them they could haue none lest there were not inogh for them both Wherby wee see that as no man can buy the good workes of another so no man hath inough to saue himselfe The Apostle Peter saith There is no other name giuen vnder heauen whereby man can bee saued but onely Iesus Christ. And if good workes coulde saue vs as the same Apostle reasoneth then had Christ died in vaine For how vaine a thing had it ben for the maiesty of God to haue sent his owne sonne into this miserable worlde to take our nature vpon him to shed his most precious bloud for vs if wee coulde haue iustified our selues or purchased our saluation either through our inherent righteousnes as the papists most blasphemously affirme by our merits or by anie other means whatsoeuer And therefore Paul was bold to conclude that wee are iustified by faith only without the works of the law Being iustified sayth he by faith we haue peace with God thorough Iesus Christ. And to the Galath he sayth further that as many as do relye vpon the works of the lawe are vnder the curse and banished frō grace To which the Prophet Abacuc seemeth to agree saying the iust shall liue by faith But what shall we say then to the Apostle Iames who sayth we are iustified by works and not by faith only I answere There are two maner of iustifications one absolute before GOD the other demonstratiue before the world Paule writing that wee are iustifyed by fayth onely meaneth absolutely before God Iames saying wee are iustifyed by workes meaneth demonstratiuely before the worlde Agayne Paule wrighteth of the efficient cause of our iustification Iames of the effecte Paule had to do with them that contemned faith as the Heathen Iewes and Turks do now and therefore he attributed and that worthely iustification to faith only Iames he had to do with them that contemned good works as things of no value affirming that bare faith alone was sufficiēt to saluation therefore he attributeth the more to works therby to draw them to the practising of them Againe Paule speaketh of such works as goe before iustification Iames of such as followe after Paule meaneth not of a bare and naked faith without good works but of such a faith as can no more be without good workes than the sunne without light or the fire without heate Iames he meaneth of a bare naked and dead faith such as the very deuils haue as the very heathen infidels haue So that in substance matter they both meane and speake one and the same thing For truly as faith is the efficient cause of our iustification before God so our workes are the effects or fruits issuing thereout whereby wee are knowen to bee iustified before the world And therefore let vs brag of our faith as much as we will if it bee but such a faith as bringeth forth no good workes we can neuer be saued by it This is not that iustifieng faith which Paule speaketh of nor which the children of God haue but a dead faith a barren faith an historical faith which the deuills and all reprobates haue But here perchāce some captious sophister wil aske me if we cānot be iustified by good workes to ' what end then shoulde wee doo them To whom I answere We are to do good workes for sixe causes especially first for the loue obedience which wee owe vnto God secondly for the mutuall loue brotherly charity which wee beare one towardes an other thirdly to make our saluation sure certaine vnto vs as the Apostle saith Make your saluation sure by good workes fourthly for the zeale wee haue of the glorie of God fiftly to drawe others from sinne to the practife of godlinesse by our good example and sixtly for the increase of our owne rewarde in the life to come where no good worke such is the bountifull liberalitie and mercifull beneficence of our good GOD towards vs miserable sinners shall bee lefte vnrewarded And albeit that good workes are no causes of our iustification nor that thou canst not be iustified by them yet canst thou neuer be saued without thē And therefore woulde I wish euerie one that hath a care of his saluation to labor studie endeuor night day to do good workes Remember how notably our forefathers haue behaued thē selues heerein what monuments of charity and almes deedes haue they left behinde them to the posterities to come and yet liued in feare and trembling And doe wee thinke to come to heauen and leaue no good works behinde vs at all but rather infinite millions of wicked deedes and vngodly examples which cry for vengeance before the throne of God night and day incessantly Oh let vs remember and neuer forget if it be true which some do hould as I fully perswade my selfe it is that as our wicked deedes and euill examples which wee haue left behinde vs in this life do hurt vnto other and dishonor the Maiestie of God so shall our paine be increased augmented in hell for euermore world without end And againe as our good deeds and good examples which we haue left behind vs in this life do good to the Saints of God vppon earth and increase his glory so shall our glory and our ioy be increased from day to day to the end of the world in the kingdome of heauen Let either the feare of the one therfore deare christian or the loue of the other moue thee now at the last to this resolution of good works Let not the vayne-glory and deceiptfull honor of this world beguile thee let not couetousnes blinde thee nor any priuate affection else moue thee to do euill or to deceiue any more in bargaining selling or otherwise howsoeuer for the Lord as the Apostle witnesseth is the reuenger of all such wickednes and though thou escapest for a time the lawes of men yet canst thou not escape the iudgements of God but in his good time he wyll finde thee out and recompence thee according to thy deserts Remember that Salomon was rich and had as plenty of gould siluer as of stones iewells and ornaments great store with fish-pondes orchards gardens forrests parkes men-singers women singers musicke and all pleasures else vnder the Sunne and of them all he pronounced this sentence Vanitas vanitatis omnia vanitas