-livers, when they find, they cannot set aside this reasoning, shelter themselves, with the history of God's converse with Abraham; about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha; assuring themselves, there is no danger. For tho' they can't pretend to be the meritorious people; yet they think God's mercy will be as signal to us, as heretofore: and that we have among us, at leafl ten righteous persons, to save the rest. But