passe not for that Let all such great sheepe-maisters that are decaiers of tillage take héede which will haue no seede furrowes nor haruests nor greatly passe not for them they contradict hoerein Gods ordinance as this place prooues And after we read of Noah as of an obedient subiect to God héerein thus And Noah began to be Ish Haadhmah that is a man wholy giuing himselfe to labour in the earth and he planted a vineyard To plant a vineyard is correspondent in some countries to our sowing of corne and an acre of Mines yeeldes better increase then an acre of our Corne as I haue heard Isaak also as heire of Noah did follow his steps and though a straunger in Aegypt yet we read of him thus And Isaak did sowe corne in that countrie and he found in that yeere an hundred measures and God blessed him Shall Isaak sowe being a stranger in Aegypt and not wée at home Did hée finde an hundred measures for one For so Munster saith that the Chalde Paraphrast doth erpound this And shall we say that we can finde no commoditie by tillage And it followes God blessed him a blessing of God followes tillage They shall not thriue that decay it as erperience teacheth God appeated to Gedeon as he was threshing and appointed him Iudge ouer Israel And doth not this commend threshing Elizeus also whom God did chuse to bee a Prophet in Eliah his roome was a great maintainer of tillage for thus we reade And Eliah departed thence and found Elishah the sonne of Shaphat who was plowing with twelue yoke of oxen before him and he was with the twelue And was not Elizeus a great husbandman who had twelue yoke of oxen and no doubt many plowes going together in his field and many plowmen among whom after hée deuided those two oxen which he killed And doe not all these so beloued of God and giuing themselues so greatly to tillage commend it vnto vs shall we prefer pasture and neglect this Master Camden writes that in England were the stately Palaces of Lady Ceres meaning great Barnes of corne Now we may see in some places some such great Barnes still and Inclosers makes them stande emptie I know whereas 1500. quarters of corne hath béene yéerely growing since inclosure hath beene practised there groweth not now 500. And againe he writes that England for corne was the onely storehouse of all the west Empire And that out of England yeerely the Romanes transported 400. shippes bigger then barkes laden with corne to relieue their souldiers that lay on the borders in Germany In those daies England was able to relieue other countries with corne but sometime now she is glad to buie corne of other countries her selfe Inclosers haue partlie brought this to passe who had rather haue their wooll-houses filled with wooll then their Barnes with corne O dishonorable children to their mother The Preacher also in his booke writes verie excellently in the commendation of tillage If in a countrie saith hée thou seest the oppression of the poore and the defrawding of iudgment and iustice be not afraide at the matter for hee that is higher then the highest regardeth and there be higher then they And the aboundance of the earth is ouer all the King also consists of the field that is tilled Salomon giueth an Item to all that deale hardly with the poore how that the God of heauen beholdeth Nay Shomer as it is in the Hebrew that is marketh and keepeth in memorie all their dealings And that the tillage of the earth surpasseth all and that euen the King thereby is maintained by the foode that it ministreth to strengthen his people and by the multitude of valiant souldiers it affordeth for his warres For as Plinie writes Most strong and valiant souldiers are made of husbandmen and come foorth of the countrie and which thinke no harme And shall wée deale hardly with those that must fight and aduenture their liues for vs And shall wée not maintaine tillage the honorable mother of chiualrie Lechem in Hebrew signifies bread and Lacham to fight They therfore which destroy bread destroy chiualry Nay how can any christian truly say the Lords prayer and pray Giue vs this day our daily bread that decaieth tillage Will he pray for bread and not vse the ordinary meanes to haue bread which is tillage This is plainely to tempt God Will he haue God feede vs miraculously with Manna as hee did Israel in the wildernes In Canaan God will haue plowing and sowing vsed And therefore after the children of Israel came into the lande of Canaan Manna ceased That historie also of the plague in King Dauids daies must teach vs some thing and therein that is especially to be marked to build an Altar in the threshing floore of Araunah It should seeme that God loues threshing flooers and there hée will be praised But Inclosure decaieth tillage and therefore God is not praised in our threshing flâ—oers This may be a cause of the plague amongst vs euen now Let vs erect Altars in the threshing flooers of Araunah and the plague shall cease Inclosers doe