Bullock that hath horns and hoofes For first of all by this worshipping of God his goodnesse clemency mercy and omnipotencie is set forth Furthermore men are stirred vppe to fayth and inuocation of God in all aduersities These are the holy and acceptable thinges which please God and by the which wée ought to declare a thankefull minde for those benifites that wée haue receyued And if any man require examples of this matter we haue Moses Debora Anna the mother of Samuell Dauid Ezechias Zacharias the father of Iohn the Baptist Symeon and Marie the mother of Christ for examples Wherefore it is our partes and duties to knowe and learne such Psalmes and by these wée being admonished of the diuine miracles maye conceyue a firme and vndoubted hope in aduersitie and may stirre vp the holy ghost by the which we are made apt to call vppon God and so wée shall be in déede deliuered in aduersitie For euerye man which calleth vpon the name of God shall be saued But to returne to our Psalme which IONAS made and committed to the Church to be song wée must know that it comprehendeth seauen verses The first verse is I cryed in my trouble vnto the Lorde and he hearde mée This verse comprehendeth in it selfe the argument and summe of the whole Psalme namely that IONAS was ouerwhelmed with great sorrowes and griefe of the mynde But when he called vppon the Lorde by fayth hée was wonderfully and miraculously deliuered 1 First of all therefore when he turneth himselfe aright vnto the Lord not to any of the Patriarches which were deade he teacheth vs that wée ought not in our troubles to turne vs eyther by vowes or prayers vnto deade Saincts but onely to God the father of our Lorde Iesus Christ and that in the name of Christ and for Christ his sake séeing that we haue a manifest promise Whatsoeuer ye aske of the father in my name he will giue it you 2 Furthermore it teacheth vs what time is most apt to offer our prayers and supplications vnto god Ignoraunt and vnlearned men iudge and estéeme that that time is fitte and méete to praye vnto God when eyther they rise in the morning or go to bedde at night or else when they leade a happie and prosperous lyfe and truly we ought not to pretermit prayer at these times and seasons But when as great and grieuous afflictions do arise and daungerous perilles approche men thinke then that it is hye time and more fitte to blaspheme to curse and to rage agaynst God and men than to praye vnto god But the Prophet when he sayth in my trouble I cryed vnto the Lorde and from the bellie of hell I cried he plainelye declareth that then the time is most cōuenient to praye vnto God when great perils are at hand and we compassed round about with present death as testifieth the Prophet Dauid saying The Lorde is nigh vnto them that are of a broken hart and he will saue such as are of an humble spirit And agayne Call vpon me in the daye of trouble and I will deliuer thée and thou shalt glorifie me Also it is written I am with him in trouble I will deliuer him and glorifie him 3 Thirdly the Prophete teacheth vs by his owne example in all our trouble to looke for certaine helpe and deliuerance if we repent and cal vpon God by true faith For the Prophete fell into this daunger not for his owne righteousnesse obedience of Gods calling but for vnrighteousnesse and disobedience by the which hée fled the calling of God yet neuerthelesse when in the middest of daungers hée acknowledged his sinne and conuerted him selfe by fayth and prayer vnto the Lorde he was hearde saued and miraculouslye deliuered Externall saluation and deliuerance is not alwaies wont to happen to euery one in extréeme perils and daunger Yet notwithstanding it is most certaine and sure that if a sinner euen in the midst of his trouble and aduersitie repent and conuert vnto the Lorde he shall alwayes obtayne true and eternall saluation although he shoulde perishe with corporall death Wherevpon the Psalmist sayth Approche vnto the Lorde and be lightned and ye shall not be ashamed This poore man IONAS cried and the Lorde heard him And Christ himselfe sayth I am the resurrection and the lyfe he that beléeueth in me though he were deade yet shall he liue Wherefore let not our sinnes dismay or discourage vs from calling vppon God in our trouble and aduersitie but rather let them be a meane to stirre vs vp to repentance that we may call vpon God by fayth and looke certainly at his hands for the promised saluation ¶ Thou haddest cast me down in the middest of the sea and the floude compassed me about yea all thy waues and rowles of water went ouer me I thought that I had bene cast awaye out of thy sight But I will yet agayne looke towarde thy holy temple The waters compassed mee euen to the verie soule the deepe laye about mee and the weedes were wrapt about my head I went downe to the bottome of the hilles and was barred in wyth earth for euer In the first verse of this Psalme the whole state and summe of the Psalme is conteined as we haue shewed before And now the other seauen verses followe in the which that which was briefly comprised in the first verse is plentifully expounded And first of all the Prophet rehearseth and expoundeth the tribulations afflictions and sorrowes which he suffered the which no man can sufficiētly vnderstand vnles he himself at some time féele in dede the lyke Thou hadst cast me sayth hée down in the middest of the sea We know that the Prophete was caste of the Mariners into the sea and receyued of the Whale Beholde therfore and sée how copiouslye he doth expounde and dilate thys thing Thou hast cast me not simply in the sea but in the déepe of the sea in the hart of the sea in the middest of the sea that the water might compasse me about on euery side yea that all thy waues and rowles of water might go ouer me For I did not only swimme vpon the superficiall part of the sea but also when I was receyued into the Whales bellie the waters did so compasse me that they entred euen into my soule that is I was euen ready to bée choked For I was in the déepe of the sea and when the heade of the Whale in the which I laye was wrapped about with wéedes and sedge I séemed also to be tangled and tyed in the same insomuch that I looked for no waye to escape Neyther was I caried simplye by the sea shore but of necessitie I was constreyned to beare the Whale companie euen to the stéepe and déepe valleyes of the mountaynes in the sea where I thought my selfe to bée barred in for euer To be short bicause I was in the Whales bellie I was so subiect to the sea that I
their workes Thys scripture is not to be vnderstoode of works which are done without repentaunce but of the workes of true repentaunce whervpon it followeth in this place howe euery man turned from his wicked way This is the preaching and shewing forth of true repentaunce For God in asswaging his wrath and in forgiuing sinnes hath first of al respect vnto his only begotten sonne which hath satisfied for sinne then he hath respect vnto them in whome he hath found his sonne by faith When as therfore they which beléeue in Christ testifie the acknowledging of their sinnes by fasting and sackcloth and declare their fayth also by the amendement of their lyues and by imbracing of vertue then is God sayde to haue respect vnto their workes not that workes of themselues are so meritorious that for them God will turne awaye his wrath but bicause works are arguments and certaine signes of the fayth which we haue in Christ Iesus whome God onely regardeth and for whose merites alone he is pacified and forgiueth sinnes This now must be applied to the Niniuets For the Niniuets were sinners for their sinnes they deserued to haue their Citie destroyed But at the preaching of IONAS they are terrified and made beleue as is aforesayd But what did they beléeue 1 First they beleued that God was angerie wyth them for their sinnes and that the worde which was preached vnto them as concerning the destruction of the Citie was true diuine 2 Then they beleued that God was mercifull for the promised séede of Abraham by the which fayth they fasted and put on sackcloth to declare the true acknowledging of their sinnes 3 Last of all they turned euerie one from their wicked wayes to godlynesse and vertue to testifie their fayth and obedience towardes the séede of Abraham God therefore