murmuring or grudging if we speede not For our friends or children the Lord better knoweth what is good then we our selues can deuise but in the meane while we must pray and begge the best of him and yet with this condition Thy vvill be done That which we thinke is most dangerous turneth oftentimes to our good and thence whence we expect our vndoing God raiseth our greatest comfort The case of Monica mother to Saint Austen is famous she grieued that her sonne was spotted with the heresie of the Manichees and she prayed that the Lord would bring him to the Orthodoxe Catholike faith She remembred this day by day and yet as himselfe doth witnesse for nine yeares together he continued so infected It fell out afterward that he would needes go and trauell out of Africa into Italy His mother being loath to part with him who was as the staffe of her old age vnto her earnestly prayed that God would hinder him of that purpose Yet Austen went and by hearing the Sermons of Saint Ambrose at Millaine he was conuerted to that which in former times he could neuer like He reporting all this matter doth vse this good speech of it Thou ô God being deepe in counsell and hearing the substance of my mothers desire didst not care for that which she did then aske that in me thou mightest do that which she euer asked Thus the Almighty dealeth with other of his seruants working all things to the best but it is at such times as he himselfe doth thinke good If it be in him to blesse it is in him to do it when it seemeth good to himselfe Therefore let vs neuer be angry and repine at that which he altereth from the intent of our mind 16 But among all let the Minister be most patient this way He peraduenture beateth downe pride or cryeth out against extortion he is derided for it then he powreth out many threats against scoffers and deriders If repentance follow in them afterward and so their prosperity continue let not him be offended at it but let him rather reioyce that God hath so prospered the word which came out of his mouth Againe it may be that he requesteth at the hands of his heauenly father that he would spare some whom he seeth to be tempted and in Christian commiseration wisheth that they were refreshed with the sweete deaw of Gods comfort Or else he seeth some tainted with superstition and doating on the See of Rome whom yet he loueth in humane affection as being of neighborhood or kinred or because they be of his charge or for their louely behauiour and other amiable morall vertues Let him vse the best meanes that he can to bring them vnto the sheepfold by preaching by exhortation by conference and by prayer but especially by honest and holy conuersation but if God still shut their eyes let him not be angry at it and fret against the Almighty but leaue all to his dispensing Perhaps that houre which afterward shall appeare is not yet come Perhaps God meaneth that it shall neuer come but according to his vnsearchable purpose he will leaue them in darknesse Here do thou admire Gods iustice toward them but his fauour to thy selfe stand amazed at the one and kindly embrace the other but be patient in both And as it may be sayd of Socrates Aristides or Curius or Fabricius that for the desire of honesty which was more in them then in other people of their time we could in humane commiseration wish that they were in heauen among the Lords elect but that when we in Christian vnderstanding do thinke vpon the matter we find that it is not for vs to be more mercifull then God the father of mercy and fountaine of louing kindnesse so in this case of our owne experience we may not take vpon vs when we haue wisely considered of our duty to be more pitifull to our friends then God who is perfect pity Let vs in humility sigh and grone for them and be thankfull for our selues but no anger no displeasure God is King ouer all the earth and on whom he will haue mercy on him he will haue mercy and whom he will he will harden Now he who is this gracious father to vs continue this fauour on vs for his owne Sonne Christ his sake that in the ioy or the sorrow the welfare or the ill fare of our selues or other men we may yeeld our selues to his will who is the rule of iustice of integrity and of clemencie that so we may be obedient vnto him to whom be praise and glorie for euermore THE XXV LECTVRE The chiefe poynts I. Ionas doth not quite turne from God 3. The force and vertue of orayer 5. Our prayers are ofentimes faulty 7. Ionas to excuse himselfe will lay the blame on God 10. The forbearance and patience of the Lord. 13. The words of Ionas condemne himselfe 14. They are blinded who frame not themselues to Gods will Ionah 4.2 And he prayed vnto the Lord and sayd I pray thee ô Lord vvas not this my saying vvhen I vvas yet in my countrey Therefore I preuented it to flye vnto Tarshish For I knevv that thou art a gracious God and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse and repentest thee of the euill THat the Prophet was to blame for being angry with any thing which the Lord wold haue done I hope from the former verse hath bene made plaine vnto you Yet furious as he is he is not so forgetfull as to turn◠quite away from God and to leaue him in the plaine field he doth not throw downe his liuerie neither doth he openly answer him that he will no more belong vnto him but follow him he will although it be as Peter followed Christ a farre off with infirmities and weaknesses heaped vp with ouer-measure When the women in Samaria by reason of the violent strong famine which was caused by the siege fel to eating their childrē Iehoram rageth at it and there is neither God nor good man that commeth in his way but at him he doth strike God do thus and thus to me if the head of Elizeus stand on him this day And this euill is of the Lord shall I vvaite any longer on him That was the rage of a reprobate who could haue bene content there had bene no Lord in the heauen or that he had had his will on him Like to which or something worse is the fury which is described by Saint Iohn in his Reuelation where when haile like talents is mentioned to fall men on earth are sayd to grieue at it yea to blaspheme the Almighty for the plague of the haile Ionas is not so farre gone but although he fret that his will is not euery way completed yet he shaketh not quite off the yoake of obedience and humility neither yet taking the bit peruersely in his teeth runneth on to his destruction He is
saith he haue kept it and did keepe it so long as Christes sheepe were in quiet but now that tempestes do come on and stormes bring them in danger euery stone is to be turned euery means is to be sought to free them from this perill He goeth on If I were daughter to any man whatsoeuer and according to my sexe as decency would require were kept vp in a closet or in some secret chamber and inner part of the house yet if my fathers dwelling were on fire should I not be verie carelesse if I wold not then come forth to helpe to quench the fire or giue direction for it So if now I should not helpe to teach true faith in Christ by coming out of my Monastery I should do much amisse Let vs remember the like in these most perillous times so we shall discharge our consciences we shall disburden our soules and God himselfe will reward it by one meanes or another although men do not requite it for do not looke for that if you do they will deceiue you And thus hauing shewed the reason why Ionas went from Israel I come to the second verse Arise 12 It should seeme that our Prophet hauing long preached to his country-men and litle preuailed had now discouraged himselfe and euen set him downe which case doth oft befall the Minister through that weaknesse and frailtie which is in humane nature For the preuenting whereof in his seruant Ezechiel God himselfe doth foretell him that he sendeth him to such as are a rebellious house and will not heare his voyce Notwithstanding the Prophet is enforced to do his dutie and leaue the successe to God That is it whereunto the Minister should looke performe all which the Lord requireth and leaue the euent to him For we are not in Gods place to alter change and mollifie mens hearts Paule planteth and Apollos watereth but God giueth the increase In the meane time the labour of the faithfull Minister whether it speed or misse is accepted of the Lord. For as he sayth Saint Austen who perswadeth to euill as to heresie or treason is punished accordingly although he do not preuaile yet because he intended it because he did labour it so he that doth his best to winne men to heauen although he effecteth not what he desired findeth his reward with God And he addeth in the same booke that when Christ did lament ouer his owne Citie Hierusalem and said that he would haue gathered the Iewes together as the hen gathereth or clucketh her yong ones vnder her wings and they would not that perhaps he did encourage vs by his own example that if we should not obtaine when we haue spent our labour yet we should not dismay our selues because no more befalleth vs then did betide Christ. And the disciple as we know is not greater then his maister If such a drowsinesse or sleepinesse were now vpon Ionas after his small successe in preaching to Israel God biddeth it be shaken off when he willeth him to Arise that is pluck vp his spirits and rouze vp himself and make speed in his message And go to Niniueh that great Citie 13 Although God in ordinarie did tye himselfe to his people of Israel yet at this time for so was his good pleasure he sheweth that himselfe is Lord ouer all the earth and taketh care of all and punisheth all who do sinne against him in as much as he did send his Prophet to Niniue which was a Citie in Assyria and the Metropolis of that countrey and iustly in this place sayd to be a great Citie By that which is written of it it may be iudged that Niniue was then the greatest Citie that was vpon the earth When Moses doth mention it he giueth that testimonie of it This is that great Citie In the third chapter of this present Prophesie it is sayd to be a great and excellent Citie of three dayes iourney That in those dayes this was no strange thing in the Easterne countreys to haue som places verie huge we may somewhat iudge by Babylon which Aristotle setteth downe to haue bin so big as that when some part of it had bene taken by the enemy some other quarters of it did not heare of any such newes till within three dayes after But for Niniue thus much more In the last chapter of this Prophecie it is put for the conclusion of the booke that there were in it sixe score thousand persons that could not discerne betweene their right hand and their left hand which importeth that they were children of small age and vnderstanding 14 This City by profane writers is called Ninus as by Herodotus in his Clio by Strabo in the sixteenth of his Geography by Plinie in the sixth of his Naturall historie by Tacitus in the twelfth of his Annales And by some of them it was supposed to be builded by Ninus the great Monarch of Assyria and husbà nd to Semiramis which is also the opinion of Saint Austen in his bookes De ciuitate Dei Some argument why we should beleeue it to be so may be gathered from the name being termed of Ninus the king Ninus Niniueh in the Scripture But see whether that in this case a man may not say as Austen sayd to Hierome about that great controuersie betweene Paule and Peter whether Peter sinned or sinned not and dissembled with the Iewes in deed or but in shew that although Hierome had more witnesses in nūber to proue his assertion thē Austen could bring yet that S. Paule who had Gods Spirit and thereby did write was in steed of all the rest nay in truth aboue all So although both Heathen and Christians and among them S. Austen do say that this Citie was built by Ninus yet see whether Moses who had the immediate Spirit of God be not in steed of all or rather beyond all And he doth tell vs that this Citie was built by Assur Neither doth the Hebrew name import ought to the contrary if it be as some suppose not Niniueh of Ninus but Niniueh of Nauah the Hebrew word so signifying beautiful or goodly or faire or fit to be inhabited But this controuersie may be ended if that opinion be true which Munster doth deliuer vnto vs that some thinke that both Assur and Ninus are one man called by diuerse names in diuerse languages He doth not specifie in that place who they be that so reconcile this doubt neither yet haue I found any that be of that minde 15 But to let that go this Citie is described by Diodorus Siculus in the second of his Antiquities as Stephanus will haue it as some other in the third to stand vpon Euphrates I thinke he meaneth Tigris for so all consent hath it and Babylon on Euphrates to be built with foure sides but not equall or square for the two longer sides had each of them one hundred and
Minister Be strong and let vs be valiant for our people and for the cities of our God and then let the Lord do what seemeth good in his eyes So should Ionas haue said In an vnknowne countrey God might haue sent him fruite who found none in his owne It is noted of Herod the great by Iosephus that he who at home was a man most vnhappie in his wiues his children was abroad a man most happie for his great friendes and acquaintance and much other prosperitie So it might haue bene with the Prophet Therefore this yet is no reason 9 It may be that he stomaked it that the Gentiles should know God which was a fault in his country-men while they accounted all other men dogges but themselues the holy seed We haue Abraham to our father In respect whereof when Peter had preached to the Gentils and the gifts of the holy Ghost had fallen on Cornelius and those which were with him they of the Circumcision did chalenge the Apostle that he had gone in to meÌ„ vncircumcised So the Prophet being sicke of his country-mens disease might murmure that the Niniuites should be preferred before the auncient people of God his word being taken from these and giuen to the other as if they had better deserued it This might in time bring in the refuâ—all of the Iewes and the calling of the Gentiles so spoken of by Noe so told of by Iacob so fore-prophecied by Moses so fore-written by Dauid all which more then apparantly did aime at such a matter But is it come to this passe that the axe shall leade the workeman or shall man teach his God what people he shall chuse Hiram although a Gentile yet had a finger in the Temple of Salomon so Niniue of the Gentiles might be a part of Gods spirituall temple If Israel were to be reiected they might thanke none but themselues for that losse who had the custodie of so precious a treasure as the Arke was and the Cherubins which signified Gods presence and lost all the fruit of them and many blessings besides But by many wordes of the old Testament that time could not yet be come nor the generall calling of the Gentiles till that Messias did appeare who was farre inough from Ionas Therefore as the rest so this was no pretence for the Prophet to flie away from his charge 10 Thus haue I touched such causes as sense and reason yeeld and the expositions on this place The text doth not contrarie these and it is not vnlikely that all or diuerse of them were tumbling at that time in the working head of Ionas But there is one which expresly is named in the bodie of the text as appeareth in the fourth chapter Ionas stood on his reputation that he was the Lords messenger therfore was to speake nothing but truth He imagined that it might be his grosse discredit to be taken in a lye and he thought it might be a meanes that Gods name might be reproched and the Lord be blasphemed For I know saith he that thou art a gracious God and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse and repentest thee of the euill Thus the man is so straight laced that rather then him selfe would lose a word he careth not if a million of men do lose their liues if that goodly glorious citie were ruinated to the ground if the innocent sucking infants were deuoured vp by destruction A preposterous zeale and furious and which wanteth no ignorance also For he should haâ—â— learned to distinguish betweene Gods absolute word and his conditionall threatnings Some things are without anie condition â—e will haue them to be so some other things are with an If as if they do not repent It was an absolute speech The seed of the woman shall bruse the serpents head But it is a word with condition The Lord will not forsake his people that is if they do not first forsake him which maner of intended or included condition if Ionas had remembred when he was to vtter his speech That Niniue should be destroyed Verum est if they repented not and called for grace God might haue done his pleasure and his seruant haue said true also 11 This reason of the Prophet wherfore he should fly from Gods seruice is more grieuous then the rest For would he shorten the Lord of his mercie Would man that was a sinner and must be saued by a pardon enuie that other sinners should haue their pardoÌ„ also Was Ionas his eye euil because Gods eye was good Then wellfare Saint Paule writing to Titus whom he would haue to remember his charge and the people whom he taught to shew meekenesse to all men and he layeth this downe as one cause for that we our selues also were in times past vnwise and disobedient Tully was of better nature who would haue Marcellus spared because himselfe before had by Caesar bene spared But he reprocheth it vnto Tubero that he would offer to accuse Ligarius of that wherein himselfe and other had bene guiltie S. AusteÌ„ in the sixth of those which are only called by the name of his Homelies doth by a secret inclusion compare this mind of man to one who is to passe ouer a ditch or streame of water where if he passe not he dieth and if he plunge in he drowneth and there doth find that fauour to haue a bridge or planke of timber layed crosse to helpe him ouer but when other do come after who are in that state as he was he would haue it withdrawne from them When God saith he hath stretched out his bridge of mercy that thou mayst go ouer wilt thou that he shall withdraw it least some other do come that way This is a cruell position and should not be in the child of God Graue Seneca doth acount it a great fault in Lysimachus that whereas himselfe vpon Alexanders displeasure was cast vnto a Lion to be deuoured and happily escaped by killing that Lion yet he caried so furious and cruell a heart toward another man as to cut off the eares and nose from Telesphorus Rhodius whom in former time he had entertained as his friend but then afterward kept him being so mangled in a cage as if he had bene some strange beast He should haue learned by his owne example to haue pitied another man That verse of Dido is good Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco I who haue tasted of sorow haue learned thereby to pitie those whom I see to be in misery That partie who hath found mercie should not grudge mercie vnto other Our Prophet hath forgot this Nothing else but thunder and lightening and fire from heauen would serue the turne if he must go to Niniue A humour verie ambitious which to feed it selfe in his fancies careth not if other perish This is a grieuous fault wheresoeuer it be found The magnifying of one
or other shall declare it Some letter perhaps or writing The adulterer who doth thinke himselfe safely concealed in the darke or by the close and hidden walles yet cannot escape his sight whose eyes are said to be ten thousand times brighter then the Sunne He that wisheth ill to his brother is well knowne to that maiestie which trieth the hearts and reines In one word what can escape him who hath such prerogatiue of power as to sit so vpon a throne that heauen and earth flie before him the graues giue vp their dead and the sea doth yeeld vp hers that the bookes shall be layed open and mens consciences be detected and the mountaines cannot couer them nor the rockes cannot keepe them from him It is a good meditation to feare his angrie iudgement It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the liuing God If we serue him he will loue vs if we fall from him he will find vs. Lord direct vs so with thy Spirit that if we should fall with Ionas we sleepe not in sinne with Ionas but as the carefull ship-maister looking in all sinceritie through the corners of our hearts we may raise vp our selues and call to thee the true God to helpe vs in all extremities to stand by vs in all temptations that the lot fall not on vs to be cast away from thy fauour but that we may raigne with thee in thy most blessed kingdome to the which bring vs ô good father for thine owne sonne Christ his sake to whom with thee and thy Spirit be glorie for euermore THE V. LECTVRE The chiefe points 2 Many questions import egernesse to know 4.6 In doing iustice due examination should go before 5 Mens hard hearts to strangers 7 Some trades vsed are odious to God 8 As vsurie 10 It is not fit to come in all places 11 Some people are not acceptable to God 12 Confession of a fault 14 What is meant by fearing 15 Two sorts of feare 16 The horror of sin 17.22 The power and being of God shewed against the Atheist 19 Authorities of heathen men and reasons prouing the creation 23 Foure questions to the Atheist IONAH 1.8.9 Then sayd they vnto him Tell vs for whose cause this euill is vpon vs what is thine occupation and whence comest thou which is thy countrey and of what people art thou And he answered them I am an Hebrew and I feare the Lord God of heauen which hath made the sea and the dry land BEcause our Ionas hath a great deale more minde to go to Tarshish by sea then to Niniue by land rather about his owne pleasure then the businesse of his maister he is so well preferred as of a Prophet to become a prisoner first arrested by a tempest then discouered by a lot to be a malefactour in what place or cause it doth not yet appeare but allow time onely and that shall be reuealed In this my text he is brought to his examination not in a court of magistrates but a companie of mariners must be his Inquisitours Being arraigned he is conuicted and by his owne mouth condemned but by them afterward he is brought to execution I am here to looke into the manner of inquirie which is made vpon him and that is layed downe vnto vs in the former verse and in the next place to handle his personall answer which is in the latter verse both of them yeelding to vs verie good instruction if I be not deceiued as may appeare in order 2 Saint Hierome doth obserue the maner of the words that there should be within so small a compasse so many questions and those so significant and effectuall And as he was a miracle of the world for learning and that for humanitie as well as Diuinitie so it putteth him to remember the excellent concisenesse of the Poet Virgil who in a maner right compendious is accustomed to inclose many questions in verie fewe words He citeth that one place Iuuenes quae causa subegit Ignot as tentare vias quo tendit is inquit Qui genus vnde domo pacémne huc fertis an arma Young men what cause hath brought you into these vnknowne wayes whither go you of what kindred are you vvhere do you dvvell bring you hither vvarre or peace But the matter of the wordes is rather the ground whereon we are to stand euerie question including some thing of importance to this present purpose These mariners being followed with so strange a tempest as made them quake for daunger of their liues and crie with importunitie to their heathen Gods and disburden their ship of such wares as were in it and cast lots for their liues who should die for all his fellowes may iustly be supposed to be in such a fright that if anie thing extraordinarie should appeare vnto them what might be the reason of their daunger or how they were to be eased and put away from their â—eare he by whom or in whom it might be coniectured to be should be plucked and tugged and haled by one and by another as a Beare that were to be bayted to know what was the reason of this terrible daunger or what secret he could open What art thou whither wilt thou whence comest thou what doest thou how cometh all this about 3 For men in such extremities can not satisfie them selues but either in strange newes or any mightie perill will so runne question vpon question that it is scant in mans wit to make a readie answer When the Romanes had sustained that deadly ouerthrow at Cannae by Hannibal the Carthaginian and their Citie was growne into that perplexitie as it neuer was in almost before that wise Fabius Maximus causeth scoutes to be sent foorth with demaunds vpon demaunds to such as they should meete in what case the armies were in what estate were the Consuls what the Gods had left remaining to the Romanes where the remnant of their armie did abide whither Hanniball was now gone what he intended what he did what he purposed to attempt Thus daunger affrighteth the wisest and maketh the simpler sort oftentimes to runne toung before the wit In the sixteenth of Luke the rich maÌ„ is brought in making request to Abraham that he would send Lazarus to his fathers house to giue warning to his fiue brethreÌ„ that they by the wickednesse retchlesnesse of their liues came not into those torments which he then with much paine endured If that should haue bene in deede which is there but in a parable described and he who had come from the dead should haue had but some few houres allotted him to stay imagine you for this is but a supposall among a multitude what preassing there would haue bene about him what plucking by one elbow and holding by another what doubled interrogations how doth such a one or such a one my father or my friend is he in heauen or hell in lesser or greater ioy in more
hath brought them and depressed them to the pit of death and entrance of the graue but there he maketh a stay in his kindnesse being satisfied with iudgement not with furie rather topping them and shredding them with some short aduersitie then plucking them vp by the root And that is the maner of seuere but yet naturall parents in restraining their children from grosse foule enormities to bend thē not to breake them to seeme more angry then indeed they be or if they iustly be displeased to be so but for a time giuing pardon to such faults as be past and expecting with much patience that it may at length be better 2 The righteous Lord of all doth so looke here vpon our Prophet with a fauourable eye He had deprehended him long since as a runne-agate from his charge he made his owne mouth giue sentence that he had deserued to be drowned he had throwne him into the water where as if it had bene with a death vpon a death he had made a fish to deuoure him and for three dayes space to keepe him close prisoner in his belly in all the anguish and torment that his heart could imagine He was as though he liued not and yet he could not dye hauing time enough to meditate in what miserie he was but not knowing with all the wit which was in his vnderstanding how to ridde himselfe from that sorrow But at the last lifting vp his thoughts to his Almightie maker he flyeth by faith and repentance to the throne of grace desiring God to pitie him and shew compassion on him that once more returning to land he might by open obedience make some little recompence for his former fault And the Lord graciously respecting his earnest and heartie prayer doth content himselfe with the punishment past and with a most free fauour restoreth him to libertie As a dead man from the graue as one buried from the sepulcher so is this man brought foorth his prison-doores shall be opened his fetters shall be shaken off he shall be ridde from the whale and set on foote on the land yea as he was a messenger before so hee shall be a messenger still a Prophet for the Highest to goe and preach at Niniue My charge at this time is to shew the meanes of his deliuerance which is set downe so briefly and plainely in my text that the words do neither need diuision nor much interpretation but that which shall be conuenient to be touched you shall heare of in the doctrine Thē the Lord spake to the fish it cast vp Ionas to the dry land 3 If otherwise we did doubt what power and authoritie God hath ouer his creatures yet it is assured to vs in the end of the first chapter as in that place I gathered when the Lord had a whale as at a becke for his purpose prepared and in a readinesse to swallow vp the Prophet being throwne into the sea And as he there vsed that fish for his instrument so he might haue had obsequious to him any other thing in heauen or in the earth or in the sea and as he might at that time so might he at all times That vnrestrained prerogatiue in God is once more expressed to vs in the selfe same fish whom after that he had caused to keepe his burthen in him for so many dayes houres and moments of time as himselfe had appointed now he will haue him in a trice disburden his belly and be eased of his cariage But note with what facilitie he fulfilleth his designement The Lord spake to the fish Not the struggling of Ionas nor his pricking of the fish within no other receipt which should vrge him to disgorge and cast vp his stomacke no violence which was offered from man or fish or ship or any other thing without him did extort or force him out of his belly but one word spoken frō God or lesse then that if it might be did bring about that which was done Which is not to be taken after the vnderstanding of the grosse Anthropomorphites called otherwise Audaeani who did attribute to God the members and bodie of a man as if the Lord had vsed some language or talked to the fish as men commonly do talke each to other for that agreeth not with his spirituall nature his impassible and pure and diuine being God is a Spirit saith our Sauiour Christ. And although he assumed a voyce vnto him when he was pleased to proclaime the law of the ten Commaundements before the Israelites and may do the like againe when it seemeth good to himselfe as when he was disposed with words vttered from heauen to glorifie his Sonne Christ yet that was not of his nature but an action of his will wherein extraordinarily he did take to himselfe some meanes which are besides his essence and which are not frequent with him But here the word of speaking is vsed to notifie vnto vs who are of dull capacitie and loue our owne phrases best that he signified and gaue inkling in some sort or other which was easie for him to do but not for vs to conceiue to the whale that it must performe that seruice And that the Lord in such manner doth frame himselfe in the Scripture vnto our vnderstanding as a rude one to the rude as barbarous to Barbarians as men to little infants do stammer and talke like children is a veritie so apparant and so common an obseruation to those who reade the Bible that it were but lost time to handle it and once before I haue said somewhat of that matter 4 It is a thing more worth the knowing of vs to obserue his forcible power that his saying is a doing and his speech a commaunding In the very beginning of Genesis God said let there be light that is he did command it The words of the tempter vnto Christ were Do thou say or do thou speake that these stones should be made bread that is as it is commonly translated do thou commaund The Lord said to the fish he layed his cōmaundement on him and who or what is that which can resist his will If he bid come all commeth if he bid go all goeth the greatest is within his compasse the least is not exempted If he will plague the Egyptians armies of frogges and flyes and swarmes of lice shall attend him and if on the other side he do but put vp his finger they shall all away in a moment If he will feede the Israelites the heauen shall giue them bread and the rocke shall bring them water For Iosuah the Sunne shall stand still and it shall fly backe for Ezechiahs sake For the passage of the children of Israel Iordan shall part in two and so it shall do for Eliah And for the same Prophet the rauens shall bring food in the morning and euening The lyons mouthes shall be musled when Daniel is among
out Kings make Samgar with an Oxe-goade destroy sixe hundred Philistines and Samson a thousand of them with the iaw-bone of an Asse What could more sound out his honour then the ouerturning of Hierico with trumpets made of rammes hornes and the victorie of Gedeon vpon the Madianites or the slaying of Goliah with a sling and a stone It had bene lesse fame to haue brought great things about with great and mightie meanes In like sort it demonstrateth his powerfull abilitie that he can so dispose of his creatures as that a Cocke should fright a Lion a mouse trouble an Elephant an Ichneumon a little serpent destroy a huge and bigge Crocodile Euen so in the course of the Gospell it declared Gods owne finger when fishers conuerted Oratours and poore men perswaded Kings And so it singeth out his saluation that sinners should bring home sinners and faultie persons men blame-worthie As it was answered to Paule complaining of his weaknesse My grace is sufficient for thee for my power is made perfect by weaknesse so where the grace and strength of God do accompanie the toungs of sinners in proclaiming forth his word they shall preuaile and prosper albeit not for the commers cause yet for the senders sake Though it be but an earthen vessell which containeth that which is brought yet because there is treasure in it some there be which shall receiue it This is no protection for sinne for all faults are worthie blame but especially in the Minister in whome all things are conspicuous like spots in the fairest garment If the eye be darke what shall see if the guide be blind who shall leade if he who should shine for puritie be impure beyond other men who shall profite by good example You are a citie set on an hill Yet this is a iust defence against our runagates Seminarie priests of Rome who take occasion by reason of some slippes in our Cleargie defects in our ministerie which yet may easily be demonstrated to be greater at this time in their Papacie and in the highest of their Hierarchie their owne stories resound them to haue bene exceeding filthie to vnder-mine any good opinion of our religion in the simple But this is practised most of all to the ignorant and to silly women into whose houses they creepe and leade them captiue being laden with sinnes and led with diuerse lustes In like sort it is an answere to Atheists and hypocrites liuing among vs who to couer their oppression their auarice and extortion pretend it to be no fault to detaine and hold away any thing from men so culpable by that meanes requiring that their brethren the Preachers of the word should be no lesse theÌ„ Saints when they themselues who require it are most farre off from all sanctified and good things God hath made his Pastours and Ministers of like mould with other men he expecteth it not neither can it be that they should liue here like Angels for this is the way and not the countrie yet by his Spirit he keepeth his seruants from delighting and persisting in grosse sinnes and he couereth their errours and imputeth them not vnto them But he pinneth not the veritie of his doctrine vpon men As Moses chaire was Moses chaire when the Pharisees did sit in as Christs faith was the assured faith although the traitour Iudas might preach it and the Prophecie was Gods message when weake Ionas did carie it so the Gospell is the Gospell when ignorant men and young men and sinfull men do deliuer it Blessed be the God of our hope who will not haue vs depend on flesh or bloud or man but on his assured truth and his ouer-ruling Spirit God guide vs so by his grace that by the good we may learne good and by the euill to flye from euill that so we may be fit members of that body whereof his Sonne is the true and liuing head to both whom and to the holy Ghost the Trinitie in Vnitie be honour for euermore THE XXX LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 3. Parables may be vsed 4. and all good eloquence by the Minister 6. Ionahs words returned vpon himselfe 7. The comparison betweene God and Ionah 8. The multitude of inhabitants in Niniue 9. with whom the gourd was not to be ballanced 10. God prouideth blessings for man without his labour 11. Gods care ouer infants and all beasts 12. Therefore parents should not be too carefull 13. Ionas at length yeeldeth 14. The conclusion of the Prophecie ioyned with exhortation Ionah 4.10.11 Then said the Lord thou hast had pittie on the gourd for the which thou hast not laboured neither madest it grow which came vp in a night and perished in a night And should not I spare Niniue that great city wherein are sixe score thousand persons that cannot discerne betweene their right hand and their left hand and also much cattâ—ll IN that which goeth before the intemperate furie and vnaduised rashnesse of the Prophet hath bene such that he is readie to take an occasion of chiding with the Lord vpon a most trifling cause euen the withering of a gourd And being reprooued for it not by his fellow seruant but by his maisters owne mouth he standeth on his owne iustification that he did well to be angry yea if it were to the death In which moode if he had departed his iudgement now was so peruerted that he would haue thought that he had had a great hand vpon God that he himselfe had bene in the right and the Lord had bene to blame because he had not fitted his fancie But the inconceiuable wisedome of the euerlasting Father doth so farre ouermatch him that where he expected victorie although it were but in words and thoughts he is taken at that aduantage that he is for euer put to silence in this matter For his owne speech is so fitly returned vpon himselfe and he is so caught and entangled in the words of his owne mouth that he is enforced to yeeld a greater thing then that whereof the present question was and that is concerning Niniue that since iustice was pleased to turne it selfe into mercie and seueritie into clemencie nothing was done vniustly or vnbeseeming him who is the rule of truth For that was it which the Prophets maister in this place especially did ayme at that his seruant shold be satisfied and thereby all the world be aduertised to the full that the holy one of Israel is delighted to shew pittie vpon the sonnes of men that where repentance ascendeth from the earth to the heauen there a pardon will come downe from the Highest vpon his creatures that Niniue it selfe whose sinnes did crye for vengeance vpon submission and conuersion should be spared from destruction So that mankind in generall taking notice of such grace and propensenesse vnto clemencie might confesse that the Lord is gracious and that his mercie endureth for euer 2 But to make this the more
eloquence If in my cause I were sure to haue the Iudges wise and wise men to my auditours that enuie might beare no sway nor fauour nor fore-conceit nor false witnesses might hurt then the vse of eloquence were small and it should serue onely for delight but if the minds of the hearers be so moueable and inconstant and truth be subiect to iniuries we are to contend by art to vse any thing which may profite For one who is out of the way cannot be brought in againe but by another turning This is as true of the Preacher as it euer was of the Oratour If we had none to heare vs but Lidia or Cornelius persons right deuout and affected with religious attention we needed not be very carefull but because among such as come to vs some are weake and must be comforted some rude and must be informed some drousie and must be awaked some hard and must be suppled some peruerse and with full streame of power must be ouerwhelmed to please the tastes of so many and to helpe on those which hang backward all good meanes are to be vsed that God himselfe may be glorified and our brethren may be bettered See whether Paule writing to the Corinthians do not thus when handling the resurrection he prooueth and illustrateth it by naturall similitudes of seede sowne in the ground of difference of flesh of the starres in heauen and the like Such libertie for comparisons for Parables for Examples is left to vs in time and place to be vsed in Gods businesse Prouided euermore that it be not for oftentation of the vanitie of mans wit but onely for edification and to the benefite of the hearers that we turne not all into Allegories to make plaine things obscure and to destroy the letter as Origene sometimes did that we alwaies keepe the maiestie of the sacred word of God and not giue other men occasion to thinke vnfitly and vnreuerently of so high a mysterie by bringing that which pleaseth vs but no bodie besides euen ridiculous and base stuffe As we must euer speake those things which sauour of sound doctrine so we must euermore handle them as the pure and chast word of God 6 As this may most generally be said of Parables that they haue an vse in diuine things so to speake a little more specially we find some of these in the Scripture which in particular cases go exceedingly to the quicke of that which is in question and being personally applied do very much confound the guiltie Such a one was that which Iotham vttered to the Sichemites where the trees would choose a king and the Bramble must be he by the which he doth reproch vnto them their vnthankfulnesse toward him and his fathers house Such a one was that of Nathan to Dauid of him who had many sheepe yet tooke one from his poore neighbour whom when Dauid had condemned the Prophet so turned all vpon him that as Dauid sometimes killed Goliah with his owne sword so Nathan tooke him in his owne word That is the wisedome of God that he can deprehend another man as in the Gospell he caught the bad seruant in his owne talke and replied From thine owne mouth I shall iudge thee That which was said in the person of a stranger if another will apply to his owne person he will then amend his iudgement This was the case of Ionas to whom the Lord vsed a Parable but rather reall then verball He had a gourd and enioyed it then he loosing it raged at it but knew not what all this meant The Lord then to bring him forward and make him see his hard heart toward that great citie Niniue asked if he did well to be angrie Ionas balketh him not at all but forth with replieth that he did well to be angrie yea if it had bene to the death Here indeede the Lord doth come on him Thou hast pittie vpon this trifle and shall not I vpon Niniue Thus with his owne rod he beat him and with his owne net he caught him After the battell of Cannae when Mago being sent from his brother Hannibal had in the Carthaginian Senate much boasted of the victorie how many armies and Generals of the Romanes they had ouerthrowne and withall for the finishing of that conquest desired a new supply of souldiers and monie It is written that one Himilco a friend to Hannibal tooke occasion to insult ouer Hanno another noble man who was of the aduerse factiō and who euermore had disswaded their making warre with the Romaines That he was a proper counseller who had sought to hinder that which had brought them such aduantage such a victorie and such honour But it was the wisedome and art of Hanno being thus prouoked to retort the matter vpon him ex tempore as he did You speake of a glorious victorie but what gaine we thereby for if you had lost the field what could you haue asked more then now ye do that is fresh men and monie Haue the Romanes yeelded vnto you or haue they sued for peace If they haue not then their stomacke is as great as it was before and if their force be diminished so is yours as well as theirs so that peize the one with the other you are as farre from your purpose as you were at the beginning It was there the praise of Hanno that he turned their owne tale vpon them In this place God being so much wiser as infinite and vnlimited may be beyond dust and ashes turneth both matter and words vpon the head of our Ionas and doth teach him such a lesson that what the Prophet thought made most for him he shewed made most against him By his anger for the gourd he condemned his former anger If he would grieue that the greene thing should be marred because he liked it how vniustly did he fret that Niniue should be spared when the Lord had a liking to it So step by step and by degrees God is faine to teach him to know himselfe and that wherein he thought himselfe very cunning Yet at length by a demonstration plainely gathered from the precedents he euicteth what he desireth Now let vs see what that was 7 The second thing which I note is the forme or expression of the Parable by entring a comparison betweene the Lord and Ionas There is a great Antithesis betweene the persons cōpared and the things whereabout they stroue and the end of their intention Of the persons one was a man whose breath was in his nostrels who had neither wisedome to iudge what was fittest to be done nor power to bring about what he fondly had imagined whose pleasure if it were amisse must be censured by a iudge if right then it must depend vpon the becke of another The one was he who was fancifull and mutable and humorous and inconstant in all his waies who would doate on a greene bough and be spitefull to a
AN EXPOSITION VPON THE PROPHET IONAH Contained in certaine Sermons preached in S. Maries Church in Oxford By GEORGE ABBOT Professor of Diuinitie and Maister of Vniuersitie Colledge IOHAN 9.4 The night cometh when no man can worke ANCHORA SPEI LONDON Imprinted by Richard Field and are to be sold by Richard Garbrand 1600. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE MY VERY ESPEciall good Lord Thomas Baron of Buckhurst Lord high Treasurer of England one of the LL. of her Maiesties most honorable Priuie Counsell Knight of the honorable Order of the Garter and Chauncellour of the Vniuersitie Of Oxford IT is now more then a whole yere Right Honorable since that according to the slendernesse of that abilitie which God hath giuen vnto me I brought to an end these few Lectures vppon the Prophet Ionas In all which time being doubtful whether I should publish this small Treatise to the view of the world or no sometimes in mine owne mind resoluing for it and sometimes against it I haue at the last aduentured to let it see the Sunne by an open imparting thereof vnto other VVherein my assured hope and confidence is that the same holy and gracious Spirite which first moued me to vndertake this worke and by litle and litle hath enabled me to bring it to this passe will also giue that blessing thereunto that it shall not be vtterly vnprofitable to the Church but that such as are indifferent Readers may some in one kinde and some in another reape such frute as that thereby they may be strengthened to continue on their iourney to euerlasting happinesse For the better accomplishing whereof according as the text hath yeelded me occasion I haue laboured seuerally sometimes to informe the ignorant sometimes to comfort the weake somtimes to settle the doubtfull some other times to encorage on to vertue and oftentimes to beate downe vice and iniquitie which in this later age euery where aboundeth To which purposes as God did diuerse wayes make me know in the first vttering thereof that it returned not altogether frutelesse so I trust that it wil please the same guide of heauen and earth farther to blesse it that in this course now intended by me it may yet also be a meanes to multiply and increase the Lords seruice in some persons more plentifully But being now to commend it to the consideration and perusing of manie other I do first present it to the good and fauourable acceptation of your Lordship as hauing the principall and most speciall interest therein for besides that it had his birth and growth in that Vniuersitie vvhose sterne vnder our most gracious Soueraigne your Lordship doth with great wisedome rule and therefore may chalenge it for the places sake as belonging in a generall regard to your Lordships protection The Authour thereof is in dutie so specially and particularly bounden to your Lordship that in right he must acknowledge the continuance and progresse of his studies for these manie yeares to haue rested and relyed solely on your Honourable fauour In which respect he amongst manie others hath great cause to giue praise and thankes to the Almightie for your Lordships high aduauncement in this State in as much as he apparantly findeth and by experience knoweth that after a desire to do faithfull seruice to her sacred Maiestie to administer iustice to the Subiect and to be as a father in hearing the complaints of the poore it is not the least care which your Lordship hath to helpe and preferre in Church and Common-wealth such as haue or do depend vpon your Honour Amongst whom I should be verie forgetfull and vnthankfull if I did not to my vttermost let all men vnderstand with how honourable regard your Lordship hath bene pleased now for diuerse yeares to looke vpon me and of your Lordships owne disposition at euery first occasion so to thinke on my preferment as I had no reason in my conceit to looke for or any way expect But in this as in many other matters your Lordship doth let the world see that there is nothing more proper to personages truly honorable then to do honorable deedes and thereupon it is that with this extraordinarie respect your Lordship hath both intended and affected not a litle for my good An example for the matter verie rare in this barren age wherein we now liue but to the maner of the happie accomplishing thereof both my selfe and diuerse other are so priuie that we must confesse it to be a singular consideration of your Lordship so to begin and consummate the same that all men might see the thankes only to belong to your Lordship and that no second person hath had anie finger in that which hitherto I haue receiued In gratefull representation of my remembrance herein I bring this litle gift and as thereby I conceale not from anie how deepely vnder God and my Soueraigne I am obliged to your Honor so otherwise I shall euer be readie with all my power to do your Lordship seruice thinking my selfe happie when I may perfourme anie thing which may testifie my respectiue and dutifull affection God Almightie long preserue her most gracious Maiestie the onely fountaine vpon earth of all our felicitie God Almightie blesse your Lordship that the Common-wealth for many yeares may enioy such a Counseller and this Vniuersitie so Honorable a Patrone From Vniuersitie Colledge in Oxford this tenth day of October In the yeare of our Lord 1600. Your Lordships Chapleine in all dutie bounden GEORGE ABBOT The chiefe points in the first Lecture 2. Ionas was not the sonne of the widow of Sareptha 5 Neither had a Prophet to his father 6 The taking away of the word is a grieuous plague 10 Gods word must be a direction to the Minister who is not to gad vp and downe 11 Diuines of the Vniuersity may preach in parishes adioyning 13. Niniue a great Citie 17. Why crying is vsed in Scripture 18 The Easterne curious artes likely to be in Niniue 19 But certainly robberie and oppression IONAH 1.1.2 The word of the Lord came also vnto Ionah the sonne of Amittai saying Arise and go to Niniueh that great Citie and crie against it for their wickednesse is come vp before me THat which Hierome said to Paulinus concerning the seuen Catholike or Generall Epistles for so they are called of Iames and Peter and Iohn and Iude that they are long and they are short short in words long in substance may I thinke be wel spoken of this Prophecy of Ionas that it is long it is short short if we respect the smalnesse of the volume but long if we regard the copious varietie of excellent obseruations which are therein to be found As the horriblenesse of sin which was able within fortie dayes to plucke downe an vtter desolation on so famous a citie as Niniue was Gods loue in forewarning them who dwelt in that place that they might be spared the Prophets foule fall and his strange punishment for
well enough when so often they end their sentences with these words Thus saith the Lord. Saint Paule writing to the Corinthians doth take this course in the matter of the Sacramēt I receiued of the Lord that which I also deliuered vnto you Otherwise as he is a traytour to his Prince who taketh on him to coyne money out of base mettall yea although in the stampe he for a shew doth put the image of the Prince so he that shall broch any doctrine that commeth not from the Lord whatsoeuer he say for it or what glosse soeuer he set vpon it he is a traitor vnto God yea in truth a cursed traitor although he were an Angell from heauen as Saint Paule telleth the Galathians Earthly kings are offended if their subiects shall do from them or in their names such messages as they send not or if their Ambassadours being limited by aduertisements what they shall do and what not should entreate of contrarie causes Then should the Minister be carefull in a verie high degree that he speake not but according to his commission least he offend a Lord of more dreadfull maiestie who is more iealous of his glorie and more able to punish The visions are now ceassed reuelations are all ended such dreames are past and gone as did informe in old time Now it is Gods written word which must be to vs as the threed of Ariadne to leade vs through all laberinths The Law of the Lord is perfect conuerting the soule the testimony of the Lord is sure and giueth wisedome to the simple saith Dauid Tertullian could say of the written word I do adore the fulnesse of the Scripture This full Scripture this perfect Law of God is it which must be the guide and as the loade-starre vnto vs. Vincentius Lyrinensis in his litle booke against heresies speaketh elegantly to this O Timothy do thou keepe fast thy charge What is it that is thy charge That which thou hast receiued not that which thou hast deuised that which is cōmitted to thee not vvhat is inuented by thee a matter not of thy wit but rather of thy learning wherein thou art no author but onely a keeper not a leader but a follower And a litle after Do thou so teach that vvhen thou speakest after a newe maner yet thou do not speake new matter Thy order may be new thy method may be newe but the substance of that which thou speakest must be old This is an argument very copious to be handled and thereunto may be ioyned the iust reprehension of some fantasticall Anabaptistes who haue taken on them in our time to crosse this written word by illuminations and reuelations of their owne But I leaue the one and the other till God send further grace to wade more into this Prophecie That which I rather gather here is this that if Ionas would not go from one place to another without the expresse commaundement of God who is Lord ouer heauen and earth and ruleth all at his pleasure and that also the other Prophets did euermore obserue this rule that then in the examples of Gods auncient seruants there is no protection or warrant for such men who sometimes in our Church do flit from place to place without staying in any It is one thing to be sent and for a man then to go another thing to runne first and not at all to be sent Feede the flocke saith Peter but it followeth in the text which doth depend vpon you or which is committed to you for so the best translate it although to the letter it be the flocke which is among you The Apostles indeede did go throughout all the world but they had their passe-port for it Go ye and teach all nations But besides that the immediate presence of Gods Spirit did still attend them and told them what they should do and againe what they should not do so that they were not at their owne libertie When they were let go by the Spirit they came vnto Seleucia And they would haue gone to Bithynia but the Spirit would not suffer them These men of whom I speake are not Apostles that dispensation is ceassed as all Gods Church doth know It were rather to be wished that they did not come much nearer to the name of Apostataes for reuolting from the approued rule of the Christian faith while they vse that profession which is sacred in it selfe but as pretenced pietie to couer vnhappie shifting yea sometimes an vngodly life I do not speake of all among bad may be some good and circumstances oftentimes do make whole causes differ But for many of them I could wish that experience had not taught vs to the slaunder of the Gospell that such fond admiration as they procure in the pulpit among the ignorat multitude who are easily deceiued is quitted with some infamy which from town to towne doth follow them and from countrey vnto countrey or with some actuall cosinage or with lustfull carnalitie or one bad tricke or other 11 Their calling in the meane time is not warranted in the word although Ionas went to Niniue Ours is a stable profession it is no gadding ministerie And yet I doubt not but that we who are children of the Prophets and haue a home in this place and therefore are different from them to exercise our selues against such time as God shall send vs charges or especially to win men to Christ may sometimes in this towne and sometimes in the villages which are here about adioyning euen with a free-will offering bestow our litle talents By writing we learne to write by singing men learne to sing by skirmishing we shall learne to fight the Lords great battels The people in the meane time are wonne to Iesus Christ the faithfull are increased ignorance is well expelled idolatry is defaced Satan and sinne are conquered The very crummes of our tables would keepe many soules from staruing the lost houres of our idlenesse would helpe many poore to heauen God graunt that the burying of those talents in the ground which he in his great loue hath giuen vnto vs be not layd to our charge in that dreadfull and terrible day If ignorance or idolatrie or iniquitie did not rage if the enemies of the Gospell to hold vp their Romish Antichrist were not busie to peruert we might keepe our selues in our cloisters but if all these do fret and dayly consume like a canker let vs sometimes looke about vs. Theodoret reporteth in his Ecclesiasticall storie that when Valens the Emperour with his Arrian opinions had bee-postered much of the world by that meanes the flocke of Christ stood in great danger Aphraates a Monke a holy man of that time contrary to his order and vsuall profession came foorth out of his Monasterie to helpe to keepe vp the truth And being asked by the Emperour who was offended at him what he did out of his cell I would
he be cast who hath vnclothed the clothed If he be condemned with the Diuell who hath not affoorded his house to strangers where do you think is he to be put which taketh away that house which in right is another mans All which things oppressors do Here let those men take heed who grind the face of the poore of the fatherlesse and the widow if this sinne yeeld foorth a crie not onely in this world but in another also It was a spitefull tricke and in no sort to be commended but much lesse to be imitated and it was a saying much abused out of Athanasius his Creed but yet the meaning was very shrewd when the people of Sicilia did write vpon the tombe of a dead Viceroy of theirs who was a great oppressor and cruell ouer that countrey Qui propter nos homines Et nostram salutem Descendit ad inferos Who for vs men And for our better safetie Is gone downe into hell They meant that this polling and exacting gouernour was lodged in hell 20 If all things which are written be written for our learning then let the crie of Niniue be a warning vnto vs and to all men in generall that we flie from their crueltie And remembring that of the Prophet The stone shall cry out of the wall and the beame out of the timber shall aunswer it Wo vnto him that buildeth a towne with bloud and erecteth a City by iniquitie let vs be warie in our Colledges that it be not truly sayd of vs that robbery and oppression and bribery and extortion go not out of their streets The keeping backe of the poore for the speeding of the rich to gaine friends to our selues or to be enriched with money cometh neare within this compasse Friendship which is so gotten is not friendship with the Lord nor friendship for the Lord but friendship against the Lord. Money which is so had as it is cursedly gotten so it is often spent leudly It is put as the Prophet speaketh into a broken bagge the Lord doth blow vpon it yet we will not see so much A reckening must be made as how we spend our money so much more how we get it If such sinnes should be among vs they may be accounted farre greater then they could be in Niniue because we haue had many Ionasses who haue long cried out against them That God who is slow to anger will strike so much the heauier when he is forced to strike That wrath which is deferred will in the end proue most grieuous Thus you see what Ionas was and againe what he was not and who sent him from Israel and who bid him go to Niniue and that Niniue was a great Citie but a Citie of great sinne It followeth in the next place how he did discharge this dutie but that must be deferred vnto some other time In the meane while God send vs vnderstanding in all things To this God be praise for euer THE II. LECTVRE The chiefe points 1. The veritie of the Scripture appeareth in that the writers thereof doe declare many things against themselues 6 Reasons which might moue Ionas to flie to Tarshish and the insufficiencie of them 12 Where Tarshish was 13 The vocation of the Ministerie is not to be relinquished 16 Men are more free to spend money about euill things then about good 17 What it is to flie from Gods presence 19 Comfort and instruction to the Minister IONAH 1.3 But Ionah rose vp to fly into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and went downe to Iapho and he found a ship going to Tarshish so he payed the fare thereof and went downe into it that he might go with them into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. IONAS hath receiued his charge to go to Niniue with a message of much importance which he might do the better because he came with authoritie and not as a common person to chide and brawle about iniuries or bad reckenings which fal out betweene man man but with a proclamation of weight from the eternall God Here a naturall man would looke that since Ionas is to write this storie of himselfe for no man I thinke maketh doubt thereof he should speake for his owne credit with what diligence and audacitie he performed this message how he spared not the king of Niniue but told him his owne or if he had failed to do that which was enioined to him or for want of wit or wil had missed in his designement a worldling would iudge that for his reputation he should haue concealed it let others if they wold haue spoken their pleasure of him but not he of himself or if needs he must haue spoken he would haue told the better part and left out the worst But if Ionas would be naught and erre as fowly in penning as he did before in practise he hath here met with his maister who well can keepe him from it euen the mightie Spirit of God which dealeth with him in this place as it did with Dauid in his one and fiftieth Psalme that is maketh him to confesse that against God against him only he had sinned done euill in his sight that the Lord might be iustified when he did speake and pure when he did iudge that God might haue his true honor and man beare his deserued blame This here maketh our Prophet say so much against himself and lay open his owne infirmitie yea his grieuous disobedience that himselfe was a runagate and fugitiue from his God yea a very carelesse rebel that he slept in the ship-bottome when all other were praying for feare lest they should be drowned that he crosseth the Lord alwayes wishing vengeance vpon Niniue when God would haue mercie yea that as the testiest man who euer did liue he did fret and scold with God and for anger would be dead and lastly that chiding hand-smooth with his maker he did iustifie his wrath that he did well to be angrie 2 This course not only here but through other scriptures also of inculcating redoubling their faults whom the books do most concerne as the impatiency of Iob the murther of Dauid the idolatrie of Salomon the discontentednesse of Moses by Moses himselfe and Gods punishment on him for it that he came not into Canaan so by Ieremy himselfe the fretting of Ieremy because all things were not well doth argue to the reader some thing very supernaturall that is in these bookes since contrary to the course of humorous ambition which delighteth in her owne glorie and either openly or secretly by some insinuation doth aime still at her owne praise they which are the Spirits secretaries should discouer themselues display their owne ouersights Among other that follow in the processe of this Prophecy this is an excellent argument against those wicked ones of our age who call the Scripture in question If they who in the way of carnalitie to
Gods permission haue sometimes a finger in them 10. How the sinne of one bringeth punishment vpon manie 13. Bad companie is to be auoided 14. The description of the tempest 16. Life is dearer then goods 18. Affliction driueth to deuotion IONAH 1.4.5 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there vvas a mighty tempest in the sea so that the ship was like to be broken Then the mariners were afrayd and cried euery man vnto his God and cast the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them OVr Prophet as a man who would verie gladly be rid of his maister hath gotten him to the sea the land cannot hold him but his maister not so willing to part with his seruant sendeth such a message after him as will bring him back againe or make him do farre worse He would not haue his messenger run so to his owne ruine and lie obdurate in his sinne he wold not haue his purpose of preaching at Niniue be vtterly relinquished but rather because it hath so long bin deferred he by whom the stay hath bin made shall heare of it with a witnesse Here followeth such a tempest to bid him welcome to the sea that if such should be common it needed not be noted to be the speech of a wise man that he wondred that anie one wold come twise at the sea hauing seene the perill of it wold come at it againe for euerie wise man wold so say The wind doth now so blow the waues do so beate the sea doth so worke the ship is so endangered the sea-men are so afraid Ionas so by a lot is singled out to death that drowning was the least that could befall vnto him We neede make no doubt but all this was done for Ionas his sake For the question is here true which a Prophet elsewhere asketh Was the Lord angry against the riuers or was thine anger against the flouds or was thy vvrath against the sea No it was against the sinne of Ionas that all this came as vengeance and that God so sent his messengers of wrath and of displeasure 2 He desireth that his Prophet should be warned for all the dayes that he was to liue in the world to play no more such parts for what end should the next haue if he sped so ill with this And he would haue other men to take example by him that they run not no not with his owne seruants to grosse notorious crimes least they smart for it with his seruants For if the greene wood so burne what shall become of the drie if a leader do such penance what shall a common man if a Prophet do so pay for it how shall a meane bodie escape By this example the presumptuous heart of such is broken as when they haue sinned wilfully in steed of asking pardon by confession and repentance can sooth themselues in their follies saying that the best men haue offended and whie should it be strange for them to go astray since Gods Saints haue done worse Not onely Ionas here forsaketh his vocation but Noe offendeth in drunkennesse and Lot in worse euen in incest and Dauid in adulterie and Salomon that wise king in marying manie infidels The grosse falles of all which men are not proposed vnto vs in the holy booke of God to incourage vs to transgression for that were a Spiders propertie to sucke such poison from them but rather as S. Austen teacheth vs to put vs in minde of that warning of the Apostle that he who standeth should take heed least he fall to humble vs to obedience not to puffe vs vp to pride But withall if they could remember that although the Lord did couer the infirmities of his children with the skirts of his Sonnes mercie least they should finally perish yet to shew how he hateth sinne euen in the best of his people he sendeth them in this world whipping with temporall rods enough they may verie well find that there is small reason why they should be in loue with the bargaine For was there not a Cham to deride his father so farre to moue the patience of that righteous preacher Noe as in bitternesse to curse him Was there not an Absolon readie so with all kind of contumelie to scourge offending Dauid as to abuse his fathers concubines and to seeke his fathers life Here was a Hadad and there a Rezon and a Ieroboam in the third place to vexe wife-doting Salomon that he could not rest in his old age and afterward his sonne Roboam did lose ten tribes of twelue 3 And as for the Prophet here he bestoweth on himselfe a whole Chapter to shew the fruite of his fall that other might forbeare to offend by the example of that grieuous punishmēt which he sustained If he had bene as nimble to haue excused his fault as these be in our dayes he might haue made some Apologie for himselfe or at least haue concealed his penance which befel him that when no man had bene frighted by his case other might haue walked in his steps and the commonnesse of the fault might haue excused the crime For when multitudes do as we do we thinke that they do ease our burthen as the Emperour Valentinian imagined if Socrates report truth of him when hauing one wife of his owne called Seuera whom he was vnwilling to leaue he was in loue also with another virgin called Iustina and he maried her too And least this fault should seeme most grosse if he alone were noted for so scandalous behauiour by a law of purpose made he giueth leaue to all that would to marrie two wiues a peece thinking that when manie transgressed he should be more free from blame Our Ionas is so charitable as to take another course not to induce men to the like by himselfe but to terrifie them much rather by recording how he sped To fall because the Patriarkes and Prophets haue oft fallen is as much as willingly to tast of poyson because Socrates once drunke poyson which were but a foolish triall His poyson was his death And so had sinne bene death to the holiest if God had not giuen repentaunce to expell the force of iniquitie But what man is he who can promise to himselfe repentaunce or rising when he is fallen Manie hope for it but few haue it manie speake of it but few vse it which maketh that worthie saying of S. Austen to be true Manie will fall vvith Dauid but they will not arise with Dauid No example of falling is in him proposed to thee but of rising if thou haue fallen Take heed thou go not downe Let not the slip of the greater be the delight of the lesser but let the fall of the greater be the trembling of the lesser Thus that holie father speaketh If the greatest fall thou mayest fall therefore do not presume but if the greatest be
