Ed. Campion our charitable countriman laid at the dores of our Church yea brought into the streetes of our Vniversities as if we were the fathers and patrons of it We never said it I say once againe to redeeme a thousand deathes if more were due to our sinnes we would not affirme it This we say whatsoever hath substance being perfection in the action of sin God is the author of it because it is good Ipsum quantumcunque esse bonum est the least essence in the world is good but not of the fault and defection therein I must once more repeate sin hath a positive privative part a subiect and the quality of the subiect nature corruption Prorsus ab illo est quicquid pertinet ad naturam prorsus ab illo non est quicquid est contrae naturam Whatsoever belongeth to nature is wholy from him whtsoeveâ— is against nature is in no respect from him Now death and whatsoever belongeth to the traine of death sin and the like are against nature In him we live and moove and have our being there is the piller of our truth a Poet of the Gentiles delivered it but an Apostle sanctified and ratified it and every creature in heaven in earth in the deepe crieth Amen to it And as that gentility and heathnishnesse of that vnbeleeving Poet coulde not marre Gods truth so the corruption depravation in the quality either of maÌ„ or action cannot hurt the substance Life is his whether we live to him as we ought to doe or to the lusts of our owne flesh or after the pleasure of the God of this world the prince of darknes MotioÌ„ is his whether we lift vp our handes to praier or whether to murther Essence is his the nature being substance of men of serpents of reprobate Angels are from him his good creatures He made not death he gave charge to the waters and earth to bring forth creatures that had the soule of life in them and when he made man hee breathed in his face the breath of life made him a living soule he made not darknesse he created the light neither was the authour of sterilitie and barrennesse hee made the bud of the earth which should seede seede the fruitfull tree And to speake a truth in proper tearmes these privations corruptions and defectes in nature as death darkenesse sterility blindnes silence and the like haue rather deficient than efficient causes For by the remooving of the things themselues vvhich these destroy they of their own accord succeede take their places Abandon the light of the sunne whereby our aire is brightened and illuminated you neede not carefully enquire or painefully labour how to come by darknesse the deficiencie and fayling of the light is a cause sufficient to bring in darknesse If the instrument of sighte bee decayed the stringes and spirites which serue for the eie inwardely wasted corrupted there is no more to be done to purchase blindnes to the eie the very orbity and want of seeing putteth blindnesse forth-with in possession If there were no speech or noise in this church what would there bee but silence and stilnesse wil you aske me the cause hereof It hath rightly none I can render the cause of speech there are instrumentes in man to forme it and there is an aire to receiue it from his mouth beare it to their eares that should partake it vpon the ceasing vvhereof silence hath a course to supplie without the service and aide of any creature in the worlde to produce it And these things we know and are acquainted with not by the vse of them for who can vse that which is nothing We know what light is by the vse thereof because we beholde it but who ever saw darkenesse if the apples of his eie were as broade as the circle of the sunne and the moone waking and wide open how could hee see darkenesse VVee know what speech is by the vse thereof because wee receiue it by the eare but who ever hearde silence Onelie vvee knovve them not by fruition of themselues but by want of their opposites which erst wee enioyâ—ed and now are deprived of I speake the more that I might speake plainely Wee were to enquire the efficient cause of sinne it hath none properly it hath a deficient cause Adam and Eue forsooke as it were the guide of their youth the word of God and his grace forsooke them Nature is now corrupted the soundnesse integrity of all the faculties therein diseased the image of God wholy defaced Vpon the decay and departure whereof sinne like a strong man entreth the house the bodie and soule are taken vp with a masse of iniustice the vnderstanding is filled with darkenesse the will with frowardnesse the senses with vanities and every part both of outwarde and inwarde man becommeth a servaunt to vnrighteousnesse Basill in a sermon vpon this argument now in hande vvilleth those that enquire of the author of sinne likewise to answere whence sicknesse and orbities in the bodie come for they are not saith hee the worke of God Living creatures were at the first well created having a proportion convenient to them but they fell into diseases and distemperatures vvhen they fell from healthinesse either by evill diet or by some other cause notwithstanding GOD made the bodie hee made not sicknesse and hee likewise made the soule but not the sinfulnesse thereof Ierome vppon the seconde of Abacuk giveth the like iudgemente Et si anima vitio suo efficitur hospitium Châ—ldaeorum naturâ tamen suà est tabernaculum Dei though the soule by her owne faulte is made an habitation or lodge for the Chaldaeans straungers to dwell in yet by hernature shee is the tabernacle of God Therefore hee should shew himselfe too ignorante that coulde not discerne betweene the corruption of nature and the author of nature And because we further were charged that we made the conversion of Paul the adulterie of David and the treason of Iudas the one the vprising of a sinner the other the falling downe of a saint the last finall revolt of a reprobate the workes and the proper workes of God all alike I prooved the contrary The first I acknowledged his proper and entire worke hee opened the vnderstanding changed the will did all therein In the other two hee tooke the wrll as hee founde it and without alteration thereof applied it to some endes which hee had secretly purposed and though neither the adultery of Dauid nor the improbity of Iudas were his proper workes yet God had his proper workes in them both for as he is a most holy creator of good natures so he is a most rightuous disposer of evill willes that whereas those evill willes doe ill vse good natures hee on the other side may well vse the evill willes themselves To conclude hee is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a
are all gone out of the way c. When this canker of impiety hath so overspred and eaten into the manners of people then is fulfilled that which Esay puâ—teth dovvne for a sounde position Let mercie bee shewed to the wicked yet hee vvill not learne rigtheousnesse in the lande of vprightenesse will hee doe wickedly and will not beholde the maiesty of the Lorde If neither the mercy nor the maiesty of God nor the company of the righteous can reforme him then is his bettering despaired and past hope I neede no farther examine this part The cause why Ionas cryed against Niniveh vvas the cry of their sinnes their regions vvere vvhite to harvest their iniquities ripe and looked for a sickle from heauen to cutte them dovvne The sufficiencie of vvhich cause to deriue the iudgementes of GOD vpon vs Ieremy layeth downe in his prophecy Manye nations shall passe by the citye meaning of Ierusalem and shall saye everye man to his neighbour vvherefore hath the LORDE done this to this greate citie then shall they answere Because they haue forsaken the covenant of the Lorde their GOD c. For the iudgement of the Lorde pronounced by David shall stande longer then the stars in the firmament Him that loveth iniquitye doth his soule hate Vpon the wicked hee shall raine snares fire and brimstone and stormie tempestes this is the portion of their cuppe And in the first Psalme it is a singular opposition that is made betvveene the iust and the wicked Non sic impij non sic the wicked are not so that thou mayest vnmoueably beleeue how vnmoueably God is bent to deny the wicked his grace hee strengtheneth the negatiue by doubling it Therefore the wicked shall not stand in iudgement