God elles we may not tempt the maiestye of his 〈◊〉 Beware temptyng of God wel he commes to Symons boate and why rather to Symons boate then another I wyll answere as I fynde in experience in my selfe I came hyther to day from Lambeth in a whirry and when I came to take my boate the water men came aboute me as the maner is and he wold haue me and he would haue me I toke one of them Now ye wyll aske me why I came in that boate rather then in another beecause I woulde goe into that that I see stand nexte me it stoode more 〈◊〉 for me And so did Christe by Simons boate It stoode neerer for hym he saw a better seate in it A good natural reason Now come the papystes and they will make a misterye of it they wyll pycke out the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome in Pe ters boate We may make allegories ynough of euery place in scripture but surely it muste needes bee a symple matter that standeth on so weke a grounde But ye shal see further He desyred Peter to thruste out his boate from the shore He desired hym Here was a good lesson for the byshop of Rome and all his colledge of Cardinalles to learne 〈◊〉 and gentlenes Rogabat eum He desired him it was 〈◊〉 done of hym without any austeritie but 〈◊〉 all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nes and softenes and humility What an 〈◊〉 is this that he geueth them here but they spye it not they can se nothing but the supremacye of the bishop of Rome A wonderous thing what sight they haue They see nothing but the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome Imperabatis ouibus meis saith Ezechiel Cū auaritia austeritate disperse sunt absque pastore Ye haue ruled my shepe and commanded them with great lordlines austerity and power and thus ye haue dispersed my shepe abroad why There was no shepherd they had wanted one a great while Rome hath bene many a hundred yeres wtout a good shepherd They wold not learn to rule them gētly they had rule ouer them but it was with 〈◊〉 excōmunications with great austeritie and thunderboltes and the deuill and 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I beseche God open their 〈◊〉 that they may se the truth and not be blynded with those things that noman can se but 〈◊〉 It foloweth in the text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 de 〈◊〉 He taught syttyn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 belike were sitters in those days as it is writen in an other place 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They syt in the chayre of Moyses I would our preachers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or standyng one waye or other It was a goodly pulpytte that oure Sautour Christe had gotten hym here An olde rotten boate And yet he 〈◊〉 his fathers will his fathers 〈◊〉 out of thys pulpyt He cared not for the pulpyt so he mighte do the people good In deede it is to bee commended for the preacher to stand or sit as the place is but I wold not 〈◊〉 it so 〈◊〉 estemed but that a good preacher may de clare the word of god 〈◊〉 on a horse or preching in a tre And yet if 〈◊〉 shoulde bee done the vnpreaching prelates would laugh it to scorne And though it be good to haue the 〈◊〉 sette vp in churches that the people maye resort thither yet I 〈◊〉 not haue it so 〈◊〉 vsed but that in a prophane place the worde of God might be 〈◊〉 som tymes and I 〈◊〉 not haue the people offended wythall no more then they be with our Sauiour Christes preachyng out of a boate And 〈◊〉 to haue pulpettes in churches it is ve ry wel done to haue them but they would be occupied for it is a vain thing to haue them as they stād in many churches I heard of a Bishop of Englande that 〈◊〉 on 〈◊〉 and as it was the custome when the Bishoppe should come and be runge into the town the great belles clapper was fal len down the tyall was broken so that the Bishop could not be 〈◊〉 into the toune There was a great matter made of 〈◊〉 and the chiefe of the paryshe were much blamed for it in the visitation The bishoppe was somewhat quicke wyth theym and 〈◊〉 that he was muche offended They made theyr aunsweres and 〈◊〉 themselues as well as they could it was a chaunce sayd they that the 〈◊〉 brake and we coulde not get it mended by and by we must tarye tyll we canne haue it done It shal be amended as 〈◊〉 as may be Among the other there was one wyser then the rest he commes me to the Bishop Why my lord saith he doth your lordshyp make to greate a matter of the bell that lacketh hys clapper here is a 〈◊〉 sayeth he and poynted to the pulpit that hath lacked a clappar this 20. yeres We haue a person that 〈◊〉 out of this benefice fyftye pounde euerye yere but we neuer see hym I warrant you the Bishop was an vnpreachyng presate He coulde finde faute with the bel that wāted a clapper to ring him into the town but he could not find any faut with the person that preached not at his be 〈◊〉 Euer this office of preaching hath ben left regarded it hath scant had the name of gods seruice They muste syng 〈◊〉 festa dies about the churche that no man was the better for