seeme to haue seene all done with all the world but yet the other Hemisphere that of America is as big as it though but by occasion of new and late discoueries we had had nothing to say of America So the first part of our Text will bee as that first Hemisphere all which the ancient Expositors found occasion to note out of these words will be in that but by the new discoueries of some humors of men and rumors of men we shall haue occasion to say somewhat of a second part to The parts are first the Literall the Historicall sense of the words And then an emergent a collaterall an occasionall sense of them The explication of the wordes and the Application Quid tunc Quid nunc How the words were spoken then How they may be applied now will be our two parts And in passing through our first wee shall make these steps First God can and sometimes doth effect his purposes by himselfe intirely immediatly extraordinarily miraculously by himselfe But yet in a second place we shall see by this story That he lookes for assistance for concurrence of second causes and subordinate meanes And that therefore God in this Song of Deborah hath prouided an honourable commemoration of them who did assist his cause for the Princes haue their place The Princes of Issachar were Verse 15. with her And then the Gouernours The great Persons the great Officers of the State haue their place in this honour That they offered themselues willingly to that Verse 9. seruice And after them the Merchants Verse 10. for those who are said there to ride vpon white Asses to be well mounted according to the manner of those Nations are by Peter Martyr amongst our Expositors and by Serarius the Iesuite amongst the others fitly vnderstood to be intended of Merchants And in the same verse the Iudges are honorably remembred Those that sit in Iudgement And a farre vnlikelier sort of people then any of these in the same verse too Those that walked by the way Idle and discoursing men that were not much affected how businesse went so they might talke of them And lastly the whole people in generall Verse 2. how poore soeuer they haue euidence from this record That they offered themselues and what will they denie that offer themselues and willingly to this imploiment And then God hauing here afforded this honourable mention of them who did assist him he layes also a heauy note vpon such who for collaterall respects preuaricated or withdraw themselues from his seruice perticularly vpon Ruben who Verse 16. was diuided by greatnesse of heart And vpon Dan who remained in his ships And therefore Verse 17. to the encouragement of those who did assist him in any proportion though their assistance were no wayes competent against so potent an enemy God fought for himselfe too They fought from Heauen The starres in their order fought against Sisera And these will be the branches or circumstances of our first part for the particulars of the second we shall open them more commodiously for your memory and vse then when we come to handle them then now Now we proceed to those of the first part And into those I passe with this protestation Part 1. That in all which I shall say this day beeing to speake often of God in that Notion as he is Lord of Hostes and fights his owne battailes I am farre from giuing fire to them that desire warre Peace in this world is a pretious Earnest and a faire and louely Type of the euerlasting peace of the world to come And warre in this world is a shrewd and fearefull Embleme of the euerlasting discord and tumult and torment of the world to come And therefore our Blessed God blesse vs with this externall and this internall and make that lead vs to an eternall peace But I speake of this subiect especially to establish and settle them that suspect Gods power or Gods purpose to succour those who in forraine parts grone vnder heauie pressures in matter of Religion or to restore those who in forraine parts are deuested of their lawfull possessions and inheritance and because God hath not done these great workes yet nor yet raised vp meanes in apparance and in their apprehension likely to effect it That therefore God likes not the cause and therefore they begin to bee shaked in their owne Religion at home since they thinke that God neglects it abroad But beloued since God made all this world of nothing cannot hee recouer any one peece thereof or restore any one peece with a little In the Creation his production of specifique formes and seuerall Creatures in the seuerall dayes was much very much but not very much compared with that which he had done immediatly before when he made Heauen and Earth of nothing For for the particular Creatures God had then Praeiacentem Materiam he had stuffe before him enough to cut out Creatures of the largest sise his Elephants of the Earth his Whales and Leuiathans in the Sea In that matter there was Semen Creaturarum The Seed of all Creatures in that stuffe