philosophie we shall see plainly that those creatures which receaue the greatest portion of blessing they render the most againe not once retracting the former yeilde The fields for one pore graine receaued send forth manie scores againe The fishes multiplie in all the coastes of the wide Ocean seas the beastes their young the Bees their honey the sheepe their lambe their wool their skin the litle poore larke shee mounteth vp into the clowds with a sweet song which solaceth thee either riding by the waie or plowing in the field or sitting in thine howse at home All creatures by kinde yeeld giftes of thankefull grace vnto the Lorde not once retracting anie thing againe And shall onely sinfull man bee founde vnthankfull vnto his maker The Lord of his meere mercie without al merite hath giuen him all the beastes of the field the fowles of the aier the fishes of the sea vnder his dominion he hath giuen him an vnderstanding soule made him steward of his housholde Nay when through disobedience to his maker hee had cast himselfe cleane out of dores our sauiour Christ hee came downe from heauen for his sake hee appeared in the habite of a man hee was counted vile dispited and hated threatned betraied martired euen to the sheading of his most pretious bloud on the crosse for sinful man Neither did his louing kindnes cease with the time for hee left his houshold behinde him eâ—en his catholique Church and his holie spirite to gouerne and guide it to comfort man to instruct him to support him against all his enemies dailie hourelie holding the strings of his heart in his hand and preseruing the breath in his nostrelles least he should vanish from the face of the earth These bee the manifold mercies of the Lord towardes man more than to all other creatures and shal sinful man be more vnthankfull to his maker than the rest shal man onelie of al other creatures take away from the Lord that which is once giuen shal the hart of man waxe hard against bis creator that hee should once thinke ther may be too much giuen to God or forbid any man against the commaundement of Christ to giue al that he hath to the poore distressed members of his church Naie shall not sinfull man rather inuent in his hart write with his pen pronouÌ„ce with his vocie statutes lawes and commissions to the ende that the whole frame of the common wealth especiallie before all other matters whatsoeuer be directed and wholie bent to the glorie of God the worshippe of his holie name the highest point whereof consisteth in mainteining of his holie Temple the house and place of his true worshippe here on earth Naie shall the beastlie hart of that prowde Nabuchodonozer bee placed in the bodie of anie Christian that hee should lay wast the Temples of the Lord or that dronken minde of king Balthasar that he should take to his owne vse the goods of the Church that hee should dissolue the Quire of sweete voices praising the Lord in the Citie and bestowe the foundation thereof on a kennell of houndes crying in the woods If the king call shal we not all runne and if the kinglie prophet Dauid bid vs bring vnto the Lorde shall we waxe hardharted in taking away that which wee neuer gaue If the heathen people through the instinct of heauenlie light secretlie written by the finger of God in the centre of their heart trembled at the entrance of the temples of the Christians and were afraid to touch any thing therein as we reade in sundry histories shall not the true Christian vtterly abhorre from the same if not for loue in regard of the teÌ„der mercies of Iesu Christ bestowed on him yet for feare of those extreame and extraordinarie punishments that hee speedilie powreth vppon all those which spoile his temples O ye kinges and rulers of the earth be wise count not of this crowne of molten mettall which weieth heauy on your heade and presseth you downe to the earth but cast down your crownes before the lambe of God which taketh away the sins of the worlde despise your kingdomes and glorious roialties learne to serue him with a perfect loue of eternall blisle and perfect loathing of these tedious earthly kingdomes striue to finde the narrow gate cast away your iewels heauie ornaments runne runne runne on a pace run swiftly that ye may attaine that crowne which will lift you vp both body and soule aboue all the kingdomes of the world nay farre aboue all heauens euen vnto eternall life That you may more readilie enter this race of a true Christian and more happilie attaine the true perfection of the same first forsake the worlde and all the loue thereof cast away your worldlie delightes and secret inclination denie your selues count not of that flattering constancie whose ende is dolefull miserie Hauing reiected this worldlie habite together with thy fleshlie delightes let the troubled waie of fickle fancie goe and there with entering further the first degree of heauenly meditation weigh wisely with thy selfe and consider what God is and what thou art and thou shalt see plainely that who so is without him or out of his fauour hee is nothing or at the most a verie vile and an euill thing The great desire of the kinges of the earth is long and prosperous reigne Which who so hath enioied long in the court let him but walke out a little into the pleasant woodes and hee shall heare the auncient Poet Symonides sounding that truth in his sweete songe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. a thousand and tenne thousand yeares in respect of eternitie are but a minute or rather the least portion of a minute Sith all is nothing vnto him and hee is one in one eternitie from which vnitie all creatures haue their integritie let vs learne as little children doe by 1. 2. 3. the eternall the incomprehensible the first and simple vnitie in trinitie from which all thinges haue their rising by proportion of number knowing that as hee is the â— and â— so the first and the last loue of our heart the first and the last honour which wee can deuise the first and the last fruites of the labours of our bodie must bee giuen vnto him and in such maner that beeing once giuen vnto him it is the first and the last neuer to bee reuoked againe no not to bee desired in minde and secrete cogitation but there to rest and remaine as in the first and last conclusion for which it was ordained If anie worldly minded man seeme to doubt the truth hereof I will not produce this course begun from the misticall principles of secret philosophie least with the clowdes of reason I should obscure the cleare light of heauenlie truth and hide it from the simple whose good successe in the schoole of Christ I most of all desire The expresse rule of Iustice