it but to shewe theyr gay coates and garmentes I came once my selfe to a place ridyng on a iorney homeward from London and I sente worde ouer night into the toune that I would preach there in the morning bicause it was ho lyday and me thoughte it was an holydayes worke The churche stode in my way and I toke my horse and my company and wente thither I thought I should haue founde a great company in the churche and when I came there the churche dore was faste locked I taried there halfe an hower and more at last the keye was found and one of the 〈◊〉 commes to me and sayes Syr this is a busy day with vs we canne not heare you it is Robin hoodes daye The paryshe are gone abroade to gather for Robyn hoode I pray you let them not I was fayne there to geue place to Robin hoode I thought my rochet shoulde haue bene regarded though I were not but it would not serue it was faine to geue place to Robin hoodes men It is no laughyng matter my frends it is a wepyng matter a heauye matter a heauy matter vnder the 〈◊〉 for gatheryng for Robyn hoode a traytour and a theefe to put 〈◊〉 a preacher to haue hys office lesse estemed to prefer Robyn 〈◊〉 before the ministracion of Goddes worde and all this hath come of vnpreachyng prelates Thys realme hath bene yl prouided for that it hath had such corrupt iudgementes in it to prefer Robin hoode to goddes worde Yf the Bishoppes had bene preachers there shoulde neuer haue bene any such thing but we haue a
haue now gotten one felow more a companion of sedition and wot ye who is my felow Esay the Prophet I spake but of a litle preaty shilling But he speaketh to Hierusalem after an other sort and was so bold to meddle with their coin Thou proude thou couetous thou hautie citie of Hierusalem Argentum tuum versum est inscoriam Thy siluer is turned into what into testions Scoriam into drosse Ah sedicious wretche what had he to doo with the minte Why shoulde not he haue left that matter to some master of policie to reproue Thy siluer is drosse it is not fine it is counterfait thy siluer is turned thou haddest good 〈◊〉 What pertayned that to Esay Mary he espied a pece of diuinitie in that poli cie he threateneth them Goddes vengeaunce for it He wente to the roote of the matter whych was couetousnes He espyed two poyntes in it that eyther it came of couetousnes whyche became hym to reproue or els that it tended to the hurte of the poore people for the noughtynes of the siluer was the occasyon of dearthe of all thinges in the Realme He imputeth it to them as a great crime He may be called a master of sedicion in dede Was not this a sedicious harlot to tell them this to their beardes to their face This sedicious man goth also forth saying Vinum tuum mixtuum est aqua Thy wyne is mingled with water Here he medeleth with vinteners be like there were bruers in those daies as there be nowe It had ben good for our missal priestes to haue dwelled in that contrey for they might haue ben sure to haue had their wine well mingled with water I remembre how Scrupulous I was in my time of blindnes and ignorauncie when I should say masse I haue put in water twise or thrise for fayling in so much when I haue ben at my Memento I haue had a grudg in my consyence fearing that I had not put in water ynoughe 〈◊〉 that whiche is here spoken of wine he meaneth it of al arts in the citie of all kindes of faculties for they haue all their medles and minglings That he speaketh of one thing he meaneth generally of all I must tell you more newes yet I here say there is a certain conning come vp in mixing of wares How say you were it no wonder to heare that cloth makers should becom poticaries Yea and as I heare say in suche a place where as they haue professed the Gospell and the worde of God most earnestly of a long tyme. Se how busie the Deuill is to sclaunder the word of God Thus the pore gospell goeth to wrack Yf his cloth be xviii yeardes long he will set him on a rack slretch him oute with ropes and racke him till the senewes shrinck a gaine whiles he hathe brought him to xxvii yardes When they haue brought him to that perfectiō they haue a prety feat to thick him again He makes me a powther for it plais the poticary they call it floke pouther they doo so in corporate it to the cloth that it is wonderfull to consider truly a goodly inuention Oh that so goodly wittes should be so ill applied they may well deceiue the people but they can not deceiue God They were wont to make beds of flocks it was a good bed to Now they haue turned their flocks into pouther to play the false theues with it O wicked diuell what can he not inuent to 〈◊〉 Gods worde These mixtures come of couetousnes They ar plain theft Wo worth that these flockes should so slaunder the word of God As he said to the Iewes thy wine 〈◊〉 mingled with water so myghte he haue sayde to vs of thys lande Thy clothe is mingled wyth 〈◊〉 pouder He goeth yet on This seditious man reproueth this honourable citye and sayeth Principes tui infideles Thou lande of Ierusalem thy magistrates thy iudges are vnfaithful they