sheperds ouer them which shall féed them They shall no more fear and dread for ther shal none of them be lost sayth the lord I haue séen folly among the Prophets of Samaria that they preach for Baal and deceyued my people of Israel I haue séen also among y e prophets of Ierusalem soule aduoultry and presumtuous lyes They take the most shameful euen by the hand flattering them so that they can not retourne from their wickednesse All these with their Cities are vnto me as Zodoma the inhabiters of Gomorra c. Héere note the words of the prophets that preach vnto you and deceaue you truely they preach vnto you vanitie for they speake y e meaning of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the lord Am I the god that seeth the thing which is neigh at hand and not that is far of saith the lord may any man hide him self so that I shall not see him saith the Lord. Behold héere am I saith the lord against those Prophets that dare prophesie lying dreames and deceaue my people with their vanities and miracles whom I neuer sent nor coÌ„maunded them Whether the papist haue thus don or not with diuers other sectarians I leue it to y e iudgement of the Christian reader Now consider if the charge be so great against false prophets idel Persons and loytering Ministers what is ther to be said against those gréedy Patrons spoken of before the prophet Ezechiel in the person of God speaketh as well to y e temporal as spiritual to the king as to y e officer to the Duke Carle lord Marcus knight baron or others none are exceptid froÌ„ out of y e charg of gods commaundement Lac comedebatis lauis operiebamini gregem antem meum noÌ„ pascebatis c. You haue eaten vp the milke ye haue clothed you with the wol the best fed haue ye slayn but the flock haue ye not norished the weak haue ye not holden vp the sick haue ye not healed the broken haue ye not bound together the outcastes haue ye not brought againe the lost haue ye not sought but churlisâ—ly and cruelly haue ye ruled them was it not inough for you to eate vp the good pasture but you muste tread downe the residewe with your féete thus my shéepe muste bée fayne too eate the thinges that ye haue troden downe c. Knowest thou not this namely that from the beginning euer sence the creacion of man vpon earth the gladnesse of the vngodly hath bin short and that the ioy of Ipocrites continuéd but the twinckling of an eye though he be magnified vp to heauen so that his head reach vnto the clouds yet at a tourne he perisheth for euer in so much that they which haue séen him shall say where is hée hée shall vanish as a dreame so that he can no more be found and shal passe away as a visioÌ„ in the night so that the eye which saw him before shall haue no more sight of him and his place shall know him no more His children shalbe fayne to agrée with y t poore his hands shal restore them their goods A chab the king of Israel wold not héere Micheas our Lords prophets because he prophesied no good vnto him but euill yet when Micheas was called he sayd vnto him héere the word of the Lord. So here y t which foloweth to the end that the wickednesse of this world may be espied the better to be eschuid A certain man profered a benefice of the valew as he sayd of xl pounds by the yeare and that he would bestow it one some honest learnid man which when a sufficient man was presentid after sertaine talke had his words were these For as much as it is worth xl pounds and yet not xx pounds in the Queens maiesties books you shall giue me thrée yeres value which as he accouÌ„pted came to vi score pounds I would know what the person of that benefice should haue had for his portion to haue liued by in the meane time Judge whether this be liberalitte or no or whether such a Caterpiller were worthy of a learned man or no. No maruayle though ther be so many simple Persons in the ministry â— yit not so many thanks be giuen to Go as hath bin which some to serue for eight pounds yerely must haue skil in one facultie or other as gardening graffing such like or else to serue for lesse wagis in the meane time when worldly extremities shall thus hinder diuine studdy â— when the shepherds perish for want of knowledge what shal the shéepe doo As for scruing of two cures neglecting of sermons when in some place report hath told in viiâ—x xiiii yeres was neuer hard past foure in some placeâ—y one none at all I meruayle not much seeing the Patrons and giuers of such is so prodigiously orderid I will omit likewise the liberalitie of diuers toward such as haue trauelid in the country but not Vbique for then must it needs perish all to gither That for their painefull labour haue had a siâ—der reward as much as Nihil But now to retourne to one more example A certaine man which profered a benefice but not the benefit