THE Trope is frequent in Scripture, that the Church is Typed by a Ship. As by Noah's Ark, Gen. 6. By the Ship in the midst of the Sea, Mat. 8.23. and 14.24. and Rev. 8.9. Churches are called Ships. And the body of every Church is call'd its Nave. So the Now-Church of England seems to be aptly represented by this Ship of St. Paul in the Text, which being caught with a Tempestuous Wind, called Euroclydon, could not bear up into Wind; but was driven at the mercy of the Master of the Winds. This will appear by all the Circumstances related of this Ship in this present Chapter. Only I must first premise,

That the Now-Church of England may be taken,

First, In a Common sense, as it includes all called Protestants: Or,

Secondly, In a select sense, as it includes only true Protestants.

Thirdly, In a Malignant sense, as it includes only [Page 2]Papists or Popishly affected Ones. Or,

Fourthly, In a National sense, as it includes all En­glish Subjects. We shall use it sometimes in One, some­times in another sense, as the Circumstances require.

The Circumstances are principally five,

• 1. What Persons aboard?
• 2. Whither Bound?
• 3. What Built?
• 4. What Course?
• 5. What Wind?

1. The Persons Aboard, are of three sorts.

• 1. We find Paul and Luke and Aristarchus, ver. 1,
• 2. Paul was the great Apostle and Doctor of the Nations.

Luke was the great Evangelist and Scribe of the Holy Gospel. Aristarchus was a Noble Macedonian, and a Zealous Christian of Thessalonica, who Travell'd with St. Paul, and St. Luke, to defray their Temporal Charges, to guard them from Injuries, and to help them in all things for the Gospels sake. These three Persons re­present unto us the Now-Church of England in the select sense, Apostolical and Evangelical.

Aristarchus, interpreted, signifies a most Excellent Prince, as is our Most Gracious and Soveraign Defen­der of the Faith, whom God preserve, and by him and with him, Our Paul and our Luke. Aristarchus may also represent unto us whatsoever Wise and Christian Statesman or Patriot, who for his Faithfulness to his Country, is as a Noble Macedonian; and for his Zeal in Religion, and Aid to the Protestant Ministry, is as a Pious Thessalonian. Also Thessalonica was the Metro­polis of Macedonia, and had its Name from its Victo­ries: so it may represent our Great and Victorious City of London, whose Victory now shines over and out of the Fires of her Enemies. In fine, every Pro­testant Citizen and Country-man is a Religions Mace­donian or Thessalonian in the ship of St. Paul, Guarding [Page 3]and Attending Our Paul, Our Luke, Our Aristarchus, Our Church, Our Gospel, Our Government.

A second sort of Persons we find, ver. 1. and 42. Julius a Centurion, the Commander of the ship, with his Souldiers of Augustus's band: to which we may joyn, the Pilot and Master of the Ship, with the Sailers and Mariners and the whole Ships Crew, ver. 11. and 30. These represent the Church of England in the Malignant sense, that is, the Popish Church, or Romish Party among us. For Julius was the Minister of the Roman Emperour, who then was the Cruel Nero, and, together with the other Pagan Emperours, is by St. John called The Red Dragon, because made Red with the Bloud of Christians: Which Red Dragon gave his Power and Seat and great Authority to the Beast, the Pope, Rev. 13.1, 2. Then Julius the Centurion aptly represents every Popish Power, or Civil Romish Mini­ster among us; and his Souldiers the Popish Laity, Hirelings or Pensioners, or whatsover Popish instru­ments or helps. The Pilot and Master, and Ships-Crew, represent more properly the Popish Clergy with their Adherents, and all that are Popishly affected. In Relation to the present great Popish Plot; Julius im­ports the Chief Civil-Agent therein; the Pilot and Master, the Chief-spiritual Ones. Only mark, This Julius was no Caesar, and we pray God avert such a Judge­ment from us, that ever any Caesar should be such a Julius.