theÌ„ know that they must die like men that theyr bodies are made of a lothsome matter that they are but wormes meate dun ashes earth earth earth most vile and corruptible earth as all other men be though their descent bee princely ofte times from the house of many mighty Kings and Emperours though the knee of flesh and bloud doe bowe and kneele at their presence though their honour bee great in the eyes of the people their scepter mightie their crown gorgious yet one clod of earth must couer their heades in the graue and all their glorie shall be shut vp in a fewe lines according to the saying of saint Augustine in his booke De vera innocentia Qui splendes in mundo c. Thou which shinest in the world aboue the rest thou accountest of thy nobilitie of thine auncestors thou reioycest in thy large dominions in thy parentage in the great honour and homage which all men doe vnto thee knowe thy selfe that thou art earth and thou shalt bee consumed into earth againe looke vppe but a little and beholde those which were placed in the same throne of maiestie before thy time What is become of those excellent Oratours those mightie princes those puissant conquerous those renowmed Emperours Looke vnto the graue whether thou art passing beholde and see are they not all nowe rotten dust are they not like a sparke of fire which is vanished is not all there glorie and fame contained in a fewe lines written of them by some poore contemned scholler shall not the greatest Prince in this world rise vp naked at the daie of iudgement all amazed trembling and quaking Naie not his bodie onelie but his heart and his minde his soule and his conscience shalbe laied open before the Lord his Angels his saints and all his elect If hee haue plaied the tyraunte beating his fellowe feruantes ruling for his owne gaine and not for the benefitte of his Church shall not the remembraunce of his honour bee a stinging serpent to him in his conscience and his Princely dominion a most deadly corasiue to his heart Therefore be wise ye kings and princes of the worlde and yee which iudge the earth hearken to the wordes of vnderstanding Knowe yee that the wisedome of this world is not as is the wisedome of God Many men in their wisedome forecast by all meanes possible to come into possession of riches honour authoritie power and maiestie which when they haue attained let them but looke back a little and consider with what wicked sinnefull greeuous paines they were gotten with what feare and daunger they are possessed with what greefe they are loste let them enter into theyr owne heartes and beholde what a hell of corruptions and what an armie of tempting serpentes accompanie the minde that is set vppon riches let them marke howe manie wise men of this world haue come vp of nothing to great aboundaunce of wealthie authoritie and yet after they haue well practised and wiselie waied manie yeeres which waie they might come to enioye the height of their desire which is to rule whilest they liue heere on earth and to leaue the like to their posteritie it hath pleased the Lorde in one hower to cutte of the sequell and issue of all theyr hope Either theâ—â—elues togeather with their posteritie are cutte off or else the Lorde dooth take awaye that theyr ioye before theyr face or after all sendeth a worse mischeefe to theyr soule then anie penne can write anie tongue can tell or anie heart can vnderstand Which though we cannot sound to the bottome yet let vs learne by the shadowe to gesse the pourtraiture of the body by the effect to search the cause by the conclusion to knowe the trueth of that axiome Who so euer maketh his God of any thing here on earth it shall neuer prosper with him And who so maketh his quiet heauen here He shall neuer possesse the eternall heauen in the world to come Who so presumeth of his owne wisedome before the iustice of God or on his might that he may treade downe the poore hee shall not bee able to stand vpright in the daie of his daunger and to his vtter confusion he shall heare that voice at length Non est sapientia non est prudentia non est consilium aduersus dominum there is no wisedome there is no pollicy there is no counsell against the Lord. If wee will not hearken to the poore contemned ministers of Iesu Christ which forewarne vs dailie of that great daunger of our soule which wee rashlie aduenture by more esteeming of man then of God of the seruice of man then of the seruice of God of the commaundement of man then of the commaundement of God of the house of man then of the Church of God of the seruaunt of man then of the minister of God the stones in the wall shall crie out aloud and our owne conscience shall tell vs plainly that in loouing the honour the maintenaunce the issue of our bodie wee haue vtterly lost the saluation of our owne soules O that our eyes were so cleane washed with the water of life that wee might but once stedfastly behold the bright beautie of the radiant sonne of God no doubt we would leaue this great politike wisedome of this world wherin