to such a one as he supposed would haue bin glad of his prâ—ffer I haue quoth he a benefice in my hand to bestow and it is worth a hunderid pounds by the yeare And if you know any â—â—uett man y â— wold beare the name of person I would giue him xx marks or rather then fayle xx pounds and discharge him of al dewties so that he shuld haue that quietly to liue with al because the corne and other tithes wil be a great stay to my house keping whâ— perhaps he kepeth worse house with al that then his predecessour before him did with his own possessions And as for the great liberalitie of others who hauing y â— gifte of diuers benifices bicause they will not be séen to receue money theÌ„ selues vseth this fetch as soone as any suche liuing falleth into their hands forthwith one of his or their seruants shal vnder a culler haue it so that when any of the clergie coâ—meth crauing master or worship to bestow it the answer is made with al my hart you shuld haue had it but it is now to late I haue giuen it already they y â— suter as voide of all hope taketh his leaue which being no sooner gon he to whom the benefice was ipâ—crised taketh the person vicar or such curate by the sléeue saith if to pleasure you with this benefice which may be better called a Malifice by that tyme all be considered what will you giue a good felow to obtayne your sute whose answer if it be nothing then as short a farwel if somewhat according to the desire of Capax then he shall haue it perhaps as much agâ—yne as the first frutes coÌ„meth to he shall pay for
such as do wickednes shalbe as straw and the day that is for to come shal bouâ—n them vp saieth the Lord of Hostes so that it shall not leaue them nether roote nor branch But vnto you that fear my name shall the Sonne of righteousnesse arise health shalbe vnder his wings IEsus went out and departid from the Temple And his Disciples came to him for to shew him the bulding of the Temple in Ierusalem and Iesus sayd vnto them sée ye not all these things Verely I say vnto you ther shall not be left here one stoue vppon an other that shal not be cast down And as he sat vppoÌ„ the mount Oliuet his Disciples came vnto him saying tell vs when these things shalbe and what signe shallbe of thy comming and of the ende of the world Iesus aunswerid sayd vnto them take head that no man deceyue you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceyue many and ye shal here of warres of the rumors of warres but sée that ye be not troublid for all these things must come to passe but the end is not yet For nacion shall rise against nacion and realm agaynst realm and ther shalbe Pestilence hunger and earthquaks in certeyn quarters all these are the beginning of sorows Then shall they put you to trouble and shall kill you and ye shalbe hated of all nacions for my names sake then shal many be offendid shall betraye one an other and shall hate one an other and many false Prophets shall aryse and shall diceyue many and because iniquite shall haue the vpper hand the loue of many shall abate but he that indureth vnto the ende the same shalbe safe MOreouer when ye sée the abhominacion of desolacion whereof is spoken by Daniel the Prophet Stand where it ought not let him that readeth vnderstand then let them that be in Iuery flée to the mountayns and let him that is on the house top not decend down into the house let him that is in the féeld not tourn back agayn vnto the things that he left behind him for to take his clothes with him wo shalbe to them that are with child and to them that geue luck in those dayes but pray that your flyght be not in the Winter for ther shalbe in those dayes such tribulacion as was not froÌ„ the beginning BUt before all these they shal lay their hands on you and persecute you deliuering you vp to the Sinagoges and into prisons bring you before Kings and Rulers for my name sake c. Yea ye shalbe betrayd of your fathers and mothers and of your brethren and kinesmen and friends and some of you shall they put to death and hated shall ye be of all men for my names sake yet ther shall not one heare of your heads perish by your paciens possesse your souls after these and other things ther shalbe signes in the Sonne and in the Moone and in the Starres and in the Earth the people shallbe in such perplexite that they shal not tell which way to tourne them selues the Sea and the waters shall rore and mens hearts shal fayle them for fear and for loking after those things which shall come on the earth for the powers of heauen shall moue and then shall they sée the sonne of man come in a cloud with power and great glory when these things beginne to come to passe then loke vp and lift vp your heads for your redempsion draweth neygh VErely verely I say vnto you hereafter shall ye sée heauen