besides Burgundie there were numbred in France 27. thousand villages with steeples And in another suruey of France made in the raigne of Charles the ninth it was found that the number of the inhabitants there were aboue 15. millions of men Did the French thus glory in their multitudes of people and shall not we much more in England séeke to maintaine ours And here I cannot but take away some stumbling blockes for these Inclosers perchaunce will flatter themselues and say that it is but a small village that they haue dispeopled or a small farme or cottage that they haue decaied or pulled downe and what doe you make so much to doe thereof But let all such know that little Zoar saued Lot and Nazareth that obscure citie whereof Nathaniell said can any good come out of Nazareth it nursed our Sauiour Jesus and gaue him a name which from his crosse to this day is honorable And Saint Paul teacheth vs plainely that God hath chosen the weake things of this world to confound the mightie things and vile things and things which are despised hath God chosen And dare any contemne or make light account of that nay destroy that which God hath chosen and maketh great account of Out of that little village or poore cottage which he hath decaied whosoeuer hée is might haue come one as good as himselfe what may I say then of great husband townes where many rich farmers and cottages are decaied Would any of vs willingly haue the little finger of his hand cut off no more no doubt will Jesus Christ suffer one poore cottage which is as it were his little finger to bée cut off vnpunished without repentance There was a statute made of late for the maintainance of tillage and reedifying farmes decaied It is to bée feared that God hath obserued how diligent some were to sée the poore whipped by a statute made at the same time and how slacke in the execution of that other act of reedifying plowing Another stumbling blocke is that some will say they must néedes maintaine their states And this cloake couers all their pride and couetousnes But let all such know that reason thus Must they impare the Lords inheritance to maintaine their estates euen they whom the Lord himselfe hath aduanced they had better to be as poore as Lazarus in state and condition nay they had better neuer haue béene borne then to exault themselues to impare his inheritance Oh let these men of all others take héede of this ingratitude Let the example of King Saul terrifie them who being made of a poore acorne a mightie oake and of a seeker of his fathers asses the first King of Israel yet afterwards for his vnthankefulnes and disobedience he and all his posteritie was quite reiected of God for euer from the kingdome Let Jesus Christs example teach and moue them who to doe vs good did not respect his estate being equall with God as Saint Paul teacheth vs but humbled himselfe and became as a seruant He washed his apostles feete and became obedient to the death of the Crosse And what is the greatest of our estates in comparison of his Surely euen like a little mould-hill to a mountaine And shall we thinke much to impaire our estates to doe our brethren good nay shall we hurt them to maintaine it nay shall we dishonour God Oh not Christs disciples but Mammons worldlings There were as many noble men and gentlemen in England heretofore as are now and of as great estate and how did they maintaine themselues They did not in the Popes darke kingdome depopulate townes and shall we in the light of the Gospell Can we maintaine our estates by no way else but by imparing the Lords inheritance let that be farre from vs. If Inclosers would be content with the auncient apparrell and houses and dyet of their ancestors as they are not ashamed of their lands they néede neuer raise rents nor improue their lands They which stand so much on this point that they must maintaine their estates know not what humilitie is All Christs disciples must be humble And humilitie is to descend a degree or two from our estate and not to seeke to maintaine it Surely that is a spice of pride The daunger and grieuousnes of this sinne makes me in all humilitie to write thus It is to be feared that God may now complaine as he did in the daies of Ieremie Can a virgin forget her ornament or a bride her attire yet my people haue forgotten me daies without number who haue adorned and maintained them Why do you as it were now at last begin to make your waies good againe to purchase my loue yea euen heerein thou declarest that thy waies are euill For in thy wings are found the blood of soules of poore innocents Thou hast not found them with mattockes in their hands such as are mentioned in Greâ—us where theeues are said with matâ—odâ—â—s to digge thorow walles and to 〈◊〉 into houses by night but about all 〈…〉 saith the Prophet no doubt wi 〈…〉 ter instruments euen to puâ—◠〈◊〉 houses and townes And yet th 〈…〉 because I am guiltlesse surely 〈…〉 shall turne from me Behold I wi 〈…〉 with thee into iudgement because theâ— saiest thou hast not sinned Inclâ—sâ—â—s are as guiltie of these sinnes as were those Jewes For after their inclosure they will goe about to make good their waies and they will giue some poore widowes cowegates in their closes as it were to purchase