LECTVRES VPON IONAS DELIVERED AT YORKE In the yeare of our Lorde 1594. By JOHN KINGE Newlie corrected and amended Printed at Oxford by IOSEPH BARNES and are to be solde in Paules Church-yarde at the signe of the Bible 1599. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE SIR THOMAS EGERTON KNIGHT LORD KEEPER OF THE GREAT SEALE MY very singular good Lord such honor and happines in this world as may vndoubtedly be accompanied with the happinesse and honour of Saintes in the world to come RIGHT Honourable in this prodigall and intemperate age of the vvorlde wherein every man writeth more than neede is and chooseth such patronage to his writinges as his heart fancieth If I haue taken the like libertie to my selfe both of setting my labours openly in the eies of men and your Honours eies especially over my labours I hope because it is not my private fault your Lordshippe will either forget to espie or not narrowly examine it The number of bookes written in these daies without number I say not more then the worlde can holde for it even emptieth it selfe of reason and moderation to giue place to this bookish folly and serveth vnder the vanitie thereof but more than well vse the titles whereof but to haue red or seene were the sufficient labour of our vnsufficient liues did earnestlie treate with mee to giue some rest to the Reader and not to devide him into more choice of bookes the plentie whereof hath alreadie rather hurte then furthered him and kept him barer of knowledge For much reading is but a wearinesse to the flesh and there is no ende of making or perusing many bookes For mine owne part I coulde haue beene wel content not to haue added more fulnesse to the sea nor to haue trained the credulous Reader along with the hope of a new seeming booke which in name and edition and fashion because the file hath a little otherwise beene drawne over it may so bee but touching the substance that of the Preacher was long since true and togither with the growth of the worlde receiveth dailie more strength That that is hath beene and there is no new thing vnder the sunne But as we all write learned and vnlearned crow-poets and py-poetesses though but our owne follies and ignoraunces and to purchase the credite of writers some as madde as the sea some out their owne shame and vncurable reproch whose vnhonest treatises fitter for the fire then the bookes of Protagoras presses are daily oppressed with the worlde burthened and the patience of modest and religious eares implacably offended so the ambitious curiositie of readers for their partes calling forth bookes as the hardnes of the Iewish heartes occasioned the libell of divorce and a kinde of Athenian humor both in learned and vnlearned of harkening after the Mart asking of the Stationers what new thinges thereby threatning as it were continually to giue over reading if there want variety to feede and draw them on made me the more willing to goe with the streame of the time and to set them some later taske wherein if their pleasure be their idler howres may be occupied My end and purpose therein if charitie interpret for mee will be found nothing lesse than vaine ostentation Because I haue spoken at times and may hereafter againe if God giue leaue and grace the meditations of my hearte to as manie and as chosen eares almost as these bookes can distract them vnto and these which I nowe publish were publicke enough before if the best day of the seven frequent concourse of people and the most intelligent auditory of the place vvherein I then lived may gaine them that credite So as this further promulgation of them is not much more then as the Gentiles besought Paule in the Actes the preaching of the same wordes an other sabbath day and some testimonie of my desire if the will of God so bee to doe a double good with my single and simple labours in that it grieveth mee not to write and repeate the same thinges And to adioine one reason more I shall never bee vnwilling to professe that I even owed the everlasting fruite of these vnworthie travailes to my former auditours who when I first sowed this seede amongst them did the office of good and thankefull grounde and received it with much gladnesse To whom since I vvent aside for a time farre from the natiue place both of my birth and breede as Jonas went to Niniveh to preach the preachinges of the Lorde or into the bellie of the fish out of his proper and naturall element to make his song so I to deliver these ordinarie and weekelie exercises amongest them the providence of God not suffering mee to fasten the cordes of mine often remooved tabernacle in those North-warde partes but sending mee home againe let it receiue favourable interpretation with all sortes of men that I send them backe but that labour which they paied for and therein the presence of my spirite pledge of mine hearte and an Epistle of that deserved loue and affection vvhich I iustlye beare them I trust no man shall take hurte heereby either nearer or father