thinke that there are too manie men in this lande and that they may decaie townes by their Inclosure and that it is no great matter to â—eâ—aie a towne But God sâ—â—th their thoughts and now he beginneth to diminish the people of this land hee may diminish them as well as they and he beginneth at the very head first Couetousnesse which is the roote of all euill which our Sauiour describes in the Gospel and S. Paul to Timothie and pride which God hates and resists which Esay also paints out vnto vs in his third chapter at large the taking Gods name in vaine for filthy luâ—re For which God wil not hold vs guiltles c. And because deceite and guile goe not out of our streetes And for that by our wicked liues Gods word is euill spoken of These no doubt may séeme to bée the causes of the plague amongst vs God giue all men eies to see their sinnes and to amend them that the plague may cease and especially Citizens and such as inhabit in townes corporate amongst whom these sinnes commonly raigne A second reason against this Inclosure is that it dispeopleth townes THe people are called Gods inheritance Aske of me will giue thee the heathen for thine inheritance the ends of the earth for thy possession And again Behold saith Dauid childreÌ„ are the inheritance of the Lord a reward the fruite of the wombe He putteth behold before this his doctrine as though it were a strange thing and yet most true Secondly he addeth that children are a reward Inclosers manie times lacke this reward they loue the earth so wel that God wil not blesse them with many sonnes Nay Dauid addeth Like as the arrowes in the hand of the Gyant so are the children of
happiest and the best thing in the world and therefore God and Angels are most happie and blessed who loue most And to hate is the worst and most miserable thin in the world and for this cause the denils are most miserable And after lest any man should coine to himselfe a counterfeite Christian charitie This true charitie makes all thinges equall where that flourisheth no man desireth to be preferred before another no man will desire to take away any thing from him that he loueth when as he accompts that he himselfe hath whatsoeuer his friend hath no man will goe to law with him whom he loues none will thinke that he can receiue any iniurie at his hands and therefore neuer thinkes on reuenge no man will enuie him whom he loues nor any man is glad of the harmes of him that is his friend nor is agrieued at his welfare But contrariwise according to the saying of the Apostle He reioyceth with them that reioyce and weepes with them that weepe that not faâ—nedly or counterfeitly but from his very heart Because loue makes all things common and atcompts that his owne which is his whom he loueth Thus Lodouicus Viues describes Christian charitie And how farre off are Inclosers from this Saint Paul saith That if he had all knowledge and all faith euen to remooue mountaines yet without this charitie he were nothing before God And what are Inclosers then that are destitute of all these gifts and lacke this charitie Let them marke this well that this iâ—well Charitie one day before the Maiestie of God shall be more worth than all their golde and great rents and reuenues This is the charitie of all the Saints in heauen For although there be differences of ioyes yet the Saints which haue lesser ioyes accouÌ„t those ioyes through charity also theirs which their brethren doe enioy Now is fulfilled that prayer of Dauid It is time for thee Lord to put to thy hand for Hephiru they haue abrogated they haue made no account of thy lawe And what is Christs law but charitie And that not any charitie but such a charitie as he hath shewed towards vs as Lodouâ—cus Viâ—es here hath described to vs. But it is time for God to put to his hand for this charity is vanished is abrogated is made no account of many thinke that it concernes them not But the very Pagans haue had this charitie and but that they wanted the eye of faith they haue mounted vp herein like blinde Hawkes farre higher than some Christians especially than Inclosers Cymon the Athenian commaunded all hedges and pales to be taken away from his grounds that both Citizens and strangers whosoeuer that stood in neede might haue more free accesse into them to gather Apâ—les and corne And Photion the Athenian said That a man had as good pull downe Churches and Altars as take mercie from amongst men And Iulius Caesar was wont to say That then he waxed rich when as he did any man good And wil Inclosers come behind any of these will they inclose Cymon the Athenian would not doe it Will they not deale charitably in letting of their farmes to their brethren Phocion tels them that they had as good pull downe Churches Doe they account the money in their coffers their treasures Caesar that proud Romane Emperour shall condemne them he thought not so but rather that which he had bestowed liberally Traiane the