alone was deprehended in the excommunicate thing he alone did steale the gold he alone had touched the siluer and Babylonish garment Yet for the wicked fact of Achan there were sixe and thirtie of the Israelites slaine by the men of Ai. These did perish in their owne sinne although they perished with his fault His crime stirred vp a vengeance which they had deserued before but receiued now in his companie Afterward his sonnes and daughters his oxen and his asses were burnt or stoned to death This is no example for the Magistrate to follow to punish one for another this was Gods owne immediate deed who himself is perfect iustice and therfore cannot erre But obserue withall his hatred to iniquity which is so farre off from sparing the man grosly offending that he destroyeth all that are neare him because they will keepe companie with so stained a person Many of the Israelites had felt this another time if they had not fled from the tents of Dathan and Abiron The companions of Ionas were sure that they tasted of it And it seemeth that either by the light of nature or by some sea-obseruation they thought that they had one or other whose roome might be far better then his coÌ„pany was vnto them when they fell to casting lots to see for whose sake it was that all this came vpon theÌ„ That such things are thought on at sea and that by natural men let Horace be my witnesse who can say this for himselfe Vetabo qui Cereris sacrum Vulgarit arcanae sub â—sdem Sit trabibus fragilémque mecum Soluat Phaselum I will forbid that man vvho hath reuealed the mysteries of the Goddesse Ceres which heathen men thought to be a very hainous sinne to come vnder the same beames or saile in the same ship with me The speech of Iuno in another Poet doth giue some light hereunto Pallásne exurere classem Argirûm atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto Vniuâ— ob noxam furias Aiacis Oilei Could Pallas burâ—â— a whole fleete of the Greekes and drowne the men in the sea and that for one mans fault and the furie of Aiax Oileus The infidels and Ethnickes haue thought these things at sea either noting them by experience or borowing them by tradition froÌ„ the Iewes as they did many other matters which hereafter I may obserue He that would see more of this let him reade what Tully hath written of that Atheist Diagoras 13 This matter is true at land as well as it is at sea Our God is Lord of both Thereupon it is a good warning to all that they looke with whom they sort For as the pestilent person doth send forth infected poison to such as do come neare him to the killing of their bodies so doth a grieuous sinner bring wrath on his companions to the ruine of their soules A good lesson for yong gentlemen that they flie a blasphemous swearer A good lesson for all Christians that they auoyd an infamous hereticke When Cerinthus came into the bath Iohn the Euangelist got him out and called to his fellowes that they should come away with hast froÌ„ the company of the heretick left the house should fall vpon them He thought that house might be guiltie which receiued a man that was guiltie and that the place was in danger which receiued a man in perill Here let them looke about them who not onely without all care do sort them selues with all comers not fearing the faults of others but when they do know their wickednesse they are glad that they haue such companions and do assent to their euils if they see a thiefe they run vvith him and are partakers with the adulterers If anie man teach a tricke of fraud they will learne that of him if anie vse vncleane speech that filthinesse is for them If to be with the naught bee naught what is it then to bee naught If companie do bring daunger as you see it did by Ionas how fearefull is consent It is better to feare too much then to presume but a litle Our God is of fearefull maiestie You shall discouer that by the tempest which he sendeth vpon the Prophet and those which be in the ship There was a mightie tempest 14 To such as vse nauigation it is a veritie vndoubted that there be at sea many tokens and prognosticates of great teÌ„pests gathered from the Sunne and Moone and waues and windes and clouds and other things the vse whereof our Sauiour Christ himselfe disliketh not so that men go not too farre or be not too peremptorie in them When it is euening you say faire weather for the skie is red And in the morning you say To day shall be a tempest for the skie is red and lowring Such tokens of the weather are not hastily bred neither do they breake in a moment The cloud which appeared to Elias his seruant was first but as a mans hand yet afterward there followed much raine My text telleth of no token that appeared here to the mariners it commeth vpon the sodaine and therfore this storme is supernaturall besides it commeth with such violence that it seemeth that they had seene few like it The Prophet spareth no words to describe the rod which now did beate him The Lord sent foorth a wind not a litle one but a great one Vnà Eurúsque Notúsque ruunt The East and South wind blow together as it is in the Poet. A tempest followeth after which he calleth a mightie tempest As men that liue in the middle of a great continent scant know whether there be anie Ocean as learned men do obserue so we that liue still at land scant conceiue their stormes at sea They mount vp to the heauen and descend to the deepe so that their soule melteth for trouble They are tossed to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and all their cunning is gone The ship was almost broken The keele be it neuer so strong the ribs be they neuer so stiffe the cleets and clamps of iron be they neuer so fast set on are like to flie in peeces If a ioint cracke all is hazarded if a planke shoot vp all is gone This maketh the mariners quake who are not moued with a litle now they stand for their liues now they are readie for that choise either to sinke or swimme But alas what swinning was there in such a storme The ship shaketh at euerie blast as if it would into shiuers euerie waue doth so affright them as if still they were dying It maketh them fall to praying who in likelihood prayed not often It maketh them thinke of their Gods for there was no helpe now froÌ„ men helpe heauen for sea and winds and waues are all against vs. Yea more because their hands should go as fast as their tongues they will not lye still and crie but the cariage of the ship shall out into the
cursing of him for his neglect as if Surius do say true Barbarossa did a Generall of the Turkes being ouercome in battell by Charles the fifth in Africke where he often reuiled his Mahomet and in exceeding bitternesse did curse him Perhaps shuffle out that God and chuse some other in for him as Licinius did in his battels when he was ouercome by Constantine When his old Gods in whom he put his trust had deceiued him he sought out new ones to worship At least take it vnkindlie as Silla did at the hands of his Apollo For whereas his custome was as often as he went into anie battell euermore to beare in his bosome a little image of gold representing that God being on a time in daunger of an ouerthrow he drew it out and kissed it and vsed these wordes vnto it How now Apollo Pythius wilt thou who hast prospered and aduaunced that happie man Cornelius Silla in so manie foughten battels now destroy him and his fellow citisens eueÌ„ at the gates of Rome Thus when men make Gods to themselues or do single out each man one they are the bolder with them An action of vnkindnesse may be easilie entred against them perhaps there shall be a reuiling of them it may be a plaine renouncing 14 The companie of our Prophet is not yet come so far As you see they will fall to their prayers Who knoweth whether this mans God be a greater God then ours is whether that this sleepy felow be more accepted of him for it was an opinioÌ„ entertained eueÌ„ by heatheÌ„ meÌ„ that one person was more loued by their Gods theÌ„ another was that the prayers of some were better accepted as of their Priests or their Prophets a Helenus or a Calchas and these knew not whether Ionas might in such sort be more gracious with his God or no. The truth is that he might haue beene if he were not if he had but kept his owne For we finde in true diuinitie that the prayers of a few holie and sanctified meÌ„ are at al times more acceptable to the euerlasting Lord then the requests of ten thousand sinners In so much that he bestoweth vpon such their owne liues and the liues of others It seemeth that God in former time did vse to heare Ieremie wheÌ„ once so precisely he forbad him to intreat for the people There were giuen vnto Lot his wife and his daughters and his sonnes in law if they would might haue had their portion in that fauour How much did the Lord loue and tender Abraham when hee yeelded to his prayer that for ten iust mens sakes hee would spare the Citie Sodome But vnto my purpose this is most agreeable that when there was great daunger of a wreck that time that S. Paule was sayling toward Rome the Angell of God did stand by the Apostle in a vision and told him that the Lord had bestowed vpon him all that were in the ship who were to the number of two hundred and â—euentie and fiue that not one of all these should perish for Paules sake his good seruaunt But alas the case is otherwise in this ship then it was in the other where the Apostle sayled for here he that should haue helped all hurted all the Prophet now is become a runagate not a preacher but a sleeper he alone is pursued with vengeance and the other poore folkes are free 15 Yet call vpon thy God if so be that God will thinke vpon vs that we perish not Looke what ignorance on the one side and necessitie on the other could enforce them to do It might haue bin a harme vnto them to pray to so many Gods For wheÌ„ such a number should be sought to and yet some other should be left out as it was impossible for them to thinke on all some one maister God who was of the better sort might be angrie and drowne them all in despite that he should be omitted and not be had in account I should thinke that our simple Romanists the simpler sort I say who haue little in their owne knowledge should stumble much at this stoue least while they are creeping and crooching to some one Saint some other should take it in dudgeoÌ„ that any should be preferred or sought to before themselues But I thinke that to amend the matter their Church hath taken the paines to put All the Saints in one day together to keepe them quiet and All the soules in another least the first should not be sufficient Gods grace is more vpon vs since he hath let vs know that one Lord and onely he is to be worshipped that Christ is our mediatour and diligent intercessour and not any other creature that prayer is a sacrifice peculiar vnto him and that the Saints in heauen are to be imitated of vs for their faith and good example and not to be called vpon And yet God hath dealt better with those Romanists and better with these sea-men then with some lewd ones in our time who being in all their actions and conuersation most profane are so farre from praying with the heathen to many Gods that they rather say there is none These idolaters vnder errour of religion or deuotion know that something is to be adored the light of nature hath taught them that but these deuils come not so far I giue that name vnto them because in this although not in all things they are worse then deuils for the deuils beleeue that there is a God albeit they quake and tremble at it What other name should I giue them fooles nay these exceede the foole for the foole hath said in his hart there is no God as we may reade in Dauid But these go one degree beyond Dauids foole for they say it too with their mouthes 16 These poore soules neuer coÌ„ming where pietie or goodnesse grew conceiue by a generall apprehension that there was a power or powers who ruled all things though they knew not what it was They were as men in darknesse like those of whom S. Austen speaketh who know that they haue a countrey but the sea doth lye betweene they willingly would go to it but they do not know the meanes whither they would go they gesse but which way they cannot tell They know that there is something but they know not how to conceiue what it should be they cannot tell how to yeeld it his right reuereÌ„ce or whether it be one or manie But all coasts and all countreys accord that there is somewhat The West Indians had certaine spirits whom they named their Zemes accounted them their Gods euermore in extremities crying and calling to them But what should I name any particulars when Tullie can say for all that there is no nation so barbarous no people so rude but knoweth that there is a God although they caÌ„not tell who Tullie it shall be easier for thee in the day of iudgement and for
circūstances And of this may be vnderstood that other place of Salomon By this choise may be made of persons to be sent or of things to be accomplished where otherwise by diuersitie of opinions there would be no agreement But to diuine is vtterly vnlawfull as if a man should take a white lot and a blacke lot and if I draw the white lot then I may well go this day if the blacke I will not go I shall haue an vnhappie iourney That of Haman before spoken of doth come within this compasse We hold this for a great abuse 20 Here the lot is consultatorie They tooke it a thing granted that one or other amōg them had committed some wicked offence and because they could not tell who it was that had done the deede they will put it to their Gods This sheweth the mightie feare which did possesse their soules Men can hardly like it in other of their acquaintaunce that they should be culled out to be murthered but that any should consent to throw the dice on himselfe to endaunger his owne life by it is a matter which is not common This is like one of those cases among the Romanes which would make the hearts of all the beholders to quake That was when after some cowardly fearefulnesse or mutinous sedition or stubburne rebellion in the armie the Generall for punishment thereof would tith his souldiers euerie tenth man to the blocke as Appius dealt with his legiōs Or as if in some grieuous famine cuts should be drawne who among a company should be slaine to releeue his fellowes In what a state was Iosephus when his fellowes in a desperate moode enforced him to yeeld to the throwing of lots so to know which of them should be first killed and which of them last but all of them must be slaine Necessitie hath no law it must be done in this place The onely comfort is that euerie mā hath this hope that it wilt rather fall to another then happen to himselfe We can sooth our selues of our selues either in foolish presumption that we are not the worst of all some are more bad then we be or in a weening fancie that we may escape in a multitude we are but one of a manie but so betweene both we wil hope the best for our owne parts let the lots go on other As Tacitus saith of warre This is the miserie of it if any thing fall out well euery one chalengeth that to himselfe but if it fall out ill euery one slippeth his necke out of the collar the blame shall be layd vpō one so in such cases as these happie man he that is farthest off but if the lot be to be drawne for any good thing the better legge shall be set before Why should not we hope to speed as well as the best amongst vs 21 But the lot here is to take one who must die for all his fellowes Why one for all ye mariners what man is there among you that had not deserued to die This is a branch of that roote of hypocrisie which possesseth the hearts of all the sonnes of Adam It was not Adam but the woman who had touched the forbidden fruite When the best of the cattell of the Amalekites was saued it was the people saith Saule which spared thē So here I warrant you the most part of those which were in the ship were so cleane from any such grosse crime as now was in question that there could be but one sinner Dauid was in another mind If thou ô Lord straightly markest iniquities ô Lord who shall stand All these had deserued death and merited to be serued as Ionas was but the Lord indeed vpon a present occasion had singled one out to this strange punishment because as in part he would teach his companions by his example so especially he meant to make that one man know how highly he had offended God expected much more of him then he did of ordinarie persons To whom the most is committed of him most is required Ionas had bene inspired with a Propheticall spirit he had visions and reuelations from his God he should haue bene a light to other But the simple sea-faring men neuer came to any such height of knowledge He was singular in comparison of them he was as a white garment and therefore a litle spot in him would cause a great deformitie But when he did take this precious vesture and with lying downe in it did soile it euerie whit God in his iustice cannot endure that in him 22 The lots therefore are cast and the daunger falleth vpon Ionas That Lord who ruleth ouer all his creatures great and small so disposed it that the sinner should be deprehended and the more innocent should go free His state was like to Achan he cannot escape the iudgement which is coming toward him The lot fell surely on him It is not vnlikely but that they threw it diuerse times and still it proued that he was the man For they who were so carefull not to drowne him after that they had discouered him would not hastily be induced to single out a straunger who neuer immediatly had offended them to make him die for all Being drawne then once or often it fell vndoubtedly vpon Ionas It was not possible for him to escape where such a one had the handling of it as is Lord both of heauen and earth Tully doth tell of Verres sometimes deputie for the Romanes in Sicilia that as otherwise he was excellent to bring about to his purpose all things which might yeeld credit or commoditie so verie earnestly desiring to haue his friend Theomnastus to be chosen Iupiters priest an office of some moment in that countrey he wrought a pretie feate for him For whereas by the order of the election three men should be named to the place and three seuerall lots be appointed with the names of the three competitors written vpon the lots and he whose lot should be first drawne should haue the priesthood Verres to make sure worke made three lots indeed to be appointed but he wrote vpon euerie one of them the name of his friend Theomnastus and so being sure to hit he sped his man of the priesthood for it could not be otherwise This was a tricke of fraud and fit for such a deceiuer as Verres shewed himselfe in Sicilia He that would haue Ionas taken needeth not to vse anie such leger-demaine his creatures be at commandement they do as himselfe inioyneth So Ionas did finde it here so the wicked shall find it euer 23 An instruction hence may be gathered for all persons that they looke vnto their wayes and plunge not into vngodlinesse vnder hope not to be disclosed For nothing is so secret but it shall be opened He that curseth the king although it be in his most priuate chamber shall be discouered by the fowles of heauen and one dead thing
mariners did to Ionas that is to sift out the whole truth by demaunds before that they giue any iudgement Moses could say of himselfe to the Israelites I charged your Iudges the same time saying Heare betweene your brethren and iudge righteously betweene euerie man and his brother and the straunger that is with him First heare and then iudge Iob professeth thus of himselfe I vvas a father vnto the poore and vvhen I knew not the cause I sought it out diligently The speech of Nicodemus to the Pharisies was good Doth our law iudge a man before it heare him and know what he hath done So Felix could tell Saint Paule that he would not iudge his cause before that he had heard it perfectly Otherwise the accused person should haue a hard bargaine by it for as Iulian the Apostata once aunswered verie wittily If it be sufficient to accuse shall any man be an innocent The Poet therefore said well Qui statuit aliquid parte inaudita altera Aequum licet statuerit hand aquus fuit He who determineth any thing not hauing heard both the parties speake although he haue decreed the right yet himselfe hath not bene iust that is he hath done it wrongfully because he should heare both And this is the generall doctrine which may be deriued here from the examination of these mariners ouer Ionas Let vs gather a little nearer to the particular wordes Tell vs for whose cause this euill is vpon vs what is thine occupation whence commest thou 7 I haue in part before touched that these men imagined that some sinne plucked this wrath vpon them But when the lot fell vpon Ionas they gessed him to be the sinner Now to know the particulars they asked him of his trade for good men they little dreamed of a Prophet they demaunde of him for his countrey and the place from whence he came For both Rhetorike and experience and diuinitie most of all do shew that good coniectures and presumptions for any thing in question may be drawne from the life which in former time hath bene led from the companie and familiaritie which hath bene entertained from the countrey and habitation where any hath abode Then what is thine occupation and the course of life which thou vsest wherein doest thou spend thy time If thou be a robber or a rouer no maruell if some straunge punishment do pursue thee at the heeles If a sorcerer or a necromancer the same may be thy doome If a stewes-maister or a broaker for vncleannesse of the bodie it is verie likely that wrath may follow thee If a flattering hungrie iester who waytest vpon a trencher and makest no kinde of conscience to taunte any man that displeaseth thee vengeance may droppe vpon thee So these simple men did perceiue that there was some kinde of life vnlawfull and vngodly which because it was contrarie and aduerse either vnto pietie or humane charitie it might well offende that power which ruleth all mortall creatures 8 I maruell what the vsurer could haue aunswered in this case who liueth on the sweat of others and maketh a gayne of their losses It was no shame for Iacobs sonnes to tell the king of Egypt that their father and his children were shepheardes Neither was it any disgrace to Amos to say that he was a heardman and a gatherer of wild figges but to say I am an vsurer one who liue vpon my money is but a blushing speech Dauid asketh a question and aunswereth himselfe Lord vvho shall dwell in thy Tabernacle who shall rest in thy holie mountaine He that giueth not his money vnto vsurie Ye in some places of this land for I must not imagine that any interest is to be found in Oxford we haue scant money for our necessities such as haue their hands polluted with extortion in this kinde will come into the tabernacle and sit them downe in the Temple be at Church as soone as any and be as intent and earnest vpon the preacher as if there were no such matter If speech be of the inheritaunce which is on Gods holie hill they will vrge as farre as the farthest How can this hang together the breaking of Gods commaundements in a wilfull professed sort and the true feare of the Lord But this were a greater wo if it should be found in the Leuites and the Priests euen such as serue in the Tabernacle Thou that preachest a man should not steale doest thou steale saith Saint Paule doest thou spoyle It was the speech of Apollonius in Eusebius against the Montanist Prophets doth a Prophet colour his haire or annoynt his eyes vvith stibium doth a Prophet put money to vsurie If it be thy portion which was giuen thee by thy father or some money which thou hast gotten or a stocke left in thy trust for the widow or for the fatherlesse which thou art loth should be idle this or that or whatsoeuer doubtlesse it is not well since no carnall pretence â—an serue to violate the euerlasting law of God and men should haue tender consciences fearing to exercise that which by so many places of Scripture the iudgement of all the auncient fathers the Canon and ciuill lawes the constitutions of most good common-wealthes the reasons of heathen Philosophers the consent of the schoolemen and opinion of the greatest part of our late Diuines is condemned as an vncharitable and most vnchristian practise All those things which may be obiected that thy case is not common that there be many sortes of interest a biting and not biting vsurie that learned men of great fame in some causes do permit it that the lawes of our land winke at it that now it is much frequented and many good men do vse it great gentlemen in the countrey as well as Citizens and marchants that thou mayst do good to another and he shall gaine by it as much as thou nay a thousand excuses more cannot aunswere that one place Thou shall not giue to vsurie to thy brother as vsurie of money vsury of meate vsury of any thing that is put to vsurie And whereas thou wouldst shrowd thy factes vnder the skirts of some few reuerend mens writings if thou loue them and the Religion which they professed then couer that their ouersight proceeding from humane infirmity do not as wicked Cham discouer the nakednesse of those who were fathers in the faith to many in this last age Do not wrastle against thy conscience With Mathew leaue to be a Publican with Zacheus to gather tribute it is not for a Christian to be of this occupation relinquish it to the Iewes 9 If I be not deceiued this question for the trade of life insinuating that some artes are not pleasing to the Lord should stumble a great many men If in the lawfulnesse of a calling Gods immediate glorie and the benefite of his Church or at least the good
mistake your selfe in vs we are not men so expert the law the testimony is vnto vs as a sealed booke You should rather maruell at vs if we should do any thing otherwise then ill I shold iudge that this answer wold well fit those Priests Prelates of whom Iohannes Auentinus speaketh that they are so base and rude that if they had bene lay men they should scant haue bene counted fit to keepe swine which notwithstanding in his time both throughout Germany and all Christendome had Churches and soules of men committed to their charge and custody I am sure it had very well agreed to those Scottish Priests who as Buchanan their owne countrey man reporteth of them in the late reformation of religion in that kingdome were so blockish so blind that the very name of the New Testament was much offensiue to them they thought it to be new deuised and inuented by Martin Luther and asked for the old againe Which is the more likely in their ordinary Curates when we reade of a Bishop of theirs called the Bishop of Dunkelden who replied on a Minister which sayd that he had read the Old and New Testament I thanke God I neuer knew what the Old and the New Testament was The very selfe same doth Bobert Stephanus auouch of the Sorbonistes in Paris who take vpon them to be men of more admirable learning and to be Diuines of the deepest He aduoucheth that when himselfe had many conflicts and disputations with them they would tell him that they knew not what the new Testament was It is no sin to imagine that the life of such was like their learning And if in their often ouersights it should haue bene asked of them And why do you this being teachers disputers or at least Pastors ouer others therefore men of knowledge of likelyhood these good creatures would haue shaped some worthy answer I hope that we haue none in England so buried in filthy ignorance yet my heart oft times doth ake and my very soule doth tremble to thinke what guides be ouer soules yet in many places I say ouer the soules of men which are the most precious substances that God hath made vnder the heauen for the ransoming of which Christ Iesus came downe from his glory Sinne hath not yet worne out that vnkind brood which the Papacy did hatch vp to our nation and since those dayes Ieroboams Priests the basest of the people so contrary to our good lawes haue filled not their heads with knowledge but their haÌ„ds with mony so haue crept into Gods teÌ„ple 11 But I will not pursue this argument These words here of the sea-men which to some do seeme a maruell how a Prophet could fall so fowlly seeme to other to be an increpation or rebuke vnto our Ionas Wherefore hast thou done this an Hebrew and a Prophet and flye away from thy maister what maruell if vengeance follow thee what wonder if wrath pursue thee If it were no more but so this were a gawling speech to an ingenuous mind that men of so base behauiour should come ouer him in this manner with a true and iust rebuke It was a shame to Sara the text sayth that she was reprooued and no great praise to Abraham when Abimelech king of Gerar a man that knew not the Lord did iustly blame the coÌ„cealing of Sara to be his wife by which meanes he had like ignorantly to haue fallen into adultery But when sin apparantly is committed how impudent is that person which blusheth not to be reproched for it by a multitude Those in whom the loue of vertue and the sound feare of the Lord is will neuer cease to pray that God will so guide and direct their steppes perpetually that they may not giue a iust occasion to the enemies of the Gospell or to the haters of their persons to insultouer their falles for the malice of spitefull hearts would be glad to see the slippes of them whome God doth blesse Therefore the faithfull do pray so much the more against it as Dauid doth many times But the carelesse and disobedient because they litle feare it do suddenly fall into it and so by open wickednesse draw vpon themselues open shame not onely to haue as Ionas had his companions to checke him but passengers to deride them and children to nodde their heades at them yea sometimes taunting Rimes and broken Ballads on them peraduenture the executioner the vilest among ten thousands with his Rhetoricke for to scorne them 12 God appoynteth this as a iudgment for such as are ouer-growne with a hard skinne ouer their hearts so that they feare not the pricke of sinne Yea sometimes he suffereth this rod to fall on his owne children to whippe them here with shame so to saue their soules by the bargaine Perhaps the Iudge hee shaketh them and ratleth them vp in austeritie it may be that penaunce is done and the wicked triumph vpon them At least they with whome they liue or else they are exceeding happie men will haue this one cast at them which these ship-men had at Ionas Why haue you done such a deede what carelesnesse or forgetfulnesse or vnthankefulnesse brought you to it But a greater wo then this doth oftentimes fall on the wilfull sort of sinners which indeede feare not the Lord as vpon great persecutours or rebellious bloudy traytours Their fame is turned into infamie and they are registred to posterity as a by-word of the people The iudgement which doth follow them euen after they be in graue is that songs of defaâ—ation be as Epitaphes on their deathes Let Bonner and Story and Parrhy be witnesses in this cause A good conscience which doth walke with sinceritie in that calling wherein the Lord hath placed him doth litle feare these matters And if slaunders should arise yet to him this is the comfort of it that as fire without wood doth dye so doth ill speech without iust matter I note this from the reproofe vsed by these mariners What shall we do vnto thee that the sea may be calme 13 The third thing which now followeth is the question which they put to him or the counsell which they aske of him The raging of the sea is not slaked all this time while the Prophet both slept and waked while the lot was throwne vpon him while that he was examined and made all his confession the sea wrought and was troublous The sea wrought and was troublous Those words because they be againe in the thirteenth verse I do deferre them thither But these persons which were in danger and had their mind on the poynt that is to saue their liues would willingly know the way how to escape the perill What shall we do vnto thee This is the doubt saith Hierome Shall we kill thee but thou art the seruaunt of the Lord. Shall we saue thee but thou art a runne-away from thy maister Thou hast shewed vs thy
by that knowledge which he yet retained notwithstanding his fall that this punishment was assigned to him by the Lord. This must be the satisfaction for his great disobedience Now againe his faith reuiueth by which he had some foresight of all Gods purpose ouer him This was peculiar to our Ionas by his Propheticall knowledge and may not be followed by vs. It is not any protection for vs to bid any other throw our selues into the sea 27 Besides this I do not doubt but as Samson was a figure of the Sauiour of the world so Ionas also was although not in euerie matter as once before I haue noted yet in this his drowning here Christ himselfe did expound the lying of the Prophet for three dayes in the whales bellye to be a signe of his owne buriall and lying in the earth The death of the Sauiour was to him a meanes of his buriall so here the casting out of Ionas into the sea by the mariners was the meanes whereby he lay three dayes and three nightes in the bellye of the whale Ionas is willingly drowned here Christ also there dyeth willingly he yeelded vp his Ghost no man could take it from him Ionas alone must suffer to saue the rest of the ship Christ alone did treade the wine-presse and Christ doth dye alone to stay his fathers wrath to saue all his elect You see that he is an excellent type of Iesus Christ the righteous But as it is impossible that comparisons should hold in all things and there is none who in euery matter may be likened vnto Christ because he had no fellowes he cannot be tryed by his peeres so there is this one difference that Ionas when he suffered was alone in all the fault and Iesus in his suffering was onely without all fault because he was that immaculate lambe in whose mouth was found no guile When I first looked into this text which I haue now opened vnto you I did thinke to haue said something farther in or concerning the person of Christ whom our Prophet doth represent I meant to haue mentioned his readinesse to dye that he might redeeme vs sinners and so briefly out of the new Testament to haue giuen some comfort amidst all these threates of Ionas But in handling this last question matter hath growne vpon me and I loue not to be tedious I will therefore deferre that till I come to the fifteenth verse where the like occasion is againe fitly offered vnto me In the meane time let vs meditate on the excellent loue of Christ who would dye so willingly for vs the iust for the vniust to bring vs vnto his kingdome To the attaining whereof he alwayes further vs to whom in the perfection of the Trinitie be glorie and prayse for euermore THE VII LECTVRE The chiefe points 1 The vnwillingnesse of the mariners to put Ionas to death 4 Great slownesse should be vsed in taking away life 6. Against killing of men to offer to Idols 7. and other cruell massacrings 9. As that of the Anabaptistes 14. The force of the sea 16. It is some sinne that maketh many not to prosper 20. God reuengeth innocent bloud 22. Enforcement doth not excuse euill 23. We must yeeld to Gods will Ionah 1.13.14 Neuerthelesse the mē rowed to bring it to the land but they could not for the sea wrought and was troublous against thē Wherefore they cried vnto the Lord said We beseech thee ô Lord vve beseech thee let vs not perish for this mans life and lay not vpon vs innocent bloud for thou ô Lord hast done as it pleased thee IOnas being of a Prophet become a sinner of a sinner a prisoner as oft times you haue heard is examined by his companie but condēned by himselfe as a grieuous malefactour worthy to be drowned in the sea So much did his sinne crie for vengeance so vehemently did his God make after him But the miserie of his miserie is that since he must needes suffer for otherwise the fault which his owne mouth hath acknowledged cannot be satisfied for he wanteth some man that may do the deed The place is ready and the person who thinketh euerie thought of time to be verie long before the matter be dispatched but there wanteth an executioner He might not do as Saule did fall on his owne sword point himselfe when his harnesse-bearer would not depriue him of his life This had argued too great dispaire But he might wish with Nero that in the course of iustice he might haue some friend or enemie to helpe him vnto his end But among these blustering mariners he could not finde that fauour Although himselfe accuse himselfe and lay his fault plaine before them although windes and waues did confirme it although the lot throwne did assure it although in wordes he did desire to be cast into the water yet those who should haue done it do so ill like of the matter that if sayles or oares can serue they will backe againe to the land rather leaue their intended iourney then vse any violence toward him They rowed to bring the ship backe vnto the land 2 The word which is vsed here comming of Chathar in the Hebrew doth signifie they did digge either because men do thrust into the water with oares as in digging they do with other instruments on the land like as in Latin Poetry the bottome of the ship is sayd to plow the water sulcare to make things like furrows in it or because as men in digging do turn this way and that way stir moue the ground so they stirred vp their wits did beate their brayns and thoughts to free him from the danger For his sake they vsed all such helpes as they had at sea We know that they be not many either sayling by the wind or rowing by the oare tall ships do know the one the galleys goe with the other But as it may be iudged out of the monuments of antiquitie and partly may be seene in some at this day euerie ship in old time had both the one the other When the wind wanted for their sayling their armes did vse to fall a rowing In this place I doubt not but that the storme had so ouerlayd them that their tackling in generall did serue them to little purpose The shift which then remained was to see if by cleane strength against both wind and water they might winne the land by their rowing backward Forward they could not get therfore they wil retire rather then drown the Prophet Their businesse is forgotten their hast shall stay a while rather then destroy his life 3 When aduisedly I consider how many things here should vrge those mariners to hasten him vnto death their disturbance in their iourney the casting foorth of their wares which goeth against the soule of a wordly minded creature the indangering of their liues the discouery by a lot the confession of himself
speaketh not Some thinke not at Hierusalem the place then onely appointed for sacrifice to the true God but wheresoeuer they first landed Arias Montanus thinketh that they offered it at Hierusalem which thing was sometimes done by the Gentiles as by the Chamberlaine to Candace the Queene of Aethiopia The Chaldee Paraphrase hath that they said they would offer sacrifice Hierome thinketh that what they did was at sea and not at land They made such spirituall sacrifice as the inner man could affoord thankes giuing and supplication and repentance and such like The Prophet Osee doth call these the calues of our lippes And Dauid he speaketh of them saying the sacrifice of God is a troubled spirite Howsoeuer it is not much to the historie whether it were the one or the other The holy Ghost doth let vs know that the motiue which they saw in this action was so mightie that it wrong from them a remorse and so possessed them for the time that compunction and deuotion was within them and without them as men throughly mortified they refused to do nothing which was any way religious They either fell to their praiers which is a spirituall sacrifice or offered something else when they came to the land or at least they professed that they would do it But it is a case without controuersie that they made vowes to the Lord. A thing common among mariners and passengers at the sea when they feare any shipwracke If they can ouer-stand that iourney and escape well from that daunger they will fast or giue almes or dedicate some great thing to the Lord. They spare not to speake in the fit although they neuer meane it Yea and it may be that in the extremitie they resolue to perfourme their vow but the daunger being once past and gone if they should be vrged to accomplish it they would thinke themselues as il vsed as those two were by Caligula of whome Dion reporteth that when the said Caligula was sicke they thinking to get much mony as a reward for their great loue to the Emperour vowed that on condition he might liue they themselues would dye to excuse him When indeede he was recouered afterward he tooke them at their word and put them to death least they should breake their vowe and prooue periured persons Of likelyhood these thought themselues to be vsed but vnkindly and so would these vowing shipmen if they should be forced to performance But he that will see more of this let him reade Erasmus his Dialogue which he calleth by the title of Naufragium What the Scripture thinketh of vowes and what our Church maintaineth which is a better argument to be handled against our Popish Votaries I may touch hereafter when I come to the ninth verse of the second Chapter For at this time my meaning is to discourse another matter 17 It is a great controuersie whether this exceeding feare do intend a true conuersion from Gentilisme to the Lord from idolatrie to true pietie and in this also the best Expositors do very much dissent Some thinke them to be become earnest Proselites and men turned to the Iewish faith that their feare was sincere from the heart and perseuerant in them vnto the end and that their sacrifices were accepted and all this so much the rather because the text doth say that they feared the Lord Iehouah not an idole but the true God Some other put a condition that if the heart were iustified with a purifying faith then their vowes and sacrifices were acceptable and pleasing to the Lord. If otherwise then it was but a vizard put on for a little time and so throwne off afterward A third sort are of opinion that their repentance was onely temporary like the seed which is mentioned in the parable of Christ to be sowen on the stony ground which tooke roote for a little time and afterward did wither away I do approue this last sentence thinking that although they feared and tooke vpon them some religion yet this was not sufficient to apprehend true grace for they had not heard by the Prophet of the Messias Christ in whom is all remission and washing away of sinne Onely the wrath of God in punishing is made knowne vnto them which is inough to put the vnbeleeuer into a trembling feare as we know that Felix did quake to heare Saint Paule speake of righteousnesse of temperance and of the iudgement to come and yet Felix was an hypocrite Neither is this opinion crossed by that where it is said that they feared Iehouah for the reprobates do quake at the true God with a kind of seruility as the diuels of hell do likewise The awe wherein Pharao stood when he let the people go was to the God of Moses Ahab hearing the threatning of Elias did humble himselfe to the Lord but it was not with due continuance The feare of the God of Sidrach of Misach and Abednego was fallen on Nabuchodonosor when beholding the deliuerance of those three children out of the fiery fornace he gaue forth a proclamation for the seruice of their Lord. And yet it is not to be doubted but these men were reprobates 18 These sea-people in like sort might well thinke of the Lord and yet not leaue their idolatry The people placed in Samaria were by the Lions which destroied them enforced to serue the Lord yea the text doth say that they did feare him but they worshipped their idols also and so it had bene as good not at all as to be neuer the neerer to him The Romanes would haue had Christ to be in the number of their Gods placed in their Pantheon but they cannot away to leaue their old Gods whom they had before Such halfe-seruice could not profit these mariners in this place This was an insufficient comprehension of the Lord without sound application in particular by a true faith which teacheth that God alone is to be adored by his creatures and that with a single heart and an vnderstanding knowledge and perseuerance vnto the ende Which because the wicked do want howsoeuer vpon occasions of afflictions and strange wonders they seeme humbled for the time yet afterward with the dogge they returne to their vomit and with the sow which was washed to their wallowing in the mire And this recidiuation is more dangerous then the sicknesse this relapse then the first fall For those to whom this happeneth are they whom Iude calleth trees twise dead and rotten and good for nothing else but to be plucked vp by the rootes The knowledge which such men haue doth make against themselues their thoughts against themselues the motions of their owne mind when they haue thought vpon goodnesse shall witnesse hardly against them 19 We do here-out learne two lessons First that hypocrites and dissemblers besides their internall motions which they haue oft times to goodnesse in outward and
externall points of religion can go as farre as the faithfull or the best child of God as these here can offer sacrifice and make vowes to the Lord. So Simon Magus will be baptised and Iudas come to the supper and heretikes can preach Christ and Herodians heare his word and Pharisees pay their tith and Iesuites fast and pray so that ceremonies and the shew which is outward do not euer import verity of religion Sathan transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light Wolues come forth in sheepes clothing There be that cry Lord Lord and yet Christ doth not know them Whereupon that speech is true that we may more easily know who is an vngodly man then who is truly godly For hypocrisie may with a shadow make a disguised shew of the one but foule and wicked deeds will necessarily discouer the other Where an irreligious life is lead and grosse sinnes are committed it is an euident proofe that the true feare of God is not yet resident in that person Therefore it concerneth vs to be wary that we leane not on any one but as he leaneth on Christ for as we must take heed that we iudge not other men in particular without charity so we must hold this in generall that all is not gold that glistereth 20 A second lesson is that we all looke to our selues that we satisfie not our soules with any externall action neither that we apprehend grace by fits or feags as we are vrged by any present thing that hangeth on vs but that we labour euermore to retaine the good which is offered to vs that we quench not the Spirite of God but stirre it vp in our selues It is a thing violent to our nature to haue a minde vnto holinesse we saile as if it were against the streame As then in a violent water if the boate-men slacke a few strokes in a moment he is caried more downeward then in a good time before he hath gained by his labour so we must know that in loosing the hold which we haue of Gods Spirite we may loose more in one yeare nay perhaps more in one houre then we haue gained in many It is not inough to weepe when we feele the rod vpon vs to pray when we are in sicknesse to cry when we are in danger but in wel-fare and prosperity God must be thought vpon as well as in aduersity We must not hold our duty to be then discharged to the full when in a moment of some great matter we feare the Lord exceedingly and sacrifice and vowe and do all that we can deuise and straight way prooue like a feuer haue a cold bowte for a heate and so fall away from grace but we must follow that veine and pursue it to the end 21 Saint Bernard in his time found men rebukeable for this errour For writing of the two Disciples which went vnto Emaus he speaketh fitly to this purpose You shall sometimes see a man verie deuout in his prayers vvhose eyes vvill seeme to stand like the pooles of Hesbon for the multitude of his teares and yet this man refuseth to beare the yoake of obedience He bewaileth his pride while he is at his prayers but the houre of compunction being once past and gone he is as proud as before I would that ourage were free from this vnstayed repentance But I feare that it is otherwise When we sit and heare a Sermon a word or two well set on doth bruise vs much for a momēt Vpō solemne dayes as at our anniuersary thanksgiuing for the loue of God so farre extended to vs in the enioying of her Maiesty or vpon other the like occasions our hearts and eyes and all shall testifie our great feeling So when we come to the Sacrament we are very repentant persons but is it not true of vs that like vnto the bul rush we hang downe our heads for a day that drinking with the serpent we resume againe our poyson of malice and peruersenesse When we are in the Church we intend to leaue our bribe-taking but with the Church we forget it when our night-thoughts haue well troubled vs we vow to leaue our vncharitablenesse and to plucke vp the roote of bitternesse but rising we returne vnto our ancient euill In the fields we can protest against our owne oppression our slandering and reuiling but when we come home we yeeld our selues vnto the tempting Angell This is to dally with God and to heape wrath on our selues The most wicked men and idolaters as Ionas his fellowes here can thinke on goodnesse for a little and feare the Lord exceedingly and yet not be the better for it Sincerity and simplicity and perseuerance and performance beseeme the child of God I haue troubled you ouer long Lord enrich vs so with thy spirit that as we haue begun so we may end in thee that thy true feare still possessing vs we may be brought to thy kingdome there to raigne by the merite of thy Sonne to whom with thee and thy Spirite be laud and praise for euer THE IX LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 1. All creatures are at Gods becke 3. either to punish the wicked 4. or to preserue the good 6. Of the greatnesse of fishes 8. That Ionas might liue in the belly of the whale 12. How the three dayes and three nights are to be taken in the lying of Christ in the graue 13. Christ rose againe 14. And so shall all other men 16. Some deny the Resurrection 17. Reasons and examples proouing it 21. That we should prepare our selues against the time of Resurrection Ionah 1.17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow vp Ionah and Ionah was in the belly of the fish three dayes and three nights BY this time you may see a very great difference of the seuerall estates wherein our Prophet hath bene for first he was at land and there he could not keep him afterward he was on shipboord and there he might not keepe him but now he is in the sea in the belly of a fish and there he shall not chuse but keepe him vntill that himselfe be most weary of it God hath a certaine fish in a readinesse for to receiue him which for the space of one three dayes must lodge him In discoursing whereof I thinke it not necessary to dispute that question which hath bene mooued in this argument by very learned men that is whether that the preparing of this fish for the Prophet were the new creating of that which was not before which must intend that at the same instant of time a creature of purpose should be made to swallow him and deuoure him There needed no such matter for there were in the sea fishes inough to serue the turne and the Lord had one of those at hand to fulfill his designement Much rather the power of the Creator is here to be noted whose authority ouer his creatures is such and so absolute that in
yeelding them dry footing as if it had bene on the land when they were so pursued and made after by the chariots and horsemen of the Egyptians How fitly vnto my purpose was the daughter of king Pharao brought forth and put in mind to pity poore drowning Moses How was the iaw-bone of the asse made ready to be as a sword for Samson wherewith he slue so many Philistines and how was one of the teeth thereof prepared to yeeld him drinke when he fainted So admirable is the Lord in the assistance of his Saints that one thing or another shall be borne to do them good in their bitter extremitie as if it were made onely for that purpose There be few which haue liued many yeares and in Christian meditation contemplated in themselues on the kindnesse of their God who know not this ouer and ouer Such comforts and such stayes arising by such meanes as themselues could not conceiue of vntill they see things done Oh the loue of God inestimable oh his straunge wayes for our good The wicked on the one side may feare his hand who can raise such meanes to perplexe them and the faithfull on the other side may embrace his mercy who hath such helpes at need and both of them may stand amased and wonder at his power who hath his instruments euermore so ready 5 I know not whether in our Prophet is more to be respected Gods punishment or his protection If we thinke vpon his drowning he doth fauour him since he had at hand a great fish to receiue him so that he did not perish If we thinke of the time and place where he lay and how long that is in the dungeon of that fishes belly for three dayes and three nights it doth double and often multiply Gods angry wrath vpon him The euent doth giue this testimony that since Ionas howsoeuer at the first he fell was appointed and predestinated to good and not to euill his deliuerance was as readie as his chastisement was for him one hand to cast him downe another to helpe him vp when the ship might not any longer containe him the fishes bellie was in steede of a sea-vessell to bring him on toward Niniue But in the meane while his lying was such in so many dreades and horrours and anguishes for his life nay for doubte of the life eternall because wrath was vpon him which endangered his best part euen his inward man and his soule that many deaths had bene easier then a languishing in that prison where now he had his best repose So sowre a thing is sinne and disobedience to the Lord. It may be sweete in the mouth but it is bitter in the belly like a cup of deadly poyson Certainely it is a daughter of those Locustes which haue faces faire as men but killing stings in their tailes It is pleasure with too much paine sweete meate with too sharpe sauce And therefore it may well be likened to that herbe Sardonia in Sardinia of the which Solinus writeth that it maketh the eaters thereof to looke as if they laughed but in their laughing they dye Thus Ionas is preserued but to testifie Gods displeasure in the meanes of his preseruation he endureth full many sorowes Let vs now see if you please what that was whereby God so wrought for him The Lord prepared a great fish to swallow 6 In the Hebrew it is a great fish but it is not added of what kinde or species this fish was Our Sauiour Christ doth briefly touch this storie and there the Euangelist in the Greeke doth vse the word Ketos which although sometimes like to the Latine Cete it be applied to diuerse sorts of great fishes yet properly it noteth that one who is the king of fishes and ruler of the sea Balaena the great whale and it is euermore so Englished in that text A fish which in diuerse seas is of seuerall shapes and fashions as in the Indian Oceane in the red sea neare Arabia in the Northren waters toward Island and in our English Oceane but euery where verie huge and euery where very mighty And so this had neede to be who had so wide a mouth as to receiue the Prophet who had so large a throate as to swallow him and not hurt him who had so vaste a paunch as to lodge him there and not stifle him A matter to some men incredible that among all liuing creatures should be any so capacious but so vndoubtedly a knowne truth to men that liue neare the sea or that haue trauelled much by ship and a verity so confirmed so consented vpon by all who haue read the writers either olde or new vpon that argument that he were a man much absurde who would make question of it They all agree that at sea there are fishes farre exceeding the greatest beast on land And thereof particularly Olaus Magnus doth assigne these reasons the abundance of the moysture which is fit to dilate and increase any liuing creature and the very great depth vvhere is both store of foode and safe meanes to escape such other fishes as are ready to hurt them They farther adde that the Elephant is but little when he is compared with these water-monsters That the bellies and mouthes and throtes of some fishes are so spacious that a man may well be receiued in by them Gulielmus Rondeletius who hath taken great paines in displaying the proportions and qualities of fishes as appeareth in that excellent worke of Gesner De Aquatilibus for those two are oft ioyned together reporteth of a little small fish in comparison of a whale which he calleth by the name of Lamia that in the Mediterrane sea some of those haue oftentimes bene found hauing a whole man swallowed into each of their bellies Yea he telleth that neare vnto Marseilles an auncient city oâ— Fraunce there haue bene found of them which haue had within them virum loricatum a man in some kind of armour So huge-bellied is this fish which commeth not neare to the great ones 7 But for the whale it selfe if any list to reade of the bignesse of it and should esteeme that too much Pliny speaketh positiuely that in the Indian seas there are some of two hundred cubites in length and the same Pliny out of the bookes of Iuba that in the seas neare Arabia haue bene seene some of foure hundred cubites for so much is sixe hundred feete which also Munster deliuereth to vs in the fifth of his Cosmography then let him heare what Dion a good Historien doth lay downe of certainty in his fifty and fourth booke and that is that in the dayes of Augustus sometimes Emperour of Rome a whale leaped to the land out of the Germane Ocean full twenty foote in breadth and threescore foote in length This was so bigge a body as might well receiue the Prophet But adde to this what I find in Gesner taken
Sathan is more desirous to swallow vs into hell then the whale was to deuour the Prophet that he will free vs from that enemie and bring vs into his kingdome there to raigne with his owne Sonne to both whome and the holy Spirite be laud and praise immortall Amen THE X. LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 2. The anguish of Ionas in the whale 3. The vse and force of prayer 6. Our negligence herein 8. Inuocation is to be vsed to God onely 10. Some things in the Fathers fauouring inuocation of Saints 11. Those places discussed 14. Some of the ancient are against praying to Saints 15. Afflictiō stirreth vs vp to piety 19. The great miserie of the Prophet 21. We are to repute God the authour of our afflictions 22. God heareth our prayers 23. There are circumstances to be obserued in prayer Ionah 2.1.2.3 Then Ionah prayed vnto the Lord his God out of the fishes belly And said I cried in my affliction to the Lord and he heard me out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heardest my voice For thou hadst cast me into the bottome in the midst of the sea and the flouds compassed me about all thy surges and all thy waues passed ouer me WHen Ionas was in the sea being cast out by the mariners and was now of all likelyhood ready to be drowned God had a fish prepared as before you haue heard to swallow vp the Prophet And in the belly thereof he lay three daies and three nights after such a manner as was neuer heard of before but no doubt much tormented between hope and distrust almost quite in dispaire yet by faith againe comforted This faith of his when at length it had preuailed he breaketh forth euen there in prison into good meditations and after his deliuerie when he wrote this prophecie he digested them into a prayer which is here set downe in a kind of Hebrew verse not much vnlike to the Lyrikes of the Greek or Latin Poets Those words which I haue read vnto you are some part of this prayer and that which followeth after is another part in both which if something sound as from him being in danger and some thing againe as from him being escaped impute the one vnto the time wherein he did write it and the other to those conflicts which he sustained while he lay in the belly of the whale where his bitter meditations and troubled thoughts did answere vnto that which is here proposed vnto vs. 2 For the space of those three dayes he did not lye asleepe as a man in a traunce or one vnsensible amated for right happie he had bene if that might haue be fallen him but boiling in the extremitie of anguish and great sorrow as he that had on him a burthen so vnsupportable by his shoulders that he knew not how to turne him or to manage himselfe He felt the wrath of God perpetuated on him without intermission which wrath was not contented to haue him ouer ship-boord and so once to drowne him but dying he must liue and liuing he must dy in a torturous execution so terribly and vncomfortably that the like had bene neuer heard of The horror of death still present yet prolōged stil in the middle of the sea in the belly of a whale a prison and monstrous dungeon did vrge him oft to tremble but the feeling of Gods displeasure vpon his soule for sinne and the very great expectatiō of eternall pains in hell what thoughts did these now raise in him Now the soure of his disobedience is fully tasted by him he may tumble it and reuolue it and chew it againe againe Now if Niniue had bene distant as farre as the Easterne Indies or the South part of Aethiopia there he had bene sure to be murthered and massacred by the tyrannie of the gouernour or ruler of that countrie he could haue bene wel cōtented to haue gone thither euen bare-footed thanked God on his knees who had brought him to such a bargaine For it is better to trace ouer all the world then once to go to hell better to suffer many sorrowes in body then in soule to die eternally With which thoughts being so perplexed as neuer was man before him not knowing what else to do with a faith tried in out ouer ouer again he falleth at length to prayer the effect wherof is in this second chapter by it selfe laid downe vnto vs. But because this prayer is so lōg as that at many seueral times it must be handled for distinction and orders sake I thinke good first to deuide it into a Preface and a Prayer The Preface is in the first verse the Prayer in that which followeth And there what subdiuisions are afterward to be made it shall in his place appeare The Preface noteth these two things what he did that is pray and to whome vnto the Lord his God Then Ionah prayed 3 Many are the temptations and spirituall inuasions which in this life do befall vs while the enemie of mankind doth often assaile vs by himselfe and by the world and by our owne flesh that domesticall foe and many are the afflictions which the great God in his wisedome and our good Father in his loue doth lay sharply vpon vs to punish vs for our sinnes to make triall of our patience to strengthen vs in the faith to make vs loath the world to teach vs true humilitie to inure vs to a suffering of greater things for his sake for so many are the ends wherfore he sendeth his crosse to those whom he best fauoreth In respect whereof our life is by Iob well called a warfare wherin we are to fight wrastle against great matters to the which Saint Paule alluding saith that he had fought a good fight being exercised all his time against powers and principalities against anguishes and great grieuances much within more without The onely stay of all which perplexities in the very best of Gods children is earnest and heartie prayer to him who sitteth aboue who plucketh downe and setteth vp who ouerturneth and raiseth who striketh and then maketh whole who correcteth and then comforteth who bringeth to the pit of euill and then doth not cast in who tempteth not aboue our strength but in the midst of temptation doth giue an issue that we may be able to beare it The sacrificing of our souls vnto this blessed Father the bēding of our knees the bedeawing of our cheeks the lifting vp of our hands the beating of our brest but withall and aboue all the compunction of our hearts and the earnestnesse of our spirites are the altar that we must flye to are the anchor that wee must trust to This is that chaine whereof one end is tyed to the eare of God and the other end to our toung if we plucke he will listen if we call he will hearken 4 Then it is for our good that so often in the
booke of God prayer is both commended and commanded to vs and not any way for his profit who is to be sought too but for ours who are to cry Aske and it shall be giuen you knocke and it shall be opened to you Watch and pray saith our Sauiour Christ. Continue sayth Paule in prayer Is any of you afflicted let him pray sayth Saint Iames for the prayer of a righteous man preuaileth much if it be feruent The faithfull euermore haue had recourse to this in their necessity as when Iacob feared Esau he called on the name of the Lord that he would send him safety When the Israelites were driuen to that extremity that nothing in mans reason but present death did remaine for them behind them being Pharao and their enemies to slay them before them the red sea a fit place to drowne them then Moses being troubled in his spirit although he sayd neuer a word hauing his heart as bleeding within him cried vnto the Lord. When it went hard with that people fighting against the Amalekites what did Moses but pray for them when he held vp his hands from which when by wearinesse he did cease they sped ill but while he continued it they did conquer What are the Psalmes of Dauid but recourses in his passions vnto the highest God Did not Ieremy in the pit and bottome of the dungeon fall to calling vpon the Lord And our Prophet in worse case then euer was any of these had nothing else to comfort him but to addresse himselfe to his prayers When all other helpes do faile yet this is neare at hand we neede not runne farre to seeke it And blessed is the reward which oftentimes doth follow these requests either the hauing of that which we desire or a contententednesse to leaue it 5 The Church of God and the faithfull haue euermore retained the vse hereof somtimes men which haue bene infidels haue bene glad to seeke to them for it When the Emperor Marcus Aurelius had almost lost his army in Germany for want of water a legion of the Christians which were then in his seruice had recourse vnto this remedy and by vehement inuocation did begge raine at Gods hands which he sent them in great abundance to the amazing of the Emperour but the safety of all his army That noble and mighty Constantine knowing that one in heauen is the true Lord of hostes and all victory commeth of him that the ioyning of a battell is the loosing of a kingdome vnlesse he do assist would neuer enter fight but that first himselfe and his forces with knees bended vpon the ground would desire the Lord to blesse them When his enemies on the other side and Licinius aboue other would begin with incantation and seeking to the Diuell But the good Emperour hauing many things of great waight still vpon him which he knew not how to weild without the helpe of the Highest and that was to be had for asking did so delight in prayer that in memory thereof not as the dissembling Pharisee but in true feare to his God and the better to instruct his people in it by his owne example he ordained that his image which we know that Princes do vse to coine vpon their money should be stamped with the resemblance of him praying The example of Theodosius is in this case not vnfit Being in a battell which was hardly fought on both parts but at length his men being put to the worse and now apparantly ready to flye he throweth himselfe on the ground and with all the powers of his soule he desireth the Lord to pity him and to prosper him in that daunger God heard the voice of his seruant and in miraculous manner did graunt to him the victory To this comfort he found that of Origene to be true One holy man preuaileth more in praying then innumerable sinners do with their fighting For the prayer of a holy man doth pierce vp to the heauen I need not vrge other examples of other in latter ages who haue euermore made this their refuge in daungers and extremities to flye with speede vnto the Lord. For Diuinity buildeth vpon it Christianity doth enforce it no faithfull man maketh doubt of it very Ethnickes in their seruices to their Gods continually did frequent it and openly did practise it 6 In the meane while the supine security of our age shall I say cannot be inough rebuked nay cannot be inough lamented of which it may be sayd as one speaketh of the Monkes that their fasts are very fat but their prayers exceeding leane for if we will compare matters that be in secret with such things as are open and iudge the one by the other how cold are all our prayers If we looke into our Churches we shall find many of our Pastours to go through their common prayers with very small deuotion little mooued and little moouing The people that is not onely young ones who are of-ward inough from God and whose feeling is not so passionate as the Lord in time may make it but the elder sort very slowly do repaire vnto the tabernacle euery light occasion doth keepe them away halfe-seruice doth serue the turne and for that which is it were as good to be neuer a whit as not to be the better they sit there as in a giddinesse neither minding God nor the Minister but rather obseruing any thing then that for which they come thither If it be thus in publicke what may be thought of those prayers which in secret are powred forth betweene God and our selues in our closets or our studies when we rise vp or lye downe It is to be feared that they are few and those which be are very sleepy rather perfunctory and customary then warmed with zeale of affection And how shall God know what we say when we our selues do not know how shall he heare that prayer which we our selues do not heare Let vs brethren stirre vp our selues and be feruent in this if in any thing and the tutour for his scholers the parents for his children the maister for his family the Magistrate for his people the Minister for his flocke pray euery day that the Lord will blesse them in their inward man and their outward in their businesses and their studies in their piety and their safety Remember how holy Iob did sacrifice for his children least in vanity of their youth they should forget the Lord. 7 And let euery man for himselfe giue no rest to his God but begge of him oftentimes to double and multiply his gracious spirite on him For how dangerous are these wayes wherein we here do walke What perils and great hazards are euery day about vs What drawings on are there to sinne what entisements to iniquity How is the Diuell more ready to swallow vs into hell then the fish was to swallow Ionas What Atheisme doth increase what worldly lusts
affections Yea we may see many more things to pricke vs on to sollicite the Lord of all importunely The dearth which doth now raigne in many parts of this land which doth little good to the rich but maketh the poore to pinch for hunger and the children to cry in the streetes not knowing where to haue bread And if the Lord do not stay his hand the dearth may be yet much more In like sort the safety of Gods Church which in England and in Ireland yea in many parts else of Christendome as Scotland Fraunce and Flaunders much dependeth vnder God on the good estate of her Maiesty the hand maide of Christ Iesus whose life we see to be aimed at by the cursed brood of Sathan vnnaturall home-bred English And were it not that his eye who doth neuer slumber nor sleep did watch ouer her for our good it had oft bin beyond mans reason that their plots shold haue bene preuented The spoiles of the Turke in Hungary and his threats to the rest of Christendome should wring from vs this consideration that he is to be called on who can put a hooke in his nostrels and turne him another way as he once did by Sennacherib There should be in vs a sympathy and fellow-feeling with our brethren These things in generall to all and in particular to each should remember vs to breake forthinto inuocation with the Prophet It is that which God loueth in vs it is that which Christ with his precept and example hath taught vnto vs. He prayed oft to his father and continued whole nights in praier and as Saint Cyprian doth well gather if he did so who sinned not what should we do who sinne so deepely He prayed to the Lord his God 8 The next circumstance in this preface is to whom the Prophet prayed He prayed to the Lord his God where this note may specially be giuen that this offending soule doth yet dare by his faith to make so neare application as that the Lord is his God Which point because it is plainer in the sixth verse of this Chapter where he saith ô Lord my God I will deferre it thither My generall obseruation here is that he prayed to the Lord. And as his case required this because none else could helpe him and he was to be sought vnto by submission and humility who before was by sinne offended so doth the Lord appropriate this honor to himselfe and will not haue any other to be serued with this sacrifice He is a ielous God and will not impart his honor to any of his creatures But he accounteth that the greatest argument of duty which is in man to be sought to and solicited by the sighes of the heart and by the grones of the mind Call on me in the day of trouble saith himself by Dauid and I wil heare thee and thou shalt praise me And Christ citeth this as a matter appertaining vnto all Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue But in this inuocation is the Maiesty of his seruice And if we did want other to be called on or prayed to it should argue that our God either could not or would not heare vs. The one denieth his Omnipotency the other doth clip his mercy But we acknowledge both The Lord is neare vnto all that call vpon him yea all such as call on him in truth Then we neede no intercessours but him who is the mediator of the New Testament Iesus Christ. We embrace the faith of the martyrs we loue the loue of the Apostles so farre foorth as we may we imitate the obedience of the good Angels in heauen and we thanke God for proposing such holy examples to vs but we dare not call on these least we should be accounted guilty of robbery to their maister Whose meaning if it had bene to bestow any of his honour or a portion of his glory on any of his creatures he surely would haue let vs knowne it But through all the Old and New Testament is no commandement no example no reason why we should do it 9 Nay we haue much to the contrary As first that it may be sayd that God alone is there called on which in the whole Bible is sounded out vnto vs. And secōdly we may know that howsoeuer in general the Saints which raigne triūphing in heauē do pray for the cōsūmatiō of Gods grace on their brethrē who are militant vpon earth which may not amisse be gathered frō the soules vnder the altar from the 8. of the Reuelation the reformed Churches in no sort do deny this yet we are not to beleeue that in particular maner they know the deeds of one man or heare the vowes of another but specially vnderstand the secret thoughts of the hart which in praiers do most preuaile We find otherwise in Iob that a dead man doth not know if his sons shall be honorable neither doth he vnderstand concerning them vvhether they shall be of low degree The speech is of all dead generally He knoweth not of his owne children much lesse of other men whether that they be in honour which is an outward occurrent and sensible to the eye much lesse what they thinke in heart which is proper to the Almighty That place in Iob made Aquinas to acknowledge that the soules of those which are departed hence do ex se of themselues know nothing done vpon earth but sayth he those which are in blessednesse do take knowledge of our deedes by reuelation from God But neither he nor any of the Papists do prooue out of the Scripture that God reuealeth such things to the blessed which are in heauen That remaineth to be confirmed We may ioyne to that of Iob the confession of the people Doubtlesse thou art our father though Abraham be ignorant of vs and Israel know vs not yet thou ô Lord art our father and our redeemer and thy name is for euer Then the Patriarkes did not know and wherefore should they now For that then they were in Limbus is an vntrue faithlesse fable without any ground of Gods word Yet it is maruell to see how stifly the Church of Rome doth maintaine in Saints and the Virgin Mary the hearing of those which pray and their intercession for vs. He that shall looke into their reformed Breuiary for in the old many things were worse shall see that they are much called on nay that God himselfe is requested that by the merits of them and by their mediation we may attaine saluation There the Virgin Mary is called porta coeli peruia the gate to passe through to heauen and she is prayed vnto that she herselfe will take pity vpon offending men And as they say if these things be not in the Scripture yet our duty and the complements which we owe vnto Christ himselfe do require it at our hands and all Antiquity
