against hym was sent Esay the Prophet to assure him by Goddes promise that his enemyes should not preuaile against hym and to confirme him in the same the prophete requyred him to desire a signe of God either from the heauen or beneth in the depe but suche was the deadly desperacion of him that alwayes had despised Goddes prophetes and had moste abhominably defiled him selfe with Idolatrye that no consolation could entre into his herte but desperatlye and with a dissemblyng and fained excuse he refused all the offers of God And albeit God kept touch with that hipocrite for that tyme whiche was not done for his cause but for the saftie of his afflicted Churche yet after escaped he nat the vengeaunce of God The lyke we rede of Zedechias the wretched and laste kynge of Iuda before the destruccion of the citie of Ierusalem who in his great fear and extreme anguyshe sente for Iere mie the prophet and secretly demauÌ„ ded of him howe he myght escape the great dauÌ„ger that appearedwhaÌ„ the Caldees beseged the citie And the prophete boldly spake and commauÌ„ded the kynge yf he would saue his lyfe and the cytie to render and geue vp him selfe into the handes of the kinge of Babylon But the myserable kynge had no grace to folowe the prophetes counsel because he ne uer delyted in y e sayd prophetes doctrine neither yet had shewed vnto hym any frendly fauoure But euen as the enemies of God the chief pre stes and false prophetes required of the kynge so was the good prophet â—…uel intreated somtymes caste into prison and somtymes iudged condempned to dye The moste euident testimonie of the wilfull blyndynge of wicked Idolatrers is writteÌ„ and recited in the same prophete Ieremye as foloweth After that the cytie of Ierusalem was brente and destroyed the kynge ledde awaye prisoner his sonnes chiefe nobles slayne and the hole vengeaunce of God powred out vpoÌ„ the disobedient Yet ther was lefte a remnaunt in the lande to occupie possesse the same who called vpon the prophete Ieremye to knowe con cernyng them the will and pleasure of God whether they should remain styl in the land â—…f Iudea as was ap pointed and permitted by the Caldees or yf they shoulde departe and flye into Egypt To certifie them of this their doute they desyre the pro phete to praye for them vnto God Who condescendynge and grauntyng their peticion promised to kepe backe nothing from them which the Lorde God should open vnto hym And they in lyke maner taking God to recorde and witnesse made a solempne vowe to obey what so euer the Lorde should aunswere by hym But when the prophete by the inspi ration of the spirite of God and assured reuelacion and knowledge of his wyll coÌ„mauÌ„ded them to remain stil in the laÌ„de that they were in pro mysyng them yf they so would do that God would there plante them and that he would repent of all the plages that he had brought vppon them And that he would be wyth them to delyuer them from the handes of the kynge of Babilon But contrarywyse yf they would not obeye the voyce of the Lorde but would agaynst his coÌ„maundement go to Egypte thynkinge that there they should lyue in reste and aboundaunce without any feare of warre and penurye of vicâ—…ualles then the veray plagues whyche they feared shoulde come vppon them and take them For sayeth the prophet it shal come to passe that all men that obstinatlye wyll go to Egypte there to remayne shall dye either by sworde by honger or pestilence But when the Prophete of God hadde declared vnto them thys playne sentence and wyl of God I praye you what was their aunswere the texte decla reth it saying Thou speakest a lye neither hath the Lorde our God sente thee vnto vs commaundyng that we shoulde not go into Egypte but Baruch the sonne of Neriah prouoketh thee agaynste vs that he maye gyue vs into the power of â—…aldeys that they myghte kyll kyll vs and lead vs prisoners vnto Babylon And thus they refused the counsail of God folowed their owne fantasies â—…ere maye be espied in this peo ple great obstinacie and blyndnes For nothyng which the Lord had be fore spoken by this godlye Prophete Ieremie had fallen in vayne Their owne eyes had sene the plages and myseries which he had threatened take effecte in euery point as he had spoken before yea they were yet grene and freshe both in mynde and pre sence for the flaÌ„me and fyre wherewith Ierusalem was consumed and brent was then scantly quenched yet could they not bâ—…leue his threate ninges then spokeÌ„ neither yet could they folowe his fruteful counsail ge uen for their great wealth and sauegarde And why so â–ª Bycause they ne uer delyted in Gods trueth neither had they repented their former Ido latrie but stil coÌ„tinued and reioyced in the same as manifestly appereth in the. xliiiâ—… chapter of the same prophete And therfore would they and their wyues haue bene in Egypte where all kynde of Idolatrie and su perstition â—…bounded that they wyth out reproche or rebuke they myghte haue their bellies full therof in despite of Goddes