Lessons from the Recent EARTHQUAKE

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Preached in Hanover county, Virginia, June 19, 1756, by Samuel Davies.

(Note: In this sermon, Davies is referring to the Great Lisbon Earthquake which took place on November 1, 1755. Contemporary reports state that the earthquake lasted nearly six minutes, causing gigantic fissures 15 feet wide. Approximately forty minutes after the earthquake, an enormous tsunami engulfed the harbor and downtown. It was followed by two more waves. In the areas unaffected by the tsunami, fire quickly broke out, and flames raged for five days! Tsunamis as tall as 66 feet swept the coast of North Africa, and struck Martinique and Barbados across the Atlantic.)

"Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will step into a snare. Destruction falls on you from the heavens. The earth is shaken beneath you.The earth has broken down and has utterly collapsed. Everything is lost, abandoned, and confused. The earth staggers like a drunkard. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for its sins are very great!" Isaiah 24:18-20

The works of Creation and Providence were undoubtedly intended for the notice and contemplation of mankind, especially when God comes out of his place, that is, departs from the usual and stated course of his providence — to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquities; then it befits us to observe the operation of his hands with fear and reverence. To this the Psalmist repeatedly calls us: "Come, see the glorious works of the LORD: See how he brings destruction upon the earth!" Psalm 46:8. "Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!" Psalm 66:5. To assist you in this, I shall cheerfully devote an hour today.

This world is a state of discipline for the eternal world; and therefore, chastisements of various kinds and degrees are to be enumerated among the ordinary works of Providence. Pain, sickness, losses, bereavements, disappointments; these are the usual scourges of the divine hand, which our heavenly father uses every day, to chastise some or other of his wayward children. But when these are found too weak and ineffectual for their reformation; or when, from their being so frequent and common, that people begin to think themthings of course, and not to acknowledge the divine hand in them; then the universal Ruler departs from his usual methods of chastisements, and uses such signal andextraordinary executioners of his vengeance, as cannot but rouse a slumbering world, and render it sensible of his agency.

At such times, God throws his world into a ferment; and either controls its established laws, or carries such into execution, as were formed only for extraordinary occasions. Theextraordinary executioners of his vengeance, are generally these four:
1. Famine
2. Sword
3. Pestilence
4. Earthquakes

A FAMINE in this land of plenty, would be an unusual judgment indeed; and yet sundry parts of our country have been reduced to the borders of it, by the severity of last year's drought.

The SWORD has been a harmless weapon to us, until of late; but now it is brandished over our heads, and pierces our country in a thousand veins.

The PESTILENCE is a mischief that has not spread desolation among us; though there is not perhaps one year, in which it is not walking through some country or other upon our globe.

As for EARTHQUAKES, we have had such shakes, as may convince us, that we are not beyond the reach of that desolating judgment, even on this solid continent; though they have not as yet done us any injury. But perhaps there never was, since the earthquake at the deluge, that broke up the fountains of the great deep, so extensive a desolation of this kind — as has lately happened in Europe and Africa. And though, blessed be God, it did not immediately affect us; yet the very fame of so dreadful a judgment ought to be improved for our advantage.

To this event I may accommodate the words of my text, "The earth is shaken beneath you. The earth has broken down and has utterly collapsed. Everything is lost, abandoned, and confused. The earth staggers like a drunkard. It trembles like a tent in a storm!" And the reason of all is, "For its sins are very great!"

Such of you as have read the public papers, need not be informed of that wide-spreading earthquake, which began on the first of November, and has since been felt at different times, through most parts of Europe. For the sake of those that have only had some imperfect hints of it, I would give you this short history:

The city of Lisbon, Portugal, is now no more! Its vast riches, and by all accounts, between fifty and a hundred thousand people, have been buried or burnt in its ruins! Sundry other towns in Portugal, Spain, and along the European coasts of the Mediterranean, have been damaged, overthrown, or sunk, like Sodom and Gomorrah. The earthquake also extended across that sea, and has ruined a great part of Africa, particularly in the empire of Morocco, where the large and populous cities have been demolished, with many thousands of the inhabitants. It has likewise been felt in sundry parts of Italy, Germany, France, Bohemia, and even in Great Britain and Ireland. Nay, the tremor has reached our continent; and has been very sensibly felt in Boston and other parts of New England.

Though much harm has not been done in those parts — yet a loud warning has been given; and oh! that it may not be given in vain. It would certainly be an instance of inexcusable stupidity, for us to take no notice of so dreadful a dispensation. Such devastations are at once, judgments upon the places where they happen, and warnings to others.

