IN diuers maners god spake & opened himselfe to our fa­thers: by visions & dreames, by sacraments, by angels, by plaine expresse words, by al­legories, by secret & mystical vnderstanding, where one thing is couered vn­der another. And al this did he that he might cō ­descende to our capacitie: that wee might bee conuerted and saued: that we might be guyded [Page] in the right way, and not goe aside, neither to the right hande nor to the left. By vision GOD spake to Ezechiel, as appeareth in the firste Chapter of his prophecie, The wheeles which he saw were horible to behold, they were ful Ezek. 1. of rings, and the rings were full of eyes: the foure beasts were also terrible, they had fa­ces like a man, like a lion, like a bullock, and like an eagle. In dream God spake to Samuel, saying, Beholde I wil doe a thing in Israel, 1. Sam. 3. wherof whosoeuer shal heare, his two eares shall tingle &c. Touching Sacramentes God him selfe saith, Thou shalt shew thy Sonne in Exod. 13. that day, saying this is done, because of that which the Lord did vnto me whē I came out of Egipt, thou shalt set apart vnto the lord al that first openeth the wombe &c. And whē thy sonne shal aske thee to morrow, saying, What is this? thou shalt then say vnto him, with a mighty hande the Lorde brought vs out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. For when Pharao was hard hearted agaynst our departure, the Lord then slue al the first borne in the lande of Egypt, from the first born of man, euen to the first born of beast: therefore I sacrifice vnto the Lorde all the males that first open the wombe, but al the first borne of my sonnes I redeeme. Some­times he spake by Angels, as by sundrye exam­ples [Page] it may appeare. Sometimes by him selfe in his owne person, as he spake to Moses face to face. Sometimes by playne expresse wordes, Thou shalt loue the Lorde thy God with all Deut. 6. thy heart, and with all thy soule, and with all thy might. And againe, Thou shalt haue Deut. 5. none other goddes before my face, thou shalt make thee no grauen image &c. These are playne woordes: these are the woordes which our Lord GOD hath spoken. Some tymes he expressed his holy will, not in words, or visions, or in such sort as I haue shew­ed, but onely by some mysticall or secret Al­legory, by some deede which the people sawe done before their eyes: of which kynd is this which we haue now to consider. Therefore Esai. 5. hath God sayde by the Prophet, What coulde I haue done any more to my vineyard, that I haue not done vnto it? What shoulde I doe, but it hath byn done? What shoulde I say, but it hath been sayde? what war­ning shoulde I giue, but it hath byn giuen? I haue byn carefull for my people, that they shoulde repent and turne to me, that all Israel shoulde be saued. If they perish, I am free from their destruction they perishe in their owne wilfulnesse, they haue none ex­cuse.

Now touching an Allegory, whereof we [Page] are at this present to say: God opened his minde sometimes not by wordes, but by some notable kinde of deede: and the people heard GOD speak vnto them not with their eares, but with their eyes. The people of Israel as they were passing through the wildernesse, lacked water to drinke, and were like to perishe, there stood a mighty great Rocke of harde stone whiche Moses smote with his rodde, it opened and yel­ded out a great streame of water, the whole people dranke of it, and was refreshed: the same people being likewise in the same wildernesse vtterly voyde of bread, and all other substenance, was like to famish, God sent them Manna from heauen aboue, they gathered it, they ground it, and they ate of it: it was sweet and delicate, and full of comfort.

This was an Allegorie, that is to say, a se­cret and mysticall kinde of vtterance. For, by this Manna, and by this Rocke, the people was ledde to vnderstand and thinke on that bread and that water that should come from heauen. Saint Paul saith, the Rocke was Christ: his side was clouen, his blood issued out, it is a water sprin­ging [...]. Cor. 10. vp into euerlasting life, we drink of it, and liue for euer.

So likewise that Manna was the bodie of Christ, the people did eate of it, and liued by it. Christ had not yet taken vppon him a natu­rall [Page] bodye, yet they did eate his bodie: he had not yet shedde his blood, yet they dranke his blood. Saint Paule saith, all did eate the same 1. Cor. 10. spirituall meate, that is, the body of Christ: and all did drinke of the same spirituall drinke: that is, the blood of Christ, and that as verily and as truely as we doe nowe, and who so euer then did so eate Christ, liued for euer, not because the rocke was turned into his flesh, or the water into his blood: it was an Allegory, as al other Sacramentes be: the people hereby was taught to consider of other things.

When the people was strong with Ser­pentes in the wildernesse, and were swollen, and heaued vp, and perished in the wildernesse without hope of cure, Moses erected vp a bra­sen serpent vppon a pole: the people beheld it, their anguish abated, their swelling slaked, and they were healed: Christ was this serpent, he was lifted vpon the crosse, who so trusteth in him shal neuer be ashamed.

In certaine of their sacrifices they had a Lambe, they stickte him, they killed him, and made sacrifice of him, this Lambe was Christ the Sonne of GOD, he was killed, stickt, and made a sweete smelling Sacrifice for our sinnes. Of him sayeth God himselfe, This is Mat. 3. my beloued Sonne in whom I am well plea­sed. [Page] Of him saith Iohn, Beholde the Lambe Ihon. 1. of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. Of him Saint Peter speaketh, among men there is none other name giuen vnder Actes. 4. heauen, whereby we must be saued. In his righteousnesse onely we are receyued as righ­teous, his blood clenseth vs from all sinne, there is no other sacrifice wherewith we may be reconciled to GOD our heauenly Father: all these were Allegories, that is to say, cer­taine resemblaunces and significations of se­crete matters. That striking of the Rocke, that feeding vppon Manna, that lifting vp of the Serpent, that killing of the Lambe, were cer­tayne mysticall kinds of speaking. And let no man thinke these things are impertinent or frō the purpose: they are incident vnto the matter, and grow necessarily of the things we haue to speake of.

When Iosuah that noble and worthy Cap­tayne by Gods speciall conducte had past tho­row the water of Iorden, and taken possessi­on in the Lande of Canaan, a Land flowing with mylke and hony, there to plant the people of Israel according to the promises that GOD had made them: the Citizens of Hiericho that stoode in the frontiers of the Countrey, rampyred their wall, and placed their artille­rie, and appoynted them selues to resist him, [Page] and to withstand his force. To assault this City, Iosuah practised a straunge kynd of bat­tery. He commaunded that the Arke of Gods Maiesty shoulde be carried reuerently about the Walles seuen dayes together, and that the whole hoste in armour shoulde goe before it: that after them shoulde followe seuen Priestes with seuen Trumpets: that all the rest of the people shoulde followe after the Arke: and that thus they should doe euery day once. The seuenth day he encreased their labour, and bade them to goe about seuen times in like or­der. The people within laughed them to scorne to see their folly. At the seuenth and last turne, Iosuah commaunded them all to make a showte. Straight way after so long silence, they lifted vp their voyces, and showted with a greate showte, so many hundred thousands of men, women, and children: the Trumpets blewe in euery corner, the whole Heauen and earth was ful of their noyse, and the Wall fell downe flat.

Here let vs consider, and glorifie the pow­er of God: there was neyther mine, nor ramme, nor other engine, nor warlike force, nor world­ly pollicy practised: onely at this roare and sounde of Trumpets, and voyces of men, the rampyers were broken, the walles fell downe, [Page] and sunke, and were made euen with the grounde: the Souldiers went ouer and slewe without mercy, man, woman, and child, and cat­tell, and whatsoeuer creature they found before them, they fired the citie, and consumed it, and burnt it to ashes.

Then Ioshua sware at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lorde, whosoeuer hence foorth shall take in hande to restore this City of Hiericho: let him lay the foundation thereof in the death of his eldest sonne, and in the death of his youngest childe let him close vp and finishe the gates: let him neuer more re­ioyce in the fruite of his bodie, but let him liue as a manne accursed in the middes of the peo­ple: let his name and memorie, and all his po­sterity perish with him: this was the tenure of Ioshuas curse.

Sixe hundred yeeres after in the time of the wicked King Achab, one Hiel (hauing 1. King. 16. no regarde to this curse) set vppon to restore Hiericho: and it came to passe euen as it was foresaide by Ioshua, Gods curse fell vppon him, he buryed his eldest sonne, bee huryed his youngest sonne, hee was left without comforte euen as a man that the Lorde had cursed: for Gods will was that Hie­richo: shoulde lye waste, and desolate for euer, [Page] as an euerlasting remembraunce of his wrath, that all people should feare to withstand his wil. This is the plaine story onely, according to the letter.

But as touching the Allegorie, or the mat­ter which therein lyeth couered, it hath a farre deeper meaning. This Hiericho whereof the story speaketh, was a citie in Canaan, in a lowe, sowre, barren ground, in the middest of a rotten 2. King. 2 and pestilent water, by reason whereof before the same water was cured by the Prophet Eli­zeus, the men that dranke thereof died of sundry diseases, & the women also became vnfruitfull. This citie withstoode the people of God, and la­boured to keepe them from their inheritaunce that God had giuen them.

That Hiericho of whiche we haue nowe to consider, is a spirituall power of darknesse, that resteth onely in flesh, and in worldy promi­ses, that withstandeth Gods people, and exal­teth itselfe against God. For euen in this life, as there is a Ierusalem, so is there a Hiericho: as truth hath her house, so is there also a house wherein falshoode and errour dwelleth. As there is a glory of the light, so is there a power of darkenesse. This Hiericho of falsehood and darkenesse God ouerthroweth when it seemeth good in his sight, with the breath of his mouth, and with the blast of his holy woorde hee doeth [Page] ouerthrow it, and whosoeuer wil seek to restore it, shalbe accursed.

Three things therfore I haue thought good by Gods sufferance to treate of.

• 1 First, how high this Hiericho is built, and how strongly it is fenced, and yet how easily it is ouerthrowen.
• 2 How vainely, and how miserably they loose their labour, that seeke by any meanes to restore it.
• 3 What good remedies may be deuised, that this Hiericho be not restored againe.

Whatsoeuer my simple learning or vtterāce shalbe, yet I doubt not, but the very bare consi­deration hereof, of it selfe, vnto the godly must needs be comfortable.

They that goe down to the sea in shippes, and occupy by the great waters, they see the Psal. 107. works of the lord, & his wōders in the deep. For God is maruelous in the surges and tem­pestes of the Sea: he is marueilous in the firma­ment of Heauen: but much more marueilous is he in the surges and stormy Tempestes of his Church. Here may we beholde the worke of his hands. This is y ^e shop of his power, of his wis­dome, of his light, and truth, and righteousnesse, and patience, and mercy. Here may we see the children of light, and the children of darknesse: the vessels of honour, and the vessels of shame: [Page] the assaultes of falshood, and the glory and victory of truth. Here shall we see how God leadeth euen into Hell, and yet bringeth safely backe: how he killeth, and yet reuiueth: howe he refuseth the full, and feedeth the hungrye: howe he is the ruine of many, and the resurrec­tion of many. Here may we see the wonder­full wayes, and the vnsearcheable iudgments of GOD. It is a place full of terrour, and a place full of all comfort. In respect hereof the Prophete Dauid saith, O Lorde, our Lorde, how wonderful is thy name in al the world? Psal. 8. Againe he saith, One thing haue I desired of the Lord, that I wil require, that I may dwel Psal. 27. in the house of the Lorde al the daies of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lorde, and to visit his Temple.

Hiericho was a mighty strong Towne, wel manned, well victualed, well walled, well fenced: and in affiaunce thereof it withstood the whole power of Gods army. Iosuah (notwith­standing he had great force of armed men) du­ring the assaulte, suffered no man to vse his weapon: hee willed them all to walke quietly, and silent, without doyng violence: his strength was not in the number and courage of men, but onely in the Arke, that is in the presence and po­wer of God.

Thus it fareth oftentimes in spirituall war­fares: [Page] falsehood is armed, & truth goeth naked: falsehood maketh outcries, and trueth saith title: falsehood is bold, and truth is outfaced. Blinde­nesse of it selfe naturally is hardy and ventrous: and falsehoode is wyly and shifting. When the high priestes & captaines of the temple, & the el­vers were come to lay handes on Christ, he said vnto them, This is your very houre, and the power of darknesse. Their hearts were darke­ned, Luke 22. their eyes were blynded, they saw not their wayes, they knewe not their daungers, they would not vnderstand, they woulde not be taught: malice and frowardnes had made them blinde, therefore the feare of God was not be­fore their eyes. Herein stoode their power, ther­fore they were bolde, and sayde, Let vs breake their bandes, and cast their cordes from vs, Psal. 2. Therefore they sayde, Wee will not haue this man to raigne ouer vs. Therefore they sayde, Luke 19. The word that thou hast spoken to vs in the name of the Lorde, we will not heare it of Ierc. 44. thee. Thus cryed they, because of the blindnes which was in them, and because of the folly of their hearts.

Yet is there no souldier so stoute in defence of Hiericho, as hee that thinketh his cause is good, and that his doing pleaseth God well, and therefore is moued thereto in conscience. None so desperate and wilfull for the falsehoode and [Page] darkenes of Hiericho, as such who haue zeale without knowledge, as are blinde, and followe their blinde guides: who when they slaunder, or persecute, or kill others for righteousnesse sake, thinke they make a sacrifice vnto God, and that GOD is highly pleased with their doing. Such were they that cryed against Christ, Cru­cifie Iohn 19. Matth. 26. him, crucifie him: &, he hath blasphe­med. Therefore Christe maketh his prayer for thē, Father, forgiue them, for they know not Luke 23. what they do. They know not me, they knowe not whence I come, nor who it is that sent me, they take light for darkenesse, and darknesse for light. Therefore the wise man saith, Leane not Prou. 3. vnto thine own wisdom, do not the thinges that seem right in thine own eies. There is a Prou. 14. way which seemeth right to a mā, but the is­sues therof are the waies of death. It seemeth Catholique, it seemeth holy, but the ende thereof leadeth to death. S. Paule saith of the Jewes. If 1. Cor. 2. they had known the wisdome of God, they would not haue crucified the Lord of glory. If their eyes had beene open to see him, if their heart and vnderstanding had been open to know him, they had not been guilty of innocent blood, they woulde not haue betrayed the Lord of glo­rie.

But Hiericho is not onely thus fensed with blinde zeale and wilfull ignoraunce: but also of­tentimes [Page] hath helpe of mans strength, and the fauour and succour of worldly power. The Aegyptians had mighty Chariots, straked and barred with yron, in the strength whereof they put their trust. The people of Babylon built themselues a Tower as high as the Heauens, to shew forth their pryde, and get themselues a name. Hereof Dauid sayth, The kinges of the earth band themselues, and the Princes Psal. 2. are assembled together against the Lord, & against his Christ. He sayeth not, the vulgar people, or a sort of Raskals onely, but Kinges and Princes, and they which beare authoritye in the worlde, assemble them selues against the Lord, and in this power they thinke they are in­uincible.

When Moses and Aaron did the message of God vnto Pharao, saying, Thus sayeth the Lorde God of Israel: Pharao sayd: Who is Exsd. 5. the Lord, that I should heare his voyce, & let Israel goe? I know not the Lord, neither wil I let Israel goe. What is his power: what hurt can he doe: I knowe him not, I care not for him, Israel shall not depart my Countrey. So said Nabuchodonosor, who is that God, that can deliuer you out of mine hands? In Dani. 3. like sort did Sennacherib king of the Assyriās vaunt himselfe in the pride of his strength, and bidde defiance against the God of Israel, Thus 1. king. 19. [Page] shal ye speake to Ezechiah king of Iuda, and say, Let not thy God deceiue thee, in whom thou trustest, saying, Ierusalē shal not be de­liuered into the hand of the King of Asshur. Haue the gods of the heathen deliuered thē which my fathers haue destroied? And euē so doeth Saint Iohn bewray the folly of Babylon, She saith in her heart, I sit, being a Queene, Reue. 18. and am no widow, and shall see no mour­ning. In trust heereof they sayde sometymes, and commāded the Apostles, that in no wise Act. 4. they should speake or teach in the name of Iesus. They sayde, We are the children of A­braham, wee are the sonnes of the Prophetes. They sayde, we cannot erre, for it is written, The Priestes lippes should preserue know­ledge, and they shoulde seeke the Law at his Malach. 2. mouth. In trust hereof they saide, Doeth any of the rulers or Pharisies beleue in him? but Ioh. 7. this people which know not the law are cursed. In trust hereof they haue sayde: Let vs cut them out of the land of the liuing, let the name of Israel he had no more in remembraunce, this doctrine is schismaticall, this Religion is new, it hath no grounde, it shall not preuayle, it shall not stande. Such courage haue the Citizens of this ignoraunt Hiericho taken in the strength ofmannes arme, and in the helpe of worldely policy

[Page] Then they fell to sworde and persequution, and all kinde of tormentes and cruell death, the people despayred, the very electe beganne to faynte: Saint Paule sayeth, Wee are made a gasing stocke vnto the worlde, and to the Angels, and vnto men. The Prophet 1. Cor. 4. Dauid prayeth vnto GOD against suche, A­rise, O God, mainteine thine owne cause: Psal. 74. remember thy dayly reproch by the foolish man. So strong is the holde of this spirituall Hiericho: and so stoutely it fighteth against the Lord.

Albeit Hiericho was so strong, and the walles thereof seemed inuincible, such as no po­wer could pearce, yet at the sound of seuen trū ­pets, and the showt of the people, they fel downe flat to the ground. So mightily did God in such weake meanes shew foorth his wonderfull and fatherly care to woorke the r [...]st and peace of his people. Pharao had Israel euen in his mouth as a pray, the Sea was before them, and the hilles on eche side: they were vnarmed, he had the po­wer, and all the pollicie of his countrie: it see­med vnpossible they shoulde euer bee able to es­cape that daunger: but marke the turning of Gods mighty hande, sodainly the Sea opened, Israel passed through the middes of it, as vppon dry land: Pharao followed after, and was swal­lowed, and drowned with all his men. Israel [Page] looked back and sawe the marueilous workes of God, howe it was now perfourmed which God had sayd vnto Pharao, Thou shalt perish Exod. 9 from the earth, and in deede for this cause haue I appointed thee to shew my power in thee, and to declare my name throughout all the world. Therfore they reioyced in God, and feared him, and made him sacrifice.

Nabuchodonosor when he fell vpon Iurie, made the whole countrie to shake with the ter­rour of his name. Hee was like to a mightye great tree, whose height reached to the heauens and the fight thereof through all the world: yet sodainly was this mightie tree hewen, downe, as the holy one that came downe from heauen had said, Hew downe the tree, & destroye it. Dan. 4. Nabuchodonosor was driuen frō men, and had his dwelling with the beasts of the field & did eate grasse & fodder as the oxen, se­uen yers, til his heares were growne as Ea­gles feathers, & his nailes like birds clawes. The power of Senacherib was terrible y ^• peo­ple of Israel were not able to withstande it, hee did glory in the pride therof, he said no god was able to deliuer Ierusalem, nor to saue it out of his hands: yet sodenly the Angel of the lord, 2. King. 19. in one night smote in the campe of Asshur an hundred fourescore and fiue thousande of his men: he fled away with the rest, & was [Page] slayne by his sounes, and the people of God left at libertie.

Though Babylon said, she should neuer mourn, nor feele any heauenes: yet an Angell came Reue. 1 [...]. downe from heauen, and cried out mighti­ly with a loude voyce, saying, It is fallen, it is fallen, Babylon the great citie, and is become the habitation of Deuils, and the hold of al foule spirits, and a cage of euery vnclean & hateful bird. It were an infinite labour, and yet very comfortable, to consider, how maruei­lously God in the old times hath ouerthrowne his enemies, and deliuered his poore seruants.

Dauid to saue his life, was faine to run frō 1. Sam. 23. king Saul and remained in a mountaine in the wildernes of Ziph, & Saul sought him euery day, but God deliuered hym not into his hand. Dauid was not only w ^tout ayde or hope of ayde, but also without sustenaunce, & looked when he should be taken, & thought it not pos­sible to escape: for Saul & his men compassed Dauid & his men round about to take thē. But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, hast thee, and come, for the Philistims haue inuaded thy Land. Wherfore Saul returned from pursuinge Dauid: and thus poore Da­uid was deliuered. God is a helper in due season, he commeth with aide when things are desperate, hee helpeth when there is no hope [Page] of help els where, the counsels, attempts, & po­licies of the wicked are in vaine. He that dwel­leth Psal. 2. in the heauens shal laugh thē to scorn. The prophet Dauid found himselfe disquieted at the worldly prosperity of the wicked, & saith, As for mee, my feete were almost gone, my Psal. 73. steps had welneere slipt: for I fretted at the foolish whē I saw the prosperitie of the wic­ked, &c. thē thought I to know this, but it was to painful for me, vntil I went vp into y ^• Sanctuary of God, thē vnderstoode I their end. Surely thou hast set them in slipperie places, & castest thē downe into desolation. How sodenly are thei destroied, perished, & cōsumed? As for me, it is good to draw nere vnto god: therfore haue I put my trust in y ^• Lord god, that I may declare al thy workes.

A King is strong, a woman is stronge, and wine is stronge, but trueth dooth abyde and is stronge for euer. Truth is great and strongest. Whither may a man go from the spirit of the lord: or whither may a mā fly from his presēce, If he ascend vp into heauen, the lord is there: or if he descende into hell, the Lorde is there also. The face of the Lord is vpon them y ^t doo euill. When they shal say, peace and safetie, then shal come vpon them sodaine destruction.

Let no man be deceiued, and think that these thinges are wrought by the power of starres, or [Page] by the pleasure of princes, it is God that ruleth the world, and not the starres. It was not Io­shuah that ouerturned the walles of Hiericho, nor the crie of the people, & sounde of the trum­pets. It was neither Constantinus, nor Ioui­nian, nor Valentinian, nor Theodosius, that planted the Gospel, and changed the heartes of the people. These were vertuous and godly Emperours, yet those changes were not made by their power, but it was God which sent forth his spirite, and renewed the face of the earth. Christe Iesus the sonne of righteousnesse had looked vpon them: The morninge starre from an high, had risen ouer them. Good princes, and good rulers, are the good instrumēts by whom God setteth foorth his glory, their hearts be in the handes of God, hee [...]endeth them, and encli­neth them to his purpose: but the trueth of the Gospel is not planted, and setled in our hearts, neither by the wyll of man, nor by the authority of princes. No creature can claime part of this glory, this glory belongeth vnto God, but vn­to vs, and to our fathers, to our kinges, and to our prophets, the confusiō of our faces. This is the Lords doing, and it is maruelous in our eies. This is y ^e day which the lord hath made Baruch. 1. Psal. 118. let vs reioyce & be glad in it. This is a chāge wrought not by the Starres, but by the righte hand of the most high. The sōnes of God euen Iohn. 1. [Page] they which beleeue in him, ar borne not of blood, nor of the wil of flesh, nor of y ^e wil of man, but of god, as by the Prophet Ezechiel, God himself declareth, A new heart wil I giue Ezech. 36. you, & a new sprit wil I put within you, I wil put my sprit within you, & cause you to walk in my statuts. And by y ^e prophet Ieremy, I wil put my law in their inward parts, & write it Iere. 31. in their harts, & wil be their God, and they shalbe my people. Let vs then know this our selues: & of others let vs with the prophet Esay say, Therfore let them see and knowe & let Esai. 41. them consider and vnderstande together, that the hand of the Lorde hath done this.

Hee is able to set starres and heauens out of course, to set the Sunne backe, and to make it stand, to open the earthe, to deuide the sea, to make the drie rocke to yeelde water, to make the clouds to giue breade, to make Children to preach, to make an Asse to speak, to make the diuels to confesse his holy name, & to say, I know Luke 4. who thou art, euē y ^e holy one of god. With this power he blew downe the walles of Hieri­cho, with this power he beateth downe whatsoeuer holde is built vp against god. This power 1. Cor. 1. standeth not in worldly strength, but is shewed in weakenesse. God hath chosen the weake thinges of the worlde, to confounde the mightie things, saith the Apostle Paule. Some [Page] trust in chariots, & some in horses: but wee will remember the name of the Lorde our Psal. 20. God. Our helpe is in the name of the Lorde, which hath made both heauen and earth. Thus is the prince of darknesse caste out, thus is the Gospell of Christe caried throughoute the world: this is the ouerthrowe of Hiericho: this is the might of Gods hande.

But, is Hiericho so layde flat, that no mā wyl attempt or wishe to restore it? Uerily, it was afterward restored in the dayes of Achab: but bee that restored it was accursed. Euen so it fareth with this spirituall Hiericho, it is ne­uer so blowne downe, but some woulde wyshe to rayse it vp. God deliuered his people out of Egypt, and yet there were that looked backe, and wisht to bee there agayne: and when they had Manna in their mouthes, they thought it a lothsome and a squamishe meate, and wisht for their Goordes and Ouyons: and hauinge the Angels of God to goe in visible forme be­fore them to hee their guydes both daye and night, yet wyshed to bee vnder Pharao, in the house of bondage, to be tormented with labors, to liue in tyrannie and oppression, where they had their children slayne before their faces.

Notwithstandinge God had deliuered his people from the captiuitie of Babilon, yet the greatest part of them remayned still there, and [Page] would neuer returne to see Ierusalem.

Babylon the great citie is fallen, and is become the habitation of deuils: yet Iohn sayeth, Ma­ny shall mourne, and weepe, & lament and Reue. 18. cry ouer her, alas, alas the great citie Babilon the mightie citie Babilon, that was clothed in fine linnen and purple, & skarlet, & gyl­ded with golde, & precious stone & pearles: What citie was like to this great citie?

Dauid sayth, Their sounde is gone foorth Psal. 19. Esay. 52. through all y ^t earth, & their words into the ends of the world. And the prophet Esaye, Howe beautifull vpō the mountaines are y ^e feete of him y ^t declareth & publisheth peace y ^t declareth good tydings & publisheth sal­uation? Rom. 10. Esai. 53. Yet S. Paul saith, They haue not al o­beyed the gospel. And Esay, Lord who hath beleeued our report? or to whō is the arme Esay 65. of the lord reueled? And againe, I haue spred out my hands all the day vnto a rebellious people, whiche walked in a way y ^t was not good, after their owne imaginations. The truth of god is not alway taken, & it is neuer so receiued, that euery man liketh thereof. The Lord knoweth who are his, and to whom he wil make himselfe knowne.

Christ himselfe was a stumblinge stone vn­to the vnbeleeuinge Iewes, and a signe that should be spoken against. Saint Iohn saith, This [Page] is the condēnation, that light is come into the world, & men loued darknes rather thē light, because their deedes were euill. The Gospel of Christ is the power of god to saluati­on, it is the sauour of life vnto life, yet is it also the sauour of death vnto death. For many wyll 2. Tim. not suffer wholesome doctrine, but hauing their eares itching, shal after their owne lust get them a heape of teachers, and shal turne their eares from the truth, and shal be giuē vnto fables, & shal giue heede vnto sprits of 1. Tim. 4. error, & doctrins of deuils. Because wisdom cannot enter into a wicked hart, nor dwell in a body that is subiect to sinne, the deuil, the prince of this worlde was cast foorth: yet S. Peter say­eth, He walketh about like a roaring lion se­king 1. Pet. 5. whō he may deuour. And euen so stan­deth it with Ierusalem the Cittie of the Lorde, and that cursed Cittie Hiericho. Many refuse the blessinge of the Lorde in their deliuerance from vnder Pharao, and feedinge them with heauenly Manna, and giuinge them his An­gels to be their guides: they wyll not returne home to their owne countrey out of their cap­tiuitie in Babylon, though they see the iudge­ments of God done vpon proude Babilon, yet they mourne and lament ouer it, they looke not vpon the hands that are spread all the day vnto them, they obey not the gospel: Christe is vnto [Page] them a stumbling stone: and so seeke they to re­store agayne Hiericho, which the Lord hath o­uerthrowen, and which he would not haue built againe, but curseth them that shall seeke to re­store it. And this doe they, because they knowe not how amiable the Tabernacles of the Lord are, because they did neuer taste and see howe sweete the Lord is.

Three speciall helpes the deuil hath vsed to further this purpose of restoring Hiericho. First, the hard heart, & blindnes of the people: secondly, the eloquēce, and subtil perswasion of the learned: thirdly, the sworde and violence of tyrants. Of these three the first is the greatest, for blindnesse and stubburnnesse wyll preuayle, where cunning and tyranny can doo nothinge. Hereof the prophet Ieremy complayneth, My Ierem. 4. people is foolish, they haue not known me: they ar foolish childrē, & haue none vnder­stādīg: they ar wise to do euil, but to do wel they haue no knowledge. Of this sort our sa­uiour speaketh, This peoples heart is waxed Mat. 13. fat, & their eares are dul of hearing, & with their eies haue they winked, least they shuld see with their eies, & heare with their eares, and vnderstand with their hearts, & should Esay 30 returne, that I might heale them. Of this sort Esay reporteth, It is a rebellious people, lying children, and children that would not [Page] heare the law, of the Lorde whiche say vnto the Seers, see not: & vnto the prophets, pro­phecie not vnto vs right things: but speake flattering things vnto vs, prophesie errors, depart out of the way, goe out of the path, cause the holy one of Israel to cease from vs. Through blindnes & stubburnes, al the children of Israel murmured against Moses & Aaron▪ Numb. 14. Wherfore now hath the lord brought vs to this land to fal vpō the sworde? were it not better for vs to return into Egipt? Therfore y ^e lord said, I wil do to thē as they haue spoken, they shal not see the lande, whereof I sware to their fathers, but their carcases shall fall in this wildernes, they shal not enter into my rest: with this blindnes, god doth punish those which obey not his word. The Lord shal smite thee (sayth Moses) with madnes & blindnes, & w ^t asto­nyinge Deut. 28. of heart, thou shalt grope at noone daies, as the blinde gropeth in darknesse. I wil take my spirit frō thee, I wyl command the cloudes, that they shal not giue thee raine: thou hast forsaken me & I wyl forsake thee: I wyll cause the sunne to go downe at noone: & I wyll darken the earth at cleare day, saith the Lorde. I will send a famine vpon the lande, not a fa­mine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of Amos. 8. hearing the word of the Lord: thei shal seek the word of the Lord and shal not finde it. [Page] Saint Paul tolde the Iewes at Antiochia, See­ing Act. 13. you put the word from you, and iudge your selues vnworththy of euerlasting life▪ loe, we turne to the Gentiles, you shal be left in your filthines.

