AN ALARVM to England Sounding the most fearefull and terrible example of Gods vengeance that euer was inflicted in this world vpon mankind for sinne Seruing generally as a warning for all people to eschew sinne lest they partake of the like vengeance By Robert Gray Preacher of the Word of God Luke 13.3 Except ye amend your liues ye shall all likewise perish LONDON Printed by S. S. for Iohn Budge and are to bee sold at his shop at the great South dore of S. Paules Church 1609. To the Right VVorshipfull Sir William Crauen Knight one of the Aldermen of the Honorable and famous City of London Grace health and prâ—speritie in this world and the perpetuall fauour and presence of God in the world to come RIght Worshipfull it seemeth by the words of our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell that those actions do chiefly continue our name and memory in the world which are performed vpon Christ and his seruice and that it is an iniurious and malicious practise to conceale and smoother the bounty of those who haue beene liberall in contributing to Christian and Religious exercises Forasmuch therefore as you haue powred your costly oyntment vpoÌ„ Christs head more aboundantly than many other of your place and order you may perswade your selfe vpon the ground of Christs owne rule which is infallible that you haue layd a sure foundation for your name and memory as long as the world endureth and you haue also giuen iust occasion to those that haue tasted your large benignity to giue the world knowledge thereof to the end that others may bee mooued by your commendable example to practise the like godly actions they that are not able to imitate you in performance may yet prayse God for you and pray vnto God long to preserue you for the further good of his Church and the benefit of this gouernment wherein you are a Magistrate To imitate you in performance is neither the will nor power of many yet I freely professe my selfe to bee one of those which both praise God and pray vnto God for you being obliged thereunto by receyuing some porcion of my maintenance from your large contribution to the Lecture at Saint Antholines where I am one of the morning Lecturers In which regard I haue presumed to present to your Worships patronage these my poore labours sometimes preached there If they may carry acceptation from you and bring profit to any soule I shall be abundantly satisfied Howsoeuer I commend their successe to GOD their patronage to you their vse to the world desiring euery one into whose hands this Booke shall come as to take knowledge of your goodnesse so to pray for your euerlasting happinesse Amen Your Worships in all respectiuenesse Robert Gray one of the Morning Lectures at S. Antholins To the VVorshipfull Master Boothby Master Iay M. Venn M. Moody M. Dorington M. Sprot M. Moore M. Washborne M. White M. Smith of the Parish of S. Antholins London and to all the deuout and zealous hearers of the Morning Lectures there Grace mercy and peace bee multiplied with God the Father through IESVS CHRIST SALOMON sayth that there is a time for all things The wisdome of man therefore is to know his time for all such actions as hee vndertakes to make choyce of the fittest most commodious time to effect and bring them to passe In worldly things which are most agreeable to our nature we account the Morning the best most conuenient time of all the day besides for reason experience do teach vs that in the morning our memory is the quickest our sences the readiest our natural powers the ablest being reuiued as it were hauing recouered fresh strength liberty by reason of that sweet sleepe and comfortable rest wherewith they were reposed the night past And therfore the Student for his study the traueller for his iourney the labourer for his worke and euery man in his place and calling for such proiects as hee hath chuseth the morning as the fittest time not onely to beginne but also to further their enterprises If therefore in things which are agreeable to nature wee vse the morning as an helpe to further vs in our actions much more should wee make choyce of the morning for those things which are lesse agreeable to nature or rather contrary to nature yea indeed aboue nature of which kind is praier hearing of the word of God for nature doth not stirre vs vp to prayer neyther doth nature waken vs early in the morning to heare the word of God Prayer and hearing of the word go with our nature as against the streame and therefore it is very necessary that the first thing that comes to our eyes in the morning should be the Temple the first thing that comes to our eares should be the word of God and the first thing that comes to our minde should be prayer and thankesgiuing that so we may walke with Eliah al the day after in the strength of those things which wee haue heard out of the word of God and so wee shall vse our callings more carefully conscionably we shall be directed what to doe and what to leaue vndone and whatsoeuer we doe we shall do all things the better to Gods glory and the possessing of our owne soules continually in peace and patience And truly if wee consider the practise of the Saints of God wee shall find that they haue obserued