to the Apostles in the mount Sion the fiftie day after Easter And hereof this feast hath his name to be called Pentecoste euen of the number of the dayes For as Saint Luke writeth in the actes of the Apostles When fiftie dayes were come to an ende the Disciples beyng altogether with one accorde in one place the holy ghost came sodenly among them and sate vpon eche of them lyke as it had ben clouen tongues of fyre Whiche thing was vndoubtedly done to teache the Apostles and all other men that it is he whiche geueth eloquence vtteraunce in preaching the Gospel that it is he which openeth the mouth to declare the mightie workes of God that it is he whiche engendreth a burnyng zeale towardes Goddes worde and geueth all men a tongue yea a fierie tongue so that they may boldly and chearefullye professe the trueth in the face of the whole world as Esai was indued with this spirite The Lord saith Esai gaue me a learned a skilful tongue so that I might knowe to rayse vp them that are fallen with the worde The prophete Dauid cryeth to haue this gyft saying Open thou my lippes O Lorde and my mouth shall shew forth thy prayse For our sauiour Christe also in the Gospel sayth to his disciples It is not you that speake but the spirite of your father whiche is within you Al whiche testimonies of holy scripture do sufficiently declare that the mysterie in the tongues betokeneth the preachyng of the Gospell and the open confession of the Christian faith in all them that are possessed with the holy ghost So that if any man be a dumbe Christiā not prosessing his fayth openly but clokyng and colouring hym selfe for feare of daunger in tyme to come he geueth men occasion iustly and with good conscience to doubt least he haue not the grace of the holy ghost within hym because he is tongue tied and doth not speake Thus then haue ye hearde the first institution of this feaste of Pentecoste or Whitsuntide aswell in the olde law among the Jewes as also in the tyme of the Gospell among the Christians Nowe let vs consyder what the holy ghost is and howe consequently he worketh his miraculous workes towardes mankind The holy ghost is a spirituall and diuine substaunce the thyrde person in the deitie distincte from the father and the sonne and yet proceedyng from them both which thyng to be true both the Creede of Athanasius beareth witnesse and may be also easilye proued by most playne testimonies of Gods holy worde When Christe was baptized of John in the ryuer Jordan we reade that the holye ghost came downe infourme of a Doue and that the father thundred from heauen saying This is my deare and welbeloued sonne in whom I am well pleased Where note three diuers and distinct persons the father the sonne and the holy ghost which all notwithstandyng are not three Gods but one god Likewyse when Christe dyd fyrste institute and ordeyne the sacrament of baptisme he sent his disciples into the whole world willyng them to baptize al nations in the name of the father the sonne and the holy ghost And in an other place he sayth I wyll pray vnto my father and he shall geue you another comforter Agayne when the comforter shall come whom I wyll sende from my father c. These and suche other places of the newe Testament do so playnly and euidently confirme the distinction of the holy ghost from the other persons in the trinitie that no man possibly can doubt thereof vnles he will blaspheme the euerlastyng trueth of Gods worde As for his proper nature and substaunce it is altogether one with God the father and God the sonne that is to say spirituall eternall vncreated incomprehensible almyghtie to be short he is euen God Lord euerlastyng Therefore he is called the spirite of the father therefore he is sayde to proceede from the father and the sonne and therefore he was equally ioyned with them in the commission that the Apostles had to baptize al nations But that this may appeare more sensibly to the eyes of all men it shal be requisite to come to the other parte namely to the wonderfull and heauenly workes of the holye ghost whiche playnely declare vnto the worlde his myghtie and diuine power Fyrste it is euident that he did wonderfully gouerne and direct the heartes of the patriarkes and prophetes in olde tyme illuminating their myndes with the knowledge of the true Messias geuing them vtteraunce to prophesie of thynges that shoulde come to passe long tyme after For as saint Peter witnesseth the prophesie came not in olde tyme by the wyll of man But the holye men of God spake as they were moued iuwardly by the holy ghost And of Zacharie the hygh priest it is sayde in the Gospell that he beyng full of the holy ghost prophesied and praysed god So dyd also Simeon Anna Marie and diuers other to the great wonder and admiration of all men Moreouer was not the holy ghost a mightie worker in the conception and the