place permit But yet first and principally wee must seeke to feede our soule with the foode that neuer perisheth and then the body Those which doe blesse the Lorde of heauen and loue him aboue all the fading ioyes of the earth they shall receyue from aboue blessing for blessing grace for grace loue for loue to their endlesse comfort in the great day of his visitation they shall florish like the fruitfull vine their children shall stande like oliue braunches round about their table and they shall neuer want one to sit vppon their seate after them for euer They shall see their childrens children together with the temples and good woorkes of their owne handes They shall reioyce therein because their memorie shall neuer perish from the face of the earth but especially because this oyle which they haue in their lampes shall giue a light to their eyes a direction to their feete a comfort to their heart and conscience in the day of iudgement This is the sentence of holy scripture and the example is like vnto the same Looke ouer the booke of God peruse it diligently and tell mee if euer you did see the righteous forsaken or his seede begging their bread But alwaies those which first aboue all worldly affaires did seeke the kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof whiche built temples to his holie name maintaining his praise and glorie in the same they had all good blessings powred on them Abraham left his owne country willing to haue sacrificed his onely sonne at the voice of the Lord and therefore hee had this assuraunce by the voyce of an Aungell from heauen By my selfe haue I sworne saith the Lorde that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed Which blessing continued in Isaac the fruits therof began to budde in Iacob whose willing minde well knowen vnto the Lord concerning his house in his sleepe there appeared vnto him a ladder the foote whereof stood on the earth but the top did reach vnto the heauens by which the angels did ascend and descend and the Lord leaning on the top of this ladder said vnto him I am the Lord the God of thy father Abraham and thy father Isaac the land in which thou art now will I giue thee and to thy seed and thy seed shall bee as the dust of the earth Thou shalt increase from the East to the West froÌ„ the North to the South and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed When Iacob awaked out of his sleepe he said of a truth the Lord is in this place I knew not and trembling he said further O how terrible is this place this is none other place but euen the house of God and the gate of heauen Forthwith rising in the morning hee tooke the stone which lay vnder his head all night and rearing it an ende he powred oile vppon it making a vow and saying if the Lord will bee with mee c. the Lord shall be my God and this stone which I haue here set an ende shalbe called the house of God and I will giue him the tenth of all the encrease which hee shall giue me After the sparks of heauenlie fire new kindled in the breast of the holie patriarch the flame brake forth at his mouth and so fructified together with his true pietie that afterwards hee was wonderfull rich in seruants goods and cattel in beeing a ioyfull father of manie goodlie-children liuing to a good olde age seeing his childrens children laying his hand on them that which passeth all though his graundfather Abraham did make an alter in the same place proceeding to offer the bloud of his onelie sonne vnto the Lord which was a perfect figure of Christ yet the latter light did shine the clearer and the Lord did so multiplie the blessings promised to Abraham in his sonnes Isaac and Iacob that long before the time of the reuelation of that holie one to him and in him he vncouered the vale so much that he shewed his louing regard to his elect here vppon earth in looking downe on Iacob and leaning on the ladder in sending his Angels vp and downe to his patriarch full of grace Who when his eies were open and he did see as it is said Gratia gratiam peperit Grace brought foorth grace For to the end that hee and his posteritie might more easilie clime this ladder and for our example hee trembled when hee perceyued that the Lord was there hee gaue the title and ioyned the reuerence thereunto saying out of all doubt this is the house of God and the gate of heauen concluding it shall be called the house of God Which his zealous speech and dooings condemne the fruitelesse zeale of our age for when hee perceiued that hee was once in the house of God with a reuerent feare hee trembled Not dispairing but beleeuing in heart hee looked vp confessing with the mouth hee promised and perfourming in deede hee reared vp the corner stone on which euen in the same place the holie temple of the Lord euen in the Temple of Ierusalem was afterwards built which though it was refused of the cunning builders in latter times yet beeing once annointed with holy oile it became the head stone of the corner If the Lord did so woonderfullie blesse the patriarch Iacob in his true faith and perfect zeale that of one smaâ—â— sâ—one hee raised the most holie the most honourable the most sumptuous the most rich and costlie Temple in the whole world Let no good Christian doubt to lay though it bee but one stone in the Colledge the Church the Temple of the Lord acknowledging with Saint Paul that Non est volentis non est currentis sed miserentis Dei It is not hee which willeth or hee which runneth but God which sheweth mercie It is not wee which do it but the grace of God which is in vs. Which if it once beginne to spring and shew it selfe in the woorke laie waight enough on it for it will rise mauger the might of all the world Hee which hath laied the greatest foundation in the lowest element the highest glorie in the lowest places which confoundeth the strength of this world with his weaknes which putteth downe the mightie from their seat and exalteth the humble meeke of his abundant mercie hee will magnify the charitie of the poore Widowe though it bee but a mite he will make the building strong though it bee founded on a cuppe of could water Those which loue his spouse hee will blesse their seede here vpon earth with plentie of peace and glorifie them in his heauenlie lerusalem This blessing is seldome obscure or vnseene amongest the sonnes of GOD neither doth it cease from generation to generation For if wee looke backe vnto this litle sparke wee shall see and saie with the prophet Dauid that the fire was kindled in Iacob and the flame broke
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the present commodity is euer most accepted for the subtill age to come will alter all Together with this iron earthly age the seede of corruption is daily sowne whose blossomes nowe already put foorth though they shine cleere and bright as dooth the cockle amiddest the wheate yet if they once beginne to reape to threshe to grinde to grinde to bake to eate they shall soone perceiue that there is cockle amongest the corne and ofte times vnder the painted viserd of great knowledge you shall se blind bayard wax so bold that through many wordes and often speaking amongest the ignorant whose eyes dazell in beholding such painted sepulchers hee is reputed for wise and learned According to that true saying of that lerned Dorne In hoc ferreo postremoque saeculo non nisi faeces artium superesse videmus etsi non nulli putent eas maxime vigere propter sermonis ornatum In this last iron age we haue but the dâ—egges of artes and sciences although manie thinke that learning florisheth more nowe then in times past because we talke more then they did and that more cunninglie more smoothlie more courtlie Which great absurditie of this our age throughly mixt with earth iron to the great perill and daunger of many thousand soules mooued mee first to penne this rudely written treatise in the behalfe of the Church of Iesu Christ and the soules health of all true Christians vnto whose handes it shal come Which secret cogitation taking effect by outward sence and shewing to my bodilie eyes in sundrie places and manie solemne foundations nowe made desolate whereby manie thousandes of learned pastours might haue beene maintained for the preaching of the Gospell of Christ and the dailie praysing of his name credidi propterea loquutus sum with the holie Prophet and Apostle