And nowe, what could our gratious
God and heauenly Father do lesse, then,
first taking her to his mercie whom we
were vnworthie longer to haue to take
the rodde into his owne hand, to beat vs
for our sinnes, to correct vs for our iniquities,
& to prooue, if his owne chastisement
would effect our amendment? Let
vs therefore euerie one of vs, in the feare
of God, who stand in awe of his iudgements,
turne from his owne euil waies,
and from the wickednesse that is in his
handes, as did the Niniuites. Let euery
man cease to do euill, and learne to do
well: Let euery man plough vp his fallow
ground, & sowe no more among thornes.
Let euery man cast away the abhominations
of his eies and of his heart: yea, let
vs all turne to the Lorde with fasting,
weeping and mourning, renting our harts
and not our garments.
Oh let it be far from vs, that this complaint
that the Prophet Ieremie taketh

C2

vp against Ierusalem, should be taken
vp against vs. O Lord, thou hast stricken
them, but they haue not sorrowed, thou
hast consumed them, but they haue refused
correction, they haue made their faces
harder then a stone, and haue refused
to returne. For if notwithstanding these
iudgements of God, we continue still in
those sins which haue thus sore kindled
his wrath, if in this day of our visitatio~,
wherein the Lorde calleth to weeping &
mourning, to sackcloth & ashes, we fal to
eating & drinking, that is, to our wonted
gluttonie & drunkennes, & other abhominations:
Let vs assure our selues that
the wrath of God will still burne, and
his arme be stretched out still, vntil hee
hath laide our land waste, and this Citie
without an inhabitant.
As therefore it standeth euery man
vpon to mend one, so to you right honorable,
and your worshipful assistants,
it belongeth to reforme them that will
not reforme themselues, and betimes to
cut off all the workers of iniquitie from
the Citie of the Lord. And for a more generall
redresse of all abuses and corruptions,
both in our Church and common
weale: we ought earnestly and continually,
to pray vnto almightie God, to put
into the heart of our most Noble and
blessed Soueraigne, the kings Maiestie,
both constantly to withstand all oppositions
of men, of corrupt mindes, and to
hasten as he hath most zealouslie begun
the full amendment of whatsoeuer is amisse:
euen to the making of a couenant
betwixt God and his people, that they
shall seeke the Lorde, and that whosoeuer
will not seeke the Lord God of Israell,
that he be slaine, whether hee bee
great or small, man or woman, as did
Asa King of Iudah. For God will not be
reconciled vnto vs, vntill we yeelde vnto
him: For hee is our Father, and wee
are his Children, for our sinnes therefore
doeth he thus smite vs: And as the
Father ceaseth not his punishing hand
so long as his Sonne continueth obstinate:
No more, now he hath begun, wil
hee giue ouer, vntill wee humble our
selues vnfaynedly before him: For since
our sinnes haue in this sort incensed his
wrath as we must needs confes, though

C3

his mercie vnto vs that are his children
appeareth herein that the finall end of
this visitation, tendeth to the perfecting
thorow his mercie, which triumpheth
ouer his iustice of our eternall saluation,
yet his angrie countenance sheweth
it selfe no lesse vnto vs in the manner
thereof, then the anger of a displeased
Father appeareth in his face, when
hee chastizeth his disobedient childe
whom he loueth for his good.
And thus haue I shewed vnto you,
right Honorable and beloued, how in
this visitation, wee may receiue both
singular comfort ouer them that are departed,
and for our selues who yet remaine
to be disposed of by his good will
and pleasure, and also perceiue God his
iust displeasure and anger against vs
for our sinnes.
It remaineth, that we proceede in the
pursuit of God his mercie to vs, which
we haue shewed to haue bene exceeding
great, in making vs to be his Sonnes:
and shal now shew to be exceeding greater,
in considering of the originall and
fountaine from whence this so vnspeakable
a mercie floweth vnto vs. For the
verie original spring, is the loue of God:
for so our Apostle affirmeth: Behold what
loue the Father hath giue~ vnto vs: Which
also our Sauiour Christ confirmeth, saying:
So God loued the Worlde, that hee
gaue his onely begotten Sonne, &c. and
that not an ordinarie, but an extraordinarie
loue, for so the wordes importeth,
and which the word NoValue which
our Apostle here vseth also signifyeth.