the morning as the fittest time for the exercises of their piety deuotion Abraham rose very early to sacrifice his sonne Dauid preuented the morning light cryed his eyes also preuented the night watches to meditate in Gods word Elkanah and his houshold arose vp early and worshipped before the Lord in Shiloh And the Prophet Esay in the person of the faithfull saying With my spirit within me will I seeke thee in the morning Mary Magdalene came to visit the sepulchre of our Sauiour Christ very early while it was yet darke And as this hath bin the time which the Saints of God haue chiefly chosen for the practise of their piety deuotion so wee read in the Scriptures that God hath powred his blessings vpoÌ„ men more vsually at this time than at any other time of the day Manna that heauenly food was by God giuen to the children of Israel in the morning When the three kings of Israel Iudah and Edom made warre vpon the king of Moab and were greatly distressed for water in so much as the king of Israel cryed out for feare of the present danger it pleased God in the morning when the meate offering was offered to send the three kings plenty of water both for the army and for all their cattel The holy Ghost came downe on the Apostles in the morning for it was the third houre which was between 7. and 8. of the clocke so that it may be truly gathered that they were before that houre
baggage of ransome or tribute hoped for but when they saw the heauens open aboue their heads and sending downe fire and brimstone vpon them whē they saw their houses on fire about their eares no place of refuge or safegard to flye vnto no meanes to escape when they felt the fire fall vpon their soft and tender bodyes as thick as rayne when they felt it scorche their flesh when they saw one another lye sprawling vpon the ground drawne to like a scrowle of parchment with y e scalding heat of the fire none able to help another none able to cōfort another what a miserable face of a citie was there thinke you quis talia fando temperet a lachrymis For the Lord rayned vpō these cities brimstone fire from the Lord out of heauen Now the reasons which moued the Lord to send this strange and terrible iudgement vpon these cities and people were especially 3. This God so wonderfull in power might and so feareful in his punishment had before this time drownd the world for sin but the people of Sodō Gomorrha were nothing terrified with that iudgemēt but were as wreched wicked in their courses as if they had heard of no exāple of Gods wrath against sin therefore now God sends fire to destroy them to let all the vngodly of the earth know that all the Elements and all creatures in heauen earth and hell are readie and prest to take vengeance vpon man for his sin when it pleaseth God to command enioyne them the Lord is not so bare of iudgements that he hath but one kinde to reuenge himselfe vpon y e vngodly he hath more thē one arrow of vengeance to the bow of his wrath he hath water to drawn thée fire to consume thée plague pestilence to destroy thée dearth famine to pine thée a thousand grieuous diseases to bring thée to thine end The earth is at his beck to open and swallow thée vp quick the Angels are at his commandment to strike 〈…〉 sudden death The deuils wayt vpon his will and if he bid them goe they haue power to tempt thée to bee thine owne butcher and executioner as to hang thy selfe to throw thy selfe downe headlong and break thy neck to cut thine own throat This God would haue y e sinner know And therefore let all the vngodly of the world feare this God trēble at his iudgmēts be careful cōscionable to serue please him take héed how they offend him for if they prouoke him he wil not spare them They haue not so many wayes to anger him withall as hée hath plagues punishments to destroy them withall And from hence an impenitent sinner may gather that there is no place of safety nor security for him a walled citie is no place of defence for a sinner his house is no castle vnto him his bed is no place of safegard for him for in al these places God hath messengers of death and destruction to attach him The second 〈◊〉 why the Lord brought this kind of iudgement vpon these cities people was y t the maner of their punishmēt might be suteable correspondēt to the maner of their sin for wheras they burned in the filthy lust of concupiscence one towards another against the order course of nature the Lord to punish this vnnatural heat of lust in thē brought a supernatural fire vpon them as they delighted in the filthy odious pleasure of sin defiled themselues with the hellish contagion of impietie so the Lord punished them with brimstone mingled with fire that as their sins made them stinke in the nosethrills of Almighty God so they might be choked stifled with the detestable stinking smell of brimstone as the Lord made the punishment of this people suteable to their sinne so he would haue al sinners know y t wherewith a mā sinneth by the same also shal he be punished for it was not vnpossible to the Almighty hand of God which made all the world of nought to haue drowned this people their land with the ouerflowing streames of Iordan or to haue deliuered them into the hands of y e foure