baggage of ransome or tribute hoped for but when they saw the heauens open aboue their heads and sending downe fire and brimstone vpon them whē they saw their houses on fire about their eares no place of refuge or safegard to flye vnto no meanes to escape when they felt the fire fall vpon their soft and tender bodyes as thick as rayne when they felt it scorche their flesh when they saw one another lye sprawling vpon the ground drawne to like a scrowle of parchment with y e scalding heat of the fire none able to help another none able to cōfort another what a miserable face of a citie was there thinke you quis talia fando temperet a lachrymis For the Lord rayned vpō these cities brimstone fire from the Lord out of heauen Now the reasons which moued the Lord to send this strange and terrible iudgement vpon these cities and people were especially 3. This God so wonderfull in power might and so feareful in his punishment had before this time drownd the world for sin but the people of Sodō Gomorrha were nothing terrified with that iudgemēt but were as wreched wicked in their courses as if they had heard of no exāple of Gods wrath against sin therefore now God sends fire to destroy them to let all the vngodly of the earth know that all the Elements and all creatures in heauen earth and hell are readie and prest to take vengeance vpon man for his sin when it pleaseth God to command enioyne them the Lord is not so bare of iudgements that he hath but one kinde to reuenge himselfe vpon y e vngodly he hath more thē one arrow of vengeance to the bow of his wrath he hath water to drawn thée fire to consume thée plague pestilence to destroy thée dearth famine to pine thée a thousand grieuous diseases to bring thée to thine end The earth is at his beck to open and swallow thée vp quick the Angels are at his commandment to strike 〈…〉 sudden death The deuils wayt vpon his will and if he bid them goe they haue power to tempt thée to bee thine owne butcher and executioner as to hang thy selfe to throw thy selfe downe headlong and break thy neck to cut thine own throat This God would haue y e sinner know And therefore let all the vngodly of the world feare this God trēble at his iudgmēts be careful cōscionable to serue please him take héed how they offend him for if they prouoke him he wil not spare them They haue not so many wayes to anger him withall as hée hath plagues punishments to destroy them withall And from hence an impenitent sinner may gather that there is no place of safety nor security for him a walled citie is no place of defence for a sinner his house is no castle vnto him his bed is no place of safegard for him for in al these places God hath messengers of death and destruction to attach him The second 〈◊〉 why the Lord brought this kind of iudgement vpon these cities people was y t the maner of their punishmēt might be suteable correspondēt to the maner of their sin for wheras they burned in the filthy lust of concupiscence one towards another against the order course of nature the Lord to punish this vnnatural heat of lust in thē brought a supernatural fire vpon them as they delighted in the filthy odious pleasure of sin defiled themselues with the hellish contagion of impietie so the Lord punished them with brimstone mingled with fire that as their sins made them stinke in the nosethrills of Almighty God so they might be choked stifled with the detestable stinking smell of brimstone as the Lord made the punishment of this people suteable to their sinne so he would haue al sinners know y t wherewith a mā sinneth by the same also shal he be punished for it was not vnpossible to the Almighty hand of God which made all the world of nought to haue drowned this people their land with the ouerflowing streames of Iordan or to haue deliuered them into the hands of y e foure kings as once before or to haue sent the infectious noysom pestilence among them but God chose rather to destroy thē with fire brimstone from heauen to giue notice to all posterities y t as they sin so shal they be punished Aarōs sonnes offred strange fire vpon the Altar therfore a strange fire from heauen destroyed them Samson suffering the eyes of his mind and the light of his reason to be extinguished was for his punishment depriued of his bodily eyes and lost the comfortable sight of this world And as he suffered himselfe to be captiuated and inthralled to the wil of a woman so was he made a slaue to the will of his vncircumcised enemies compelled by them to grinde in a mill like an horse then which there could not be a more seruile seruitude And it séemeth by the example of Diues that in hel there shal be some thing in the torments of the damned which shall haue some correspondency with their sinnes for Diues being vnmerciful in the world while he liued can finde no mercy nor compassion when he is dead either in hell or heauen he that would not giue a crum of bread to Lazarus in his life time cānot now get a drop of water to coole the typ of his tongue Howsoeuer therfore there be generall torments in hell for the damned yet it should séeme that there shall be some particular thing in their torments which shall haue some semblance with their sins the reason is because they might to their greater griefe be put in minde of their sinnes which were the cause of those tormēts The third last reason why the Lord from heauen sent downe this strange feareful iudgement vpon these cities people was because their sinnes cryed vp to heauen therefore God answered the cry of their sins with a punishmēt from heauen And this God doth to let vs sée how sin turneth heauen into hell and maketh the mercifull Sauiour of mākind to be an vnmerciful destroyer of mankind God is by nature a preseruer of men The shepherd of Israel A refuge for men to fly vnto for safegard succour but such is the strong effects of sin and so strangely worketh it with God y t of a preseruer of men it makes him a destroyer of men of a shepheard it makes him a leopard of a lambe a lyon The heauēs by nature giue rayne vnto the earth in due season to make it fruitefull and fertile to bring forth things necessary for the vse of man But sinne makes the heauens to bée brasse vnto vs causeth them to send downe fire brimstone storme tempest to make the earth barren fruitles destroy both man beast from off
these silly dumbe creatures it is a maruell that they doe not break their league with man and shake off the yoke of obedience toward him It is a maruell that y e earth doth not rent in sunder vnder man as he walkes vpon it séeing it is so plagued with barrennesse for the sinne of man It is a maruell that our oxen and our horses with their hornes and hooues doe not make warre against vs séeing we are such vnrighteous tyrannicall Lords ouer them not content to haue their vse and seruice except wée plague them besides into such vndeserued vengeance of GODS wrath by our sinnes and transgressions Let vs therefore forbeare and eschew sinne and flye from it as from a Serpent séeing by it wée doe not onely draw downe Gods heauy iudgements vpon our heads but also wée plague our posteritie and the very dumbe and vnreasonable creatures into the wrath of Gods vengeance by our sinnes and transgressions And let vs further learne the perfect hatred of GOD against sinne who doth not onely punish it in maÌ„ which committeth it but in all things which any way serue man in his sinfull courses and let vs estéeme no sinne small séeing the infinite maiestie of God is offended by it infinite torments are prepared for it and nothing can satisfie for it but the inestimable price of Christes blood applyed to the conscience by a true and liuely faith Now it remaines that in the last place we examine the cause why the Lord brought such a fearefull destruction vpon this land and people There must néeds be some great cause that did exasperate the Lord to execute such a fierce strange iudgemeÌ„t vpon them The cause is not hard to be found out for nothing doth separate man from God but sinne nothing doth prouoke God to punish plague and destroy man but sin nothing doth draw downe the iudgements of God vpon man but sinne and sinne it was that mooued the Lord to reuenge