For this word signifyeth, what maner:
with an admiration: so that the text is to
be read: thus, behold what maner of loue
the Father hath giuen vs, For so is this
word also vsed. Mar. 13.1. What maner
of stones, and what maner of building; as
if they should say not ordinarie, but extraordinarie
stones, not ordinarie, but
extraordinarie buildings are here. So
in the 8. of Matt. 27. after our Sauiour
had stilled the raging of the Sea, the
men marueiled saying: What maner of
man is this: as if they should say what
rare and singular man? Such a loue
then is the loue of God, whereby hee
hath chosen vs to be his children, as is
past vnderstanding, as is extraordinarie,
as is a wonder of wonders: & therefore
here set forth by two words of wonderment.
Beholde, what maner? And beloued,
you shall the better beholde and
consider how admirable and wonderful
a loue it is wherewith God hath loued
vs? If ye obserue first on whom he hath
bestowed it: Secondly, in what sort hee
hath bestowed it: And thirdly, by what
perso~ he hath effected it. He hath bestowed
it vpon vs, and hee hath bestowed it
gratis in maner of a gift, and he hath effected
it, by his owne onely Sonne our
blessed Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ
whom he gaue vnto death for vs.
For the first, it is said that he hath giuen
his loue to vs: For our selues, if wee
had bene the friendes of God, or had in
any wise deserued any small matter at
his hand, the loue had not bene so great,
as louing vs that had loued him according
to that our Sauiour saith of our maner
of loue one towards another. If yee
loue them that loue you, what rewarde
shall ye haue? doe not also the verie Publicanes
and most notorious sinners thus?
The Iewes tolde our Sauiour, that the
Centurion was worthie for his deserts
towarde their Nation, that hee should
heale his seruant: which, had it ben true,
the benefite bestowed vpon him, had not
bene so great: But the Centurion acknowledgeth
himselfe vnworthie, not
pleading any desert: for there is no such
matter indeede of desert on our part to
God-warde: for we were the vtter enemies
of God, and this enmitie was
wrought betwixt God and vs, by reason
of our sins. For as God by reason of
our sin, was at enmity with vs, in which
respect, we are called the childre~ of Gods
wrath: so we were at vtter variance or
defyance with him, cursing him to the
face, as Iob his wife did councell him:
which also the Apostle, Rom. 8.7, testifyeth,
when as he sayeth: The wisdome of
the flesh is an vtter enemie to God, for it
is not a subiect, therefore a rebell to the
Law of God, neither otherwise can be.
In that therefore God through Iesus
Christ, yeelded on his part to loue vs,
we continuing our disobedience and
hatred towards him: how great must
that his loue be? For if the partie wronged
shall yeelde vnto him that doeth the
wrong, and shall seeke his good will, and
his good, what rare loue do we account
it? yea, so rare, as is seldome the more is
the pittie to be seene among vs.
This loue of God therefore in this
poynt, is a rare loue, and exceeding admirable,
in that hee loued vs, being his
enemies, and sought after vs, when wee
sought not after him, according to that
he saieth by the Prophet Esay 65.1. I
haue offred my selfe to be found of them
that asked not: For so the verbe Passiue
there vsed, is to bee translated. Like as
the Apostle Ro. 10.20 rendreth it. I haue
bene made manifest: For otherwise the
sence of the first comma in that sweete
sentence, cannot be perceiued. I offered
my selfe saieth God to bee founde of
the~ that asked not I was found of the~ that
sought mee not. I saide behold mee, beholde
me, to a Nation that called not vpon
my name: And as by the ministerie of
his Prophets in former time, so by our
Ministerie now, doeth he still seeke after
vs, that continue still our enmitie to
him: For wee are the embassadours, saith
the Apostle. 2. Corinth. 5.20. for Christ, as
though God did beseech you thorow vs,
we pray you in Christ stead, that ye bee
reconciled vnto God: The greatnesse
therfore of God his loue towards vs in
this behalfe, doeth the Apostle S. Paule
highly, as it deserueth renowne: Doubtlesse,
saieth he for a righteous man, one
can scarcely be found that will die; but for
a good man it may bee one dare die: but
God magnifieth his mercie vnto vs, that
when we were his enemies, Christ dyed
for vs. And againe, when wee were enemies,
we were reconciled vnto him by the
death of his Sonne. This he prosecuteth
in many words in the 2. Ephes. but especially
in the 4. verse in these words. But
God which is rich in mercie thorow his
great loue, wherewith he loued vs, euen
when we were dead in sinnes, that is, his
mortall enemies, he quickned vs together
in Christ. Thus wee see, how in this
respect this holy Apostle magnifyeth the
greatnesse of Gods loue and grace, calling
it the exceeding riches of his grace:
for that he loued vs, when we were his
enemies. And therefore doe wee not accounte
them worthily enemies to the
grace of God, who doe obscure or rather
denie this his great grace, operibus
præuisis, by workes fore-seene: and I
know not what the Lord Iesus himself
saw no such workes fore-seene when he
taught vs to say: we are vnprofitable seruants,
we haue done but that which was
our dutie to doe. This our Apostle sawe
no such fore-seene workes, and there
fore he renowneth this loue of GOD,
because hee loued vs first, saying in the 4. chap. 10.