we not learned that lesson to distinguish men from God the inspired workes of the one from the doubtfull words of the other We hold nothing for Canonicall but the writ of the holy Bible It is God which cannot lye but euery man is a lier Heare Saint Austen himselfe here I hold not the Epistles of Cyprian for Canonicall but I try them and examine them from the Canonicall Scripture So to Fortunatianus We are not to esteeme the disputings of any yea although Catholike cōmēdable men to be as the Canonicall Scriptures so that sauing the honour which is due to those men we may not dislike and reiect any thing in their writings if we find that they haue thought otherwise then the truth hath as it shall by Gods helpe be vnderstood either by other or our selues Thus do I in the writings of others and such vnderstanders of mine would I haue other men to be Whatsoeuer then they shall teach which hath not his foundation vpon the rocke of Gods truth we leaue it and passe by it and among other things inuocation of Saints or of any other creature But yet this may be sayd farther that from diuerse of the writings of the Auncient it may be shewed that this was by some of them held vnlawfull Among the workes of Saint Ambrose is found a certaine Commentary on Paules Epistle to the Romanes and therin there is setdowne for an obiection the reason of the Romish Church that none dare to approch the persō of an earthly Prince for any sute but by the intercession of some courtier or other about him therfore it should be so of our part toward God vnto whose mighty Maiesty we must vse the mediatiō of some which are in his fauor The absurdnesse of this comparison is answered there in a word that the reason is most vnlike because Princes are men know not of themselues to whom to commit the common-wealth He meaneth that they haue their power and presence and vnderstanding limited they must be helped by the information of such as are knowne vnto them but to God nothing is secret himselfe doth take notice of it His conclusion at the last is that to win God vnto vs from whom nothing lieth hid but he knoweth the deserts of all men we need not any to speake for vs or to helpe vs in our prayer but only a deuout mind Ioyne hereto the witnesse of Origene When Celsus had obiected that first the Iewes and then the Christians did worship and pray to Angels Origene in his first booke against him doth disclaime it but much more in the fifth booke telling plainely that God alone was to be prayed to and not Angels We are not bid to adore the Angels or worship them with diuine honour although they bring the gifts of God vnto vs. For all vowes all requests prayers and thankesgiuings are to be directed to God who is the Lord of all things by the chiefe Priest vvho is greater then all Angels that is the liuing vvord and God And hauing adioyned something of the vnknowne nature of the Angels that we cannot comprehend it he addeth that this should restraine vs that none should dare to offer prayers but only vnto the Lord God who alone is abundantly sufficient for all through our Sauior the Son of God He that listeth to read the place shall find yet farther matter making for my present purpose Lactantius sayth that those Angels whose honour is in God will haue no honour giuen to them Yea Austen himselfe denieth that to Angels to Martyrs and to Saints which might as well be done as to seeke to them in prayer We build no Churches to Angels And elsewhere sayth he Who euer heard the Priest to say at the altar I offer to thee a sacrifice Peter or Paule or Cyprian And is it more to build a materiall Church to them then to offer to their seruice our bodies which are the spirituall temple of the holy Ghost Or to offer corporall sacrifice then to offer spirituall sacrifice of prayer and inuocation I wil end this whole matter with a saying of Chrysostome Let vs still flye vnto God who is both willing and able to ease our miseries If we were to intreate men we must first meete with the doore keepers and perswade parasites and players and oftentimes go a great way But in God there is no such thing Without a mediator he is to be intreated without mony without cost he yeeldeth to our prayers Since then that men are so doubtful but God himselfe is so peremptory that nothing but the Trinity is to be sought vnto by sacred inuocation let the Church of Rome in this be distinguished from the Church of God and let vs learne here of Ionas when misery ouerwhelmeth vs to pray only vnto the Lord. And thus farre of the Preface Affliction maketh men godly 15 The prayer it selfe is long and offereth much doctrine to vs but in these two former verses three things may be obserued First that affliction is the meanes to beate men vnto piety I cried in mine affliction Secondly that the misery of the Prophet was very great from the belly of hell I cried and all thy waues did go ouer me And thirdly that when he cried the Lord did heare his voice Thou heardest my voice To touch them briefly as they lye He that was contented before quite to renounce his maister he that was so farre forgetfull as that when he should haue gone for his Lord to preach at Niniue would take a course vnto Tarshus about businesse of his owne he that before was so hardened that he could sleepe most soundly when he had more neede to awake he that could giue leaue to the mariners to pray to a God whom they knew not but he himselfe was not so holy being now in the fishes belly so lashed whipped with iustice thinketh it not inough to pray but he crieth out with great vehemency in earnest harty maner not coldly or at all aduentures as the hypocrites who somtimes do slubber vp a few praiers but with the soule and the mind and with all the powers of his spirit Oh the true force of the crosse of calamity and of misery which maketh vs remember that whereof else we should neuer thinke God saith by his prophet Osee that his people in their affliction would seeke him diligently So when by his seruant Esay he had threatned the crosse before At that day sayth he shall a man looke to his maker and his eyes shall looke to the holy one of Israel So in the time of the Iudges Thus was Israel exceedingly impouerished by the Madianites therefore the children of Israel cry vnto the Lord. The Scripture is very copious in examples of this kind but yet hath none fitter then this of our Prophet For he whō fauour could not mooue to stand when he was vpright the rod did force him to labour
to get vp againe when he was fallen The prison could make him humble whom liberty had enraged The darknesse in the whales belly doth more bring him vnto light euen the true and heauenly light then the sight of Sunne or firmament Thus restaint doth make him holy to the great benefit of his soule cleane contrary to that Prouerbe Non vsquam belli carceres Prisons are good in no place 16 That aduersity and the crosse should be a dore to deuotion is without question a Paradoxe to repining flesh bloud which doth euer loue to be in iolity but yet vnto a Christian mā it is a principle of a sound truth For when we do luxuriate and grow riotous in the gallantnesse of this world and haue all things at our pleasure we forget that God who made vs who doth cause his Sun to shine on vs and with the vntamed heyfer which is full fed growne perfectly wanton we kicke against the sole author of our happinesse beatitude with the Magnificoes of the world and great-mouthed Gloriosoes we do both cōtemne our brethren and speake against the Highest But affliction doth humble vs make vs know our selues as it did Manasses the king of Iuda who being in chaines did thriue more for his soule then he did in his royall pallaces It maketh to vs say with Dauid O Lord it is good for vs that we haue bene in trouble And with Ieremy lamenting It is good for a man that he beare the yoke in his youth When the soueraigne dispenser of all things by his wisdom doth consider that this is our case by his sober and sage prouidence he somtimes sendeth prosperity lest we should be discouraged broken by calamity but he often sendeth aduersity to exercise vs here lest we should be puffed vp by the abundance of his mercy And while his hand is vpon vs we which else are stiffe and stubburne will in pliable maner bend When Numa had broched in Rome a set order of seruice vnto their heathen Gods and had possessed the people with it his successor Tullus Hostilius not only did neglect it but contemned it as accounting that no one thing did lesse beseeme a king then to yeeld himselfe to ceremonies and sacrifices of religion But when he dad proceeded long and gone forward in this veine a great pestilence grew in Rome and himselfe lay afterward long languishing of a sicknesse This did so abate the spirits plucke downe the hart of the king that he who before despised al did now yeeld himselfe to all both great and small superstitions and filled the peoples heads with a multitude of religions Looke what effect these things had with him in his heathenish errours the same in Christian obedience doth tribulation bring to many of Gods elect this only thing excepted that these flye superstition Those who in their yonger dayes and in the strength of their time haue scorned the word and the ministery and haue made no kind of conscience of theft or fornication but haue sucked them in as water being afterward pinched with pouerty or banishment or imprisonment or especially with sicknesse which giueth a man right good leysure if it be long and sharpe on him to bethinke himselfe of his follies with contrition of the hart and compunction in great measure do flye vnto the Lord and with many teares wash away the blacknesse of their iniquity 17 Then they desire to be with God and to leaue this vale of misery which lately they embraced as their greatest treasure and preferred it before their owne saluation and the delight whereof they would yet haue followed after but that misery and calamity did enforce them otherwise Wherein we may well obserue that nothing so much as affliction doth make vs loue our end by loathing the bitter potions which we daily do tast of When Elias was chased by Iezabel and was comfortlesse in the wildernesse he crieth Now it is enough Lord take away my soule for I am no better then my fathers But if this gall and wormewood were turned into sugred hony we should not hasten from this place but yet we be not readie stay a little and a little Plutarke in his Pelopidas telleth that Antigonus had a souldier who being vexed with an ill disease and so loathing to liue was alwaies formost in his seruices were it skirmish or other fight and was so resolute as no man in the army The Generall much liking this cast such an affection to the valure of the man that to his great expence he caused him to be cured who held himselfe lately incurable But then looking that his souldier should be forward as before he found him to do far otherwise and now neuer offer to come in daunger Asking the reason of this his souldier maketh him answere that now he had somewhat to loose that was a healthfull and sound bodie with which he should grieue to part but before when he was in miserie he had thought his case should haue bene very happie if he might haue bene dead and buried The wisedome of the Almightie did foresee that in vs which Antigonus found but afterward that we who in anguish and persecution do desire the company of the elect who are triumphant in heauen and with Saint Paule do long to be dissolued would lye groueling in prosperitie as tyed and glued to the ground and therefore in his loue he doth whip vs oftentimes that we may seeke vnto him that we may sue to be with him 18 This is one great occasion wherfore the Lord doth send his chastisemēt vpon vs yet in the meane while also he doth aime at this that we tasting of that bitternesse which other things yeeld vnto vs may euermore fly to him by prayer meditatiō may be reposed on him when other things do annoy vs when other things do affright vs. It is a good comparison which Chrysost hath in this case that mothers do vse with vizards bug-beares to fright their vnruly children to make thē fly to their lap not willing to hurt the infants but to make them sit close by them So God desiring to ioyne vs fast to himself being a true louer of vs doth permit that oftentimes we are brought to such necessitie that perpetually we may intend to prayer and calling vpon him and leauing all other things be onely carefull of him Such an attractiue violence and violent attraction is in the crosse to draw vs as wel as Ionas vnto the Lord. Happy men if we could see it and make that benefite of it which if we will not learne at first he will come againe vnto vs and double his rods vpon vs if we belong to his election In the meane time we must learne with patience to suffer whatsoeuer commeth from the Lord since besides all other vses it bringeth that good vnto vs as to driue vs to our duties and obedience to our God Our land hath
long felt the sweetnesse of the Lords distilling grace prosperitie peace and plentie which maketh men forget the authour of their felicitie They with the Oxe haue tasted the fodder that lieth before thē but they haue not thought of the giuer Oh the blockishnesse of our nature who returne to God little loue for his great loue vnto vs. Our neighbours of Fraunce and Flaunders haue drunke of another cuppe and haue taken another course Some yeares now past religion and true faith hath bene oppugned in France Edicts haue bene made that the Protestants or Huguenots as they call them should get them out of that countrie within such a time or such a space vnder perill of their liues Thousands of them haue fled and left their natiue countrie but not the care of their countrie for although they were elsewhere wishing still good to Sion they haue harkened after the aduentures of that Church and commonwealth and haue found both to be in hazard Many inuasions and great slaughters and ciuill warres in that land wherein those that haue bene the pillars of religion in that countrey haue bene oftentimes shrewdly shaken This hath caused them as London doth well know to assemble thēselues together in their Churches with solemne fasts and prayers which of likelyhood they had not done but that they saw themselues to be fallen into most perillous times These assemblies and these fasts being many more then we haue had did argue that more affliction was on them then on vs which made them so to cry I would that we might learne by their example to be wise before that we be stricken But if peace do lull vs asleepe the rod it is which can awake vs. That we find by our Prophets case in whome the next thing which I obserued is the greatnesse of his calamitie The greatnesse of his misery 19 In the last place I haue noted that misery mindeth God vnto vs. Then the greater our miserie is the more is our mind on our maker If this be true our Ionas might well cry to the Lord for great and exceeding troubles were at this time shewed vnto him He saith that he was in hell yea in the belly and midst of hell and in the third verse plainer that he was throwne into the bottome in the very heart of the sea for so it is in the Hebrew that all the flouds had passed ouer him all the surges and all the waues What can be expressed more horrible then this was vnto Ionas The word which is vsed here is Sheol which sometimes doth note the graue vnto vs and other some times hell and that double signification together with the like in some few other words doth cause that question so oft handled of the manner of Christs descending into hell But partly because I loue not to extrauagate from my text although occasion be here well offered by the nature of the word bearing so plaine a difference but especially in a desire of vnitie in our Church least some by contradiction should gainesay whatsoeuer is vttered in this argument so apt are we to be iarring which I wish were otherwise I passe ouer that point in silence onely obseruing vnto the weake that we all do hold the Article of Christs descense into hell but the disagreement is in the manner of his descending and how that should be expounded The Prophets words here import that he was in the fishes belly as a mā might be in his graue without light without sight in darknesse and discomfort neuer hoping more to liue then a man who was dead and buried Or else that he felt in himselfe such anguish of his conscience because Gods wrath did follow him and because he knew that himselfe had deserued euerlasting torment that now he was so tortured with an Hyperbole speaking of it as if he had bin in hell The Chaldee Paraphrase here hath a word signifying a bottomelesse pit which intendeth to vs that the sea was very deepe wherein he was as if he had bene drowned And this may be an argument that the sea was very deep there that the whale which deuoured him was there whose greatnesse was such and so huge that it would require much water The whale swimmeth not in the shallowes neither can remaine in the foords 20 The greatnesse of this danger so amplified by the Prophet in many parts of his song first could not chuse but much dismay him and fright him home for the present for what could he thinke of himselfe that drowned he was and not drowned eaten vp and not deuoured and yet for euery moment in case to come to his end besides the pangs of his soulefearing eternall death Secondly when afterward he had by the mercie of God escaped from destruction it might be a great remembrance and testimonie to him of the fauour of the Lord. For the greater was his daunger the greater was his deliuerance Neither doth that man euer know what it is to be freed from miserie who was neuer like to feele it To be brought to the pits brinke and then and there to be stayed nay to be in the midst of death and there to be kept from dying must needes vrge in the patient a meditation of thankfulnesse That consideration of Ammianus Marcellinus in his storie is very good that although it be a matter exceedingly to be wished for that fortune would continue in flourishing state vnto vs yet that quality of life hath not that feeling with it as whē frō a desperate very hard estate we are recalled to a better fortune We better know what health is when sicknesse hath much broken vs. We know what it is to haue store of clothing and competent foode if hunger and thirst and nakednesse do for a time assaile vs. It is a prety reason although the practise thereof were bad which Herodotus saith that the Samian tyrant Polycrates did vse to make He very much exercised piracie and robberie as well by land as sea and his custome was to spoile his friends as much as his enemies whereof he assigned that cause that when he shold vnderstand afterward that his friend was robbed of any thing he might gratifie that friend more in restoring what he had lost then if he had taken nothing from him I do not commend his thieuing but his reason had wit meaning God knoweth that whē himselfe taketh from vs such things as are not ours we are but his disposers or as tenants at will vnto him he maketh vs so much the more embrace his mercie who hath sent grace in wretchednesse and present comfort in extremitie Our Prophet in his suffering had good experience of these things which maketh him the rather breake forth into a song of thankesgiuing 21 Thou hadst cast me into the bottome in the very midst of the sea as if he should haue said now it is otherwise and the more am I beholding to thee Where also obserue his speech
that he referreth all his punishment to the hand of the Lord. He speaketh not of the mariners by whose meanes it was done much lesse doth he reuile them as in our time wicked offending persons oft do to the magistrates or Iudges or other officers who do but see that to be done which iust law layeth vpon thē and they wilfully haue deserued But Ionas passing by the instrument and meanes whereby God wrought seeketh vnto the fountaine and originall of the deede He acknowledgeth that his maker was he who was offended that his hand had corrected him that his wrath must be satisfied but by all other he passeth That euill Ioram did not so when his citie of Samaria was oppressed with a famine so grieuous that the mother did eate her owne child which extremity it is likely that the Prophet Elizaeus did foretell should fall vpon them for the greatnesse of their sin But then he in stead of looking vpward to God whom he should haue sought vnto by fasting and by prayer turneth his anger on the Prophet the minister of the Almightie and voweth himselfe to much euill if innocent Elizaeus were not put to death that day Blind man who could not looke higher and see whose messenger the Prophet was How much better was Iobs behauiour for when newes was brought vnto him that the Sabees and Chaldeans by violence and strong hand had taken away his Oxen and robbed him of his Camels he did not straight way curse those sinners and wish much euill on them but not so much as naming them did fasten his thoughts on God and imputed all vnto him saying most patiently The Lord hath giuen and the Lord hath taken it blessed be the name of the Lord. I would that men in our time could carry his resolution When ought amisse doth befall them to haue recourse to the Highest and to suppose that either he doth trie them or doth punish thē for their sinnes or hath some other good purpose But we rather run to any thing then that which most doth vrge vs oft surmising that which is not and suspecting those that be innocents And if we can find the meanes whereby all is brought about we double our force on that this witch hath killed my beasts this wicked man hath vndone me this mightie man hath crossed me I would he were in his graue or some mischiefe else were on him Indeed I do not deny but that the euill are oftentimes the rods of God to chasten good men withall but yet thinke thou euermore that his hand is it which effecteth all that his stroke is in the action Fasten thy eyes on him and with sighing and true repentance seeke to appease his wrath and thē the meanes shall not touch thee no wicked thing shall haue power ouer thee But let this be thy song to vtter foorth with the Prophet thou hadst cast me into the water thou hast layed this crosse vpon me 22 The third circumstance now remaining is that God did heare his prayer I cryed in mine affliction and thou heardest me and againe O Lord thou heardst my voice You see that his woe was exceeding and after the common course of sorrow it droue him vnto his maker it enforced him to pray Where behold the comfort is that he did not loose his labour the Lord did heare his voice This euermore is his propertie to attend to those who sollicite him to respect those who call on him I called on the Lord in trouble saith Dauid and the Lord heard me at large So by Ieremie his seruant God promiseth to the Iewes and in them to all his Saints you shall cry to me and shall go and pray to me and I will heare you And you shall seeke and find me So respectiue is the Lord to those who fly to him which sheweth his great prerogatiue aboue all heathen idols who may be derided with Baal that either they are busie in following of their enemies or asleepe and must be awaked but surely they cannot heare But especially to vs it is comfort in extremity that if sicknesse or pinching pouertie or malice of any man nay if pangs of death do hurt vs or if in the soule which is our better part temptation ouercharge vs and Satans darts hardly driue at vs if we call vnto that Lord who can bind and loose and hath the keyes of hell and of death he can rid vs and deliuer vs. Yea he so yeeldeth to our prayers that they shall not returne in vaine but comfort at the least and patience in our miseries shall be bestowed vpon vs. It is a good speech in Cyprian if that tract be his De caena Domini In the presence of Christ our teares which are neuer superfluous do beg a pardon for vs neither euer doth the sacrifice of a contrite heart take repulse As often as in Gods sight I see thee to be sighing I doubt not but the holy Ghost doth breath vpō thee when I see thee weeping then I perceiue him pardoning This should be a great instigation that when any thing doth oppresse vs be it inward or be it outward we should runne vnto the Lord. So may also be that of Austen The prayer of the righteous is the key of heauen Prayer ascendeth vp and Gods mercie descendeth down Although the earth be low and the heauen high the Lord doth heare the tong of man if he haue a cleane conscience It speaketh with feeling if it be but onely our sigh A showre of the eyes is sufficient for his eares he doth sooner here our weeping then our speaking 23 I doubt not but all the faithfull do find this easily in thēselues that when they do lay open their soules before the Lord as Ezechias did the letters of Sennacherib when they do earnestly pray a deaw of consolation of most blessed consolation is distilled downe vpon them whereby they are assured that they haue to deale with a father who seeth their fraile infirmities and hath compassion on them Yea as a father doth pitie his children so hath the Lord compassion on all that do feare him for he knoweth wherof we be made he remembreth that we are but dust He knoweth vs to be most ignorant most foolish and vnfit for all goodnesse very impotent and vnable to keepe off wrong from our selues He knoweth this considereth it as euermore he supporteth vs keepeth vs to himself as the apple of his eye giuing when we demand not more then we thinke on so if we lift vp our voyces powre out our complaints before him he will neuer faile vs seeking him Onely this he claimeth of vs that we aske that which is fit not vanities or impieties or to bestow vpon our lustes for he denyeth these things to vs and our faith hath no warrant to aske such requests of the Lord. And againe that in those things which are lawfull we
appoint no time vnto him but in humility waite his leysure For as Chrysostome doth teach vs If to giue be in Gods power it is also in his power to giue when he thinketh good and the time he best knoweth himselfe If we do well keepe these things and earnestly and vncessantly do make our complaints before him he will deale with vs as he did with Ionas he will certainely heare our voice Lord send vs a mind to serue thee that by wilfull disobedience we plucke not thy punishments on vs and if we do turne from thee draw vs backe to thy selfe rather by thy temporall roddes being laid on vs in great measure then by heaping earthly pleasures thou shouldst suffer vs so to be choked with them that we should fall from thee vtterly Do thou chastise vs and correct vs in iugdement not in furie and there graunt vs a mind to see who it is that doth strike vs that so we may pray to thee to be eased in our affliction And of thy mercie adde this euermore to heare our prayer that so passing this troublesome life with fast hold layed on thy promises we may come at length to thy kingdome to the which ô Father bring vs for thine owne Sonne Christ his sake to whom with thee and thy Spirite be glorie and praise for euer To the Reader GOOD Reader the words of the text in the former Lecture ministred me occasion to shew who it is to whom our prayers are to be directed that is God alone and consequently that we should not vse any inuocation of Saints But in the handling of that question so largely out of the Fathers of the primitiue Church my purpose was not onely to settle the ignorant for their beliefe concerning that point but withall by example thereof to let the simpler sort see what is to be conceiued in other questions disputed betweene vs and the Church of Rome For the same may be said concerning the Primacie of Peter the merite of works free will prayer for the dead Purgatorie the most part of those controuersies which now a daies are handled They take on them to maintaine many of their positions if not directly out of the Scriptures yet from probable shewes out of some of the old Fathers who were great lights after the time of the Apostles But first many bookes pretended to belong to that reuerend age are counterfeits and start vp since the liues of those graue and godly writers and from these are many of the allegations taken Secondly the very auncient Fathers receiued some things as true without discussing whereinto when themselues vpon speciall occasions did iudiciously looke they were either of a contrarie opinion to their former or spake faintly and doubtfully Thirdly that which some of them taught was contradicted by other and so one part must needs erre Fourthly they were not so led by the immediate Spirit of God as those Secretaries of the holy Ghost who deliuered the canonicall Scriptures to the world therfore they are no farther to be allowed then where they consent with the most sacred written word and that is their owne iudgement of themselues Lastly there are many places cited by Bellarmine Stapleton and other the aduersaries of the Gospell which when they are diligently looked into and weighed by all circumstances do not purport that for the which they are produced Of all which obseruations it is easie to giue diuerse examples This I thought good to note lest weake brethren or credulous preiudicate persons shold be too much abused with the misapplied name of the old and most renoumed Church And whereas I haue shewed my opinion concerning the supposed strange shapes of men in many quarters of the world if anie should vrge any authour of former or later age against that my assertion in one word I account them all in that point to be fabulous and onely to haue receiued such rumours and vniustifiable traditions from hand to hand although some of them thinking thereby to procure to themselues the fame of men farre trauelled do aduouch that they haue seene such In our dayes God hath giuen light therfore let vs not still delight to be in blindnesse Onely this one scruple is to be remooued away that whereas cōstant report hath auerred this to be so in some one part of Peru is the South portion of the West and lately found Indies some men of good iudgement whose aduentures for nauigation that way haue nobilitated the discoueries performed or attempted by our English nation haue with firme credence entertained that for a very truth yet as I esteeme they may easily satisfie themselues in that behalfe by the full and sufficient report of Pedro de Cieca in his first part of the Chronicles of Peru chapter 26. who being a Spaniard borne and now more then fiftie yeares agone hauing spent seuenteene yeares in his personall peregrination ouer that countrey sheweth that not farre from the Line yea in more places of Peru then one there are people who being borne in naturall shape as other men yet do take their infants when they are but a few dayes old and by certaine deuises which they haue as with frames of wood and binding or swathing do make the head of such fashion as they would as some to be very long and some to be so crushed together that they haue no neckes but their heads seeme to be immediate parts of the trunke of their bodies And this contenteth me for the veritie of that matter and I doubt not but so it will to all other who desire in their minds to be perswaded of things as indeed they be and not as sometimes they seeme THE XI LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 1. Comfort here offered to the languishing soule 3. What it is to be cast from Gods sight 4. The feare of Ionas 5. The elect cannot perish 7. How Ionas is recouered by faith 8. and repentance 9. His desire to see the Temple 11. How the Church should be frequented 12. Against those that abstaine from it 13. The conflict in the Prophets conscience 14. Grieuous temptation is common to the godly 16. Why temptation is necessary 17. God doth protect vs in it 18. The benefite which redoundeth to vs by it 19. Helps against temptation Ionah 2.4 Then I said I am cast avvay out of thy sight yet I will looke againe toward thy holy Temple MAny are the instructions which this Prophecie hath yeelded in the hearing of most of you aduertisements and warnings against sinne disputations against Atheisme obseruations against Papisme in the person of the mariners comparisons of Gentiles with vs that be Christians and doctrines of diuerse sorts as Gods spirit from time to time hath assisted me But for informing of the conscience of a languishing sinner who groneth vnder the burthen of heauinesse and casting downe and is almost swallowed vp in the gulfe of desperation by reason of the feare of Gods displeasure for sin that hangeth vpon
him which things oftentimes befall some of the little ones of Christ Iesus no one matter in this Prophecie is more apparantly fruitfull or more worthie consideration then that which I haue now read For what can be more wholesome then Phisicke to the sicke or remedie to him that is readie to perish And who is more like to perish then he who feeleth no rest either inwardly or outwardly in bodie or in mind but as it were gasping for breath doth daily long for comfort in the middest of great distresses his case being this that sinne egerly insulteth Satan fiercely impugneth and his conscience beareth witnesse against his owne soule that in right iustice should destroy it To the reliefe of which tender ones as I could wish that our speech were oftner directed for it is a needfull argument to be handled and blessed is that speech which bindeth vp the broken and giueth life to the dying so the example of my Ionas doth fitly remember me to speake to this purpose because he is as a glasse for all such to looke in and thereby to see themselues and in his case to helpe themselues with the good assistance of that Spirit who herein is all in all 2 For in this man may be seene a most vehement and forcible conflict betweene faith and feare betweene hope and despaire betweene sinne and grace on this hand the flesh sinking with distrustfulnesse into the bottome of hell being like to acknowledge it selfe a forlorne creature a cast-away from God a reprobate from the promises as if it were some Cain or some Iudas but on the other hand the spirit foorthwith mounting into the bosome of the Sauiour and there apprehending mercie by remission of all iniquities and forgiuenesse of all transgressions In the meane while amidst the one raising vp and the other hanging downe is a combat of such bitternesse as maketh the endurer of it in the heate of the fishes stomacke oft times to quake for cold and in the cold of the sea oft times to sweate for heate Manie feuers and agues cannot shake him as his owne heart doth now shake him his boiling is like the fire his torture is like the hell How many crownes and kingdomes what thousands of gold and siluer what heapes of precious stones how many lands and seas and whole worlds would he giue if they were now in his power to be freed from such a torment as forced him with extremitie to say as here he said I am cast away from thy sight I am but a damned reprobate A very fearefull thought yet recouered again by confidence in Gods mercie which faileth not his at need so that thereby he is encouraged to hope that he shall see Hierusalem the sanctuarie of the Lord and his temple once againe Which recouerie of his shold make vs much admire Gods mercie and yet withal teach vs to worke out our saluation in great feare and great trembling But because this text doth note vnto vs some doctrine besides this and the illustration of that doth make a way for my purpose I will first touch the other obseruing in the generall words these three things to be handled First the deiection of our Prophet I am cast out of thine eyes Secondly his arising vp from that motion and new assurednesse of Gods fauour Yet I will looke againe toward thy holy temple And thirdly by a comparing of the one of these with the other the great conflict in his conscience I am cast away out of thy sight 3 The Antithesis put betweene the casting away from the sight of his God and the beholding of his temple is not to be taken coldly as if it intended barely that now he did not see the temple indeede but he should see it againe that now he had lost his countrey but after his deliuerance the time should come that he should returne thither as if he had made this accompt and no more that for a while he was depriued of some temporall fauours or terrestriall benedictions but should be restored for this had bene little and in comparison as nothing But it signifieth a suspition and mistrust of the losse of all Gods loue a putting out of his protection a reiecting or casting off to wrath and eternall damnation For the eyes of God being taken in good part in the Scripture do still import his fauour and in his fauour is life and happinesse and felicitie spirituall and celestiall Moses saith of the land of Canaan that it was not as the land of Egypt from vvhence they came that is a place hatefull to him inhabited with idolaters but the eyes of the Lord God are alwaies vpon this that is to say his gracious loue from the beginning of the yeare euen vnto the end of the yeare So God promiseth to Salomon in behalfe of the Temple at Ierusalē I haue hallowed this house which thou hast built to put my name there for euer and mine eyes and my hart shal be there perpetually that is my most kind blessing the presence of my grace So Dauid I said in my hast I am cast out of thy sight that is I am depriued of thy sweete assistance And in another place The eyes of the Lord are vpon the righteous As much as he doth tender them and cherish them with his prouidence It is the feare of our Prophet lest the kindnesse of his maker wherewith he had embraced him should be vtterly taken from him and now nothing but hell fire and brimstone should remaine for him to plague him in another world 4 The heauinesse of the hand of God which had followed after him with that rigour the multiplicitie of his punishment by a tempest while he was in the ship by drowning in the sea and by imprisonment in the whale the horrour of his transgression and disobedience toward his God the remembraunce of that grace before from which he was now fallen of a Prophet to become a runnagate do so amate his heart that when he thinketh of himselfe he resolueth as a despairing abiect that he hath no fellowship in the inheritance of Gods Saints but that as an outlaw he was quite to be secluded from the couenant So that now either he supposeth that he belongeth not to Gods election and that he had neuer bene booked in the register of those Saints which were appointed vnto life or that the Lord as a man doth varie and repent and had altered his purpose concerning him The first was against himselfe to thinke himselfe to be a reprobate appointed and predestinated before hand vnto euill And how wofull a thought was that to perswade his soule that nothing belonged vnto him but damnation The second was against the Highest that his counsels should depend vpon our mutabilitie as if his eternall purpose and decree which is from euerlasting were tyed to our well doing and did not much rather dispose vs and inable vs to do well Whomsoeuer he
anguish that he accounteth himselfe a reprobate and inheritour of hell fire He had bene a wofull man if he had stayed here disgraced and left by his Sauiour but as his soule was departing he fetcheth it backe againe with a sigh and gaspe of faith He plucketh in the reine of his owne heart he giueth the checke to himselfe he recouereth in the instant when he was in the pits mouth ready to sinke eternally This sheweth that in former time he had bene vsed to temptation being practised in Gods seruice he knew well what belonged to faith when he did so soone apprehend it He was not ignorant that he had offended and offended a fearefull God yet such a one as would haue compassion vpon a repenting sinner This griefe of his was sustained by a trust in Gods free promises who hath sayd that if the wicked will returne from all his sinnes that he hath committed and keepe all his statutes and do that which is lawfull and right he shall surely liue and shall not dye All his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned vnto him The two wings of faith and repentance do mount him vp into heauen euen from the gates of hell His faith kept him from blasphemy that in the heate of his extremity he had still a mind to God which maketh him speake vnto him not as the despairing miscreant whose maner is to speake of God in the third person not to God he hateth me he plagueth me he detesteth me he doth not loue me which words argue no hope remaining but in his bitternesse he turneth his speech vnto the Lord I am cast away from thy sight I will looke againe to thy Temple so in want of hope shewing a hope a confidence in a diffidence This is the fruite of beleeuing the sweete mercy of our Sauiour that in the day of sorest triall it is able to keepe vs vpright who else should fall downe groueling As a ship without his ballace is tilted tossed at sea and cannot endure the waue so is that soule right vnstable and euery houre apt to perish which hath not faith in temptation It is written of the Cranes that when they do intend in stormy and troublesome times to flye ouer the seas fearing lest by the blasts of the wind their bodies which be but light should be beaten into the sea or kept from the place whither they be desirous to go they swallow some sand and little stones into their bellies whereby they are so moderately peized that they are able to resist the wind While we do crosse this troublesome world of sinne and great temptation it is faith which must be our ballace it is faith which must preserue vs equably vpright or recouer vs when we are going Now it stood the Prophet in steede in the bottome and depth of misery to haue feeling what belonged to beleeuing vpon the Lord. 8 This beleefe inferred repentance which is acceptable in great measure to our most gracious father As he scorneth not the weake man falling so he embraceth him that riseth which point Nouatus and his fellowes with their hard harts did deny If the prodigall sonne can say good father I haue sinned against heauen and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy sonne he runneth to him and falleth on him and kisseth him as his beloued He liketh in vs a sorrow for that wherein we haue faulted It was a good speech of Saint Hierome to call repentance after sinne by the name of a second boord or planke after a shipwracke In a wracke at sea a boord oftentimes doth saue a man from drowning by his lying fast thereupon But if he be beaten by the violence of the waue from this first planke and be now floating in the water if a second by some accident be affoorded him and he can keepe him fast thereto it setteth him free from all daunger It is more then apparant that we haue suffered a wracke and are diuing in the sea of sinne and desperation euen ready still to be drenched The first table which releeueth vs is the Sacrament of Baptisme which by the bloud of Christ washing vs and for the couenants sake doth acquite vs from the guilt of originall sinne from the which if we be beate off by the force of actuall crimes the second planke is repentance to be caught at which if we hold fast and do not leaue it will bring vs into the hauen of blessed and quiet rest Then let vs euermore call vpon God to bestow vpon vs this compunction of hart that since euery day we fall we may dayly rise againe and not sinke vnder our burthen 9 The weake Prophet now leaning on these two such assured staues first sorowing then beleeuing doth raise himselfe vp with a correction that although he had sayd before that he was cast away from Gods sight yet he will not leaue it so he will not giue ouer there but once againe he will looke vnto Gods holy Temple Once againe I will see Hierusalem and the place of thy true worship Which words as Hierome noteth do either import a confidence and hope that it should be so or a wish that so it might be And in the Hebrew the future tense which is vsed in this place is very frequent for wishing Both shew a will to the Temple by which some vnderstand the whole seruice of God circumcision and the sacrifices and the expounding of the Law or whatsoeuer else was of speciality in the tabernacle of the Lord so taking one for the other the place for the duties in it making that which was so eminent as the matter and the obiect of his confidence and faith He certainely had a mind not to dye there where he was as vnprofitable and in a place so obscure but openly to honour God whom he had so dishonoured before and therefore now he was desirous in conspicuous manner to draw other to his obedience But of all places he chooseth the Temple to do the deed because that was the house where God had put his name who although he be euery where by his being and presence and power yet he was more apparantly conuersant there by his speciall grace This did make that house and city to be counted an holy mansion the very ioy of the earth the beauty of the world the glory of all nations the pallace of the great king the delight and paradise and garden of the Highest There was the Arke of the Couenant the Tables of the Testimony the Cherubins and the Mercy-seate all being straunge things of much excellency but the summity of all happinesse was the residence of Gods fauour there 10 All which how much the faithfull esteemed and accompted of Dauids example may teach vs who when there was but a Tabernacle whose beauty was much inferiour to the magnificent Temple of Salomon so grieued that himselfe in his flights and persecutions
was hindered from assembling within those courts of the Lord that he witnesseth for his owne part that neuer heart did so bray to find the brooke of water as his hart and conscience did thirst for that place yea his teares did trickle downe to thinke that he might not come there And elsewhere he complaineth that the sparrow and the swallow were happy being compared to him for they might come to the Altar to make their nest neare about it but leaue to do that was denied vnto him But afterward when Salomon had erected his famous house to the Lord that had many extraordinarie blessings granted to it at the time of the dedication when God witnessed by his presence that he heard the requests of Salomon among which these were some that if famine or plague or any other affliction did vexe the hearts of the Israelites and they theÌ„ came into that Temple and there prayed to be deliuered from that crosse the Lord would remooue it from them Yea if they were out of their owne land either going against their enemies or captiues in other countries if they turning their faces about to the coastward of this house should either pray for victorie or for release from their captiuitie their God would graunt it vnto them The Iewes afterward obserued this euermore in the earnestnesse of their prayer in what land soeuer they were turning them toward the Temple not tying superstitiously the power of God to that place but knowing that the same house was not erected in vaine And witnessing withall their obedience vnto the Lord and to men the constancie of their profession who held that place as the seale of the Lords assured protection ouer them So when Daniel in Chaldaea would pray he set his windowes open toward Hierusalem to the hazard of his life And truely the maiestie and great fame of the place was such that when the second Temple which was a farre meaner matter was raised vp the Princes of the earth which were of the very Gentiles did repute it and esteeme it a thing most holy The regard which was borne to that sanctuarie by Alexander the great sometimes king of the Macedonians by Ptolomeus Philadelphus by Pompey the great Romane some wherof did there offer sacrifice as it is testified by Iosephus and the coming vp of the Eunuch of Candace the Queene of Aethiopia who resorted thither of purpose for to worship do make this very plaine vnto vs. Then our man who sometimes had bene a Prophet and of likely hood had gone vp to Hierusalem to do his deuotions contrarie to the custome of the Israelites in his time had great reason to bethinke himselfe of this place 11 The doctrine to be deriued vnto vs from hence is this that since in substance we are inheritours of that faith which the Israelites and Iewes did holde and in steade of their Temple haue the Churches of the Christans which are places seuered to Gods seruice for the assembly of his Saints and the gathering together of his people that we therefore should beare the like affection to these as they did to that house and this so much the rather because the substance is here when there was but the shadow there the figure but here the truth there sacrifices made of beasts here the true Lambe Iesus Christ. We should therfore resort to these Sanctuaries with greedinesse euen as to the type of heauen we should ioy to be there and see all other there whom we loue and a Christian man loueth euery man Christ did frequent the Temple he called it an house of praier Anna that widow so much coÌ„mended liued in the TeÌ„ple the Apostles came to this and after that Christ was ascended the holy men who were in the time of the Primitiue Church did reioyce to see the Oratories and places of deuotion which were built in honour of Christ. They knew that if the priuate prayers or lifting vp of the hands of one man were acceptable to the Lord theÌ„ the voyce of a multitude making their requests ioyâ—tly together would more sound in the eares of God If the Sauior hath made a promise to be in the middle of them where two or three are gathered together with what an eye of coÌ„passion is he present to looke vpon hundreds or thousands of his assembled into one place Then let vs account it our happinesse that we may ioyne our prayers vnto a great congregation which God denieth to his best children in the time of persecution and of banishment great sicknesse and let vs presse to this place as to that where bread is broken which is the very food of life For herein God giueth a most approoued argument of his loue that we are not forced to runne from this sea to another from this land vnto that so to enioy this blessing but we need no more but euen step out of doores it is so brought home vnto vs. And let vs each man exhort that brother of his who yet wanteth vnderstanding to hasten vnto this banket for it is a good token of more grace which is afterward to follow when men come to this place although it be for other purposes God catcheth them vpon the sudden the hooke is fastened in them before themselues be aware Austen came with another mind to heare Saint Ambrose preach it was to obserue his words and his eloquence and the manner of his gracious deliuery for Ambrose was an eloquent and sweete man but at length the matter of his Sermons tooke him and made him a good Christian. So mighty Gods word is and hearing is the meanes to bring men vnto faith by which faith they are saued and this is the place of hearing If any man sayth Chrysostome vpon Iohn do sit neare to a perfumer or a perfumers shop euen against his will he shall receiue some sauour from it much more shall he who frequenteth the Church receiue some goodnesse from it 12 Then they are much to be blamed who do willingly and of purpose absent themselues from this place be they either the stiffe and stubburne recusants whose fancy and refractary will is called by the name of conscience who being inuited to the Supper of the Lambe yet keepe themselues away and therefore according to Christs parable are well compelled by the Magistrate to come in It is a most blessed compulsion for a man to be driuen to truth for a woman to be forced to heauen Or be it the idle person who preferreth his rest and sleepe before his owne soules saluation In which case he is worse then the Iew of whom as Ambrose well obserueth the Prophet sayth that he honoureth God with his lips although his heart be farre from him The Iew did yeeld his speech and the Iew did yeeld his presence seemed to giue some countenance to the word but this slouthfull man commeth not so farre Or
belong vnto any man it is vnto him haue compassion of some in putting difference and other saue with feare pulling them out of the fire This is to imitate Christ who will not breake a brused reede nor quench the smoking flaxe This is to seeke out the lost and to bind vp that which is broken Vnto these this may be added that it shall not a little helpe to haue conference with such who in former times haue bene exercised with the like temptations that out of their experience being plentifully powred out the distressed mind may be relieued None can speake more sufficiently and vnto better purpose then he that hath felt the same fire wherein this grieued soule is now burned And they who are in this cafe are not a little reuiued to know that any other hath bene troubled like themselues which they will hardly beleeue thinking that none did euer beare such a burthen as is vpon their shoulders Lastly as they ought rather to remember their former deliuerances then the griefe which presently is vpon them so they are rather to beleeue the speeches of other men I meane Gods children who come to yeeld comfort to thē then their own troubled thoughts which being perplexed and disquieted with frightfull imaginations can giue no setled iudgement This matter were worthie a longer speech but I am forced here to end Lord comfort those which are comfortlesse and strengthen thy weake children that they may not be so cast downe and plunged into perdition but that in their greatest temptation they may retaine thee still for their Sauiour that liuing in thy feare and dying in thy faith they may come to eternall glorie To the which ô Father bring vs for thine owne sonne Christ his sake to whom with thee and thy holy Spirit be glorie for euermore THE XII LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 2 The circumstances aggrauating his daunger 6. which do the more shew Gods mercie toward him and other sinners 8. Why God suffereth his to be in miserie 9. Particular consideration doth most stirre vp our affection 14. By fearing small crossings in doing our duties we incurre other very great daungers 16. All helpe is to be ascribed to God 17. How a godly man may desire that his life may be prolonged 20. The faithfull ought particularly to apply Gods loue to themselues 22. which the Church of Rome doth not Ionah 2.5.6 The waters compassed me about vnto the soule the depth closed me round about and the weedes were wrapped about mine head I went downe to the bottome of the mountaines the earth with her barres was about me for euer yet hast thou brought vp my life from the pit ô Lord my God THe fearefull conflict which the Prophet sustained in the verse next before going hath bene made plaine vnto you A passion of little lesse then distrustfull despaire did vexe him and disquiet him for the time From the terrour and danger wherof being recouered by the effectuall apprehension of grace by a liuely faith he returneth to contemplate the perill of his body which as it was great in the middle of the sea in the belly of the whale which was irrecouerable in mans iudgement so he seeketh to expresse it by multitude of words repeating it and reuoluing it with varietie of phrase but all tending to one end yet with such copiousnesse especially being in so short a prayer that a man would wonder at first how the Spirit of God which vseth to speake pressely and briefly so that no one word may fitly be spared should so runne vpon one thing with difference of speech but in substance all agreeing Yet the vse of it is such as of words fully replenished with sanctitie and holinesse as shall appeare in his due place In the meane time that which he saith is this 2 First the waters did compasse me about vnto the soule to the death saith the Chaldee Paraphrase as intending that he was now likely to be drowned his life to depart from him his soule to be seuered from her carnall habitation Dauid also doth vse such vehemencie of words Saue me ô God for the waters are entred euen to my soule Neither is there any speech which more liuely discouereth the earnestnesse of that which is presently in hand be it prayer or perill or desire or detestation then the name of soule doth As the Hart brayeth for the riuers of water so panteth my soule after thee ô God My soule thirsteth for God This noteth an entire affection and earnest desire wherewith Dauid was mooued As the Lord liueth and as thy soule liueth I will not leaue thee saith Elizaeus to Elias A very passionate affirmation Iacob in Genesis giueth this censure of Simeon and Leui. The instruments of crueltie are in their habitations Into their secret let not my soule come This argueth a perfect detestation So the depth of danger is purported here when he speaketh thus the waters compassed me vnto the soule the enemie of my life the water which hath no mercie was aboue me and below me and round about me without me and within me that my being was death my hope was but destruction nothing possible vnto me but drowning as farre as mans wit might imagine Secondly the depth did close me round about I was not in the shallow as a man in a lake who lying downe may be stifled but standing may be safe but I was in the maine Ocean which is called for the hugenesse of it the gathering of waters and elsewhere Tehom a gulfe or bottomelesse pit I was in that vastnesse which sometimes cannot be sounded by very long lines I was in waters by multitudes and there not diuing or floating vp and downe but as closed and shut vp as included in a sepulcher or made fast in a prison this deepe pit this darke pit this vncōfortable dungeon had closed her mouth vpon me 3 Thirdly the weedes were wrapped about mine head The sea doth beare weedes as well as shallow water yea somewhere very straungely strangely I say that in such places as where the depth seemeth to be of incredible greatnesse weedes should be seene in abundance in the vpper superficies the very toppe of the water and that so plentifully that in nauigation the course of ships is stayed sometimes by them Experience hath confirmed this in the huge Atlantike sea as men saile to America whereout doth grow a very strange Dilemma or Diuision because either they be there without any rootes at all and that is very maruellous or because the rootes do go downe exceeding deepe in the water which is not otherwise affoorded by nature in thinne spindie bodies But that weedes do grow in the sea those of some price Solinus letteth vs know saying that shrubs and weedes in the Ligustike sea are those from whence our Corall commeth Such then being in the bottome are about the head of our Prophet he is wreathed and tangled in them
a traunce we see Gods goodnesse ouer vs but it is like men standing a farre off great things do seeme but smal things to vs. When we come to giue thankes we put all in one grosse summe and if we begin to pray we huddle our needs together In a word our best laying open of our hearts before the Lord which should be with an exquisitenesse and curiousnesse if it might be not of words so much and of forme but of matter and sighes and grones and compunction and contrition is but shuffled and scambled ouer Lord lay not this idlenesse and great negligence to our charge If we come to a Phisitian we lay open our griefe by parts this ach is in the head this distemperature in the stomacke this griping is at the heart In our marchandise or businesse committed to our seruants we examine all from point to point Let vs do so in Gods benefits it shall procure in vs a more ingenuous acknowledgement then we euer did imagine One example or two to teach this 11 This present day doth remember vs of the birth of her by whom vnder God we do receiue a multitude of great blessings as the free course of the Gospell an admirable peace prosperity and abundance He is litle lesse then a brutish creature or at least he is a very ill minded subiect who hauing age and experience doth not giue the Lord thankes for her Yet in this so apparant a chaine of Gods benefits let vs examine it from linke to linke and it shall wring out better motions from him who is best minded That the euerlasting Father should bring her to the crowne and scepter of this kingdome through so many difficulties Her brother as he supposed to preuent a greater mischiefe denying her that prerogatiue her sister comming betweene and matching with that Prince who was then held the chiefe flower of Christendome a certaine expectation of issue being betweene them the Spaniards thereat ioyous as hoping thereupon to tyrannize and dominere at their pleasure Nay yet much more then this The Clergie giuing counsell to take away her life Gardiner thirsting for her bloud as a wearied man would long for water Storie daring to say when some each day were burnt in question of religion that these were but the braunches they should strike at the roote a suspicion of strong treason against her sister being sought to be fastened on her imprisonment of her being procured in rigorous and hard manner yea the very sentence of death as it is thought once being gone out against her Yet that the Lord should deliuer her from all this and aduaunce her to the guiding of this land and people That he should so preserue her being a woman and therefore by nature weake and exceeding fearefull in so many plots layed against her Pope Pius with his Anathema deposing her from the Crowne and absoluing if he could get vs to beleeue him her subiects from their obedience Pope Gregory by the setting vp of his Seminaries inueigling some of her owne to play some trecherous part against her in oft-intended inuasions in a rebellion once plainely attempted in conspiracies of sonnes of Belial more then twenty To bring her yet notwithstanding to such an age of her life to such a yeare of her raigne and if this be too little if we will serue God and honour him to giue vs hope that more shall be added vnto her dayes and by a consequent to our happinesse To carry her who in her selfe is a mortall dying creature apt to be broken like a glasse yet as if she had bene borne in the bosome or hand of Angels so that nothing hath annoyed her This particular Analyzing or scanning of the graces of God vpon her will wrest from vs a true ioy with feeling and vnderstanding And what wee do in her wee may all do in our selues 12 Let vs runne from step to step through Gods fauours shewed vnto vs. Either as Barnard doth God deserueth to be loued by vs because he loued vs first that is something so great a God as he is that is more so feruently as he doth that is yet more and freely vvhereas vve vvere such little ones vvhen as vve vvere such bad ones Or otherwise if you please To create vs when we were not to make vs men not beasts to redeeme vs when we were lost and that with so inestimable a price among men to graunt vs to be Christians and not infidels Turkes or Iewes who are bitter enemies to his sonne to giue vs so long a life as that we may comprehend what pertaineth vnto his seruice to bring vs in place where we may see his Sacraments to be administred and heare his word taught to touch our hearts with faith and an earnest desire of perseuerance to fill our consciences with spirituall ioy and comfort in his promises in sickenesse to stand by vs in aduersitie to vphold vs in temptation to strengthen vs. All this should make our hearts pant and say with Dauid What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefites toward me or with the Patriarke Iacob I am not vvorthie of the least of all thy mercies and all the truth vvhich thou hast shewed vnto thy seruant So to thinke when other begge that we might begge likewise when we see other depriued of their sences or common vnderstanding to remember that the same might bee our portion or banishment or imprisonment or bondage and captiuitie But there is a Lord in heauen who hath dealt otherwise with vs and giuen vnto vs a maintenance from our cradle clothing vnto our backe and bread vnto our belly yea peraduenture to come from state of necessity to such a condition as rather to be able to giue then to take to helpe then to be helped We may go on in these meditations When euill hath beene conspired when mischiefe hath bene contriued then he hath affoorded vs that fauour as to go on the thornes vnpricked to walke in the fire vnburnt When slaunders and defamations haue bene deuised and such complaints made and suggested against vs yet all hath vanished as the smoke and in the vprightnesse of a good conscience we haue gone quite vntouched as if no such thing had befallen vs. What sweete thoughts should this worke what passions of admiration what embracings of Gods mercies He who knoweth this and performeth it doth make true vse of that which befalleth him in crossing ouer the troublesome sea of this world and in passing through this wretched vale of misery 13 I beate this point the more as partly to demonstrate that these words of my text which seeme to vs so barren are not altogether without their fruite yea if nothing else should be gathered from them but that which I haue already taught although I doubt not but another man might find some other doctrine in them as God doth giue diuerse conceipts to diuerse of his seruants So againe to
draw each of vs to a speciall consideration of that good or that euill which hath or doth fall vpon vs. It is a very dull age euen the dotage and last time of the world wherein we do now liue our memory is decayed by reason of the heauinesse of our spirits and the earthinesse of that corruptible carcasse which hangeth so fast vpon vs. Then we had neede be wakened with often and loud remembrances that as drop after drop doth pierce the hardest stone so thought after thought may make our dead heart to be plyable This is the course of our Prophet by manifold repetitions of the dangers wherein he was to acknowledge the Lords ayde to be so much the more ouer him and himselfe the more beholding the more bound and deuoted to such full mercies on him Great loue requireth a great measure of returning retribution if that possibly may be if not that yet of consideration and earnest contemplation and acknowledgement to the vttermost Take Ionas here for an example of behauiour in like daunger This was my case this my state this my forlorne hope of rising yet thou hast brought my life from the pit ô Lord my God This word yet commeth with an Emphasis which confesseth that his helpe came more welcome But before that I speake of his restoring one little note more from hence 14 The daunger whereinto Ionas was fallen being thus expressed by himselfe and that with so sensible a feeling might recall into his mind the vanitie and folly of his former feare which was that when by the Lord he was appoynted to go to Niniueh he would needes vnto Tarshish I shewed in the third verse of the first chapter that among some other reasons the feare of daunger might make him change his course It might haue bene that in Niniue he should haue bene much disgraced it might haue bene quite despised perhaps by the king imprisoned peraduenture put to death It was best for him to escape all this good sailing in the hauen good sleeping in a whole skinne The safest way were to make sure work and not to come there at all But what a chaunge did he make He feared a little hurt and now he hath a great deale He suspected that onely one thing might annoy him and now he hath found another Nay in truth for euery ten he doth receiue a thousand Before he did distrust that his body might haue smarted now body and soule pay for it Before he might haue had some man perhaps his enemie but God his friend assured now not so much as any man is his friend and God like to a furious enemie doth chase him and make after him In this sort such who in the Lords causes will not depend vpon him but in their imagination cast great perils to themselues thinking to auoid those by declining from their dutie in that their turning away do plunge themselues into greater daungers They thinke that they flye from a dogge and they turne them vpon a cockatrice They hope to escape a blow and receiue a deadly wound They imagine to saue a finger and are pierced to the heart Saule would not displease the people by killing the king of Amelek but he displeased the Lord which was a higher matter He was vnwilling to loose so much cattell but he lost his crowne and his life Pilate would not offend the Emperour what spare him who was said to be the king of the Iewes but he plucked on himselfe the anger of the great king and Emperour of the heauens This is a fault too common among the sonnes of men to dread that which is litle and to passe by that which is more to make a strayning at a gnat and to swallow vp a whole Camel It is an excellent saying which Chrysostome hath to this purpose It is a point of extreme madnesse to stand in feare of those things which are not to be feared but to laugh at such matters as in truth are dreadfull In this saith he men do differ from children that these as not hauing their vnderstanding perfect do feare vizards and men clothed with sackes but thinke that it is nothing to reuile their father or their mother and they leape into the fire or touch candles which are burning but they quake at some noyses which are not to be feared But men do care for none of all these things If we looke vpon our selues and sift our hearts as we ought we shall find our selues in the number of these babies and silly infants when we make much scruple of some trifles but respect not an higher dutie and so to escape the raine we runne our selues into the riuer 15 What is more common amongst vs then when we are in hope of preferment to feare this or that crosse the anger of this mightie man or of that noble woman If their names be but vsed or their letters be procured although vpon wrong information yet if they be induced to mooue something inconuenient or scandalous or amisse be it neuer so much against the will of the writer for that he wanteth true notice do we not more feare to faile their vniustly extorted motion then wee dread the Lords displeasure or the great account which one day we must yeeld for our selues when no Prince of the earth shall be able to protect vs Thus for mens sakes we leaue God for so it may be termed when we decline from iustice and that which should be done and when we thinke that we haue dealt most subtilly and most wisely Gods finger is vp against vs and ouerturneth all our pollicies Yea peraduenture he whom we haue serued or she whom we haue feared by the motion of the Spirit of the Lord is made a rodde to whip vs considering that we haue dishonoured them in making them the authors of vnfit actions or else that person for some worldy respect is drawne away from our purpose and so the hope of our labour is frustrated and made nothing And then this wound remaineth vpon our conscience that we haue done this and this which our heart did tell vs was vntoward and indirect or at the least to be doubted And what a griefe is it to vs to haue such a worme within vs fretting and gnawing on vs The way to preuent all this is euermore to looke on Gods feare and his precise commandement and not to swarue from that and then he whome we sincerely serue will either send vs the fruite of our desires or patience in the contrarie The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the riuers of waters he turneth it vvhither so euer it pleaseth him Then how much more the hearts of other inferiour persons If he thinke that it be fit for vs where-about we go he will send it vs but when he pleaseth if not his will be done Onely this is our comfort whether that come or not the bird is safe in the bosome
