Final answer:
The excerpt celebrates the discovery of the shore and encourages people to rejoice and be cheerful. Firing cannons symbolizes the excitement and celebration, startling the heavens.
Step-by-step explanation:
The excerpt from 'Ode to the Virginian Voyage' by Michael Drayton celebrates the discovery of the shore and encourages people to rejoice and be cheerful. It mentions firing cannons, symbolizing the excitement and celebration, to startle the heavens. The best paraphrase of the excerpt is: Give thanks to God for revealing the shore to us, and may you, the most fortunate individuals, rejoice and make merry. Fire cannons create a thunderous disturbance across the wide sky.