Now what shal be done to these hard hearted & blind builders of y ^e spiritual Hiericho? Christ telleth vs, it shalbe easier in that day for thē Luke 10. of Sodom, then for that citie, which wil not receaue the Disciples. And againe, Except ye Iohn. 8. beleeue that I am hee, you shall die in your sinnes. The ende of such is worse then the be­ginning. Al those plagues, & vtter destruction came vpon Hierusalem, because shee knew not the time of her visitation, euen the daye of Gods mercy, as they were foretolde by the Prophet Ieremy, Behold, that which I haue built will Ierem. 45. I destroy, & that which I haue planted wyll I pluck vp, euen this whole lande. So dooth god plague one sinne with another, & letteth thē whiche are filthy grow in filthinesse, because of the hardenes of their hart which can not repent: wherby they heape vnto themselues vengeance against the day of the Lords wrath: such are not worthy to see Hierusalem: therefore are they left to perish in Hiericho.

As for the eloquence and deceitefull persua­sion of the learned, I wyll say nothing. Not­withstanding it hath bene, and is so vsed to the [Page] restoringe of Hierico, that a blinde man may perceiue it, and all the world may rue it. One saide sometimes, that were the matter neuer so false, hee woulde prooue it by eloquence to bee true. Another sayde, the sunne and moone stand stil, and the earth goeth about. Another sayde, that snow is blacke, and that hee was able well to proue it, and there were many whiche belee­ued them. Such were they of whom it is writ­ten in the Prophet Esay, that spake good of euill, & euil of good: which put darkenes Esay. 5. for light, and light for darkenesse, and put bitter for sweete, and sweet for sowre. So they mocked the eyes of the ignoraunt, and ab­used the giftes of God. Thy wysedome and thy knowledge (saith the Prophet) they haue Esay. 47. caused thee to rebel, and thou hast sayde in thine heart, I am, and none els: thou art wearyed in the multitude of thy Counsels: let now the Astrologers, the Starre gasers, and Prognosticatours stande vp, and saue thee from these thinges that shall come vp­on thee.

We may answere such learned disputers, as Dauid answered the proud Goliah, thou com mest to me with a sword, and with a speare, 1. Sam. 17. and with a shield: that is, with great eloquence & shew of learning: but I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of hostes, the god of the [Page] host of Israel, whom thou hast rayled vpon. By the Prophet Ieremie thus sayeth the Lord. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdome, Ierem. 9. nor the strong mā glorie in his strength, neither the rich mā glorie in his riches: but let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he vn­derstandeth and knoweth me. Agayne, it is written (sayth the Apostle) I wyll destroy the 1. Cor. 1. wisedome of the wise, & will cast away the vnderstanding of the prudent. And Eliphaz Iob. 5. saith, He taketh the wise in their craftines, & the counsel of the wicked is made foolish: he wyl open their errors, he will bewray theyr craftinesse, he will ouerthrow the cunning de­uises of their wit: these helps shal not suffice to builde vp cursed Hiericho.

Now to speak of the third help, of the power of Princes, whom the wicked builders of this spirituall Hiericho haue in all ages deceiued. The authoritie of a prince is great, he is the ser­uant of God, he carieth y ^e sword for God to take vengeance on hym that dooth euill. Salomon Pro. 16. saith, The wrath of a king is as messēgers of death. Unto thē these builders haue recourse, & accuse the seruants of the lord, which haue wai­ted vpon Iosuah, and haue done y ^e Lords wyll, vpon this wilfull and rebellious citie.

The Heathen and Infidels vsed this helpe against the Christians, they accused thē before [Page] Kinges that they were wicked, that they wor­shipped strange gods, that they liued in adulte­rie, and incest, that they killed theyr Children, and dyd feede vpon mans flesh. Before them they charged the Christians with diuisions and schismes, sayinge, You Christians agree not a­mong your selues, you haue so many sects, and one sect is at defiance with another, and con­demneth one another: therefore your religion is not true, it is not of God. Since the time wee forsooke our Gods, these and these euils are come vpon vs. They charged Christians that they were stirrers vp of rebellion, and that they disquieted the mindes of the people. Let these Christians, said they, be cast to the Iyons. Such complayntes were brought before Kinges and Princes againste the Christians of the Primi­tiue Church, and these false charges haue bene thoughte true: therefore were there sharpe lawes made agaynst them. It was comaunded, that no man shoulde speake in the Name of Christ, and who did not obey this, shoulde dye the death.

Who is able to expresse the miseries, whiche followed in the execution of those Lawes? There was no sworde nor weapen, no racke nor torment, no fire, nor water, but they were prepared for, and stayned with Christian blood, Souldiers were kept in whole garisons: prin­ces [Page] made Leagues, kepte Councils, deuised new and cruell lawes, vsed conspiracies, prac­tised al kindes of strange and terrible deathes for the defence of Hiericho: they kylled Chri­stians by thousandes Maximianus burnt in one Temple twentie thousande, assembled to­gether to celebrate the memorie of the Natiui­ty of Christ. Dioclesian made proclamation for the ouerthrowinge of the Christian Churches throughout all the Romane Empyre: hee cau­sed the Bookes of holy Scripture to bee bur­ned in the open Market place: and displaced with great ignomie suche Christians as were Magistrates, and all other that bare any office. These thought, that heerby the gospel of Christ should be abolished, and quite ouerthrowne.

But the Lorde, which was mightie to saue Daniel in the middes of the lyons, and Ionas in the whales bellye, and his three seruantes in the flaming fire, and Israel in the redde Seat whose eyes are ouer the righteous, and whiche is nigh vnto all that call vpon hym: was also able to make his owne cause good, to giue courage to his Seruantes, & tremblinge and anguish of minde to their enemies. For the more his seruannts were deminished, the more they encreased: and the more tyrants preuailed, the more they were weakened. He that should die was bold and carelesse: he that shoulde kyl, [Page] was fearefully amazed: the tormentor mour­ned, the condemned reioyced: the dead had the glorie, the Tyrantes the shame: their sacrifices decayed, their Temples were forsaken, theyr Goddes laught to scorne, their Priestes were wood, and lacked their large offringes: the Lorde did let the curse fall vpon them, whiche he made by his seruant Ioshuah, and whiche shall come vpon al those that wyll seeke to raise vp Hiericho.

To rehearse the examples of Gods myghtye hande, and to declare what hee hath done in all ages, to shew foorth his power, no tongue is a­ble: yet it is expedient to giue foorth one or two examples thereof. Licinius an vngodly Emperour, after hee had extended his force a­gainst the Christians to suppresse them, and gaue greatest shew of his fauour to such about him, as could best deuise new and straunge tor­ments, felt y ^e plagues of god, was sundry times vanquished by Constantinus, to whom he yeel­ded Tripart. hist. lib. 1. cap. 8. Carion. li. 3 himself, and led a priuate life in Thessalia, vntill at length hee which had beene before the enemy vnto al learning, was slayne by his own souldiers. The palme of the hande whiche Bal­thazar saw write vpon the plaster of the wall, Dan. 5. did more amaze him, his countenance was more changed, and his thoughts more troubled ther­with, then if he dad bene assaulted with the force [Page] of a hundred thousand men.

King Pharaoh first saide to the messengers of God Moses & Aaron, I know not the Lord, I care not for him. But when he felt the smart of Gods hand, he cried out vnto them. The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are wic­ked: Exod. 9. pray ye vnto the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunders, & haile, and I wil let you goe, and you shal ta­rie no longer.

Antiochus placed idols in the Temple of God, and blasphemed his name, and brought Ie­rusalem 1. Mach. 1. into bondage, he burnt the bookes of the Lawe in the fire, and cut them in pieces, that so, the name of God might no more be remem­bred: but when the tormentes which God cast vpon him began to vexe him, then hee began to leaue off his great pride and selfe wil: when he was plagued, & came to the knowledge of him selfe with the scourge of God, when he himselfe might not abide his owne stinke, he said, It is meet to be subiect vnto God, & that a man 2. Mach. 9. which is mortal, should not thinke himselfe equall to God through pride. Then he pray­ed to the Lord, then he deliuered the Iewes, thē he would restore the temple, then he would also become a Iew himselfe, and goe through al the world, and preach the power of God. Euseb. lib. 8: c. 10. & 19.

Maximianus practising the like attemptes, [Page] was likewise striken: his fleshe was eaten with lice, his body rotted in wardly, hee was not able to abyde the smel of himselfe, Then hee confes­sed his errour, found his guilte, called in his pro­clamation, stayed his sword, and (albeit it were against his mynd) commaunded that the Chri­stians shoulde haue their Bookes, and vse their Churches, and heare the Scriptures and call vppon the name of Christ, as they had done be­fore.

Iuliane of all other began most politiquely and subtlely, and therefore most mightely to set vp Hiericho. He gaue commandement that no Christian mans childe should goe to schoole, de­uising thereby to keepe them rude and barba­rous, that no Christian shoulde beare office, or liue in any manner authoritye, thereby to make them vyle: that they should neuer be Captaynes or souldiers, that so they might be kept in weak­nes, he remoued the Christians out of his court. He opened againe the temple of the Heathen, & did erecte Idolles in them, and the more to giue credit and countenaunce to the matter, he himselfe being the Emperour, tooke vpon him the office of a Bishop, and did offer sacrifice: many of the nobles, & many of y ^e people, applied themselues to followe this example, and did the like. He licēced the Iewes to returne home again, & to build vp Ierusalem, he allowed them mony, [Page] he gaue them liberties, and all this onely in the despite of Christ: onelye to discredite and deface the glory of the sonne of God. Hereby the Here­tikes vpbrayded and defied Christ: the faithfull were dismayed, and the church of GOD was brought to great confusion.

But now let vs enter into the sanctuary of the Lordes counsels, and behold the later end of these doinges. The Iewes fell to woorke, layd their foundation, prouided al thinges needefull, and began to buylde: sodainely brake out an earthquake, and ouerthrew their worke: lighte­ninges fel from heauen and burnt their tooles in their handes, and their coates on their backs. The print that the lightning made in their gar­ments was a crosse, in token that they were the enemies of the crosse of Christe. Then was the name of Christ more glorious, and his Gospell more beautiful then before.

Iulian tooke his iourney into Persia, and had made great threates, y ^t at his returne hee would consume the name of Christians, roote, out the name of the Galilaeans, and not leaue one Chri­stian aliue, and would set vp the Image of Ve­nus in all his Churches. But, being in the field, he was sodainely striken in the breast with an arrow from heauen: he pulled it out, the wound was deadly, he cursed Christ, hee tooke of the blood into his hande, threwe it vp into the ayre, [Page] and thus cried, Vicisti Galilaee, O thou Christ of Galilee, thou hast conquered. Thus sodē ­ly the tyrant was s [...]aine, his attempts were ac­cursed, his frame of Hiericho would not stand. The faithful Christians were set at liberty, they went to their Churches, they gaue God y ^• glory, they made triumphs & were ioyful. Thus God looketh vpon his faithful: such is the power and readines of his hand.

The diuel himselfe confessed, that when any Christian was present, his mouth was musted, he could not speake, he could doe nothing. The like might be said of Nero, Caligula, Maximi­nus, Hist. tripar. li. 7. cap. 39. Dioclesian, Valerian, & others: they had [...]ōquered Fraunce, Spain, Germany, Englād, Hungarie, Dalmatia, Arabia, India, Persia, & Scithia: they had the world at commandement, yet a few poore Christians, artificers, women, & maydens, ignorant and vnlearned people, they coulde neuer conquer. Nero had crucified Pe­ter, and beheaded Paule that preached the Gos­pel, but the Gospel whiche they preached, they could not behead, they could not crucifie. Nero, Caligula, Commodus, and sundry others like [...]yrants were slain. Dioclesian, as it is thought, was striken mad, made vnable to rule, and ther­fore left the Empire. Valerian was taken in the field by Sapores King of Persia, and tyed in a chaine, and being the Emperour of the worlde, [Page] was made to lie downe on all foure, that Sapo­res might set his feete on his shoulders, and so get to horsebacke.

Al this notwithstanding the Gospel of Christ grewe stil and went forwarde. Suche successe shal they haue, that take in hand to builde Hie­richo. The Lorde wil smyte his enemies vp­on the cheeke bone, he will breake the teeth of the wicked. Well may they barke, they shal not byte. God knoweth the way of the righte­ous, and the way of the wicked shal perish. God resisteth the proude, but giueth grace to the low­ly. Yet a little while (saith Dauid) & the wic­ked shall not appeare, and thou shalt looke Psal. 37. after his place, and hee shall not be found: The remembraunce of him shall perish. Euery plant which our heauenly father hath not plan­ted, shalbe rooted out. Put not your trust then in princes, nor in the sonnes of men, which cannot saue themselues: their breath departeth, and they returne to their earth. It is God that is king of kings, which loueth the righteous, & ouerthro­weth the way of the wicked. All flesh is grasse, Esay. 40. and al the grace thereof is as the floure of the field, the grasse withereth, the floure fa­deth: but the word of our God shall stande for euer.

Was God able in those daies to auenge the cr [...]elty of Tyrantes, to withstand the proud, to [Page] defend the humble and lowlie, & shal we thinke that his hande is shortened? great is our God, & his power is wonderfull, and there is no ende of his iudgements. O what leagues, and confede­racies, what practises, & pollicies haue we seene defeyted? what aboundaunce of blood hath been shed by sword, and by fire? the workers thereof are gone, the end of many of them was horrible, yet the Gospel continueth, and encreaseth in all places. Aeneas Siluius, who was afterward Pope, and called Pius the seconde, sheweth in his storie of Bohemia, what great preparation was made to mainteyne the Church of Rome, Hist. Bohemi­ca. cap. 48. and to destroy al those which professed the Gos­pel, whom they called Hussites and Calixtians, because they defended the receyuing of the cup, as well as of the bread in the Lordes Supper. Two Cardinals, the one of them Cardinall Beauford, an English man, & Bishop of Win, the other Iulianus, were sent into Germany to leauy power: at whose intreaty the Emperour and States appoynted three armies of men to fulfill the Popes purpose. But (saith the story) Non visum hostem fugerunt, They fled before they did see the enimie. And againe the secōd time, Priusquam hostis vllus daretur in cospectu, foedis sima caepta fuga, They fledde away with shame, before any enimy came to fight. here of one of the Cardinals Iulianus, writeth thus [Page] to Eugenius the fourth, Nonne videbitur hic di­gitus Dei? Ecce, exercitus armatorum toties fu­git à facie eorum, & nunc similiter Ecclesia vni­uersalis fugit: ecce, nec armis, nec literis vinci poss [...]t. Videbitur miraculum Dei euideter, demon­strans illos ver a sentire, nos falsa. Is not the po­wer of God here to be seene? our armies of souldiers haue fled before thē many times, and now the vuiuersal Church fleeth. They cannot be ouercome, neither by weapons, nor by learning. This must needs appeare a miracle wrought by God, to declare that their opinion is true, and ours false.

Thus we see how vainly, and miserably they encumber themselues which take vpon them to restore Hiericho. God withstandeth them & de­feateth their purpose, as wee may see this day. Let vs therfore reioyce in God, and let vs saye with the people of Israel, I will sing vnto the Exod. 15. Lord; for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and him that rode vpon him hath he ouerthrowen in the sea.

It is not enough, that wee looke backe and gaze at this decayed citie of Hiericho, and be­holde the rampiers loosed, the walles throwen downe, the houses burned, and the people there­of slayne. God can giue peace, God can with­drawe it: we haue seene the iudgements of the Lord vpon them, wee haue seene the turning of [Page] the Lords hand towards vs. That thing whiche hath bin done, may be done again. The Arke of God was taken by the Philistims, and God suf­fered his temple to be spoyled: not that he was offended with the Arke, or with the temple, but for the vnworthines of the people. He neuer for­saketh, but he is first forsaken. As he saith, See­ing ye haue forsaken mee, I wil also forsake you. God himself telleth vs by the prophet Iere­mie, [...]. Esd. 1. as you heard before. That which I haue built wil I destroy, & that which I haue plan­ted wil I plucke vp. When Christ rebuked the vnthankfulnes of the Iewes, he said vnto them, The kingdom of God shalbe taken frō you, and shalbe giuen to a nation, whiche shall Matt. 21 bring forth the fruites thereof. And agayne, The children of the kingdom shalbe cast out into vtter darknes, for many are called, but Matt. 20. fewe are chosen. It behoueth vs not therfore, ouermuch to glory in victory. It is fickle, and casuall, and may be lost. Let vs humble our selues vnder the mighty hande of God, let vs acknowledge the woonderfull woorke that he hath wrought in our dayes, and praye him to continue the good thinge hee hath begunne a­mong vs. In him we haue our lyuing, our mo­uing, and our being. We are nothing but claye before him, that he which reioyceth, may reioyce in the Lorde. [Page] Now it remaineth we consider what wholsome remedies may be deuised, that Hiericho be neuer againe restored. Here of I wil say somewhat, the time so requireth. Heere might wee marke the practises and policies of noble cōquerors, what wayes they take to keepe themselues in safety, and their conquered subiectes from rebellion, Some when they had gotten a citie, thought it enough to ouerthrow the walles therof, Some razed al the castels, & threw down al the holdes. Others haue built strong places, and Towers, and furnished them with munition to bridle the people. Others haue spoyled them, and kept thē poore. Others haue vnarmed them, & kept them from all weapon. Others to withdrawe them from vnquiet fancies, haue set them to Plough the ground, and to other bodily labour. Others haue cut off their captaines, and al such as might seem able to leade the people, and to moue rebel­lion. Some haue killed their male children. Some dissolued the old Lawes, and gaue them new. Others haue forbidden banquets & feasts, and al other conuenticles or assēblies, to make them strange one to another. Others haue pur­posely sowed and mainteined factions, & set city against citie, surname against surname, blood a­gainst blood, that no man might safely trust a­nother. Some haue deuised othes and bands, of conscience: some haue deuised lawes martial, & [Page] other crueltie: some haue transported, and ca­ried away the whole people, man, woman, and child: as Nabuchodonozor did the Iewes in­to Babilō, & put others in their place. By these, and such other like wayes, as much as wisedom and pollicie could deuise, they thought to keepe countries and nations in obedience.

But, as touching our spiritual Hiericho, Io­suah suffered nothing to stand, he burnt hou­ses, and palaces, and killed man, woman, & child, & cattel without mercy, altogether. For so God had giuen him in commandement, and so is it of­ten written of him, that where the Lord gaue a­ny people into his hands, he left nothing remay­ning, no, were it neuer so little. Of this pollicie Moses speaketh. If you wil not driue out the inhabitāts of the land before you, thē those Num. 33. which ye let remaine of them, shalbe pricks in your eies, & thornes in your sides, & shall vexe you in the land wherein ye dwell. De­stroy not some onely, to leaue some: you shall leaue nothing, no not a little. If you doe leaue, you breake the commandement of God.

In religion, no part is to be called little. A heare is but little, yet it hath a shadowe. In the bodie, a little disquiet is oftentimes cause of death. The Ciniphes were but litle, yet are thei reckoned among the great plagues of God.

Metellus a noble man of Rome, by receiuing [Page] a haere in his milke, was choked with it, & died thereof. Some thinges are smal and do no hurt: some things though they be smal, do great hurt. Therefore doth God straightly charge his peo­ple to keepe the law saying, Thou shalte not Iosue. 1. & 6. Deut. 15. & 28. 1. Co. 5. turne awaye from it, neither to the right hand nor to the left. And S. Paul saith, A litle leauen leaueneth the whole lumpe.

I speake not this, because I thinke nothing at al may be left to any special purpose. For euē in Hiericho, where was made a general destruc­tion, Iosue 6. God himselfe commanded, that all siluer & gold, and vessels of brasse & iron should be saued, & not saued only, but be brought into the Lords treasurie. How be it, the things that may bee re­serued, must not be dust, or chaffe, or hay, or stub­ble: but gold, and siluer, & yron, and brasse, I meane, they may not be things meet to furnish and mainteine superstition, but such thinges as be strong, and may serue either directly to serue God, or els for comelines and good order. Such thinges may be reserued. notwithstanding they came out of the spoyle of Hiericho.

Now to stay the restoring of Hiericho, ma­ny good wayes may be deuised. For our consi­deration at this present, and because the time is farre spent, I will name onely foure vnto you. The first, Maintenaunce of schooles & lear­ning. Secondly, vnderstanding of the cause: [Page] that is, that euery man may consider, what hee hath left, & what he hath receyued: out of what darknes, into what light he is come. Thirdly, kindnes towards God, & thākfulnes. Fourthly the discipline of y ^e church. With these 4. by gods grace, we may keepe Hiericho from restoring. Of eche of these a few words, & so I wil end.

That learning and knowledge, is able to hinder the builders of Hiericho, it is so playne that it needeth no speech. In the time of Moses Law, Aaron the great Bishop and high Priest, had writtē in a tablet before his brest, doctrine, and truth: not onely learning, but also trueth: wherby was meant, that neither might be with­out other. For, as learning is daungerous and hurtfull without religion, so is religion vnable to defend it selfe, and to conuince the gaine say­ers, without learning.

For this cause, the Heathen, when they erec­ted temples in the honour of their gods, did also builde libraries, that is, places to keepe bookes: that by such meanes, their priests might grow in knowledge, & be better able to perswade others to their religion. Strabo writeth of the Smyrni­ans, that they builte a temple in the honour of Homer, and ioyned therto a library. Augustus the Emperour, built a temple and also a library in the honour of Apollo, Traianus in like maner built a library and called it Ulpia after his own [Page] name. At Rome in the Capitol, where al y ^t gods [...]ad a solemn place for to be worshipped in, there was also placed a library. Athens was a famous Uniuersitie, & had many colledges, and schooles [...]f learning, Academia, S [...]oa, Lyc [...]um, Canopus, Pritanneum, Tempe, Cynosura, in whiche places were diuers sects of Philosophers. Such were [...]n Persia the wise men, whom they called Ma­ [...]i: in Babylon, the Chaldees: in India, Brachma­ [...]es: in Aethiopia, Gimnosophistae: in Fraunce and England Druides, & others in other countries. In al times y ^t kings & princes which did set forth religion, were also builders of schooles and col­leges, & auācers of learning. The people of Is­rael were neuer in better state (as P. Phagius, a [...]earned man noteth out of their story) then whē they had in euery towne & village Bathe chene­sioth, and Bathe medraschoth, that is, Synagogues wherein they assembled together, and places to preach in. The same Phagius reporteth of Hie­rusalem, that there were in it more then 4. hun­dred common schooles & Synagogues, in which y ^• Law of God was taught. The Patriarke Ia­cob was called Minister domus doctrinae, a Mi­nister of the house of learning, because he ap­plied himself to the knowledge of y ^e law of god, & to godlines. The Prophets of God had their schooles, to breed vp vnder them such as might after their death draw y ^e people from idolatrye, [Page] and resist the false Prophets. They which were so taught by them, were called Filij Propheta­rum, The sonnes of the Prophetes, Samuel taught in such sort at Rama. Elias and Elizeus the Prophetes, in suche sorte, taught the Law of God besides Hiericho. Saint Iohn the Euan­gelist, taught at Ephesus: and Eusebius reporteth out of Philo, that S. Marke had at Alexandria sundrye schollers, which gaue themselues to reading and reasoning, and expounding of the Scriptures. Others did the like at Antioche, and at other places. Out of such schooles it plea­sed God to take many excellent men, and place them in his Church, as Origen, Tertullian, Cy­prian, Lactantius, Arnobius, Basilius, Nazian­zenus, Chrysostomus, Hieronimus, Ambrosius, Augustinus, who were brought vp in al kind of learning, and became shyning starres, & bright lightes in the house of God, notable defenders of religion, ouerthrowers of idols, and confoun­ders of Heretikes. Christiā princes herein haue witnessed their zeale, in setting foorth the glory of God. After Charles y ^e great had made his no­table conquests, he erected fiue famous Uniuer­sities, one at Paris, another at Tolouse, another at Papia, another at Padua, & another at Prage.

Suidas reporteth of Leo the Emperour, Cum aliquādo Eulogio Philōsopho stipendium dari ius­sisset, Suidas in Leone. &c. Whē Leo on a time cōmanded that [Page] E [...]logius a Philosopher shold haue his princely reward a noble mā of his court saide, that that money would be better employed for maintenance of souldiers. Nay (saith hee) I would rather it might be brought to passe in my time, that the wages whiche are nowe bestowed vpon souldiers, might bee giuen to mainteyne Philosophers.

Alexander Seuerus so highly esteemed that famous and notable Lawyer Vlpian, that when Charion. Chronic. lib. lib. 3. Alex. Seue. certain of his souldiers ran fiercely vpon Vlpian purposing to slay him, the Emperor stept forth, and set himself between the body of Vlpian, and the furie of the souldiers, and couered him with his own roabes, that the souldiers might know how careful he was for the good estate of Vlpiā.

As also for the contrarie, such as haue practi­sed cruelty vpon learned men, and haue hated knowledge, are worthely discommended in the stories of all ages. I told you before of that wic­ked Apostata Iulian, how he forbad y ^t Christiās should bring vp their childrē in learning. Such an enemie to knowledge was also Licinius the Emperour, who called learning the poison and ouerthrowe of common weales. The like is re­ported of Caligula, Caracalla and Domitianus, that either they vtterly hated all maner of lear­ning, or had some special malice against y ^e wri­tinges of some one notable man, and therefore sought to destroy them. Such was the policy of [Page] Satan, so thought he to get the vpper hande, & to restore againe his wicked Hiericho.

And were these the practises of Heathē prin­ces onely? May not we remember the like at­tempts wrought in our daies. Who wil cal to minde the time that is not farre past, shal finde that this ignoraunt Hiericho had many friends, who by all meanes drew men from knowledge: they gaue liberty rather to doe any thing, thē to seeke vnderstanding, and yet suffered rather the vse and reading of fabulous & vncleane writers, then of the holy scriptures, and bookes whiche carried fruitful instruction.

Good letters, and studie to increase know­ledge, are not to be neglected. Such as presume of Gods spirit ouer boldely, that without their endeuour to vse the wholesome meanes which he hath left vnto his Church they shal and do by special inspiration vnderstand his wil, do tempt God. The prophet Dauid prayed for the presēce of Gods spirit, but to the purpose he might take profite & fruit of his reading in the law of God. Therfore he saith, Open mine eies, that I may see the wonders of thy law: and giue me vn­derstanding, Psal. 119. and I wil keepe thy law. And a­gaine, encline mine heart vnto thy testimo­nies. S. Paul taught y ^e Corinthians. That no mā 1. Cor. 12. cā say that Iesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost: And in y ^e 2. Chapter of his first Epistle, 1. Cor. 2. [Page] saith, Now we haue receiued, not the spirit of 1. Cor. 2. the world, but the spirt which is of god, that we might know the things y ^t are giuen to vs Act. 9. of god. This spirit prepared the heart of Paul, yet sent him to Ananias, that by him it might be Actes 8. tolde him what he should do. This spirit prepa­red the hearts of the Eunuch, & of Cornelius: yet Actes. 10. sent vnto thē Phillip and Peter to open the scrip­tures vnto them. Lydia heard Paul, & the Lord Actes. 16. opened her heart, that shee attended vnto the things that Paul spake. I haue planted, saith he, Apollos watred, but god gaue the in­crease. 1. Cor. 3. Thus are we taught, not to forsake the helps of reading, of hearinge, and such like: yet to know that neither of them can settle vs vnto godlinesse, without the especiall grace of Gods Hom. 3. de verbis Dom. second. Ioh. spirit. Augustin saith wel, Non verbis hominis fit vt intelligatur verbum Dei: facit Deus vt in­telligatis. The wordes of man doe not cause that Gods worde is vnderstoode: God gi­ueth the vnderstanding thereof. And Chry­sostome In 3. cap. 2. ad Corint. vpon these wordes of the Apostle, Suche trust haue we through christ to god, not that we are sufficient of our selues to thinke any thing, as of our selues, but our sufficiēcy is of god, saith: Hoc est, non it a dicebam fiduciam ha­bemus, vt id partim sit nostrum, partim sit dei­sed totū illi tribuo, acceptum (que) fero: that is, I did not so say we haue trust, y ^t this work is partly ours, & partly gods: but I allow it, & yeelde [Page] it wholly vnto God. The consideration hereof putteth vs in mind to ioyne humble and heartye prayer to our diligent reading & hearing, y ^t God wil giue vs vnderstanding and knowledge.