I beleeued and therefore I writte that which the holy scriptures the holy counselles the holy fathers haue plainelie affirmed When I looked backe and considered what wee are and what wee ought to bee what wee haue doone and what we ought to haue doone the truth piersed my spirite my heart rent and my ioyntes did cleaue in sunder the passion of that sight beganne to worke the fyer was kindled within the sayinges of the holie fathers ministred oyle wherewith the flame brake foorth at my mouth crying alowde for Sions sake I will not hold my peace Here with returning to the mirrour of trueth the holie word of God whereby all our thoughtes wordes and workes are to bee tried and furthermore perusing the holie fathers by the assistaunce of the holie Ghost openers of the true vnderstanding thereof I meant to gather some store of testimonies out of them to witnesse with mee that this my affirmation in this matter is a certaine and vndoubted trueth Hauing behelde this radiant sunne of light the word of God and the little starres the holie fathers illuminated with the cleare beames thereof though the trueth appeared plainelie in them both yet their testimonies concerning thinges once dedicated to holie vse seemed to mee neither so manie as I expected nor so plaine Herein hauing made some spence of time in seeking that which was not so plainely figured in the fathers as I hoped and as it was truely meant at length the trueth of that conclusion offered it selfe most plainelie to my cogitation which was that as that auncient Solon hauing made many excellent lawes amongest the Athenians hee made no lawe neither set hee downe any punishment for him which should kil his own father supposing that the earth would neuer nourishe so wicked a creature Euen so it is truely supposed that those holie fathers liuing in the siluer age of olde antiquitie did neuer imagine that out of this earthlie yron age of ours there should spring anie so barbarous so cruell so wicked that would attempt to take awaie any thing from the true worshippe of almightie God Which suppositioÌ„ least in some mens sight it should seeme to want true position and sure ground let vs turne our minds a litle from carnal cogitations of worldlie minded men which thinke of necessitie the course of the world must bee mainteined howsoeuer the seruice of God be neglected and his holie temple your mindes thus turned cleane away from wordlie vanities which in one minute shall all vanish and consume like the paper cast into the fier turne your eies and behold the booke of life therewith conferre the expositions of holie councels and ancient fathers expounding the true sence of the same and you shall see most plainlie that things once dedicated to holie vse are not in anie wise to bee altered vnleast it be in extreame necessitie the braunches whereof are plainlie laied open by that holie father Saint Ambrose in these wordes Vasa ecclesiae initiata in his tribus confringere conflare vendere etiam licet primum vt extremae pauperum egestati succurratur c. In these three cases it is lawfull to breake to melt to sel the vessels of the Church first for the relieuing of the poore secondlie for the redeeming of the Christians beeing captiues to infidels Thirdlie for the preseruing of the Church christian buriall of the dead these extremities make that irreligious fact sometimes lawfull as appeareth though verie seldome in the practise of the primatiue Church according to that which Sozomene writeth in the fourth booke of his ecclesiasticall storie the 24. Chapter Saith hee when the people of Ierusalem wanted meat and were all readie to perish through the great famine which was amongest them Cyrillus the Bishoppe of the citie solde the treasure of the Church with all the costlie clothes belonging to the same distributing to the poore according to their necessitie First of all the goods of the Church being dulie and dutifullie bestowed on the worshippe of God and diuine function the true proper and principall vse and end of the same Secondly in extreame necessitie this is a good lawfull and also a holie vse of them and scarcelie to be called alâ—enating of the Church goods sith the poore are belonging to the same according to that generall sentence of all the councels and fathers Bona ecclesiae sunt bona pauperum the goods of the church are the goods of the poore But to take awaie the landes and goods of the Church whereby the beautiful feete of those which bring the glad tydings of the Gospel are shed their sides clothed their bodies fed and numbers of those which dailie praie in his holy temple are or ought to be mainteined lifting vp pure hands with hartie prayers for the sinnes of the people and those also which dailie sing praises to his holie name for his wonderful mercies shewed to mankind no scripture no councel no father no writer no religioÌ„ whatsoeuer doth allow it If wee looke into the law of nature or the rules of humanitie not much dissonant from the conclusions of morall
manie faithfull witnesses surelie sealed with his most precious bloud He fixed it so surelie and with such vertue that therwith the speres did shrinke in the heauens the Moone against nature retired from the East into the Meridian the Sunne lost his light the aire was darke the earth did shake the graues opened the spirits arose the hel below all trēbled so that the powers therof were loosed After this athentical signifying of his most pretious death bitter passion in heauen in earth in hel he gaue it as his owne deed his last wil testamēt vnto his beloued spouse the holy church a sure seale and pledge of eternall saluation to her all her faithfull children for euer As is the loue of her husband so is hirs for she hath it giuen her of him euen breathed from his owne mouth hee is one and his loue is one for euer the heauens shall waxe old like a garment the Sun shal shrinke from his Excentrich the earth shall passe awaie like a tempest but the loue of our spiritual mother is as the loue of our heauenlie father once euer whom she once loueth she loueth them to the end that most entirely according to the saying of the prophet when father and mother forsaketh me then the Lord taketh me vp Therefore if we be his true children we must frame our selues that we bee like our spirituall parents not in countenance onlie outward looke but in sinceritie holy deuotiō We must forsake both father mother concerning the flesh honouring our spirituall father our spiritual mother aboue all other things both in heauen and in earth He hath begotten vs sonnes of the spirit euen by the spirite of life and she through his great grace doth nurse vs vp with the same food she taketh vs vp out of the mirie waies of this sinful flesh she vnfoldeth the sinfull clothes of the bodie wherewith wee are almost smothered she openeth our mouth applying thereto her tender teats from whence she distilleth the drops of spiritual life into our hearts wherby our soules be fed our bodies preserued our vnderstāding increased our eies cleared our faith perfected so that we see most plainly how we should loath the world learne to loue our holy mother the church knowing that it is not meete to leaue the cleare Sunne to waite on shadowes or possible to serue God Mammon this world heauen the flesh the spirit according as Hermes writeth Nisio fili corpus tuum oderis teipsum amare non poteris impossible est vtrisque simul intendere O Sonne vnlesse thou hate thy body thou canst not loue thy soule for it is impossible to applie thy selfe at once to them both Therfore be ye not so blinded with the stinking mist of Sathans deadly smoke or the painted vale of this wicked world or the sinful web of fleshlie corruptions ouerspredding the sight of your eie that you should not look into the cleer glas now set before your face wherein you may plainlie behold the reflexion of your deformities this vnnaturall spot wherewith you greatlie disgrace your selues before the face of God and man at this day If your eies be so dim through the cares of this present world that ye cannot looke into the times of old if you cannot see so far before you by reason of the cloudy tēptations which the world the flesh the deuil beat in your faces yet in regard of your safety look downe vnto your own feet least you depart frō the way of life If you be so intangled with the briers of