Vanitie of vanities and all is but vanitie Consider with thy selfe and often reuolue in thy minde the wordes of our sauiour Heauen and earth shal passe but the word of God indureth for euer And againe in another place No mans life standeth in the abundance of those thinges which he possesseth And againe What will it preuaile a man to win the whole world loose his owne soule Remember the rich glutton though he fared dilitiouslie and ruffeled in his silkes and veluets euerie daie yet in one moment his soule was taken from him he lodged in hell Take example by the rich man in the gospell who flowed with such abundance of all things that he was forced to pull downe his olde barnes and to build new ones was it not saide to him Thou foole this night shall they fetch awaie thy soul and then whose shall those things be which thou hast gathered Oh what a vaine thing is it therfore for a man to rake into his handes fiue hundred or one thousand mens liuinges to leaue it to his children who for the the most parte spend it either in hauking hunting dicing carding or else in whooring gourmandizing and infinite the lyke vices for Malè parta malè dilabuntur Ill got ill spent whereas in the meane time thou must goe to the barre to aunswere for the getting of them peraduenture to euerlasting damnation both of bodie and soule Therefore haue a care whatsoeuer thou be that thou get thy goods in the feare of God with a good conscience so shall they prosper with thy children after thee and thou blessed eternally And when thou hast thus got them be carefull how thou bestowest them and to whome thou geuest them For it is not inough for thee to say I gaue so much and so much to my carnall kindred friends and aliance but if thou hast geuen so much and so much to the poore so much and so much to this good end and to that good end to this good worke and that good worke to remayne to the posterities after thee to the end of the world oh then well is thee and happy shalt thou be yea then shalt thou be sure to attayne to the end of thy hope that is euerlasting life To the which hee bring vs all that apperteyne to his kingdome that dyed for vs to whom with the Father the holy Ghost be all glory and prayse for euer Amen FINIS Heb. 1.14 Gen. 19.22 1. Reg. 19. Gen. 21. Gen. 16. Gen. 21. Dan. 3. 2. Reg. 5 Tobit 5 Dan. 6 Exo. 1◠2. Sam. 24 2. Chr. 12.21 Luke 1.26 27 28 Iude vers 6 Gen. 6. Psal. 51.5 Math. 5.28 Math. 15.18 19.20 Gen. 1 ◠Gen. 1 ◠Gen. 6. Esa. 1 Gen. 47 9◠Gen. 3. Reuel 22 Iudic. 20.35.46 Nu. 25.8 Gen. 18.1.2 Gen. 19.1.2 3. 1. Timot. 3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Cor. 14. Psal. 1.1.2 Deut. 6. Matth. 4. Rom. 13.8 3. 4. 6. 7. Tit. 3 Timoth. 2. Rom. 14◠1. Cor 13 Esay ◠Tim. 4◠Math. 5.33 34. 35. Iacob v. 12. 1. Cor. 13. 1. Pet. 4.8 1. Ioh. 4.16 Iob. 14. Luke 1.74.75 Matth. 25. Galath 5.
within them anie feare of God anie loue anie remorse of conscience any regard of the saluation of theyr bodies and soules in the life to come nowe at the last to rouse vp themselues out of the cradle of securitie and drousie lethargie of sin wherin they haue long slept and by the examples of bruit beasts to do the workes and offices of their vocation and calling Let vs cast off the workes of darknesse as the Apostle exhorteth vs that is the workes of sinne and put vpon vs the armor of light that is the workes of righteousnesse holynes and truth redeeming the time because the dayes are euill as the same Apostle in an other place willeth vs. Let vs consisider weigh that we are they vpō whom the endes of the worlde are come and that the bridegroome Christe Iesus standeth before the doores Let vs think that the iudge is at hand to sūmon vs to the dome who though he defer his cōming yet be sure he will come at the last and reward euery one according to his doings in this life whether they be good or bad Let vs thinke that he who hath committed his talents to vs wil one day demaund accompts of them Remember these things whilest thou hast time deare Christian do the workes of mercy Follow the councell of the holy Ghost by the mouth of Dauid Eschew euill and do good Seeke after peace and ensue it Oh let not bruite beasts and vnreasonable creatures goe before thee in the doing of their duties Think thus that hee to whome much is committed shall be accomptable for much then reason thus with thy selfe As the Lord hath bestowed many great blessings and graces vpon me far aboue many other of his creatures so will he require of me that I should loue honor obey magnify prayse and in all my actions glorify him more than any other creatures And knowe this whatsoeuer thou art high or lowe ritch or poore yong or olde that thy yeares nay that thy very dayes houres and minuts of hours which thou hast to liue are numbred with God and that thou canst not by any means possible passe the same no not the twinckling of an eye or the least period of time that may be therfore good Dauid prayed the Lord to teach him to number his dayes that he might know how long he had to liue But admit that thou liuest to 60.80 or 100. yeres alas yet are thy dayes full of miserie affliction calamitie vexacion trouble as good Iacob sayd vnto Pharao being demanded how old he was few and euill are the dayes of thy seruant But say that thou shouldst liue to hundreths of yeres as many of our forefathers did yet must thou needs die at the last Adā liued nine hundred yeres od he died saith the text Abraham so many yeres he died Isaac so many yeres and he died Iacob so many yeres and he died Dauid so many he died Salomon so many hee died Methusalē so many yeres yea the most of any that euer liued vpō the earth and yet saith the text he died so that the foot of the song is still and he died Irreuocable therfore is the sentence of God against al flesh Dust thou art and into dust thou shalt returne again The same thing witnesseth the Apostle Paul where he saith Destinatum est omni homini semel mori It is appointed to euery man to die once and then to come to iudgement Then seeing the case standeth thus