kepe no touch they wil talke of many gay things they will pretend thys and that but they kepe no promise They be worse thē vnfaithful he was not afraid to cal the officers vnfaithfull Et 〈◊〉 furum Felowes of theues for 〈◊〉 and theues felowes be all of one sort They were wont to saye Aske my felow if I be a these He calleth princes theues What Princes theues What a seditions harlot was this was he worthy to liue in a common wealthe that woulde call princes on this wise fellowes of theues Had they a standing at shoters hil or Stangat hole to take a purse Why did they stand by the high way side Did they rob or 〈◊〉 open any mannes house or doore No no. That is a grosse kind of theuing They were princes they had a 〈◊〉 kinde of theuing Omnes diligunt munera They al loue bribes Bribery is a princelye kinde of theuinge They will be waged by the rich either to geue sentence against the pore or to put of the pore mans causes This is the noble thefte of princes of magistrates They are bribetakers Now a daies they cal them gentle rewardes let them leaue theyr colouring and call them by their christian name Bribes Omnes diligunt munera Al the princes all the iudges all the priests al that rulers are bribers What were all the magistrates in Ierusalem all bribe takers none good No dout there were some good Thys woorde omnes signifieth the moost part and so there be some good I doubte not of it in England But yet we be farre worse then those stifnecked Iewes For we read of none of them that winsed nor kicked against Esais preching or said that he was a seditious felow It behoueth the magistrates to be in credite therfore it might seme that Esay was to blame to speak opēly against the magistrates It is verye sure that they that be good wil beare not spurne at the preachers they that be faulty they must amende 〈◊〉 spurn nor wynse nor whine He that findeth him self touched or galled he decla reth him self not to be vprighte Wo worthe these giftes they subucrt iustice euery where Sequuntur retributiones They folow bribes Somwhat was geuen to them before and they muste neades geue somewhat a gaine for giffe gaffe was a good felow this giffe gaffe led them clene frō iustice They folow giftes A good fellow on a time bad an other of his frends to a breakfast and said If you wil come you shal be welcome but I tel you afore hand you shal haue but flēder fare one dish and that is al what is that said he A pudding and nothing els Mary said he you can not please me better of al meats that is for mine own toth you may draw me 〈◊〉 about the town with a pudding These bribing maiestrates and iudges folow giftes faster then the felow woulde folow the pudding I am content to
father hauynge a loue to walke in the wayes of God yf we beleue in Iesus Christe we shall ouercome deathe I saye it shall not preuaile againste vs. Wherfore 〈◊〉 it chaunceth thee my frende to haue the tastyng of thys death that thou shalte bee tempted with thys horrour of deathe what is to be done then when so euer thou feelest thy soule heauye to deathe make haste and resorte to thys gardyne and wyth this fayth thou shalt ouercome thys terrour when it commeth Oh it was a greuous thing that Christ suffred here Oh the greatnes of his dolour that he suffred in the gar den partly to make 〈◊〉 for our fins and partly to deliuer vs from death not so that we should not dye bodily but that this death should be a way to a better life and to destroy and oneccome 〈◊〉 Our Sauioure Christ had a gardyne but he had litle pleasure in it You haue many goodly gardynes I would you wold in the middes of them cousider what agony our sauiour Christ suffred in his gardyne A goodly meditation to haue in your gardynes It shall occasion you to delight no farther in vanities but to remember what he suffered for you It may 〈◊〉 you from synne It is a good mo nument a good sygne a good 〈◊〉 to consider howe he behaued him selfe in this gardyne Well he saieth to his disciples Sitte here and praye wyth me He wente a lyttle way of as it were a stones caste from them and falles to his praier and saith Pater si possibile est tran seat à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iste Father if it be possible Awaye with thys bytter cuppe thys outragious payne Yet after he 〈◊〉 him selfe and sayes 〈◊〉 non sicut ego volo sed sicut tu vis Not my wyll but thy 〈◊〉 bee done O father Here is a good meditation for Christen menne at all tymes and not onely vpon good Fryday Lette good friday bee euery daye to a Christian man to knowe to vse hys passion to that ende and purpose not to reade the story but to take the fruite of it Some menne yf they hadde bene in thys agony would haue runne theymselues thoroughe with theyr swordes as Saule dyd some woulde haue hanged themselues as Achytophel did Let vs not follow these men they be no examples for vs but lette vs folowe Chryste whiche in hys agonye resorted to hys father with his prayer This must be our patrone to worke by Here I mighte dilate the matter as touchynge praying to Sainctes Here we maye learne not