Gods fauour whereas as those Jewes had they haue the blood of poore innocent soules in their wings and worships Nay and they haue also in their hands not mattockes but greater instruments then those euen to pull downe farmes and townes And yet neuerthelesse they saie as the Jewes did that they are not guiltie Therefore saith God I will enter into iudgement with them And this may séeme to be another cause of the pâ—ague amongst vs at this day We sinne in wordly cares and in excesse in our diet whereof our blessed Sauiour biddes vs take héede we excéede in our stately buildings which the Prophet Esay and Ieremie plainely reprooue we sinne in vanitie of apparell which the Prophet Zephanie condemnes and we account these no sins wée say that we are guiltles and therefore doth God enter with vs into iudgement whereas it is the first lesson that the Apostle Saint Peter giues vs which liue in the end of the world that we should be sober and kéepe no doubt that holie meane in all our worldly cares in our diet in our apparell in our buildings and in the furniture of our houses and to conclude in all things But that which followes in the Prophet shall proue them guiltie and condemue them Why labourest thou so much saith the Prophet to change thy waies and to make them seeme good thou shalt be confounded of Aegypt as thou art also confounded
of Ashur that is as the dead Paganes condemne thee so shall the blind Egyptians and Papists condemne thee also And héere first did the Paganes deale so hardly with their tenants Pharaoh the Egyptian may teach all Inclosers and Landlords christian charitie and the communicating of their lands and commodities to their tenants Behold saith Ioseph I haue bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh and foure parts shall be yours for the seede of your field and for your meate and for them of your household for your children to eate Here first we may note that this EgyptiaÌ„ king would haue tillage maintained Then that although he had purchased their land yet he dealt courteously with his tenants and had a care both of the seede of their land and of their families and shall not Christians much more haue this care of their brethren whose land comes by inheritance He gaue them seede and yet he required but a fift part for his rent Oh easie rent this shall condemne one day our couetous rents and cruell exactions at our brethrens hands This mercifull Pharaoh was blessed of God but his couetous successor that laid heauie burdens on Gods people and said as Inclosers say now The people are too much idle they must haue more worke imposed vpon them was drowned in the Sea let them chuse now whether of these they will followe Such a good landlord also was Iob not in Iewrie but in the land of Hus. If my land rise against mee saith hee and the furrowes thereof weepe and waile and if that I haue eaten of the heart thereof without money or haue made the soules of the masters thereof pant Then let thistles growe in stead of wheate and cockle in stead of barly Héere wée may first note that Iob neuer eate the strength or heart of his land but hée paied for the plowing of it contrarie to many Landlords amongst us who will let their lands at great rents and will make their tenants plow with them gratis and for nothing Secondly that he cals his tenants masters of his land but many amongst us make their tenants by their excessiue payments as good as bondslaues They did not so much as once pant or blow in the tilling of it they plowed it ioyfully and at their ease But many tenants now adaies doe not onely pant at their plowes but sigh caring how they may pay their rents Iob also did neuer eate his morsell alone if he had but one dish the poore had euer some part thereof and shall Inclosers thinke much to yeeld unto them some part of their grasse shall they shut them out of their fields whom hee admitted daily to his table And if perchance they thinke that this was uery much and that euery one is not bound to doe so let them marke well that Saint Iohn in his epistle doth charge euery Christian to doe more than this If that thou hast the worlds good and see thy brother want saith hée and shuttest vp thy verie entrals or bowels from him how dwelleth the loue of God in thee If thy brother beg of thée wilt thou denie him Nay by this place thou art plainely commaunded if thou seest him want though hée holde his peace and craue nothing of thée to help him and that not in opening thy purse to giue him money but in opening thy verie bowels vnto him and in doing to him as thou wouldest haue done to thine owne selfe Then if so be that his â—owe lacke grasse wilt thou not let her common in thy pastures If he lacke an house wilt thou not prouide one for him Nay Saint Iohn teacheth thée plainley héere to doe more for him then all these euen to receiue him not into thy fields or house but if it were possible into thine owne bowels and this was that common salutation among the Jewes like unto our good morrow your soule liueth in me as appeareth by the salutation of Anna to Elie and the salutation of Gedeon to the Angell which is as much as to say I wish to you euen as to my owne soule For so it is in the Hebrew tert Oh that this salutation were pronounced dayly