feet hath carried her a far off to soiourne But who tooke this counsell against Tyre and who purposed it euen the Lord of Hoasts to staine the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt all the Honourable of the earth And so from the forme and manner of Tyres iudgement I passe vnto the causes of it and they in number three 1 The Effficient or Autor of it the Lord of Hoasts Hee tooke this counsell against Tyre Hee it was that purposed it 2 The Impulsine or that that moued him to it Pride and glory 3 The Finall or end wherfore he did it first to staine the pride of that glory and then a degree further to bring into comtempt all the Honourable of the earth Tyres destruction was foretold a City because situate in the Sea on a Rocke therefore in her conceit and in the Worlds thought impregnable whereupon our Prophet doubting she would not so much feare the iudgement denounc'd as admire how it could be effected guideth her eye to see the hand that should giue the blowe as plainely as Belshazzar sawe the fingers that wrot his ruine on the wall Hee neuer mentions to her the arme of flesh she would haue sleighted that but tells her of the Lord of Hoasts The Lord of Hoasts A name of power yet not excluding prudence a name of might yet not excluding mercy for t is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Lord of Hoasts hath decreed it did not headily and hastily rush vpon it but soberly consult and deliberat about it he whose word is all one with his work and that can with the same facility doe a thing as determine it yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 decreed before he executed as he went downe to see whether Sodom had done according to the cry before he decreed Gen. 18. Now of all the sinnes that vrge him to decree vengeance and force down the Viols of his wrath Pride and glory seem the chiefe therefore he neuer leaueth till his reuenging hand hath atcheiued thus much euen the stayning the pride of all glory and the bringing into contempt all the Honourable of the earth More distinctly thus The three causes of Tyres iudgement yeeld vs three conclusions 1 The Efficient the Lord of hoasts this The inflicter of all punishments is the Lord of hoasts 2 The Impulsiue Pride and Glory this That which chiefely seemes to mooue him to inflict punishment is Pride and glory 3 The Finall the staining the bringing into contempt this His punishment beats not the ayre but workes for some ende and effects powerfully what it goes about T will staine the Pride of all glory and as if that were to little t will bring into contempt all the Honourable of the earth First The inflicter of all punishment is the Lord of Hoasts The prophane Atheist may dreame as the Epicure that God sits idle in the heauens carelesse of things belowe let ts men liue as they list and if vengeance at any time doe ouertake the wicked t is not long of him but of Chance or Fortune or the counsell and power of man or the like Kingdomes may bee ouerthrowne Cities ruined and hee neuer meddle with them But Can there bee euill in the Citie and the Lord hath not done it Amos 3. 6. Is it not Hee that formeth light and createth darkenesse maketh peace and createth euill Isai 45. 7. Surely yes For t is not Chaunce that domineereth in this inferiour world nor are things whirld about on Fortunes Weeele but the Lord is hee that iudgeth the Earth His owne Heritage and His hand layeth the burthen on euery sinners backe Whether any euill befall a Priuate man euill I meane still of punishment of which GOD is Author not of fault of which he is auenger Whether I say any euill befall a Priuate man or a Publique person or a Family or a City or a Kingdome or the whole World He he it is euen the Lord of Hoasts that brings it on them 1 On a priuate man The arrowes of the Almighty saith Iob are in me the poyson of them drinke vp my Spirit they be the terrors of God that set themselues in array against me Iob 6. 4. 2 On a publike person Nebuchadnezzar must be driuen from men and his dwelling till seuen times passe ouer him must be with the beasts of the field and sayth Daniel O King T is the decree of the most high which is come vpon my Lord the King Dan. 4. 24. 3 On a Family I will bring euill on thee saith the Lord to Ahab and I will take away thy Posterity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth agaist the wall and I will makethy house like the house of Ieroboam the Sonne of Nebat and like the Sonne of Baasha the Sonne of Ahiiah 1 King 21. 21. 