Emperour was accompted the ioy of mankinde because that he neuer sent any man sad home Oh that all Landlords were Traianes They should bee more for it is more to bee a Christian than to be a Traiane and Saint Paul wills all Christians to walke worthy of their vocation The name of a Christian is the honorablest and bountifullest name in the worlde Christians take their names of the anointing the holy Ghost And what then can be more honourable and bountifull Octauius Caesar â—ccompted that day lost wherein he had done good to no man Oh that all Landlords would spend their daies thus in deuising the good of the townes whereof they are Landlords and not in the impouerishing of them Then we should haue a flourishing Church and a rich Common-wealth Pâ—olome also King of Aegypt was wont to say That he had rather make others rich than be rich himselfe Oh that Inclosers were of this minde Curius also the Romane hauing a great deale of golde offered him of the Samnites â—had rather saith he haue the possessors of the gold Mine than their gold O wise Curius he had rather haue the hearts of the Samnites than their heapes of golde Oh that Inclosers were in this point but as wise as he The day will come when the prayers of tenants shall doe their Landlords more good than their great payments now For that saying of our Sauiour shall stand good wheÌ„as they with their chests full of gold and siluer shall perish Make you friends of your vnrighteous maÌ„moÌ„ that when as you shall depart hence and faile in your account they may receiue you into euerlasting Tabernacles And our Sauiour addes an Emphasis or a Memorandum as we say to this his sentence And I say vnto you as though he should say Marke this well all you rich men whom God hath enriched with his talents Herein follow that same vniust Steward and make you friends of the poore that when you shall depart hence God shall call you to an account of your stewardships as y e great rich man did his steward and shall faile therin the best of you al euen as he did the poore may receiue you into euerlasting tabernacles Make the poore as waters to cast your bread on as y t Preacher counselleth you that you may find it again wheÌ„ as you shal stand in need after many daies and as stones to powre your oyle vpon as did Iacob the Patriarch that when you shall die you may sleepe quietly as hée did being aliue and sée that ladder Jesus Christ reaching from earth to heauen For that strange fact of Iacob containes in it some great mysterie And may not that ladder signifie faith this powring oile on the stone mercie So that we must ioyne to the ladder of faith the oyle of mercie if we meane to ascend vp to heauen Or if that stone signifie Jesus Christ are not the poore his members and doe not they which shew mercie vnto them powre their oile on Jesus Christs feet as Mary did in the gospel as it were on stones Such an heire of Iacob was Dauid who of himselfe writes thus Know yee that the Lord Hiphlah hath as a wonderfull and pretious thing chosen to himselfe Chasidh the mercifull man And he concludes I will lay me downe in peace and take my rest as though mercifull men onely and they that power their oyle on stones as Iacob did should take their rest and sléepe sweetely For
their owne commodities and therefore it is against charitie It was the voyce of Cain and not of Sheth nor of Gods Church am I my brothers keeper And euen at this day they are of Cains petegrée and not of Gods familie that haue no care of the wealth and welfare of their brethren This Inclosure is also against the loue which Jesus Christ commaunded and shewed towards vs Yee know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ saith Saint Paul that he being rich for your sakes became poore that you through his pouertie might be made rich And I giue you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my counsell and mine aduise herein This is also that law of our Sauiour Christ which he so straitely commaunds all his To loue one another as he hath loued them and that with a repetition This is Saint Pauls aduise for our brethrens sakes euen to become poore to doe them good But Inclosers doe not thus they séeke their owne wealth and riches therefore they contradict both our Sauiours law and Saint Pauls aduise The most comfortable words of our blessed Sauiour euen the first and most ioyfull message that he sent to his Apostles after his resurrection were these Goe to my brethren and say vnto them I ascend vnto my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God Oh ioyfull newes Shall we not beleeue this And if we doe shall we not account indéede all Christians now our brethren euen our most néere and déere brethren which brotherhoode our Sa-Sauiour Jesus so dearely bought euen by his most precious death and shall we not deale with them as with our brethren But Dauid in the person of our Sauiour Christ complaines that he is become a stranger to his brethren