that we must all die that we shal cary nothing with vs but our good works our bad as Iohn witnesseth in the 22. of the Reuelation saying Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord for they rest from their labour theyr workes follow them let vs I saie in the name of God resolue our selues to glorify our God by good works in this life that we may be glorified of him for euer in the life to come The second Section Wherein is shewed how necessarie good workes are Of the great Zeale of our forefathers in doing of good workes Of their simplicitie and plaine dealing and of our want of both NOtwithstanding al that hath or can be sayde to this purpose there are some Atheistes that hold and also teach that Christ being come hauing shed his bloud for vs hath heereby so satisfied his fathers iustice and paide the raunsome for sinne that now whatsoeuer we doe is no sinne Nay further they will not sticke to affirme that Christ hath taken awaie all sin out of the world and therefore we cannot sinne Another sort of Locustes they affirme that as a man cānot be saued by his good works so he cannot be condemned by his euill workes and therefore it maketh no matter saith these Libertines whether a man doth the one or the other But these bee all most execrable and damnable opinions inuented by the deuill and broched by his members to the vtter destruction and confusion of as many as follow them Let vs that be christians and hope to be saued by the merits of Christes bloud rather obey the counsell of the holy ghost who warneth vs to worke out our saluation in feare and trembling in another place make your saluation sure by good workes Let vs with the Apostle Iames shew forth our faith by our good workes beeing assured that that faith which bringeth not forth good workes in some measure is no true iustifieng faith but a dead faith such as the deuils haue who are sayde to beleeue tremble The tree is knowen saith our sauiour Christ by the fruit and a good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit nor a bad tree good fruit To the same effect Christ telleth vs in another place that not euery one that saith vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heauen but he that doth the wil of my father which is in heauen he shall enter into the kingdome of heauen And the Apostle Iames telleth vs that not the hearers of the law but the doers shall be iustified And therefore let vs brag of a naked bare faith as long as we will I am fully perswaded by the spirite of God that if wee haue no other faith than such as bringeth foorth no good workes we can neuer bee saued by it For a true liuely and iustifying faith can no more bee without good works than the Sun without light or fire without heat And yet doe I not attribute iustification to good workes neither for that were to attribute that to the effect which is proper incident to the cause or efficient but to such a faith as bringeth foorth good workes to the praise and honor of God But of this heereafter in his due place now to returne to the matter in hand It was tolde Saint Paul how that some preached CHRIST vppon enuie some of mallice some of pride some of one affection and some of an other who
good works and the like it is vnpossible for thee to see the face of God to thy saluacion otherwise than the deuils and the reprobate who shall see the face of God I graunt but to their euerlasting condemnation So thou without good workes mayest see the face of God with thē but to thy vtter cōfusion destruction both of body soule for euer Be zealous therefore good Christian of good workes do good whilest thou hast time for the night of death will come when thou canst not work redeme the time with wel doing as the Apostle speaketh yea withdraw from thy sleepe from thy meate drink and frō thy necessary affaires to do good Remember thy yeres are few vpō earth thou hast but a short time to liue to work in Admit thou attainest to fortie fiftie sixtie or it may be eighty yeres wherto fewe doe come in comparison of those that die before alas that time is nothing neither in regard of the perpetuity eternity of the life to come Haue euer in thy minde that golden sentence of the Apostle He that soweth little shall reape little and he that soweth plentifully shall reape plentifully Let the words of our sauior neuer slip out of thy remembrance Beatius est dare potius quam accipere It is a thing more blessed to giue meaning to the poore than to receiue Giue therefore lend freely to them that haue need loking for nothing again and thy reward shall be great in heauen sayth our sauiour Christ. Consider it is sayde What is giuen to the poore is lent to the Lorde and looke what thou laiest out it shall bee paide thee again Distrust not Gods promises for he is yea and amen in all his sayings and faithfull and true in all his dooings Hee both can for that he is almightie and also will for that hee is mercifull most bountifully remunerate and most liberally rewarde them for whatsoeuer good thou dost in this life yea so precise is he herein that he hath bound himselfe with a promise that he wil not leaue so much as a cup of colde water giuen to anie in his name vnrewarded at that day The fifth Section Wherein is shewed the ends of good works and of our iustification by faith onely with a conclusion exhortatorie to good workes NOw as thou art to do good workes so thou must take heed that thou dost them not neither for desire of reward nor yet for feare of punishment but for the loue and obedience which thou bearest to thy God And so farre off oughtest thou to bee from thinking to be iustified or to merit any thing by thy workes as the blasphemous papistes doo contend that thou must both think saie as Christ teacheth thee to say When thou hast done all that is commaunded thee to doe thou art yet an vnprofitable seruant and hast done but thy dutie nay nor thy duetie neither no not in anie small measure No although thou were stable to do all the good workes in the world and all the good workes which the worde of