for they are fallen before their iudgment commeth What shall they not rise againe Surely yes but not in iudgement saith Ierome for they are already iudged The wickednesse of our land what it is and in what elevation of height vvhether modest or impudent private or publique vvhether it speaketh or cryeth standeth or goeth lyeth like an aspe in her hole or flyeth lyke a fiery serpent into the presence of God your selues bee iudges vvrite my vvordes in tables that they may bee monumentes for latter daies for when your childrens children shall heare them hereafter they will skarselye beeleeue them The moneths of the year haue not yet gone about wherin the Lorde hath bowed the heavens and come downe amongst vs with more tokens and earnests of his wrath intended then the agedst man of our lande is able to recount of so small a time For say if ever the windes since they blew one against the other haue beene more common and more tempestuous as if the foure ends of heaven had conspired to turne the foundations of the earth vpside downe thunders and lightnings neither seasonable for the time and withall most terrible with such effectes brought forth that the childe vnborne shall speake of it The anger of the clouds hath beene powred downe vpon our heades both with abundance and saving to those that felt it vvith incredible violence the aire threatned our miseries with a blazing starre the pillers of the earth tottered in many vvhole countries and tractes of our Ilande the arrowes of a woefull pestilence haue beene caste abroade at large in all the quarters of our realme even to the emptying and dispeopling of some partes thereof treasons against our Queene and countrey wee haue knovvne many and mighty monstrous to bee imagined from a number of Lyons whelpes lurking in their dennes and vvatching their houre to vndoe vs our expectation and comfort so fayled vs in Fraunce as if our right armes had beene pulled from our shoulders VVee haue not altered the colour of the hayre of our heades nor added one inch to our stature since all these thinges haue beene accomplished amongst vs. Consider then vvell and thinke it the highest time to forsake your highest wickednes I call it highest wickednes for if wee knew how to adde any thing in our severall veines and dispositions to those idols of sinne which we serue some to our covetousnesse some to our pride some to our vnchastnes some to our malice and such like wee would breake our sleepe nay we would compasse sea and lande to encrease it Yet howsoever it fareth with the multitude let there bee a seede and remnaunt among vs left to entreate for peace Ten righteous persons would haue saved Sodom it may so stand with the goodnes of God that a few innocent fooles shall preserue the island as Iob speaketh Let vs thankfully embrace the long sufferance of our God forepast leading vs as by a hande of friendship to repentance and let vs redeeme with newnesse of life our dayes and yeares formerly mispent least by impenitent transgressing against the law of our maker we fall vpon his sentence of wrath irrevocably past and resolved by him I haue thought it and will not repent neither will I turne backe from it THE THIRD LECTVRE Chap. 1. ver 3. But Ionas arose vp to flie vnto Tharsish from the presence of the Lord and he went downe to Iapho c. THe commission given to Ionas we haue already weighed it followeth that wee handle his recusancy disobedience therein coÌ„mitted This verse now in haÌ„d delivereth the whole body therof with every member belonging vnto it 1. his preparatioÌ„ is set downe in that he arose 2. his speede to fly 3. the end and period of his iourney to Tharsis 4. his end and purpose why to Tharsis to escape the preseÌ„ce of the Lord. 5. the opportunities helpes and furtherances to his travel are exactly put downe 1. he went downe to Iapho an haven-towne 2. hee found a ship going to Tharsis 3. he paid the fare thereof 4. he went downe into it 5. lastly his reason of flying to Tharsis is againe specified with a regression in the end of the verse that he might goe from the presence of the Lord. A notable patterne of mans disposition 1. the Lord biddeth him arise he ariseth who if he had sitten still till his flesh had cloveÌ„ to the pauement or if he had streched himselfe vpon his bed and folded his armes to sleepe he had done a service more acceptable to God 2. he is bidden to go but not coÌ„tent with going he doth more theÌ„ so hee flieth hee hath the feete of an hinde and the wings of a doue to do that hee should not who had reapt more thankes if he had crept but like a snaile in his right course 3. He is bidden to go to Niniveh he goeth to Iapho and Tharsis he is not idle but he doth ill he doth that which he was not charged with like one of those Lords in Ieremy who told God to his face we are Lords we wil no more come at thee so doth he flatly crosse overthwart that directioÌ„ which God had set
for the kings shippes went to Tharsis with the servants of Hiram every three yeares once came the shippes of Tharsis and brought golde and silver yvorye apes and peacockes or vvhether it signifie Carthage which Dido sometime built and is now called Tunes which is the opinion of Theodoret and others or vvhether Tartessus a towne in Spaine or vvhether that city in Cilicia nearer to Syria vvhence Paul reporteth himselfe to haue beene in the 21. of the Actes I am a citizen in Tharsis a famous city in Cilicia or vvhether the whole countrey of Cilicia because in auncient times if Iosephus deceiue vs not all Cilicia vvas called Tharsis by the name of the chiefe city or whether it name vnto vs any other place not yet agreed vpon partly by curious partly by industrious authors it skilleth not greatly to discourse I leaue you for your satisfactiō therin to more ample cōmentaries But certeine I am vvhether his minde beare him to lande or to sea to Asia or Africk cuntry or city nearer or farther of at Niniveh he commeth not which was the place of Gods apointment Many dispute many things vvhy Ionas forsooke Niniveh and fled to Tharsis 1. The infirmity of the flesh some say was the cause pusillanimity of minde vvant of courage beeing terrified vvith the greatnesse of the citye 2. Or there was no hope say others of the dry when the greene was so barren The children of Israell had so hardened his heart with the hardnesse of theirs that he coulde not imagine the children of Ashur would ever haue fallen to repentāce 3. Or the strangenesse of the charge dismaide him for vvhen all other Prophets were sent to Israell he reasoneth vvith himselfe vvhy should I bee sent to Niniveh it was as vncoth vnto him as when Peter was willed to arise kill and eate vncleane beastes and hee answered in plaine termes not so Lorde 4. Or it might bee zeale to his countrey because the conversion of the Gentiles hee sawe woulde bee the eversion of the Iewes And surely this is a greate tentation to the minde of man the disadvantage and hinderance of brethren For this cause Moses interposed himselfe in the quarrell betvveene the Hebrew and the AEgyptian and slew the AEgyptian and in the behalfe of all Israell he afterwardes prayed vnto the Lord against his owne soule If thou wilt pardon their sinne thy mercie shall appeare but if thou wilt not I pray thee raze mee out of the booke of life which thou hast written 5. Or it might bee hee was afraide to be accounted a false prophet if the sequele of his prophecy fell not out which reason is afterward expressed by him in the fourth chapter I pray thee Lorde was not this my saying when I was in mine owne countrey c. As I saide of the place before so of the reasons that mooved him for this present till fitter occasions bee offered vvhatsoever it vvere that drewe him awaie vvhether weakenesse of spirite or despayre of successe or insolency of charge or ielousie over the Israelites or feare of discredite sure I am that hee commeth not to Niniveh but resolveth in his heart to reiect a manifest commandement I make no quaestion but in every circumstance forehandled he vncovereth his owne nakednes and laieth himselfe open to the censure and crimination of all men As who would say will you know the person without dissembling his name It was Ionas his readines without deliberation he