of excepte my selfe vvho haue chaunged my tongue into a penne and whereas I spake before with the gesture and countenance of a livinge man haue nowe buried my selfe in a dead letter of lesse effectuall perswasion But of my selfe nothing on either part I haue taken the counsaile of the wise neither to praise nor dispraise mine owne doinges The one hee saith is vanitie the other folly Thousandes will bee readie enough to ease mee of that paines the vncerteinty of whose iudgement I haue now put my poore estimation vpon either to stande or fall before them Howbeit I will not spare to acknoweledge that I haue done little heerein without good guides And as Iustus Lipsius spake of his Politicke centons in one sense all may bee mine in an other not much more then nothing For if ever I liked the waters of other mens vvelles I dranke of them deepely and what I added of mine owne either of reaching or exhortation I commende it to the good acceptance of the worlde with none other condition then the Emperour commended his sonnes sipromerebuntur if it shall deserue it Nowe the reasons which mooved mee to offer these my first fruites vnto your good Lordshippe may soone bee presumed though I name them not For when the eie that seeth you blesseth you and all tongues giue witnesse to your righteous dealing shoulde mine bee silent yea blessed bee the God of heaven that hath placed you vpon the seate of iustice to displace falshood and wrong The vine of our English Church spreadeth her branches with more chearefulnesse through the care which your honour hath over her You giue her milke without silver and breade without mony vvhich not many other patrons doe In this vnprofitable generation of ours wherein learning is praised and goeth naked men wondering at schollers
with God on high mourning and lamenting his wretchednes not in a caue of Horeb as Elias did not in a caue of Adullam as David but in the ougliest vncomfortablest vaulte setting hell aparte that ever vvas entred O Lord where shall thy spirite forsake thy chosen ones if wee climbe into heaven there it is as apparant to the worlde as the sunne in his brightnesse If we bee driven into the wildernesse there it will attend on vs. If we lie downe in the bottome of the sea if in the bowels of a whale within that bottome of the sea there will it also embrace vs. To conclude all in one for this time there was never contemplation or study in the world so holy and heavenly in the sight of God so faithfull and sociable to him that vseth it as praier is It travaileth by day it awaketh by night with vs it forsaketh vs not by lande by water in weale in woe living nor dying It is our last friend an◠indissolublest companion therefore wee must praie There was never name so worthy to bee called vpon in heaven or earth so mighty for deliverance so sure for protection so gainefull for successe so compendious to cut of vnnecessarie labours as the name of Iehovah our mercifull father and the image of his countenaunce Iesus Christ. Therefore to the Lord. There was never citty of refuge so free for transgressours never holes in the rockes so open for doues never lappe of the mother so open to her babes as the bowels of Gods compassions are open to beleevers Therefore we must pray in that stile of propriety which Thomas vsed when he looked vpon Christ my Lord and my God Lastly there was never affliction so great but the hande of the Lorde hath beene able to maister it therefore if we walke in the shadow of death as where was the shadow of death if these bowels of the whale were not we must not take discomforte at it The Lord sitteth aboue the water flouds the Lord commandeth the sea and all that therein is He that hath hidden Ionas in the belly of a fish as a chosen shafte in the quiver of his mercifull providence and made destruction it selfe a tabernacle and hiding place to preserue him from destruction blessed be his holy name and let the mighte of his maiestie receiue honour for evermore he will never forsake his sonnes and daughters neither in health nor sicknesse light nor darknesse in the lande of the living nor in the lande of forgetfulnesse And therefore as David cursed the mountaines of Gilboah that neither dew nor raine might fall vpon them because the shielde of the mighty was there cast downe so cursed be all faithlesse and faint harted passions that throwe away the shielde of faith and open the way for the fierie dartes of the devill to worke their purpose But blessed be the mountaines of Armenia for there the 〈◊〉 found rest Blessed be the power and mercy of our God for these are the mountaines vvherevpon the arke resteth these are the holy hils whereon the Sion and church of the Lord hath her everlasting foundations The Lorde liveth and blessed be our strength even the God of our salvation for ever and ever be exalted Amen THE XXIIII LECTVRE Chap. 2. ver 2. And said I eryed in mine affliction to the Lord and he hearde me out of the belly of hell cried I and thou heardst my voice