ALthough the whole Universe through­out its Vast Circumference, be (as Naturalists excellently Phrase it) but one great Volume, wherein in visible effects of Power, the Invisible, former of all things, is too plainly legible, not to be discerned by all Eies; Yet in this great Folio, the Mete­ors, that is, the Clouds, Wind, Thunder, Comets, prodigious Flames, Earthquakes, and other wonderful Apparitions in the Ele­ments, are the great Characters wherein his Divinity doth in the course of Nature most conspicuously declare it self.

Eor if we compare these amazing Phaeno­mena with other works of Nature, we may justly pronounce that there he expresses him­self in small, but here all in Capitals: And accordingly we may observe the Scripture to make these Regions of the Air which give [Page 2] these Miscellaneous substances their Birth, to be as were the Sphere of Gods Armory, his great Store­house and Magazine, from whence upon occasion of the Worlds wickedness, when ease and pleasure makes Mortals so insolent, as to question his Being, he takes out Artillery to Terrifie into a sense, those, who in the soft Whispers of a Calm and Serene Skie will not acknowledge him. For there are said to be the Treasures of his Chariots, there he utters that voice of his we call Thunder, and thence discharges the dreadful Shot of his right aiming Thunderbolts. And as we poor Mortals in Fleshy Cottages are most moved by sense, so the Omnipotent Creator makes choice of these strange Exhalations, as the most effe­ctual means to work on our external Organs, and there­by to effect our otherwise insolent and audacious minds with a just awe and terror of his Majesty. For al­though the conception and Idea of a Deity be a Ce­lestial Fire so natural burning in out Souls, as that like the stone Asbestos it is not to be quenched, yet by the Atheistical endeavours of terrene and Voluptu­ous men, it may so far be smothered, as not to mani­fest it by any Visible Flame, but the effects of his Power are so moving, and violently forcible, that when God is pleased to utter his Voice in Thunder, or Attacque our Desperadoes hearts in Mountains of Briny Liquor, and roar his Greatness in their Ears, with the violent gusts of Tempestuous winds, atten­ded with the horrid Flames spit out of fiery Hurri­canes, or the astonishing Yells Ecchoed from the Bowels of the Quaking Earth; 'Tis not the stoutest Atheist in such a time that will not bate of his cou­rage, [Page 3] and in spight of his desperate Principles, eat his own words, and in horror and trembling confesse that Power, which other times he not only denies, but with Oaths and Damees would Hector out of the world, That Rhodomantado of Atheism. Caius Ca­ligulae, though in his Pride he could have the Arto­gance to stile himself the Lord God Caligula, and once in a Huffing Pet could challenge his great God Jupiter into the Field, yet when it Thundred, his Gyant cou­rage shrunk into a Mouse-hole, for then in a pittiful fear he would creep under a Bed from Shelter, and confess himself as he was indeed a man. Therefore, however such things may truly be attributed to second causes, yet both from Scripture and their own Na­ture, we may be well assured, that they are Instru­ments which God oftner uses in an Extraordinary manner than any others, and which in their first de­signment seem peculiarly levelled at those men, and their bold thoughts, who would first only Droll the world out of conceit of his Power, that they may as they think, the more pleasantly Huff him out of his Throne. In such an Age then, when not only Pro­faneness is Rampant, but Atheism its self is so Pre­dominant, as to have obtained the Reputation of wits for those, as convicted by the Law of Nations for Monsters of Mankind, the whole world adjudged to the Fire; It cannot be strange if Omnipotence for its own Vindication, has so visibly stretched forth its Arm by many late, strange, and unusual Marks of Power in almost all the Elements, given us such suf­ficient Proofs, that if we slight these, we may ex [...]ect that he will shortly write to us in Belshazzars Chara­cters. [Page 4] For still we see one Prodegy succeeding on the Neck of another, and as you will hear by the fol­lowing known Relation, we are called still from one strange accident to behold another. As wickedness has been some times more eminently prevalent at some times than at others, so in several Ages, at such times, we have answerable notices of Gods Anger in effects of like Nature. Thus in the wicked Reign of Tiberius, in whose time Christ was Crucified, seve­ral of the most flourishing Cities of Asia were either totally swallowed by Earthquake, or destroyed by Tempest. And the City of Constantinople in the time of the Gothik War, was so prodigiously afflicted this way, that Historians tell us that the strange kinds of Noises, Thunder, Whistling, Howling, Crackling that were heard then, were Incredible. Infancy are the examples of these times, but to cone nearer, In the Reign of our Queen Mary, in her 5th Year, within a Mile of Nottingham, so violent a Tempest of Thun­der happened that it beat down all the Houses and Churches thereabouts, cast the Bells to the outside of the Church-yard, and some webs of Lead four Hun­dred foot into the Field wrethen like Leather, (The River of Trent running between the two Towns) The water with the Mud in the bottom, was carried a quarter of a Mile, and cast against Trees, with the violence whereof the Trees were pulled up by the Roots, and cast 12. score foot.

