halfe yere They make no chere Neither with sodde nor roste There be also Some other moe Whō we call seruing priestes These must néedes lurke And do no worke For filling of their fistes These for sixe pound You shall haue bound To take the charge of cure The person may Him sporte and play And liue all at pleasure But this stipend Wil not extend To spend all at their wil Both to go gay In their aray And fresh cuppes for to fil Some Marchandise They must deuise To mende their liuing with So that they may Their hostes pay For all that she filleth Hence came trentals And long beadrols With masse pēce dirge grotes For if they pray They must alway Haue pence to scoure their throtes I wil not tel How they do sel Christes bloud to bie thē drinke For if I should Some if they could Would sel mine to I thinke But if they did All thinges counted Their gains wold be but smal For they shall pay At the last day Euen for the dregges and all But let this passe My purpose was With words plain to expresse That the cleargy Liueth fleshly And myndeth no godlinesse God may them send Grace to amend And to séeke his glory Setting aside All worldly pride As vayne and transitorie Then shall their light Shew forth so bright That all men shall be glad Them to follow As men that know The good way from the bad But whiles we sée Their wayes to bée So full of stumbling stockes We thinke the dawes Stumble at strawes And leape ouer great blockes Wherby no séede That is sowed In mans hart taketh roote For where Phoebus Hath no cleare course To till it is no boote Wherfore all ye That faithful be Pray that preachers may liue As Christ doth teach Else when they preach No man will them beleue But if their life Were without strife Though thei preached but seld I know right well They should compell The enimies to yelde Then should famine No more be séene That now raigneth ouer all Gods worde should féede All that stand in néede And lust for foode to call 3 PEstilence also From vs should go We should be safe sound There should no rot Light of our lot If such shepherdes were found But since that we Were found to be So worthy the Lordes ire We haue had few Whose workes do shew Them worthy the Lordes hire For we were ledde For to be fedde In morishe marishe ground Thinking there was Such maner grasse As would haue fed vs found But now we sée How farre we bée Diseased in this case By them that die Most wretchedlie Of all kindes of disease Thrée kindes of rotte Full wel I wotte As shepherdes haue me tolde Lighteth among The lustie yong Shepe as soone as the olde Fell rotte is one Wherof dye none But such as lacke drying After they bée Washed as we sée Before time of shearing But here I would That all men should Perceiue what washing is And what drying Is my meaning Wherof men haue such mis. It is baptisme That washeth them That in Christ put their trust And their drying Is vp bringing After the ghostly lust None can deny But faithfully Their babes to washe men vse But to dry them As doth beseme Most parte of men refuse They go about To make them stout To get their fleshly foode Thinking no néede That they should féede The soule with doctrine good To feare and loue The Lord aboue Their children are not taught Neither to pray But sing and say All rimes filthy and naught At thrée yeres olde They shal be bolde To name their mothers shap Their father will Maintaine them stil And set them on his lap They shal not feare All othes to sweare By they haue liued seuē yeres The parentes shall Them princockes call And say they haue no peares O bribers wood Thinke ye it good To laugh make great game When you shall sée Your babes to bée So wanton past all shame No whelpe so wilde Is as some childe No yong kitling so nice No swine so rude And to conclude No stewes so full of vice Thou foolish man Say if thou can What reward thou shalt haue That doest employ Thée to destroy The séede that God thée gaue Eternall fire Shall be thine hire Vnlesse thou do repent And call for grace Whiles thou hast space Before thy dayes be spent Christ saith alas In full harde case Art thou whose example Causeth babes yong For to go wrong In wayes abhominable For thée it were Saith he better To be drowned in the sea Than that the least Childe of beheast Should learne to sinne at thée Wherfore all ye That faithful be Let not your vice infecte The tender yong That are among You as the Lordes elect But do emploie You busilie To teach them the Lordes wil That in their age They do not rage But liue thereafter stil Then the rewarde That is preparde For thē that Christ hath bought Shal be to you As wages due Bicause you haue it sought Now of the first Rotte as I trust You haue intelligence Wherby you may Driue it away Through godly diligence The other twayne That do remayne If God wil be my guide I wil descry So plenteously That no man shal it hide The hunger bane Is alwayes tane As