4 On a City T was the Lord that rained vpon Sodom and vpon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heauen and ouerthrewe those Cities and all the plaine and all the Inhabitants of the Cities and that which grewe vpon the ground Gen. 19. 24. 5 On a Kingdome T was the Lord sent a Pestilence in Israel from the morning euen to the time appointed and there dyed of the people from Dan euen to Beersheba 70000 men 2 Sam. 24. 15. 6 Lastly on the whole world And I saith the Lord Behold I will bring a flood of waters vpon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life vnder the heauen all that is in the earth shall perish Gen. 6. 17. Thus is it he who sits on High that punisheth all vs here below Therefore if there bean end period set to Tyres florishing estate you need not doubt but t was the Lord of Hoasts decreed it As by him Kings and Princes raigne so by him are their Scepters remoued he was the Alpha and beginning of all rule and likewife he will be the Omega and ending Hee changeeh times and seasous he taketh away Kings and he sets vp Kings Dan. 2. 21. The most high beareth rule ouer the Kingdomes of Men and giueth them to whomsoeuer he will Dan. 4. 25. Well may Salmanasar or Hazael or Nebuchadnezzar or some such put to their helping hands but neither of them is more then the Hammer or the scourge or the rod of the Almighty only doing that instrumentally which he himselfe doth principally O Ashur the rod of my wrath and the staffe in their hands is mine indignation Isai 10. 5. But what Is God thus angry or can hee possibly execute iudgement Is he that I told you was so vnwilling to punish become now the author of punishment Is hee that shewd mercy to thousands content to see thousands destroyd Doth he that would not the death of a finner put his owne hands to the execution and he whose compasson flowed as the riuers of water delight to see streames of bloud In a word doth that Father of mercies please
THE BVRTHEN OF TYRE A Sermon Preach'd at Pauls Crosse By IOHN GRENT then Fellow of New-Colledge in Oxford ISAI 28. 1. Woe to the Crowne of Pride LONDON Printed for RICHARD ROYSTON 1627. TO HIS MVCH HONOVRED PATRON SIR THOMAS HOLT Knight and Baronet the comforts of Grace here and a Crowne of glory hereafter SIR THis discourse presumeth now it aduentureth the Presse on the Patronage it had when it passed the Pen. The Author of it well knoweth and euer will acknowledge his deepe engagements for your many fauours one principall a comfort to your soule that conferr'd it as to his that receiu'd it the faire and free entrance to the exercise of his Ministery VVhich one and the rest hee can no way answere but by his Prayers to God and hearty desires for the encrease of all happinesse and honour to you and yours and this he will not cease to doe while hee remembreth himselfe to be Your much bounden IOHN GRENT THE BVRTHEN of TYRE ISAI 23. 7. 8. 9. 7. Is this your ioyous Citie whose Antiquitie is of ancient dayes Her owne feete shall carry her a farre off to soiourne 8. Who hath taken this counsell against Tyre the crowning City whose Merchants are Princes whose Traffiquers are the Honorable of the earth 9. The Lord of Hoasts hath purposed it to staine the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt all the Honourable of the Earth THe sound of Warre in a time of peace is like a showre of raine when the Sunne shineth mention of Feare in the height of fauour as the cursings of Mount Ebal among the blessings of mount Gerizim Best suteable vnto these Halcyonian dayes would bee the Oliue leafe of peace in the Doues mouth and to men lull'd asleepe in Securities lapp welcome soft Pillowes sewen vnder their elbowes But while Mercy is thus our desire Misery may be our desert and when we looke for a Barnabas a son of consolation we may meete with a Boanerges a sonne of Thunder As we receiue good things at Gods hands so we must euill the acts of his Iustice should no more discontent vs then of his Mercy for he is aequally glorified in them both and therefore if this be the Burthen of Tyre for ought I know there 's no remedy but Tyre must heare it Tyre must beare it Is this your ioyous Citie whose Antiquity is of ancient dayes her owne feet shall carry her a farre off to ioiourne c. Loe heere 1 Tyres glory and 2 Her Iudgement Her glory lyeth First in her Antiquity which was of auncient dayes Secondly in her present flourishing estate a ioyous Citie a crowning City grac'd not onely with her owne but also with Forraiue dignity Chapmen as well as Merchants her Merchants at home Princes