be reuersed Then it is not our best safetie at euery time and in euerie case to be remooued hence but vpon some occasion we may ioye with Ionas that longer time is affoorded vs to bethinke our selues This is his exceeding comfort that though the pangs of death were vpon him yet that God once againe brought his life from corruption O Lord my God 20 The onely thing now remaining is the confident appellation which he vseth to the Lord Iehouah ô my God This sheweth a faith beyond faith and a hope beyond hope when he knew that the Lord was angrie and extremely wrathfull at him yet to cling in so to his mercie as to appropriate to himselfe a portion in his maker For what greater insinuation of confidence can there be then by particular application to apprehend Gods mercie to lay hold vpon him as on a father and that not as we say with a reference to the Communion of Saints Our father vvhich art in heauen but my father and my God This hath bene the perfect trust of the faithfull in all ages which hath encouraged them to approch with boldnesse vnto the throne of grace My God my God saith Dauid And thou that art the God of my saluation And Iob I am sure that my Redeemer liueth My spirit saith the Virgin Marie doth reioyce in God my Sauiour My Lord and my God saith Thomas Paule saith of himselfe I liue by faith in the Sonne of God who hath loued me and giuen himselfe for me This true faith doth close with God and incorporateth it selfe into the bodie of the Redeemer 21 And this is it which bringeth comfort vnto the wounded soule and afflicted conscience not that Christ is a Sauiour for what am I the better for that but a Sauiour vnto me That I am one of the adoption reconciled and brought into fauour sealed vp against that day when the quicke and dead shall be iudged my portion is with the Highest mine inheritance with the Saints How could flesh and bloud euer beare the heate of strong temptation without this firme perswasion What is it to my belly that bread is prepared for other vnlesse I be assured that my part is therein What is it to my soule that Christ hath dyed for other vnlesse I know that my sins are washed away in his bloud It may be good for Moses it may be good for Paule or Peter or Iames or Stephen but what is it vnto me It is Meus then and Tuus as Luther did well teach it is my God and thy Sauiour which doth satisfie thirstie consciences There is the ioy of the Spirit when men come to that measure Then it is a blessed doctrine which instilleth that faith into vs and in that if in any thing doth appeare the fruit of the Gospell which is preached in our dayes that people sicke and dying being taught before in their health can giue most diuine words and right admirable speeches in this behalfe whereof I speake sayings full of holy trust and assurance which as it is a thing most comfortable to themselues beyond all gold and treasure which are but as dung and drosse to a man yeelding vp the ghost so it bringeth good meditations vnto the standers by in causing them to acknowledge very euident an plaine arguments of election in the other whom they see to be so possessed with ioy in the holy Ghost and so rapt vp as if they had alreadie one foote within the heauen 22 But it is otherwise with the ignorant they lye groueling vpon the ground and cannot mount vp with the Eagle So is it in that doctrine which the Church of Rome doth maintaine when their people are taught that they must beleeue in generall that some shall go to heauen that some belong to God but to say or thinke that themselues shall be certainely of that number or constantly to hope it that is boldnesse ouermuch that is ouer-weening presumption They are to wish and pray that it may be so with them but yet it appertaineth to thē euermore to doubt because they know not the worthinesse of their merits a most vncomfortable opinion which cannot chuse but distract the heart of a dying man that he must not dare to beleeue with confidence that he shall go to God that Iesus is his Sauiour the pardoner of his faults No maruell if the life and death of such who hearken vnto them be full of sighs and sobs grones and feares and doubts since quietnesse and setled rest cannot be in their hearts They haue a way to walke but what is the end they know not They are sure of their departure but whither they cannot tell A lamentable taking and wherein of necessitie must be small ioy How contrarie hereunto doth Saint Paule speak being iustified by faith we haue peace toward God through our Lord Iesus Christ. How contrarie to this doth Saint Iohn speake in the name of the faithfull we know that we are of God How doth deiected Ionas yet keepe him fast to this tackling when he crieth ô Lord my God 23 And this is the surest anker whereunto a Christian man may possibly know how to trust This is it which in the blastes of aduersity will keepe him fast at the roote which in the waues of temptation will hold him fast by the chinne which in the greatest discomforts and very pangs of death will bring him to life againe To ground himselfe vpon this as on a rocke assured that his God is his father that Iesus is his redeemer that the holy Ghost doth sanctifie him that although he sinne oft-times yet euermore he is forgiuen and albeit he do transgresse dayly yet it is still forgotten that whether he liue or dye yet euer he is the Lords Good father leade vs so by thy most blessed Spirite that we neuer do fall from this But although sinne hange vpon vs as it did vpon the Prophet yet raise vs so by thy loue that laying hold on thy promises and the sweetenesse of thy fauour we may reape eternall life to the which ô blessed Lord bring vs for thine owne Sonne Christ his sake to whom with thee and thy Spirit be laude for euermore THE XIII LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 3. Gods election is sure 4. One argument thereof is to remember the Lord after affliction 6. That cogitation is very comfortable 7. The good and bad do differently remember God 8. The wicked do it with a murmuring 10. Especially in death God is to be thought on 11. Therefore it is good to thinke on him in health 12. Else we shall not be willing to dye 14. Churches are to be vsed reuerently 15. God heareth the prayers of his seruants 17. By vanity is signified euill 19 as Adams fall may therein be comprehended 20. or idolatry 21. or curious crafts and studies 22. or adultery and carnall sinne 23. and ill gotten goods 24. and ambition Ionah 2.7.8 When my soule fainted within
me I remembred the Lord and my prayer came vnto thee in thy holy Temple They that waite vpon lying vanity forsake their owne mercy IT is euident vnto vs by the whole processe of the Chapter before going that the transgression of Ionas did seeme vnto the Lord a grieuous transgression And his fall may seeme to vs a very strange fault that a Prophet exercised before in Gods seruice among the Israelites acquainted with secrets and reuelations from aboue should so vary from the tenure of piety and obedience But great sinnes require great punishments straunge faults require straunge chastisements Our Ionas as I thinke may make his profession that it hath bene so with him A tempest did follow him which would not giue him ouer a lot did discouer him to be a malefactor and when he could aunswer to the euidence no one word but guilty which imported his confession the mariners will they nill they must cast him ouer ship-boord where after sinking downe to the bottome of the water after wrapping and intangling of his head within the weedes he is caught vp by a fish in whose belly he is lodged for three dayes and three nights Here how perplexed his state was who cannot imagine Without foode without light without company and comfort a man drowned and not drowned deuoured but not digested aliue but yet as dead in perpetuall expectation of the fearefull dissolution of his soule from his body Nay the torment was greater which he sustained in his heart that horrour in his conscience that conflict in his soule as if God had forsaken him and giuen sentence vpon him as on a reprobate cast-away a firebrand of hell an inheritor of damnation Woful sinner who for his fancies sake and vpon the suggestion of flesh and bloud would draw such a iudgement to himselfe as which a man well aduised would not haue sustained but the space of one day for any treasure on earth For it is a fearefull thing to grapple with the Highest or to wrastle with our maker 2 As this anguish hath bene largely before touched so to make it vp complete he addeth as the conclusion of his misery although not of his prayer that his soule fainted in him it doubled it selfe together as some men do translate it as the knees of a man dying do double it was as ouerwhelmed fainting as in a swound his life was at last cast euen ready now to go out as a consumed lampe the gaspes and grones and pangs of very death were vpon him Yea throbs of desperation did oppugne him with such violence that the hope of eternall life seemed for some moments to be exiled from him his forlorne soule was sinking in diffidence and distrust So the best are deiected when God doth eclypse his presence and comfortable aspect But that absence and forbearing maketh a more tender feeling of succour when it returneth a more aboundant thankfulnesse for it deserueth gratefulnesse in great measure to be brought from the depth of sorrow to the height of ioy to be saued from extremity Ionas yet striketh this string amplifying Gods mercy ouer him from the circumstance of the time when my ghost was giuing vp when all hope was past and gone Which argument because I fully handled in my last Lecture I would now leaue it and teach some other doctrine These two verses note two persons the former of them the Prophet the latter some other men who waite on lying vanities The actions of the one of them and the other are here specified and the fruite which both of them do reape Then these two persons yeeld two parts to be handled by Gods assistance In the former which concerneth the Prophet these circumstances are what he did and how he sped what he did in that he saith he remembred the Lord how he sped in that he addeth that his prayer came vnto God in his holy Temple I remembred the Lord 3 The purpose of Gods election in fore-appointing some vnto life eternall is a matter so immutable and vnchangeable in it selfe that nothing can impeach it The flesh with her frailty the world with his suttlety the multitudes and millions of infernall spirits cannot alter that decree There may be some shadowes and seemings to the contrary but the substance is kept inuiolable The very gates of hell preuaile not against him whose the determination is neither preuaile they against his No creature can crosse the intent of the Creator He can bring vs he can force vs from sin vnto sorrow and heauinesse for sinne from filthinesse vnto innocency from transgression to repentance from forsaking of goodnesse to embracing of grace He it is who can regenerate vs renew vs and reforme vs remould vs and reframe vs that naturall corruptions and actuall deprauations euen idolatry with Naaman or extortion with Zacheus or persecution with Paule or denying Christ with Peter or entertaining of seuen diuels with sinfull Mary Magdalene shall be to vs no preiudice no detayning of his fauour Where he appointeth saluation there euery thing in his time shall worke vnto saluation but it must be in his time He draweth the vnwilling to him the broken he bindeth vp the lost he seeketh out he toucheth that with remorse which was before as the Adamāt the hardest hart he doth mollifie He that ordaineth glory to any will giue him grace to attaine it He who is the life is the way leading to that life he who giueth the one graunteth the other Where he determineth the end there also he offereth the meanes to apprehend that end As before more at large 4 But there is no meane more direct to bring any to God then to teach him to know God who neuer knew him before and such a man as did know him and now is as if he were fallen away to bring him to remember him that he may once againe assume that confidence and resolution to himselfe that he who loued him before will returne his affection toward his soule if it do seeke vnto him Which fauour looke to whom God in his mercy graunteth it is an assured argument that he is not such a lost child as who finally shall perish For with his sweete remembrance for so I may well terme it when it commeth after bitter temptation and a grieuous fall doth go a faith of that nature that if it be once admitted to presence it will neuer out againe no iustice can dismay it no iudgement can affright it but although it creepe on his knees it will to the mercy seate from which albeit rigour should offer to repell it remooue it yet it clingeth clutcheth so fast that it will not out any more Then the best men who haue fallē by the infirmity of their flesh thinke their case very happy if that may be graunted to them to haue God in their mind and to haue recourse to him and they make much of that motion retaining it and pursuing it as the best
way to their blessednesse they account this in greatest difficulties as the first step to a conquest as the first linke of a chaine which being plucked will bring on much more with it 5 In the two and fortieth Psalme Dauid complaineth thus My God my soule is vexed within me but yet he addeth for his comfort therefore I will remember thee In the seuentie and seuenth Psalme In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord my sore ranne and ceased not in the night my soule refused comfort But I did thinke vpon God What a ioy was it to Iob when after losse of all after his biles and botches and scraping them with a pot-sheard after his wiues temptation after his friends reproching him that he was a sinfull hypocrite else God would not haue so plagued him he found that grace with his maker as to grow to this resolution to say Lo though he slay me yet will I trust in him For it is the only rocke of contentment the best and sole assurance which languishing soules can haue to runne vnto the Lord all-sufficient for his power and mercifull in his loue Ionas was past the pikes and now entring vpon a victory when after his deiection and discouragement in his suffering he beginneth to remember God whose amiable countenance he had seene so oft before and whose fauour he had enioyed And that is a great matter vnto a wounded soule whereby he may close againe with the Highest and gather in with the Iudge to haue had former experience of his loue as of a father This experience bringeth hope and hope will neuer cease to begge and vrge for a pardon God is my king of old saith the Church of God in affliction it resteth it selfe on that When Habacuc had complained of those who in his time did grieuously persecute the faithfull his refuge is the remembrance of the Lords foregoing fauour which euermore had sustained him Art not thou of old sayth he my Lord my God my holy one Therefore we shall not dye 6 The siliest soule among vs may hence deriue some comfort to himselfe that is when any fearefull waues of temptation do grow on vs to drowne vs then to thinke on the mighty Iehoua who alone can rid vs out If â—â— can speake against vs what matter is it if God be for vs If our sinnes within vs be great yet is the Lords mercy greater What blacknesse can be so filthy as that Christs bloud cannot wash it I cannot owe so much but my God can forgiue it I cannot want so much but my Sauiour can supply it If I looke vpon my selfe behold wo and damnation but if I looke vp to heauen there I haue a strong redeemer Now as for earthly matters and these corruptible trifles with which we haue to do they are to the regenerate man farre lighter then the other If penury or pouerty come God hath inough for all he can releeue in abundance If sorrow oppresse the mind it may endure for a night but ioy commeth in the morning If sicknesse do vexe the body what Phisition is like to the Lord If Achitophel should take counsell God can turne it into foolishnesse if Doeg should lay snares he can destroy and breake them And all this may be soundly warranted to me by those former experiments which I haue had I haue liued so many yeares and haue euer bene preserued I haue slipped oft but neuer fallen or fallen but risen againe I haue bene much bruised but neuer broken in aduersity he hath helped me in temptation he hath succoured me he is the same God euer most gracious and most kind him will I serue in weale him will I seeke too in wo. 7 Well fare this good remembrance and flying to the Lord vnto whoÌ„ the holy men of all ages haue had recourse the Patriarks the Prophets euery grieued soule And whither could they better go then to the spring of grace then to the well of power No fishing vnto the sea no seruice to a king where most is most may be gotten No seeking like to that which is to the king of kings who is more then a sea of bounty But in remeÌ„bring him remember this withall that it be with a liuely faith with a confident apprehension of the sweetnesse of his loue For in this the elect do differ from the wicked both of them are in distresse and both remeÌ„ber God but the one of them with a hope the other with a horror the elect firmely beleeuing that his God doth thinke vpon him that although the beames of his countenance for a time be shadowed from him yet they will breake forth againe that he smiteth but not to death he striketh but not to kill Whereas on the other side the vnbeleeuing sinner be he hypocrite or idolater doth thinke that his God or Gods haue vtterly forgotten him or if they do remember him it is but for to plague him to vexe him or torment him by which meditatioÌ„ he breaketh into wrath most impatieÌ„t fury somtimes raging with heat somtimes despairing for feare euermore quaking with horror So the one of these liueth recouereth daily approcheth more neare to the Lord the other sinketh fainteth as the melting yce doth in the sun-shine or else fretting he blasphemeth not vnlike to a stroke of thunder which ratleth and maketh a great noise but presently dissolueth and goeth away vnto nothing 8 We find such in the Scripture In the eighth Chapter of the Prophecie of Esay God threatneth thus vnto Iuda then he that is afflicted and famished shall go too and fro in it and vvhen he shall be hungry he shall euen fret himselfe and curse his King and his Gods and shall looke vpward Here is a thinking vpon those which were but supposed Gods but it is with indignation When Samaria was besieged and famine did shrewdly pinch it Ioram that wicked king thereof had God in his memory but to murmure and fret at him His message vnto the Prophet shewed that when he durst to say Behold this euill commeth of the Lord shall I attend on him any longer As if he should say that he would no longer waite the Lords pleasure His words before shew as much when in steed of making his prayer to the Almighty God he doth curse and ban himselfe if he did not that very day take off the head of Elizeus the Prophet of the Lord. In the sixteenth of the Reuelation of Saint Iohn is is reported that a great haile did fall euery stone as bigge as a talent but it is added withall that men blasphemed God because of the plague of the haile for the plague thereof vvas exceeding great Among heathen men the wisest haue herein fowly fallen being deiected to desperation vpon euery great occurrent I would pray to the Gods for these things sayth Tully ad Quintum Fratrem but that the Gods haue
giuen ouer to heare any thing of my prayers Among the old Romane historians which haue written who was wiser then Cornelius Tacitus men do now study him for policy Yet in the first of his history recounting those great grieuances which befell Rome by the ciuill warres vnder Galba and Vitellius he vseth this desperate speech Neuer by greater slaughters on the Romane people or by more iust iudgements vvas it approoued vnto vs that the Gods do not at all respect our safety and security but to take vengeance on vs they are ready inough Here policy hath forgotten the very first grounds of piety which are patience and humility Liuie a graue writer although otherwise superstitious inough as appeareth by his Prodigia and yearely monsters yet tasteth of these dregs when in his fourth booke he writeth thus Here followeth a yeare which for slaughters and ciuill vprores and famine was very famous Onely forreine warre was vvanting wherewithall if our state had bene laded things could hardly haue bene stayed by the helpe of all the Gods but that they had run to ruine 9. Thus the wisedome of this world is nothing else but foolishnesse nothing but doting folly when it commeth indeed to the crosse or to the fiery triall The knowledge of God is wanting or at least the laying hold aright by faith is wanting And where faith is not to be found there is neither hope nor patience which are two infallible notes of a iust and Christian man There is nothing sayth Saint Cyprian which putteth more difference betweene the iust and the vniust then this that the euill man in his aduersity doth complaine and impatiently blaspheme but the good doth suffer quietly The iust hath trust in his Sauior but the other hath no part in him What maruell then is it if the wicked do fret and rage without comfort since he hath no share in him who is the God of comfort What maruell is it if he perish Plutarch telleth that this is the quality of Tigres that if drums or tabours sound about them they will grow madde and then they teare their owne flesh and rent themselues in peeces If the vnbeleeuing reprobate do heare the noyse of affliction he is ready to rent himselfe but by cursing and by swearing he will teare the body of Christ from top to toe in peeces As Ionas did remember God so the reprobate will not forget him but it is not to pray vnto him not to beleeue vpon him for he harh not so much grace but to ban him and blaspheme him I could wish that such prophanenesse as this might neuer be heard off in earnest or in play in the life or death of any man We should thinke of him with a reuerence we should mind him with a feare in prosperity with a trembling in aduersity with a hope There should be no fretting against his prouidence no grudging against his punishment When my soule did faint within me I remembred the Lord sayth Ionas I remembred him to beseech him I remembred him to intreate him I remembred him to embrace him to trust in him as a deliuerer to beleeue in him as a father I called to him and doubted not and he afterward heard my voyce 10 Saint Hierome doth giue this note vpon this place taking it out of the Septuagint That because he thought vpon the Lord when his soule did faint and he was ready to dye we by his example should aboue all things mind our maker when we are in the fits and pangs of death A very needefull doctrine if any thing may be needefull that when we must dislodge and be remooued hence when our glasse is so farre runne that immediatly a change must follow and that not to a trifle or toye which is to bee contemned but either to heauen or hell either to perpetuall ioy or to euerlasting torment we haue him in our meditations who is to see our iudge who is to scanne our actions and to peruse our conscience and giue the last sentence on vs that then with our best remembrance we thinke vpon his mercy and contemplate on his great loue in the redemption of his sonne and desire him for his blouds sake to take vs into his fauour That this lesson might the better be taught vnto vs Iesus the sonne of God and fore-runner of our faith when he was ready to yeeld vp his spirit did commend his vnspotted soule to his most righteous father Father into thy hands I commend my spirit Good Steuen the eldest martyr did tread these steps right after him when at the time of his death he cried Lord Iesus receiue my spirit And euery Christian man should struggle and striue to do so to shake off as much as may be the heauinesse of his sicknesse and as hauing that one prize that last great prize to play should stirre vp his spirit in him and should then pray to God to comfort him to conduct him vnto heauen to leade him along to glorie It is a good thing to liue well but because death is the vp-shot which maketh or marreth the rest it is the best thing to dye well He who hath begun aright hath halfe that whereat he aimeth but to begin is our hurt it shall bee a witnesse against our conscience vnlesse we do perseuere The man who shall bee blessed must continue to the ende 11 Then may the dangerous state of such be iustly deplored who in their life time haue so fondly doated vpon the world that when death which is Gods baylife doth summon them to appeare before the iudgement seate they do least of all other things know wherewith he should be furnished who commeth there but as before in the time of their health so in their despaired sicknesse do thinke only vpon their Mammon admiring it and embracing it and kissing it in their thought as if they were wedded to it But neither of themselues nor by the instigation of the Minister who is a remembrancer for the Lord can they be any way vrged to speake of celestiall things to call on God for mercy or to professe their faith and confidence in their Sauiour And this wordly imagination first ministreth hope of life they not dreaming that death will take them till on the sudden both body and soule do eternally dye together Next if they do conceiue that it must be so and there is no way with them but the graue then is their heart oppressed with sorrow and a huge waight of griefe that there must be a separation from their beloued treasure And lastly if their memory do serue there must be an vnsetled and vnresolued disposing with disquietnesse and much vexing of that which hath bene ill gotten to this child or to that friend and much stirre there must be about the pompe of a funerall by which meanes all good motions are so stifled and choaked that there is scant one word of him who made all
Hierusalem was vsed in another sort when the Prophet here called it holy otherwise he might iustly haue feared that God had not bene there to haue heard him when he cried out of the fishes belly 15 But hitherto the Temple was not relinquished by him as the later house was afterward when a voyce was heard in the night saying Migremus hinc let vs be gone from this place and therefore the Prophets prayer which was directed hither found the successe which it wished It came thither to the Lord. The distance of the place the great depth of the water the shutting vp in the whale yea the odiousnesse of his sinne could not detaine his crying and seeking to the Lord. He who in the fourteenth of Exodus did heare the crye of Moses although neuer a word were vttered and he who heard Hannas prayer when her lippes onely did mooue and no word was spoken out did attend Ionas when hee besought him with faith and implored his gracious goodnesse ouer him He hath bid vs call vpon him in the day that is in euery day of trouble and he hath said that he will heare It is he who neuer failed any of those who seeke to him As in all other matters so in this he hath a prerogatiue aboue all other he can heare and he will heare Heathenish Gods are but delusions and imaginarie toyes he who prayeth to them prayeth to nothing Baal may be iested at as sleeping or being busie Idols are but dead stockes they cannot mooue themselues and therefore not helpe themselues much lesse those that pray to them Yet a man exceedeth all these if they were in number ten thousand although oftentimes he debaseth himselfe as a seruant vnto these But how short of God doth this man come This will not if he could another could if he would a third both could and would but is absent and therefore ignorant what it is that is begged of him The power of all is so limited that the greatest cannot graunt the tenth thing which is asked and either themselues do confesse this or vse base shifts to couer it And how hardly do men part with that which is in their power As Seneca writeth on a time a Cynike Philosopher asked a talent of Antigonus who would gladly haue bene reputed a bountifull Prince His answer was that a talent was too much for a Cynike to receiue Then the other asked him a peny That saith he is too little for a king as I am to giue How oft soeuer such answers be giuen from men they do neuer come from God He giueth without reproching he heareth without delaying But we must aske that which is lawfull and we must aske in faith and we shall not haue a denyall 16 It pleaseth him to yeeld so much vnto our prayer appointing that as the instrument whereby we do approch him And indeed it is a good meanes to come into his presence For prayer is so piercing that it will get to the seat of God through the very heauens and cloudes It is winged and ascendeth vpward being made light by the heat of fierie pure deuotion The wind is not so quicke the lightning is not so nimble which goeth from East to West as this is in his passage In a moment it ascendeth from our tongs to Gods eares His eyes see our eyes weeping he well conceiueth our grones he well vnderstandeth our sighs If heauinesse do oppresse vs and sorrow weigh vs downe yet if our knees be bent vnto him or our hands held vp on high or our breasts be beaten before him or our cheeks bedewed with teares we shall be eased from all Then this is the onely remedie in agonies and in anguishes for the afflicted soule to seeke to It hasteneth to and fro and neuer returneth emptie Our sinning and suffering Prophet this drowning and dying Ionas did crye fâ—om the middle of the whale from the bottome of the sea from the very belly of hell and as he said before so here againe he professeth it the Lord did heare his voyce his prayer came to Gods temple Now you haue heard what he did and how likewise he sped Let vs here come to the second part which noteth some other persons whose words and deedes are otherwise They that wayt vpon lying vanities forsake their owne mercie 17 These words do imply a kind of Antithesis or contrarie successe betweene him before mentioned and those who do now follow as if he should say I scant looked for mercie and yet I did find it I prayed and was heard but these might receiue mercie and themselues do forsake it These are such which obserue or keepe or wayte vpon lying vanitie in stead of truth not ignorantly falling into it but wilfully pursuing it Such as set their whole labour on that which is but errour and make a studie of it Now those who with such egernesse do follow wrong paths the farther they go on the more they go astray They bend indeede all their diligence to somewhat but it is to lying vanitie vnder which name the Scripture doth comprehend all things which are besides pietie and the true seruice of God I haue hated them saith Dauid who giue themselues to deceitfull vanities And in another place Trust not in oppression and robberie be not vaine Gods Spirit doth account euery thing to be but vaine and lying and deceitfull which cannot endure the tryall which faileth vs and falleth from vs and when we most trust to it is least able to do vs good Such are all earthly things without the grace of God being ioyned to them as riches which are so much desired and honour which is so hotely sought or beautie or strength or friends which helpe not in that day when iudgement or vengeance commeth 18 Such are all the inuentions and deuised figments of men superstitions and false religions Pharisaicall obseruations papisticall dreames and fancies for whose sake whosoeuer will leaue the true prescript of Gods word he may be said to forsake the fountaine of liuing water and digge vnto himselfe broken pits He may be said to haue turned from the Lord who is only truth and to haue embraced falshood to haue refused grace and forsaken his owne mercie For where as God hath promised to be mercifull to all such who serue him as he hath taught by their neglecting of true deuotion they also neglect that mercie which was offered to them before So they make themselues vnworthie of remission and pardoning of their sinnes And in this case the end doth prooue heauie like to that rule of Aristotle where he saith that it must needes be in progresse of time that of counterfeited good things should grow that which is truly euill That wherein Zedechias trusted was but a lying vanitie and had a dolefull issue when as Iosephus did well gather he thought that the two Prophets Ezechiel and Ieremie had spoken contrarie things therefore that
Saint Austen thought another matter fit to be recorded of that Cato and that was this that when one asked counsell of him in sober earnest what harme he supposed was aboded him because rats had eate his hose he aunswered that partie with a iest that it was no very straunge thing to see that but it had bene much more maruellous if his hose had eat vp the rats In Tullies disputation concerning such arguments when one to enforce the veritie of Diuination had said that a victorie which fell to the Thebanes was foreshewed by some extraordinarie crowing of Cockes Tully could aunswere that with a smooth flowte but very significant that it was no miracle that Cockes should crow but if fishes had done it that had bene straunge indeed Those Ethniks could see that these things were falshood and exceeding lying vanities worthy to be but laughed at yet how did some of their greatest men attend and wait vpon them I may call these foolish Arts for I thinke that they come not so farre as curious crafts extend which are named in the Acts of the Apostles But to speake mine opinion I imagine that figure-casting for such things as are lost or to iudge of Natiuities is fully within that kind and is a lying vanity as that which is most lying Yet although by the Prophets it be sharpely rebuked although condemned by Philosophers although ill spoken of by Historians although by good lawes forbidden in well gouerned common wealths although no Principle therein haue approoued veritie neither may there be any good argument or conclusion made for it yet how do some waite vpon it and in no sort will go from it Of whom I may also say as Cato said of the Aruspices that I maruell when they meete one another how they can forbeare to laugh to see how they get monie From the number of these I may not seclude superstitious obseruations of ominous or vnfortunate things vpon which some men do so dote that they beleeue such vanities as a man should beleeue the Gospell All fearefull iudgements sent from God are to be regarded by vs but friuolous superstitions and traditions from old tales are rather to be contemned He that obserueth the wind shall not sow and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reape Take heed of such lying vanities 22 Fourthly ordinarie transgressions may very well be taxed hence and adulterie among other wherein although Satan the more to inflame it do buzze a tale into want on flesh that great men haue sinned so that God will not call such natural faults as those be to reckening that there is time inough to repent in old age and it is best in the meane while to satisfie concupiscence yet when these things come to be weighed in the ballance of Gods iustice they prooue both light and lying For the wrath of the Lord is oftentimes kindled against such wilfull crimes and he hath threatned that whore mongers shall be shut out from the new Hierusalem They then do forsake their owne mercie who pollute themselues in such sort and withall are a cause for other to be filthie Yet how some wait vpon this it is lamentable to thinke seeking to hurt themselues by euery kind of wantonnesse Good Iob in his confession held this for a grosse sinne and disclaimed it from himselfe If my heart haue bene deceiued saith he by a woman or if I haue layed waite at the dore of my neighbour obserue that adulterers do wayt vpō their sinne let my wife grind vnto another man and let other men bow downe vpon her that is let my wife also be false to me for this is a wickednesse and iniquitie to be condemned But many do not feare this and so plucke Gods iudgement on them 23 Fiftly they who in desire to enrich themselues or theirs do set their heart vpon mony and care not how they gaine it by robberie or oppression by briberie or extortion so that it come in vnto them do wayt vpon lying vanitie Which may easily be gathered from the very words of Dauid whom I cited before trust not in oppression nor in robberie be not vaine or giue not your selues vnto vanitie if riches encrease set not your heart vpon them If any then this is a vaine conceit to thinke that a mans purse is the best friend which he hath that riches can preserue in the day of greatest trouble that God accepteth mony that ill gotten goods can long prosper Oftentimes mony is kept to the hurt and death of the owner and children are so farre off from being blessed with goods which are ill gotten that fretting and consuming and a curse is ioyned with them Then what folly is it to force and straine our consciences and so to aduenture on Gods displeasure and the losse of his best mercie for the gaining of that which is but a fugitiue seruant and cannot helpe at neede And yet it is straunge to see how the world lyeth open to vnlawfull and filthie gaine what wringing there is from all sortes what griping of the poore what thirsting after gifts and hunting after rewards Are there not which wayt vpon this and make a studie of it as a man would studie heauen deuising and contriuing by what fine sleight and skill this money may be soked out and this cheate may be gotten and that gift may be had and then like to the hypocrite whereof Zacharie speaketh in his time they can crye blessed be God for I am rich and liue well seeming to giue the Lord thankes for that which they haue spoyled and robbed from their brethren whom as there the Prophet speaketh they slay and sell for money It is great thankes which we returne to God for the wit and reason which he hath bestowed vpon vs to employ it in that sort as to offend his diuine Maiestie to abuse those with whom we liue to helpe our selues so farrefoorth as is in our owne power to infamie in this life with all such as be vertuous to destruction in another Better it is to haue cleane hands here with a little then much profite by false vanitie 24 The same application may be made concerning ambition and other sinnes in all which we may take this for a warning that our sight is so dimme and our vnderstanding so darke and such are the false shewes of many things in this life that we may quickly pursue a lye in steede of truth and vanitie for sound veritie and so purchase Gods wrath vnlesse with a single eye we looke on things aright and euer take the iudgement of Scripture for our triall and withall pray that our heart and intellectuall powers may be lightned in that behalfe that so hauing will and strength by the mercie of the Lord we may walke as we ought and as it beseemeth our calling And here I end Holy Father we beseech thee to direct our steps in thy paths that renouncing all
were set free from all redeemed by his body and ransomed by his bloud admitted into the couenant and incorporated into himselfe so that now we are made free denizons of the city which is aboue What can be a greater blessing When ignorance and barbarisme were growne ouer the world and the darknesse of superstition as thicke as that of Egypt had possessed the shew of all Christendome that maine Antichrist dominering and triumphing at his pleasure so that few were to be found without the marke of the beast God did dispell that darknesse by sending vs light from heauen and causing the Sunne of righteousnesse to shine out by his word he cleered that filthy mist that the nations of the earth may now fully behold the purity of the Gospell That which was denied to great ones hath bene reuealed to vs. As Moses had more liberty to see the Lord then the people had so we see more then our ancestours But what thankes do we yeeld for that celestiall comfort Do we magnifie his mighty name and sing and speake out the honour of him who hath done such things for men Where is that Glory to God on high and blessed be our strong Redeemer 11 We who liue in this land haue sate as at the well head for many yeares together We haue had a most gracious Princesse a mother to our countrey and a nource vnto Gods Church vnder the shadow of whose wings next after the eternall Lord we haue enioyed much peace prosperity and abundance Our neighbours who grone vnder the burthen of heauinesse and oppression of persecution and ciuill warres do very much admire it Learning hath flourished with vs and manuall artes encreased nauigation hath bene aduanced and trafficke entred with many to the enriching of our people and the honour of our nation I doubt that we are not so thankfull as all this hath deserued Yea it hath come so fast on vs and continued without interruption that our hearts are fatted with it and we as full and glutted haue fallen a sleepe in security so that we vnderstand not the sweete things which are on vs much lesse do we with heart and soule and all the powers which are in vs extoll the author who hath done such things for vs. Conspiracies haue bene made to depriue our land of her gouernesse and to bring it into the thraldom of a proud and bloudy nation yet by the Lords strong prouidence they all haue bene preuented The great fleete which meant to haue made such hauocke hath bene confounded when men did not much to helpe vs the winds and waues did fight for vs. Truth it is that as the Romanes did giue thankes to their Gods when Hannibal was remooued who had oppressed and troubled Italy for sixteene yeares together so by the highest authority in the most famous place of our land and by the noblest persons and in most solemne manner Gods prayse was sounded foorth which was a most holy action and worthy of a Christan kingdome but see whether since that time the common sort of men do study to remember it Our thoughts within are so curious and our eares without are so itching that we loath to heare the Preacher to name this in the pulpit we imagine that this neuer commeth but for want of other matter being a crambe oftentimes sodde It seemeth that we are litle mooued whē we thinke so lightly of that which to the naturall inhabitants of this land was so great a deliuerance as our eyes neuer saw We haue reason to feare that God lately hath brought the same enemy so neare our land to quicken vs and to stirre vs to a remembrance of the former mercy by shaking his rod ouer the sea vnto vs. The acts which God did in Egypt of the which I spake before and his victories by the conduct of Iosuah were commaunded to be proclaimed to all succeeding ages and were bidden to be spoken off I do maruell why no man in that time obiected What shall we neuer haue done of hearing these old matters No their thankfull mind did vse it otherwise and recorded that matter and recounted it as the fairest floure in their garland and their honour with all the earth We should make such reckening of all Gods mercies towards vs but most of all of the greatest The enioying of apparant good things or the escaping of fearefull and dreadfull euils doth deserue thanksgiuing with vs. Ionas had felt the bitternesse being in hazard of destruction of body and soule together but by compassion of his maister he is like to passe through this daunger and therefore he maketh a promise that he will sacrifice to the Highest in spirituall manner by giuing him praise and glory And thus you haue the first point of that which he vndertooke now let vs come to the second I vvill pay that which I haue vowed 12 The making of vowes was a solemne custome among the children of Israel that when any good thing was graunted vnto them but especially if they earnestly desired to haue any thing they would bind themselues by promise or peraduenture by an oath to be kept without violating that this they would performe or that they would abstaine from as it might be drinke no wine or not cut their haire as the vse of the Nazarites was or dedicate their children to an attendance in Gods tabernacle or offer such and such offerings Wherein the care of those who were faithfull was first that they vowed nothing but that which was lawfull and secondly that they performed the thing which they vowed So the Israelites did vow that if the Lord would giue them victory they would raze downe and destroy the cities of Canaan A matter which was lawfull nay which God required of them Barren Hanna did vow that if the Lord would so respect her as to send her a sonne she would giue him to God all the dayes of his life She spake it and she performed it in Samuel her child Thou shalt render thy vowes saith Eliphaz to Iob. My vowes will I performe before all that do feare him saith Dauid of himselfe They knew that God did expect it precisely had enioyned it by a speciall law It is a peremptory place in the three and twentieth of Deuteronomy When thou shalt vow a vow vnto the Lord thy God thou shalt not be slacke to pay it for the Lord thy God vvill surely require it of thee and it should be sinne vnto thee he meaneth if thou performe it not but when thou abstainest from vowing it shall be no sinne vnto thee He would not haue men beare themselues so carelesly toward him as foolishly to promise and falsely to breake promise 13 This made men vnder the law to be very well aduised what it was whereunto they tied themselues by vow that what they vndertooke should still be to Gods glory and withall their promise was for such things as should be
in their power to performe if the Lord did continue his ordinary blessings ouer them And these were rather praises thanksgiuings to the Almighty indeed perhaps in the open Temple or great publike congregation then any materiall gifts although those also were not wanting Dauids Psalmes do make that plaine for wheresoeuer he speaketh of vowes there commonly he ioyneth praises to them and in my text thanksgiuing and vowes are coupled together by Ionas as noting that the one hath a reference to the other And I doubt not but we may make such vowes in sobriety in knowledge and in faith to bind our selues to God and seale it as with a couenant that we will serue his Maiesty while we liue here in this world that we will giue among profane persons a good testification of his honour that we will sing Psalmes vnto him that we will teach our children religion and true faith yea further in particular that if God would giue vs leaue we which be of the ministery will looke carefully to our charge and will be diligent in the word if the Lord send no great let will preach at least euery Sabaoth or if we haue not that strength once or twise in a moneth which taske if we do inioyne our selues and vse the ordinary meanes of reading and of study and pray to God to assist vs his Spirit will ayde vs more then we euer did imagine Then we do not vtterly deny vowes but we willingly allow whatsoeuer is iustifiable by the prescript of the Law and the Gospell But because many kinds of men make question in this matter the Papists for their votaries other men for other causes I thinke it not amisse to limit this whole doctrine by some Aphorismes or Positions which shall cleere the whole controuersie 14 Then the first rule maybe this We in no case may vow euill things that is such as are contrary to piety toward God or charity toward men For these are sinfull vowes and ought not to be made in as much as it beseemeth vs not to bind two sinnes together but an euill deed is the one and swearing to performe it is no lesse then another Hence we condemne the act of them who being angry with Paule did bind themselues with an oath that they would neither eate nor drinke till they had murthered Paule A most malicious and vngodly and vncharitable promise and yet there were more then forty of them who had combined themselues together in that wickednesse And as it is a sinne to make entrance into such an action by speaking it or swearing it so it is a greater sinne to performe it being sworne Saint Bernard hath a good saying to this purpose Among the French men it is accompted a reproch to breake an oath although it be sworne euidently amisse although no wise mā doth doubt that vnlawfull oathes are not to be kept Within this compasse such rash vowes do come which inferre some euident euill although when they were made no such thing was intended Of which nature that oath was which Herode did take when being delighted with the dauncing of the daughter of Herodias he swore that he would giue her whatsoeuer she should aske to the one halfe of his kingdom A hastie fond promise as appeared by the demaund made thereupon for the head of Iohn the Baptist which he would neuer haue graunted if he had not purposed to go on in his iniquitie and tye two faults together For as Origene saith disputing vpon that deede The head of Iohn the Baptist vvas cut off for an oathes sake vvhich vvas rather to be broken by forswearing then to be kept For it vvas not so great a fault to haue made an oath hastily as it vvas for a hastie oath to be the death of a Prophet The vow which Iephthe made to sacrifice whatsoeuer liuing thing he first met at his returne from his victorie is by this position found to be made without iudgement but his fault was the more grieuous that he obserued it so precisely as to destroy his daughter Take heede of vowing euill things directly or by a consequent 15 The second rule is this that there be many good things which all of vs ought to vow and earnestly keepe because they touch the glorie of God immediatly by a duetie vnauoydable as that we will serue him truly and euermore accompt him that mightie one which is to be honoured Such was that vow of Iacob of which Moses reporteth thus Then Iacob vowed a vovv saying If God vvill be vvith me and vvill keepe me in this iourney vvhich I go and vvill giue me bread to eate and clothes to put on so that I come againe vnto my fathers house in safety then shall the Lord be my God The couenant of the Israelites is also of this kind where by the motion of good Iosuah they do promise solemnely to put away their idols and to serue the true God onely So is that promise also of the people of Iuda vnder king Asa where both great and small do enter an oath to serue Iehouah alone the true God of all the world Among vs who are Christians the celebration of Baptisme doth include as much in it selfe to which whosoeuer commeth as all of vs should come doth bind himselfe by a vow to renounce the pompes and vanities of this spotted filthy world and manfully to fight against the flesh and the diuell How much do they forget this whose whole delight is vanitie and idlenesse and security aiming at nothing more then at voluptuous pleasure Now when any goeth about to breake such a vow as this he maketh a separation betweene God and his soule and as farre as is in him doth diuorce himselfe from the spouse and husband of all the faithfull Do thou make these vowes aduisedly and pray earnestly to God that being made thou mayest keepe them 16 The third rule may be this some things there be indifferent neither in themselues good nor euill which if a man do vse they make him not the better and if he do refuse them yet is he not the worse If occasion should be offered in deuotion toward God or in charity towards men to promise to do such or to abstaine from the custome of them I doubt not but we may vow But in these we must put some limiting circumstances as first that it be apparantly for good and not for euill Secondly that we vndertake that action with great iudgement not rashly nor vnaduisedly but vpon iust occasion Thirdly that we put no kind of superstition therein as imagining that our deede should bee meritorious with God Fourthly that we be assured that it is in our power to do it in which respect that condition is also to be put if God will or if the Lord do not hinder vs. Within this kind I find the vsage of the Rechabites who were bound by their fathers charge and as it seemeth
they assented thereunto that they would neither drinke wine nor sowe seede nor plant vineyeard nor dwell in any house but onely remaine in tents that so they might the better remember themselues to be strangers in the land where they inhabited and of likelihood moreouer that they were but pilgrimes vpon the earth And he who maketh such vowes vnder these fore-named conditions is now bound to obserue them For although at the first and in themselues they were things indifferent yet now they are become otherwise because an oath is passed vpon them He who was free is made bound by a voluntary offering and therefore hath lost his liberty Then these three positions may be gathered thus in briefe Euill things ought not to vowed at all and if they be rashly spoken yet they should not be kept Some good things we must vow as especially those in Baptisme and when we haue vowed we must performe them Other matters which are indifferent may be vowed or not be vowed as I haue shewed aboue by circumstances but being once vndertaken they are not to be broken 17 Here the pretences of Popish votaries may be in a word examined Their common vowes are of such things as be not absolutely euill neither are they of such matters as being simply good do lye vpon vs by a duty of necessity but they may much rather be accounted indifferent although by their vsage of them they make them to be otherwise they make them to be wicked A great part of their vowes is the going to places farre distant in pilgrimage as they call it to Rome or to Hierusalem or Saint Iames of Compostella or to the three kings of Coleyn their keeping of the great Iubilees their abstaining from all flesh and feeding rather on fish as their Carthusian Monkes do their wearing of a haire-cloth or sack-cloth next their bodie and other things of like stampe All which as they do vse them may well be accounted in the number of those wil-worships that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against which Saint Paule doth inueigh and concerning which the Lord may aske vvho required this at your hands They do faile in diuerse circumstances which should make their vowes to be lawfull as first they cannot be warranted to them as assuredly holy by faith which is grounded vpon the word of God Secondly they put a great deale of superstition in them while they account them meritorious Thirdly they tye themselues rather to the externall thing then to a sound reformation and bettering of the minde It were better therefore that such vowes were omitted then made by them Their vow of wilfull pouertie is a thing of their owne deuising Rich Abraham and king Dauid and Iob with his multitude of cattell knew how â—o serue the Lord in the abundance of their riches and did not thinke that religion onelie was in them who begged And although our Sauiour Christ and other of his Apostles had little of their owne yet they left vs no such precept nay they rather did teach the contrary saying that it is more blessed to giue then to receiue And it is sayd that a Bishop of whom it is presumed that he should be a man of religion should be hospitall that is an entertainer of strangers which implyeth a set kind of maintenance When the Gospell was first preached miraculous meanes were vsed to bring men to the faith and this was one that God could mightily prouide for those who were the messengers of his will and releeue them from day to day although they had nothing of their owne His purpose also was to shew his power that by meanes most contemptible in the eye of the world he could settle his kingdome and withall he would leaue their wants as an example to encourage his children in succeeding ages that they should not be dismayed if sometimes they were driuen to penurie and necessitie since his deare seruants and his sonne were in that case before them But these times now are past and miracles are ceased and such extraordinary feeding as the Apostles had is not wilfully to be sought lest we tempt God and liue without a lawfull calling The Church now hath an established gouernement and therein the Ministers which are needefull are to be prouided for And the word hath inioyned this that where spirituall things are sowed there temporall should be reaped as knowing that in the end of the world mens charity would waxe cold and they who liued of almes oftentimes should haue hungrie bellies The liuing then of their Friers in a voluntary beggery is a worship of their owne and he who voweth therunto doth vow to that wherein his conscience can neuer haue good warrant 18 They stand as much vpon chastity that their religions men should vow a single life wherein although I might shew by good proofe from the Scripture and from the auncient Church that Bishops and Priests did marry yet omitting that I will rather speake of the qualitie of their vow Virginity without controuersie is an excellent gift in him to whom the Lord doth giue it Christ himselfe was borne of a virgin and did leade a virgins life and both he and Saint Paule haue commended it vnto vs that we ought to striue for it But who is he that so farre hath power of his owne flesh as that before hand he can sweare to quench the lust of concupiscence so that it shall not burne I suppose that no man on earth who is in his strong age and in good health of his body can promise that to himselfe then how much lesse their young ones their Nouices or Nunnes of lesser age who before the time that themselues come to experience are put into the monastaries by their parents or their friends or are inueigled by others to take their rules vpon them which hath bene a great occasion of much vile fornication and the killing of many infants besides the enduring of such vntamed affections as haue boyled in their bodies It is a good lesson of Salomon that we should not suffer our mouth to make our flesh to sinne he meaneth in vowing that which is not in our power He had commaunded before that we should pay our vowes intending it in those things which we haue promised to the Lord but lest thereby we should take occasion to promise any thing whatsoeuer he giueth a restraint downe with it that we should be aduised that we vow not that which our flesh afterward cannot make good For want of this wholesome caueat they were put to much extremitie who were votaries first in monasteries but afterward by the true light of the Gospell did shake off the heauie yoke of Antichrist and became great setters out of Gods truth in this last age They had entred a rash vow in their minoritie and young yeares which afterward they found themselues not able to performe and therefore they did marry Against which although our Campian and his
fellowes do with open mouth most bitterly inueigh yet they neuer can be able by sound truth to condemne them Their choyse was hard that either their vow must be broken by them or else they must beare about a dayly sinne in their bodies They aduentured on the lesser fault I doubt not but asking pardon for the rash and vnaduised oath which they had taken And God doth forgiue vs such things when we call to him by repentance as may very well be gathered from the fifth Chapter of Leuiticus where was appointed an offering as a kind of satisfaction for him who had vowed any thing which he afterward doth find out not to be in his powor to accomplish Charitie doth bid me thinke that those fathers in the Gospell and excellent men in the faith did enter into wedlocke with all labour to satisfie a good conscience towards God And therein their owne hearts might be the best witnesse and direction to themselues Yet the person who hath so vowed and in so doing hath not done well let him feare to breake that vow causelesse by a licentious libertie and if God do giue the gift of chastitie let him liue in continency if he can as otherwise for the honour giuen to virginitie in the Scripture so for his vowes sake also And so much I thought good to teach concerning vowes by occasion of the words of the Prophet Ionas wherein if I haue bene ouer-long let this excuse the matter that this doctrine is few times handled and now the text did minister opportunitie That second part which now followeth I will ouerrunne most briefly Saluation is of the Lord. 19 Many of the old interpreters and Hierome among other not obseruing such a distinction or point which ought to be in the sentence haue ioyned these words with the former and so caused the sence of all to be troubled The Hebrew hath it thus Saluation is to the Lord which the most carefull expositours do plainely expresse by Saluation is from the Lord. Tremelius doth interprete it All manner of saluation or sauetie is to Iehouah So that here the Prophet gathering by a constant faith that after his great feares in the sea and in the whale he should be freed from all perill and enioy his life once againe ascribeth all to God and with this Epiphonema maketh conclusion of his prayer acknowledging that whatsoeuer came vnto him well was from the Almightie For to whom should he impute it but onely vnto him whose inconceiuable power he had felt before to the full who to punish and chastise him had the ayre and water at his commaundement and had for three dayes kept him aliue in the fishes bellie Now if he should bring him to libertie out of bondage and desolation and should pardon his sinne and transgression he had great reason to magnifie his mercie and goodnesse ouer him Mine ayde commeth not from me I cannot helpe my selfe it cometh not from fortune or blind chaunce there is no such thing in nature not from any lying vanitie of idoll or heathen God but from the all-sufficient Lord who can helpe when he pleaseth and raise vp when he lifteth he putteth downe and setteth vp he doth what himselfe will If I haue hope of any thing it is deriued from him 20 Yea vnder this generall speech he remembreth vnto all that euery of their escapes from daunger are onely from the Lord. If the Israelites be deliuered from the bondage of the Egyptians if Dauid get from Saul if Elias be freed from Iezabel this good doth come from that father who sitteth aboue in heauen Or if any one of vs being layd for by the malice of cruell and wicked men be not made a pray to their power or deceiuing pollicy it is not of our wit neither is any flesh our arme but this safety is of the Lord. And if we will looke higher the deliuery of our soules from the chaynes and bands of Satan the sauing of vs from the violence of all our ghostlie enemies the redeeming of vs from sinne the incorporating of vs into his owne Sonnes body the bringing of vs to that glorious liberty of the sonnes of God is the worke of the Almighty Not vnto vs ô Lord not vnto vs but vnto thy name giue the glorie We may say as the Elders say in the Reuelation of Iohn to Christ the Lambe of God Thou art vvorthy to take the booke and to open the seales thereof because thou vvast killed and hast redeemed vs to God by thy bloud out of euery kinred and tongue and poeple and nation and hast made vs vnto our God kings and priests and vve shall raigne on the earth nay we shall raigne in the heauen But the whole worke of our ransome onely belongeth to the Trinitie As Ionas concludeth that prayer of his which hath bene so full of passion so do I end at this time saluation is to the Lord. Let vs pray to him to blesse vs still that by grace giuen vnto vs we may be sonnes of adoption and at last be brought to saluation which himselfe graunt vnto vs for his blessed Christs sake to both whom with the holy Spirite be maiesty power and glory both now and euermore Amen THE XV. LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 1. Gods fatherly affection toward sinners 4. He commandeth his creatures at his pleasure 6. Ionas is cast on land 7. A figure of Christs resurrection 9. We also shall rise againe 10. Comfort to the heauy heart 11. A comparison betweene Ionas and Arion 13. The whole narration of Arion is a fable 15. Some wonders are wrought by the Diuell 16. who doth much imitate God 17. and seeketh to discredit Gods word by his fables 19. How the Scriptures might be obscurely knowne by the old Poets and Philosophers 20. But they corrupt the diuine stories 21. Humane learning is fit for a Minister Ionah 2.10 And the Lord spake vnto the fish and it cast vp Ionas vnto the drye land IT is not without cause that so oftentimes in the Scriptures God is compared to a father and called by that name as Our father vvhich art in heauen and Ye shall therefore be perfect as your father vvhich is in heauen is perfect And as a father hath compassion on his children so hath the Lord compassion on them that feare him for he beareth a verie father-like and naturall affection to all those who are chosen to be his If they be led by weakenesse into diuerse temptations or by infirmity of their flesh be stained with great transgressions he looketh angrily for a time and with a terrible countenance seuerely frowneth on them but yet in the middle of his iustice he remembreth mercy and doth not vtterly reiect them nor cast them away It may be that he doth chastise them with parent-like correction according to the measure and qualitie of their crime yea he layeth smart blowes on them not sparing to strike them till he
them but they shall deuoure most greedily when the wicked accusers are cast in vnto them He who hath the key of heauen and hell and death to open when he pleaseth and shut when he listeth can so order his seruants and ministers which are vnder him that sometimes they shall take and sometimes they shall loose here punish and there saue this day sound out his iustice and the next day teach his mercie 5 Neither was it onely in the time of the Prophets and Apostles that God had all his creatures miraculously if need be to execute his appointment but also since their time they giue the selfe same assistance although miracles be not common as they were in former ages Tertullian in his Apollogie and Eusebius do witnesse that at the prayer of a legion of the Christians the Emperour Marcus Aurelius in his warres against the Germanes had his armie relieued with raine which was before in daunger to perish for want of water and they adde that at that time certaine thunderbolts did strike and beate downe the enemie In some Editions of the workes of Iustine Martyr may be seene the copie of the Epistle of the Emperour himselfe who giueth witnesse thereunto When Iulian the Apostata vpon an intendment to crosse the faith of Iesus Christ had set the Iewes on worke to build againe the Temple at Hierusalem as both Saint Chrysostome and Socrates write at first an earth-quake marred their worke and afterward fire from heauen did burne and spoile their instrumēts and tooles wherwith they wrought so that they could not proceede Yea something more then this is to be found in the storie of the signe of the crosse appearing vpon their garments Ammianus Marcellinus who was no friend to the Christians yet giueth testimony to some part thereof sauing that he rather supposeth that the fire issued out of the earth which commeth all to one end When the barbarous Northren nations did breake into the bounds of the Romane Empire in the dayes of Basile the Great who liued in the time of Valens the Emperour as Basile himselfe writeth God destroyed them with fire and haile without the hand of man And as we reade in the same place of that Father the Lord did so by the Persians attempting to do the like But in my iudgement there is no example more memorable or true then that which fell out in our owne time after that great Massacre in Fraunce but especially at Paris in the yeare seuenty and two For at that time the whole power almost of that kingdome being gathered together against the citie Rochel and besieging them with extremitie who defended the towne God in the time of famine and want of bread did for some whole moneths together daily cast vp a kind of fish vnto them out of the sea wherewith so many hundreds were relieued without any labour of their owne euen as the Israelites were fed with Manna euery morning while they were in the wildernesse And as all the while that the enemie was before them this endured to their maruellous comfort so to proclaime to the world Gods prouidence the more when the enemies tents were once remooued and the citie was open againe this prouision immediatly did cease It was a good testification that the Lord of hostes would leaue a remnant euen a seed of his faithfull in that land and although he had sealed his truth with the bloud of his other seruants yet he would not deale so with them To the end that all might not sinke in despaire he ordained that when men failed yet the sea should be a maintainer to them 6 There God to shew his power did fill a many with fish and here to shew his power he did emptie a fish of one both declaring his loue and greatnesse which he purposing to complete make perfect in our Prophet to whom I now returne not only causeth the fish to free him from his stomake and that not in the middest of the Ocean sea that there once againe he might be shifting for his life that is if he could not swim sinke and drowne but he so directeth this carier as that he came to the shore Of all liklyhood this was a chosen shore where the water was so deepe as that it could beare the whale who swimmeth not in the shallow and yet the banke withall so low as that with putting vp his head he might cast the prisoner to the land When the Lord doth decree the substance of a matter the circumstance shall not be wanting He who made all the rest will find a place for accomplishing of the deede It is not much materiall where or in what coast of the world the Prophet was cast on land but Iosephus saith that the report was that this happened in Pontus Euxinus as it is commonly called and that it was that part of the Ocean where he was put to shore If it were so then the whale did carie him a great way from the sea towards Cilicia on the south side of Natolia or Asia the lesser through the Hellespont and Propontis all the straights neare to Thrasia and so into that Pontus Euxinus which was a long space of way in so short a time to be passed But if this were so done then the fish was as a shippe as the fleetest and swiftest shippe to conuey him forward on the way that whereas toward Niniue the place whither he should go the coast was East he was brought backe againe to the East on the North-side of Natolia so much being recouered by the fish as he was caried by the ship before toward the West But this is onely coniecturall and therefore I do not follow it 7 Thus farre the Spirit of God hath plainly said that Ionas is gotten to the land he is freed from the terrour and imprisonment of the whale and now he is so set at libertie as if there had neuer bene any such matter Which whether we will in the figure apply to Christ or by example to our selues it is worthie consideration Our Sauiour who is the best interpreter and expositor of the Prophets in the twelfth of Saint Mathew doth compare this lying of Ionas for three dayes in the whale to the burying of himselfe for three dayes in the graue Then by the same Analogie or proportion the restoring of Ionas from the belly of the fish must represent Christs resurrection As this sinner was designed not for euer but for a time to be kept within that ward and when his houre was expired his keeper might not hold him so our Sauiour was shut vp in the tombe not for euer nor vntill the day of iudgement but a set space was appointed wherein he was to rest and when that was consummated the graue could no longer hold him It had receiued a burthen which it had no power to beare It detained him for a little while because it was his good