this wicked world that you cannot goe forward nay that you cannot once turn your selfe to look towards the Church Yet fixe thy feete that thou goe not backward from euill to worse and let thy countenance affect the sight of the heauenly Ierusalem Though thine eies bee dim yet open thine eares harken to the sweet admonitiōs of thy mother foreshewing thee the sweete and the sower of this thy dangerous iourneie wherein sith thou art to walke through the wildernes of this wicked world before thou assaie the isie ground therof know that which elsewhere is wisely written Terra imbrobitatis est prouincia the earth is a prouince full of naughtines through which who so mindeth to walke safelie hee must bee verie circumspect taking heede to his beginninges knowing that hee which beginneth well hath halfe finished the work The first entrance of this waie vnto eternall life is to loue the Lord thy God with all thy hart thy mind thy soul the next step is like vnto it loue thy neighbour as thy selfe according to the rule of nature Quod tibi fieri non vis alterine feceris Do vnto others as yee would that they should doe vnto you againe This rule is generall the meaning large the obseruance thereof hard and tedious therfore before I post forward too fast vnto the ende I will make some litle small spence of time in opening the first beginning thereof and which is that as it is said in the rule of christian faith next to the blessed trinitie is ioyned the holie catholique church as also in the table of the ten commaundements next to those which wholie concerne the worship of God in the first place and before all the rest is placed Honor thy father and thy mother and that with a blessing which who so mindeth to be partaker of hee must not onelie honor his naturall father and mother but he must vnderstand truelie that as the spiritual part soule of man is before the flesh so first and principallie wee must honor our heauenlie father which hath begotten vs of the true spiritual immortal seed wherby as saith S. Paul the faithful daily crieabba father next to this our spiritual father aboue all fleshlie parentes we must honour our spirituall mother the holy catholique church whose children we are before we haue our perfect beeing in the flesh according to the saying of Euaristus in his decrees Scimus Christum esse caput cuius nos membra sumus ipse est sponsus ecclesia est sponsa cuius filii nos sumus wee trulie know that Christ is the head of his Church whose members we are for he is the husband and the church is his spowse we the children of thē both Therefore before wee looke at our naturall parents we must most christianly apply our selues vnto the honour and reuerence of our spirituall father and our spirituall mother Nay we must forsake both goods and landes honour and dignitie frendes kindred brethren yea our naturall father and mother and cleaue vnto our spirituall mother the holie Church according to that most christian aunswere of that learned Tritemius to his naturall mother To whō after she had signified by diuers louing letters that she most earnestly desired to see him face to face hee returned this aunswere Non licet mihi
EVERARD DIGBIE his Dissuasiue From taking away the lyuings and goods of the Church Wherein all men may plainely behold the great blessings which the Lord hath powred on all those who liberally haue bestowed on his holy Temple And the strange punishments that haue befallen them vvhich haue done the contrarie Hereunto is annexed Celsus of Verona his Dissuasiue translated into English Beatius est dare quaÌ„ accipere Act. 20. Printed by Robert Robinson and Thomas Nevvman TANDEM SI HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE To the right Honorable Sir Christopher Hatton Lord high Chauncellor of England Knight of the most Noble order of the Garter and one of her Maiesties most Honorable Priuie Counsell Euerard Digbie wisheth true felicitie SVndry times weying with my selfe Right honorable what small account is made of poore Schollers at this day and howe fruitlesse their greatest labours bee I resolued with my selfe neuer to publish any thing in print hereafter Yet notwithstanding after manie stormes all mixed with vnnaturall showres descending from the idle braine of sundrie fruitlesse wittes I seeing manie stinging Nettles amongst the sweete Roses erecting their heades higher then all the holesome hearbes in the Garden And that a ridiculous generation newly come ashore into the world are not ashamed to affirme that these stinking weeds are those sweete lillies named by our Sauiour Christ that they will digge vp the garden a new that they will reforme the supperstitious braunches of the sweete auncient welblowne Rose of England That they will pull downe the winepresse and leuell the ground a new by a new line that they will build a new wine presse of a new fashion yelding new wine neuer seene or tasted by anie Christian heretofore After these great puffes of this fruitles wind had eâ—tonce resounded in mine eares beating it selfe with such out ragious blastes against the walles of the Church that it maketh the strongest pillers thereof to quake and tremble Though I be the meanest of manie thousands 〈◊〉 this cause concerneth yet knowing that it directly belongeth to the maintaining of true religion and the holie worship of Almightie God I could not with bold my pen anie longer from refuting so dangerous and damnable an opinion It is a greeuous thing by sinnes of infirmitie to offend Almightie God but openly and obstinately to affirme that palpable darkenes is cleare light that euill is good and good is euill that sacrilegious deadly sinne is godly zeale that openly before the face of his aeternall Maiestie Is the true inheritance of that treble woe oft denounced in the Scriptures This mooued me Right honourable in regard of mine humble dutie to your Honour and the publike commoditie of manie Christian soules which once tasting this sweete baite might easilie be entised to eat vp sinne as it were bread to forewarne all those which shall read this plaine simple treatise that they wash their secrete thoughts from this most heinous sinne which who so practiseth with bloudie heart he offereth violent hands euen vnto the bosome of the sacred spouse of Iesu Christ. Amongest all the creatures of this world God hath giuen man onely an vnder standing soule adorned with sundrie heauenly vertues of which there is none greater none more excellent and diuine more acceptable to God more honorable in the sight of men than is his holy worshippe religiously celebrated in his holy Temple Ouer the which place his care hath beene alwaies such his eie so vigilant his prouidence so continuall that neither the sweet intising cups of worldly pleasure could at anie time bewitch it nor the deuouring sword of firie persecution consume it But as the little ship whilom welneere perished with the outragious tempest at the voice of our Sauior was presently safe in quiet calme euen so when subtle worldlings seeke either by force or pollicie to ouerthrow the little Church of Christ TheÌ„ the Lord stirreth vp some valiant Gedeon some mightie Constantine some true Christian knight whose Name and Nature do yeeld a sweet consent to support his sauiour therewith to withstand the furie of his enimies Who daily seeke by new deuises thrise fined in the fire of subtle pollicie so to darken the cleare son of true Christianity that the house of God may nomore bee seene and that all the fountaines belonging to the same in one day may be cleane dryed vp Sith then the glistering cloud of sacrilegious zeale hath spred it selfe so larglie ouer our horizon and so eclipsed the true radiant sunne that in steade of the daie spring which from an high hath visited vs with true light vnto saluation the wiser sort doe plainlie perceiue that the houre of darkenes now hangeth ouer our heades and that the daie of iniquitie hath alreadie dawned in which Sathan by the secrete misterie of iniquitie beginneth to worke those ruthfull stratagemes against the Church of Christ which he hath bin manie yeares in deuising I cannot but write truely that which the Clergie with the whole realme confesse plainely That we render immortall thankes vnto Almightie God for preseruing her most Roiall Maiestie so miraculouslie vnto this daie giuing her a most religious heart