muche wickednesse yet the Lorde shewed mercye vpon hym beyng in preson as his praier doth teach vs. Nabugodonozar thoughe for a time he bare gods anger yet at y e length he founde mercy The citie of Niniue also founde fauour with God as did manye other which I wil omit for tymes sake and wil bringe forth one or twoo out of the new testamēt that we maye se God the same God in y e new testament he was in tholde I myght tell you of manye yf I shoulde speake of y e Lunatike such as were possessed w t deuyls lame blinde domme deaf lepers c. but tyme wyll not suffice me one or two therfore shall serue Mary Magdalene hadde seuen deuylles but yet they were caste oute of hyr and of all others she was the fyrst that Christ appeared vnto after his resurrection Thomas would not beleue christes resurrection though manye tolde hym whiche had seene and felte hym by reason whereof a man myght haue thoughte that his synnes woulde haue cast him awaye except I shulde see fele sayeth he I wyl not beleue Ah wylfull Thomas I wyll not sayeth he but Christe appeared vnto hym and woulde not leese hym as he will not do thee good brother yf that with Thomas thou wylte kepe companie with the disciples as Thomas dydde Peter his falle was vgglie he accursed hym selfe if euer he knew Christe and that for feare of a gyrle and this not once but euen three dyuers tymes and that in the hearynge of Christe his maister but yet the thyrd time christ loked backe and cast on hym his eye of grace so that he went out and wept bitterly and after christes resurrection not only dydde the aungels wyll the wemen to tell Peter that Christ was risen but Christ hym self appeared vnto hym seuerallye suche a good Lorde is he The theefe hangynge on the crosse sayde but thus Lord whē thou comest into thy kyngedome remembre me and what aūswer had he This daye sayth Christe shalte thou be with me in paradyce What a comfort is this in that he is now the same Christe to thee and me and vs all yf we wyll runne vnto him For he is the same Christ to daye to morowe vntyll he come to iudgement Then in dede he wylbe in exorable but nowe is he moore ready to geue then thou to aske yf thou crys he heareth thee yea before thou crye Crye therfore be bolde man he is not parciall call sayth he and I wyll heare thee Aske and thou shalte haue seke and thou shalt fynd though not at the fyrst yet at the length yf he tarry a whyle it is but to trye thee Nam veniens ueniet et non tardabit He is commynge and wyl not be longe Thus haue you iiii meanes which you must vse to that tayning of fayth or certaine perswasiō of gods mercy towards you whiche is the second part of pennaunce namely prayer the fre vniuersall promises of Goddes grace the recordation of the benefites of god past and presente the exāples of gods mercy whiche although they myght suffice yet wyl I put one moo to them whiche alonelye of it selfe is full sufficiente I meane the death of the sonne of God Iesus Christe which yf thou set before the eyes of thy mynd it wyl confyrme thy plackarde for it is the great seale of Englande as they saye yea of all the worlde for the confyrmation of all patentes and perpetuities of the euerlastynge lyfe whervnto we are all called Yf I thoughte these whyche I haue before recited were not sufficient to confyrme your faith of gods loue towardes suche as do repente I woulde tarry longer herein But because both I haue bene longe and also I trust you haue some exercyse of conscience in this daylye or els you are to blame I wyll but touche and go Consider with youre selues what we are misers wretches and enemies to God Consider what God is euen he whiche hath al power maieste might glorye ryches c. perfectlye of hym selfe and neadeth nothyng but hath all thinges Consider what Christ is Concernyng his godhead coequall w t his father euen he by whō al thynges were made are ruled gouerned Concerninge his manhode the only dearlyng of his father in whom is all his ioye Nowe syr what a loue is this that this God whiche neadeth nothyng wold geue wholly his owne selfe to thee his ennemy wreakyng his wrath vpon hym selfe in this his sonne as a man maye saye to spare the to saue thee to wyn thee to bye thee to haue thee to enioye thee for euer Because thy synne had seperated the from hym to the ende y u myghteste come eftsones into his company agayne and therin remayne he hym selfe became as a man wolde saye a synner or rather synne it self euen a malediction or a curse that we synners we accursed by his sinne that by his oblation or offeringe for our synnes by hys curse might be delyuered from synne from malediction For by synne he destroyed synne killinge death sathan and synne by theyr owne weapons and that for thee me man if we cast it not awaye by vnbeleif Oh wonderful loue of God who euer harde of suche a loue The father of