haue caused the to beleue that thou shouldeste preuaile againste them with the swerde vnder whose gouernaunce God hath apointed the to be He would haue told the that to reuenge wronges is in a subiect to take and vsurpe the office of a kinge and cōsequently the office of God For the king is goddes minister to reuenge the wronges done vnto the innocent As he that taketh in hande therefore or presumeth to do anye office vnder a kinge not beinge lawfully called vnto it presumeth to do the office of a kinge so he that taketh in hand to do the office of a king taketh goddes office in hand We reade that oure sauioure Christ beinge in the estimation of the worlde but a priuate man Luke x◠wold not walke out of the boundes of that vocacion But whē a certaine mā came vnto him desired that he would cōmaund hys brother to deuide the enheritaūce wyth him he axed who had appointed him to be iudge in suche matters And againe when the woman takē in adultery was broughte vnto hym he shoulde not geue sentence of the lawe againste her but axed hir if any man had comdemned hir and vpon hir deniall let hir go If these examples Iohn viii with the terrible stories of Corah Dathā Abira and Absolom had ben diligently beatē into thine heade Numeri xvi thou wouldeste no doubte haue quieted thy selfe ii Reg. xviii and haue suffered thy selfe rather to haue bene spoyled of al together yea and thy bodie toren in peces rather thē thou wouldest haue taken on the more then thou art called vnto For no cause can be so great to make it lawful for the to do againste goddes ordinaunce But thy shepeherde hathe bene negligent as alas the while all shepeherdes be at this daie and hath not enstructed the aright He espied not the wolf before he had woried the or happlye he knewe him not frome a shepe But it is moste like he was but an hirelinge and cared for no more but to be fedde with the milcke fatlinges and cladde with the woule as the greateste numbre of thē that beare the name of shepeherde in Englande be at this daie Yea perchaunce he had many flockes to kepe therfore was absent from them al leauing with euerye flocke a dogge that woulde rather worye a shepe then driue away the woulfe wel brother these be greate plages it behoueth the synnes to be greate that haue deserued these so great and intollerable plages at goddes hande Returne to thi conscience therfore and se if thou haue not deserued all this and more to Consider firste if thou haue loued thy neighboure as thy self cōsider if thou haue done nothing vnto him that thou wouldeste not that he shoulde do vnto the. Loke if thou haue not gone about to preuent him in any bargen that thou hast sene him about loke if thou haue not craftely vndermined him to get some thing out of his hand or to deceiue him in some bargein Loke if thou haue not laboured him oute of his house or ground Se if thou haue not accused him falsely or of malice or else geuen false euidence againste him Se if thou haue not geuen euell counsell to his wife or seruauntes which might turne him to displeasure Consider if thou haue not desired and wished in thine herte to haue his commoditie frō him if thou mightest without blame of the worlde haue broughte it aboute For God loketh vpō the herte and if thine herte haue bene infected with ani of these euilles then haste thou bene abominable in the sight of God and haste deserued these plages at goddes hād Now if thou befoūd abhominable in thy be hauoure towardes thy neighboure what shalt thou be founde trowest thou in thy demaners to god ward God requireth thine whole hert thyne whole mynd and al the powers of thy body and soule Thou shalt loue thy Lord God wyth all thy lyfe wyth al thy mynd and wyth al thy strēgth That is to say Math. xxii ther shal be nothynge in the whych thou shalt not apply wholly to the loue of thy Lord God But how was it possible for the to loue God whom thou seest not syth thou louest not thy Brother whom thou seest God requireth the to loue him euer And how often hast thou gone whole dayes togither whole weakes yea whole yeres and neuer thought once to loue hym aryght How many and how great benefites hast thou receyued at goddes hand and howe vnthanckful hast thou bene for them thynckynge that thou haste gotten them by thyne owne laboure and not receyued them frely at goddes hand As though God had not geuen the thy lyfe thyne health and thy strength to laboure Yea and as thoughe it were not God only that geueth the increase of euerye mans labour But knowynge by thyne owne creacion and bryngyng vp and also by the yonge fruite that God sendeth the of thy bodi further by the frutes that God sēdeth and causeth yerely to growe out of the earth that there is a god almyghty yet thou hast not honoured him as God romaynes .l. but hast turned the glorie of God into an Image made after the shape or similitude of mortall man renuinge and ridinge from place to place to seke and to