kings as once before or to haue sent the infectious noysom pestilence among them but God chose rather to destroy thē with fire brimstone from heauen to giue notice to all posterities y t as they sin so shal they be punished Aarōs sonnes offred strange fire vpon the Altar therfore a strange fire from heauen destroyed them Samson suffering the eyes of his mind and the light of his reason to be extinguished was for his punishment depriued of his bodily eyes and lost the comfortable sight of this world And as he suffered himselfe to be captiuated and inthralled to the wil of a woman so was he made a slaue to the will of his vncircumcised enemies compelled by them to grinde in a mill like an horse then which there could not be a more seruile seruitude And it séemeth by the example of Diues that in hel there shal be some thing in the torments of the damned which shall haue some correspondency with their sinnes for Diues being vnmerciful in the world while he liued can finde no mercy nor compassion when he is dead either in hell or heauen he that would not giue a crum of bread to Lazarus in his life time cānot now get a drop of water to coole the typ of his tongue Howsoeuer therfore there be generall torments in hell for the damned yet it should séeme that there shall be some particular thing in their torments which shall haue some semblance with their sins the reason is because they might to their greater griefe be put in minde of their sinnes which were the cause of those tormēts The third last reason why the Lord from heauen sent downe this strange feareful iudgement vpon these cities people was because their sinnes cryed vp to heauen therefore God answered the cry of their sins with a punishmēt from heauen And this God doth to let vs sée how sin turneth heauen into hell and maketh the mercifull Sauiour of mākind to be an vnmerciful destroyer of mankind God is by nature a preseruer of men The shepherd of Israel A refuge for men to fly vnto for safegard succour but such is the strong effects of sin and so strangely worketh it with God y t of a preseruer of men it makes him a destroyer of men of a shepheard it makes him a leopard of a lambe a lyon The heauēs by nature giue rayne vnto the earth in due season to make it fruitefull and fertile to bring forth things necessary for the vse of man But sinne makes the heauens to bée brasse vnto vs causeth them to send downe fire brimstone storme tempest to make the earth barren fruitles destroy both man beast from off
the earth Most miserable then is the estate and condition of a people or a land when the sinnes of that people or land become to be crying sinnes for in vaine is it for a people or a land to cry for mercy vnto God wheÌ„ their sins cry for vengeance In vaine doest thou hold vp thine hands or lift vp thine eyes to y e heauens for fauor when thy sins with their cry haue sollicited against thée for iudgement When Ziba hath once accused Mephibosheth vnto Dauid it is in vaine for Mephibosheth to excuse himselfe so if thou hast practised sin so long that it now beginnes to cry vnto heauen God that is in heaueÌ„ wil heare the cry thereof he will send downe some strange punishment or other vpon thée to destroy thée As Abigail therfore preuented the wrath of Dauid by méeting him before he came at her husband so preuent thou the cry of thy sins méete God with thy repentance before the cry of thy sinnes bring him downe to take vengeance vpoÌ„ thée cry thou for mercy before thy sins cry for iudgement stop the mouth of thy sins with contrition sorrow stil their cry with repentance amendment of life as Pharaoh dealt w t the children of the Israelites in Egypt so deale thou with thy sins kil them in the birth neuer let theÌ„ trouble the house with their cry so shalt y u find God mercifull vnto thée the heauens fauorable vnto thée otherwise if thy sins send their cryes before thée into heauen look for some fearefull iudgemeÌ„t froÌ„ heauen to light vpoÌ„ thée The fourth thing we are to obserue in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is the generality of the destruction Wherein we are to consider 3. things First that the whole countrey was destroyed Secondly the whole people man woman and child old and young were all taken away in this iudgement Thirdly all that grew vpon the earth which Tremelius calls foetum terrae the brood of the earth whatsoeuer the earth brought foorth or nourished was all destroyed in the destruction of these cities Concerning the countrey we are to consider it in two respects First in regard of the largenesse and greatnesse of the countrey and secondly in regard of the excellency of the countrey The largenesse of the countrey may be considered either in the number of cities which it contained or in respect of the scite and circuite of the soyle within the compasse and territories whereof it was bounded Concerning the greatnes of this country in respect of y e cities thereof Moses describeth them to be fiue Sodom Gomorrha Admah Zeboim Zoar which was also called Bela of these fiue cities foure were ouerthrowne in this iudgement of fire and brimstone as you may read Deut. 29.23 for Zoar was preserued at the entreaty of Lot And the cause why Sodom Gomorrha