There was a third sort of persons in the Ship. There were with Paul, certain other Prisoners, ver. 1. These, joyn'd with St. Paul and his Company, may represent the Church of England in the Common sense, as it in­cludes [Page 4]all that are called Protestants. But if we take all these sorts of persons together, that is, all that are Aboard the ship, they represent the Church of England in the National sense, that is, the whole English Nati­on. So much for the first Circumstance, who are Aboard?

The second Circumstance is, Whither bound? We need not hale them. For we may read afar off, as it were in their Fore-Castle, in the greatest Characters, ver. 1. It was determin'd that we should sail into Italy. It was determin'd that the Whole Nation of us, The Now-Church of England in the largest sense, should go to Rome. Julius the Commander of the Ship had re­ceiv'd Commission for this, which he durst not neglect or disobey; for he could not answer such a default be­fore his Lord, Augustus Nero. It was determin'd (the Chap. before) by Porcius Festus, by King Agrippa, and by Bernice, that we should all sail into Italy to Rome, that we should all be shipt together and transported to Popery. The French Agrippa, and the Pompous Be­renice, were thus kind unto us. And what was Father le Cheese, Agrippa's Consessor, but a well fed Porcius Festus? And was not Coleman at least, their most hum­ble Julius? Have we not the Letters of his Commission taken from his own hands and confest with his own Mouth? in which it was fully determin'd, that we should all sail into Italy. That the whole Nation of us should serve Augustus Nero, or the Beast in his stead. That the beast should receive his power again over us, which alass! he has lost so long. That we should wor­ship him with a new Zeal, and that for his sake we should set up his Image over us, that is, a Popish power; in which we need fear nothing, but two things. An [Page 5]Arbitrary Rule to destroy our bodies, that is, our Lives and Liberties at Pleasure: and an Antichristian Religion to destroy our Souls of Necessity. This is the second circumstance. It was determin'd we should sail into Italy.

The third Circumstance is, of What built the Ship, or, whence the Ship? We find it ver. 2. First, we entered into a ship of Adramyttium. The Original Word, is Chadermouth, which the Greeks mollifying, pronounce Adramuttion. It's compounded of Chader, a Conclave or privy Room, and Mouth, Death. So that the ships name was, the Conclave of Death, as if we would call it Portmouth, the Port of Death; Mouth signifying Death in the Hebrew. Therefore this ship of St. Paul doth rightly represent unto us that ship of the Plot which was built in the Jesuits Conclave; or, which is all One, in the Conclave of Rome, to us the Conclave of Death. For there we were all shipt for death, both Bodily and Spiritual, Temporal and Eternal. Our E­nemies had made themselves sure of us. Their ship was so well built, their plot was so well laid, that they counted us as much their Prisoners, having got us into their Chadermouth, as Julius accounted Paul and his Fellows his Prisoners, when he had put them into this ship of Adramyttium. I dare engage my Life for a Sa­crifice, says Coleman to Porcius Festus, if we succeed not &c. And his Word was made true, but not to his own Mind. But mind now, whom had they ship't in this ship of Death? Not only Paul and Luke, but also Aristarchus our Soverain Lord, the best of Princes; and with him, every Noble Macedonian, every faithful Patriot; every Christian Thessalonian, every zealous Citizen and Protestant. Thessalonica it self, they de­voted [Page 6]to the Flames. They succeeded in that: they burnt our fairest Protestant City: but she coming victo­rious with double Glory out of the midst of the Popish Furnace, she prov'd her self a Thessalonica indeed. In a word, the Whole Nation was put into this ship, their Cha­dermouth, to be transported to Rome or Death or Hell: yet Paul and Luke and Aristarchus, that is, only Our chief and best Ones, were markt out for presents to Nero, for sacrifices to his holy power. And we shall see wonders in their Rescue. For see we,