euery one striueth to frame his children and learn the true wisedome which is follie in the eyes of flesh wee would humble our selues before the Lorde and kisse the sonne least he be angry We would not count of that sweetnes which is tasted with toong nor of the fading beautie which shineth in the face of sinneful flesh we would cast our worldly honour in the dust and put our scepter vnder the foote-stoole of Iesu Christ We would not so much seeke the honour of earthly kingdoms nor triumph so often in the flesh but we would first aboue all other thinges reade the will of our God and meditare in the same both daye night wee would seeke to differ from the heathen in extolling our scepters after the manner of flesh bloud we would leaue the delight careful seeking of the worlde which is the first entraunce vnto Christ. We would knock at the doore of his mercie by a true faith and enter further by perfect obedience We would drawe neere to the father and kisse the sonne most louingly because he loued vs first so entirely that when wee were his enemies and beeing a most vile and sinnefull creature he left thousands of bright shining holie angels his daily ministers the spheares of heauen the stars of the firmament with all the rest of his beautiful creatures comming down in great humilitie was made man He beeing the high God of heauen earth for our sake was made man he suffered hunger and thirst reprochies and reuilings agonies and paines he sighed in his heart hee groned in the spirite and that which is able
health saying these bee examples of Iewes Gentils If the matter bee doubtfull and ambiguous why do you not rather help to confirm this true conclusion sithens the open display therof is the great glorie of God and the benefite of his church will you that I proue the true leuel of mine ayme and that I draw foorth this line from Persia in the east vnto England in the west seioyned from the continent of the whole world The Iewes they requested our sauiour Christ most instantly that hee would reuiue the Centurions seruaunt saying that he was worthie of that good turne for he had loued their nation had built them a synagogue Which good works because they proceeded from a perfect faith as appeared afterwards by the approbation of our sauiour Christ◠the Lorde did not forget him in the day of his sorrow and most bountifully remembred his faithfull deuout deeds Afterwards though many yeares the sunne of the Gospel was darkened with the manifold stormes and clowdy tempests of persecution yet when it began to reflect the cleare beames on the top of the highest mountaines of the earth to illuminat the hart of that holy renowned Emperour Constantine the great the sun waxed warm the fields were pleasant the soile was fruitful the seed of the Gospell of Christ sprong vp apace in sundry sortes so that this godly Emperor though he could not come to the beholding of the sun himselfe yet hee receiued the brightnes of his shining beames so clearely in at his eye and shut them so secretly in his heart that in perfect zeale he shewed his louing heart vnto the Christians hee stretched foorth his handes and most hartily embraced the poore orphane Christians dispersed persecuted weakened discomfited Hee nursed and nourished them he called them togither into one place knowing that vnited vertue is the stronger He gaue them the milke of good and wholesome councell willing them in the name of God to foresee what was the truth to seeke that to discusse that with one consent to conclude that he with all his wil power would ratifie the same After that the iointes of this little infant began to knit and councell waxed riper in the head he supplied stronger meats he gaue thē libertie of calling a generall councell hee supplyed with yearely commodities the wants of those which had illuminated his hart with the glad tidings of the God of heauen after innumerable great charges gifts endowments bestowed on the church that which is an example for all Christian princes hee spent all his time in meditating vpon the law of the Lorde in studiyng deuising howe hee might promote the religion true faith of Iesu Christ. Herein considering that we cannot possesse our soules in this life without bodies nor bodies without meate nor meate without money nor money vnlesse it bee giuē with great ioy loue he laid the foūdations of many faire temples raising thē an exceeding great height in the honour of Christ endowing them with great store of lands and possessions therewith giuing great freedome vnto those places and all the ministers of Christ to whome they belonged Hee built a verie solemne and sumptuous temple in the place where our sauiour did rise againe commaunding that it should farre passe all other temples of the worlde in exceeding faire walles and marble pillers adorning it within most richly with princely ornamentes more sumptuous than can bee expressed in a fewe wordes adding thereto solemne monuments of gold siluer and almost infinite numbers of pretious stones Neither was his loue as is the loue of man soone hote and soone colde or as is the loue of these latter daies in which wee surely looke for the greate day of doome but hee proceeded in building and founding of temples and religious places for the maintaining of the poore disciples of Iesu Christ. At Bethlem also where our sauiour was borne hee builded a temple and that at the motion of that deuoute woman the Ladye Helina the Empresse his mother who being endued with special graces from heauen ascended high after the steppes of Christ on the toppe of Mount Olyuet from whence he ascended vp into heauen euen in the very top thereof founding a sanctuarie for the Church of Christ and at the bottome of the same mount in that place where our sauiour was woont to resorte with his Disciples shee erected a verie fayre Church shewing vnto