field Though thy number bee three to one and thou assure thy selfe to haue the daie yet if the forbidden Babilonish garment bee hidden in the tent rather then thou shouldest prosper therewith the starres in heauen euen the starres shall fight in order from heauen against thee as they did against Sisera the Riuers shall swell against thy comming which if thou enter they shall strike of the wheâ—es and carrie thine iron charrets cleane away The stones in the walles shall fight against thee at home and the foules of the ayre abroad thine enemie shall stand vpon the shore with his banner displaied whilest thou liest drowning in the deepe He shall march vnto the toppes of the highest hilles without losse of men or shedding of his bloud hee shall display his banner with triumphe hee shal descend in peace and refound his trumpet in his tente most courragiouslie Therefore let all true christians muse and meditate more wisely on the will of the Lord let them knowe that it is better to trust in the Lord alone then in any power of man that it is better to depend vpon the seruice of the Lord and the loue of his holie name then to put any confidence in Princes in power in authoritie in riches Let the trueth of the Lord be theyr light and let his looue be the way his holy Prophets their guiders in the same Let theÌ„ fight cheefely for the glory of the Lord and not theyr owne glory for his church and not their own possessions for their soueraigne and not their owne primacie for the realme and not for reuenge of priuate quarels or hope of higher rule Let their departurebe in peace vnfayned loue vnto the spouse of Iesu Christ at theyr going foorth let them not say that theyr garmentes theyr furniture theyr money their coine came from the church but let them looke backe into the lande and beholde the church from whence they sprang Let them pitty theyr mother in their hart and let them say with the sons of God peace bee with thee and sweete prosperitie O thou house and Citty of the Lord let their watch word be Domus dei and theyr great allarum Vincat veritas But let them not be christians onelie in word let not all their religion dwell in their mouth and nothing in their hartes and deedes let them not goe foorth laughing and leaue manie weeping eyes behinde them let them not bragge that they fight for the Church abroad whilest they are full of deadlie sinne within and weaken the foundation of the Church at home Can wee looue our father and yet spoile our elder brethren Can wee tender our mother and yet presse her teates so sore that in steede of sweete milke they droppe bloude Can wee cherishe the sucking childe and yet empoision the teate of the Nurâ—e which giueth it sucke Dooth hee looue his freende who while hee is gone into a farre countrie taketh his little childrens bread out of their handes their cloathes from their backes their houses ouer their heades If this question knocke at the doore by which wee would faine enter into the Church of Iesu Christ and the answere to the same bee the key which openeth the waie and sheweth vs the light of trueth whose beames shine cleerely from the sonne of God why shutte wee vp the fleshlie windowes of our heart with custome of this great sinne aboue the rest So that that the cleere beames of the sonne of God the bountie of his mercie the brightnesse of his glorie cannot once open our earthlie intralles or mooue our sinfull bowels to haue compassion on our tender nurse and most loouing mother if this be farre from your perswasion and you doubt of the same then open your eares and incline your hartes to the voyce of health and saluation lifte vp your eye liddes O yee worthies of the earth and comprehend the light which shineth in darknesse O yee Princes open your gates and yee the elect of the Lorde open your eternall doores and the true light of the God of glorie shall enter in Which when thou hast once beheld with thy mortall eye hauing therewith reade this small treatise rudelie written in hast with a posting pen aske no more the question is this true or shall I aunswer for goods thus taken or is it a blessed thing to giue vnto the Church and a cursed thing to take there fro In this conceite bee not highe minded but feare and tremble before the Lord looke how high the lord sitteth aboue all heauens and howe lowe thou art here on the earth Way that thou art in the earth a worme and no man that thy daies are but a spanne long and that one spanne is a continuall warefare hereunto applie this processe that when thou camest first into this world and werte verie young thy spirituall enemies were olde and subtill that they haue rather wonne then lost euer sithence and holde the same vantage of thee at this daie that they haue wounded thee sore and so sore that thou art not able to stand vpright in the way of life Therefore though thou be mightie and puissant yet in that thou art sore wounded refuse not the holesome oyle of the simple Samaritane which he powreth in thy woundes denye not his suppliant paines in binding them vp in setting thee on his horse which will bring thee to thy Inne and place of rest where thou wouldest be If he doe the best he can and laie out the finest coyne in his purse for thee though it be but two pence yet sith all this is doone for the bringing thee into the way from the which thou wert wandered the deliuering thee from euill and the sauing of thy life confesse the trueth which thou canst not denie the oyle is holesome the binding coÌ„fortable the man deuoute his dooing good his sayings true blessed bee the God of trueth Which because thy dooings shewe thou yet doubtest lesten but a little whilest I open before thine eyes the highe fountaine from whence the trueth of sure perswasion most gentlie floweth together with the plaine examples of auncient times which shewe most clerely in a glasse the true countenaunce of the well disposed minde the good life and happy death of all those which heretofore haue looued founded inriched nourished freede priuiledged adorned the church and contrarie the vglie shape the tirannous life and miserable death of those which persecuted the Christians pulling downe theyr temples pilling and powling the liuinges and freedomes of the Church of Iesu Christ here on earth Concerning this kinde of catterpillers Celsus of Verona had written plainely vnto the Duke and Senate of Venece In which short treatise sith we may euidently beholde the great deformitie of our age Sith his leaues be fewe his examples many his appliaunce plaine his conclusion true sithe it is nowe translated and set open before our eyes shewing vs this foule spot in