God doth command thee yea and in that perfection which GOD doeth require of thee which thing neuer anie was nor euer shall be found able to performe Christ Iesus only excepted yet couldest thou neither bee iustified before God nor yet merite anie thing by them ex opere operato as the Papistes doo dreame But yet they are in deed notable seales and testimonies to thy conscience that thou art the childe of God and coheire with Christ Iesus of the kingdome of heauen And heereof is it that the Apostle biddeth vs make our saluation sure by good works not that good workes are any efficient cause of our saluation but doe assure confirme and seale vp vnto vs our saluation purchased by Christ. They are therefore most excellent fruites of our faith and infallible pledges of our election in Christe but no causes of our iustification before GOD. For euen as no fruit can make the tree good which by nature is naught so no good workes can make a man good before God who before was wicked euill for as the tree must of necessitie bee good before it canne bring foorth anie good fruite at all so a man must bee sanctified and regenerate by the spirit of God before he can doo anie good workes acceptable vnto God which once being accomplished thē follow good works as the effect from the cause And therefore I cannot but wonder at the more than palpable blindnes of these iusticiaries and merit-mongers the papists who beleeue that good workes can iustifie vs before God Our sauiour Christ sayth Without mee yee can doo nothing Whereto the Apostle seemeth to agree when he sayth It is God which geueth both the wil the deed euen of his good will and then alas what place of merit is there left for vs And whereas they obiect that God hath promised to reward our good works True it is hee giueth vs grace first to will then power to performe and put in practise euerie good worke that we doo and hath bound himselfe with a promise to reward these his own gifts in vs. But this reward standeth in the mercie of God not in the merit of the worke Let vs therefore abandoning our owne merits as filthie dong hold the mercies of God in Christ to bee our righteousnes beeing assured that if the Lord shoulde enter into iudgement with vs waying our verie righteousnes in the ballance of his iustice and rewarding vs according to our deserts we should be vtterly condemned and cast awaie for euer This the Prophet Esay confirmeth where hee saith That all our righteousnes is like a menstruous clout than the which there is nothing more filthy stinking or fulsome To which sentence Saint Barnard seemeth to allude saying Ve vniuersae iusticiae nostrae si remota miserecordia iudicetur Woe be to our righteousnesse if we should be iudged with out mercie And yet the papistes are perswaded that they are not onely iustified that is pronounced iust before God freed from sinne and all punishment due for sinne but also that they merite the kingdome of heauen and euerlasting life by their good workes Yea they haue not onely good works inough to saue themselues withall but others also and these they call works of supererogation that is whē they doe moe good workes and in greater perfection than God eyther can or will require of them as I haue noted before and therefore with the ouerplus of these forsooth they will helpe their fellowes if they will paie well for them else get they none for No pennie no Pater noster And is not this a pretie matter that they can not onely saue themselues but also others to by their workes of supererogation What should a man care for doing of good workes himself when for a little monie hee may buy inough of others The fiue foolish virgines would haue bought oile of the wise but it was answered
answered I am glad so that Christ be preached whether it be of enuie of malice of pride or of any affection else whatsoeuer and euen so say I I am glad that good workes are done whether it be of enuie of pride of vayne-glory or of any other affection else and I pray God to rayse vp moe good men to doe moe good workes for our great talking little walking our great prating and protesting and little or no working maketh our enemies the Papistes to open theyr mouthes so wyde agaynst vs and to slander both vs and our profession affirming that we teach nothing but carnall libertie and abandoning of all good workes But how false this theyr shameles slaunder is shal afterwards appeare Christ willing in his place And yet truly I must needes confesse that euen as the Apostle tould the Galathians the Gospell was euill spoken of and slaundered amongst the Heathen thorowe theyr wickednes so I say the Gospell and word of saluation is blasphemed and slaundered amongst the Papists who are not-only scandalized thereby but also in effect vtterly disswaded and drawne away both frō vs and our religion thorowe our inordinate licentious liues Yea and would God it were not true with grief of hart I speak it there are I feare me moe good works done daily by the Papists if they may be called good workes and not rather workes of ciuile office which the heathen the Turks or Iewes may doe than by the Protestants For he the Papist trusteth most blasphemously sacrilegiously to be saued by his works therfore he is carefull to do thē the other trusteth to be saued by a bare naked faith deceiuing him selfe without good works therfore eyther careth not for thē or at least setteth little by thē By which meanes it cōmeth to passe that many men had rather deale with him that is a palpable Papist than with him who is a precise Protestant And certainly to speak truth there is many times found plainer cōscionabler dealing among most of thē than among many Protestāts And if we looke narrowly into the former times and ages past wee shall finde more godlynes deuocion and zeale though it were but a blinde zeale more loue one towards an other more simplicitie in dealing more fidelitie and faythfulnes euery way to haue remayned in them than is now to be foūd amongst vs. A mās bare word or naked promise then was better