are onely named in this place which we haue now in hand is because these were the chiefe cities of this countrey more populous then the rest more abounding in wealth and more abominable in their sinnes The first thing then which we are to consider concerning the generality of this destructioÌ„ is that not villages but cities not one or 2. cities but 4. cities not 4. poore base beggerly cities but foure great populous rich cities were ouerthrowne in this fearefull ouerthrow executed w t fire brimstone The second thing to be considered in the largenesse of this countrey is the scite and circuite of it which was as Pliny reporteth one hundred miles in length 25. miles in bredth But Iosephus whose report is thought more true and certaine describeth this countrey to bée but thréescore and twelue miles long ninetéene miles broad Whereby we gather that not a fewe fields or acres of ground not a small parcel or quantity of ground but a large country was ouerthrowne in this destruction Concerning the excellency of this countrey Moses sets it foorth vnto vs Gen. 13.10 by comparing it to the Garden of God or to that part of the land of Egypt which is watered with the ouerflowing streames of the riuer Nilus so that out of all question this countrey of Sodom Gomorrah was a most goodly countrey fertil pleasant delightfull for as Paradise was watered with the swéete fresh wholsome waters of Euphrates Egypt with y e faire soft sliding streames of Nilus so this land of Sodom lying aloÌ„gst the ouerflowing banks of IordeÌ„ might wel be compared to either of them for all â—ind of riches pleasures and delights And surely the sins of this countrey declare that it was a goodly rich pleasant countrey for as it is in the prophecy of Ezechiel the sins of this country were pride fulnes of bread and abundance of idlenes The pride of this people shewed their riches their fulnesse of bread the fruitfulnesse and fertilitie of the soyle and the abundance of idlenes in this people shewed the pleasures and delights of the countrey but how populous soeuer this countrey was by reason of the cities that were in it how large and great soeuer this countrey was in respect of the soyle and circuit of it how rich fruitfull and pleasant soeuer this countrey was the Lord ouerthrew those cities and al the plaine euen the whole countrey with fire and brimstone so that it is now as vnpleasant as euer it was pleasant for there arise such filthy and foggy vapours and mists out of the ground as none is able to abide the smell of them and as Borchardus reporteth the neighbour mountaines are made barren with the contagion thereof and how fruitfull soeuer it was before the desolation of it vndoubtedly it is now as fruitles and barren the waters are so bitter and vnsauoury that nothing liues in them for if any fish doe happen to fal into the waters of this country out of the riuer Iordan by reason of the inundation of y e said ryuer they dye presently no grasse growes in the countrey Trées there be which beare fruite which outwardly séemeth very faire but within y e rine there is nothing but dust ashes And lastly this countrey is now as desolate as euer it was beautiful and goodly for there is not a man inhabiting there no creature abiding there not a cottage or a houell standing in all the countrey for the Lord destroyed all the cities and al the whole countrey with fire and brimstone FroÌ„ whence we for our instruction may learne and know that when Almighty God takes vengeance vpon any land or countrey for sinne he respects neither greatnesse nor excellency nor goodlinesse nor beauty nor any other outward thing whatsoeuer A fruitfull land maketh hée barren a populous countrey makes he waste a beautifull countrey makes he desolate and all this he doth for the sinne of the people that dwell therein Though Babylon sit as a Quéene and saith she is no widow neither shall sée any
hard and vnmercifull dealing Then shall they haue as much torments as euer they had pleasure and as little comfort as euer they had mercie depart they must from the presence and fauour of God for euermore If vnmerciful and vncharitable persons would but think of such a day of such a spéech of such a departure and of such a fire they would distribute and giue to the poore they would make friends of their vnrighteous Mammon that in the world to come they might be receiued into euerlasting habitations and not thrust into euerlasting fire The last sinne of Sodom was that vnnaturall sinne which taking the name of that citie hath carried it euer since and is called Sodomy In speaking whereof I will follow the aduice of Simmachus who saith that it is the safest not once to name it Paul had not knowne what lust meant but that the Law said Thou shalt not lust So that sinne tooke occasion by the Law to worke concupiscence in Paul So if I should discourse of this sinne you might haply say vnto mee Wée had not knowne what this sin meant if you had not taught vs. Therefore Solō would not make any law against parricide lest whiles he went about to represse it by law hee should teach it rather So if I should lay open this sinne at large I should rather teach the world it then doe any thing else I will therefore passe it ouer