Philosophers or Philosophers raigned Herein we learne that euen by the mere motiō and instincte of nature the verie heathen honored wisedome and vertue in what person soeuer aboue all the giftes of the body naie they so highly esteemed of knowledg and vertue that they not onlie gaue them the highest honor and dominion whilest they liued but after their death they built temples vnto them and celebrated their memorie after their heathenish superstition perpetually Their doinges shewed plainely that they had some hidden sparke in them by nature of the fire which ought not onelie to be kindled in the hartes and mindes of all true christians but also it ought to flame forth giue light in their liues conuersations much like a candle which standeth on highe giueth light to the whole house This candle sheweth vs plainelie that man by nature following the better part of his constitution is appointed to worship God and to emploie himselfe his goods his giftes and all his power for the maintaining of the true worship of God in his holy temple aboue all other thinges in heauen in earth Neither let any man thinke that this is the dutie of the clergie onely whose office is in the first place of holie function to be ministers of his diuine worship or that it belongeth onelie to the poore fatherlesse inferior people although of such commonly the kingdome of God dooth most consist as it is written not many mightie not manie rich not many of the most accounted of in this world shall enter into the kingdome of heauen but vnto the worshipfull the honorable the Duke the Prince the King the Emperour who though he bee accounted the greatest among christians yet hee that is least in the kingdome of God is greater then he Sith this little sparke of heathen fire hath lightened the candle euen of christian princes let not our harts be so ouer grown with the choking weeds of this mortalitie Neither let the God of this world either so blinde our eyes or dimme our sight that wee professing the name of Christians with our mouth shold be like the heathen people in our life Herein let vs learne to distinguish the cleere light of a christian candle from the smoking snuffe of the heathen Hee which is the king of kinges and onely ruler ouer all hee said plainlie my kingdome is not of this world Neither those which onely bende themselues to the fleshlie course of this worlde to attaine highe stile dominion and rule the fat of the field or riches of the Citty are the truest christians For what is a christian or what difference doe wee make betwixte the worthie dignitie of christian princes and the tirannicall empire of the heathen Theyr strength is the cursed confidence of flesh and bloud Though an horse be but a vaine thing to saue a man though all fleshe is grasse and the glorie thereof is as the flower of the fielde which florisheth to day and to morrow is cast into the furnace though euerie man liuing and all the liuing of man is but meere vanitie yea lighter then vanitie it selfe yet the heathen and worldly man will disquiet himselfe in vaine hee will make fleshe his arme and the compasse of the earth his dominion hee will plante his foote in the sea and his armie in the highest hils he will displaie his banner before the clowdes and compare his glory to the golden tressed sunne The swelling of sinfull fleshe is aboue measure and desire of rule seeth not God Christian kinges they set the glorie of God before theyr eyes and not their owne glorie they first of all acknowledge their spirituall father and their spirituall mother before their naturall parentes according to that sence and sentence of Hermes Diuina officia praecedere humana sequi debent we must first seeke heauenly things thē those which cōcerne this world But the Kings and rulers of the heathen they are filii terrae the sonnes of the earth Their desire their life their looue their greatest glory and rule is in the earth alone and came from the earth they knowe not their heauenly father and therefore ofte times they spoile their spirituall mother Such as they be such is their rule not for the glory of God or the safetie of his church for they defie her they prophane her they pill and poll her but they rule for their owne glory their owne peace and safetie according to their owne humour as it is plainely described by the mouth of Daniell speaking vnto Balthasar in this manner O King the most high God hath bestowed dominion magnificence glorie and great honor vpon Nabuchodonozar thy father and in regard of that highnes which God gaue him all people kindreds Kinges and nations trembled before him and feared him greatly Whom he would he killed whom he would he did strike whome hee would he aduaunced and whom he would he threw down This is the tyrannical rule of the Kings of the nations concerning which our sauiour Christ hath said principes gentium dominantur eis c. This is the waie of flesh and bloud into the which that younger sonne euen the carnall man is alreadie entered but to the elder children begotten in the spirite borne of our true spirituall mother and nursed in the schoole of Christianitie and by her instructed out of the booke of life in the fayth feare and looue of God our spirituall father hath sayd Vos autem non sic The Kinges of the heathen and rulers of the earth they are called good maister and good grarious lord most highe most renowmed most mighty most glorious most excellent maiesty without exception of heauen and earth They thinke themselues to be Gods making the ende of their power and rule to bee the extolling of their owne honour and dignitie They regard not iustice that they should doe no iniurie nor the poore that they might bee called mercifull nor their brethren that they might seeme naturall nor their inferiours that they might appeare humble nor the goods the landes the peace the priuiledge the honour the glorie of God or man that there might appeare some sparke of Godly life in them But without regard of God of pietie or pittie they say to this man cast thy selfe headlong from yonder rocke before my face breake his legges pearce the other to the heart reache mee the heade of that braue knight let that Lord be pulled in peeces with wilde horses cast that Earle into the dungeon with the Lions destorie that nation burne those temples sley man woman and childe onelie preserue my kingdome my crowne my maiesty and let your praiers be made onely vnto me But christiā Princes must not do so Though the Lord hath giuen the highest honor to the King and put the scepter into his hand in which respect they are said to be gods sitting in the place of God pronouncing the sentence in his name and person yet let
