Six sermons preachedSixe sermons preached

After that the ship-master had wakened Jonah, he bids him call upon his God, as if he had said, watch and pray; he speaks like a Saint, yet he is an infidel, he said not, call upon our gods, but call upon thy God, the ship-master would not call him his God, but (saith he) call upon thy God, and it may be he will help us: but if he had said, call upon our God, when he said call upon thy God, and if he had said he will help us, when he said if so be he will help us, then he had showed some spark of faith. Because he wan ted help and comfort, he bids him rise, and because he was fearful, he bids him pray: it may be (saith he) he will think upon us, that we perish not, as if he had said, Jonah, we know that thou hast a God as well as we, and ⟨p. 154⟩therefore we say call upon thy God, for now any god may serve, therefore now if ever thou didst pray in thy life, fall to it now, for if any god do help, it is good enough. Thus Satan leads men a blind way with zeal in hope of some relief being in trouble. They called upon them for help, which were neither able to hear nor assist them: and when they perceived by woeful experience that there was no kind of su• cour to be had that way, they fly to God, & then Satan laboureth to undermine that confidence and expectation of help, and to place in stead thereof doubtfulness and infidelity. Thus Satan will be sure to loose nothing by his bargain any way. That God that layeth the tempest now shall be our God, and we will worship him (saith the mariners) now therefore Jonah call upon thy God, for we have tried all the rest, and if he can not help us, we are all gone and lost, for we have called upon all our gods, we have laboured hard to mend our state, we have cast away our goods to lighten the ship, but all in vain, for we are no whit the better, like the woman which had spent all ¹her substance about Physic, yet all could not help her till Christ came: so the Papists while they are well, they pray unto every ⟨p. 155⟩Saint, and Angel for succour against the troublesome times, but in extremity or at the point of death none of them can help, so that then they are fain to fly unto God or be destitute, as like Idolaters as one fly is like another: they are like the heathen which worship Juno, Venus, Neptune, Pallas, lupiter, and the rest, some hold on the one, and some one the other.