respecteth their works not for their merits but for the séede of Abraham which was Christ whome they acknowledged by faith to be their only Sauiour redéemer And in this place we haue an excellent example of howe great efficacie and profite true repentance is Many men thinke and déeme that all thinges are done and come to passe by fatall destinie that is by a certaine necessitie and immutable order of thinges And therefore they count it vaine to séeke meanes to auoide daungers to come and to call vppon God to tourne away such daungers as are at hande And truely it is most certaine that God is immutable and without all shadowe of chaunge I am God sayth he and am not chaunged And the Prophet Dauid sayth They shall perishe but thou shalt endure But as touching perils and daungers at hand God doth so determine them to come to passe that if men doe repent he receyueth them into his fauour and forgiueth the punishment to come and if not the temporall yet at least the punishment which is eternall As the Lorde hymselfe testifieth by the mouth of the Prophet Hieremie saying If that people repent them of their wickednesse I also will repent me of the plague which I haue spoken Thys truely was spoken euen at the first of the destruction of Hierusalem to come of the which Esayas also prophecied long before By the which saying is signified that notwithstanding the purpose of God in hys threatninges if men doe repent them of their sinne the Lorde also will turne from his wrath forgiue The which thing the example of the Niniuets well prooueth By whose example also Hierusalem had remayned safe if so be the Citizens of Hierusalem had so repented at the preaching of Hieremy as the Niniuets did at the preaching of IONAS The like had happened to the Iewes if they had afterwarde repented at the preaching of Christ and his Apostles as Christ himselfe declareth saying Hierusalem Hierusalem how often would I haue gathered thée euen as the Hen gathereth hir Chickings vnder hir winges and ye woulde not And againe There shall no signe be giuen vnto them but the signe of IONAS in the Whales belly God truely is so delighted in repentaunce that if the wicked doe but repent him externally although he forgiue not his sinne remit not his eternall punishment yet notwithstanding he wil forgiue some part of his externe and temporall punishement in this worlde as testifieth the example of Achab the wickednesse of whose heart although it remayned still yet neuerthelesse when he humbled himselfe at the preaching of Elias and repented externally God was so delighted therwith that the punishment was deferred to the posteritie of Achab. Wherfore if any man desire to haue not onely the temporal punishment in this worlde for sinne but also the euerlasting punishmente in the worlde to come remitted Let him repent truely that is let hym acknowledge hys sinne let him beleue in Christ and let him shewe true obedience towardes god So God graunted a hundred twentie yeres space of repentaunce before the floud So that if they had repented at the preaching of Noe they had not onely escaped the punishment of the flood but also the punishment of Hell fyre So God gaue foure hundred yeres space of repentaunce to the Gentiles the Cananites so to Pharao so also in these dayes to vs in the which the Turke threateneth to vs Christians destruction I say he hath giuen vs space of repentaunce to the which he calleth vs by the preaching of his holy Gospell If therefore we repent vs truly that is if we faithfully and vnfeynedlye imbrace the Gospell and amend our liues publikelye and priuately generally and perticularly from the hyest to the lowest then we shall escape the punishment and tyrannie of the Turke Pope and all the enimies of god But for so much as the contempt of the Gospell is great and the wickednesse of lyfe also verye much as in drunkennesse deceyte whoredome swearing and in manye other vices it is to be feared that we shall not escape vnpunished Wherfore let vs all generally with one consent pray vnto God that he wil vouchsafe so to kindle our hartes with his holye spirite that we maye amende our liues and so be deliuered from all those plagues which are at hande The fourth Chapter THerefore IONAS was sore discontent and angry And he prayed vnto the Lorde and sayd O Lord was not this my saying I pray thee when I was yet in my countrie Therefore I hasted rather to flie vnto Tharsis For I knowe well ynough that thou art a mercifull God full of compassion long suffering and of great kindnesse and repentest when thou shouldest take punishment And nowe O Lorde I beseeche thee take my life from me for I had rather die than liue Then sayde the Lorde art thou so angrye And IONAS gat him out of the City and sate downe on the east side therof and there made him a booth and sate vnder it in the shadowe till he might see what should chaunce vnto the city HItherto we haue spoken of the repentance of the Niniuets and
vnto thée and will common wyth thée from of the mercie seate 3 Oftentimes he spake vnto the fathers â—y dreames as maye appeare by the examples of Nabuchadnezar Ioseph and such like 4 Oftentimes by the Ephod of the Priest which shone with precious stones the which stones as Iosephus sayeth when God aunswered the demaunde of the Priest by his Ephod excelled and surmounted their accustomed shyne and brightnesse but when God refused to answere the precious stones remayned in their woonted glorie nothing altered or chaunged That the Lorde did sometimes aunswere by Ephod it is apparaunt by the scriptures as by the thrée and twentie and eight and twentie Chapters of the first booke of Kings 5 Oftentimes he spake to the fathers by visions the whiche visions the holye ghost by secrete inspiration reuealed and interpreted 6 And oftentimes he spake vnto them without visions onely by the secret inspiration of the spirite But howsoeuer it pleased God to speake and talke with this our Prophete IONAS there is no mention made neyther is it greatly necessary to be knowne For it is sufficient to vs to knowe that God in déede spake with IONAS and that the calling of the Prophet to preache the worde of the Lorde was done in déede by the will of god And although there be many curious persons which thinke those times to be most happie in the which God by so many waies spake vnto the fathers and doe affirme that they would more willingly beléeue the worde of God if so bée it would please him to talke with them after that fashion Notwithstanding if wée well consider of the matter nowe that Christ is come and hath published hys Gospell throughout the whole worlde we must néedes confesse that the times are much more happie than they were in times past For God hath spoken with vs not by Aungell not by dreames or visions but by his owne sonne our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ who by his diuine maiestie excelleth all Aungels Wherevpon in the Epistle to the Hebrues it is written In these last dayes God hath spoken vnto vs by his sonne whome he hath appointed heyre of all things And Christ himselfe sayth Blessed are the eies which sée those things that ye sée And streyght after he addeth saying many haue desired to sée those things that ye sée and haue not séene them And the Apostle Paule sayth Nowe saluation is nearer vnto vs than it was then For séeing that the sonne of God is commended vnto vs by the voyce of God from heauen saying This is my beloued sonne heare him He is most happye which so heareth him by his Gospell that by fayth he comprehendeth the same obeyeth his calling For whosoeuer he be that beléeueth not thys sonne of God he will not beléeue though all the Aungels in heauen all the Patriarches all the Prophetes and fathers stoode before him to testifie of the worde of god Wherefore let vs not neglect the felicitie and happinesse of our time but let vs attende and giue eare to the voyce of the sonne of God whereby we maye obtayne euerlasting saluation Nowe it followeth to shewe to what thing the worde of the Lorde called IONAS Arise sayth he goe to that great Citie of Niniue and preache in it howe that their wickednesse is come vp before me As concerning the Citie of Niniue and who was the first builder of the same we maye reade in the tenth Chapiter of Genesis This citie was so inlarged that in bignesse it was comparable to