Herein is loue, not that we loued
God, but that hee loued vs first: and
againe, in the 19. verse: We loue him,
for he loued vs first. This doctrine then
teacheth vs, that by grace we are saued,
and therfore not by works alone, nor by
grace and workes together: for workes
and grace cannot goe together in the
worke of iustifycation, for so the Apostle
reasoneth: If it be of grace, it is no more of
works, or else were grace no more grace:
but if it be of workes, it is no more grace,
or else were worke no more worke: Well
therefore saith S. Augustne, concerning
good workes: Sequutur iustificatu~ non praecedunt
iustificandum: they follow him that
is iustifyed, they goe not before him that
is to be iustifyed. For by the way, this
is to be noted, that though workes saue
vs not, yet we are the workmanship of
God, created in Christ Iesus vnto good
works, for to glorifie him that saued vs,
according as Zacharias sayth in his song:
Wee are deliuered from the hands of our
enemies, that we might serue him without
feare, all the dayes of our life in holinesse
and righteousnesse before him.
And
the grace of God, saieth the Apostle vnto
Titus, that bringeth saluation vnto all
men: hath appeared and teacheth vs,
that we should denie vngodlinesse and
worldly lusts: and that wee should liue
soberly, and righteously, and godly, in
this present world. And our Apostle maketh
this to be our dutie, namely, to purge
our selues, whereof, if time would permit,
to come to the handling of ye part, which
is, the second parte of our text, we would
by the grace of God more largely speake.
Secondly, this doctrine teacheth vs,
to loue one another: which lesson, this
our Apostle inferreth vpon the loue of
God, in the 11. verse of this Chapter: Beloued,
if God so loued vs, wee ought also
to loue one another. So S. Paule sayeth,
We are taught of God, that is, by the
example of God, to loue one another, and
that not in worde and in tongue, giuing
onely faire words: Goe in peace, be filled,
bee warmed, and giue naught, and
thinke naught, but in deede and in truth,
that is, wee ought to manifest our loue
vnto all, by dealing faithfully and truely
with all men, and to them that are in
want, by ministring vnto their necessitie.
For hereby is loue proued, as by a
touch-stone If any man hath this worlds
goods, and seeth his brother want, and
shutteth vp his compassion fro~ him, how
dwelleth the loue of God in him? as if hee
should saye, Such a man neither loueth
God nor man: And beloued, now is the
time if euer you will, that you must manifest
your loue to God by tender compassion
on them that are in neede. I need
not to vtter vnto you the great miserie,
of the poore of this Citie, and of the
Suburbs thereof: the want of the Widdow
and of the fatherlesse, and of the
poore man of occupation, who in this
time wanteth woorke; and therefore
wanteth foode for him and his familie.
Their crie is come before you out of this
place, and you haue most honorably and
charitably considered of it. I beseech you
in the tender bowels of the Lord Iesus,
consider of it still, for the sicknesse thus
still though not in so great measure, the
Lord be euer praised for it continuing,
& the Winter so hard approching, and
none or litle worke, as they say, stirring,
the number of the poore, & their necessity,
do encrease daily: your liberality therefore
must also encrease, Rather then the
poore should want, make a banke for
the poore, it would be the most honorable
banke that euer was made, and most
profitable for the aduenturers. Let him
that hath twentie thousand pound, cast
in two thousande: Let him that hath ten
thousand pound, cast in a thousand: Let
him that hath a thousand, cast in a hundreth,
let him that hath an hundreth,
cast in ten. I know I shall be censured
by many to speake like a foole, but I regard
not their censure. For this proportion
is not like to his that saide, let him
that hath two coates, giue one to him that
hath none, and let him that hath meate do
likewise: nor like vnto his that said, Halfe
of my goods I giue to the poore: Nor like
vnto his that said, Sell all that thou hast
and giue to the poore: Nor like to theirs
that sold their houses and possessions, and
brought the price to bee distributed to
them that wanted: Nor like hers, that
hauing but two mites, cast them into this
banke, being all the liuing she had, being
content to worke for more. Yet as the
meaning of these sayings, and examples
is not to set any iust rate, but to
shew that charitie must ouer-flowe in
time of common necessitie: so my meaning
is not, to prescribe vnto your wisedomes,
either a iust proportion, or a maner
of taring: but to shew how farreforth
in liberalitie, euerie one without
compulsion, of his owne willing and voluntarie
minde for
Hilarem datorem diligit
dominus: The Lord loueth a cheereful
giuer ought to exceede, to relieue the
great miserie of them that are in want.
