his mother the mother may commaunde the childe must obey Againe they turne al that is spoken in y e whole booke of the Psalmes of the prophet Dauid either of God or of Christ and apply it to the Virgin Marie cal that Psalter Psalterium beatae Mariae the Psalter of blessed Marie Who wil take the paines to peruse it shal find that comfortable spéech of our sauiour Come vnto me al yeo that are wearie and laden and I wil ease you thus blasphernously abused in y e second psalme Venite ad eam omnes qui laboratis tribulati estis refrigerium solatium dabit animabus vestris Come vnto her al yee that trauell and be heauily loaden she wil giue rest comforte to your soules An other saith the kingdome of god is of two parts of iustice and of mercy He reseructh iustice to himselfe the other part that is mercy he hath yelded vnto his mother Therfore one of them plaieth the Proctour taketh vpon him to shew the differeÌ„ce of those two courtes saying A foro iustitiae dei appellandum est ad forum misericordiae matris eius You must appeale from the court of Gods iustice to the court of his mothers mercie And is there not good cause he should giue vs this counsell if it be true that he hath written Nulla gratia venit de coelo ad terram nisi transeat per manuâ—… Mariae Est enim meà iatrix saluationis iustificationis recoÌ„ciliationis communicationis No mercie commeth from heauen to the earth but it must passe by the handes of Marie For shee is the mediatour of our saluation of our iustification of our reconciliation and of our participation What is blasphemie if this be not blasphemie They which wil séeme somewhat to blush at these things wil perhappes excuse this and call it spirituall daliance Vnhappie are they and heauy iudgement shall abide theÌ„ that in such sort dallie and scorne the price of our redemption O let vs open our eies we are the sonnes of God God hath giuen vs eies to sée and eares to heare and hearts to vnderstand Let vs iudge vprightly It is gods cause Whosoeuer considereth these and such other great errors must néeds confesse that y e church of Rome hath wrought that departing whereof the Apostle speaketh In the late councell of Trident Cornelius the Bishop of Bitonto did something plainly acknowledge the great Apostasie and departing of the church of Rome both in matters of faith and in conuersation and life These be his words Vtinam à religione ad superstitionem c. Woulde God they were not gone wholie with generall consent from religion to superstition froÌ„ faith ro infidelitie from Christ to Antichrist froÌ„ God to Epicure saying with wicked heart and filthie mouth there is no God Neither hath there bene this great while anie pastor or Pope that regarded these things For they al both Pope and Cardinals and other sought their owne and not so much as one of them sought for the things that pertaine to Iesus Christ. Yet say they there can be no departing from faith in the Church of Rome the faith thereof cannot faile for Christ hath said I haue praied for thee that thy faith faile not And againe The gates of hell shall not preuaile against it Therefore in that place there can be no decay This is the saying of some who humble not themselues to knowe their errour who loue the praise of men more than the praise of God whose glorie is their shame which mind earthly things The Apostle saith there shall be a departing that it shal be not among the Jewes and Jnfidels but among those which were reckoned to be of the housholde of faith and the children of God What is it froÌ„ which they shal depart or wherein the decay shall be doth he meane their riches their gold and siluer bread c. No but the doctrine of the gospell and faith in Christ. The pure words which as siluer from the earth are tried and purified seauen times in the fire the wel of water which springeth vp into euerlasting life shal decay in the house of God The people shall shut their eares that they may not heare the truth and shall giue héede vnto spirites of errour and doctrines of diuels which speake lies through hipocrisie And let them not say the church of Rome can not erre For where did Christ euer giue or where haue the Apostles euer mâ—…de mention of any such priuiledge granted to that Church S. Peter saith There were false Prophets also among the people euen as there shall be false teachers among you which priuily shall bring in damnable heresies euen denying the Lord that hath bought them and bring vpon themselues swift damnation and many shall folow their damnable waies by whome the waie of truth shall be euil spoken of Paul warned the Church of God at Ephesus not onelie that after his departing gréeuous woolues should