honoure thinges of thine owne makeinge crienge and callinge vpon them in thy nede and paying vnto thē thy vowes and thancking thē for thyne health receiued doinge them dayly worshipe and reuerence in the temples and bestowinge thine almes vpon them in deckinge thē and setting lightes before them Biside this thou haste put confidence of saluacion in pardones that thou haste bought in prayers that thou hast hiered or mumbled vp thy selfe in masses that thou hast caused to be saide and in worckes that thou thy selfe haste fantasied and haste not thanckefullye receyued the free mercye of God offered vnto the in Christ in whom onlye thou maiste haue remission of thy sinnes and therfore God hath geuen the vp in to a reprobate minde to do the thinge that is not beseminge Rom. i. Euen to stande vp againste God and goddes ordinaunce to refuse his holy word to delite in lies and false fables to credite false prophetes and to take weapē in hand against goddes chosen ministers I saye his chosen ministers For be they good or bad they are goddes chosen If they be good to defende the innocente ▪ If they be euell to plage the wicked If thou wilt therfore that God shall deliuer the or thy children from the tirannie of them that oppresse the lament thine olde sinnes i. Esdras .i. and endeuour emendment of life And then he that caused King Cirus to send the Iewes home to Ierusalem againe shall also stire vp our yong king Edward to restore the to thy liberty againe and to geue straight charge that non shal be so bolde as once to vexe or trouble the. Prouerb xxi For the herte of a kinge is in goddes
his laws nor loue to your contrei For if there had beÌ„ obedience in you you wold forthwith haue put al his laws in executioÌ„ to the vttermost of youre power And if you had loued your contrei woulde you not haue preuented the great destructioÌ„ that chauÌ„ced bi the reasone of your vnsaciable desire I am sure you be not rulars in your contrey but ye can se before what is likely to folowe vpon such oppression especiallye in a realme that hath hertofore had a noble and a valiaunte enmminalti But graunt ye were so beastish yet haue you not lacked theÌ„ that haue tolde you of it both by wordes and writtinges You haue ben tolde of it I saye and haue had the threatninges of God laied plainlye before your eies wherin you must nedes se the veÌ„geaunce of God hanging ouer your heades for your lacke of mercy Ther is not one storie of the Bible that serueth to declare how readi God is to take vengeaunce for the oppression of his people but the same hath ben declared vnto you to the vttermoste beside the notable histories and cronicles of thys realme wherin doeth most plainly appeare the iustice of god in the reuenging of his people at such time as they haue kept theÌ„selues in quiete obedience to their prince rulers their destruction when they haue rebelled Wittinglye and willinglye therfore ye haue boeth disobeied youre kinge and his lawes and also broughte youre contrei into the miseri it is in bi pulling vpoÌ„ your self the vengeaunce of god whiche of his iustice he can not holde backe from such people as do wyllinglye and wittynglye oppresse him in his membres in such sorte as ye haue done Howe you haue obeyed the lawes in rukeinge together of fermes purchaisinge and prollynge for benefices robbing the people of good ministers therby al the world seeth and all godly hertes lament Loke the estatutes made in the time of our late souerayne of famouse memorye Henrie the .viii. saye if ye maye by those estatutes taken in theyr true meaninge either beinge no priestes nor studentes in the vniuersities haue benifices or other spirituall promotions as you call theym for ye are ashamed to calle theym ministracious because ye neyther wyll nor can minister or beinge priestes haue pluralities of such ministrations Well I wyl burden you no more wyth youre faultes leaste perhappes you can not wel beare theÌ„ But thys I shall saye vnto you You shall neuer the soner be gentlemen for your shout oppression nor the later haue thynges in priuate for that ye let youre tenauntes lyue by you vpon they re laboure And thincke not to prospere the better in youre vnsatiable desyre for that you tryumphe so Lordelyke ouer the poore Captyfes that beynge seduced by the vayne hope of vyctorye promysed theym in piuyshe Prophecies haue greatly offended God by rebellion for the greater their offence is the greater shall your plage be when it commeth For you haue bene the only cause of theyr offence If he therfore that is the occasion of one mans fallyng vnto any kynd of vyce were better haue a mylstone tied aboute hys necke and be cast into the depe sea wythall what shal be thought of you that haue bene the occasioÌ„ of so many mens fallyng into so detestable synne and trespasse agaynste God as to distrube the whole estate of their contrei with the great perill and daunger of their anointed Kyng in