Ionah that must bee throwne ouer boord if ever we meane that the tempests of vengeance shall cease or be bettered by calmes of mercy You that love your sinnes as Iudah loved Tamar Ge. 38.15 to enjoy your pleasures by them as Saul loved David to get honour by them Ge. 30.36 as Iacob loued Laban to get wealth and riches by them You must part with all in all or none at all One legge in the stocks will hold fast the whole body one sinne in the soule will hold fast both body and soule In vaine shall you praise God for his goodnesse if you displease him with the continuance and increase of sinne and wickednesse To what purpose will you offer to sing Psalmes of praise and thanksgiuing if the noyse of your sinnes drowne the noyse of your Psalmes as Drummes in the sacrifice of Molech did drowne the cry of the burning and tormented Infants or as the ringing of the Bels doth drowne the noyse of the clocke How dare ye professe a subjection and loyaltie to the King and Crowne of heauen if we nourish sinne in our bosomes and hearts a traytor both to him and us Eccles 5.1 Or offer the sacrifice of praise to please him when we offer the sacrifice of fooles to provoke him This is the high way to enrage him by whose power we are created by whose providence we are preserued to send worse judgements upon us then we have escaped Iud. 16.19 Such as with Sampson will sleepe in sinne as in the lappe of Dalilah let them beware their locks Iudg. 5.26 Such as with Siserah will short in this Iael's tent let them beware their liues If you will boyse sayle in all weathers who can deplore your shipwracke If you will runne from Niniveh to Tarshish Iona. 1.3 who will pitty you though you meet with a worse storme in your teeth than what you seeke to avoid Dâ—str Tr. So did Polydamas that sonne of Antenor to auoid a storme runne under a ruinous rocke that crusht him and killed him So did the wise of Lot escape the vengeance of Sodome Ge. 19.26 yet continuing in her sinne procured a worse and more peculiar to be turned into a pillar of salt And so shall all such as are not seasoned by her example but will wilfully split themselues upon the Rocke of their owne sinnes they are unworthy of my farther reproofe or your farther attention Such as will avoid both the sinne and danger must praise the Lord for his goodnesse And such as will give unto their heavenly Caesar his tributary due of praise must do it Mat. 22.21 by acknowledging him to bee a Lord So said Ieptha to the men of Gilead Iudg. 11.9 If I fight for you against the children of Ammon shall I not be your head As I say to all of you whose faces seeme to congratulate this day whose attentions seeme to entertaine this doctrine If he fight for us against our enemies and deliuer us shall not he be our Lord Yes Le ts first acknowledge him and secondly le ts apply him all the merits of his active and passiue obedience must be laid claime to by a peculiar and particular application so did Thomas who seemed to haue engrossed him to himselfe Ioh. 20.28 My Lord and my God Thirdly by obeying him as a Lord in mercy for feare we finde him to be a Lord in justice Those mine enemies that will not I shall rule over them Lu. 19.27 bring them hither that I may slay them Heb. 10 31. It s a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing Lord. Fourthly le ts praise him as the onely Lord of heaven and earth without a riuall For his glory hee will not giue unto another nor his praise to grauen Images God in the frontispiece of his royall Law provokes perswades his people Israel to haue or serue no other Gods but him because he and no other God but he Exod 20.1.2 had brought them out of the Land of Aegypt out of the house of bondage So let all such as the Lord hath redeemed out of the hands of the enemie praise him alone as their soveraigne Lord He that hath more than one God or one Lord hath neither God nor Lord. Alexander told Darius King of Persia Quin. Cur. offering to him halfe his kingdome that the Heaven had not two Sunnes neither should the Earth have two soveraignes One Alexander was enough for a world Val. Max. one Phoenix enough for an age Duos Alcibiades neque Attica neque Graecia tulit Nor Greece nor Athens brought forth two Alcibiades Sparta brought not forth two Lysanders nor the world two such Lords Let those fishermen that know no better sacrifice unto their nets or Neptune those husbandmen unto their dunghill or to Ceres for their corne others to Bacchus for their wines to Pallas for their oyles to Apollo for their wisedome to Minerva for their peace Let the Turks thank their Mahomet for protection the Persians go to their god Nergal for defence the Hamathensians to Asima for strength the Babylonians to Succobenoth for deliverance Ier. 1â— 13 For according to the number of their countries are the number of their gods Let them and all Atheists go to their false and foolish