natiuitie of Christe our sauiour Saint Matthewe sayth that the blessed virgin was founde with chylde of the holy ghost before Joseph and she came together And the Angell Gabriell dyd expreslye tell her that it shoulde so come to passe saying The holy ghost shall come vppon thee and the power of the most hygh shall ouershadowe thee A marueylous matter that a woman shoulde conceaue and beare a chylde without the knowledge of man But where the holy ghoste worketh there nothyng is vnpossible as maye further also appeare by the inwarde regeneration and sanctification of mankynde When Christe sayde to Nicodemus vnlesse a man be borne a newe of water and the spirite he can not enter into the kyngdome of God he was greatly amazed in his mynde and began to reason with Christe demaundyng howe a man myght be borne whiche was olde Can he enter sayth he into his mothers wombe agayn and so be borne a newe Beholde a liuely paterne of a fleshely and carnall man He had litle or no intelligence of the holy ghost and therefore he goeth bluntly to worke and asketh howe this thyng were possible to be true Whereas otherwyse yf he had knowne the great power of the holye ghost in this behalfe that it is he whiche in wardlye worketh the regeneration and newe byrth of mankynde he woulde neuer haue marueyled at Christes wordes but woulde haue rather taken occasion thereby to prayse and glorifie god For as there are three seuerall and sundrye persons in the deitie So haue they three seuerall and sundrye offices proper vnto eache of them The father to create the sonne to redeeme the holy ghost to sanctifie and regenerate Wherof the last the more it is hidde from our vnderstandyng the more it ought to moue all men to wonder at the secrete and mightie workyng of Gods holy spirite whiche
our selues that at the last daye euery man shall receaue of God for his labour done in true faith a greater rewarde then his workes haue deserued And because somewhat shall nowe be spoken of one particuler good woorke whose commendation is both in the lawe and in the Gospell thus muche is sayde in the beginning generally of all good workes First to remoue out of the way of the simple and vnlearned this daungerous stumbling blocke that anye man should go about to purchase or bye heauen with his workes Secondly to take away so nyghe as may be from enuious myndes and slaunderous tongues all iust occasion of slaunderous speaking as though good workes were reiected This good worke which now shall be entreated of is Fasting whiche is founde in the scriptures to be of two sortes The one outwarde parteyning to the body the other inward in the hart and mynde This outward fast is an abstinence from meate drinke and all naturall foode yea from al delicious pleasures delectations worldly When this outward fast parteyneth to one particuler man or to a few and not to the whole number of the people for causes whiche hereafter shal be declared then it is called a priuate fast But when the whole multitude of men women and children in a towneship of Citie yea though a whole countrey do faste it is called a publique fast Suche was that fast whiche the whole multitude of the children of Israel were commaunded to keepe the tenth daye of the seuenth moneth because almightie God appoynted that daye to be a clensing day a day of an atonement a tyme of reconciliation a day wherein the people were cleansed from their sinnes The order and maner how it was done is written in the xvi and. xxiii Chapter of Leuiticus That day the people did lament mourne weepe and bewayle their former sinnes And whosoeuer vpon that day did not humble his soule bewayling his sinnes as is sayd abstayning from all bodyly foode vntill the euening that soule sayeth almightie God should be destroyed from among his people We do not reade that Moyses ordayned by order of lawe any dayes of publique fast throughout the whole yere more then that one day The Jewes notwithstanding had more tymes of common fasting whiche the Prophete Zacharie reciteth to be the fast of the fourth the fast of the fifth the fast of the seuenth and the fast of the tenth moneth But for that it appeareth not in the leuiticall lawe when they were instituted it is to be iudged that those other times of fasting more then the fast of the seuenth moneth were ordeyned among the Jewes by the appoyntment of their gouernours rather of deuotion then by any open commaundement geuen from god Upon the ordinaunce of this general fast good men tooke occasion to appoynt to them selues priuate fastes at suche tymes as they did eyther earnestlye lament and bewayle their sinfull lyues or did addict them selues to more feruent prayer that it might please God to turne his wrath from them when eyther they were admonished and brought to the consideration therof by the preaching of the Prophetes or otherwise when they sawe