himselfe thus seuerely vpon this land and people as it appeares by the wordes of Almightie God to Abraham Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin is exceeding grieuous I will go downe now saith the Lord. Sin brought death into the world they are twinnes bred and borne in one day sinne and destruction are Relatiues admit the one and the other followes death and destruction growes foorth of sinne as fruite from the tree and therefore if we sin we may surely expect to be punished and if we be punished we need not doubt of the cause but we may safely thinke with our selues it is for our sinnes Therefore as we haue considered the punishment of Sodom so let vs consider the sins of Sodom which were the cause of her ouerthrow and destruction The Prophet Ezechiel doth make knowne vnto vs the sinnes of this people to be foure Pride fulnesse of bread idlenesse and vnmercifulnesse towardes the poore But these were not all the sins of SodoÌ„ for the Scripture layes downe another sinne practised amongst this people which because it did either beginne amongst them or was more practiseâ— amongst them then amongst any other people beside deriued the name from them and so holds it to this day but the Prophet doth reckoÌ„ the forenamed sinnes to be the sinnes of this people because they were the principall causes of that vnnaturall sin which wiâ—h the cry thereof brought such a fearefull vengeance vpon them In speaking of the sinnes of Sodom I will kéepe the same order that the Prophet obserueth in the place before cited placing Pride in the first ranke as though it were the Ring-leader to the rest and the roote from whence all other vices doe follow and so it is indéed and therefore it is called the Center in the sphere of mans life from whence are drawne lines to the circumference of iniquitie If a man haue any good gifts or qualities in him pride doth expell and abandon them if a man haue none pride will not giue place for any to enter and the first thing that pride works in maÌ„ is an irrespectiue care and an incurious respect of God hee cares not for God he séekes not for God hée doth not trust and relye vpon God nay he thinkes alwayes there is no God for the obiect of his pride is his God and in it he doth trust vpon it he doth relye and he sets it vp as an Idoll not onely in his owne heart but in the eyes and view of the world to the end all men may applaud admire honour and magnifie it as if a man be proude of his Nobilitie of his dignitie and greatnesse of his wealth and riches of his credit and estimation of his learning and wisdome of his apparel of his costly and goodly buildings or whatsoeuer else is the obiect of his pride he doth not onely set his heart vpon it himselfe séeking all meanes to vphold and maintaine it deriuing all his ioy and contentment from it depending vpon it as vpon the staffe and stay of his strength but he must haue all other men likewise to commit Idolatry with it and as the finger is alwayes where the paine is and the eye where the affectioÌ„ is so is the heart of a proud man alwayes setled fixed vpon y e thing whereof he is proud And therefore it is true that Dauid speaks of him he cares not for God he séekes not for God he thinks alwayes there is no God as he is thus careles inrespectiue of God so is he most iniurious to his neighbor in scorning disdaining despising vildly estéeming him Superbus nesâ—at esse socius A proud man acknowledgeth none to be his equall A proud man is alwayes contentious and by reason he is wholy possest with selfe-loue a man shall neuer haue iustice at his haÌ„ds for which cause Moses gaue warning to the Israelites not to chuse a King that should lift vp his heart aboue his brethren for when the chiefe Magistrate is proud and haughty all iustice and iudgement is peruerted he gouerns all things after the rule of his owne proud conceyts And euen as when a man winnoweth wheate the chaffe mounts aloft though it be light and vnprofitable but the wheate falls downe vnto the grouÌ„d though it be more precious and excellent then the chaffe eueÌ„ so when a proud man sits in gouernment vanity is preferred but iustice and iudgement are depressed Dauid complayneth of the proud that they had him excéedingly in derision and in another place that they imagined a lye against him noting vnto vs thereby that in the first place they scorne and disdayne all men and in the second place that they wrong maligne and deale vniustly with euery man Thus is a proud man fouÌ„d impious towards God iniurious to his neighbour not capable to receyue any good gifts or graces as a certain Philosopher told Alexander perceyuing his pride God
himselfe in his afflictions I should haue bene dumbe and not haue opened my mouth saith he because thou didst it Séeing his troubles came from God he confesseth he should haue indured them patiently Let vs therefore learne what to doe in the same case euen to be patient in our greatest troubles because God inflicts them and layes them vpon vs. The bird being caught in the lime-bush and not knowing the true cause of her calamitie striueth and struggleth to inlarge her selfe but the more she applieth her selfe to procure her fréedome the more she plungeth her selfe into thraldome the more feathers she loseth and the more vnable she makes her selfe to make her escape if she were at libertie Euen so the partie afflicted not knowing or acknowledging from whence his afflictions come the more he laboreth to recouer and rid himselfe out of his troubles the more hee inwrappeth himselfe into troubles the more meanes he vseth of his owne deuising to relieue himselfe the lesse comfort doth he féele and the heauier are his crosses vnto him But as the ship which by the violent course of a spring-tide is driuen vpon the maine doth patiently abide til the next spring-tide come and fetch her off knowing that as she was driuen vpon the ground by the Tide so she must be brought off with a Tide so that person which is crossed or afflicted knowing that his afflictions come from God doth patiently indure them knowing that he which laid his afflictions vpon him can also in his good time remooue them from him Lastly to acknowlege God to be the author of our afflictions stirreth vs vp more duly seriously to serue please him according to his wil. If there could haue bin found but 10. righteous men in Sodom the Lord would haue spared the whole citie for those Tens sake So if the Lord finde any thing in vs that is agréeable to his will or acceptable in his sight he will not punish vs nor afflict vs nor crosse vs further then may be for his glory and our good None can promise to himselfe though he be neuer so righteous that he shal be frée from afflictions but the afflictions of Gods children are gentle chastisments they come from the loue of a Father and not from the rigour of a Iudge We neuer read that euer he rayned downe fire brimstone vpon the godly but if at any time he do correct them his corrections are milde fatherly and tending to amendment and not to their destruction If therefore thou wilt haue God fauourable and kind and good vnto thée serue him feare him please him so if he do chastise thée it shal be for thy good and not for thy destruction Now in the third place according to my first obseruations let vs consider the maner of this destruction which the Lord brought vpon Sodom and Gomorrha and that was fire and brimstone fire which as we say hath no mercy fire from heauen which is more fierce fearefull then other fire fire mingled with brimstone whereby the fire became more furious and terrible and the whole Land made barren and fruitlesse for euer And this mercylesse fierce terrible fire mingled with brimstone came from heauen in a showre of rayne but neuer was there such a showre of rayne fell vpon the earth This was a rayne not to coole and refresh the earth but to burne and consume the earth and the Inhabitants thereof This was a raine not to make the Earth fruitfull but to make it fruitlesse for euermore This was a raine not to moysten the earth nor to make it spring and bring foorth things necessary for mans vse but it was a rayne to skorch and parch the Earth and to destroy both man and