ariseth his hast without intermission he flyeth the place farre distant from the which God had appointed Tharsis And if all these will not serue to prooue the disobedience of Ionas a a fault by his owne confession then harken vnto the next word if other were but candels to discover it this is a blazing lampe to lay it forth to all mens sight 5 From the presence of the Lord. He flyeth into Tharsis from the presence of the Lorde how can that bee if it bee true which David wisheth in the 27. Psalme Blessed bee his glorious name for ever and let all the earth bee filled with his glorie But in the hundreth thirty and eighth Psalme wonderfull are the testimonies that the prophet there bringeth to amplifie Gods illimited presence O Lord thou hast tried mee and knowne mee thou knowest my sitting and my rising thou vnderstandest my thoughtes a farre of c. For not to stay your eares with commemoration of all those argumentes this I gather in summe that there is neither heaven nor hell nor the outtermost part of the sea neither day nor night light nor darkenesse that can hide vs from his face Our sitting rising lying downe the thoughtes of our heartes wordes of our tongues waies of our feete nay our raines our bones our mothers wombes wherein wee laye in our first informitye and imperfection are so well knowne vnto him If this vvere his purpose to thinke that the presence of God might bee avoided who sitteth vpon the circle of heaven and beholdeth the inhabitantes of the earth as grasse-hoppers whose throne is the heaven of heavens and the earth his footestoole and his waies are in the greate deepe I must then needes say vvith Ieremie doubtlesse every man is a beast by his owne knowledge Prophet or no prophet If the spirit of God instruct him not hee is a beast worse then Melitides that naturall foole of vvhome Histories speake that hee coulde not define whether his father or his mother brought him forth But I cannot suppose such palpable and grosse ignorance in a prophet who knowing that God was well knowen in Iurie and his name greate in Israell coulde not be ignorant that God was the same God and the presence of his Godhead no lesse in Tharsis and all other countries What then is the meaning of this phrase He fled from the presence of the Lord 1. Some expounde it thus He left the whole border and grounde of Israell where the presence of the Lord though it were not more then in other places yet it was more evident by the manifestations of his favours graces towards them There was the Arke of the covenant and the sanctuary and the Lord gaue them answere by dreames oracles and other more speciall arguments of his abode there Moses spake truth in the 4. of Deut. of this priviledge of Israel what nation is so great vnto whom their Gods come so neare vnto them as the Lord is neare vnto vs in all that wee call vpon him for Davids acclamation Psalm 147. goeth hande in hand with it He hath not dealt so with other nations neither haue the heathen knowledge of his iudgments But I rather conceiue it thus which maketh much for the confirmation of my matter now in hand He fled from the presēce of the Lord when hee turned his backe vpon him shooke of his yoke and willfully renounced his commaundement It is a signe of obedience that servantes beare vnto their Lords and maisters when
togither Say that being young thou wert riotous gluttonous libidinous given to drinking surfetting giving thy streÌ„gth to harlots shal not thine olde age rue it art thou not one the saÌ„e person both in thy yonger older years in the waxing in the waning of thy daies shall the difference and change of times exempt thee froÌ„ the gout dropsie the like distemperature Thy grandfather 2. or 3. degrees beyond thy father and thy selfe Et natinatorum qui nascentur ab illis thy childrens children nephews to come you are all but one house Aeacidae froÌ„ Aeacus springing froÌ„ one roote the head of the family in his sight account who esteemeth a 1000. generations but as one day Plutarch himselfe was wise enough to answere the argument There is not the like comparison betwixt father son as betwixte a workeman his worke neither can they alike be separated for that which is borne or begotten is not only from the father but of him as a part belonging vnto him The Castilions bloud in France spilt at the massacre may rightfully be required of the Guisian race in the 4. or 5. generation to come This is the cause that David curseth the wicked on both sides both in their descent let their children bee vagabondes begge their breade and in their ascent let the iniquity of his father be had in remembrance let not the sinne of his mother be done away The like is daily practised in the community and felowship of diverse partes within the same body as in a matter of felonie the hand only hath taken and borne away but the feete are clapt in iron the belly pinched with penury the bones lie hard the best iointe is endangered for it Sundry partes though distinguished both in place and office feele the punishment which they may fondly say the hand only deserved Yea the eie may bee sore and a veine prickt in the arme to cure it the hoofe tender and weake and the top of the hoâ—ne annointed for remedie thereof eveÌ„ so in the body of a city the body of an army the body of a church the bodie of a ship though happily few offend yet their iniquity is brought vpon the head of a whole multitude The kinges are mad the Greekes are plagued 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vvhole citie oftentimes reapeth the fruite of one vvicked man amongst them What iniury is done therein is it more then one citie is not that citizen a member of their body Is not Socrates one and the same man at the head at the foote is not Englande one and the same land at Barwicke and at the Mount is not London one and the same city at Ludgate at Aldgate These may be the reasons why the whole number of passengers is plagued both in the losse of their wares in the hazard of their liues for the principall transgression of Ionas 1. they were wicked themselues because they were idolatrous what other corruptions they had the Lord knoweth 2. they were all but one body vnder the same discipline and government tied togither by orders lawes for sea as by iointes by reason they had entertained and consorted themselues with disobedient Ionas Other causes there may be secret vnto God which I dare not search out Why should I climbe into paradise or pâ—ie into the arke to behold his counsels wheÌ„ he hath set darknes clouds about his pavilioÌ„ why should I labor to remoue theÌ„ We know not the reasons of many a thing beloÌ„ging to our coÌ„moÌ„ life how it coÌ„meth that our clothes are warme about our backs when the earth is quiet through the south-winde shal we reach after hiddeÌ„ knowledge A plague begaÌ„ in Aethiopia filled AtheÌ„s killed Pericles vexed Thucy dides or to match the example a plague beginneth in FraÌ„ce taketh shipping at NewhaveÌ„ laÌ„deth in EnglaÌ„d with Englishmen harboureth it selfe in LondoÌ„ never departeth therehence againe Wil you know the reason hereof It may be that the works of God may be made manifest as Christ spake of the blind maÌ„ Ioh. 9. or to shew his power that he hath over his clay to exercise his iustice to practise proue our patience whether we wil curse him to his face as it may be the divel hath informed against vs or to apply the coÌ„tinual physick of afflictioÌ„ chastisemeÌ„t vnto vs that we ruÌ„ not into desperate maladies For there are 4. kinds of meÌ„ which by 4. kinds of means come to heaveÌ„ 1. some buy it at a price which bestow al their teÌ„poral goods for the better coÌ„passing therof 2. soÌ„e catch it by violeÌ„ce they forsake fathers mothers land living life al that they haue for that kingdomes sake 3. some steale it they do their good deeds secretly they are opeÌ„ly rewarded 4. others are enforced to take it by coÌ„tinual afflictioÌ„s made to fal into the liking therof Or whatsoever els be the cause which the sanctuary of heaven hath reserved to it selfe buried in light that may not be approached vnto this I am sure of that the challeÌ„ge of the Apostle shal stand like a wal of brasse against al the obiectioÌ„s in the world NuÌ„quid iniquitas apud DeuÌ„ Is