heauen for vs his ennemies to geue his owne deare sonne Iesus Christ and that not onely to be our brother to dwell amonge vs but also to the death of the crosse for vs Oh wōderful loue of Christ to vs all that was contēt and wylling to work this feate for vs Was there any loue lyke to this loue God in dede hathe commended his charitie and loue to vs herein that when we were very ennemyes vnto hym he woulde geue his own sonne for vs That we beyng men might become as you would saye gods God wold become man That we being mortall might become immortal the immortal God wold become mortal man That we earthlye wretches might be sitizens of heauen the Lorde of heauen woulde become as a man wolde say earthlye that we beynge accursed myght be blessed God wolde be accursed That we by our father Adam beyng brought oute of paradice into the puddel of al pain myght be redemed and brought into paradyce agayne god wold be our father and an Adam ther vnto That we hauyng nothing might haue all thinges God hauynge all thinges woulde haue nothyng That we being vessels and slaues to al euen to sathan y e fend myght be lordes of all and of Sathan the lorde of al would become a vassall and a slaue to vs all and in daunger of Sathan Oh loue incomprehensible who can otherwyse thinke nowe but yf the gratious good Lorde disdayned not to geue his owne Sonne his own hartes ioye for vs his very ennemies tofore we thought to begge any such thing at his hands ye tofore we were who I say can thinke otherwise but that with him he wil geue vs all good
¶ A Sermon of repentaunce made by Iohn Bradforde Luke xiii Excepte you repent you shall all lykewyse peryshe Apoc. ii Remembre whence thou arte fallen and repent thee ¶ To the Christian reader Iohn Bradforde wyssheth the true knowledge and peace of Iesus Christ oure alone and omnisufficiente sauiour GReat and heauie is Goddes anger agaynst vs as the moste greuous plague of the death of our late kynge a prince of all that euer was sithen christes ascention into heauen in anye region pereles nowe fallen vpon vs doth pronosticate For when Goddes iudgemente hath begonne wyth his chylde thus oure deare dearlynge let othermen thynke as they can I surelye cannot be perswaded otherwyse but that a greuous and bytter cuppe of Goddes vengeaunce is readye to be powred oute for vs Englyshmen to drynke of The whelpe God hath beaton to fraye the bandogge Iudgement is begonne at Gods house In Goddes mercye to hym wardes he is taken awaye that his eyes shulde not see the miseries we shall fele he was to good to tarrye with vs so wycked so frowarde so peruerse so obstinate so malicious so hypocriticall so couetous vncleane vntrue prowde carnall c a generation I wyll not goe about to paynte vs oute in oure coulours All the worlde which neuer saw Englande by heare saye seeth England God by his plagues and vengeaunce I feare me wyll paynt vs oute and poynte vs oute ▪ we haue so mocked with hym and his Gospell that we shall feele it is no bourdyng w t him Of longe tyme we haue couered our couetousnes carnalitie vnder the cloke of his Gospell so that all men shall see vs to oure shame ▪ when he shall take his Gospell awaye and geue it to a people that wyll brynge forth the frutes of it then shal we appeare as we be To let his Gospell tary with vs he can not for we despyse it contempne it are glutted with it we disdayne his Manna it is but a vyle meat thynke we we woulde be agayne in Egypt and syt by the greasy fleshe pottes to eate agayne our garlike onions and leekes Sithen Gods gospell came amongest vs we saye now we had neuer plentye therefore agayne let vs goe and worshyp the quene of heauen Chyldren begynne togather stickes the fathers kyndle the fyer and y e wemen make the cakes to offer to the quene of heauen and to prouoke the lorde to anger The earth can not abyde now the wordes sermous of Amos the cause of all rebellion is Amos and his preaching It is Paul and his felowes that makes all out of order Summa the Gospell is nowe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the outcaste and curse of the realme and so are the preachers therfore out of the doores w t them So that I saye God can not let his Gospel tary w t vs but must nedes take it away to do vs some pleasure therein for so shall we thynke for a tyme as the Sodomitanes thought when Lot departed from them as the old world thought when Noe crept into his arcke as the Iero solomytances thought when the apostles wente thence to Peltis Thē were they mery thē was all pastyme When Moyses was absente then went they to eatynge and drynkynge and rose agayne to playe Then was al peace al was wel nothynge amysse But alas sodenlye came the floude and drowned them the fyer and burnte them vp Titus and besieged them Gods wrath waxed hote agaynst them Then was weale awaye mournynge and