to make any christian hart to melt when it is harde he suffered that cruell souldier to pierce his tender side with a speare wher with came out both bloud and water euen his most pretious heart bloud the eternall foode of our soules O what mercie is this and who is able to comprehend it shall I passe it with silence or shal my pen presume to touch the same shall my heart stande amazed at this wonder and my mouth keep silēce When I behold the heauens the angels the height of these creatures aboue mā And cōsider the depth of his mercie towards man shal I not beginne with the Prophet O what is man that thou art so mindfull of him or the son of man that thou visitest him And proceed with the voice of good Saint Barnard O hone Iesu. Quid tibi merito nos debuimus tu soluis nos peccauimus tu luis opus sine exemplo gratia sine merito Charitas sine modo O sweet Iesu howe belongeth this to thee or thy desert we are indebted and thou paiest it we haue sinned and thou art punished a worke aboue all cōparison mercie without all merite charitie aboue all measure O my soule open thine inward spirites and let my toong sound foorth his praise O praise the Lord in his holines praise him in the bountie of his great mercie and all that is within me praise his his holie name O ye princes open your gates and let the king of glorie enter in O bowe downe your princely eyes and beholde this great humilitie of the first and the last the king of kings the Lord of Lords the high souereigne king of heauen earth Take heede yee rulers of the earth that ye goe not farre from this fountaine of life least yee thirst and so perish by the way O come neere and taste howe sweete the Lorde our maker is and lette not the comfortable voice of his louing spowse whom hee hath made ouerseer of his will once depart out of your eares Take heede now your father is gone that you disquiet not your louing mother Doe not your selues that mortall disgrace or the Lorde of light that vnkindnes that you should forget his bloodie stripes wherewith yee were healed or his wounds which gaue you life or his exceeding loue which passeth all vnderstanding but render loue for loue to the vttermost of your power Sith hee hath loued vs first let vs loue him first of all Sith hee refused all creatures in heauen and in earth that hee might shew mercie vpon vs let vs refuse all other thinges and loue him alone not in word onely nor in shewe but in heart in worde in our outward life and conuersation Can wee taste of the cleare fountaine and not kneele downe or drinke of the liquor and not touch the cuppe with our lippes can we taste of the sweete drops of his most pretious bloud and not kisse the sonne of our saluation the spring of eternall life the glory of heauen and earth Then leauing heathnish glory the rule of flesh bloud christiā princes must come to the fountain of true christianity which is clear bright sheweth plainly that they must fall downe before the throne of the lamb that their regiment and commonwelth ought not to be disposed and for the establishing of their owne kingdome or for the aduauncement of their owne honour or for the safetie of their owne life but especiallie and aboue all thinges they must bend themselues to set forth the honour and glorie of God their high honours and offices must be appointed for the seruice kingdome of Christ their power their men their armour their goods their landes their dominions their nobles their court and courtiers are to be imploied in the seruice and obedience of the church of Iesu Christ. Thus proceeding in the waie of life let them not barely imagine that God is aboue all the rulers in the world but that he is carefullie and dutifullie to bee serued euerie daie and that the howre of his diuine seruice is not to bee appointed at our will but at his wil and when it shall bee thought most meet by them which are truelie religious Herein wee ought to be so resolutelie bent to serue the Lord our God with all our heart our mind and our soule so truelie and so hartilie that no embassadour no triumph no pleasure or worldlie affaires whatsoeuer should alter the hower of common praier which wee haue once giuen to the Lords seruice vnto the which if wee cannot resort sometime at the appointed howre which we haue once granted vnto the Lord yet let the rest of our life be so holie and reuerent before the Lord and his people that our Christian absence may shew most plainlie there is vrgent occasion why wee cannot come If they count it a more holie a more necessarie a more honourable thing to serue the Lord and to humble themselues on their knees before him in his holie temple then to feede their eies with worldly pleasures which in time and season are good and commendable if the count more of diuine seruice than of humane of the eternall ioy of heauen than of this perfect miserie of the euerlasting kingdome than of this earthlie tabernacle they will not onelie leaue all these and come to the temple of the Lord there falling downe before their good Lord and maker their maker and redeemer their redeemer and present helper their helper and comforter in al woe and distresse but in fact in truth in good earnest after the yeelding themselues their soules and bodies a holie and acceptable sacrifice before God which is their reasonable seruice don to him they wil open the bowels of their compassion vnto their holie mother the church and their poore bretheren they wil wiselie bestowe their best landes goods honors priuiledges counsels courtes auctorities euen the most perfect meditatiō of their vnderstanding harts vpon the spouse of Iesu Christ. O yee mightie men whose throne is exalted in the middest of flesh and bloud do you doubt of this Haue you not heard of olde how the gentils ruled which knew not God or what our Sauiour Christ said concerning them and what was it you shall not do so and how then The Apostle writeth that which the prophet said Credidi propterea loquutus sum I haue beleeued this truth and therefore I haue written neither is it bare beliefe sith plaine truth holdeth the sterne whilest my litle pen passeth ouer the high surges of this worldlie sea and that those worldlie mindes thus tossed and tumbled with the vncertaine flawes of worldie tempests might finde the true calme discried by the rule and compasse of Christian doctrine let them but looke vp a litle directing their eies vnto the climat where the sonne shineth cleare and bright and they shal see the land and hauen of quietnesse where they would faines◠bee And
