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having lost their former virtue, we were permitted to eat flesh for the preseruacion of our liues, which before were prolonged with the naturall herbes and fruits of the earth, more hundreds then nowe they can bee October, 1602. scores with our best helpes of art or nature.

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October, 1602.

But it may be said, What, will God punishe the goode with the wicked? Will he drownd, all together, the righteous and the bad? Will he say Pereant amici, modo pereant inimici? Will he command stragem tam amicorum quam hostium? Shall his judgments be like the nett in the Gospell, that catcheth good and bad togither? Noe, for he punished the old world. This floud was his sope and nitar to scoure of the filth, to seuer the good from the euill, the wheat from the chaffe. He brought the floud upon the ungodly, but he "saued Noah, the eighth person;" a small number, a child may tell them, a poore number, pauperi est numerare, but eight persons saved. Those tymes were evil, but there are worse dayes not instant but extant, wherein iniquitie prescribes hypocrisie, settes hir hand to manie false bills, settes downe one hundred for ten, the whole is overflowne with all wickednes, &c. The second part is God's mercy, but he "saued Noah" like a ring on his finger, he kept him as writing in the palme of his hand, as the apple of his eye, and as a seale on his heart. He built him a castle stronger then brasse, and lockt him up in the arke like a jewell in casket. He preserved him safe in a wodden vessell amongst the toppes of mountains, in a world of waters, without card, tacleing, or pilot. He was saued between judgment and judgment, like Susanna betwixt the twoe elders, like the Children of Israell betweene two walles of water in the Red Sea, like Christ betweene the two theiues; soe that it may be truly sayd, it was noe meaner a miracle in sauing Noah, then in drowning the whole world.

But" saued Noah, the eight person, a preacher of righteousnes." Here is a banner of hope to all that feare God. When Justice was running hir course like a strong giant to haue destroyed the whole world, Mercy mett, encountered, and told hir that she must not touch Gods anoynted, nor doe his prophetes anie harme. There was Noah, "a preacher of righteousnes," and he must be spared, he was a preacher, not a whisperer in corners, singing to himselfe and his muses. This Noah was the hemme of the world, the remnant of the old, and the element of the newe: he was

communis terminus, the first shipwright, and yet "a preacher of righteousnes." Nowe concerninge the estimacion of preachers in auncient tymes, and the contempt of that calling in these dayes, their high account with God, and their neglect with men, from hence he said he could paradox manie conclusions which tyme forced him to ouer slip. But in this age lett a preacher be as aunciently discended and of as good a parentage, bee as well qualified, as soundly learned, of as comely personage, as sweete a conversation, have a mother witt, and perhaps a fathers blessing to, lett him be equall in all the giftes and ornamentes of nature, art, and fortune to a man of an other profession, yet he shall be scorned, derided, and pointed at like a bird of diuers strange colours, and all because he beares the name of a preacher.

Tymes past were so liberall to the clergy that for feare all would have runne into their handes there were statutes of mortmaine enacted to restrayne that current: but devotion at this day is grown soe cold, that the harts and hands of all are a verry mortmaine it self; they hold soe fast they will part from nothing; noe, not from that which hath bin of auncient given to holie uses. There are in England aboue 3000 impropriacions, where the minister hath a poore stipend; their bread is broken amongst strangers, the foxes and their cubbes liue in their ruines, the swallowe builds hir nest and the satyres daunce and revil where the Leuites were wont to sing, the Church liuings are seised vpon and possessed by the secular; it was the old lawe, that none should eate the bread of the aultar but those that wayted at the altar, those things which were provided for the pastors of our soules, with what conscience can they receive, which are not able to feede them. O miseram sponsam talibus creditam paranymphis.

It is strange that that abhominable synn of Symony should be so common, that it is no strang thing for a learned man to purchase his promotion; but the honest must say to their patron, as Paule to the lame, aurum et argentum non habeo, quod habeo dabo. I will liue honestly, I will preach diligently, I will pray for you deuoutly, but that quid dabitis liveth still with those of Judas his humor. They thinke all to much for the preacher, nothing to much for themselves; it must be enacted tha they may not haue to much for feare of surfetting; they would hane them, according to the newe dyet, brought downe to the skin and bone, to cure them. "All

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their speaches and actions tend to our impouerishment," saith he, "as though wee were onely droanes and they the bees of the State. The Lord October, 1602. commaunded to bring into his tabernacle, but these strive whoe may carry out fastest, and blesse themselves in the spoile, saying with that Churche robber, Videtis quam prospera nauigatio ab ipsis dijs immortalibus sacrilegis detur, but the hier of these labourers, this field of Naboth, &c., will cry out against them. Christ, when he was vpon the earth, wipped those out the Church which bought and sold in the Church, what will he doe with those which buy and sell his church itselfe? I speake not this, because I would perswade you to give your goodes unto ns; non vestra, sed vos, nay, non nostra sed vos, quero. I doe but advertise you to consider whether the withholding the tenth may not depriue you of the whole, the spoiling the Churche of hir clothes may not strip you of your living, the impropriating hir benefices may not dispropriat the Kingdome of Heaven to you.