Nowe to conclude this first remedy, where­by Hiericho may bee kept from buylding: we may say that of the vse of good learning, which S: Augustine speaketh against those that charge De ciuitat. dei. lib. 16. cap. 2. the scriptures with vnnecessary speeches: Solo vomere terra proscinditur: sed vt hoc fieri possit, etiam caetera aratri membra sunt necessaria. The share onelie renteth the grounde, but to helpe this woorke, the other partes of the plough are also needeful. We say, eloquence and other liberal artes are to be likened to that part of the Carpenters wimble, which turneth about, goeth rounde, and by litle and litle draw­eth in the iron, or steele bit. The wooden handle entreth not into the wood, but wreatheth in the pearser: so do these artes, if they be rightly vsed, further the vnderstanding of the worde of God. This vse Lactantins seemed to seeke when he Lib. 3. instit. cap. 1. said, Vellem mihi dari eloquentiam, vel quia ma­gis credant homines ornatae veritati, vel vt ipsi suis armis vincantur, I would gladly haue the gift of eloquence, either because mē might giue better credit to the trueth, when it is beautified: or els because the heathen may the sooner bee ouercome with their owne weapons. And in another place, he sheweth that [Page] this eloquence must serue and wayte vpon the wisedome of God: Circumliniatur poculum coe Lact. instit. lib. 5. cap. 1 lestis sapientiae melle, vt intelligamus nō hominē loqui, sed Deum. Let the cup (of your speech) be seasoned with y ^• hony of Gods wisdome, that we may know it is god that speaketh, and not man. Where this is not done but men giue them selues rather to bee curious in hea­ring eloquence and pleasantnes of speach, then desirous to learne the trueth, the woorde of God becommeth vnfruitfull, as it is to bee fea­red in many, that they litle account of the Gos­pell of Christ, but seeke to please their itchinge eares with fantasies of men. Augustine sayeth De doctrin. chr. lib 4. cap. 11. to such. Bonorum ingeniorum insignis est indoles, in verbis verum amare, non verba: Quid enim prodest clauis aurea, si aperire quod volumus non potest? aut quid obest lignaea, si hoc potest? quando nihil aliud quaerimus nisi vt pateat quod clausum est. Such as be of good dispositiō seek not af­ter words but after y ^e trueth: For what auai­leth a key of gold, if it cānot open y ^t we wold haue opened? & what hurteth a key of wood if it can opē? seing we desire no other thing but that it be opened vnto vs, which is shut.

The seconde let or stay that Hiericho bee not restored, is, that the people may bee instructed, why it was ouerthrowne, & why God hath cur­sed thē that shal seeke to restore it. This know­ledge is a singular gift of god. When the Lord [Page] declared his fauour towardes Israel amonge o­ther his speciall mercies hee spake in this sort: This shall be the couenant that I wil make with the house of Isarel: after those dayes, I Ierem. 31. will put my Lawe in their inwarde partes: and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shal bee my people: and they shal teach no more euery mā his neighbour, and euery man his brother, sayinge, Know the Lord: for they shall all know mee, from the leaste of them to the greatest of them, sayeth the Lorde. And agayne our Sauiour sayeth out of the prophet Esay. They shall all be taught of God. And in the seuententh of Saint Iohn, he sayeth, This is life eternall, that Ihon. 6. Iohn. 17. they knowe thee to be the onely very God, and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ. To this ende, and for this cause, He gaue some to bee Apostles, and some Prophetes, and Ephe. 4. some Euangelistes, and some Pastours, and teachers, for the gathering together of the Saints, for the worke of the ministerie, and for the edificatiō of the body of Christ: that we hencefoorth bee no more children wa­ [...]ering and caried about with euery wind of doctrine, by the deceit of men, & with craf­tines, whereby they lay waite to deceiue. Therefore doeth S. Peter cal vpon them that are of the church of god, in all places, that they shew foorth the mercies of God, that they witnesse [Page] vnto all the world, what the Lord hath done for them, in filling them with all spirituall know­ledge and vnderstanding: Be readie alwayes I. Pet. 3. to giue an answer to euerie man that asketh you a reason of the hope y ^t is in you. There fore doeth God giue charge to his people the children of Israel, to heare his Lawe and keepe his commaundements, not as an ordinance that shoulde stande good but for a season, whiche shoulde bee kepte onely by them: but also re­quireth that they teache the same to their po­steritie, that so his great blessinges may neuer bee forgotten. For thus hee sayeth. These wordes which I commande thee this day, Deut. 9. shall bee in thine heart, and thou shalt re­hearce them continually vnto thy children, and shalt talke of them, when thou taryest in thine house, and as thou walkest by the way, and when thou lyest downe, and when thou risest vp. Thus doeth God, by promise that hee wyll giue the Spirite of knowledge and of vnderstanding vnto his people, and by raysing vp labourers whom he hath sent foorth into his viniarde, Prophetes, Apostles, Euan­gelistes, and pastours, and teachers, and by his earnest commaundement that we giue eare to his woorde, and speake of his wonderfull kindenesse shewed vnto vs and our forefathers, make it appeare howe needefull a thinge it is, that we knowe his will. Without this know­ledge [Page] we cannot loue hym as our father we can not feare him as our Lorde.

But, when wee see the miserable blindenesse and ignoraunce in all places abroade, what hope may wee haue to see Hiericho suppressed and quite ouerthrowne? It cannot be but great inconueniences shall followe in the Churche of God, as confusion of order, and dissolution of life, to the indangering of the state, vnlesse by godly care of the Magistrates, some helpe be prouided. This care must shewe it selfe in remouinge blinde watchmen whiche haue no knowledge, who are but dumme dogges that can not barke, who lye and sleepe, and de­light in sleeping. These greedye Dogges can neuer haue enough (sayeth the Prophet Esaye,) Non residence and absence from their cure, is Esay. 56. a fault that woulde bee amended in the Sheap­heardes of the Lordes flocke. Though they be neuer so able to instructe, and therefore wor­thie to haue the roumes in the Churche: yet, if they haue not a desire to do good, if they feede not Christes sheepe, if they be strangers to the people of their charge [...], if they bee not at hande to giue their flockes their bread in due season, what let may there bee, but that ignorance and blindenesse shall growe and encrease in the people?

Another fault no lesse hurtfull to the Church of God, is the sufferinge of pluralities, when [Page] one man taketh the profite of two or more be­nefices, whiche is not worthye of one. These Non residents and pluralitie men teache not, they knowe not, nor care for the People of their charge: they haue brought this confusion and shame into the house of God. They are blinde guides, they are the darkenesse of the world. Against those whiche are suche, GOD sheweth his heauy displeasure: My Sheep, say­eth Ezech. 34. he wandred through all the mountaines, and vpon euerie high hill▪ yea, my flocke was scattered through al the earth, and none dyd seeke or searche after them. And againe, Neither did my shepheards seeke my shepe, Ibidem. but the shephardes fedde themselues, and not my sheepe. And by the Prophet Ieremie he Ierm. 2. saith: They that shoulde minister the law, knew me not. And againe, The Pastours are Ierem. 10. become Beastes, and haue not soughte the Lorde: therefore haue they none vnder­standinge: and all the flockes of their pa­stures are scattered. These either bee a rem­nant of the wicked Inhabitantes of Hiericho, that resist the passage of Gods people towardes the land of promise: or suche as haue forgotten the commaundement of the Lorde, and haue gi­uen themselues to doe the sinnes of the people, whom the Lord gaue ouer vnto them. These be they that seeke the restoringe of Hiericho, & the ouerthrow of Hierusalem therefore the curse of [Page] God wyll fall vppon them: the blood of Gods people shall be required at their handes, because they bring the abhomination of desolation into the holy place: because they suffer Christes flocke to perishe for lacke of knowledge, and to be caryed away after euery wynde of false doctrine. God graunt al such, that they may see with their eyes, and vnderstande in their heartes, and knowe the gratious goodnesse of the Lorde, that the people bee not through their negligence like Horse and Mule: but that they may descerne betweene darkenesse and lighte, and betweene Hiericho and Hierusa­lem: that they may bee able to giue a reason of the faith whiche is in them and that they may teache the same vnto their Children. So shall we be builte vpon a rocke, so shall we stande as firme as mount Sion, so shall wee neuer be con­founded.

The thirde meanes to stay the buyldynge of Hiericho, is to bee thankefull for the bene­fites whiche God hath bestowed vpon vs: and in suche sorte to leade our life, that it may ap­peare wee bee his seruants. To this ende God hath giuen his holye worde: and to this ende hath he left his holy sacraments, that we should be put in minde of his kindenes, and not become vnmindefull or vnthankefull, and so receiue his grace in vayne,

But, you wil say, What thanks shall I giue? [Page] Some leade me one way, and some another: some saye heare is Christe, some saye there is Christe: I know not nor wherefore, nor howe to yeelde thankes, Hereto a short answere can not suffice, and a long woulde be tedious. Let vs call to remembrance the Lesson that was giuen vs in this place on Sunday last: Let vs search the scriptures. Esay the Prophet saith, To the Law, and to the testimonie, if they Esay. 8. spake not according to this worde, it is be­cause there is no light in them. Chrisostome saith, Nullo modo cognoscitur quae sit vera Ec­clesia Hom. 49 in opere imper­fecto. Christi, nisi tantummodo per Scripturas. By no meanes may it by knowne, whiche is the true Church of Christ, but onely by the Scriptures. Without them our faith is no faith without the helpe of them wee cannot knowe Christ from Antichriste, wee cannot know the Church of Christ from the Sinagogue of Sa­than. Hereby let vs learne to knowe Hierusa­lem, hereby let vs learne to knowe Hiericho. Certainely if the woorde of GOD, and the breathe of his mouthe bee not able to shewe this: tradition and custome shall be much lesse able.

It is a good thinge to bee thankefull, and to prayse the Name of the most high: the seruants of God finde cause of thankfulnes in considera­tion of the great & wonderful mercies continu­ally powred vpō them. Moses comanded Nisan Exod. 12. [Page] to bee the firste moneth in the yeere, because God had deliuered Israell from the hande of Pharao in that month. In like sort Mardocheus the Iewe, and Esther the Queene, sent letters Ester. 9. vnto al the Iewes that were through all the prouinces of the king Assuerus both nere & farre, enioying them that they shoulde kepe the fourteenth day of the month Adir with ioy and feasting, for that vppon that daye God had deliuered them from the hande of Haman: and that they woulde not fayle to obserue the fame euery yeare.

Upon this day, euen vpon this day, I say, the xvii. of this moneth, God sent his handemaide, and deliuered vs. Let vs be kinde and thankfull vnto God for so great blessing. I say not, let vs make it the first day of the yeere. Yet this I say, let vs haue it in remembrance, let vs singe with the prophet, When the Lord brought againe y ^e captiuitie of Sion, we were like them that dreme, thē was our mouth filled with laugh­ter, Psa. 126. and our tongue with ioy. The Lord hath done great things for vs, wherof we reioyce. Let no man be offended herewith, it is onely a remembrance of the mercy of God, it behoueth vs to remember it, it is good to speake of it. For if we haue eyes to see, and neglect not our owne saluation, wee haue nowe much greater cause to reioyce then Dauid had, because the things which are this daye restored vnto vs by [Page] the goodnesse of our God, are farre greater and worthyer then those, which Dauid and the peo­ple of Israell receiued in their deliuerance out of the capitiuitie of Babylon. For by howe much the heauens are greater then the earthe, and God is more excellent then a creature: so much doeth the knowledge of God, and his true worshippe, passe all worldly blessinge, and all other felicitie that can bee deuised vnder the Sunne. For what knoweth hee, which know­eth not God? Or what worshippeth he, whiche worshippeth not God? Hee that worshippeth not God, hath not the comforte of GOD: but hee that hath God, and knoweth God, and serueth God, hath a sure helpe and defence in all assayes. Let vs therefore bee glad and re­ioyce, let vs witnesse our ioye, and singe vn­to the Lorde a new songe. Let vs kindle in our heartes the fire of the loue of God, and of our neighbour, and let the flame thereof breake out to the glory of God. Let vs decke the Al­tars of our heartes with the florishing branches of vertue, and good woorkes: let vs sacrifice and kill our lustes and affections. In this ma­ner if wee shewe our thankefulnesse towardes GOD, wee shall hinder the wicked purpose of thē that wish the restoring of Hiericho, we shal see the lande of Gods promise, and enter into his rest.

[Page] The fourth stay to hinder this buyldinge is discipline, whiche is so needefull, that neyther without it shall yee be able throughly to discom­fort those that seeke to build vp Iericho againe, nor your selues happely and prosperously to goe on forward in setting foorth the glory and maie­stie of our God, and to passe safely to the coun­trie promised. It is as the sinewes of the church to strengthen it, and to ioyne and knit the parts thereof together. But, because the time is passed and this matter weightie, and worthy of larger discourse, I wyll leaue it to your godly consi­derations, and for some other time.

And thou, O mercifull father, rise vp we be­seeche thee, to iudge thine owne cause, stablishe the thinge thou hast begonne in vs, guide our feete in the way of peace, giue force vnto thy worde, blesse thine inheritance, blow downe the walles of Hiericho: so shal Hierusalem prospet, and her walles be made strong: so shall the daye starre lighten our hartes: so shall Israel re­ioyce, and all the people truly know thee, and prayse thy name for euer.

Amen.

THese words be written in the first Chapter of the Prophet Aggaeus. For better vnder­standyng wherof, I must call to your remembrance the sto­rie of that time, vpon occasion wherof, these words were spoken.

Almighty God beinge for many and sundrye causes highly displeased with his people the Iewes, after he had chastened thē many wayes, and sawe none amendement, at the laste gaue them ouer into the handes of their enemies, and suffered both the kinge and all the people of the countrie to be carryed away prisoners into Ba­bylon, where they continued in miserie the space of seuentie yeeres. In the meane season, their countrey partly lay waste, and grewe full of wylde beastes: partly was inhabited by forey­ners: [Page] the temple that Salomon had built them, the stateliest & richest work of the whole world, was burnt to the grounde, and all the ornaments therof rauened vp, and caried into Babylon.

After fiftie yeres, king Cyrus shewed fauour towardes his people, & did lycence them to de­part home agayne. But as they were aboute the building, vpon occasion of cōplaint of their ene­mies, the whole worke was stayed. At y ^• length, after 70. yeeres, God remembred his promise and mercy, and stirred vp the heart of king Da­rius king of Persia, who had then conquered the Chaldees, to lycence the Iewes to depart home agayne into their countrie, and to reedifie theyr Citie and Temple. This king Darius (as the Rabbines, or Doctors of the Iewes, and most parte of learned men coniecture) was sonne vn­to the king Assuerus, begotten of the good La­die Queene Hester, which Ladie Hester he ma­ried after he had imbased, & diuorced from hym the prowd and stubborne Queene Vasthi. This was Gods marueylous prouidence, by that meanes twice to deliuer his people. Fyrst, by the good Lady Hester, from the tyranny of Hamā, as it appeareth by the storye: and after, by her Ester. 3. child Darius cleerely to delyuer them, and to discharge them out of their enemies handes for euer.

The Iewes, notwithstanding they had so gra­cious a graunt of their king, yet many of them [Page] would not returne home, but made their aboade euen there among their enemies in Babylon: and the most part of them that were returned, fell to building of their owne houses, and left the house of God vnbuilded: so soone they had forgotten Gods mercy towardes them. In the time of their trouble, they cryed out, If I shrinke from God, I pray God shrinke from me. But beinge restored home and at libertie, they sayde, as the Prophet heere reporteth, Nondum uenit tempus, &c. The time is not yet come, that the Lords house should be builded.

They saw they had many enemies on eue­rie side, the matter it selfe was marueylous weightie, and to their iudgementes almost im­possible. They had begunne before vnder kynge Cyrus, and because, the matter was then dashe, and their enimies preuayled against them, they were vtterly discouraged and cast into dispayre. Wherefore god spake to them by the Prophet Aggaeus, Is it time for your selues to dwel in your seeled houses, and this house lye wast? Haue you found le asure to set vp & furnish your owne house, & can you neglect the restoring of my house? My house (I say) in which my Lawe hath bene read and preached to you, where your Fathers haue made mee sacrifices, towardes which house you turned your faces, whensoeuer you prayed vnto me in Babylon, and were heard? Therfore sayth the Lord. Ye haue sowen much [Page] & bring in litle: ye eate, but yet haue not y­nough: ye looked for much, & loe, it came to litle: and when you brought it home, I dyd blow it out. You set your ioye vppon vaine things, and the same shal deceiue you.

This place of the Prophet Aggaeus, I haue thought good to apply to the present state of our time. For, as then the citie of Hierusalem was miserably rased, and the Temple of god burnt downe by heathens: euen so hath it fared in time lately past with the Churche of Christe, here a­monge vs. And, as then God mollified & softe­ned the heart of the king Darius for the deliuery of his people, euen so of his great mercie hath he nowe stirred vp a most noble & vertuous Ladie our soueraigne Queene Elizabeth, for the same purpose. And, as then there were many that set light by Gods benefites, and thought it meete y­nough for him to waite vpon their leisure: euen so, I pray God, the same securitie be not founde in vs at this time. I pray God there be none of vs that make light of Gods grace, and say in our heartes, Nondum venit tempus, &c. The time is not yet come, that the Lords house should be builded.

1 Wherfore, first I wil proue (by Gods grace) that our Churche hath bene ouergrowne with errours and abuses, as then the temple of Hieru­salem was defaced by the Caldees.

2 Secondly, I will shewe what thinges they [Page] be that doo stay men from reedifying of this Temple.

3 Last of all, after what sorte this Churche ought to be builded, and so I wyl leaue you to God.

CErtaine learned & wise men of old time, that had no vn­derstāding or sauour of god, when they considered with themselues to what end and purpose mankinde was cre­ate & set in this worlde, after they had driuen the matter, as farre as they might by naturall knowledge, at length, they concluded: some, that man was made to knowe the properties and qualities, the conuenience, or difference of natural thinges, either in the aire, or in the water, or in the earth, or vnder y ^e earth. Some other, that man was made to consider and behold the Sunne and Moone, the starres, the course, and reuolutions of the Heauens. And so, they iudged that man, which eyther had most aboundance of naturall reason, or behelde and considered the heauens best, to be most per­fect of all others, and that he came neerest to the end of his creation. Thus sayde they, as men without feeling of God, onely endued with the light of nature.

[Page] But (as God himselfe declareth, who fashio­ned vs, and made vs, and knoweth vs best) the very true ende why man was made, was to knowe, and to honour God. Therefore, who so knoweth him best, & honoreth him with most re­uerence, he is most perfect, hee commeth neerest the end of his creation.

When Salomon had described the deceyua­ble vanities of the worlde, and saide, Vanity of Eccle. [...]. vanities, vanitie of vanities, al is vanity: whē hee had concluded by longe discourse, that ri­ches, empire, honour, pleasures, knowledge, and whatsoeuer els vnder the Sunne, is but va­nitie: hee knieteth vp the matter with these woordes, Feare GOD, and keepe his com­maundementes, Eccle. 12. for this is the whole due­tie of men. That is, this is trueth, and no va­nity: this is our perfection, to this ende are wee made: not to liue in eating and drinking, not to passe our time in pleasure & follies, not to heape vp those thinges, which are daylye taken from vs, or from whiche wee are daylye taken a­waye: but that in our woordes, in our life, in our bodye, and in our soule wee doe seruice vnto God: that wee looke aboue the Sunne and Moone, and all the Heauens: that we be­come the Temples of the holye Ghoste: that the holy spirite of GOD may dwell in vs, and make vs fitte instrumentes of the glorye of God.

[Page] Therfore God gaue vs his holy word, & hath continued it from the beginning of the worlde vntill this daye, notwithstanding the Philoso­phers, and learned men in all ages, who scorned it out, as the worde of f [...]llie▪ for so it seemeth to them that perish: Notwithstanding the wicked Princes, and Tyrants, and high [...]omers of the worlde, who consumed and burnt it, as false and wicked, or se [...]tious doctrine▪ notwithstanding the whole worlde and [...] of darkenes [...] euer bent against it▪ yet hath he wonderfully cō ­tinued and perserued it, without losse of one let­ter, vntil this day, that we might haue whereby truly to know him the true and onely God, and his sonne Iesus Christ whom he sent.

Therfore haue we Temples and Churches, places to resorte vnto altogether, to honour, to worship, and to acknowledge him to be our god, to ioyne our hearts and voyces together, and to call vpon his holy name. In suche places God hath at all times vsed to open his maiesty, and to shew his power. In such places God hath made vs a special promise, to heare our prayer, when soeuer we call vpon him. Therefore are they called the dwelling place and house of GOD. In such places al godly men euermore set their greatest pleasure, and thought themselues mi­serable, when they were seciuded or put off from the same: as the Prophete and [...]oiy prince Dauid, Laetatus sum in his quae [...]icta sunt [...], Psal. 122. [Page] in domum Domini ibimus. O (saith that holye man) my hart reioyced within my body, whē my fellowes called vpon me, and said, Let vs go into the house of the Lord. Againe, I am in loue with the beauty of thy house. And a­gain, O how beautiful is thy tabernacle, O Lord, O thou y ^• God of hosts, my heart lon­geth & fainteth to come within thy courts. His spirits were rauished with the sight & maie­sty of the tabernacle: not for y ^• the place it selfe at y ^• time was so beautiful, for in Dauids time it was almost rotten, & ruinous, a homely thing to behold, nothing in comparison to that tēple that afterward was built by Salomon. But therein stood the shew & worthines of that holy place, y ^• Gods trueth and lawe was opened and proclai­med in it, and the sacraments, and ceremonies so vsed, in such forme and order, as God had com­manded them to be vsed, & the people receiued them obediently, and liued thereafter.

Therfore when the tabernacle was restored, when the Arke was fet home from Obededom, and set in the mount Sion: when Religion re­uiued, which through the negligence and malice of Saul was forsaken: when he saw his nobility, his Bishoppes, his Priestes, and all his people willing and forward, he could not refraine him selfe, but brake out and song, Haec est dies, quam fecit Dominus, exultemus & laetemurin ea. This is the day which y ^• Lord hath made, let vs be [Page] glad and reioyce in it. Let vs be merry, & ioye that euer we liued to see it. Euen so Paul when in his time hee saw the Gospel take roote and prosper, and that the sauour of life was powred abroade, that the kingdome of God was enlar­ged, and the kingdome of Satan shaking down, his heart leaped, and sprong within him. Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile, Behold now that ac­ceptable time, behold God hath looked downe mercifully vpon the world, beholde the daye of saluation is come vpon vs.

But the godly man, as hee reioyceth at the beautie of Gods house, so when contrariwise he seeth the same disordered filthily, when he seeth the Sacraments of God abused, the trueth tro­den vnder foote, the people mocked, the name of god dishonoured, he cānot but lament & mourn, and finde himselfe wounded at heart. When the good king Iosias saw the booke of god, whiche was so long hid in y ^• wall, & out of remēbrance: when he considered the blindenes, in which they had liued, & the vnkindnes of their forfathers, he could not forbeare, but fell a weeping: he fea­red least god would take vengeance vpō thē for so great cōtempt of his word. Whē Ieremy saw the wilfulnes, and frowardnesse of the people, Ierem. 9. which would not submit themselues, and be obe­dient vnto god, he cryed, Oh, that my head were ful of water, & mine eyes a fountaine of teares, that I might weepe day and hight [Page] &c. Such care had they for Gods people: thus the zeale of Gods house had eaten them vp.

Zeale, if any man know not the nature of the word, is an earnest affection and vehement loue, as is the loue of a mother towards her children, or of y ^e natural child towards his mother. This zeale cannot abyde to see that thing which it lo­ueth, despised or hurt. Such a zeale and care ca­rieth God ouer his people, hee loueth them as a mother loueth her little children: he wil not suf­fer them to be hurt. By y ^e Prophet Esai he saith, Can a woman forget her childe, & not haue cōpassion on the sonne of her womb? thogh Esa. 49. they should forget, yet wil I not forget thee. Zachary also saith, He that toucheth you, tou­cheth Zach. 2. the apple of his eie. For God hath said, they shalbe my people, and I wil be their God. Such care likewise heare al the godly towards their God, they loue him with all their soule, with al their heart, with al their strength: they reuerence him as their deare father, they are grieued at anye blasphemy, and with anye con­tempt of his holy name.

But, as euery man be he neuer so wicked, yea euen he that saieth in his heart there is no God, which is become filthy & abhominable in al his doings, yet in his talke outwardly saith he hath a God, and that hee beleeueth in him: euen so there is none so wicked, or so forsaken of God in his heart, but he perswadeth himselfe hee hath [Page] the zeale of GOD: and what he doth in selfe loue of his owne fantasie, hee will beare in hand, he doth it for the loue of God. The ouer­throwers and wasters of the Churche, will seeme to shew a speciall care for the Churche. Dissemblers, hypocrites, despisers, scorners, euen suche as sinne agaynst the holye Ghost, which denie the trueth of God after they haue knowen it, which witting and knowing fight against the trueth, which say of Christ, we will not haue him to rule ouer vs, which worke that sinne that shall neuer bee forgeuen in this worlde, nor in the worlde to come, yet notwith­standing wil pretend and seem to haue the zeale of God.

Thus the Scribes and Pharisies set vp their bristles against Christ: thy Disciples keep not the common fast: thou sufferest them to put and to eate the eares of corne: thou sufferest them to eate with vnwashed handes: thou brea­kest the tradition of the Elders: thou breakest the Law of God, which he gaue vs by Moses: thou art a seditious teacher: thou art a schisma­tike, thou art an Heretike. They sayde, we fast twise in the Weeke: wee haue Abraham to our father: we are Moses Disciples. Ther­fore when they hearde Stephen speaking those heauenly words, Behold, I see the heauens o­pen, Actes 7. and the Sonne of man standing at the right hand of God, through zeale they gaue a [Page] shoute with a loud voyce, & stopped their eares, and ran vpon him al at once.

When Christ had said, Ye shall see the sonne Mark. [...]4▪ of man sit at the right hād of God, & come in the clouds of heauē: the hie priest through zeale rent his clothes, & sayd, Ye haue heard the blasphemie. This naughty man speaketh blasphemie against God. He called a Councell, the Scribes & Pharisies met together, not one man amongst them but of themselues: they loo­ked about them, as if they only were the pillars and buttresses of the church, and were only zea­lous and carefull for the house of God. But their meeting was (as Dauid forespake, and as Peter declareth, and as wee knowe) against the Lorde, and against annointed. They were touched with zeale of their owne glory, & not with the zeale of Gods trueth. They sought their owne praise, but not the praise which is of God. They made crakes that they knewe the scriptures, that they were the Temple of God, that they had the consent of al antiquitye: as o­thers haue done since that time, and as wee see many do this day, & in very deed, these men now haue euen as much as they had then, as by proof and triall it wil appeare.

There are others, which haue a feeling of God, and a great care for his Church: but such a feeling and care as commeth either of their owne fantasies, or of some opinion and credite [Page] they haue in their Fathers which were before them, not of the vnderstanding of Gods plea­sure. Such are they which offende God, not of malice or wilfulnesse, but onelye for lacke of teaching and vnderstanding. Such were they whiche withstoode Saint Paule in all his prea­ching, for that they tooke him for an Heretike, and thought his preaching was against God. I beare them witnesse (saith he) that they haue the zeale of GOD, but not according to Rom. 10. knowledge. Such a zeale haue many who for­bid that God commandeth, and commande that which God forbiddeth. Such a zeale had Paule himselfe, I was a blasphemer, & a persecutor, [...]. Tim. [...]. & an oppressor: but I was receiued to mer­cy, for I did it ignorauntly without beliefe. Such a zeale haue they, who think they do God good seruice, whē they kil & murther the righte­ous & good seruāts of God. Such a zeale haue they, who (as saith Naziāzen) defend Christ a­gainst Christ, and defend the church against the church. And these things do they, not of malice, nor of wilfulnes, nor against their conscience, but, because they knowe not God the father, nor his Christ whō he hath sent. Therfore they trū ­ble at Christe, & spurn away the gospel of God, & thinke ill, & speake euil of the word or life, be­cause they know not the Gospel of God, nor the word of life. Thus they perswade themselues, that they defend the Church, that they honour [Page] the sonne of God, that they doe God great ser­uice, and that they haue the zeale of God.

But this pride was euer in the heart of man, and it appeared euen in our Graundsire Adam: whatsoeuer liketh vs well, wee thinke that can­not but please GOD. Suche is the opinion wee fondely conceiue in our fantasies: in trust wherof whatsoeuer we doe, we think our selues sure & safe. Origen writing vpon the place of the Origen. in 10. Rom. lib. 8. Apostle, Zelum Dei habent, sed non secundum scientiam, They haue the zeale of God, but not according to knowledge, saith, Similiter potest dicere Apostolus & de alijs, quod timorem Dei habeant, sed non secundum scientiam, de a­lijs &c. In like maner the Apostle may say of others, they haue the feare of God, but not according to knowledge: of others, they haue the loue of God, but not according to knowledge: of another, he hath the faith of God, but not according to knowledge: And another may be saide to fast, but not accor­ding to knowledge. And so in all thinges whatsoeuer we doe, vnlesse wee haue know­ledge & vnderstanding, it may be said vnto vs, that we haue the zeale of a good worke; but not according to knowledge. Ideo danda est praecipue opera scientiae, neres nobis infaeliciter accidat. vt in fide positi frustremur a fide, zelum habentes bonorum, decidamus a bonis. Therefore al heed is chiefly to be giuē to the attaining [Page] of knowledge; least it goe not well with vs, least we faile frō our faith, whē we thinke we beleue, & thinking we haue a zeale of good workes, wee bee founde voyde of all good workes. The wise man saith. This was not e­nough Wisd. 1 [...]. for thē, that they erred in the know­ledge of god: but wheras they liued in great warres of ignorance, those so manie and so great plagues they called peace. The zeale that they had, and the contentation of their heartes made them beleeue that all their super­stition and idolatrie, and other enormities was Catholike vnitie.