holy lawes and prophetes In wrytinge hereof it came to mynde that after the death of that in nocent and moste godlye kynge Edwarde the sixte whyle that great tu multe was in Englande for the esta blysshyng of that moste vnhappye wycked womans authoritie I mean of her that nowe raigneth in Goddes wrath entreatinge the same argument in a towne in Buckingham shyre named â—…ammershame before a great congregacion with sorowful herte and wepynge eyes I fel into this exelamacioÌ„ D Onglande â—…ow is Boddes wrath kyndled againste thee â—…owe hath he begonne to punyshe as he hath threatenedâ—… a longe whyle by his true Prophetes and messengers â—…e hath taken froÌ„ thee the crowne of thy glorie ánd hathe lefte thee without honoure as a bodye without a heade And this appeareth to be onely the begynnynge of sorowes whiche appeareth to encrease For I perceaue that the herte the tounge and hande of one Englyshe man is bente agaynst another and deuision to be in the hole realme whiche is an assured signe of de solacion to come O England â—…uglande doest thou not consider that thy common wealth is lyke a shippe sailyng on the Sea yf thy maryners and gouernourâ—…s shall one consume another shalte thou not suffer shipwracke in shorte processe of tyme O Englande Englande â—…lasse these plages are powred vpon thee for that thou woldest not knowe the moste happy tyme of thy gentle visitacion But wylte thou yet obey the voyce of thy God and submitte thy selfe to his holye wordes truely yf thou wilt thou shalte fynde mercye in his syght and the estate of thy coÌ„mon wealth shall be preserued But O Englande Englande Yf thou obstinaâ—…ly wilt returne into Egypte that is yf thou contracte
therfore of necessitie it was that in their owne bo dies they should suffre trouble for their better instruccion When I depely consider dearly beloued in our Sauiour Christ how aboundauntly and how miraculouslye the poore smale flocke of Christe Iesus was fedde within the realme of Englande vnder that electe chosen vessel of God to glorye honour Edward the sixte and nowe againe be holde not only the dispersion and scattering abrode but also the apperinge destruccion of the same vnder these cursed cruel and abhominable Idolatrers me thinke I se the same causes to haue moued God not only to withdrawe his presence frō the multitude but also to haue sent his welbeloued seruaūtes to the trauels of the Seas wherin they are sore tossed and turmoylled and appearantly moste lyke to perishe What were the affeccions of the greatest multitude that folowed the Gospel in this former reste abundaunce is easy to be iudged yf the lyfe and conuersation of euery man should haue bene throughlye examined For who lyued in that rest as that he had refused him selfe Who lyued in that reste as that he hadde ben crucified with Christ Who lyued in that reste as that he had certainly loked for trouble to come vpō him Yea who lyued not rather in delicacye and ioye sekyng the world and pleasures therof caryng for the fleshe carnal appetites as thoughe death and synne had cleane ben deuoured And what was this els then to make of Christe an earrhlye Kynge The worde that we professed dayly cryed in our eares that our kingdom our ioye our reste and felicitie neither was is nor should be in the earth neither in any transitory thinge therof but in heauen in to whiche we muste entre by many tribulations But Alas we sleped in suche securitie that the sounde of this trompet coulde of manye neuer be parfytly vnderstanded but alway es we perswaded our selues of a cer tain trāquillitie as though the troubles wherof mencion is made with in the Scriptures of God appertai ned nothing at al to this age but vnto suche as of longe tyme are pas sed before vs. And therfore was our heauenly father compelled to withdrawe from vs the presence of his verite whose voice in those dayes we could not beleue to y e ende that more earnestly we may thrist for the same and with more obedience imbrace and receaue it◅ yf euer it shal please his infinite goodnes in suche abundaunce to restore the same agayne I meane nothinge of those y e folowed Christ onely for their bellies for suche perceiuing y t they could not optaine their hertes desire of Christ haue grudged left hym in bodye herte whiche thinge their blasphemouse voices spokē against his eternall veritie dothe witnesse and declare For suche brother be ye not moued for in the tyme of their profession they were not of vs but were very dissemblers and hypocrites And therfore God iustly permitteth that they blaspheme the truthe whiche they neuer loued I meane not that euer suche dissemblinge hypocrites shal imbrace the veritie but I meane of suche as by infirmitie of the fleshe and by natural blyndnesse which in this lyfe is neuer al together expelled then coulde not geue the very obedience which Goddes worde required neither nowe by weaknes of faith dare openly bold ly confesse that which their hertes knowe to be moste true and yet lamenteth and mourneth