An Anniversary Memorial, Title page – To the reader
An Anniuersarie MEMORIALL OF ENGLANDS DELIVERY FROM The Spanish Inuasion: DELIVERED IN A Sermon on Psal. 48.7.8. By THOMAS GATAKER B. of D. and Pastor of Rotherhith.
LONDON, ¶ Printed by John Haviland for Philemon Stephens and Christopher Meredith, at the Golden Lion in Pauls Churchyard. 1626.
TO THE WORSHIPFVLL HIS VERY LOVING Friend M. Thomas Chapman, Sonne and Heire to the Religious Founder of this Exercise.
Worthy Sir,
WHat your selfe, and others with your selfe hauehave through your means formerly by word of mouth heard from me, you shall now vponupon your second request receiue here in writing. I should not hauehave deemed it worthy the reseruation, but that it pleased you (who hauehave best right to it) to require it. In scatterd notes only (like Absyrtus his limmes) I had the summe and heads of it; which I hauehave againe here recollected, & cast (as neare as I could) into that mould and frame that it was deliuered in at first. If much seeme missing of that little grace that it then had, it must be remembred, that the liuelesse letter for viuacitie and efficacie commeth farre short of the liuing voice. As it is, you hauehave it, and no more then your owne in it, from him, who for your pious building on your worthy Fathers foundation in this kinde, doth deseruedly affect you, and shall alwayes continue
Yours to be commanded in the Lord, THO. GATAKER.
TO THE READER.
BE pleased (good Reader) to vnderstand in few words the occasion whereupon this Sermon was preached, and thou wilt iudge it to be a kinde of necessitie to make that publike to the common view, which was first intended for the eare onelyonly of a priuate Auditory. There is, we see, too great and generall a want (in these our dayes) of monuments and memorials of that miraculous deliuerance which God wrought for this Land in 88. When Tongue and Pen, Pulpit and Presse are silent for that, we may expect the stones to cry out against vsus, and to celebrate that praise to God whereof we are neglectiue. But mans memory being a table booke to register acts passed, and not able to comprehend all that is to be recorded therein, when new things of note come to be imprinted in it, the old are wip't out: so God affording vsus a daily supplie of new preseruations, those other which we hauehave formerly receiued grow quite out of date, are rased out, and buried in obliuion. Therfore to reuiue this blessing (which ought neuer to be forgotten) amongst the rest in this Land, and for it to eternize Gods praise amongst vsus, it hath beene religiously prouided by Mr. Thomas Chapman (sometimes a worthy Citizen) that yeerely three Sermons shall be preached in the Church of St. Pancrace in Soper-lane, where he lately liued a well deseruing parishioner: One of the Sermons to be preached Nouemb. 17. in thankfull remembrance of the coronation of that Virgin Queene ELIZABETH of famous and neuer-dying memory, with whose gracious gouernment accompanied much happinesse to our kingdome; but this as chiefe of all, (scil.) the establishment of that truth of the Gospell & discipline of the Church which we now enioy vnderunder our dread Soueraigne Lord King CHARLES (whom God long preserue a religious Defender of this truth and peace amongst vsus.) Another Sermon to be preached August 12. for our deliuerance from that Spanish Armado (in which course this Sermon was preached.) A third Nouemb. 5. for the preseruation of our King and State from that damnable powder-plot as yet vnparalleld in any age since the world began. In each of these we may behold Gods goodnesse: first in bringing vsus to the glorious light of the Gospell by making that Queene a Mother ouer his Israel and a Nurse ouer his Church: neither was it lesse goodnesse in him to preserue vsus in this happy state, then to conferre it vponupon vsus; and this he hath done maugre the malice of our enemies, who hauehave not wanted both power and policie in these their attempts, yet when they were strong and many, our God was mightier than they, and there were more with vsus than against vsus: when they had laid their plots and traines, God confounded the wicked imaginations of those Achitophels, and let them fall into the pit they had digged for others. This good man, famous in his generation, in thankfull remembrance to God of these three blessings, in his life time solemnly obserued three Sermons, and hath left large Legacies at his death for their continuance vntounto posteritie; that in succeeding ages fathers may declare vntounto their children how great things God hath done for vsus in the old times before them. By this godly care of his, he hath built himselfe a monument of fame to remaine longer than those Aegyptian Pyramides, or that Pillar which Absolom reared vp in the Kings dale for the perpetuitie of his name vponupon earth. Thus they that honour God, God will honour them, in seeking the glory of Gods name, God hath made an honourable memoriall of his name to redound vponupon his owne head. He was second to none, being the first Founder (of late) of this pious act: but I hope he shall not stand alone, but that there will be many found to second him hereafter in so good a worke worthy the imitation. So now (Reader) I commit this Sermon to thy perusall: whilest in it thou seest Gods wonderfull workes which he hath done for our Nation, or what good soeuer thou shalt reape else in this Exercise, be thankfull to God and pray for the Author.