than any bands bills or writings now They passed their conueighances and state of lands in those dayes by so slender words and in so fewe lynes as now it is sooner wondered at of all than followed of any They studyed not to coyne quirkes quiddities nor to hammer clauses and prouisoes to circumuent and deceyue one another But now adays we must haue if not so many skinnes of parchment yet so many lynes as they had wordes and a great sort moe and yet all will not serue neyther but mayster Lawyer forsooth will finde you a hundred holes in it And for good works who seeth not that herein they went farre beyond vs and wee farre inough behinde them For example What memorable famous buildings what stately edifices of sundrye kyndes and what ancient monuments haue they left to the world behinde them What Churches Chappells and other houses of prayer did they erect to the ende the religion and seruice of God might be continued amongst all posterities to the end of the world Yea what Monasteries Abbeys Priories and other religious houses to their infinite cost and charges albeit they were afterwards most horribly abused by Popish Locusts that came out of the bottomlesse pit as out of the Troian horsse to the destruction of the Church of God did they build and erect What number of goodly Bridges did they make What and how many almes houses hospitalls and spittles did they found for the reliefe of the poore and indowed them with cōpetent lands and liuelodes for mayntenance of them What high wayes what pauements and causies for the safe and easy passage of the people did they make In summe what famous Colledges Halles and Vniuersities for the cōseruatiō of learning did they found and edifye What Schooles free schooles as well in the Vniuersities as also in the cuntreys abroade did they erect indowed thē with wonderfull goodly reuenewes lands and rents for the maintenāce of poore schollers propagatiō of learning knowledge amongst all posterities to the end of the world For proofe whereof and to the end I may stir vp the minds of this frosen and key cold age of ours to the like practise of good works I will giue you a tast of certain notable personages men womē that were famus herein that as briefly as I cā It is recorded by ancient credible historians that one Cantabar a Spanyard before the incarnation of Christ 375 yeres not only built but also furnished with learned mē the thrise renowmed and famous Vniuersitie of Cambridge Afterwards being somwhat ruinate and decayed thorow the calamities of those times it was reedifyed and restored to his pristine state by Sebertus king of the East Angles in the yeare of our Lord 656. Hugh Balesham Bishop of Ely built the Colledge dedicate to S. Peter now called Peter house or Peter Colledge in the yere of Christ 1284. and indowed it with great reuenewes Richard Badewe then Chaunceler of Cambridge layd the first foundacion of Clare Hall now called the Vniuersitie Hall Afterwarde it was inlarged by Gualter Thacsted and lastly by Elizabeth Lady of Clare who called it after her owne name Clare Hall Pembroke Hall was founded by Marie of Valentia sometime wife to Adomare de Valentia Earle of Pembroke in the yeare of Christ 1343. and by her indowed with great possessions Corpus Christi Colledge was founded by the Aldermen brethren of Corpus Christi guilde with the helpe of the fraternitie of S. Maries guilde in the yeare of our redemption 1344. Trinitie Hall being first an hostell was purchased by Iohn Crandon prior of Ely for his brethrē the Monks of that house to study in which Hall afterwards by the industrie and good helpe of William Bateman Bishop of Norwich was conuerted into a Colledge and by him indowed with goodly reuenewes Gonuill and Caius Colledge was built by one Edmund Gonuill in the yeare of grace 1348. and one Caius a Phisition in the yeare of Christ 1557. and by them indowed with large possessions King Henry the syxt built a most famous Colledge now called by the name of Kings Colledge in the yeare of our Lord 1443. and adioyned to it a most sumptuous Chappell This Henry the syxt also built Aeton Colledge where are maynteined threescore schollers who in time as they rise in learning are promoted to Kings Colledge and gaue to them both goodly possessions Margaret Andegauensis wife to King Henry the syxt layde the foundation of Queenes Colledge in Cambridge in the yeare of Christ 1448.
Stone and Nantwich in Chesshire for horse and man to passe Hee caused the like causie to bee made betwixt Dunchurch and Brausen in Warwikshier well nere three miles in length Hee gaue twentie pounds in monie towards the making of Royton bridge he made also foure bridges two of stone and two of timber he built also a notable free schoole at DraitoÌ„ in Shrop-shier with lands sufficient for maister and vsher for euer Moreouer hee gaue in his life time fiue hundred poundes in monie to the hospitall of Christes Church in London and an hundred pounds at his death Sir William Peter knight besides that he gaue one hundred pounds a yeere in lands to Exeter colledge in Oxford builded also ten almes houses in Ingerstone for twentie poore people euerie one of them hauing two pence a daie a winter gowne and two loads of wood amongest them all keeping for sixe kine Winter and Summer for euer William Lambe Gentleman of the Chappell to king Henrie the eight made the great conduit nere Holborne bridge in London carrying the water by pipes of lead aboue two thousand yards and this he did of his owne proper cost and charges amounting by estimation to the summe of fifteene hundred poundes The same master Lambe gaue to the parish of Saint Faiths vnder Paules in London sixe poundes thirteene shillings and foure pence yeerely to be distributed equally amongst twelue pore people euerie fridaie twelue pence in monie and twelue pence in bread for euer He gaue also to Christs hospitall yerely for euer sixe pound and an hundred pound in monie to purchase lands to the same To Saint Thomas hospitall in Southwarke hee gaue 4. pound a yeere for