where is that or what sure direction haue wee to the same whilest wee saile in these tempestuous and troublesome seas of vncertaintie considering that the bottom is so britle that wee can haue no ancre holde the seas so wide that wee are farre from kenning of anie coast the winde so vncertaine that wee knowe not whither wee are driuen let vs surelie beleeue that which our parents told vs at our entring into this fleeting vessell that there bee manie gone before vs euen the same way through the same seas to the same hauen that we desire And if you will looke vp with mee a litle I assure you I haue descried one which though it bee farre off and scarcelie within kenning yet by the view the pilot thereof seemeth cunning the course direct the shippe faire and good taking the verie waie of our direction and now lying at ancre before the mouth of the hauen which wee so long haue wished And where is that The examples which I minde to propound vnto you is these three wise men The first fruites of the Gentils which by the appearing of a starre were directed vnto Christ sith in these daies the stile of learning and the learned is lowe yea so low that it lyeth written in the dust troden downe with the feet of ignorant men the kingdome of this world is the golden mirror on which most mens eies are continually fixed with desire and admiration Let no man doubt but these learned men were also kinges according as it is written in sundrie learned fathers Dicts sunt etiam reges quia illo tempore philosophi sapientes regnabant they were also called kinges because in those daies wise philosophers reigned Then these beeing the first fruites of the gentils and the first Christian kinges that euer were All those which minde to come to Iesu Christ to bee washed with his bloud to bee saued by his perfect merit and great mercie let them fixe their eies on these first christian kings let them learne trulie marke diligeÌ„tly what they did They left their owne naturall countrie with all thinges therein following the starre which led them to Iesu Christ. They came to the Inne where the childe was porelie layed in a Maâ—nger there heart was stil fixed with the light which did shine to them from Heauen though they were mightie Kinges yet they regarded not the basenesse of the house nor the vnseemlinesse of the stable where this holie Childe was but acknowledging great maiestie to lye here couered in low humilitie they cast downe the glorie of their kingdomes at his feete they opened their golden vessels and offered to him gould mirre and frankensence the first fruits of true christianitie Wherein wee haue a plaine example propounded to all christian princes and people in that they followed the light of the starre shewing that the wisest though they bee exceedingly learned as they were yet sith this is the Lorde of wisedome euen the wisedome of the God of heauen and earth leauing our owne natural wisedome and denying our selues wee ought to followe this cleare light which shineth thorow Christ from heaueÌ„ Though they be noble Princes as these were yet they ought to acknowledge him to bee king of kings and Lord of Lords of whom it was forshewed that he should walke vpon the lyon and the dragon that all nations should doe him seruice that his kingdome shall haue none ende And who shall declare his generation though the mightie of this world bee of high honour and dignitie as they were yet their humble kneeling and obedience sheweth that christian Princes are not to rule ouer their subiects like the heathen for their owne pompe their owne honour their owne magnificent glorie for the safetie of their owne life regiment kingdome but that with the princely maiestie of the annointed of the Lord they should leaue the care of their earthly kingdome and follow the cleare star of Iesu Christ which lightneth the grossest darkenes They should bowe their bodies and bende their whole strength before Iesu Christ and his holie Church Though worldly men Potentates and Princes liue in greate plentie of honour freedome and all abundance yet knowing that without God is without all let them leaue the loue of their owne houses the delight and glorie of their pompous pallaces let them forsake their owne fathers house their goodes and landes and cimery with the faithfull Abraham and bestowe their whole substance honour and riches on the Lord Iesu and his louing spowse the holy Church Remembring that he created them poore wretches when they were nothing and that of nothing as it is saide he hath loued them without their desert and that with a most entire surpassing loue Hee feedeth them in their mothers wombe and openeth their mouthes that they should breath Hee preserueth them from all the daungers of their infancie euerie minute maintaineth them in their kingdoms holding vp the scepter in their handes as it is written Per me reges regnant by my permission kinges doe rule vppon earth They rule by him and him alone for if hee doe but alienate the mindes of the subiectes the princes seate dooth shrinke vnder him If hee doe but a while restraine the dewe of heauen as hee did at the praier of Elias the prophet of the Lorde both prince and people famish together Though hee giue store of foode though it bee well prepared and by the counsell of good phisitions drest finely for the kinges owne mouth yet if the Lord do not blesse it in his mouth as he cheweth it in the throate as it descendeth in the stomacke as it concocteth in the passage from thence as it digesteth his meate is his bane or at the least hee falleth sicke after the tast thereof and lyeth miserably groaning vppon his pillowe If the Lorde dooth with-hold but the least of his benefits a little the fire from roasting the sunne from shining the corne from riping the tong from tasting the lungs from breathing but one minute of an houre though he be the mightiest king in the world forthwith hee perisheth from the face of the earth Therefore let all kings and princes all people and nations acknowledge the great power of the Lord euen in the least of his benefits Let them leaue off the delight of worldly vanities wherewith they are puffed vp their honours landes and goodes Let them affect the true honour and maiestie the glorious triumph and perfect pleasure which well beseemeth a christian prince euen the annointed of the Lord. Neither are wee carried with the fruitlesse winde of scisme that we should condemne those pleasures which bee lawfull knowing that as the Lorde hath giuen man a bodie together with his soule so it is as necessarie that he looke for the sustenaunce the defence the delight or recreation of his body as of his soule and that in most honourable pleasant triumphant manner if time and
