Sect. 2.
The Argvment.
But Ionah toward Tharsis went,
A Tempest doth his course prevent:
The Mariners are sore opprest,
While Ionah sleepes and takes his rest.
Bvt
Ionah thus bethought: The City's great,
And mighty Ashur stands with deadly threat;
Their hearts are hardued, that they cannot heare:
Will greene wood burne, when so unapt's the seire?
Strange is the charge: Shall I goe to a place
Vnknowne and forraigne? Aye me! hard's the case,
That righteous Isr'el must be thus neglected,
When Miscreants and Gentiles are respected:
How might I hope my words shall there succeed,
Which thrive not with the flockes I daily feed?
I know my God is gentle, and enclinde,
To tender mercy, apt to change his minde
Vpon the least repentance: Then shall I
Be deem'd as false, and shame my Prophecie.
O heavy burthen, of a doubtfull mind!
Where shall I goe, or which way shall I wind?
My heart like Ianus, looketh to and fro;
My Credit bids me, Stay; my God bids, Goe:
If Goe; my labour's lost, my shame's at hand:
If stay, Lord! I transgresse my Lords command:
If goe; from bad estate, to worse, I fall.
If stay, I slide from bad, to worst of all.
My God bids goe, my credit bids me stay:
My guilty feare bids fly another way.
So Jonah straight arose, himselfe bedight
With fit acoutrements, for hasty flight:
In stead of staffe, he tooke a Shipmans weed;
In stead of going, loc, he flyes with speed.
Like as a Hawke (that overmatcht with might)
Doing sad penance for th'unequall fight,
(Answ'ring the Falkners second shout) does flee
From fist; turnes tayle to foule, and takes a tree:
So Ionah baulks the place where he was sent
(To Nineveh) and downe to Iaffa went:
He sought, enquired, and at last, he found
A welcome Ship, that was to Tharsis bound,
Where he may flye the presence of the Lord:
He makes no stay, but straightway goes aboord,
His hasty purse for bargaine findes no leisure,
(Where sinn delights, there's no account of treasure)
Nor did he know nor aske, how much his Fare:
He gave: They tooke: all parties pleased are:
(How thriftlesse of our cost, and paines, are we,
Great God of heaven and earth, to fly from thee!)
Now have the sailors drunke their parting cup,
They goe aboord; The Sailes are hoisting up;
The Anchor's wayd; the keele begins t'obey
Her gentle Rudder; leaves her quiet Key,
Divides the streames, and without winde or oare,
She easly glides along the moving shore:
Her swelling Canvace gives her nimbler motion,
Sh'outstrips the Tide, and hies her to the Ocean:
Forth to the deepe she launches, and outbraves
The prouder billowes, rides upon the waves;
She plies that course, her Compas hath enjoind her,
And soone hath lest the lessned land behind her;
By this, the breath of heaven began to cease;
Calme were the Seas; the waves were all at peace;
The flagging mainsaile flapt against her yard,
The uselesse Compasse, and the idle Card
Were both neglected: Vpon every side
The gamesome Porpisce tumbled on the Tide.
Like as a Mastisfe, when restrain'd a while,
Is made more furious, and more apt for spoile,
Or when the breath of man, being bard the course,
At length breakes forth, with a farre greater force,
Even so the milder breath of heaven, at last,
Lets flye more fierce, and blowes a stronger blast:
All on a sudden darkned was the Sky
With gloomy clouds; heavens more refulgent eye
Was all obscur'd: The aire grew damp and cold,
And strong mouth'd Boreas could no longer hold:
Eolus lets loose his uncontrouled breath,
Whose language threatens nothing under death:
The Rudder failes; The ship's at random driven;
The eye no object ownes, but Sea and Heaven:
The Welkin stormes, and rages more and more,
The raine powres down; the heavens begin to rore
As they would split the massie Globe in sunder,
From those that live above, to those live under;
The Pilot's frighted; knowes not what to doe,
His Art's amaz'd, in such a maze of woe;
Faces grow sad: Prayers and complaints are rife;
Each one's become an Orator for life:
The Windes above, the waters underneath,
Ioyne in rebellion, and conspire death.
The Seamens courage now begins to quaile;
Some ply the plump, whilst others strike the saile,
Their hands are busie, while their hearts despaire,
Their feares and dangers move their lips to praier:
They praid, but winds did snatch their words away,
And lets their pray'rs not go to whom they pray:
But still they pray, but still the wind and weather
Do turn both ship & prai'rs they know not whether:
Their gods were deafe, their danger waxed greater;
They cast their wares out, and yet ne're the better:
But all this while was Ionah drown'd in sleepe,
And in the lower decke was buried deepe.
Medita. 2.
Bvt stay: this was a strange and uncouth word:
Did Ionah flye the presence of the Lord?
What mister word is that? He that repleats
The mighty Vniverse, whose lofty seat's
Th'imperiall Heaven, whose footstoole is the face
Of massie Earth? Can he from any place
Be barr'd? or yet by any meanes, excluded,
That is in all things? (and yet not included)
Could Ionah finde a resting any where
So void, or secret, that God was not there?
I stand amaz'd, and frighted at this word:
Did Ionah flye the presence of the Lord?
Mount up to Heaven, and there thou shalt discover
The exc'lent glory of his kingly power:
Bestride the earth beneath (with weary pace)
And there he beares the Olive branch of Grace:
Dive downe into th'extreme Abisse of Hell,
And there in Iustice doth th'Almighty dwell.
What secret Cloister could there then afford
A screene 'twixt faithlesse Ionah, and his Lord?
Ionah was charg'd, to take a charge in hand;
But Ionah turn'd his backe on Gods command;
Shooke off his yoke, and wilfully neglected,
And what was strictly charg'd, he quite rejected:
And so he fled the power of his Word;
And so he fled the presence of his Lord.
Good God! how poore a thing is wretched man?
So fraile, that let him strive the best he can,
With every little blast hee's overdon:
If mighty Cedars of great Lebanon,
Cannot the danger of the Axe withstand,
Lord! how shall we, that are but bushes, stand:
How fond, corrupt, how senselesse is mankinde?
How faining deafe is he? How wilfull blinde?
He stops his eares, and sinnes: he shuts his eyes,
And (blindfold) in the lap of danger flyes:
He sinnes, despaires; and then to stint his griefe,
He chuses death, to baulke the God of life.
Poore wretched sinner, travell where thou wilt,
Thy travell shall be burthen'd with thy guilt:
Climb tops of hils, that prospects may delight thee,
There wil thy sins (like wolves & bears) afright thee,
Fly to the vallies, that those frights may shun thee,
And there, like Mountains, they will fall upon thee:
Or to the raging Seas, (with Ionah) goe;
There will thy sinnes like stormy Neptune flow.
Poore shiftlesse Man! what shall become of thee?
Wher'ere thou fly'st, thy griping sinne will flee.
But all this while, the ship where Ionah sleepes,
Is tost and torne, and batter'd on the Deeps,
And well-nigh split upon the threatning Rocke,
With many a boistrous brush, and churly knocke:
God helpe all desp'rate voyagers, and keepe
All such as feele thy wonders on the deepe.