her sonne the waye wherein hee should walke not onely in founding temples for the woorship of the Lorde but in giuing vnto the poore in redeeming captiues in clothing the naked with hir owne hands in visiting the poore sicke Christians The cleare candle which this vertuous woman held in her hand gaue such light vnto the most worthie Emperour her sonne that imediatly after his mothers death hee builded temples in all prouinces making them much more faire than they were before Also he built many faire and sumptuous temples in Constantinople he retired backe againe into Asia euen to Nicomedia the first and chiefest citie in Bithinia where he built an exceeding large temple and no lesse beautifull adioyning to it on all sides verie high and faire Cloisters within he erected a sanctuarie of an infinit height being in forme eight-angled with verie huge pillers sumptuous arches bossinges and monumentes all adorned with great plentie of gold brasse and other pretious mettell Though the church of Christ and his profession was now but yong amongest the gentils yet he had a special regard to the faithful patriarches of old He looked farre backe and sith his sight was good hee beheld his forefather Abraham remembring that heauenlie apparation of the holie blessed and glorious Trinitie vnder the oke of the valley of Mambrie vnto the patriarch for a monument he commaunded a faire Church to be built in the same place reedified all the decayed Temples and monumentes building them verie high and faire destroying the Idols of the gentils pulling downe their altars vtterlie defacing their superstitious religion and all other worldly states whatsoeuer were a hindrance or disgrace to the church of Christ. It is plainle shewed by the ecclesiastical writers that so soone as hee had ouercomed the enemies of the Church hee imployed himselfe and all which hee could do by word by worke by letter and example to reedifie the churches of the christians or else to build them new leauing a most perfect patterne behinde him which all true christians ought to behold When hee had vanquished his enemies all the world ouer and was placed in the throne of the empire with great honor triumph glorie maiestie abundance of health of wealth of libertie to commaund what he list he did not swell in his hart with pride but in all humilitie fell downe before the crosse of Christ Iesus yeelding himselfe Christ his soldier vnder whose banner this most renowmed Emperour marched forwarde Hee was not so
of the people to sit in the throne of maiesty This did not the noble Godfrie of Bullē he did not so but possessing the true treasure of right valure and perfect vertue in his hart he coūted not his saftie to stand in the death of his enemies nor his cheefe possession in worldly riches nor his honor in glistering show nor his triumphe in magnificent troupes of noble men nor his maiestie in a crowne of molten mettal This he might haue had but he would not si quidem posse nolle nobile the noble minde ofte may but wil not The vertue of the minde was his possession and wisedome was his guide in this famous victorie He was studied in bookes of arte and wisedome hee red the Poet and liked his heroicall verse full well Sicelides musae paulo maior a canemus non omnes arbusta iuuant humilesque myricae His minde was great indeede he could not glorie in fleshly pleasures He sawe this famous Cittie was but a heape of lime and sand built with the handes of manie poore slauishe workemen the riches like glistering poison infused with the wine into y e cup of gold the whole kingdome of Iudea he saw was earthlie and easie to be won at al times with a sworde of iron and steele Therefore hee counted the glorie of the crowne and scepter but a toye And what was that then which hee counted off euen that for which hee came by which hee conquered in which hee meant to dwell Ierusalem Not that Ierusalem whose desolata est did raise a most sweete pleasaunt note from the musitions penne not the figured but the perfigured euen the Church of Christ and also that which is figured by it the heauenlie Ierusalem the true holy cittie the place of eternall rest of the true glory of perfect triumphe where hee might safelie and euer saie vnto his owne soule O my soule thou hast marched valiantlie Hee counted not of glorie which riseth out of the earth and therefore most wisely he fixed his hart and minde on true eternitie which dwelleth onely in the heauens Hauing conquered he did not ascend the chaire of maiestye that hee might showe himselfe vnto the people with great glorie but as that holie and victorious conquerour Henrie the fifte king of England when with a fewe thousands of men hee had vanquished Charles the Dolphin of Fraunce strengthened with a royall army wherein was most of his nobility he with all his armie kneled downe in the feeld holding vp his hands to heauen singing saying Non nobis Dominenon nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam not vnto vs O Lord not vnto vs but giue the glory to thy holy name Euen so this worthy conqueror of Ierusalem though not with the same words yet with the like deuotion hee humbled himselfe before the Lord for the space of seuen daies walking on foote in Ierusalē beholding the places where our sauiour Christ was cōuersant whē he liued here on earth where he was takē wher he was examined where he was whipped scourged despitefully spit on derided with a reed in his hand a crown of thorns on his head The mighty conquerour did behold all these with his eies and his heart melted within him Hee often kneeled down and kissed the places where our sauiour Christ had beene With weeping eyes hee looked vp into the heauens and his soule desired to see the Lord of light That the Lord of his mercie would regard him he daily prayed with great humilitie liberallye bestowing on the poore In the