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
that sées and yet is blynd a dimnid sight hath shure his woes with other eake also ther sorowes do procure If euery one which seeks by gayne the commons to oppresse by cullered licence for the time mought haue the like redresse Then such procurers would shure cease plenty would beare sway which if not séen vnto in time in stead of wealth decay Let this suffice in proose do write in hope that country thine will thee regard like faithful frend as vertues lawes assigne When hatrid and necligence expellith loue and diligence powre and auctoritie regardeth not minoritie Selfe loue with Ipochrisy are frindes vnto cruelty when all these gestes in some place raignes Ere long will fall some sodayne chainge OR euer the fundacioÌ„ of the world was layed the great Elohim Iehouah Adonai Gubernator Deus or omni â—otent God When Moyses demaunded saying who shal I say hath sent me was aunswered ego sum qui sum I am that I am hath sent thée euen that most triumphaÌ„t king of kings who before al worlds saw what should insew from time to time did pronosticate by diuers and fundry his seruaunts Some Patriarks Prophets and Apostels with sundry other people out of euery nation vnder heauen aforewarning to y e rest coÌ„moÌ„ or vulgar people som by proficy or prophisy some by reuelacion some by interpretacion some by dreams some by wonderfull Prodigius and most miraculus sightes to the end that ouer what dominion Realm or cuntrey so euer any of these appeared eyther by sight in act or show by word the people in any such dominioÌ„ what soeuer mought know by such for warning to eschew those dauÌ„gerâ— y â— else might insew Dame Charities being framed froÌ„ out of y e mightie Elohim so wrought as soone as she had auctorite which was not till man was framid in liuely substaÌ„ce And theÌ„ began she to show forth the substaunce of her fundacion which was is shalbe amoÌ„g the obedieÌ„t vnto the end And those here associate were Aglaia Thalia and Euphrosine thankfulnes plenteousnes and lyberalite whereby these being settelid in man shuld yelde forth some such fruit as it had recsued to the honoure prayse and immortall fame of such a moste mercifull and heauenly father Lord and king in as much therefore as in the tyme of our forefathers longe tyme passid ther fell vppon the earth suche fluds of waters wherby the whole world was ouerspred and that al flesh died by the rage of the same sauing Noah and his famely viii sowles And wherefore bicause they regarded not neither beleued the same to insew till they saw the extremite of the flud so spéedily to ouerwhelme them all hope then frustrate and past remedy The preparinge of the Arke made them not a frayed neither the enterance of the flud for so longe as any land mountayne or hill was to bée gotten vnto so longe hoped they of safety such vayne hope deceyued them wherefore they peryshed such was the incredulite at that tyme and much worse notwithstanding former insamples in these our present tymes from after the sayde Deluuium or flud no soner being retornid to their former or preordayned course And that the Sunne Moone and Stars appeard in their pulcritude and kynde then euen in the very presence of the late slayne carcasis such showed Obliuion in the brest of Noah that after a few grapes eaten became so infebelid in the heade that most disorderly laye to the great sorow of his two sonnes Sem and Iaphet although Cham being also one of their bretheren did most vnreuerently laughe at his fathers nakidnes for the which he was a curssud When Lot through wine forgat him selfe his offence was such as mouid a parpetual remembrance to be ware Zodoma Gomorra Adama Zeboim Zoar or euer they were destroyed they had warning their of by there forefathers that perished through the flud and also by the coÌ„ming of the messengers vnto Lot The children of Israel had warning also before they fel into captiuite for as long as Ioseph gydid or gouerned Egipt vnder Pharao so long they continuid in peace and tranquilitie But there rose vp a new king in Egipt which knew not Ioseph And he sayde vnto his folke behould the people of the children of Israel are great and myghtier then wée come and let vs play wiesly with them least they multiply And lest it happeÌ„ that if there chaunce any war they ioyne themselues vnto oure enemies and fyght agaynst vs. And so get them out of the lande so the children of Israell were by the Egyptians held