But for the stuffe it selfe the Heauen and Earth God had not Semen Coeli any such seed of Heauen as that he could say to it doe thou hatch a Heauen he had not any such Semen terrae as that hee could bid that grow vp into an Earth There was nothing at all and all that is was produced from that and then who shall doubt of his proceeding if by a little he will doe much He suffered his greater works to be paraleld or to be counterfeit by Pharaohs Magicians but in his least in the making of Lice hee brought them to confesse Digitum Dei the finger of God and that was enough The arme of God the hand of God needs not where he will worke his finger is enough It was not that imagination that dreame of the Rabbins that hindered the Magicians who say that the Deuill cannot make any Creature lesse then a Barley corne As it is with men they misconceiue it to be with the Deuill too harder to make a little clocke a little picture any thing in a little then in a larger forme That was no part of the reason in that case but since man ordinarily esteemes it so and ordinarily admires great workes in little forme why will he not be content to glorifie God that way in a faithfull confidence that hee can and will doe great workes by weake meanes Should God haue stayd to leuie and arme and traine and muster and present men enow to discomfit Sennacherib Hee tooke a neerer way he flew almost two hundreth thousand of them in one night by an Angell Should God haue Esa. 37.36 troubled an Angell to satisfie Elisha his seruant 2. Reg. 5.16 Onely by apparition in the cloudes he brought him to acknowledge that there were more with them then with the Enemy when there was none
A SERMON VPON THE XX. VERSE OF THE V. CHAPTER OF THE BOOKE OF IVDGES Wherein occasion was iustly taken for the Publication of some Reasons which his Sacred MAIESTIE had been pleased to giue of those Directions for Preachers which hee had formerly sent foorth Preached at the CROSSE the 15th of September 1622. By IOHN DONNE Doctor of Diuinitie and Deane of Saint PAVLS London And now by commandement of his Maiestie published as it was then preached LONDON Printed for Thomas Jones and are to bee sold at his Shop in the Strand at the blacke Rauen neere vnto Saint Clements Church 1622. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE GEORGE Marquesse of Buckingham High ADMIRALL of ENGLAND c. WHen I would speake to the KING by your LORDSHIPS Meanes I doo Now when I would speake to the Kingdome I would doe that by your Lordships Meanes too and therefore I am bolde to transferre this Sermon to the World through your Lordships hands and vnder your Name For the first part of the Sermon the Explication of the Text my Profession and my Conscience is Warrant enough that I haue spoken as the Holy Ghost intended For the second part the Application of the Text it will be warrant enough that I haue spoken as his Maiestie intended that your Lordship admits it to issue in your Name It is because Kings fauour the Church that the Prophet sayes they are her Foster-Fathers and then those persons who haue also interest in the fauour of Kings are her Foster-Brothers and such vse to loue well By that Title as by many other also your Lordshippe loues the Church as you are her Foster-Brother loued of him who loues her And by that Title you loue all them in the Church who endeauour to aduaunce both the vnitie of our Church in it selfe and the vnitie of the Church with the godly designes of our religious King To which Seruice I shall euer sacrifice all the labors of Your Lordships humblest and thankefullest Seruant in Christ Iesus IOHN DONNE IVDGES 5.20 De coelo dimicatum est contra eos stellae manentes in Ordine cursu suo aduersus Siseram pugnauerunt They fought from Heauen The stars in their courses fought against Sisera ALl the words of God are alwayes sweete in themselues sayes Dauid but sweeter in the mouth and in the pen of some of the Prophets and some of the Apostles then of others as they differed in their naturall gifts or in their education but sweetest of all where the Holy Ghost hath beene pleased to set the word of God to Musique and to conuay it into a Song and this Text is of that kind part of the Song which Deborah Barak sung after their great victory vpon Sisera Sisera who was Iabin the King of Canaans Generall against Israel God himselfe made Moses a Song and expressed his reason Deut. 31.19 why The children of Israel sayes God will forget my Law but this song they will not forget and whensoeuer they sing this song this song shall testifie against them what I haue done for them how they haue forsaken me And to such a purpose hath God left this Song of Deborah and Barak in the Scriptures that all Murmurers and all that stray into a diffidence of Gods power or of his purpose to sustaine his owne cause and destroy his owne Enemies might run and read might read and sing the wonderfull deliuerances that God hath