This zeale, as on the one side it hath manye tokens of goodnes, for that it hath a conscience, and a feare, and an obedience towardes God: so, on the other side it is very daungerous, be­cause it lacketh knowledge: euen as a shippe for lacke of a Gouernaur is euer in daunger of the rockes, and as the body whiche hath no eye, is euer in daunger of falling. Such kinde of zeale, the greater it is, the worser it is: the more vehement it seemeth, the more vthementlye it fighteth against God. For, our good meaning maketh not our doinges good: our zeale is not a rule, whereby we may measure our either our faith, or our workes: but onely the knowen will and pleasure of God. Therefore speaketh God in this maner by the prophet Esai, my thoughts are not your thoghts, neither are your ways Esay. 5 [...]. [Page] my wayes. Therfore saith Salomon. Trust in Prou. 3. the Lord with al thine heart, and leane not to thine own wisedome: in al thy wayes ac­knowledge him, and hee shal direct thy do­ings. This counsel also doth Moses giue, Take heed that ye do as the Lord your God hath Deut. 5. commanded you: turne not aside to the right hand, nor to the left.

But the true and godly zeale proceedeth not from hypocrisie or intention, but is led and trai­ned by vnderstanding, and is moulten into the heart, and the vehemency and heat of it, no man knoweth, but he that feeleth it. It taketh away the vse of reason, it eateth and deuoureth vp the heart: euen as the thing that is eaten, is turned into the substance of him that eateth it: and as iron whiles it is burning hot is turned into the nature of the fire: so great and so iust is the griefe that they which haue this zeale conceiue, when they see Gods house spoyled, or his holye name dishonoured. So saith Elias, I haue been very ielous for y ^• Lord God of hosts: for the 1. King. 19. childrē of Israel haue forsaken thy couenāt, broken down thine altars, & slaine thy Pro­phets with the sword, & I onely am left, and they seeke my life to take it away. So when Moses found that the people had forsaken God, and were fallen down before a moulten calfe, & did put their trust in the woorke of their owne hāds, his wrath waxed hot, & he cast the ta­bles Exod. 32. [Page] out of his hād, & brake them in pieces beneath the mountaine. His heart was so in­flamed with zeale, that he considered not what he had in his hande, nor what hee did. Ieremy, when he sawe the disorder of the people, and howe they were not mended with his prea­ching, and woulde inwardly conceale the griefe he conceiued, and purposed not to make menti­on of the Lorde, nor to speake any more in his name: yet could he not, for his zeale found way, and brake out, His word (saith he) was in mine Ierem. 20. heart as a burning fire shut vp in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, & I could not stay.

And, albeit there is much likenesse between the rage and fury of hypocrites, and the godlye zeale of good men: for either are hot, either are vehement, either wisheth redresse: yet this is an euidēt differēce: godly zeale is tempered & sea­soned with charity, the vngodly is ioyned with bitternes & reuenge: y ^e godly seeketh to winne, the vngodly to kill and to destroy. The vngod­ly haue their handes full of blood, they kill the Prophets, they say, We haue a lawe, and by our lawe he must die. They say, Come, let vs de­stroy them, that they be no more a nation.

Let not the name of Israel be had any more in remembrance. They burne the holy bookes of the Scriptures, as did Aza and Antiochus. They saye, ransake it, pull it downe, case it to [Page] the foundation, let nor one bee left aliue. They digge vp the bodies of the dead, out of their graues. They shewe their cruelty vppon the bones and ashes, which were long before bury­ed, and well nigh consumed. It grieueth them when they lacke vppon whome they may whet their blood thyrstie and cruell zeale. It grie­ueth them, no one thing else so much, that they did not woorke surely, and cut vp the roote. Such is the zeale of the vngodly. Euen such a zeale as was in Nero, in Caligula, of whom it is reported, he wished that all the Romaines had but one necke, that he might cut off all their beades at one stroke: as was in Herode, in Annas. and Catphas, and the like murthe­rers.

But the Godly, when they see any disorder, they doe nothing like the other: they mourne in their heartes to see that the trueth is not re­reyued, and to see the mindes of their brethren so obstinately hardened: they make prayer to God for them: they are deepely touched with the feeling of suche calamittes whiche GOD layeth vppon other. The zeale of Moses coulde not like the Idolatrie of the people: yet hee went vnto the Lorde againe, and sayde, Nowe if thou pardon their sinne, thy mer­cie shall appeare: but if thou wilte not, Exod. 3▪ I praye thee rase mee out of thy Booke which thou hast written. Christ lamented [Page] ouer Hierusalem: O Hierusalem, Hierusalem, M [...]h 23▪ which killest the Prophetes, & stonest them which are sent to thee, how often woulde I haue gathered thy children together, as the hen gathereth her chickins vnder her wings & ye would not? Beholde, your habitation shall be left vnto you desolate. Paul suffered much at the haudes of the wicked Iewes: They troubled y ^e church of god, they hindred y ^e course of the gospell, they were enemyes of the Crosse of Christ, they were Dogges, they were con [...] ­sion. Yet he sayeth, I haue great heauenes, & continual sorrow in mine heart: for I would Rom 9. wish my selfe to be separated frō Christ, for my brethren & are my kinsmen accordinge to the flesh, which are the Isralites

Dauid saith, Mine eyes gush out with riuers Psa [...]. 18. of water, because they keepe not thy Lawe, And agayne, My zeale hath euen consumed me because mine enimies haue forgottē thy words. Againe, I saw the transgressours, and was greued, because thei kept not thy word. And when hee saw the whole nation of Israel, wasted by the enimies, how mournfull a com­plaint made he to god: O god the heathen ax Psal. [...]. come into thine inheritance: thine holye temple haue they defiled & made Hierusalē heaps of stones. The dead bodies of thy ser­uants, haue they giuen to be meat vnto the foules of the heauen, & the flesh of thy saints [Page] vnto the beasts of the earth. At this time wh [...] the tabernacle was lost, whē Saul was vnquiet and the Priestes were s [...]ayne, and the Prophets despised, and the people lef without al comfort, hee powreth out his heare in these wordes, Ze­lus domus tuae comedit me, O Lorde, the zeale I beare vnto thine house hath eaten me vp. It inflameth my heart, drieth my blood, consu­meth my marowe. Such a care had bee for the house of God: it was death vnto him to see it so destroyed and layde wast.

So Christ, when he sawe the temple of God fowly and vnseemely abused: that they made the holy place, a place for their vnlawfull and vnha­nest game by vsurie: that they turned Religion into robberie, solde oxen, sheepe, and doues, and keept their bankes for exchaunge in the temple: when the Priestes and Leuites, whiche shoulde serue God, were become marchantes, and ser­ued them selues: when the temple or house of God, which Dauid purposed, and Salomon fi­nished, and Ezechias and Esras, and other God­ly Princes preserued, in whiche was kept the booke of the Law, whether al the people assem­bled together to serue God, was not vsed lyke gods house, but like a common faire or market, and was made a denne of theiues: When these grosse abuses were suffered, and things were let runne to such extremities, and al this vnder pre­tence of holines, as if it were not onely lawfull, [Page] but needes it must be so: moued with zeale, hee coulde not abide it. He made a scourge of smal cordes, & droue them all out of the temple, Iohn. [...]. and poured out the changers mony, and o­uerthrew the tables, & saide, make not my fathers house a house of marchādise. And his disciples remembred that it was writtē, the zeale of thine house hath eaten me vp. This was no frantique or melancholy passion, nei­ther in Moses, nor in Dauid, nor in Christ. Mo­ses Num. 12. was a very meeke mā aboue al that were on the earth. Dauid was a man that heareth not, and in whose mouthe are no reproofes. And Christ sayde, learne of me, for I am humble and meeke. When his disciples Iames & Iohn, grewe wrothfull against the Samaritanes that would not receiue hym, and sayde, Lord, wylte Luk. 9. thou that wee commaunde that fire come downe from heauen, & consume them, euen as Elias did? He turned about and rebuked them & saide, yee know not of what spyrite you are. Yet through zeale for Gods house, Christ whypped out the buiers and sellers, Da­uid shed foorth teares abundantly, and Moses dashte in peeces the tables of Gods commande­ments. Al men ought to bee pacient & gentle in matters appertayninge to them selues: but in Gods cause, no man must yeelde or bee pa­tient.

In our dayes, vppon whom the ende of the [Page] worlde is come, when wee did lately see those times, wher of our sauiour foretolde so longe s [...] ­theuce, that desolatiō should be in the holy place, and such confusion, ignorance, and blindenes, that men shoulde stomble at noone dayes, that truth should be a stranger vpon earth, that men should forsake wholsome doctrine, and giue eare vnto fables, that the mysterie of iniquitie should work, and the very elect (if it were possible) bee deceiued, what trial was made of true & godlye zeale: How notably did it shew it selfe agaynst the rage and furie of the wicked: What should I speake hereof: The exāples are fresh, you can not forget them you hearde of them so late, it is so late since you did beholde them. What mo­ued so many, so learned, so vertuous, to yeelde their backes to the scourge, their neckes to the tormentours, their bodies to the fire, to forsake their goodes, their friends, their parentes, their wiues and childrē, but the zeale of Gods house: Neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor thinges present, nor things to come was able to separate them from the loue of God. They continued stedfast vnto the ende: the zeale of Gods house dyd eate them vp.

But now God hath restored vs, he hath taken away the desolation from vs, hee hath giuen vs his trueth, he hath reuealed the man of sinne, he hath raysed vp a banner of hope. We se and en­ioye such thinges as many kings, and Prophets [Page] would haue eniayed, and could not. What re­mayneth, but that we take the zeale of the Lords house into our heartes, and seeke by all meanes the glory of the same: As our good fathers and brethren shewed the vehemencie of their loue in disly king the disorders which troubled y ^e church of God: so in this blessed peace which God gi­ueth to his Church, let vs witnesse our earneste zeale in seeking that it may be made beautifull, and established for euer.

Let our next care be to continue possession. Kingdomes are preserued by the same meanes, by which they were first gotten. That which is conquered by zeale, by carefull zeale must bee kept. It was saide of Annibal, that he knew how to get the victorie, but howe to vse it, bee knew not. Many haue lost that by negligence, which they had by diligence wonne. Therefore we ought, as our heartes were careful, and desi­rous to see these dayes: so by our thankefulnes to God for so great blessinge, and by Christian and Godlye prouidence foresee such meanes, whereby wee may longe hereafter enioye the same. Whē Phydias had made the pourtraiture of Iupiter Pisanus, he ouerlayed it with oyle, y ^t it might continue fresh and greene, and neuer putrifie. When God gaue order to Noah for Gen. 6. making the Arke, he saide, Thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitche, that it might be sound, and sure, & abide the waues.

[Page] He, which chalengeth to himselfe, that proude and wanton name, to be called the head of y ^e vni­uersal church, after by litle & litle he was gotten into possessiō, was not behind hand by al meanes to maintaine & keepe the same. In this policie, he tooke away the reading of the scriptures frō the people: he made noble men & princes his Cardinals. He threw downe, & set vp, & changed whom, & what he would. The kings & states of the world, y ^e bishops, professors & schollers in vniuersities, & preachers were brought to swere al­legeāce & obedience vnto him. I deuise not this, the stories hereof are abrode, & y ^e oth which they tooke is known. His authorite grew greater thē the authoritie of general councilles. Nothing might be decreed in councels, but what pleased him: none might be admitted to speak in coūcils, but such as were sworne to him. He had al law in his breast. There was sometimes a proclama­tion made in Rome, y ^t for considerations no man should erect or builde vp any theater: & that if a­ny were set vp, it shold be rased, & pulled down. Pompeius a gentleman of great wealth, & noble courage, did build a theater, such a one as before had not bene seene, which would receaue 2500. men, contrary to y ^e proclamation, & order taken. But, dubtinge least the next maiestrates should destroy it, he caused a place of religion to bee set vpon it, & called it the tēple of Venus. Whereby he prouided, y ^t if any wold ouerthrow it, because [Page] it was a Theater, they might yet spare it for the temples sake: for to pul down a tēple was sacri­lege. Euen so, there haue bene proclamations, & cannons, y ^t no man shoulde be called y ^e chiefe, or y ^e head of al Churches, or vsurpe such authoritie o­uer others: but when y ^e Pope built vp his supre­macie against the meaning of suche canons, hee pretēded religiō for his doing: he sayde, it was de iure diuino, y ^t no man should presume or attēpt a­gaīst it, & y ^t so his power might cōtinue for euer.

If they haue bene thus carefull to mainteine falshod, how much more careful should we be to maintaine y ^e truth: If they to aduāce their owne kingdome, how much more wee, to set forth the kingdom of God, & to builde vp the Church of Christ: And if they sought to do y ^t by lies, & by false meanes, why should we bee slack to vse the right, & true, & good meanes, wherby that good thing which God hath wrought for vs, may bee established:

And, albeit there be many wayes, by which the kingdome of God may be mainteined: as the fa­uour & countenance of y ^e prince, whiche so cōfor­teth & cherisheth y ^e Church, as the sunne beames cōfort & cherish the earth: & knowledge, & lear­ning, & discipline, which are as the life, & the si­nues, & without which the Church must needes fall asunder: at this time, I wil leaue to speak of the rest, & only stay vpon learninge, which may truly be called y ^e life or y ^e soule of y ^e Church, & of christian religien.

[Page] How necessarie a thinge, they haue counted learninge to the settinge foorth of Religion, the stories of our old fathers, of heathens, and Chri­stians in al ages, doe witnesse. They thought, that neither Religion might stande without knowledge, nor knowledge were to bee estee­med without Religion. Charles the great, that hee might the better plant Religion in Saxonie and Heluetia, did erect many places for en­crease of learning. He knewe well, that there was no other way better to establish Religion. The Cathedral Churches, before such times, as ignoraunce and blindenesse grewe ouer all the worlde, and brought in an vniuersal corruption, maintayned schooles of learning, that the doc­trine which was taught in those places, might bee defended agaynst the gaynesayers by suche learned men, as were there bred vp. The Prin­ces of Germanie, and the free Cities, after they had receyued the Gospell, they dissolued theyr monasteries which had bene harbourers for such as liued in idlenes, and set vp Schooles and col­ledges, which should be nourceries to breede vp learned men, that might bee able to teache the people, and to maintaine religion. Whereby it came to passe, that in shorte time they had great store of worthy and learned men.

This did they wel see, that haue bene the e­nemies of religion, & therefore vsed all meanes to hinder the encrease of learninge, that they [Page] might haue the better way to ouerthrow Reli­gion. For if learning decay, it is likely that Re­ligion can not abide. Beare with me, if I speake that whiche may seeme more fitt for some other place, then for this audience: the best here vnder­standeth me wel. In other countries, the recei­uing of the Gospell, hath alwayes bene cause, that learning was more set by: and learninge hath euer bene the furtherance of the Gospell. In England, I knowe not how, it commethe otherwise to passe. For since the Gospell hath bene receiued, the maintenaunce for learninge hath bene decayed. And, the lacke of learninge will be the decay of the Gospel. Would God it were not so: or, that yet before the faulte be in­curable, there may be some redresse.

Loth I am to speake, yet the case so requi­reth, that it is needefull to be spoken, I truste I shall speak in the hearing of them that wyll con­fider it. Maintenance of learninge, whereby an able and sufficient ministerie may growe, and be established in al the Churches of this realme, is to be wished for. The good estate of this no­ble kingdome, y ^• comfort of posterytie, y ^• staye of Religion, the continuing of the Gospell, the re­mouing of darknes hangeth vpon it. One as­ked sometimes, howe it was that in Athens so goodly and great a citie, there were no Phisi­tians, To whom this answere was made, be­cause there are rewardes appointed for them [Page] that practise Phisicke. The same answere may be made for our times: the cause why y ^• Church of God is so forsaken, is the want of zeale in thē that should either for their curtesie, or for their ability be fosterers of learning, & encrease the liuings where occasion is, and giue hope & con­fort to learned men. What said I, increase [...]nay, the liuings and prouision which hertofore were giuen to this vse, are taken away.

Haue patience, if any such be here, as I well know there are, whom these things touch. Suf­fer me to speake the truth, it is Gods cause. The liuings of such as are in the ministery, are not in their handes, to whom they are due. Al other la­bourers and artificers haue their hire increased double, as much as it was wont to be: Onely the poore man that laboureth, & sweateth in the vineyard of the Lorde of hostes, hath his hire a­bridged & abated. I speak not of the Curats, but of Personages & Uicarages, that is, of the pla­ces which are the castles & towers of fence for the Lordes temple. They seldome passe now a dayes from the patrone, if he be no better then a gentleman, but either for the lease or for present money. Such marchāts are brokē into y ^• church of God, a great deale more intolerable thē were they whō Christ chased & whipt out of y ^• tēple. Thus they y ^• should be careful for Gods church, that should be patrones, to prouide for y ^• consciē ­ces of the people, & to place amōg thē a learned [Page] Minister, who might bee able to preach y ^• worde vnto thē out of season, & in season, & to fulfil his ministerie: seeke their own, & not y ^• which is Ie­sus Christs. They serue not Iesus Christ, but their bellie. And this is done, not in one place, or in one countrie, but throughout England. A gentlemā cannot keepe his house, vnles he haue a Parsonage or two in ferme for his prouision.

O mercifull God, wherto will this growe at last? If the miserie which this plague worketh, would reache but to one age, it were tolerable. But it wil be a plague to the posteritie, it wilbe the decay & desolation of Gods Church. Yong men which are toward & learned, see this. They see that he whiche feedeth the flocke, hath least part of the milke: hee which goeth a warfare, hath not halfe his wages. Therefore they are weary and discouraged, they chaunge their stu­dies: some become prentises, some turne to phi­sick, some to lawe: all shun and flee the Mini­sterie. And besides the hinderance that thus groweth by wicked dealing of patrons: by rea­son of the impropriations, the Uicarages in many places, & in the properest market townes, are so simple, that no man can liue vpon them, and therefore no man wyll take them. They were wont to saye, Beneficia sine cura: Bene­nefices without charge: but now may be said, Cura sine beneficio, Charge or cure without benefice. [Page] I speake not this of my selfe: many here present know I speake the trueth. And my selfe know the places, which haue continued styll these ma­ny yeares without a Minister resident amonge them, and haue prouided them selues, as they might, with their owne mony.

Your Graces subiects had hope of amende­ment, in your graces late visitation. But yet it standeth stil in case as miserable, as it did before. I know, your grace heareth not of these mat­ters. And I hope God wyll worke in your gra­cious heart, to prouide some remedy agaynste them. For otherwise, the scholes wil be forsakē, the Church desolate, the people wylde and dis­mayed, the Gospel discredited: otherwise, wee shal see that wrought against the house of God, that neuer any Ieroboam, or Iulian, or Licinius, could haue brought to passe against vs. This noble Realme which euer was famous for the name of learninge, is like thereby to come to such ignorance, and barbarie, as hath not beene heard of in any memorie before our time.

I knowe that there are grieuous com­plaintes made, that the Bishops appoint Priests and Ministers, that are ignoraunt and haue no vnderstanding in the latine tongue. Woulde God it were not true. Or would God that they which be the causers hereof, woulde somewhat helpe to amēd it. But alas, are we able to make learned men vpon the sudden? Or can we make [Page] others then come vnto vs, or wyll come to liue in miserie?

But there are many which can say, such as bee ministers in the Churche, shoulde teache freely, without hope of recompence or hire for their la­bour. Our preachers are no better then Peter & Paul, & the other Apostles. They are no better then the holy prophets, who liued poorely. Po­uertie is a cōmendable estate. So say some, in lyke deuotion as did Iudas, What needed this wast? this might haue bene sold for much & giuen to the pore: not that he cared for the pore, but because he was a thiefe, & had the bag, & bare y ^t which was giuen. I doubt not, there are many which teach Christ for Christes sake, which say in their soule, y ^e Lord is my por­tion: who in that heauy time, from which God deliuered thē, if they might haue receiued theyr life only for a recōpence, would haue bin glad to take the paines: who seeke you and not yours: which haue forsaken all they had, to followe Christ. I doubt not, there are such.

But for y ^t hope of posteritie, I report me to al you which are fathers, & haue childrē for whom you are carefull. Although your selues haue a zeale, & a care for the house of god: yet wil you breed them vp, keepe them at schoole, vntil 24. yeeres old to your charges, that in the ende they may liue in glorious pouertie? y ^t they may liue poorely & naked like the Prophets & Apostles & [Page] Our posteritie shall rue, that euer such fathers went before them: And Chronicles shal report this contempt of learning amonge the punish­ments, and murraines, and other plagues of God. They shall leaue it written in what time, and vnder whose raygne this was done. Or if we growe so barbarous that wee consider not this, or bee not able to drawe it into Chronicle, yet forraine nations wyl not spare to write this, and publish it to our euerlastinge reproche and shame.

In the meane time, what may bee ghessed of their meaning, which thus rauine and spoyle the house of God, which decay the prouision therof, and so basely esteeme the Ministers of his Gos­pel? They can not say to God, the zeale of thy house hath eaten me vp. Howsoeuer in other thinges they doe wel, howsoeuer they seeme to reioyce at the prosperitie of Sion, and to seeke the safetie and preseruation of the Lordes a­noy [...]ted: yet needes must it bee, that by these meanes forraine power, of which this realme by the mercie of God is happely delyuered, shall agayne be brought in vpon vs. Suche thinges shalbe done vnto vs, as we before suffered: the truth of God shalbe taken away, the holy scrip­tures burnt and consumed in fire. A marueilous darknesse and calamitie must needes ensue. For if the tempest be so darke in the sea that the load starre lose her light, and the needle fayle to giue [Page] token of the North Pole, no marueile though the Ship lose her course, and be swallowed vp in the sandes.

The Gospell of Christe is the fountaine of light, and of knowledge. It cannot be maintei­ned by ignorance and darknes. These, bee the proppes of their kingdome which take away y ^e scriptures, which hold the people in blindenes, which flie the light, whiche haue their common prayers, minister the Sacraments, Mary, burie their dead in a strange tongue, that the People may vnderstand nothing: which make a famine of hearing the word of God: which stop vp the springes of the water of lyfe: which take awaye the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen, and neither enter in them selues, nor suffer them that woulde enter: which say ignoraunce is the mother of deuotion, & the Church is then in best order, & the people most deuoute, when they are hood winckt, & blinded, & see nothing.

These are not fit instrumēts, wherwith we may ouercome the aduersaries. This is not y ^e sworde of the spirit, these are not the spiritual weapons, which cast downe holdes, and euery high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God What man that would keepe out his enemy, will pul downe his holdes? what captaine that meaneth to giue a forcible assault vpon the ene­my, will discourage his fighting souldiers? but our souldiers are out of courage, our Castles [Page] are falling: therefore that which we feare wyll fall vpon vs,

The oxe that treadeth out the corne is musse­led. He that goeth a warrefare, receiueth not his wages: the crye hereof goeth vp into the eares of the Lord of Hostes. He wil not abide so great contempt of his worde, and preachers: his owne name is therby dishonoured. Our sauiour saith, He that dispiseth you, dispiseth mee. And S. Paul, He y ^t despiseth these thinges, despiseth Luk. 10. 1. Thes. 4. not man but god. And think we, that hee wyll suffer his holy name to be despised? Nay, hys wrath is alreadie kindled. He hath already begū his iudgements, & therfore many places are left desolate. There is none that can warne them of their sinne, none that can moue them to repen­tance, none that can preach vnto them forgeue­nes through Christ, none that can instruct them in the comfort of euerlasting life. Because they worke such thinges against the Lord, the hearts of many are astonied. Though they heare, they vnderstande not. They scorne and ieste at the worde of saluation: it is vnto them a sauour of death vnto death: they are earthlye minded, whose God is their bellie, and whose glorie is to their shame.

For this cause you liue still in your sinnes, in adulterie, in couetousues, and in pride, without any feeling of conscience, without any feare of God. Your daughters, your heires, to whom [Page] you shall leaue your landes, are stollen awaye from you, Robberies and theft are so common, as if it were not onely lawful, but also commen­dable: as if sinne were no sinne, and he I fire but a fable.

Thus wee prouoke God to anger. Manye walke, of whom wee cannot thinke but with weeping: they are the enemies of the crosse of Christ: the name of God is blasphemed through them. Many are so ignoraunt, they knowe not what the Scriptures are, they knowe not that there are any Scriptures. They call them he­reticall, and newe doctrine. Many will beleeue neyther side, whatsoeuer they alleadge. Bring they trueth, bring they falshoode: teache they Christ, teach they Antichrist: they will beleeue neither, they haue so hardened their heartes. Be the Preacher rough or gentle, learned or vn­learned, let him vse authority of the scriptures, of the doctours, of the councels, of Decrees or Decretalles, of Gods Lawe, of mans law, no­thing wil moue them, nothing wil please them, because the ministery of God, and there by God himselfe, is despised.

These woordes happily seeme sharpe, and ouer vehement: but the hardnesse of our hearts against GOD, and the lacke of zeale of his house, inforce me to them. We are almost fallen into the lowest pitte: we are left without zeale, as senselesse men, and as if we had cleane for­gotten [Page] our selues, as the Heathen which know not God. Therefore, vnlesse we repent, the kingdome of God shall be taken away from vs. He will send vppon this land a famine of the woorde. Hierusalem shall be ouerthrown, and made an heape of stones, the man of sinne, and they which haue not the loue of the trueth shall preuayle with many, and withdraw them from obedience to the Prince: this noble realme shall be subiect to foreine nations: all this will the zeale of the Lorde of hostes bring to passe.

I could haue spent this time in opening some other matter: but nothing in my iudgement is more worthy your good consideration, and spee­dy redresse. I would be loth rashly or rudely to abuse the reuerence of this place: but vnles these things be cared for, vnlesse we shew foorth grea­ter zeale then hitherto, if the yeeres to come eate vp and take awaye from the Ministery as the late yeeres haue done, there wil not be left with­in a while, any to speake the word of God out of this place. The Pulpits shall haue none to vse them: the people shal grow wyld and voyd of vnderstanding.

When Xerxes behelde the greate company of his Souldiers, suddenly he brake into teares, and wept bitterly. One sayde to him, O Syr, you haue cause to reioyce, you haue a goodlye companie, they are able to fight for you agaynst [Page] any nation. But what shall become of them, saith Xerxes? after a hundred yeeres: not one of all these shall be left aliue. If the view of the smal number of Preachers might be taken, how fewe they are, and howe thinne they come vp, we haue greater cause then Xerxes to lament, if we haue any zeale to the house of GOD. For, of the Preachers which nowe are, within fewe yeeres none will remayne aliue. And Xerxes souldiers lefte issue behinde them, which might afterwardes serue their Countrey: But there is like to bee small increase for the supplie of Learned men. The Lorde shall lacke men to bring in his haruest, the little ones shall call for bread, and there shall be none to giue it them. They that shall come after vs, shall see this to bee true. There is no house so spoyled, as the House of the LORD. There is no Seruaunt so little rewarded as the Seruaunt of Christ, and the disposer of the mysteries of God.

Oh that your Grace did beholde the misera­ble disorder of Gods Church, or that you might foresee the calamities, which will follow. It is a part of your kingdome, & such a parte, as is the principall proppe and stay of the rest. I wil say to your Maiesty, as Cyrillus sometimes saide to Ciril. epist. ad Theod. & Va­len. to the godly Emperor Theodosius & Valētiniā, Abea quae erga Deum est pietate, reipublicae, [Page] vestrae status pendet: The good estate & wel­fare of your common wealth hangeth vpon true godlinesse. You are our Gouernour, you are the Nource of Gods Church. We must o­pen this griefe before you. God knoweth if it may be redressed, it hath growen so long, and is runne so farre. But, if it may be redressed, there is no other besides your Highnesse, that can re­dresse it.

I hope I speake truly, that which I speake without flatterie, that God hath endued your Grace with such measure of learning & know­ledge, as no other Christian Prince. He hath giuen you peace, happinesse, the loue and true hearts of your subiectes. Oh turne and employ these to the glory of God, that God may cōfirm in your Grace the thing which he hath begun. To this ende hath GOD placed Kinges and Princes in their state, as Dauid saith, that they serue the Lorde, that they may see and cause o­thers to see to the furniture of the Church. The good Emperor Iustinian cared for this as much, as for his life. Constantine, Theodosius, Valenti­nian, & other godly Princes, called themselues Vasallos, the subiects and bond seruants of God. They remembred that God furnished them in their houses, and were not vnmindful to furnish his house.

When Augustus had beautified Rome with setting vp many faire buildings, he said, Inueni [Page] lateritiam, marmoream reddidi. I foūd it made of bricke, but I leaue it made of marble. Your grace when God sent you to your inheri­tance, and the right of this Realme, founde the church in horrible confusion, and in respect of y ^• true worship of God, a church of brick, or rather (as Ezechiel saith) daubed vp with vnseasoned morter. Your grace hath already redressed the doctrine: now cast your eyes towardes the Mi­nisterie, giue courage & countenance vnto lear­ning, that Gods house may be serued: so shal you leaue a Church of God, & a testimonie that the zeale of the Lords house hath eaten you vp.