euer To the hospitall called the Sauor hee gaue sometimes ten pounds at once towardes the buying of bedding for the poore He gaue to the Companie of the cloth workers in London foure poundes a yeere for euer He gaue to the same companie his dwelling house and other lands to the value of thirtie pounds a yeere to hire a Minister to saie seruice euerie wednesdaie fridaie and saterdaie to preach foure sermons euerie yeere after his decease in the Church called Saint Iamesses in the wall by Cripple gate in London and also to giue to xii poore men to euerie one a freeze gowne ready made a shirt of locoram and a new paire of shooes and to twelue pore women twelue gownes of freese twelue smockes and twelue payre of shooes for euer Hee also erected a free schoole and six almes houses at Sutton Valens in Kent with sufficient allowance mayntenance for them both Hee also gaue to the townes of Ludlow and Bridgenorth to either an hundred pounds a peece to set poore men on worke withall He gaue also towardes the setting of poore men on worke in Suffolke an hundred poundes I might heere recite many moe such lyke examples of our good forefathers if I feared not to bee tedious but I will wade no further heerein at this time hoping that those fewe except we haue shakeÌ„ hands with all godlynesse made a league with death a couenant with hell as the Prophet speaketh wil yet some what serue to the stirring vp of our drousie mindes to the exercise and practise of good workes and to leaue behinde vs to the posterityes to come some fruites of our faith some seales of our profession and some pledges of our christian loue and charitie as our good ancestors haue done before vs. For is it not a shame vnto vs that our forefathers liuing in the times of superstition when poperie and Idolatrie had ouerflowed almost the whole world and hauing but as it were a glimmering of the glorious lyght of the Gospell of Christe shoulde notwithstanding so farre passe vs in good workes as that we may not once be compared to them in anie small measure Oh what a condemnation will this be vnto vs It had bin better for vs a great deale we had neuer knowen the truth than knowing it not to follow it as Christ witneseth in a certayne place if I had not come vnto them and done those works which none else could do they should haue had no sinne yea I pray God that publicanes and sinners do not goe before many of vs Protestants into the kingdome of heauen for wee talke much but walke nothing after it And therfore now at the last euen in the name of God let vs contend and striue one with another in an holy zeale if not to excel yet to match or if not to match yet to come some-what neere our forefathers in doing of good works Let vs follow the councell of Christ who sayth Let your lightes so shine before men that they seeing your good works may glorify your father which is in heauen And doubtles God is glorified by vs in nothing more than in good works being done in faith according to the word of God and in leauing of monuments and remembraÌ„ces of our christian loue and godly zeale towards the brethren behind vs. And no maruaile for in the very actioÌ„ of good works we effect three most excellent vertues christian dutiess as first we glorify God in our selues and by our selues secondly we relieue sustaine and comfort our poore brethren and thirdly we moue theyr harts their soules spirits to thank God for vs to pray for vs and to praise the Lord for his blessings bestowed vpon them in the mouing of our harts to the succoring of theÌ„ For if the goods that wee bestowe be the Lordes and not ours as without all peraduenture they are the Psalmist bearing witnes where he sayth Domini est terra plenitudo eius The earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof and the Prophet affirming the same speaking in the person of God golde is mine siluer is mine and all the riches vpon the face of the earth is mine and haue not my handes made them all and if it be God that geueth both the will and the deede as the Apostle sayth it is then great cause haue the poore soules to prayse the goodnes of God for hys fatherly care and mercifull prouidence towardes them in succouring and relieuing theyr necessities by the hande or ministery of such and such hys seruants And vppon the other side happie and blessed art thou whome God thy creator doth vse as an instrumeÌ„t to do good and to relieue his Saints vppon the earth that haue neede It is a testimonie to thy conscience that thou art a childe of grace a vessell of saluation and feaâ—â—ed vp to the day of redemption But heere peraduenture it may be obiected that these men that did these workes were for the most part Papists and therfore their deedes were naught and no better than the workes of the Turkes Infidels or Pagans I graunt that the most part of them were indeede Papists but yet it followeth not therefore that they were absolutely euill because they were done by Papists The Deuill may doe and sometimes
warrant at all out of the worde of God but rather quite contrarie vtterly repugnant shuld merite and deserue the kingdome of heauen and euerlasting life being indeed such as Christ speaketh of In vaine doo they worship me teaching for doctrines the ordinances of men But to conclude this point The Apostle saith whatsoeuer is not of faith is sinne but these works of the papists are not of faith and therefore are sin And to proue that they are not of faith I reason thus Whatsoeuer hath not his grounde and warrant out of the worde of God is not of faith but these workes haue not anie ground out of the word of God and therefore are not of faith Therefore would I counsell all Papists to abandon theyr workes especially these which I haue recited to the deuill theyr author from whome they first came and to do those workes which God hath in his holy word commanded and which in mercie but not in merite he hath promised to rewarde at that daie And nowe because neyther they nor anie else shall bee ignoraunt what those good workes bee which God hath