enter in among them but also that of themselues should men arise speaking peruerse things to draw Disciples after them When Christ said When the sonne of man shall come shall hee finde faith vpon the earth And when he told his Disciples that the abhomination of desolation shall stand in the holy place when he warned them in this sorte Then if anie shall saie vnto you Loe here is Christ or there beleeue it not For there shall arise false Christs false Prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders so that if it were possible the verie elect should be deceiued It is most euident he spake of that departing which should come should appeare in the church of God which departing our forefathers did behold and marke in their times and which hath of late yeares appeared so manifestly that no man who is not wilfully blind can doubt thereof S. Paule knew not anie such state of the Church of Rome or anie especiall grant made vnto it in such forte that it should neuer erre for vnto the church of Rome he writeth Boast not thy selfe Be not high minded but feare For if God spared not the naturall braunches take heede least he also spare not thee Thorow vnbeliefe they are broken off thou standest by faith Behold therefore the bountifulnes and seueritie of God Towards them which haue fallen seueritie but towards thee bountifulnesse if thou continue in his bountifulnes or els thou shalt also be cut off That is if he spared not the Iewes his owne people how wil he spare thée that art but a stranger If thou continue not thou shalt be cut off It may be thou shalt also depart from the faith as the Iewes haue done then shalt thou be as a withered branch shalt not draw any moisture from the roote then wil God also forsake thée and thy end shal be worse than the beginning I trow in saying thus he said not Thou shalt not
their faces This was done vnto them that so they might be rooted out and their name quite put out from the â—…arth It was high time for the Lord to put to his hand They called vpon him in their troubles and he heard them Then sent he Moses and Aaron and deliuered them he opened the redde sea and gaue them passage When the Philiâ—…ines oppressed them GOD sent them Gedeon Barac Iehu Debora and Sampson whom he endued with wisedome and courage and pâ—…wer to ouercome their enimies and to sette them at libertie What should I speake of Nabuchodonosor Anâ—…ochus Nero Iulian and other tyrants They opprâ—…ssed the seruants of GOD and kept them in great miserie But God looked downe from heauen and was their helper in the time of néede he brake the â—…ords asunder and delinered them The more â—…ie was extended or practised against them the more glorious did GOD sheiâ—… himselfe in the 〈…〉 of Antichrist By him the Church of God shall suffer great tribulation such as was not from the beginning of the world And then shal his surie encrease and his tyranic be the greater when his kingdome shall decay and the daies of his desolation shall be at hande Primasius saith Tunc cadet Babylon quando nouis sime potestaâ—…em persequendi sanctos acceperit Then shall Babylon come to the ground when she shall last of al take power to persecute the Saints of God For then wil God arise and will iudge his owne cause he wil deliuer the afâ—…icted and will slaie Antichrist with the breath of his mouth Hereof S. Gregorie saith thus The Church after these daies of her affliction shall afterwarde notwithstanding be â—…rengihned with great power and might of preaching Except there come a departing first There must first be a departing from faith in the Church of God and then shall be the comming of the Lorde There was one general departing in the daies of Noah Al flesh had corrupt their waies there was not aniâ—… that did seeke after righteousnesse Then came the daie of the Lorde vpon them he powred out the waterâ—… and they preuailed vpon the earth so that both man and cattel and worme the soule of the heauen were destroied There was a general departing of the Iewes people of God at Hierusalem They made the house of God a denne of théeues they saued a théefe and crucified the Lord of glorie God had no delight in them neither regarded their sacrifices Christ said vnto them O Ierusalem Ierusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which haue beene sent vnto thee howe often woulde I haue gathered thy children togither euen as a henne gathereth her chickens vnder her wings and yee woulde not Beholde your house is left vnto you desolate They shall not leaue in thee one stone vpon another because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation Such a departing it shall be whereof the Apostle speaketh and