hys tender age whose bloud if he had perished should haue bene required at your handes as the bloud of al them that haue perished shal Oh merciful god were it not that goddes mercy is more then your synnes can be ther were no way but to despeyre of forgeuenes But god is not onely mightye in mercy able to forgeue al the sinnes of the whole world but he is also redye to forgeue al that returne froÌ„ theyr wycked wayes and with a constant faith sure beleue to obtayne do call on hym for mercye I aduertise you therfore in the name of Christ whose name you beare I require you that wtout delaye ye returne to your hertes acknowledge your greuous and manifold offences coÌ„mitted in your behauiour to wardes the poore members of Christ youre brethren boeth by religion and nation whome you haue so cruellye oppressed wyshe euen from the bottome of your hertes that you had neuer done it Be fully determined to make restitucioÌ„ of that ye haue misse takeÌ„ though ye should leaue your selues nothynge For better is a cleare conscieÌ„ce in the hour of deth in a beggars bosome then mountaynes of gould with a conscience that is gilty Wishe that you had contented your selues with that state wherin your fathers left you and striue not to set your children aboue the same lest god take vengaunce on you boeth sodenly when ye be most hastie to clime And if for youre worthines god haue called you to offyce so that ye may wyth good conscience take vpoÌ„ you the state that ye he called vnto then se you deale iustly in all poyntes folowe not fylthy lucre to make your children Lordes but studye to furnish them with al knowledge and godly maners that they may worthily succede you Grudge not to se the people growe in wealth vnder you neither do you inuent waies to kepe theÌ„ bare lest haply it chaunce vnto you as it did to Kinge Nabuchodonozer and hys seruauntes when they diuised wayes to kepe the Hebrues in slauery stil Exodi iâ— They rebelled not but quietly did theyr labour referrynge theyr cause to God They prepared not for warres neither had any coÌ„fidence in theyr owne strength but when the Egiptians thought to haue had a faire day at them Exodi xii God drowned them al in the redde sea and draue theyr deade bodies on land in such sorte that they whom they thoughte to kepe styll in slauerye myght easyly take the spoyle of them Thincke not therfore but if the people quiete theÌ„selues in theyr oppression and cal vnto God for deliueraunce he wyll by one meane or other geue them the spoile of their oppressours He is as mighty nowe as he was in those dayes and is now as able to flea boeth you and youres in one night Exodi xiiii as he was to flea al the firste borne of the Egiptyans And then who shal haue the spoile Be warned betime least ye repeÌ„te to late leaue of your gredie desire to pul away the liueynge from the cleargy and seke diligentlye to set suche ministers in the churche as be able and wyl enstruct the people in al pointes of theyr dutie that you with them and they with you may escape the wrath of God that hangeth presently ouer you both Ionas iii. The kinge Citizens of Neniue were not ashamed to fitte in sackecloth and in ashes lamentynge their synnes and there vpon founde mercye Wherefore if ye wyll â—ynde mercye ye muste not be ashamed to do the lyke
my meaninge is that thou shouldest euer haue thine harte lifted vp vnto God for so meaneth Sainte Paul when he sayeth I would men should pray alwayes and in all places liftinge vp theire pure handes c. And in all thy doinges let thy desire be that Goddes wil be fulfilled in the and what so euer God sendeth the holde the content wtal and render vnto him most hertie thaÌ„ckes for that he dealeth so mercifully with the acknowledginge that bi his iustice he might poure oute vpon the mo plages then euer were heard of And when thou commeste to thy parishe church if thy curate be an euell liue ar Math. xxiii then remember what Christe said vnto his disciples When the scribes and pharises do set them downe vpon Moses seate then do al that they commaunde you to do but do not as they do for they say do not Remember this I saie and what so euer thi curate biddeth the do wheÌ„ he sitteth on christes seate that is when he readeth the bible vnto the that do thou But folowe not his examples Do not as thou seest him do but at thy firste entraunce into the church lifte vp thine herte vnto god and desire of hym that he wyll geue the his holye spirit to illumine and lighten the eies of thine herte that thou maist se and perceiue the true meaning of all the scriptures that thou shalte heare reade vnto the that dai And so shalt thou be sure that thoughe thy curate were a deuell and would not that any man shoulde be the better for that whiche he readeth yet thou shalt be edified and learne as much as shal be necessarye for thy saluacion And for thy sake god shall make thy curate that otherwise wold mumble in the mouth