in silence as not worthy once to be named Thus haue we heard the destruction of Sodom and the sinnes of Sodom which were the cause of her destruction and now it remaines that wee compare the sinnes of Sodom and the sinnes of England together For if we find our sins to be as great as the sinnes of Sodom we haue iust cause to expect some such like fearefull iudgement to bee inflicted vpon vs as was vpon that Citie people and countrie And first concerning the sin of pride it is notorious that we of England are no whit inferiour to those of Sodom in this sinne For whether we consider pride as it is the botch of Nobilitie Honour or the leprosie of riches or the bile of apparell or the scourge of authoritie or the madnes of building or the bane of good learning certayne it is that pride was neuer at such an height as it is amongst vs in this age The Noble man will not be reproued the rich man must not be mated y e gay coate must be honored authority will not yéelde sumptuous building must looke ouer the whole country and learning makes vs swell aboue the banks of modesty and sobriety So euery one thinks better of himselfe then of others and euery one in the height of their pride scorneth another and herevpon comes those dissensions oppositions contentions diuisions enuy emulation amongst vs for as Deborah sung of Ruben so may we sing of our selues The diuisions of England are great thoughts of heart Aske the poore country Farmer wherevpon it is that such vnreasonable fines are exacted of him why his rents are so rackt and enhaunst and hee will tell thee it is to maintaine the pride of his Land-lord Land-lady Hospitalitie charitie patience humilitie almost all vertue both diuine and morall are by pride exiled and banished this land The subiect is like the Prince the seruant like the master the maid like the mistresse and such a confusion and disorder hath pride brought into this land that euery one hath forgottē their duetie calling and condition The faces of the Elders are not had in honor that ancient reuerence which sometime was giuen to the sacred calling of the Clergie pride hath now turned into great contempt deuotion is scorned we giue nothing for pride perswades vs that all is too little for our selues We forgiue nothing for our pride still prouokes vs to crueltie and reuenge That humble homely habite which kings in former times haue vsed in their apparell is now of euery base vnthrift and prodigall companion scorned Those frugall fashions course stuffes both for woofe and workemanship which ancient times delighted in are now turned into veluets and silks of most strange and hellish deuices The pride and profusion in apparell together with the fashions and inuentions which are vsuall in England were not once heard of in Sodom in the day of her iniquitie Our women as soone as they rise put on a Pedlers pack vpon their backs they paint their faces pinne their ruffes frizzle their haire then their dayes work is done Many there be whose apparell is more worth then all their estate beside and very few there be but their apparell is better then themselues Our Sauiour Christ noted the rich gluttō for that he was clothed in purple fine linnen but how many may he brand with y e mark of his heauy displeasure which amōgst vs go as braue as he euery day O that lawes could redresse y e pride of England shame suppresse it or preaching breake the neck of it but all men women haue so generally taken it vp that neyther lawes shame nor preaching can take it away There is nothing that hath vndone Gentlemen men of other ranck so much as pride and profusion Neyther are we euer to expect or looke for happy good dayes till such time as authority deuise some meanes to purge out of the body of this Realme the superfluous humour of this sinne for it confounds all consumes all vndoes all Thus by wofull experience we haue foūd our pride to be growne to the highest pitch so that the pride of Sodom could not excéede it Now in the second place we are to compare the excesse in meate drinke which was in Sodom to that of our countrey of England of whom it may be truely sayd that we build houses as though we should neuer dye and we eate and drinke as though we should dye to morow The very creatures cry out vpon vs for this sinne because we abuse them and kill them not for our necessity onely but also for our excesse and riot we kill them not to eate onely but to eate them deliciously and intemperately Our fasting dayes are despised and we estéeme it a poynt of superstitious Popery to obserue dayes and abstayne from meats The Church in the time of Saint Ambrose condenmed y e Iouianists for heretikes because they called fasting delirium a mockery or madnes And haue not we them amongst vs at this day that hold fasting to be superstitiō And although in former times the time of Lent was approued and commaunded by nine seueral Councels and Synodes besides the Canon of the Apostles commaunding the same yet we making a God of our bellies do without any difference serue the beastly desires of the same And although authority hath taken order often to restraine this our excesse in eating and drinking yet when did wee pull one dish from our tables or withhold one morsel