For what end were the Israelites punished with so many miraculous judgments? Paul will tell you, it was not only for their sins — but "all these things happened to them forexamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." 1 Corinthians 10:11.

For what end were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah turned into ashes? Peter will tell you: God "made them an example unto those who should after live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6.

And shall not we regard such examples, even in our own age? Shall others perish for our admonition? and shall we receive no profit by their destruction? This would be stupid and inexcusable indeed. Therefore my present design is, to direct you to such meditations as this alarming event naturally suggests; and which may be sufficient to the right improvement of it.

But before I enter upon this design, I would once more inculcate upon you a doctrine, which I have often proved in your hearing; and that is: that this world is a little territory of Jehovah's government, and under the management of his providence. And particularly, that all the blessings of life are the gifts of his bounty; and all its calamities are the chastisements or judgments of his hand. This I would have you to apply to the event now under consideration.

It is the providence of God that has impregnated the bowels of the earth with these dreadful materials, that tear and shatter its frame. It is his providence which strikes the spark, which sets this dreadful train in a flame, and causes the terrible explosion!

There is a set of conceited, smattering philosophers risen among us, who think they disprove all this, by alleging that earthquakes proceed from natural causes; and therefore, it is superstitious to ascribe them to the agency of Providence. But there is no more reason or philosophy in this, than if they should deny that a man writes, because he makes use of apen; or that kings exercise government, because they employ servants under them. I grant, that natural causes concur toward the production of earthquakes: but what are thesenatural causes? Are they independent, self-moved causes? No! they were first formed, and are still directed, by the Divine hand. The shortest and plainest view I can give of the case is this:

When God formed this globe, he saw what would be the conduct of its inhabitants, in all the periods of time; and particularly, he knew at what particular time a kingdom or city would be ripe for his judgments; and he adjusted matters accordingly. He set the train of events with so much exactness, that it will spring just in the critical moment, when everything is ripe for it. And thus, by a preconcerted plan, he answers all the occasional exigencies of the world, and suits himself to particular cases, without a miraculous and direct working of his own hand.

Or, perhaps, he may sometimes think it necessary to work with his own immediate hand, and to suspend or counteract the usual and stated laws of creation, that his interference may be more conspicuous. Let this truth, then, my friends, be laid deep in your minds, as a foundation: that earthquakes are the effects of divine Providence, and produced to answer some of its important ends in the world. And hence I naturally proceed, according to promise, to direct you to such meditations as are suitable to this shocking event.

Now you may hence take occasion to reflect upon:
the majesty and power of God;
the dreadfulness of God's anger;
the sinfulness of our world;
the distinguishing kindness of Providence towards us;
the destruction of this globe at the final judgment.
First, Let the majestic and terrible phenomenon of earthquakes put you in mind of the majesty and power of God, and the dreadfulness of his displeasure. He can toss and convulse this huge globe, and shake its foundations down to the center! Trembling continents, burning or sinking mountains, wide-yawning gulfs in solid ground, explosions of subterranean mines sufficient to shiver a world, are but hints of his indignation. But my language does but sink this exalted subject; I shall therefore give you the inimitable descriptions of the sacred writers.

"His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 9:4-10

"For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the lowest hell. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them!" Deuteronomy 32:22-23

But the most striking and lively description, methinks, which the language of inspiration itself has given us, is in the prophecy of Nahum, "The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him!" Nahum 1:2-6

And is this the Being who is so little thought of in our world? Is this he —
whose Name passes for the lightest trifle,
whose Word can hardly engage men's attention,
whose Authority is ridiculed,
whose Wrath is scorned,
whose Laws are audaciously violated,
whose Threatenings are despised!

Is this he, who is complimented with empty, spiritless formalities, under the name of religion! Oh! is this he, whom we are met this day to worship! What! and shall there be no more attention and solemnity among us? Can anything be more unnatural, more impious, or more shocking! Indeed, sirs, it strikes me with horror to think how contemptuously this glorious, almighty, and awesome God is treated in our world. Angels do not treat him so; nay, even devils, in the height of their malice, dare not thus trifle with him — they tremble at his very name. Oh! "Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself-He won't call me to account"? Psalm 10:13.

