THe Lord God of heauen, the most righteous and mightie iudge of the world, neuer intends to inflict plagues or punishmentes on any Countrey, Cittie, or nation, but first it pleaseth him of his vn­speakeable mercie, to forewarne the same countrey, cittie, or nati­on thereof, by the mouthes of his Prophets, and other mi­nisters of his worde, or else by his wonderfull signes and tokens shewed in the heauens, the earth, or other his creatures, that thereby the people may be induced to for­sake their former wickednesse, and to learne amendment and newnesse of life. Examples hereof we haue in Gene­sis, how many tokens of his wrath did the Lord shew vn­to Pharao, before his destruction in the red sea? Likewise before Sodome was consumde with fire from heauen, it is written that Abraham had knowledge thereof, and intreated the Lord to spare it: but such were the sinnes of that cursed Cittie, that his prayers could not preuaile. A­gaine, more then the space of an hundred yeares before the [Page] waters drownd the worlde, had Noah warning to build y ^e Arke, and long it was ere hee finished that worke, inso­much that the children of men made a scorne thereof, and so farre were they from grace, that no warning at all they tooke thereby. The Niniuites hauing warning repented at the preaching of Ionas: but Ierusalem was nothing moued though Christ Iesus himselfe foretold their destru­ction: for which cause sorrow came vpon them as vpon a woman when she trauelleth. The signs and tokens which the Lord sent ouer that Cittie before their fall were many and maruelleus, notwithstanding they persisted in their sinnes, and flattering themselues in their owne follies, made false interpretations of those prodigious wonders. Séeing then that as the Apostle saith, that whatsoeuer is written, is written for our learning, let all Christians take warning hereby, not iestingly to ioyne themselues together (as they did in the old world) to deride or falsely to interpret the dreadfull tokens sent among vs, lest with them of Ierusalem destruction do suddenly come vpon vs. I haue here to shew you a strange and wonderfull token of Gods wrath figured forth in a silly Herring, in which smal fish he doth demonstrate great and dreadfull matters as by the picture you may perceiue: on the one side where­of you may plainely behold the perfect shape of two ar­med men, the one hauing in his hand a launce, the other a sword, close buckled in their corslets, with burgancts on their heades, standing as it were in their defence, threat­ning and assayling one another. I know that many will giue as small credit hereunto, and as sleightly esteeme thereof as Pharao did of the flies, & the Iewes of Christs miracles: notwithstanding the Lord hath chosen the foo­lish thinges of this world to confound the wise, and the weake to ouercome the mighty, as he himselfe hath ex­pressed in his holy Gospell. Moreouer there was toward the taile of this Herring the right portraiture of two rods, the one farre bigger then the other, seeming to bee [Page] bound together with two strong bandes apéece, which euery man must confesse to bee the vndoubted signe of dreadfull correction: according as the Psalmist speaketh, saying: Thou shalt bruse them with a rod of Iron, and breake them in peeces like a Potters vessell. In scrip­ture sword and pestilence is said to be the scourges of the Lord: and therefore that cruel and bloody tyrant Tamber­laine did iustly call himselfe the scourge of God, by whom he corrected the proud, rebellious and wicked world: bring­ing by bloody wars many kingdomes into his subiection. If we enter then into due consideration hereof, and with the eyes of grace behold the same, we cannot but confesse, that the righteous Lord hath sent these signes vnto vs, to forewarne vs of our wickednesse, least by the sharpe cor­recting rods of Gods wrath wee be most iustly punished with sword and famine. But now behold on the other side of this Herring, were fiue Characters most perfectly in­grauen, some of them vsual, and wel knowne among vs at this day, others strange and not vnderstood: but what the God of all power and might will giue hereby to be known is left to better iudgement, notwithstanding let vs re­member, that as it once pleased God by the finger of his power to write on the wall a heauie sentence against Bal­thasar, so hath it pleased him at this present to write on this Herring vndoubtedly a heauie sentence against the sinnes of this age, thereby to call this drowsie worlde out of the damnable sléepe of sinne and wickednes, where­in it hath slugged so long a time. Then what is he that séeing the same, and dreading the hot vengeance of the Lord, will not be inforced with Balthasar to shake and tremble at the grieuous iudgements which is therby like­ly to bee threatned: if Balthasar being a heathen King, shooke so sore at the handwriting on the wall, wel may all Christians harts shake to sée, and there withall to consi­der what fearefull sentence may vpon the Herring be en­grauen. When our Sauiour Christ did write vpon the [Page] ground, before those that accused the woman of adulterie, her accusers were therby so confounded in conscience, that for very shame they slipt away out of his sight: how much more then may we be confounded at the sight & interpre­tation of these strange characters, which the Lord hath not written on the ground in the dust of the earth, but in the very meat which we should eat, thereby (as it were) laying his indgements in our dishes, at euery meale to be remembred. For who is ignorant that among the fishes of the sea, there is none so common at our table as the Herring, no fish more vsed in any land, nor better knowne among all sorts of people: whereby it is iustly to be gathe­red, that the Lord hath sent it for a generall warning vn­to his people: the Lord grant our heartes may be moued thereby. Moreouer, this Herring was full fouretéene inches in length: importing (as I coniecture) that this iudgement threatned against the world for sinne is an ex­traordinarie and no vsuall iudgement, but such as the eyes of men haue seldome or neuer séene: besides, the markes were all of red and bloody colour. The Lord for Christes sake be merciful vnto vs, & giue vs grace with such repen­ting harts to turne from our sinnes, that he may turne his iust wrath from vs. This Herring among a number of others was taken on the 26. day of Nouemb. 1597. néer vnto Drenton, sometime the ancient and chiefe Cittie of the kingdome of Norway. And after it was shewen to di­uers of the nobility, & magistrates of that countrey. The portraiture thereof & admonition was first printed in Ro­terdam, by Iohn van Doetec [...]m in the Dutch tongue, & out of the same language translated into English, for the profite and instruction of our countrey people. The Lord God Almighty giue vs grace to watch and waite for the comming of the heauenly brydegroome, that being decked and attired in the true wedding garment of Christes righ­teousnes, we may enter with him to the heauenly banket, there to raigne in his glorious kingdome for euermore, Amen.