open And the Angels of God ascending and descending vnto the sonne of man These things haue I sayd vnto you because you should not be offendid They shall excoÌ„municate you yea the tyme shall come that whosoeuer killeth you wil think that he doeth God seruice and such things will they doo vnto you because they haue not knowen the father nether yet me but these things haue I told you that when that houre is come ye might remember them that I told you THe spirit speaketh euidently that in the later tymes some shall depart from the faith shal geue héede vnto the spirits of errour and diuelish doctrine of men which speak false through Ipochrisi c. THis vnderstand that in the last dayes shall come perelous times for meÌ„ shalbe louers of their owne selues couetous bostars proud cursed speakers disobedient to father and mother vnthankful vnholy vnkind trucebreakers stobberen false accusers riotous ferce dispisers of them which are good traytours heady hie minded gredy vppon volupteousnesse more then the louers of God hauing a similitude of godly lyuing but haue denyed the powre therof and such abhore THis first vnderstand that ther shal come in the laterdays mokers which will walk after their own lusts and say where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers died all things continue in the same estate wher in they were at the beginning for this they know not and that willengly how that the heauens a great while a goe were and the earth that was in the water aperid vp out of the water by the word of god by the which things the world that then was perished ouerflowid with y e water but the heauins verely the earth which are now are kéept by the same word in store reseruid vnto fier against the day of Iudgment perdicion of vngodly men BEhold the Lord shal come with thowsands of Saincts to geue iudgemeÌ„t against al men to rebuke al that are vngodly among theÌ„ of all their vngodly déeds which they haue vngodly committed of al their cruel speakings which vngodly sinners haue spokeÌ„ against him VNto him that louid vs and wasshid vs from sinnes in his own blood and made vs kings and prestes vnto god the father be glory and dominion for euer and euer Amen ¶ Ane aduised prophesie ¶ In Anno 1041. this picture was found in the temple of the Iacobines in Geneua against the wicked gouernement of papall dignite This picture was made by Iacobus Iaquiri de C ui tate Taurini 1041. Iudicabit iudices iudex generalis Hic mihi proderit dignitas papalis Siue sit Episcopus siue Cardinalis Reus coÌ„damnabitur nec dicetur quales Hic nibil proderit quinquam allegare Neque exciperere neque replicare Nec ad apostolicum sedem appellare Reus codamnabitur nec dicetur quare Cogitate miseri qui vel quales estis Quid in hoc iudicio dicere potestis Idem eâ—it dominus iudex actor testis The substance of the Latin hâ—rce THe mighty Ioue the iudge of all which fitteth in throne aboue Shall iudge each Papal dignite the rable whole remoue Such as the one the other is and Cardinals like wise For their deformid flattery the Lord wil them dispise And iudge of al both quick and dead wheÌ„ Popes shal boyle in bulles of lead AS from
vppon all fléesh and your sons your daughters shal prophisie your old men shal dreame dreames and your young men shal sée visions yea in those dayes I wil poure out my spirit vppon seruantes and maydens I wil shewe wonders in heauen aboue and tokens in the earth be neath blood and fier and the vapour of smook the Son shalbe turnid into darknesse and the Moone into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come And the tyme shall come that whosoeuer callith on the name of the Lord shalbe sauid And the Lorde sayd vnto Moyses speak vnto the children of Israel and say in any wise sée that you kepe my Sabboths for it is a Signe betwéen me and you in your generacions for to know that I the Lord am he that doth sanctifie you kéepe my Sabboths therfore for it is holy vnto me he that deâ—ileth it shalbe slayne for whosoeuer worketh therin the same soule shalbe rootid out from among his people Six dayes shall men work and in the seueÌ„th day is the Sabboth of the holy rest of the Lord whosoeuer doeth any work on the Sabboth day shall dye Wherefore let the children of Israel kéepe the Sabboth that they obserue it throughout their generacions that it bée an appoyntement for euer for it is a Signe betwéen me and the children of Israel for euer Such wonderous Signes hath the Lorde shewed from tyme to tyme to the end that euery Christian man should haue dew regard to this so holy a commauÌ„dement from Mount Sinai y e thundering voice was a signe of force which ought not to be brokeÌ„ not a rest for man only but also the whole familie and cattaile The obseruacion of the Sabboth had his originall beginning of