The fourth Circumstance, what course the ship steers? Not what course the Commander had devised, or the Sailers. For then we had all been undone, and carried to Rome before this. For ver. 2. They meant to sail by the Coasts of Asia, in which coasts was Built that Adra­myttion, that Portsmouth, that door of death which was prepared for us, there they had chalkt out an infal­lible way of destruction for us all. But God regarded his servants in this Ship: and for his Church and Go­spels-sake he steer'd his Paul, and his Luke another way. He brought them first to Sidon, to Agrippa's Confederates, and gave Paul favour even in the eyes of Julius, and no few friends in Sidon, ver. 3. So God rais'd us up friends to help us from amidst our Death-plotting Enemies. From Sidon, Julius thought to sail straight to Myra: he mistook it for a Roman word, and thought to work wonders in a moment. But the God of Paul countermanded the Winds, and steer'd them under Cyprus, and over the Sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, ver. 4, 5, led them a way which they thought not of, for the way of the wicked the Lord turn­ed upside down, Psal. 146.9. at length by his permissi­on they came to Myra in Lycia: where this first ship, [Page 7]having serv'd Paul more than Julius, finished its course. So has our God made the Popish Plotters to serve most wonderfully the Gospel's turn, even while they sought to destroy it. The Parallel of this first ship seems to reach as far as the matter of Toleration, procured by Our English Julian's: by which they doubted not to Hobgoble us all, to ship us and transport us, as so many stock-fish, and to sell us to Rome at what rate they pleas'd. But that ship, their Chadermouth failing them,

The sacred History tells us, ver. 6. That at Myra in Lycia, Julius found a ship of Alexandria, sailing into Italy, and put us therein. Myra, from the Greek is in­terpreted a place of Myrrh; and Lycia a place of Wolves. Myrrh is a funeral Odorament, and the Wolves of our Land are the Plotters of Rome. Then Myra in Lycia was that funeral Consult of Wolves, that is, of the Jesuits: in which they had bound up together as in a funeral Bundle, the sacred Life of our King, with the lives of our Pauls, of our Luke's, of all our Aristarchus's, of every noble Macedonian, of every zealous Thessalonian among us. This was their Alex­andria, in which they thought to conquer all. In this ship, says St. Luke ver. 7. We sail'd slowly many dayes, over-against Cnidus, under Crete, over-against Salmone, and after much adoe, came to the fair havens, nigh whereunto was the City of Lasea. Of these places, Ob­serve, First of Crete, Tit. 1.12. [...], &c. The Cretans are always Liars, evil Beasts, Idle-bellies. Cnidus interpreted imports the Art of slandering, Sal­mone of flatterring, Lasea of Fraud, subtle, and fox-like Circumvention. All these put together, lying, slandering, flattering, fraud, subtlety, dissimulation, [Page 8]circumvention, represent unto us the Mystery of Jesu­itism, with which (as with the Devil's Compass) they steered their Alexandria, sailing slowly many dayes, till with much ado they came to the fair Havens of some vain and presumptuous hopes.

For in the height of their Alexandrian hope, behold what befell them and their Alexandria: Their wicked, horrid and plagiary design against Paul and Luke and Aristarchus, against King and Church and State, was strangely discover'd and brought into light. And our gracious Paul according to his excellent spirit advis'd our Julius and his Company to desist and proceed no farther. His Reasons you have ver. 9, 10. First, that the time of sailing was now spent, and sailing was very dangerous. For the Jewish Fast of September was over, at which time of year, Our Popish Plot was fully disco­ver'd. Paul also told them, that the event of a farther Voyage would be with much hurt and dammage not only of lading and ship, but also of their lives. This discovery being made, and that by the help of their own Confe­derates, was surely sufficient to make them desist, had not more than a devilish wickedness wholly possest and over-rul'd them. But mark the devilish Obduracy of the Popish Clergy.