the mirror of all Christian princes once and euer wholy consecrated to the maintaining of his diuine worship in his holy Temple From this cleare Christall fountaine of heauenlie vertue manie siluer streames deriue there sunárie passages so happelie into the vineyarde of the Lordâ— that neither the flaming fury of outward enimies nor the scorching sacrilegious zeale of domesticall dissimulation can drie vp anie one roote planted in the same since the peaceable reigne of her most Roial Maiestie Of these cleare Christall currents I haue vewed the most and doubt not but that I haue tasted of one of the best sith in the greatest heat in sommer it is neuer drie in the hardest winter not once congeled in the greatest tempest alwaies calme in the greatest distresse it yeeldeth iuice of sweetest comfort Herewith oftentimes being well refreshed when I looke backe and in my selfe beholde the great comfort which both our vniuersities dailie receiue from your honour I account it one of the most speciall blessings of the Lord that in his great wisedome he hath reserued your Honor vnto these daies wherein Sathan streacheth al the strings of his wit reuiueth all his pollicies practiseth all his treacheries against the poore distressed Church of Iesus Christ. He vseth force by forraine enimies abrode and secrete vndermining by smoth dissemblers at home Herewith hee hath displaied his banner before the gates giuen a special suÌ„mons to the temple it self 〈◊〉 malis Sed contrà audentior ito Let the Lords knights now arme themselues with true Christian courage Let them gird there sword vpon their thigh let theÌ„ awake with the worthie Samson and aduenture the battaile with Iulius Caesar who where the greatest danger was there in person he would giue the first charge Non est nisi in summis victoria In greatest
right and equitie is the will of God by which what is right or wrong is to bee examined Who then is of the councell of the Lorde or to whome is his will knowne Aristotle that excellent philosopher saith that the cogitations of the hart be plainlie knowne by the woordes of the mouth sith the voice is the interpretour of the minde and as our sauiour Christ saith out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh by which inferiour rule of reasonable philosophie wee may climbe vp to that true conclusion in diuinitie that the Lordes will is reuealed in his worde And is there anie mention thereof in holie scriptures Come and see turne the booke and read the twentie seuenth chapter of Leuiticus where it is thus written plainelie shortlie and truelie Omne quod domino consecratur c. what thing soeuer is consecrated vnto the Lord bee it man beast or field it cannot bee solde or reuoked againe because whatsoeuer is once dedicato God is holie of holiest vnto the Lorde Man is not like vnto the meere vegitable creatures the flowers of the garden or the lillies of the fielde that hee shoulde growe and goe forward vntill hee come to such a degree of ripenesse and then to wither and decaie neither is the Lordes temple or his holie worshippe as the earthlie fielde whose seede dooth growe and straight decaieth againe but to man it is appointed that from the beginning of his daies vnto the ende thereof he shoulde first and last seeke the kingdome of heauen and the righteoufnesse thereof In which course who so hath begunne let him knowe that not to goe forward is to goe backewarde and what is that Hee which is the waie the truth and the life hee hath shewed it vs saying Estote sancti quoniam ego sanctus sum bee ye holy because I am holie In what manner not in hearing but in dooing the will of God not in talking but in walking as it is written not the speakers but the dooers of the lawe shall bee iustified as also another scripture Regnum Dei non est in sermone sed in virtute the kingdome of God is not in woordes but in vertuous and holie life not in criyng Lord Lord but in doing the wil of God which is in heauen not in looking for a mansion place or building pompous pallaces heere on earth whose greatest ioyes be a shining miserie but in hastening forwards towards the kingdom of heauen in giuing our goods our lands our bodies and soules vnto the Lorde Our goodes to feede the poore to cloth the naked to coÌ„fort the sick c. Our lands to the maintaining of his temple wherin his word is daily preached his name praised the poore commonly harbored Our bodies to the prison the lyon the sworde the fire for his names sake all which is the true christian and acceptable yeelding our soules into the handes of our almightie creatour our merciful redeemer our heauenlie comforter This is the olde christian way to the kingdome of heauen through the armies of pleasures of temptations of dangers of punishments of the spiritual powers of this world which who so refuseth hoping to saue his life he shall loose it and who so looseth it shall finde that place vbi vere viâ—itur the true life of eternall blisse for euer Who so grudgeth to giue a peece of vile pelting earthlie land to the Church of God or taketh ought therefro or esteemeth more of goods lands friends rumors fame credit kindred bretheren sisters father or mother or his owne life than of the glorie of God of the welfare of his beloued spowse the holie Church hee is not worthie of the kingdome of heauen neither hath his foot troden the first step of the way of life If this be thus then what manner of men ought we to be in holines of life in studying daylie by all meanes possible how to gratify the Lord of life If he reward the charitable bestowing of a cuppe of could water on his disciples when they thirst how highlie is he displeased with those who ether diminish or take away the maintenance of his holie Temples where his name dwelleth In this respect gentle Reader consider that as Dauid said concerning his sonne now dead I shall goe to him but he shall not come againe to mee so wee must thinke of goods once giuen to the holie worshippe of the Lord for so it is wee must goe to them and that often euen to the holie Temple but they must not bee brought backe againe to vs. This is one true plaine christian way leading to one perfect ende according to that saying of Bachilides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. there is but one waie for mortall men to attaine happinesse and one ende thereof to this agreeth our due and dutifull consideration of the Lords worshippe and his holie will which is that his glorie should be onely and wholy to himselfe as it is written gloriam meam alteri non dabo I will not giue my glorie to an other The truth of this conclusion telleth vs that we must serue him onely not onely first but him onelie Which if we did ponder wisely with our selues and thereunto frame our liues and daily dooinges wee would not take the squared stones of the temple to builde our pompous pallaces withall but we would rather remember that olde saying accursed is that house which hath any stone in it belonging to the church We would not chang the names of church landes and call them by our owne names our lordships our lands our mannours We would not eate the bread of the poore nor drinke the teares which trickle downe the cheekes of the widdow nor contemne the simple estate of the ministers by whose landes and liuinges we are now fatted like the buls of Basan If we would but once enter into our owne conscience plainly and truelie remembring whose goods they are that we possesse and lift vp our eye to the heauens to the which both we and they are dedicated wee would soone loath that which wee haue looued our hart would quake thorow the bitter sting of conscience and sinne would cleane couer our faces with the mantle of darke and deadlie despaire sith wee haue spoiled robbed contemned him whose loouing countenaunce is our eternall Saluation Herewith remembring the bitter sequele and deadlie sting of sinnes committed against God himselfe losse of goods landes contrarie to all expectation sodaine fiers in one hower destroying house goods and all the treasure which thou hast wickedlie heaped together many yeeres barrennesse of wombe sith thou hast trauelled all thy life long for goodly lands and hast no children to enioy them or if thou haue theyr sodaine death before thine eyes and lastlie the restlesse paine and eternall miserie of hell fire purchased with so manie cares and troubles with so much wealth of this world wee ought to wash our