in bondage without mercy Behould the skill of the Egiptians they being in doute of such great increase would not suffer the Israelites no more among theÌ„ c. And yet for all that reasid not to oppresse them in such sort as this second booke of Moyses makes relacion Be it knowen vnto thée thou now florishing Anglia whom God so gyde with continuance that sence thy first a ryuall by that noble Brutus thou hast sufferid many greuous attempes And also ben subuertid by forraigne powre if thou wilt know by whom reade Robertus de Auesbury Rogerus Houenden Forsard Harding Mathae Paris Mathaei VVestomasteriensis Policronicon Supplementi Chronicarum Polidory Virgilij cum alijs The first subuercion of this eyle was by the Britans called Gigantes as of Corineus which inhabited Cornewal and such lyke of whome came our originall by successiue liue from Brute But the second ouerthrowe was by Iulius Ceasar and his Romans who about fyue hundred yeares gouernid this lande but as touching the origynall from Brute Iulius Ceaser was the first that brought the Britans in subiection and after the ende of the sayd yeres the Romaines left both tribut and cuntry rather then to defend it agaynst the Scots Pysts The Britons were afterward conquerid by Hengist king of the Sarons vnto whom the Bretons vnaduisedly had before geueÌ„ to much entry which Sarons were afterward coÌ„querid by Svvane and other the Danes and these Danes with the Sarons Britans remayning were all conquerid by VVilliam bastard Duke of Normandy And since that time continued most victorius to the perpetuall fame of English men and long tyme may if gréedy desier be not the cause of her ouerthrow This being dewly considerid in these our present dayes would geue occasion to foresée a greate mischiefe which else ere tonge will inshew The cause is the people of foraine nations so fast do increase and the commodites of this our natiue soyle doth so fast decrease that it cannot be but that within short space Except the prudency of some foreseight al to be traÌ„sformid vpâ—down The gracis mouid me as in a dream this farforth to speak wher in is or ought both thankfulnes to God for such warning with thankefulnesse to God for so happy a prince called Elizabeth of the Debrues called Elischabeh as much to say as y e rest
doth threaten lasting payne To those which plentie had on earth and yet for scarcitie sought their furious rage with Chimera a lasting place hath bought And for as much as we do doubt of ioyes for to inshew we will conitinue as wée are lo this is certayn trew Not leauing now our wontid lore each one of vs in kinde proceading so as we began in this you know our mynde When goods we haue all men vs loue as kings among the rest if naught at all then Begger like in ragges must be adrest For Gospels predicacion preach still who that will wée sée therin none other grace we will not come their till For who that will the Scriptures feare shall euer bée in doubt when Skie doeth fall then Larks shall haue a place to sore about Thou Hidra fell deuoyd of grace reforne and that with spéed els lasting payn shalbe thy gayn the Lawe hath so decréed Thalia Plenteusnes PLentifull are the works of the Lord in wisdom hath he made theÌ„ all for with the Lorde ther is mercy and with him is plenteouse redemption for as by the plentifull gracis proceading from God the children of Israell wer delyuerid so shall euery such nacion likewise that seeketh by obedience obtayn the lyke haue due consideracion then of the plentifull gracis proceading froÌ„ God héere on earth to féede not only our corporall bodies with the fruits growing on the same for the tearm of our natural liues but also the vnspeakable vertues which doo as mighty riuers so plentifully ouerwhelme in manner the whole face of the earth that scharcely or not at all any one is able to say he neuer haue passid by or through them or being at one tyme or other mould so that not one of the séeds of mankind is able to excuse him selfe for the not knowing of so plentifull gracis proceding from so mercifull and heauenly father in what damnable state case or being are those meÌ„ who lasciuiously liuing in this vate of misery do séeke to escape from that which séeks to saue them and to imbrace that whiâ—h vtterly if continuance remayne in ill to consume and destroy theÌ„ Tantaleum poculum libernus the very heatheÌ„ Philosophers hath not ceasid to depict out dyuers and sundry warnings and all to that ende that