In our Nebouring Country of Holland, on the second of August new stile, being our 21. of July, there hapned a most horrible Tempest which lasting in some parts about an hour, in some longer, and in some not [Page 5] half the time, in that short space did in all parts such incredible spoil and mischief, that the like hath been seldom heard of; to pass by the more minute parti­culars which are too tedious to mention, we shall on­ly give you a brief account of what hapened at Ʋtrecht and Amsterdam. It is described to have been a most violent and unusal Hurricane, in which the Heavens all the time by the continual Lightning Ayr and curled all ore with Flames, not unlike what is mentioned commonly in Almanacks to have happened not many years since in England, the noise of the Thunder, and roaring of the Wind, was so far above what is usual, that it extreamly terified the hearers, but was more sadly dreadful, when they not only heard, but ma­ny to their cost felt its Rage, by the horrible shaking and fall of Houses Steeples, and other Buildings; of which it spared no sort, but seemed to threaten to bu­ry them all in one heap of Rubbish. In Ʋtrecht the Cathedral Church called the Dome, in less than a quarter of an hour, with all stately Pillars was utterly Ruined; all but the Steeple, which remains untoucht, the high and costly Steeple of St. James Church, with the Steeples of most of the other Churches there, are thrown to the Ground: and all the Houses were so far involved in this general Convulsion, that scarce fifty Houses remain in that great City, but wear the the marks of its Fury.

In Amsterdam, it lasted but half an hour, but the force of the Thunder, Lightning, Wind and Hail in that time, was prodigious. Chimneys, tops of Houses, and Houses themselves, were in great numbers blown down, and most Trees blown down, many of which [Page 6] were carryed a great distance from their former Pla­ces: the Ships that lay there before the Pal [...]s brake loose, of which about half a score were ov [...]rset, many people were blown into the Water, and many killed by the fall of Trees and Houses, about thirty Mills there were blown down to the ground, and those esca­ped are much damnified, Five Waggons coming from Arnheim with Passengers, were overturned, and most of the persons killed or spoiled.

Lastly, to conclude, its fury extended so far, as to force above 20 Ships on Shore in the Texel, and its dammage and Terror is related by sufferers to have been above what my weak Pen or a more fluent Tongue can express. Thus you have a Relation wherein you see how loudly in signs and wonders, in Storm and Thunder, God calls to Earthly Mortals, let not your Ears be deaf, but make some use of it. It is Chronicled that in the time of our victorious Ed­ward the third, being in France and ready to fall upon the French Army, then just by him, there happened such a terrible Storm and Tempest of Thunder and Lightning, that that couragious Warriour being af­frighted with it, as taking it to be a sign that God was displeased at that cruel War, he took an Oath present­ly to make Peace on any reasonable condition, which he accordingly performed.