so general that the sonne of man when he commeth shall hardly finde faith vpon the earth But this departing is diuersly taken Some vnderstaÌ„d it of the empire that the kingdomâ—… and countries which were before in subiection to that estate shal depart from it and that then Antichrist shal spring vp Others thinke that this is spoken of that departing wherein the godlie haue carried themselues from the obedience of the church of Rome But others more truly say it is the departure from the doctrine and religion and loue and obedience of the gospel of Christ wherof in another place he saith In the latter times some shall depart from the faith and shal giue heede to spirites of errour and doctrines of Diuels forbidding to marrie and commaunding to abstaine from meates which God hath created to be receiued with giuing thankes of them which beleeue and know the truth These men shall haue a forme of godlinesse but shall denie the power thereof They shall turne their eares awaie from the truth and wil encline their hearts to heare fables The wordes of the Apostle are plaine to shew that there shal be a departing But as we sée it is not agréed vppon what maner of departing this shal be nor by whome it shall be wrought Our aduersaries lay it vnto vs saying you haue wrought this departing you haue departed from the Church of Rome you are they of whome S. Paule hath spoken you are the founders of Antichrist so say they But would to God they and their fathers and the Church of Rome had not wrought this departure Bernard behelde the state and pride and disorders of the Church of Rome in his time therefore saide Superest vt reueletur homo peâ—…cati filius perditionis non modo demonium diâ—… sed meridianum quod non solum transfiguratur in angelum lucis sed extollitur supra umne quod dicitur Deus aut quod colitur It remaineth that the man of sinne that is the sonne of perdition be reueiled euen the diuel which flieth not onely in the day but destroyeth in the noone day which is not only changed into an angel of light but is exalted aboue all that is called God or that is worshipped And Gregorie did sée who they were that should worke this departing and make way for Antichrist therefore sayde Ego fidenter deco c. I speake it boldly Whosoeuer calleth himselfe the vniuersal priest or desâ—…reth so to be called as doth the Pope in the pride of his heart he is the forerunner of Antichrist Now that we may yet better know what maner of departure that shal be let vs consider what Saint Paule speaketh of the Church of God which was in his tune Vnto the Coriâ—…thinans he sayeth If al prophecie and there come in oneÌ„ that beleeueth not or one vnlearned he is rebuked of al men he is iudged of al men and so are the secrets of his hâ—…art made manifest and so wil he fal downe on his face and worship God and say plainly that God is in you in deede How is it then brethern When you come together euerie one of you hath a psalme hath a doctrine hath a tongue hath a reuelation hath an interpretation let al things be done vnto edifying c. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace as we see in al the churches Blessed were they of God Al thinges among them were done to edifying The holy scriptures were read openly in the presence of the people the people rcuerently kept silence and gaue eare and vnderstood the wil of God and submitted themselues vnto it The prayers were in a knowne tongue to that â—…e vnlearned might vnderstand them and say Amen The holis misteries were duly ministred The people receiued the sacrament of the Lordes supper vnder both kindes as Christ had instituted and did al communitate together Chrisostoine writing vppon that chapter sayth Vere tum Ecclesia coelum fuit c. Verely the church then was a
concerning them which are asleepe that yee sorrowe not euen as other which haue no hope 14 For if wee beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen euen so them that sleepe with Iesus wil God bring with him Herein standeth the comfort of Christian religion Were it not for the hope of the seconde life the godly in this worlde were in worse case than the dumbe and brute beastes When Christ appointed his Disciples to goe and preach hée sayde I sende you as sheepe in the middest of wolues They will scourge you you shall bée hated of al men As the Gospel encreased in any place these words were fulfilled The godly were put to death for the name of Christ. The father did sée his sonne staine before his face and the sonne his father cruelly tormented Hence grewe great mourning heauinesse Oh saide they he was a reuerende sage father oh he was a wise young man learned zealous and a great stay in