there any vnrighteousnes with God And so farre was it of that these marriners receiued losse by their losse that it vvas their occasion to bring them to the knowledge and feare of the true God as hereafter shall appeare vnto you in the tendering of their vowes and other the like religious dueties Then saide they vnto him tell vs for whose cause this evill is vpon vs c. Having presumed that the lots could not lie being governed and guided by the wisdoÌ„e of God they gather theÌ„selues togither like bees al make a coÌ„mon incursion vpon Ionas For by likelihood of their demands because they are many in nuÌ„ber many to the same effect as some supposed it is not vnprobable that their whole troupe assaulted him each one had a pul after his fashioÌ„ as they had sundry heads mouthes so they had sundry speeches to expresse one the same thing therfore one asked vnde venis wheÌ„ce coÌ„mest thou another quae terra tua what is thy couÌ„try a third ex quo populo of what people art thou when his people couÌ„try dwelling place differ not in substaÌ„ce And certainely I cannot blame them if in such peril of their liues when the first borne of death the next immediatest death to sight was vpoÌ„ theÌ„ they al make an head open their mouthes without order or course against the worker of their woes When Achan was brought to the valley of Achor to be executed he his sons daughters asses sheepe the silver garment wedge of golde his tent all that hee had there produced it is said that all Israell threw stones at him and burnt them with fire and stoned
driue him to desperation the Sabaeans to store vp treasures of vvickednesse and to shew that stolne bread is sweet vnto them The envy and malignity of Sathan whence is it of God No. God borroweth and vseth his service I graunte but Sathan first profered it so the malice is his owne who was a murtherer from the beginning hee onely addâ—ng gouernement and moderation therevnto The furious and bloudy rapines of the other whence are they from God no. They lay in the cisternes of their owne heartes Sathan drew them forth by insâ—igation themselues let loose the streame and when it was once on flote the Lorde directed and disposed the course by his wisedome For this present I ende God is of pure eies and can beholde no vvickednesse hee hath 〈◊〉 righteousnesse to the rule and vveighed his iustice in a ballance his soule hateth and abhorreth sin I haue served with your iniquities It is a labour service thraldome vnto him more than Israell endured vnder their grievous task-masters his law to this day curseth and condemneth sin his hands haue smitten scrouged sin he hath throwne downe angels plagued men overturned cities ruinated nations and not spared his owne bowels whilst hee appeared in the similitude of sinfull flesh hee hath drowned the world vvith a floud of waters shall burne the world with a floud of fire because of sin The sentence shall stand vnmooueable as long as heaven and earth endureth tribulation anguish vpon every soule that doth evil Ievv or Gentile All adulterers murtherers idolaters sacrilegious blasphemous covetous wretches liers swearers forswearers whom the Apostle calleth dogges barking at the iustice of God making a causelesse complaint against him as if he were cause of their sins shall one day see the folly and feele the price of their vnrighteous inâ—ectation Let God therefore be true and let all men be liers let God be iust and all men sinners let God be iustified in al his iudgements and let all his accusers vanish and consume in the madnes of their heartes as the fome vpon the waters THE XIX LECTVRE Chap. 1. ver 14. For thou Lord hast done as it pleased thee THe Mariners in this reason of their petition acknowledge 2. things directly 1. the worke of God in the casting foorth of Ionas Thou Lord hast done it 2. the ground of his workes his owne will as it pleased thee A third thing is acknowledged by implication the equity iustice of that will as the warrant for their deed for thou Lord c. their meaning is not therein either to charge him with a tyraÌ„nous will quod libet licet as the manner of grievous princes is to thinke that lawfull whatsoever pleaseth them either to insimulate and accuse him of iniustice to make him actor or patrone of any their sins who dealeth in the actions of meÌ„ sometimes with open sometimes with secret but alwaies with a righteous iudgement Therefore I noted their corruption who thinke themselues excused in their most enormous and execrable sins because they fulfill the will of God in one sense not that open and revealed will which he hath given in tables published by sound of a trumpet specified by blessings cursings promises threatnings exhortations dehortations and such like wherevnto they stand strictly bound but a secret and hidden will written in another booke wrapt vp in the counsâ—iles of his owne breast which neither they intended when they did their misdeedes neither were they ever charged therewith from Gods lips Secreta Domino revelata nobis filijs nostris Secret thinges belong to the Lord revealed to vs our children 1. Quantum ad ipsos fecerunt quod Deus noluit touching their owne purpose and intendment they have done that which God would not they have transgressed his lawe with contentation of heart perhappes with gladnes it may be with greedinesse taking a solace and pleasure therein and not wishing to have done otherwise they have pursued it to the third and fourth generation from the first assault or motion of sin to consent from consent to delight from delight to custome and yet not giving over till they come to a spirit of slumber or rather a death in sin 2. Quantum ad omnipotentiam Dei nullo modo id efficere valuerunt touching the omnipotencie of God they were never abâ—e to doe it he sitteth in heaven that laugheth them to scorne he besiegeth them round about and his hand is vpon them They are not able to depart from his will more than if a ship were going from Ioppe to Tharsis as this ship was from West to East and one by walking vpon the hatches a contrary course as if he would goe from East to West from Tharsis towardes Ioppe againe might stay the motion or flight of the shippe he doth his endevour to hinder it by bending both his face and his pace backewarde but the ship is too well winged and of too huge a burthen to be resisted so those others shewe their will to frustrate and faile the will of God by committing sinne prohibited but yet they shall doe a will of his or rather his will shal be done vpon them maugre their malicious and sworne contradictions De hijs qui faciunt quae non vult facit ipse quae vult Of those that doe what he would not he doth what he would and as he commanded light to shine out of darknes so he can commaund good out of euill treasure from out the midst of drosse and commodity from the very heart of deepest wickednesse at least he will execute his iustice vpon offenders as he professeth Exod. 14. I will get me honour vpon Pharaoh and all his host for this cause he set him vp to shew his power in him and that his name might be declared to the whole earth Exod. 9. To reduce a diffused but a dangerous intricate question wherin as I then protested the warinesse of my proceeding so now I againe protest the subiection of my spirite to the spirites of prophets God forbid that I should not bee readier to learne than to teach I say to reduce it to heads I proposed vnto you the errors of some in 2. 〈◊〉 of extremities some going too far in that they make God the 〈◊〉 of sin others comming aâ— short that God doth only permit 〈◊〉 The former an error 〈◊〉 for devils than men the latter an error of humanity offending of simplicity rather then malice speaking truth of God when they acknowledge his permission of sinne but 〈…〉 who le truth because they thinke God only permitteth it both deny the godhead in effect the one destroying the goodnes and 〈◊〉 the other impairing the omnipotency providence government thereof in that they restraine it from some thinges The former of these two opinions that God is the author of sin most prodigious to coÌ„ceive though engendred in the braine I know not whether of men or devils yet is taken by