beast from the face of the Earth for it rayned fire and brimstone from heauen In the destruction of the old world we read that it rayned vpon the earth forty dayes and fortynights but it was water simply without any other mixture Amongst the rest of the plagues of Egypt raine was one but it rayned hailesâ—ones fire mingled with the haile and that raine hurt nothing but what was in the field but this raine which fell vpon Sodom was not water but fire nor hayle mingled with fire but fire mingled with brimstone and it did not onely destroy that which was in the field but whatsoeuer was either in field or citie within the house or without at home or abroad was destroyed with this raine man woman and child beast and cattell trées and herbes all perished with this raine And the more strange was y e maner of this iudgemeÌ„t because it is sayd that brimstone came from heauen We often read of brimstone in hell but it is very strange that a thing of so stinking and odious a smell as brimstone is should come from such a swéete and pleasant place as heauen is Lamentable and rufull hath béene the diuastation ouerthrow of diuers cities in the world as of Troy Carthage Ierusalem Thebes and such like insomuch as the very relation of their ruines hath mooued mens hearts to pittie the perplexed estate of all degrées distressed with such desolation But the maner of this destruction wherewith Sodom and Gomorrha were ouerthrowne is without comparison Neuer was there people so distressed If the rude and barbarous souldier had entred these cities by force and had put man woman child to the swoord imbruing their hands in the reuerend bloud of the old men ripping vp the bodies of women great with child taking the Infants sucking babes out of their cradles vpon the points of their speares deflowring wiues rauishing maides spoyling the widdowes and fatherlesse sparing no age sexe or degrée but destroying all before them with fire sword this had bene lamentable but yet such is the condition of warre and no strange thing had happened to these Cityes but such as had bene common to other cityes in their ouerthrow If the Lord had sent a famine vpon the people of these cities of Sodom Gomorrha broken their staffe of bread and diminished the oyle in the cruze and the meale in the barrell and had dryed vp all their springs fountaines so that they had bene inforced to haue eaten and drunke their owne excrements euery man to haue eaten the flesh of his owne arme and euery mother the childe of her owne wombe this had bene very miserable yet such as diuers other people besides haue tasted of But this people were otherwise surprised It was no mortall enimy but the immortall God that fought against this people The heauens sent downe their forces against this people and therefore in vaine was it to lift vp hands head or eyes towards heauen because from thence came their destruction If an enemy of the same mould that this people were of had besieged them there might haue béene some treaty some parley some conditions of peace of departing with bagge and
and iniquity The suddennesse of Sodoms destruction appeares in that the History reporteth that it happened by the Sunne-rise in the morning so that their destruction came vpon them vnawares Ouer-night they were all gathered together about Lots house to breake open his dores and in the morning their owne houses crackle about their eares are burnt ouer their heads and they themselues consumed in the same fire They made Lot and his ghests haue an ill night but now they themselues haue a worse morning for in their sinfull beds did the fire take them or if they were risen from their beds a showre of fire and brimstone gaue them a wofull good morrow And though this fire and brimstone came downe in a showre of rayne yet it was such a showre as was not discerned before it came the Skye was not ouercast the Sunne was not ouershaddowed with clouds nor the firmament with gloomy and thicke darkenesse as vsually it is before other showres but the Sunne did rise as fayre and bright vpon the earth as at other times so that there was no cause to expect or feare such a showre and by reason it hapned so soone in the Morning it took some of them in their beds some asléep some not throughly wakened some apparrelling themselues others preparing themselues to go about their sundry occasions but none of them dreaming of such an hot seruice as to haue fire and brimstone to their breakefast When Almighty God brought that vniuersall floud vpon the old world Noah was a Preacher vnto them of that age and by preparing the Arke he gaue them warning what was intended towards them In like maner when Iericho was layd leuell with the ground the ruines of that City were in a maner made manifest vnto the Inhabitants thereof by the seuen dayes compassing of it about and the sound of the trumpets did as it were sound foorth their destruction vnto them and euen vnto Pharaoh was Moses sent still the day before to forewarne him and giue him knowledge of the plagues which should ensue the day after but in this destruction of the Sodomites there was no man to forewarne them of it no prediction to foretell it no signe to demonstrate it so suddenly doeth vengeance take them euen vnawares and when they little thought of any such matter From whence growes this instruction vnto vs that such as continue and goe on still in their wickednes without repentance shall suddenly be destroyed before they be aware God sendeth downe his vengeance suddenly vpon the wicked euen when they cry Peace Peace and all is well then doth vengeance come suddenly vpon them as sorrow commeth vpon a woman trauayling with child This Elihu noted in his experience They dye suddenly sayth he meaning the wicked and the people shal be troubled at midnight that is when they looke not for it and they shall passe foorth meaning the iudgements of God and take away the mighty without hand that is quickly or contrary to all expectation Many and fearefull are the examples which we haue in the Scriptures concerning this matter Lots wife turning her head awry was her selfe at that very instant turned into a pillar of salt Zimry and Cozby were both slaine amidst their filthines Belshazzar in the height of his feasting reuelling and banquetting had his iudgement laid vpon him Dauid being astonied at the sudden destruction of the wicked maketh an exclamation by way of admiration concerning this matter Psalm 73.19 Oh how suddenly sayth he are they destroyed perished horribly consumed And surely the sudden destruction of the wicked is not onely terrible to them y t are striken with it but it causeth as many to wonder as eyther heare of it or behold it When the earth opened swallowed vp Corah Dathan and Abiram with their wiues and children they themselues did not onely send foorth pittifull and rufull outcryes at the suddennes of their owne destruction but all Israel that were about them fled at the cry of them death come it neuer so gently yet it is most terrible dreadfull to nature because it destroys nature but sudden death is a degrée more fearefull then death because death is the way of all flesh and it is appoynted for all men once to dye and therefore it is wisedome patiently to beare and not to feare that which cannot be auoyded but sudden death is neyther common to all nor necessary for any but it is like a Kains marke set vpon some few for examples sake to warne others to feare and liue preparedly In all worldly reason it is better to dye in a moment then of a long languishing sickenes Therefore Caesar was wont to say Repentinus inopinatus finis vitae est commodissimus But howsoeuer a long languishing sickenes is grieuous to nature and tedious to flesh and blood yet therein a man hath time to compose and set himself in order to dispose and set his house in order to yeld back his spirit to God which gaue it with old Simeon to sing that Swanlike song Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace according to thy word to giue testimony to the world that he dyes in the true faith of Christ and in loue and charity with all men so that he leaues a good report behind him which as Salomon sayth is better then a precious