See here is your antagonist: "His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?" Job 9:4. This earth is as nothing in his hands. "Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust!" Isaiah 40:15. He who can shake this huge globe to the center; he who can bury proud cities, with all their inhabitants, in the bowels of the earth; he who can toss the ocean into a ferment, and cause it to overwhelm the guilty land; he who can hurl the tallest mountains from their everlasting foundations into the sea, or sink them into the valleys, or pools of water; he who has stored the bowels of the earth, as with magazines of gunpowder, and can set it all in blaze, or burst it into ten thousand fragments; he who can arm the tiniest creature, a gnat or a worm, to be your executioner, and has an absolute power over the most mighty and ungovernable elements: oh! what will he make of you, when he takes you in hand!

Can you rest easy one moment, while you have reason to fear that the supreme Lord of the universe is your enemy — for your willful provocations! In his name (in his glorious and fearful name has any weight with you) I charge you to seek his favor; make him your friend, and dare to rebel against him no more! Dare you continue a rebel against him, or careless about pleasing him —
while you walk on his ground,
while you breathe in his air,
while you feed upon his provisions,
while you live in his territories, and within the reach of his arm!
Why, he can make that earth you pollute with your sins — open its dreadful jaws and swallow you up alive, like Korah and his company. Numbers 16:32.

Oh! my friends, it may break our hearts to think there should be any people so mad as to incur his displeasure, and be careless about his favor. But, alas! are there not some such among us? Well; they will soon find that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" unless they speedily repent. Hebrews 10:31
Secondly, This desolating judgment may justly lead you to reflect upon the sinfulness of our world. Alas! we live upon a guilty globe; and much has it suffered for the sins of its inhabitants. Once it was all drowned in an universal deluge; and many parts of it have since sunk under the load of guilt. If sin had never defiled it — then it would never have been thus torn and shattered. We have seen that these judgments are at the disposal of Divine Providence: and we are sure, a righteous Providence would never inflict them needlessly. It is SIN, my friends, which is the source of all the calamities that oppress our world from age to age! It is sin which has so often convulsed it with earthquakes!

Do but observe the language of my text on this head, "The earth is shaken beneath you. The earth has broken down and has utterly collapsed. Everything is lost, abandoned, and confused. The earth staggers like a drunkard. It trembles like a tent in a storm. It falls and will not rise again, for its sins are very great!" This, sirs, this, is the burden under which it totters; this is the evil, at which it trembles; this is a load, which men, which the earth itself, nay, which angels, and the whole creation, cannot bear up under!

Why was the old world destroyed by a deluge? It was because all flesh had corrupted their way: "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5.

Why was Sodom consumed with lightning from heaven, and sunk into a dead sea by an earthquake? It was because "The men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly." Genesis 13:13.

In short, SIN is the cause of all the calamities under which our world has groaned, from the fall of Adam to this day. Heaven has been testifying its displeasure against the sins of men by the most terrible judgments, from age to age, for nearly six thousand years. The destruction of one nation — is intended not only for their punishment — but for a warning to others, that they may "hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." Deuteronomy 13:11.

But men will still obstinately persist, unalarmed by the loudest warnings, and unreformed by the severest chastisements. Let the sword of war slay its thousands; let the pestilencewalk about in all its desolating terrors; let the earth shake and tremble under its guilty inhabitants; let these judgments be repeated from generation to generation, from country to country — and still they will sin on; and the chastisements of six thousand years have not been able to reform them.

Oh! what a rebellious province of Jehovah's empire, is this guilty globe! And probably it has been seldom more so, than in the present age; and therefore it is no wonder that the judgments of God are in the earth. The greatest part of it is overrun with all the idolatry and ignorance, vice and barbarity of heathenism. A great part of it worships the impostor Mahomet, instead of the Son of God, and groan under his yoke.

This is the character of the empire of Morocco, and those African territories that have been ravaged by the late earthquake. They are either superstitious heathens or deluded Mohammedans, and the knowledge of God is not to be found among them.

The greatest part of Europe is corrupted with the idolatry, superstition, and debaucheries of the church of ROME, and groans under its tyranny. There the most foolish theatrical farces are devoutly performed under the name of religion! There the freeborn mind is enslaved, and dare not think for itself in matters in which it must answer for itself. There the homage due to the true God, and the only Mediator — is sacrilegiously given to senseless idols, and a rabble of imaginary saints! There the infernal court of the inquisition imitates the tortures of hell, and makes the man who would discover the truth — a monument of misery! There a market for indulgences and pardons is held; and men, for a little money, may buy a license to commit the most atrocious crimes, or they make atonement for them by the penance of bodily austerities! And can pure and undefiled religion, can good morals grow and flourish in such a soil? No! Religion has degenerated into priest-craft and a mercenary superstition, and the most enormous vices and debaucheries must abound. Such, alas! was Lisbon, by universal character.

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