And you, O dearely beloued, if there be any such which are neither hot nor colde, which doe the work of the Lord negligently, which esteem the word of GOD but as a matter of pollicie, which are ashamed to bee called Professours of the Gospel of Christ, pray vnto God that he wil increase your zeale. Let vs continue rooted and built in Christ, and stablished in the faith. Let vs haue care for the house of God. Whosoeuer is not after this sort zealous, is a man of a double heart. We may not halt between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal be he, then go after him: he that is not with Christ, is against him. Many talke of the Gospel, and glorie in their knowledge: but it is neyther talke nor knowledge whiche shal saue them in that day. He that feareth the Lorde, and serueth [Page] him with a pure heart, and may truely saye, the zeale of thine house hath consumed me, he shall be saued. If they shall not escape which haue zeale without knowledge, what shall be­come of vs which haue knowledge without zeale:

And you, whosoeuer you are, that by such meanes haue decayed the Lordes House, and abridged the prouision and maintenaunce there­of, and see the miserable wracke of Gods Churche: if there be any zeale of God in you, if you haue any felowshippe of the spirite, if any compassion and mercy, if you loue God, if you desire the continuance of the Gospel, oh remem­ber you haue the patrimonie due vnto them that shoulde attend in the Lordes house: you take vnto your selues wrongfully, that which was not lotted for you. Giue vnto Caesar those things which belong to Caesar, and vnto GOD the thinges which appertaine to him, and make for the beauty and furniture of his house. En­rich your selues by lawfull meanes, and with­out the spoyle and waste of Gods Church. Let not the Ministery by your meanes be despised. You enriched them, which mocked, & blinded, & deuoured you: Spoyle not them now that feed, and instruct, and comfort you. Let vs seeke the glory of God. Let vs at length serue the Lorde and not our bellie, and greedy wantonnesse.

So shal God blesse you and prosper you in al [Page] your affaires, so shal he strike a terrour of you into all forreine Princes that dwell about you, so shall your heart be kept stedfast in the hande of God, so shal your heart be perfect before the Lorde, so shall you leaue suche as shall alwayes praise the Lorde in Sion, so shall you see your childrens children, and peace vpon Israel.

And, thou O most mercifull Father, graunt that thy wordes be not spoken in vayne: it is thy cause. Thou art our father, we are as claye in thine handes. Thou hast the key of our hearts: Giue zeale to them that haue knowledge, giue knowledge to them that haue zeale, that they may be inflamed and rauished with the loue of thy house, to sorrow for the decay thereof, and to doe al their indeuour to build vp and establish the same for euer,

Amen.

CHrist our Sauiour, after he was baptized by Iohn & tēp­ted by Satan in the wilder­nes, began to execute y ^• Cō ­mission wherunto his father had sent him, chose vnto him self a number of disciples to be at his commandement, and so tooke his pro­gresse through a great part of the Countrey. In the meane way, in euery place where he came, he taught the people that the kingdome of God was come amongst them: he healed their disea­ses: wrought straunge miracles before their eies: and gaue manye singular and euident to­kens of his comming.

But specially, he behelde in what state the poore people stood, touching their readines in receiuing Gods truth, in al the countrey where he had byn: & therfore at the end of his circuite, he was moued w ^t pity, & said, he saw thē in most woful case, forsaken and lost, as if they had byn [Page] a flocke of sheepe without a heard: and that not through their owne malice, but through the wil­ful blindnesse and negligence of them that were set to guide them.

Sheepe (as Aristotle and Plinie write of them) are a simple kinde of cattell, profitable to many vses, ready to receiue all maner wrongs, without skil, to helpe or succour it selfe: it coue­teth to breake out of the folde or close, if it may espie any hole open, it strayeth and wandreth a­broade, many times hangeth in the briers, many times is taken vp by the Wolfe: it is euer in dā ­ger of the wynd & rayne, yea, of the very grasse and water it liueth by, and thereof is infected of­tentimes with a number of maladies: so that the health and safety of the sheepe, resteth only in the care and diligence of the shephearde. To such a kind of cattel are the people likened.

Christ saith not, they were like vnruly sheep, that would not be guided by their heard: but he saith. They were like poore lost sheep, that had no heard at al. For, the people of thēselues were not vnwilling to receiue the Gospel: but there was none to instruct them. And for that, he ad­deth an other similitude, to declare the same, and saith, The haruest indeed is great, but the work­men are but few: the corne is ripe, & ready to be cut, but there lack hands to fetch it in.

The comming of these times was promised long afore, euen from the first creation of man­kinde, [Page] but the perfourmance thereof at the first was darke, and as it were wrapt vp, and hid in a cloude, and like corne buried in the ground.

After, it was somewhat more cleerely set forth in the Law giuen by Moses. After that, it was reuiued by the Prophetes, and in manner plainely, in what place, at what time, of what mother, of what house or stocke Christ should be borne: what doctrine he should teach, what mi­racles he should worke, what death he shoulde die, how he should be buried, howe he shoulde arise, how he should ascend into heauen, howe the heathens shoulde be called to beleeue in him, howe the holy Ghost should be sent, and to con­clude, how Christ should come at the last, to iudge the world. After that came Saint Iohn the Baptist, to point out Christ plainely with his fin­ger, and to say, Ecce agnus Dei, qui tollit pecca­ta mundi, Behold the lambe of God, that ta­keth away the sinnes of the world.

Last of al, Christe himselfe began to preache and prophecie of himselfe, and to gather vnto him a chosen people, that should be followers of good woorkes. Then was the accomplishment and fulnesse of time come to passe, that had so long beene looked for: then the kingdome of God began to suffer violence, and men violent­ly euen by force, brake in vpon it: then the corne sowed and cast into the ground by the patriarks long before, and watered & cherished by the dew [Page] of the Prophets, was ripened and kerned by the spirit of God: then was the haruest greate, and the eares white, euen ready to be cut.

Yet this notwithstanding, Christ saith, the haruest men are but few. He saith not, the Har­uest is great, and there are but few Scribes, but few Pharisies, but few Sadduces, but few priests, but few Leuites: For the Priests and Leuites were distributed through y ^e whole countrey. In euery litle Towne or borough there was a col­ledge, & as one of their Rabbines recordeth, in y ^• city of Hierusalem there were no lesse then 400 schooles: so that the number was almost infinit.

Moreouer, they vsed commonly to say, as it is reported by the Prophet leremie, Non peribit Hier. 18. Lex a sacerdote, nec consilium a sapiente, nec ser­mo a Propheta. It cannot be that the true vn­derstanding of the Law should be taken frō the Priest, nor good counsel frō the wise, nor the word from the Prophet. They read & ex­pounded the Law to the people euery day: they had their daily sacrifice, and whēsoeuer the oxe, or calfe, or sheep, or goate was slaine, and offered vnto God, as then the maner was, the priest for his share had the breastlet that couered the heart, in token, as Origen writeth, that the Priest should be a man of counsel. He had also appoin­ted to him the right shoulder, and the tongue, in token that he should be prompt & ready in good works, and eloquent to declare the law of God.

[Page] The Bishop had euermore before his breast a tablet, wherein was imbrodered in letters of Golde, Vrim and Thumim: in token that he should be a man both perfect in life, and also full and plenteous in the truth of God. In the same were set twelue stones, and therein grauen the names of the twelue tribes of the people, that he might haue thē euermore in remembrance. The skirtes or hemmes of his roabes were set with belles of gold, and pomegranates: in token that his life should giue a good sauour, and his voice should ring, and be heard among the people.

The Pharisies had certaine special poynts, and sentences of the Lawe written round about in the borders of their garmentes, that it might neuer be out of their eyes: they prayed, no men more, and that in euery corner of the streetes: they fasted twise euery weeke: the bed that they laye vpon, as Epiphanius writeth, was but a spanne broade, & yet, that they might sleepe with lesse ease, they strowed thornes vnderneath thē. Briefly, all their life in appearance was such, & al their apparel and behauiour so seemely and decent, that if a man would paint out wisedom, sobrietie, and perfect holinesse, he could haue no better patterne. And therfore they were called Pharisaei, that is, diuided, as men in holines & perfection of life farre passing al the rest of the people.

Yet for al this, notwithstanding their greate [Page] shewe of wisedome, of learning, of perfection of life, & the great multitude of them, Chrst sayeth there were few workmen to goe to the haruest. For, They did prophecie out of their owne Ezech. 13. harts, they did not rise vp in the gappes, nor made vp the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battell in the day of the Lorde: they haue seene vanity, & lying diuination, saying, the Lord saith it, & the lord hath not sent thē: & they haue made others to hope that they would confirm the words of their prophecie, saith Ezechiel.

No, contrariwise, these that should haue been the chiefe haruest men, were the wasters and de­stroyers of the haruest, My people (saith God) Iere. 50. hath byn as lost sheep: their shepherds haue caused thē to go astray, & haue turned them away to the mountaines. Christe telleh the Pharisies, they haue made his fathers house a denne of theeues. He speaketh thus of them. All Iohn 10. that euer came before mee, are theeues and robbers. Notwithstanding their stout learning and shew of holinesse, they were nothing els but theeues & robbers: they did robbe mens soules, chey stale the sheepe out of the fold, they spoyled God of his glory.

When they sawe the people followe thicke after Christ, and to haue him in reuerence, they cried out, none of the Princes and great holye learned men beleeue in him, but these Rascals, [Page] that thus runne after him, are accursed, & igno­rant, and know not the law. The vnlearned sort said of Christ, he casteth out vncleane spirits by y ^• power of God: y ^• great learned men said, no, he throweth out diuels by y ^• power of Beelzebub, y ^• prince of y ^• diuels. The vnlearned marueiled, & were astonied at y ^• wonderful works that he did: the learned saide, he hath a diuel, he is out of his wittes. The vnlearned said, no doubt a great Prophet is risen amongst vs: the learned sayd, He deceiueth the people. The vnlearned sayde, God hath visited, and sent comfort amongst his people: the learned said, Behold a glutton and a companion of Publicans & sinners. The great learned shepherds persecuted Christ, & chased him from place to place: the poore sheepe folow­ed him into the desert. They that were the guy­ders of the flocke, crucified Christ, and shed his blood: the poore flocke set their whole affiance in his death, & so dranke his blood to the reliefe of their soules, they beleeued in him, they knew the time of their visitation.

And therefore, notwithstanding there were grosse & damnable errours amongst the people, as wel as amōgst the learned: yet Christ chalen­ged not the people for them, but only y ^• priests & the Pharisies that tooke vpon them to lead the people: for that he saw the Pharisies and priests offended euē of malice, & the poore people only of ignorance and simplicity. Woe be vnto you Mat. 3. [Page] Scribes & Pharisies, that haue taken away the keies, & shut vp the kingdom of God before the people, and neither wil you enter in your selues, nor suffer others that wold gladly enter.

But, as for the people, he had compassion on them, for that he sawe they were forsaken, and perished euen as sheepe without a heard: that they had a certaine zeale of God, although not according to knowledge: that they fell into the pitte, not of wilfull malice, but onely because they followed the blynd guydes, that fell before them: that they were Gods haruest, and lay a­broade, and were lost, & no man would take the paines to fetch them in.

Saint Paul was not only lead away by igno­rance, but also was a most earnest persecuter of the Church of Christ, yet was he a portion of Gods haruest. And therfore assoone as GOD had striken him downe from his horse, he knew he had done amisse, and cryed out, Lord, what Acts 9. wilt thou that I do? and after, he writeth of him selfe, God hath had mercy, and taken me to his grace, because I knew not what I did.

Many there were that cried out vpon Christ, crucifie him, crucifie him: & after when he hung vpon the crosse, nodded their heads vpon him, & made mowes at him, & did him al maner of spite & vilany, & yet pertayned they to Gods haruest, and afterward, as it is credible, were crucified for him, & shed their blood for him themselues:

[Page] Euen so are there, euen at this time, many that of ignoraunce persecute the Gospel of Christ, & as it were crucifie Christ againe: which if they felt indeede, that it were the Gospell of God, they would not so litle regard their owne salua­tion. God make them to bee of his haruest, and send out labourers to fetch them in.

Whensoeuer we begin to feele a lacke with­in our selues, and can suffer our selues to be in­fourmed, and taught by the Spirit of God, then may we be assured God wil take vs for his har­uest. Plato the olde Philosopher imagineth, that the god Loue was borne of the Ladie [...], that is to say, Madame lack or necessity. For, no man loueth a thing, before he feele himself stand in neede of it: so, loue is the Childe, and lacke or neede is the mother.

Saint Augustine writeth of himselfe, that be­fore he became christened, a friend of his offered him the Scripture to looke vpon: but he, after he had read a litle, because he felt in himselfe no lacke of it, he despised it, and [...]long it from him. Afterwarde he beganne to finde much follye in himselfe, and because he could see no redresse, he fel to weeping and prayer. In the middest of his mourning and groning, he heard a voyce, Tolle, lege: tolle, lege. Take vp, and reade: take vp, & Aug. confes. lib. 8. cap. 12. read. He marueiled much what it should be. At the last, he tooke vp a booke that lay by him of Paulos Epistles, and the first wordes that he set [Page] his eies vpon, were these, Induimini dominū Ie­sum Christū, Put ye on the Lord Iesus Christ.

S. Hierom writing vpon the prophet, Nahum, In Nahum. cap. 3. saith, In aduentu Messiae, populus qui fuerat con­s [...]pitus sub magistris, excitabitur, & ibit ad mon­tes scripturarū. What time Messias shal come, the people that were lulled a sleepe in igno­rance by such as should haue been their tea­chers, shal awake, and get them forth to the mountaines of the Scriptures.

And Chrisost. vpon the Genesis, Si desit mini­sterium hominis, ipse Dominus superne illustrabit Hom. 30. mentem nostrā. If the ministery of man be wā ting, the Lord himself wil lighten our mind frō aboue. And Christ in the Gospel of S. Iohn, Iohn 10. saith, My sheep heare my voice, & follow me, & they wil not follow a stranger, but flye frō him. And to conclude, whosoeuer feeleth a lack within himself, & can suffer himselfe to be infor­med & taught by the spirit of God, he may be as­sured, God wil take him for his haruest. Thus was the haruest great, the laborers very few, the scatterers & wasters, almost infinite. This was the state of the Church at the cōming of Christ.

Euen likewise, in these our dayes, Christ our sauiour hath gone abroad in progresse, and done marueilous cures, & shewed strange miracles a­mōg his people, & hath caused his gospel to ring throughout the world. And as he said then, euē so may it now be said, Messis multa. The haruest [Page] is great, & marueilous forward: yea, euen there where as no worldly hope of haruest could haue beene. Many there are that hunger & thirst after the kingdome of God, which is the knowledge of his Gospel: many that are yet greene & igno­rant, many that lie by the way side, and yet haue gathered no root, many that as yet are but tares and darnell, I meane blinde and obstinate, but when Gods holy will shalbe, may be turned into good corne, and pertaine to his haruest.

But the laborers are few. I say not, there be but few Cardinals, few bishops, few priests, y ^t shold be preachers, few Archdeacons, few Chācelors, few Deanes, few prebendaries, few vicars, few parish Priests, few monkes, few friars: For the number of these is almost infinite. Gregory Na­zianzene in his time, complained at the multi­tude of Priestes, and saide, they were almost as many as the rest of the people.

And Iustinian the Emperor in his time, was faine to restraine y ^e number of thē, & to giue cō ­mandement, that in one cathedral Church there Cōci. [...]om. 3. cōcil. delect. cardinalium. should neuer be aboue 60. priests, & 100. deacōs. The like order was takē in a general coūcel, for the abating of the multitude of monks, & friars.

And in the booke called opus tripartitum, ioy­ned to y ^e councel of Laterane these words were Concil. [...]om. 2 written, Totus fere mundus obloquitur, & scāda­lizatur de multitudine religiosorum pauperū, qui introierunt in mundum, qui non iam religiosi, sed [Page] trutannij vocantur. Welneare y ^t whole world crieth against, & is offēded at the great mul­titude of begging monkes & friars, whiche are entred into the world, & nowe for their behauiour, are called not religious men but varlets. These be the wordes of the Councel.

The number of these is great: but alas, the number of labourers is very smal. And yet they giue a shewe to the worlde, that they be pastors and feeders of the flocke, that they be the fathers of the people, that they bee the teachers of the multitude, that they be the labourers in the har­uest, that the whole Catholike Churche stayeth altogether vpon them.

They giue the Bishop of Rome these titles, that hee is the onely key of Christian faith, that he is greater then the Apostles, for that they could erre, and he cannot: they say, he is Christes Uicar, whereas indeede to any mans sight, Christ may be contented to be his Uicar. They say, he is no bare man, but a god, as it is written in the Decretals of Nicholas Pope, and many other the like, which I leaue.

The Pope calleth the Cardinals. Cardines mūdi &c. The very hookes and staies of the world, vpon whom the doore of the church militant must be turned. Another saith: As a doore turneth vpō the hooke, euen so y ^e church of Rome is ruled by the Cardinals. Therfore they haue pillars & pollares caried afore thē, in tokē [Page] that they be the pillars and staies of the Church: and pollaxes, to beate downe al euil doctrine.

And what shal I speake of bishops? their clo­uen miter signifieth perfect knowledge of the new testament & the old. Their crosiars staffe, signifieth diligēce in attēding y ^• flocke of Christ, Their purple bootes & sandales, signifie y ^• they should euer be booted, & ready to go abroad tho­row thick & thin, to teach the gospel. And there­to they applied the words of the prophet, Quam speciosi pedes euangelizantiū pacē, euāgelizantiū bona? How beautiful are the feet of thē whi­che bring glad tidings of peace, which bring glad tidings of good things: but alas in what kind of thing do, they beare thēselues for bishops These misticall titles & shewes are not enough to fetch in the Lords haruest: they are garments more meete for players, then for good laborers. S. Bernard writeth thus to Eugenius y ^• bishop of Rome, who sometime had bin his scholer. Thou which art the shepheard, iettest vp & down De cōsiderat. ad Eug. lib. 4. shining in gold, & gorgeously attyred: but what get thy sheep? If I durst speake it, these things are not the fodder for Christs sheep, but for diuels. Whatsoeuer apparel they haue vpon them, vnles they wil fal to woorke, Christ wil not know them for labourers.

How then can the bishop of Rome be taken for y ^• chiefe pastor of Christ, which these 900. yeeres hath not opened his mouth to feede the flocke: [Page] These 900 yeres. I say, since Gregory the first of that name, it can hardly be found, that euer a­ny bishop of Rome was seene in a pulpit. One of themselues, Adrianus 4. a bishop of Rome, was wont to say, Succedimus non Petro in docēdo, sed Romulo in parricidio. Wee succeede not Peter in teaching, but Romulus in murthering.

And in a canon of the Apostles it is decreed, that the bishop that teacheth not his flock, should be deposed. To which purpose they alleadge S. August: Episcopatus, nomen est operis, nō honoris: Aug. deciuit. Dei. lib. 19. cap. 19. vt intelligat se nō esse Episcopū, qui vult praeesse, non prodesse. A Bishops office is a name of la­bor, not a name of honor, that he which co­ueteth the place of preeminēce, & hath not a desire to do good, may knowe hee is not a bishop. Thus saith Origē, thus saith Chrisostom, thus say diuers others of the old fathers, whō it were lōg & needeles to rehearse. Multi sacerdo­tes, Chri. hom. 43. in opere im­perfecto in Mat. pauci sacerdotes, saith Chrisost, multi nomine, pauciopere. There are many priests, and fewe priests: many that beare the name, but fewe that be priests indeede. Thus the haruest is great & plenteous, but the laborers are but few.

The laborers are but few, but the destroyers & wasters are exceeding many, yea, such as should be the haruest men, most of al destroy the corne. I wil not here report that I am well able, that your eyes haue seene, and that many of you haue felt, the state of our time hath beene such. Saint [Page] Bernard saw it in his time, & therfore saith, Om­nes amici, & omnes inimici: omnes necessarij, & Serm. 33. in Cantica. omnes aduersarij. Al are friends, & al are ene­mies: all are helpers, & al are aduersaries, or hinderers. Againe, Heu, heu, Domine Deus, ipsi Bern. ser. 1. in conuers. S. Pauli. sunt in persequutione tua primi, qui vidētur in ec­clesia tua primatum diligere, gerere principatum. Alas, alas, O Lord god, they are the chiefest in persecuting thee, that seeme to loue the highest rooms, & to bere rule in thy church.

The time being so short as it is appointed me, wil not suffer me to speake of thē that euen now hinder Gods haruest: & being such men as shold stay the people, as much as they may do by their exāple, disquiet & disturb thē y ^• withstand at this time, & resist your graces doings, not in dark or doubtful matters, wherin somthing may be said on both sides, but in such things, as thei thēselus do know were appointed by Christ, published by y ^• Apostles, receiued by the old doctors, & vsed, & frequented in y ^• primitiue & catholike Church.

Why then wil they not receiue them? Christ himselfe giueth the reason: Quia dilexerūt ma­gis Iohn 12. gloriā hominum, quam gloriam Dei. Because they loued thē praise of men, more then the praise of God. They know they should danger their credit, if they should once againe turne,

Why would not the Pharisies suffer y ^• people to beleeue in Christ: Cyrillus maketh answere, Ciril. in Ioh. lib. 8. cap. 1. Quia quicquid Christo credentium accesserit, sibi detractum putabant. This was y ^• cause saith he, [Page] for y ^• they thought, how many soeuer faith­ful came vnto Christ, so many were lost frō thē. And therfore they had leuer keep the traditi­ons of their elders, thē hazard their estimation.

And Chrisost. vpon the same matter saith, Cū Chrisost. in Mat. hom. 52. timerent ne principatum amitterent, ceu legum latores, vt maiores esse viderētur, multa innoua­bant, quaeres ad tantā peruenit nequitiā, vt prae­cepta sua custodirēt magis quā mandata dei. Lest thei shold lose their authority, as if they had bin law makers, men able to stablish and or­dein lawes, to the end they might seem greater, they altered much, which thing (in the end) grew to such a wickednes, y ^• they kept their own commandements more then the commandemēts of God. Thus euen now the Lordes haruest is great, the labourers few, and the destroyers and hinderers aboue number.

O lift vp your eyes, & consider how the hearts of your poore brethrē lie waste without instructiō, without knowledge, w ^tout the food of life, with­out the cōfort of Gods word, such a misery as ne­uer was seen among heathēs. The Turks haue teachers sufficient for their people, the Iewes, albeit they haue no stayed countrey, but liue in banishment, and wander about, yet haue they their Teachers: the Christians which this day liue in India, Aethiopia, Barbarie, Moorelande, and other places vnder the persecution of hea­then princes, yet haue their instructours in true [Page] religion. The Christians in old time, when they liued vnder tyrants, and were daily put to most shameful death, & were hated, & despised of al the worlde, yet neuer lacked ministers to instruct them. It is therfore most lamentable, that Chri­stians liuing vnder a Christian prince, in y ^e peace & liberty of the gospel, should lacke learned mi­nisters to teache them, and instruct them in the worde of God: this is the greatest plague, that God doth send vpon any people.

Contrariwise, the greatest blessing which any people cā receiue at Gods hands, is to haue pro­phets & preachers, by whō they may be instruc­ted. When y ^• prophet declareth y ^• mercy of God towardes Israel, y ^• he would put an end to their afflictions, & bring thē home again from Babylō, he saith thus, Behold (saith the Lord) I wil send Iere. 16. out many fishers, & they shal fish thē. In the like sort saith Esai, How beautiful vpō y ^• moū ­taines are the feet of him, that declareth, & Esay. 52. publisheth peace? that declareth good ty­dings, & publisheth saluatiō, saying vnto Siō, thy god reigneth? The voice of thy watchmē shalbe heard, they shal lift vp their voyce, & shout together. And Baruch: Nor the Agarēs that sought after wisdom vpō the earth, nor Baruch. 3. the marchāts of Nerrā & Themā, nor the ex­poūders of fables, nor the scarchers out of wisdom, haue known the way of wisedome. There were the giāts, famous frō the begin­ning, [Page] that were of so great stature, & so ex­pert in war. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gaue he the way of knowledge vnto thē, but they were destroyed because they had no wisdome, & perished through their own foolishnes. He hath foūd out al the way of knowledge, & hath giuē it vnto Iacob his seruant, & to Israel his beloued. And againe, Baruc. 4. O Israel, we are blessed: for the thinges that are acceptable to god, are declared vnto vs. He hath not dealt so with euery nation, nei­ther Psal. 147. haue they knowledge of his iudgmēts, saith the Prophet Dauid.

But when God taketh away his ministers whi­che should preach peace, & open vnto the people the wil of God, & make known his iudgemēts, it is a token that God is highly displeased with his people. Where there is no visiō, the peo­ple Prou. 29. decay: they know not what to beleeue. Of this misery speaketh Iere. The young chil­dren Lamen. 4. aske bread, but no mā breaketh it vn­to them. Of this speaketh Esay, The poore & Esay 41. needy seeketh water, & there is none. They would haue some counsell, some comforte, and there is no man to giue it them. My sheepe Ezech. 34. wandered (saith God) through al the moun­taines, and on euery high hill: yea, my flock was scattered through all the whole earth, and none did seeke or searche after them. They were full of diseases, they were pined for [Page] hunger, and taken vp by the wolfe, but none had care to deliuer them.

In such state as the flocke is in, which hath no shepheard: or the shippe which is tossed by the tempestes amiddes the surges and rockes of the Sea, and hath no skilful Pilote to guide it: or the yong sucking childe, that hath no nource to feede it: euen in such stace are your soules, if you haue not the ministery of Gods worde aby­ding with you. You are children, the Preacher is your nource: you are a shippe in daunger of many wreckes through the boysterous tempests of this worlde, the Preacher is your Pilote to guide you safely towardes the hauen of rest: you are the flocke, the Preacher leadeth you from dangerous places, to feede vpon the whole some pastures of Gods holy worde. Whosoeuer they be which reioyce not in the increase of the Lords haruest, hee forsaketh them, and leaueth them comfortlesse, and giueth them fewe or no labou­rers.

Wherfore pray the Lorde of the haruest, that he would send forth labourers into his haruest, It is the Lorde which casteth the firste seede into the earth, whiche doeth moysten the ground, and maketh it fruitful, and giueth forth his sunne, that it may come to ripening. Al the soile, field, corne, and the husbandry therof is the Lordes. Let vs pray to him to send forth labou­rers to trauaile and take paines.

[Page] Notwithstanding we ought to praye to God, that hee will stirre vp and set foorth men to in­struct his people: yet that nothing embarreth the authority of princes. For, as God calleth him inwardly in the heart, whom he wil haue to bee a minister of his word: so must he be authorized of his Prince by outward and ciuil calling, as I could shew at large, if time would suffer it.

So Salomon the king deposed Abiathar the high priest, and set vp Sadoc. So Iustinian de­posed two bishops of Rome, Siluerius, & Vigili­us, & authorized others. And the same Iustinian was wont to say, that he had no lesse regarde to the Church of God, thē he had to his own soule. So Constantinus, Valentinianus and Theodosius called themselues Vasallos Christi, The vasals of Christ. And Socrates in his story saith. Wee Socrates li. 5. in prooemio. haue also herein comprised the Emperours liues, for that sithence the Emperours were first christned, the affaires of y ^• church haue depended of them, & the greatest counsels both haue byn, & are kept by their aduise. It pertaineth therefore also to kings and Prin­ces to send out labourers into the haruest.

Labourers they must be, and not loyterers. For Christ compareth the teaching of his peo­ple to thinges that be of greate labour, as to plowing and fallowing of the grounde, to planting of a Uine, to rearing of a House, to threshing of Corne, to feeding of sheepe, to lea­ding [Page] of an Hoste, and keeping of warre: in which thinges is required much diligence and labour.

Cato in his bookes of husbandry, saith it was an old saw among husbandmen, Qui terram co­lit, ne sedeat: est enim aliquid semper quod agat. He that plougheth the ground, must not sit stil: for he hath alwaies somwhat to do. The worke of the husbandman is neuer ended, hee falloweth, stirreth, soweth, harroweth, weedeth, and tendeth his land.

Therefore, if they he Pastours, let them feede the flocke: if they be Doctours, let them teach the people: if they be watchmen, let them stande vppon their watche: if they bee messen­gers, let them doe their erraunt. This is the way to buylde vp the Churche of Christ. This commission Christ gaue vnto his Disciples, Ite in mundum vniuersum, &c. Goe ye into al the world, and preach the Gospel vnto eue­ry Mark. 16. creature. Thus by twelue poore Apostles al the world was conquered: Princes and kings, and Emperours were subdued to the faith of Christ. This is the key that openeth the consci­ence, this is the two edged sword which entreth through, euen to the diuiding asunder of y ^e soule and the spirit. Therefore the Apostle saith, The weapons of our warfare are not carnall, but 2. Cor. 10. mighty through God, to cast downe holds, [Page] casting down the imaginations & euery hie thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captiuity euerie thought to the obedience of Christ. This is the only instrumēt, wherwith we may cut down and haue in the haruest of God.

For all mens deuises, Actes, Iawes, or com­mandements, be the authority thereof neuer so great, yet are not sufficient to content one mans conscience. For the wisedome of man is but fol­lie before God, & God knoweth the fancies and cogitations of men, that they be but vayne and foolish.

Aristotle the great wise Philosopher on a time being sick, when the phisition came to him to minister him a potion, & shewed him not what was in it, began to chafe and take on with him: why, said he, heale not me as thou wouldest heale an oxe or a horse, but shew me what thou giuest me, what are the ingredients, and wherefore thou giuest it me. Euen so must the people bee healed of their errours: they must know what is giuen them, and wherefore.