handes with Pylate and not onely to saie as hee said I am free from this innocent bloud but both in woord and deede to keepe our prophane handes from the violating of holie thinges That holie father Saint Augustine hee affirmeth that God is a cleere eye and seeth euerie where much more hee beholdeth all the corners of his owne house and the footsteppes of those which spoyle his temple before his face Which who so rudelie rashly and irreligiously presumeth at any time to attempt let him consider that he doth it against the Lord openlie before his own face and therwith let him know that he is a ielous God visiting the sinnes of the fathers vpon the children to the third and fourth generation of all which hate him sith he is God yesterday to day and for euer as also all thinges are which are once consecrated to his holie worship I vnderstand that by the course of lawe inheritaunce descendeth to the next of the bloud and for want of heirs in the second third or fourth generation of the eldest it commeth backe to the younger brothers issue and posterity of which if all fayle and at length by intailement or otherwise by lawe if it commeth into the possession of the King it neuer goeth backe If this bee the prerogatiue of goods giuen to earthly Princes which are here to daye and to morrowe lye rotting in the graue let vs not denie the same to the Lord of Lordes the King of Kinges the creatour of heauen and earth into whose house whatsoeuer is incorporated though conscience and religion dare not speake therein yet let the heathen Poet open his mouth and make the period 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which is once doone cannot bee vndoone againe If this constancie was alwaies kept betwixt man and man how much more betwixt God man betwixt his Church his Prests his spirituall Pastours and the men of this world whose parentes and instructurs they are according to that saying of Micha vnto the Leuit remaine with me and be my father and my Priest and the tribe of Dan also to the same Leuit houlde thy peace and come with vs for thou shalt be our father and our Priest Sithe then by the secreet instinct of nature and also by the expresse commaundement of God wee are commaunded to honour our father and mother to obey and cherishe them in all wee canne by the same lawe wee are vtterlie forbidden to to detract or take any thing away from them And if any hard harted christian vnder the colour of dissembled zeale seeme to open away herein to his sacrilegious couetous minde saying that these commaundements of our Lord are meant concerning our naturall father and mother let him and all men knowe that the holie fathers expounding this commaundement affirme first that it concerneth our honour to our spirituall father and the Church our spirituall mother secondly it commaundeth vs to nourish and obey al superiours magistrates and ministers amongest whom are contained our naturall parentes But suppose that were obscure and doubtfull which is as plaine and cleare as the noone daie yet canst thou doubt what the will of God and the rule of right is in this case wherein the Lord hath spoken plainely as it is shewed before in these wordes whatsoeuer is once dedicated to God shall neuer be sould or redeemed As is the fountaine so are all the little brookes running from the same This is the lawe of the Lord concerning thinges dedicated to his holy worshippe and the liues of the holy Patriaches the Prophets the Apostles the Maâ—tirs the fathers doo cleerely expresse the same Ioseph the true figure of our Lord and sauiour Iesu Christ in that great famine of Aegipt when hee had bought almost the whole land and brought it into the Kings hand he would not once offer any money for the priestes landes but in that their great want gaue them nourishment of the Kings store according to that rule of the Lord the suburbes of the Priests shall not be sould for the possession of them is eternall without redemption God is our heauenly father he hath sowed the eternall seede of his exceeding looue in our hearts to the ende he might receiue from vs the same euen looue for looue because such as hee soweth such will he reape Can we say that we loue our spirituall father and therewith spoile his louing spouse our spirituall mother the holie Church castinge downe her walles banishing her eldest children possessing her landes goods and treasure which is an odious crime in the sight of God and man according to that saying of Saint Ambrose si quis in sua if any man presume to take the treasures of the Church to his priuate vse it is a great crime Wherin least he should seeme to abridge the spirituall pastours of the Church for whose sustenaunce they were first giuen hee expoundeth himselfe in these wordes Templum domini laicis tradi non debet the temple of the Lord ought not to be giuen into lay mens handes signâ—fying that wee must giue vnto Caesar those thinges which bee Caesars and vnto God those thinges that bee Gods Amongest the heathen Philosophers it was couÌ„ted the first point of iustice to giue to euerie man his owne and least amongst christians anie in time should prooue so barbarous and vtterly voide of grace that hee should laie violent handes on the goods of poore innocents which cannot speake euen the temples of the Lord dedicated to the worshippe of his holie name besides the expresse commaundement of the Lord in holy scriptures the holy fathers and councels haue pronounced it a cursed thing as the cleare bage of him which hath renounced heauen and taken himselfe wholy to serue this wicked world and the vanities thereof The councell of Gangrene celebrated the yeere of our Lord 324. or there about according to the Cannons of the Apostles decreed in this manner If any man shall presume to take any thing once offered to God vnleast it bee the Bishop or his deputie appointed for the distributing of the Church goods to the poore let him be accursed In like manner also the third councell of Rome If any man couet or take away any reuenews belonging to the Church or if any of the Priestes consent there to let them be accursed The reason followeth in the fift councel alleadged in this manner for it is a great iniurie and an vntollerable sacriledge that what so euer any man bestoweth on the church of Christ should be altered or translated to any other vse especially by those men who of all other ought to maintaine the Church as be christian Kings Princes and Prelates Furthermore that it might be manifest to all those which dutifully embrace and reuerence the spouse of Iesu Christ howe wicked an enterprise it is and what manifest daunger to the soules of all them which shall presume heerein the same
where is that or what sure direction haue wee to the same whilest wee saile in these tempestuous and troublesome seas of vncertaintie considering that the bottom is so britle that wee can haue no ancre holde the seas so wide that wee are farre from kenning of anie coast the winde so vncertaine that wee knowe not whither wee are driuen let vs surelie beleeue that which our parents told vs at our entring into this fleeting vessell that there bee manie gone before vs euen the same way through the same seas to the same hauen that we desire And if you will looke vp with mee a litle I assure you I haue descried one which though it bee farre off and scarcelie within kenning yet by the view the pilot thereof seemeth cunning the course direct the shippe faire and good taking the verie waie of our direction and now lying at ancre before the mouth of the hauen which wee so long haue wished And where is that The examples which I minde to propound vnto you is these three wise men The first fruites of the Gentils which by the appearing of a starre were directed vnto Christ sith in these daies the stile of learning and the learned is lowe yea so low that it lyeth written in the dust troden downe with the feet of ignorant men the kingdome of this world is the golden mirror on which most mens eies are continually fixed with desire and admiration Let no man doubt but these learned men were also kinges according as it is written in sundrie learned fathers Dicts sunt etiam reges quia illo tempore philosophi sapientes regnabant they were also called kinges because in those daies wise philosophers reigned Then