times we heare not of any Dolphine which delighted in Musicke or saued any man in the sea or caried any ouer the water Besides that Rondeletius whose worke is many times ioyned with Gesners denieth that a Dolphine hath any such sinnes as they in old time did describe him to haue for that saith he there is onely one in his backe and it is not all along him which may be thought vnfit to beare a man But imagine that it were true which Plinie hath concerning them yet his speech is that they were brought to that custome by much practise and feeding them with bread which agreeth with the qualities of that straunge fish Matum which the Historian Peter Martyr reporteth to haue bene in the West Indies But how could this acquaintance with men and feeding by hand happen to this fish of Arion who was found at al-aduenture in the midst of the Mediterrane sea 14 Neither doth the report at Lesbos any whit confirme this tale For who knoweth not that euery countrie hath straunge reports of it selfe which by the common sort are reputed for great truths If we looke on our owne land how many things haue bene said of King Arthure and of the Prophet Merlin who although they may haue in them some ground of truth which I will not stand to dispute yet questionlesse much vanitie is mixed there withall We need no better example then the selfe same Herodotus who although in his positiue declarations he be held a good Historian and therefore is named by Tully Historiae pater the father of storie yet in his by-digressions by heare-saies and reports he hath so many vntruths that by other men he is termed with a censure too too gauling mendaciorum pater the father of lyes That such fames haue gone for currant euen among Christians the words of Paule to Timothie and Titus may shew where he speaketh of fables and Iewish fables and of old wiues fables also Now for the picture or image of the Dolphin and the man sitting vpon it that doth make a great deale lesse for inuentions and wrong deuises are wrought as well as truthes by painters and image-makers Saint Austen telleth how the Gentiles reported that Christ was a sorcerer and that he did his workes by Magicke and because they had seene Iesus in windowes painted with Peter and Paule standing by him they gaue out that hee wrote vnto them some things concerning Magicke not knowing saith Saint Austen that Paule was conuerted to the faith somewhat after Christs death But he maketh this conclusion vpon them Thus haue they deserued to erre who haue sought Christ and his Apostles not in holy bookes but in painted wals and windowes That which he iudged in a matter of farre greater importance that I may say of this A picture or image is not an argument of an approoued truth although Maister Campian do call such in church windowes for witnesses of the veritie of his cause So the song which is now extant and said to be Arions is as weake a proofe as any for why might not another man beleeuing the tale to be true put it out in his name Yea peraduenture if hee did not beleeue it as in Poets we haue many speeches fayned on other mens persons Then we may gather that either the narration is altogether fabulous or if he were so throwne by any into the water that another shippe intercepted him the badge whereof was a Dolphin as in the Actes of the Apostles the badge of that shippe wherein Paule sayled was Castor and Pollux And thereupon together with the inuention of Antiquitie grew the fable as some other haue imagined 15 To apply this somewhat nearer to my bresent purpose and to a true vse in Diuinitie if there were any such matter of the Dolphin and Arion as I in no sort do beleeue it we must hold it for a miracle wrought by the Diuell who by the Lords permission hath false wonders of his as God hath true of his Christ saith that false Christes and false Prophets shall shew great signes and wonders so that if it were possible they should deceiue the very elect The beast in the Reuelation doth bring fire downe from heauen When Moses was in Egypt the sorcerers had their sleights wrought by the finger of Sathan Eusebius speaketh of straunge deedes done by the Diuell and by Magicke Saint Austen in his tenth booke De ciuitate Dei doth attribute such credite to the stories of the Romanes that he thinketh that the Troiane Penates which were a kind of images did go from place to place and that Tarquine with a razor Liuie saith it was Actius Nauius did cut a whetstone in peeces and other such like things named there but he addeth that these were done by the power of infernall spirits So in his booke De Vnitate Ecclesiae speaking of miraculous matters he maketh this diuision of them Let these things be set aside being either fained inuentions of lying men or monstrous actes of cousining spirits supposing that some strange reports were fained and inuented by men and some other things were indeed brought about and effected by the Diuell If we would hold this of the Musitian in Herodotus for a truth then it teacheth vs this doctrine that as an Ape is the imitatour of man in his acts and gestures so is Sathan the Ape of God to follow him in his powerfull workes But how farre doth he come short of the originall which he looketh at He followeth him indeed but it is non passibus aequis with very vnequall steppes He seeth that God is mightily glorified in doing such straunge and rare deedes as he pleaseth and he will study to do the like that himselfe also may be glorified among the sonnes of darkenesse As the Lord shall haue his Ionas to be spoken of euery where so he will haue his Arion both of them throwne downe into the sea and both saued by a fish 16 Hence it is that we haue so many arguments of his suttle imitation God hath appeared like an Angell and Satan transformeth himselfe into an Angell of light God rayned stones on the enemies of Iosuah when they fled before him from the battell and Liuie writeth of credit that in the time of the Romane wars with Hannibal it rained stones for two dayes together on the hill called Mons Albanus So Hirtius that great welwiller of Iulius Caesar doth write that when Caesar was personally present in his wars in Africa very stones fell on the armie as it vseth to haile God rayned Manna from heauen and fire and brimstone vpon Sodome the one to helpe the other to hurt So the stories of the Romanes do mention that it rayned bloud and rayned flesh and wooll too saith Orosius in the dayes of the Emperour Valentinian and milke other such stuffe which as the learned do gather were
of purpose caused by Sathan that supplications might be made and sacrifices to him as the heathen people did commonly vse in such fearefull frightfull times thinking that they had performed some deuotion to some Gods when all was to the Diuell Abraham was commaunded to sacrifice his sonne to please the Lord Agamemnon was bid to sacrifice his daughter to please the prince of darknesse A ram was slaine for Isaac for Iphigenia an hind As Iephthe offered vp his daughter which was supposed by some to be a point of religion so the Carthaginians and many other Gentiles did offer men to their idols vpon their altars There came from God answers in obscure and darke causes the Oracles of the heathen as at Delphos and elsewhere did resemble that when foule spirits did there giue answere The true Temple at Hierusalem had in imitation of it a false temple at Ephesus to Diana and in diuerse other places the like to other as the Capitoll at Rome Aulus Gellius in reckening vp the apparell and ceremonies of the Romane Flamen Dialis hath many things meerely taken from the high Priest of the Iewes as he may see who compareth them Ambrose in his Commentarie on the eighth Chapter to the Romanes sheweth that as Christ was taken vp to his Father in a cloud so Simon Magus also to procure himselfe credit did flye aboue in the ayre which no doubt was done by the speciall meanes of the Prince of the ayre who aduaunced such a businesse This is the fraude of him who is the fountaine and welspring and chiefe Lord of all deceipt And as on the one side by his vndertaking of such actions or semblances rather his great vaine-glorie doth appeare and that the meanes whereby he seeketh it is the imitation of God so on the other side it is a great argument for the truth against all Epicures and Atheists conuincing that in the bookes of the Bible there is a diuine and most vndoubted veritie For as counterfeits do euermore presuppose that there be some such indeed as whom they take on them to resemble as he who made shew to be the sonne of Herod the Great did argue that there had bene such a one who was in truth called Alexander and in England in the dayes of King Henry the seuenth Perkin Warbecke who pretended to be the Prince Edward the fifth did manifestly declare that there had bene one of that name And as the coyners of false money do imply by their attempt that some of that stampe is good and currant in one place or other And as Alchimistes who do labour to make gold by proiection do intend that there is naturall gold Yea as painters howsoeuer they may somtimes make pictures of fained deuises yet account their art to be a resemblance of that which verily is or hath bene So the manifold and laborious affected imitation of the sacred stories and such things as were done in them doth giue the wise and holy soule fully to vnderstand that the patterne which is so followed and curiously shadowed by so many inuentions is a matter of truth of iustifiable verity and absolutely without exception But I vrge not this any farther 17 In the second place if we will take the whole tale of Arion for an vntruth which it much rather doth deserue it doth remember vs of as fruitfull instruction another way And that is the wonderfull suttlety of Satan to discredit the writings of the Scriptures as farre as lyeth in him For when it should be spoken ouer any part of the world that such or such a thing was done which was true in our Prophet if he might be able to bring another matter like to it in resemblance which yet in truth should be but fabulous the first might be disgraced with the common sort of men in comparing it with the second Quintilian in his sixth booke of the Principles of Rhetoricke going about to teach how one false thing may be displaied and discouered with another bringeth this for an example When one Victoriatus had sayd that in Sicily he had bought a Lamprey which was fiue foote long another called Galba did make him answer that it was no maruell for in that countrey saith he the breed of them is commonly so large that fishermen do vse them for the lines of their angles Here if any man had inferred that the latter tale was certainly a lye Galba by and by would haue replied so also is the other The old and crafty serpent saw this to be a good way to bring the Scripture in doubt by fables like to the Scripture And this doth Iustinus Martyr assigne to be the reason why so many things in the old tales are like to the truths of the word of God He principally insisteth in the person of Christ Iesus himselfe The diuels sayth he being taught by the Oracles of the Prophets many things concerning Christ vvho was to come caused like things to be spread touching diuerse sonnes of Iupiter hoping that those who heard those monstrous trifles would beleeue no more of Christ then they did of the other For an example he citeth that of Aesculapius who by the Heathen was reported to be able to cure any defect and was held to be the sonne of God which was drawne from hence because it was fore-prophecied of Iesus that his power should be such as to giue sight to the blind to restore limmes to the lame to raise vp those which were dead He reputeth this to be the worke of Satan that men might no more beleeue the true reports of our Sauiour then the fained things of the other 18 If we will looke on their old Poets as well Latine as Greekes we shall see how this purpose was pursued in very many matters The confusion of all things which was before the world was made and the manner of the creation is shadowed and pointed at by the Chaos of Hesiodus but most elegantly by Ouid in the beginning of his Metamorphosis If God haue a tree of life in Paradise whereof who so euer eateth shall not dye but by the restauratiue force thereof shall be kept and euermore maintained in cheerefulnesse and fresh youth the Poets will haue Nectar and Ambrosia which shall worke with their Gods the like effect The deluge in Noahs time is quitted among the Greekes with the deluge of Deucalion If Noah did see things before and after the floud they will haue Ianus for him who shall be double-faced and looke forward and backward for the learned do suppose that Noah was meant by their Ianus If the people do go about to build the tower of Babel vp to the heauē so to get themselues a name the Giants shall be sayd to lay Pelion vpon Ossa and Olympus on the top of both so to plucke Iupiter out of heauen Iustine Martyr who is auncient sayth expresly that all the tale of the Giants
haue shewed the apish quality of Satan in his imitation of the mightiest workes of God and his craftinesse otherwise in seeking by his tales and inuented reports to withdraw credit from the Scriptures Whereunto I might first adde that since we haue to do with an enemy of that quality we had neede be very circumspect in regard of our selues that we yeeld not assent to any of the leud motions of himselfe or other his Atheisticall agents in going about to extenuate the credit of the word but pray to God still to guide vs in his vndoubted truth both that we may beleeue and practise that which he hath taught vs. Secondly I might shew the conueniency or rather the necessity that a Minister who should expound the Scriptures should be furnished with liberall Arts and sciences with histories and other humane learning that when occasion directly serueth such knots as this is may be opened to the honour of the true God In which respect I do professe my iudgement to be cleane contrary to the opinions of such men who thinke that the vnderstanding and vse of these matters is friuolous and vaine for a Minister and only for ostentation and that it skilled not if there were no Vniuersities or schooles where these things are studied I repute them the great blessings of the Lord of heauen affoorded to vs for the apparant furtherance of his ministery and the profession of Diuinity How can the Reuelation and the prophecy of Daniel be vnderstood without these The like may be sayd of some other parts of Scripture When with so many helpes of history from the Greeke and from the Latine the best and most laborious wits cannot attaine to the depth of many matters in them how vnperfect and vncertaine nay how amazed plainely should he be that would looke into them knoweth nothing of antiquitie The positiō is most true that arte and knowledge hath none so great an enemy as that person which is ignorant Take away these and bring in barbarisme But I haue no time to handle this and therefore I do leaue it desiring God to perpetuate these arts skils among vs that the meanes of our studies here in this vngodly age be not taken away from vs for our abusing of them but that they may continue as handmaides to Diuinity and seruants vnto the Scriptures till Christ Iesus come to iudgement To him with his blessed father and his most holy Spirit be praise for euermore THE XVI LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 3. God in sending twise sheweth his loue to be the greater 4. which is hindered by no crosse from man 6. As appeareth in England 7. God imployeth Ionas after his former fall 8. The cruell doctrine of the Nouatians 10. The word is the great instrument whereby God calleth 11. To the old Prophets the word of God came 12. But preachers now must go to it 13. Ionas is not forward to his second message 14. God purposely sendeth variety of businesse to vs and why 15. The finger of the Lord appeareth in that one teacheth a multitude 16. But especially the word is forcible 17. Knowing of daunger before-hand maketh the Minister more resolute 18. Prophets must preach that onely which God commandeth 19. Which the Papists do not Ionah 3 1.2 And the word of the Lord came vnto Ionah the second time saying Arise go vnto Niniueh that great city and preach vnto it the preaching vvhich I bid thee AS it pleased God that vpon the first reuiuing of this weekely exercise of preaching among vs I meane in these late yeres after some discontinuance of these holy labours he put in my mouth the first charge layd on Ionas to go to Niniue the euent whereof from time to time I haue discoursed vnto you as the Lord hath enabled me So it falleth out fitly by the prouidence of the selfe same God that vpon the second reuiuing of the selfe same exercise the second sending of the selfe same Prophet vnto the same city should be offered to your hearing Wherein as the mercy of the Almighty was manifested to Niniue when after the first stay hinderance of that which was intended toward it he did not giue ouer but redoubled his message by sending againe So it is an argument of Gods kindnesse to vs that he suffereth not the practise of his seruants in holy things to cease but although vpon occasion it hath bene interrupted yet to breake foorth againe A copious blessing when God plentifully sendeth the foode of our soules and that not onely by imposed sacrifices but by free-will offerings also so remoouing farre from vs the famine of the word which is the greatest famine and against which we are to pray more earnestly then against all hunger of the body It were to be wished that this may be continued with an euerlasting performance that so the building of this house like that of Salomons Temple might not cease till all were ended by Christs comming to iudgement or if like the second Temple it must be at a stay yet that it might neuer quite stand lest the memory should be razed out that there was any such building Although some space be betweene yet let the dayes of Darius adde to the daies of Cyrus the Lord stirre vp the spirit as of Zerubbabel before so of Zachariah afterward to second and forward and incourage the worke 2 Now there is proposed to me a larger field to walke in then hitherto hath bene for the sinne of one man alone was offered before vnto me to be discoursed of but now the sinne of a multitude So heretofore I had occasion to looke into the priuate repentance of one offending person but now into the publike penance of a whole transgressing city and that of the city Niniue the greatest in the East which by her enormity did minister God great matter of vengeance and wrath but by her deploration and sorrow for iniquity did mooue him vnto mercy Before the cry of their ioyned transgressions did ascend into the eares of the Lord as the cry of Sodome did but now in a like manner the out-cry of their ioyned praiers of their fasting and contrition doth pierce through the very cloudes and commeth before Gods seate and obtaineth forgiuenesse of him Which as it is afterward illustrated in this present Chapter and therefore in his fit place will yeeld most fruitfull doctrine so because the meanes also of moouing them to repentance are here opened vnto vs that is to say by the word of God deliuered vnto thē by the preaching of the Prophet my purpose is to pursue it with that naturall order which the text prescribeth vnto me beginning with the Lords sending and so proceeding to the Prophets going and afterward to his preaching and then to their demeanour in hearing and receiuing and so forward to the rest But this day in these two verses especially I shall touch these two things The imployment
of Ionas againe which the first verse yeeldeth in generall And the vvord of the Lord came vnto Ionah the second time saying Then secondly in what speciall words this charge was deliuered vnto him Arise and go to Niniue Such sub-diuided notes as do arise out of these shall be touched in their order And the vvord of the Lord the second time came vnto Ionah saying 3 The manner of men is that if they intend any thing of the greatest importance they are at first earnest and peremptorie for it but afterward time perhaps doth slaken their heate and coole their resolution But if there come an hinderance or stop in the way they sinke vnder their burthen and desist from their enterprise attempting little farther Hence common obseruation hath taken that vp for a speech that in fights the first conflict is euer most daungerous and if that be resisted the rest will be but easie Hence such as by their guiltinesse haue prouoked the wrath of him who is like to deale with them in seuerity do take what course they can to prolong and put off their conuenting and arraignement both conceiuing that the Iudge being asswaged with time will abate of his rigour and the pursuer sleeping on it will remit of his furie Great warres and great iourneyes receiuing great crosses in the entrance vnto them end before that they begin and so the greatest preparations oftentimes turne vnto nothing Neither euer was there purpose hauing maine impediment which was seconded by any and followed afresh but by him whose hate was strong or his loue exceeding great to that which he did aime at which would not be rebuked or choked with a little Of this kind was Paules loue as he specifieth of himselfe who intending many times to visite the Saints at Rome and being often stayed by vnauoydable occasions yet still burneth in desire of the personall seeing of them and holdeth not himselfe satisfied till it were done indeed He speaketh of it and he writeth of it and he wisheth it and prayeth for it he is so setled in it 4 The greater was the loue of the maker of mankind to this retchlesse city Niniue to the which meaning to send a message full of threatnings but such a one as should in the end bring peace and quietnesse to them although he were stayed for a while and as a man may say put from his first ground to worke on his seruant running from him and causing him to follow him and chastise him when in the meane while much good might haue bene done by preaching to that people yet he is not quite stopped with it or put from his first meaning but secondly he will send that they may haue some warning to flye the rod hanging ouer them If he had not intended their good and safety with a purpose which he meant should not be controlled he might right well haue suffered that doome to fall on them which he threatneth by the Prophet Ezechiel both to the Iewes and to him that if he being set for a watchman would not tell them of such plagues as were to come vpon them they should dye in their sinnes but their bloud would he require at the hands of Ezechiel So the Niniuites being not acquainted with that vengeance which was neare them might haue perished in their ignorance and bene damned for their iniquitie but their bloud might haue bene required at the hands of our poore Ionas But to make it manifest that his purpose was inuariable in it selfe and full of good to them he doth but deferre his sending some few dayes may be slipped but it assuredly commeth at last His intendments depend not on the ability or want of any of his creatures the stubburnenesse of the reprobate or falling away of him who seemeth to be somewhat or the apostasie of a great one or the depraued errour of any of his owne seruants do not hinder his designement If this man will not serue then there shall come another or if yesterday will not do yet it shall be too morrow The Philistines shall be conquered if Saules sinnes will not suffer that he shall haue a victory Dauid shall be the man The Temple must be erected if the father may not do it because he hath shed much bloud the sonne Salomon shall be peaceable and he shall begin and ende it 5 But when he hath once purposed good vpon a nation that it shall be called home and rectified in his wayes be there neuer so manie difficulties as they seeme in mans iudgement he cleereth them euery one For to God nothing is difficult but himselfe hath a finger in that which seemeth to hinder as diuines commonly do shew in determining that question that God is not the authour of sinne and yet doth vvorke in all things He resolued to make the Gentiles like the Iewes to call those for a people who were no people before There was in the time of Christ a decree and barre against it Go not into the vvay of the Gentiles and into the cities of the Samaritanes enter yee not But go rather to the lost sheepe of the house of Israel Yet afterward Peter shall see the vncleane made cleane and God will be no longer a respecter of any persons He by his Apostle hath foretold that the Iewes shall againe be called home to the adoption before the day of iudgement Then Gods election being ouer them and his words being truth and veritie they shall come to the sheepefold that all Israel may be saued Although the bloud of Christ be on their heads and on the heads of their children although they yet to this day hate and reuile the Sauiour of the world and vnder the name of Nazarites do curse vs in their Synagogues In this last age of the world when the fulnesse of time was come that by the breath of his mouth the preaching of the Gospell God would weaken and consume that wicked one that aduersary the very sonne of perdition and the light of the word should clearely shine againe in a great part of the world not all the cloudes of ignorance nor the thicke mistes of darkenesse could stay from vs his decreed mercie When the Pastours had conspired either not to preach at all to their charges as Ionas would not at Niniue or if they did bring any thing it was poyson for meate and venime in steed of water when Antichrist with his pompe and his followers with the brightnesse of earthly and carnall glorie had dazeled the peoples eyes that they could not see truth from errour when the knowledge of the tongues and almost all other literature was raked vp vnder the ashes when the decrees of Popes and the Canons of Councels and customes and traditions were in place of the written word when the schoolemen had conspurcated and abused true Diuinitie with their filthinesse when a liuely faith and vnderstanding knowledge were not heard
watereth the earth and maketh it to bring foorth and bud that it may giue seede to the sower and bread to him that eateth so shall the word be that goeth out of Gods mouth it shall not returne voyd but accomplish that which God will and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto he sendeth it It is the very power of saluation to all those that do beleeue a lanthorne to our feete and a light vnto our pathes and therefore as at other times he vseth this to saue men so he doth in this place teaching the Niniuites by that word which commeth from the mouth of the Prophets by his preaching and crying and to that purpose also sending his word to Ionas as a warrant in what sort he should crie The word must be the meanes and he the man that must bring it 11 This is a sure seale vnto him of his calling and vocation The mind of God in particular concerning this or that is reuealed and made knowne to him not after a common maner as euery one in the Scripture is informed of his dutie and what the Lords will is but in a speciall sort as to one singled out as the Prophets were to choyse places And to signifie that no man can of himselfe be a Prophet but by Gods disposing of him vnto it the word of the Lord commeth to him he doth not go vnto it but it is imposed on him So that he who would be a Prophet or a foreteller as all those holy ones were who were called by that name before the comming of Christ must peculiarly be raised vp by his God vnto that office and haue diuine and supernaturall reuelations from him I was saith Amos no Prophet neither was I a Prophets sonne but I was a heardman and a gatherer of wild figs and the Lord tooke me as I followed the flocke and the Lord sayd vnto me go prophecie vnto my people Israel Now he who lacketh this commission is a lyer and deceiuer Such a one was that filthie Mahomet the authour of the Alcoran and of the Turkish religion who would needes be a Prophet but had no word for the same Yet to blind the eyes of the people as our Christians do write of him when the falling sicknesse came on him wherewith he was much troubled he would say when he came againe to himselfe that he was rapt into some reuelation and in his soule had some conference with the Almightie maker Let such false Prophets as these be perish with that in the Reuelation for whom as well as for the beast that fire and brimstone is prepared which is the second death 12 The true foretelling Prophets are ceassed now long agone The Prophets of the new Testament are the Preachers and expounders of the word vnto the people as Saint Paule to the Corinthians doth take Prophets for Preachers But although a motion euen from the Spirit of God and an inward calling be needfull for vs whereby we may be assured that we are sequestred out and ordained vnto this vocation yet the word of God may not properly be said to come to vs but it is rather our part to go to the word of God and to haue recourse to the Scripture and therein to see what the Lord doth teach vnto vs. And when we are furnished and well stored with things both old and new we ought as the good Scribe to bring them out of our treasurie Which if all those did respect who do enter into this function we should not haue such base ones stand before the altar If we had not men so good as those holy inspired ones were yet we should not haue them so bad as euery where abound men who neuer imagined what an inward calling meaneth they know not of any such matter such as neither the word commeth to them nor they come to the word the meanest of the flocke yet be guides to the flocke neither learned nor apt to learne the refuse of the people a dishonour vnto God and a great disgrace to our Church after so long a peace It were the lesse if they only made themselues to be guiltie but they slay the souls of other Their case is vnnaturall against the rules of nature that any should be teachers who neuer learned or preachers who cannot speake or men to diuide the word who know not how to diuide it But I leaue them and this verse and come to my second part Arise and go to Niniue that great citie 13 As hitherto you haue heard in a kind of generalitie that the Prophet once againe by Gods word so directing him was to go and preach at Niniue so now the charge which the Lord gaue vnto him is in precise termes plainly set downe vnto vs. Arise In the beginning of this Prophecie the very same word is vsed and in both places intendeth that Ionas was not readie but as it were sitting or lying downe so that he did need a spurre to quicken him and reuiue him In the second of Ezechiel God speaketh thus vnto his seruant Sonne of man stand vp vpon thy feete and I will speake vnto thee It sheweth that he was not readie and therefore he biddeth him stand vp Our man when preaching at first to the people of Israel he thought that he had done no good but vtterly lost his labour of likelyhood being discontented did set him downe and vexe Then did the Lord put life into him and bid him arise and be stirring he would send him elsewhere But now it is rather to be supposed that being deiected in his spirit for his greeuous disobedience and troubled in his soule for his so great offence he sate musing and pondering as not hauing yet digested the sorrow through which he did runne And to say the truth he had bene insensible and without all kind of feeling if he had so soone shaken off the remembrance of his sinne and his punishment for the same He that hath sustained bitternesse and felt it to the full shall after his deliuerance in a melancholike pang starkle and be affrighted as if he were yet troubled yea be perplexed in his dreames as if there were yet a continuance of misery vpon him How much more might Ionas be yet quiuering and trembling whose body was in the mouth yea the belly of the graue and whose soule did feele that anguish which the feare of Gods displeasure and his casting away from his presence could possibly lay vpon him Now to the end that he might not wast himselfe with sorrowing beyond measure and so be swallowed vp with griefe he is rowzed out of his passions and busied otherwise yet more to his owne hearts ease and his maisters better seruice 14 It is a thing worthie obseruance in very many men although in some more in some lesse that in the greatest pensiuenesse of mind which befalleth them God by some new occasion doth set them vp and reuiue them The
Pastour hath his vexations and grieuances at his heart The vntowardnesse of his people doth make him fret like Moses so the wilinesse of the serpent in deuising new kinds of euill or the stubburnnesse of Recusants or the circumuentings of heretickes or the deriding of enemies may disquiet him and afflict him The father and the housholder may be grieued and disturbed by the vnrulinesse of his children and the infamie which is vpon them as was vpon the sonnes of Eli or Samuel or by the falsenesse of his seruants and treacherie of his people by whom he sustaineth harmes or losses or by malicious neighbours The faithfull man who is in any vocation may be tormented in his spirit by an vndermining Ziba or by an oppressing Pharao or by a deriding Ismael or by a contemning Haman or by a reuiling Shimei or by a slaundering Doeg The tender and troubled conscience may be frighted and molested by recounting his iniquities against so high a maiestie and so seuere a iustice There is no one of these but being followed pursued as with waue after waue must needes sinke grow faint vnlesse there be some remedie He that should onely feed vpon this in his thought and as one who made much of the humour should increase it and maintaine it might fret himselfe to peeces and if his bones were iron or if his sides were brasse might consume them and dissolue theÌ„ Therefore our respectiue father knowing wherof we are made remembring that we are but dust doth take this order for vs that as sometimes he intermingleth ioy with sorrow like the night with the day and faire weather with cloudie and peace with warre health with sicknesse so otherwise in our troubles he sendeth such varietie and vicissitude of disturbances that this businesse is driuen away and remooued with that as a nayle is forced with a nayle or one woodden pin with another that the mind may not haue time to gâ—aw or leisure to wast it selfe with sorrow This dutie or that necessitie or the comming in of a friend or feare of euill to come or hope and expectation or watchfulnesse to preuent or labouring to escape or one thing or another is set by God as a stay that we shall not with Iob onely sit downe and mourne or with Ieremie yeeld our selues wholly to lamentation We shall haue some thing or other say to vs as to Ionas arise I am assuredly perswaded that this was the estate of Saint Paule aboue all other men who ranne through so many difficulties in watching and in fasting in imprisonment and in beating in preaching and in writing in comforting the weake in combating with the enemie in taking care of all Churches God did not affoord him time to greeue at his perplexities but choked one with another and gaue him grace for all Euerie man may apply this to himselfe as he pleaseth But to the end that our Prophet might not be steeped and quite dissolued with sorrow the word of the Lord commeth to him No more Ionas of this heauinesse Arise and go to Niniue that great citie 15 No maruell if this did awake him to send him in such an errand Now he is not to go as vpon any priuate businesse from one man to another but he must go from God and he must go to a citie and that as I thinke the greatest which then was on the earth which might very well vrge him to looke about him with all his wit and vnderstanding I shall haue more occasion in the third verse to speake of the hugenesse of this place because there it is said that Niniue was a great and excellent citie of no lesse then three dayes iourney It shall suffice for that purpose which I now intend to follow out of these words of my text that Niniue was a great citie to contemplate with reuerend admiration the sound force and effectuall operation of the word of God and the ministerie that one man and a stranger without pompe without traine without any one to grace him should be sent to such a multitude and being sent should preuaile See whether some secret vertue power which cannot be expressed be not in this liuely word when it is taught See whether the mightie finger of the Lord himselfe be not with it that he should depute one mouth to speake vnto a million and to mooue them and perswade them and sometimes to erect them and sometimes to depresse them with promises and with threatnings to make so many hearts as would not feare an armie of the old Greekes or Aegyptians to quake and with a quauering to tremble in all the bones That he should appoint one Moses to aduise and giue precepts to sixe hundred thousand men which were able to fight in battell besides women and children That Peter at one Sermon shold not only speake to so many but should winne three thousand soules That in a great congregation where hundreds or thousands be a man of the selfe same qualitie as those to whom he doth preach clothed with many weaknesses and bringing this most precious treasure but in an earthen vessell should stand betweene the Lord and the consciences of the people and with memorie coÌ„stancie shold speak boldly to the best and rebuke them reprooue them and thunder out Gods iudgements And that the toung of this man a little peece of flesh and nothing in comparison should talke of God and Angels of the mysteries of the Trinitie of the benefits of the Redeemer of the power of the holy Ghost of euerlasting ioy and of the paines of hell of saluation and damnation and with this speech so vttered should conquer preuaile incite men vnto fasting weeping lamenting yea to suffering of affliction yea to martyrdome it selfe 16 It sheweth that this word is truely likened to the mustard seed which being small in the sowing groweth to great branches afterward And to leauen which being put in meale farre greater then it selfe yet doth season and sauour it all So it is fitly compared vnto a little sparke or coale of fire which lighting vpon apt matter prooueth soone a burning flame and hath in it such power as that cities or forrests or whole realmes may be wasted with it This word hath endlesse encrease when God giueth a blessing to it By how few in respect of a multitude was the Gospell propagated in all the coasts of the earth Their sound went out into all lands They were but a few Apostles and a small number of their scholers neither rich nor learned nor eloquent yet India and Armenia and Greece and Rome and Spaine were filled with their deuotions the base were heard by the noble and fishermen and their followers catched Caesars and mightie Emperours The Eâ—nuch of Candaces had but a little parley with Philip the Euangelist yet he so planted Christs doctrine in the countrey of Ethiopia that it
from his maister All the Prophets were so tyed this onely commeth from them Thus or thus saith the Lord. Yea Balaam that false Prophet had catched this by the end If Balac vvould giue me his house full of siluer and gold I cannot go beyond the vvord of the Lord my God to do lesse or more Saint Paule had learned this lesson as the first in all his booke He sheweth it in nothing more plainly then in the case of the Sacrament I receiued from the Lord that vvhich I also haue deliuered vnto you So in the first to the Galathians If an Angell from heauen preach vnto you otherwise then that vvhich vve haue preached vnto you he had called himselfe before an Apostle from Iesus Christ let him be accursed It is a rule inuariable that in cases of saluation we looke to God the oracle of wisedome and truth not to our owne inuentions or to confirme our doctrine from this or that of our owne brayne but if we haue our warrant from the old or the new Testament then we may safely speake it Origene proposeth Saint Paule for an example in this case Paule saith he as his custome is vvill affirme that vvhich he teacheth out of the holie Scriptures and he doth giue an example to the Doctours of the Church that they should produce those things vvhich they speake to the people not grounded vpon their owne opinions but strengthened with the testimonies of God For if he so great and such an Apostle did not thinke that the authoritie of his words might suffice vnlesse he did know that those things were written in the law and the Prophets which he said how much more should we little ones obserue this that when we teach we vtter not our owne but the meanings of the holy Ghost 19 If the teachers and preachers of the Antichristian faith had kept this for a lawe there had neuer so absurd and filthie points of doctrine bene taught to their people visions and reuelations and messages from the dead dreames customes and such follies as are besides the word Purgatorie and limbus Patrum pilgrimages vnto Reliques and Transubstantiation of the bread into Christs bodie being contrarie to the Scriptures and many other things of this qualitie the later euer adding to the inuention of the former such a Canon or such a ceremonie These men are bold beyond the authoritie which was committed to them for theirs was but as this of Ionas thou must preach to them that preaching which I shall shew vnto thee Their charge was but as Timothies was and Paules words to Timothie were O Timothie keepe thy charge Keepe and hold fast that which by the Scriptures is committed to thee from the Lord and from me by his direction And there is not the greatest Minister not the most learned or acute but must obserue this rule Not Iames not Iohn not Peter not all the troupe of the Apostles may once varie from this He who shall bring other doctrine let him be accursed by vs. He who speaketh of himselfe let him be refused by vs. Howsoeuer godly or holy he do pretend himselfe yet if he decline that word which should be his direction let him be declined by vs. Whosoeuer shall say otherwise then that which is appointed saith Ignatius he meaneth otherwise then God hath appointed although he be a man of credit although he fast and keepe virginitie although he do miracles although he prophecie let him be thought by thee to be a wolfe who vnder a sheepes skinne doth intend the marring of the sheepe Thus shold the hearers be carefull that they receiue no doctrine but that which is approoued and the Preachers be aduised that they neuer teach any thing but what God hath commaunded Our Barhoisticall separations and absentments from the Sacraments had not crept so farre in the land if this had bene well practised 20 I need not giue farther exhortation in this place to retaine this as a ground in as much as all of vs do lay it downe as a principle that the written word of God is the onely guide to saluation and that fancies and traditions are to be exiled from vs. I therefore will here end desiring the Almightie that such doctrine as is oftentimes taught vnto vs from this place may bring foorth such plenteous fruit that in this congregation the name of God may be honoured and glorified in great measure and our soules may be so strengthened that they may soundly perseuere to euerlasting life To the which God the Father bring vs for his owne Sonne Christs sake to both whom and the holy Spirit be glorie euermore THE XVII LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 2. Carnall reasons why Ionas might yet haue refused to go 3. But affliction hath schooled him 4. and that not onely while it was on him 5. Affliction worketh otherwise in the good 6. and in the bad 7. A reproofe of the present time 9. Obedience requireth euen circumstances to be regarded 10. God must be obeyed without debating 11. The greatnesse of Niniue 12. Ionas feareth not that he is alone 14. A great auditorie giueth more courage to a wise Preacher 15. Ionas speaketh not fearefully 16. The difference of opinions for the daies of repentance allowed to Niniue 17. Iudgement concerning Luther in the matter of the Sacrament 18. The Hebrew toung is not to be neglected by a Diuine Ionah 3.3.4 So Ionah arose and went vnto Niniue according to the word of the Lord Now Niniue was a great and excellent citie of three dayes iourney And Ionah began to enter into the citie a dayes iourney and he cried and sayd Yet fortie dayes and Niniue shall be ouerthrowne THe Prophet Ionas who should haue gone in the businesse of his maister but vpon some supposals had no mind vnto it and therefore starting aside like a broken bow was well beaten for his labour hath now a second time his commission drawne and his instructions giuen him to go as an Ambassadour from the Almightie king of heauen to a great Prince vpon earth The message which he bringeth is of more fearefull qualitie then if all the Princes adioyning had sent him their defiance by their Heralds that they would immediatly inuade him with fire and sword and irreconcilable hatred For he might haue made some shift against all their powers and standing vpon his gard in the defensiue part he might haue repelled them with such multitude of people as were vnder his gouernement and a citie so fortified as his was at that time Or if he and his people must needes end their dayes by the outrage of their enemie who would be much encouraged by prosperitie and desired successe yet that might be his comfort which is the last comfort in death to men in his case that hee went not awaye vnreuenged but hee had ridde some of those who came to ridde him and slayne some of the murtherers before that his last
breath was yeelded vp to nature But there can be no such reuengement taken vpon him who sendeth this the King of Niniue must suffer all and do nothing 2 Now here it may be expected that the man sent on this errand might yet picke some occasion and slippe his necke out of collar that he might not performe this businesse It might haue frighted this weake man to go to a king and to a barbarous king proud and hawtie by nature apt enough to reuile the poore preacher that should be sent yea readie enough to blaspheme his Lord and maister himselfe saying who is this God or what haue I to do with him Who knew whether he should euer returne aliue for Ambassadours haue bene slaine by perfidious and fedifragous and barbarous Princes cleane contrarie to the lawe of nature and of nations Or what if his bodie should be serued of that sort as the beards and garments of the messengers which Dauid sent to Hanun king of Ammon were by mangling in the face or cutting off some arme or legge that as a maimed criple he might beare it to his graue Or it might be imagined that he who once before had failed so grosly might now since the ice was broken still hold on in his course and come to haue a facilitie in running away For it is a great matter to haue once ouer-slipped the bonds of our dutie and to haue cracked the conscience which cannot so easily be soudered againe But the euent is otherwise and without peraduentures our Prophet performeth this charge He thinketh it enough that he hath broken once and now he will not be hired to do so againe He goeth without delaye and speaketh very liberally that which is enioyned him So that now in the steade of a stubburne-minded man you are to expect an obedient seruant He ariseth as he is bid he crieth as he is bid what will you haue more And this is it which my text at this time imposeth on me and for the more readie opening may not amisse be diuided into these three obseruations First the obedience of the Prophet after his great chastisement And Ionas arose and vvent vnto Niniue according to the vvord of the Lord Secondly the greatnesse of the citie Now Niniue vvas a great and excellent citie of three dayes iourney and he went a dayes iourney into it for that intendeth so much And thirdly the preaching which he vttered or Sermon which he made Yet fortie dayes and Niniue shall be destroyed While I speake of these three the Spirite of God giue me his holy assistaunce and you your gentle patience To say therefore to the first The obedience of Ionah 3 It is a matter of great force to make vs proficients in the schoole of God to haue the rodde going as well as the toung some discipline and some doctrine For whereas wee should be wantons and hearkening to toyes yea first neglect that which should be taught vnto vs and after contemne the teacher himselfe for that is the fruite of securitie and impunitie wee by no killing seueritie but by a gentle remembraunce are brought to like that which wee should learne of all things that is to say patience and faith and to loue him who teacheth It is good for me saith Dauid that I haue bene afflicted for novv I may learne thy statutes And before I vvas afflicted I vvent astray but novv I keepe thy vvord So by the Prophet Esay seeing thy iudgements are in the earth the inhabitants of the world shall learne righteousnesse When the men of Ai had slaine but six and thirty of the Israelites it made Iosuah and the Elders to looke the more about them so that Iosuah rent his clothes fell vpon the ground and cried earnestly vnto God and with a more setled will tooke punishment vpon Achan made away the Anathema The Israelites came together to take order for the iniurie offered to the Leuite who had his wife so abused beyond cōmon humanity The cause of the meeting of the twelue tribes against one was good but the manner of ther handling of it was not pleasing vnto the Lord for fury and indignation that any man should stand against them did mooue them as much as iustice and they bore themselues the brauer on the multitude which was with them which made the Lord yeeld them ouer for two dayes to the enemy so that first two and twenty thousand afterward eighteene thousand of their strong men were slaine But when they came weeping with one consent to the Lord fasted offered offerings the humbling of themselues was rewarded with a victory a great victory ouer their enemies So their soule was the better and they had what they desired Our Prophet hath his share in this good arising from affliction who of a rebellious person and one of-ward from his duty is rectified and made orderly so that now in steed of going he is ready to runne he thinketh the better of himselfe that he may be vsed in such businesse And carying in his memory what shrewd stripes he had borne although he were now freed from them he turneth not to his vomite but indeed he will amend and not continue as before 4 The manner of the world is that while the smart is vppon men they are passing obseruant and obsequious to the full but when the storme is blowne ouer they will to their old play againe It is a note of Xenophons that when mariners at sea stand in feare of a tempest or know that they must fight with some enemy who is to inuade them they not onely do such things as are commaunded them but stand silent and carefully expect what shall be imposed on them like dauncers who waite when their time shall be to strike in But otherwise sayth Xenophon when they are afraid of nothing they do nothing right but are most vngouerned men In the greatest part of the world we see this humour hold in matters of importance The younger Plinie could say that when we are in extremitie of sicknesse we are deuout and farre from the affections of auarice and ambition if he had bene a Christian he would haue sayd that we had bene mortified and very much sequestred from the world and worldly things but when we grow to health againe we forget those meditations He concludeth in that place that when we are well we should perseuere to be such as we professe that we would be so long as we are sicke It were to be wished that our age would looke better to this that what we vow in our weakenesse might be performed in our strength and what we haue in our speech when we are most deiected may in deede be in vs when we are erected againe But it is otherwise and we beare our selues in such sort as if the recouering of our bodies were the putting off of our minds and our gayning in the one were a meere
speake to a congregation his heart is more with child his vigour is more kindled and his spirits are more quickned when he seeth a great assembly attentiue and intelligent so that nothing may fall to the ground I doubt not but this was the very case of S. Peter his heart did yearne in his belly and his bowels were more dilated when he saw so many hearing with reuerence respect as that three thousand of them might be catched at one time And it is mine opinion although perhaps it be but mine that the Sauiour of the world according to those different inclinations which his manhood brought vnto him did rouze himselfe the more and did pierce the hearts of his hearers with more patheticall speech when he saw such troupes come about him that he was forced to go to a mountaine or betake him to a ship to teach so many of them He who was mooued in his bowels with compassion to see so many as sheepe without a shepheard may be more mooued in and with his tongue to satisfie such a multitude Quintilian sayth of a schoole-maister imagine that he meaneth a good one such a one as is well prepared to teach that since a good Lecture is not like a supper which being prouided for a set number will serue no more but as the sun-shine which may satisfie all without scanting come as many as will that he is very much incouraged when he readeth to many and doth vse such voyce and gesture as if he should vse to one a man would thinke that he were madde Surely this is the case of the faithfull steward of Christ who aimeth onely at the honouring and glorifying of his maister and doth not meane to set himselfe at sale with vaine glory for there God oftentimes doth send a curse in matter or voyce or memorie or one thing or another besides those common infirmities which are incident to Gods seruants he is cheered that the Lord is pleased to make his tongue the conduite to conuey grace to so many It is likely that our Ionas at this time was so well perswaded and therefore it is sayd here so precisely that the city was so great and huge a city straight after mention made of his willingnesse and obedience 15 Well be it as it is he entreth this great city a dayes iourney it is sayd This is as Hierome citeth the opinion of some men he passed so among them that he warned and instructed the third part of the city so much as a man might compasse in the iourney of a day And there he began to cry he crept not in as heretikes do nor whispered like to our Iesuites who by secret reconciling draw men from God and their Prince and all true loue to their countrey not as a fearfull coward who dare not shew his head for feare lest he should be taken but as one of the Lords Prophets he deliuereth his message in open streetes and the market Gods seruants haue not feared to speake euen to the faces of kings and cruell tyrants Christ Iesus taught in the Temple and in the midst of Hierusalem and so did his Apostles Neither may that be sayd to be by a secret or priuate conference but as our Ionas here so Christ in the seuenth Chapter of Saint Iohn did stand and crye in the Temple They were on sleepe in Niniue through prosperitie and securitie and therefore that they might be awaked they had neede of one to crye The more they were lulled in euill the more noyse must be made to rowze them out of euill He who should haue spoken mildly and but softly and quietly there might haue bene passed by of all men which was the estate of Christendome when Luther came into the world and therefore he spake with a stirring spirit of fortitude and courage God sending a sharpe surgeon to sores which were so vlcerated Our Prophet is in this predicament of vehemency and earnestnesse which appeareth by all particulars as first that he began so soone to tell his message he goeth not about the city nor gazeth to see the buildings or with curiositie to obserue the streetes or houses or pallaces or Temples but he straight way falleth to his worke secondly he thundreth with voyce lift vp and speaketh out that euery one may take notice but thirdly which is most of all he vttereth that which biteth The matter is a great deale more piercing then the manner Yet forty dayes and Niniueh shall be destroyed But because this is the third maine note which I culled out of my text giue me leaue now to come to it The Sermon of Ionah 16 The substance of his Sermon and the doctrine contained in it is that which reason teacheth should be handled in these words for there is the life of the Scripture but lest I should be wearisome to you I must be enforced to leaue that to the next when it may with fit opportunity inferre their repentance Yet in the meane while I will prepare your eares to that by touching some thing from the letter and one collection from the words In decrees of men our Lawyers still haue recourse principally to the very letter and plaine words of the Satute which if we here shall do we shall find that there is great disagreement concerning it euen among great ones The Hebrew verity hath forty dayes as we reade it yet forty dayes and Niniueh shall be destroyed The Septuagint translate it yet three dayes and no more which caused the expositours of the Greekes who onely followed the Septuagint to vse no other number So Origen vppon Ezechiel hath three dayes So Athanasius in his Synopsis and in his booke De passione de cruce Domini Hierome vpon this place wondreth how the Septuagint could so much ouer-see themselues since there is no similitude of sillables words or accents in the Hebrew betweene Shalosh and Arbagnim whereof the one doth signifie three and the other forty Saint Austen although in most things he be a follower of the Septuagint yet as I suppose being put in minde by the translation of Hierome which about that time began to be published that in the originall it was fortie and thereby being put to a push whether to chuse in his bookes De ciuitate Dei doth modestly like of that which is in the Hebrew fountaine but being desirous withall to retaine that which was receiued from the Septuagint vnder a mysticall figure applyed to Christ Iesus who was three dayes in the graue hath that excellent wit of his as Lodouicus Viues writing vpon that place speaketh so troubled and so intangled that he knoweth not how to cleere it Thus the greatest are but men and euery man hath his errors But as it falleth out that iudges who are too facile to qualifie two opinions would gladly say as both haue said and yet do say like neither so I find that Iustinus Martyr will neither haue
of that learned man I hold it to be very lawfull to obserue those seuen and twelue for the one and for the other So he saith that the veile in the Tabernacle of blew silke and purple and scarlet and fine linnen did intend the foure elements and he giueth good reason for that And the same is also the opinion of Saint Hierome Here to compare foure and foure hath a naturall vse in discoursing of the elements the good creatures of God Nay it will not do amisse if by a farther allusion we shall make application thus that as we reade in Exodus that the veyle made of those foure things did hang betweene the holy place whither the Priests did come to offer and the Sanctum Sanctorum the Holy of Holyes where the presence of God was so that they who stoode in the one could not behold the other vntill the veyle which was betweene them were rent or remooued So the holyest man that is euen the very Priest at the altar cannot see God as he should in the high abode of his holinesse vntill that his flesh and bodie which are made of those foure elements be torne off and remooued away by death and by the graue This or the like about numbers may be thought to be naturall and not strayned so that I dare not determine against it as also against nothing else which apparantly hath true and proper vse of doctrine or due application But I leaue to your consideration whether the authour of the booke De Spiritu sancto who sometimes but not rightly is supposed to be Saint Cyprian or other like to him do keepe close within these bounds when he especially magnifieth the number of seuen aboue other because it consisteth of three and foure where saith he three shew the three persons of the Trinitie and foure noteth the foure elements which intendeth that God who is signified in the mysterie of the Trinitie is caried with a loue ouer his creatures who are figured in the compasse of the foure elements A man may go too farre And this I haue obserued by reason of Saint Hieromes note vpon this place concerning fortie which I hold to be not vnfit for this auditorie because it is few times touched But now for the benefite of the vnlearned I come to doctrine which is more morall 8 When God giueth the Niniuites fortie dayes to bethinke themselues it implyeth his exceeding mercie who as he was very louing to them when he sent them warning of their destruction so is his loue more abundant when he giueth them space of repentance that they might turne away his wrath which was to breake out against them The prayer of the Leuites is true Thou art a God of mercies gracious and full of compassion of long suffering and of great mercie And so is that of Dauid The Lord is full of compassion and mercie slow to anger and of great kindnesse We can neuer sufficiently admire his bearing patience That citie which for the manifold euill of it had deserued to haue perished in one day shall haue a day and a day and fortie dayes of grace to purge it selfe if it will The tree which bore no fruit shall haue this yeare of probation and the next yeare of expectation and shall be pruned and dounged before it be cut downe So that Lord who is iealous in his anger is yet a mild God in his suffering It is obserued in men that they are long in making any thing but very quicke in marring of it A house built in a yeare may be plucked downe in a moneth A castle which hath bene long in setting vp by mining and powder may be blowne vp in a moment A citie whom many ages haue but brought to her beautie is consumed in a little time by fire put to it of the enemie Onely God is quicke in making but pawseth vpon destroying he commeth not but by steppe after steppe and when he should strike he stayeth and turneth and looketh away and will not roote vp till iustice can no longer endure He made the heauen in a day and might haue done in a moment but Niniue that one citie shall haue fortie dayes to breath in before her ruine come The Sunne and Moone and starres had but one day for their creation but man had warning for a hundred and twentie yeares before the comming of the floud in the time of Noe and Hierusalem shall haue admonishment by the Scriptures before the appearaunce of Christ by Iohn the Baptist afterward by our Sauiour personally and when they haue killed that iust one yet fortie yeares shall passe ouer before that it be quite destroyed Sixe dayes made the whole world but almost sixe thousand yeares haue beene affoorded to it before that the end ouertake it Thus iustice in many cases is if not swallowed and deuouted vp yet much shadowed by mercie which sometimes ouer-weigheth it and other times ouer-layeth it when it is readie to rise preuenting it and holding it downe And there be few of vs who may not feele this proposition true in our selues 9 If we looke vpon our own land how may we breake out and say that pitie and compassion haue abounded on vs from him See whether he hath not lent vs as many yeares to repent as he did dayes to Niniue when the infinit prouocations wherwith we haue prouoked him in hypocrisie in luke-warmnesse in gluttony and in wantonnesse in securitie and vnthankfulnes haue called on him for a shorter time Seueritie might haue said Fortie yeares I haue bene grieued or contended with this generation yet clemeÌ„cie stayeth that speech He lent not so much time to our fathers next before vs his mercie did straine it selfe to affoord sixe yeares to them of free passage of his word vâ—der his gracious instrument King Edward whose memorie liâ—e for euer and yet that was encombred with seditions of the subiect and tumults of the Commons as also with much hurrying and banding of the Nobilitie But concerning our time the question may be whether is more to be admired the greatnesse or the goodnesse the length which is very memorable or the varietie of those blessings which we do little conceiue because we most enioy them euen as no man noteth the benefit of the ayre whereon we breath because we haue store of it and yet nothing is more precious then it or nearer to life it selfe So in a common generalitie God doth beare with vs all But farther if each man will take the paines to looke on himselfe in priuate he may say that he hath had his fortie dayes oft-times told together with Niniue our citie here Saint Bernard in one of his Sermons shall speake that which I do meane The mercie and expectation of the Lord is great toward thee for when the Angell had offended he stayed not at all for him but threw him downe to hell and when Adam transgressed
Lord himselfe speaketh if men be not impudent euen their faces of brasse and their bowels of the adamant they must needes shew a conformitie in acknowledging the equitie of his exclamations against sinne howsoeuer in some mysteries they yeeld not their consent Petrus Maffeus a Iesuite reporteth in his historie that when his fellowes came first to preach in the East Indyes the Gentiles and Infidels there hearing the ten Commaundements did exceedingly commend and magnifie the equity and vprightnesse of them For what could be thought they more reasonable or more holy or iust then that men should not steale or murther one another or liue in adulterie or dishonour those that bare them or abuse the name of him whom they accounted for their God and so of the rest Thus ignorant men do assent that there is a good and an euill a lawfulnesse and vnlawfulnesse that vertue is to be praysed and sinne deserueth punishment and this opinion well rooted in the men of Niniue doth make much for the Prophet Secondly it is manifest that his threates were of such daungers as were soone after to follow so that wrath was at their gates and vengeance at their doores and would quickly breake in vppon them But onely fortie dayes space and all must to destruction If it had bene yeares or ages they might haue contemned but they are put to their dayes and fortie dayes God knoweth will soone bee expired The long suffering of the Lord maketh Atheistes to scorne and deride Where is the promise of his comming and the opinion of impunitie or scaping scot-free vntill the daie of iudgement maketh the wantons of the world persist in disobedience But here is no such remoouing nor putting off of time no repriuing till next Assises or binding to expect iudgement a hundred yeares after as once the Iudges at Athens serued a woman whose cause they knew not how to sentence It is a daunger which is to follow immediatly that will make men looke about them Tell a scorner in his iolity that he must dye one day he answereth vvhat remedy and maketh no more of it but let him heare that which Ezechias did Set thine house in order for now thou must dye or as Nero sent word to diuerse that they by their owne hands must foorthwith make away themselues or else they should dye with torture and this ruffler is by and by abated in his courage groweth pale in his countenance and is deiected like a miserable caytife Cato had oftentimes cryed out that Carthage must be destroyed by the Romanes that it was too neare a neighbour to their citie For a long space together he made no speech in the Senate house about whatsoeuer businesse but that was brought in as his conclusion in euery Oration But this earnestnesse of his preuailed not And that so much the rather because Scipio Nasica with a contrary opinion did in euery speech maintaine that it was for the good of the Romane common-wealth that Carthage should continue Yet as Pliny writeth when Cato on a day brought a greene figge into the Senate house among them and auowed vnto them that but three dayes before that figge was growing in Carthage he made plaine demonstration to them that if the wind did serue and all other things were ready within the space of three dayes an enemy might come from Carthage to Rome with a fleete of ships and an armie and besiege them in their Citie And the nearenesse of this daunger did so much mooue and earnestly affect the beholders that whereas they could neuer before be brought to it they gaue not ouer till Carthage were layd on the ground Beware of euill at hand it is that which stingeth in earnest The word of God coupled with these two attendants first that sinne deserueth punishment and then that this plaguing was immediatly to follow hath preuailed so farre from the mouth of Ionas 6 A thousand things beside these do waite vpon the word of God as allurements reasons promises of infinite variety and that doth fasten one way which doth not catch another and that is done one day which is not done another Then let the faithfull Pastour who standeth betweene the Lord and the consciences of the people still hope the best of his labours that his haruest may be great although yet he reape little of an of-ward and vntoward and stif-necked congregation Let him plant with diligence and let him waite with patience let him teach and let him pray and God will giue an increase But let not him appoint the time and be wiser then his maker It is the Lords owne word a softening seasoning piercing a working winning word and by the force thereof he who hath fished a whole night and caught nothing may make a draught to be wondered at in a Sermon of one houre That sinfull man Ionas who lately by his notorious disobedience and sleeping vpon his fault had prouoked the Lords high displeasure and was accordingly chastised for it hath his labours so countenanced and graced euery way by his maister that he stirred the greatest city that all the world had to fasting and repentance And shall thy single heart deuote it selfe to the Lord and consecrate all his ability sincerely and entierly to the honour of his name and to the enlarging of his kingdome and shall not a blessing follow thee yea an inestimable blessing Onely see that thou do serue him in integrity of thy soule and go in and out as thou shouldest without halting or paultring and if thou gaine not much yet thy ioy is with the highest and thy comfort is with that blessed one that thy heart doth beare thee true witnesse that the fault is not in thee He who laboureth to draw other vnto euill although he preuaile not yet he is punished as a naughty man for his wils sake when he speedeth not this most plainely appeareth in cases of treason And God forbid that the pastour who endeuoureth to bring the stray sheepe home to Christs fold should loose his reward with the Lord for his willing trauels sake although he should be refused or reiected by men This is the comparison of Saint Austen And he addeth farther afterward that Christ wept ouer Hierusalem and professed that he would haue gathered them together as a hen gathereth her young ones vnder her winges and yet they would not By this sayth he he intended to teach vs that if we striue to conuert men to grace and do not obtaine our purpose we should not thereupon sinke and be discouraged in our hearts because Christ sped so before vs. So if we do our dutie we are sure on euery side To winne nothing is the worst that in reason can befall vs yet we our selues do fare well But if our faith bee stedfast and we apply the meanes without fainting we may build so farre vppon God in the confidence of his promises that for his owne