For ver. 11, 12. The Pilot and Master of the ship with the Company of Sailers and Seamen, that is, the Popish Clergy, Cardinals, Provincials, and other Jesu­its and Priests suffer'd not Julius to hearken to Paul; but gave him all hopes of the best success, and that they might yet obtain their purpose, and find a commodi­ous Haven to winter in, even Phenice in Crete. In this they all joyn'd Votes and Voices, and prevail'd with Julius that he consented to them, and would not [Page 9]hearken to Paul, and so their design for Phenice was concluded. What this Phenice in Crete imports, is not hard to unridle. Crete, as St. Paul told us, is the famous seat of Liars; and Phenice, that especially which is in Crete, is famous for that credit, which the Ro­mans themselves call fidem Punicam, Phenicean credit, which never fails to fail. Then Phenice in Crete, is lye in lye, plot in plot, fraud upon fraud, a plot of plots. This was the Popish Alexandrian plot. They resolv'd and it was determin'd, that although their Chadermouth fail'd, yet their Alexandria should not. The result of the Consult was to deny, and abjure the discover'd plot with such impudence, that Heaven and Earth could not possibly believe: and not only so, but their Reso­lution was this, while they denied their own plot with a Cretian lye, that at the same time they would lay a worse plot at the Protestant door with a Phenician lye. This was their Phenice in Creet. And this was a very cunning and subtle Haven for them to Winter in. Therefore ver. 12. This Haven is said to lye toward the South-west and North-West: that is, in the form of an half Moon, within which their Alexandria might have winter'd safe and secure from all Wind and Weather, and could they have got in here, they had sav'd them­selves, and had carried us all, Our Paul's, our Luke's, and our Aristarchus's, Our Church and State to Rome. But God forbad such a thing: yet they went very far toward it; they sail'd very fair for it a while, with a fair south-gale. For as you have ver. 13. The south-wind blew softly upon them, and supposing they had obtain'd their purpose, loosing from the fair havens, they sail'd close by Crete, their beloved land, sed praevenit jactum an­chorae Deus. But

It was not long, till ver. 14. There arose against them a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon. This was the breath of Jehovah our God, which blew our Enemies from their expected port, from their refuge of Lies, from their dear Phenice, and saved us from their base Phenician designs: which we consider with astonish­ment to the praise of Providence in the

Fifth Circumstance, how they wind? What is that Euroclydon? Many read it [...]: and so the La­tine renders it Euro-aquilo. The North-East wind. The Word seems to import much of the American Hur­ricane in it, which rising in the East, Whirles towards the North, and thence to the West, and gathering force round the Compass, comes to its fullest mischief in the South. However this is certain, it was Eurotyphonicus. was a sudden Violent, Tempestuous and Mighty Wind rising from the East, with which their Alexandria was so caught, that she could not bear up into the Wind, but was violently beaten from the desired Phenice. Now this disappointment was wonderful in our eyes. For they had brought their ship in sight of their Phe­nice, they had a fair soft south-gale for a time, they thought they had obtain'd their purpose, they had wip'd their mouths clean of the Plot, as if it had never touch'd their Lips, they denied it, they abhorr'd it, they cursed it, they abjur'd it to very Death, they got Martyrs, not a few, zealous Martyrs for their Lye, they had made ridiculous, odious, infamous, all that should mutter against them; the Discoverers of the Plot were made the Plotters; Our Paul's, our Luke's, our Aristarchus's, even they were accused; the A­lexandrian-Crew was every day heard loud in Huzzah's. Phenice was in their hearts, in their eyes, almost in [Page 11]their hands: they thought surely to Winter there, and the next spring to transport us all. Their Midwife Sham-plots, their Cnidian, Salmonean, Lasean, Cretian, Phenician Lyes, Tricks, Jugglings, Conjurings, Equi­vocations, Mental Reservations, Oral Prolations, Per­juries, Forgeries, precious Subornations, most holy bloody Oaths of Secresie, but above all their stupen­dious, unparallell'd, miraculous Martyrdoms, which Heaven and Earth and Hell do admire, that so many men should dye for a lye in envy to the Martyrs of Je­sus who dyed for the Truth. These things, I say, made up their hopes so full and fair, that they doubted not to Winter in Phenice, and next spring to go where they pleas'd. But the Lord forbad. There came a North-East Wind from the Lord, and so beat upon their Crete that they utterly lost all sight and hope of Phenice. To be brief, this was the Euroclydon of the last Parliament, That Typhonical Wind which blew upon the Plot from the Tryal of Stafford: with which their Alexandria was caught, and could not bear up into the Wind any longer. This is the sum of the Text, and when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the Wind, we let her drive. But you will say, Do not the Papists bear up into the Wind still? I answer, No: but let us examine what follows the Text, and we'll find, they have given up themselves to the Mer­cy of the Winds a long time; and are in a sad drift, driven they know not whither, even whither the Ma­ster of the Winds shall drive them: and were it not that Paul and Luke and Aristarchus are in the ship, they had perisht long agoe. Time will not suffer me to be par­ticular in all points. I must be content to observe one or two things.