her Chapmen from abroad The honorable of the earth Her iudgement is set forth First by the forme and manner of it Secondly by its causes The forme and manner of it in these words Her owne feet shall carry her a farre off to soiourne Wherein three degrees 1 Banishment she should be carried to soiourne 2 Pouertie her owne feet should carry her 3 Remotenesse of place a farre off The causes of this iudgement are three 1 The efficient cause 2 The impulsiue cause 3 The finall cause First the efficient or Author of it The Lord of Hoasts Hee tooke this counsell against Tyre Hee it was that purposed it Secondly the impulsiue or that that mooued him to it Pride and Glory Thirdly the finall or ende wherefore he did it to staine the pride of that glory and then a degree farther to bring into contempt all the Honorable of the earth These branches and in this order with Gods gracious assistance implore my paines and your patience and in the first place the former part of Tyres glory her Antiquity which was saith my Prophet of ancient dayes So past the Records of memory was this Cities Original that eitherlike Fame Caput inter nubila condit it seemes muffled and wrapt in the clouds and you may as well find the head of Nilus fountaine as of Tyres foundation or els you must needs make her one of the eldest daughters of the new World euen the structure and worke of Tyras laphets sonne For whereas Iosephus seemeth to giue her birth but 240. yeeres before Solomons Temple to wit in Gedeons time and Iustin only before the sacke of Troy about Iepthas time both making Sidon the faire mother of Tyre a farre fairer daughter they are rather to be vnderstood of her reaedifying and repayring then of her first founding for sure her Antiquity was of more ancient dayes But though it were yet it ill became her proudly to vaunt of it and thereupon to contemne her bordering neighbours as it would ill beseeme this Famous Citie vainely to brag of her Antiquitie or of her Founder Brute father of Britany who t is thought in olde Eli's time was King in England before there was any King in Israel Indeed Antiquity in some mens eyes carries a very faire shew and like a Perspectiue maketh the obiect seeme bigger then truly it is hauing that to bragge off they care for no more If they can but say Tyre the ancient City Tyre Rome the ancient City Rome they thinke that must presently sweepe all away before it as did Kishon that ancient Riuer Kishon Iudg. 5. 21. But in true iudgement it little skils how olde how ancient a Citie is rather how holy how honest how vpright how iust how pleasing to God and how profitable to men Therefore as Apollo being demanded by the Athenians which Religion was the best Answered the ancientest and a second time which was the ancientest replyed that that was best So say I of Cities which is the best the Ancientest Which is the ancientest the best For antiquity is to be measured by goodnesse not goodnesse by antiquity else might youthinke well of the Deuill he can pleadage an olde Serpent a Lier from the beginning T is true very ancient was Tyre and long was it ere she came to the height of her glory but here was her misery her sinne grew vp as fast as her selfe she was no elder in age then in euill and therefore the longer shee had setled with Moab on the lecs of wickednesse the more need to be powred out from vessell to vessell the longer the blade of her iniquitie had beene growing the riper and the readier to bee cut downe with the sickle of vengeance The haruest of whose Woe when our Prophet foresawe he laughs and scoffes at her by way of derision Is this your ioyous City not so much wondring at her ruine or pitying her misery as indeed insulting ouer her calamity and vpbrayding her pride the cause of her fall Is this your tryumphing glorying flaunting flourishine Citie that so drew the worlds eyes to looke on her that was so much admir'd by them that vsed Traffique with her that so vaunted of her Antiquitie as if
