The gallants burden A sermon preached at Pauls Cross, the twenty nine of March,…The gallants burden A sermon preached at Paules Crosse, the twentie nine of March,…

You wounder at the frequency of Burdens, and that the Turtles of this Land groan out of this place, the sad tunes of woe and misery. Alas, how should we sing the songs of Zion to a strange people? The Pulpit (I confess) should be the Mercy seat; but your sins have made it a Tribunal, or Bench of Judgement: Nothing but the thunders of Sinai, (and scarce those) can waken us from our dead sleep: this is (Ima S•curitas) deep Security, fitly applied to us, whose is (Sine cura aetas) an Age without care; or rather, if you will, (See curans •tas) that love none but our selves, and that not enough to seek our own peace: Let me speak it in the tune of Jeremie (Non habet ulterius, quod nostris moribus addat posteritas) we flow with those sins, to which no following posterity shall be ever able to add; so spreading, an infection of sin is among us, that, as in a great Plague, we wonder not so much at them which die, as at them which scape; so there is nothing a Wonder, a Mirror, a Miracle in Nature, but he that lives unspotted of this world. If you think I speak too bitterly, I would to God, it were not worse then I speak: I would your reformation might convince our shame, and give us cause to recant this in the Pulpit: this turns the Message of Edom upon us; the Burden of Dumah, the Burden of England: we cast from our shoulders the Burden of the Law, God lays on us the burden of Judgement: we load God with our sins,¹ and press him as a Cart with Sheaves: we pack up a bundle of Lies, Blasphemies, Adulteries, Perjuries, Extortions, Frauds, and then hasten to the Cross of Christ to unload them; as if pressing our souls to Hell with wilful sins, yet Christ on the least warning, must ease us:² But the Promise is not to men laden with sin, but with sorrow for sins: It is such a load as must ⟨image 9⟩make us weary, or we have no promise to be eased.

You wounder at the frequencie of Burdens, and that the Turtles of this Land grone out of this place, the sadde tunes of woe and miserie. Alasse, how should we sing the songes of Syon to a strange people? The Pulpit (I confesse) should be the Mercie seate; but your sinnes haue made it a Tribunall, or Bench of Iudgement: Nothing but the thunders of Sinaj, (and scarce those) can waken vs from our dead sleepe: this is (Ima Scuritas) deepe Securitie, fitly applyed to vs, whose is (Sine cura aetas) an Age without care; or rather, if you will, (Se curans tas) that loue none but our selues, and that not enough to seeke our owne peace: Let me speake it in the tune of Ieremie (Non habet vlterius, quod nostris moribus addat posteritas) we flow with those sins, to which no following posteritie shalbe euer able to adde; so spreading, an infection of sinne is among vs, that, as in a great Plague, we wonder not so much at them which die, as at them whch scape; so there is nothing a Wonder, a Mirror, a Miracle in Nature, but he that liues vnspotted of this world. If you thinke I speake too bitterly, I would to God, it were not worse then I speake: I would your reformation might conuince our shame, and giue vs cause to recant this in the Pulpitte: this turnes the Message of Edome vpon vs; the Burden of Dumah, the Burden of England: we cast from our shoulders the Burden of the Law, God layes on vs the burden of Iudgement: we load God with our sinnes,