worker in the workes of all sortes of men Communiter author fateor sed non nisi boni fautor Commonly and indifferently I graunte an author in a common and large signification but a favourer onely of good Doest thou addresse thy selfe to vertue it is done both by the privitie and assistaunce of GOD. To vice vvith his privitie and permission not vvith his helpe some thinke saith Lipsius vvith his vvill too It is most true that GOD doeth suffer sinne there is nothing visiblie and sensiblie donne which is not either commanded or tolerated from that invisible intelligible court of the highest Emperour August 58. senten for it could not bee done if God did not suffer it In his Enchirid to Laurent 100. it followeth and truely he doth not suffer it against but with his will and being good as hee is he would never suffer any thing to be ill done but that being also almighty he can doe well of that which is evill Vndoubtedly he doeth not suffer against his will for that woulde bee with griefe and must needes argue a power greater than himselfe then if he willingly suffer Permissio est quoddam genus voluntatis his sufferance is a certaine kinde of will In his booke of predestination and grace he compareth Nabuchodonosor and Pharaoh togither both which had the same plaister of chastisement laid vnto them though converted in the one to his soules health in the other to his destruction Touching nature they were both men for honour both kings concerning the cause of correction both helde the people of GOD in captivity and lastly for their punishment both were admonished by the scourges of GOD. Yet the endes of their punishment were diuerse for the one fought against God the other by repentance obtained mercy Now what obiections soever a man may frame-here hence against the equity of God Intelligat ista tamē vel adiuvante Domino perfici vel deserente permitt◠vt noverit tamen nolente Domino nihil prorsus admitti Let him vnderstande that all these thinges are either brought to passe God aiding them or suffered God forsaking them so that hee knowe withall that nothing in the worlde can be done if God be vnwilling If then I sinne by the will of God how can I helpe it and why doeth hee yet complaine as Paule obiecteth Romanes the ninth I will remoue this stone of offence and then returne to my purpose My will I say is borne by a streame of the will of GOD or it is my destiny to sinne the starres haue fore-signed my going awry Mars committed the murther Venus the adulterie thus vvas I borne and marked the fault is not mine I sinne by compulsion I put them all togither because it is the fashion of some to set vp a iudgement seat in their erroneous phantasies and thereat to arraigne God of iniustice sive per transennam sive per cannam longam sive per proximum either by the casemēt or through a long cane obliquely or farther of and some hard at hand and directly some by destiny some by starres ohers reaching immediately at God himselfe Deus hoc voluit si nollet Deus non facerem God would haue it thus if God would not I coulde not haue done it One in a monastery being reprooved that hee did some things not to be done omitted others which he should haue done answered those that rebuked him what kinde of man soever now I am I shal be such as God hath fore-seene I should be Who therin saith Augustine both spake a trueth and yet was no whit bettered to amendment of life by that trueth O damned absurdity rooting her wickednes in heaven as if the prescience and will of God were the cause of our sinning whereas his prescience is but the antecedent to our sins going before them for because we sin therfore they are foreknowne not because they are foreknowne therefore we sin and his will is but the consequent following vpon them I say againe God hath a will and purpose in the sins of vnrighteous men not that he liketh the sins but he ordereth governeth thē in wise manner turneth them to some end that well pleaseth him And though he willeth not the evill it selfe yet the doing of the evill doth in some respectes content him And that will in God is consequent to our will For albeit it were before ours in time because his will is as ancient as himselfe even from everlasting yet in order and course of thinges it commeth behinde it and he that fulfilleth the will of God in this māner or rather the will of God is fulfilled vpon him shall hang in hell for his service so little thankes is he likely to reape at Gods handes For there is no question but God doeth fulfill good purposes of his owne by the ill purposes of ill men Iudas was not yet formed nor any member of his body set togither or fashioned when they were all written in the booke of God He saw his treason in the glasse of his foreknowledge and vnderstoode his thoughtes a far off There was not a word in his tongue but God was long since acquainted with it He knew that his will was bent to mischiefe from before the world was established Now God hath a will vpon and after the will of Iudas and thus he bethinketh himselfe Iudas hath a will to betray his maister I will not stop his will but cōvert it to some good vse I will draw a preservative against poison frō the very poison of a serpent I wil declare my power skill therby The world shal know that of the vnnaturallest treason that ever the sun beheld I cā worke a good effect I will shew my iudgements amongst all nations vpon Iudas and his complices by the fruites of that bitter roote the vilest treachery that ever hell cast vp I will save mankinde Iudas himselfe never intended therein either to magnifie the power of God or to manifest his iustice or to deliver any of his brethren vvho I dare say never conceived therein how his owne singular soule might be saved So then Iudas committed a treason and God foresawe a treason whose knowledge is as great as himselfe and the workes of a thousand generations to come as present vnto him as that vvhich is done at the present time What of that praescivit non praedestinavit vel fecit hee onely foreknewe it hee neither predestinated it nor committed it For this is the rule Mala tantùm praescit non praedestinat bona verò praescit praedestinat Evill thinges hee onely foreknoweth good hee both foreknoweth and praedestinateth that is apointeth and taketh order for them before hand Hee also foretolde the infidelity malice mischievousnesse of the Iewes in complottinge the same villany against the sonne of God VVhat of that praedixit non fecit hee onelye foretolde and not wrought it Ipsorum praescivit peccata non sua Hee
doth not onely permitt the false spirit Thou shalt seduce Ahab but giveth encouragement also thou shalt prevaile and addeth a commaundement goe forth and alloweth of the forme of dealing in the matter doe so Now that you may knowe how innocent the Lord is in an action of such preiudice observe the circumstances of the place well 1. The thing intended is that Ahab might fall at Ramoth Gilead Which purpose of God once set is so vnchangeable that if heaven and earth were confederate they can not save the life of Ahab God shall send forth a spirit the spirit deceave prophets prophets entice Ahab Ahab change his apparrell and though Iehoshaphat be the fairer marke yet Iehoshaphat shall escape and one shall draw an arrowe by chance and smite Ahab betwixte his brigandine and hee shall dye at evening hee did so Therefore touching the ende of this businesse it is no iniustice in God to execute iudgement and wrath vpon a famous adversary 2. Concerning the meanes enquiry was made who should entice Ahab because in the nature of God himselfe it was not to entice him 3. That which he doth he doth by a spirit not by himselfe 4. by an evil spirit of his bād retinew who stood before God 1. Iob. 5. The spirit commeth furnished of his owne for vvhen one saide thus another otherwise he profered his service to to entice him 6. When God demaunded of the meanes hee invented the practise by being a false spirit in the mouth of his prophets 7. What were those prophets of Ahab men that were faithlesse of themselues whose guise it was either for rewardes or for favour of the king to say they had dreamed when they had not and the Lorde hath saide when hee never saide it So there is both malice in the spirit and falshood in the prophets before God setteth either hand or hearte to the businesse