Babilon which was fiftéene myles compasse according to the myles of Germanie Wherevpon it followeth in the text Niniue was a great Citie and of thrée dayes iourney And in the ende of this Prophesie it is said that in that citie there were an Cxx. thousande children Howe great then was the number of men women seruants maidens and straungers Wherfore Niniue was one of the greatest Cities in the whole worlde And at that time when IONAS was sent vnto it the mightiest Monarchie of the whole earth was in the same Moreouer circumcised Iewes dwelt not in it but vncircumcised Gentiles had their habitation there When as therefore it pleased God to sende the Prophete IONAS vnto it hée doth plainely declare himselfe to be no respecter of persons which shoulde fauor one nation and abhorre another and which should be only the God of the Iewes and not the God of the Gentiles also Wherefore God woulde not haue one nation or people but all men to be saued There is no difference sayth Paule betwéene the Iewe the Gentile for there is one Lord of all c. But this is not so to be vnderstoode as though God saueth all the Gentiles without difference although they abide in their impietie and be not conuerted vnto the Lorde but that he desireth to haue all men saued and reiecteth none that repent acknowledge the true god Wherevpon the Apostle Paule sayth not simply there is one Lorde of all riche towards all But he addeth to such as call vpon him For all simplye shall not be saued but all such as call vppon the Lorde Euery one sayeth he which calleth vpon the name of the Lorde shall be saued But how shall they call vppon him in whome they beléeue not therefore they which desire to be saued must of necessitie heare the worde of God beléeue the same and call vpon God through Iesus Christ For there is saluation in no other Wherevppon we maye gather that the Niniuets are not simply saued But a Prophete is sent vnto them to declare the worde of God that they might beléeue and repent Furthermore when the Lorde sayth preache vnto them bicause their wickednesse is come vp before me and so forth he plainly declared what affection he beareth towards those that are sinners For although he hateth sinne and iniquitie yet notwithstanding he desireth to haue all men saued if so be they repent Before the floud came the Lorde called men to repentance by Noe. Before the burning of Sodome the Lorde called the Sodomites to repentance by Loth. When the destruction of Hierusalem was at hand the Lorde called the Iewes to repentance by the Prophetes and afterwarde by Christ and the Apostles So in this place before Niniue shoulde be destroyed the Citizens are called to repentance by IONAS And bicause they repented they escaped punishment as hereafter shall be declared These things therfore are diligentlye to bée considered of vs bicause in these dayes God hath reuealed himselfe vnto vs by his worde and therefore calleth this Realme of Englande to repentaunce Wherefore first of all let vs consider and knowe that the wickednesse of Englande is ascended and come before the presence of God and that his iust wrath and punishment is at hande for the same For it is not at this time or of late that England hath begonne to sinne or to commit abhomination But it hath sinned and continued in the same
many yeares as in Idolatrie in abusing the name of God in adulterie in vsurie yea in all kinde of wickednesse The which are so growne so increased and so ripe that they ascende into heauen before the maiesty seate of god Wherfore there is nothing more certaine than that England hath deserued extreme punishment and perdition Furthermore let vs vnderstand and know that séeing the worde of God is reuealed and preached so fréelye vnto vs there is some hope left vnto vs of saluation For except the Lorde sought to saue this Realme of Englande he woulde not haue sent IONAS I meane the preachers of his worde vnto the same Séeing therefore he hath reuealed his will by IONAS and his whole intent we haue a manifest argument of his clemencie and loue towardes vs Wherefore if we will escape the punishment threatned we must fall to repentance the vse wherof hereafter God willing more plainely shall be declared But and if we be contemners of the worde of God and impenitent let vs looke vndoubtedly for destruction and euerlasting perdition Wherevpon our sauiour Christ sayth This is condemnation that light came into the worlde and men loued darkenesse more than light ¶ And Ionas made him readie to flie vnto Tharsis from the face of the Lorde IONAS flieth to Tharsis from the presence of the Lorde which some interprete to be the sea other thinke it to be the proper name of a Citie which men call now Tunetum sometime Carthage Here therefore twoo thinges are to bée considered the one is the disobedience of IONAS and his flight from the presence of the Lorde The other is the cause why he fled and was disobedient to the calling of God. First let me here demaund a question What meaneth the Scripture when it sayth that IONAS fled from the presence of the Lorde Howe coulde IONAS flie from the presence of God when as his maiestie fulfilleth both heauen and earth and all places else Whither shall I goe sayth the Psalmist from thy spirite or where shall I hyde me from thy presence if I climbe vp into heauen thou art there if I go downe to hel thou art there also and so forth And the Prophete Amos sayth They shall not flie awaye there shall not one of them escape nor be deliuered Though they were buried in the hell my hande shall fetch them from thence though they climbe vp to heauen yet shal I cast them downe though they hyde themselues vppon the toppe of Carmell yet shall I séeke them out though they créepe down from my sight into the déepe of the sea I shall commaunde the serpent euen there to bite them Let vs therefore note that if mention be made here of the eternall and omnipotent maiestie of God then there is none that can flie from hys hand or presence The which thing the example of IONAS proueth very well For here he flieth from the hande and presence of the Lorde taketh shippe and goeth about to passe into a straunge countrie yet notwithstanding he could not escape from the presence of the Lorde God sawe his flyght yea God sawe his secret councell purpose and intent And he so stayeth him wyth his mighty arme in the sea that the more he séeketh to escape the more straightly he is helde with the hande and power of God and is cast into extréeme peril and daunger which he sought to auoyde Wherefore méere foolishe and vaine is their purpose which thinke by their deuise and pollicie to escape from the power and presence of god But where as the scripture sayeth that IONAS fled from the presence of the Lorde it signifieth that he fled out of the lande of Israell in the which God is sayde aboue all other nations to dwell First bicause in that lande was the chiefe place of the Churche of God and the Arke of the testament by the which it pleased God oftentimes to aunswere Secondly bicause God had appointed in that lande the publike ministerie of the preaching of his worde and was wont to reueale himselfe to the Prophets and to worke miracles to confirme his promises as concerning Christ Last of all bicause in that lande the stocke of Christe dwelt which is the true face and liuelye presence of God bicause whosoeuer séeth Christ séeth the true and euerlasting god By this we may learne that then a man is sayde to flye from the presence of God or to hyde him from his sight when he flyeth those places in the which the worde of God is preached or when hée shunneth those men which preache the worde of god So Caine is sayde to go forth and to flie from the presence of God bicause he fled from his father Adam and dwelt farre from him least he shoulde be reprehended of his father by the worde of god So disobedient seruants and sonnes flie from the face of God when they flie from their parents and maisters least for their disobedience they shoulde be reprehended by the worde of the Lorde and punished So the wicked and vngodlye flie from the face of God when they despise the preaching of the word of God fearing least by the same they should be reprehended from their sinne wickednesse Wherefore although no man as touching the omnipotencie of God can flie from his maiestie power and presence