forth in Israel not for weekes or yeares or hundred yeares onlie though it was suppressed in that watrish Aegipt but it shined so cleare out of the darke Cloude in the wildernesse that the arke was there built by the hande of his great messengers Moses and Aaron Neither could the desartes of Synaie or sinne or the exceeding high hilles of all the mountaine countrey restraine the course thereof but it passed ouer the toppes of the highest mountaines it diuided the deepest waters of that Countrey passing on drye lande throw the bottom thereof into that promised land the land of Canaan When the Arke the true figure of the Temple was by the prouidence of almightie GOD thus brought and placed neere the propper home And Dauid also the seruaunt of the Lord taken from the sheepefowlde preserued from the tyrannie of Saul and placed in his kingdome Now for our example let vs marke howe this holie place and godlie King accord together and what effect there is betwixt them The Arke hauing bene long before neglected by Saul which appeared by his ende Dauid hee had a speciall eie and regarde vnto it before all other thinges with great strength power glorie bringing it from the house of Abinadab neerer him ' First placing it in the house Obededom and afterwardes seeing the great blessinges which the Lorde shewed to that place where his Arke stoode he brought it home into the Citie of Dauid placing it in the tabernacle which hee had built for it Afterwardes when hee had conquered all his enemies round about and he sate quietly in his pallace hee followed not the swelling humour of flesh bloud which ruleth most in those that are the lowest born and the basest minded according to that auncient saying Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum but that which is the dutie of a godly prince hee called the prophet Nathan vnto him and saide Do you not marke howe I dwell in my sumptuous house of Cedar and the Arke of the Lord is simply couered with skins shewing that it was not meete that the house of the king or of anie man should bee more faire more sumptuous more honourable and maiesticall than the house of God And therefore hee purposed fully with himselfe to builde a temple vnto the Lorde which hee hath perfourmed with dutifull endeuour in good time but that the Lord by the mouth of his holy prophet signified that his good intent was accepted and therefore the Lorde would blesse him on all sides promising that hee would giue him peace and rest from his enemies that he would place him quietlie in his owne pallace and when his yeares were come to an ende and that hee should after the manner of the godly sleepe with his fathers the Lord promised that hee would raise vp a sonne vnto him in whome he would establish the kingdome of Dauid for euer and which should builde an holie temple vnto the Lord God of Israell Heere vppon the kinglie Prophet did magnifie the Lord in his soule and his spirite did so hartelie reioyce in the wonderfull mercies of his creatour that hee lifte vp his voyce before the Lorde and penned manie Godlie himnes to bee musicallie and melodiouslie sunge by the chaunter and the quire before the Lord. He yeelded his whole heart vnto the Lord and gaue vnto him the first fruites of his lippes Therefore the Lord blessed him with a vertuous sonne euen the wise Salomon whose workes were lyke vnto the wisedome of his heart shewinge plainelie vnto vs the worke and fruite of true and perfecte wisedome and what is that As hee was the wisest man that euer was created so he brought foorth the best and happiest fruite that euer was building an holie temple vnto the honour and seruice of the Lord and that such a one as farre surpassed all the superstitious temples of the heathen Hee set manie thousandes of men a worke at once hee prouided the goodliest timber that could bee seene or heard off the fairest squared stones that might bee and of greatest price His ships went to Tharsis for golde and hee spared not to spende the iewels of Arabie on the same He erected therin great piâ—llers of beaten gold siluer gilding it on euerie side and garnishing it most â—oyallie Hee endowed it with landes and possessions most liberallie He finished it most perfectlie he frequented the same with his deuout praiers dailie to the glorie of God the profitre of his nation the publique practise of the â—olie lawe and sacrifice of the Lord. All the daies of his life hee enioyed it most happilie though by infirmitie hee fell yet y e Lord remembring his mercie let him depart in peace so that hee slept with his fathers and was buried in the cittie of Dauid and Roboam his son raigned in his steede Likewise also the highe and mightie Monarch Cirus King of the Persians though he were an heathen man yet hee yeelded so much vnto the true God that hee released his chosen people out of captiuitie saying the Lord of heauen who hath made mee Lord ouer the whole earth hee hath commaunded mee to builde him an house in Ierusalem Though hee was an heathen and cheefe ruler ouer all the worlde yet hee disobayed not the heauenlie voyce sending Zorobabell the cheefe of the Iewes proclaming that it might bee lawfull for anie of those which were in captiuitie to goe home and to helpe vp the buildinge of the house of the Lord bringing out the golden vesselles which Nabuchodonozer brought from the temple of Ierusalem and yeelding them all into the handes of Zorobabell and the rest whome hee sent vnto Ierusalem to builde vp the wasted temple giuing them great freedome authoritie and store of golde of filuer of worke men and all kinde of suppliance what so euer After this his religious bountie towardes the temple of the Lorde hee had great battailes against the Kinge of Babilon and manie other mightie Princes against whome the Lorde gaue him so great and so good successe that after he had ouercome the rich and strong king Craesus king of Babilon and that most mightie magnificent famous Cittie which manie other most puissant Princes hee alone was cheefe ruler of the Assirians the Medes the Persians beeing the first erector of the second Monarch of the worlde Wherein wee see most plainelie the great care and dilligent eye which the Lorde hath vnto his temple in that hee commaunded Cyrus to reedifie it and the good successe which followeth those which helpe to builde the same Especiallie if they perseuer in theyr good deuotion vnto the ende But if after they haue begunne to worke in the spirite they incline themselues to fulfill the desire of their fleshlie eye Let them knowe though they obtaine most excellent victories and high renowne in the battaile though they be placed ouer many kingdomes and haue obtained the height of theyr desire in what they