shepeheardes haue told me By to much weate After great heate Which maketh grasse plentie Wherof the shéepe That could scase créepe Before for lacke of foode Finding swéete meate Do often eate Much more thē doth them good By this excesse There doth encrease In them abundantly Bloud corrupted Vndigested Which causeth them to dye In like manere It doth appeare Amongest them that professe The Christian faith As good Paule saith And yet worke wickednes For though that they Desire alway To know Gods veritie Yet when they haue All that they craue They vse it carnally By Christ we bée At libertie Say they and that is true For on the Roode He shedde his bloud Our fréedome to renue From death and sinne Which we were in This bloud hath made vs frée And from the yoke Which Moses flocke Toke for their libertie Yet are we not So frée by that From sinne that we may take Our fleshly lust And remaine iust Euen for Christ Iesus sake But looke what day We do obey The flesh in déede or thought Our fleshly will For to fulfill Christes bloud auaileth nought Christ shed his blood To do them good That forsake their owne will And not for those That wil suppose They may liue fleshly still For Christ did die To mortifie The flesh death hel and sinne In those that he Did know to be Frée men of Isaacs kinne For these he hath Ordeyned a path Wherin néedes walk they must If they by fayth As Scripture saith Will be tride to be iust For without mis No faith there is Where workes do not ensue Which may declare Whose trées we are When iudgement shall be due Good
¶ The opening of the wordes of the Prophet Ioell in his second and third Chapters rehersed by Christ in Mathewe .xxiiij. Marke .xiij. Luke .xxj. and by Peter Actes .ij. concerning the Signes of the last day Compiled by Robert Crowley in the yeare of our Lord. M.D.XLVI And perused againe by the same ANNO 1566. POST TENEBRAS LVX ¶ IMPRINTED AT LONDON by Henry Bynneman for Iohn Charlewood dwelling in Barbican at the sygne of the halfe Eagle the Key ANNO. 1567. Signes and Tokens of the last day REpent repent I say repent Your misse it amende Christes prophecie Doth shew plainely This world shall shortly ende Darke is the sunne Bloud is the moone From heauen are fallen the stars Earthquakes are séene Pestilence famine Rumors tel nought but wars I do intend Small tyme to spend To proue these rumours true For at eche porte Where is resorte We heare them dayly new But I know well That the Gospell Meaneth some other thing By this warre then That mortall men Should be giuen to fighting For since men were Of such number That wars might be maintained Ech Emperie Hath sought glorie And hath the rest disdained But the wars that Christ saith shall at The last day be so great Are not the same Wherof the fame Of histories doth treate I dare be bolde This warre is holde With that swerd that Christ sent Among vs when He said all men From other should dissent I came saith he Not to giue ye Peace but to send a sword Among you all Wherwith you shall Fall at vtter discord The parents shall Make the childe thrall And the childe them againe To them shall bée Great ioy to sée Eche other of them slayne No maner kinne Shall auaile in That case no man shall misse To haue them that He kepeth at His charge his enimies Thus doth he say That men shall slay Eche other cruelly For this great fight Passeth the might Of our great chiualry Our men of might When they do fight Can neuer hurt the soule But these men quell Them into hell That Satan may them coule These men are they That vse alway To iudge such men holiest As they do sée On the earth to bée Counted as the highest Yea they do thinke That the poore stinke Before the face of God Bicause they sée That pouertie Is counted the Lordes rod. They do pretende For to dèfende The faith with might maine Wherfore all they That will say nay With the sword must be slaine This is their trade They will perswade Men that worldly wealthis The rewarde that Christ fayleth not To giue them that are his They say further Will Christ suffer His church to be trode downe No no they shall Raigne ouer all Both in citie and towne The wicked bée Faine for to flée From place to place eche day For feare of his Righteous iustice To this who dare say nay But thus say they We flée away From persecution And yet all we Know it to be Iust execution For they professe Christes faith no lesse That execute the thyng Than those men did That first preached The christian liuing How can they then Persecute men That professe Christ also Vnlesse they should Be found so bold To say both yea and no. But there be some In christendome That are malefactours And these will say We runne away From the persecutours When they halfe wood Flée from the good Shepherdes that will not sée The tender lambes Kilde and their dams That Christ bought on the trée All this they teach And to vs preach These things men