both for the imperfection by passed and present From suche shal not the amiable pre sence of Christe Iesus for euer be withdrawen But yet agayn shal the eyes of their sore troubled hertes be holde and se that light of Christes Gospel wherin they moste delyte The Ministers who were the distributours of this bread the true worde of God wherwith the multi tude within Englande was fedde lacked not their offences which also moued God to sende vs to the sea And because the offences of no man are so manifest vnto me as are myne owne only of my selfe I wyl be thac cusoure It is not vnknowen vnto many that I the moste wretched was one of that nombre whom God appointed to receaue that bread as it was broken by Christ Iesus to distribute and geue the same to suche as he had called to this banket in that parte of his table where he appointed me to serue It is not in my knowlege nor iudgement to define nor determine what porcion or quantitie euery mā receaued of this breade neither yet howe that whiche they receaued agreed with their stomackes But of this I am assured that the benedicciō of Christ Iesus so multiplied the porcion that I receyued of his handes that duryng that banket this I writte to the prayse of his name and to the accusacion of myne owne vnthankfulnes the bread neuer failed when the hongry soule craued or cry ed for foode and at the ende of the banket myne owne conscicnce beareth wytnesse that my handes gathered vp the crummes that were lefte in suche abundaunce that my basket was ful amonge the reste To be playne myne owne consci ence beareth recorde to my selfe how smale was my learning and howe weake I was of iudgement when Christ Iesus called me to be his stewarde and howe mightely daye by daye and tyme by time he multiplied his graces with me if I should concele I were moste wicked and vnthankful But alasse howe blynded was my herte and howe litle I dyd consyder the dignitie of that office and the power of God that thē multiplied and blessed the bread whiche the people receaued of my handes this daye myne owne cōscience beareth witnesse to my selfe God I take to recorde in my cōscience that I delyuered the same bread that I receaued of Christes handes that I mixed no poison with the same that is I teached Christes Gospel without any mixture of mēnes dreames deuises or phantasies But Alasse I dyd it nat with suche feruencie with suche indifferency with suche diligence as this day I know my dutye was to haue done Some complained in those dayes that y e preachers were vndiscrete persones yea and some called them raylers and worse because they spake against the manifest iniquitie of men and especially of those that thē were placed in authoritie aswel in the courte as in other offices vniuersally throughout the realme both in cities townes and villages And amonge other paraduenture my rude plainnesse displeased some who did complaine that rasshly I dyd speake of mennes fautes so that al men myght knowe and perceaue of whō I ment But alasse this daye my cōsciēce accuseth me that I spake not so plainly as my dutie was to haue done For I ought to haue said to the wicked man expressedlye by his name Thou shalt dye the death For I fynde Ieremye the prophete to haue done to Pashur the hygh Priest and to Zedechias the Kinge And not only him but also ◅elias Eliseus Micheas
was aboue nature that a massye heuy and weyghtie body of a man suche as they vnderstode their master Christe to haue shuld walke go vpon or be borne vp of the water of the ragynge sea and not sincke And finally the horroure of the tempest and greate daunger that they were in perswaded them to loke for none other but certaynly to be drouned And so al these thre thinges concur rynge together confirmed in them this imaginacioÌ„ that Christe Iesus who came to theyr greate comforte and deliuerauÌ„ce was a fearfull and wicked spirite appearyng to their destruccyon What here chaunsed to Christe Iesus him self that I myght proue to haue chaunsed and dayly to chauÌ„ce to the veritie of his blessed worde in al ages from the begynnynge For as Christe hym self in this their trouble was iudged and estemed by his disciples at the firste syght a spirite or phantastical body so is the truth and syncere preachinge of his gloriouse gospel sent by God for maÌ„nes most comforte delyueraunce froÌ„ synn and quietnesse of conscience whaÌ„ it is firste offered and truly preached it is I saye no lesse but iudged to be heresye and disceauable doctrine sent by the deuel to mannes destruccion The cause herof is the darke ignoraunce of God which in euery agâ—… syth the beginnyng so ouer whelmed the worlde that sometymes Goddes veray electe were in lyke blyndnes and erroure with the reprobate As Abraham was an idolatrare Moses was instructed 〈◊〉 al the artes of the Egypcianes Paule a proude Pharisey coniured agaynst Christe and his doctrine And many in this same our age whan the truth of God was offred vnto them were sore affrayed and cried agaynst it only because the darke