IN the wordes of the history before we come to Ionas speaking frō his own person I noted 1. his action during the time of his imprisonmēt praier 2. the obiect of his praier the Lorde 3. the applicatiō his God 4. his house of praier the belly of the fish 5. the specification of it he said which particle only remaineth to bee adioyned to the former before wee proceede to to praier it selfe It beareth one sense thus I will not onely acquaint you that Ionas prayed but I will also expresse vnto you what that prayer was this was the summe and substaunce of it the matter hee framed and compiled to his God was to this effect Hee praied and saide that is these were the very wordes this was the tenour and text of his songe indited But if the worde bee better lookt into it may yeeld a further construction For in the three principall tongues Hebrew Greeke Latine there hath ever bene held a difference betweene speaking saying the former being more generall vnperfite belonging to as many as vse the instruments of speech Thersites spake though hee spake like a Iay they speake of whome the proverbe is verified little wisedome much prating Eupolis noted them in the greeke verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are excellent to talke but very vnable to say The later is more speciall noteth a wise deliberated speech graue sententious weighed in the ballance as it is in the words of Syrach vttered to good purpose Tully in his rhetorickes giveth the difference in that he ascribeth saying to oratours alone speaking to the cōmon people that the one cōmeth from nature the other from art Such was the handling of that argument in the 45. Psalme whereof the authour witnesseth before hand My heart is inditing a good matter his tongue was but the pen of a ready writer It was sermo natus in pectore a matter bred in the breast not at the tongues end And such was the song of Ionas in this place It was drawne as deepe as the water from the well of Iacob the sentences wherof were advisedly penned the words themselues set vpon feete and placed in equall proportions A skilfull and artificiall song as if it should haue fitted an instrument cōposed in number measure to the honour of his name who giveth the argument of a song in the night season who in the heaviest and solitariest times when nature calleth for rest quickeneth vp the spirit of a man and giveth him wisdōe grace to meditate within himselfe his vnspeakable mercies I doe not thinke that the praier of Ionas was thus metrically digested within the belly of the fish as now it standeth But such were the thoughts and cogitations wherein his soule was occupied vvhich after his landing againe perhappes he repolished brought into order fashion as a memoriall monument of the goodnes of God that had enlarged him It ministreth this instruction vnto vs al that when vvee sing or say any thing vnto the Lord we keepe the rule of the Psalme Sing yee praises vvith vnderstanding that as Iohn Baptist went before Christ to prepare his vvaies so our heartes may ever goe before our tongues to prepare their speeches that first vvee speake within our selues as the woman with the bloudy issue did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for shee saide within her selfe if I may but touch the hemme of his garment afterwardes to others first in our harts with David in
hid from our eies 2 Arise goe vnto Niniveh Arise is but a word of preface or preparation and noteth as I saide before that forwardnesse that ought to bee in the prophetes of the Lorde Lying downe for the most part is a signe that both the body and minde are at rest Sitting betokeneth the body at ease but the minde may be occupied Rising most commonly is an argument that both are disposed to vndertake some worke Now as it is both shame and sin for any sorts of men to trifle in their calling for wee shall all rise in our order but those vnordinate walkers saith Bernard in what order shall they rise who keepe not that order and ranke vvhich GOD hath assigned them vnto so especially for those that are sent about the message Christ tolde his disciples in the ninteenth of Mathew that when the sonne of man sate they should also sit But I beseech you saith Bernard when sate hee in this world where rested hee or what place had hee to lay his heade vpon rather hee reioyced as a Gyant refresht with wine to runne his race and he vvent about doing good as it is vvitnessed in the Actes of the Apostles birdes had their nestes and foxes their holes but Christ had no resting place till his worke being finished he had dearly earned and deserved to haue his leaue warranted vnto him when the Lord saide to our Lord sit at my right hande Thomas Becket an evill man and in an evill cause but vvith wordes not impertinent to his place if he had well applied them aunswered one who advised him to deale more moderately towardes the king Sit I at the sterne and would you wish me to sleepe Our Saviour to the like effect vvhen he founde his disciples a