commaunded vs to doe in his holy word I will decypher forth vnto them though not all yet some of them in as fewe wordes as I can The 4. Section Containing a description of such workes as the Protestants doo account for good workes and which in deede are good workes and grounded vpon the worde of God Wherein by the waie also is shewed euerie ones dutie in his seuerall calling in this life OVR sauior Christ in the fiue twentith of Saint Mathewes Gospell setteth downe a notable Catologue of good workes amongst which hee accounteth this to be one namely to feed the hungrie to giue drinke to the thirsty to cloath the naked to visite the sicke and those that bee in prison to lodge the harbourlesse and to entertayne straungers and way-faring men This dyd good Abraham well vnderstand and practise who is sayde to haue sate in his tent doore in the heate of the daie of purpose to inuite and call in straungers way-faring men and trauelers to relieue them And therefore when the Angelles came to him in the forme of men he is noted by the holy Ghost to haue intreated them nay to haue compelled them to eate meate with him in his house Good father Lot dyd the very same watching in his dores or gates to harbour poore straungers and therefore when the Angells came into Sodome like strangers pilgrimes hee compelled them in some sort to enter into his house and to take such lodging and entertaynment as the countrey would yeeld and his state was able to affoord And hereby many as the Apostle noteth haue receyued Angels into theyr houses at vnawares in the formes of men But now adayes there are many that are so farre off from this kinde of liberality towards poore strangers or beggers as we call them that they wyll shut vp their gates when there is any meate or drinke stirring And which is too bad I haue knowne some that haue caused the poore to be whipped away from their gates Again othersome althogh of great reuenews because they wil not keepe hospitality nor relieue the pore at home they will geue vp house and eyther go soiorne table with some friend or els take a chamber in some city or town where they will kepe no house at all but with a man a boy and it is wel if that too liue both meanely basely and obscurely to the blemishing steyning of their worship credit for euer Euen they whose lands and possessiōs are worth peraduenture 500. pounds a yeare yea it may be 1000. pounds a yeare whose parēts ancestors kept 20. or 40. mē in a liuery mainteind great hospitality to the reliefe of all the cuntrey about them euen they I say wil not stick to do so And yet wil all their reuenews scarse serue to maynteyne this small port withall notwithstāding that they so racke their lands rayse their rents exact such fines and incomes as they make twentie times so much more of their liuings now as their forefathers did in times past Now if it be demanded how they carrying so low a saile can spende so great reuenues which were wont to maintayne so many score and to releeue so many thousandes of poore soules I aunswere They spende it as I suppose for the most part either in sumptuous apparel gorgeous buildings both which are at this daie too rife in England if it pleased God or els in feasting and banketting in roieting and gourmandizing besides other chamber workes which I blush to name For as the Apostle sayth it is a shame once to speake of those things which are done of them in secrete God turne their heartes and giue them grace to contayne themselues within themselues to mayntaine hospitalitie for the releefe of the poore and to vpholde that porte worship and credit which their forefathers dyd Our sauiour Christ saith that a cup of cold water giuen in his name shall not bee lefte vnrewarded at the later daie And the Apostle Paul commendeth hospitalitie as one of the works of mercie calling it in many places a sweete smelling sacrifice pleasaunt and acceptable to God Alasse let them consider wherefore dyd God giue them such great store of riches and large possessions in this lyfe aboue theyr fellows brethren was it not to doo good with them and to helpe those that haue neede Let them knowe it was not giuen them to misspend in ryot and excesse in pride in gluttonie or dronkennesse in whooring no nor in hawking and hunting nor in anie other such kinde of vanitie No no it wyll not goe for payment at the daye of iudgement when it shall be sayd vnto them redde rationem villicationis tuae come geue accoumpt of thy Stewardship I woulde wishe them therefore to learne euen of the vniust Steward spoken of by our Sauiour Christ to make them friends of the wicked mammon And surely to bend my style to all in generall I would councell all men to studie to be more carefull and diligent in doing of good workes to feede the hungrie to cloth the naked to harbor the harborlesse to visite them that be sicke and in prison and to doe to all men as hee would wishe all should do to him if he were in like condicion Say not as Saint Iames noteth the rich mercilesse men of hys tyme to haue sayde I haue not for you now come agayne an other tyme God send you comfort and so they geue them nothing themselues notwithstanding in the meane tyme flowing nay ouerflowing with the aboundance of all things Saint Augustine tells vs that looke what apparrell we haue in our presses what clothes in our chests what garments in our warderobes more than we weare on our backes they are sayth this holy Father none of ours but the poores and to withhold them from them hauing neede is to robbe