Fides (saith Bernard) suadenda est, non imponē ­da. Faith may not be compulsed by force or rigour, but gently brought in by perswasiō: For forced faith is no faith. Saint Paule saieth, Faith commeth by hearing, & hearing by Rom. 10. the word of God. And therefore it is wel ob­serued by the wise & politike father S. Ambrose, [Page] that the church of Christ was not gathered by the law, but by faith. Basil saith, If you wil haue Gods wisedō take place, al your worldly wisedome must be set a parte. And in like sort Hillarius, Humanis operib. extructa nō per­manent: aliter aedificanda Ecclesia, aliter custodi­enda est &c. Things that be set vp with mans workmanship (saith Hillary) will not endure: the church of God must otherwise be buyl­ded and preserued: for the foundation of it must be layde vppon the Apostles and Pro­phets. The church being thus built by God, that is to say, by the doctrine of God, shall neuer fall.

I speake not this against all ciuil, and honest lawful policie: for I know it is the gift of God, without the which, nor common state, nor the Church can be mainteined. But this seemeth to haue byn the meaning of these olde Fathers, that in the building of Gods church, y ^e preaching of Gods worde must goe before, to quiet mens consciences: and wisedome & pollicie, like hand­maides must follow after. For this honor & pre­rogatiue God claimeth onely to himselfe, that his Church must bee built vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. Which if it be o­therwise built, Nisi dominus aedificauerit domū, in vanum laborauerunt, qui aedificant eam. Vn­lesse God himselfe build vp the house, they sweat and labour but in vain, that set it vp.

[Page] Thus Christ at the beginning gathered his Church, not by lawes of men, but against all law & policy, by the preaching of his word. God might haue instructed Cornelius by the Angell that appeared to him, as it appeareth in y ^e Acts of the Apostles: but he woulde not so, but sent Peter to him, that he might be instructed by the mouth of a Preacher. Hee might haue taught Paul, after he had striken him downe from his horse, when he appeared to him, & said, Ego sum Iesus quē tu persequeris: I am Iesus whō thou persecutest: But he would not so, but rather left him to be taught by Ananias. And as it ap­peareth in the Actes of the Apostles, at the prea­ching of Peter 3000. people were conuerted & wonn in one day, that it might appeare by what tooles, and with what workemen God woulde haue his haruest set forward.

Nowe let vs beholde the present state of our countrey. These wordes of Christ our Sauiour were neuer more true, then we find them now in these our dayes. The haruest is great, & the la­bourers very fewe: the poore people lyeth forsa­ken, and left as it were sheepe without a guide: the afflicted in conscience haue no man to quiet them: they growe wilde and sauadge, as it were a people that had no God: they are com­maunded to change their religion, and forlacke of instruction, they know not whither to turne them: they knowe not, neither what they leaue [Page] nor what they should receiue.

Some other defie, and spit at the holy gospel of our Sauiour Christ, and refuse the Couenāt of euerlasting life. Some other for lacke of knowledge, followe after wilfull & blinde mai­sters, and become Arrians or Pelagians, and thus they blaspheme the sonne of God. Some o­ther giue themselues ouer to their owne affecti­ons, and as he saith, reioyce and triumph in their filthinesse, without feare of God, without consci­ence of sinne, and so treade downe the blood of the testament vnder their feete: and this do they for lacke of teaching, because they haue not lear­ned men, and preachers to shew them what they should doe.

O, saith our Sauiour Christ the good shep­heard and Bishop of our soules, my haruest is beaten down and lost, and there is none that wil goe abroade and saue it. My people run head­long to their own destruction, not of malice but of verye simplicity, onely because they are not taught, because they know not my father nor me. Alas, it is not my fathers will, that anye of them should be lost.

They be our brethren, they be the flocke of God, they be the haruest, they are bought with great price: I beseeche you, euen for that blood that was shed and spent for them and vs al, let vs not despise them.

If the kingdome of God be not worthy to be [Page] promoted, yet the kingdome of Satan is wor­thye to be ouerthrowne. Now is that acceptable and ioyfull time come amongst vs, euen nowe God hath visited his people: now the haruest is greate and plentious. Al the world this day lon­geth, and groneth after the Gospell. Let vs therefore altogether, directe our prayers to the Lord and master of the haruest.

Wee beseeche thee most mercifull father, for thy sonne Iesus Christes sake, as thou hast plentifully encreased thy haruest, & brought it to a ripenes in these our dayes, so sende out labou­rers, to get it in, that it be not spilt. Gather in al thy sheepe that lie straying w ^tout a heard. Ligh­ten the heartes of thine aduersaries, that they may know the time of their visitation, and see that blessed hope, whereunto thou haste called them. That all the worlde with one mouth, and one minde, may know and gloryfie thee, the onely true and lyuinge God, and thy sonne Iesus Christ to whom with thee, and the holy Ghost, be al honour and glorye.

Amen.

THat it may please God so to order both my vtterance, and your vnderstāding, that what­soeuer shalbe spoken or heard, may turne to the glory of his holy name, and to the profite and comfort of his Church, before I enter into the exposition of these wordes, I desire you to call vpon our gracious God with your earnest and harty prayer.

And heere, I commende vnto you the good estate of Gods holy and catholique Church, and therein the Queenes most excellent maiesty, by the especial grace of God, Queene of England, Fraunce, and Irelande, defender of the true, an­cient, and Apostolique faith, and the highest go­uernour next vnder God, of this Churche of England, &c. That as God of his mercie, hath marueilously preserued her to the possession of her righte, to the great comforte of all our her subiects heartes, and to the reformation of the [Page] Church: so it may please him to ayde and en­crease her with his holy spirite, to the continu­ance & performance of the same. The Quenes most honourable counsaile, with the residue of the noblitie: The miserable state of both the U­niuersities, & all other schooles of learning, the onely nurceries of this Realme: The Byshops and preachers, that the number of them may bee encreased, and that they may haue grace, to set foorth the trueth of Gods Gospell, as their du­tie is, diligentlye, soberly, sincerely, truely, and faithfully: And the whole commons of this Re­alme, especially, such as speake yll, or thinke ill of Gods holy word, that they may haue grace to regarde the saluation of their soules, to laye a­fide all blinde affection, to heare the woorde of God, and so to come to the knowledge of the trueth.

Who so list to peruse either the whole course of the Scriptures, or other stories and recordes of antiquitie, shall finde that the messengers of God, such as haue bene sent of purpose to giue knowledge of his holy wyll, haue at all tymes bene vnkindely receiued of the more parte, and sclaunderously reported of: and whatsoeuer they haue sayde or done, hath bene falsly depraued, & turned to the worst.

Moses that godly Captayne, notwithstan­dynge hee were purposely called, and sent from [Page] God, and in his name wrought many & strange wonders befor the people: yet were there some that saide hee was a Sorcerer, and whatsoeuer he did, he did by way of coniuration.

The Religion of the Jewes, was the true worship of the onely God: Yet Plinie sayth, it was contemptus omnium numinum, The despi­sing of all the goddes. The Jewes suffered no images to be in their Churches, because God had forbiddē them: Yet Cornelius Tacitus saith. They worship their god in forme of an asse. O­thers said, they worship a god whome they call Sobaoth, in the shape and fashion of a hogge: and that therfore they were forbidden to eate swines flesh. Others, that they worship Saturnus, be­cause they were commaunded to keepe holy the Saturday.

The wicked and cruell Aman, to bringe the people of God into hatred with the king Assue­rus, made his complaint of them in this wise: May it please your Maiestie, sayth he, to vnder­stande, you haue a people here in your realme, that vseth a new kinde of religion, and wyll not be ordered by your graces lawes.

When the godly prynce Cyrus, had giuen Esdras and Nehemias, leaue to builde vp againe the Church of God at Hierusalem, there came diuers to him, and had him take good heede, for that the Jewes were his enemies, and euer had hene traitours to his crowne.

[Page] Lykewise, after that Christ our Sauiour had ascended into heauen, and the holy Ghoste was powred downe vpon the Apostles, and they be­gan to speake diuers tongues that they neuer had learned, the enemies disdainefully scorned at the giftes of God, and sayde, Musto pleni sunt isti, These men be drunken, and full of newe wine. And therfore they talke they knowe not what.

When Paul and the other Apostles taught free remission of sinnes, without any goodnesse or desert of our partes, onely of Gods mercye, and in the blood of Christ: the enemies iested at that kinde of learning, and said, faciamus mala, vt veniant bona: then if Gods mercie bee de­clared Rom. 3. 8. by forgiuenes of sinnes, Let vs doo euill that good may come therof: Let vs conti­nue in sinne, that grace may abound. Rom. 6. 1

Because the Christians in the ministration of the holy Communion vsed bread and wine: some saide, they worshipped not Christ, but Bac­chus and Ceres, goddes of the heathens.

Wheras the Christian men, soone after the Apostles time, vsed to resorte together in the night time, or in the morning before daye, into some priuate house, there to call vpon the name of God, and to receiue the sacrament together, for feare of the crueltie of tyrantes: the ene­mies reported, that beinge thus together, they killed a childe amongst them, and so deuoured [Page] vp his flesh, and dranke his blood, and after put out the lights, and so committed incest and adul­terie one with another.

But what needeth moe examples? Because wee saye, that iustification standeth onely vpon the free grace and mercy of God: the aduersa­ries report, that we forbid good workes. And because we speake against superstition vsed in fasting, as before vs did Esay, Paul, and Christe himselfe: they report, that wee woulde haue no fasting. And because we reproue the errours and abuses in the maner of prayer: they say, we would not haue the people to pray. And because we restore the sacraments to the first institution of our Sauiour Christe, and the example of the primatiue Church: they say, wee take away the Sacraments.

This is Gods holy wyl, that for our exercise whatsoeuer we say or doe, be it neuer so well, it shall bee ill taken.

Iulian the apostata founde fault with the sim­plicitie and rudenes of Gods word.

Tertullian saith, the heathens in the time of the primatiue Church, were wont to painte out in mockery the God of the Christians, with an asses head and a booke in his hand, in token that the Christians professed learnynge, but indeede were Asses, rude, and ignorant. And do not out aduersaries the lyke this day, agaynst all those that professe the Gospell of Jesus Christ: O [Page] saye they, who are they that fauour this way: none but Shoomakers, Taylours, Weauers, Prentises, such as neuer were in the vniuersity, but bee altogether ignoraunt and voyde of lear­ning. Thus haue you bene borne in hande that you might bee broughte to mistruste the Gos­pell.

And, as the Pharises vpbrayded those that hearde the doctrine of Christe, Dooth any of the rulers, or of the Pharises beleue in him? Iohn. 7. But this people, which knowe not the law, are cursed. Euen so this day, they say by you: they vnderstand not their pater noster, they knowe not their Creede, yee bee ignorant. O miserable men, doe they aduance themselues of your ignoraunce: If you knowe not your beleefe, if you vnderstand not your Pater noster, if you be so ignoraunt, through whose fault are you so ignorant: why were they your pastors: why did they not teache you? why take they from you the holy Scriptures: why wyll they haue you be ignorant and vnlearned still:

This doe they, that they may the more dis­credit and deface the Gospell, which GOD of his mercie hath in our dayes restored vnto vs, and caused the beames thereof to shine ouer all Countries in such sort, that nowe the simple and vnlearned, the rich, the learned, the worship­full, the honourable, the states and Princes of [Page] the worlde, be become professours and maintey­ners of it, as our eyes do see this day. Blessed be his holy name therfore.

They say, that the preachers of the same are vnlearned, as men that read nothing but a fewe English books, and neuer studied or saw the old Doctors.

Wee finde not such fault in their learninge neither do we speake those thinges by them, that the most parte of you doeth knowe wee might iustly and truely speake. For wee seeke not to confound them by such meanes, it is not our profession. We malice them not, wee are not e­nemies vnto them. And that, thou O Lorde that knowest al things, knowest best,

Let them haue the commendation of lear­ning: God giue them grace to ioyne it with trueth, and to vse it to his glory, and not to their owne, Yet they must needes be very well lear­ned, that wyll charge all their aduersaries with ignorance.

Albeit in contention of learning, I may bee worst heard to speake, being the vnworthyest of all my brethren: yet, this dare I be bolde to say, because it is true, we are not so farre to seeke in learninge, as they woulde haue vs appeare to be. S. Paul being driuen to answere in his owne defence in a lyke matter, in cōparison betweene 2. Cor. 11. him and the false prophets, writeth on this sort, Hebraei sunt, & ego: Israelitae sunt, & ego: Se­men [Page] Abrahae sunt, & ego: ministri Christi sunt, & ego. They are Hebrewes, so am I: they are Israelits, so am I: they are the seede of Abra­ham, so am I: they are the ministers of Christ, so am I.

So wyll I saye, and truely saye, betweene vs and them. They are seene in the tongues, La­tine, Greeke, and Hebrewe: so are wee. They haue studied the artes, so haue wee: they haue read the Doctours, the generall Councels, and the scriptures, so haue wee. If they can be lear­ned doing this: O what vnfortunate & vnhappy men are we, that are so vnlearned, & yet doe the same? This lucke commonly foloweth al them that be professours of the trueth.

S: Paul was counted and called a rebell, and accused that he was an Egiptian, and had gathe­red Act. 24. a number of men of warre to disquiet and trouble the Countrie. Wee haue founde (saith Tertullus) This man a pestilent fellow, & a mouer of sedition amongest all the Iewes throughout the world.

So saieth Tertullian, that in his time the Christians were called hostes public [...], that is, e­nemies & destroyers of all common states.

And those reportes the enemies not only scat­tred amonge the common people, but also drop­ped them into the magistrats & princes eares, that they might haue an il opinion of Christian religion, and suppresse the Ministers and prea­chers [Page] of it: so vnkinde commonly many haue bene towardes the messengers of Gods word.

When Christ hymselfe came downe from Heauen, from the bosome of his father, and be­gan to vtter & to teache the Gospell of euerla­sting life, and to confirme the same with manie a straunge myracle: the poore people gaue eare vnto hym, and beleeued his doctrine, and by his wonderous workes knew him to be the sonne of Dauid, the very Messias y ^t was promised them.

But the Scribes & Pharises, that bare the name of Doctours, and had bene euermore brought vp in learnynge, & were the instructors of the people, made light of Christes miracles, & said to y ^e people, he casteth out deuils thorow Beelzebub the chiefe of the deuils.

The miracle was such, that no reasonable man would haue thought it to be wrought by y ^e deuil. The poore man that before had ben deafe, was now able to heare: that before was posses­sed of the deuill, was now deliuered: that before was sicke, was now restored to his health. The poore people marueiled at the doing, and glo­rified God. But the Pharisies cryed out against him. In Beelzebub principe daemoniorum, eiicit daemonia. He casteth out deuils through Beel zebub, the chiefe of y ^e deuils. Not because it was true, nor because it was likely to be true, nor because they in their conscience thought it to bee true: but onely to bring Christ in hatred [Page] w ^t the people, & to deface his doctrin, And ther­fore they blasphemed that, y ^e indeede they coulde not deny: & that they knew to be the workman­ship of God, they said it proceeded from y ^e deuil.

Christe our Sauiour putteth backe these slaunders with diuers reasons, whereof at this time for shortnes sake, I wyll touche but two. The first reason is: Euery kingdome that is di­uided in it selfe, shal be brought to desolation: if Satan be deuided against him selfe, then must his kingdome needes be dissolued, & that by his owne workyng. But that is not likely. For al y ^e Angels of Satan agree and conspire together to y ^e vpholding of their kingdome: therfore must you needes confesse that I haue remoued this deuil by some other greater power, & not by the power of Beelzebub the chiefest of the deuils.

Here perhaps, some man wil replie that wit­ches, & coniurers oftentimes chase away one deuil by y ^e meane of an other. Possible it is so, but that is wroughte, not by power, but by collu­sion of y ^e deuils. For one deuil, y ^e better to attain his purpose, will giue place, & make as though he stood in awe of another deuil. And by y ^e way, to touch but a worde or two of this matter for y ^t the horrible vsing of your poore subiectes infor­ceth therunto: It may please your grace to vn­derstād, y ^t this kind of people, I meane witches, & sorcerers, w ^tin these fewe last yeres, are mar­ueilously increased w ^tin this your graces realm. [Page] These eyes haue seene most euident and mani­fest markes of their wickednesse. Your graces subtectes pine away euen vnto the death, their colour fadeth, their flesh rotteth, their speach is benummed, their sences are bereft.

Wherefore, your poore subiects most hum­ble petitiō vnto your highnes, is, that the lawes touching such malefactours, may bee put in due execution. For the schole of them is great, their doinges horible, their malice intollerable, the examples most miserable. And I pray GOD, they neuer practise further, then vpon y ^e subiect. But this onely by the way, these be the scholers of Beelzebub the chiefe captaine of the deuils.

This first reason that Christ vseth, is taken of common experiēce. For natwithstanding there be nothing so puissant, as y ^e force of a kingdom: yet if it be deuided in it self, it wyl perish & come to confusion. For, concord and agreement is the strength and maintenāce of al states. Break the hoopes of a vessel, & al the boordes wil fal asun­der. The exāples hereof are too rife. The migh­tiest kingdomes that euer were, by such meanes haue bene conquered, & fallen into the power of their enemies.

Therfore, Esay prophecying the destruction of the kingdome of the Jewes, sayeth, firste the people shal fal at dissention within themselues, and then should folow their confusion.

When Vespasian the Emperour & his sonne [Page] Titus came with an armie against Hierusalem, the whole natiō of the Jewes was deuided into three factions, eche of them ready to vndo the o­ther. Then folowed the ouerthrow of that king­dome. Then was Hierusalem rased to y ^e groūd: Then were there slayne of the Jewes to the nū ­ber of 1100000. Once agayne I wil say it, be­cause it is marueilous, and most true, as Iosephus (who was thē a capitain there in y ^e field) writeth there were then slayne of the Jewes of men, wo­men and children, no lesse then 1100000.

Of late yeeres, the dissention betweene two brothers, brought all Graecia & Asia, & al y ^e Easte parts of Christendome, into the possession of the Turke. But what needeth vs to goe to Hierusa­lem or to Turkie for examples:

This kingdome of ours, the mightiest, y ^e no­blest, the richest, y ^e blessedest lande that is, or euer was vnder heauen, coulde neuer yet be conque­red by any enemie, but onely at such time, as the people were at variāce within thēmselues. Thē was Iulius Caesar with a smal number, then were the English Saxons, then were the Danes, then was y ^e Duke of Normandie able to ouerrunne vs, and to possesse our countrie.

Therefore the prince that desireth to be a con­querour, laboureth not so muche to furnishe his owne men, and to make himselfe strong, as to set discord among his enemies. For that is a manifest token of their vndoing, & that Gods ven­geance [Page] is at hand. And for that cause, Herodian an old writer pronounceth, y ^• as much as warre is worse then peace: so much is ciuill sedition worse then warre. And Titus Liuius in his sto­rie saieth, haec res sola facit, vt magna imperia sint mortalia: Dissensiō only, saith he, causeth that great Empires can not continue but haue an end. For, if the one part conquere, and haue the victory, it is euen as if a man with his right hand would maime himselfe, and chop off the left. This example Christ vseth to confound the malice of the Pharisies.

The secōd reason is this: If I cast out deuils by the power of Beelzebub, by what power doe your children my disciples, Iohn, Iames, Peter, Andrew, & the rest cast them out? They graun­ted that Christes disciples wrought miracles, onely by the name of God. And yet that they al­lowed in the scholers, euen of malice & hatred, and contrarie to their conscience, they repoued and blasphemed in y ^e master. Hereof Christ con­cludeth, if I cast out deuils in the power of god, then doubtlesse the kingdome of God is among you: your own childrē shalbe iudges ouer you.

Now to applie these wordes vnto this our present time, wherein vnder a most godly and gracious prince, the trueth of Christes Gospell is freely preached, Gods holy name therfore be praysed for euer.

As Moses in his time was counted a sorcer­rer: [Page] as the Jewes were called despisers of al re­ligion, seditious, and heady agaynst their Prin­ces: as the Apostles were counted dronken, and full of new wine: as al Christians were called i­dolaters, worshippers of Bacchus & Ceres, mur­therers, incestious, & adulterers: as S. Paul for his preaching, was iudged a Rebel: and al Chri­stians were taken for enemies of all common e­states: euen so in these latter daies, all these or o­ther y ^• like crimes, haue bene laid to y ^• preachers & professors of Christes Gospel: y ^• thei haue bene godlesse, seditious, rebelles, despisers of good orders, incestious, adulterers, masters of al sinne and wickednesse.

But this is our comfort, that nothing can be deuised to be spokē against vs, but y ^• same afore­time hath bene deuised & spoken against Christ hymselfe. For he himself was called a Samari­tan, a cōpanion of publicans & harlotes, a gluc­ton, a lyar, a blasphemer, a subuerter, of y ^• whole nation, a seducer of the people, a rebell against Caesar, a sorcerer, a worker by the deuill, and a breaker of the Sabboth day,

We are set vp, saith Paul, as a marke for mē to speake against, & whatsoeuer be spoken of vs, be it neuer so vntrue or vnlikely, yet are there some that wyll beleeue it. Yea such thinges as woulde not bee beleeued spoken of a theefe, or a murtherer, wyl soone be beleeued of hym that professeth the name and Gospell of Jesus Ieremy. 5. Christ. Woe is mee, my mother (sayth Ierimy) [Page] that thou hast borne me a contentious mā, & a man that striueth with y ^e whole earth: I haue neither lent on vsury, nor men haue lēt vnto me on vsurie: yet euery one doth curse mee. The vntrue report of these things caused such extremitie as this day you may heare of in other countries, and some times haue seene pre­sently before your eyes.

Princes, & noble men hated the doctrine of the Gospel, before they knew it. They hated it, and thought ill of it, not of malice, nor against their conscience, nor against y ^e testimony of the holye ghost, but only of ignorance, because they lacked instruction, They had a zeale, & a feeling of god, but not according to knowledge. And there­fore doinge as they did, they thought they dyd God high seruice.

This curtesie had christ our sauieur shewed him when he was in the worlde. The same cur­tesie must they looke for, that wil become christs disciples. They sayd of Christ, that whatsoeuer he did, he did it in the name of Beelzebub y ^e chief of the deuils. Euen so, whereas it hath pleased almightie God to blesse vs with the true Prea­chinge, and light of his holy Gospell: yet there are some that condemne it, and call it heresie, & beare the people in hand, that all this doctrine is nothing els but a renuing of old heresies.

It is a greeuous matter for a Christian man, iustly to be accused of heresie. For whosoeuer [Page] is an heretique, is an enemie of god, and a wa­ster and destroyer of all true Religion. And therefore, vnlesse the crime bee marueilous eui­dent, he doeth great wrong that calleth any man heretique: and though a man be falsely charged, yet may he not dissemble it. Ruffinus would say, that mā were not a Christian, whosoeuer would abide to be called an heretique. All other iniu­ries may be borne withall, but this is suche and so hainous a crime, that vnlesse it be manifestly euident, no man may suffer to be so iudged: and it should not be beleeued, when it is layde to the charge of any Christians.

Wherefore, for as much as the cause is gods, and pertaineth to the conscience of a great ma­ny, let it be as lawfull for the poore man that is vniustly hurt, to make his salue, as others think it lawfull for them to giue the wound.

Christ our Sauiour, when he was thus char­ged, made answer, Si ego in Beelzebub eiicio dae­monia, filii vestri in quo e [...]iciunt? If I through Beelzebub cast out deuils, by whō doe your children cast thē out? So may we say to such as this daye bee aduersaries to this cause, and speake agaynst vs. If we be heretikes that teach this doctrine, what are the ancient Fathers, the Doctours, and the Apostles that haue taught the same: If they were Catholiques, and haue bene euermore so taken, writinge as they dyd, howe is it that onely wee are not Catholiques, [Page] writing & saying as they did? they shal iudge on our side against you. And would God in y ^• grea­test & specialest poynts of our controuersies, all parts would be contented to stand to their iudg­ment: so should al contention be soone at anend.

For I call Heauen and Earth to witnesse, and speake it before God and his holy Angels, and before the consciences of al them that speak agaynst vs, that touchinge the very substance of religion, wee teache nothinge this day, but that hath bene taught before by Christ him selfe: set abroade by his Apostles: continued in the Pri­mitiue Church, and maintained by the olde and ancient Doctors.

And in one or two wordes onely to giue a taste of the same, that thereby ye may the better iudge of the rest:

Wee saye, that in the Sacrament after the consecration, remaineth the substance & nature of bread and wine. The same saith. S. Augustine, S. Chrysostome, Theodoretus, Gelasius, & others. Gelasius wordes are so plaine, as no man can de­nie them: Non desinit esse substantia panis & vi­ni. There leaueth not to be the substance of bread and wine. Thus wrote they, and were Catholiques.

We say, that Christes last Supper must be vsed as a communion, & frequented with more then one. So Christ ordeined it, so y ^• Apostles, the Primitiue Church, and all the olde Doc­tors [Page] practised it, and neuer was there any of them that euer made mētion of a priuate Masse: Thus did they, and yet were they Catholiques.

We say, the holy Communion or sacrament of the breaking & shedding of the body and blood of Christe, ought of necessitie to bee vsed vnder both kindes: Thus did all the Doctors vse it. And Gelasius an old father saith, that otherwise to vse it, is open sacriledge. And for y ^• space of 1000. yeeres after Christ, there can no example be found to the contrary. Thus did they, and yet were Catholiques.

We say, the publique prayers ought to be in the common tongue: that the Bishop of Rome ought not to take vpon him to be the head of the vniuersal Church: that the prince is of right, & by the authority that god hath giuen hym, the hi­est ruler of his Church and Realme, as well of the ecclesiasticall officers, as of the temporall.

And all these thinges bee aduouched & con­firmed by y ^e examples of the primatiue Church, by the olde general Councels, and by the Doc­tors. And the contray here of shall neuer be pro­ued, nor by old father or Doctor, nor by aucient councel, nor by example of y ^• primatiue Church, nor by any sufficient authoritie of the Scrip­tures. I leaue the rest, for it were an infinite la­bour to say as much as might be saide.

Thus they taught, thus dyd they, & were ca­tholikes: & alas, are we sayinge the same, onely [Page] because we say y ^e same, become heretiques: that was once true, is it now become false: that was once Catholique doctrine, is it now at last be­come heresie: O, mercifull God, was it thy wil, y ^t thy trueth should be true but for a season, vntil there should come men to decree the contrary: If we be heretiques that teach the same that the olde Doctours of the Church taught, what then are they, that teach contrary to the Doctours:

Christ our Sauiour to reproue the Pharises, thought it sufficient to say to them, Hoc Abra­ham non fecit. This thing Abrahā neuer did. Therefore are you not the children of Abraham. Euen so may we truely say to such as holde not themselues contented with this doctrine, these things that you do, Saint Augustine neuer did. Saint Hierome neuer did: none of the ancient fathers euer did: the Apostles in the Catholike primatiue Church neuer did: therefore yee are not the children of S. Augustine: ye are not the children of S. Hierome: ye are not the children of any of the olde catholique doctors: ye are not the children of Christes primatiue, Catholyke, and vuiuersal Church.

It may not become me to sette order in these thinges: yet if it were lawfull, I woulde wysh that once agayne, as time shoulde serue, there might be had a quiet and a sober disputation: that eche parte might be required to shew their groundes, without selfe wyll, and without af­fection: [Page] not to mayntayne or breede contention, (for I trust it should be the way to take away al contention) but onely that the trueth may bee knowen, many consciences quieted, and the right stone tryed, by comparison of the counter­faite. For, at the last disputation that should haue bene, you know whiche partie gaue ouer, and would not meddle. Some will saye, the Iud­ges wyll not be indifferent. And alas, what man that doubteth his owne matter, wyll euer think the Iudges indifferent: Let the whole worlde let our our aduersaries, them selues bee Iudges heerm, (affection put apart) let our aduersaries themselues be Iudges. What can wee offer more? if this bee not sufficient, what can there be sufficient:

Pompeius a noble Gentleman of Rome, at what time he shoulde goe into the fielde against Caesar, that then was his enemie, and some of his counsell told him he lacked men, and should neuer be able with so small a number to stande in fielde agaynst Caesar beinge well furnished: Tushe, quoth hee, when so euer I shall but beate the ground with my foote, I shall by and by rayse vp a swarme of souldiers. Afterward it befell that Pompey was vanquished, and glad to flee. Then Marcus Cato an old gentleman, and one of his army sayd to hym, O sir, remem­ber your promise, you lacke men, now let vs see your swarme of Souldiers.

[Page] It is wel knowne that it hath bene spoken, both in this place, and in other lyke, that al the Doctours, and al the general councels were a­gainst vs. Nowe the armie is discomstted, nowe they stande in neede of men, nowe let them call for their Doctours and Councels: if they come but with one sufficient Doctour or Councell, they may haue the field.

I speake not this to boast my self of any lear­ning, but the goodnes of the cause maketh me y ^e holder. Neither woulde I haue in this behalfe said so much as I haue, sauing that the matter it selfe, & very necessitie inforced me so to doe. A­las, it were great pitie that Gods trueth shoulde be defaced w ^t priuy whisperings. It were great pitie that whole houses shoulde be ouerthrowen, mēs consciences wounded, the people deceiued, Gods trueth and the loue thereof pulled from your heartes, his woorke blasphemed, as if it came from Beelzebub, w ^tout any good ground, without any authorytie of the Scripture, with­out any example of the Primatiue Churche, without Counsell, without any auncient Doc­tour or father.

But they haue another kinde of learuynge, which because wee haue not, therefore they say we are vnlearned. For if controuersies might haue bene tryed by learnyng, you shoulde neuer haue seene the Masse agayne after it was once downe.