but greatly prouoke his wrath and indignation against her for so soone as euer she came into the number of the haughty she was one of those that are an abomination vnto him Prou. 16. 9. and on whom his eyes are set to humble them 2 Sam 22. 28. As all sinnes vrge him to take vengeance so Pride it seemeth especially and that probably for these reasons First Because t is a mother sinne Secondly because a notorious sinne Thirdly because the most haynous sinne Fourthly because a manifold sinne 1 T is a mother sinne in that all other offences arise out of it as braunches from their roote or streames of water from their fountaine and that two manner of wayes directly and indirectly directly all sinnes spring from Pride because they all aime at the same ende at which Pride doth mans owne excellency and indirectly all spring from Pride because she contemneth and trampleth vnder foot that diuine law in which is the forbidding of them all 2 T is a notorious sinne because it so impudently declareth it selfe For whereas other offences couer their faces in darknesse flye the presence of God desiring to be hid from his eies Pride being brazen fac'd walkes vp and downe the open streets taketh pleasure in the light and so ietts and struts it before the Almighty as if shee meant to outbraue him to his face 3 T is the most hainous sinne in that whereas in euery offence there is an Auersion from the Creator as the formality of it and a Conuersion to the Creature as the materiality though in respect of the latter Pride be not the greatest sinne because height the proud mans ayme carrieth not the greatest repugnancy vnto morall good yet in respect of the former to wit the Auersion from the Creator t is for whereas in other sinnes a man turneth from GOD either through ignorance or infirmity or desire of some other good or the like Pride hath its auersion from him only because t will not be subiect to him and to his rule 4 Lastly t is Peccatum multiplex a manifold sinne because whereas other vices set onely vpon those vertues by which themselues are destroyed Luxury batters Chastitie Anger Patience and the like Pride rayseth it selfe not against any one but against all and as a generall and pestilent disease corrupts them all These are the Diuellish qualities of damn'd Pride and therefore where euer you finde it in persons or in places you may attribute their ruine to nothing more If Moab bee as Sodom and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah euen a breeding of Nettles and Saltpits and a perpetuall desolation that they haue for their Pride Zeph. 2. 10. If Edom bee brought downe to the ground t is because shee hath exalted her selfe as the Eagle and made her nest among the Stars Obed. 4. And if Capernaum be thrust lowe into Hell t is because she was lifted vp high vnto Heauen Math. 11. 23. T was this Pride was Lucifers sinne the Sonne of the Morning which made him from prime of Angels become prince of Deuils and therefore hee neuer doubted if he once could but worke in Adam and Eue that proud conceit that they should bee like gods but t would bee enough to make them die like men While Pride is climbing vp it neuer thinks of comming downe therefore Satan worketh that sin in man of all other that his ruine as t is certaine so it may be suddaine and seize vpon him at vnawares he knoweth they that swell with arrogance must burst at last and when they least thinke of it and that they who ambitiously climbe ouer other mens heads will soone fall and breake their owne necks To this ende hee puts a man into a vaine of exalting himselfe as Haman or of bragging as Nebuchadnezzar or of reuelling as Belshazzar that presently euen amids his Pride and Iolsitie hee may feele some strange downefall And feele it hee shall little hope is there of escaping for if there be any weapons in the Armory of heauen any creatures at Gods command on earth any Viols of wrath to be powred forth then looke to thy Crowne Pride for thou shalt bee sure to haue thy hairy scalpe smitten Though a man were as the Signet of Gods owne right hand as a Frontlet betweene his eyes as a Chaine about his necke yet thence and thence will he soone plucke him if he once begin to be proude and with Ephraim to kicke with the heele Pride shall haue a fall Well therefore may it bee painted with a wry neck not so much scornefull to looke on men ouer the shoulder as indeede to see how fast shame and destruction commeth after Now if such be the danger of Pride and if it so moue God to inflict punishment on it how dareth it so frequently iett vp and downe the streets and not feare the heauy hand of heauen How commeth it to passe there are such troopes of Gallants euery where met so printed powdred perfum'd so kemm'd and trimm'd that a haire may not stand awry Who Absalon-like are so curious of their beauty that they will rather endure three disorders in their liues then one in their locks How commeth it that they so ruffle it in their Silkes and Veluets Cloath of Gold and Tissue That they carry Houses and Lordships Lands and Liuings Yea sometime Tythes and Offerings on