vertues might be imbraced and vice subuertid ouerthrowen because that like as some festcrid vlcer being once rootyd in the flesh and toucheth the bone seaceth not by littel and litle till it haue by such infection masterid the whole body and brought it to subiection forcing it to geue place vnto death the first ende of corporall life Therefore as corrupt infections be the cause of the bodyly death so the wicked thoughts ingendering contempt of godlines hastens the soules distruction who would not therfore seyng so great daungers to inshew by meanes of disobedience séeke to please so excellent a Lorde and protector that so mercifully and so plentifully powrith forth before vs so many seueral gracis therby to plucâ— vs yea as it wer by force from so many euils which for sinne is left to possesse vs for as gold is tried in the fornace so that good men be tried in tyme of aduercite which aduercite is the dayly resisting of the flesh agaynst the spirit The awayting of our aduersary Leo rugens to none other end is but to destroy not the bodies of men only but also their soules And in getting inordinat goods through the desier therof maketh such most miserable Beggers from the knowledge of God And the vayne hope in this life maketh them think to be frée froÌ„ such sinne when in very déed they are most bond imppes of that infernall fuery Such is the sufferance of our iuste Judge when he seeth whervnto man is inclined in that his felicite is wholy set on those things which his fleshy eyes beholdeth regarding it more better assurance then the promised place to come what followeth but a flat distrust of gods promises to this ende therfore is Satan sufferid to be amoÌ„g the sonnes of men to styre vp strife to vere and molest them for which disobedience first of all the great Dragon that olde Serpent was cast out no more to be among the Juste for enuy wherof as a roring â—ioÌ„ he séeketh to deuour the whole race posterite of mankind notwithstanding his power recheth no further then the Lord permitteth as manifestly apperith by that pacient Iob whom the Lord of Ostes sufferid for a tyme to be molestid saying vnto Satan al that he hath be it in thy power only sée that thou spare his life the constancy of that iust moueth euery true Christian to hope that after dark and stormy tempest of tribulacions in this life for the hauen of feliciâ—e or triumphant glory not by due desert but by grace only in Christ and none but he a sufficient warning is this to those that haue â—yes to sée mouths to speak ears to heare hearts to conceue with a continuall wisshing for the coming of our only Lord and sauiour Christ Jesu But to those that haue eyes sée not ears and heare not because they loue not mouth to speake and doo not harts to conceaue and regard not in such the Gospell abides not Because God hath geuen them ouer to vnclennes through the lusts of their own herts to defile their own bodies among them selues which chaunged his truth for a lye and worshipped and seruid the things that bée made more then him that made them which is to be praysed for euer and euer Amen And as they regardid not to know God euen so God delyuerid them vp vnto a lewd mynd that they should do those things that were not comely being full of all vnrighteousnes fornicacion wickednesse couitousnes maliciousnes full of enuy murther debate dicept euil conditioned whisperers bakebiterâ— haters of God disdaynfull proud bosters bringers vp of euyll thinges disobedient to father and mother without vnderstanding couenant breakers vnlouing truce-breakers vnmercifull which men though they knew the righteusnesse of God consider not how that they which commit such things are worthy of death not only they that do y e same but also they which haue pleasure in them that do them What plentiousnes can be more then this wher such store of ensamples are to bring vs from vyce to vertue from being in bondage to perfect fréedom froÌ„ sorow to ioye from pouerty to riches from werines to ease from sicknes to health from corruptible thoughts to selestial mocions praysing and lawding God for his so plentious gracis worthy deseruing thanks to him which liueth for euer and euer The obstinate for all this will not be reclaymed and therefore voyde of all hope by this my warning without the greater grace mercy of God in Christ Jesus The very heathen are to be preferrid before such whose words remayne to the vtter ruen of all vnthankfull Christians When a resonable