place where the temple was founding a most solemne colledge for religious men giuing them great and large liuinges calling them Prebends building them many faire houses neere vnto the Church for them to dwell in These and innumerable such like where the fruites of this noble minde which beeing cleare in the sight of God of Angels and of men the Lord blessed prospered him wonderfully in so much that in regard of his high prowesse and victorious conquests to his eternall fame with all posteritie he is reputed one of the nine worthies of the world The fountaine of this perfect glory did first breake foorth in Fraunce flying ouer the highest Alpes euen to Ierusalem where by the way if wee will but diuert a little into Spaine amongst some good some bad we shall see one most excellent famous noble woman a great freend true louer of the church The best truest chronicles giue her this stile Serenissima ac catholica domina Elizabetha Hispaniarū ac vtriusque Siciliae ac Ierusalem Regina c. The most vertuous catholicke lady Elizabeth Queene of Sapine Sicily Ierusalem c. This vertuous woman much like the godly Helina mother of Constantinus was so greatly esprised with the loue of Iesu Christ his church so y t shee bent all her muse cogitation seeking daily diligentlie how she might beate downe the heathenish power of the Turkes and infidels therewith to enlarge the kingdome of Christ and the dominions of the Christians to the ende that her vertuous intent might the better prosper she began this worke with fasting and often praying with almes-deedes and founding of many godly temples not leauing anie worke vndone which shee thought was acceptable in the sight of God nor any meanes vntried which might procure the fauour of Iesu Christ her louing sauiour She turned her euery way and looked diligently on all sides howe and where she might best bestow the fruitfull seed of her charitable deuotion her heart was so enflamed with this heauenly desire that she could not containe her selfe anie longer in her pallace In great desire she founde no rest And what followed with the consent of her princely Ferdinando shee mustered her men of warre and gathered together the power of a mightie prince like the auncient Debora shee marched forwardes into the kingdome of Granata the greatest part whereof had beene inhabited by the Ismaelites aboue seuen hundred yeares defended by them a warlike people continually against the Christians which kingdom paid tribute to the crowne of Spaine 800000 crowns by yeare she counted not of the force of so huge strong a people neyther once regarded the greate reuenewe which came into her treasurie that waye The winters diuers times were so extreme cold that her captains soldiers requested her most instantly to breake vp her campe till a more seasonable time of the yeare yet she answering that this was the subtiltie of Sathan to hinder the woorke of the Lord warred continually for the space of three yeares till the enemies of Christ cleane ouercome shee made that whole realme christian bestowing very liberally on the poore the maimed the captiues the strangers that were in anie distresse In the same realme founding and erecting many goodly churches colledges and hospitals for the poore maymed comfortles people Wee may see by the large spreading and plentifull
is lighter than vanitie it selfe The wise high mightie honorable politike rulers of this world trouble themselues all the dayes of their life in fetching in casting in compassing goods lands honour dominion and power They rise vp earely and goe to bed late as sayth the prophet they eate the bread of carefulnes they search and seeke many newe waies They inuente many strange pollicies they aduenture many great daungers they loose many frendes they vndoo many poore schollers widowes and fatherles children euen to the losse of their owne soules and yet they say they loue the Lord and his holy temple O sinfull harts besotted with sensualitie Can that shippe be safe which is tost with euerie surge of the sea and ouerwhelmed with euery blast of wind can that minde bee quiet which boyleth with sundry flames of fire Is there any suretie in lightnes it selfe any certainetie in outwarde fortune any safetie in perpetuall warre any securitie in present daunger any frendshippe in open defiaunce any felicite in outwarde riches anye religion in spoyling the Church Be there two heauens that wee should make our paradise heere on earth or is the Lords arme shortened that hee can not execute his will or his iustice decayed that the sinners shoulde escape vengeaunce Is hee asleepe that hee is not stirred vp with the outrage which the heathen and hard harted worldlings commit against his church or is hee deafe that hee heareth not the crie of the poore or blinde that he seeth not the pride of the world openlie disclaiming the brightnes of the heauens No the Lord is not slack as some count slacknes He which made the heauens so high most carefully he beholdeth the lowest the poorest the simplest creatures here below He which made the eare hee will heare the crie of the poore and hee which made the eie hee will beholde the scarres which be inflicted on the face of his beloued spowse In his compassion hee shall pittie her and in his iudgement he shall draw forth the two edged sword of his wrathfull indignation He shall rise vp like the Gyant to the battaile and shall passe forth as the Lyon to deuour his praie Hee shall redouble the wickednesse of his enemies into their bosoms Hee shall cast downe the house on their heads He shall bring the curse of their desert vpon them and who is able to withstand the surie of his wrathfull indignation to endure his anger or to suffer his heauie displeasure though some men prosper for a while with that which is not their owne being reserued to a greater destiny yet let those which