that that is sayd written God blessed the seuenth day and sanctified it bicause that in it he rested from all his workes the Isralites gathered the vi day a double quantitie of Manna bicause that on the Sabboth they should rest to the intent that man should labour to get the true rest And on the Sabboth day ther wer offered two lambes vpon the other dayes but one except in solom feaâ—ts The man that was taken gathering of stickes vppon the Sabboth day was by gods commaundement stoned to death of Nehemias the Gentiles Iudas Machabeus Nichanor with others Concerning the obseruacion of the Sabboth for farther proofe réede the auctorities The Pharises said vnto the disciples of Christ that did pluck and eat the eares of corne ye do that which is not lawful to doo on the Sabboth day but the lord said vnto them haue ye not read what Dauid did c. Then foloweth the sonne of man is also Lord of the Sabboth day there are diuers insamples why it was lawfull for Christ to heale the diseased on the Sabboth day for that being perfect God and man he did not only heale the festerid or putrified bodies but also their sowles The Sabboth day for vs Christians is moste apte and conuenient to heare the word and law of God and the Prophets The which are red euery Sabboth day Likewise our sauiour Christ in fulfilling the law gaue vs this commaundement saying which of you hauing an Oxe or an Asse fallen into a pit and wil not pul him out on y e Sabboth day Num licet Sabbato sanare they to whoÌ„ Iesus spake which were y e Lawiers Pharises Answered nothing therfore as the sabboth ought to be kept holy from bodely workes so ought all men to eschue vicious thoughtes and craftie imaginacions And when any occasion of doing good by any maner of way ought to be shewed that then it be don with Christian endeuour and puritie of mind In which â—o doing the sabboth is both reuerently and holily obserued But the crabbed wayward natures of this time present haue so much presumed vpon this text and others that some hath and doth as blind baierâ—s not spared to labour and trauayle on the Sabboth day without any need or occasion at all aleaging notwithstanding that necessitie hath no law so that vnder the culler of necessitie they vse al daies a like Applying the text of the sacred scriptures not to the will and commaundement of god but after their owne carnall fancies for the which ther so great abusing of the reuerend Sabboth The Lord will show strang signes from heauen fier brimstone storme and tempest which shalbe the porcion for the wicked The Sonne and Moone shalbe darkenid and the starres shall withdraw their light the Lord shall rore out of Sion and crye out of Ierusalem that the heauens and the earth shall quake with all but the Lord shalbe a defence vnto his own people and a refuge for the children of Israel I haue rysen vp early I haue geuen you warning in season but you would not heare Behould therefore the words of the Lord that are at hand to plage vs as he hath plagid others and that euery obstinate shalbe scatterid as dong vppon the earth Pray therefore to God to blesse his preachers that the Gospell may flourrish as it ought or els we perish ¶ Prophecis by perticuler VVHen thou art in tribulacion and when all these things that be here spoken of are come to passe thou shalt retourne agayn to the Lord thy God and be obedient vnto his word THis is the word that was openid vnto Esaie the son of Amos vppon Iuda and Ierusalem it will be also in the last days that the hill where the house of the Lord is buldid shalbe the chéefe amoÌ„g hils and exaltid aboue all little hils and al nacions shall pray vnto him the multitude of people shall goe speaking thus one to an other let vs go to the hill of the Lord and to the house of the God of Iacob HHare the word of the Lord O ye children of Israel for the Lorde must punish them that dwell in the land And whyle ther is no truth ther is no mercy ther is no knowledge of God in the land but swearing lyeng manslaughter thefte athoultry haue gotten the vpper hand and one bloud gyltinesse foloweth an other Therfore shall the land â—e in a miserable case and all they that dwell therin shalbe rootid out IN the later days it wil come to passe that the hil of the Lords house shallbe set op hygher then any mountayns or hils yea the people shall prese vnto it and the multitude of the gentils shall hast them thither saying come let vs go vp to the hill of the Lord to the house of the God of Iacob that he may teach vs his ways and that we may walk in his pats for the Law shall come ont of Sion and the word of God from Ierusalem and shall geue sentence among the multitude of the heathen and reforme the people of far countris FOr mark the day cometh that shall bourn as an ouen and all the proud yea and all