[Page] If there euer come another change, as I pray God wee may neuer see, nor surely euer shall wee, vnlesse our vnkindnesse pull downe Gods plague vppon vs: but, if a change come, suche a one as they looke for, you shall see with what ar­gument they wyll proue their Masse. We reade that Christ dyd put the Pharises to silence, yet afterwarde when their tyme came, they sayde, We haue a lawe, and by our law he must die. But Gods name be praysed, no persecutions, no torments, no fire, no fagot, haue euer weakened the cause of the Gospel. Tertullian saith, Plures Tertul. in a­pologet. effi [...]imur, quoties metimur: the more we be cut downe, the more we encrease. These be their arguments, this is their logique: they haue no liking to trie the matter by Scripture, by doc­tours, by Councel, or by the practise of the most ancient Churches: and, if they make any pre­tense of likinge such tryall, they doe it for some other hidden purpose, to moue mutinies, and disquiet: that they may woorke their practises, whiles mens heades are occupied and busied with talke of such matters.

Pirrhus a lustie gentleman, and Kinge of Epyrus, when he first tooke Counsell with hys Nobles to wage warre against the Romanes, heard saye hee might soone conquere them, for that they were nothinge else but a sorte of wilde and harbarours people: but afterward, when he [Page] came to the view of the Romanes army indeed, and sawe their Captaines and Souldiers wel appoynted, and their flagges, and standardes in good order: mary (quoth he) whether these men be barbarous or no, I cannot tel, but wel I wot their behauiour, and the order of their campe is not barbarous.

So, what accompt soeuer men make of this doctrine, that god be thanked is taught this day, yet whosoeuer shall come neere & view it well, and try it to the vttermost, and shall finde that al thinges are done seemely and orderly according to the olde doctours, to the Apostles, and to the primatiue Church of Christ, shall fall downe to the grounde, and confesse that the order and ma­ner therof, or any thing that is taught therein, is not hereticall.

Saint Iohn Baptist sent his disciples to Christ to knowe whether hee were the true Messias or no, or els, whether they should looke for ano­ther: Christ made them answer, Go and shewe Iohn what thinges ye haue hard and seene: Luke. 7. the blinde receiue sight, & the halte goe, the lepers are clensed, & the deafe heare, y ^e dead are raised vp, & y ^e poore receiue the Gospel. For these tokens were sufficient to make Iohn vnderstande, that Christ was the true Messias.

Euen so, if a man stande in doubte of this Religion, whether it bee of God or no, let hym but consider, & think with himselfe thus: a great [Page] number of errours are now reuealed, supersti­tion is remoued, idolatrie is taken away, the Sacramentes are rightlye and duly vsed, the dombe speake, the blinde see, the poore afflicted mindes receiue the Gospell, the prayers are in such sort as the people may take profit and com­fort by them. God giue vs grace to know how great neede we haue to pray, that in all places we may lift vp cleane handes and heartes vnto God, and cal vpon him in spirit and truth.

If this be heresie, then, alas, what is true re­ligion? Can these bee done by the power of Beelzebub? Can the deuil reforme errours, re­moue superstion, take away idolatrie, cause the Sacramentes to be directly vsed, the dombe to speake, the blinde to see, the poore to receiue the Gospel, the people to take fruite and comfort by their prayers?

O good brethen, this is the worke of Gods right hande, the kingdome of God doubtlesse is come vppon vs, the prince of errour is put to si­lence, the readinesse of the people vniuersally & in al places is marueilous, kinges and princes suffer themselues to be led captiues to the obedi­ence of Christ. They that before were enemies and persecutours of this doctrine, are nowe con­tented to yeeld their bodies & liues for y ^t defence of the same: and to be short, al the world this day cryeth, and groneth after the Gospel.

And al these things are come to passe, at such [Page] time as to any mans reason it might seeme im­possible: when al the world, the people, priests, & princes were ouerwhelmed with ignorāce: whē the word of God was put out of sight: when he that tooke vpon him the generall rule of altoge­ther, was crept into y ^e holy place, & had possessed the cōscience of man, as if he had bene God, and had set himselfe aboue the scriptures of God, & gaue out decrees, that whatsoeuer he should do, no man shoulde finde fault with him: when all schooles, priests, bishops, & kings of the worlde were sworne to hym, that whatsoeuer he tooke in hand, they should vphold it: when he had chosen kings sonnes & brothers to be his Cardinales: when his Legats & espies were in euery kings councel: when nothing could be attempted any where, but he by & by must haue knowledge of it: whē whosoeuer had but muttered against his doinges, must straight waies haue bene excōmu­nicate, & put to most cruel death, as Gods ene­mie: when no man could haue thought there had bene any hope, that euer these dayes should haue bene seene that God of his mercy hath giuen vs to see: when al things were voide of al hope, and full of desperation:

Euen then, I say, euen then, contrarye to all mans reason, God brought all these thinges to passe. Euen then God defeited their policies, not with shielde or Speare, but only with the spirit of his mouthe, that is with preachinge of the [Page] Gospel. There is no counsel agaynst the Lorde, the deuils were cast out by the powre of God.

This is the day which y ^e Lord hath wrought: to thee o Lord, y ^e prayse hereof is due: thou hast tur­ned our mourning into ioy: thou hast put to si­lēce y ^e spirit of error: thou hast inflamed y ^t hearts of thy people: thou hast brought princes & kings to the obedience of thy sonne Iesus Christ: thou hast opened the eyes of y ^e world to espy out, & to cry for y ^e cōfort of y ^e gospel. Whē al things were in dispaire, yet thou didst reserue vnto thy selfe one litle sparkle, y ^t should inkindle agayne light in thy church, y ^t shoulde remoue rubbish & fylth out of thy tēple, whose hart should euer be in thy hād, who should do that that good is in thy sight, & should walke in y ^• wayes of her father Dauid.

This is the hand & power of God, this is the Lordes doing, and it is marueilous in our eyes. God giue vs grace to haue these things euer be­fore our eyes, that we neuer be vnthankfull.

Now, for al these graces y ^t God hath so plenti­fully powred vpō vs, let vs cōsider what kindnes ought to be rendred on our part. O Israel, O my people, saith almighty God, what thing is it y ^t I require of thee, but onely that thou loue me, & walk in my wayes: this is our homage, this is our dutie, this shalbe loked for at our hands. The grace of god, saith Paul, y ^t bringeth saluation vnto al mē, hath appered, & techeth vs y ^t we Tit. 2. shold liue soberly & righteusly in this presēt [Page] worlde, looking for the blessed hope, & ap­pearing of the glory of the mighty god, and of our sauiour Iesus Christ.

Such, in olde times, was the life of all them that professed the name of Christ. Tertullian of his time saith, a Christian man could be known by nothing so wel, as by the changing of his life Cyprian, of the Christians in his time, sayth, Ve­niunt vt discant, discunt vt viuant. They come, Ad Inbai­anum. that they may learne, they learne, that they may know how to liue. S. Paul commendeth the Philippians, that they shine as lyghtes Philip. 2. in the worlde, that theyr lyfe doth testifie what they be.

Eusebius saieth, Valeriani aula, erat referta piis, & Ecclesia Deifacta, They y ^t were of the Eccle. hist. Lib. 7. cap. 9. court of Valerian, were become Christians, and then was the court not lyke a court, but like vnto the Church of God.

Iustinus the martir saith, he was first turned to Christ: for the admiration that he had of the innocent and godly life of Christian men.

Such then was the life of them that bare the name of Christ, they came to learne, they lear­ned to liue. You might haue knowne theyr pro­fession, by the onely changing of their maners. The court wherin they liued, was so reuerently kept, without notable sinne or wantonnes, as if it has ben the temple of God.

O almighty God, howe fares it nowe with [Page] them that woulde be called Christians, and bee reckoned among professors of the Gospel? how many are there that come to learne? how many are there that learne to liue? howe many are there that may be knowne by changing of their maners? Unlesse it be, for that they make a moc­kerie of Gods holy Gospel, and so become more dissolute, more fleshly, more wanton, then euer they were afore.

What court can we finde, that any part may be lyke the temple of God? Seldome is it, that almightye God may bee hearde to speake hys minde. But when he hath spoken, who is he that thinketh vpon it? who is he that doth not dis­pise it? who is he that spurneth not at it?

If our life should giue testimonie and report of our religion, sory I am to speake it, but alas, it is to true in too many, it cryeth out, Non est Deus: the very course of our life beareth wyt­nesse against vs, that in our heartes wee thinke there is no God, and that there is no feare of God before our eyes. I amplifie not, nor en­large the matter: I woulde to God it were no more then I make of it.

Thus we doe withholde the trueth of God in vnrighteousnesse: thus the grace of God is abu­sed to the contenting of our pleasures: thus wee become the vessels of Gods wrath, and heape vp vengeance vpon our heads. Therefore wil God take away his holy spirit from vs, therefore wyl [Page] God giue vs ouer to a reprobate minde, therfore shal y ^e end of vs be worse then was y ^e beginning.

O good brethren, let vs not abuse the mercy of god, let vs not receiue the grace of god in vaine. Remēber how many eyes are set vpon vs, let vs take occasion away from them y ^t seeke occasion to sclander our profession: let not, let not our life cause the gospel of Iesus Christ to be yl spoken of and blasphemed: let vs walke so as becom­meth them that are called, and in deede are Filii lucis, The children of light.

The trueth of the gospel of Iesus Christ hath nowe shined ouer the whole worlde: if it be yet hiddē from any, it is hidden frō them that perish: he that perisheth nowe, shall perish in his owne blood. Now, if any beleeue not, he is inexcusa­ble. The wisdom of god in publishing his word, contrary & against the course of mans policie: y ^e continual preaching of it in al places: the ashes of so many learned fath ers & godly men & wo­men, who haue yeelded their bodies to the cruel torments of tyrants, to bee consumed in the fire for the testimony therof, are yet so fresh in your eies, & spoken of in your hearinge, and witnes­sed in your hartes and consciences, that you can not denie, but the kingdome of God is come a­mongst vs.

But if there be any, that is not perswaded in his religion, (for asmuch as it is a matter of lyfe and death, of saluation & damnation) I beseeche [Page] you before God, and before his Christ, let vs not be careles, let vs not be negligent. If we mislike it, let vs read the Scriptures, and know where­fore we mislike it.

Dispise not good brethren, despise not to heare gods worde declared. As you tender your owne soules, be diligent to come to sermons: for that is the ordinary place, where mens hearts be moued, & Gods secrets be reuealed. For be the preacher neuer so weake, yet is the word of God as mightie, & as puisant as euer it was. If thou heare Gods worde spoken by a weake man, an­ignorant man, a sinner as thou thy selfe art, and yet wilt beleeue it, and heare it with reuerence: it is able to open thine eyes, and to reueale vnto thee the high misteries of thy saluation.

Remember we are the sonnes of the Pro­phets. The kingdome of God is come amongst vs. Let vs not withstand the Spirit of God: let vs not treade downe the blood of the euerlasting Testament. The hande of god hath wrought this: let vs not arme our selues against GOD, and say, They are wrought in the name of Beel­zebub.

It is not our doctrine that we bring you this day, we wrote it not, we founde it not out, wee are not the inuentours of it, wee bringe you no­thing, but that the olde fathers of the Churche, that the Apostles, that Christ our Sauiour himselfe hath brought before vs. O condemne it not, [Page] before you know it, In the meane while, thinke well of them that labour for you, that do you ser­uice, that pray for you, that shall giue their lyfe for you.

Let vs lay aside all blinde affection, let vs la­bour to know the truth, let God, haue the victo­ry. And then, when we know God, let vs glorifie him as our God, let vs so liue, y ^e our words, our deedes, & our whole life may testifie, that y ^e kingdom of god is amōngst vs. Let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, & gloryfie our father which is in heauen. So shall God powre downe his blessings vpon vs, so shal god bles whatsoeuer we take in hand, so shal we be blessed in peace, so shal we be blessed in war, so shal god go forth before our armies; so shal we be the children of god, so shall god bee our god, and remayne with vs for euer.

And thou most mercifull father, as thou hast sent vs thy heauenly kingdome, that is, the most comfortable tidyngs of the Gospel of thy sonne Iesus Christ: so wee beseeche thee for thy mercy, blesse that thinge that thou hast begunne, that it may continue among vs, & remaine with vs for euer. Open the heartes of them, that of ig­norance thinke ill of it, that they may see that blessed hope whereunto thou hast called vs, that al the worlde may know thee, and thy sonne our sauiour Iesus Christ, whome thou hast sent for the redemption of the world.

Amen.

THis litle portion of the scrip­ture, hath bin often expoūded and opened in your hearing: yet shal it not be vnprofitable, once againe to entreate ther­of. For, albeit the proportion, and ground of matter be one, yet some differēce may be in the manner of vtterance.

The worde of God is the water of life, the more ye laue it forth, the fresher it runneth: it is the fire of Gods glory, the more ye blow it, the cleerer it burneth: it is the corne of the Lordes fielde, the better you grinde it, the more it yeel­deth: it is the bread of heauen, the more it is bro­ken and giuen foorth, the more remaineth: it is the sword of the spirit, the more it is scoured, the brighter it shineth. The voyce of God cannot be vnpleasant to their eares, which are the children of God: the oftener they he are it, the more com­fort [Page] they receiue: they cā neuer haue ouermuch who neuer haue inough.

Saint Paule in these woordes stirred vp the Romaines, and awaked them out of the slum­ber of death, that they might beholde the cleere light of the Gospel, and knowe the time of their visitation, and shake off the workes of darknes, and apparel themselues with the righteousnesse of Christ our Sauiour.

But before I proceede farther to declare that which is to be spokē at this present, let vs turne our heartes to God, euen the father of lightes, that it may please him to open the eyes of our vnderstanding, and to direct al our doings to his glory. &c.

In worldly businesse, it is reckoned a great poynt of wisedome, to doe thinges in due time, and to choose the fittest season to speake or to holde silence, to buy or to sell, to buylde or to pull downe. Salomon therefore sayde, To all Eccle. 3. things there is an appoynted time, & a time to euery purpose vnder the heauen. Who so doeth not weigh the season, and take his conue­nient time, he is vnwise, and defeiteth himselfe, and bewrayeth his follie. But of all wisedomes this is the greatest, that a man lift vp his eyes to the throne of Gods mercie, and knowe the time of his blessing, and direct his life to the seruice of GOD, as hee warneth: Make no tarrying to turne vnto the Lorde, and put Eccle. 5. [Page] not off from day to day: for sodainely shall the wrath of the Lorde breake forth, and in thy securitie thou shalt be destroyed. If the good man of the house were wise, if he knewe at what houre the Theefe woulde come, hee woulde surely watche, and stande in readi­nesse, and not suffer his house to bee digged through. Of this wisedome in taking the van­tage of time, spake the Prophet Dauid. This daye if you heare his voyce, harden not Psal. 94. your heartes. Forslow not the time, loose not this good occasion, heare his voyce nowe, this day. Of this wisedome spake Saint Paule. We 2. Cor. 6. as workers together beseeche you, that yee receyue not the grace of GOD in vayne. For hee sayth, I haue hearde thee in a time accepted, and in the daye of saluation haue I succoured thee. Beholde nowe the ac­cepted time, beholde now the day of salua­tion.

Who so knoweth not this time, is not wise. Of this blindenesse and heauinesse of the peo­ple, God complayneth in many places of the Prophetes. In the eight Chapter of Ieremie, Euen the Storke in the ayre knoweth her Iere. 8. appoynted times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallowe obserue the time of their comming: but my people know­eth not the iudgement of the Lorde. Of this their blindnesse and follie, our Sauiour [Page] reproueth Hierusalem: O if thou haddest (e­uen Luke 19. now at the least in this thy day) know­en those thinges, whiche belong vnto thy peace: but nowe are they hidde from thine eyes. For the dayes shall come vppon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compasse thee rounde and keepe thee in on euery side, and shall make thee e­uen with the grounde, and thy children which are within thee, and they shall not leaue in thee a stone vppon a stone, because thou knowest not the time of thy visitati­on. Therefore the Apostle calleth vppon the Romaines, telleth them that the Sunne is vp, and the day open: and warneth them, not to lose the season: for nowe, euen nowe (saith he) it is time to rise.

That wee may the better discerne the light, let vs beholde the darkenesse of that time, which was before. The whole worlde was diuided into the people of the Iewes, and the heathens: and besides these, there were no other people. The Heathens were forsaken of God: the Iewes were his chosen people. The Heathens woor­shipped the workers of their owne handes, and gaue the glory of God vnto creatures, whiche are not God. They went after Idols, euen as they were lead: they had many goddes, accor­ding to the number of their Cities: they deliue­red vp their bodies to all manner filthines: God [Page] gaue them ouer to followe their lustes. The Fathers amongest them slewe their owne chil­dren, and offered them vp in Sacrifice to Diuels. So strongly did the Prince of darke­nesse possesse them, they had not the Arke of the Testimonie, they liued without Pro­phetes, or couenaunt, or Christe, or God: they liued without hope, or light, or comforte. In such a night, and such a darkenesse lay the Hea­then.

The Iewes, Gods chosen people, they were also bereft of knowledge: there was no prophet left among them, nor any to teache them the wil of the Lord. The lawe did perish from the priest, and counsel from the auncient: light was tur­ned into darknesse, and iudgement into worme­wood: they were bitter and grieuous to the poore: they slew the Prophets which were sent vnto them, they did for sake the fountaine of li­uing waters, and followed Baal and Astaroth. Like people, like Priestes: frō the sole of the Esa. 1. 6. foot, vnto y ^• head there was nothing whole in them. Of them God spake by the Prophet, I Mala. 1. haue no pleasure in you, neither wil I accept an offering at your hand. Of them he sayde, Esa. 1. When you shal stretch out your hands, I wil hide mine eies from you: and though you make many prayers, I will not heare you, In such a darkenesse laye the Iewes, in suche a darkenesse laye the Gentiles. All had sinned, [Page] they were all corrupt and abhominable in their wayes, they were the Children of wrath, and the vesselles of distruction. So were they wrapt in the cloude of ignoraunce, and couered in the shadowe of death. Suche was the night Saint Paul spake of, so vglie, so darke, so voyde of comfort.

But God gaue foorth his light to shyne vppon them, he sent the Patriarches and Pro­phetes, and holye Fathers, hee sent vnto them Moses and Aaron, and Angelles from Heauen, to giue out sparkes of this light. Hee made it appeare by his Prophete Esaie, Be­holde, Esa. 7. the Virgine shall conceyue, and beare a Sonne, and shee shall call his name Emanuell. In him shall all Israel bee saued, hee is the light to lighten the Gentiles, his name shall be called wonderfull, counseller, the mightie God, the euerlasting father, the Prince of peace: in him shal al the endes of the worlde bee blessed. This light they be­helde, when it was not cleerely opened vn­to them, they did see it comming, and re­ioyced in it, they were vnder a Schoolemai­ster, and had not the perfect knowledge of this light.

But nowe God hath scattered all these Cloudes, and wee beholde as in a mirrour the glorye of the Lorde with open face. Our elder Fathers in the olde Testament had onely [Page] a dimme candle to guide their Feete, we haue the bright Sunne beames: They had onelye the greene blade of the Corne, wee haue the plentifull encrease, euen as in the time of har­uest: they had the shadowe, we haue the light: they had onely a droppe to refreshe themselues, wee haue the whole streame of Gods mercie powred out vppon vs.

Nowe hath God remembred his holie coue­naunt, and the othe whiche hee sware to our fa­ther Abraham: nowe the woorde was made fleshe, and dwelt with vs. The day starre is sprong vp in our heartes, the Spirite of God hath filled the whole world: the earth is full of his glorye. The Idols of the Heathen are fal­len, and are put to silence: their greatest myste­ries appeare to bee follies, and are laught to scorne, the children make games of them in their streetes. Sathan the Prince of this worlde, which is the accuser of our brethren, is now cast foorth.

Nowe is it knowen, that saluation, and power, and glory belongeth to our God. Hee hath raysed his Christe, and hath established his kingdome, the kings and nations of the worlde shall walke in his light, and his light shall not bee put out, and his kingdome shall haue no ende. Nowe is that newe Hierusalem, the glorious Citie of our God reuealed from on high: nowe hath God made the Heauens newe [Page] and a newe earth, and hath fixed his Taberna­cle and dwelling place among men. The ful­nesse of time is come, the sounde of the Apo­stles is gone through all the earth: the Sunne of righteousnesse hath appeared: he is the light and comfort of the whole worlde. This is the gracious yeere of mercye, this is the daye whiche the Lorde hath made. Nowe is the mercy of the Lorde shewed more and more towardes vs, and his trueth endureth for e­uer. When Balaam the false Prophete, be­holde the glorye of this time, hee brake out and sayde, Who shall liue when GOD doeth Numb. 24. this? Who shall liue, and see, and enioy these thinges?

Awake therefore, or arise from sleepe, the time so requireth: For nowe is our Saluation neerer then when we beleeued it. Of those few words, haue growen diuers senses, al good and godly: yet in my iudgement, the simplest and playnest sense is this. When we were hea­then, and sate in darknesse, we thought we did well, and that wee shoulde be saued in that way, in whiche wee walked: and that there was no hope of saluation, but onelie in that: and wee had a great liking in our doinges. This is the vanitie, and miserie of man: oftetimes where he thinketh himselfe most sure, he is deepely de­ceyued.

The Turks & the Iewes at this day, & others [Page] the enemies of the crosse of Christ, thinke there is no other true religion but theirs: & in y ^t they are woonderfull zealous, and stande in it vnto death: no perswasion nor force can remooue them. When the people of Ephesus heard of the Act. 19. preaching of Paul, they raysed vproare, and fil­led the Citie full of tumult: they caught Gaius and Aristarchus men of Macedonia, and Pauls companions in his iourney, and woulde haue slayne them: they made an outcrie, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians, she is a god­desse, she hath made Heauen and Earth, we haue put our trust in her, we will call vpon her, and she will heare vs. Christ she weth his Disci­ples, Mat. 10. The brother shal betray the brother to death & the father the sonne, & the childrē shal rise against their parents, and shall cause them to die, and ye shal be hated of al men for my Name. For zeale to their GOD, the Priestes of Baal cut themselues with kniues 1. King 18. and launcers. Through zeale, manie fathers slewe their owne children, and burnte them quicke in fire, in the honour of the Idol Moloch. Circumcelliones, which were a sorte of Here­tikes sprong out of the Donatistes about 420. yeeres after Christ, through zeale murthered one another, they threwe them selues downe from high rockes and destroyed them selues, and thought that, the onely way to please God: so hot and feruent was their deuotion. The [Page] children of light haue seldome suffered more, or more willingly, or with more affiance, then the children of darkenesse: so striued they for God, but against God: and abused his name agaynst him selfe, and wittingly and willingly went downe to Hell. They haue great zeale and ear­nest desire of the glorye of GOD, but not according to knowledge. They contented them selues with that they had receiued of their Fathers, & would seeke no further they thought they did serue GOD, but they blasphemed the Name of the Sonne of GOD. In suche sorte did God suffer them to walke in the blindenesse of their heart. In the latter day many shall say Mat. 7. vnto Christ, Lorde, Lorde, haue wee not by thy Name prophecied? and by thy Name cast out Diuels? & by thy Name done many greate workes? Wee haue prayed, and giuen almes for thy sake: was it not done of zeale & deuotion towardes thee? So well shall they be perswaded of their doinges, they shall presse boldely to the throne of Gods Maiesty, and re­quire their meede.

But Christ shall aunsweare them, I neuer knewe you: you serued your fancie, you ser­ued not mee: your almes, and miracles, and your prayers shall condemne you. Therfore Christe sayde to the Woman of Samaria, Yee worshippe that which you knowe not. You Iohn. 4. are ledde with a zeale, and followe your Fa­thers, [Page] but are deceiued. Euen so, hee prayed his father for them that crucified him, and stood by, and reuiled him, O Father, thou art full of mercie, forgiue them, they are moued of zeale, and thinke they please thee, they knowe not what they doe, they knowe not thee, nor mee thy Sonne whom thou hast sent. Saint Hie­rome Hierome con­tra Luciferia­nos. saith, Nomine vnitatis & fidei infidelitas scriptae est. Infidelitie hath bin written vnder the name of faith and vnitie. For herein they thought them selues good, and holie, and Ca­tholike, if they departed not from the vnitie of the world. Therfore they followed the generall consent of others, they thought them selues (sai­eth hee) the true Church, and seemed to follow vnitie, though in deede they fell to infidelitie. Whatsoeuer is not of faith, is sinne: whatso­euer Rom. 14. it be, be it neuer so holy, neuer so glorious, it is sinne, it displeaseth God: the ende thereof is destruction.

Therefore Christ sayeth, I am the light of the worlde: hee that followeth mee, shall Iohn. 8. not walke in darkenesse, but shall haue the light of life. So spake Almightie GOD to Deut 5. his people, Take heede that you doe as the Lorde your GOD hath commaunded you: turne not aside to the right hande, nor to the lefte. Thou shalt not doe the thing that seemeth right in thine owne eyes: Thou shalte not followe the zeale of thine owne [Page] heart. Thinke that thou maist be deceiued: dis­pose thy selfe to hearken to the voyce of the Lord: whatsoeuer he shall commaund thee, that onely shalt thou doe. For my thoughts are not your thoughtes, neither are your wayes my Esay. 55. wayes, saith the Lord: For as the heauens are higher thē the earth, so are my waies higher thē yourwaies, & my thoughts aboue your thoughts. The will of y ^e Lord is the only mea­sure whereby all trueth must be tryed. Heereun­to the Prophet Dauid humbleth himselfe, and speaketh vnto GOD in this manner, Lighten mine eies, O lord, O teach me to do thy wil, teach me to follow it, & to practise it. Hereof S. Paul speaketh, Vnderstand what the will of Ephe. 5. the Lord is. Leaue the pretence of zeale, leaue the deuotion of your owne heart, rest not vppon the will of your forefathers, nor of flesh & blood. Learne to feele and taste the will of God, it is good, and gracious, and merciful: thereby direct your steppes, therein shall you finde the possessi­on of life.

We were drowned in darkenesse (sayth the Apostle) yet thought we had the light. I my selfe (saith hee) was a blasphemer, and did per­secute the Church of God: I followed the way of my fathers, I had a great zeale, and thought I did well, but the way wherein I walked, was slippery, the light was darkenesse. I de­lighted in vanitie, and had pleasure in leasings. [Page] I was blinde, yet perceiued it not, and therefore was my blindenesse and miserie so muche the more.

But now is our Saluation come neere vnto vs: our bodies are made the Temples of God, and his spirit dwelleth within vs. We haue the woorde of life put both in our mouth, and in our heart: the kingdome of God is in the middes a­mongst vs. The Sonne of God calleth vnto vs, Come vnto me al ye that trauel and be hea­uily laden, and I wil refresh you. S, Iohn saith, 1. Ioh. 1. We haue looked vpon, and our hands haue handeled the worde of life. And againe, The Iohn. 1. word was made flesh, and dwelt among vs, and we saw the glory thereof as the glory of the only begotten sonne of the Father, full of grace and of trueth. So neere is the Lorde to them that seeke him: So neere vnto vs is our saluation.

When Dauid heard the voyce of the Lorde, he awaked and rose vp, hee gaue thankes vnto God, and powred out his heart before him, say­ing, O Lorde our Lorde, howe wonderfull is thy Name in all the worlde? And againe, Prayse the Lorde, O my soule, and all that is within mee, praise his holie Name. When the Apostles hearde this voyce of the Lorde, they were awaked, they forsooke all they had, they tooke vp their Crosse, and went ouer all the worlde preaching the Gospell of saluati­on. [Page] When Paul heard the voyce of Christ from heauen aboue, he fell flat on the earth, and being astonied, sayde, Lord, what wilt thou that I do? I am thy seruaunt, and the sonne of thy hande­mayde: make me to doe that thou commandest me to doe.

Then coulde neither life, nor death, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor thinges present, nor thinges to come, nor height, nor depthe, nor any other Creature separate Paule from the loue of God whiche is in Christ Iesus our Lorde: then hee estee­med not to knowe anye thinge sauing Iesus Christ, and him crucified. He brake his sleepe, rose vp, and went forwarde. In like manner the Prophet Esay stirreth vp Hierusalem, A­rise, be bright for the light is come, and the glorie of the Lorde is risen vppon thee. Esay. 60. Knowe thy time, and the day of thy visitation, awake thou that sleepest, and stande vp from the dead, for the Sonne of God hath shined ouer thee.

The Apostle therfore saith, It is nowe time that wee shoulde arise from sleepe. We are the children of God, we are the children of the trueth, we are the sonnes of the Prophets, we are they whom GOD hath chosen out of the worlde. Whosoeuer putteth his hande to the plough, and looketh backe, is vnmeete for the [Page] kingdome of heauen. These thinges are sent for our vnderstanding: GOD hath giuen his worde vnto vs. We haue seene the workes of God, the doumbe to speake, the deafe to heare, the blynde to see, the lame to goe, the dead to rise and come out of their graues: the Sunne to be darkened, the earth to quake, rockes to rent, and the Diuell to confesse the Sonne of God: for he was forced to say, Thou art Christ the Sonne of God. Nowe doth the kingdome of heauen suffer violence. The night is passed, the daye is at hande: we haue slumbered enough in ignoraunce, it is nowe time, we knowe the blessinges which GOD hath bestowed vppon vs: it is time wee shoulde be thankefull, and awake out of the sleepe of forgetfulnesse, that wee humble our selues vn­der the mighty hande of God, and dreame no more of our owne strength: our conscience is charged: we cannot pleade ignoraunce: it is time that we rise: the mercie of God, the aboun­daunce of his blessing, the feare of his iudge­ment, the regarde of our saluation so requi­reth.