their backs And weare Cloathes to that value on one day as was wont to to keepe good Hospitality a whole yeare How commeth it that yong Landlords to maintaine their Pride here in the Citie depopulate sundry Villages in the Countrey Turne many ancient Tenants children a begging and yet keepe no house to relieue them with a morsell of bread How commeth it that where their Grandfathers gaue daily almes to the fatherlesse and widdow and were content to let poore families renue their States and Copy-holds making the eye which saw them blesse them and the eare which heard them giue witnesse vnto them How commeth it I say that there now the sonnes of these men engrosse all tenements into their owne hands as fast as they fall and neuer care for being better members of the Common-weale then to starue others while they fare deliciously themselues Againe if great be the danger of pride and if it seeme chiefely to moue God to inflict punishment how commeth it that our women build such turrets and castles on their heads with braided haire and gold put about How commeth it that they so put down the wanton daughters of Syon for bonets and cawles and round-tires and head-bands and veiles and wimples and crisping pinns and tablets and carerings and rings and mufflers and sweet balls and bracelets and glasses and fine linnen and hoodes and lawnes and such like vanities whereat diuels laugh and good men bite the lip I denie not but there is necessitas personae as well as necessitas naturae a rugge or a mantle doth not befit a Lady or a Princesse though it couer
loath to harpe twice on the same string and that the rather because I presume that whatsoeuer is wanting in the prosecution of this or any other point which I haue touch'd vpon may sufficiently be supplyed by your more priuate and retyred Meditations Well then you see what Pride must looke for euen to be stained what Glory and honour must expect euen to bee brought into contempt that painted Harlot shall be sure not onely to bee pull'd and hal'd out of her high throane but so violently hurl'd out of it that there shall bee no stay nor footing for her till shee come downe downe vnto the ground let her carry the matter neuer so fairely and sooth vp her selfe with neuer so many flatteries yet ende shee must in that which shee can least abide contempt Wherefore Beloued in the feare of God giue me leaue thus to bespeake you Yee Merchants of Tyre that are as so many Princes and yee her Chapmen the Honourable of the earth as you desire this place wherein you liue whose antiquity is of ancient dayes should yet long abide a ioyous City and a crowning Citie as you desire she may still flourish more and more heere at home to the admiration of Strangers and that her owne feet neuer carry her a far off to soiourne as you desire the continuance of your own plenty and prosperitie in her and that you may bee able to hold vp your heads with credit in the world as you desire to auoyd disgrace the staining of your glory and the bringing your honours into scorne and contempt shun pride arrogance embrace humility and meekenesse God hath blest you with riches and honours and friends and with what not and so hee did Tyre With riches She heaped vp Siluer as the dust and Gold as the mire of the streets Zech. 9. 3. With honours her Merchants were Princes and her Chapmen the honourable of the earth the words of my Text â—astly with friends she was confederate by reason of her Traffique almost with all Nations Eeck 27. But she had a quallity that spoild all and I could wish t were not found in you she waxed Proud God is exceedingly offended with Pride in whomsoeuer he findes it but especially it seemeth with Pride in Merchants and that may be because hee cannot endure they should so forget what they sometime were and from â—ow meane place most of them haue bene raisd One whose Family was poore in Manasses and he the least in his Fathers house came vp hither villing to labour for his liuing and began the world with a very little rose vp earely went to bed late and did eate the bread of carefulnesse now perhaps God hath giuen him a stately House and a Shop full of wares diuers Tenements and rich Reuenues many Men-seruants and Maid-seruants at his command so that the lot seemes fallen to him in a faire ground and he hath a goodly Heritage but shall hee therefore aduance his crest and growe proud Another was once in as ill a case as his Sauiour Christ though the Foxes haue holes and the Birds of the ayre haue nests yet he had not so much as a house