nerely concerne our natiue couutri-men then at the first sight appeareth sith this is the tree which wee so highlie commend and we be all branches of the same Neither doth this more narrowly cōcerne vs in respect of the cleare fountaine of christianity which hee opened to vs with his finger directing the course therof more plentifully into this worthy Iland but because by bloud we be descended from the same line and kindred from whence Constantine the great did first spring in that the vertuous ladie Helina his mother was the daughter of king Coell sometimes king of this noble Iland let vs contend not onely to retaine the true vertue of her noble bloude but also that we be like minded vnto her in fasting in praying in the giuing to the poore in redeeming captiues in setting the bound at liberty in founding of temples maintaining them honourablie which with their bewtiful feete bring to vs the glad tidings of the Gospell Amongest whose excellent vertues that one doth shine most cleere representeth vnto vs the expresse image of her vertuous mind that in all her iournies beeing either neere or farre of when so euer she came to a nie cittie or towne so soone as shee was once alighted before shee would admitte anie sute or person to her speache or that she minded anie worldlie affaires first of all shee would haue recourse vnto the temple of the Lord there powring out her prayers and petitions before him bestowing rich iewels and costlie ornamentes on the Church and distributing her almes verie liberallie amongest the poore where so euer shee came Wherefore the Lorde of his exceeding mercy blessed her with a long a prosperous and blessed life giuing her a willing desire to leaue this wretched world after shee had passed eightie yeeres in this tedious vale of vanitye In which olde age shee called that pearelesse Emperour of the world her sonne vnto her holding his hand in hers she willed him to bestowe all her treasure and earthlie goods what so euer on good and godly vses Which diuine behest once passed from out her gratious lippes she committed her selfe into the handes of God her bodie died away Iesu Christ receiuing her blessed soule into his handes O wonderfull depth of the mercie of God towardes those which looue him O ye true christians what so euer and ye which descend from the bloud and line of that most vertuous Empresse though now in the olde crooked age of this world charitie be almost frozen to death yet let not hardnesse of heart preuaile so much against nature that beeing braunches of so worthy a tree yee should giue no shaddowe no leaues no blossomes no fruite at all to your posterity This honorable nurse of the Church she sprang out of the naturall soile wherein wee now dwell her vertuous seede did spreade it selfe bothe farre and neere it tooke deepe roote in Thrasia in Greece in Iurie in Italie in Fraunce in Germanie in Spaine and could the narrow seas restraine the course therof from her first natiue soyle Naturae sequitur semina quisque suae that which is bredde in the bone will neuer leaue the fleshe and the bountifull sowing of this vertuous Ladies seede brought foorth a plentifull haruest in England some taste whereof dothe sweeten the mouthes of some comforteth the hartes of others at this daie If yee bee not mooued with the discouerie of so fruitefull a vine which first did spring foorth of English soile and hath spred it selfe ouer all christian nations yelding pleasaunt iuyce and comfortable to the hartes of all true christians If you counte not of these examples which at this daie present themselues before your eyes through the glasse of other mens rising and falling If your owne euils will not mooue you because they be familiar then once againe do but loke backe vnto this mother vine let the roote alone nowe marke the passage of her bows the goodly spreading of her branches and you shall see manie fayre well plumped clusters of grapes which though thou canst not reache yet disdaine not to beholde the fruitfulnes of the vine Though it growe beyond the seas yet giue it the due commendation though the roote thereof bee founded in simplicitie yet it beareth holesome beries in the toppe though the Lord thereof was derided with a crowne of simple thornes Yet the kings and princes of the earth did raigne by his permission All knees shal bow to him who was the planter of this vine All christian princes shall honour him and though the wilde Bore haue broke downe the hedge though he haue spoyled the garden rooted vp the vine so that no one braunch therof dooth now appeare yet the mightiest Emperors will not passe by no they count more of this wasted peece then of all the kingdoms in the world They wil put of their shooes when they enter it because it is holy ground they wil cast down their crownes of golde from their heades because in that place it was said before the face of many witnesses to him whose kingdome endureth for euer Haile King of the Iewes Therfore Godfrie that worthy Bulliner the king of Fraunce after he had won the holy land being offered a crowne of gold to be set vpon his head he vtterly refused it saying it dooth not become me to weare a crown of gold where my Lord and sauiour the Lord of lords the king of kings the God of heauē earth did were a crown of thornes Herein we may behold the true image of a right noble hart for if we looke about vs and beholde the common sorte of base minded men all their desire is not so much by vertue and prowes to attaine the victorie which this noble Godfrie did first entring the wall himselfe as to haue the aboundant wealth of the place the maiesty of the crowne the glorie of the triumphe Of these men it is not so commonlie said as truelie verified he which hath the most shew without oft times hath least within truely manie puppies in the world if they were but a little sequestred from the pompe and pride which they showe without in glorious manner themselues were lighter then a feather which is carried away with euerie blast of winde when it falleth down is troden vnder foote Therefore because they haue it not within they are very carefull to magnify themselues with the outward appearaunce of that maiesty which in deede they haue not These base sorte of men if they had ouerpassed the walles with such good lucke once beene set on horse backe they would haue galloped ouer the bodies of their poore yelding aduersaries they would haue beene most fierce cruell they would haue bathed their swords in their bloud they would haue sought great glory by barbarous cruelty and their cheefe desire would haue beene with the golden cote on their backe the scepter in their hand the crowne on their head the applause