the Church Why would God take him before his time there is not nowe any one left whom we may beholde or heare or followe We are left comfortlesse and without hope After this sort it is likely the Thessalonians mourned when they behelde the persecution of the Church of God among them Herein they grewe towardes mistrust and to be like the heathen which had no hope Saint Paule thought good to refourme this errour And because this abuse grewe of ignorance for that they knewe not the happie estate of such which die in the Lorde hée sayeth I would not haue you ignoraunt what is become of them and what GOD hath doone for them He hath tryed them as golde and hath made them woorthie for himselfe Therefore you ought rather to reioyce there is no cause at al of mourning When Christ sawe his disciples heauie and sad because of his departure hée sayde If yee loued mee yee woulde verily reioyce because I sayde I goe to the father for my father is greater than I. I shal sit at the right hande of my father in glorie then shal euerie knée bowe vnto mée and enerie tongue shal confesse my greatnesse Therefore if ye loued me you would reioyce in my behalfe It is ignoraunce that maketh you heauie because you knowe not whither I goe When Ioseph was solde into Egypt good father Iacob thought he was dead and therefore mourned day and night Nothing could comfort him Alas sayeth he that I haue liued to sée this day O Ioseph my sonne my sonne Ioseph oh that I might giue my life to redéeme thée Nowe shal my hoarie head goe downe to the graue in heauinesse But when he hearde that Ioseph liued and did sée him with his eyes when he did sée that he was a Prince next in place to the King and had al the Countrey at commaundement then hée knewe he had mourned without a cause Then his heart leapt within him his eyes gusht out with water he wept for ioy Ignoraunce as we sée made him heauie knowledge of the truth as it was reioyced his halt and made him glad There is great errour and darkenesse and ignoraunce in mans life Wee reioyce when wee haue cause to mourne and mourne manie times when wee haue cause to reioyce Therefore he sayeth I would not haue you ignorant Be not deceiued God hath giuen you eyes to sée the right ways God hath giuen you eares to heare counsel and a heart to knowe reason and to vnderstande and iudge God hath giuen you the Scriptures and by them the knowledge of his wil. He hath giuen you a face to looke vp to heauen and the spirit of life hath he poured into you that you should not by anie meanes be deceiued That ye sorrowe not as other that haue no hope He doth not forbidde natural affection Our parentes and our children are deare vn to vs. They are our fleshe and bloude and the chiefe and principal partes of our bodie Anie part of our bodie can not be cut off but wée shal féele it The father if he féele not the death of his sonne or the sonne if he féele not the death of his Father and haue not a déepe féeling of it he is vnnaturall Dauid mourned for Ionathan The whole lande mourned for Iosias Paul sayth God haue mercie vppon Epaphroditus he was sicke verie néere vnto death and not on him onely but on me also least I shoulde haue sorrowe vpon sorrowe If God had taken Epaphroditus out of life no doubt Paul would haue sorrowed What néede more examples Christ mourned for Lazarus and shed teares for him Then saide the Iewes behold he loued him Wée are not therefore forbidden to mourne ouer the dead but to mourne in such sorte as the heathen did we are forbidden They as they did neither beléeue in God nor in Christ so had they no hope of y e life to come When a father saw his sonne dead he thought he had beene dead for euer He became heauie changed his garment delighted in no companie forsooke his meate famished him selfe rent his bodie cursed his fortune cried out of his Gods Oh my deare sonne saith he how beautifull how learned and wise and vertuous wast thou why shouldst thou die so vntimely why haue I offered sacrifice and done seruice to my Gods they haue made me a good recompence I wil trust them no more I wil no more call vpon them Thus they fel into dispaire and spake blasphemies Therefore saith Paul you may mourne as did the holie men of GOD but in such sorte as the vnfaithfull sorrowe for their dead you maie not mourne You are the sonnes of the holie fathers fashion not your selues therefore like to the heathens do not as they did neither in feastes nor in marriages nor in your attire nor in your mourning nor in your pastimes But behaue your selues as becommeth the children of the most highest But why may not Christians mourne and continue in heauinesse because it is no newe thing for a man to