woe then was cryenge out wringing of handes renting of clothes sobbyng and sighynge for the miseries fallen out of the whiche they coulde not scape But oh you morners cryers out ye renters of clothes why mourne you what is the cause of your mysery The Gospell is gone goddes word is lytle preached you were not disquieted with it Noe troubleth you not Lot is departed the apostles are gone what now is y e cause of these your miseries Wyll you at y ◠length confesse it is your sinnes Naye now it is to late God called vpō you and you would not heare hym therfore yell and crye out now for he wyl not heare you You bowed your eares from hearyng of Gods law therfore your prayer is execrable But to come again to vs Englishmen I fear me I say for oure vnthankfulnes sake for our impietie and wickednes as God hath taken awaye our kinge so wil he take awaye his gospel yea so we would haue it then shoulde all be well thinke manye Wel if he take that awaye for a tyme perchance we shal be quyet but at length we shall fele the want to our woe at length he wyll haue at vs as at Sodome at Ierusalem ▪ and other places And now he begineth to brew such a brewing wherin one of vs is like to destroy an other so make an opē gappe for forren enemies to deuoure vs and destroy vs. The father is against the sonne y e brother agaynste the brother And lorde w t what cōscience Oh be thou merciful voto vs in thyne anger remember thy mercy suffre thy selfe to be intreated be reconciled vnto vs naye reconcyle vs vnto the. Oh thou god of iustice iudge iustly oh thou sonne of God which camest to destroy y e workes of Sathan destroye his furoures nowe smokinge and almooste sette on fyre in this real me We haue synned we haue sinned therfore art thou angrye Oh be not angrye for euer Geue vs peace peace peace in the lorde Set vs to warre against synne against Sathan against our carnall desyres and geue vs the vyctory this waye This victorye we obtayn by fayth This fayth is not without repentaunce as hir gentleman vssher before hyr Before hir I say in discernynge true fayth from false fayth lyppe fayth Englishmens fayth for els it sprynges oute of true fayth This vssher then of repentaunce if we trulye possessed we shoulde be certayne of true fayth and so assured of the victorye ouer death hell and Sathan his workes then which he hath styrred vp woulde quayle God woulde restore vs politike peace ryght should be right haue ryght Gods Gospel should tarry with vs religion shuld be cherished superstition suppressed and so we yet somethynge happye notwithstandynge the great losse of our moste graciouse liege soueraygne Lorde All these woulde come to passe you see yf the gentleman vssher I spake of I meane repentaunce were at ynne with vs. As if he be absēt we may be certayn y e lady faith is absent wherfore we cā not but be vanquished of the world the flesh and the deuyll and so will Sathans workes prosper though not in al thinges to bleare our eyes yet in that thinge which the most of all desyreth Therfore to repentaunce for our selues priuatelye and for the realme and churche publikely eueryone shoulde laboure to styrre vp both oure selues others This to the
mortalitie miserie euen in thys lyfe feele the same And was god so angry for theyr sinne and he being the same God wyll he saye nothing to vs for oures halas muche more horrible then the eating once of one pece of an apple In the tyme of Noe and Lot God destroyed the whole world with water the cities of Sodoma and Gomorra Seboim Adamah with fyre and brimston from heauen for theyr synnes Namely for theyr whoredomes pryde idlenes vnmercifulnes to the poore tyrannie c. In which wrath of God euen the very babes byrdes foules fishes herbes trees and grasse perisshed And thinke we that nothinge wylbe spokeÌ„ to vs muche worse more abhominable theÌ„ they For al meÌ„ may see yf they wil y e the whoredoÌ„s pride vnmercifulnes tirannie c of England far passeth in this age any age y t euer was before Lots wife loking back was turned into a salt stone wil our loking back agayne yea our running back agayne to our wickednes do vs not hurt yf we were not alredy more blind theÌ„ bettels we would blush Pharao his heart was hardened so y t no myracle could conuert him yf oures were any thing softe we woulde begin to sobbe Of syxe hundreth thousande men alonely but twayne entred into the land of promyse because they had teÌ„ times synned against the Lord as he him selfe sayeth Num 14. And trow we that god wil not sweare in his wrath that we shall neuer entre into his rest which haue sinned so manye ten times as we haue toes fingers yea heares of our heades beardes I fere me yet we passe not The man that sware Leu. 24 and he that gathered stickes on the Saboth day Num. 13. were stoned to death but we thynke our swearing is no sinne our bibbing