yet notwithstanding as touching the externall preaching of the worde of God those flie hys presence which doe despise his word neglect his sacraments continue in disobedience towardes him and go forwarde in a wicked lyfe What shall we saye then Can such as flie the presence of God escape God hymselfe and his punishment which they so feare No vndoubtedly For the more they flie the worde and sacraments of God the more they fall into his hande and incurre his wrath prouoking iust vengeance vppon themselues Caine fled from the presence of the Lorde but the more he fledde the more hée was tormented with horror of minde IONAS fled from the presence of the Lorde but the farther he fled the more subiect he was to perill and daunger Wherefore we must not flie from God in sinne and in the feare of punishment but rather we must approche vnto God by repentance and inuocation by the which meanes alone we escape the wrath of God and the deserued punishment for sinne But of this we will speake more plentifully anone Secondlye it is demaunded for what purpose and intent IONAS fledde out of the lande of Israell and woulde not obey the calling of God sending him to Niniue Of sundrie men sundrie and diuers causes are declared and alleaged Some saye that IONAS was afearde of the daunger that might come vnto him at Niniue for his ambassage sake For to preach that a citie should sodenly be ouerthrowne and destroyed in the Citie it selfe is inough to stirre vp against a man all the Citizens inhabitants of the same and to make himselfe to be accused of sedition Other some thinke that
stoode warmyng hymself at the fire voyde of care as though he had done no euill To be short there are infinit examples by the which we may note that sinne is of that qualitie and nature that in the beginning it hydeth from man the grieuousnesse of the wrath of God and bringeth him to securitie But thys nature of sinne and the qualitie of the sinner are not only to be knowne but also a remedy for the same ought to bée sought for of vs Securitie after the sinne committed is a grieuous disease and a great impietie bicause it bringeth the contempt of god the neglecting also of the knowledge of his wrath and punishmentes which are the rewardes of sinne and kéepeth also man in hardnesse of heart and impenitencye This trulye is euen to bring man to extréeme destruction Wherefore thys disease is expressed and set forth not onely that it maye be knowne but also that wée may be stirred vppe to séeke a remedie for the same bicause the neglecting thereof bringeth eternall and euerlasting death What ought then to be done that wée may haue remedye agaynst this securitie a disease of al other most pernicious First we must take héede of all sinne and disobedience bicause as we sayde before disobedience bringeth with it that foule disease securitie Then if thou be preuented with sinne and hast committed the same sée thou deferre not the time of repentance but out of hand with all expedition bewayle thy crime For god is not woont to punish the sinner immediatly or so soone as the déede is committed but deferreth the punishment not that he doth allowe sinne but that he looketh for the repentance of the sinner If therfore thou repent in time thou shalt escape the punishment of God. But and if thou persist and go forward in sinne then shall thy punishment be the greater If we did iudge of our selues we should not be iudged of the lord That is if we after wée had sinned agaynst the Lorde would by and by repent vs of our sinne we shoulde not bée punished at the handes of god If IONAS had repented him of his disobedience before he entred into the shippe then had he not bene brought into such extréeme perill of shipwracke as he was If that people sayeth the Lorde against whome I haue deuised a plague conuert from their wickednesse I repent of the plague that I deuised to bring vppon them Wherefore least by securitie after sinne committed thou be cast into perpetuall destruction repent without delay and turne with expedition to the Lorde and mercifull God. ¶ But the Lord hurled a great winde into the sea and there was a mightie tempest in the sea so that the shippe was in daunger of going in peeces IONAS imagined that the Lorde had forgotten his disobedience and was a sleepe But as he neyther slumbereth nor sléepeth which kéepeth Israell that is the godly and obedient so he slepeth not which punisheth Esau that is all impenitent sinners The Lorde therefore stirred vp a great tempest in the sea insomuch that they which were in the shippe dispayred and were without all hope of life 1 First here is to be noted that tempests eyther vppon the sea or vppon the lande come not by chaunce but by the wyll of God the aucthor of the same For the texte sayth here the Lord sent a mightie winde Wherefore we may not thynke that enchaunters sorcerers or coniurers can at their will and pleasure stirre vp tempests For except the Lorde permit suffer not one heare of the heade shall shake or bée moued The Lorde therefore is to be feared and not enchaunters Yet notwithstanding such pernicious and wicked persons were wont to be punished by publike lawes bicause so much as in them lyeth they go aboute vndoubtedly to hurt men when as notwithstanding they are able to doe nothing without the sufferance of the Lorde 2 Here thou mayest sée Christian reader how wicked a thing it is not to obey the calling of god IONAS is disobedient And he is not only punished but also those which are wyth him in the shippe are cast for his sake into extréeme perill of their liues Such an example is Adam whych drewe wyth him by his disobedience all mankinde into continuall bondage and slauery of Sathan This therefore is declared vnto vs first that wée may learne to acknowledge the heynous weyght of sinne and to beware of the same least that we thereby bring our selues our friendes and neyghbours into destruction Then that we take héede of the fellowship and company of wicked men Wicked and disobedient men are blasphemers drunkardes fornicators backbyters and such lyke whose company and fellowship we ought to auoyde knowing that there is no felicitie in their familiaritie And let vs ioyne our selues with godly and vertuous men that wyth them our estate may be happy and prosperous For godly and obedient Paules sake all those that were in the shippe were preserued 3 Consider the foolishnesse of disobedient persons IONAS thought that he coulde escape the punishment of God in the sea but thereby he casteth himselfe into great daunger For there are no greater externall daungers than vpon the sea As testifieth the Psalmist saying They that goe downe to the sea in shippes and occupie their businesse in great waters these men sée the workes of the Lorde and his wonders in the déepe They are caryed vp to heauen and downe agayne to the déepe their soule melteth awaye bicause of their trouble Therefore IONAS by that meanes commeth into great daunger by the which hée thought to escape the same This ought diligently to be obserued and noted of vs that we may learne to shewe vnto God true obedience For looke what God commaundeth vnto man the same he must doe or else perish and not escape It was commaunded vnto IONAS that he should preache destruction vnto the Citie of Niniue IONAS therefore was constreyned either to do the commaundement of god or else to perish Here there is no meane But this must be transferred to euery calling of God and to all his commaundements God hath commaunded vs not to abuse his holy name not to commit adulterie and so forth Here now we must of necessitie obey or perishe Neyther can we escape destruction if we doe not obey although we fortifie and arme our selues neuer so much with humaine power For as IONAS by fléeing in the sea escaped not punishment but cast himselfe into the same so blasphemers adulterers vsurers and such lyke in thys are subiect to punishment that they thinke and perswade themselues to be frée and safe from the same Wherefore there is no other way left to escape daunger and punishement but the way of obedience or repentaunce ¶ Then the Mariners were afrayed and cried euerye man to his God and the goodes that were in the shippe they cast into the sea to lighten it of them But IONAS gat him vnder the hatches where hee