to praye to Saynctes Christe byddes vs Ora patrem qui est in coelis Praye to thy father that is in heauen to the creator and not to anye creature And therefore awaye with these anouries Lette God alone bee oure auowrye what haue we to doe to runne hither or thither but onelye to the father of heauen I wyll not tarye to speaks of this matter Our Sauiour Christ sette his disciples in an order and com maunded them to watche and praye saying Vigilate orate Watche and prays wherto shold they watche pray he sayeth by and by Ne 〈◊〉 in tentationem That ye enter not into temptation He byddes them not pray that they bee not tempted for that is as muche to saye as to praye that we shoulde be out of thys worlde There is no man in thys worlde without tēptation In the the time of prosperity we are tempted to wantonnes 〈◊〉 and all lyghtnes in tyme of aduersitie to dispayre in goddes 〈◊〉 Temptation neuer ceases There is a difference betwene beynge tempted and entryng into temptation He byddes therefore not to praye that they be not tempted but that they enter not into temptation To bee tempted is no euyll thing For what is it no more then when the fleshe the dyuel and the worlde dothe solicite and moue vs against god To geue place to these suggestions and to yelde our selues and suffer vs to be ouercome of theym thys is to enter into temptation Oure Sauiour Christe knewe that they shoulde bee greuously tempted and therefore he 〈◊〉 theym warnynge that they shoulde not geue place to temptation nor dyspayre at his deathe And yf they chaunced to forsake hym or to runne awaye in case they tripped or swarued yet to come agayne But our Sauiour Christe dyd not onely commaunde hys Disciples to pray but fell downe vpon hys knees flat vpon the ground and praied himselfe saying Pater 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 transeat à me calix iste Father deliuer me of this pange and payne that I am in thys outragious payne this word Father came euen from the bowels of hys hearte whenne he made hys mone as who should say Father ryd me I am in suche payne that I can be in no greater Thou arte my Father I am thy sonne Can the father forsake hys Sonne in suche anguish Thus he made hys mone Father take away this 〈◊〉 of death from me ryd me of thys payne suffer me not to be taken when Judas comes suffer me not to bee bāged on the crosse suffer not my 〈◊〉 to be perced with 〈◊〉 nor my harte with the sharpe speare A wonderfull thynge that he shoulde so oft tel his 〈◊〉 of it before and nowe when he commeth to the paynte to desyre to be rydde of 〈◊〉 thought he woulde haue bene disobediente to the wyll of hys father Afore he sayed he came to suffer and now he sayes away with this cup. Who woulde haue thought that euer this geare should haue come out of Christes mouth What a case is this What shuld a man say You must vnderstande that Christ 〈◊〉 vpon him our infirmities of the whyche thys was one to be sory at death Among the stipends of 〈◊〉 this was one to 〈◊〉 at the crosse this is a punishmet for our synne It goeth otherwayes wyth vs then with Christ if we were in like case and in like agony almost we wold curse God or rather wish that there wer no God This that he said was not of that sorte it was referringe the 〈◊〉 to the wil of his father but we seke by al means be it ryght be it wrong of our owne nature to be rid out of payne he desyred it conditionally as it might stād with his fathers wil adding A veruntamen to it So his request was to shew the infirmity of man here is nowe an example what we shal doo when we are in lyke case He neuer deserued it we haue He had a Ueruntamen and not withstandynge let vs haue so to we muste haue a neuerthelesse thy wyll be doone and not mine Geue me grace to be contente to submit my wil vnto thine His fact teacheth vs what to do This is our surgery our phisike when we be in agony and recken vpon it frends we shal come to it we shal fele it at one time or an other What does he now what came to passe now when he
had hard no voyce hys father was domme He resortes to his frends seking some comfort at their hands seing he had none at hys fathers hād he comes to his disciples and finds them a slepe he 〈◊〉 vnto Peter and sayd Ah Peter art thou a slepe Peter be fore had bragged stoutly as though he wold haue killed God haue mercy vpon his soule And now when he shuld haue comforted Christ he was a slepe not once buffe nor baffe to hi not a word he was fain to say to his disciples Vigilate et orate Watch and pray the spirite is readye but the flesh is weake he had neuer a word of them agayne They might at the least haue said Oh sir remember your self are you not Christ came not you into thys world to redeme sin be a good chear be a good cōfort thys soro we wil not help you cōfort your self by your own preaching you haue said Oportet filium hominis pati You haue not deserued any thing it is not your faulte In dede if they had don this with him they had plaide a frendlye parte wyth him but they gaue him not so muche as one comfortable word We run to our