Therefore what doth the Lord therin he fitteth vpō the throne as the iudge moderator of the whole action hee commādeth the attendance of al the army of heaven on the right hande and on the lefte cleane and vncleane spirites are in subiection to him hee giveth leave to them who without his leave are vnable to doe any thinge thou shalt entice hee giveth the successe which all the kingdome of darkenes coulde not effect if hee woulde hinder it thou shalt prevaile he biddeth goe and they goe runne and they runne to shew that all the creatures of the worlde serue him hee disposeth the course Do so that is doe so and no more than so as much as to say Since thou hast malice to bestowe extende it vpon Ahab rather than Iehoshaphat and falshood to infuse powre it forth vpon the 400. prophets of Ahab rather than vpon Michaeas or any prophet of mine and let the fall of Ahab be at Ramoth Gilead rather than in another place and in this battaile with the king of Aram rather than at another time Thus when the matter is their owne God giveth the fashioning and ordering thereof in some sorte touching the persons time place and other the like particulars But why is it further saide that God put a lying spirit into the mouth of these prophets of Ahab 1. hee did it by way of a punishment to bee avenged of that custome of lying which they were inured vnto aforetime 2. hee did it by his instrument having both life and will to doe hurte not by himselfe 3. he did it in this sense that he staied not the wicked purpose by interposing the aide of his good spirit By this time I thinke it appeareth that in the actions and passions of vnrighteous men there is more to bee deemed of God than his bare permission For doubtlesse hee hath his will therein neither in alluring neither in counselling and much lesse in compellinge thereunto but in ordering and governing them in applying them to better endes than the oftendours are aware of and in ordeining his iust iudgements consequently thereupon Therefore when I say he hath his will therein mistake me not He hath not a will in such sort as if he approved sin chose or desired sin as if he bare appetite liking thereto It is rather voluntas than volitio if I may so speake a wil than a willingnes it is his will by obliquity a side-will vnproper vndirect and in respect not to the sinne it selfe but some other good adioyned vnto it as when a man is put to have his arme or legge cut off for a further benefite hee beareth and beareth it with his will not that he liketh of the dismembring of his body or loosing of a ioynte but that he desireth some other good vvhich hee foreseeth may ensue thereby Thus hee permitted and more hee decreed the treason of Iudas and iniquity of the Ievves against his annointed sonne as you have it confessed by the Apostles Actes the fourth that Herode and Pilate with the Gentiles and people of Israell gathered themselves togither against the holy sonne of GOD Iesus to doe whatsoever his hande and his counsell had determined before to be done God had determined it before not in the favour of their sinne but of our redemption Take away the wickednesse of the prodition of Iudas thou shalt also take away the crosse and passion of Christ if the death of Christ had not beene then neither his resurrection nor anie first begotten from the deade nor anie hope of our resurrection Take avvay the malice of the brethren of Ioseph thou shalt togither kill the dispensation of GOD a fault never to be excused the more vnnaturall because it came from brethren the more vnreasonable because of envie without iust cause the more vnsufferable because they added lying and bound two sinnes togither and it was in likelihoode the hastning of their fathers death Yet Ioseph tolde his brethren when they came into Egypt Grieve not your selves that yee solde mee hither for God sent mee hither for your preservation this they never foresaw neither was it the end of their dispightfull dealing you sent mee not hither but God who hath made mee a father to Pharao and Lorde of his house and ruler throughout all Egypt when you repined that I vvas a brother amongst you and left mee no footing in mine owne fathers house Afterwards when his brethren fell downe at his feet confessed their sin hee answered them feare not am I in steede of God set to execute iudgment When you thought evill against me God disposed it to good that hee might vvorke as it is come to passe this day and save much people alive All the wits in the world cannot better set downe the state of the questiō They thought evill God disposed it to good they to vngorge themselves of that venimous malice which the prosperity of Ioseph conceived from his dreames instilled into their heartes God to preserve them in a famine to come and to save much people
sustenance sake Wherein they noted a great indignity that those hands should be vsed at the mill wherewith hee wrote of the sunne and starres It grieveth mee to speake vvhat shiftes they are driven vnto who are able to labour in the word to doe the worke of righte good evangelistes idque vitae sustentandae causa not to grow rich thereby but to put meate into their mouthes and the mouthes of their families I conclude with the exhortation of the Apostle 1. Thes. 5. Now wee beseech you brethren that you know them which labour amongst you and are over you in the Lorde and admonish you that yee haue them in singular or abundant or more then abundant loue for their workes sake From an abundant spirit hee craveth abūdant abūdance of loue empting his soule of words that if it vvere possible hee might stirre their heartes In this sparingly sparing generation of ours what wordes might serue to warme their frozen devotion vvhome neither painefulnesse in labouring nor preeminence in overseeing nor vigilancy in admonishing can cause to knowe and discerne no nor keepe from contemning or so exceedingly to loue no nor vvithdraw from exceedingly hating these labourers rulers vvatchmen of theirs but even for their workes sake because they are ministers most debase and despight them They knew Christ among the Iewes to bee the carpenters sonne and such to bee his brethren and sisters So these they are content to know not in the worthinesse of their calling givinge countenance to their place and maintenaace to their service but in the basenesse of their birth and kindred poorenesse of their liuinges pensions and whatsoever may make to adde vnto them further disgrace And proclaimed a fast and put on sackloth Fasting and sackeclothe saith Ierome are the armour of repentaunce Shee commeth not to God with a full belly and meate betweene the teeth nor in gorgeous attire of silver and golde or of needle worke but with the thinnest face and coursest apparrell that shee can provide Shee is so much the apter to apply her suite and to entreat GOD. Not that the emptinesse of the stomake or roughnesse of the garment doe so much content him which are but outwarde signes of an inwarde cause from whence they proceede For when the soule is touched indeede and feeleth the smarte of her sinnes because it hungreth and thirsteth after the righteousnesse of God therefore it cannot thinke on feeding the outward man but commaundeth it abstinence for a time even from necssary eating and because it longeth to bee clothed with the salvation of God therefore it chargeth her flesh and bloud not to take care for wonted attiring but to change their accustomed ornamentes into sackcloth and ashes Meanetime the pleasure that God hath is in the sorrow of the heart and in the humility of the minde which the humiliation of the body giveth him assurance of The practise of David Psalm 35 is mee thinketh a very good paterne both to shewe the order of repentance to assigne the place that fasting sackcloth haue therein When they were sicke I clothed my self with sackcloth humbled my soule vvith fasting and my praier vvas turned vpon my bosome I behaved my selfe as to my friend or brother and made lamentation as one that bewaileth his mother 1. There must be some misery as the sickenes of friends maladies of our own soules or the publicke sores of the whole land 2. Vpon that misery ensueth an inward harty compassion as in a case that dearely affecteth vs. 3. vpon