die because he goeth the waie of al flesh Againe they that departe this life are not dead they are not gone for euer as the heathen imagined They are laid down to take rest quietly for a time The deth of a godlie man is nothing else but a sléepe So saith our sauiour of Lazarus Our friend Lazarus sleepeth howbeit Iesus spake of his death So it is saide of Steuen And they stoned Steuen who called on God and saide Lord Iesus receiue my spirite And hee kneeled downe and cried with a loud voice Lord laie not this sinne to their charge and when he had thus spoken he slept Whosoeuer dieth in the peace of conscience he may saie I will lie downe and take my rest Thus doeth the man of God repose himselfe For Christ is vnto him both in life and in death aduantage He saith with the Apostle Whether we liue wee liue vnto the Lord or whether wee die we die vnto the Lord whether wee liue
the blessing of God offered vnto thée Where there is no prophecie the people perisheth He that despiseth it shall be despised of the Lord he shal be cast into darkenesse because he would not delight in the light V. 21 Trie al things and keepe that which is good Trie al things God hath giuen you the spirite of discretion and of iudgement Be wise and knowe what is that good and acceptable will of God He not deceiued with wordes of mans wisedome Let not the basenesse or simplicitie of anie cause you to refuse the message which he bringeth and carrie not your selues to liking of al that whatsoeuer shall be told you of such as beare great shew and countenance This was it that deceiued the people of GOD they gaue eare to false teachers which lead them to worshippe the workes of their owne hands Therefore they saide vnto the stone thou art our father thou hast deliuered vs they sell downe before it worshipped it beléeued in it they slewe the Prophets of God and stoned to death such as were sent vnto them The Scribes and Pharises séemed so grane and wise that the people thought nothing good but what they allowed They were altogether appliable to beléeue to do to speake and to thinke whatsoeuer the Pharises willed them Christ saith vnto them Beware of false Prophets which come to you in sheepes clothing but inwardly they are rauening wolues S. Iohn therefore saith Dearely beloued beleeue not euerie spirite but trie the spirites whether they are of God for manie false prophets are gone out into the world And further directeth vs howe we should trie them hereby shal ye know the spirit of God euerie spirit that confesseth that Iesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God Againe hereby may you trie them Whosoeuer transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God Hee that continueth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the father and the sonne If there come anie vnto you and bring not this doctrine receiue him not to house neither bid him God speede Hereby S. Paul required the Galathians to trie betwéene him and the false Apostles If anie man preach vnto you otherwise than that yee haue receiued let him bee accursed For now do I preach mans doctrine or Gods the Saduces erred touching the resurrection because they searched not the scriptures God teacheth vs by the prophet Esay to make triall of teachers and doctrines When they shall saie vnto you enquire of them that haue a spirite of diuination and at the soothsaiers which whisper and murmur shoulde not a people enquire at their God from the liuing to the dead to the law and to the testimonie if they speake not according to this word it is bicause there is no light in them Paule putteth Timothie in mind wherefore he left him at Ephesus to commaund some that they teach none other doctrine And to warne both the teachers and the hearers that they giue no heede to fables and genealogies which are endlesse which breede questions rather than godlie edifying which is by faith Thus are the people of God called to trie the truth to iudge betwéene good and il betwéene light and darknesse God hath made them the promise of his spirit and hath left vnto them his word They of Berea when they heard the preaching of Paule searched the scriptures dailie whether those things were so as he taught them and manie of them beléeued So do you giue héed to instruction and yet receiue not al things without proofe and trial that they are not contrarie to the wholesome doctrine of the word of God Keepe that which is good When you haue tried and found out the truth be constant and setled in it A wauering minded man is vnstable in al his waies Follow the truth and be not carried about with euerie wind of doctrine The diuel wil come in the name of God and change himselfe