And this to doe in regard of that loue
wherewith God haue loued vs: for hee
loued vs before wee loued him: he loued
vs, when wee were his enemies: and
therefore his example not onely teacheth
vs to loue such as are our friendes,
which stand in neede, or to loue them,
who, as they haue done vs no good, so
they haue done vs no hurt, but euen
them that haue wronged vs, we ought
to helpe. Farre therefore ought these,
though vsual, yet vnchristian speeches
be from vs: shall I loue him that hates
me? shal I do him good that hath wronged
me? Alas, beloued, God stood not
vpon these tearmes with vs: he loued vs
when we were his enemies, when wee
blaspheamed him, & that not we by his
example, who also doeth good to the iust
and the vniust, causing his sunne to shine,
& his raine to fall on them indifferently,
shall not wee I saye by his example,
learne to blesse the~ that curse vs, to pray
for them that persecute vs, to doe good
to them that wrong vs?
Let vs not deceiue our selues in boasting
that wee are the children of God:

D

for vnlesse this affection in some measure
be in vs, we are no sonnes of God,
nor God any Father of ours.
But to proceede in magnifying further
this loue of God: the Apostle affirmeth
that this loue which is bestowed
vpo~ vs, is in maner of a gift, gratis: For
he hath giuen it vs. Some men deserue
loue for some good turnes or deserts that
they haue done, and so make him to bee
a friend, which before was an enemie:
as Iacob won Esau: But who hath giuen
to the Lord first, and he shall be recompensed.
So the Lord demandeth by his
Prophet, and by his Apostle, and who
euer haue stood forth, & a~swerd to the demaund,
I haue giuen: Not Abraham, for
he acknowledgeth himselfe to bee dust
and ashes. Not Dauid, for he prayeth:
Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant,
O Lord. Not Iob, for he confesseth:
If hee should iustifie himselfe, his owne
mouth would condemne him. God hath
not set his loue to sale vnto vs: for if he
had, whereby should or could we haue
procured it? should we haue giuen him a
thousand Rammes to vse the wordes of
the Prophet Micah or ten thousand riuers
of oyle: should wee haue offered him
the fruit of the bodie for the sinnes of our
soule? none of all these earthly things are
ours, they are all his: so he testifyeth. All
the beasts of the field are mine, and so are
the cattle vpon a thousand hilles:
And as
the soule of the fathers is mine, sayeth the
Lorde, so is the soule of the sonnes. And
more generally: The earth is the Lords,
and all the fulnesse thereof, the rounde
worlde, and all that dwell therein. But
were these earthly things all ours, yet
were they all too base to buy the least
parcell of God his heauenly grace and
loue towards vs. For what comparison
is there betwixt earthly things and heauenly
things? betwixt things temporall
and transitorie, and things spiritual, and
eternall?
The string whereupon many, and
especially the Church of Rome doeth
harpe in this respect, is our righteousnes:
but what our righteousnes is, Yea al our
righteousnesses are the Prophet Esay
telleth vs, when hee saith they are as a
stained cloth, which lotheth the eyes of

D2

them that beholde, so that with displeasure
and detestation they turne from it.
Our righteousnesse therefore in it selfe
considered without the merit of Christ,
by whom they are accepted, as fruits of
our faith, they are too much stained, and
therefore too base to procure the aboundant
riches of the loue of God. And this
we must needes of our selues confesse,
if we be not caried away with too great a
selfe-loue, & weening of our selues: for euen
our conscience which is a thousand,
witnesses, witnesseth against vs, the
manifold corruptions which cleaue vnto
the best and most holy worke that we
doe.