that cōpassion griefe which mercy is never sundred frō 4. vpon that griefe a neglect of bodily duties neither leasure to fill it with meates drinkes nor care to trim it with ornamēts 5. vpon the neglect of the body doe the exercises of the soule praier the like offer thēselues 6. praier with her other cōpanions at length come laden home with the sheaues of comfort blisse frō the plentifullest fields So that sackecloath and sasting as they are the witnesses of sorrow or some like passion so are they helps also occasions to more acceptable workes then they are themselues neither lye they next to the favor of God but they thrust praier faith between them and home to begge remission I meane not to prevent my text by shewing the nature originall kindes and vse of fasting amongest both heathens Christians which some later verses of this chapter doe challendge to themselues Only I obserue for this present that both those sinnes wherwith the people of Asia did most especially abound and these in Niniveh perhaps more especially then the rest they laboured forthwith to reforme that is the delicacy of meates drinkes intemperancy in cloathing The rich man in the gospell is noted for both these as handmaides that waited vpon his riches And Niniveh the richest lady vnder heaven was not cleare from them To rid themselues of these baites allurements 1. they fast from meate drinke sleepe ointments delightes recreations of all sorts For that is truly to fast not only to forsake forget ordinary food but to emprison shut vp the body from all the pleasures of life to pul downe the strength and pride thereof for neighbour-hoods sake to afflict the soule with it in effect to giue it straight commandement touch not taste not handle not any thing wherein thy wonted ioies consisted 2. They proclame a fast they leaue it not indifferent and arbitrary to the will of every private cittizen to doe what hee best fansied They binde them by a law and decree to do as the rest did least there might have bin some in the city carrying their Epicurisme and loosenesse of life to their graue Let vs eate and drinke for within forty daies vvee shall die 3. They put on sacke-cloath Perhappes not sacke-cloth in kinde which all the shoppes in Niniveh coulde not supply them with but the vilest and simplest vveedes that they might devise Their purple and prince-like furniture wherein they esteemed not warmth but the colour and die and ware them for their price more then necessity their wanton disdainefull superfluous sailes of pride and vaine-glory they lay aside and but for open vncivilitie they would strippe themselues to the bare skinne and repente naked 4. from the greatest to the least They spare no calling Prince nor peere noble nor vulgar person They spare no age old nor yong The aged that went with his staffe and the suckling that drew the breast are all chardged alike even those who for bodily infirmities were vnable enough to beare it The two daughters of the horse-leach which sucke the bloude of our land wasting the substance and commodity thereof in vaine in some the effects of their wealth in others the efficientes of their beggery are the vices of these Assyrians which directly and purposedly they crosse in this worke of repentaunce For what hath
softer mighte suffice But if vvee be briars in your coates and flesh it is because wee dwell with briars if vvee be perverse it is because wee dwell in the midst of a perverse generation An hard knot in the timber cannot be driven out vvithout heavy blowes sundry diseases require sundry kinds of cures as the dispositions of men are varied so must wee vary our teachings one must be washt with gentle bathes another must haue his woundes cut with lancers and as the damsell Matth. 9. was raised vp in her fathers house the widowes sonne of Naim without his mothers gates Lazarus before a greate multitude of all sorts so some must be handled privately others openly a thirde kinde publiquely some must be held for weake others accounted Publicanes vnto vs some their infirmities supported others delivered vnto Satan some chastised with a rod others warned in the spirit of meeknes some pulled out of the fire others left to be burnt some saved by feare others by loue some must be vsed as our owne bowels others as rotten members vvhose cure is despaired cut of from the body that they do no more hurt In all which reprehensions except where all hope is past that singular precept of Gregory taketh place In the controlling of faultes there must be some anger rather to attend vpon reprehension than to commaund it so that in the execution of this charitable and mercifull iustice it beare not a sway by going before but rather make a shew by comming after And Leo hath the like counsaile that it must bee vsed non saevientis animo sed medentis not with the minde of a tirant or persecutor but of an helper Considering thy selfe saith the Apostle least thou also be tempted For a man may once and often in his life time say to him that reprooveth another as Eliphaz did to Iob. Behold thou haste taught many and strengthened the weary hands thy words haue confirmed him that was falling and thou haste vphelde the weake knees but now it is come vpon thee and thou art grieved it toucheth thee and thou art troubled The matter reproved by God is anger Dost thou well to be angry or as some render it doth anger helpe thee or art thou angry iustly and vpon reasonable cause or as some of the Hebrewes expounde it art thou very angry is not thy wrath vehement interpreting bene by valdè as Moses did Deut. 9. when he told the children of Israell that he tooke the sinne the calfe which they had made ground it verie well that is sufficiently till he had brought it to the smallest dust So some interpret well in this place by the quality goodnes of anger whether it may be iustified others by the quantity and greatnes noting the excesse and immoderation thereof They come both to one for whether God aske of the qualitie he seemeth to imply a secret subiection it is not well done of thee thou hast no iust cause to be angrie or whether of the quantity he thinketh that there is as little reason that the sparing of penitent sinners shoulde mooue such stomacke in Ionas The question is disputed throughout the whole chapter betweene God the prophet God the opposer Ionas the defender whether he do well to be angry God confuteth him both by word deed Ionas contendeth for it to the death I will not trouble you with the aunswering of the question till we come to the ninth verse where the Lord doth demaund againe in the same words and Ionas though he be silent in this place yet there dissembleth not his minde for he aunswereth I do well to be angry and addeth measure sufficient even vnto death Meane-while because this is the time wherin a generall forgetting of wrongs and laying malice a sleepe is professed so far as the world is christened partly the Canōs of the church partly devotion it selfe leading vs al to a thankfull commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ and to the communion of his body bloud which is a badge of our Christian loue fellowship the time inviting me therevnto which S. Austen calleth the solēnity of solemnities the vncurteousnes of these our times requiring no lesse giue mee leaue in few wordes to convert my speech vnto that which the celebration of the feast it selfe doth easily exhort you vnto The blessed Apostle thought not that any more effectuall persuasion to charity could be gathered than from the example of the son of God himselfe whose dying rising againe is now solēnized For so he frameth his exhortation to the Colossians Now therefore as the elect of God holy beloved as you haue any part in these graces electiō sanctification the loue of God if you haue any argument seale to your own consciences that you are a part of his inheritāce for they are not marked for his chosen which are without these markes put on the bowels of mercy kindnes humblenes of minde meekenes long suffering forbearing one another forgiving one another let these bee your robes and coverings weare thē as you weare your garments let them bee as tender inward vnto you as your own principal most vitall parts even as Christ freely bountifully