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"A preacher of righteousnes" or a righteous preacher, such a one as Jo. Baptist was; he preached, as all ought to doe, by his lyfe, by his hands. By his lyfe; vel non omnino vel moribus doceto. He preached amendement from synn, he preached the lawes of nature and the judgments imminent, and as some thinke he preached Christ alsoe. And wee preache the lawe of nature: doth not nature teache you, &c. Wee preache faythe: then being justified by faythe. Wee preache the lawe of Moses: Christ came not to breake but to fulfill the lawe. We preach righteousnes, semen et germen, embued, endued, active, and contemplative, justificacion and sanctificacion, primitiue and imputed, the one in Christ absolute, the other in us. Righteousnes acted by Christ and accepted by us, which is the true justifying righteousnes, and aboue all the others.

The third example of Sodome and Gomorrhe. They were not condemned onely, but condemned to be ouerthrowne, and soe ouerthrowne that they should be turned, not into stones which might come togither againe, but into ashes; neither soe onely, for there had bin some mitigacion, yf they might soe have perished that they should not haue. bin remembred, but they must be an example to all posteritie. Their remembraunce must not dye.

The cuntry is said to have bin a verry pleasaunt and fruitfull soyle, but terra bona, gens mala fuit, and therefore it was destroyed with

fyre from a seven tymes hotter myne then that seven times heated ouen. It was hell-fyre out of heaven, fire from coales that were neuer blowne, it rayned fyre. As Kayne was sett as a marke to take heede of bloudshed, soe are those places an example to the ungodly; there remaines untill this day such a noysom water that some call it the Diuels Sea; others the Sea of Brimstone, for the ill savour; the Dead Sea, for noe fishe can liue in it, soe foule that noe uncleane thing can be clensed in it, soe thicke a water that nothing can sinke into it. There are certaine apples fayre to the eye which being touched in fumum abeunt, tanquam ardent adhuc, et olet adhuc incendio terra. There is seen a cloud of pitche and heapes of ashes at this daye, their woundes are not skinned ouer, they appeare for ever.

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"And deliuered just Lott." The word signified a kinde of force, as though he had pulled him out; here is Lottes commendacion that he liued amongst the wicked, and was not infected with them; bonum esse cum bonis non admodum laudabile; nihil est in Asia non fuisse, sed in Asia continenter vixisse, eximium. Soe was Abraham in Chaldea, Moses in the Court of Pharao, and yet noe partakers of the synnes of those places, "vexed with the uncleane conversacion." Non veniat anima mea in consilium eorum! The justice of Lott was professed enmity with the wicked. When Martiall asked Nazianzeene but a question, Nazianzeene told him he would not answere nisi purgatus fuerit. Wee must not say soe much as "God saue them!" to the wicked. But our stomakes are to strong; wee can digest to be drunke for companie, to rend the ayre with prodigious oathes in a brauery, but not rend our garmentes in contrition of heart; wee can telle howe to take 10 in the 100, nay 100 for 10, with a secure conscience; this synne of usury is a synn against nature, like the synn of Sodome. Wee will dissemble with the hyppocrite, temporise with the politician, deride with the atheist. Men thinke nowe a dayes that Arrianisme, Atheisme, Papisme, Libertinisme, may stand togither, and like salt, oyle, and meale be put togither in a sacrifice. Their conscience is sett in bonde, like Thamar when shee went to play the harlott. They had rather haue the shrift of a popishe priest then heare the holsome admoni- October, 1602. cion of a preacher; they have Metian, Suffetian myndes; Vertumni, Protei; any relligion, every relligion will serve their turne. Rome, that second Sodome, which still battlith our Church and relligion, lett it charge hir

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28 October, 1602.

wheirein the Gospel hath offended this 44 yeares, and at last it will appeare all hir fault wilbe noe more but innocence and true godlines. Est mihi supplicii causa fuisse piam, &c.

God's mercy in particuler to our nation, in prosperity, in trade, auoydaunce of forrein attempts, appeasing of inbred treasons and dissensions, &c. soe that wee may say these 44 yeares of hir Majesties happie government is the kalender of earthly felicity wherein the Gospell hath growne old, yf not to old to some which begin to fall out of love with it, but were it as newe as it was the first day of hir Majesties entraunce, wee should hear them cry "Oh, howe beautifull are the feete of those that bring glad tydyngs of salvacion !" Eamus in domum Domini, &c. And lett us pray to Christ that, as the Evangelist writes he did, soe the Gospell may

crescere ætate et gratia.

"The rule followeth," saith he, " which I promised, but tyme and order must rule me. It is but the summe of the examples, it is the same liquor that ranne from those spouts and is nowe in this cysterne. It runnes like that violl in the Gospell with wyne and oyle, wherewith Christ cured the wounded travailer; it runnes like Christes syde, with water and bloud, judgment and mercy; punishment and comfort," &c.

Consciencia est coluber in domo, immo in sinu.

In the Chequer, Mr. Crooke,1 the Recorder of London, standing at the barr betweene the twoe Maiors, the succeeding on his right hand, and the resigning on his left, made a speache after his fashion, wherin first he exhorted the magistrates to good deserts in regard of the prayse or shame that attends such men for their tyme well or ill imployed; then he remembered manie hir Majesties fauours to the Citie, their greate and beneficiall priviledges, their ornaments and ensignes of autoritie, their choise out of their owne Companies, &c. "Great, and exceeding great," said hee, "is hir Majesties goodnes to this City," for which he remembred their humble due thanke

1 Afterwards Sir John Croke, Recorder of London from 1595 to 1603. Speaker of the House of Commons in 1601, and a Judge of the King's Bench under James I. (Foss's Judges, vi. 130.)

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