vs Wherefore let vs paciently receyue his punishment and repent vs of oure sinnes Furthermore although the Mariners went about to bring the shippe vnto land least they should cast him into the sea whom they iudged innocent yet notwithstanding the more they striued agaynst the streame the greater was the tempest neither did the vnlading of the ship help them any thing at all By this example we are taught that the daungers which are sent of God are not auoyded by mans pollicie and witte but onely by obedience which is due to god It was humane pollicie to vnlade and lighten the ship it was humane pollicie to bring the ship to shore but those deuises profited nothing Onely obedience would haue profited For God layde the punishment vpon IONAS and appointed the Mariners to be executours of the same This office this obedience was fulfilled of the Mariners Wherfore they sought not to auoyde the perill and daunger before they left theyr owne deuises and obeyed the councell and motion of god in casting IONAS into the Sea. The which councell and will of God was reuealed as well by lot as by the confession of IONAS himselfe This example in these difficult and daungerous tymes is to be considered speciallye of Magistrates parents and Maisters of housholdes For God hath euen nowe begonne to punishe vs and to afflict vs for our sinnes and reuealeth his wrath by diuers stormie and boysterous tempestes For at this present he afflicteth vs with warre with penurie with pestilence with ciuill contention and greater plagues no doubt than these hang ouer our heades and are at hande And what doe we to auoyde or eschew this iust vengeance of God Surely according to our accustomed and naturall woont wée followe our owne deuices we trust vnto them we make fleshe our arme Agaynst the forreyne enimie we fortifie and arme our selues But what doth that profite vs against the wrath of God To auoyde the plague or pestilence so called we take preparatiues diuers medicines but what can they preuayle agaynst the wrath of God Yet notwithstanding I say not that the vse of such ordinarie meanes are to be forsaken But if we will preuayle and haue good successe we must cloth our selues with repentaunce wée must exercise our selues with obedience and wée must arme our selues with fayth God commaundeth the Magistrate to punishe the fault and offence of the common people euen as he required the Mariners to cast IONAS into the sea Except therefore this commaundement be obeyed in punishing the enimies of God I meane the Papistes the blasphemer the drunkarde the fornicator the vsurer and such lyke the wrath and punishment of God cannot haue an ende The wrath of God fell vpon the children of Israell for whoredome but after that Phinees began to punishe the same the wrath of God was appeased The lyke example we haue of Achan and such like But we must take an ensample of these Mariners and consider with howe great feare of God Magistrates ought to punish the wicked For they tooke not in hande to cast IONAS into the sea before they had made theyr prayers vnto God saying we beséech thée O Lorde suffer vs not to perish This example all Magistrates ought to followe in punishing malefactors and wicked offendors For to punish wickednesse and to put the malefactors to death is a worke onely pertayning to the diuine power of god For in the lawe it is sayde thou shalt not kill This lawe is naturall pertayning generally to all men Wherevpon before the floud when as Magistrates were not ordeyned it was not lawfull for any man though he were a murtherer to be put to death Caine and as some thinke Lamech were murtherers yet they were not put to death But after the floud the office of a Magistrate was ordeyned to the which God gaue power and authoritie to put malefactors to death according to lawe All Magistrates therefore ought to execute their office with the feare of god least they punishe the innocent for the offender The second Chapter BVT the LORDE prepared a great Fishe to swallowe vppe IONAS THis sentence comprehendeth few wordes but if we cōsider and marke them well they bring vnto vs great comfort and consolation in al aduersities and troubles For wheras the Text sayth not simplie that IONAS was cast into the sea and deuoured of the fish but that the Lord prepared a fishe which swalowed vp IONAS it manifestlye declareth that the clemencie and prouidence of the Lorde is so great in preseruing his people and defending his Church that he will suffer no hurt or harme to happen vnto them vnlesse he haue appoynted and prouided a meane and waye before by the which hée may preserue and deliuer them the which thing both the examples and promises of scripture doe testifie Among examples let this which we haue here of IONAS be the first For although the Lorde was angrye with IONAS for his disobedience yet notwithstanding bicause he acknowledgeth him not onely for a member of his Church but also for a Prophete beloued of him he prepareth for him a lodging or guest Chamber in the sea before he was cast into the same For he woulde neuer haue suffered the Mariners to cast IONAS into the sea vnlesse he had foreséene and prouided first a meane by the which hée might preserue him in the sea and deliuer him againe Another example we haue in the Israelites who were oppressed many yeares vnder the cruell tyrannie of Pharao in Aegypt and yet notwithstanding they were the people or Church of god But vnlesse God had foresene and prouided a way by the which he might deliuer them from so cruell tyranny he would neuer haue suffred them to haue come into Aegypt and to haue béene there afflicted For that he had prouided such a meane before his people went into Aegypt and were there afflicted it is euident by the fiftene of Genesis where it is fayde vnto Abraham Thy séede shall be a straunger in a lande that apperteyneth not vnto them And shall serue them and they shall intreate them euill foure hundred yeares But afterward they shall come out with great substaunce Here we may sée that God had appoynted a meane to deliuer them out of affliction before they were afflicted An other example we haue in the Citizens of Hierusalem For it was appointed that within a hundred yeares or there aboutes after the death of Ezechias Hierusalem should be destroyed of the Babilonians the Citizens caried into captiuity But before this thing came to passe the lord prepared Cyrus to be their deliuerer of whom Esay prophecied the said Cyrus being yet vnborne and promised deliuerance to his church before affliction came For of so great prise is the Church or Congregation of the Lorde vnto him that he winketh not at the aduersaries but punisheth them in the ende and deliuereth his Church from all trouble and vexation And therefore also the Prophete Ieremie
séemeth more easie than to call vppon the name of the lord For what worke can be more sleight and easie than the tongue to speake and saye Our father which art in heauen c. Yea the children and Infantes can vtter these wordes But childishe inuocation is one and true and earnest inuocation is another The one is most easie the other is most harde I remember a certaine Father sayde there is nothing more harde than to praye and inuocate the name of god For it is an easie matter to recite the words of prayer But to pray and call truly vpon the name of God is a great worke and painefull labour For no man can call truly vpon God except he bée first of all in the fauour of God and reconciled vnto him For how shouldest thou call vppon or praye vnto him whome thou hatest and knowest to be thine enimie For thou canst not be in Gods fauour and reconciled vnto him vnlesse thou repent thée trulye of thy sinnes And in repenting aright we must first acknowledge our sinnes and wickednesse and auoyde them Then we must beleue that our sinnes are put away by Christ and forgiuen by the which faith there followeth a true obedience towards God in euery calling Here let vs consider how harde a thing it is to call vppon God aright in aduersitie For no man calleth truly vppon him but he which repenteth him of his sinnes flieth the same and beléeueth firmely that he hath frée remission in Christ and then giueth himselfe wholy to the obedience of god But what séemeth more difficult vnto mē than to hate sinne to flie the same and to follow the works of righteousnesse Let no man therfore think that he is called