oyntment But as for him that dyes suddenly he can do none of these things and therefore he leaues a suspition behind him neyther can the iudging Nature of man hardly beléeue charitably of him For indéed to say the truth where God will haue mercy he commonly giues time to craue mercy but when he strikes suddenly it is a fearefull signe that he meanes to haue no mercy for so he threatens to the vngodly His destruction shall come suddenly he shal be destroyed speedily without recouery These things being duly considered we haue iust cause to pray with the Church in her Liturgy From sudden death good Lord deliuer vs. But you will say that we ought continually to liue so prepared and prouided for death that we should be ready at all times steale it neuer so suddenly vpon vs. True it is such in déed should be our readines and preparation But yet this is no good argument that therefore we should not pray against sudden death for thus I will instance against it Euery man is bound to prouide for his family things honest and necessary for their reliefe and mainetenance and he that doth not so is worse then an Infidell yet euery man notwithstanding must pray Giue vs this day our dayly bread Our prouision for bread must not hinder our prayer for bread neyther must our preparation for death hinder our praying against sudden death But you will say vnto me Doe you condemne all that dye suddenly or doe you thinke that sudden death is alwayes a spirituall iudgement What say you to good
causes and in respect of our selues it extinguisheth the feare of God in vs it hinders our repentance and conuersion vnto God it drawes vs to Atheisme and to a flat contempt both of God and his Iudgements Pharaoh was not mooued with all the miracles that Moses Aaron could doe so long as hée saw his Sorcerers could doe the same because he attributed whatsoeuer was in those miracles to Art and Nature and not to the power of God The beasts of the field doe not tremble at the braying of an Asse but they are horrible afraid at the roaring of a Lyon So we tremble not we are nothing afraid we are not mooued with any thing be it neuer so strange so long as we are perswaded it comes from naturall causes but when we acknowledge the hand of God in such things as befall vs this bréeds in vs a feare of his Maiestie and we are the sooner mooued to repentance and amendment of life Origen is very bitter against these starre-gazing Naturalists and sayth of them that Dum alias stellas beneficas alias maleficas faciunt os suum in coelum aperiuno Whiles they make some Planets beneuolent and some maleuolent they open their mouth against heauen it selfe And that ancient Counsell of Toledo holden in the foure hundreth yéere after Christ decréed thus against them Si quis Mathesi aut Astrologiae existimat credendum Anathema sit Let him be accursed y t thinks there is any credit to be giuen to Astrology or Mathematisme What comfort I pray you can any man haue to thinke y t the Planets are the causes of such things as happen in the world Admit the Planets could hurt vs can they heale vs when they haue hurt vs can they relieue vs when they haue plagued vs can they helpe vs when they haue crost vs That man therefore must néeds be comfortles in his afflictions that attributes the cause of them to the influence of the Starres or to Fortune or to necessity or to any other secondary cause whatsoeuer But as the Lord Iehouah did execute this terrible iudgement vpon Sodom and Gomorrha by the Lord Christ so we must confesse and acknowledge that it is God and not Nature the Almighty and not the Planets the Lord of heauen and earth and not Lady Fortune that is the cause of all such things as happen here in the world whether they be particular or generall whether they be cursings or blessings safety or destruction losse or gaine iudgements or mercies prosperity or aduersity This doth the Almighty himselfe witnes of himselfe Esay 45.7 I make peace and I make euill And the Prophet Amos affirmeth the same thing of God Is there any euill in the City and the Lord hath not done it sayth the Prophet Both which places do pregnantly proue vnto vs that whether it be good or euill that happeneth vnto vs God is the Author of it and it commeth from him as the true and onely cause thereof Therefore the Prophet Ieremy demaunds this Question of these that do so curiously obserue the rules of Nature Can the heauens giue showres is it not thou O Lord our God saith the Prophet God being the God of nature ouer-rules nature he calleth the starres by their names and therefore disposeth them at his pleasure guides the Planets after his will Let vs not therefore employ our studyes in such vaine Arts which haue no certainty in them Let vs not beléeue nor consent nor consult with the rules therof for as Hierome well saith such Arts and the professours practisers and inquirers after the same doe more harme in a citie then fire And therefore the Councell of Venice holden in the foure hundred and sixtieth yéere after Christ decréed that if any man did study Astrologie or gaue credit to any such as did studie that Art if he were a minister he should be depriued whatsoeuer he were he should be excommunicate For indéede these inferiour though celestiall creatures were made to serue man and not to rule man Let vs not therefore obserue them attribute any thing vnto them feare them nor consult with them for thereby we prooue both iniurious to God to our selues to the creatures But this is our wisdome to follow the counsel of the prophet which is acknowledge the rod who hath appointed it when any crosse affliction iudgement losse or tribulation doth befall vs we must confesse acknowledge that by our sins we haue iustly deserued the same in the second place we must confesse acknowledge that God hath appointed ordeined inflicted laid the same vpon vs not the starres nor Fortune nor Planets nor Destiny nor the diuell nor man nor any other creature in heauen or earth but as the Lord rayned fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heauen vpon these cities this countrey of Sodom Gomorrah so al our crosses losses afflictions and tribulations come from the Lord out of heauen This Iob wel vnderstood acknowledged for although the Chaldeans and Shabeans spoyled him of his Oxen Asses and Camells yet Iob ascribes it all to God The Lord hath taken it away sayth he So likewise Sathan is said to haue smitten Iob with sore biles from the crowne of the head to the sole of his foote yet he lays it vpon God The hand of God hath touched me sayth Iob. When Shemei cursed Dauid threw stones at him and rayled vpon him howsoeuer the sonnes of Zaruiah tooke it to be the cursing of a dead dog yet Dauid ascribed it to God The Lord sayth he hath bidden Shemei to curse Dauid Whereby it is apparant that there is no euill that happens vnto vs I mean the euill of punishment or affliction but God is the Author of it and layes the same vpon vs and to know and acknowledge this is great comfort vnto vs for as God woundeth vs so he is able to heale vs as he afflicteth vs so he can remoue our afflictions from vs and therefore this bréedeth in vs a feruency in prayer according to the counsell of the Apostle Is any man afflicted amongst you let him pray But to whom should he pray in his afflictions to the Starres and Planets to Fortune and Chance to Fate Destiny None of these can relieue vs they cannot heale vs they cannot helpe vs. But heere is our comfort that God afflicting vs he can also comfort vs therefore this prouoketh vs to be instant with God by prayer Againe to acknowledge God to bée the Authour of our afflictions it bréedeth patience in vs Euery one of vs by Nature are wonderfull impatient euen in the least crosses which can befall vs and the reason is because we do not acknowledge from whence our crosses come for it we did we would neuer be found to striue against God Dauid confessing his infirmity in this case teacheth euery man his duety and how to carry