The trueth therefore of this doctrine
remayneth inuinsible, and needeth no
further testimonie of any man, that, that
eternall loue of God, wherewith hee
hath so loued vs, as to make vs his children
and heires, is, of his free gift bestowed
and giuen vnto vs, according as
our Apostle here sayth, Behold what loue
the father hath giuen vnto vs, that wee
should be called the Sonnes of God: and
according to that the Apostle saith. Gal.
3.22. The promise by the faith of Christ
Iesus, is giuen to them that beleeue: for
this one worde giuen, so often repeated
by the Apostle, if there were no further
argument to prooue the freenes of God
his loue and grace towardes vs, is sufficient
to stoppe all mouthes, that open
themselues to the derogation thereof.
But yet further to remooue all opinion
and conceit of our owne worthinesse,
and to set foorth the loue of GOD, to
bee beyond all measure, GOD to aunswere
the vtmost tittle of his iustice, and
to cancell all obligations and hand-writings
against vs for our sinnes, finding
nothing in vs, whereby to saue vs, according
as one well confesseth to him:
Nihil inuenis vnde salues, & multum inuenis,
vnde damnes: thou findest nothing for
which thou maiest saue vs, but thou findest
much, for which thou maist damne
vs. God I saie, sent his onely Sonne
Christ Iesus, who is with the Father,
and the holy spirit, God blessed for euer,
to take on him our nature, and therein
to satisfie the whole seueritie of his iustice,
and to pay the vtmost farthing of

D3

our debt. The greatnesse of the loue of
God in this behalfe, doeth our Sauiour
himselfe expresse, as we haue shewed, in
saying: God so loued the world, that hee
gaue his only begotten sonne vnto death,
that whosoeuer should beleeue on him,
should not perish, but haue life euerlasting.
This also doeth our Apostle renowne,
in the fourth Chapter verse 10.
Herein is loue, not that wee loued God,
but that hee loued vs, and sent his onely
begotten sonne, to be a reconciliation for
our sinnes: Where the loue of God is
set in the first place, for the cause efficient
and principall, his sonne sent for the
cause materiall, and to be a reconciliation
for our sinnes: for a cause finall, nothing
required of vs, but that we beleeue
in him, and loue one another for him, as
he hath loued vs. If the consideration
hereof were throughly layed to hart, it
would quickly remooue all proud opinion
of our owne merit, which is thus excluded
by including the merit of Christ,
as alone the sufficient sacrifice propitiatorie
for our sinnes: and it would swallow
vs vp with an admiration of the
exceeding loue of God towards vs: The
height, the depth, the length, the breadth
whereof is incomprehensible, and make
vs ashamed of our owne corruption:
Gold and siluer, and pretious stones being
of no valew: all the Sacrifices and
ceremonies of the old Law, being of no
worth: his blessed and glorious Angels
being insufficient to effect our ransome,
who~ he so loued: he spared not his owne
onely sonne, who was in his bosome
more deare vnto him, than the signet of
his owne right hande, who willingly
said also; Loe I come, and gaue him to
the death, by his death to redeeme, vs according
to that sweet saying of S. Peter,
We were not redeemed by siluer or gold,
or by any other corruptible things, but by
the pretious bloud of Iesus Christ, as of a
Lambe immaculate, and without spot.
And wee, in the meane while wretched
men and women, straine at euery curtesie,
and thinke euery thing too much we
do in loue towards our brethren, whom
wee should not onely loue by supplying
their wants in the expe~ce of our goods, as
before we haue shewed, but also loue, by

D4

laying downe our liues for them, by the
expence of our bloud, if neede so require:
as our Apostle by this example of our
blessed Sauiour teacheth vs, saying:
here in is loue, that hee laide downe his
life for vs; wee ought therefore to laye
downe our liues for the brethren. 1. Ioh.
3.16.