not in mouth onely but in our dealings practised amongst vs Christians which no doubt ought to be as both Saint Paul and Peter doe commaund all Christians Fulfill my ioy saith Saint Paul that ye be like minded or of one minde together And Saint Peter finally be yee all of one minde Such a mercifull man was Mordoche the Jew of whom we reade thus And Mordoche the Iew was second to Ahashuerus and great amongst the Iewes and accepted Ratsu such a one as his brethren would haue wished who procured the wealth of his people and spake peaceably to all his seede who though háe were lately aduanced to dignitie and worship yet vsed not these meanes to maintaine his estate Oh that Inclosers who professe the name of the Gospell would imitate this Jew As for the blinde Egyptians that is the Papists how they haue excelled Inclosers in the workes of charitie euery towne almost tells thée which townes they haue left to their successors like the winges of a doue which is couered with siluer and Inclosers plucke away these golden fethers from them and leaue them not so good as they found them Thus Inclosers may plainely sée how that not only dead Assur but blinde Egypt also doth confound them But these Inclosers alledge that saying of the gospell Is it not lawfull for me to doe with mine owne as I list They must remember that parable represents vnto vs that great Landlord of all Landlords the king of heauen he may say so only and none else They must also remember that saying of the Psalme And he gaue them the lands of the heathen and they tooke the labour of the people in possession that they might keepe his statutes and obserue his lawes God hath giuen them the earth in deed but vpon this condition that they should kéepe his lawes and his lawe is Christian charitie The third reason is that this Inclosure is against the common wealth of the Iewes GOd said to Abraham Get thee out of thy Countrey and from thy kindred from thy Fathers house vnto the land that I will shew thee and I will make thee a great nation and will blesse thee and will make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing All Christians must be Abrahams sonnes and account this commaundement of God spoken vnto them and goe out by their loues affections studies cares of their father Adams house that is the worâ—â— and liue héere in this world as their father Abraham did like poore pilgrims and trauailers and then shall God blesse them and make them a blessing euen the very members of Jesus Christ who also when as he was in this world followed those very steps of Abraham
happiest and the best thing in the world and therefore God and Angels are most happie and blessed who loue most And to hate is the worst and most miserable thin in the world and for this cause the denils are most miserable And after lest any man should coine to himselfe a counterfeite Christian charitie This true charitie makes all thinges equall where that flourisheth no man desireth to be preferred before another no man will desire to take away any thing from him that he loueth when as he accompts that he himselfe hath whatsoeuer his friend hath no man will goe to law with him whom he loues none will thinke that he can receiue any iniurie at his hands and therefore neuer thinkes on reuenge no man will enuie him whom he loues nor any man is glad of the harmes of him that is his friend nor is agrieued at his welfare But contrariwise according to the saying of the Apostle He reioyceth with them that reioyce and weepes with them that weepe that not faâ—nedly or counterfeitly but from his very heart Because loue makes all things common and atcompts that his owne which is his whom he loueth Thus Lodouicus Viues describes Christian charitie And how farre off are Inclosers from this Saint Paul saith That if he had all knowledge and all faith euen to remooue mountaines yet without this charitie he were nothing before God And what are Inclosers then that are destitute of all these gifts and lacke this charitie Let them marke this well that this iâ—well Charitie one day before the Maiestie of God shall be more worth than all their golde and great rents and reuenues This is the charitie of all the Saints in heauen For although there be differences of ioyes yet the Saints which haue lesser ioyes accouÌ„t those ioyes through charity also theirs which their brethren doe enioy Now is fulfilled that prayer of Dauid It is time for thee Lord to put to thy hand for Hephiru they haue abrogated they haue made no account of thy lawe And what is Christs law but charitie And that not any charitie but such a charitie as he hath shewed towards vs as Lodouâ—cus Viâ—es here hath described to vs. But it is time for God to put to his hand for this charity is vanished is abrogated is made no account of many thinke that it concernes them not But the very Pagans haue had this charitie and but that they wanted the eye of faith they haue mounted vp herein like blinde Hawkes farre higher than some Christians especially than Inclosers Cymon the Athenian commaunded all hedges and pales to be taken away from his grounds that both Citizens and strangers whosoeuer that stood in neede might haue more free accesse into them to gather Apâ—les and corne And Photion the Athenian