present daunger to hange ouer their heades This sorowfulnes of heart ioyned with fasting they vttered sometyme by their outwade behauiour and gesture of body putting on sackcloth sprinckling them selues with ashes and dust and sitting or lying vppon the earth For when good men feele in them selues the heauy burden of sinne see dampnation to be the rewarde of it and beholde with the eye of their mynde the horrour of hell they tremble they quake and are inwardly touched with sorowfulnesse of heart for their offences and cannot but accuse them selues and open this their griefe vnto almyghtie God and call vnto him for mercye This being done seriously their mynde is so occupyed partly with sorrowe and heauinesse partly with an earnest desyre to be deliuered from this daunger of hell and damnation that all lust of meate and drinke is layde apart and lothsomnesse of all worldlye thinges and pleasures commeth in place so that nothing then liketh them more then to weepe to lament to mourne and both with wordes and behauiour of bodye to shewe them selues weary of this lyfe Thus did Dauid fast when he made intercession to almightie God for the chyldes lyfe begotten in adultrie of Bethsabe Vrias wyfe King Achab fasted after this sorte when it repented him of murdering of Naboth bewayling his owne sinfull doinges Suche was the Niniuites fast brought to repentaunce by Ionas preaching When fourtie thousande of the Israelites were slayne in battaile against the Beniamites the scripture sayeth All the children of Israel and the whole multitude of people went out to Bethel and sate there weeping before the Lord and fasted all that daye vntill nyght So did Daniel Hester Nehemias and many others in the olde testament fast But if anye man will saye it is true so they fasted in deede but we are not nowe vnder that yoke of the lawe we are set at libertie by the freedome of the Gospell therfore those rites and customes of the olde lawe bynde not vs except it can be shewed by the scriptures of the new Testament or by examples out of the same that fasting nowe vnder the Gospell is a restraint of meate drynke and all bodily foode and pleasures frō the body as before First that we ought to fast is a trueth more manifest then that it should here neede to be proued the scriptures whiche teache the same are euident The doubt therfore that is is whether when we fast we ought to withhold from our bodyes all meat and drinke duryng the time of our fast or no That we ought so to do may be well gathered vppon a question moued by the Pharisees to Christ and by his aunswere againe to the same Why say they do Johns Disciples fast often praye and we lykewyse but thy disciples eate and drinke and fast not at all In this smoothe question they coutch vp subtilly this argument or reason Who so fasteth not that man is not of god For fasting and prayer are workes bothe commended and commaunded of GOD in his scriptures and all good men from Moyses till this time as well the prophetes as others haue exercised them selues in these workes John also and his disciples at this daye do fast oft and pray muche and so do we the Pharisees in lyke maner But thy disciples fast not at all whiche if thou wilt denye we can easylye proue it For whosoeuer eateth and drinketh fasteth not Thy disciples eate and drinke therefore they fast not Of this we conclude say they necessaryly that neyther art thou nor yet the disciples of god Christe maketh aunswere saying Can ye make that the children of the weddyng shal fast while the brydegrome is with them The dayes shall come when the bridegrome shal be taken from them In those dayes shall they faste Our sauiour Christe like a good maister
vs and he rose agayne to sende downe his holy spirite to rule in our heartes to endowe vs with perfect righteousnes Thus it is true that Dauid song Veritas de terra orta est et iustitia de coelo prospexit The trueth of gods promise is in the earth to man declared or from the earth is the euerlasting veritie Gods sonne rysen to life the true righteousnesse of the holy ghost lookyng out of heauen and is in most liberal larges dealt vppon all the worlde Thus is glory and prayse rebounded vpwarde to God aboue for his mercie and trueth And thus is peace come downe from heauen to men of good and faythfull heartes Thus is mercie and trueth as Dauid wryteth together met thus is peace and ryghteousnesse imbrasing and kissing eache other If thou doubtest of so great wealth felicitie that is wrought for thee O man call to thy mynde that therefore haste thou receaued into thyne owne possession the euerlasting veritie our sauiour Jesus Christ to confyrme to thy conscience the trueth of all this matter Thou hast receaued hym yfin true fayth and repentaunce of heart thou haste receaued hym yf in purpose of amendement thou haste receaued hym for an euerlastyng gage