Iewes who dwelt neere contemned and neglected Christ but the wise men who dwelt a great way off came from farre vnto him and adored him A new thing saith Saint Chrysostome and maruellous to behold Palestina lyeth in wait to destroy Christ in his cradle and Aegipt receiueth harboureth him So those who are nearest to the Sanctuarie are sometimes farthest from sanctitie The Moone hath least light when it is nearest the Sunne but when it is most remooued from him then it is full of beames and brightnesse They who heare the word but few times make more profite by opening all the hatches of their hearts and by swallowing it and deuouring it euen as the chapped earth doth the raine then those who by a wantonnesse and euill disposition do loath euen the foode of Angels He goeth little abrode who seeth not this experimented poore people of the countrie who heare not of God many times do more attentiuely regard and more fruitfully receiue one sober and graue instruction comming from a godly Preacher neuer catching nor censuring at it then those places which we take to be most solemne auditories This is no fault in the word neither is it to be blamed in the poore people but it is a shame for the other who yeeld not their best deuotion Israel scant lendeth an eare but Niniue eares and heart and doth not stay there but will giue triall outwardly of their intendment a fast shall be proclaimed and sackcloth shall be put on that if any thing may mitigate the furie of the Lord being offended that may not be forgotten And this is it which my second part in this place doth offer to me And they proclaymed a fast 11 It may seeme an vnfit time to speake of fasting and sackcloth when feasting and gay clothing are in their heighth among vs. But blessed be the God of our Soueraigne and of our land who sendeth vs such peace as that we may in some measure haue fruition of these things It is a mightie blessing if we compare it with the estate of our neighbours I will therefore not vnaduisedly but of purpose deferre this which is here mentioned concerning sackcloth to the next verse where it shall haue ashes with it and I will put ouer almost all the circumstances concerning fasts to that which afterward followeth onely noting now and that as I take it not vnfitly for this auditorie by whom solemne fasts and abstinence whensoeuer they are called should be designed and appointed If any man will suppose that here the people of Niniue did helpe to set this forward I will not be against his opinion for in as much as they are first named I will not be difficult to thinke that they hearing the voyce of the Prophet might by themselues or by meanes haue recourse to the nobles and the nobles to the King and so make knowne their terrour yea in humblenesse be solicitors beseechers that there might be a humiliation For in this sort the feet may be a monitour to the head the seruants of Naaman to Naaman their Lord the subiects to their Prince the gardiner to the greatest But the letter and plaine words of the Prophet is contrarie to that surmise that the people did decree it It was the King and his nobles who made the Proclamation And albeit at the first it be briefly said that the people proclaimed the fast yet obserue what followeth and the matter will be euident The manner of Scripture is sometimes to propose an action at the first in grosse and then afterward to particularize the circumstances of it So here it is and the next verse as an Exegesis to the former doth explane the difficultie Moreouer the name of people may signifie all the inhabitants and in them the King and the nobles as populus Romanus did include the Consuls and Senatours and Equites as well as the commons Then the commandement for the fast did come from the king and that among Gods people hath euer obtained and beene obserued that the Magistrates and Elders should determine of it and not inferiour men 12 In the time of Iehosaphat when the enemies came in great multitudes against Iuda the king thereof Iehosaphat proclaimed a fast At the comming vp of the people from the captiuitie of Babylon the gouernour Ezra proclaimed a fast to intreat that God would be pleased to defend them by the way When Esther was to aduenture her life for her people she gaue order being Queene that such an abstinence should be held for three dayes The like may be gathered from the prophecie of Ioel where they are bid to sanctifie a fast but it is added also blow the trumpet which in the Leuiticall lawe was onely to be blowne by the sonnes of Aaron The high Priest had a finger both in the trumpet and the fast Euen Iezabel knew this who wrote to the Elders and Princes of Samaria or some other citie where Naboth dwelt that they should commaund a fast It must be the publike crier and publike authoritie which must set ābroach such things So it was in England in the fifth yeare of her Maiesties raigne when by the most sacred power vnder God and by aduise of the chiefe gouernors it was established that ouer all the land there should be set abstinence and prayer that the Lord would be intreated to stay the hand of his destroying Aungell who then ouerthrew many thousands in this kingdome with the plague of pestilence The people in their parishes and Ministers in their charges may be remembrancers in modest and godly manner to the Church-gouernours to exercise this dutie of Christian obedience when the wrath of the Lord doth hang ouer by greeuous famine or the sword or pestilence or other the like daunger but neither of them may assume that prerogatiue to themselues to inioyne or to publish a solemnitie of that nature It is no true fast in a Christian common-wealth which is begun and ended with manifest disobedience to that superiour power which doth serue the same God with them Do thou expect direction from them whom the Lord will haue to rule and be not so censorious or Criticall toward them whom thou when thou doest wisely and reuerently consider of it doest know to be no enemies to God and true religion as to thinke that they conceiue not the conueniencie and necessity of extraordinarie humbling of mens soules to the Almightie especially when they are warned of it and religiously requested Much lesse do thou suspect them to be hard hearted and insensible Salomon telleth vs that the Kings heart no man can search out Magistrates in great place vnder him are not at all times to acquaint all men with their counsels and intents But to suppose the worst if the time do require it and God doth expect it of vs and yet those whom it most concerneth shall withhold and detaine such an exercise yea after solicitation and
request thereof made thou mayest then vse thy discretion for thy selfe and thy familie but especially for thy selfe like a good Cornelius and without any murmuring concerning other men or seditious complayning do thou double thy deuotion Fast twise if God do so mooue thee in steed of euery single time before intended once to turne away the wrath gone out against the land and secondly that the Lord will mooue them that be in authoritie to do that which is truly pleasing in his eyes So thou hast saued thy owne soule and the burthen shall lye on the conscience of other But take heede of seditious singularitie and ouer-weening contempt and condemning of other lest thou more offend with that then thou profite with thy abstinence Diuinitie will not iustifie it that if a Christian state shall giue solemne entertainement for dismissing of Embassadours who may be suspected to come about no religious practise the Ministers on the other side at the same time and in the same place should of purpose to crosse the first proclaime a solemne fast or if the chiefe Church-gouernour should bid stay a while for reasons not irreligious inferiour men should therefore make a great deale more hast Neither may the examples of others make good this We liue by lawes not by examples Euery man must not carie the sword or be a commaunder Good things may be done amisse and so the goodnesse of them may be impeached It is good to deface idolatry but whē multitudes in places wheras now reformed Churches be haue run into the tēples with violence haue plucked downe the images and taken away the Crucifixes and made hauocke of the vessels and superstitious things to speake most mildly of it it was not well but it had bin much better if publike authoritie had beene therein expected Men who are priuate persons must wait for Gods leisure and not runne before their maker Saint Paule was wise and commaunded that all things should be done in order Take heede then of disorders and such gaps as these may be to enormitie I speake vnto the wise and therefore shut vp this point with that saying of Saint Bernard If euery man shall be caried according to his owne motion after that spirit which he hath receiued and do flye vpon euery thing indifferently euen as he is affected and do not hasten to it by the iudgement of reason while no man is contented with the office assigned vnto him but all will attempt all things alike by an indistinct administration it will not be an vnitie but rather a confusion 13 Let not any man mistake me as if I did dislike the Christian solemntitie of the most publike abstinence for farre be that from me My Ionas too well knoweth the fruite of that in his Niniuites among whom it wrought not least with the eternall Father when so openly and generally they did that which they did for all of them did fast and all of them put on sackcloth from the highest to the lowest The King and his Princes began the people followed after but the greatest beginne and the least follow The eldest are not excluded the youngest are not excused for the child but of one day old is of spotted seede and corrupted But all of them ioyne together that if one want deuotion another may be right if one of them preuaile not yet the multitude may obtaine What a sight was this to behold that young and old male and female the Ladies and their handmaides the Nobles and their seruants should be rufully lamenting on their faces with voyce lift vp vnto the highest heauens How would this pierce to the throne of the vnapprochable Godhead what heighth could keepe this backe what cloude would not this seuer what heauen would not this enter When so many thousands crye al Niniue with one eccho without fraude or hypocrisie how could God chuse but heare for the great mercie which is in him The ioynt prayers of mortall men haue much force with the Lord. For to speake after the manner of men suppose that he were hardly bent to take vengeance vpon a nation at first when they should call for mercie would seeme to be on sleepe yet would not this awaken him when he should haue no rest when on the right hand and left hand before him and behind him at the doores and at the windowes and at the floore which is vnder him there should be knocking and bouncing which will not be answered with silence nor take any deniall The diuersitie of the noyses as the shrill voyce of the infants the wailing of the women the howling of the men would mooue him who is most setled Their various importunitie will wring foorth pitie from him Then it is a fault in vs that when Gods heauie hand doth lye sometimes vpon vs we come not with our forces vnited to sollicite him We do in a sort strain curtesie who it is that shal go to Church but the most will be away And those who come do it so coldly that it is as good that they were absent It is the great congregation of spirits throughly mooued kindled in deuotion which doth winne God ouer to vs. When citizens who haue transgressed shall open their gates to their Prince whom they haue offended and the men and women and children shall lye prostrate at his feete and acknowledge themselues wholly at his mercie and discretion his heart melteth on them and spareth them being thus cast downe So would God deale with vs. But our proude mind commeth not to this although much miserie be vpon vs we cannot tell how to stoupe Saint Basile complaineth that when a most grieuous famine pinched his citie of Caesarea yet very few of the inhabitants sought for remedie I come saith he to Church to preach or to pray but scant any is ioyned with me The men are about their marchandise the women about their profites But very few are with me and those who be are so gaping and wearie and so itching vp and downe as if they looked still when he who readeth the Psalme would make an end that they might withdraw themselues from the Church as from some prison The most here are the scholers who come from the schoole which take this comfort by it that they are from their bookes the while and make no more vse of it but the stronger sort the while are carelesly gadding through the streetes See if he paint not out as with a most perfect pensill the time wherein we liue God hath sent vs such a famine that if vnder his blessing the seas had not serued vs more happily then the land to the eternall praise of merchandise many thousands of men besides those few which are lost had perished and the Lord knoweth what had beene done And yet the prices of all things continue exceeding deere Now in this case do we from the greatest to the least assemble before the Almightie Nay as
Niniuites all points succeeded well although they sowed in teares yet they reaped in ioy so shall it be with thee But let word of causes important be still brought to thy selfe 6 The next matter which in generall I note in this great person is that God would haue him to be touched aboue other that his humiliation might be accepted beyond others For the Lord is much affected toward them in the persons of whom he hath imprinted a maiestie and by speciall ordinance hath made them his Vicegerents As he hath seated them in a propriety of dignitie aboue all their fellowes so the account which he hath of them is of speciall property Looke through the Heathen men as well as vpon such as knew him and feared him Where do we find a man furnished with such parts as Alexander was of celerity of resolute magnanimity of felicity in all his attempts Where see we a man comparable with that worthy Iulius Caesar How admirable were the workes of Herode the Great and how maiesticall yea terrible was the presence of his person when enemies of his came into the place where he was washing and yet feared to make toward him although he were naked and they armed Name him who may be like to Constantine that blessed Emperour And if it be suggested that the faculties and abilities which they had to do great things because they were mighty Princes might make them to do such matters as which others in their places might as well haue effected yet this serueth not the turne since a spirite of rarer quality then other men haue enioyed might apparantly be seene in them Now where the Lord soweth most he looketh to reape most largely Where he powreth foorth most benefits he expecteth most gratefulnesse And if his seruice be neglected but especially contemned by these royall Potentates he taketh it more vnkindly of them then of a common man When Saul being brought to a kingdome from following his fathers asses had faulted in that case of Amelek what furies did follow him euer after with irreconcilable desolation It was not a little punishment which followed after the murther and adultery of Dauid The childs death the reuiling of Shimei the rebellion of Absolon the deflouring of his concubines were euident corrections When Salomon who was fraught with wisedome fell foolishly to idolatrie at once ten tribes were rent off from from the kingdome of Iuda The like may be sayd of many the persecuting Emperours when they being aduanced by Christ turned their swords and scepters against Christ and his Gospell he did not long endure their tyrannie but with violence cast them downe 7 But on the other side God so embraceth the true piety of those in highest authority that themselues are not onely blessed for their entire deuotion but their people for their sake The blessings powred on the heads of them runne downe vnto the skirts and lower parts of their garments When such as by Gods hand are lifted vp aboue others do come nearer then their people to the heauen not so much in place as in spirit and the inward man the Lord doth accept them with greater fauour and acquaintance The Israelites knew this when they thus make request for their king The Lord heare thee in the day of trouble the name of the God of Iacob defend thee Send thee helpe from the Sanctuarie and strengthen thee out of Sion Let him remember all thine offerings and turne thy burnt offerings into ashes Graunt thee according to thy heart and fulfill all thy purpose That we may reioyce in thy saluation and set vp our banner in the name of our God the Lord shall performe all thy petitions And so they go forward Now know I that the Lord will helpe his annointed and will heare him from his sanctuary They knew that from him being blessed good things would flow to them and God would blesse his deuotion How louely and how precious in the eyes of the Almighty was the melting heart of Iosias when he heard the threates of the Law read vnto him What priuate man alone euer turned backe so much wrath Yea God doth attribute so much to this his ordinance that if it be but Ahab yet if he put on sackcloth and will fast and go barefoote the Lord will deâ—erre that vengeance which was to come on him and his land Those countries then are right happy where such sit in the throne of honor and most eminent place of glory who do loue and feare the Lord in integrity and sincerity full of faith For mercy and louing kindnesse is by such conduit-pipes diffused through all the coasts and quarters of a land If the pestilence shall deuoure yet the prayer of such Dauids will stay the destroying Angell If Sennacherib shall reuile yet if such Hezekiahs shall enter into the Temple and with weeping shall lay open the letters before the Lord a hooke shall be put in his nostrels and he shall be turned another way If a victory shall be gotten and such Deborahs shall acknowledge it by a publike gratulation this victory shall be doubled When our Deborah and Hester as it is voyced and receiued with bended knees did begge of the Omnipotent maker and guide of all our worlds masse that he would prosper the worke and vvith best forewinds guide the iourney speede the victory and make the returne the aduancement of his glory the triumph of the fame of those which were sent and the surety of our Realme with least losse of English bloud we all know what effect this holy prayer had to foile the proudest enemy in a strange land we all know it and it were great pity but succeeding ages should remember it And that may serue for an example of the point whereof I now intreate which is that the actions of great Monarkes haue a straighter kind of reference vnto God then those of common men Their voluntary debasing doth lift them high with the Lord their repentance is very gracious their sorrow is much acceptable Then it was well with the Niniuites that such a king did raigne ouer them as had an humble mind God dealt with them most bountifully to send them such a ruler as whose heart he himselfe did soften and put some graces into it and then did crowne those graces to the comfort of all his subiects For I ascribe all this to God The words of the Prophet were something but the heart was touched from the Lord. Paule may plant and Apollos water but God must giue the encrease And as Saint Austen speaketh Teachings without and admonitions are helpes to set things forward but he hath a chaire in heauen who teacheth the hearts of men I speake sayth he of the Lord. God then did them much fauour when he sent such a king among them as whose heart he made to be flexible that so the Lord might embrace him and with him
beasts if they prooued to be drunkards A sight so liuely in their eyes might be as a sharpe spurre in the consciences of the Niniuites to deplore their owne case with a most carefull contemplation of it vnlesse they were insensible so obdurate in heart as that no good thing could pierce them Diodorus Siculus writeth that in Ethiopia there is a people of that qualitie that they are not at all mooued with the speech of them who sayle by them or with the sight of straungers approching to them but onely looking vpon the earth they vse to stand vnmoueable as if their senses tooke knowledge of no man If any sayth he should strike them with a drawne sword they flye not but beare the stripes and iniuries neither is any of them mooued with the wound or hurt of another but oftentimes without any kind of passion they â—ehold their wiues and children slaine shewing no manner of token of anger or of pitie An insensible sort of people if there should be any such which in truth I beleeue not but these Niniuites should haue bene like to them if when they had beheld horrour and griefe and weeping and out-skreeking in euery thing attending them they would not be mooued to thinke that their part was in the bargaine And if it were so with that which wanted wit and reason and knowledge to do euill things how then should it stand with themselues who had all these and abused them Then the cattell serued in such manner might bee an instruction this way to their maisters 5 Secondly by the lawes of the graund Creatour there is such affinitie betweene man and the beastes which are subiected to his vse that the sorrowes of the better do easily touch the worser For God hath so coupled all creatures to mankind with a chayne of strong dependance that the being of them is much sutable to the flourishing or fading of the other It is a verie mysticall point which Saint Paule hath in the eight to the Romanes that the creature shall be deliuered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God And that the creature groneth and trauelleth in payne vvith vs yet if we well weigh it that text shall argue thus much vnto vs that the heauen and earth and the other elements for I may not amisse name the heauens because Saint Peter telleth vs that they shall melt with heate by the fall of our first parents fell into grieuous bondage euen sinking in their excellencie when man did sinke to whose seruice next after God they were made And when in the day of iudgement there shall be a renewing and restoring of that image of God wherein man was first framed then shall they returne to that beautie wherein they at first were established so retaining still their substance howsoeuer they may melt in the fire like gold loosing their drosse and corruption If then these mightie masses the heauen and earth and the elements haue such a reference vnto man as being made to grace him the earth for him to walke on the ayre for him to breath on the water for him to feede on the heauen for him to looke on the Sunne to giue him light euerie thing to yeeld him comfort and when he standeth they stand and when he falleth they fall and when he is new moulded they also shall be recouered may we not much more imagine that sheepe and oxen and cattell yea and all the beasts of the field which as Hierome noteth were made for our vsing or for our eating are tyed and chayned vnto vs with a straighter bond of analogie or proportion that as we fare so in reason they should do either well or ill It is truth that man hath not that soueraignty in all degrees which he had that is one part of his punishment for as Chrysostome doth obserue God hath taken away from man a great portion of his power for he who at the beginning was made a fearefull Lord and maister ouer liuing bodies when like an vngratefull seruant he had offended a higher Lord was brought into contempt of those who were placed to be his seruants And thereupon as it is by one noted manie creatures are growne in their behauiour toward him as vndisciplinated things but most of all the greatest and the least Lyons Tygers and Panthers to say nothing of the whale fishes are very hardly brought to be tame but bees and gnats and flyes and such little ones not at all Thus mans dominion is scanted and drawne into a narrow roome 6 But these creatures are not so quitted but although they do lesse to man yet with man they suffer more For together with him who now is but as a young maister or a kind of quarter-maister to them they stand both generally and particularly in deepe disgrace They which otherwise would haue taken pleasure to do the will of their maister must now with blowes and stripes oftentimes be forced vnto it They which should onely haue bene vsed to good and to the glory of their maker by his fault who hath fallen are now applied to euill yea they be not in that esteeme with him who first created them As in earthlie kingdomes when a Nobleman who hath receiued many fauours and materiall benefits from his Prince doth requite him who aduanced and honoured him before with treason and rebellion then not onely his owne person which lyeth subiect to the law doth vnder-go the displeasure of his offended Soueraigne but euery man about him feeleth the smart of that rod yea euery thing that was his his familie is frowned on his followers are held suspect those which were preferred by him are turned out of their liuelihood and maintenance and moreouer his houses which were glorious before are let runne to decay their statelinesse soone droopeth their beautie mouldreth away his gardens and his orchards are ouer-growne with vncouthnesse his fish-ponds and other pleasures lye disorderly and neglected yea if there were any tame thing wherein he did delight for lacke of being handled it groweth wild and vntamed So when Adam in Paradise being in the highest degree of honour prooued a traytour to his God to whom he was beholding euen for his very selfe the earthly house where he dwelt grew out of fashion to him his pleasurable profits were turned to bryars and thistles the armes of his nobilitie were vtterly defaced but those who were his seruants to attend and wayte vpon him especially all domesticall kinds of cattell partaking the reproch which lay vpon their maister are subiected to much miserie And as in ciuill affaires the restoring againe of bloud and calling backe into fauour putteth life into all the adiacents and dependants of whom I spake before and maketh them resume some courage yea the hope of such a matter doth a little cheere their spirit but the greater the hope is the greater is their alacritie and yet
directly in any place determine it for ought that I find and the reasons which the interpreters do draw by consequent concerning this faith of the Niniuites are such as conclude not substantially without doubting I passe ouer that question and rather come to that which literally and apparantly euen at the first sight the narration of the Prophet doth offer vnto me 2 Then in the tenth verse followeth Gods accepting of their sorrow and how mightily their deiection and debasing of themselues in sackcloth and ashes with fasting and lamentation wrought effectually with the Highest to diminish his displeasure yea to remooue his wrath But because the closing and shutting vp of that serious Proclamation in the ninth verse doth intimate some opinion although it be with a fearefull mammering of some such thing as might be that the Lord might be appeased although that were not very likely in the eyes of flesh and bloud that must not be slipped ouer but taken in the way For thereby it shall appeare that sinne is very horrible to the conscience of the sinner conceiuing the guiltinesse thereof that it may well make a trembling and shaking and dread a suspition that God will not be mooued to mercie and yet this distrust doth not so kill the minde but if faith be vnderneath it will presume the contrarie be it neuer so weakely It doth not resolue for neither yet define against On these termes in these words standeth the great King of Niniue But that which was to him vncertaine and vnresolued is determined by God and he spareth indeede Now that the doctrine may be orderly deduced from these rootes for our better instruction we may deuide the words as the verses are deuided into these two generall heads First the doubt of the King Who knoweth if God vvill turne and then the Lords resolution And God savv their vvorkes and repented of the euill The first part doth touch the prisoner who standeth vpon his triall the second the Iudge who is to giue the sentence Of both these as Gods Spirit shall at this time enable me The doubt of the King 3 He doth not speake here confidently Surely God will returne and take mercy vpon vs but he vseth a word of more extenuation as supposing that it was not very likely to be done For euen in the strongest faith when such a phrase is vttered as I doubt or peraduenture or it may be or vvho knoweth it importeth that men conceiue much difficultie and hardnesse in bringing that about which is in question Caleb maketh request that the mountaine wherein the Anakims and great Giants did dwell might be assigned him for his portion If sayth he the Lord vvill be vvith me to expell them as the Lord himselfe hath spoken He beleeued that he should compasse it but that if intendeth much difficultie in the reason of man And so did that of Ionathas when he speaketh thus to his armour bearer Let vs go vp against the Philistines It may be or peraduenture the Lord vvill vvorke vvith vs. That saying of Peter vnto Simon Magus Repent of this thy vvickednesse and pray vnto God if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiuen vnto thee doth note much more hardnesse because as it should seeme the Apostle did much feare it so rotten was Simon at the roote But as a meane betweene these and most resembling my text is that of Ioel where after a denouncing of verie horrible iudgements the Prophet exhorting to repentance doth adde Who can tell if he vvill turne and repent and leaue a blessing as if he had sayd it may be that God may do this although it be much vnlikely and it may be much despaired of our sinnes are so plentifull and his wrath is so furious In the first booke of Samuel when the people of the Philistines were stricken with the Emerods they asked counsell of their Soothsayers how this plague might be stayed They enioyned that some solemnities should be vsed to the Arke which was now to be sent away and thus they speake as it is nearest to the Hebrew Peraduenture God vvill lift his hand from you Gregorie writing on that place doth draw this doctrine from those words When they say peraduenture God may stay his hand from you vvhat else can be taken in this vvord of doubting but that the reconciling of men who are grieuous sinners is shewed to be difficult as sayth he doth appeare in the third Chapter of Ionas Who knovveth if God vvill turne Then by the iudgement of Gregorie it is noted in this place that the reconciling of the Niniuites to the Lord was a matter of much hardnesse 4 Then in the heart of this heathen man it is firmely imprinted by that little light which he had receiued that sinne in the iustice of some supreme power doth deserue a punishment that the greater the sinne is the more it doth prouoke that if by obâ—tinacie and impietie it bee vnmeasurable it will scant be remitted And this is a common opinion in all the world that impietie is horrible and may well be wondred at for those punishments which it draweth vppon men The mariners who were in the shippe with Ionas seeing the tempest to grow terrible and much beyond ordinarie conceiued by and by that sinne was at one end of it and drew downe that seueritie The people in the Iland Melite which we now a dayes call Malta did misse in their particular when they tooke Paule for a murtherer but their generall gesse was good that vengeance doth follow intollerable transgressions That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there spoken of being the supposed Goddesse of iudgements and punisher of guiltie persons as also that Nemesis which the Ethnickes and their Poets did hold for an vnauoydable reuenger of euill men appointed to be so by their Iupiter doth witnesse that euery where was a setled opinion that crimes leudly done would not lightly be passed ouer And herein the wisedome of the Almightie Lord is very highly to be admired that whereas he hath not giuen downe any law written in bookes yet by the finger of his power he hath written it in mens hearts that there is a good and an euill lawfull things and vnlawfull that their wise men should teach that the obseruing eye of some superiour Iudge was euer at hand to looke on the deedes of men and at one time or another to make them smart for committing of euill That their law-giuers should forbid that which God himselfe forbiddeth and should punish that in their people which the Lord doth punish in his owne The Scythians to condemne theft the Romanes adulterie the Egyptians idlenesse That among them should be required a strictnesse of life a performing of ceremonies an offering of sacrifices a consulting of Oracles a frequenting of Temples and a reuerence to such who did performe those things as in Rome a high opinion was had of Scipio when he omitted not
a day but that he went to the Capitoll to performe his deuotions 5 But as I take it the wisedome of the Lord in declaring to the ignorant how far he hateth euill doth appeare more fully in nothing then by putting into men a conscience within which should accuse and condemne the most hard harted sinner which so often as by maliciousnesse great mischiefes are done should represent the sinne vnto the inward thought with terrible suggestions of vengeance to follow and should giue no rest to the disquieted sinner Among ignorant men there is no one token which enforceth like this token that vngodlinesse is loathsome and odious in it selfe and beareth a sting with it And this hath so farre bene knowne to haunt the offenders and torture them within that Tragedians on their stages haue oftentimes represented those passions by furies of hell fearefully tormenting some which thing Tully doth truelie interprete of the conscience of the transgressing sinner which doth vse to discruciate the person affected in vnspeakeable manner Now what is it that the conscience being in this case doth giue warning of Euen that at the least it is vnlikely but many times that it is impossible that they should be remitted And hereof in the Scriptures Cain and Iudas are eminent examples who had an opinion that they had faulted so farre that they could not be pardoned The biting remorse of haynous offences doth gnaw and gnaw through The persecutours of others haue tasted of this cup and smarted with this rod. Philo Iudaeus writing against Flaccus telleth that the same lewd man playd all the parts of cruelty which he could deuise against the Iewes for their religion sake but afterward when the doome of Caligula fell vpon him and he was banished into Andros an Iland neare Greece he was so tormented with the memorie of his bloudie iniquities and a feare of suffering for them that if he saw any man walking softly neare to him he would say to himselfe This man is deuising to worke my destruction If he saw any go hastily Sure it is not for nothing he maketh speed to kill me If any man spâ—ke him faire he suspected that he would cousin him and sought to intrap him If any talked roughlie to him then he thought that he contemned him If meate were giuen him in any plentifull sort this is but to fat me as a sheepe or an oxe is fed to be slaughtered Thus his sinne did lye vpon him and euer remember him that some vengeance was to follow from God or men or both In our time such measure hath bene measured to murtherers their thoughts haue bene so troublesome after their wickednesse done that they haue no more rested then if continuallie and vncessantlie they had bene pursued with legions of euill spirites The ages which are past haue had their examples in this kind When Theodorike sometimes King of the Gothes had vniustlie and tyrannouslie slaine Symmachus and Boëtius two Noble men of Rome the crueltie of that deede and guilt of that foule trespasse did so boyle in his heart that when once at his table among other meate a fishes head was set he conceiued it to be the verie head of Symmachus the eyes to be his eyes the teeth to grinne vppon him and falling into a fright and stiffe coldnesse withall he lyeth him downe as a â—an much distracted and dyeth So heauie a burthen is sinne in the heart which depresseth and crusheth downe without recouerie if it be not helped with some better perswasion sent immediatly from God There may in a naturall man be a strugling and wrastling against such motions but his heart and conscience are greater then himselfe and will put him in minde that terrible desolation remaineth for him who hath sinned presumptuously or wilfully and of purpose and that he is not very likely to be quitted from such crimes This knowing of monstrous iniquities in Niniue doth make the king thereof as one who was amated and distracted to hope but doubtfully and fearefully for reconcilement betweene God and his soule betweene the Lord and his people 6 And if he had reason for this because of the heauinesse of that sinne which euen by the light of nature and assent of his owne heart he might feare would be punished we may make this vse thereof that boldly and audaciously we diue not into wickednesse and plunging into the depth do not tumble in the suddes of it and wallow in the sinke lest when we would be glad to come foorth againe and turne another leafe distrust be our portion and doubting in a high degree whether God will receiue vs. It is good so to embrace the mercy of our Sauiour that we also remember the seuerity of our Iudge When for many yeares together we with greedinesse haue drunke in the puddle-water of wickednesse we cannot be assured that the Lord at our becke will bend himselfe to clemency Perhaps time may be wanting perhaps the counsell of Gods Ministers it may be the minde inured to a custome of filthinesse cannot extricate it selfe perhaps God will not giue the gift of repentance but as we haue despised to heare when he calleth vs so when we shall call to him vnfruitfully and vnfaithfully he will not attend It may be that the canker of desperate sinnes hath so eaten out all faith in vs that we cannot by any meanes appropriate Gods mercy to our selues and our soules It is a fearefull thing when the Lords goodnesse shall be ingeminated againe and againe to the fainting heart how readie he is to receiue the repentant how he calleth to sinners and openeth the bosome for them and stretcheth out his armes and how Christ of purpose came to dye for offenders and yet all this shall find no other aunswer but These things are for other they be not for me I doubt not but the Ministers of God who haue had tryall in like cases do sometimes quake in their flesh and tremble in their bones to remember such examples as their owne eyes haue seene It had bene good for such who at length be so touched and indeede for all men to haue made stay in time for if they go on and will not be reclaimed when mercy is offered who knoweth if afterward God will turne and repent and shew pity vpon them Then learne to flye from sinne as from a killing pestilence go from it soone and farre and neuer turne againe This is worse then the pestilence it is poyson sugred ouer which may be sweete in tast but is pernitious in effect The pleasure is soone gone but the guilt remaineth Saint Chrysostome therefore doth make a fit Antithesis betweene it and the trauell of a woman She sayth he hath her throbs and pangs at the first which in truth are very vehement but afterward there commeth ioy when she beholdeth a child borne of her selfe into the world But on the other side while it is in performance
absolute speech is broken for farre be that from the Lord but onely a comminatorie word hath obtained that which it would haue God sent vnto Ezechiah and bad him set his house in order for he should dye and not liue This seemed to be an absolute speech yet it contained in it this condition if Ezechiah did not make his peace by teares and repentance but when that once was accomplished Ezechiah liued and dyed not Yet because such fearefull words are deliuered from the Lord as firmely resolued by him and men know not the contrary but that he meaneth to strike he forbearing is sayd to change that which indeede he neuer decreed and this supposed change he calleth a repenting therein framing his words to our dulnesse who are men to be taught and learne best when we heare our owne phrases 15 I thinke it yet not amisse to mention thus much farther That there be some of the ancient who thinke that God fulfilled his threatnings vpon Niniue so that Niniue was destroyed that is the sinfull Citie did cease now to be sinfull so that the euill of it was ouerturned not the men not the walles not the houses and this way God performed whatsoeuer himselfe did threaten And this is the opinion of Saint Austen The wals sayth he standing vp the city was ouerthrowne in the euill manners of it and so albeit not simply Niniue yet sinfull Niniue perished Hierome on the fourth of Daniel subscribeth to this doctrine but it is in other words The Lord doth change his sentence but that is not on the men but on the workes which were changed For God was not displeased against the men but against their vices which when they were not in the men God doth not punish that which now was ceased to be He thinketh that sinne being abated the city might stand vpright and yet God keepe his word also Thus we see that God and good men agree that it was that penance which they layed on themselues nay which they layed on their sinnes which kept them from the Lords punishment For either God or they were to chastise their euill wayes All iniquitie great or small must of necessity haue punishment either from man repenting or from the Lord reuenging But he who repenteth layeth a chastisement on himselfe Then the vpshot of all is on the part of these Assyrians that with their teares and cryes so affectionate and so passionate so harty and sincere the Lord who had strong reason to deale with them as with Sodome to root out their memoriall from the earth and from vnder heauen hath changed that doome which of likelihood was to be pronounced against them His anger is appeased his fury is dissolued the city standeth as it did no ruine no destruction 16 This is a great comfort to vs that if the Eternall father did deale thus with these Ethnickes that whē they turned to him he turned also to thē nay he first sēt one to turne thē we may assure our selues a faire deale more of his mercy if after our transgressions very many infirmities we run fly to him with a beleeuing sorrow For if he did take such cōpassiō vnder the law what wil he do vnder the Gospel If he did so shew forth his kindnesse to barbarous heathen men what will he do to Christians If he shewed that he did loue thē by sending one Prophet to thē to preach his word once among them what care doth he take of vs to whom he hath giuen his word and his Sacraments in so great abundance by so many of his messengers and for so many yeares together It seemeth that he wooeth vs with a iealosy and sueth vnto vs that we would be his owne Let vs not take heart thereby to abuse his kind affection let vs not prouoke his iustice with wilfull prouocations He loueth to spare but such as are willing to be spared not those who offend vpon malicious wickednesse He ouerthroweth the proud Oke which will not stoupe at his blasts but he cherisheth the bending reede He receiueth them to grace who are grieued to grieue him who by their good will would not fall but being fallen do mourne at it Thē let the heauy cōscience lift vs his head at last He who could find a pardon for so many thousand bad ones will neuer sticke at one who commeth trembling before him Yea all who feele themselues to be weary and heauy laden if they come to him or his sonne he hath promised to helpe them God enrich vs so with his grace that with the Niniuites we fall not into crying transgressions but since we are oftentimes downe he so raise vs vp with his Spirit that his anger and displeasure may still be remooued from vs that our sinnes may be washed away in the bloud of Christ who is the true obiect of our repentance that so after this life we may follow the Lambe wheresoeuer he goeth into that kingdome of blessednesse to the which the Father bring vs for his Sonne Christ his sake to both whom and the holy Spirit be glory for euermore THE XXIIII LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 2. Ionas should haue reioyced at their conuersion 3. The verity of the Scriptures appeareth because the writers accuse themselues 4. Many arguments of the excellency of the word of God 5. Other writers magnifie themselues 6. The best do fall and the vse which is to be made thereof 9. What was the cause of griefe in Ionas 13. Especially his owne credit 14. or a preposterous care of Gods glory 15. When we haue laboured let vs leaue the successe to God Ionah 4.1 Therefore it displeased Ionah exceedingly and he was argry BEing now come to this fourth Chapter which is the last of this Prophecy and remembring with my selfe how long it is since I first began this worke I partly imagine it to be fatall to the businesse which is handled in this booke to be done very slowly For the Prophet was very long before he would begin and could not be haled to it till it might not be auoyded sometimes he goeth backward and other times slowly forward and what with flying to the sea and lying there in the whale and going afterward to preach and staying when he had done he is long about a little And God hath so disposed of me that I haue bene much slower in opening to you how farre he is from speede Before that I can come to this fourth Chapter the fourth yeare is now expired in which time a quicke discourser might deliberately haue gone ouer a good part of the Scripture if either this place had called him oftener to it or other occasiōs had not elsewhere diuerted him But be it as it may be Gods will must be done and perhaps he may be pleased to affoord so much grace that he who hath attained to the end of three may complete the fourth also that so although slowly for ouerrunning my Prophet yet surely
at the last according to that power which God shall giue vnto me I may on to the end 2 Now then hitherto we are come that he who at first refused and could not be induced to it hath preached to the Niniuites as sharpe as sharpe may be yet fortie dayes and Niniue is like to be destroyed and his sermon hath so wrought that their beautie and pleasure and musicke and all mirth is turned out of doore and sackcloth and ashes and weeping and lamenting great signes of repentance are come in steede of them their heart is dismayed and their whole bodie shaken no helpe now nor comfort vnlesse it be from heauen But where mans means do faile there Gods mercie doth breake foorth he is mooued to pitie and in commiseration all past shall be pardoned Here a man would haue thought that in the meane while the messenger as sent from God and therefore full of all mild and louely behauiour would haue opened his heart with the largest ioy because the seede which he had sowed had fallen in so good ground that it had now brought foorth not thirtie not sixtie but many thousand fold That his toung had so farre beene the instrument of Gods glorie that his threates as the thunder shold so be trembled at that his mouth had in so high a degree beene the meanes of the Lords mercie that both Prince and people old and young should be quit of their transgressions and excused of their iniquitie But it falleth out cleane contrarie and he as the man who had onely learned that lesson to do nothing aright is growne into great anger and is so filled with choler that he fretteth and chafeth hand-smooth with the Lord that he had not razed downe the whole citie Niniue euen to the foundation That which should haue beene to him for his glory and his crown to haue helped so many prisoners from the dungeon of darknesse and the shadow of death is the greatest vexation and corrosiue that might be to him in his distemper which yeeldeth to vs a singular example of the infirmitie of man that such a one as he was on so light an occasion should be so farre offended and that with God himselfe The true cause whereof howsoeuer it seeme different and diuerse to diuerse yet by all is agreed on to be most blame worthie I cannot so fitly expound the manner of it as this historie requireth but that by degrees I must descend vnto it and so out of one thing winne the matter of another I thinke therefore best first to referre all things to these two heades a generall doctrine which may be gathered in grosse and a particular instruction which the words literally offer both fitly in my iudgement taken out of the text And both these do containe their seuerall considerations as by Gods assistance I shall make plaine vnto you But I begin with the generall The generall doctrine 3 When I looke into the narration which doth follow frō hencefoorth to the end of this Prophecie see how all runneth against Ionas himselfe and describeth him to be froward and testie and peeuish rebellious and ouerthwart euen brawling with the Lord and chopping word for word with him as if he were the wiser and better of the two Doest thou well to be angrie Yea to be angrie to the death such an answer as scant any man was euer knowne to make not a Iudas not a Cain I therin do admire the excellencie of the Scripture and rare wisedome of him whose glorie it most concerneth that he so ouerruleth the pens of the writers that they must depresse themselues to infamie and disgrace and for their follies and infirmities be offered as wonderments to all succeeding ages It declareth a singularitie in those bookes and writings that the glorie of God is the onely thing which is aimed at and that men who naturally are ambitious desirous to blaze their owne praises or if they haue fallen to extenuate their faults by Apologies and excuses are not left to their owne libertie in setting downe of that which he appointeth for the Canon to direct our liues by But that as Saint Peter speaketh no prophecie in the Scripture is of any priuate motion for the prophecie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were mooued by the holy Ghost They therefore who did well are commended for their well doing but if they did amisse their friends or their own writings paint them out to the full The fals of Noe and Lot are not concealed by him who honoured the memorie of Noe and of Lot Whether it were Baruch or Ieremie who wrote the Prophecie of Ieremie it is not much materiall but therein he himselfe is not forgotten for his vexing impatiencie Luke as all men may suppose loued Paule and Barnabas well yet recording their behauiour he sheweth that there was betweene them so hote a contention as becōmed not two such men But most do conceiue that Ionas in his owne person deliuered this Prophecie to the Church and there is no reason to the contrarie but yet from the beginning to the end thereof he telleth such a tale that if all his enemies should haue studied to lash him they could not haue matched that which his owne hand hath published not one word to his commendation but all to his dispraise That he fled from his charge and would haue gone to Tharshish that he slept in securitie and a heathen man did awake him and teach him his dutie that the lot fell vpon him as a noted malefactour that for his due desert after that a tempest had pursued him he was tumbled into the sea that there for three dayes he was iayled vp in a whales belly that all that while he was little better then in distrustfull despaire Nay moreouer that when he was out againe he preached indeeed but as a shrewd cow after that she hath giuen milke doth cast it downe with her heele so he marred all with his murmuring and furious displeasure And this was the case of Moses who without doubt wrote those fiue bookes which are called by his name there as he spared not his brother nor his sister that is Aaron and Miriam nor Tsippora his wife if she came in his way so he least fauoureth himselfe but relateth that the Lord had almost killed him for his negligence in not circumcising his child that in those prouocations wherewith the people prouoked God himselfe did fall to murmuring that the Lord was so displeased with him that therefore he debarred him from comming into Canaan Thus the inditing spirit doth rule the writers pen and as ouer-maistering the hand of a young learner maketh him to set downe what it will and not what the other fancieth This is one great argument of the finger of God and a supernaturall power that is in these bookes of holy writ that
6 My next obseruation in this generall compasse is that Ionas is here described to haue sinned once againe This plentifully appeareth in the first Chapter so it doth in this last chapter by the reproofe of God himselfe vsed toward him and the words of my text do necessarily include it for to be grieued at the Lords will and to be angry at his workes is a very high transgression And so much the higher because it is in a Prophet a sanctified seruant sequestred for Gods businesse and attendance on himselfe more enlightened then ordinarie and better acquainted with diuine mysteries then other men Then from this man it is euident as well as from Dauid from Salomon from Iosiah from Hezechiah from Peter that the greatest in this life fall and fall to the ground There is no man that sinneth not The iust man doth fall seauen times and ariseth againe In many things vve sinne all sayth the Apostle Saint Iames. And Saint Iohn doth second it If vve say we haue no sinne vve deceiue our selues and there is no truth in vs. Ionas being once freed and deliuered from his sinne by the mercy of the Lord which purged him by a suffering is a second time in and yet remaineth Gods seruant and a member of the Church cleane contrary to that heresie which the Nouatians held who denying repentance to sinnes after Baptisme and secluding offendours from acceptance into the congregatiō among the faithful much impeached Gods mercy and layd an intollerable burthen vpon mens consciences Why should the seruant be hard where the maister is easie and gentle Where the wise owner is well pleased why is the steward straight When he whom it most concerneth hath proclaimed by his Prophet that if a sinner repent be it once or be it often from the bottome of his hart God will put away his sins quite out of his remembrance Indeed from the falles of the old Patriarkes we should not learne to aduenture vpon iniquities with greedinesse and boldnesse lest presuming we come short of that which was granted vnto them For if we will prouoke God in hope of that which in likelyhood will neuer be giuen to vs because we would so prouoke him who can tell whether the Lord will turne and repent and abate his furie The end wherefore the examples of fals in the greatest men are proposed to our reading is not to incourage vs to ill for that were to abuse the kindnesse of God and out of a good flowre to sucke deadly poyson Yet it is a thing too common for Libertines and carnall men so to apply good to euill Many vvill fall with Dauid sayth Saint Austen and will not arise vvith Dauid There is not proposed to thee any example of falling but of arising when thou art fallen Take heed thou do not fall Let not the slip of the greater be the delight of the lesser but let the fall of the greater be a trembling to the lesser What he there sayth of Dauid may most fitly be applied to the rest of the Patriarkes and other Prophets that by any thing of theirs we must not be intised to disobedience 7 Saint Chrysostome taketh occasion by Dauid of whom Austen also spake to draw a threefold benefit from the example of his transgression which I thinke not amisse to be mentioned in this place Dauid sayth he for three reasons vvas suffered to go astray First that he might make the righteous man to looke more earnestly to his way He perhaps sayth to himselfe I am a religious man I am famous for many merites now I haue done those things which appertaine to the garland Deceiue not thy selfe sayth he thou hast done no more then Dauid His meaning is that if such captaines and leaders in the faith so gracious with the Highest so acceptable in Gods sight yet by humane infirmities haue fallen and fallen notoriously then no man shold be proud none senslesly secure no man confidently foolish because his turne may be next He should set a watch before his heart and a hatch before his lips that nothing may enter thither nothing may come out thence which is not weighed and ballanced And that this is one of the causes why the ouersights of the best are made knowne in the Scriptures Saint Austen also consenteth The sinnes of great men are vvritten to this purpose that the saying of the Apostle may euery vvhere be trembled at vvhere he sayth Let him that standeth take heede lest he fall The second reason in Saint Chrysostome is that it might appeare that Christ Iesus alone in mans body vvas pure from all offence For if the holiest creatures and most sanctified sonnes of women men vpright and fearing God men after the Lords owne heart the best men of famous memory yet bore about them a body which was heauy to the soule and were shamefully ouertaken with crimes which their inferiours knew to be enormous then the single prerogatiue and that priuiledge of innocency and vnspottednesse which is not to be communicated to any of Adams children appeareth to belong onely to Christ. He alone could say to the Iewes Which of you can rebuke me of sinne But all other haue this sinne on them although it raigne not in them The iust man must confesse that of Hierome to be very true that while vve dwell here in the tabernacle of this body and are compassed with fraile and brittle flesh we may moderate our affections and rule our perturbations but cut them off we cannot we cannot roote them out Then all arrogant merite-mongers may boast themselues while they will of meriting of saluation and Pelagius he may vaunt that he can keepe the law but we account those speeches to be cursed and hereticall and derogatory from the eminency of Christ. We say to thē as Orosius sometimes wrote to that heretike Pelagius Thou sayest that it is possible that a man should be without sin I repeate it againe oftentimes the mā which can do this is Christ the Son of God Either take that name vnto thee or lay aside thy boldnesse God hath giuen that but to one and that is he which is chiefe and first borne among many brethren Then other yea the Virgin Mary her selfe must renounce themselues and all their possibility and admire the vnspotted beauty of Iesus our Redeemer 8 The third reason in Chrysostome is a matter of more comfort The faults of others are vvritten that sinners may the lesse despaire of their owne errours but if any one haue offended let him daily confesse his sinnes yea if he haue sinned a thousand times yet let him go forward to confesse a thousand times Forthere is nothing vvorse then distrust or despaire This sentence of turning againe a thousand times to God was it whereof Socrates speaketh that Chrysostome did dare to teach this in that time which was so filled with the Nouatian heretikes And this
is a most comfortable point to a distressed conscience which I thinke did neuer more neede to be plaistered and suppled then in these our present dayes wherein Satan is busie to take aduantage of the tendernesse and softnesse of them who earnestly desire to haue peace with God And he seeing that it grieueth them to displease so good a father straightway representeth to their eyes the fearefulnesse of his iustice and the multiplicity of their crimes Oh it is a deadly enemy suttle and full of sleights he hath baytes for euery one For the wanton shewes of wantonnesse for the idolater superstitions for the Atheist wayes of obstinacy for the enuious cause of spite for him who hateth to sinne a tickling pride of doing well for those who loue the word terrours out of the word to beate them downe to drowne thē so that all threatnings shall be applied to thē mercies shal be passed ouer as no way appertaining vnto their cōfort How careful had we need be stand continually on our watch serue God while we haue time pray to him for perseuerance euermore be busied about that which is good that solitarie idlenesse melancholike tentatiōs great meanes to a greater fall do not grieuously oppresse vs But to preuent that obiectiō which is common to all those who are so affected as I speake of God who writeth for all our good that testified in his sacred booke that the bel-wethers of his flocke haue stūbled lyen along that not in toyes or trifles but in causes of great importance they haue giuen witnesse of much weakenesse And yet they haue risen againe more humbled and more purged more renewed by grace taught to flye from themselues vnto the throne of mercy to repose all their saluation on him who is farre more sure then the strongest rocke or castle And when the spirite is thus contrite God accepteth it as a sacrifice he is so farre from despising the troubled broken heart that he loueth it and embraceth it Thus he dealt with them in old time vnder the threatning law and therefore he will rather do so vnder the Gospell The errours of our time are no otherwise then theirs were we are made of the selfe same mettall he is made of the selfe same mercy He changeth not he varieth not he euermore remaineth himselfe Then why should we yeeld our selues to diffidence and distrust why sinke we vnder our burthen which lyeth heauy for a moment and no longer Sorow may endure for a night but ioy commeth in the morning He tempteth not aboue our strength but in the midst of tryall he giueth an issue out That which we feele in the meane while is our burthen and we must beare it We cannot liue here like Angels Our purity is in hope it is not yet indeed Christ well knew that there would be faults in vs when he bad vs euery day to pray forgiue vs our trespasses Then let vs rowze vp our spirits and shake off that dull kind of blockishnesse and sinne that hangeth so fast on and let vs with alacrity runne to Iesus our Redeemer our brother and Sauiour and the finisher of our faith He sometimes was tempted himselfe which maketh him the better know how to pity those which are tempted And thus much generally I haue spoken that the Scripture maketh no spare to display the worst of the writers thereof and how the best do offend yea and double it too with Ionas and yet still remaine Gods seruants The speciall fault of Ionas 9 By this time you expect as I thinke that I should not stand so farre off and looke on my text per transennam but that I should touch it nearer and so indeed is my meaning All this while you haue heard that the Prophet was out but what was it wherein he faulted It displeased Ionas exceedingly and he was angry at it And what was it whereat he vexed and knew not which way to take it That Niniue should be spared God meant to continue the standing of that city and Ionas would not haue it so The Lord thought best to spare the inhabitants but our man is of another mind Here in the meane time are two sides but the match is very vnequall I am certainely perswaded that Ionas is not like to gaine much by such bargaines The potter is of one side and the pot-sheard of another Fire and thunder and flaming lightning doth say it shall be so and flaxe and towe doth say otherwise And yet this weake one is right angry that he may not beare away the bucklers Now a man might haue seene this messenger a perfect male-content that euery thing went not as he conceiued before that it should But why should this fretter greeue that Niniue should haue a tast of his mercy who is the father of pity and compassion All agree that he did so but there is not any common consent what that was which specially did mooue him Hierome telleth that some imagined that Ionas was now growne spitefull and boyled very much with enuy that the Gentiles should be called As if Gods grace toward him and other of his people were now so much the lesse because it was communicated to a forrein nation This was to make no difference betweene the sonnes of Cham and Sem to bring Esau and Israel to be beloued alike This were to make the Ethnickes as good men as the Iewes yea to make such as were or hereafter might be great enemies to Ierusalem to tast the best fruites of Sion Where then was the promise to Abraham or the oath which was sworne to Isaac if the Niniuites should be called as well as the holy seed Thus perhaps flesh might reason and murmure in our Ionas 10 If this were it which troubled him he might iustly be concluded to be enuious and malicious and therefore to sinne highly For was his eye growne euill because his maister was good Would he repine that other should find that kindnesse at the Lords hand which himselfe had felt before As soone as he was ouer must the bridge by and by be broken As soone as he was in must the doore foorthwith be shut Would not that sufficiently content him that he should haue a place in heauen but must he be the porter nay rather the housholder to direct who should come after his friends and acquantance only This was a fault which raigned much among the people of the Iewes they could not brooke the fellowship of the despised Gentiles Christ noted this their enuy by the parable of the elder brother grudging that the younger which was the prodigall sonne should be receiued with such grace But it is very manifestly storied to be true in the Acts as both at Antioche and so otherwise at Thessalonica for when the Greekes began to beleeue the Iewes enuied at it and reuiled with euill words yea made an vprore But when Paule
not so farre in as he should nor so farre out as he might be if Gods grace had forsaken him Notwithstanding to testifie some thing for indeed it is but some thing he betaketh himselfe to his prayers he prayed vnto the Lord. 2 Then a generall obedience yet remaineth in this sinner wherein he could wish all well as hauing learned by his smart to stand in awe of that great Maiesty which had so followed him before and might recken with him afterward But as water which ariseth from the purest and cleanest fountaine if it come through a puddle channell will keepe still to be water but it will be troubled water by meanes of that which it toucheth so his intendment to pray springing certainely from deuotion is so mingled with dregges of wrath and vanity and excuse to quit himselfe and blame God that as good almost not at all as not to be better Some drammes and graines of gold appeare in him and his action but drosse is there by pounds Little wine but store of water some wheate but chaffe inough That he came to God it was good and that he came by prayer for that is the best sacrifice which the soule can send vp into heauen but that it was in such sort to expostulate not to begge to reason not to confesse to chide not to aske pardon is a many faults put together My meaning is not to exagitate this in Ionas otherwise then by looking particularly to the circumstance of the fact to see how good instructions we may gather from this his prayer to right our selues and straight our steps in that where he went amisse which I shall the better do if I propose vnto you these three things to be considered First the preface which here is vsed And he prayed vnto the Lord Secondlie the excuse which he maketh I pray thee vvas not this my saying vvhen I vvas yet in my countrey Therefore I preuented it to flye vnto Tharshish And thirdlie the reason whereon he grounded all because the Lord was mercifull In the first I shall speake of prayer in the second of our excusing and shifting sinne from our selues and in the third of that wherein must be all our comfort that the Lord is kind and long suffering And he prayed vnto the Lord. 3 That anguishes and perplexities do here waite vpon vs as companions more vnseparable then the shadow to the body is a matter by Scripture and experience so euident as is the light at noone day Many are the troubles of the righteous By many afflictions vve must enter into the kingdome of God And whosoeuer vvill liue godly in Christ Iesus must suffer persecution Persecution is of diuerse sorts it may be inward or outward in body or in mind in goods or in fame in sicknesse or in sorrow and the most holy haue abundantly tasted some one of these the Patriarkes and Prophets the Apostles and Martyrs Christ Iesus himselfe The weight of which burthen he is not well aduised who seeketh not to support by some firme vnder-lyer and that is faithfull inuocation vpon the name of God and flying to him by prayer For if there be any thing which may appease sorow ease the grieued hart oppressed with the feeling of temporall occurrents or wounded with the want of spirituall consolations it is to haue recourse to the throne of grace and there with watered eyes and cheekes be deawed with teares to lay open those grieuances which breed sorow vnto vs. I shall find trouble and heauinesse saith Dauid but I shall call vpon the name of the Lord. It is the counsell of Saint Iames Is any among you afflicted let him pray Hanna being vexed in her spirit did betake her selfe to this medicine she went to the Tabernacle and there she earnestly intreated The whole booke of Psalmes doth witnesse that this was the Altar whereunto Dauid when he was pursued did still retire himselfe This was the stay of Hezechiah when he turned him to the wall being in extreame anguish And Saint Paule being buffeted by the Angell of Satan ranne to this as a refuge I besought the Lord thrise sayth he that is many times And where can be comfort if it be not in this When worldly things do faile vs and there is helpe from no man when friends are few or weake or absent or perhaps growne vnfaithfull but foes are fierce and malicious when Sathan himselfe suggesteth all things to the worst when the thoughts within are much disquieted the conscience euen amazed and standing at the gaze scant knowing which way to walke then to powre foorth our complaints and discouer our miseries to him who doth know all because he is almightie to him who considereth all because he is our father and who both can and will take pity of the distressed The practise of this doth both expeditely and assuredly bring reliefe to him that trieth it that sigh which breatheth out sorow by a backe-breathing bringeth in ioy That hand which being thrust out doth reach a supplication vpward reacheth downe contentation deliuerance doth breake foorth or at least patience sitteth within yea now there may be ioy in suffering Thus mercie is powred downe and seasonable showers of sound and sure refreshing do fall vpon vs as vpon the thirsty land Were it not for this precious ointment the heart which is sometimes puffed and stretched with care would breake and rent in peeces but by praying it is suppled and mollified and stroaked till it returne vnto his setled nature 4 Then are not we to blame the while who hauing a remedie so faire so louely in it selfe for what is like speaking to God so profitable for vs for what doth so asswage our grife so acceptable to our maker for what doth he account a better sacrifice then this so readie at hand to vs for where or when may we not pray Yet in our manie molestations we rather seeke to ease our selues with any thing then with this and so indeed we disease our selues either presently heaping more euill vpon euill or if we thinke that we slacke our sorow it commeth foorthwith more vehementlie on vs as the feuer doth to him who drinketh cold water in his fit there may be a superficiall skin bred aboue but rankled festered dead flesh doth putrifie vnderneath If one mightie man do oppresse vs we seeke to backe our selues by another which is his equall if our neighbour agree not with vs the law shall end all betweene vs if we speede not there then more money shall be imployed to fetch it another way if that practise go not forward we will trye a farther conclusion of slander and defamation so to quit a friend in his kind If that way we cannot reach him yet we will haue our peny-worthes out in railing vpon him or at least in secret whispering inward we chafe and outward we act it with more then tragicall gesture And thus we do in those things