giuen to his people by weake and vnexpected meanes This world begun with a Song if the Chalde Paraphrasts vpon Salomons Song of Songs haue taken a true tradition That assoone as Adams sinne was forgiuen him he expressed as he cals it in that Song Sabbatum suum his Sabboth his peace of conscience in a Song of which we haue the entrance in that Paraphrase This world begun so and so did the next world too if wee count the beginning of that as it is a good computation to doe so from the comming of Christ Iesus for that was expressed on Earth in diuers Songs in the blessed Virgins Magnificat My soule doth magnifie the Lord In Zacharies Benedictus Blessed be the Lord God of Israel and in Simeons Nunc dimittis Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace This world began so and the other and when both shall ioyne and make vp one world without end it shall continue so in heauen in that Song of the Lamb Great and marueilous Apoc. 3. are thy workes Lord God Almighty iust and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints And to Tune vs to Compose and giue vs a Harmonie and Concord of affections in all perturbations and passions and discords in the passages of this life if we had no more of the same Musique in the Scriptures as we haue the Song of Moses at the Red Sea and many Psalmes of Dauid to the same purpose this Song of Deborah were enough abundantly enough to slumber any storme to becalme any tempest to rectifie any scruple of Gods slacknesse in the defence of his cause when in the History and occasion of this Song expressed in the Chapter before this we see That Israel had done euill in the sight of the Lord againe and yet againe God came to them That God himselfe had sold Israel into the hands of Iabin King of Canaan and yet he repented the bargaine and came to them That in twenty yeeres oppression he came not and yet he came That when Sisera came against them with nine hundred Chariots of Iron and all preparations proportionable to that and God cald vp a woman a Prophetesse a Deborah against him because Deborah had a zeale to the cause and consequently an enmity to the enemie God would effect his purpose by so weake an instrument by a woman but by a woman which had no such interest nor zeale to the cause by Jael And in Iaels hand by such an instrument as with that scarce any man could doe it if it were to be done againe with a hammer she driues a nayle through his temples and nayles him to the ground as he lay sleeping in her tent And then the end of all was the end of all not one man of his army left aliue O my Soule why art thou so sad why art thou so disquieted within me Sing vnto the Lord an old song the song of Deborah and Barak That God by weake meanes doth mighty workes That all Gods creatures fight in his behalfe They fought from heaven the starres in their Order fought against Sisera You shal haue but two parts out of these Diuision words And to make these two parts I consider the Text as the two Hemispheres of the world laid open in a flat in a plaine Map All those parts of the world which the Ancients haue vsed to consider are in one of those Hemispheres All Europe is in that and in that is all Asia and Afrike too So that when we haue seene that Hemisphere done with that we might
Gods cause and doe not thinke that they haue done all or done enough if they haue done something some one time The Morall man hath said well and well applied it Plutar. A Ship is a Ship for euer if you repaire it So sayes hee Honour is Honour and so say wee A good Conscience is a good Conscience for euer if you repaire it But sayes he well Aliquid famae addendum ne putrescat Honour will putrifie and so will a good Conscience too if it be not repaired He that hath done Nothing must begin and hee that hath done something for Gods cause must doe more if hee will continue his name in the Booke of Life though God leaue no one particular action done for his glorie without glorie as those who assisted his glorie heere haue a glorious Commemoration in this Song In the fifteenth verse Princes haue their place The Princes of Issachar were with Deborah when the King goes to the field Many who are in other cases Priuiledged are by their Tenures bound to goe It is a high Tenure to hold by a Crowne And when God of whome and whome onely they hold that hold so goes into the field it becomes them to goe with him But as God sits in Heauen and yet goes into the field so they of whome God hath said Yee are Gods the Kings of the Earth may stay at home and yet goe too They goe in their assistance to the Warre They goe in their Mediation for Peace They goe in their Example when from their sweetnesse and moderation in their Gouernement at home their flowes out an instruction a perswasion to Princes abroad Kings goe many times and are not thanked because their wayes are not seene and Christ himselfe would not alwayes bee seene In the eight of Iohn he would not