the name of that Disciple whom the Lord so loued that he let him leane vpon his breast 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For whose sake we loue another him we loue much more And surelie this most vertuons princes loued our Lord Iesu with a perfect loue which so honoured the name of that disciple whom the Lord loued so much neither did her worthie deuotion conteine it selfe within these walles but proceded like the pleasant flowing riuer which giueth moisture to the pastures round about it In that shee founded a diuinitie lecture to be read publiquely in Cambridge and an other in Oxford with many other gratious deeds elsewhere To these good fruits which this worthie tree of the Lords vineyard did send forth plentifully vnder whose shadow many of vs pore soules are shrowded from the nipping cold in Winter and the scorching heat of Summer at this daie the Lord distilled the heauenlie deaw of his blessing vnto her heart giuiâ—g her a most deuout and heauenlie minde here vppon earth to which all the treasure in the world is nothing comparable with pefect honor true heartie loue of al good Christians To which hee added a faithfull and louing promise made vnto the iust setting her most princely sonne vppon the seat of the kingdome whilest she liued And after her death his childrens children which wee see with our eies at this day to our great ioy peace and comfort most heartily praying God to graunt her a long and prosperous reigne in this world and in the world to come euerlasting felicity Amen Amen is already said my prayer to God shal be amen But thend period is not yet sith in the field of the Lord there is good seede and tares holesome hearbes and weedes sweet roses and stingingnettles We haue now shewed plainly the fruitful seede of this garden and the sweete fragrant flowers growing in the same which daily send vp a most sweete smell into the nostrils of the Lord much like the odoriferous smell of Iacobs garmentes which greatlie delighted the senses of his olde father Isaac or lyke the pretious oyntment powred on the head of Aaron running downe his beard euen to the hemme of his garment Amongst the which good trees now named as there are many passing pleasaunt flowers springing out of many and sundry soiles so the peareles pearle the flower of flowers the rose of England being ioyned with the rest doth make the nosegay full faire and sweet whose pleasant smel because it is so holesome to the head and comfortable to the heart because the oyle thereof doeth comforte the brused sinewes lowseth the dried iointes and mittigateth swelling paines through the whole bodie The Lord hold his holie hand ouer this flower and preserue it to his glory according to the tenor of that old verse Haecrosa virtutis de coelo missa sereno Eternum florens regia sceptra tenet This rose of true vertue euen sent from heauen holding the kingly scepter of this lande shall flourish for euer And good cause why Sith the roote thereof is firmely fixed on the south-east side of this orchyard Ouer which the sunne of heauen hath spred his blessed beames so plentifully that the ground thereof is fresh and greene the flowers faire the smell sweete the fruit most plentiful and verie wholesom Which because it yeeldeth the first and sweetest taste vnto the spowse of Iesu Christ hee hath blessed it as yee haue heard and it shall be blessed And though I bee the vnworthiest of many thousandes to walke thorow this orchard of the Lorde Yet if it shall please you of your curtesie to accompany mee vnto the of ther side ye shall see by the way that wee must decline from euill and doe good that on this side of the orchyard bee many faire and large trees whose bowes be faire the leaues be greene the fruit is well seeming but yet it hangeth so high that it will not come downe the bowes are so stiffe and the trees so vntractable that they will not once bend themselues vnto the hande of the most louing spowse of Iesus Christ. And therefore as the Lord of his mercie hath blessed those abundantly which loue his spouse nourish his children so on the contrary hee maketh those trees barren which yeeld him no fruite He taketh the iuice from them so that their bowes wither their leaues fall from them the bodie dieth the tree is cut downe with his sharpe axe or else with great force pulled vp by the roote and cast into consuming fire But if the ranke root of the euill tree be so full of naturall corruption and venimous posion that it sucke out the iuice from the good trees neere adioining thereto which yeelde wholesome fruites vnto all his saints then the Lorde he sendeth forth his spirite of mighty force and tempest which breaketh the bowes and rendeth the tree in sunder Hee prepareth most exquisite tormentes and vntollerable dolours for all those which impouerish his Church which disgrace the shepheardes of his flocke which treade downe the sides of his simple folde and deuoure his poore lambs thorow the gredie and heathenish desire which they haue to the the goods of this world From this corrupt fountain springeth the vncertaine and the wretched cares of mans life in that euery one is set on fire with the sparks of infinite desires Beeing once tottered in the chariot of this vncertaintie man walketh in a vayne shadow disquieteth himselfe in vaine His hart is set on vanitie and all his purchase is the sorrowfull fruits of the flesh Though honor and riches haue no stabilitie though the strength of man is like a brused reede which we bteake in sunder with our fingers though the whole world be a sea of troubles all the prosperities therof waues of perpetuall disquietnes yet man sinful man presumptuous disobedient vnsatiable man though his eies be weake and dim yet will he aduenture to looke against the radiant sunne though he be blind yet will he walke though he bee weake yet wil he striue against the strongest stream though he be naked yet will he offer himselfe to the stroke of death though the drinke be deadly poison yet because the colour is good the cup pleasant the first tast therof sweet he wil drinke a large draught till the tast of his toong empoyson his owne hart till his pleasure breake out with roaring paine till his bodie be dried vp and til his soule all consumed with sinne cry out with Iob Tedet animam meam vit ae meae it irketh me of this wicked life Though this bee thus and daily example of those which descend before our eyes into the graue dooth tell vs all this plainely yet wee daily carke and care for this carkasse of ours knowing well it is but dust wee desire sweete meates which empoison the soule wee reuerence we feare most seruilely wee admire worldly honour which