forgaue you even so do ye How that was I neede not recite The Apostle Rom. 5. collecteth sundry arguments to shew how far forth that substātiall saving grace of God hath gratified vs. 1. We were weake 2. godlesse 3. sinners 4. enemies we had neither strength to endevour neither piety to procure nor righteousnes to satisfie nor acquaintaunce and friendshippe to deserue in the fight of God yet notwithstanding all these impediments and deficiencies Christ died for vs. So the other Apostle speaketh Christ suffered for sinnes the iust for the vniust that hee might bringe vs to God The cause most odious the persons most vnequall the end most absolute How thē cā I better exhort you to an imitatiō of the loue of Christ than as S. Paul exhorteth the Philippians If there bee any consolation in Christ so we may rēder it or if there be any advocation in Christ as all the consolation and advocation that we looke for must 〈◊〉 drawne from that fountaine If any comfort of loue as who feeleth not the vse of loue that hath not beene nursed vp with the tygers of the wildernes If any communion of the spirit by whom we are al knit togither in the body of Christ lastly if any bowelles of mercy surely he meaneth that there is or should be much of al this much consolation in Christ much cōfort of loue c. But if there bee any remnant and seede left if all bee not spent exhausted to satisfie your rancorous malice fulfill my ioie and your owne ioy and the ioy of the angels in heaven and the ioy of the bride and bridegroome to whom it is a good and pleasant thinge
of a fierce countenance and vnknowne language all the commoâ—ions and perturbations of kingdomes invasions of kings one vpon the others dominions rebellions of subiectes and so much of Christendome at this day buried in the very bowels of Turcisme and infidelity yea the extirpation of the Iews and planting of the Gentiles vpon their stocke and hereafter the casting out of the Gentiles and filling of the Iewes againe they are al rightly and orderly derived from the former cause For the sins of the people the princes the people themselues the government the policy the religion the peace the plenty of the land shal often be chandged We haue long and faithfully preached against your sinnes the dissolvers you see of kingdomes common weales that if it were possible we might bring them also to their periode and set some number and end of them VVill you not be made cleane when shall it once be But if our preachings cannot mooue you he that in times past at sundry times and in sundry manners spake vnto our fathers hath also sundry voices and sundry kindes of preachers to speake vnto you You heare that the chandge of a Prince is one of his Preachers It shall preach more sorrow vnto you more wringing of your hands rending of your harts than ever erst you were acquainted with Remember the vision that Michaeas saw all Israell scattered like sheepe because their king was taken from them and thinke how wofull a day it will bee when this faithfull shepheard of ours which hath fed her Iacob with a true heart Formosi pecoris Custos formâ—sior ipsa an happy Queene of an happy people the Lord yet saving both her vs with the healthfull power of his right hand shall be pulled from vs. Wee haue hitherto lived in peace equall to that in the daies of Augustus such as our fathers never sawe the like and vvhen wee shall tell our childrens children to come thereof they will not beleeue it VVe haue sitten at ease vnder the shaddowe of our vines nay vnder the shaddow of this vine wee haue shaded solaced our selues and lived by her sweetnes But it may fall out that as when the Emperour Pertinax was dead they cried with redoubled showtes into the aire till they were able to cry no longer while Pertinax lived and governed wee lived in safety and feared no man so wee may send our late and helpelesse complaintes into heaven O well were wee in the daies of Queene Elizabeth when perfite peace was the walles of our country and the malice of the enemy prevailed not against vs. The sword of a forrein foe bandes and captivitye is an other of his preachers Will you not feele the warnings of Gods wrath till the yron haue entred into your soules and drawne bloud after it you knovv vvho it is that hangeth over your heades of vvhome and other princes I may say as they said in Athens of Demades and Demosthenes their oratours Demosthenes is meete for Athens iustly assised and fitted to the city Demades over-great so vvhen other kinges holde themselues contended vvith their kingdomes he is too greate for Spaine and many other kingdomes and Dukedomes cannot suffice him but he yet devoureth in hope all the dominions of Christendome and drinketh downe with vnsatiable thirst the conceipt of a Monarch and for this cause there is a busye spirite gone forth in the mouthes of all his Prophets Vnus Deus vnus Papa vnus rex Christianismi Magnus rex Catholicus vniversalis There is but one God one Poâ—e one King of Christendome the greate and Catholicke and vniversall Kinge Hee hath once already buckled his harnesse vnto him with ioye and assured presumption of victory But they that pulled it of by out-stretched arme of one more mighty than himselfe more reioyced God graunt that they bee not found in England vvho haue saide vpon that happye and miraculous event in discomfiting his forces vvee vvill trust in our bovves and our svvordes and speares shall heereafter deliver vs. There touching of late in Cornevvale the vtmost skirt of our lande no doubt vvas some little vvarning from God But it vvas no more vnto vs than if the skirt of our cloake had beene cutte avvay as it vvas to Saule vvee say our skinne is not yet rased The commotion in Irelande thoughe a quicker and more sensible admonition is but a dagger held to our side and till the pointe thereof sticke in our heart till there bee firing of our tovvnes ransackinge of our houses dashinge of our infants against the stones in the streetes vvee vvill not regarde O cease to incense the iealous God of heaven Turne not his grace and mercie into wantonnes Let not his strength bee an occasion vnto you to make you vainely confident nor his peace licenciouslye secure nor the abundance of his goodnesse abundant and intolerable in transgressing his lawes And if there were no other reason to make you tremble before his face yet do it for your owne politicke good because you are threatned by a deadly enimy vvho accompteth himselfe the cedar and vs but the thistle in Libanon and whose povver is not contemptible though God hath often cast him downe Neveuiant Romani auferant regnum à nobis at least that the Romanes and Spaniardes for they are brethren in this case come not vpon vs by the righteous sufferaunce of our God and take away our kingdome Surely our sinnes call for a skourdge and they shall receaue one For they even whip and torment the patience of God The arrowes of death are prepared against vs and they shall shine with our gall if with humble repentance we prevent them not Our pride calleth for humiliation shee is ascended on high and asketh who shall fetch me downe yet I haue red of those whose wimples and calles and perewigges haue beene turned into nakednes and baldnes and they haue run too and fro smiting their breastes and tearing the haire of their heades suffering it to be blowne about their eares with the wind and not regarding to bind it vp so much as with an haire-lace Our clocks are not vvell kept nor our chimneyes good which I haue heard to be two signes of a well ordered common wealth that is our hours are mispent our callings not followed and the breathing of the chimneies is choked vp hospitalitie and reliefe to the poore almost banished The poorer haue had their plagues already skarsitie of bread within these few yeares often renewed Their teeth haue beene cleanâ— and white through want of food when yours haue beene furred with excesse of meats and drinkes But rich men gentlemen looke also for your draught in the cup of the Lord either some mortal sickenes to your bodies to eate vp your flesh as you haue eaten others and then whose shall these thinges bee which with so much sweat of your browes carefulnes of heart wracke of conscience breach of charitie wrong to humane