Let vs cast away the workes of darkenesse: they bee vnfruitefull, lothesome, and horrible, They darken the hearte, and blinde the consci­ence: hee that doeth them shall bee cast into vtter darkenesse. Let vs bee afrayde, let [Page] vs be ashamed hereof, such things are not fit for the children of light.

Let vs put on the armour of light. God hath chosen vs to bee his Souldiers, and hath called vs foorth into the fielde. Our fight is not against fleshe and blood, but against the Diuell, the Prince of this worlde, and the Fa­ther of darkenesse: hee rampeth like a Lyon, and lyeth in waite, and seeketh whom hee may deuour. All the vanities of this life, our bodies, our owne heartes conspire against vs: the fight is terrible, the daunger great. Let vs not be vn­prouided, let vs not stande open to the stroke of the enimie: Let vs take vnto vs the whole ar­mour of God, let our loyues be girded with be­ritie, let vs put on the shielde of Faith, the brestplate of righteousnesse, the sworde of the spirit, & the helmet of saluation. These bee the weapons of righteousnesse, these be the armour of light. Let vs not feare to declare the truth, though thereby wee shoulde daunger our life. Let vs bee faithfull vnto the ende, let it ap­peare that the weapons of our warfare are not carnall, but mighty through God to cast downe holdes, and imaginations, and euery hie thing that is exalted against God: so shal our armour be complete, so shall we shewe glorious in the fielde, and be terrible to the enimie: so shall we stande strong & boldely against sword, and fire, and death: so shall we like faithfull Souldiers [Page] of our captaine Christ, manfully stande agaynst the gates of hell, and resiste al the assaultes, and quench al the fiery darts of the wicked: then shal we eate of the fruite in the middest of Paradise, and shall receaue the Crowne of euerlastynge glory.

Let vs walke honestly, as in the day, not in gluttony & drunkēnes, neither in Chambe­ring and wantonnes, nor in strife and enuy­ing. He setteth downe three things, as three bot­ches and carbuncles of the soule: they oppresse the body, defile the minde, and breake the bonde and vnitie of the Church of God.

The first is gluttonie and drunkennes, the roote and mother of al euill: nothinge standeth safe, where wine preuayleth. This was the ini­quitie of Sadome, abundance, and fulnesse of bread: they abused the gifts of God, to the disho­nour of god. This was y ^e cause of all her filthy­nes, & her filthines was the cause of her destruc­tion. Here of God speaketh. My chosen people, Deut. 32. My darling is waxed fat: Therefore he for­sooke god that made him, and regarded not the strong God of his saluation. And againe, by the Prophet Esay, The harpe, and viole, timbrell and pipe, are in their feastes, but Esay. 5. they regard not the work of the Lorde, ney­ther consider the worke of his hands. And in the xxiichap. Behold ioy and gladnes slaying Esay. 22. oxen, and killing sheepe, eating fleshe, and [Page] drinking wine, eating and drinking: for to morowe we shall die. So through gluttony, and drunkenn es they despised the threatnings of God, and entered not into the way of repen­tance, but continued in their sinnes, and made scorne of the Prophets of God. The people of Israel sate them downe to eate and drink & Erod. 32. rose vp to play. They forgat God, and the mer­cies he had shewed vpon them, and worshipped a golden calfe: So grosse and so deadly are the cloudes of drunkennes. Our Sauiour Christ saith, towardes the latter day the people shall eate and drinke, and be voyd of care, as in the daies of Noah, and distruction shall sodainely fall vpon them: therefore Christ sayth, Woe be to you that are full, for you shall hunger. Luk. 6.

Many haue bene slaine in the field, but ma­nie more haue taken their deadly wounde by surfeting: many haue bene drowned in the sea, but many more haue perished by the strength of wine. It is not set downe, that the rich glutton was an oppressour, an extortioner, an vsurer, or y ^• he came vniustly by his goods, but that he abu­sed the same, y ^t be fared deliciously, and became vnthankefull: and therefore was punished in hell fire. Then he which before had aboundance, and did swimine in wine, had not one droppe to quench his thirst. Many make their belly their God. They haue more comfort in the caste of sweete fare, then in the consideratio­on [Page] of the workes of God. Their table is turned into a snare, their glorie is to their shame. Here will I speake nothing of forcing and quaffinge, God keepe it farre from Christian tables, it is too too wilde & barbarous: the heathens hate it, nature abhorreth it, the horse and mule woulde not vse it. S. Augustine saith, Ebrius non peccatū facit, sed ipse totus est peccatum. A drunken man doth not commit sinne, but hee is alto­gether sinne. And therefore his rewarde is death. S. Paul saith, Drunkardes shall not in­herite 1. Cor. 6. the kingome of God. They shall drink the cup of y ^• wine of the lordes wrath. Therefore Christ sayth, Take heede to your selues, least Luk. 21. at any time your heartes bee opressed with surfeting, and drunkennes, and the cares of this life: & least that day come on you at vn­wares. Therefore saith the Apostle, let vs not walke in eating and gluttonie: it will drowne our senses, it will oppresse our nature.

The kingdome of God is neither meat nor drinke: our meat is to do y ^e wil of our father. Let vs not abuse the creatures of God: Let vs eate & drinke, that we may liue, only to y ^• sustenāce of our bodies: y ^t we by the moderate & sober vse of those thinges, may be the better hable to folow & please God in our vocation. The meat for the bellie, & the bellie for the meats: but God shal de­stroy both it & them. Let vs think of the cuppe which Christ had on y ^• crosse: his cup was eisel & [Page] tempered with gall: at his hande let vs take the cup of thankes giuing, and call vpon the name of the Lord. Let vs whether we eate, or drinke, remēber who it is that hath bestowed his giftes vpon vs, and whatsoeuer wee doe, let vs doe it to the glory of God.

An other bo [...]ch and carbuncle is, chambe­ring, and wantonnes. Of this also the Apostle warneth vs: for adulterers and fornicators God shall iudge, they shal haue their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, whiche is the second death: the Lorde is the auenger of al such. It is the will of God, that our bodies be kept in holynes, they are the temples of GOD, hee hath called vs to be vessels of honour, that wee shoulde bee holy in body and holy in spirit, that we serue him in holynes and righteousnes, all the dayes of our life.

The last, is strife and enuying. We are one body in Christ Iesus, wee are indued with one spirit, we are mēbers one of another. The Gos­pel of Christ is the gospell of peace, he hath bro­ken the stoppe of the partiton wall, hee hath set al thinges at peace. Hee hath taught vs, learne of me, for I am humble & meeke. Let vs not (saith S. Paul) bee desirous of vaine glorye, pro­uoking Gal. 5. one another, [...]nuying one another. Let not one of you say, I am Pauls, and another, I am Apollos, the body of Christ is one, it is not deuided. If you bite and deuoure one another, [Page] take heede least you consume one another. If there bee [...]nuying, and strife, and dissentions a­mong you, you are yet carnall, you sauour not of the spirit of God. You are but a litle flocke, the worlde hateth you, ioyne together, loue one another, beare you one anothers burthen, and so fulfill the law of Christ. The fruite of the spirit is loue, ioy, peace, longe sufferinge, gentlenesse, goodnes, faith, meekenes, & temperancie. Loue suffereth long, it is bountiful: loue enuieth not: loue doeth not boast it selfe: it is not puffed vp: it disdaineth not: it seeketh not her owne things: it is not prouoked to anger: it thinketh not euil: it reioyceth not in iniquit [...]e, but reioyceth in the trueth: it suffereth all thinges: it beleeueth all thinges, it hopeth all thinges: it endureth al things: loue is the bonde of perfection. The ser­uant of Christ is not quarrellous: let vs keepe the vnitie of the spirite in the bonde of peace. Let not dissention or malice trouble our hearts, let vs walke after this maner, and so, let vs glo­rifie God in our mortall bodies. Let vs auoyde these thinges, gluttonie, dronkennes, chambe­ring & wantonnes, strife and enuying. They be the vnfruitfull workes of darknes: the way of them leadeth vnto damnation.

But put you on the Lord Iesus Christ.

If we beholde our selues, & consider our owne nakednes, we shall find, y ^t by nature we are no­thing els but the childrē of wrath. Who can cal [Page] that cleane, that is conceiued of vncleane seede? Dauid saith Behold, I am conceiued in sinne, my sinnes haue ouer gone my head, there is no health in my flesh. Nōe that liueth shalbe iustified in thy sight, who can vnderstand his faults? Clense me from my secret fultes. Iob saith, Verebar omnia opera mea, I stood in feare Iob. 9. of al my workes, knowing that thou wilt not iudge me innocēt. Again, The starres are vn­cleane Iob. 25. in his sight: How much more man a worme, euen the sonne of man which is but a worme? In like sort saith Esaie, We haue al Esa. 6, 4. bene as an vncleane thing and all our righ­teousnes is as filthie cloutes, Our vertue, our holines, our fasting, our prayers are filthy, whē they come to his sight. Wee can not say, our heart is cleane. Wee can not say, wee haue not sinned. God hath shut vp al in vnbeliefe, that hee may haue mercie vppon all. That is borne of the flesh, is flesh. The sperit fighteth against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit. Open shame belongeth to vs, and to our fathers. Cur­sed is hee that abideth not in al thinges that are writen in the booke of the law. And whosoe­uer offendeth in one, is made guiltie of all the commaundementes. When the miserable and writched soule boasteth it selfe, sayinge, I am rich, and increased with goods & haue need [...]euel. 3. of nothing, the spirit of God maketh answere, [Page] Thou art wretched, and miserable, & poore, and blinde, and naked. Thou hast nothing to put vpon thee, to couer thy shame. I counsell thee to buy of me, golde tried by the fire, that thou mayest be made rich: & white ray­ment, that thou mayest be clothed, & that thy filthy nakednes do not appeare: and a­noint thine eies with eie salue, that thou may­est see. The same spirit in the Apostle, giueth this counsell, that wee put on vs Iesus Christ. Let him couer vs with his body, and with his blood, as with a garment: his blood hath clen­sed vs from al our sinnes. Hee is the lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of y ^e world. Hee is become vnto vs, wisdome, and righteous­nes, & sanctification, & redemtion. S. Hierome saith S [...] merita nostra consideremus, desperan­dum Hier. in 64. Esa. est. If we weigh our owne deseruings, if we appeare in our owne apparel, wee must dis­paire. And Basil saith, Qui non fidit recte factis nec sperat ex operibus iustificari, solam habet spem salutis miserecordias domini. Hee that tru­steth not to good deedes, nor hopeth to be iustified by his workes, hath no other hope of saluation but by the mercies of the Lord.

Let vs therefore put on vs Iesus Christ. Let vs couer vs vnder his apparell, as Iacob couered him selfe vnder the coat of his bro­ther Esau, & so let vs present our selues before our heauenly father. The phrase of puttinge on [Page] is vsuall: wherby he meaneth, we must be wholy clad, & possessed with Christ. In like phrase it is said in the twelfe of the reuelation. There ap­peared Reue. 12. a great wonder in heauen, a woman clothed with the sun. And in the 104. psalm. My soule prayse thou the Lorde O my God Psal. 104. thou art exceeding great, thou art clothed with glory & honour. And which couereth himself with light, as with a garmēt. And to the Colos. Put on tender mercie, kindnesse. humblenes of minde, meeknes, long suffe­ring. Colos. 3. Chrisostome saith, Dominum ipsum, quod horribile est vestimenti loco tradit. Behold, hee giueth vs Christ to be put on as a garment, Chrisost. serm. 24. in 13. Rom. which is a hainous thing to be spokē. It pas­seth al sence of nature, it passeth the iudgement of flesh and blood.

Here remember, these wordes may not be ta­ken, as if christ were a material & earthly coate, made of cloth to couer our bodies: they are spiri­tual words, & haue a spirituall vnderstandinge. Chrisostome saith, Omnia tibi factus est Christus mensa, vestimentum, domus, caput, et radix. Ad populum Antiochenum hom. 21 Orig. in Exo­dum cap. 15. hom. 7. Nazianz, in Psal. 44. Christ is become all thinges for thee thy ta­ble, thy garment, thy house, thy head, & thy roote. Origen saith, verbum dei et caro dicitur, et panis, et lac, et holera. The worde of God is called flesh, and bread, & milke, and herbes-Nazianzen also saith, Quemadmodū dominus Iesus appellatur vita, via, panis, vitis, lux vera, et [Page] mille alia: ita etiam appellatur gladius. After the same maner, as our Lorde Iesus Christ is called the lyfe, the way, the bread, the wine, the true light, and a thousand things else: so is he also called the sword.

He is spiritually a table, a garment, a house, a roote, a head, flesh, milke, herbes, the waye, the light, a sworde, bread or drinke: we dwel in hym spiritually, wee are clothed with hym spiritual­ly. We grow out of hym, and walke vpon hym, and are made one with him, euen members of his bodie, spiritually. We do spiritually eat him and drinke him, wee liue by him spiritually, wee eate him by hearing, and digest him by fayth. Origen saith, appallatur panis vitae, vt habeat gu­stus Hom. 2. in cantica. animae quod degustet, he is called the bread of lyfe that the soule may haue whereon to feede.

O brethren, O that wee had senses to feele this foode, that we could sauour of the breade of lyfe, and taste and see how sweete the Lorde is: hee that thus tasteth of this breade shall liue for euer.

Chrisostome saith, Dentes inserimus in earnes Christi. We thrust our teeth into the flesh of Chrisost. in enceniis. Cip. de caena domini. Christ. And Cipriā, Intra ipsa vulnera redēpto­ris nostri linguam figimus. We fastē our tonge within the woundes of our redemer. These be vehement and spirituall kinde of speeches, to raise vp our senses, and to teach vs to feele the [Page] vnspeaeable sweetenes of this heauenly fee­ding.

Likewise said Bernard, Desidero totum Chri­stum videre et tangere, et non id solum, sed acce­dere Bern. de a more Dei. cap. 1. vs (que) ad sanctum vulnus lateris eius, ostium arcae quod factum est in latere, vt intrem totus vs (que) ad cor Iesu. I desire to beholde whole Christ, & to touch him: & not so onely, but also to come to the holy wound of his side, which is the doore that was made in the side of the arke, that I may enter wholly, and go in, euen vnto the heart of Iesus. Thus are we taught to lifte vp our heartes. and to seeke those thinges which are aboue, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Why shoulde we then followe the fleshly errour of the Capernaites: why shoulde wee bee so insensible in heauenly things: Let vs haue some feeling hereof in our heart Salomon saieth, The wise mans eies are in his head, but the foole walketh in dark­nes. Ecclesi. 2. Our sauiour therefore saith The wordes y ^• I spake vnto you, are spirite and life. To eate Ioh. 6 the bodie of Christ, and to drinke his blood, is not the parte of the bodie: it is rather a worke of our mind. And therefore, S. Ambrose saith, Non corporali tactu Christum, sed fide tangimus. We In Lucam. lib. 10. cap. 24. touch not Christ by bodily touching, but we touch him by faith. And againe Stephanus in terris positus, Christum tangit in caelo. Stephen being in the earth toucheth Christ being Serm. 58. [Page] in heauen. By faith therefore wee eate Christ, and by faith we drinke Christ: by faith wee are apparelled and clothed with Christ. And this is that the Apostle, saith, Put ye on the Lorde Psal. 23. Iesus Christ. Let vs bee incorporate in him. Let God see nothinge in vs but the image of his sonne, so shall he dwell in vs, & wee in him.

Take no thought for the flesh, to fulfill the lustes thereof.

The sonnes of God rest vpon the prouidence of God their father, He giueth thē water out of the rockes: hee raineth downe breade from hea­uen: hee openeth his handes, and filleth euery li­uing thing w ^t his blessing. The Prophet saith, The Lorde is my shepheard, I shall not want. The thinges of this worlde shall haue an ende, 1. Tim 5. they fade away and will not continue. If riches abounde, wee must not set our heart vpon them, but rather bee carefull for the life to come. We must seeke the kingdome of God, & the righte­ousnes thereof: then al these things shalbe mini­stred vnto vs.

He doeth not forbid honest & moderate fore­cast and, prouision: as if it were not lawfull for Christians, to deale in matters appertaininge to the good estate of this life. For he hath said vn­to Timothie, If there be any y ^• prouideth not 1. Tim. 5. for his own, & namely for them of his hous­houlde, he denieth the faith, & is worse then an infidel again he saith, no mā euer yet hated Ephel. 5. [Page] his owne flesh, but nourisheth it, and cheri­sheth it. Agayne, writing to Timothie, drinke no longer water, but vse a litle wine for thy 1. Tim. 5. stomakes sake, and thine often infirmities. In whiche speéches, hee sheweth we are bonde to nourish, and feede, and bee carefull for our bodies.

Though the conuersation of the faithfull bee in heauen and they seeke after the thinges which are on high, yet whiles they passe the pil­grimage of this lyfe, they must needes haue the felowshippe and company of their naturall bo­dies: the whiche they must not so weaken, that thereby they shall become vnprofitable, and not hable to doe seruice in the Churche of god: and yet so keepe them vnder, that they may be made obedient to the spirite.

Onely wee may not bee ouer carefull. To take great care for the body, is to cast away all care for the soule. For they that will bee riche, fall into temptation & snares, and into ma­ny 1. Tim. 6. foolish and noysome lusts, which drowne men in perdition and destruction: for the desire of mony is the roote of al euil, which whiles some lusted after, they erred from the fayth, and perced themselues with ma­ny sorrowes. Of this care speaketh our saui­our, It is easier for a Camel to go through y ^• eye of a needle, then for a rich man to enter Mat. 19. into the kingdome of God.

[Page] No care can satisfie the vncontented minde. The righteous eateth, & is satisfied: but the Pro. 13. bellie of the wicked euer wanteth. Hee hath enlarged his desire as hell, and ladeth hym selfe with thicke clay, he encreaseth that which is not his, and cannot be satisfied. The horse leache Pro. 30. hath two daughters, whiche cry, giue, giue. There be there things y ^• wil not be satisfied: Yea, foure y ^• say not it is enough. They care not by what meanes they make their gaynes, they liue in vsurie, a most fylthye trade, a trade which God detesteth, a trade which is the verye ouerthrow of all Christian loue. They eate vp the people as they eate breade. Such are the wayes of euery one, that is greedy of gaine, He wolde take away y ^• life of y ^• owners thereof. Pro. 1. They haue hardened their heart against God, they doe not serue God, but Mammon.

But their gayne shall be to their losse, & their mony, to their destruction. He that giueth his money vnto Usurie, shall not dwell in the ta­bernacle of the Lorde, nor rest vppon his holy mountayne.

Wee haue here no continuing Citie, wee are straungers as were al our fathers before vs. If we gather riches to our selues, & be not rich in God, he shall say vnto vs, O foole, this night will they fetch away thy soule from thee: Then whose shall those things be which thou hast pro­uided: Let him therefore that hath this worldes [Page] goods, be as if hee had them not. They are the giftes of God. The Lorde giueth them and the Lorde taketh them away. Settle not your hearts vpon thē. As they come, so wil they fade away: they bee vncertaine, they will deceiue you. Set your desier vpon heauenly thinges, seeke after the life which is to come in the lande of the liuing. When wee shall see those vn­speakable ioyes, wee shal perceiue, that all the pleasures of this life, in comparison of them were nothing.

Now, somewhat more specially to applie the woordes of the Apostle to this present time. It is now time also, that wee should arise from sleepe. God hath deliuered vs also from the night. We may say, This is the day which the Lorde hath made: Let vs reioyce and be glad in it. Wee may say, he hath shewed his mercies towardes vs, and the truth of the Lorde endu­reth for euer.

Let vs looke backe to the time late past, and beholde the night of errour, and ignoraunce. What shall I say? Where should I beginne, or howe may I ende? The matter is of great compasse: the time I haue to speake is but shorte: and I haue no delight to speake of dark­nes. After God had deliuered the people of Is­rael, and giuen them passage through the red sea, Marie the Prophetesse, sister of Aaron [Page] looked backe into Egipt. There she remembred Pharao, and his crueltie, howe he plagued the children of God: she remembred how by a migh­tie hande and out stretched arme, hee deliuered them, and wrought his wonders vpon Pharao, and all the lande of Egipt. She looked backe vpon the great darknes, and vpon the frogges, and flies, and botches: she behelde the waters turned into blood, the killinge of the first borne of man and beast, the ouerthrowe of Pharao and all his Charets in the middes of the sea. And therefore she answered the men, Singe yee Exod. 15. vnto the Lorde, for he hath triumphed glo­riously: The horse and his rider hath he o­uerthrowen in the sea.

Euen so, let vs cast backe our eies, & make a view of the Church. Loth I am to speake of it: Yet it is nedefull to say somewhat thereof, that we way reioyce in our deliueraunce. All thinges were done in a strang tounge: the priest spake, and the people hearde they knewe not what. No man coulde say Amen to their pray­ers. The matters were such, that he might be reconed happie which heard them not. They a­bused the Church of God with vaine fables. If you doubt hereof rede their Legendes and fe­stiuals. They know this, they acknowlege it. It might well be spoken of them which Hilla­rie Hilar. con. Auxentisi. said, Sanctiores sunt aures populi quam corda [Page] sacerdotum The eares of the people are more holy, then the hearts of the Priests.

I beseech you, marke the fourme and fashion of their prayes. To the blessed virgin, they sayd, Aue Maria, salus, et consolatrix viuorum et mortuorum, Haile Marie, the sauiour & cō ­forter, both of quick & dead. And agayne, O gloriosa virgo Maria, libera nos ab omni malo, et a paenis inferni. O glorious virgin Mary, de­liuer vs from al euil, & frō the paines of hel. Agayne, Monstra te esse matrem, shewe that thou art a mother. They cal her, Regina Coeli, domina mundi, vnica spes miserorum, Queene of heauen, Lady of y ^• world, the only hope of them that be in miserie. It were tedious, and vnpleasant to recite the like their blasphemies. Howe did these men accompt of the crosse and passion of Christ? What leaue they to be wrou­ght by the price of his blood? To speak nothing of the multitude of their intercessours and pa­trones, of their false miracles, of their deceiue­able merits and workes of supererogation: how fowle a kinde of Idolatry was it, to worship the image with the selfsame honour, wherwith they worshippe the thing it selfe, that is represented by the Image? As, if the thinge it selfe bee worshipped with godly honour, then must the Image thereof bee worshipped with godlye honour.

[Page] The holy Scriptures, which are the light to direct our wayes, and the power of God to saue our soules, wer hid vnder a bushel. Whosoeuer built him selfe and his faith vpon them, was ad­iudged an Heretike. Marriage was forbidden, and fornication suffered. They did not onely de­uoure widowes houses, but drew to them selues the fat of the land, by pretence of their long prai­ers. I spare your chaste and godly eares: other­wise, I were able to rehearse many their foule abuses, and workes of darkenesse.

Yet will I shewe you one of their night­birdes, lately hatched in the nest of all supersti­tion. It is the Agnus dei, heere it is. It was latelie consecrate by the holie Father, and sent from Rome. They teache, that by the vertue of their consecration, (or rather coniuration) and blessing, these little thinges haue power to defende the faithfull from lightening and tem­pest.

O merciful God, what hath the Pope to doe with the lightening: what can a piece of waxe preuaile to the staying of a tempest? The Lorde of heauen and earth, it is hee that sendeth forth lightnings, and raiseth vp tempestes. Fire and Psal. 148. haile, snowe and vapours, stormie winde ex­ecute his woorde. God will sende foorth his lightening and consume them. Beholde (saith Iere. 23. Ieremie) the tempest of the Lorde goeth foorth in his wrath, and a violent whirle [Page] winde shal fal downe vpon the head of the wicked.

O, what a shepheard is he, that nowe in this light of the day, thus mocketh and deceiueth the lambes and sheepe of Christ? Is this to woor­shippe Christ in spirite and trueth? Is this the hope we haue in Christ? Is this the profession of the Gospell? Is this the will of GOD, to commit our liues to so vile a cake? Howbeeit, there is no cause why any man shoulde maruell hereat. For, ignorance which is the mother of errour, by their owne confession, is become the mother of deuotion: and these bee the fruites, and children of blindnesse and ignorance. I will speake nothing of that man from whence this geare commeth. Woulde God hee were the man he woulde seeme to bee. But if the light it selfe be darkenesse, how great then is the dark­nesse? Yet they say of him, his voyce must be re­ceiued, as the voyce of Peter, and the worde of God him selfe must take authoritie and credite of him. Thus hath hee come betweene, like a Cloude, and eclipsed the sunne of Gods glori­ous Gospell.

If wee beholde eyther their Schooles, or their Churches, their quier, their pulpit, their prayers, their Sacramentes, their Cleargie, their people, their doctrine, or their life: wee may truely saie as the Prophete saide, Surely [Page] our fathers haue inherited lies, and vanitie, Iere. 16. wherein was no profite. We may truely say, the Law hath perished from the Priest, & coun­sell from the wise, and the worde from the Pro­phet: the blind did leade the blind, they haue tur­ned siluer into drosse, and fedde the people with chaffe, in steede of wholesome and good meates. Blessed be the name of God, who hath giuen vs eyes to espie their dealinges, and hath reuea­led vnto vs his worde, to guide our feete into the way of peace.

I knowe these thinges are defended boldely and obstinately: no maruell. For the Apostle saith, They haue not all obeied the Gospell. Rom. 10. There haue bin, that haue called the light dark­nesse, and the darknesse light. If our Gospel be hid (saith he) it is hid in them that perish, in 2. Cor. 4. whom the God of this world hath blinded the mindes.

I will not here make answeare to any par­ticular, albeit occasion be offered, and happe­ly it bee looked for. Contention and quarrels haue no ende: All doctrine shall bee brought to tryall, the day of the Lorde shall reueal [...] errours, and giue witnesse for the trueth. God will turne all to his glorie. What so euer stirre is raysed vp against the trueth, it is but a smoke, it will soone fade and come to no­thing.

[Page] There are this day many, to all appearance godly men, of good life, of righteous dealing, of great zeale and conscience: but yet haue not eyes to see these thinges. I protest in their be­halfe, as did Paul, they haue a greate zeale of Gods glorie, woulde God it were according to knowledge. Wee may say with the Prophet, O Lorde, thy iudgementes are like a great Psal. 36. deepe. Who hath knowen the mynde of the Lorde: or, who is of his counsell: God know­eth his time. He hath the key of Dauid, hee ope­neth, and no man shutteth: he is the Father of lightes. Wee are in his hande, both we and al our counsels: God graunt we may put off all fleshly affections, and put on Iesus Christ, and that all the earth may see his glory.

Nowe on the other side, let vs consider howe mercifully God hath dealt with vs. Hee hath restored vnto vs the light of his Gospell, and hath taught vs the secrets of his heauenly will. We heare him talke with vs familiarly in the Scriptures. as a father talketh with his child. Thereby hee kindeleth our faith, and strengthe­neth our hope: thereby our heartes receiue ioye and comfort. We haue the holy ministration of the Sacraments: we know the couenant of bap­tisme: wee knowe the couenaunt and mysterie of the Lordes Supper. Wee fall downe toge­ther, and confesse our life before God: wee pray together, and vnderstande what we pray. This [Page] was the order of the Primitiue Churche: this was the order of the Apostles of Christe. If wee compare this with the former, wee shall soone see the difference betweene light and darknesse.

The kingdome of God nowe suffereth vio­lence. The sounde of the Gospell hath gone o­uer all the worlde, and the whole worlde is a­waked therewith, and draweth to it. The sunne is risen, the day is open: God hath made his kingdome woonderfull among vs. It is nowe time, nowe is it time that wee shoulde arise from sleepe: for nowe is our saluation neere. Nowe it is in our mouth, wee can speake of it: GOD graunt it may bee neerer vs, euen in our heartes. The night is past, GOD graunt it be past for euer: that we be neuer againe throw­en into the darkenesse of death: that the worde of life, the trueth of Christ, be neuer againe ta­ken from vs. And it shall neuer be taken away, if wee bee thankefull. Unkindenesse can neuer scape vnplagued. Let vs wake, let vs wake, our sleepe is deadly. Let vs pray to GOD to awake vs: hee is able to rayse the dead. Our Sauiour saith, The houre shall come, when Iohn. 5. the dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God, and they that heare it, shall liue. Lazarus was dead, yet hee hearde the voyce of Christe, and rose vp agayne, and came a­broade.

[Page] Let vs put on Iesus Christ, let it appeare vpon vs that we weare him, let vs not be asha­med of his Gospell, it is the power of God to saluation. If we be ashamed of him and of his wordes, hee will be also ashamed of vs, when he commeth in the glorie of his father, with the ho­ly Angels.

Let vs cast away the workes of darkenesse, and all doctrines of superstition and ignorance. Let vs beholde the troubles and miseries of other countries. Heauen and earth, our bre­thren, the care of our saluation, the Sonne of God himselfe put vs in minde, that it is nowe time.

Whiles we haue time, let vs doe good: let vs seeke God whiles hee may bee founde. The Lorde wayteth when hee may shewe his mer­cies: Let vs turne vnto him with an vpright heart. So shall he turne to vs: so shal we walke as the children of light, so shall wee shine as the sunne in the kingdome of our Father, so shall God bee our God, and will abide with vs for e­uer.

And thou, O most mercifull Father, wee beseeche thee for thy mercie sake, continue thy grace and fauour towardes vs: let the sunne of thy Gospell neuer goe downe out of our heartes, let thy trueth abide, and be sta­blished among vs for euer. Helpe our vnbe­liefe, [Page] encreace our faith, giue vs heartes to con­sider the time of our visitation: Apparrell vs throughly with Christ, that hee may liue in vs, and so thy Name may bee glorified in vs in the sight of al the world.

Amen.