to put his head in but since that time perhaps God hath enlarged his roome encreased his border giuen him a goodly habitation heere in the City and Lordly Mannors in the Countrey a Ship or two at Sea and rich commodities on the Land so that in peace and plenty he enioyeth whatsoeuer heart can wish with his staffe onely came hee ouer the Riuer as Iacob now God hath giuen him two Bands But shall hee therefore aduance his Crest and grow proud Nay rather as Agathocles who of a Potter was made a Prince stil remembred his former meane place so should you thinke of yours and with all humility thanke God for so bettering your states As the Wiseman bids you Remember your ende so doe I your beginning and you shall neuer doe amisse The Philosopher saith rich men are naturally 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Louers of God fearing to displease because they haue somewhat to loose which Satan vnderstood well enough when hee said Iob feared not God for nought but because hee had made a hedge about him and blessed the workes of his hands and increased his substance in the Land Iob 1. 10. O then shake not off your Natures you that are rich and abound in wealth but be yee louers of God still Though you lye where you may sucke your fill at the sweet dugs of a fruitfull I le though you inhabite a second Paradise vpon earth yet swell not with Pride nor grow big be not high minded but feare and so the God of peace be with you all and so prosper you in the way of life that from this ioyous and crowning City below you may be made free Denizens of the new Ierusalem aboue and from being princely Merchants and Chapmen on earth you may be Kingly Saints sitting on throanes in Heauen To God the Father God the Sonne c. FINIS Tyres glory 1 Her Antiquity 2 Her present flour shing estate Aurum Tololosanum 2. Tyres iudgement 1 The forme and manner of it Potest poena dilata exigi exacta non potest reuocari 1. Degree Banishment 2. Degree Pouerty 3. Degree Remotenesse of place Praemcâ—â—â—…i Pramuniti 2 The causes of Tyres iudgement 1 Efficient Lord of hoasts Malum culpae Malum poena Autor Vltor Hailestones also fight against the fiue Kings in the same Chapter 2. Impulsiue Pride and glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In fonteÌ„ frontem atque in flamina lumina vertit 3. Finall cause Fictilibus canâsse ferunt Agathoclea Regem Diuitusque sinum deliciisque larem
Sinne the true cause of Tyres sicknesse will perhaps tel you of the reuolutions of times and of fatall periods of states beyond which Kingdomes and Cities cannot stand As Physitians make the threescore and third yeere of mans life a dangerous Climactericall to the body naturall so will Statists make the fiue hundreth yeere of a Citie or Kingdome as dangerous to the body politique But I wonder who hath euer felt a Cities languishing pulse who hath discerned her fatall diseases found her Criticall dayes Doth she waxe weake and heauy and olde and shriueled and pine away with yeeres as the body of man No shee may flourish still and grow greene she may continue as the dayes of heauen and bee as the Sunne before the Almighty if his wrath be not prouoked by her wickednesse T is sinne sinne that is both the chiefe cause and the chiefe Symptome of a Cities sicknesse and that indeede soone brings her to a fearefull end and vtter desolation whereas Religion and honesty would preserue her flourishing estate beyond all fatall periods of time What brought the deluge on the olde world vvhat call'd for fire and brimstone on Sodome and Gomorrah What destroyed Ierusalem and her glorious Temple the vvonder of the earth What brought Niniue and other famous Cities to ruine Was it the power of numbers Was it Plato's multiplying the Sunnes retrograde motion by twelue Was it any dire aspect of the heauens any malignant coniunction of starres and planets No but the peoples loose manners and their vngracious liues and their enormous sinnes Which sinnes all Cities Cankerwormes if Tyre forewarned by the Prophet could haue shaken off she might haue stood in her glory vntill this day but seeing she chose rather to flatter and sooth vp her selfe in euill so blindfolding her eyes with the veile of her wealth that she could not perceiue what God intended against her words at last proceeded into workes and the Prophets threatning ended in performance no longer then menacing that God will ouerthrowe ouerthrowe ouerthrowe but he doth it indeed O thou that dwellest vpon many waters aboundant in treasures thine end is come and the