rioting yea whore hunting on the Saboth day pleaseth god or els we woulde some thinge amende our maners Helias negligence in correcting his soÌ„nes nipped his neck in two But oures which paÌ„per vp oure children lyke puppets wyll putte vs to no plounge Helias sonnes for disobeying theyr fathers monicion brought ouer them Gods vengeauÌ„ce and wyl our stubbernes do nothing Saule his malice to Dauid Achabs displeasure agaynste Naboth brought theyr bloud to the grounde for dogges to eate yea their children were hanged vp slayne for this geare but we continue in malice enuie murther as though we were able to wage warre wyth the Lord. Dauids adultrie with Bethsabe was vysyted on the chylde borne on Dauids daughter defyled by her brother and on hys chyldren one slaying another on hys wyues defyled by hys owne sonne on him selfe dryuen out of hys realme in hys olde age and otherwise also although he most hartely repeÌ„ted his sinne but we are more dere vnto god theÌ„ Dauid whiche yet was a man after gods owne hart or els we could not but tremble and begynne to repent The riche glottonnes gaye paunche fyllynge what did it it brought hym to hel and haue we a plackarde that God wyll do no thynge to vs. Achams subtyll theft prouoked Gods anger agaynst all Israell and our subteltie yea open extorcion is so fyne and politike that God cannot espye it Giezi his couetousnes broughte it not the leprosy vpon him and on all hys sede Iudas also hanged hym selfe But the couetousnes of Englande is of an other cloothe and coulloure well yf it were so the same tayler wyll cutte it accordyngelye Anania and Saphira by lyinge lynked to them sodayne death but oures nowe prolongeth oure lyfe the longer to laste in eternall death The false wytnesses of the twoo Iudges against Susanna lighte on their owne pates and so wyll ours do at length But what go I about to auouche aunciente exaumples where daylye experience doeth teach The sweat the other year the stormes the winter folowing wyl vs to way them in the same ballaunces The hangynge and kyllynge of men them selues whiche are alas to ryfe in all places requier vs to register them in the same rolles At the least in Chyldren infauntes and such like which yet can not vtter synne by worde or dede we see Goddes anger agaynste Synne in punysshynge them by syckenes death myshappe or otherwyse so playnely that we cannot but grone and grount agayne in that we a lyttell more haue gusshed oute thys geare gorgeousely in worde and dede And here with me a litel loke on gods anger yet so freshe that we cannot but smell it although we stop our noses neuer so much I praye God we smel it not more freshe hereafter I meane it forsoth for I know you loke for it in our dere late souereigne lorde the kyngs maieste You al know he was but a chylde in yeares defyled he was not with notorious offences Defiled ê™ he naye rather adorned w t so many good and wonderfull qualities as neuer prynce was from the begynnyng of y e world Shuld I speak of his wysedome of his rypenes in iudgement of his learning of his Godlye zeale heroical heart fatherly care for his commons norcely solicitude for religion c naye so manye thinges are to be spoken in commendatioÌ„ of gods excedyng graces in this childe that as Salust wryteth of Chartage I had rather speak nothing then to lytel in y t to much is to litle This gift God gaue vnto vs Englysh men before all nations vnder the sonne and that of his excedynge loue towardes vs. But alas and welawaye for our vnthankefulnes sake for our sinnes sake for our carnalitie and prophan liuing gods anger hath touched not only y e body but also the mynde of our king by a long sycknes and at length hath takeÌ„ hym awaye by death death cruell death fearful death death c Oh if Gods iudgement be begon on him which as he was the chiefest so I thinke the holiest godliest in y e realme of England alas what wyl it be on vs whose synnes are ouergrowne so oure heades that they are climed vp into heauen I pray you my good brethren know that gods anger for oure sinnes towardes vs cannot but be great yea to fel in that we se it was so great that our goodking coulde not beare it What folowed to Iewry after the death of Iosias God saue England and geue vs repeÌ„taunce my hart wil not suffer me to tary loÌ„ger herein I trow this wyll thruste oute some teares of repentaunce Yf therfore to praier for gods feare the tootynge in gods glas and the tagge thereto wyll not burste open thy blockysh hearte yet I trowe the tossinge to and fro of these examples and specially of our late kynge and this troublesome tyme wyll tomble some teares oute of thyne hart yf thou styll praye for Gods spirite accordynglye For who arte thou thynke alwayes with thy selfe that GOD shoulde spare thee more then they whose examples thou hast harde what frendes haste thou were