hope for the saluation of Israel learne to feare the Lord aright Let vs not abuse the long patience louing kindnes which the Lord hath shewed in sparing vs so long I grant the Lord is merciful long suffering full of patience and mercie sore grieued with the death of a sinner But yet he is iust in reuenging the iniuries of his spowse If anie offer iniurie to the king or to a noble mā or to a meane man before his face he will reuenge it presently but if wee offer violence to the spowse of Christ or the dead or the fatherlesse or the innocent which cannot speake for themselues nor pleade their owne cause then know that the Lord hath taken the defence of these to himselfe Hee which dwelleth in the heauens hee seeth it Though his blow be long in comming it pearceth deepe euen into the Marrow and the bottom of the soule and that to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him Hee beareth long with them but when he commeth he payeth home Hee suffereth the wicked to deuise many vnlawfull means whereby they waxe rich in this world He letteth them passe on their course oft times with great prosperity euen many yeares diuers liues till at the length when the fruit of sinne is ripe and the first sower thereof is readie to reape a plentifull haruest of his vngodlinesse then besides the danger of the soule the sowthwinde ariseth the heauens ouercast the outragious tempest breaketh out of the cloudes aboue it passeth it pearceth it ouerthroweth so that the haruest which hath bene so many yeares in growing of a sodaine is cleane distroyed and vanisheth out of sight Though thou haue thonsandes of landes and tenne thousandes more than the auncient inheritance of the fathers Though thy money bee heaped in bagges and thou wallow in thy wealth hauing all thinges at thine owne will yet if thou haue robbed thine owne mother to enrich thy treasure thou shalt bee a fatherlesse childe and childlesse father thy selfe so that thou shallt haue no parents in whose presence thou maiest ioy nor leaue any childe behinde thee to weepe for thee at thy graues side Nay that which is a visible curs thy goods for which thou hast drudged so sore when thou art dead shall bee translated into the handes of thine enemies to the end they may strongly bee auenged of thy dearest friendes O let not your eies bee blinded with carnall delight and too much carefulnesse of this earthlie bodie let not the delights of the flesh blot out the well meaning motions of the spirite Be wise betimes and vnderstand this true rule of the spirite least the terriblenesse of the example cause you to tremble at the first sight and after further view breede great amasement in your hart and conscience If thou haue children and childrens children and great store of earthie offices honors and dignities for them all yet if thou spend more time and care in prouiding for them and herein count more of thine owne honour now begunne and budding in thy posteritie then of the prosperitie of the Church of Christ of his diuine worship of of his holie ministers Thy wife shall prooue a stinging serpent in thy bosome thy children shall bee wastfull distroyers of that which thou so carefullie hast built vp thy bodie agonished with sundrie malladies altogether vncurable thy groning daie and night will marre thy melodie conceiued of thine abundance of riches thy hart shall quake with doubtfull feare of thine enemies death will double the discord of thy disquietnesse and if thou were the mightiest and most puissant prince in the world yet if thou count of any earthlie thing before or in comparison of God and his holie Church vnlesse thou repent thy desire shall neuer prosper Concerning this conclusion I minde onely to giue you a tast of which if it please you to pervse Celsus of Verona hereunto annexed yee shall find the whole seruice represented in sundry deynty dishes which manie wicked worldlings take from the ministers of the Chuch setting them on their owne tables Hee hath described the whole course and named sundrie costlie meates whereon the Venetians vsed to feede adioyning thereto their sower sawces which once receiued in at the mouth but hardlie afterwardes digested did breede great hart burninges in their breastes And good
secrete polling and vndermining the Church of Iesu Christ. And if it be a great punishment sent from God vpon thee thy wife thy children thy house or family thy countrie or people though thou haue not sinned lately notoriouslie yet remember what thou hast done long since thinke that long since thou inclosedst such a fielde from thy poore neighbours that that thou tookest the goodes lands and priuiledges from such a Church there giuen to maintaine the worshippe of the Lorde therewith remember that though it were long since yet with the Lord a thousand yeares is but as one day and therefore now hee punisheth thee euen with as perfect iustice as if the deede were nowe in dooing before his face Would to God that men woulde hereby learne to feare the Lord and to tremble at his secrete iudgement that they woulde cast off the loue of this wicked worlde which corrupteth their consciences and poisoneth their owne soules that they woulde leaue this fained kinde of repenting in worde onelie and repent in deede which is restoring with Zacheus foure folde and vndooing that which they haue done to the vttermost of their power If the loue of the Lords blessinges will not incite them to good life yet let the fcare of his heauie iudgementes deterre them from sinne Let vs not looke on those great and grieuous examples which I haue nowe rehearsed thinking those were long since in times past and that in forraine nations beyond the seas for if we looke well we shall see that as many plagues pestilences and other contagious diseases of the bodie haue beene brought ouer sea into this fortunate Iland so also this most