frends in our distresses agonies as though we had al our trust confidence in them he did not so he resorted to them but trusted not in thē we will run to our frends come no more to God he returned againe What shal we not resort to our frends in time of neade trow ye we shal not finde thē a slepe Yes I warrant you when we nead their help most we shall not haue it But what shal we do when we shal finde lack in them we will cry out vpon them vpbraid them chide braul fume chafe backbite them But Christ did not so he excused his frēds saying Vigilate orate spiritus quidem promptus est caro autē infirma Oh quoth he watch and pray I se wel the spirit is redy but the flesh is weak What meaneth this surely it is a cōfortable place For as longe as we liue in this worlde when we be at the best we haue no more but Promptitudinē spiritus cū infirmitate carnis The readinesse of the spiryte with thinfirmity of the flesh The very saintes of god said Velle adest mihi my will is good but I am not able to perform it I haue ben with some and sain they would faine they would there was redinesse of spirit but it would not be It greued thē that they could not take thinges as they shuld do The flesh resysteth the work of the holy ghoste in our harts and lets it lets it We haue to pray euer to god Oh prayer prayer that it might be vsed in this realm 〈◊〉 it ought to be of al men specially of magistrates of coun sailers of great rulers to pray to pray that it wold plese God to put godly policies in their harts Cal for assistans I haue hard say when that good Quene that is gone had ordeined in her house daily prayer bothe before none after none the Admirall gettes him oute of the waye 〈◊〉 a moule digging in th earth He shal be Lottes wyfe to me as long as I liue He was I hard say a couetous man a couetous man in deede I woulde there were no moe in Englande He was I hearde saye an ambitious man I woulde ther wer no mo in Englād He was I hard say a seditious 〈◊〉 a contemner of common prayer I wold there were no mo in England wel he is gon I wold 〈◊〉 had left 〈◊〉 behinde him 〈◊〉 you my lordes that you pray in your houses to the better mortificatiō of your flesh Remēber god must be honored I wil you to pray that god will continue his spirite in you I do not put you in cōfort that if ye haue once the spirite ye cannot lose it Ther be new spirits start vp nowe of late that say after we haue receiued the spirite we cannot synne I wyl make but one argument Saint Paul had brought that 〈◊〉 to the profession of the faith left them in that 〈◊〉 they had receiued the spirite once but they synned again as he testified of them him self He sayeth Currebatis bene Ve were once in a ryght state and again recepistis spiritū ex operibus legis an ex iusticia fidei Once they had the spirit by faith but fals prophets came when he was gone frō them they plucked them clean away from al that Paule had planted them in and then said Paul vnto thē O stulti Galathe quis vos fascinauit If this be true we maye lose the spirit that we haue once possessed It is a fod thing I wil not tary in it But nowe to the passyon again 〈◊〉 had bene wyth hys father felt no help he had bene wyth hys frendes and had no comfort he had prayed twise and was not hard what did he now did he geue prayer ouer no he goeth againe to his father and sayeth the same againe father if it be possible awaye with this cup here is an exāple for vs although we be not hard at the firste tyme shall we geue ouer our prayer nay we must to it againe we muste be instant in prayer He prayd thrise and was not harde let vs pray three score times 〈◊〉 are 〈◊〉 dull nowe a dayes in prayer to come to sermons to resort to common prayer You houskepers especially great mē geue exāple of prayer in your houses Well did his father looke vpon him this second time no he wente to his frendes agayne thinking to finde some comfort there but he findes them a slepe again more deper a slepe then euer they wer Theyr eyes wer heauy with slepe There was no cōfort at al they wist not what to say to him A wonderful thinge howe he was toste from poste to piller one while to his father and was destitute at his hand another while to his frends and found no comfort at them his father gaue him loking on and suffred him to bite vpon the bridle a while Almighty God beheld this battail that he might enioy that honor and glory that in his name all knees should bow Celestium Terrestrium et infernorum in heauen earth hell Thys that the father wold not hear his own sonne was an other punishment due to our sinne When we crye vnto him he wil not hear vs. The prophet Ieremye sayeth Clamabunt ad me ego non exaudiam eos These beIeremies words here he threatneth to punishe sinne with not hearing their prayers the prophet sayth They haue not had the feare of God before their eyes nor haue not regarded discipline and correction I neuer saw surelye so litle discipline as is now a dais Men wil be masters they will be masters no disciples Alas where is this discipline now in Englande The people regarde no