must beleue Yea this may not Be sticked at To these things mē must cleue Alas the while How they begile The silly soules that can By this meanes know Little I trowe Of the faith christian For Christ saith that His secte shall not Shed bloud but shall suffer All tiranny And vilany And be no reuenger Wherfore I dare Say that the warre Wherof Christ prophecied When eche brother Should slay other Is euen now fulfilled For we may sée That now there bée Diuers opinions Diuers beleues Wherto men cleues In diuers regions And eche man will His brother kill Ghostly and then be glad As though he were Worthy to heare Great praise for works so bad One sort doth teach And to vs preache That works must make vs frée From mortall sinne That we are in If we will saued be For thus they say Michaell shall way Vs in his balaunce two Where shall be had Both good and bad Workes that we haue ydo If the better Be heauier Then shall we liue for aye But if our sinne The better winne Then are we like to paye They haue no eyes On gods mercies But on the equall waight For they say plaine They are certaine Gods iudgemēt shal be straight For Christ hath sayd We wyll be payd According to our workes Wherfore eche slaue Shall buffets haue That in his seruice lurkes And when they fynde One to their minde That will to them applie Then they reioyce With heart and voyce And shew him curtesie The other syde Can not abide To heare of workes at all For Gods mercie Say they shall bie All them frée that are thrall Christ shed his bloud Vpon the Roode For that intent onely We must graunt then All kindes of men Must nedes be saued thereby All murderers Aduouterers Theues robbers and ill men Shall by his bloude Shed on the Roode Of heauen be right certen Thus they say all And him they call A perfect christian That will apply To their foly And a right honest man Thus on eche side Both shoote to wide Of the pricke for the one Saith workes is all That saue the thrall The other wil haue none Of these eche man Doth what he can To kill his brothers soule Eche giueth his mynde Such for to fynde As will not him controle The middle sorte That doth exhorte All men to liue godly And to thinke that Their worke shall not Saue them but Gods mercy Are they that beare The burden here For both hate them to death Their whole intent Is to inuent Some way to stop their breath Thus eche brother Killeth other Some the flesh some the spirite So that I dare Call this the warre Wherof the Prophets write For since kings coulde As I haue tolde Haue men of warre to fight With wicked will They haue sought still To win much groūd by might ij AS for famine Such now is séene As erst hath not bene knowē Both poore and riche Perishe aliche No séede growes that is sowen By this I meane Ghostly famine For lacke of ghostly foode The heauenly fielde Lye doth vntilde And brings forth nothing good If any sowe They will not bowe But stiffely scatter séedes Setting no hand To tyll the land So nought growth vp but wéedes Yet in churches Gods worde lurches In chaines or in a cage But no man may Theron hand lay That hath none heritage Iames writeth this With God
riche men I must say then Set foolishe toyes aside In all your wayes During your dayes Let conscience be your guide Let not the poore Stand at your doore And starue for lacke of foode Whiles that ye eate All maner meate Much more than doth you good Kepe not in store Much clothing more Thā that you must nedes ware Bestow your golde In tyme of colde Vpon such as be bare Let your workes show That you do know Gods worde set fantasie Aparte thinking Your selues nothing Without the Lordes mercy Persuade your selfe This worldly pelfe To be but vanitie And that ye ought To withholde nought From néedefull pouertie You are not set Riches to get But to order the same Ministering Eche néedefull thyng To halte blinde and to lame And for to sée That such men bée Punished that haue their helth And wil not woorke But lye and lurke Hurting the common welth Do not retayne Such as disdayne To worke hauing no landes Nor qualities Worthy of fées Let such worke which their handes By idlenesse Vice doth increase And vertues are opprest Wherfore if ye Loue honestie Let these thinges be redrest Delight not in Other mens sinne Nor your owne wickednesse But fast and pray Striuing alway To follow righteousnesse Then the earthquake Of vice shall take No roote within your breast You shall be stalde As ye are calde The children of beheast And you that bée Of lowe degrée Submit you to the powers Do you all thing By Christes teaching And his kingdome is yours If you rebell You do not well But yet you may boldly Professe Gods worde Fearing no sworde But suffer manfully Repine not at Your base estate But rather giue glory To God which hath Made you a path Way vnto victory The riche men are With worldly care Opprest that scarcely they Can at the last Their loade