contagious and deadly maladie of bodie and soule came ouer and rooted it selfe in this lande long since Wee haue store of examples at home and one shall serue for the perfecting of this period William Rufus the third sonne of the Conquerour after hee had ouercome his enemies and their resistance diuers times beeing returned out of Fraunce and quietly enioying the Scepter of this land afterward hee liued in ioy and triumph and for the more suppliance of his pleasure and pastime he to inlarge his Forrest pulled downe foure Abbeies seauenteene parish Churches and all the Townes belonging to the same Quo quisque peccat eodem saepe plectitur modo Oft times a man is punished the same way by which hee offendeth and so was hee for in the same Forrest where these Churches stood which hee pulled downe and in the same disport or pastime for which he dissolued them he was slaine by the glauncing of an arrow shot at a Deare by a Knight so that hee fell downe therewith on the grounde giuing onelie one grone Some write that in the same place where he fell downe and died in olde time there had beene a faire Church which with others in his Fathers time were dissolued for the enlarging of the said Forrest in which Forrest also a litle before the Kings Nephew was slaine by the like chaunce This Kings Father and he both minded to haue made this a fâ—ire goodly Forrest fit for the disport and hunting of a king but the Churche of Christe and the houses of his poore Subiects stood in his waie His officers and sycophants considering what would come rouling into their purses that way said it was very meete it should be so so it was But alas it proued a small pleasure of the father which ended with the deadlie groning of his sonne a simple pastime for the king to haue his bodie wounded with the piercing arrow to the death Pleasure bought with griefe is seldome kindly and gaine procured with the displeasure of the Almighty doth neuer profite The hearts of the wicked lust after their owne bane and wanton pleasure poisoneth hir owne Nurse The flower of flesh florisheth not an houre and the fall thereof is griefe to the eie The wisedome of this world compoundeth cares and the height of their deuises want successe Most mens fancie wearieth the spirite and their welthiest wish is perfect disquietnes He which magnifieth himself seeketh his owne decaie because the chaire of pride is placed on slipperie ice Hee which gathereth vnrighteous goodes for his children pierceth the heart of his owne flesh and who so taketh away his neigbours possession he diggeth vp the roote of his owne posteritie Hee which neglecteth his maker choketh his soule and hee which taketh from the Church shall not prosper vppon earth his bodie shall decaâ—e without his bloud shall drie vp within his marowe shall consume within his bones his musicke shall bee groning daie and night his feeding shall be loathsomnes of meate his wish shal be O that I were as yonder poore man his comfort that his good daies bee past his recreation one pang vpon an other his glad tidings the death of his children his consolation the loathing of his friends his hope the feare of death and vnlesse hee repent his ende shall bee despairre of eternall life Who so mindeth to liue with Iesus Christ eternally in heauen aboue and in this life mindeth to see good daies let him walke the way of the righteous and marke the fruitlesse paths of the wicked Frst of all let him keepe his hands from violating holie things and behold the miserable ende of those which doe the contrarie Let him reade the holie Gospell of Saint Mathewe and in reading let him marke diligentlie in marking diligentlie let him vnderstand truelie what our Sauiour Christ meaneth when hee saith yee fooles whether is the golde holie or the Temple which sanctifieth the golde and whether is the gift holie or the Altar which sanctifieth the gift If the Temple make the ornaments holie then the walles the woode the stone of the which the Temple doth consist is holie if the Altar doe sanctifie the gift then that which belongeth to the maintaining of the Altar is sanctified they which minister ther at are to be reputed holy If by our sauior Christ his speach those things be true then they be holie men which build vp the Lords house and they be wicked which pull downe the same according to that old verse Ecclesias Christi quas fundauêrâ— parentes Heu malè diripiunt gnati pietate carentes The godlie Fathers builded vp the Churches of Christ and the vngodlie children haue pulled them downe But marke the end of all those which walked this way and learne to keepe thy conscience cleare from this gracelesse fact The Lord inflicted manie plagues on them whilest they liued here and when they were once deade their honour vanished like smoake and was buried with them in the graue As their bodies consumed in the earth euen so their infamie did spring vp out of the ground their goods wasted like waxe in the fire and like snow before the Sunne their posteritie became like the grasse growing on the house top which withereth before it â—ee ripe Nether was this only the