There remayneth in this clause, yet
one worde that further amplifyeth this
loue of God in the greatnes thereof vnto
vs: For besides that, it hath pleased
him to make vs, euen vs that were his
enemies to be his sonnes, to be his heires
and ioynt heires with his owne natural
sonne: of such an inheritance, that is immortall,
and that of his meere loue by
gift, not deserued by vs, but purchased
for vs, by the pretious death and passion
of our blessed Lord and Sauiour Christ
Iesus, he vouchsafeth for ye further assurance
of our faith herein, & co~fort of our
soules to cal himself our father, for adopting
vs in his welbeloued Son, as his welbeloued
Son by nature, is not ashamed
as the authour of the Epistle to ye Hebrews
wel obserueth to cal vs, euen vs, yt
were adopted from a thing of naught
his brethre~: saying, I wil declare thy name
vnto my brethren: so God his Father, the
Father by excellencie, disdaineth not
to cal himselfe our Father, saying: I wil
bee your Father, and ye shall be my sonnes
and daughters. The worde Father is a
sweet worde, and serueth to be obserued
for many vses. First, it confirmeth al the
former doctrine of GOD his louing vs
freely: for as the childe receiueth nothing
but from his Father, and his Father bestoweth
all things vpon him freely, in
regard onely, that he is his Father, the
childe deseruing not the least iotte of his
loue: So God being our Father, it followeth
that we receiue all from him, our
being, our lyuing, our mouing, benefites
Temporall, blessings Spirituall, & that
of his owne meere loue, because he is our
Father without any desert or merit of
ours.
Secondly it expresseth more sensibly
the tender mercie and compassion of our
good God vnto vs: for thereby wee vnderstand
that he tendreth vs as a Father
according to that of the Prophet:
Like as a father pittieth his owne children,
euen so the Lord hath compassion
on them that feare him. Fatherly and
Motherlie loue, we know to bee verie
great, and none know it, but they which
are veri Patres, Fathers indeede, their
bowels are mooued with more than an
ordinarie affection toward their childre~,
as appeareth by the example of the harlot,
whose compassion was kindled toward
her childe, whe~ she heard sentence
giuen, and the sword drawen to haue it
diuided: God in like maner testifyeth.
Hos. 8.11. that his hart is turned in him,
& that his repentance is rouled together,
euen as a fathers doth: whe~ he taketh in
hand to punish his childe, he will beate
him, and he will not beate him, loath he
is, and therefore though he doeth it, hee
doeth it vnwillingly, so doeth also our
heauenly Father, he doth not punish vs
with his heart, saieth Ieremie in his Lamentations:
but besides this, his compassion
farre excelleth, in that not onely
it reacheth further than is possible for any
naturall affection to reach vnto: but
also for that it is immutable, it neuer
changeth. A mother may forget the fruit
of her wombe: A Father may turne away
his face from his owne sonne, and
renownce him for euer. But though a
woman should forget the fruite of her
wombe, yet would not I forget thee, saith
the Lord, for I am the Lord and am not
cha~ged: Therfore the Apostle saieth: His
gifts and callings are without repentance:
And the Euangelist sayeth, Iohn 13.1.
Whome hee loueth, hee loueth vnto the
ende. And right Honorable and beloued,
there is not a greater comfort vnto our
soules and consciences, in this our present
heauinesse and distresse, than this:
to consider that hee is our Father that
doeth thus correct vs, who though he be
iustlie displeased with vs, and his wrath
fore kindled against vs for our sinnes:
yet herein he sheweth himselfe to be infinitely
gratious and mercifull vnto vs,
in that hee hath taken the rod into his
owne hand, & not deliuered it into their
handes that hate vs, to strike vs therewith.
The Spaniards hath often hoped to
haue got this rod into their hands, and
haue as it were snatched, to haue pulled
it vnto them, that they might haue bene
Gods executioners. A bloudie day had
that bene beloued for the corps, whom
you haue seene, honorably and reuerently
in peace caried to their graues, you
should haue seene them lying waltering
in their bloud: in the middest of the
streets, torne with their Wyer whips,
dis-membred with their long Kniues:
thrust thorow with their sharpe swords,
and no man to haue buried them. Male-contents
among our selues, as Papists
and Athests had hoped to haue got this
rod into their handes: and as by often
Treasons, against our late blessed Soueraigne,
so by stronge conspiracies against
our now most gracious and vndoubted
King, whom God for euer kepe,
from out of their handes, they haue attempted
it.
A day of horrour and confusion, a
blacke and dismall day beloued, would
that haue bene, for then, whereas now
you keepe your seates of honour and for
euer may you keepe them and euerie
man possesseth his house and home in
peace, and each neighbour ready to comfort
his neighbour, and all may come
with safetie to this place, and to other
places of Gods worship to make their
supplications before him: then, I saye,
ye should haue seene that verefied which
is in the Prophecie of Esay: Nothing but
oppression and violence: Children presuming
against the ancient, and the vile against
the honorable: Ephraim against
Manasses, and Manasses against Ephraim,
and both against Iudah. The Papist against
the Athest, & the Athest against
the papist, & both against the true Professour.