be seene When they tooke vp stones to stone him he withdrew himselfe inuisibly hee would not be seene When Princes find that open actions exasperate they doe best if they be not seene In the sixth of Iohn Christ would not bee seene When they would haue put vpon him that which was not fit for him to take when they would haue made him King he withdrew himselfe and was not seene When Princes are tempted to take Territories or possessions in to their hands to which other Princes haue iust pretences they doe best if they withdrawe themselues from engagements in vnnecessarie Warres for that that onely was Iofiahs 2. Reg. 23.29 ruine Kings cannot alwayes goe in the sight of Men and so they lose their thankes but they cannot goe out of the sight of God and there they neuer lose their reward For the Lord that sees them in secret shall reward them openly with peace in their owne States and Honour in their owne Chronicles as here for assisting his cause hee gaue the Princes of Issachar a roome a straine in Deborah and Barakes Song And in the ninth verse the Gouernors the great Officers haue their place in this praise My heart is towards the Gouernors of Israel that offered themselues willingly It is not themselues in person Great Officers cannot doe so They are Intelligences that moue great Spheares but they must not bee mou'd out of them But their glorie here is their willingnesse That before they were inquired into how they carried themselues in their Offices before they were intimidated or soupled with fines and ransomes voluntarily they assisted the cause of God Some in the Romane Church write that the Cardinalls of that Church are so incorporated into the Pope so much of his body and so bloud of his bloud that in a feuer they may not let bloud without his leaue Truly the great Persons and Gouernors in any state are so noble and neere parts of the King as that they may not bleed out in any subuentions and assistances of such causes vnder-hand as are not auowd by the King for it is not euident that that cause is Gods cause at least not euident that that way is an assistance of Gods cause But a good and tractable and ductile disposition in all courses which shall lawfully bee declared to bee for Gods glorie then not Contra but Praeter not against but besides not in opposing but in preuenting the Kings will before hee vrge before he presse to be willing and forward in such assistances this giues great Persons Gouernors and Officers a verse in Baraks and Deborahs Song and Deborah and Baraks Song is the Word of God The Merchants haue their place in that verse too For as wee said before those who ride vpon white Asses which was as honorable a transportation as Coaches are now are by Peter Martyr amongst ours and by Serarius the Jesuit amongst others well vnderstood to be the Merchants The greatnesse and the dignitie of the Merchan of the East is sufficiently expressed in those of Babylon Thy Merchants were the great Men of the Earth And for the Merchants of the Apoc. 18.23 West we know that in diuers forraine parts their Nobilitie is in their Merchants their Merchants are their Gentlemen And certainly no place of the world for Commodities and Situation better disposed then this Kingdome to make Merchants great You cannot shew your greatnesse more then in seruing God with part of it you did serue before you were free but here you do both at once for his seruice is perfect freedome I am not here to day to beg a Beneuolence for any particular cause on foot now there is none but my Errand in this first part is first to remoue iealousies and suspitions of Gods neglecting his businesse because he does it not at our appointment and then to promoue and aduance a disposition to assist his cause and his glory in all wayes which shall bee declar'd to conduce thereunto whether in his body by relieuing the poore or in his house by repairing these walls or in his honour in employments more publique And to assure you that you cannot haue a better debter a better pay-master then Christ Iesus for all your Entayles and all your perpetuities doe notso nayle so hoope in so riuet an estate in your posteritie as to make the Sonne of God your Sonne too and to giue Christ Iesus a Childes part with the rest of your Children It is noted perchaunce but out of leuity that your Children doc not keepe that which you get It is but a calumny or but a fascination of ill wishers We haue many happy instances to the contrarie many noble families deriued from you One enough to enoble a World Queene ELIZABETH was the great granchild of a Lord Maior of London Our blessed God blesse all your Estates and blesse your posteritie in a blessed enioying therof But truly it is a good way to that amongst all your purchases to purchase a place in Barak and Deborahs Song a testimonie of the Holy Ghost that you were forward in all due times in the assistance of Gods cause That testimonie in this Seruice