in God then those who dwell in hatred rancor and malice dwell in the deuill and the deuill in them Now then whether these men dwell in God and God in them or not rather in the deuill and the deuill in them let the world iudge Agayne the same Apostle Iohn in the same place aleaged sayth If any man affirme that hee loueth God and yet hateth his brother he is a lyer and the truth is not in hym Nowe then what kynde of people these are and how vnsufferable in a common wealth who delight in nothing so much as to broch lyes slaunders against their brethren and where they heare any thing against any man without examination of the quality and property of the party that told thē of the person whome they concerne or of the matter it selfe they presently spue out their mallice in libelling pamphletting agaynst him as though all were true that is reported of euerie man These kind of fellowes are worser than the caterpillers or locusts of Aegypt who deuoured but the fruits of the earth these the good names of men yea and of such men as in comparison of whome they are notworthie to be named the same daie the others are named in They are worser than rauens or kites who will not eat theyr praie before it bee dead but they will deuour the good names of theyr brethren beeing on liue Such curre dogges woulde bee hanged vp as will snappe euerie bodie by the shinnes liuing to the hurt of all and good of none And therefore I cannot a lyttle meruayle that our graue and reuerend Bishops and other inferiour magistrates and officers to whom the ouersight and charge of such thinges are committed will either lisence which I trust they do not for I wyll hope better of them or in anie sorte tollerate such railing libels slanderous pamphlets as haue beene of late published in print one man against another to the greate dishonour of God corruption of good manners breach of charitie and in a worde to the iust offence scandall of al good christians And truely to speake my conscience freely I thinke there cannot a greater mischiefe be suffered in a common wealth than for one man to write against another and to publish it in print to the viewe of the world I wis the noble science of printing was not giuen vs to that end being indeede one of the chiefest blessings that God hath giuen to the sons of men heere vppon earth For is not this the next way to broach rancor hatred malice emulacion enuie and the like amongst men nay is not this the next way to make bloudshed and murther to rayse vp mutenies insurrections commotions and rebellions in a christian common-wealth and therefore would I wish both the bookes and the authors of them to be vtterly suppressed for euer the one by fire the other by the halter or gallowes if nothing else will serue But what should I say I can not but lament the corruption of our time for alas now adayes it is growen to be a hard matter to get a good booke licensed without staying peraduenture a quarter of a yeare for it yea sometymes two or three yeares before he can haue it allowed and in the end happyly reiected too so that that which many a good man hath studyed sore for and traueyled long in perchance all dayes of his life shall be buryed in silence and smothered vp in forgetfulnes and neuer see the light whilest in the meane tyme other bookes full of all filthines scurrilitie baudry dissolutenes cosonage cony-catching and the lyke which all call for vengeance to heauen are eyther quickely licensed or at least easily tollerate without all denyall or contradiction whatsoeuer And albeit it may be answered that such filthy baudy bookes are not licensed by the Magistrates as I thinke in deede they are not for what man can with a good conscience licence those bookes to be printed which are seared with a hote iron and branded with the blacke cole of Gods cursse yet notwithstanding as long as they tollerate or suffer them eyther to bee printed or to bee soulde in theyr Shops they are as culpable and as guiltie before God for them as the authors of them and looke what euill commeth by them they shal one day aunswere for before the tribunall seate of God because it was in them to haue suppressed them and did not But I will leaue them to theyr iudge to whome they either stand or fall and who will one day reward euery one according to his dooings It is a good worke to meditate and to thinke that this lyfe is but momentarie short and transitorie no life indeed but a shadow of a life or rather a meditation of death for so good men haue called it a pilgrimage a thorough-fare an Inne or hostrie a place of trial of aduersitie calamitie a vale of woe a sea of all afflictions and miseries The consideration of this caused the holy Iob that mirror of patience to burst forth into these speeches Man that is borne of a woman hath but a short time to liue and is ful of misery he springeth vp as a flower and is cut downe he vanisheth also as a shadow cōtinueth not It is a good worke for the children of God to set their minds of heauen and heauenly thinges to meditate of the ioyes of heauen and of the glorie prepared for such as walke here with their God in all holy obedience and christian humilitie before him Finally last of all because I would draw towards an end though there bee no end indeede of good workes it is a good worke to mortifie our carnall lusts and to slay our inordinate affections to crucify the old man with the whole bodie of sinne and to put on the new man Christ Iesus walking going on from faith to faith frō hope to hope from repentaunce to repentance from holines to holines from grace to grace from perfectiō to perfection and from one good worke to another till wee attaine to the end of our hope which is euerlasting life in the kingdome of heauen These bee those good workes indeede which as the Apostle witnesseth Christ hath ordeyned that wee shoulde walke in them These bee those good workes which Zachary prooueth to bee the ends of our redemption that wee being deliuered out of the hands of our enimies myght serue hym without feare in holynes and righteousnes all the dayes of our lyfe These are the oyle which euery Christian is to haue in hys Lampe and whiche the foolish Virgins wanting were shut out and excluded the kingdome of God These bee they that I would councell euery Christian man and woman that haue any regard of their saluacion to practise in this life leauing the Antichristian workes of the Papists as abortiues and miscreants to their father the Diuell from whome they fyrst came For perswade thy selfe whosoeuer thou art that without these