into an Angel of light Let him not take the loue of the trueth from you let him not remooue you from faith and a good conscience returne not like swine vnto your mire God hath purged your hearts and made them cleane Except they be preserued and kept occupied the vncleane spirite wil returne and enter in and dwell in you so the last state of you shall be worse than the first We haue great cause to harken diligently to the Apostle to keepe that is good We see this daie great confusion in al places Sathan woulde faine entangle vs againe with the errour of the wicked and séeketh to drawe vs from our stedfastnesse Now is the time wherin God maketh some triall of his seruauntes now iniquitie séeketh to haue the vpper hand They seduce the people saie here is Christ there is Christ here is the Church there is the Church God giue vs his holie spirite to guide vs in iudgement that we maie discerne the truth from falshoode and knowe the blessed and gratious will of GOD that wee maie walke in his waies and serue him in reuerence and feare al the daies of our life In this worlde as there is a Iacob so is there an Esau as there are manie that loue Christ with an vnfained hart so are there manie that serue Antichrist and as there be many true professors of the trueth of God so are there manie despisers of the same This wée maie sée here at home within this realme We maie sée it and mourne and lament for it in our hearts Their practises are opened they haue broken out into open rebellion to the breach of the peace both of GOD and man They saie with their lippes GOD saue Quéene Elizabeth yet they holde vppe their sword against her Alas what hath she deserued at their handes she hath alwaies dealt mercifully without crueltie without shedding of bloud God preserue her that she maie long raigne ouer vs and bring al her enimies to confusion What pretence make they for this their doing that hereby they séeke to haue religion refourmed Thankes be to GOD religion is refourmed farre better than our fathers knewe it these many hundred yeares If those which liued before vs might haue séene and heard as we sée heare they would haue reioiced and thought themselues happie But they would haue the Masse What find they or sée they in it wherfore they should so desire it Trie things saith Paul Therefore examine and trie the masse What do we learne by it what doctrine what godlinesse in life what comforte for saluation It is a dumb and deadly seruice The people are forced to be at it it is the verie kay of their religion the people are bound to be present at masse yet they neither receiue anie thing nor eate nor heare nor vnderstand anie thing You are wise you haue reason you are the children of GOD be you iudges herein and iudge vprightly for it is Gods cause Will they call this the Lordes supper Is this
I can make no account of him He is not within Paules reckning The workman is worthie of his hire But what right hath hée to the hire which is not a workeman I might saith he haue receiued mainteinance at your handes but I tooke nothing that I might be an example for you to follow that none shoulde liue idlely but that They worke with quietnesse and eate their owne bread Idlenesse is the mother of all mischiefe An idle packe is as if he were alreadie dead His féete serue him not to trauaile his hands helpe him not to worke his eies serue him not to sée his estate his heart regardeth not the time and miserie of his age Beggerie falleth vpon him and gnaweth his bones but he feéleth it not For he is as if he were alreadie dead Salomon faith He that foloweth idlenesse hath no vnderstanding And againe He that followeth idlenesse shall be filled with pouertie He is vnprofitable to himselfe and vnto others His children shal begge at euerie doore Againe he saith The slouthfull wil not plough because of winter hee shall begge in sommer but haue nothing That is men that haue receiued encrease of Gods blessing by taking paines shall denie breade vnto such and vpbraide them for their idleuesse and so driue them to labour They will saie as it is deuised that the Ant said in like case to the Grashopper In the sommer thou diddest nothing but sing therefore thou maist sterue in the winter These extremities be great if a man wil weigh them aduisedly Yet Ecclesiasticus saith farther Idlenesse bringeth much euil It is an euil teacher He that doth nothing is ill occupied The minde of man is euer stirring and doing somewhat If it be not doing well it is doing ill Water is cleare and faire fresh comfortable yet if it stand still in a hole or be kept long in a vessel whence it hath no issue it wil rotte and smell and be vnwholesome Euen so it