said That a man had as good pull downe Churches and Altars as take mercie from amongst men And Iulius Caesar was wont to say That then he waxed rich when as he did any man good And wil Inclosers come behind any of these will they inclose Cymon the Athenian would not doe it Will they not deale charitably in letting of their farmes to their brethren Phocion tels them that they had as good pull downe Churches Doe they account the money in their coffers their treasures Caesar that proud Romane Emperour shall condemne them he thought not so but rather that which he had bestowed liberally Traiane the Emperour was accompted the ioy of mankinde because that he neuer sent any man sad home Oh that all Landlords were Traianes They should bee more for it is more to bee a Christian than to be a Traiane and Saint Paul wills all Christians to walke worthy of their vocation The name of a Christian is the honorablest and bountifullest name in the worlde Christians take their names of the anointing the holy Ghost And what then can be more honourable and bountifull Octauius Caesar â—ccompted that day lost wherein he had done good to no man Oh that all Landlords would spend their daies thus in deuising the good of the townes whereof they are Landlords and not in the impouerishing of them Then we should haue a flourishing Church and a rich Common-wealth Pâ—olome also King of Aegypt was wont to say That he had rather make others rich than be rich himselfe Oh that Inclosers were of this minde Curius also the Romane hauing a great deale of golde offered him of the Samnites â—had rather saith he haue the possessors of the gold Mine than their gold O wise Curius he had rather haue the hearts of the Samnites than their heapes of golde Oh that Inclosers were in this point but as wise as he The day will come when the prayers of tenants shall doe their Landlords more good than their great payments now For that saying of our Sauiour shall stand good wheÌ„as they with their chests full of gold and siluer shall perish Make you friends of your vnrighteous maÌ„moÌ„ that when as you shall depart hence and faile in your account they may receiue you into euerlasting Tabernacles And our Sauiour addes an Emphasis or a Memorandum as we say to this his sentence And I say vnto you as though he should say Marke this well all you rich men whom God hath enriched with his talents Herein follow that same vniust Steward and make you friends of the poore that when you shall depart hence God shall call you to an account of your stewardships as y e great rich man did his steward and shall faile therin the best of you al euen as he did the poore may receiue you into euerlasting tabernacles Make the poore as waters to cast your bread on as y t Preacher counselleth you that you may find it again wheÌ„ as you shal stand in need after many daies and as stones to powre your oyle vpon as did Iacob the Patriarch that when you shall die you may sleepe quietly as hée did being aliue and sée that ladder Jesus Christ reaching from earth to heauen For that strange fact of Iacob containes in it some great mysterie And may not that ladder signifie faith this powring oile on the stone mercie So that we must ioyne to the ladder of faith the oyle of mercie if we meane to ascend vp to heauen Or if that stone signifie Jesus Christ are not the poore his members and doe not they which shew mercie vnto them powre their oile on Jesus Christs feet as Mary did in the gospel as it were on stones Such an heire of Iacob was Dauid who of himselfe writes thus Know yee that the Lord Hiphlah hath as a wonderfull and pretious thing chosen to himselfe Chasidh the mercifull man And he concludes I will lay me downe in peace and take my rest as though mercifull men onely and they that power their oyle on stones as Iacob did should take their rest and sléepe sweetely For
their owne commodities and therefore it is against charitie It was the voyce of Cain and not of Sheth nor of Gods Church am I my brothers keeper And euen at this day they are of Cains petegrée and not of Gods familie that haue no care of the wealth and welfare of their brethren This Inclosure is also against the loue which Jesus Christ commaunded and shewed towards vs Yee know the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ saith Saint Paul that he being rich for your sakes became poore that you through his pouertie might be made rich And I giue you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my counsell and mine aduise herein This is also that law of our Sauiour Christ which he so straitely commaunds all his To loue one another as he hath loued them and that with a repetition This is Saint Pauls aduise for our brethrens sakes euen to become poore to doe them good But Inclosers doe not thus they séeke their owne wealth and riches therefore they contradict both our Sauiours law and Saint Pauls aduise The most comfortable words of our blessed Sauiour euen the first and most ioyfull message that he sent to his Apostles after his resurrection were these Goe to my brethren and say vnto them I ascend vnto my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God Oh ioyfull newes Shall we not beleeue this And if we doe shall we not account indéede all Christians