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,…

It was no Sign they inquire for, no Prodigy they fear; they are only pleased to make sport with the menaces of God: You talk of a Night, and an hour of Calamity; but threatened men draw long breathes: You pretend Visions in the night, which portend our ruins; come tell us the tale of the night: What is in the night? There have been in all ages, some of these Frogs, to throat it out against God, so long as the weather was fair, as if he could not send a storm: the tempests of Gods Wrath have been derided to the last moment of a calm: the venom of Prosperity so empoisons a carnal mind, (Eilia divitiarum superbia) the daughter of Riches is Pride: the Philosopher could teach us that (Faelicitas & humillitas dividuum haebent ⟨image 18⟩contubrinium: raro bona mens & bona fortuna homini datur,) Happinesse and Humbleness are not chamber-fellows: seldom a good Mind, and a good Estate, is given to the same man: God seemed to mistrust this in Israel, that the increasing of Goods, and multiplying of Cattle,¹ would lift up their hearts against him: The peaceable days of the Wicked, and their lucky proceedings in this world (by the testimony of Job,) durageth their impudence against Heaven:² Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? depart from us, we will none of thy ways. That of the Psalm is of full strength to this:³ His ways prosper: thy judgements are far above out of his sight: therefore defieth he all his enemies: Man only? no, God himself: I shall never be moved. ⁴Let Malachi for all the Prophets, Peter for all the Apostles, make up this cloud of witnesses: It is in vain to serve the Lord:⁵ and where is the promise of his coming? All things are still (Statu quo) continued in the same course: there is no alteration, no new thing done (Quaecunque sub axe) under Heaven. We say, (Non bonum ludere cum sanctis) it is no safe jesting with holy things: It is dangerous for an Edomite to make himself merry with God; this is the way to come short home: thou hadst better have mourned all thy life, then made God thy play-fellow. When the vessel of Dust shall encounter with the arm of Omnipotence (Sive percutiat,