Dieties all Papists to their Saints but let us go unto the Lord our God Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord. Oh that they would either cease to bee men or being men would never cease to praise the Lord. Or yet if our tongues could be weary of the publication of his praises yet let them be employed in the proclamation of his wonders Text. And declare the wonders that he doth for c. We men are put upon the labour and taske of Angels To publish his praises and proclaime his wonders is the office and theame of the Hyerarchy of heaven who are ever singing their divine Carols of praise â—â—d rejoycing in the expression of his wonders Had I the tongue of men and Angels you the eares and wings of Cherubins wee could neither well enough nor soone enough extoll his praises or expresse his wonders Of both I may say as the Psalmist said before me Who can expresse the noble acts of the Lord Psal 106.2 or shew forth all his praise Yet since the royall hand of heaven vouchsafe not onely to require but requite our weake performances with acceptance As we have begun with his praises so let us go on a little also to declare the wonders that he doth for the children of men Duhartas 1. day The world 's a booke in Folio written all with Gods great works in letters capitall This world is a booke in Folio wherein are written the workes and wonders of Gods omnipotent hand the acts and monuments of our maker and preserver in his owne proper characters Not as Christ wrote when hee wrote in the dust that spirituall paradox Ioh. 8
for his goodnesse and declare the wonders that he doth for the children of men And now I have waded thorow the three generall parts of the Text thus much onely for the literall signification the tropologicall is briefly this The Church of God is this ship tossed upon the Ocean tumbled upon the unconstant billows of this troublesome world labouring with the boysterous windes of opposition opposed with the enemies of Gods grace and her peace packt and poasted from haven to haven from countrey to countrey Sometimes she is carried downe to the deepe and nethermost Hell as in the times of Nero Maximilian Domitian and other Romane Emperours as also in the dayes of Queene Mary in England Sometimes againe she is lifted up into the heaven by an happy and blessed tranquillity as in the daies and times wherein we live and the Gospell flourisheth The holy Bible is her armorie and place of defence and t is like the Tower of David Cant. 4.4 In which are weapons shields and targets for a thousand I for ten thousand thousand valiant men The Law as her fore-castle to them that went before wherein was placed the chase-pieces and thundering Cannons of legall austerities discharged by her cunning marks-men the Prophets and Patriarks against the bulwarks of heresie and Babels of sinne in all ages The Gospell is now our armory and place of defence and herein also are variety of weapons which are not carnall but spirituall and mighty through God to throw downe strong holds 2 Cor. 10.4.5 Here is the Helmet of salvation the shield of faith and Breast plate of righteousnesse the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God Eph. 6.13 which will quench the fiery darts of the devill that like a roaring Lyon goes about seeking whom he may devoure In this shippe of our English Church sits the soveraigne Majestie of our Lord and King as supreame head and governour his Nobles Lords Iudges Councellors as representative pieces of his owne Majestie sit in the steerage of estate and to them is committed the helme of government His reverend Clergie of all degrees are each of them another Palenurus or all Pilots guiding you in the right and perfect way informing your judgements reforming your lives according to the card and compasse of Gods holy Word The many promises of mercy patternes of mercy precepts of mercy presidents of mercy are as so many favourable gales and windes to further us till we come to the end of our faith the salvation of our soules All men are embarked in this ship of the Church whose pretended voyage is to the Land of Canaan but not all alike Some as passengers receive neither wages nor content in this tedious and troublesome voyage who desire a quicke and speedy passage thorow this Baca of feares this Bochim of teares and with Saint Paul to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all Others as Marriners in their owne proper element know of no other happinesse ayme at no other felicity than what the sea of this world affordeth them The longer they stay the greater their pay they have their portion here in this life and in the other they receive onely the wages which is due unto them it were better they were without it for the wages of sinne due to the servants of sinne is death both of body and soule when the former receive onely the gift of God which is eternall life I