and an aliant to his mothers children And is not Jesus Christ in his members amongst vs in this state euen now and may he not séeme to make the same complaint Whosoeuer lets a farme or sels any thing to his brother doth he not deale with him as with a stranger doth he not make him pay for it to the vttermost Nay sometimes more then it is worth A Turke might haue it as cheape at our hands as a Christian And may not Jesus Christ then iustly say that he is become a stranger to his brethren surely as great a stranger in his members to Christians as he was in his owne person to the Jewes For as they gaue him vineger and gall to drinke so many now giue to their brethren and especially Inclosers giue this drinke to their poore tenants And here we may note that excellent propertie of true charitie that she is alwaies hard to her selfe that she may be bountifull to others So was the widow of Sareptah that she might féede Elias and so was that widow in the Gospell which our Sauiour so highly commends That she might giue some thing into the Treasurie of God she gaue all her liuing and punished her selfe So was that Samaritan and that stranger amongst the Jewes whose example all that will be accounted neighbours our Sauiour commaunds to follow to that wounded man He set him on his owne beast he went a foote himselfe and tooke paines that he might ride So were all the Church of Macedonia as Saint Paul sheweth in their extreame pouertie rich in liberalitie to the poore They pinched themselues that they might be liberall to them Doe Inclosers follow these examples doe they pinch themselues that they may doe their brethren good Shall not all these examples of Jewes widowes strangers and Macedonians mooue them They doe quite contrarie and they thinke that they may doe it lawfully that is they may seeke their owne commoditie howsoeuer that their brethren fare surely this is not charitie All Gods creatures may seeme to teach vs this lesson as Virgils verses auouch The sheepe beareth not his fleece nor the oxe his yoake for himselfe nor the Bées hord vp their honey but all for our vse Nay those exceilent creatures the Sunne the Moone and stars how continually doe they runne their courses for our commoditie And shall not we take paines and pinch our selues to doe our brethren good And will not Inclosers learne this lesson being taught it by so many schoole-masters I am verely perswaded that God hath sent of late vnseasonable weather especially in the hay-haruest to teach Inclosers what an acre of their inclosed pasture ground which they doe make so great a reckoning of is worth For the hay-haruest which yeeldes meate for their sheepe hath beene lately vnseasonable and wet but the corne haruests which yéeldes meate for his sheepe the poore the Lord hath blessed Or else no doubt if the corne haruest had bin as wet as the hay haruest was there would haue béen a great dearth of corne to the vndooing of the poore But our most louing God to declare the loue that he beares to his owne shéepe the small care in comparison that he hath of their shéepe hath as it were plagued the hay-haruest of their sheep and blessed the corne-haruest of his own sheepe for nothing chanceth in vaine And therefore whereas Inclosers doe vrge the goodnesse of the ground and the benefit of Inclosure and that an acre of their inclosed medow and pasture is worth thus much they must consider y t vnles God send seasonable weather it may prooue almost worth nothing they must learne to let God haue a chief part of their rents reserued to him Vnlesse he keepe for vs the appointed weekes of the haruest as Ieremic teacheth what is all our land and labour taken about it worth No doubt our ancestors had consideration hereof in letting their lands which were so easily rented that the tenant might haue the rent what weather soeuer God sent and this was Christian charitie But this charitie is now vanished out of the world The Incloser will haue his great rent hée will not abate one penie what weather soeuer come One writes that the poore husâ—andman is more cruelly dealt withall than the asâ—e whom his master if that the weather or the way proue not conuenient and good will ease of his burden But Husbandmen come faire come foule weather are nothing pitied they must beare still their accustomed burdens be they neuer so great This practise of Christian charitie was vsed in the Primitiue church And the multitude of them which beleeued saith S. Luke were of one heart and of one soule neither any of them said or accompted that that which he possessed was his own but they had all things common Common like Christians not like Anabaptists common in vse not in propertie For Ananias possession was his owne to haue either kept or sold it as Peter told him So was also all other mens possessions and goods but no man accompted it as his owne Lodouicus Viues a very learned man thus describes Christian charitie To loue saith hée is the