filled with such wandring thoughts and stragling cogitations of Mammon and of ambition of enuy or of lust that rather we do any thing then that which we are doing Whereas all the heart and all the soule and all the strength should be the Lords the vigour of our wit the intentnesse of our braine the most fixed meditation of the spirit that if it were a thing possible we should be wrapped from the earth and sequestred from that body while we be in that holy exercise Some other times the manner is not the onely thing wherein we trip but the matter it selfe is naught For gold and precious stones we bring stubble and straw we aske such things of him who is an immaculate vnspotted and vndefiled spirit as we would be ashamed that men should know We tender that to our maker which we would not aske of our neighbour I do not here speake of such vanity as wherein the Pharisee abounded I thanke God I am not as other but rather of carnall deuotions We intreate for our sports and for our wantonnesse as for euerlasting matters I had leyfer that you should heare from the words of Saint Gregory rather then from mine what things we do aske In the house of Iesus you seeke not Iesus if in the Temple of eternity you importunely aske for temporall things Behold one in his prayer asketh for a vvife another beggeth for a farme a third maketh request for a garment another would haue meate giuen vnto him Nay may not we go farther euen as sometimes Erasmus noted how in the dayes of superstition the Virgin Mary was sollicited for the souldier prayeth for his booty the theefe for his rich cheate the dicer for his good fortune Do not these things very sutably agree with so sacred a Maiesty Do they not become vs very well I doubt not but that we may aske for such things as are needfull to this life if we place them in their fit place and sue for them with condition If it shall seeme good to the Lord but those other things are toyes and trifles and do fauour of carnall motions And it is no maruell if in such cases we speed not for as once it was sayd to the mother of Iames and Iohn Ye aske you know not what so it is with vs in our prayers God seeth that such things do hurt vs and therefore in his kind loue he denieth them vnto vs. Here that of Saint Iames hath place Yee aske and receiue not because yee aske amisse to consume vpon your lusts And that also of Saint Bernard When his little child asketh bread the father reacheth it vnto him but when he asketh for a knife he denieth it So God doth graunt fit things to those who aske them but vnto him who intreateth for voluptuous or bad matters he doth deny them And surely if he should giue them they were rather tokens of his displeasure then of his fauour to vs. But how mercifull doth God appeare to be when he beareth these things at our hands and doth not consume vs as he did those who brought strange fire vnto his Altar Let vs study to amend this fault neither begging in bad manner with other nor bad matters with Ionas but let vs be earnest in that which we know to be good as that intreaty of Fulgentius is where he prayeth for himselfe I beseech him who is the truth that by his mercy preuenting me and following after me he will teach me vvhatsoeuer things are healthfully to be knowne and I know them not that he vvill keepe me in those true things which I do know that wherein as a man I am deceiued he will correct me in what true things I do stumble he will confirme me and that from false and hurtfull things he will deliuer me And thus much of the preface Now come we to the words themselues which do mention his excuse Was not this my saying when yet I was 7 It were well for the Prophet if his choyse had bene as good as his resolution was Those things which he apprehended had need be iust and holy for were it well or otherwise if he once had entertained a matter he would strongly haue maintained it He imagined that God in the end would not destroy the Niniuites but that his mercy would ouer-way and ouer-ballance his iustice therefore fearing lest himselfe denouncing their destruction should be taken but for a lyer and so Gods name should be blasphemed he thought to end all at once and runne away from his calling as it is in the first Chapter In steed of land he getteth him to sea for Eastward he goeth Westward for Niniue to Tharsus What God thought of this he had prety well felt already The tempest which belaboured him the lot which deprehended him the whale which deuoured him might acquaint him what the Lord conceiued of him But to the end that no doubt may remaine God a second time biddeth him go and preach to the Niniuites Here duty would haue supposed that the Lord knew well inough what he did and the issue of the matter would be his glorie But Ionas thinketh otherwise that God might spare his honor and himselfe might saue his labour and stay at home at the first and not come with a great shew and all but in a sleeuelesse errand And whereas he ranne to Tharsus he supposeth that he had reason for it he tooke the best course that might be and if the Lord might be pleased so to thinke of it he did well he did as he should that did he Oh the incredible folly of man that to iustifie it selfe in a most vndecent action careth not how it layeth about it and rappeth it esteemeth not whom The Highest was ouerseene not the best but sometimes sleepeth and the seruant was in the right Yet welfare king Dauid Against thee haue I sinned and done euill in thy sight that thou mightest be iust when thou speakest and pure when thou doest iudge And when the Angell with the pestilence destroyed seuenty thousand he standeth not to defend his folly but confesseth that he had sinned Old Eli wanted no faults yet he had learned that lesson not to stand on his iustification when threats were denounced against him but replieth It is the Lord and let him do what seemeth good vnto him But our man where he taketh an opinion will not be remooued from it be it right or be it otherwise Although here he would withdraw from himselfe the blame of his former flight which while he goeth about to maintaine he maketh himselfe twise guilty yet still he will be innocent Wherein appeareth how blind man naturally is when it commeth to him or his there will be a selfe-weening a selfe-liking a selfe-conceipt in the grossest errours that may be This sinne of thinking well of our selues sitteth close and long euen when other sinnes are shaken off which
I would not haue any man distrustfully to doubt yet flie from sinne and do morall vertues and that at least shall ease some part of the extremity of those torments which thou shalt haue in hell fire Although thou gaine no ioy by it yet thou shalt escape much euill Thy paine shall be the lesse not because thou hast done well but because thou hast lesse declined from vertue as Austen speaketh making difference betweene Catiline and Fabricius Fabricius shall be lesse punished then Catiline not because he was good but because the other was more bad and Fabricius was lesse vvicked then Catiline was not in that he had true vertues but because he did not as farre as might be stray from true vertues But be it the one or the other take all thy sinnes vpon thy selfe and seeke not to excuse the nocent by accusing the innocent who is free from the smallest blemish In a lesser matter then eternall life or death is it was a fault in our Prophet that he would assume the better and God must haue the worse he will be cleare and the Lord shall be culpable And let this be sayd of his excuse The mercy of God 10 The third note is the reason whereon he groundeth his defence that is the Lords procliuity and propensenesse vnto mercy And here howsoeuer the former matters may trouble vs by a remēbrāce that they may be our own case yet this maketh amends for al that we haue to do with a Lord whose goodnesse is so great whose graciousnesse so plētiful that we need words to vtter it Ionas therein walking right howsoeuer else he tread ill goeth as farre as may be A gracious God and mercifull slow to anger and of great kindnesse and repentest thee of the euill such a one is ready euery way to take pity but commeth to vengeance and fury with heauy and leaden feete Our man doth so well at this that we need not doubt but he had a good schoolemaister to direct him and that is the Lord himselfe who appearing vnto Moses doth cry thus of his maiesty The Lord the Lord strong and mercifull gracious and slow to anger aboundant in goodnesse and truth reseruing mercy for thousands forgiuing iniquity transgression and sinne in which place of Exodus although afterward there follow a little of his iustice which he may not forget yet we see the maine streame runneth concerning mildnesse and kindnesse and compassion That is it wherein the Lord may be sayd to delight ioying to be a Sauiour a deliuerer a preseruer a redeemer a pardoner rather thē to be a Iudge He hath one skale of iustice but the other doth prooue the heauier mercy doth ouerway He who is euer iust is mercifull more then euer if possibly that may be And it seemeth that euery day as his Gospell was growing on so his pity came also forward He who for one transgression thrust the Angels out of heauen and for his first slipping awry turned Adam out of Paradise his fury breaking foorth against both them now in the dayes of grace beareth with vs yeares and yeares from our cradle to our graue after a thousand and a thousand fals of weaknesse and wilfulnesse by word by thought by deed Yea he came to this soone not long after the creation giuing in the dayes of Noe a hundred and twenty yeares of repentance before the floud Our Niniue from the mouth of this present Prophet had forty dayes before it should be destroyed But Hierusalem being growne to the height of all iniquity so that both the seruants and Sonne of God were slaine by them the Sabaoth polluted the Sanctuary profaned yea a horrible sinke of filth being now among them yet was spared fortie yeares before that God sent vp Vespasian and Titus See whether this be not tollerancie which we with amazednesse may admire Indeede when nothing would serue but the member being quite vncurable must needs be cut off by him when their sinne extorted and wrung downe vēgeance he payd them for all together that they who would none of his loue might haue full heapes of his hatred His arme being lift vp the higher did fall so much the heauier the water-course stopped the longer did breake out the more fiercely according to the custome of God who as Bernard sometimes spake By how much the longer he expecteth that we should amend so much the more strictly he will iudge vs if we neglect The Iewes felt this to the full but how slow was he to his anger 11 Christ Iesus who is the image and engrauen forme of his father was not behind hand in this propertie while he liued here vpon earth He taught it by the figge-tree which bearing no fruite was not by and by cut downe but first for one or two yeares it should be dunged and trimmed to see what good would come of it He sustained many ignorances vntowardnesses in the Apostles and yet did not reiect them yea his patience was so great that it shewed it selfe to Iudas No maruell sayth Saint Cyprian that he shewed himselfe patient toward his obedient disciples who could with long suffering endure very Iudas to the last could take his meate in company of his enemie knew a foe to be in his house and did not openly descry him yea refused not the kisse of a traytour He might rightly be called a lambe yea that innocent Lambe of God by an excellency aboue all other who could see such a one and suffer him so often and so neare him and scant say a word against him This did no good on Iudas but as the same Cyprian obserueth the like tollerance was effectuall to saluation in other men If those who did shed the bloud of Christ had bene taken presently after they had perished euerlastingly but God so graciously disposed for their good that they were pricked in their hearts and so brought home to the sheepfold of enemies being now made friends Which made that father say He who shed the bloud of Christ vvas quickened by the bloud of Christ such and so great vvas Christs patience vvhich if it had not bene such and so great the Church should not haue had Saint Paule for an Apostle Thus the holy and blessed Trinity dealeth with men in this present age in great mercy after yeares and twenty yeares before they come to the graue respecting such as haue bene men audacious and impudent in vngodlinesse such as haue bene superstitious and Popish euen vnto idolatry such as in a conceited fancie were so fastened to Antichrist that to lose their liues for the beast they thought to be to do God good seruice Those persons who had lyen fried in hell as fire-brands to be burnt remedilesse and euerlastingly if they had departed in that mind to the graue the place where is no redemption by compassion from the mightie one whose bowels are made of mercy are
to this day did light vpon Origene besides the feare of a farther danger when the spirit of his conceit must be taken for the marrow of the Scripture and looke what with trickes he deuised other men must straight beleeue His conclusions grew as inconsequent as euer this did of Ionas Because we also are Prophets let vs feare in like sort to force the word of God to any thing but to what he meant it or to broch any new deuises by singularitie of opinion For as the Lord both blesseth and graceth things done with a good mind although they haue their imperfections so when our purpose is but vanity or rarenesse or a fancy to sing a note beyond all men in that where soundnesse seasoned with care and industry is best God a little to bridle vs leaueth vs vnto our selues and in steed of praise more then common our spot is more then ordinary Concerning the matter of Gods businesse the best ground is the common way to teach as the Lord doth teach and as the words are naturally and then if all other good helpes be vsed it is not amisse but let no humane passion make vs vary from the substance because we will haue it one way when God will haue it another lest the Almighty be not so much honoured as otherwise he should and we our selues be discomforted God graunt that we may make vse of the examples in the Scriptures that in need we may seeke to him who is able to helpe vs that we may pray to him as we should in humility and obedience accusing our owne infirmities that so we may tast of that mercy wherein he is so plenteous especially in his Sonne to both whom and the holy Spirit be praise for euermore THE XXVI LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 1. Out of euill groweth euill 3. God is Lord of life and death 5. Man is to regard himselfe as an excellent creature 6. No man should lay violent hands on himselfe 8. nor do things tending thereto 10. Christians are not excused who killed themselues to auoide their persecutours 11. How a man may desire to be dead 12. God in mercy doth not graunt all our wishes 13. The Lords mildnesse in reproouing Ionas 14. Which should be imitated by all but especially by the Minister Ionah 4.3.4 Therefore now ô Lord take I beseech thee my life from me for it is better for me to dye then to liue Then sayd the Lord Doest thou well to be angrie IT is a speech true as well in Diuinitie as in Philosophy that graunt one absurditie and a many will follow which is more commonly seene in practise of life then in holding opinions For when we haue once gone aside from Gods law and from the rule of vertue one sinne draweth on another as the linkes of a chaine mooue their fellowes where the first plucketh on the second And as a stone which is cast into a poole or standing water maketh one circle where it falleth and that circle breedeth another and so forward successiuely till it come to the banke so euill groweth of euill and the first begetteth one farther and there it will not rest but on in infinitum vnlesse grace sent from heauen as a bridle of restraint do make stay in the soule When Adam had once yeelded to hearken to the woman more indulgently then he should credulity commeth on him that hatcheth out ambition thence floweth disobedience after that commeth excusing and posting all ouer to God When Saule by a foolish pity had spared the king of Amalec and by a greedy couetousnesse had saued the cattell aliue he despaireth vpon those threatnings which were denounced against him by Samuel then he grieueth to lose his kingdom afterward hearing that Dauid was the man who should succeed him he seeketh euery way to slay him After his hatred toward him he hated euerie man who in least sort entertained him he murthered the Lords Priests and then to the end that he might procure that from hell which would not come from heauen he consulteth with a witch and at last for the vp-shot he slaughtereth himselfe Ionas is not so farre left to his owne disposition as to marre all in the end Gods grace is more vpon him yet to shew how farre weaknesse in his calling had surprized him he maketh an ill gradation Being in vp to the shooes he will on to the shoulders and it was more by grace then by nature that he had not diued ouer head and all For first he had vnaduisedly resolued on the destruction of the city without any sparing and in his longing for it he was growne bloudy in mind then seeing that God would pardon them he is displeased at it and he prooueth angrie with the Lord himselfe His wrathfull mind breaketh foorth and excusing himselfe for all he layeth the fault on the Lord. Yet here he sitteth not downe but furious as he is in all hast he will be dead to be rid of all the trouble And although the Lord do interrupt him there yet he will be dead the second time as afterward it doth follow 2 In this place I am to handle the conclusion of his prayer wherein after that he had tendered his owne iustification as it is in the former verse and had vexed himselfe that he could not see that which he intended he requesteth that he might dye accounting his peeuish anguish to be a thing so intollerable as that a liuing man might not beare it Wherein he still continueth an example of humane frailtie which being led by affâ—ction and fancy-full opinion of some present incombrance forgetteth the rules of piety and very grounds of reason and speaketh it knoweth not what For how vnfit was that motion because other men must liue Ionas himselfe will dye Because he might not haue reuenge on those who hurt him not for their faults were against the Highest he would be reuenged on himselfe Thus dealt he at that time when as a man whose heart had bene seasoned with vnderstanding should haue taken such contentation at the conuersion of so many sinners that his ioy should haue bene the greater and his life should haue bene the sweeter to see such a metamorphosis that vnrepentant sinners should be now crying out for pardon But my text leadeth me to speake not what a one he should be but what a one he was and therein these two verses offer to vs seuerall matters the one the desire of Ionas that his life should be taken from him the other the increpation or rebuke which the Lord bestoweth on him And these two are the maine drift But the former doth braunch it selfe into a second sort of instructions as first that the Lord is he who taketh away life from man secondly that therefore to depriue our selues of our breath is against his holy ordinance and thirdly in what cases we may wish our selues to be dead and in what it is vnlawfull These three things
being handled as Gods spirit shall enable me I wil come to Lords reproofe Life and death is from God 3 This vnpatient Prophet mingling good and bad together layeth it downe in his extasie that it belongeth to God to take away life from man Not I will dye for anger or I will destroy my selfe but Lord take away my life And in their greatest sobrietie the holiest Saints haue and must acknowledge that Iehoua was he who in the first creation breathed into the clay a liuing moouing soule In him sayth Saint Paule we liue and mooue and haue our being And whose it is to build his it is to destroy whose the making is his is the marring This caused Moses speaking plainely in Gods owne person to ioyne them both together Behold novv for I am he and there are no Gods with me I kill and I giue life I wound and I make whole neither is there any who can deliuer out of my hands So Iob that holy man In Gods hand is the soule of euery liuing thing and the breath of all mankind If in his hand then to giue it where he pleaseth to giue it and where he listeth to deny it Salomon the wise doth apparantly aime at this where he sayth Man is not Lord ouer his breath to retaine his spirit neither hath power in the day of death nor deliuerance in the battell Where by an Antithesis it must needs be vnderstood that God thē is Lord ouer it and he doth dispose of it And he hath learned little in the schoole of Christ Iesus who perfectly knoweth not this that his breath in his body as a tenant at will is put into a house whereinto it may not enter but by the good will of the landlord and being once in there it must keepe and hold the building vpright till it haue his discharge to remooue some whither else It must not stay longer then the terme set by the owner neither must it depart till that moment come In the beginning of our being it is God who giueth the barren a power to conceiue who quickeneth that within sometimes sooner sometimes later which he meaneth shall see the Sunne who bringeth it into the world thou art he sayth the Prophet Dauid who tooke me out of my mothers wombe who preserueth from the cradle by thee haue I bene holden vp euer since I was borne and leading vs along he lengtheneth or he shorteneth the race which we shall runne and when we come to the period of the time decreed by himselfe there he biddeth vs stay and fall Our glasse being runne we returne to the earth from whence we were taken 4 And that it might appeare to be onely his prerogatiue to begin and end life howsoeuer he giueth the entrance vnto it but by one way that is by generation as a heathen man noteth yet arbitrarily by innumerable meanes he dissolueth it and destroyeth it And this he doth not at hap-hazard but he ordaineth it before with an immutable decree so that it may not be changed Ieremy the Prophet vseth these words The king of Babel vvhen he commeth shall strike the land of Egypt such as befor death vnto death and such as be appointed for captiuity to captiuity and such as be for the sword to the sword This intimateth that by the prouidence of the Lord who did set that king on worke seuerall persons in their times are determined to their seuerall ends some to the sword some to famine some to the pestilence and some other to the teeth of wild beasts which are the Lords foure great plagues and some other to other deaths The execution of this decree is so various and so manifold that there is no one mans toung which possibly can describe it Abel he is slaine by his brother Abimilechs braines are beaten out by the hand of a woman throwing a peece a mil-stone from a wal Agag is hewed in peeces Iehoram slaine with an arrow Esay cut with a woodden saw Amos slaine with a dore-barre the bloud of other was mingled with the bloud of their owne sacrifices Some there were on whom the towre of Siloah did fall Anacreon the Poet as Pliny telleth was choaked with the kernell of a raisin and Fabius the Senatour was serued so with a haire Pope Adrian the fourth as Cremonensis writeth was choaked with a flye Valentinian the Emperour came to his end by straining himselfe with crying too loud Iouian another Emperour was found dead in his bed And to recite no more of auncient time now in our dayes many come to their graues by Apoplexies and Lethargies and dead palseyes some by falling some by drowning some other as a wasted candle go out naturally What the Lord hath appointed ouer them that euery one partaketh So that it is a thing peculiar to his owne pleasure to withdraw breath from mankind which if at any time he be not pleased to do no deuise of man can bring about the destruction of the least person snares and ambushes layd as against Elizeus shall be frustrated and escaped Lions teeth shall stand still as they did at Daniel fire shall not burne as it was in that ouen where the three children were All policy shall sinke and all complots shall be dissolued as the Lord hath manifestly testified in his annointed handmaid who raigneth ouer vs whom he hath kept hitherto amidst most strange conspiracies because his purpose is that yet longer he will honour her 5 Here it shall be no ill aduise to intersert this word that since the Lord himselfe who forgetteth not his other creatures is notedly especially so carefull ouer man to let his life in into him and to let it out by decree to measure out his sufferings and to moderate his endurings to deliuer when he listeth and to saue when he thinketh good the remembrance of all which and the like benefits made Dauid cry out Lord what is man that thou art mindfull of him and the sonne of man that thou doest so visite him we should esteeme of our selues as of Gods speciall workmanship in a degree beyond ordinary My intent is not to puffe vp our hearts with any pride or to thrust into a self-liking for the Lord doth hate pride it goeth before a fall and the humble men are those on whom Christs yoake is layd but to rowze vs vp from that neglect which commonly is in all carnall men I meane a careless estimation and drowsie consideration of the graces of God vpon vs. For do we not see many as if they were onely borne to be somewhat in the world and that so small a somewhat as if it were but nothing go on as forlorne people who make no account of their being and onely eate and drinke and sleepe and walke on idly as if they cared not much whether this or that did fall out to themselues or other men and they were but a
sort of things which be they or be they not it maketh not any matter A conceipt which is very earthie and dull as is the clay and in no sort beseeming a reasonable soule who should carry his face vpright to God and to the heauens and thinke himselfe to be made for somewhat to glorifie the Almightie to be a part of the Church to helpe to adorne the world to be doing honest actions while he is here in this life and not to go poring forward as a beast which looketh onely downeward Is it nothing that he hath giuen thee speech and reason which he denieth to euery thing but man Is it nothing that his sonne redeemed thee with his bloud and payd such a raunsome for thee Or to note what my text doth note is it nothing that thy life is dayed and houred and inched out by a fearefull God and a terrible who among so many motions and directions and disposings and altering transmutations of heauen and earth and water yet hath thee so in his reckening and beareth such an eye vpon thee on thy in-going and thy out-going of thy lying owne thy rising of thy sicknesse and thy health of thy liuing and thy dying as if onely he did intend vnto thy selfe in speciall Do not thou esteeme that to be vile which he reckeneth of so much worth let that soule be precious to thee which he accounteth of so great price do not hang downe thy head but with industrie adorne thy soule and with diligence in his seruice thinking it a shame to see that actiue nimble and stirring substance to be ouergrowne with mossinesse and rust of such neglect as hitherto hath possessed it 6 Now as it is not vnproper to obserue this in glauncing sort because the Prophet giueth that attribute to the Lord that it is his prerogatiue to take away life so from this there euidently ariseth as a doctrine to be thought of in the next place that it is a great fault and a transgression not excusable to thrust our selues into that which belongeth vnto our maker and so by an vsurpation to depriue God of that singular priuiledge which is proper to himselfe of taking away life from man I do not here speake of the Magistrates who carry the sword as from God and are bound not to acquit or excuse the guiltie To them the charge is giuen against murtherers and manquellers that he vvho sheddeth mans bloud by man shall his bloud be shed Moses stoned the blasphemer Iosuah did so by Achan and Salomon in his vprightnesse tooke away the life of Ioab But I speake here of that case which might touch our Prophet nearer that is that although he did pretend that he willingly would be dead yet he doth not take a course violently to lay hands on himselfe and his owne bodie but prayeth the Lord to dissolue him Wherein it appeareth that although he were peruerse and discontent yet he was not come to that height of iniquity and impietie as to destroy himselfe A sinne of the most straunge nature that any is in the world that whereas all other sinnes are to preserue the body indeed or in a fancie in circumstance or in substance this is to ouerthrow it Yea to ouerthrow it with God and ouerthrow it with man in this world and the next without hope and all recouerie vnlesse the Lords mercie which cannot be limited do that whereof is no warrant His commandement is in generall Thou shalt commit no murther If no murther vpon other then much lesse on thy selfe For thou must loue thy neighbour but as thou louest thy selfe and the patterne of all dutie to be extended in him is taken from thine owne person Then when the Lord hath created thee and put thee into the world and bid thee there to keepe as in a standing place as in a watch or ward from whence thou mayest not mooue till he come to discharge thee wilt thou dare to leaue thy ground and forsake that which he hath enioyned thee When thy soule shall come before his iust and fearefulll countenance how must it needes be dismayed when that speech shall come from his mouth what doest thou in this place who sent for thee who dismissed thee As thou with violence hast cut thy selfe from thy bodie so with violence I do cut thee from all hope of participation in my glorie 7 What a trembling may this sentence procure vpon this soule what mountaines may it not cry to or what hils to fall vpon it to be freed from such a doome It is good therefore that euerie Christian who desireth to haue his part in the holie resurrection should flie from this as the way to euerlasting damnation This is a pranke for such as despairing Saule was to fall vpon his owne sword or of cursed craftie Ahitophell to go home and hang himselfe or of Iudas to go foorth and worke himselfe to his end How many are the miseries and vexations which a Christian should suffer all his life time here before that he should once thinke of this With what earnestnesse of prayer should he resist this tentation Should I say that Iosephus a Iew with full reasons refuted that which was vrged for this vngodly fact at such time as he was pressed vnto it by his bloudy minded fellowes Yea heathen men haue taught this as Plato in Phaedone from whom we find that Macrobius hath collected seauen reasons why we should not dare to attempt this But the speech of Tully is excellent in that Somnium Scipionis whereupon Macrobius there commenteth For when Scipio had said If true life be onely in heauen vvhy stay I then vpon earth vvhy hast I not to come to you No it is not so sayth his father for vnlesse that God vvhose Temple all this is that thou seest free thee from the fetters of thy body thou canst not haue an entrance thither For men are begotten and bred vpon that condition that they should maintaine that round thing vvhich thou seest in the middest of that Temple and vvhich is called the earth And there is giuen vnto them a soule of those euerlasting fires vvhich you call starres and planets Wherefore ô Publius both thy soule and the soules of all good men is to be kept by them in the safe custodie of thy body neither vvithout his commandement by vvhom it is giuen vnto you are you to leaue this life lest you should seeme to flye this duty assigned by God If a heathen man by the light of nature could go so farre it were a thing very admirable that bare reason should be able to teach so much But we may very well imagine that this came from the Diuinitie of the lewes For Tully in that place deriueth his position from Plato which Macrobius plainely noteth and Platoes diuine Philosophy was by hearing or reading sucked from the bookes of Moses which thing Eusebius in his booke De
Praeparatione Euangelica doth manifestly lay downe citing there Numenius the Pythagorian who writeth that Plato was nothing else but Moses speaking Greeke or in the Attike language But be this so or be it otherwise the doctrine is most true 8 First then in this are condemned those who yeelding themselues too much vnto Satans suggestions wilfully destroy their owne bodies frō whom as I dare not generally withdraw the hope of saluation and euerlasting life for Gods mercy may giue grace and a sudden hastie repentance betweene the bridge and the water betweene the deed the dying so that then they could wish all were well and no violence offered so on the other side I cannot but pronounce that the case is very daungerous and in the highest sort to be suspected and feared vnlesse the Lord do giue apparant tokens of penitencie Do not first take strong poyson and then afterward seeke some such remedie as may be offered in an instant whereunto to trust thou hast no warrant but almost all to the contrarie Secondly they are here taxed who wilfully and without cause aduenture vppon such things as are the wayes of death by that meanes tempting God to see whether he will preserue them for so it must needs be if they thinke of him at all Remember how Christ discountenanced all leaping off from the Temple which in nature had bene a meanes to dash himselfe to peeces Some dangerous tumbling trickes and walking vpon ropes not without danger of life and other sports of that qualitie are very neare to this Here let me acknowledge one thing to you wherof I haue oftētimes thought in my selfe by occasion of that text which was cited to our Sauiour by Satan the great tempter in the story last mentioned When he would haue Christ throw himselfe from the pinnacle of the Temple he incouraged him by that place of the Psalme He shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee and with their hands they shall lift thee vp that thou dash not thy foote against a stone Where as euerie man may see he cited the Scripture falsly leauing out that which is very materiall to keepe thee in all thy wayes He shall giue his Angels charge ouer thee to keepe thee in all thy wayes I haue heard that a reuerend mā preaching on a time in our sister Vniuersity at the buriall of one or two gentlemen who came to an vntimely end by swimming enforced out of that place of Mathew that it is the pollicy of the tempter to draw men from their owne wayes to the waies of other creatures And therin as I haue heard he obserued that a mās way was to go a birds way was to flie as fishes way was to swimme and if we would leaue our owne pathes dangerously and without cause to do as fishes or birds do we tempt God in that case and suppresse as much of the Psalme to our selues as Satan did to Christ. For God will keepe thee in all thy wayes not in the wayes of a bird not in the wayes of a fish I cannot say that at that time by collection from that text or by the dolefull example which was then before his eyes that reuerend learned man vtterly forbad that exercise as impious vnlawfull neither dare I do so for fishermen haue vse of it and Peter in the presence of our Sauiour girded his linnnen garment to him and threw himselfe into the sea and the meanes that some escaped from the ship-wracke in the company of Saint Paule was their swimming and souldiers in passing waters are oftentimes constrained to betake them to this exercise So that vtterly to condemne it or dislike it I thinke it not conuenient or warrantable but certainely in that sort as many vse it and too many in great cities and perhaps some in this place that is to say young ones in the deepe and without company or good helpe yea and vpon the Sabaoth day which the Lord hath notedly punished as some of vs may remember doth fall within iust reproofe of being too much accessarie of shortening mens owne liues Let the elder and the younger lay this to their owne consciences and make the vse to themselues Onely vppon occasion of this sommer time of the yeare I do briefly mention it 9 Within this compasse there come plainely our chalenges and defendances for combats in the fields for euery trifling braule where not for God and their countrey or for their Princes safetie but vpon euerie brauling disgrace the life is thrust into danger How vncomfortable a thing is it in a mortall deadly wound which may very well be thy share to thinke that thou hast sought the dissolution of thy soule from thy body and to haue rather stood on thy manhood and fame with other men then vpon thy Christian dutie How many lawes did Moses make but none for the duellum or combat betweene two Nay he who layd it downe that if the head of an axe flie off as a man is cutting wood and slay his neighbour being neare vnto him with whom he had no quarrell if the pursuer should take his person before he came to the city of refuge it was lawfull to kill him what would he haue thought of these men who will thrust themselues into this straigth to slay or to be slaine What the Emperour Honorius sonne to that good Theodosius thought of this appeareth hereby that as Theodoret writeth he tooke away all sword-playings and gladiatorie fights which so long had bene vsed in Rome because they were the meanes of many slaughters The very Turkes in this case are worthie of commendation of whom I find in the Epistles of Augerius Busbequius Embassadour sometimes among them for Ferdinandus the Emperour that while he was in the countrey when one of the Turkish Captaines had reported before the Bassas that he had challenged into the field another of the San-iacks or Lieutenants of the Turke of whom he had receiued some grieuance the Bassas that Graund Segnieur thrust him presently into prison and vsed these words vnto him Didst thou dare to denounce the combat against thy fellow souldier vvere there not Christians to fight vvith You liue both by the bread of our Emperour and would you trye for each others life Knovv you not that vvhether soeuer of you had ben◠slaine it had bin a losse to our Soueraigne he had lost a man a souldier This was but a worldly reason which yet holdeth among vs also But for the auoiding of slaughter vpon other men or our selues which point concerneth the Lords commandement we should flie from these great occasions of murther which is so horrible a sinne But to returne to the maine cause if these accessaries and helpes to bring our selues to the graue be things not to be iustified then what a great fault is man-slaughter directly done vpon our selues 10 I haue sayd more of these adiacents then my purpose was to speake but for
sorowes and afflictions which fall on vs or because by one or other we are thwarted in our designements then in wishing for death we prooue plainely to be offenders for want of submitting our will vnto the Lords will for lacke of waiting with patience and attending the leysure of the Almightie If Elias that powerfull Prophet be ouertaken thus to cry novv it is enough O Lord take away my soule for I am no better then my fathers because Iezabel pursued him to destroy him if she could take him he may not be excused 12 But for our man it is euident that he was in this bracke it was no earnest motion to be with God which did stirre him for now he was angrie with him neither was it because he loathed sinne for he heaped that as fast on him as possibly he could but because in a testie peeuishnesse and vnbeseeming curstnesse he could not see that effected which he so hotely desired that was to see all Niniue brought to vtter desolation And in this fury the man would be nothing else but dead He had neuer bin dead before and therefore did not know what it was to come vnprouided and vnfurnished yea indeed clothed with frowardnesse before so high a Iudge If it then had bene remooued when it was in that fury with what comfort could his soule approch before the tribunall Whereby it appeareth how mercifully the Eternall dealeth with vs who oftentimes in his loue denieth to vs those things for which we wish which if we should euermore enioy we were better be without them Theseus as Tully saith by obtaining the thing which he desired gained this that his only sonne Hippolytus was lost and torne in peeces The same which that fable reporteth of those wishes which Neptune graunted to him that they did hurt and not helpe Theseus is true of Gods part toward vs if he should euermore graunt that which we wish on our selues or other it would ouerturne our bodies and make our soules to perish Do we not many times vnaduisedly wish our selues in our graue as Ionas did in this place when I wis we little thinke it And if then there should come any who would take vs at our word should we not make twentie pauses yea a hundred exceptions before we would be readie It is but Aesopsfable but the morall thereof is true that a poore and desolate old man turning home from the wood with a burthen of stickes vpon him threw them downe and in remembrance of the miserie which he sustained called oftentimes for death to come to him as if he would liue no longer But when Death came to him in earnest and asked what he should do the old man presently chaunged his mind and sayd that his request vnto him was that he would helpe him vp with his wood This most commonly is our case we would find some other businesse to set Death about if he should come to vs when vainly we haue wished for him And it is not much vnlikely that our Prophet in this place would haue played such a pranke when he prayed to God with such vehemency to take away his soule But be that as it will be let this stand good betweene vs that with anger and with chasing at that which the Lord decreed and with wishing death in his rage the Prophet highly offended Which being so largely discoursed now come we in the second place to see how the Lord taketh this which I shall passe as briefly ouer as I haue bene long in the former And the Lord sayd Doest thou vvell to be angry 13 That which Ionas had witnessed in the second verse of this Chapter that the Lord is very mercifull and slow to anger is in this place experimented for when the pot-sheard so grossely had ouerseene it selfe to grudge against the potter the creature against his maker the hote spirite of man would easily haue imagined that he to whom the wrong was done to the end that he might preserue his greatnesse entire would haue let him knowne his owne and receiued all roughnesse from him How would a land-lord here haue ruffled vp his tenaunt but the Prince would haue rung such a lesson to his subiect that he should well haue remembred with whom he had to deale Nay may we not iustly thinke that the mighty Iehoua who is couered with the thunder and clothed with the lightening who speaketh and the earth doth tremble who mooueth and the heauen doth quake who blasted Nadab and Abihu dead in the instant who stroke Vzzah in a moment that he neuer spake againe who made the body of Gehazi and the face of King Vzziah to be couered with a leaprosie who so disgraced Herode that in the ruffe of his maiestie he was eaten vp with wormes would haue shaken vp Ionas so with tauntings and reproches that he should neuer haue forgotten it But the Lord to giue a token of his infinite moderation and vnconceiuable softnesse maketh no answer but this Doest thou vvell to be angry Wherein as he doth shew that Ionas was to blame and therein ouerturneth the excuse of Saint Hierome who most willingly would couer all as if there were no fault and therefore goeth not right since the text is to the contrarie so he beareth with the infirmity of the distracted Prophet and doth rather warne him kindly then intreate him very roughly Doest thou vvell to be angry as if he should haue sayd Thou frettest when thou shouldest not wilt thou be the Iudge Ionas to decide what is most for my glorie thou takest on thee to preiudice my wisedome or my will that either my discretion is not such as it should be or when I know the best yet I will follow the contrary This is not aright Ionas for if any haue occasiō to be angrie it is I who must be ruled now and not rule be directed and not gouerne This mild increpation would haue mooued any man but him who was steeped in anger as Ionas was I do not here any farther pursue Gods patience in his owne person because I haue oftentimes touched it 14 My lesson which I gather here is rather for our selues that when we haue to do with passionate persons that is to say brethren which are weake but not desperately euill and see them ouertaken with affections of anger of sorrow or displeasure we by our mild behauiour seeke to win them from that fault When rage is repelled with rage it increaseth farther fury and so oyle is put to flame and contention to strife A soft answer appeaseth vvrath but grieuous vvords stirre vp anger Although to equals this may fitly be applied and to superiours yet the saying is generall and hath place toward inferiours also The bending yeelding spirit is most likely to preuaile with the most robustious persons but a good man will haue an eye that he yeeld not in things vnlawfull The Apostle dealeth thus with the Corinthians I
out of the place knowledge was brought vnto him that the Lord would spare Niniue then the reason wherefore he departed is otherwise and that was for his owne safety For if desolation were now to come vpon them and as reprobate cast-awayes or impenitent sinners they were to smart home the Prophet had great cause to hasten him from among them lest remaining with them he might with them be striken Nature it selfe had taught him to flye from that which he threatned as a plague to others He is in vaine wise who is not wise to himselfe And it is true of a Prophet as well as of a Sophister Odi Sophistam and Odi Prophetam qui sibi non sapit I like not that Sophister nor I like not that Prophet who is not wise for his owne good But Gods owne direction might make him wary therein who when he meant to destroy Sodome and Gomorrha he sent two Angels to Lot both to warne him and to hasten him from the daunger there to follow And when he was disposed to make Corah Dathan and Abiron a fearefull example to all succeeding ages he made Moses cry to all that were neare him Depart from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs lest you perish in all their sinnes Ionas might learne by these And Christians vnlesse they will tempt God by presuming of his mercy or of their owne merite are bound to depart from all such places where they know that deseruedly the rod of the Lord doth hang ouer If it come once to that passe that the sinnes of whorish Babylon be gone vp into heauen God remember her iniquities we must take it as spoken to vs Go out of her my people lest you be partakers of her sinnes and that you receiue not of her plagues Yea we should so much feare to be ouertaken with the sinnes and sufferings of men infamously wicked that when we haue no speciall warrant nor any reuelation but Gods generall iustice that punishments will follow yet we should by all meanes decline them It was Saint Iohns case who comming into the Bathe where he found the Arch-hereticke Cerinthus washing he went hastily out and called to his company Let vs flye away with speed lest the bathing house do fall vpon vs. It were much to be wished that as he did by the hereticke so all who loue religion or ciuility or honesty would do by noted sinners that if they come in place where drunkards or swearers be or ruffianly companions whom onely filthinesse of speech or disguised haire or other swaggering behauiour full of rudenesse Thraso-like doth commend shall I say or much rather doth condemne they would secretly slip away or flye backe as as a man who hath trod vpō a serpent For if plagues do waite on sin as vndoubtedly they do why may not God strike suddenly betweene cups and crowzings as almost befell to Balthasar Why may he not turne the weapons of one against another like the Centaures and the Lapithes And what assurance is there that he who is with the wicked wilfully and amidst their follies should not suffer with the wicked It is good to feare the worst and to auoide the occasion of plucking any euill on vs although God do not say before that there and then he will strike 5 But it is manifest that destruction is to come to Niniue therefore Ionas were very vnwise if he would not get him packing if so be that yet he had not intelligence that the Lord would spare the place And withall it is likely that Gods spirit did suggest that to be done of the Prophet Wherein the scope at which the Lord did ayme might be double First to sauegard his seruant that the iust with the vniust the Israelite with the Niniuite might not be ouerthrowne For oftentimes the Lord disposeth so as that Ahab alone shall dye and Iehosaphat shall escape But at the siege of Hierusalem when it was taken by Titus this manifestly appeared For when the rest of the city most miserably dyed by the sword and grieuous famine and hauocke was made of all things both within and without the Disciples of the Apostles that little faithfull flocke being forewarned by an Angell had gotten themselues to Pella a city not farre off where they remained in safety Another cause why the Lord might make Ionas remooue might be the more to fright and terrifie that people for if he had stayed there still they foorthwith would haue gathered that it had bene but a bugge for why should he who brought the newes of euill to other expect the extremity of the euill with the other But now when he departed and left them all to the vengeance they might iustly suppose that some sore thing was following Then if they grieued not before yet they might begin vpon this occasion if they did repent before they might proceed more earnestly to continue it and increase it So mercifull is the Lord toward those whom he will saue that one thing or another shall be represented to them yea peraduenture diuerse matters this heard another seene a third supposed or imagined all which shall quicken on vnto grace As those whom in his purpose he hath designed to euill shall haue all things to the worst as all the miracles were to Pharao they shall either haue their sight blinded that seeing they shall not see or they shall haue eares not heare so where the Lord hath cōpassiō that he may shew himself admirable in his mercies many matters shallioyne to helpe forward as affliction̄ sicknes pouerty reading good coūsell threatnings hope feare a thousand other things If the Niniuites shal be called they shal not only heare the Prophet preach the word but they shall behold his example of going out of the city more liuely to auoide that by repentance which they see another flie from by wisdome And this be spoken of his departure He sate on the East side of the city 6 Being come out of the city he sitteth him downe not farre off against the East of the city as Hierome doth translate it or on the East of the city as other more plainely haue it which place why of all other he chose for his abode may be very well worth the doubting At first I was of opinion that some of the Popish writers might make this as a figure of some thing in the Church for so farre sometimes do they straine The matter which I minded most was that his sitting vpon the East side might foreshew the manner of the Christians seruice which was accustomed to be toward the East as Gregory Nazianzene writeth and Saint Austen also who tooke on him to giue a reason for it and Iustine Martyr in his Questions where he yeeldeth another reason Now if I had found this then had I spoken somewhat largely concerning that custome of praying toward the East with some consequents of it
as the building of Churches Eastward among the Christians and the manner of buriall obserued likewise from the East to the West But because I find none who haue intimated so much and I loue not to discourse that whereof there is no ground I passe it ouer and rather come to more probable reasons of the which one is giuen that he sate on the East side because the holy city Hierusalem in the which most apparantly of all the earth the Lord resided was Westward toward which he did looke as well as toward Niniue For that thing being true which Dauid hath recorded In Iewry is God knowne his name is great in Israel At Salem is his Tabernacle and his dwelling in Sion and whatsoeuer was to come being to come from thence-ward he might rather looke that way then to any other coast or quarter of the heauen And since we do find in that prayer of Salomon at the dedicating of the Temple that the Israelites being in straunge lands were to looke toward that place when they begged any thing of God our Prophet in blind zeale might turne himselfe thither to aske the consummation and performance indeed of that which he had spoken Againe if the Lord had promised to send from that place comfort to his being in distresse whensoeuer he was pleased to shew mercy it might well be coniectured that now intending anger and iudgement in high measure he might from thence send it vpon the city Niniue Which way if it should come then Ionas was so wise to be as farre of-ward as possibly he might and be within the sight of Niniue also If a pestilence should be he would not haue that pestilence come ouer his body if fire and brimstone came he would not haue that fire come ouer his head but so farre as it might be he would be out of danger But concerning the withdrawing him from the perill I spake but euen now in his going out of the city and that the Iewes looked to Hierusalem I formerly touched when I opened the second Chapter and therefore of that no farther 7 A second cause there is more commonly assigned why he sate on the East side and that is because there as it may be supposed was a hill from which he might looke downeward and see this mighty place which now was in such hazard You must thinke that all his heart and soule was now on Niniue as imagining that therein was his making and his marring his credit or disgrace and therefore he was much eased that he had such a hill where his eye might be vpon it And certainely if he were fit to fret as it is most plaine that he was such a hill might make him fret the more when each houre he should see those houses stand which he wished might fall those men aliue whom he wished dead that multitude in safety after whose ruine he thirsted Nothing grieueth enuy more then that which it beholdeth The Scripture maketh mention of a wicked euill eye as being a grudging sence Chrysostome writing vpon Genesis supposeth that to be one of the greatest temptations wherewith Sathan oppugned Adam when he was in the blisse of Paradise He bringeth him in speaking thus What profit is it to you to be here in this Garden and not to enioy those things which this delicate place doth yeeld Nay therefore is your griefe the more bitter and smartfull that see these things you may but vse them you may not What he vrged there as an argument to a wanton lustfull eye no doubt he plieth much to an enuious spitefull eye What a griefe is it to see the thing which thou doest hate and not to see thy will on it How carefull should we be to pray to God to remooue vs from the causes of such temptations that he do not set before vs things whereon we may set our mind with an euill passion or sinister affection that he do not place vs on hils or in roomes fit to behold them lest our sinne be thence increased but especially that he suffer not our heart to be defiled with lusting or malice or our eye to be infected but both of them to be single The greatest fault in Ionas was that enuy and bloudy crueltie had filled his heart before but it now did helpe his sinne more forward that he had a hill to behold that which was a spurre to his enuy 8 If he had bene a man of any mercy or but of common pity it had wrought with him otherwise For if of himselfe he would not be content in piety that an increase of his maisters retinue should be made by the comming in of so many by repentance and sorrow If in charitie he would not ioy that so many men who were dead should reuiue and liue againe and so many which were lost should be found yet in ordinarie humanitie and manly commiseration when he had bene vp in the mount and seene so many houses so goodly and glorious workemanship as must needes be in that city such temples and such pallaces so sumptuous and delightfull when he saw that in such a masse of houses as there was there must needs be thousands of people some of them morally honest some infants who neuer actually deserued to perish this rigour of his fury and crueltie of his stomacke must at the last haue relented If magnitude and multitude and both before his eyes could not worke nothing could worke with him Yet the heart of Gods sonne was farre more tender then this of his seruant For when Christ who doubtlesse was to bring a sharpe sentence against the Iewes came within the sight of Hierusalem and beholding looked vpon it how great it was and stately he could not forbeare to weepe and vtter words of compassion Oh if thou hadst knowne at the least in this thy day those things vvhich are for thy peace but now they are hidden from thee Yea heathen men by that light which nature yeelded to them when it came to that passe that they saw great things must perish they haue wept that it should be so and could haue wished the contrarie An example of this in some sort may be that gentle and soft and kind Titus who deserued to be called Deliciae human generis the delicacy of mankind for he being to see that executed which Christ foretold should happen to Hierusalem stretched foorth his hands and called heauen and earth to witnesse in great bitternesse that he was not to blame that the Iewes perished in such sort but they themselues and would not by any meanes that fire should be set on the Temple But that sturdy and rough Marcellus who neither winning nor losing conquering nor conquered could let Hannibal be in quiet shall not lose his praises here For Liuye recounteth of him that when after three yeares spent in the siege he was entring Siracufa whereof he had taken one part and was like to win the
was so plagued as thou art Art thou sicke and full of sores I hope thou wilt not offer to compare thy selfe with Iob. Art thou ragged in thy clothes and hast no house but a poore one wherein is nothing but want I trust that thou art short of them who wandred vp and downe in sheepes-skinnes and in goates-skinnes on the mountaines and in caues Thou canst not well haue a meaner house then this booth of Ionas was Art thou forced to drinke water I beleeue thou art not farther vrged then our Sauiour Christ himselfe was when he begged water of the woman of Samaria Art thou glad to get an apple from a tree or rootes out of the ground Suppose that Christ was as farre driuen when he desired to haue a figge off from a fig-tree and yet missed of it when he came thither But surely the Apostles were in as hard state when for pure hunger they rubbed the eares of corne in their hands and eate it when they had done Perchance thou hast not a peny to blesse thy selfe withall Hast thou lesse then Peter had when he sayd and cared not who heard him Siluer and gold haue I none Is thy ordinary no better then a little messe of pottage and a small morsell of flesh The children of the Prophets did fare but so and gaue Gods thankes for it Yet peraduenture as Daniel did with his pulse thou mayest looke better then other with many dishes but thy mind may be more fraught with knowledge and vnderstanding then scores and hundreds of them Then be content with thy lot and do not so much recken what it is which is wanting to thee as what it is which thou hast And when thou hast made thy account and findest that thou hast least yet thou possessest more then thou deferuest as sight and hearing and reason and breath and many more good gifts set the one against the other and rather ioy in thy hauings then murmure at thy wantings Or if thou wilt needs contemplate on such things as thou lackest thinke on the Prophets and Patriarkes the Apostles and holy martyrs and repute thy selfe no better then they were in their sufferings The shrowd of Ionas was a little shadow and he thought that he sped well too 11 He sate there in the shade and so did take the benefite of that creature which did ease him As he was not to grieue that he had no better matter to couer himselfe withall so he is not so stupidious and blockish of conceite but he would vse that which was offered And that is the Lords will that since he hath made man so eminent amongst his creatures him alone to be the gouernour and other things to obey that he should take comfort of such supplies as are brought vnto him in his necessity and on the one side should not stand by as timerous and fearefull nor on the other as Stoicall and insensible He may take shade against the Sunne and couer against the raine Yea if so be that he abuse it not in circumstance and quality as vnlawfully to seeke it to vse it beyond his calling to hinder better things by it to embrace it with too much desire and greedinesse without thankfulnesse to God and other points of like sort the euerlasting father doth graunt vnto a man great prerogatiue to vse things of delight wine to glad the heart of man for so Dauid doth speake feasting and delicate fare so Abraham made a feast at the weaning of his sonne and the Israelites kept many Glorious and costly attire for Hester did weare such Abrahams seruant gaue to Rebecca Isaacs spouse both earings for her eares and bracelets for her hands Let thy clothes be white sayth the wiseman intending neatenesse and cleanlinesse The coate of Christ himselfe was of workemanship more then ordinarie either wouen or knit or needle-worke for there was no seame therein Where we may also remember that coate which Iacob made for Ioseph of various diuerse colours Yea in hunting and in hawking taken how and when and by whom it ought of right to be taken as Gods glory appeareth who hath so disposed dumme creatures to persecute one another so is mans good creation and making of him fitter to serue God in his calling Isaac would eate of venison which he sendeth his sonne to hunt for But most pregnant is that place where Iacob giuing his blessing to the twelue tribes of Israel thus describeth the lot of Aser Concerning Aser his bread shall be fat and he shall giue pleasures for a king Then there be delights and pleasures royall and fit for kings which the Patriarke would neuer haue recounted as Gods blessings but that some men may vse them I speake not this as incouraging men to a voluptuous life but mentioning the preheminence of man while he keepeth a moderation in it distinguishing the vse of things from the abuse and not doubting but worldly persons do straine these matters too farre Hereupon there is crept in among all drunkennesse and gluttony and intollerable pride in gew-gawes and deuises so that now they are rather noted who haue meanes to maintaine them and do not vse them then they who will not want them But these shall rather aunswer for abusing with superfluity then for warrantably vsing them But in the meane while concerning all persons Ionas may well instruct vs to take benefite of all things which God doth offer to vs or wherewithall honestly and iustly our labour and our wit may furnish vs. We may vse them in our need and helpe to relieue our selues and giue the Lord thankes for them Not shadowes onely of boughs but of great men to defend vs and incourage vs in good things of Cyrus so farre foorth as we may helpe on the Temple of Assuerus so that we may protect the innocent We may come to the court with Nathan if it be to requite a Sunamite we may with Eliseus speake for something to the King or the Captaine of the army In like sort we may take the shodow of a priuiledge or a law not shaming with Saint Paule to professe that we are free of the Imperiall city Rome and that we are ill intreated and vniustly dealt with to be beaten vncondemned And when we see our selues to be ouerborne with the malice and impudent importunity of the priests and the people we neede not feare to appeale to a court of iustice if it be to Caesars seate where although we find all worse then before yet that is not our fault we haue sought the lawfull meanes and God guide it as he seeth best And this be spoken in the third place of his sitting in the shadow That he might see what should be done in the city 12 If he came out of the citie before that he knew the mind of God repenting him of the euill which he said that he would bring
had thereof let vs learne another lesson first to try all spirits that we be not deceiued in taking errour for truth that so we may not yeeld to each suggestion of appearance or probability for that is not Christian wisedome but to harken what the Lord doth say of vs and of all men But secondly when we see by the assurance of the word and the motions of Gods spirit that this or that he would haue then with constant resolution with patience and obedience let vs yeeld our selues vnto it not with humming or standing like Lots wife who desired very faine to be safe in the mountaines yet wold she be in Sodome too God loueth a cheerefull obedience a ready resolued submission to take well what he would haue And although we misse of our minds as Ionas did here in his yet if we renounce our selues and will be led by him the end shall still be with comfort But no kicking against the prickes no spurning against heauen no wrastling against God but obey and liue for euer The Lord direct vs so with his grace that making vse of such lessons as the word in euery petty circumstance doth yeeld vnto vs we may serue him with alacrity neuer swayed aside by our will till we come vnto his kingdome to the which the Father bring vs for his owne Sonne Christ his sake to both whom and the holy Spirit be praise for euermore THE XXVIII LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 3. It hath bene controuersed what greene thing it was which grew vp vnto Ionas 5. What it was in truth 6. Gods power in helping his seruants 7. His prouidence disposeth smallest things 8. in our griefe God refresheth vs one way or other 9. The vnwise ioy of Ionas for the gourd 10. Our mind runneth too much on worldly things as children 11. beauty and long hairâ— 12. Hastie matâ—ers are soone gone 13. All things here are vnconstant 14. God in his loue taketh many of them from vs. Ionah 4.6.7 And the Lord God prepared a gourd made it to come vp ouer Ionah that it might be a shadow ouer his head and deliuer him from his griefe So Ionah was exceeding glad of the gourd But God prepared a worme when the morning arose the next day and it smote the gourd that it withered OVr Prophet being earnest on euery thing saue that which he ought to do for therein he is slow inough as appeareth in the first Chapter with a burning desire to see Niniue desolated sitteth him downe neare the city thinking euerie minute long before that was effected Albeit these people were farre more yet he doth not for them as Abraham did for Sodome that is double and triple a passionate request that they might be forgiuen but hauing a desire that himself might seeme no lyer he doth wish could willingly put to his hand to helpe it forward that all were ouerthrowne But when he taketh notice that without his motion God would spare that multitude he fretteth and rageth at it and in exceeding discontentment remaineth not farre off euen hoping beyond hope that some euill would befall them Being thus in his anguish because he might not haue his will for so the most do interprete it and the literall proceeding and going on of the story do seeme to enforce it or being troubled otherwise as some other would haue it with the scorching heate of the Sunne while he remaineth there expecting what should be the end God raiseth vp a certaine plant or growing kind of creature to yeeld some reliefe to this angry person that so consequently some little comfort might accrew vnto him Whether this were prepared at the first when he came out of the city that he made his booth onely with that or whether hauing cut downe some other boughs and enioyed them in manner of a sommer-house and those now being dried the other did spring vp as a better sort of succour more naturall and more fresh it is not much to our matter but by Gods speciall worke he had it and sate vnder it There is a double drift which is aymed at by the sending of this greene thing to the Prophet one to teach him by a parable and demonstratiue instruction that he was much to blame that himselfe louing such a trifle would haue had no reckening made of such a city as Niniue But of that I shall haue occasion to speake in the end of the Chapter where the Lord himselfe apparantly deduceth it in that manner 2 The other thing to be considered by vs for the present is the plaine direct narration wherein we are let to know that Ionas to comfort him and appease him for the time hath a little tree raised vp vpon the sudden out of the ground which the Lord of purpose stirred vp so that it had not bene there but only vpon that occasion Which when it had brought vnto him a delicate pleasing shadow fitting to his oportunity he tooke as much ioy in it as if it had bene some great treasure But when he was more proud of it then a wise man would haue bene the glory and beauty of it was dashed quite on a sudden There commeth a little gnawing worme which destroyed the life of this greene thing so that it prooued to be dry and withered and the couer was now as nothing the shadow was cleane ceassed Then he who very lately thought himselfe a happy man in hauing somewhat to refresh him is now as farre to seeke as euer he was before That you may the better conceiue this whole case of the Prophet so plentifully teaching vs as it doth may it please you to note with me those three things which the text doth orderly offer to vs. First the prouision here made for him of purpose by the Lord and therein we may obserue the thing it selfe which was sent and then by whom it came and afterward the vse of it My second part is the hasty contentment which the Prophet too violently and greedily receiued by the comming of this to him And the third is the dissolution ending of all his ioy by taking his pleasure from him The instructions arising hence shall be mingled with the doctrine The Lord God prepared a gourd 3 What that was which is here spoken of hath not onely bene doubted in the auncient primitiue Church but it hath caused some stirre also The Septuagint expressed it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which our English translation doth apparantly follow and nameth it to be a gourd The later Greeke interpreters to wit Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion not liking of that word did render it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as Iuy When Hierome afterward tooke on him to translate the old Testament out of the Hebrew into Latine he following those later ones put it hederam that is Iuy And his translation now in his owne time growing to be read and that commonly in Churches it seemed
head at last and hang it downe no longer for the sufferings of thy sorowes the troubles of thy heart the endurings of thy vexations the conflicts of thy conscience are knowne daily seene God crieth to thee from heauen It is I who looke vpon you do you wrastle and I will helpe you do you conquer and I will crowne you He who taketh such care as God doth of winds and trees and wormes certainly reckeneth all thy flights putteth thy teares in a bottle noteth all things in a booke Thy hands are not lifted to him thy brest is not beat before him thy cheeks are not deawed vnto him but he noteth it and remembreth it There is not a cup of cold water giuen which shall lose his reward Then we serue a blessed seruice who liue vnder such a Lord. But to say no more of him either for his power or his prouidence who prouided this for Ionas in a word let vs see the vse of that which is prepared 8 The end why God sent this pretie tree was to couer the head of Ionas that it might be a shadow for him to comfort him in his griefe That the man was out of tune I haue shewed before so often that I need not againe repeate it The euerlasting Father most of all to teach him to beare a good mind to Niniue but in present to sustaine him that he vtterly sinke not downe by his peeuish and froward griefe doth send him here a small thing to serue his turne the while The nature of fretting persons is that when they haue apprehended any great cause of discontentment as they perswade themselues they are sorely troubled with it but if a second cause be heaped vpon the first and another vpon that no measure doth containe them but they rage and storme as if all things had conspired to worke their bane and they were men accursed And indeede by this meanes the wicked oftentimes do come to their finall destruction But God being better minded to all those whom he loueth doth moderate their vexations and measure out their grieuaunces that they many times shall haue their backe burdens but they shall not haue too much Either one thing or another shall stand vp in the gappe although it be so small a matter that taken by it selfe it seemeth rather contemptible but for that present time by the fancie of the partie may be thought worthie the hauing When the mother hath beaten her child whom she would haue to be chastised but not his heart broken shee reacheth out an apple to him or some trifle to appease him In comparison of God we are as babies especially when furie passionate vexation hath surprized all our affections and therefore as a child is pleased with a little but that endureth but a small time so a little thing doth stay vs although I dare not say doth content vs. When we are readie to drowne a little twigge being suddenly catched on doth relieue vs. When we are ready to famish a little food doth preserue vs and hold our life for the time And it is maruell to see so humerous is our nature how small things bring breathing to vs euen as little ones as this shadow which was here ouer the Prophets head When Ieremie was oppressed with miserie vpon miserie nothing was more heauie to him then his thrusting into the dungeon Yet when by the blacke-Moores meanes he was gotten out of that hole although he were still restrained in the vtter court of the prison and had euils enough vpon him yet this appeased him well as may easily be gathered in that the blacke-Moore had his life for a recompence of his kindnesse When Samson was most in need some water out of the iaw-bone of the Asse did quiet him Whē Ionathan in the battell had ouer-fasted himselfe a little hony taken vp vpon the end of a sticke recouered his dimmed eye-sight Doubtlesse the conflicts of Paule were many while he liued at Rome with Gentiles and Iewes with the learned and vnlearned with the persecuting tyrant yet I verily suppose because Gods spirit doth mention the matter that it was a good ease to him that he might hire a house by himselfe and at home be free from their baiting In this point let euery one of Gods children looke to himselfe and remember if oftentimes when his fretting hath bene greatest he hath not had some allay by the comming in of a friend by receiuing of some letter by hearing somewhat else which better doth content him by some thing before not thought of which pleaseth for the time and if by nothing else yet by falling on sleepe These be mercies from the Lord who will not haue his to sinke and there is not the least of these seeme it neuer so base a thing to the standers by but it is sent in vnto thee euen from heauen and the Highest to refresh thee as his child as this shadow was here to Ionas And thus much be now spoken of these three circumstances arising from my first generall note what it was that was prepared by whom and to what end And Ionas was exceeding glad because 9 We are now in the second place to looke in what sort he embraced this fauor He was exceedingly glad The oportunitie of the thing which so serued him for his purpose to refresh him withall and peraduenture the rarenesse of it for rare things in euery kind do most of all delight put the Prophet into such gladnesse as if he had found some precious treasure If it were not that we all are such it were strange to see of what mettall this messenger here was made that a litle maketh him grieue and a lesser thing maketh him glad and as a child or a boy moderately he taketh nothing What a matter was this that Ionas who had bene trained vp in Israel and had done the Lord seruice there who was sent in a message to such a Citie as Niniue where his words might concerne a Monarke and Princes great Peeres should be so sillie a creature as to ioy in a thing so brittle In dehorting men frō too much embracing the delights of the world we figuratiuely vse to call all pleasures here but verie fumos vmbras no better then smokes and shadowes not that we really imagine that men set their hearts vpon such things But here is one who in earnest is much in loue with a shadow and that not the shadow of himselfe as the Poet fained of Narcissus but of a little tree Here if he had had some company it is likely that he would haue led them round about this his ioy and shewed them all his pleasures which with some admiration he had receiued frō it If this man had bene some Salomon that he might haue had in all magnificence whatsoeuer his heart desired he would haue bene much in loue with it but if he had bene in Paradise he would haue bene