to an easie or light worke when hée is called to inuocation of God and prayer These things are set before vs not that we shoulde be terrified or discouraged from inuocation but that we should be stirred to earnest true and feruent prayer Our Prophet IONAS is set here for an ensample vnto vs For he is cast into the sea for his sinne bicause he fled from the presence of the Lorde and obeyed not his calling He sawe therfore in the bellye of the Whale the wrath of God to follow his disobedience What doth he therefore He beginneth to crie vnto the Lorde and to call vpon god But God is angrye He is therefore constrayned first of all to acknowledge hys sinne and to attribute vnto God the glorye of righteousnesse namely bicause God iustly punished him with so great and daungerous perils neither had he done vniustly if he had suffered him to haue perished euerlastinglye Hauing acknowledged his sinne he beléeued certainely that by the promised séede of Abraham which was Iesus Christ hée shoulde haue frée remission and pardon for the same Then in hart he promised obedience vnto God that he would euer afterwarde serue him and neuer runne away again as he had done before These things being done hée might boldlye come vnto God call vpon his name and looke for deliuerance out of the bellie of the Whale But some man will saye many call vppon God which notwithstanding are not deliuered from their corporall trouble Did not Christ himselfe call vppon God the father that the cup of his passion might passe awaye from him and yet notwithstanding Christ was not deliuered from the externall crosse Steuen called vpon Christ Iesus and yet notwithstanding he was stoned We must so thinke therefore of inuocation that although externall saluation happen not alwayes yet notwithstanding eternall saluation shall alwayes happen to the true caller vppon god So Christ was not deliuered from the externall crosse but yet he was deliuered from death it selfe and obteyned a name aboue all names So Steuen was not deliuered from the stoning but neuerthelesse he was deliuered from death and hell and when he saw Iesus Christ at the right hande of God he was receyued of him into the fellowship of his kingdome But how did IONAS behaue himselfe towardes God for the wonderfull benifite of his deliuerance Surely he offered vnto God the acceptable sacrifice of thankes giuing as appeareth by the texte I will doe vnto thée sacrifice with the voyce of thankesgiuing And before it is sayde they that holde of vaine vanities will forsake his mercie By the which words the Prophete maketh a difference betwéene the thankfulnesse of the godly and the thankesgiuinge of the wicked The wicked when they receyue anye benifite at the handes of God they referre it to their Idolles and to their hypocriticall worshippings and seruice The Ethnicke or heathen being deliuered from a Feuer or any other disease runneth straight way to Iupiter and for his health offereth to him the offring and sacrifice of thankesgiuing The hypocrite being deliuered from the paine of tooth ache goeth to Saint Appoline to whome for the ease receyued he offereth the sacrifice of thankesgiuinge The Monke being deliuered from the perill of waters maketh haste to S. Frauncis or to his Masse where he yéeldeth the sacrifice of thankesgiuing But what saith the Prophete here of such They that holde of vaine things sayth he will forsake the mercy of the Lorde That is they which followe vayne Idolles and hypocriticall worshippinges in offering thankes vnto God these forsake the mercy of the Lorde which he bestowed vpon them and make themselues vnworthie of the same But I sayth the Prophete will doe to thée sacrifice with the voyce of thankesgiuing and will perfourme that which I haue vowed for why saluation commeth of the Lorde That is I in offering the sacrifice of prayse and thankesgiuing will not do as the wicked and hypocrytes doe which worship God with abhominable Idols with vaine worshippings and fained inuentions But I will offer vnto thée my true God and sauiour the voyce of praise yea I will prayse thy name for euer and will set foorth the glorie of the same vnto all men I will preach and proclayme thy clemencie and mercie so long as I liue And I will pay my vowes that is I will doe those thinges which I ought to doe I will not deuise and inuent fayned sacrifices as the hypocrites doe but I will doe those dueties which God requireth at my handes to be done If it please God to send me againe vnto Niniue I will not murmure but with heart and minde I wyll séeke the performance of his will. This example therefore of the Prophete IONAS is set foorth vnto vs to the ende we might learne to offer the true sacrifice of thankesgiuing vnto God for those benifites which we receyue at his handes whether they pertayne to the bodie or to the minde that we may continually abyde in the fauour of the Lorde The thirde Chapter THen the worde of the Lorde came to IONAS againe saying vp and get thee to Niniue that great Citie and preache vnto them the preaching that I bade thee So IONAS arose and went to Niniue at the Lordes commaundement
his fayth whether hée bée king or subiect maister or seruaunt father or sonne according to the saying of saint Paule There is neyther Iewe nor Gentile neyther Barbarous nor Sythiā neyther bonde nor frée neyther man nor woman but all are one in Christ Iesu 3 Thirdly the king is not content to doe penaunce himselfe alone and to begin to leade a new and godly life but also he constituteth a puplike and generall ordinance in the Church that other men likewise might imbrace godlinesse For first of all he proclaymeth a generall fast not onely of men but also of beastes Sée sayth he that neyther man nor beast oxe or shéepe taste ought at all and that they neyther féede nor drinke water Then hée commaundeth them to put off their costly apparell and mourning wyse to array themselues in sacke Furthermore he commaundeth them to praye generallye saying and crie mightily vnto the lord Last of all he appoynteth a sermon or proclamation to be made of repentance saying Sée that euery man turne from his euill way and from the wickednesse he hath in hande Here we haue an excellent example of this godly king from whom al other kinges and princes may take examples of their calling There are manye which thinke that mundane or seculer princes as they terme them ought not to deale in matters Ecclesiasticall but onely in matters pollitique But this example and many other examples of Dauid Salomon of Iosophat of Iosias and likewise many sayinges of holy scripture doe testifie that princes ought specially to haue a care of matters Ecclesiasticall It is not required at their handes to preache but it is required at their handes to appoynt preachers and to sée that the woorde of God be preached sincerely For it is not ynough for Princes that they themselues are honest godly and vertuous but they ought to labour and to séeke by all meanes that their subiectes may also be honest godly and vertuous For as the good man of the house hath not done his duetie if he onely here sermons and leade a godly lyfe but must also séeke to traine vp his familye in true godlinesse and vertue euen so kings and princes haue not sufficiently discharged their duetie in directing their owne footesteps aright vnlesse they haue a farther regard to the pathes of their subiects But nowe let vs sée by the Text what things are here to be noted 1 First the king with his Citizens are clothed in sackcloth sit in the dust while they go about to repent them of their sinnes But what are those workes a satisfaction for sinne are sackcloth and ashes of such force before God that he respecteth them and for them turneth from hys wrath and punishment Nothing lesse truely For otherwise it were but vaine that God had promised his sonne from the beginning of the worlde to be the satisfaction for sinne and at the fulnesse of tyme to haue sent him to suffer death for sinne For he might then haue shewed vs sackcloth and ashes by the which our sinnes might haue béene done awaye But the matter is farre otherwise For the sinnes of the Niniuetes and our sinnes are farre greater than that they should be forgiuen of God by putting on of sackcloth or by sitting in the dust It was necessarie to the satisfying for sinne that the sonne of God