now our brethren euen our most néere and déere brethren which brotherhoode our Sa-Sauiour Jesus so dearely bought euen by his most precious death and shall we not deale with them as with our brethren But Dauid in the person of our Sauiour Christ complaines that he is become a stranger to his brethren and an aliant to his mothers children And is not Jesus Christ in his members amongst vs in this state euen now and may he not séeme to make the same complaint Whosoeuer lets a farme or sels any thing to his brother doth he not deale with him as with a stranger doth he not make him pay for it to the vttermost Nay sometimes more then it is worth A Turke might haue it as cheape at our hands as a Christian And may not Jesus Christ then iustly say that he is become a stranger to his brethren surely as great a stranger in his members to Christians as he was in his owne person to the Jewes For as they gaue him vineger and gall to drinke so many now giue to their brethren and especially Inclosers giue this drinke to their poore tenants And here we may note that excellent propertie of true charitie that she is alwaies hard to her selfe that she may be bountifull to others So was the widow of Sareptah that she might féede Elias and so was that widow in the Gospell which our Sauiour so highly commends That she might giue some thing into the Treasurie of God she gaue all her liuing and punished her selfe So was that Samaritan and that stranger amongst the Jewes whose example all that will be accounted neighbours our Sauiour commaunds to follow to that wounded man He set him on his owne beast he went a foote himselfe and tooke paines that he might ride So were all the Church of Macedonia as Saint Paul sheweth in their extreame pouertie rich in liberalitie to the poore They pinched themselues that they might be liberall to them Doe Inclosers follow these examples doe they pinch themselues that they may doe their brethren good Shall not all these examples of Jewes widowes strangers and Macedonians mooue them They doe quite contrarie and they thinke that they may doe it lawfully that is they may seeke their owne commoditie howsoeuer that their brethren fare surely this is not charitie All Gods creatures may seeme to teach vs this lesson as Virgils verses auouch The sheepe beareth not his fleece nor the oxe his yoake for himselfe nor the Bées hord vp their honey but all for our vse Nay those exceilent creatures the Sunne the Moone and stars how continually doe they runne their courses for our commoditie And shall not we take paines and pinch our selues to doe our brethren good And will not Inclosers learne this lesson being taught it by so many schoole-masters I am verely perswaded that God hath sent of late vnseasonable weather especially in the hay-haruest to teach Inclosers what an acre of their inclosed pasture ground which they doe make so great a reckoning of is worth For the hay-haruest which yeeldes meate for their sheepe hath beene lately vnseasonable and wet but the corne haruests which yéeldes meate for his sheepe the poore the Lord hath blessed Or else no doubt if the corne haruest had bin as wet as the hay haruest was there would haue béen a great dearth of corne to the vndooing of the poore But our most louing God to declare the loue that he beares to his owne shéepe the small care in comparison that he hath of their shéepe hath as it were plagued the hay-haruest of their sheep and blessed the corne-haruest of his own sheepe for nothing chanceth in vaine And therefore whereas Inclosers doe vrge the goodnesse of the ground and the benefit of Inclosure and that an acre of their inclosed medow and pasture is worth thus much they must consider y t vnles God send seasonable weather it may prooue almost worth nothing they must learne to let God haue a chief part of their rents reserued to him Vnlesse he keepe for vs the appointed weekes of the haruest as Ieremic teacheth what is all our land and labour taken about it worth No doubt our ancestors had consideration hereof in letting their lands which were so easily rented that the tenant might haue the rent what weather soeuer God sent and this was Christian charitie But this charitie is now vanished out of the world The Incloser will haue his great rent hée will not abate one penie what weather soeuer come One writes that the poore husâ—andman is more cruelly dealt withall than the asâ—e whom his master if that the weather or the way proue not conuenient and good will ease of his burden But Husbandmen come faire come foule weather are nothing pitied they must beare still their accustomed burdens be they neuer so great This practise of Christian charitie was vsed in the Primitiue church And the multitude of them which beleeued saith S. Luke were of one heart and of one soule neither any of them said or accompted that that which he possessed was his own but they had all things common Common like Christians not like Anabaptists common in vse not in propertie For Ananias possession was his owne to haue either kept or sold it as Peter told him So was also all other mens possessions and goods but no man accompted it as his owne Lodouicus Viues a very learned man thus describes Christian charitie To loue saith hée is the