sinne of the parents spiritually and eternally if it walke in good wayes and betake it selfe to holy and vertuous courses but if the childe of vngodly parents liue neuer so carefully and conscionably according to Gods will yet the Lord will visit the sinnes of the parents vpon it corporally temporally and if it walke in the wayes of the parents it shall beare the sinnes of the parents eternally also But admit that a childe of vngodly parents neuer come to commit sinne actually the Lord in his iustice may visit the sinnes of the parents vpon that childe both temporally and eternally because it is of the same nature that the parēts are euen as the Hunts-man finding a litter of some noysome obnoxious beastes killes them though they neuer did harme because their nature is to doe harme if they liue euen so God in his iustice may destroy the very infants and sucking babes both temporally and eternally though they neuer committed sinne actually because their nature is corrupt and tainted by propagation from their parents But you will say vnto mée The like may bée sayd of the children of godly parents No For the godly haue a promise that God will not onely bée their GOD but the GOD of their séede also so that if the children of the godly dye while they hang vpon the brest or in the wombe yet there is hope of mercy by reason of the promise but if the children of the wicked dye before they be of power to commit sinne actually there is no hope of mercy but a fearful expectatiō of iustice because there is no promise of mercy belōging vnto them You sée then the reason why God destroied those infants sucking babes of Sodom with this temporall iudgement of fire brimstone euen because they were children of vngodly parēts And if he hath destroyed them eternally he hath done no more then in his iustice he might because he neuer made promise of mercy vnto them The second reason why God destroyed these children was to increase the griefe and sorrow of their parents for commonly the miseries of our children are more grieuous vnto vs then our owne miseries Dauid tooke the death of his sonne Absalō so heauily that hée wisht hée had dyed for him And out of question when this people saw their children lie sprawling in the fire scorcht and burnt with the heate thereof when they heard them scréeke and cry and could not helpe them it was as grieuous vnto them as their owne miserie and therefore the Lord did it euen to increase and inlarge their sorrow The third reason why the Lord destroyed these children was because they should not walke in the wicked abominable waies of their parents for if they had liued the nature which they drew from their parents would haue drawne them to the sinnes of their parents lest therefore these children should haue traced the sinfull steps of their parents the Lord takes them away in the same destruction with their parents The last reason why these children were destroyed was because GOD would leaue none of that wicked brood to remaine vpon the earth there were ouer-many of that ranke already and therefore the Lord to the end he might roote out the memorie of this people he destroyed children and all Whereby man is taught to liue holily iustly and soberly in this world forasmuch as a man is not wicked onely to himselfe but to his posteritie also The wickednesse of the parents lyes heauily vpon the children and therefore if thou hast no regard of thine owne soule yet haue a respect of thy children and for their sakes cease to doe euill The Prophet Esay summons the children of Witches the séed of the adulterer and of the whore and the children of the rebellious hée summons them all before God and he layes this heauie iudgement vpon them There is no peace to the wicked saith my God It is a fearefull thing to be the child of an Usurer of an Adulterer or Whore of a Drunkard of a murtherer of a blasphemer or of any other notorious wicked person whatsoeuer for surely God will visit the sinnes of the parents vpon the children as he hath threatned in the commandement temporally liue the children neuer so well but temporally and spiritually both if the children doe walke in the wayes of their parents Last of all concerning the generalitie of that destruction which the LORD brought vpon this Countrey and people it is said that Hee destroyed all that grew vpon the earth or as Tremelius hath learnedly translated the same wordes thus All that the earth brought forth and nourished all cattell and beasts of the field all creeping things and whatsoeuer was vpon the face of the earth was destroyed in this ouerthrow And here we may iustly wonder at the iudgements of God which he extendeth not only vnto man which hath iudgements will nor vnto babes and sucklings which are tainted with corruption by the propagation of nature from their parents but also to vnreasonable creatures which neuer sinned but are subiect to vanitie against their willes which doe not offend their Creator but follow the law of their creation and shall neuer come into iudgement yet these creatures as void of sinne as of reason are oftentimes plagued and destroyed for the sinne of man Thus was the earth cursed for the sinne of Adam Thus were al these creatures destroyed with the floud for the sinne of that age and yet we may say of them as Pithagoras sometimes said Quid meruistis oues placidum pecus Quid meruere boues animal sine fraude What haue these poore sillie creatures deserued that they should bée punished nay destroyed hauing neuer offended Wée are the sinfull wretches of the world workers of all iniquitie deseruing not to be scourged with rods but with Scorpions We I say being onely nocent cause innocencie it selfe to be punished for our transgressions Behold then O sinfull man thine owne vngraciousnesse thou doest not only procure vengeance to thy selfe by thy sinne but to euery thing else that doth serue thy sinfull vse Man by his creation is a Lord and a high commander vpon the earth for as it is in the Psalme he hath dominion ouer all the workes of God all things are put in subiection vnder his feet all sheepe and oxen yea and the beastes of the field the birdes of the ayre the fishes of the sea and whatsoeuer walketh thorow the pathes of the seas So that man in reason should content himselfe with this dominion and Lordship which he hath ouer the creatures and not séeke and procure the destruction of them Man should satisfie himselfe with the vse and commoditie of these creatures and not seeke the ruine and wracke of these poore bond-seruants both by ill intreating them himselfe and by prouoking God with his sinne to plague punish and destroy them And surely but that the prouidence of God doth restraine
themselues to labour Nay séeing the deuill himselfe spends not his time idly they are worse then the deuill which suffer the dayes of worke to slide away without labouring in the workes of their vocation Idlenes as Barnard saith is a sink of all lustfull and lawlesse temptations What was the cause that Aegisthus became an Adulterer In promptu causa est desidiosus erat Idlenesse was the cause that prouoked him thereunto And if you will know the cause of so many robberies in the fields ryots in the stréets disorders in euery place in a word all these many more inconueniences procéed and grow from idlenesse for euen as that water that hath no currēt doth in short time corrupt become offensiue so that body or mind which exerciseth it selfe about no imployment becomes a very sinke of all lewdnesse disorder Salomon went by the field of the sluggard and lo it was all growne ouer with thornes and nettles had couered the face thereof And as the field of the slouthfull is couered with nettles and thornes so his body is ouer-growne with infirmities his minde corrupted with the infection of sinne his conscience destitute of a good testimony to it selfe and his soule voyd of all hope of eternall happinesse God hath placed vs in this world as labourers in his vineyard as souldiers in his campe as trauellers to séeke a countrey to rest our selues in as cursitors or runners in a race whereby wee may gather that idlenesse is not our profession for we cannot obtaine except we run the race we cannot ouercome except wée fight manfully we cannot haue that pennie except we labour in the vineyard the fruitles trée must be cast into the fire The vnprofitable seruant must be bound hand and foote and cast into vtter darknes