sleepe why sleepe you and to Peter by name Sleepest thou Peter is Iudas vvaking are the high-priests consulting the souldiours banding the sonne of man neare his betraying the envious man sowing his tares marring the field hindring the good seed and the gospell of the kingdome and will not you awake Rise let vs walke and consider the regions farre and wide that they are not only white to the haruest but drie to the fire if they be neglected They must be labourers that are sent into that harvest and to shew what a blessing it is that such be sent the Lord of the harvest must be earnestly praied vnto Such a labourer was he who though he were borne out of due time yet he omitted no due time of working and though the least of all the apostles in some honours of that calling yet in the burthens and taskes that belonged vnto it he attributed it to the speciall grace of God that hee labouâ—ed more abundantly than all they Seneca was so farre at oddes with idlenes that he professed he had rather bee sicke than out of businesse I sleepe verie little saith he It is enough for me that I haue but left watching Sometimes I knowe I haue slept sometimes I doe but suspecte it The examples of heathen men so studiously addicted to their woorke that they forgot to take their ordinary foode and tied the haire of their heades to the beames of their chambers least sleepe should beguile them in their intended labors are almost incredible but to the open disgrace of vs who having a marke set before our eies and running to the price which they knew not are so slacke in our dueties But as before so againe I demaund why to Niniveh we haue alreaâ—y coniectured fowre reasons Let vs adde a fifth The force of example wee all know and very greate to induce likenesse of manners and to verifie the the proverbe in the prophet Like people like priest like servant like maister like maide like mistresse like buyer like seller like lender like borrower like giver like taker to vsury And the greater the example is the greater authority it hath to draw to similitude Facile transitur ad plures we are easily moved to go after a multitude I may adde facile transitur ad maiores It is no hard labour to make vs imitate great authorities be our patterns good or bad Evill behaviour in Princes prophets and higher degrees whatsoever corrupteth as it were the aire round about and maketh the people with whome they liue as like vnto them in naughtinesse as they say bees to bees God telleth IerusaleÌ„ in the 16. of Ezec. that al that vsed proverbes should vse this amongst the rest against her As is the mother so is the daughter Thou art the daughter of thy mother that hath cast of her husband and her children and thou art the sister of thy sisters which forsooke their husbandes and their children You see how evenly they tread in the steppes of the same sinnes Your mother is an Hittâ—te and your father an Ammorite Did the daughter degenerate from her kind Her elder sister at her left hande was Samaria and her daughters And the yonger at her right Sodome and her daughters Father and mother daughter and sisters the whole broode was alike infected Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat is never mentioned in the writinges of Israell but hee draweth a taile after him like a blasing starre Who sinned and made Israell to sinne A sicke head disordered all the other partes and a darke eie made a darke body A fearefull instruction to those that feare God to make them beware of binding two sinnes togither that is of sinning themselues and sinning before others to put a stumbling blocke before their feete of falling into the like offence especially when the credit and countenance and priority of their places maketh others the bolder to sin because they sin with such authors Such bitter rootes shall aunswere for themselues their corrupted braÌ„ches Such poisoned fouÌ„taines shal not escape vvith single iudgment because they haue polluted the vvhole course of vvaters Such leprous and contagious soules as they heape sin vpon sin so by numbers and heapes they shall receaue their plagues and accompt to the iustice of God not onelye for the pollutioÌ„ of their owne persons but of many thousands more whome by the warrant of their precedency they haue pulled vnto vvickednes And for this cause I take it amongst others Niniveh is crowned in the next words with the honorable title of her greatnesse to let her know that the more eminent in dignity the nearer shee lay to daunger and as shee gave to the inferiour citties of the lande an example of sinning so shee shoulde also bee an example of desolation vnto them Goe to Niniveh that great citie that is preach repentance to the mother and the daughters will drawe their instructions from her breastes Winne the Lady and princesse and her handmaides wil soone be brought to obedience Speake to the hauty monarch of the world knocke at the gates of his prowde pallace beat the eares of those insolent and wealthy marchants shake them from