often and so plainly to haue opened the glasse before your face or to the ende that you should acknowledge your deformity wherewith your fleshly hands haue fowlie bespotted the beautiful countenance of your soules I should not haue needed to haue trauailed into strange countries amongst the Iewes and heathen people to shewe you by the true consent of sundrie glasses that as it appeareth without so it is that you haue fowlie stained your christian consciences inwardly with this fowle sin of taking from the Church Neither should I neede nowe after the proposing of those two faire wel steeled glasses of the heathen and the Iewes to adde the thirde which is the true mirror of christianity shewing most plainly that the Lorde Iesu hath an especiall eie vnto his beloued spowse the holie Church and most seuerelie punisheth the detracters of the same Herein as we haue begunne if wee goe forwarde and pierce the fountaine wee shall soone perceiue great riuers flowing from the same For first of all in the daies of our Sauiour Christ let vs marke what was concerning the Church what ought to haue beene and what followed The Lord of light was made a man he walked amongst vs in the habit of man he was vsed verie hardly he liued in very meane estate he was reuiled persecuted whipped despited with mockings mowings with spittings with a reede in his hand and a crowne of thornes on his head And lastlie with a most bitter and cursed death for our sakes and for our saluation Likewise also the Disciples though they preached the glad tidinges of the Gospell with the great power vertue and Maiestie of the holie Ghost yet concerning the worlde they were poore simple contemptible persecuted men In so lowe a valley it pleased the Lord to sow the first seed of his Gospel and to the end that the Roofe of the Church might afterwardes rise farre and high aboue first of all he laid the foundation in great humilitie farre belowe Thus it was then and worldlie minded men regarding more the prosperitie of their bodies then the health of their soules and the safetie of the holie church misconstruing that voice of truth Vos autem non sic say that as the simplicitie of the Church was then euen so it ought to bee now in the flourishing state of the Gospel Wherein I wish them to beware that they looke not on this Christall mirrour too much or that they hold it not too neere for fear lest their fleshlie breath doe dimme the same Remooue the sight of the glasse a little and let vs see what was then and what ought to haue beene they contemned the Gospell of grace they crucified the Lord of light and cruelly persecuted his disciples what were these according to the prophecy the Kings and Rulers of the earth euen Pontius Pilat high deputie of Iurie Herode the Tetrarch of Galilee with the high priests the Iudges the scribes and the pharises and the whole multitude of the Iewes so that in these daies the Church was trodden downe the poore Ministers contemned afflicted persecuted by that faithlesse generation But nowe you which so much allude to those darke daies of persecution in the Church Doe but alter the case a little and suppose that the Emperour and Pontius Pilate his deputie Annas and Caiphas with the rest of the Rulers in those daies had beleeued in Christ and confessed plainely that he was the Sauiour of the world that he created them that he came to redeeme them that he nourished them in their mothers wombe that hee perserued the breath in their nostrels and that it was he by whom they shoulde bee either exalted or put downe either accepted or reiected either saued or condemned in the daie of iudgement If this had bin so let vs thinke what a strange metamorphosis had followed in their doings how would they haue falleÌ„ downe before the Lorde with what humilitie would they haue cast down their crownes scepters at his feete with what ioy woulde they haue exalted the Lord of light what honour magnificence would they haue yeelded to that heauenly bridegrome and the children of the marriage what great freedomes and foundations would they haue bestowed on his Church litle flocke for euer No say some though Iupiters priests with the whole City when they did see the mighty woorking of the holy Ghost by the hands of Paul Barnabas would haue sacrificed to them giuen them the honour title of gods Yet they refused it knowing that the true worshippers would worship him in truth an spirit outwardly yelding him but meane reuerence belonging to simpler state Neither would he or his disciples haue accepted of any worldly honour sith he said plainely my kingdome is not of this worlde As was the roote of humilitie so were the braunches springing from the same As the Lord though he would not openly bee proclaimed a king yet he had ordained in his secrete counsell that the Church shoulde haue hir time of infancie of childhoode of strong age of florishing and decaying Euen so it pleased him that this seede shoulde not bee both sowne and reaped in one daie that it should not first spring and bring foorth seede in one houre and that the Church shoulde not bee founded and perfected both in one minute Though by diuine prouidence the Church was in the infancie that time of our Sauiours beeing heere on earth and his Apostles and though the space of three hundreth yeares after it was trodden downe verie low by persecution vnder the heathen vnder Ebion Cherinthus and Arrius heretiques of the first head whereby the account and calling of the Ministerie waxed verie poore and meane contemned of some misliked of many little reuerenced of the most yet if these Kinges and Rulers had had the grace to haue acknowledged Christ to bee the GOD of of heauen and earth out of doubt they woulde haue applied themselues in all loiall manner to â—he enlarging and amplifying of the true profession of his name they would haue left their princely pallaces and founded solemne temples for the seruice of the Lorde they woulde haue founded largelie for the maintenance of his holy worship and giuen perfect freedome to his Ministers Which if anie now blinded with this beggerly conceited errour concerning the poore simple estate of the primatiue Church whereunto in hope of our liuinges they desire to reduce vs doubt what these Kings and Rulers if they had beleeued woulde or ought to haue done Let them but marke a litle what the first Christian Emperour did who being guided by the spirite of God his doinges shewed plainely what the Lord woulde haue done Beholde a while the gratious feature of this most Christian Emperours minde reade the histories of his life and marke diligentlie what great account he made of the holie fathers of his time aboue all other men Magistrates Rulers and Princes of his dominions How