measure of thy couetousnesse Alas alas the great City the mighty City for in one houre is her destruction come O therefore that my head were full of water and mine eyes a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for the slaine of the daughter of my people For not onely her owne feete shall carry her a farre off to soiourne but at last her owne feet did carry her a farre off to soiourne T is not I hope expected that I should here apply this point t is a Prophecie and I am neither Prophet nor Prophets sonne therefore all I say vnto you is what Daniel said vnto Nebuchadnezzar The dreame be to them that hate you and the interpretation thereof to your enemies But if of your selues you would meditate on Tyres iudgement and that seriously if in her ruine you would but seeme to read your owne that by others harmes you might learne to beware t would be the happiest application of a Text that euer was made You knowe that like sinnes draw down like punishmēts that they who imitate the wicked in their doings may iustly fear to be made partakers of their suffrings T is true you are yet at ease in Sion and trust in the mountaine of Samaria you lye vpon beds of luory and stretch your selues on your beds you eate the Lambes of the flocke and Calues out of the stall you sing to the sound of the Violl and inuent to your selues instruments of Musicke like Dauid you drinke Wine in bowles and annoint your selues with the chiefe oyntments Amos 6. But are you certain of the continuance of this your happinesse Can you secure your selues to abide a ioyous City still Alas you know not what may at this time be a prouiding for you you knowe not what a day may bring foorth you knowe not what may suddenly befall you vnlesse you breake off your sinnes by repentance I haue no commission to terrifiey ou with warrs nor rumors of wars but your selues haue heard the sound of the Trumpet and the alarum of the Battell A great part of the Christian World is already vp in Armes and the Sword hath already made many a mother childlesse many a wife a widdow the Lord euer keepe it from Ierusalem repell it from the gates of Sion the Lord guard her from his high heauen send his own pensioners the holy Angels to defend her Peace continue within her walles and plenteousnes within her Pallaces Of the three most deadly arrowes in Gods quiuer Famine Pestilence and the Sword he hath shot two at you already ôlet his mercy so hold his hād that he neuer shoot the third you remember when he gaue you cleannesse of teeth in all your Cities and scarcenesse of bread in all places when your children fainted and swooned and languisht away when your wiues and yong men failed for hunger and fell downe in the streets of the Citie and by the passages of the gates and ther was no strength in them You remember when after that once and againe the destroying Angell came among you and by a grieuous pestilence laid heapes vpon heapes when he plac'd Solitarinesse at your doores hauing slaine thousands and ten thousands in your streets O then the Lord drewe his Bow mightily and made his venemous shafts enter into your soules and though for all this you would not turne vnto him yet hath hee withheld his third arrowe in hope of your amendment and his mercy still perswades him you will yet take that warning which Tyre would not Whether your sinnes bee the sinnes of Sodome Pride Idlenesse and fulnesse of bread Ezek. 16. 49. or the sinnes of Samaria Pride and Drunkennesse Isai 28. 1. or the sinnes of Tyre Pride and insulting ouer Gods People Ezek. 26. 2. or all these put together yet may they be washt away with vnfained teares of repentance as Naaman the Syrians leprosie with the waters of Iordan O therefore in the feare of God bethinke your selues while you haue time and while the acceptable day of the Lord doth last yeeld while the white Flagge of Mercy hangs forth before the red be displaied of bloud or the blacke of death Minae sint Medicinae bee taught before you bee toucht take warning before the decree come forth for if it bee once enacted in the high Court of heauen t will bee like the Lawes of the Medes and Persians not to be repeal'd not to be altered It hath gone out heretofore against many famous Cities and accordingly it hath bene executed Where is now Tanis and Dumah and Babylon and Niniue and Moab and Ierusalem and Carthage and Corinth and No and Sydon they are all aequall'd to the ground and their honour lyeth in the dust Tyre her selfe that crowning Citie is now but onely a hauen vnder the Turks Her own