these beeing the first fruites of the gentils and the first Christian kinges that euer were All those which minde to come to Iesu Christ to bee washed with his bloud to bee saued by his perfect merit and great mercie let them fixe their eies on these first christian kings let them learne trulie marke diligeÌ„tly what they did They left their owne naturall countrie with all thinges therein following the starre which led them to Iesu Christ. They came to the Inne where the childe was porelie layed in a Maâ—nger there heart was stil fixed with the light which did shine to them from Heauen though they were mightie Kinges yet they regarded not the basenesse of the house nor the vnseemlinesse of the stable where this holie Childe was but acknowledging great maiestie to lye here couered in low humilitie they cast downe the glorie of their kingdomes at his feete they opened their golden vessels and offered to him gould mirre and frankensence the first fruits of true christianitie Wherein wee haue a plaine example propounded to all christian princes and people in that they followed the light of the starre shewing that the wisest though they bee exceedingly learned as they were yet sith this is the Lorde of wisedome euen the wisedome of the God of heauen and earth leauing our owne natural wisedome and denying our selues wee ought to followe this cleare light which shineth thorow Christ from heaueÌ„ Though they be noble Princes as these were yet they ought to acknowledge him to bee king of kings and Lord of Lords of whom it was forshewed that he should walke vpon the lyon and the dragon that all nations should doe him seruice that his kingdome shall haue none ende And who shall declare his generation though the mightie of this world bee of high honour and dignitie as they were yet their humble kneeling and obedience sheweth that christian Princes are not to rule ouer their subiects like the heathen for their owne pompe their owne honour their owne magnificent glorie for the safetie of their owne life regiment kingdome but that with the princely maiestie of the annointed of the Lord they should leaue the care of their earthly kingdome and follow the cleare star of Iesu Christ which lightneth the grossest darkenes They should bowe their bodies and bende their whole strength before Iesu Christ and his holie Church Though worldly men Potentates and Princes liue in greate plentie of honour freedome and all abundance yet knowing that without God is without all let them leaue the loue of their owne houses the delight and glorie of their pompous pallaces let them forsake their owne fathers house their goodes and landes and cimery with the faithfull Abraham and bestowe their whole substance honour and riches on the Lord Iesu and his louing spowse the holy Church Remembring that he created them poore wretches when they were nothing and that of nothing as it is saide he hath loued them without their desert and that with a most entire surpassing loue Hee feedeth them in their mothers wombe and openeth their mouthes that they should breath Hee preserueth them from all the daungers of their infancie euerie minute maintaineth them in their kingdoms holding vp the scepter in their handes as it is written Per me reges regnant by my permission kinges doe rule vppon earth They rule by him and him alone for if hee doe but alienate the mindes of the subiectes the princes seate dooth shrinke vnder him If hee doe but a while restraine the dewe of heauen as hee did at the praier of Elias the prophet of the Lorde both prince and people famish together Though hee giue store of foode though it bee well prepared and by the counsell of good phisitions drest finely for the kinges owne mouth yet if the Lord do not blesse it in his mouth as he cheweth it in the throate as it descendeth in the stomacke as it concocteth in the passage from thence as it digesteth his meate is his bane or at the least hee falleth sicke after the tast thereof and lyeth miserably groaning vppon his pillowe If the Lorde dooth with-hold but the least of his benefits a little the fire from roasting the sunne from shining the corne from riping the tong from tasting the lungs from breathing but one minute of an houre though he be the mightiest king in the world forthwith hee perisheth from the face of the earth Therefore let all kings and princes all people and nations acknowledge the great power of the Lord euen in the least of his benefits Let them leaue off the delight of worldly vanities wherewith they are puffed vp their honours landes and goodes Let them affect the true honour and maiestie the glorious triumph and perfect pleasure which well beseemeth a christian prince euen the annointed of the Lord. Neither are wee carried with the fruitlesse winde of scisme that we should condemne those pleasures which bee lawfull knowing that as the Lorde hath giuen man a bodie together with his soule so it is as necessarie that he looke for the sustenaunce the defence the delight or recreation of his body as of his soule and that in most honourable pleasant triumphant manner if time and
forth in Israel not for weekes or yeares or hundred yeares onlie though it was suppressed in that watrish Aegipt but it shined so cleare out of the darke Cloude in the wildernesse that the arke was there built by the hande of his great messengers Moses and Aaron Neither could the desartes of Synaie or sinne or the exceeding high hilles of all the mountaine countrey restraine the course thereof but it passed ouer the toppes of the highest mountaines it diuided the deepest waters of that Countrey passing on drye lande throw the bottom thereof into that promised land the land of Canaan When the Arke the true figure of the Temple was by the prouidence of almightie GOD thus brought and placed neere the propper home And Dauid also the seruaunt of the Lord taken from the sheepefowlde preserued from the tyrannie of Saul and placed in his kingdome Now for our example let vs marke howe this holie place and godlie King accord together and what effect there is betwixt them The Arke hauing bene long before neglected by Saul which appeared by his ende Dauid hee had a speciall eie and regarde vnto it before all other thinges with great strength power glorie bringing it from the house of Abinadab neerer him ' First placing it in the house Obededom and afterwardes seeing the great blessinges which the Lorde shewed to that place where his Arke stoode he brought it home into the Citie of Dauid placing it in the tabernacle which hee had built for it Afterwardes when hee had conquered all his enemies round about and he sate quietly in his pallace hee followed not the swelling humour of flesh bloud which ruleth most in those that are the lowest born and the basest minded according to that auncient saying Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum but that which is the dutie of a godly prince hee called the prophet Nathan vnto him and saide Do you not marke howe I dwell in my sumptuous house of Cedar and the Arke of the Lord is simply couered with skins shewing that it was not meete that the house of the king or of anie man should bee more faire more sumptuous more honourable and maiesticall than the house of God And therefore hee purposed fully with himselfe to builde a temple vnto the Lorde which hee hath perfourmed with dutifull endeuour in good time but that the Lord by the mouth of his holy prophet signified that his good intent was accepted and therefore the Lorde would blesse him on all sides promising that hee would giue him peace and rest from his enemies that he would place him quietlie in his owne pallace and when his yeares were come to an ende and that hee should after the manner of the godly sleepe with his fathers the Lord promised that hee would raise vp a sonne vnto him in whome he would establish the kingdome of Dauid for euer and which should builde an holie temple vnto the Lord God of Israell Heere vppon the kinglie Prophet did magnifie the Lord in his soule and his spirite did so hartelie reioyce in the wonderfull mercies of his creatour that hee lifte vp his voyce before the Lorde and penned manie Godlie himnes to bee musicallie and melodiouslie sunge by the chaunter and the quire before the Lord. He yeelded his whole heart vnto the Lord and gaue vnto him the first fruites of his lippes