had rather stand to his courtesie than engage him to payment Before we can arrive at our Canaan of felicity our Port and haven of heaven wee must all passe through the straits of the last judgement For wee must all appeare before his iudgment sent 2. Cor. 5.10 to stand to our triall at the universall inquisition and then arrive at our desired haven where for ever we shall spend our dayes in praysing the Lord for his goodnesse and in declaring his wonders to us the children of men Angels shall meet us with our Palmes our Robes our Crownes Arch-angels with triumphs and Carols of Coelestiall blisse and while we are thus singing of our praises to the King of glory the whole host and Quire of heaven shall say Amen But so much for the literall and historicall meaning of the words Pardon my willing errour of tediousnesse Polulogie is the common fault of travellers my desire was this day to pay my vows where I am most obliged and to whom and before whom and to erect this Sermon as a Pillar of thankfulnesse and an Altar of praise that like the Prayers and Almes of Cornelius might reach up to heaven I should be sorry it should proove a Babel to breede confusion eyther in your patience or your memory About this pillar are written these three things Dangers to draw us to awfulnes Mercies to draw us to thanfulnesse Duties to draw us to obedience And but three as being most portable for your memory easie for your judgement ready for your use Neyther is this Pillar of Prayse dedicated as was that Athenian Altar Acts 17.23 with this inscription Ignoto Deo to an unknowne God or Lord but to a Lord of mercy wisedome and power who knowes best when where and how to succour and relieve us Let this serve both for present use and future memory Thus if wee blesse God hee will blesse us Blessed therefore be the Lord God of Israel for hee hath visited and redeemed us his people Let them whom the Lord hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy praise the Lord Let them that are daily spectators of his wonders in the deepe praise the Lord when they are brought to the haven where they would be Let the house of Israel and the house of Aaron accord in these holy and religious services to publish his prayses And what ever others doe or doe not My soule praise thou the Lord and forget not all his benefits which saveth thy life from destruction and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindnesse The Lords holy name be blessed and praised from the rising of the Sunne to the going downe of the same and let all the people present say Amen So be it FINIS Errata Pag. 4. lin 24. reade lest 5. 16. Countries 7 20. praise and thankfulnesse 8. 21. my first 9. 2. what 11. 4. and. ibid. 6. aires 12. 3. if 13. 10. after danger reade Scilla and Charibdis little injured by the Poets in expression of it's danger 14. 17. spouts 16. 15. so should they 35. 10. the seas ibid. 24. this 41. 10. us to 42. 3. such ibid. 5. their ibid. 18. called 45. 17. the. 47. 19. the. ibid. 11. walking 48. 12. Those that ibid. 18. Caleb ibid. 23. best relish the. 50. 5. both 53. 15. that 55. 7. at 56. 15. beene vertuous LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper 1634.
men and losse of shippes if not overmatcht so many squadrons and fleets so many feinds and furies armed to destruction One halfe houre is the losse of many a Christians life and libertie If they dye their bodies want what yours enjoy the charitable honour of a grave Propertius Cuius honoratis ossa vehuntur aquis Yet that 's the least of sorrows Rev. 20.13 for the Sea shall giue up her dead as well as the Land The fish in the Sea as the wormes in the Land surrender all at the generall audit if they live they live to libertie and need the helpe of your prayers or to slavery and thraldome and need the assistance of your purses to redeeme them from their worse then Aegyptian thraldome and servitude under Pharaoh Neco King of Aegypt Exod. 5.9 Brethren its one thing to speak of Hanibal at Rome and another to meet him in the field its one thing to speake of their miseries in England another thing to be lyable to them or behold them abroad they are but shadows of compassion that are wrung from men that behold the miseries of slavery with other mens eyes in comparison of what would be if you beheld them with your own and saw either what they had which they would willingly want or what they wanted which they would willingly enjoy Suave mari magno c. Lucre. saith the Poet It s an excellent object to stand upon some Tower and behold a battell in the Sea betweene two ships or a shoare betweene two Armies But farre from any thoughts of pleasure or content is it for such as graple with their adversaries now upon such disadvantages as usually happen to such as go downe into the deep Sea-fights now are not as they were betweene the Romans and Thracians where they did end their quarrels