wherein it appeared is Cassiopeia which by the Aegyptians and olde Astronomers is figured a virgin sitting in a chaire with a braunch in her hand which likely resembleth the state of iudgment Sith therefore after so many generall courses of the Trigones of the monarches of the dominion of the planeticall spirits the Lord hath shewed wonderful signes of his comming in the ayre in the water in the earth and lastly aboue all hath held out his hand in the heauens shewing vs that he is nowe opening the doores of heauen and comming to iudgement and that the doome of all creatures is now dawning Let vs wisely weigh consider the exceeding great power and maiestie wherewith the Lorde of hostes shall come to iudge the earth Though he was made man for our sakes and for our saluation yet bee yee not so carnall in your cogitation or so bewitched with the delaying fancie of sensuality that you shuld imagine his power to be compact after the manner of men that when hee is mustering his thousandes of angels as Enoch prophesied long since that wee should heare of it before and that after we heare of it he should be long in comming No the Lord will bow the heauens at his pleasure and come downe euen in the twinckling of an eye according as it is written euen as the lightning breaketh out of the East passing forthwith into the West euen so shal the comming of the Sonne of maÌ„ bee Hee is not like to the earthly princes that hee should sende his harbinger before But I am is he most monderful most holie most mightie in whose presence the angels are not pure and the heauens corruptible Hee spake the word and they were all made and at the sownd thereof they shall all be consumed He shall kindle the fire of his heauy displeasure against the sinners of the earth Hee shal cleaue the heauens asunder and the flame shal breake forth like a furnesse As were the dayes of Noe a generall destruction with the voice of mourning and weeping and deadly lamentation as was Sodom that sinke of sinne and Gomorrha that euil nurse of iniquitie as the fier and brimstone rained downe from heauen most ruthfully firing wasting burning destroying and sincking those wicked cities so shal bee the comming of the sonne of man Hee shall shake the heauens aboue and make the hell below to tremble the trompet shall sownd euen the trompet of the God of heauen and earth the sownd thereof shal rend the clowdes of the aire it shall make the fowles to shrinke with feare and to fall downe dead on the earth Therewith the sea shal flee from the woonted course and the flouds shall roare the earth shall swell the creatures thereof shall be amased the ayre shall thunder and lighten the elements shall melt with heat the starres shall fall from their spheres and the light shall vanish from before the face of all men then liuing on the earth as it was foreshewed by the prophet long since This is like to be a black day a glowming day a day of fire and smoke from the heauens a day of anger and wrath of bitternes and teares of lamenting and vtter destruction on the earth Then shall feare come on all men liuing and the inhabitants of the world shal be agasht when they shall see that with their eies which maketh our hartes quake when we remember it The prophet long since hath giuen vs warning thererof and many hundreâ—h yeares agoe hee cried alowd blow vp the trumpet in Syon and showt in my holy mount Let all the inhabitantes of the land tremble for the daie of the Lord is come for it is now at hand a fier deuoureth before him and behinde him the flame burneth vp the earth shall vanish at his presence like a tempest the heauens shall melt the clowdes shall droppe the Sunne and the Moone shall be darke and the starres shall withdraw their shining There shall appeare fearfull wonders in the heauens and in the earth bloud and fier and pillers of smoke the Sunne shall be turned into darknesse the Moone into bloud Then shall wee see the powers of heauen to mooue aboue in the firmament and the inhabitantes of the earth shall stand gasing all amazed and who is able to behold it then shal the dead arise out of their graues according to the sownd of the trompet then shall all arise and come to iudgement The poore together with the rich the old the young the mightie the simple the King the begger TheÌ„ shal the poore of this world reioice when they shal behold the heauenly countenance of the bridegrome their louing sauiour and mercifull redeemer Then and in that day the Lord shall looke vpon his poore militant church with a cheerfull eie and louing countinance Hee shall send downe his angels who shal imbrace his louing children take them vp into euerlasting ioy But as for the wicked and many of those which haue inioyed the great honor auctoritie pleasure plentie and ioy in this world he shall behold them a farre off Euen as the clowdy piller which was placed betwixt Israell and the Egyptians was light to Israell and darknesse to the Egyptians euen so the chosen of the Lord in that day shal stand in the light shine in the kingdome of heauen as the starres in the firmament but the children of this world and those which made their heauen of this worldly treasure shall stand still all amazed in hart the Clowde of confusion shall compasse them about and their faces shall be couered with the mantle of shame griping shal pinch their hearts within and their voice shall sownde out nothing else but woe and alasse When they shal behould all their gould melted their houses burnt aâ—d their hope cleane vanished their landes suncke and their friendes gone they shall runne starke madde vnto the waters all amazed vnto the mountaines kneeling downe before them and crying couer vs and our iniquities O couer vs from the face of him that sitteth on the throne their consciences accusing them they shall hate the goods which they haue gotten euilly and shall flie from those landes which they haue violently takeÌ„ from the poore or from the holy church fearing least it should open and swallow them vp into hell They shall flie from their houses built with ill gotten money least they bee consumed together with the flame thereof great feare and vexation of spirit shal bee to the mightie men of this world according as it is written potentes potenter patâ—entur the mightie shall bee punished mightily when the puissant princes of these earthly regions shall stand all naked before all the world both good and bad before the angels of heauen and Iesu Christ now sitting on his throne and all their deedes yea all their secret doings therewith laid open when they shal remember how negligently they