Therefore the Lord blessed him with a vertuous sonne euen the wise Salomon whose workes were lyke vnto the wisedome of his heart shewinge plainelie vnto vs the worke and fruite of true and perfecte wisedome and what is that As hee was the wisest man that euer was created so he brought foorth the best and happiest fruite that euer was building an holie temple vnto the honour and seruice of the Lord and that such a one as farre surpassed all the superstitious temples of the heathen Hee set manie thousandes of men a worke at once hee prouided the goodliest timber that could bee seene or heard off the fairest squared stones that might bee and of greatest price His ships went to Tharsis for golde and hee spared not to spende the iewels of Arabie on the same He erected therin great piâ—llers of beaten gold siluer gilding it on euerie side and garnishing it most â—oyallie Hee endowed it with landes and possessions most liberallie He finished it most perfectlie he frequented the same with his deuout praiers dailie to the glorie of God the profitre of his nation the publique practise of the â—olie lawe and sacrifice of the Lord. All the daies of his life hee enioyed it most happilie though by infirmitie hee fell yet y e Lord remembring his mercie let him depart in peace so that hee slept with his fathers and was buried in the cittie of Dauid and Roboam his son raigned in his steede Likewise also the highe and mightie Monarch Cirus King of the Persians though he were an heathen man yet hee yeelded so much vnto the true God that hee released his chosen people out of captiuitie saying the Lord of heauen who hath made mee Lord ouer the whole earth hee hath commaunded mee to builde him an house in Ierusalem Though hee was an heathen and cheefe ruler ouer all the worlde yet hee disobayed not the heauenlie voyce sending Zorobabell the cheefe of the Iewes proclaming that it might bee lawfull for anie of those which were in captiuitie to goe home and to helpe vp the buildinge of the house of the Lord bringing out the golden vesselles which Nabuchodonozer brought from the temple of Ierusalem and yeelding them all into the handes of Zorobabell and the rest whome hee sent vnto Ierusalem to builde vp the wasted temple giuing them great freedome authoritie and store of golde of filuer of worke men and all kinde of suppliance what so euer After this his religious bountie towardes the temple of the Lorde hee had great battailes against the Kinge of Babilon and manie other mightie Princes against whome the Lorde gaue him so great and so good successe that after he had ouercome the rich and strong king Craesus king of Babilon and that most mightie magnificent famous Cittie which manie other most puissant Princes hee alone was cheefe ruler of the Assirians the Medes the Persians beeing the first erector of the second Monarch of the worlde Wherein wee see most plainelie the great care and dilligent eye which the Lorde hath vnto his temple in that hee commaunded Cyrus to reedifie it and the good successe which followeth those which helpe to builde the same Especiallie if they perseuer in theyr good deuotion vnto the ende But if after they haue begunne to worke in the spirite they incline themselues to fulfill the desire of their fleshlie eye Let them knowe though they obtaine most excellent victories and high renowne in the battaile though they be placed ouer many kingdomes and haue obtained the height of theyr desire in what they
the name of that Disciple whom the Lord so loued that he let him leane vpon his breast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For whose sake we loue another him we loue much more And surelie this most vertuons princes loued our Lord Iesu with a perfect loue which so honoured the name of that disciple whom the Lord loued so much neither did her worthie deuotion conteine it selfe within these walles but proceded like the pleasant flowing riuer which giueth moisture to the pastures round about it In that shee founded a diuinitie lecture to be read publiquely in Cambridge and an other in Oxford with many other gratious deeds elsewhere To these good fruits which this worthie tree of the Lords vineyard did send forth plentifully vnder whose shadow many of vs pore soules are shrowded from the nipping cold in Winter and the scorching heat of Summer at this daie the Lord distilled the heauenlie deaw of his blessing vnto her heart giuiâ—g her a most deuout and heauenlie minde here vppon earth to which all the treasure in the world is nothing comparable with pefect honor true heartie loue of al good Christians To which hee added a faithfull and louing promise made vnto the iust setting her most princely sonne vppon the seat of the kingdome whilest she liued And after her death his childrens children which wee see with our eies at this day to our great ioy peace and comfort most heartily praying God to graunt her a long and prosperous reigne in this world and in the world to come euerlasting felicity Amen Amen is already said my prayer to God shal be amen But thend period is not yet sith in the field of the Lord there is good seede and tares holesome hearbes and weedes sweet roses and stingingnettles We haue now shewed plainly the fruitful seede of this garden and the sweete fragrant flowers growing in the same which daily send vp a most sweete smell into the nostrils of the Lord much like the odoriferous smell of Iacobs garmentes which greatlie delighted the senses of his olde father Isaac or lyke the pretious oyntment powred on the head of Aaron running downe his beard euen to the hemme of his garment Amongst the which good trees now named as there are many passing pleasaunt flowers springing out of many and sundry soiles so the peareles pearle the flower of flowers the rose of England being ioyned with the rest doth make the nosegay full faire and sweet whose pleasant smel because it is so holesome to the head and comfortable to the heart because the oyle thereof doeth comforte the brused sinewes lowseth the dried iointes and mittigateth swelling paines through the whole bodie The Lord hold his holie hand ouer this flower and preserue it to his glory according to the tenor of that old verse Haecrosa virtutis de coelo missa sereno Eternum florens regia sceptra tenet This rose of true vertue euen sent from heauen holding the kingly scepter of this lande shall flourish for euer And good cause why Sith the roote thereof is firmely fixed on the south-east side of this orchyard Ouer which the sunne of heauen hath spred his blessed beames so plentifully that the ground thereof is fresh and greene the flowers faire the smell sweete the fruit most plentiful and verie wholesom Which because it yeeldeth the first and sweetest taste vnto the spowse of Iesu Christ hee hath blessed it as yee haue heard and it shall be blessed And though I bee the vnworthiest of many thousandes to walke thorow this orchard of the Lorde Yet if it shall please you of your curtesie to accompany mee vnto the of ther side ye shall see by the way that wee must decline from euill and doe good that on this side of the orchyard bee many faire and large trees whose bowes be faire the leaues be greene the fruit is well seeming but yet it hangeth so high that it will not come downe the bowes are so stiffe and the trees so vntractable that they will not once bend themselues vnto the hande of the most louing spowse of Iesus Christ. And therefore as the Lord of his mercie hath blessed those abundantly which loue his spouse nourish his children so on the contrary hee maketh those trees barren which yeeld him no fruite He taketh the iuice from them so that their bowes wither their leaues fall from them the bodie dieth the tree is cut downe with his sharpe axe or else with great force pulled vp by the roote and cast into consuming fire But if the ranke root of the euill tree be so full of naturall corruption and venimous posion that it sucke out the iuice from the good trees neere adioining thereto which yeelde wholesome fruites vnto all his saints then the Lorde he sendeth forth his spirite of mighty force and tempest which breaketh the bowes and rendeth the tree in sunder Hee prepareth most exquisite tormentes and vntollerable dolours for all those which impouerish his Church which disgrace the shepheardes of his flocke which treade downe the sides of his