“Englands sinnes have been great, yea and their mercies great. England hath been a mirror of mercy, yet God may leave us, and make us a mirrour of his justice. Looke how he spake to the people in Ier. 7. that bragged of the Temple of the Lord, Sacrifices and offerings: And what may not God which destroyed Shilo, destroy thee O England? Goe to Bohemia, from thence to the Palatinate, and so to Denmarke. Imagine you were there, what shall you see, nothing else but as Travellers say, Churches made heaps of stones, and those Bethels wherin Gods name was called upon, are made defiled Temples for Satan and superstition to raigne in? You cannot goe two or three steps, but you shall see the heads of dead men, goe a little further, and you shall see their hearts picked out by the fowles of the ayre, whereupon you are ready to conclude that Tilly hath been there: Those Churches are become desolate, and why not England? Goe into the Cities and Townes, and there you shall see many compassed about with the chaines of captivity, and every man bemoaning himselfe. Doe but cast your eyes abroad, and there you shall see poore fatherlesse children sending forth their breaches, with feare, crying to their poore helplesse mothers. Step but a little farther, and you shall see the sad wife bemoaning her husband, and that is her misery, that she cannot dye soone enough; and withall she makes funerall Sermons of her children within her selfe, for that the Spaniard may get her little ones, and bring them up in Popery and superstition; and then she weeps and considers with her selfe: If my husband be dead, it is well, happily he is upon the racke, or put to some cruell tortures, and then she makes funerall Sermons, and dyes a hundred times before she can dye. Cast your eyes afar off, set your soules in their soules stead, and imagine it were your owne condition, why may not England be thus, who knowes but it may be my wife, when he heares of some in torments? Ah! Brethren, be not high minded, but feare, as we have this bounty on the one side, so may we have this severity on the other; therefore prancke not up your selves with foolish imaginations, as who dare come to England, the Spaniards have enough, the French are too weake: Be not deceived, who thought Ierusalem the Lady of Kingdomes, whither the Tribes went to worship, should become a heap of stones, a vagabond people, and why not England? Learne therefore to heare and feare, God can be a God without England, doe not say there are many Christians in it, can God be beholding to you for your Religion? No surely, for rather then he will maintaine such as professe his Name and hate him, he will raise up of these stones children unto Abraham; He will rather goe to the Turks, and say you are my people, and I will be your God. But will you let God goe, England? Why are you so content to let him goe? Oh! lay hold on him, yea hang on him, and say thou shalt not goe. Doe you thinke that Rome will part with her religion, and forsake her gods? nay, an hundred would rather lose their lives. Will you let God goe? Oh England plead with your God! and let him not depart. You should onely part with your rebellions, he will not part with you. Leave us not. We see the Church is very importunate to keep God with them still, they lay hold on God with words of argument.”
From Thomas Hooker’s, “The Danger of Desertion” (1641)
When I first met Pastor Reaves, he had just finished mowing. I didn’t know this, because he came into the house wearing a tie. He shared with me later that he did this so that he would be ready in case he got a call to the hospital. I would also learn soon that a visit to the hospital with him, in this town of about 9,000, could turn into an all-day event. That is not because he overstayed his welcome. On the contrary, he seemed to know just how long to stay, usually less than 15 minutes. No, it was because he visited so many patients.
West Port Experiment 