cloudes of ignoraunce had troubled them befo re But this matter I omitte and let passe til more opportunitie The chefe note that I wold haue yowe wel obscrue â–ª and marcke in this preposterous feare of the disciples is this The more nyghe deliuerance and saluacyon approcheth the more stronge and vehement is the temptacyon of the Churche of God And the more nyghe that Goddes vengeaunce approacheth to the reprobate the more proude cruel and arrogaÌ„t are they Wherby it commonly commeth to passe that the veray mes syngers of lyfe are iudged and demed to be the authors of al mischefe â–ª And this in many histories is eui dent Whan God had appoynted to delyuer the afflicted Israelites by the hand of Moses from the Tyranny of the Egypcians and Moses was sente to the presence of Pharao for the same purpose such was their affliccion and anguyshe by the crueltie which newly was exercysed ouer them that with open mouthes they cursed Moses and no doute in their hertes they hated god who sent hym alledgyng that Moses and Aaron was the hole cause of their last extreme trouble The lyfe is to be seen in the bofe of Kynges both vnder Eliseus and Esaias the Prophetes For in the dayes of IoraÌ„ sonne of Achab was Samaria beseged by the king of Sy ria In which Samaria no doute albeit the Kinge and the most mul titude were wicked ther was yet som membres of Goddes electe church which wer brought to such extreme famin that not only thinges of smal price were sold beyond al measure but also womeÌ„ agaynst nature were coÌ„pelled to eat their owne children In this same citie Eliseus the Prophete most commonly was conuersant and dwelt by whose counsel and commaundement no doute the citie was kepte for it appeareth the â—…ynge to laye y â— to hys charge when he hearing the piteous complaint of the woman who for honger had ea ten her owne soÌ„ne rent his clothes with a solemne othe and vowe that the head of Elizeus should not staÌ„d vpon his body that daye Yf Elizeus had not ben of counsel that the cy tie should haue ben kept why should the kynge more haue fumed against him then against other But whether he was the author of the defendinge the citie or not al is one to my purpose for before the delyueraunce was the churche in suche extremitie that the chiefe pastore of that tyme was sought to be killed by suche as shoulde haue defended hym The lyke is redde of Ezechias who defending his citie Ierusalem and resisting proude Sennacheryb No doute obeying the counsel of Esaias at length was so oppressed with sorowe and shame by the blasphemouse wordes of 〈◊〉 that he had no other refuge but in the Temple of the â—…orde as a man desperate and wythout comforte to open the disdaynfull letters sent vnto hym by that hautye and proude ty aunte By these and many histories mo it is moste euident that y e more nigh saluacion and deliueraunce approcheth the more vehement is the tem tacion and trouble This I writ to admonishe you that albeit yet you shal se tribulacion so abounde that nothing shal appere but extreme misery without al hope of comforte that yet ye declyne not froÌ„ God And that albeit somtymes ye be moued to hate the messengers of lyfe that therfore you shal not iudge that God wyl neuer shewe mercy after No dere brethren as he hathe entreated other before you so wil he do you God wyll suffer tribulacion and dolour abounde that no maner of coÌ„ forte shal be seen in man to th entent that when delyueraunce commeth the glorie maye be his whose onlye worde maye pacifie the tempestes moste vehement â—…e drowned Pharao and his ar mye â—…e scatered the great multitud of â—…enedab And by his Aungel killed the hoost of Sennacherib And so delyuered his afflicted when nothinge appeared to them but vtter destruccion So shal he do to you beloued brethren yf paciently ye wil abyde his consolation and counsel God open your eyes that ryghtly ye maye vnderstaÌ„de the meaning of my wrytinge Amen But yet peraduenture you wonder not a lytle why God permitteth suche bloud thristye tyrauntes to mo lest and greue his chosen Church I haue recited some causes before and yet mo I could recite but at this tyme I wyl holde me coÌ„tent with one The iustice of God is suche that he wil not powâ—…e forth his extreme vengeaunce vpon the reprobate vnto suche time as their iniquitie be so manifest that their very flattererâ—… caÌ„ not excuse it Pharao was not destroyed till his owne housholde seruauÌ„tes and subiectes abhoâ—…red and condempned his stubburne disobedience Iesabel and Athalia were not thrust from this Iyfe into hell tyll all â—…ael and Iuda were wytnesses of their crueltie and abhominacions Iudas was not hanged til the princes of the prestes bare wytnesse of his traitorouse acte and iniquitie And to passe ouer the tyrauntes of olde tyme whom God hath plaged let vs come to the tyrauntes whiche nowe are within the realme of Eng lande whome God will not longe spare Yf Steuen Gardiner Cuthbert Tunstal and butcherly Bonnar false byshoppes of Wynchester â—…uresme