First, That ver. 16. They were by that Stafford-En­roclydon suddenly driven under the Island Clauda: for being driven from their Crete, from their refuge of lies, they found their cause to halt fearfully. Stafford not­withstanding his toughest stiffness fell, and ver. 17. fearing lest they should fall into quick-sands, they were put to all their shifts, they took up their boat, used helps, undergirded their ship, took down their sails, and being exceedingly tost, they lightned the Ship, casting out the very tackling, ver. 18, 19. &c. This fignifies the Popish vain hopes and shifts in and since the last Prorogation and Dissolution: since which

We may say, that of ver. 20. Neither Sun nor Stars in many dayes have appear'd unto us: and no small tempest has laid (and yet lyeth) upon us: and (had we not known our God) all hope that we should be saved had been taken away. But, God be blest, we find, ver. 21. We have St. Paul to stand up in the midst of us, to comfort and cheer us and to give us Assurance of that God whom he preaches, that he hath determin'd (contrary to our Enemies) to save us, that an hair of our head shall not perish, ver. 22. Now I exhort you to be of good cheer, says St. Paul, for there shall be no loss of any mans. Life among you, but of the Ship. Two things he tells us,

1. The ship shall be lost, that is, the Now-Church of England in the Malignant sense, The Popish Church, the Romish Bottom, their trusty Alexandria shall be bro­ken in pieces, it shall sail no more in the English Seas You may read, ver. 39. The sailers discovering a certain creek with a shore, thought to thrust in the Ship there, and to save themselves and the Vessel, and ver. 40. they made all shifts to do it: but ver. 41. Falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground: and the [Page 13]forepart stuck fast and remained unmoveable, but the hin­der part was broken with the violence of the waves, So now our Popish Sailers may perhaps have some hopes in the Oxford Creek and Shore, and may think to thrust in their Alexandria there, and to save the Vessel of their Plot. But I trust rather the Word of St. Paul, The Ship shall be lost. They'll find at Oxford two Seas meet, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons; there they shall run their Alexandria aground. The forepart shall stick fast and remain unmoveable: their Chieftains shall stick where Stafford stuck. As for the hinderpart of the ship, the rest of the Popish rout, that shall be broken in pieces with the violence of the Waves. Our English Seas will spue them out, and our Loyal ground will swallow themalive. And this is the loss of the ship; to this shall the Popish Alexandria be driven by the Winds of the Lord our God. But of our lives who are in the ship, Paul tells us, there shall be no loss of any mans Life among you. This is understood of the Now-Church of England in the select sense, as it includes all true Protestants. We must confess even they were, or now are in utmost danger: neither could they, nor yet can they save themselves. Paul and Luke and Aristarchus, they were in the ship which was lost, and when it was lost and they suffer'd loss with the ship: yea, they were in other peculiar danger, no less unavoidable than ship wrack, without God. For, ver. 42. The Souldiers counsel, was to kill the Prisoners, and Paul in the first place. But God turn'd the heart of Julius to save Paul, and with Paul the rest. So may the Lord turn the hearts of our Popish Julius's to save our Paul's, our Luke's, our Aristarchus's; Our Gospel, Our Government. Therefore also even Julius and [Page 14]his Companions were saved with Paul and his Compa­nions.