drounde his wordes to speake out plainly or else he shall geue the such a gift that thou shalt vnderstande him plainely 〈◊〉 ii Of suche power is God for when the Apostles spake in the hebrue tonge onlye al that were present heard euery man his own language Doubt thou not therfore but if thou be desirous to learne thy duetie out of that thy curate readeth to the God wil make it plaine vnto the though it be not plainlye reade For he that coulde make the hebrue tonge which sowndeth far otherwise theÌ„ other tonges do sownd al maner of languages to euerie man his owne language can also make thine owne language sownde plaine vnto the though it were not spoken anye thinge plaine Thus seeste thou that the cause of Sedition is not where thou laiest it for I haue declared to the that thine owne sinne is the cause that thou arte Sedicious For Sedition is poured vpoÌ„ the to plage thy former sinne withall Because thou knewest God bi his creatures and yet didest not honoure him as God he hath geuen the ouer into a reprobate sence to do the thinge that is vnsemelye euen to stande vp againste God and goddes ordinaunce as I haue sayde before Nowe if I should demauÌ„d of the gredie cormerauntes what thei thinke shuld be the cause of SeditioÌ„ they would saie the paisaÌ„t knaues be to welthy proueÌ„der pritheth theÌ„ They knowe not theÌ„selues they knowe no obedieÌ„ce they regard no lawes thei would haue no gentlemeÌ„ thei wold haue al meÌ„ like theÌ„selues they would haue al thinges commune Thei would not haue vs maisters of that which is our owne They wil appoint vs what reÌ„t we shal take for our groundes We must not make the beste of oure owne These are ioly felowes Thei wil caste doune our parches laie our pastures opeÌ„ thei wil haue the law in their own haÌ„des They wil play the kinges They wyll compel the kinge to grafit theyr requestes But as they like their fare at the breake faste they had this laste somer so let theÌ„ do againe They haue ben metely well coled and shal be yet better coled if they quiet not theÌ„ selues We wyll tech theÌ„ to know theyr betters And because they wold haue al coÌ„mone we wil leaue theÌ„ nothing And if they once stirre againe or do but once cluster togither we wil hang theÌ„ at their own dores Shal we suffer the vilaâ—nes to disproue our doynges No we wil be lordes of our own vse it as we shal thinke good Oh good maisters what shuld I cal you you that haue no name you that haue so many occupacioÌ„s trads that ther is no on name mete for you You vngeÌ„tle gentlemeÌ„ You churles chikens I say Geue me leue to make answere for the pore Ideotes ouer whom ye triumphe in this sorte And this one thing I shal desire of you that ye report me not to be one that fauoureth their euel doinges for I take God to witnes I hate doeth they re euell doinges and youres also but geue me leaue to tel you as frely of your faultes as I haue alreadi told them of theires And for asmuch as you be stronge and they weake I shall desire you to beare with me though I be more ernest in rebuking your faultes then I was in rebuking theirs True it is the pore men whoÌ„ ye cal paisaunte knaues haue deserued more theÌ„ you can deuise to laie vpon them And if euerye one of them were able and shoulde sustaine as much punishment as thei al were able to sustaine yet could thei not sustaine the plages that thei haue deserued But yet if their offence wer laied in an equall balaunce with yours as no doubt thei are in the sight God doâ—â—t not but you should sone be ashamed of yoâ—re parte For what can you laye vnto their charge but they haue had examples of the same in you If you charge theÌ„ wyth disobedience you were firste disobedient For without a law to beare you yea contrarie to the law which forbiddeth al maner of oppression extortioÌ„ that more is coÌ„trarie to conscience the ground of al good lawes ye enclosed frome the pore theire due commones leauied greater fines theÌ„ heretofore haue bene leauied put them froÌ„ the liberties and in a maner enheritaunce that they held vp custome reised theire rentes Yea wheÌ„ ther was a law ratified to the contrary you ceased not to finde meanes either to compel your tenantes to conseÌ„t to your desire in enclosinge or else ye found such maistership that no man durste gaine saye your doinges for feare of displeasure And what obedieÌ„ce shewed you when the kinges proclamations were sent forthe and commissions directed for the laying open of your enclosures and yet you lefte not of to enclose stil Yea what obedieÌ„ce was this which ye shewed at such time as the kinges moste honourable counsell perceiueinge the grudginge that was emong the people sent forth the second proclamation concerning your negligence or rather contempte in not laieinge open that which coÌ„trari to the good estatutes made in parliament you had enclosed It appeareth by your doinges that there was in you neither obedience to your prince and