or pledge of thy saluation Thou hast receaued his body which was once broken his blood which was shedde for the remission of thy synne Thou hast receaued his body to haue within thee the father the sonne and the holy ghost for to dwell with thee to endow thee with grace to strength thee agaynst thyne enemies and to comfort thee with their presence Thou hast receaued his body to endow thee with euerlasting righteousnes to assue thee of euerlastyng blisse and lyfe of thy soule 〈…〉 r with Christe by true fayth art thou quickened agayne sayth saint Paul from death of synne to lyfe of grace and in hope translated from corporal and euerlastyng death to the euerlastyng lyfe of glorye in heauen where nowe thy conuersation should be and thy heart and desyre set Doubt not of the trueth of this matter how great and hygh soeuer these thynges be It becommeth God to do no litle deedes how impossible so euer they seeme to thee Pray to God that thou mayest haue fayth to perceaue this greate mysterie of Christes resurrection that by faytâ— thou mayst certaynely beleue nothyng to be impossible with god Onlye bryng thou fayth to Christes holy worde and sacrament Let thy repentaunce shewe thy fayth let thy purpose of amendement and obedience of thy heart to Gods lawe hereafter declare thy true beleefe Endeuour thy selfe to saye with Saint Paul From hencefoorth our conuersation is in heauen from whence we looke for a sauiour euen the Lorde Jesus Christe whiche shall change our vile bodyes that they may be fashioned like his glorious body which he shal do by the same power wherby he rose from death and wherby he shal be able to subdue all thynges vnto hym selfe Thus good Christian people forasmuche as ye haue hearde these so great and excellent benefites of Christes myghtie and glorious resurrection as howe that he hath raunsomed synne ouercome the deuill death and hell and hath victoriouslye gotten the better hande of them all to make vs free and safe from them and knowyng that we be by this benefite of his resurrection rysen with hym by our fayth vnto lyfe euerlastyng beyng in full suretie of our hope that we shall haue our bodyes lykewyse raysed agayne from death to haue them glorified in immortalitie and ioyned to his glorious bodye hauyng in the meane while his holy spirite within our heartes as a seale and pledge of our euerlastyng inheritaunce By whose assistence we be replenished with all ryghteousnes by whose power we shal be able to subdue all our euyll affections rysyng agaynst the pleasure of god These thynges I say well consydered let vs nowe in the rest of our lyfe declare our fayth that we haue to this moste fruitful article by framyng our selues therunto in rysyng dayly from sinne to righteousnes holines of lyfe For what shall it auayle vs sayth saint Peter to be escaped deliuered from the filthynesse of the worlde through the knowledge of the Lorde and sauiour Jesus Christe if we be entangled agayne therewith and be ouercome agayne Certaynely it had ben better sayth he neuer to haue knowne the way of righteousnes then after it is knowne and receaued to turne backwarde agayne from the holy commaundement of God geuen vnto vs For so shall the prouerbe haue place in vs where it is sayde The dogge is returned to his vomite agayne and the sowe that was washed to her wallowyng in the myre agayne What a shame were it for vs beyng thus so clearely and freely washed from our synne to returne to the filthynesse thereof agayne What a follie were it thus endowed with ryghteousnesse to lose it agayne What madnesse were it to lose the inheritaunce that we be nowe set in for the vyle and transitorie pleasure of synne And what an vnkyndenesse shoulde it be where our sauiour Christe of his mercie is come to vs to dwell within vs as our gâ—este to dryue hym from vs and to banishe hym violently out of our soules and in steade of hym in whom is all grace and vertue to receaue the vngratious spirite of the deuyil the founder of all naughtines and mischeefe How can we fynde in our heartes to shewe suche extreame vnkyndnesse to Christe which hath now so gently called vs to mercie and offered him selfe vnto vs and he nowe entred within vs yea howe dare we be so bolde to renounce the presence of the father the sonne and the holy ghost For where one is there is God all whole in maiestie together with all his power wysedome and goodnesse and feare not I say the daunger and peryll of so traiterous a defiaunce and departure Good Christian brethren and sisters aduise your selues consyder the dignite that ye be nowe set in let not follie lose the thyng that grace hath so preciously offered and purchased let not wylfulnesse and blindnesse put out so great lyght that is now shewed vnto you Onlye take good heartes vnto you and put vppon you all the armour of God that ye may stand agaynst your enemies which woulde agayne subdue you and bryng you into their thraldome Remember ye be bought from your vain conuersation and that your freedome is purchased neyther with golde nor syluer but with the price of the precious blood of that most innocent lambe Jesus Christe which was ordeined to the same purpose before the worlde was made But he was so declared in the latter tyme of grace for your sakes which by hym haue your fayth in God who hath raysed hym from death and hath geuen hym glory that you shoulde haue your fayth and hope towarde god Therefore as you haue hytherto folowed the vayne lustes of your myndes and so displeased God to