should not put on sackcloth but that hée should suffer death that he should not sit in the dust but that he should hange on the Crosse What is ment then by the sackcloth and dust which the Niniuetes vsed They are not thinges able to pacifie the wrath of God but they are true signes of confession of sinnes and argumentes of contricion which is had for sinne In the King the throne was a signe of maiestie In the Citizens the hie and precious seats in the temple were signes of dignitie But nowe the king placeth not himselfe publiquely in his kingly throne but sitteth with his Citizens in the dust of the earth or in base and vncomely seates to the ende they might openly declare themselues for their sinnes to be vnworthy before God of their maiestie and dignitie and to haue deserued death and destruction The King and his Citizens had their sumptuous and precious apparell on festiuall dayes at mariages and at other solemne méetinges with the which they did bewtifie themselues and excell other men But nowe they put on vile and base apparell to the ende there might séeme to be no difference betwéene the king and his magistrates and other common people and also to declare that they thought themselues vnworthie of their bodily apparell by reason of their sinnne Therefore sackcloth and ashes are not satisfactions for sinne but they are onely argumentes of the acknowledging and confession of sinnes before God. The sinfull woman wherof Luke speaketh when she came and besought Iesus to haue hir sinnes forgiuen hir shée wept yet notwithstanding by this wéeping she did not put away hir sinne Esau also wept when Iacob had preuented him of his blessing yet notwithstanding he did not therby put away his sinne And Christ sayth In the vtward partes there shall be wéeping and gnashing of téeth and yet neuerthelesse there shall be no satisfaction there 2 Secondly the king commaundeth a generall fast saying neyther man nor beast shall taste ought at all neyther shall they féede or drinke water But he commaundeth not a fast as though thereby sinne should be forgiuen and the wrath of God pacified as the hypocrytes imagine of fasting but he commaunded it first to the ende the fleshe might be brideled by sobrietie then to the ende common banqueting might be omitted whereby they myght more conueniently come togither to publique preaching and prayer Wherevpon also it is added in the commaundement let euery man cry mightily vnto god These are the publique prayers or suffrages which in solemne wise were obserued and vsed of our elders not one houre but the whole day It were necessary therefore that men should abstaine from meate all the daye long to the ende they might bée readie in the Church So Iosaphat proclaymed a fasting not to satisfie thereby for sinne but for publique prayers sake which were appoynted to call vpon God in extréeme perill So in many other places of the scripture fasting and prayer are ioyned togither to the ende wée might knowe that fastings were appoynted as a preparatiue vnto prayer 3 But what meaneth the commaundement giuen for oxen and shéepe and other beastes to fast Hath God respect vnto the fasting of beastes There is nothing lesse ment truely but they are commaunded to fast in that sense and meaning that beastes were commaunded in the lawe to haue rest on the Sabboth day Thou shalt doe no worke sayth the Lorde on the Sabboth day neyther thou nor thy cattel nor the straunger that is within thy gates For rest is required of cattell on the Sabboth day that by that occasion men might
to reason and argue with God yet notwithstanding they are most true and taken out of the bookes of Exodus and Numeri which are set forth before our eyes to the ende we maye learne to know what affection god beareth vnto vs and what opinion we ought to haue of him 1 A mercifull God. This title God attributeth to himselfe in all places of the scripture to the ende we might knowe his nature that although he be sometimes angry yet notwithstanding he is not angry to destroy but to saue all those that hope and call vppon him He is angry sayth the Prophet Esay to the ende he might be mercifull he maketh deade to the ende he might reuiue This tytle if we well consider of the same confirmeth our fayth in all aduersitie And fayth is the obseruation of the first commaundement Wherefore this title being well knowne maketh vs to obey the first and speciall commaundement of God. 2 Full of compassion This title properly pertayneth to naturall beneuolence such as we sée commonly in parentes towardes their children The mother so loueth hir children that for their payne she sorroweth euen at the very heart and desireth if it might be possible for the ease of hir childe to féele the same hir selfe Such and farre greater is the mercy of god towardes his afflicted Church He is not simplye sorye for it but hée is sorie in heart and minde yea if I may so speake he yerneth in the bowels of his mercye This tytle of God being well knowne worketh in our hearts by the holy ghost pacience in trouble and affliction For if God be sorye for our euill and harme euen as the mother is sorye for hir childe it cannot be that euils whatsoeuer they be shall oppresse vs For God will not suffer vs to perishe in them but will make a way euen in the verie midst for vs to escape 3 Long suffering Thys title teacheth vs the feare of God that we flatter not our selues in our sinnes For God wynketh at sinners not that he doth alow their sinnes but bicause he looketh for repentaunce Wherfore if they repent they are saued If they be impenitent they receyue a iust reward for the same Knowest thou not sayth saint Paule that the long sufferaunce of the Lorde leadeth thée to repentaunce This place also teacheth vs pacience in aduersitie For whereas it doth not at the first punish those which doe molest or trouble vs it commeth so to passe bicause he is long suffering the which vertue we ought to imitate and paciently to looke for helpe at hys handes 4 Of great kindenesse That is excéeding benificiall and liberall For God is not onely mercifull louing and kinde in heart but also he testifieth the same by many benifites bestowed vpon vs And he bestoweth in déede more and greater benifits vpon vs than eyther we can or dare aske at his handes Wherefore let vs not dispaire in aduersitie ¶ And the Lorde God prepared a wilde Vine which sprang vp ouer IONAS that he might haue shadow ouer his head to delyuer him out of his paine And IONAS was exceding glad of the wilde Vine IONAS being gone out of the citie after his sermon waited that he might sée wyth his eyes what happened to the Citie But when he perceiued in déede his expectation to be frustrate and that it came farre otherwise to passe than he looked for and that all thinges prooued contrarye to his preaching he was greatly vexed tormēted in minde as we haue shewed before But in the meane season whyle IONAS behelde what shoulde happen he is greatly troubled in the fielde with the heat of the Sunne in so much that he desireth to die in so great affliction rather than to lyue any longer For although IONAS had made him a Boothe peraduenture of such boughes and shrubs as came next to hande yet notwithstanding this Boothe could not so shadow him from the beames of the sunne but that he might be parched with the same Wherefore the Lorde prepared for him a wylde Vine with the shadowe wherof IONAS was so refreshed that he greatly reioyced First of all therfore here note that where as the Boothe which IONAS builte holpe him nothing at al neyther defended him from the heate of the Sunne it is plainely set forth vnto vs that humane studies pollicies and deuises doe helpe vs nothing at all in our great temptations and afflictions For although our indeuors if so be they be godly and done with a good conscience are not in aduersitie to be omitted but all godlye iuste right lawfull and honest meanes are to be vsed least God be tempted yet notwithstanding necessitie constrayneth vs that when we haue done all that euer we can not to trust vnto the same but onely to depend vpon the Lorde our God and to beséeche him that he will vouchsafe to prosper and giue good successe vnto our indeuor We ought alwaies to haue in minde Peters fishing who hauing labored all the night in vaine to take fishe and letting slip againe his Nets to make a