The History tells us not that Julius became a Christi­an, yet because he befriended Paul, we have some hope of him, even so we have hope still of the Popish Julius's among us; that not only their Lives but their Souls too may be saved with us. But to conclude all, let us mark. with what difficulty even Paul and his Company were saved.

Ver. 43. Those that could swim, cast themselves first into the Sea, and got to land. The best among us may be put to swim for our lives: and if the sea, wherein we must swim, prove not a Sea of bloud, which God of his infi­nite Mercy prevent, and avert by his Almighty power: yet certainly the Sea we must swim in, is very tempestuous, and the billows break higher and higher, till God shall rebuke them and bid them be still. But alass! all cannot swim; some must be put to harder shifts. Therefore ver. 44. Those that could not swim, got some on boards, some on broken pieces of the ship, and so it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. All! All! None lost; no, not One of two hundred threescore and sixteen souls, ver. 37. But pray mark

Who these all were? they were they who had Paul and Luke and Aristarchus with them. That is all who keep and observe the Apostolical and Evangelical Faith; and who maintain the Aristarchical, that is, the true, best, ancient, just and lawfully establish't Government among us, which is by King and Parlia­ment. God has joined these, no man must divide them. The Papists would take away the Parliament from the King, and God knows too many join with the Papists in this point, which is the greatest point the [Page 15]Papists can wish to gain. On the other hand, there be Commonwealth-men, who would take away the King from the Parliament: those shall not be saved from the storm, for they want an Aristarchus on their side. But let us with our Paul, and with our Luke, love and preserve our Aristarchus to the last, for our Aristarchus both loves and serves us. This is one English Glory, an Aristarchy, not an Aristocracy, where many hold the Scepter; but an Aristarchy, where our Sovereign Lord and King is hon­our'd and obeyed of all as most excellent and supreme, as the anointed of the Lord among us. Whom we obey for the Lord's sake according to his Laws, and the Laws of the Nation; and for whom we pray to the Lord, that he will keep him as the man of his right hand, making him a Ruler according to his own heart. Let us then cleave faithfully to our Paul, to our Luke, to our Aristarchus; and there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of us. Be what ye ought to be, be your selves, be true Englishmen and faithful Christians: maintain the English Law, and the Protestant Faith; Give God, the King, and your Bre­thren their due: and I bid you with St. Paul, Be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any mans life among you, but of the ship. The Popish Alexandria shall be broken in pieces. The forepart sticks already fast, the hinder part cannot hold long. However,

We are all in the hands of God; we are all at the Mercy of the Almighty. The Tempest of his wrath is still upon us, even upon us, Our Sins continue it. 'Tis his Mercy we are not consum'd. Repent we, Fast we, Pray we with St. Paul, that the Angel of the Lord may be with us also, strengthning us, guarding us, guiding us in the midst of these raging Waters, which are ready to swallow us up. Let us call upon the Lord Jesus, as his Disciples did in the like case, Mat. 8.25. Awake Lord, save us, we perish. [Page 16]He seems to sleep and forsakeus, because indeed we have forsaken him, and have slept in our sins a long time. Rise we to Repentance, and he will rise to Salvation; for he's ordained of God to be Our Saviour, to be our Re­fuge from the storm, our hiding-place from the Wind, our Covert from the Tempest, even from this very Tem­pest, from this Euroclydon, which shall destroy his Ene­mies: but shall not touch the hair of the head of any man that faithfully trusteth in him. So understand we this Text, And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the Wind, we let her drive. Now with Tears of Re­pentance, and with Hearts of Faith, casting our selves into the Arms of his Gracious Providence, let us with St. Paul bow our knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and Pray for our selves and for the Whole Nation.