lawes are by rebels violated and broken that all sinnes possible to be committed against God or man be contayned in rebellion which sinnes yf a man list to name by the accustomed names of the seuen capitall or deadly sinnes as pride enuie wrath couetousnes slouth gluttonie and letcherie he shall finde them all in rebellion and amongst rebels For first as ambition and desyre to be aloft whiche is the propertie of pryde styrreth vp many mens myndes to rebellion so commeth it of a luciferian pryde and presumption that a fewe rebellious subiects should set themselues vp against the maiestie of theyr prince agaynst the wysedome of the counsellers agaynst the power and force of all nobilitie and the faythfull subiectes and people of the whole realme As for enuie wrath murther and desyre of blood and couetousnes of other mens goodes landes and lyuynges they are the inseparable accidentes of all rebelles and peculier properties that do vsually stirre vp wycked men vnto rebellion Nowe suche as by riotousnesse gluttonye drunkennesse excesse of apparell and vnthriftie games haue wasted their owne goodes vnthriftily the same are moste apte vnto and most desyrous of rebellion whereby they trust to come by other mens goodes vnlawfully and vyolentlye And where other gluttons and drunkardes take to muche of suche meates and drynkes as are serued to tables rebelles waste and consume in short space al corne in barnes feeldes orels wher whole garners whole storehouses whole cellers deuour whole flockes of sheepe whole droues of oxen and kyne And as rebels that are maryed leauyng their owne wyues at home do moste vngratiously so much more do vnmaryed men worse then any stallandes or horsses beyng now by rebellion set at libertie from correction of lawes whiche brydeled them before whiche abuse by force other mens wyues and daughters and rauishe virgins and maydens moste shamefully abhominably and damnably Thus all synnes by all names that synnes may be named and by all meanes that all synnes maye be committted and wrought do all wholly vppon heapes folowe rebellion and are to be founde altogether amongst rebelles Nowe whereas pestilence famine warre are by the holy scriptures declared to be the greatest worldly plagues and miseries that lightly can be it is euident that all the miseries that all these plagues haue in them do wholly altogether folowe rebellion wherin as all their miseries be so is there much more mischeefe then in them al. For it is knowne that in the resortyng of great companyes of men together whiche in rebellion happeneth both vppon the parte of true subiectes and of the rebelles by their close lying together and corruption of the ayre and place where they do lye with ordure and muche fylth in the hoatte weather and by vnholesome lodging and lying often vppon the grounde specially in cold and wette wethers in Wynter by their vnholesome diet and feedyng at all tymes and often by famine and lacke of meate and drinke in due tyme and again by takyng to muche at other tymes It is well knowne I say that aswell plagues and pestilences as all other kyndes of sicknesse and maladies by these meanes growe vpon and amongst men whereby mo men are consumed at the length then are by dint of sworde sodenly slayne in the feelde So that not onlye pestilences but also all other sicknesse diseases and maladies do folow rebellion which are muche more horrible then plagues pestilences and diseases sent directlye from god as hereafter shall appeare more plainelye And as for hunger and famine they are the peculier companions of rebellion for whiles rebels do in short tyme spoyle and consume al corne and necessarie prouision whiche men with their labours had gotten and appoynted vpon for their fyndyng the whole yere after and also do let all other men husbandmen and others from their husbandrie and other necessarie workes wherby prouision should be made for times to come who seeth not that extreame famine and hunger must needes shortly ensue and folowe rebellion Now whereas the wyse kyng and godly prophete Dauid iudged warre to be worse then either famine or pestilence for that these two are often suffered by God for mans amendment and be not sinnes of them selues