Therefore whosoeuer rests here in this world where he should labour shal labour in the world to come where he thinks to rest Our Sauiour Christ promiseth his disciples that when he should rest they should rest also But when did our Sauiour Christ rest sayth Barnard not in this world for he went about doing good and reioyced as a mighty Giant to runne his course therefore his disciples must not looke to sit and rest them in this world It is a shame sayth Augustine that the Sunne whose going out is from the end of the heauen and whose compasse is to the ends of the same should take any man in his bed for may not the Sunne rightly say to such a sluggard I trauelled a greater iourney yesterday then thou didst and art thou in bed after me this morning It should séeme that in Iobs time there was very straight order taken for such as liued idly and vnthriftily for they were chased foorth from among men and euery one showted at them as at a théefe And the Apostle Saint Paul maketh a strict decrée against them that such as would not labour should not eate So much hath Idlenes bene alwayes detested among good men therefore no maruell if God brought such a fearefull destruction vpon Sodom whose Inhabitants liued in this abominable and detestable sinne But this people was not onely possessed with a carelesse and secure slumber of Idlenes in their bodyes but in their soules also they did not onely liue loosely and remissely in their ordinary vocations and callings but they liued without all feare of any imminent danger or future calamity that should fall vpon them for their wickednesse they liued sinfully in their liues securely in their hearts Their sinnes cryed for wrath but they cryed Peace peace there shall no harme happen vnto vs they prouoked the Lord to vengeance and yet they promised themselues safetie This slumber of the soule is worse then that of the body for it is a present forerunner of destruction when men shal say Peace and safety then shall come vpon them sudden destruction as trauell vpon a woman with childe and they shall not escape Our Sauiour Christ dehorteth vs from this security by the fearefull example of the old world for whiles they in that age did eate and drinke and buy and sell and marry wiues and were marryed the flood came and drowned them all so if wée liue and lye snorting vpon the carelesse beds of sinfull securitie the wrath of God will come suddenly vpon vs and destroy vs. For this cause the Apostle perswadeth the feare of the Lord vnto men And S. Peter exhorteth men to passe the time of their pilgrimage here in this world in feare and Salomon pronounceth those blessed that liue alwayes in feare for they which harden their hearts shall fall into euill This security is one of the signes which shall goe before that great and finall destruction of the world at the last day and it is said that the day of the Lord shall come as a thiefe in the night euen when men are in the dead sléepe of sinne then shall the last iudgement come vpon them Whiles the Mariner sléepes at the helme the ship is soone run against a rocke Iael doth easily strike a nayle in the temples of Sisera whiles he sléepeth vnder a couering Dauid comming vpon the Amalechites finding them eating and drinking and dancing slew euery man of them and recouered all the spoyle So when men feare nothing but passe their time in pleasures delights and vanities without feare of God or his iudgements then doth God come vpon them suddenly and destroyes them without mercy Therefore our Sauiour Christ giues euery one warning of this careles security and accounts him an ill seruant that shall say in his heart My master doth deferre his cōming and so beginneth to eate and drinke with the drunken and smite his fellow seruants The master of this careles and secure seruant shall come in a day sayth our Sauiour Christ when he looketh not for him in an houre that he is not aware of will cut him off and giue him his portion with Hypocrites where shall be wéeping and gnashing of téeth Seing therefore this people of Sodom laboured of so dangerous a Lithargy they were iustly surprised with so strange and fearefull a iudgement The fourth sinne of Sodom was They did not strengthen y e hand of the poore they were vnmercyfull vncharitable and hard-hearted towards the néedy and surely they could not otherwise be for a proud heart a full belly and a vaine careles idle head neuer regards y e distressed estate of those that are in want and misery Other sinnes prouoke God to wrath and indignation but this sinne prouokes him to deny mercy and to become inexorable according to that saying of the Apostle There shal be iudgement merciles to him that sheweth no mercy And the reason why God will shew no mercy to those that are mercylesse vnto the poore eyther in oppressing them or in not relieuing them is because he taketh all vnmercyfull and vncharitable
dealing with the poore to be an iniury done vnto his owne person according to that saying of Salomon He that oppresseth the poore reprocheth him that made him Thus you may well perceiue that all the wrong that is done to the poore the LORD doth take it as done to himselfe for in euery place throughout all the whole Scripture the Lord GOD doth professe himselfe to bée the Gardian and kéeper of the poore and néedy and acknowledgeth them to be his Wardes and Pupils and therefore God wil reuenge himself in iustice without mercie vpon all those which either deale vncharitably or iniuriously with them Whereupon the Lord expostulates the matter with his people and demaunds of them What they had to doe to grinde the faces of the poore As though it were a thing that they could not iustifie And to the end that all the cruell and vnmercifull of the world might know that GOD will not suffer the wrongs that are done to the poore to escape vnreuēged hee proclaimes it to the world by the Prophet Dauid that for the comfortlesse troubles sake of the needy and because of the deepe sighing of the poore I will vp saith the Lord and helpe euery one from him that swelleth against him and will set them at rest As if he should say Though I passe ouer other sinnes and beare with patience other indignities though I sit still and winke at other transgressions yet when the case concernes the poore when my Orphans and Wards are wronged then I will vp saith the Lord I le beare no longer but I will reuenge their cause and relieue them For which cause Salomon giues al the vnmercifull dogges of the world warning not to bite nor deuoure these silly shéepe for the Lord will defend their cause saith he spoile the soule of those that spoyle them The poore saith S. Augustine are Gods barnes in which except we lay our earthly treasures of pittie and compassion in this world we shall not finde that heauenly treasure of euerlasting life in the world to come Many and fearefull are the plagues which are threatned against those which deale vnmercifully with the poore Their prayers are abominable the Lord will not heare them though they cry vnto him in the bitternesse of their soule He that stoppeth his eare at the cry of the poore shall also cry and not be heard In which words Salomō doth giue vs two things to vnderstand first that the vnmercyfull men shall crye how rich how honorable how potent and mighty soeuer they be yet the Lord will lay some grieuous thing or other vpon them eyther in health or in sicknesse eyther in this world or in the world to come that shall make them cry as vpon their death-bed the guiltynesse of their owne conscience the feare of death the horrour of hell and dread of damnation If God lay these things vpon them they wil be inforced to cry but if not yet certaynly they shall cry in hell with their fellow Diues for cry they shall as Salomon sayth but the second thing is they shal not be heard The Lions roare and the Lord heareth them The young Rauens cry and he heareth them he heares the heauens he heares the blood of those that are murthered and indéede he heares all things but an vnmercyfull man he shall cry and not be heard Diues is a notable president to all those that are dogged and hard-hearted towards the poore he cryed not in this world he had his pleasure as