fareth with the sons of Adam if they haue nothing to doe no waie to bestowe their witte they will rotte and proue vnwholesome and deuise mischiefe al the daie long What is it that filleth the prisons and bringeth so manie to the gallowes and causeth so many parents to bewaile the vntimely death of their children but idlenesse when the poore wretches haue receiued their iudgement and come to the place of execution and stand on the ladder what counsaile giue they to young men and to children but to beware of idlenesse what is cause of such and so manie diseases in the bodie Aske the Phisitions and they will tell you idlenesse Whereof rise mutterings in Cities against Magistratrs whereof rise rebellions in kingdomes against Princes you can giue no greater cause thereof than idlenesse Beholde saith the Lorde this was the iniquitie of thy sister Sodome pride fulnesse of bread and abundance of idlenes This was it that called for fire downe from heauen and wasted so manie cities into ashes Christ saieth Of euerie idle word that men shal speake they shal giue an accompt thereof at the day of iudgement If we shal make accompt for our idle wordes what shall we doe for our idle handes for our idle féete for our idle bodie for our idle soule what accompt for al our idlenesse shall wée make at the daie of iudgement We warned you saith the Apostle that if anie would not work the same should not eatâ—… This is a hard saying yet saith Paule I my selfe haue kept it I haue fulfilled it in mine owne bodie He doth not saie if any be sicke or weake or impotent and can not worke but if anie be idle and froward and will not worke to such a one giue not to eate that so he maie sée the daunger of idlenesse and worke with his handes the thing which is good that he maie haue to giue him that needeth It is not lawfull to giue them the breade of the Church and the almes ordained for reliefe of the poore This bread they maie not eate But you will saie Kings and Counsailours Bishoppes Preachers and all other sorts of learned men neither plough nor sow nor hedge nor ditch nor vse such painefull labour of the body they sit at rest and liue idlely They that so thinke are deceiued The toile which princes take and the great cares wherwith they are occupied passe al other cares in the world Saint Paul calleth the office of a Bishop a good worke If a bishop or minister studie the Scriptures preach the gospel catechize the children and take a care of the soules of Gods people if he sowe the Lordes fielde féede the Lords flocke thresh the Lords corne and walke before the people carefully if he haue the care of the Churches and can say with the Apostle who is weake and I am not weake who is offended and I burne not any offence that is giuen to my brother is to mee as a fire or as a torment If he be instant in season and out of season if he do the worke of an Euangelist and make his ministerie fully knowen he shal finde himselfe occupyed and not be idle The maister of the shippe séemeth to bée idle to sit stil and to doe nothing He stirreth not the pumpe he driueth not the oares he soundeth not the déepe he rideth not the ropes he skaleth not the shrowdes hee runneth not hither and thither forewarde or backwarde vnder the hatches or aboue Hée sitteth stil holdeth his peace and looketh vpon the loade starre and in appearaunce doth nothing But his labour passeth all the rest Whithout his labor al the paines which the other Mariners take were lost Were it not for his labour the shippe woulde soone strike vpon rockes and be stayed in the sandes and they al should perish Euen so fareth it in the state of princes and of their counsaylors they séeme to doe nothing yet they doe al thinges which is for the peace and the wealth and the safegarde of al the people Be not wearie in wel doing many occasions to discourage you to doe wel The worlde is ful of lets but be you stedfast vnmoueable abundant alwaies in the worke of the Lord for as much as you know that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. Stand fast and kéepe the instructions which you haue béene taught Distribute to the necessitie of the saints Doe good vnto al men especially to them that be of the housholde of faith Liue not after the lusts of men in wantonnesse drunkennesse gluttonie and in abhominable idolatrie Though they speake euil of you because you runne not with theÌ„ vnto that same excesse of riot though the Diuel cast you into prison and there you haue tribulation be you faithful vnto death They that haue afflicted you shal giue an account to the righteous iudge and the afflictions which you suffer in this present time are not woorthie of the glorie which