You should haue seene then, your
houses ransacked, your wiues and your
daughters dishonoured, your sweete children
and babes, horriblie murthered,
and euery mans sworde imbrued in the
bloud of his neighbour. Blesse we therefore
God, and for euer blesse wee him,
who hath not giuen vs as a praye vnto
our enemies handes, but brought vpon
their owne pates, the destruction & mischiefe
they deuised for others. Himselfe
reseruing the rod of our correction into
his owne hand. And besides, which also
magnifyeth his loue exceedingly, taking
ye rod to beate vs with, which is a more
gentle and fauorable rod, than the rest,
as appeareth by the choice of King Dauid,
who chose rather to fall into the
hands of God, then of man, who chose
rather the Pestilence, then hunger.
What wofull miserie the sworde of the
enemie would haue brought, you haue
heard: And I pray God, by experience,
we may neuer know. What calamitie,
famine and hunger causeth, you may
easely consider, when as it forceth to sustaine
nature by vnnaturall foode, and
the mother to feede vpon her yong babe.
Examples there are in this behalfe most
lamentable, which I omit: In this disease
wherewith the Lorde hath visited
vs, there is either a speedie death and
dissolution, or a speedie recouerie for the
most part without languishing in long
torment and paine, and much comforte
seene in the quiet and milde yeelding vp
of their spirits to God, whom hee marketh
and taketh to himselfe.
Againe, the Lord like a pittifull Father
for how shall I make an ende to
speake of his mercie that is endlesse vppon
the onely promise of amendment,
haue slacked his hand, to shewe and to
manifest vnto vs, that he is full of mercie
and aboundant in compassion, and
that if we will truly humble our selues,
he hath done, and his wrath is past. As
therefore yee haue begone, so continue
your holie exercises of Preaching, of
Prayer, & of Fasting: & that it may not
be formall only and hypocritical, which
the Lorde reprooueth so much in the
Iewes. Is this the fast that I haue chosen,
that a man afflict his soule for a day, and
hang downe his head like a Bull-rush? Reme~ber
yt the substance of true fasting, is
to loose the bands of wickednesse, to let
the oppressed goe free, to take off the heauie
burthen, and to breake euery yoke, To
deale the bread to the hungrie, to bring
the poore that wandreth into thy house:
to couer the naked: and to doe such other
workes of mercie. And that which shall
best please the Lord right honorable is,
if by the sworde of your authoritie, yee
shall represse the insolencie of them, who
not regarding the heauie hand of God,
continue in their blasphemie in the profanation
of the Sabaoth, in their drunkennes,
and in such other detestable
sinnes, who say with the Epicure: Let vs
eate, let vs drink, for to morrow we shal die:
who make a pray & a spoyle to the~selues
in this heauy time of sicknes, by imbeazeling
of the goods of the~ that be diseased
& deceased, by defrauding of ye widow, by
defeating of the Orphanes, by robbing
of the naturall kindred of their right. If
such complaints come before you right
Honorable as I feare mee, many will:
deferre not to do iustice: for if you do, the
Lord will see it, and reuenge it: but if yee
execute the iudgement of the Widow,
and of the fatherlesse: If you defende
him that is oppressed, from the hande of
him that oppresseth him: If you maintaine
the right, and punish the wrong:
Then you shall see that God, who hath
thus gratiously begunne, will euery day
more and more slacke his hand, vntill he
hath remooued this euill disease from
you: then you shall see that hee who hath
wounded you will heale you, then you
shall see that he who hath in his anger
for a moment visited you, will in euerlasting
compassion embrace you, that you
may see this your Citie againe peopled,
by the ioyfull returne of your fellow citizens,
that are here and there dispersed:
that you may see those seats, which are by
you emptie, with the Honorable & graue
Iudges of the Lande, & with your worshipfull
brethren replenished: that you
may see your trades and traffiquing
which is now dead, to be renewed: that
you may see your Tearmes and Sessions
of Lawe, no more omitted: that to
conclude, you may see health and prosperitie
againe within your walles, & that
you may heare the voice of the bridegrome,
and of the bride, and the noyse
of mirth and reioysing, more than in the
daies of good Queene Elizabeth.