but warres haue alwayes the synnes and mischeefes of men vpon the one syde or other ioyned with them and therfore is warre the greatest of these worldly mischeefes but of all warres ciuil warre is the worst and farre more abhominable yet is rebellion then anye ciuill warre beyng vn worthy the name of any warre so farre it exceedeth all warres in all naughtynesse in all mischeefe and in all abhomination And therfore our sauiour Christe denounceth desolation and destruction to that Realme that by sedition and rebellion is diuided in it selfe Nowe as I haue shewed before that pestilence and famine so is it yet more euident that all the calamities miseries and mischeefes of warre be more greeuous and do more folowe rebellion then anye other warre as beyng farre worse then all other warres For not onlye those ordinarye and vsuall mischeefe and miseseries of other warres do folowe rebellion as corne and other thynges necessarie to mans vse to be spoyled houses villages townes cities to be taken sacked burned destroyed not onlye many very wealthy men but whole countreyes to be impouerished and vtterly beggered manye thousandes of men to be slayne and murthered women and maydes to be vyolated and deflowred whiche thynges when they are done by forraigne enemies we do muche mourne as we haue great causes yet are al these miseries without any wyckednesse wrought by any our countreymen But when these mischeefes are wrought in rebellion by them that shoulde be freendes by countreymen by kynsmen by those that should defende their countrey and countreymen from suche miseries the miserie is nothyng so great as is the mischeefe and wyckednesse when the subiectes vnnaturally do rebel against their prince whose honour and lyfe they shoulde defende though it were with the losse of their owne lyues countreymen to disturbe the publique peace and quietnesse of their countrey for defence of whose quietnesse they shoulde spende their lyues the brother to seeke and often to worke the death of his brother the sonne of the father the father to seeke or procure the death of his sonnes beyng at mans age and by their faultes to disherite their innocent chyldren and kynsmen their heires for euer for whom they myght purchase lyuynges and landes as naturall parentes do take care and paynes and be at great costes and charges and vniuersally in stead of all quietnesse ioy and felicitie which do folow blessed peace and due obedience to bryng in all trouble sorowe disquietnesse of myndes and bodyes and al mischeefe and calamities to turne al good order vpsyde down to bryng all good lawes in contempt and to treade them vnder feete to oppresse all vertue and honestie and all vertuous and honest persons and to set al vice and wickednesse and all
vicious and wycked men at libertie to worke their wycked wylles whiche were before brydeled by holesome lawes to weaken to ouerthrowe and to consume the strength of the Realme their naturall countrey as well by the spendyng and wastyng of the money and treasure of the prince and Realme as by murthering of the people of the same their owne countreymen who shoulde defende the honour of their prince and libertie of their countrey agaynst the inuasion of forraigne enemies and so finallye to make their countrey thus by their mischeefe weakened redy to be a pray and spoyle to al outwarde enemies that wyll inuade it to the vtter and perpetuall captiuitie slauerie and destruction of all their countreymen their chyldren their freendes their kynsfolkes left alyue whom by their wycked rebellion they procure to be deliuered into the handes of forraigne enemies as muche as in them doth lye In forraigne warres our countreymen in obteynyng the victorye win the prayse of valiauntnesse yea and though they were ouercommed and slayne yet wine they an honest commendation in this worlde and dye in a good conscience for seruing God their prince and their countrey and be chyldren of eternall saluation But in rebellion howe desperate and strong so euer they be yet wynne they shame here in fyghtyng agaynst God their prince and countrey and therfore iustly do fall headlong into hell if they dye and lyue in shame and fearefull conscience though they escape But commonly they be rewarded with shamful deathes their heades carkases set vpon poles or hanged in chaines eaten with kytes and crowes iudged vnworthie the honour of buryall and so their soules if they repent not as commonly they do not the deuyll harryeth them into hell in the myddest of their mischeefe For whiche dreadfull execution Saint Paule sheweth the cause of obedience not onely for feare of death but also in conscience to Godwarde for feare of eternall dampnation in the worlde to come Wherfore good people let vs as the chyldren of obedience feare the dreadfull execution of God and lyue in quyet obedience to be the chyldren of