many more rich men haue but for all that the saying of Salomon proued true vpon him for though he cryed not in this world yet he cryed in hell I am tormented in this flame But was he heard Alas no he could not haue so much as a drop of cold water graunted him This therefore is one plague and a fearefull one also which shall happen to all vnmercyfull cruell and vncharitable persons They shall cry and not be heard The second misery that shall befall those that do not strēgthen the hand of the poore nor succor them in their miseryes is they shall not inioy y e things which they chiefly desire to inioy their present hope shal be frustrate and when they think thēselues to be the surest of their wished desires euen then shal they be depriued of al their hopes and shall neuer sée the fruites of their labours This doth the Lord threaten by the Prophet Forasmuch he sayth as your treading is vpon the poore ye haue built houses of hewne stone but yee shall not dwell in them yee haue planted pleasant vineyards but yee shall not drinke wine of them This is the miserie of the vnmercifull they shall purchase for others to inherite they shall builde houses for others to dwell in they shall get and scrape together but others shall inioy their hopes and carry away the fruits of their labours Nabal that foolish Churle may serue for an example to confirme the truth of this vnto vs who out of his hard and incompassionate heart denyed his bread his water and his flesh to Dauid and his followers in the wildernesse This Nabal did sheare his shéepe but he neuer liued to sell his wooll he made a great feast but hee neuer digested his meate for he became as a stone and dyed in tenne dayes after So shal the hopes of all the vnmercifull bee frustrate and they shall not be partakers of their wished desires but leaue their labours for others to inioy Now if the sinne of vnmercifulnes did onely prouoke God to inflict priuate and particular punishments vpon men it were the more to bee borne withall but indéed it procureth the fierce wrath of God and his heauy iudgements vpon a whole land and against a people or nation in generall For so the Lord hath threatned by his Prophet Heare this ye that swallow vp the poore that yee may make the needy of the land to faile shall not the land tremble for this and euery one mourne that dwelleth therein So that vnmercifull men do not onely prouoke the vengeance of God vpon themselues but to the land wherein they inhabite and to the people of the land where they dwell No maruell then if the Lord God brought such a feareful and strange punishment vpon Sodom and Gomorrah and the people of that country séeing this sinne of vnmercifulnesse was rooted amongst them so that they did not strengthen the hand of the poore The last miserie that shall befal vnmercifull men is that last and dreadfull speech which shall be pronounced vnto them at the day of iudgement Depart yee cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the deuil and his angels Then shal al the vnmerciful of the world know and féele to their wofull experience that there is a God that reuengeth the cause of the poore and néedie Then they shall pay deare for all that they haue gotten by oppressiō and wrong and by
hard and vnmercifull dealing Then shall they haue as much torments as euer they had pleasure and as little comfort as euer they had mercie depart they must from the presence and fauour of God for euermore If vnmerciful and vncharitable persons would but think of such a day of such a spéech of such a departure and of such a fire they would distribute and giue to the poore they would make friends of their vnrighteous Mammon that in the world to come they might be receiued into euerlasting habitations and not thrust into euerlasting fire The last sinne of Sodom was that vnnaturall sinne which taking the name of that citie hath carried it euer since and is called Sodomy In speaking whereof I will follow the aduice of Simmachus who saith that it is the safest not once to name it Paul had not knowne what lust meant but that the Law said Thou shalt not lust So that sinne tooke occasion by the Law to worke concupiscence in Paul So if I should discourse of this sinne you might haply say vnto mee Wée had not knowne what this sin meant if you had not taught vs. Therefore Solō would not make any law against parricide lest whiles he went about to represse it by law hee should teach it rather So if I should lay open this sinne at large I should rather teach the world it then doe any thing else I will therefore passe it ouer in silence as not worthy once to be named Thus haue we heard the destruction of Sodom and the sinnes of Sodom which were the cause of her destruction and now it remaines that wee compare the sinnes of Sodom and the sinnes of England together For if we find our sins to be as great as the sinnes of Sodom we haue iust cause to expect some such like fearefull iudgement to bee inflicted vpon vs as was vpon that Citie people and countrie And first concerning the sin of pride it is notorious that we of England are no whit inferiour to those of Sodom in this sinne For whether we consider pride as it is the botch of Nobilitie Honour or the leprosie of riches or the bile of apparell or the scourge of authoritie or the madnes of building or the bane of good learning certayne it is that pride was neuer at such an height as it is amongst vs in this age The Noble man will not be reproued the rich man must not be mated y e gay coate must be honored authority will not yéelde sumptuous building must looke ouer the whole country and learning makes vs swell aboue the banks of modesty and sobriety So euery one thinks better of himselfe then of others and euery one in the height of their pride scorneth another and herevpon comes those dissensions oppositions contentions diuisions enuy emulation amongst vs for as Deborah sung of Ruben so may we sing of our selues The diuisions of England are great thoughts of heart Aske the poore country Farmer wherevpon it is that such vnreasonable fines are exacted of him why his rents are so rackt and enhaunst and hee will tell thee it is to maintaine the pride of his Land-lord Land-lady Hospitalitie charitie patience humilitie almost all vertue both diuine and morall are by pride exiled and banished this land The subiect is like the Prince the seruant like the master the maid like the mistresse and such a confusion and disorder hath pride brought into this land that euery one hath forgottē their duetie calling and condition The faces of the Elders are not had in honor that ancient reuerence which sometime was giuen to the sacred calling of the Clergie pride hath now turned into great contempt deuotion is scorned we giue nothing for pride perswades vs that all is too little for our selues We forgiue nothing for our pride still prouokes vs to crueltie and reuenge That humble homely habite which kings in former times haue vsed in their apparell is now of euery base vnthrift and prodigall companion scorned Those frugall fashions course stuffes both for woofe and workemanship which ancient times delighted in are now turned into veluets and silks of most strange and hellish deuices The pride and profusion in apparell together with the fashions and inuentions which are vsuall in England were not once heard of in Sodom in the day of her iniquitie Our women as soone as they rise put on a Pedlers pack vpon their backs they paint their faces pinne their ruffes frizzle their haire then their dayes work is done Many there be whose apparell is more worth then all their estate beside and very few there be but their apparell is better then themselues Our Sauiour Christ noted the rich gluttō for that he was clothed in purple fine linnen but how many may he brand with y e mark of his heauy displeasure which amōgst vs go as braue as he euery day O that lawes could redresse y e pride of England shame suppresse it or preaching breake the neck of it but all men women haue so generally taken it vp that neyther lawes shame nor preaching can take it away There is nothing that hath vndone Gentlemen men of other ranck so much as pride and profusion Neyther are we euer to expect