mightie proud of his trees and fruits and shadowes very likely that doating on them he would not so soone haue parted with thē as Adam did Yes possibly much sooner if possibly that might be when he shewed himselfe so fantasticall any toy would soone haue turned him who was vp and downe with such trifles 10 Hereafter do not maruell that the Lord forbiddeth men to glorie in greater matters Let not the wise man glorie in his wisedome nor the strong man glorie in his strength neither the rich man glorie in his riches but let him that glorieth glorie in this that he vnderstandeth and knoweth me when a Prophet shall be pleased in such silly shadowes as if it were in some celestiall ioy For the emphasis of the word doth intend that he was very highly pleased And yet it is a thing much vaine to set too great affection on strength or wit or wealth or any terrestriall matter For do we not a wrong to God and much spoile him of his honour that when we are to loue him with all our heart and all our soule to thinke of him to rest in him to make him our meditation and to vse all other creatures but as his gifts and blessings by a million of degrees subordinate to himselfe and only to be employed to the setting forward of his seruice we will dreame of them and thinke of them sleeping and waking in company and alone Do not parents thus oftentimes set their hearts vpon their children and make almost Gods of them at euery word my sonne or my boy or little girle and when they grow somewhat bigger there are no children like their children the wind may scant blow on them the very ground is the better that they do go vpon the sleepe is neuer too much broken nor the belly too much pinched to heape vp trash for these children Yea from whom will they not pull euen the widow and the fatherlesse to enrich this their delight Do they not grieue to part with a peny to the vse of the most holy businesses because it may diminish their portions This made Saint Austen say For whom do they keepe their riches for their children he aunswereth and they againe for their children and the third descent for theirs But what is here for Christ what is here for thy soule Is euery whit for thy children Among their sonnes on earth let them thinke vpon one brother aboue in heauen on whome they should bestow all or at the least deuide with him But Christ and God shall stand backe when it commeth to these daintie children Now to speake plainly was this the end wherefore thou beggedst children at the hand of thy maker to delight thy soule with them Was this the cause wherefore God gaue them that they might thrust him out from the habitation of thy heart Thou doest vse his blessings fairely to ioy more of the gift then thou doest of the giuer not to thinke who sent the tree but to ioy onely in the shadow It is oddes of many to one but that thy wantons afterward will worke thee as much ioy as Elies children did to their doting father that is bring a curse on thee or them or as Dauids sonnes did to him when Amnon rauished Thamar and Absolon slue Amnon 11 Looke what is here said of children is as true also of beautie God doth giue to some the countenance of a Ioseph or a Hester of purpose to remember them that as their bodies exceed so their soules should go beyond their fellowes in deuotion in sanctitie and all vertue else the out-side will be faire and the in-side will be foule it will be but a painted sheath it will be but a whited sepulcher But it falleth out oftentimes that in steed of thankfulnesse and humilitie there groweth such an ouer-liking of this fraile and brittle shew that God is displeased therewith Heathen men haue thought vpon the fading of this flowe◠Forma bonum fragile est Beautie is but a brittle good thing O formose puer nimium ne crede colori O faire boy do not trust too much to thy colour Both Salomon and his mother although she were a woman and certainly very faire yet haue recorded this for euer that fauour is deceitfull and beautie is but vanity Yet do we not know that some take more pleasure in this then Ionas did in his shadow For he did this onely for a day but they do it all the prime of their youth and that with such affectation such earnestnesse and such labour as indeede pride is painfull that in the morning and euening their cogitations are set on their clothing and kemming yea perhaps on Iezabels art and it may be that in their sleepe they dreame of it too If that Pambo of whome Socrates doth write were now aliue he might haue worke many times For he once beholding a woman most curiously trimmed and exquisitly tifted vp broke foorth into bitter teares and being asked the reason he assigned two causes of it one was that she should take such paines to helpe forward the destruction of her owne soule and the other was that she was more carefull of her face to entise men vnto lust then she was of pleasing God I thinke now he might much sooner find examples of such things then Diogenes could find a man But for the male sexe are there not which take more care of their slicking and of their platting then of the kingdome of heauen Did Ionas more set his heart on the shadow of his head then they do on their haire He chode with God for the one they will stand to the vttermost with Gods officers his vice-gerents vpon earth for the other yea be thrust from a societie or be clapped vp in prison rather then part with that fleece There were such in the dayes of Seneca whose words if they be too bitter lay the fault vpon him and imagine that I do but cite them How are they angry saith he if ought be cut off from this mane if ought be out of order if euery thing fall not into those round rings or hoopes Which of these had not much leifer that all the state should be troubled then his haire be displotted who is not much more carefull of the grace of his head then of his health who maketh not more account to be compt then to be honest Will you thinke that these men are idle who haue so much worke as they haue betweene the combe and the glasse If this speech do seeme somewhat hard the fault must lye vpō Seneca but surely he saw some as proud and glad of their tricknesse as Ionas was of his shadow Saint Austen was not so Stoicall but a more sociable man let vs rather therefore heare him Thou art not well powled saith a graue man vnto a wanton youth it doth not become thee to go with such feakes and lockes But he
depart with death Gods messenger which commeth for them and must be the end of all when they see themselues housed with glorie and lodged with all kind of beautie their fish-pooles their orchards without doore to please them their musicke of all instruments within doore to delight them their cattell about their ground their children about their table Whereas the man who hath bene vsed to beare the yoke from his youth and to leaue and lose and lacke neuer standeth nor staggereth at it but when he is bid come he slippeth his coate with Ioseph and with a good will springeth away being assured that he leaueth nothing which may be reckened of but shrubs and leaues and shadowes but he goeth to such a Sauiour Redeemer and Intercessor as he long hath thought of and longed for whome vntill he saw he was neuer contented and in quiet and who will welcome him when he commeth who will keepe him when he is there who will dwell with him for euer God imprint into our hearts a true desire of this Sauiour that esteeming all worldly things but trāsitorie and vaine we may onely aspire to him to whome with the blessed Father and the euerlasting Spirit be praise for euermore THE XXIX LECTVRE The chiefe poynts 3. It is to no purpose to murmure against God 4 What Easterne wind was here sent 6 Too much heate and prosperitie do hurt 8. 11 The impatiencie of men in afflictions 10 The manner matter of Gods reproofe 12 Of sinne groweth sinne 13. Ionas would iustifie his fault 14 The vsing of weake instruments glorifieth God the more 15 Doctrine gathered from the fall of Ionas Ionah 4.8.9 And when the Sunne did arise God prepared also a feruent East-wind and the Sunne beat vpon the head of Ionah that he fainted and wished in his heart to dye and said It is better for me to dye then to liue And God said vnto Ionah Doest thou well to be angrie for the gourd And he said I do well to be angry vnto the death AS by that which went before in part may be seene that the patience of the Prophet is once againe to be tried so by that which now followeth it most euidently appeareth While he sate in expectation for Niniues destruction much pained with the burthē of his distempered thoughts God a little to appease him whome each small thing perplexed raiseth vp a certaine tree or growing kind of creature to shadow him and refresh him Wherein when he had taken more contentment and delight then a Prophet should haue done or then a wise man would the same hand which did send it by a very abiect bodie a worme did ouerthrow it We need not doubt but he who was so proud of that trifle would be much out of quiet to be stripped of all his ioy for the more we loue what we haue the more we grieue to leaue it but the Lord goeth one step farther and when he hath taken from him that which so highly pleased him he sendeth him the contrarie another thing to displease him The wind and Sun are set to warme him without who was so hote within that since he was prone to anger for the loosing of his shadow he might see what it was to misse it when there was now such vse and necessitie to enioy it Ionas being like himselfe very quickly apprehendeth this boyling in impatiencie would be no lesse then dead to be rid of this vexation In his very heart he doth wish it such a fierie heart was his heart that his life were remooued from him And his toung secondeth his mind so that he feareth not to speake it out that it were better for him to die then to liue So because he had not his shadow he would not haue his life 2 God who had a double purpose first to reprooue his impatiencie and vntemperate kind of cariage and secondly by his owne words to schoole him that he should not be so hard-harted and very cruell to Niniue doth not let him wast himselfe in his choler no not for a moment but asketh of him mildly if he did well to be angrie for such a greene growing couer so giuing him to vnderstand by an insinuation if his iudgement had bene capable thereof that he went much awry But the other in his furie will not be checked therewith but commeth on him againe I do well to be angry that I do euen to the death You see he maketh no spare at God but fondly hauing thought he doth vtter it more foolishly and he maketh no stay but come what will come of it out shall his passion go Thus yet farther is offered matter of the Prophets weaknesse who maketh no care to bind one sinne vpon another and in the same transgression of anger impatiencie to lay lode vpon lode which yet the Lord doth beare with and turneth to our instruction Which that we may the better fasten on to our edification we may note in the former verse Gods triall and Ionahs patience Gods trial which was little and his patience which was none In the latter verse the Lords reproofe and his entertainment of it the one mild which had great cause to be rough and seuere the other frowning and boisterous who if he had looked well to it had great reason to bend and carie a lower saile In all these the first thing offered is the plaine direct narration of that which befell to Ionas Of the East-wind and the Sunne 3 If we loue our owne ease and quiet we had need be very vigilant that we striue not with God nor shew our selues discontented with any thing that pleaseth him since he hath such power ouer vs as to crosse vs and curbe vs in as many sorts as he pleaseth Because we are his creatures and he is Lord of all we lye open on euery side to be beaten and striken by him in taking away our liking and sending vs that which we loath and doubling it and tripling it as seemeth good to himselfe When Dauid had lost that child of his which was conceiued in adulterie he had gained much by the bargaine to haue fretted grumbled at it because it was immediatly in Gods hand to let Absolon rise against him first to defloure his concubines and then to seeke his life and after to suffer Shimei to raile on him and reuile him When Iob had the newes first brought vnto him that his oxen and his asses were seazed on by the Sabees his case had bene much amended to haue grudged and grieued at it whereas his Camels and his sheepe yea his very children were vnder the same hazard yea his flesh euery houre lay subiect to be striken with blaines and sores This messenger sent to the Niniuites who thought to haue found his harbour in the morning as greene for him as he left it in the euening had bene wel helped vp to mutter that all was dry and withered when he was within
more then conuenient to the bodie which receiueth it doth more hurt and destroy then cherish and preserue In this fitly resembling the prosperitie of the world which so long as it is so moderate as that mens minds can weild it it incourageth vnto good and stayeth from many fals which necessitie would enforce but when it is heaped vpon vs with such a waight as is beyond our supportation we sinke vnder the burthen of plenty and abundance The wise man saw this well when he made request to God Giue me neither riches nor pouertie but feede me with conuenient food lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord or lest I be poore and steale and take Gods name in vaine Then it is ordinarie that as too much heate doth faint vs so too much wealth doth choke vs while the Lord doth not giue to euery man the mind of Iob or of Abraham or of Salomon while he stoode vpright that is with thankfulnesse and tēperance to dispose of great things well Oftentimes great wealth giueth great spirits and so puffeth the possessours vp to pride maketh men despise their maker and contemne their brethren it bringeth also much idlenesse and so inflameth the lust and maketh a God of the belly it bringeth great store of care and worldly perturbations and so doth choake the seede of the word What brought Haman to the height of his arrogancie and folly but the plentie which he had What brought him in the Gospell to yeeld his soule to securitie but that his ground brought foorth much fruite Of prosperitie saith Lactantius cometh luxurie of luxurie grow all vices yea impietie against God So Hierome writing on the Prophet Ieremie Plentie breedeth securitie and securitie neglect and neglect breedeth contempt The heathen Poet Horace alludeth to this by naming his Eutrapelus who when he meant to do hurt to any would giue him gay clothes for together with them he knew that he would alter his counsels and his hopes from the better to the worse as there he doth exemplifie I would that this were not true in very many other men that as their state encreaseth so doth encrease their sinne 7 This hath made some dispute I say not that a competent measure but penurie and necessitie and aduersitie and the crosse are rather preseruers of pietie and dutie then plentie and prosperitie illustrating their intent by that Parable in Plutarke so well knowne to euery man of the Sunne and the wind who were at strife whether of them two should sooner put a man beside the cloke which he had vpon him While the wind blew he held it the harder but the Sunne with the strength of his beames made him throw it from him Prosperitie maketh many lay aside that cleane vesture of puritie and innocencie which they buckled hard to them while they were duly exercised in carying the crosse Peraduenture this point hath too often bene verified in the Church They who in the auncient persecutions loued one another fell to discord and dissentions and shameful stirres each with other when the Emperours once grew to be Christians peace shined in the world Hath it not bene too true that some who in the time of bloudie persecutors haue liued admired liues in exile beyond the seas yet haue scant retained their first loue and kept their auncient zeale but haue thought that to be fence enough to shield off some not commendable actions that they might say that the time was when for Christs sake they left their countrey How fitly may men in such a like case be compared to the ice which hangeth downe from the house in frosty weather which is able to endure the sharpe blast of the Northrē wind but when the Sunne once breaketh foorth it melteth and falleth away Againe were there neuer such who when in this place they were maisters but of small things the greatest part of their maintenance so depended vpon Gods prouidence that in the beginning of the yeare they could not make account to reape one halfe of that which would satisfie and yet God sent it in vnto them were then studious and diligent and laborious in their calling but afterward when they came to more eminent and noted preferments in the Church and common-wealth haue bene dumbe as the fish and go the Church as it will go neither toung nor pen shall once mooue to ruinate the forts of Antichrist or to build one foot for Christ. Shall I say that they haue left the net because they haue that for which they fished Or shall I rather liken them to the Adamant stone although peraduenture you will say that that is too seuere whome no cold nor hammer can dissolue yet as Solinus writeth a warm thing maketh it yeeld and flye in peeces But that is the bloud of a goate and these men touch not bloud I could wish that bloud did not touch them and that the bloud of better things then goates Their idlenesse in aboundance and aboundance in their idlenesse is stained with the bloud of the sheepe of Gods pasture who perish for want of foode How much better had it bene for these persons to haue liued still priuate men to haue pleased God by consecrating their little to Christ Iesus which doubtlesse they would haue done if they had risen no higher thē to haue so much as by their vsage of it extinguisheth both the fire and sparkes of deuotion Shall God the more he sendeth vs be the lesse honoured for it Shall we in our small wealth pay him much and flie off from him in the greater It was a fault both noted and condemned in the Carthaginians that whereas they were sprung from Tyrus and vsed yearely to send the tenth or tith of their incomes to Hercules the peculiar God of the Tyrians which custome they obserued while their commodities were small they neglected afterward when they grew to be maisters and possessours of greater matters to send at all and so by little and little came to contemne that Hercules In the seruice of the true God let this neuer be said of Christians of learned men and Ministers that they so forget themselues Whē we thinke that we are at the highest let vs not then indeede be lowest most knowledge and best place may do the Lord best seruice But no man while he is on earth is at the highest of his desires there remaineth yet one steppe to heauen before the obtaining of which if any settle his thoughts it is no better then in the depth of folly My conclusion of this point is that we should take heede of prosperitie as a most entising thing it was too much heate that brought Ionas to his last enormous crime Let vs know who it is that sendeth all and let vs still be thankfull vnto him let vs know that worldy felicitie must be reckened for in the day of great account in the height thereof let
But I haue handled that question twise before in this Prophecie and therefore I leaue this whole matter and come to the second verse Doest thou well to be angrie for the gourd 10 Here the maner of Gods reproofe might yeeld good matter to vs to note in what mild sort he doth it that whereas it had bene fitter that Ionas should haue bene meeke and the Lord should haue bene mooued Ionas is the stirring partie and God himselfe doth speake calmely But I haue touched this before in this present Chapter and what we should learne from it Againe it might be noted that he speaketh not here simply thou doest ill to be angrie but by an interrogation which as in Rhetorike we are taught doth vrge and pierce the deeper And therefore euen in the Scripture for more vehemēcie sake things are propounded by questions But to leaue all this concerning the manner the matter is it which I do point at wherein God doth as much as demaund thus Sonne of man art thou wise or art thou obedient to rage thus for the gourd See what thy wisedome is thou ragest at the death of this greene thing and why doest thou aske for thine owne death Thou canst not endure the spilling of that which is as nothing and yet thou wilt preasse earnestly to the killing of thy selfe a creature farre more excellent And is there not great reason why thou shouldst be thus offended to chafe and brawle with thy maker It is on the one side for a gourd and on the other for a sweate procured by the wind and Sunne Are not these great spurrings and prouocations to anger a blast of wind and a shadow because thou hast too much of the one and too little of the other I did looke that thou shouldest suffer farre greater things for my sake not the shadow onely of thy head to be taken from thee but thy head it selfe by the sword not the heate of the Sunne alone but of the fire to burne thee as a martyr if I would I see that thou wouldest shrinke at great things as at torture or cruell torment when thou sinkest so at a little But where is thy obedience that as yet thou hast not learned to subscribe to all my pleasure Thus might God iustly reprooue him by his words illustrate the malignitie of his humour if we onely will vnderstand it that now he meant the gourd But if we will conceiue it that he blameth him for all his anger and not alone for the gourd but because Niniue should be spared then Ionas lyeth more open to him for that he who had bene fauoured should not grieue that other men should find the selfe same mercie He sinning had bene deliuered from drowning and the whale therefore he did ill to vexe that others also sinning should liue When one seruant hath found fauour peraduenture for a hundred talents he should not grudge if another his fellow seruant do find the selfe same measure But I will not extend this doctrine so farre as to this point because the text euidently deliuereth it that the reproofe of him was for his anger about the gourd 11 We may make this vse thereof that if it were such a fault fit to be blamed by Gods owne mouth to be so much disquieted for a matter of so small consequence I will not say farre from Gods kingdome but from the life and being of a man see whether we may not iustly be taxed by the selfe same Lord for fretting and such distemper in things of like importance If an office or small preferment which is a thing of more burthen then recompence any way be desired or intended by vs and we faile in our hope how do we grow male-contented with our Colleges and studies with our calling and vocation who would liue to be thus disgraced This ariseth from some root of preposterous emulation or auarice or ambition or such a plant as by right should not haue place in the heart But because we haue not more shall we loath that which we haue How worthily may the Lord take from vs that which we do enioy when we will so prescribe vnto him But because we haue too much learned to embrace these worldy things although they be but shrubs and shadowes therefore we so take the losse of them and vse worse meanes to gaine them euen dissembling and deceiuing and lying and forswearing such parts as become not Christians May not God now say to vs as here he saith to Ionas Do you well thus to be mooued for the gaining or the loosing of matters of so small moment May it not be much suspected that in the day of great triall when temptations shall grow strong you will slippe your necke from the yoke or sinke vnder your burthens when such petty points ouerthrow you Would you with the Apostles leaue all or be offered vp with Saint Paule How would you breake faith or honestie if it were for a kingdome since you do thus for a moale-hill how would hundreds or thousands leade you when thus you do transgresse for a few peeces of siluer I wish that this were laid to the heart of all of vs in this place that with consciences content and resting vpon Gods prouidence we might chearefully go forward with that which is assigned to vs for our share or lot to the honour of the Lord the Church and Vniuersitie In a wife religious man nature is content with a little and if we could defalke and pluck that away from our mind which otherwise may not be had there be few but haue enough vntill God do send more And by reason of the want of this mind in vs it falleth out oftentimes that they haue least contentment who seeme to enioy the most But beware of comming to that passe of murmuring and of fretting when we haue not what we would If we needs will follow the Prophet let vs follow him otherwise then in that for the which so iustly he is in this place rebuked 12 But himselfe still like himselfe meaneth not thus to giue ouer but he commeth on with an answere Doest thou well to be angrie Yea that I do saith he to be angrie to the death Was there euer man vnder heauen so testie and so peeuish to chop thus with his maker And still the further he goeth the more to be out of square Yet his moderation was farre greater in the fourth verse where being asked the same question he tooke it for a checke and answered all with silence not replying a word againe But here as if he had meant to vie who should speake last he will breake if he hold his toung and therefore answere he must though with such extreme peruersenesse as neuer man did the like If we may gesse by his words all the gesture of his bodie was sutable thereunto his teeth set his eyes glowing his countenance very red but his words are plaine that he did well to
Lord and chaungeth not his goodnesse shall neuer decrease Then certainly as he is not ignorant of the reprobates so he taketh note of the faithfull with a peculiar knowledge he vnderstandeth how many be in each of all their families what old ones and what impotent what young ones and weake ones there be and there is not one of them but by one meanes or another he feedeth him and sustaineth him If we could looke backe a little and remember those pinching seasons which not long since griped our land it would teach vs this point when some poore who had many children were miraculously so kept aliue vnfamished as no mans wit could deuise He who feedeth the yong rauens then prouided for them He neuer made a belly but he made meate for that belly he neuer framed a backe but he made clothes to couer it Perhaps in that hard season the poore sold and pledged that little which they had But the time was in Egypt when the rich ones were glad to do that when first mony and cattell went and then afterward land and libertie But suppose that some sold their stuffe to releeue themselues and their children yet was not their life preserued and may not God send a time to restore those things againe Who gaue them that stuffe at first but he who may giue it them a second time And it may be that in the meane while he did teach vnthriftie persons not to wast as fast as they get but by diligence to prouide somewhat against a day of neede He who fed the hungry then is the same God for hereafter when we seeke to him we shall trie it he knoweth the houses and little ones of Oxford and of LondoÌ„ of the countrie villages as well as those of Niniue 12 Therefore let not any vertuous aâ—d religious mother be too much carefull and troubled for the multitude of that issue wherewith the Lord hath blessed her what shall become of each of them if her selfe or their father dye what friend shall prouide for them Euen that Father who sitteth in heauen who hath most right vnto them because they are sheepe of his pasture will giue them what is conuenient When Dauids father and mother forsooke him the Lord tooke him vp So he dealeth with all his seruants He who could raine bread from heauen bring water out of a rocke can touch the heart of some friend or kinsman or neighbour or peraduenture of some straunger to take them to his protection or worke some other meanes which it is not in mans power specially to prescribe And the more to strengthen the faith of such whom this concerneth in our age he aduanceth men of low estate to great places as Saul from seeking the Asses and Dauid from the Sheepe-fold to be rulers ouer Israel so the children of poore parents by wisedome and by learning by Diuinitie and by Law by skill in nauigatioÌ„ or militarie seruice to stand before the greatest yea to sit sometimes with Princes Then let heathenish solicitude and caring without end neuer trouble the hearts of Christians they haue to do with a Lord who knoweth them their retinue he hath them in a rolle and maketh prouision for theÌ„ their dimensum that is their portion shall not be detained from them Yea to make them the more assured that the Lord doth thinke on the meanest men in my text he speaketh of cattell that in Niniue they were not forgotten They are also his handy-worke and therefore he neglecteth not them but he accompteth of them in their due place He made them to beautifie the great frame of the world that the earth should not be solitarie and naked in any place he created them as attendants and seruants vnto man to do him many offices his eye is daily vpon them to multiply them and feede them and therefore it is no maruell if he do forget them no where But in Niniue by an open Proclamation froÌ„ the King and his Nobles they were forced to abstaine from their foode and to crye to God as they could and therefore as they bore some burthen in the penance so the Lord meant that they also should haue a part of the mercie Now if these brutish creatures be so thought on by the Highest if by so many respects he hath tied them to himselfe then how precious is the life and lasting of man how is that eye which neuer slumbereth nor sleepeth fixed vpon him An horse or oxe or asse is respected by his maker and therefore a man much more The infants are cared for by him and accounted of and considered and therefore elder folkes more 13 I should not leaue these children yet but shew that the Almightie God who is gracious to all creatures old and young and man and beast according to the course of his ordinarie proceedings had great reason to spare the little ones and with them all the City For the Lord neither vseth else-where neither doth practise it in this place to send any extraordinarie punishment onely for originall sinne and yet there was little actuall transgression in these silly infants That which should haue happened vnto them was most for their parents sakes they already had repented in sackcloth in ashes therefore together with the reconciling of the elder sort they also were vndoubtedly reconciled But he who would haue spared Sodome if ten righteous persons had bene in it this propense one vnto mercie might haue bene pleased if he had liked it to haue spared all the rest for the innocent infants sake for so in some sort I may call them He might haue vrged Ionas thus If the men women haue deserued to be destroyed yet what haue the children done But I will prosecute this no farther Thus euery way the integritie of Gods deede standeth vpright his threats were to their good his forbearing was a signe of his endlesse commiseration which the most rigorous man if he would not put off the bowels of all humane affection must not onely acknowledge to be blamelesse and free from reproofe but also graciously admire the same And if any would be so impudent as yet to rest vnsatisfied although God had debased himselfe to come to yeelde a reason and capitulate with his seruant yet this must stop his mouth He liketh it and therefore who dareth dislike it But it is not so with our Prophet for although in former times he wanted no faults yet he is not still so refractarie as stubburnly to stand out but his curst hart at length commeth downe and he yeeldeth as he should For as if he had bene fully answered by this last demonstration we finde not that he replyed but he is as mute as a fish Which may be a good instruction to men the most peremptorie and setled in their opinions that with the strength of their fancie or preiudicate conceite they be not too straightly laced in their thoughts to
other men For where an ill mind toward other is entertained by mistaking or wrong informing or whispering tales of slanderers if an answere may be heard or reason compared with reason furie may be quickly appeased When Miphiboseth was heard speake the strength of Ziba his former slaunder was presently laid on ground But if we will be so head-strong that nothing can reclaime vs let vs consider other folkes and not onely our selues and griefe will soone be appeased If Ionas had had the grace to thinke that it might be his case as it was the case of the Niniuites or that it might be the portion of Hierusalem Gods owne Citie he might haue bene patient before But being now as he was when he looked vpon the Lord and saw that it more concerned him for the bâ—azoning of his pitie ouer all the coasts of the earth and for the safe-garding of such a Citie then it could concerne his fond and vnaduised fancie he had no more to say His silence sheweth his consent Because he gaue no reply it seemeth that he was satisfied He endeth well who began ill and better late then neuer Thus albeit the entrance was rough the close was very calme Ionas is freed from his transgression and the Niniuites from their punishment God is mercifull in great plentie and honored in his mercie 14 And thus by the assistance of the Lord at length I am come to the ende of this message deliuered by the Prophet wherein as occasion hath serued I haue from time to time in this place discharged my dutie with faithfulnesse and that measure of vtterance which I had And although it hath bene long in comming yet am I the more bound to giue praises to the Lord who hath giuen strength and a minde and euerie way opportunitie to finish this be it whatsoeuer without any great interruption Whereunto if now I should adde any thing it should be but to stirre vp our selues to a dutie vs I say vpon whom a like burthen lyeth as did here vpon Ionas For although it be not so immediatly as it came to him yet we haue receiued a Commission to be executed in Gods name And we neede not seeke farre for Niniuie either trauell much by land or take a ship to find it it is euerie where among vs. Not the greatnesse of that Citie but the greatnesse of sinne which cryeth to heauen for vengeance Where may we not find matter for the hammer of the Law to beate downe strong iniquitie Where may we not finde place for the Tweete balme of the Gospell to supple the wounded conscience Here now if we will finde starting holes to pull our hand from the worke and to slip our selues from the businesse if we will deceiue our owne hart by fayning of excuses and entertaining discouragements which may slake the zeale which is or ought to be within vs let vs â—eare lest Gods wrath attend vpon vs as it did vpon flying Ionas nay let vs feare somewhat worse Surely he who liueth in this pilgrimage shall finde many great impediments to waie him downe from his duetie his owne defects and inabilities which do most displease himselfe because he is most priuie to them the Criticall curiositie of such as come to heare their preiudicate opinions that men preach not for Christs glorie but vpon vaine ostentation and because they loue to be doing the small returne and vnfruitfulnesse of the seede which is scattered by them the danger to displease the vnwelcomenesse of so reuerend a message to the world the scorning of many hypocrites the small reward for great labours and a thousand things best knowne to the particular minde of each man But what are these when we looke to the dignitie of our calling to the burthen which we beare to the charge that lieth vpon vs to the account which we must make to the pleasing and the recompence of him whose the worke is 15 If these matters should haue stayed Gods seruants how had the Apostles gone to spread the word at first Or if you would except against that their example because they were so furnished with speciall gifts and graces how should they who were our fathers and begetters in the faith men of qualitie like our selues clothed with the same infirmities haue aduentured vpon the seruice If some should not haue bene doing and set light of the taunts of other how should we euer haue had monuments and bookes of learning to instruct our selues withall Is it not farre better in the eyes of God and men since no man liueth vpon earth but subiect to the censures of other to be blamed vniustly for labouring to do somewhat after our mediocritie then iustly to be taxed because we will do nothing If we must needs be reprooued how much better is it to endure that for doing of our dutie then for sitting still and doing nothing I dare pronounce this as first of all from out the Scripture so secondly from some other matters which my selfe haue heard and seene that at such time as we come to our death-bed when it were ten thousand follies to flatter our soules in vanitie and sooth our selues with a lie it is one of the hardest and heauiest burthens to thinke that we haue neglected the ministerie of the Gospell our owne harts cannot be satisfied by exclaming against that ouersight And on the other side it is a ioy of all ioyes inconceiueable and vnspeakeable that our conscience shall giue witnesse and that before the Lord that we haue not refused to beare the heat of the day to stand vp in the gap but haue planted and watered duly we haue passed on with cheerefulnesse to the marke which is before vs and haue not liued as a by-word or a burthen of the Church This meditation alone should be of more worth vnto vs then all snares and intanglements to with-draw vs and plucke vs backe And before that we come to this God be praised we neede not say that we are left without comfort but good things are prouided for vs. But that should be the least respect for not for gaine or ought else should vertue and religion be loued but for vertues sake That virtutis amore to loue vertue for vertues sake and religion for religion is the right that we should ayme at Let vs shake off all incumberments and if we haue a message in our mouthes at one Niniue or another let vs do it let vs deliuer it Let the punishment vpon Ionas detracting his maisters businesse be a spurre to all who with iudgement and sobrietie are able to remooue away that accusation which I simply professe is not most vniust vpon this place and the guilt whereof I pray God be not one day required of many of vs. 16 If we will quicken the Spirite and stirre vp the grace which is in vs God may giue vs the same blessing which he gaue here to his word out of the mouth of his Prophet that we shall
disease shew the remedie how to cure it A little before he hath this also That great was he who fled but greater was he that followed They dare not deliuer him they know not how to conceale him So there is as it seemeth a great wrastling in the minds of these poore men what they should do or should not do They now know that he was a Prophet a man reuerend in his calling and therefore they were loath to lay any violent hands vpon him They would rather suppose that he who was so contrite and had made such an acknowledgement of the fault which he committed would proceede to let them know the meanes to escape from drowning 14 Many gracelesse ones in our dayes would haue taken another course A runne-away so pursued a fugitiue so made after we will soone ease our selues of the feare we will quickely free our shippe from the daunger what should so vile a person be roosting in our vessell Perhaps without many wordes he might haue gone ouer boord he might haue diued vnder water they would neuer haue stood to aske what they should do vnto him So much doth the inciuilitie and barbarous behauiour of our age passe the manners of rude men in old time But they had a good remembrancer to keepe them in moderation euen their reuerence vnto God whose hand they did find vpon them as knocking at the doore On the one side how could they tell least by sufferance and impunitie toward Ionas they should incurre the displeasure of the Almightie And on the other side how could they tell least in punishing and taking away his life the reward which belonged to murtherers might be layd vpon them Ionas for his refusing to go to preach at Niniue was chased with wrath from heauen Then what vengeance might befall them in a greater fault as in crueltie and in shedding of his bloud who neuer had offended them Thus they feare to spill his life although they see shew of very fit occasion They aske aduise of him The maine note from this place is the care which men should haue to destroy the life of none that they should be auerse from bloud which because it is the full subiect of those verses which follow next after my text I do deferre it thither And so I come to the aunswere of Ionas which is my second part And he sayd vnto them Take me and cast me into the sea c. 15 It seemeth that the Prophet is now as farre in his penaunce as possibly he can go He knew that he had sinned and Gods wrath must be satisfied with some temporall punishment and therefore he yeeldeth himselfe with patience to the very death Better drowne then dye eternally better loose his life here then loose his life elsewhere He is therefore content to sustaine the vttermost extremitie He knew that God was glorifyed in the execution of iustice as well as in mercie A lesson which Iosuah did once teach Achan when he willed him to confesse and giue God the glorie and by a consequent endure his death with patience An instruction which we can neuer too much teach to prisoners and such as are to suffer by iugdement of law that they should beare with mildnesse and quietnesse of behauiour that which they wilfully haue deserued The conscience of their sinne the astonishment at their iudgement the feare of violent death the shame of such a suffering is inough to amaze their thoughtes and ouerwhelme resolution Whereas on the other side the putting of them in remembrance that at one time or another they must be content to dy and the vrging that God doth lay such temporall punishments vpon malefactors for the sauing of their soules the recounting of that benefite which ariseth from Christs passion to wit a pleading before his father to get pardon for all that be repentaunt doth settle the disquieted and affrighted mind right well I would to God that our English were as backeward to transgresse as in this case they are forward to satisfie euen with their liues the extremitie of the lawe and that in a peaceable resolued sort I impute it to nothing but to the ordinarie passage of the word of God among vs which is euerie way able to quiet and settle the penitent sinners heart Other nations do admire it in our men as the Italians most of all and the French as we may see it obserued in the defence of Henry Stephanus for Herodotus It sheweth a right firme constancie and sure hope in Christ Iesus And as those two brought the theefe which dyed with Christ into Paradise so no doubt but that many with vs go by execution into heauen who if they were not recalled by violence and by lawe would prooue firebrands of hell 16 I remember the patience of our countrey-men by the quietnesse of Ionas here who alone desireth to dye because he alone had offended in the sinne which now is in question He would not that other innocent men should perish by his means This is the course of Gods children to haue remorse vpon other and not to intangle them in their plagues It is I saith Dauid that haue offended not these sheepe alas what haue they done But contrariwise the reprobate if destruction must befall them would haue all other to take part in that their iudgement that themselues might not be singular They would haue company to hell If they needes must from hence they care not if all the world come to ruine together with their fall They earnestly desire that other men should be partakers of their smart The name of Herode the great is very odious in this respect who layd a plot that when he dyed many other might dye with him And gaue expresse commaundement that one of euery noble family in his kingdome should be slaine that by that meanes his death might of necessitie be lamented if not for loue of him which the tyrant had no reason to expect yet for the losse of others Such are the vnnaturall passions of cruell and bloudie miscreants But the blessed sons of God be of another spirit they would rather purchase peace to others by their losses then hurt others by their errours Ionas would dye alone because he alone had offended 17 Here now is it worth the discoursing why the Prophet in this manner should vrge and hasten himselfe to death Was it as Arias Montanus thinketh because yet he is so obstinate that in no case he will to Niniue but rather dye in a frowardnesse then teach them who afterward should worke harme to his people No his confession before handled doth keepe me from that opinion I hold him now very carefull to commit no farther sinne He feeleth the weight of the former inough too much on him Is it then for a fretting indignation which he beareth vnto himself or for hatred of his life because his consciēce did now pricke him as the conscience of
all his people 8 In these generall obseruations yet a third thing is here offered That the way to bring the city to conformity of repentance was for the king to begin For the actions of the leaders are a great spurre to the followers to do as the other do before them It is not in Rhetoricke onely that imitation holdeth but in all the course of our life For naturally the younger do treade the steps of the elder seruants do as their maisters do children walke like their fathers But the example of the Prince is the mainest prouocation to do either good or euill If Ieroboam sacrifice vnto the golden calues he must not go alone the people will haue their part Lactantius could say that to imitate the manners yea the vices of kings is held a kind of obedience It is the obseruation of Lodouicus Viues that when Alexander of Macedon liued because he was a warriour euery man would be a souldier in the dayes of Augustus Caesar because he delighted in Poetry he was no body who could not make a verse And in latter ages when Leo the tenth was Pope of Rome because he loued merry fellowes all Rome did ring with singers and iugglers and stage-players but vnder Iulius the second who was both a warriour and a Pope the city was full of armour So the subiects euer presse after the manner of their soueraignes being euen like apes in imitating of them whom they know to haue a power to honour them or disgrace them Yea it is maruell to see how meaner men then kings are followed by their inferiours so that the thing which seemed to be honorable if it be by the greater rufused doth straight way grow contemptible yea contrary to long custome And that which seemed base if it be taken vp by them doth quickly grow in request The old manner of Athens was that young gentlemen did learne to play on a kind of pipe the Recorder or some such like And this was frequented by the most part of them But when on a time Alcibiades looking in a glasse did see his owne cheekes to be puffed vp with the blowing he threw the pipe away and so did all the gallants of Athens immediatly after him forbeare that kind of Musicke What was thought more vile in Thebes then to take charge of the scowring of the gutters and sinkes but when that worthy person Epaminondas had once borne that office it was accounted a place of honour and was sought for among other preferments Therefore it is good that great men be aduised in their actions not onely for their owne sake but for the auaile of other that by vertue they may breed vertue lest by doing that which is vicious they lay open a way to naughtinesse For if they once begin to do that which is preposterous their scholers will be many and they will adde to their euill the picture exceedeth the principall the copy the originall a little gappe being opened in small processe of time commeth to be a great deale wider Lewes the twelfth that king of France who was called Pater patriae the father of the countrey being at exceedieg charges in the getting of the Dukedome of Millaine and willing notwithstanding to spare his people from great payments set those offices which belonged vnto the Crowne ot sale but as for the places of dignity which were toward the law he medled not with them But since that time other by his example haue gone so farre as to make sale of them also It is a great misery to that kingdome that iustice is so bought and sold. But this grew from an ill example 9 The ruler of the Niniuites did walke a better way when he would not go before his people in euill things but in good He imagined that his owne conuersion would draw on others with him He should incite his Nobles and his Nobles prouoke his people and so his city might be maruellously changed in one day like that saying in Esay Who hath heard such a thing who hath seene such things shall the earth be brought foorth in one day or shall a nation be borne at once He himselfe began the worke knowing that to be a strong load-stone to plucke on other men And indeede where good is intended there let the best begin Zaleucus might punish other with losse of eyes for committing of adultery when he made his sonne the first example yea bereft himselfe of one eye to spare one in his sonne It is written of one Frederike who was consecrated Bishop in the time of the Emperour Ludouicus Pius that when vpon the day of his installation he was remembred at dinner time by the sayd Ludouicus that he should be constant and resolute in his office speake the truth and do his duty before that he would make any other aunswer he requested to be told whether he must begin on the fish that stood before him at the head or at the taile Whereunto the Emperour replied that he must begin at the head Truth it is then quoth the Bishop we must begin with the head therefore you who are head to all your people may do well to put away Iudith froÌ„ you the woman which is incestuousâ—y maried to you And this indeed was done afterward It is a very naturall and orderly course in any reformation that the best should giue the onset in good things and the meaner sort should follow If a stone throwne into a fish-pond make one circle in the middle that straight way causeth a second and that bringeth on a third and so it goeth to the banke Euen so is it in honest or euill actions being once set on foote by the chiefest they prouoke other to follow When Constantine had once embraced the faith of Iesus Christ many heathen cities did likewise Then the way to stirre the Niniuites was for the king to begin which he did as fully and wholly as euer you heard of any The particulars whereof follow now in my second part He arose from his throne 10 Among men such as haue their authority vnlimited which point belongeth onely to absolute Princes do thinke themselues exempted from the common sort of creatures and therefore for the mighty prerogatiue of their soueraignty will stand when other stoupe and will beare vp the head when other shall shrinke for feare It is therefore the more admirable that this Monarke of the East higher shall I say then ordinary yea the highest as I thinke of all the men on earth a king ouer kings and commander ouer nations the Assyrian dominion being then in his pride should not onely be cast downe and debased with other but before other and beyond other in so noted a degree For what was to be done which he performed not willingly That which Princes do in priuate is not it which breedeth maiesty but their royall glory in publike when in the eyes of their subiects they
another time being at Hierusalem spake vnto them they heard him with great patience till he came to that sentence Depart for I vvill send thee a great vvay hence to the Gentiles but when once they heard that from him as men able to hold no longer they lift vp their voyces and sayd Away vvith such a fellow from off the earth for it is not fit that he should liue Surely charity and humanity should haue weaned them from that fault but piety should much more haue remembred Ionas not to dislike Gods will although it had bene to destroy But when it sauoured of clemency and recouering that which was lost he should more vehemently haue loued it Gods seruants ioy when those graces which are most visible in themselues be communicated to other When two were sayd to prophecy Moses was not troubled at it but he rather wished that all the Lords people could do so When Paule grew to be a preacher the pillars of the Apostles enuied him not that office but gaue to him and Barnabas the right hands of good fellowship being glad to see many more besides themselues in the liuery of their maister Yea we reade of some other men that being now ready to step into heauen by the bloudy way of martyrdome grudged not that other should follow but whereas there were some whom their carnall reason might rather haue wished to be secluded from eternall comfort I meane their murtherers and persecutours they notwithstanding setting aside their priuate iniuries desired and earnestly prayed that they might be admitted into the same glory whither themselues are going Let Steuen be an example for this of whom Fulgentius noteth that whither he went before being slaine by the stones of Paule thither did Paule come after helped by the prayers of Steuen He meaneth those requests which he made as he was dying when he kneeled downe and cryed vvith a loud voyce Lord lay not this sinne to their charge He did not maligne his enemies but wished them the same fauour which he himselfe enioyed If the calling home of the Niniuites was that whereat Ionas grieued how far was he froÌ„ the minde of Steuen or froÌ„ another holy man named Paul of whoÌ„ Eusebius reporteth that when he went to be martyred he prayed for the Iewes Gentiles that both might be conuerted to the faith He begged of God also for the Emperor by whose lawes he was coÌ„demned for the Iudge who pronouÌ„ced the sentence against him yea for the very hangman who executed him that his death might not be layd as a sinne against them Then it was a fault in Ionas that when as by his education and knowledge in Gods seruice he knew as much as those other yet he would suffer malice emulation to carry him so coÌ„trary a way 11 But Hierome writing vpon this text doth disclaime that to be the reason of this mans choler here and cannot thinke that the Prophet was so simple as to vexe at it And indeed I am of this mind thaâ— this was not the cause For it seemeth in the next verse that he oftentimes thought of that that God was pitifull and mercifull and very slow to anger Whereby he might well gather that it was no newes nor strange thing that he should spare offenders But what then was it which caused this sorow Hierome giueth a more pregnant reason that he by this foresaw that the fall of Israel was come so that it must be reiected He remembred that of Moses They angred and prouoked me by those who were no Gods and I vvill anger them againe by those vvho are no people I vvill stirre them vp to wrath by a very foolish nation Hence sayth Hierome he despaireth of Israels saluation and breaking foorth into sorrow he vttereth it thus in a manner Am I the onely Prophet who by sauing of other men should foreshew ruine to mine owne To make this the more plain he bringeth in that for this cause Christ wept ouer Hierusalem that he would not take the childrens bread and giue it vnto dogges that he first sent his Apostles to preach to the lost sheepe of Israel and for this saith he Paule desired to be Anathema for his brethren Now in truth this were a more tollerable case to be iealous in that sort for his countreymeÌ„ For if the rising of others had bin the staÌ„ding of Israel that ioyntly as two sisters they might haue serued the Lord two people but of one church it had bin a gaine to the latter but no losse to the former But being that it was with theÌ„ as the Poets imagined it to be with Castor Pollux that when the one liued the other died or as with two buckets in one well while the one dippeth the other drieth this might trouble disquiet a man otherwise much resolued The Iewes could not be blamed when they were displeased at Agrippa as Iosephus sheweth for wheÌ„ he had built Caesarea he did not only adorne that being a forreine city so neglected all his owne but tooke away such ornameÌ„ts as were any way in his kingdome and remooued them to that place so that the flourishing of this new one was the sinking of al the rest If the fault of Ionas were of this nature it was a very commendable fault agreeing with all good Israelites yea with euery Christian mind who would desire the celestiall and spirituall good of his countrey and people yea with our Sauiour Christ who did so loue the Iewes and was so troubled at theiâ—â—â—sll that it made him shed teares for it 12 But as sometimes it was sayd by Tully declaring how Romulus pretended a law to kill his brother Remus it vvas a fault by the leaue of Romulus or Quirinus so by the leaue of Hierome so rare and renowmed a father there was a fault in the matter and this could not be the reason for the Prophet imputeth the cause of his anger to Gods mercy and not to his iustice I knevv thou vvast a mercifull God not I saw that thou wouldest leaue the Israelites Not one word of reiecting not any thing of his people But to put it out of question That had bene a zelous iealousie toward the honour of the Lord an affection to the Church an imitation of Moses a drawing neare to Christ a thirst that his people should be saued But my text doth not grace it so but calleth his passion anger He vvas displeased he vvas angry And lest any man should imagine him to be angry and not to sinne God himselfe is in dislike with him for it which he vseth not to be but toward those who transgresse Doest thou vvell to be angry Then let vs go a little farther and take it that he murmured because the Niniuites perished not this not because he desired their destruction as principally intending it neither because he originally enuied their finding grace with the
Lord but because it followed consequently vpon that which he intended But the maine point which did vexe him and put him to all the sorow was lest he should be accounted a false and lying Prophet to tell a tale and deliuer a message which prooued cleane otherwise He had spoken it definitely in the name of the Lord Yet forty dayes and Niniue shall be destroyed And since that the city stood in maiesty as before vntouched and vnharmed he might very well be taken for a forger and a fainer And this is declared by the text to be the cause of his moouing Was not this sayth he my saying vvhen I was yet in my countrey that is did I not suppose that thou who art so mercifull and doest take pity so soone wouldst relent from this thine indignation and so I should be sent but on a sleeuelesse errand Therefore I tooke this course and preuented this inconuenience by flying to Tharsis Then his anger was because by the Lords direction he was forced to say that which he saw fell out otherwise 13 It is his reputation then whereupon he so much standeth yet perhaps with a certaine reference to this lest God should be blasphemed and traduced as vnconstant But vnder this opinion not knowing of what spirit he is or ought to be in a most preposterous zeale he could haue wished with the Apostles that as in the dayes of Elias fire might be brought from heauen to consume the city Niniue or that the earth might open vnder them and swallow them vp as Corah and Abiron were serued All this while he runneth on a very wrong ground exacting ouermuch the rigour of the letter in his preaching and not knowing that inclusiuely God vnderstood this condition Niniue shall be destroyed that is if they repent not But he is firmely perswaded that the glory of the Lord is like onely to appeare and be eminent by vengeance He had already sayd it and auerred it that ruine and desolation was immediatly to follow and a Prophet was sent foorth of purpose to do that message therefore in his opinion it is high time that the thing were now perfourmed If we thinke of him alone then a matter of reputation and credit in the world doth carry him so farre headlong But that was fame dearely bought and the credit of one man prized at too high a value What must God be the minister and worker of his ambition and must he establish it by such a ruine and such destruction of so many thousands This although in a different sence was pride little inferiour to that of wicked Haman who because he would teach such fellowes as Mardocheus was next time to bow before him would haue all the Iewes which were dispearsed through sixe score and seuen Prouinces to be slaine vpon one day and the mighty king Assuerus must be he that must do it by a very sharpe proclamation Our Prophet looketh so much to the ruffe of his owne glory that rather then himself will be tainted for his word not an earthly Assuerus but God must be the instrument to destroy the liues of thousands In the warres he is thought but a hard Generall and Commander who when himselfe vnaduisedly by fury or sudden passion hath sayd he will haue this or such a day he will do it when afterward it falleth out to be a thing of great difficultie yet will thrust his souldiers on and make them be slaine like sheepe whereas if he had his will that for which he did sweate will bring no profit to him but the matter is he will keepe his word Oh the liues of men should be deare and bloud should be much esteemed There was a Romane who could say I had leyser saue one citizen then destroy ten of mine enemies The Niniuites who formerly were miscreants are now come to be Gods subiects then Ionas thou shalt be but a bloudy leader if for thy words sake thousands of them should dye It is better that thou shouldest loose thy will better that thou shouldest lose thy longing then they should lose their liues 14 If it were that he thought the glory of God was hazarded by that bargaine and thereupon he was angry that is a most inconsiderate zeale to take on him to be wiser then the very fountaine of knowledge Can man be more iealous then God himselfe is of his glory Can the creature better know what belongeth to it then his maker How dareth flesh band with God for iustice or for mercy or for true vnderstanding Were it not the easier way for it to thinke it selfe to be ignorant to be defectiue to be farre short of the Lords proiects and purposes and to suppose that he best knoweth what is fittest for himselfe and for all those which are vnder him If the Prophet had bene set to the guiding of an Elephant or a ship vpon the sea he knew not how to rule it yet the silly man would now sit in a throne and dispose of Niniue and by a consequent of the world and of God also how he should order it And although it be the Lords honour which is in question yet he will be the caruer to tell what best befitteth It had bene his part rather to subiect his discretion to the discretion of his maker and if that wise Creator would in iustice haue proceeded against that people to like well of that iustice because the Lord liked of it but if he would haue inclined to a fauourable pardoning to be best pleased with that Nay rather if he with Moses had stept in as an intercessour it had argued more charity or if he imagined that to vndertake that was too hard a point for him to manage yet at least vpon the smallest inkling that grace should be affoorded he should haue waited for it and should haue reioyced that light might breake out of darknesse and that the frowning countenance of God had bene turned into a pleasing And if he could not be induced to go thus farre yet he should neuer haue made stay to be content with the Lords doing let him worke his will but to fret and grieue and vexe at it yea to chide with God as he did afterward is a fault of a grieuous nature 15 The doctrine which we must learne by it is of more then ordinary benefite Wheresoeuer we liue and God offereth vnto vs any matter wherein we are to spend our labor it cōcerneth vs to be diligent industrious in the performance of that which belongeth vnto vs. In season and out of season by friends by purse by presence by all our strength and indeuor to further and forward that which we vndoubtedly know to be good and to aduance all duty of piety and charity or of seruice to the Church But when we haue done all let vs leaue the euent to God let vs leaue the successe to him to whom it properly appertaineth let there not be the least
euē to the very death There is no extenuation or imagining supposall which can fit this to Christ and keepe the text sound too and therefore let vs rather leaue those fathers where they study a little too much to be like Origene who would turne euerie thing into Allegories although the story wrecked for it and let vs harken to Saint Austen where he speaketh like himselfe yet in a matter more generall Against reason no sober man against Scripture no Christian man against the Church no peaceable man will thinke or dispute But both reason and Scripture put vs here from a figure and therefore we must literally vnderstand it of the Prophet and ayme onely at the story 2 Then mention is made before how Ionas was agrieued that the city should be spared whē he had preached the contrarie But there is some difference among the interpreters whether that knowledge was giuen vnto him being in the city that it should not so prooue as he had fore-told and so he came troubled out not meaning to stay in that place where he might be derided as a lying Prophet or whether he was informed that the Lord would be mercifull after his comming foorth when he seuered himselfe partly to fright the Niniuites but especially to sequester himselfe from taking part of their hastening destruction Againe it is controuersed whether this which now followeth to the end of the Chapter were a new griefe that surprized him besides that which before had troubled and vexed him or rather but onely a farther explication of that which is past which Iunius and Tremelius not obscurely do insinuate expressing the beginning of this verse and the next by For he vvent out of the city and for the Lord prepared a gourd And thirdly here ariseth a farther ambiguity whether at his comming out the gourd were prepared ready so that thereby at the first he eased himselfe plotting the leaues thereof as fit to shadow him in manner of a booth to the which also Iunius very openly doth bend so intending that he sate there no more then one day for the next morning the gourd withered or whether as some other do rather suppose he made himselfe first a booth or sommer-house of boughs whereof when the freshnesse was soone decayed by the drying vp of the greenenesse then the gourd sprung vp in place as a fresher and kindlier and more contentfull cooler Which doubts so far foorth as they shall vary any point of doctrine I shal touch very briefly but because they make no difference in the substance of the story I mind not to pursue them auoiding on the one side confusion of the part of the hearer which cannot chuse but arise by intricate things on the other side curiosity in the speaker which by following such nice points cannot chuse but be suspected Thē to keepe close to the text and to make all as plaine as possibly I can this verse doth offer to vs foure obseruable circumstances first his going out of the city Ionah went out of the city secondly his sitting downe where he sate on the East side of the city thirdly what he did there he made him a booth and sate there in the shadow fourthly the end and reason of his staying in that place till he might see vvhat should become of the city While I handle these things as Gods Spirit shall direct me affoord me your wonted patience So he went out of the city 3 If Ionas hauing very peremptorily preached the destruction of Niniue were aduertised in the city that the decree gone out against them was altered and that God who meant to strike would now shut vp all and quit it with a pardon then this messenger who mightily stood vpon his reputation as before I haue shewed although therein he made no dainty to mistake the whole matter which must euer be supposed had great reason to be gone For allowing his owne ground that himselfe had sayd one thing and now there fell out another in the altering whereof he was no way satisfied he might thinke that as a lyar he might iustly be derided and pointed at with the finger as he went in the streets for a fellow threatning much and then performing nothing Now that a man should come so farre and should openly cry out before such a multitude who brought it to the Kings eare that there was ready at the dores the ruine of a place Imperiall as that was the Queene of many kingdomes and Mistresse of many nations and should set all not in an vprore but in skreeking and lamenting and in the end and vpshot it should neither be so nor so Yea that Gods name should be vsed and threates should be vttered from that fearefull Iehouah that the Lord might be taunted at as well as he There is a wise God of Israel to send such a message and where is now his God as in another sence was often sayd to Dauid might well make this erring and misunderstanding man to slinke aside from them who before had bene witnesses of his terrible words which now were returned al to wind For had he bin but a man yet to speake an vntruth voluntarily and asseuerantly had bene a shamefull thing especially in the hearing of many and great men as Syracides well noteth be ashamed of lies before the Prince and men of authority but being a Prophet and denouncing all voluntarily and of likelihood mentioning a very strange matter that he had bene in the whale and yet had escaped and now should tell so palpable and notorious a lye was a disgracefull reproch yea reproches a great many And that this also should be in the name of the Lord whose honour should be much dearer to him then this life but not lay open to be blasphemed by Ethnikes and Atheists might make him who was led and possessed with a fancy of ignorance and errour to flye the sight of men like some Nabuchodonosor to get him into the wildernesse as Timon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to thinke himselfe most happy when no other man was neare him They who haue the greatest spirits in aspiring to honour and stand most on their brauing are most of all deiected and disgraced in their thoughts when they sensibly misse their ayme Ahitophel who presumed on the depth of his owne wit and the acceptance of his counsell cannot endure and suffer that it should not take place but rather he will dye Iulius Caesar will be Pontifex or Rome shall not hold him he will leaue all and into banishment where speake who list of him but no friend of his shall see him It is good to be moderate in affecting things desired and then if there be no speeding the griefe is the lesse Ionas for being too much eger on his thoughts is the more discontented and therefore partly angry and partly ashamed getteth himselfe out of the city 4 But if we will take it that being