downe cast And enter to your way You haue therfore Much cause the more To render thankes to God For that you may Passe the straight way Easily with your light lode Grudge not at such As haue so much Treasure as they call it But rather pray To God that they May haue grace to vse it And then shall ye Through charitie Vpon Christ builde so sure That no earthquake May your life shake Nor worke you displeasure 5. NOw let vs sée If the starres bée Fallē as Christ prophecied Whose wondrous fall The Diuines all Haue thus interpreted They say that by Astronomie Men may wel vnderstand That the least starre That doth appeare Is more than all the land Then they say that If these so great And so many should fall Before domes day There were no way We should be quelled all But Christes Gospell Doth plainely tell That euen at his comming Men shall apply Them busily To prouide for liuing Some shall plante vines And some presse wines And some shall marry wiues And some shall bie To gaine therby But few shall mende their liues The sonne of man Shall appeare than And take them sodainly When they thinke lest To be opprest And liue most iocundly Here we are taught That they do naught And take the prophecie Of Christ amis That say there is In it no mysterie For if it were So taken there As the letter doth sound Two things plainly Cleane contrary In Gods worde should be found Which cannot be And therfore we Must néedes graunt that there lieth More mysterie In prophecie Than the worde signifieth Let vs therfore Tarie no more Vpon the wordes onely But let our minde Be giuen to finde What thing is meant therby The starres are bright Both day and night But when the Sunne is cleare He doth so shine Before our eyne That no starre can appeare But so soone as The Sunne doth passe The circle of our sight We may espie Them easily Through darknes of the night Yet are they not Themselues of that Nature to appeare bright Vnlesse Phoebus Splendiferous Do endue them with light Naturall light Of day and night Since the world was begunne Is proued by Astronomie To procéede of the Sunne The starres therfore Haue euermore Their light from Phoebus face Although they bée As we do sée Of a farre distant place So the clearenesse Of godlinesse By Gods worde is giuen In like maner To them that are Of Christ called Christen Christ by the sters Meant good liuers whose works shew very bright But their brightnesse Is but darkenesse When Gods worde is in sight For Gods mercy Sheweth so clearely And mans vnworthinesse Is found so darke That no good warke May shew any brightnesse But the poore man That neuer can By day walke in the light Of Gods worde must Follow the iust whose works shine in the night The night I call This world through all Wherin the christian secte Are as starres bright To giue them light Whom darkenes doth infecte The starres should moue In heauen aboue The shadow of the ground That Phebus bright Might giue them light To shine in the world rounde But now they bée The more pitie Eche one fallen fro thence None do intend For to ascend Againe and leaue their pence But much rather They go lower To get golde and treasure Their onely minde Is for to finde Meanes to liue at pleasure And they that would That other should Take them for true leaders Began to fall Downe first of all And are now deceiuers I meane prelates And magistrates Which say we must incline Vs to agrée With such as bée Men of great discipline They say we must Their iudgement trust And obey theyr decrées Although we sée Them for to bée Against Gods verities They say how can The priuate man Discerne Gods veritie If great prelates And magistrates Should teache the falsitie For God they say Giueth alway The truth to the rulers They cannot erre In peace nor warre That are Gods partakers Would God they were But many feare These will be tried at the last To be nothing But rauening Wolues séeking for repast Such proude Prelates And magistrates I meane to séeke glory To them and theirs As though their heyres Should haue the earth onely Bishop Cayphas Pilate Annas Herode with many mo Were magistrates And great Prelates And yet wroght Christ much wo. Their feare to léese Their dignities Was cause that they did this And that they slue All preachers true That were Christes witnesses For they thought that Their power could not Be able to resist And kéepe vnder The great number That wold haue folowed Christ For they knew well That his Gospell Agréed not with their pride And thought if that They slew him not Their sect would be destroide These were they that Did stumble at The stone in Israell Euen their leaders And chiefe rulers As Scripture doth vs tell Maisters of schooles Were proued fooles And wise men lacked wit But simple soules That gathered tolles And caught fishes had it Euen so this day Full well ye may Affirme that Christ hideth His mysteries From proude mens eyes Which to