or looke for happy good dayes till such time as authority deuise some meanes to purge out of the body of this Realme the superfluous humour of this sinne for it confounds all consumes all vndoes all Thus by wofull experience we haue foūd our pride to be growne to the highest pitch so that the pride of Sodom could not excéede it Now in the second place we are to compare the excesse in meate drinke which was in Sodom to that of our countrey of England of whom it may be truely sayd that we build houses as though we should neuer dye and we eate and drinke as though we should dye to morow The very creatures cry out vpon vs for this sinne because we abuse them and kill them not for our necessity onely but also for our excesse and riot we kill them not to eate onely but to eate them deliciously and intemperately Our fasting dayes are despised and we estéeme it a poynt of superstitious Popery to obserue dayes and abstayne from meats The Church in the time of Saint Ambrose condenmed y e Iouianists for heretikes because they called fasting delirium a mockery or madnes And haue not we them amongst vs at this day that hold fasting to be superstitiō And although in former times the time of Lent was approued and commaunded by nine seueral Councels and Synodes besides the Canon of the Apostles commaunding the same yet we making a God of our bellies do without any difference serue the beastly desires of the same And although authority hath taken order often to restraine this our excesse in eating and drinking yet when did wee pull one dish from our tables or withhold one morsel
froÌ„ our bowels in signe of obedience to authoritie and of contrition towards God But what doe I speake of fasting séeing our soules abhorre it and in stead thereof haue intertained feasting in which we shew our selues to bee Gentiles rather then Christians Our feasts are the feasts of Sodom and we imitate that villainous Emperor Vitellius in his insatiable gluttony of whom we read that at one Supper he had prepared for him 2000. sundry sorts of fish and 7000. sorts of Fowle So the multitude of dishes and the varietie of seruices is our glorie at our feasts And whereas one wood doeth yeeld sufficient sustenance for many Elephants the earth the ayre the sea will hardly minister prouision for one of our feasts but still we say We are sory we haue no cheare and therefore it is not possible that the excesse of Sodom in their fulnesse of bread should be greater then ours in England The third sinne of Sodom was idlenesse in which sinne if we compare our selues with them wee shall finde our selues nothing inferior vnto them The Steward in the Gospell that wasted his masters goods confessed fréely that he could not worke that he was ashamed to beg but we haue them amongst vs that can worke and yet are not ashamed to beg being so impudent in this kind y t neither shame nor lawes can restraine them The Theaters the Tauerns y e Bowle-alleyes the Brothel-houses y e fields the stréets of Sodom did neuer swarme more thicke with such vermin then ours do to the great displeasure of Almightie God the vnspeakable detriment of our couÌ„trie and Common-wealth The rich sit downe to eat and drinke and rise vp to play The poore laborer was neuer more idle in his calling theÌ„ at this day hee hath learned to make two dayes worke of one he makes no coÌ„science how he gets his wages nor how he slubbers vp his worke The Tradesman doth not liue on the labour of his hands but by the tricks of his wits and therefore is euery thing so deceitfull full of sleight because idle hands haue the handling of it Others there be which take the paines to rise to their dinner and then walke to a play and so returne home by a whore-house theÌ„ to supper and lastly to bed and thus they passe their time from day to day as vnprofitably as euer did Margâ—tes of whom it is sayd that he did nothing in all his life that might tend to good Thus our Land is become a poole of standing waters a hiue of Drones and except Authority draw foorth the sword of correction against the idle lozells of this Land they will in time deuoure all the swéet from the paynefull and industrious hand for where no Oxen are there the crib is empty and where none are that be paynefull there is but want and beggery Peter must be commaunded to cast foorth his Nets The watchman must be charged to stand vpon his watch and not vpon his honour ease and reputation Caesar must not sléepe when he should administer iustice nor the Captayne must not be in the Tauerne when he should be in the field nor the Tradesman nor the Gentleman nor the Laborer must in no wise haue idlenesse sticke in their fingers ends for as it was one sinne amongst the rest that procured the ouerthrow of Sodom so will it together with other sinnes hasten our iudgement vpon vs séeing we haue it in as great abouÌ„dance amongst vs as euer they had it amongst them And now order leades me to y e comparison of a sin practised amongst vs wherein indéed we suffer no comparison which is vnmercyfulnes towards the poore and néedy Our vnmercyfull vncharitable dealing with the poore was not heard of in the day of Sodoms iniquity for their vncharitablenesse onely extended it selfe to strangers as farre as can bee gathered by Historie They were inhospitales they harbored no strangers but if any stranger happened to come into this country they abused him strangely and villainously and for this cause they would haue vsed Lot so il because he intertained and lodged strangers following herein the custome of other nations but especially of the Egyptians who offered al strangers that arriued there vpon the altar of Busiris being sometimes King of Egypt in whose raigne there was a great drought in the land for the space of nine yéeres whereupon Busiris sent into Grecia for certain soothsayers to be sent him to the end that by them hee might be certainly informed of the cause of this drought vnto whom was sent Thasius a man very expert in this kind who certified the king that the ouerflowing of Nilus could not be procured but by the blood of some stranger offered vp to Iupiter in sacrifice Whereupon Busiris fies Iouis hostia primas Inquit et Aegypto tu dabis hospes aquam And so offered this soothsayer stranger vnto Iupiter and euer after these Egyptians in any calamitie or distresse vsed to offer the strangers that arriued amongst them vpoÌ„ the altar of Busiris FroÌ„ which custome of the Egyptians other nations became very barbarous cruell vnmercifull vnto strangers But amongst vs Manasseh eates Ephraim Ephraim eates Manasseh and both of them eate Iuda And it may rightly be said of vs as the Prophet sometimes said of his people There is no mercie in the land For whereas mercie and charity consists in giuing and forgiuing our hard vncompassionate hearts will suffer vs to giue nothing our malicious minds will permit vs to forgiue nothing there was somtimes an age of giuing lending but now our pride our couetousnesse our selfe-loue perswade vs that all is too litle for our selues therfore this modern age neither giues nor lends It may be when we dye then we will and bequeath but as long as we liue we kéepe and hold fast And surely if the most charitable man that liues in this age would but compare that which he giues to the poore with that he spends and bestowes idly vainly and vpon his pleasures he himselfe would cry shame vpon his charity The crying and complayning of the poore in our stréets doth witnesse against vs that we do not strengthen y e hand of the poore There was an age when men would haue forborne much and haue forgiuen much but now we go to law for euery trifling trespasse and we take our debtors by the throat and cast them in prison till they pay the vttermost farthing But it may be the Sodomits were as vnmercyfull as we in giuing and forgiuing but the name of an Incloser was not so much as heard of amongst them and happy had it beene for England if Inclosure had neuer beene knowen Wo bee to these Inclosers euen that wo denounced against them by the Prophet for they are the vnmercifull men of the world they leaue no roome for the poore in the land they appropriate that to themselues which custome hath made