with Darts and javelins 1. Sam. 17.40 or as betweene David and Goliah with slings and pibble stones But with the roaring and rending Cannon that except our ships and sides were vengeance proofe of force there must be effusion of bloud losse of ships of men their lives their limbes their liberties There Christian is forc't to fight against Christian Isa 19.2 as Aegyptian once did against Aegyptian He that is a bondslave against him that is a freeman and those of our owne nation and houshold are forced to bee our worst enemies Mat. 10.36 In these bitter and sad conflicts eyther with ships or Gallyes How many poore and miserable captives are there that cry out unto their Country men as Lyncus the Prisoner of Hercules did upon Andromada seeing him in another ship O Andromada Hâ—st Tro. save thy friend Lyncus else I shall loose my liberty and thou thy friend But alas 't is worke enough for us to save our selves or if wee could ouer-master our enemies yet our hands are manacled as were the Israelites that they might not fight against the Moabites nor Ammonites nor Edomites Deut. 2.5 There 's them that haue payd too deare at home for damage done to their adversaries abroad All euils of the Sea said one is lesse than shipwracke Eccles 6.1 but this euill of slauery say I is worse than that and this euill haue I also seene under the Sunne and to this one more that Princes walke on foot Eccles 10.7 and vassals ride the subiects and seruants of honourable and Christian Princes walke on foot when such vassals are mounted upon the pampered and ietting Steeds of honour and ambition and triumph in number and insolency This also would teach a man to preferre Minerva before Mars and a certaine peace before a doubtfull victory Hist Tro. No indifferent man but would choose to live with Demo Gorgon in the Caves of Arcadie and live the life of the stricktest Anchorite rather than to expose himselfe to these dangers or if necessity of employment doe call him abroad he will learne the second clause of the Sea mans Letanie From Battell Murther and from sudden death or lingering slavery Good Lord deliver us Certainely there is not ordinary probability of escape for ships of indifferent force or burthen except they bee delivered by his hand of power if they fight of Providence if they meet not with their enemies for they are mighty we are weake they are light and nimble when we are dull and slow we are men of peace when they are men of warre They are many wee but few how can they choose but winne and we but lose the victory Deut. 32.30 unlesse that God did encourage us and discourage them that one might put a thousand and ten thousand to flight Yet this is but the second stem of danger our enemies at sea the third followes which is worse than both the other The third danger Enemies ashoare after our arrivall that is our enemies on the land after our arrivall There is not more danger of our corporall enemies at sea than of spirituall ashore Fryers of all orders disorders Monks Priests Iesuites Inquisitors these sease upon many a reformed Protestant as the ravenous Vulture doth upon the helplesse Chicken that 's scattered from the wings of the Hennes protection as the Wolfe upon the Lambe or as the greedy and eager Hound upon the helplesse and breathlesse Hare Oh that God had as faithfull servants as the Divell hath Clyents who like their Lord master goe seeking whom they may deuoure 1 Pet. 5.8 Or that they were as sure Gods friends as they are his enemies Their care and diligence to gaine a Proselyte is far greater than others to auoyd it Mat. 23.15 for how many men trauellers by land voyagers by Sea after all other escapes by their bad Pilotage come to make shipwracke both of faith and of a good conscience 1 Tim. 1 9. Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt Horat. Such as desire to enioy the benefit of forraigne Countries change not their minde but their ayre was once used as an ancient Adage But now too many change their religion with their climate and their God with both yeelding to the subtile insinuations and serpentine perswasions of those crafty Politicians Wolves in sheepes cloathing Mat. 7.5 who send many men home to their native Country laden with the vices fashions corruptions and opinions of those Countries they have lived in of those persons they have conuersed with of those arguments they haue discoursed of who having lost all shadowes of sanctity returne to their owne home like the weather-beaten Barke of Athens with never a Planke of the same wood they were first made of All principles of Religion grounds of faith being quite obliterate and defac't they stampt in a new mould having not so much as the reliques of a reformed Christian or halfe lettered monuments of their former profession but like the Vane upon the Mast or Weather-cocke on the steeple are turned about with the winde of every