draught at the commaundement of Christ inclosed a great multitude of fishes The woman likewise which was diseased with an issue of bloud a long time and spent all hir goodes vpon Phisitions to be cured and could not yet neuerthelesse afterwarde by the onely worde of Christ she receyued present remedie and health So IONAS also was nothing holpen by his Booth which he made himselfe but after that the Lord had caused a wilde Vine to growe ouer him he was not onely defended from the heate of the Sunne but also he was greatly refreshed and filled with ioy These things are not spoken to the ende we shoulde be negligent or slothfull in our vocation and carelesse in doing our duetie For we ought to leaue nothing vnassayed in perils and daungers which maye be done godly honestly and lawfully But these things are spoken to this ende that when by our industry we haue prouided all thinges necessarie we may yet know that the help of God is most necessarie and that we ought to call for the same by prayer According to the saying of the Prophete Dauid Except the Lord kéepe the Citie the watch man waketh but in vaine Furthermore where as God in so great trouble of heate prepared a wylde Vine for IONAS by the shadow whereof he was recreated we learne that God is of so great clemencie and louing kindenesse that so many as walke in hys vocation and are afflicted in the same shal receyue at his handes a meane to indure the same according to the Psalmist The Sunne shal not burne thée by day neither the Moone by night Also it is sayde Who so dwelleth vnder the defence of the most highest shall abide vnder the shadow of the almightie Further it is sayd A thousand shall fall beside thée ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thée And the Prophet Esay
sayth if thou walke thorow fyre it shall not burne thée So the children of Israell went out of Egypt into the desert for although there was not corne in the desert yet notwithstanding God brought to passe that they might beare it bicause he sent them Manna and gaue them water out of the rock Hieremy walked in the calling of God when he prophesied of the destruction of Hierusalem for the which he was cast not onely into prison but also into the mire to the ende he might séeme to perishe with hunger But God made him able to beare it and wrought meanes by his friendes to delyuer him and to set him at libertie The Apostles were sent out to preache the Gospell throughout the whole worlde but wythout prouision God therefore brought to passe that they hauing nothing possessed all things These sayings and examples of Scripture are set downe vnto vs to this ende that although we must suffer great perils in the vocation wherevnto God hath called vs yet notwithstanding we must go forward voyde of feare hauing a certaine hope that he will delyuer vs in the same ¶ But vpon the next morow against the spring of the day the Lord ordayned a worme which smote the wylde Vine so that it withered away And when the Sunne was vp God prepared a feruent east wind and the Sunne bet ouer the heade of IONAS that he faynted againe and wished vnto his soule that hee might dye and sayde it is better for me to die than to liue IONAS is refreshed and recreated with the shadowe of the wylde Vine but hys ioye lasteth not long bicause the wylde Vine is by and by striken with a worme that it perisheth and IONAS againe is so greatly afflicted that he wysheth death vnto himselfe This is a liuely Image and spectacle of the variety alteration and chaunge of humane thinges in thys worlde And yet notwithstanding we must consider that this alteration was not rashely brought to passe but by the iuste and wise councell of God. At the first IONAS reioyced for the shadowe of the Vine nowe he sorroweth for the destruction of the same Such is the course and rase of mans life One while he reioyceth bicause of prosperitye another while he lamenteth bicause of aduersity And yet notwithstanding these things come not to passe by hap or by chance but by the ordinaunce of god For in that the wylde Vine perished and IONAS thereby brought into great sorrowe and indignation God had a secret meaning For he ment thereby to teache IONAS that if he sorrowed so much for the destruction of a wylde Vine for the which he neuer labored how much more shoulde God be sory for the destruction of so great a Citie as Niniue was of the which he was the creator and gouernour and how much more should he spare so great a multitude Let vs learne therfore by this place that God doth neuer cast vs into any sorrowe or affliction but that he meaneth to teache vs somewhat as to prooue our faith to stirre vs vp to repentance or else to set forth the glorie of his name Furthermore this is not to be pretermitted that IONAS so often wisheth death vnto himselfe when as he greatly feared death before he was swallowed vp of the Whale Here againe the inconstancie of man is plainely set forth vnto vs Oftentimes I wishe for death sayth the Poet and oftentimes I refuse it agayne So Elias one whyle fléeth death and another whyle wisheth for the same This inconstancie of mans nature is diligently to bée noted euen in the holyest men not that we ought to alowe or excuse the same but bicause it is our dueties to correct and amende the like in our selues We can not put from vs all feare of death neyther can we let or cease to wyshe for death in great aduersitie But we must specially beware least wée dispaire in the feare of death whereas we ought to haue a sure trust in Christ and to suffer death with a valyant minde Also we must beware least in wyshing for death we bring death to oure selues but rather we must persist in our vocation hauing a sure hope that although we be beset with daunger on euerie side God will make away in the midst whereby we shall escape ¶ And God sayde vnto IONAS art thou so angry for the wilde Vine And he sayde yea verie angry am I euen vnto the death And the Lorde sayde thou hast compassion vpon a wylde Vine whereon thou bestowedst no labor nor madest it growe which sprang vp in one night perished in another And shoulde not I then haue compassion vpon Niniue that great Citie wherein there are about an hundred twenty thousande persons that knowe not their right hande frō their left besids much cattell God prepared as we hearde before a wylde Vine for IONAS that vnder the shadowe of it he might be defended from the heate of the sunne This wylde Vine being withered IONAS was full of indignation and wrath The Lorde therfore reprehendeth his wrath and declareth for what cause he brought to passe that the wylde Vine should spring vp in one night and vanish away agayne in another For before when IONAS sawe that God did spare the Niniuets he tooke it grieuouslye that the Lorde shoulde shew such clemencie towardes them and was greatly angry Now therfore the Lord teacheth IONAS howe vniust vncharitable and cruell his anger is by a comparison of the wilde Vine Thou art sorye sayth he for the wilde Vine which thou hast not made to growe and shoulde not I be sorie and spare so great a Citie which first of all by my benediction is come to so great maiestie and by the benifites which I haue bestowed vppon them is at this time the monarchie of the whole worlde In the which Citie also there are so manye thousands of infants and yong children which as yet are not come to the age of discretion besides thousandes of cattell which neuer did harme We haue therefore here an example of that saying which is in S. Paules Epistle to the Romanes where it is sayde the inuisible things of God are knowne by visible creatures But among all creatures the naturall affections of men are spoken of For we speake not of corrupt or vicious affections as of pride of enuie of couetousnesse of crueltie of desiring other mens goods or such like which are sinnes the author wherof is Sathan and not god But we speake of the affections of men which God by nature hath ingraffed in vs Of the which affections one is to be sorie if any thing profitable prosper not but perishe as in this place IONAS is sory that the Vine a thing very profitable for him should so sodenly perishe For although this affection was not in IONAS without sinne yet notwithstanding the affection of it selfe was not sinne So the disciple of Elizeus was sory bicause his Axe being a thing profitable