simple folde and deuoure his poore lambs thorow the gredie and heathenish desire which they haue to the the goods of this world From this corrupt fountain springeth the vncertaine and the wretched cares of mans life in that euery one is set on fire with the sparks of infinite desires Beeing once tottered in the chariot of this vncertaintie man walketh in a vayne shadow disquieteth himselfe in vaine His hart is set on vanitie and all his purchase is the sorrowfull fruits of the flesh Though honor and riches haue no stabilitie though the strength of man is like a brused reede which we bteake in sunder with our fingers though the whole world be a sea of troubles all the prosperities therof waues of perpetuall disquietnes yet man sinful man presumptuous disobedient vnsatiable man though his eies be weake and dim yet will he aduenture to looke against the radiant sunne though he be blind yet will he walke though he bee weake yet wil he striue against the strongest stream though he be naked yet will he offer himselfe to the stroke of death though the drinke be deadly poison yet because the colour is good the cup pleasant the first tast therof sweet he wil drinke a large draught till the tast of his toong empoyson his owne hart till his pleasure breake out with roaring paine till his bodie be dried vp and til his soule all consumed with sinne cry out with Iob Tedet animam meam vit ae meae it irketh me of this wicked life Though this bee thus and daily example of those which descend before our eyes into the graue dooth tell vs all this plainely yet wee daily carke and care for this carkasse of ours knowing well it is but dust wee desire sweete meates which empoison the soule wee reuerence we feare most seruilely wee admire worldly honour which
wherein it appeared is Cassiopeia which by the Aegyptians and olde Astronomers is figured a virgin sitting in a chaire with a braunch in her hand which likely resembleth the state of iudgment Sith therefore after so many generall courses of the Trigones of the monarches of the dominion of the planeticall spirits the Lord hath shewed wonderful signes of his comming in the ayre in the water in the earth and lastly aboue all hath held out his hand in the heauens shewing vs that he is nowe opening the doores of heauen and comming to iudgement and that the doome of all creatures is now dawning Let vs wisely weigh consider the exceeding great power and maiestie wherewith the Lorde of hostes shall come to iudge the earth Though he was made man for our sakes and for our saluation yet bee yee not so carnall in your cogitation or so bewitched with the delaying fancie of sensuality that you shuld imagine his power to be compact after the manner of men that when hee is mustering his thousandes of angels as Enoch prophesied long since that wee should heare of it before and that after we heare of it he should be long in comming No the Lord will bow the heauens at his pleasure and come downe euen in the twinckling of an eye according as it is written euen as the lightning breaketh out of the East passing forthwith into the West euen so shal the comming of the Sonne of maÌ„ bee Hee is not like to the earthly princes that hee should sende his harbinger before But I am is he most monderful most holie most mightie in whose presence the angels are not pure and the heauens corruptible Hee spake the word and they were all made and at the sownd thereof they shall all be consumed He shall kindle the fire of his heauy displeasure against the sinners of the earth Hee shal cleaue the heauens asunder and the flame shal breake forth like a furnesse As were the dayes of Noe a generall destruction with the voice of mourning and weeping and deadly lamentation as was Sodom that sinke of sinne and Gomorrha that euil nurse of iniquitie as the fier and brimstone rained downe from heauen most ruthfully firing wasting burning destroying and sincking those wicked cities so shal bee the comming of the sonne of man Hee shall shake the heauens aboue and make the hell below to tremble the trompet shall sownd euen the trompet of the God of heauen and earth the sownd thereof shal rend the clowdes of the aire it shall make the fowles to shrinke with feare and to fall downe dead on the earth Therewith the sea shal flee from the woonted course and the flouds shall roare the earth shall swell the creatures thereof shall be amased the ayre shall thunder and lighten the elements shall melt with heat the starres shall fall from their spheres and the light shall vanish from before the face of all men then liuing on the earth as it was foreshewed by the prophet long since This is like to be a black day a glowming day a day of fire and smoke from the heauens a day of anger and wrath of bitternes and teares of lamenting and vtter destruction on the earth Then shall feare come on all men liuing and the inhabitants of the world shal be agasht when they shall see that with their eies which maketh our hartes quake when we remember it The prophet long since hath giuen vs warning thererof and many hundreâ—h yeares agoe hee cried alowd blow vp the trumpet in Syon and showt in my holy mount Let all the inhabitantes of the land tremble for the daie of the Lord is come for it is now at hand a fier deuoureth before him and behinde him the flame burneth vp the earth shall vanish at his presence like a tempest the heauens shall melt the clowdes shall droppe the Sunne and the Moone shall be darke and the starres shall withdraw their shining There shall appeare fearfull wonders in the heauens and in the earth bloud and fier and pillers of smoke the Sunne shall be turned into darknesse the Moone into bloud Then shall wee see the powers of heauen to mooue aboue in the firmament and the inhabitantes of the earth shall stand gasing all amazed and who is able to behold it then shal the dead arise out of their graues according to the sownd of the trompet then shall all arise and come to iudgement The poore together with the rich the old the young the mightie the simple the King the begger TheÌ„ shal the poore of this world reioice when they shal behold the heauenly countenance of the bridegrome their louing sauiour and mercifull redeemer Then and in that day the Lord shall looke vpon his poore militant church with a cheerfull eie and louing countinance Hee shall send downe his angels who shal imbrace his louing children take them vp into euerlasting ioy But as for the wicked and many of those which haue inioyed the great honor auctoritie pleasure plentie and ioy in this world he shall behold them a farre off Euen as the clowdy piller which was placed betwixt Israell and the Egyptians was light to Israell and darknesse to the Egyptians euen so the chosen of the Lord in that day shal stand in the light shine in the kingdome of heauen as the starres in the firmament but the children of this world and those which made their heauen of this worldly treasure shall stand still all amazed in hart the Clowde of confusion shall compasse them about and their faces shall be couered with the mantle of shame griping shal pinch their hearts within and their voice shall sownde out nothing else but woe and alasse When they shal behould all their gould melted their houses burnt aâ—d their hope cleane vanished their landes suncke and their friendes gone they shall runne starke madde vnto the waters all amazed vnto the mountaines kneeling downe before them and crying couer vs and our iniquities O couer vs from the face of him that sitteth on the throne their consciences accusing them they shall hate the goods which they haue gotten euilly and shall flie from those landes which they haue violently takeÌ„ from the poore or from the holy church fearing least it should open and swallow them vp into hell They shall flie from their houses built with ill gotten money least they bee consumed together with the flame thereof great feare and vexation of spirit shal bee to the mightie men of this world according as it is written potentes potenter patâ—entur the mightie shall bee punished mightily when the puissant princes of these earthly regions shall stand all naked before all the world both good and bad before the angels of heauen and Iesu Christ now sitting on his throne and all their deedes yea all their secret doings therewith laid open when they shal remember how negligently they