euerlastyng saluation For as heauen is the place of good obedient subiectes and hel the prison and dungeon of rebels agaynst God and their prince so is that Realme happie where moste obedience of subiectes doth appeare beyng the verye figure of heauen and contrarywyse where most rebellions and rebels be there is the expresse similitude of hell and the rebels them selues are the very figures of feendes and deuyls and their captayne the vngartious paterne of Luciser and Satan the prince of darkenes of whose rebellion as they be folowers so shal they of his damnation in hel vndoubtedly be partakers and as vndoubtedlye children of peace the inheritours of heauen with God the father God the sonne and God the holy ghost To whom be al honour and glorye for euer and euer Amen Thus haue you hearde the thirde part of this Homilee now good people let vs pray ¶ The prayer as before ¶ The fourth parte of the Homilee agaynst disobedience and wilfull Rebellion FOR your further instruction good people to shewe vnto you howe muche almyghtie God doth abhorre disobedience and wylfull rebellion speciallye when rebelles aduaunce them selues so hie that they arme them selues with weapon and stande in feelde to fyght agaynst God their prince and their countrey it shall not be out of the way to shewe some examples set out in Scriptures wrytten for our eternall erudition We may soone knowe good people how heynous offence the trecherie of rebellion is if we call to remembraunce the heauie wrath and dreadfull indignation of almyghtie God agaynst such subiectes as do onlye but inwardely grudge mutter and murmure agaynst their gouernours though their inwarde treason so priuilie hatched in their breastes come not to open declaration of their doynges as harde it is whom the deuill hath so farre entised against Gods word to kepe them selues there no he meaneth still to blowe the cole to kindle their rebellious heartes to flame into open deedes if he be not with grace speedily withstanded Some of the chyldren of Israel beyng murmurers agaynste their magistrates appoynted ouer them by God were stricken with foule leprosie many wer burnt vp with fyre sodaynly sent from the Lorde sometyme a great sort of thousandes were consumed with the pestilence sometyme they were stinged to death with a straunge kind of fiery serpentes and whiche is moste horrible some of the captaynes with their bande of murmurers not dying by any vsual or natural death of men but the earth openyng they with their wyues chyldren and families were swalowed quicke downe into hell Whiche horrible destructions of suche Israelites as were murmurers agaynst Moyses appoynted by God to be their head and cheefe magistrate are recorded in the booke of Numbers and other places of the scriptures for perpetual memorie and warnyng to al subiects how hyghly God is displeased with the murmuring and euyll speakyng of subiectes agaynste their princes for that as the scripture recordeth their murmure was not agaynst their prince only beyng a mortal creature but against God hym selfe also Nowe if suche straunge and horrible plagues dyd fall vppon suche subiectes as dyd only murmure and speake euyll agaynste their heades what shal become of those most wicked impes of the deuyl that do conspire arme thē selues assemble great numbers of armed rebels lead them with them agaynst their prince and countrey spoylyng and robbyng kyllyng and murtheryng al good subiectes that do withstand them as manye as they may preuayle agaynst But those examples are wrytten to stay vs not onlye from suche mischeefes but also from murmuring or speaking once an euill worde agaynst our prince which though any should do neuer so secretly yet do the holy scriptures shewe that the very byrdes of the ayre wyll bewray them and these so manye examples before noted out of the same holy scriptures do declare that they shal not escape horrible punyshment therefore Now concernyng actual rebellion amongst many examples thereof set foorth in the holy scriptures the example of Absolon is notable who entryng into conspiracie agaynst kyng Dauid his father both vsed the aduice of very wittie men and assembled a verye great and huge companie of rebels the whiche Absolon though he were moste goodly of person of great nobilitie beyng the kynges sonne in great fauour of the people and so dearely beloued of the kyng hym selfe so much that he gaue commaundement that notwithstandyng his rebellion his lyfe shoulde be saued when for these consyderations moste men were afrayde to lay their handes vppon hym a great tree stretchyng out his arme as it were for that purpose caught hym by the great and long bush of his goodly heere lappyng about it as he fledde hastily bareheaded vnder the sayde tree and so hanged hym vp by the heere of his head in the ayre to geue an eternall document that neyther comelynes